WSOP Announces ESPN Schedule and Renews 888Poker
The World Series of Poker joined with ESPN this week to announce their broadcast schedule for the 2020 WSOP Main Event.
There will be some ESPN coverage of every day of the tournament, from the starting days to the day or night that will determine the winner. And the WSOP also noted that any content not aired on ESPN will be livestreamed on PokerGO. Essentially, both partnerships will be in play for the Main Event, with the PokerGO affiliation extending to other WSOP events as well.
And speaking of partnerships, 888poker announced this week that it will return as the sponsor of the WSOP for the sixth year in a row. Along with that, 888poker will be the only official site offering online poker satellites into live WSOP events.
WSOP + ESPN = Television Coverage
The 2020 WSOP Main Event, which was announced in December, will receive almost nonstop coverage this summer as it takes players on their $10K buy-in No Limit Hold’em journey from July 1-14.
ESPN will broadcast daily windows of coverage of the WSOP Main Event with most of the attention focused on the last few days. That is when the field dwindles to the nine final table players and ultimately finds the tournament’s winner.
News from our partners at @PokerCentral and @espn
2020 WSOP Main Event television coverage is set.
40+ hours of live TV!Details: https://t.co/tDNNKlcmod pic.twitter.com/neBRI7TsSO
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) February 20, 2020
Poker Central will cover other parts of the Main Event on its PokerGO livestreaming service, which requires an online subscription. Of course, PokerGO will also livestream coverage of other events throughout the summer of the WSOP, the details of which will be revealed as the series nears.
Together, ESPN and Poker Central will telecast at least 40 hours of WSOP coverage with an additional 90 hours of originally-produced episodes.
Poker Central CBO JR McCabe noted, “For the past four years, our partnership with ESPN has been centered on creating the ultimate fan experience by providing wire-to-wire coverage of the World Series of Poker Main Event.” He continued that this will be another year of that cooperative coverage.
WSOP Main Event TV Schedule
The ESPN schedule – divided between ESPN2 and ESPN channels – was delivered in Eastern time zone slots, but the one below denotes Pacific time, which is the local time in Las Vegas where the action will take place.
–July 1 (Day 1A): 6pm-11pm PT on ESPN2
–July 2 (Day 1B): 7pm-9pm PT on ESPN and 9pm-11pm on ESPN2
–July 3 (Day 1C): 6pm-11:30pm PT on ESPN2
–July 4 (Day 2AB): 5:30pm-8pm PT on ESPN
–July 5 (Day 2C): 8pm-11pm PT on ESPN2
–July 6 (Day 3): 8pm-12midnight PT on ESPN2
–July 7 (Day 4): 5pm-9pm PT on ESPN2
–July 8 (Day 5): 8pm-12midnight PT on ESPN2
–July 9 (Day 6): 6pm-10pm PT on ESPN2
–July 10 (Day 7): 8pm-10pm PT on ESPN2 for playdown to final table
–July 12 (Day 8): 8pm-TBD PT on ESPN2 for playdown from nine to six players
–July 13 (Day 9): 8pm-TBD PT on ESPN2 for playdown from six to three players
–July 14 (Day 10): 7pm-TBD PT on ESPN for playdown from three players to winner
The corresponding PokerGO livestreaming times will be announced at a later date but will likely complement these times so fans can access more coverage.
WSOP + 888poker = Online Poker Qualifiers
As noted, for the sixth year in a row, 888poker will sponsor the WSOP and provide the only official online poker satellites outside of the United States for players.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=UXrwgzHGofY&feature=emb_logo
888poker will be offering WSOP packages worth $15,000 each, which will include buy-ins to the $10K Main Event and the $888 Crazy Eights tournaments, as well as 12 nights of accommodations at the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas from June 26 through July 8. Players will also receive $1K for travel and expenses, a welcome session at the Vdara, gifts, and complimentary transportation from the Vdara to the Rio every day from June 27 through July 6.
The satellites will be located under the “Live Events” tab in the 888poker lobby, with “WSOP 2020 MEGA” denoting the trips to Las Vegas. And the steps satellites offer players to begin with just one cent to climb into those WSOP qualifiers, or players can simply buy in directly for $1,050.
The first WSOP Main Event qualifiers are up at @888poker https://t.co/WaT4tGydWa pic.twitter.com/DpoMLbPIEE
— Barry Carter (@Barry_Carter) February 20, 2020
