- WSOP blamed widespread connectivity issues, not just geolocation, for the event’s failure.
- Players continued to earn bounties for nearly two hours while most were locked out.
- Over $550,000 in $500 tournament tickets are being given to affected Day 2 players.
- All Day 2 results were nullified, but players keep prior cashes and bounties.
“We sincerely apologize for the disappointment and frustration,” read the email from WSOP that finally landed in players’ inboxes on Wednesday evening.
Three days after WSOP Online was forced to cancel its $1 million guaranteed Mystery Bounty online bracelet event, the operator has formally explained what went wrong and how it plans to make things right.
All players who reached Day 2 will get their buy-ins refunded, keep any bounties or cashes they earned before the cancellation, and receive an added $500 tournament ticket as a goodwill gesture. In total, WSOP is giving away over half a million dollars in extra compensation.
The tournament was Event #7 on the summer’s online bracelet schedule, a multi-flight Mystery Bounty with a $250 buy-in and a nice $1 million guarantee. It attracted 7,623 entries and swelled the prize pool to over $1.7 million, generating roughly $190,000 in fees for WSOP in the process.
Of those entries, 1,100 players advanced to Day 2, where the bounty portion of the format was due to kick in, which resumed on Sunday.
But as Day 2 resumed, hundreds of players were unable to log in to the WSOP client. While some media outlets initially blamed geolocation issues, a fairly common snag in the US regulated market, it soon became clear that the problem ran deeper.
WSOP later confirmed “connectivity issues” were to blame. The platform runs on software provided by 888poker, though it is worth noting that problems of this scale are rare even on 888’s own network.
Despite the issues, the tournament continued running for nearly two hours while the majority of the field sat out, allowing the logged-in minority to scoop blinds and bounties, including the top mystery bounty with a $100,000 prize. It was only after two hours of lopsided play that the tournament was stopped.
WSOP has confirmed that no bracelet will be awarded for the event. Day 2 results have been nullified, but players will still get back their full investment. Anyone who cashed or hit a bounty will be allowed to keep those earnings. The rest of the prize pool, whatever remained after Day 2 was scrubbed, will be redistributed, though the operator has not explained exactly how that calculation is being made.
In addition, all 1,100 Day 2 players will receive a $500 tournament ticket, valid for 12 months, a move that adds roughly $550,000 in extra value. The operator says players should see all compensation in their accounts within 48 hours.
Not Everyone is Satisfied
While WSOP’s plan sounds generous on paper, player reaction has been sharply divided. Some welcomed the $500 tournament tickets and the decision to let players keep any bounties or cashes. Others criticized the three-day silence and lack of clarity around how refunds were calculated.
Six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb called the offer inadequate. On the other hand, David “ODB” Baker, a three-time bracelet winner himself, said the outcome “seems overly fair.” Twelve-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Michael Setera also applauded the operator’s effort to make things right — but questioned why there’s still no word on other affected tournaments, like the ring event that ran the same day.
Some players also voiced frustration over the lack of clarity around how payouts were determined. Some players argued that WSOP did not use an ICM-based model and instead issued what seemed like flat, arbitrary refunds.
Social media posts showed players receiving wildly different amounts, some as low as $700, others getting $1215, and a few even reporting payouts of $3000, with no official explanation for the discrepancies.
This is not the first time WSOP or its partners have run into trouble during major online events. In 2020, GGPoker, the host of WSOP bracelet events for international players, had to postpone several tournaments due to server issues. In 2023, the same thing happened again.
In 2021, WSOP itself had to postpone an online bracelet event in Pennsylvania due to technical issues. Last year, it had to pull a bracelet event last year after it failed to meet the minimum entries required. But a mid-tournament cancellation after bounties have already been awarded? That is an unprecedented misstep for a bracelet event.
The WSOP online bracelet series rolls on, with 30 bracelets scheduled this summer. Another $1 million Mystery Bounty is set for June 22, using the same structure.
