The international leg of the 2020 WSOP online bracelet series on GGPoker got off to a bumpy start as only one out of the three bracelet events could be played out on Sunday.
The Final Day of Event #32: $100 The Opener and Event #33, the Covid-19 Charity event, both of which were scheduled to run last Sunday, had to be postponed until next week due to a critical bug caused by a “high load during peak times.”
Both the events had kicked off but were paused soon after they got underway on Sunday evening. In fact, The Opener event set the record for the biggest turnout in a WSOP bracelet event in history.
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Across its eight Day 1 flights, the tournament gathered 29,306 total entries, easily exceeding its $2 million guarantee, to generate a final prize pool of almost $2.7 million.
The 3684 players remaining in Day 2 have all been credited T$100 by the operator as an apology for the inconvenience caused due to the postponement of the event.
The $1111 buy-in Covid Charity event, drew nearly 1600 entries for a prize pool of almost $1.6 million, a portion of which will be donated to the Caesars Cares assistance fund. The operator has decided to double the donation raised in the event to $354,756.
Both the events will resume next Sunday with players holding the same stack as they had prior to the disruption of the tournament.
Event #34: $525 Super Turbo Bounty NLH 6-Handed, the third bracelet event scheduled on that day, ran without a hitch. The event attracted 2214 entries to amass a $1.1 million prize pool.
Opening Day Bracelet Events Turnout and Prize Pools
- Event #32: $100 The Opener – 29,306 entries, $2,696,152 prize pool
- Event #33: $1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief – 1598 entries*, $1,598,000 prize pool
- Event #34: $525 Super Turbo Bounty – 2214 entries, $1,107,000 prize pool
*Event #33’s late registration period was still on before the tournament got postponed
The $525 Super Turbo Bounty event created multiple records. It was won by Japan’s Shoma Ishikawa, becoming the first player outside the US to win an online bracelet event. Secondly, the event lasted only 3 hours and 12 mins, becoming the fastest WSOP bracelet event to run.
It also became the first-ever bracelet event awarded online on a non-WSOP branded site and the first bracelet to utilize progressive-knockout format.
List of Records Created on the Opening Day of the GGWSOP Series:
- The Opener event attracted the biggest turnout for any WSOP bracelet event in its history.
- Japan’s Shoma Ishikawa became the first player outside the US to win a WSOP online bracelet event.
- Event #34: $525 Super Turbo Bounty is the shortest WSOP bracelet event ever to run and the first-ever bracelet event to utilize a PKO format.
- Players from a record number of countries participated in a single bracelet event*.
Ten Bracelet Events to Run this Week on GGPoker
Eight bracelet events were originally scheduled to run this week, and with the postponement of two bracelet events from this past Sunday, a total of ten bracelets will be awarded this week on the GGPoker platform.
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Events taking place this week are:
- #41 $400 COLOSSUS Day 1 Flights, every day until July 26, boasting $3 million guarantee
- #42 $400 PLOSSUS Day 1 Flights, every day until July 26, boasting $1 million guarantee
- #35 $5000 PLO Championship on July 21 at 14:00 ET
- #36 $1500 FIFTY STACK NLH on July 22 at 14:00 ET
- #37 $1050 Bounty PLO on July 23 at 14:00 ET
- #38 $600 Monster Stack NLH 6-Handed on July 25 at 08:00 ET
- #39 $1500 No Limit Hold’em [Asia] on July 26 at 08:00 ET
- #40 $2500 Pot Limit Omaha on July 26 at 14:00 ET
- #32 $100 The Opener [Final Day] on July 26 at 14:30 ET boasting $2 million guarantee
- #33 $1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief on July 26 at 14:00 ET
Satellites as well as Silk Road micro-stakes, an affordable tournaments series with WSOP tickets as prizes, is currently running with buy-ins as low as $1.
GGPoker is also running WSOP Side events with total guarantees of $1.75 million. Every day, three side events are running at 12:00, 14:00 and 18:00 GMT until July 26.
Each of them promises a guarantee ranging from $25,000 to $150,000. Buy-ins start at $52.50 and go up to $2500.
WSOP.com Bracelet Events Generate Over $16 Million in Prize Money So Far
Meanwhile, over at WSOP.com, where bracelet events are being held for US players in New Jersey and Nevada, 20 bracelets have been awarded so far and each of them without any technical difficulties.
These bracelet events have generated over $16 million prize pool, three of which produced over seven-figure prize pools. The BIG 500 on July 12 attracted the biggest turnout, pulling in 2427 total entries for a prize pool of $1,092,150.
Event #14 NLH High Roller 8-max, a $3200 buy-in tournament, amassed the biggest prize pool, attracting 496 runners for a prize pool of $1,507,840.
11 more bracelet events remain including the $1000 No Limit Hold’em Championship on July 31. This event allows up to 2 re-entries and has the potential to produce this year’s biggest prize pool.