GGPoker set their sights high when they guaranteed $150 million in the announcement for the GG Spring Festival (GGSF). In the end, that total was easily surpassed.
More than $176 million was generated in prize pools throughout the series, making it clearly the best series in history for GGPoker.
In fact, it was only $9 million short of the biggest series on record. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic boom, PokerStars' extended SCOOP generated an astounding $185 million in prizes over 371 tournaments, setting the record for the most money collected in any online tournament series.
While the GGSF didn’t quite beat that lofty record in total dollars, the record from 2020 was mostly down to the extensions. Even in the midst of the pandemic boom, the 2020 SCOOP averaged just under $500,000 in prizes per tournament, while the recent GGSF came in at $527,537 per event.
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That shows it was really the extended schedule that put the money into the 2020 SCOOP record. Had GGSF run 371 tournaments at the same pace as the 335 in actual series, total prize money would have been on the high side of $195 million.
GGSF vs SCOOP Prize Pool Comparison
| Total Prizes Collected | Number of Tournaments | Prizes Per Tournament | Total for 335 | Total for 371 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 GG Spring Festival | $176,724,946 | 335 | $527,537 | $176,724,946 | $195,716,283 |
| 2020 SCOOP | $185,136,133 | 371 | $499,019 | $167,171,441 | $185,136,133 |
Explosive Growth
GGPoker virtually came out of nowhere to play a serious role in the online poker world. The 2019 signing of Daniel Negreanu marked the beginning of a meteoric rise for GGPoker in the tournament series niche.
When the pandemic forced the cancelation of the live 2020 World Series of Poker, GGPoker stepped up to the plate to provide an online WSOP for the international crowd. The series did not go off without a hitch, as several opening day tournaments were forced to pause due to technical problems, but issues were ironed out quickly, and the series went on to huge success.
By the time the dust settled on the GGPoker WSOP Online in 2020, $148 million in prizes had been won. More than $27 million of that came from the Main Event alone, which was the highest single prize pool on record for an online tournament.
They have run two other series since then that have generated more than $100 million in prizes. GGPoker series alone have generated more than $500,000,000 in prizes since the 2020 WSOP Online, and the future only looks bright.
Extended Partnership
Building on the success of the GGSF and last year’s WSOP Online, GGPoker and the WSOP announced plans for the international portion of the 2021 WSOP Online. The partnership goes well beyond just the online bracelet events, and includes satellites to the Main Event in Las Vegas in November and extensive Circuit series throughout the year.
In fact, the end of GGSF leads almost directly into the start of the WSOP Super Circuit Online Series. There will be 18 Ring Events from May 1 – 30, with a cash game promotion awarding two additional Rings to cash game players for the first time.
The WSOP Circuit and Online Bracelet Schedule on GGPoker
- WSOP Super Circuit Online Series with 18 Ring Events from May 1 – 30
- Additional two WSOPC rings can be won through a cash game promotion
- WSOP Online 2021 Domestic Series on WSOP.com July 1 – August 1
- WSOP Online 2021 International on GGPoker August 1 – September 12
- 2021 WSOP Las Vegas Main Event satellites on WSOP.com and GGPoker August 1 – October 1
- WSOP Winter Online Super Circuit on GGPoker later in the year
There is no question GGPoker is a major player in the global tournament series game. The GGSF goes into the books as the second biggest series on record, capping more than half a billion in prizes over the past year in major series on GG alone.
The new extended partnership with WSOP only looks to solidify that major role. They will have another chance this year to break the record they set last year with the Main Event, and hosting satellites for the live Main Event in Vegas is a massive win for the operator. It seems nothing can stop the rise of GGPoker on the online tournament series scene.
