WSOP announces fall schedule of 88 bracelet events at Rio

The World Series of Poker is locked in and ready for the fall.

The WSOP on Tuesday released a full schedule of 88 bracelet events from Sept. 30 to Nov. 23 at the Rio. The flagship WSOP was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic and was delayed from its normal summer dates until the fall this year as officials monitored pandemic progress.

WSOP officials said play will be conducted under any required health guidelines, but for now tables are expected to be nine-handed (unless specified otherwise) with no plexiglass dividers between players and no capacity limits. Officials said they recommend that all players who have not been fully vaccinated wear masks.

“Make no mistake, the 2021 WSOP will be the real deal, and we’re preparing for a full house,” WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said in a statement. “Throughout the storied history of the WSOP, this year will be particularly memorable, and we’re preparing for a poker reunion all players can celebrate.”

WSOP officials announced tentative dates for a fall WSOP in April and confirmed the full schedule Tuesday.

The WSOP Main Event, the signature $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship, will be Nov. 4-17 with four starting flights.

Germany’s Hossein Ensan beat a field of 8,569 to earn $10 million in the Main Event in 2019. Last year’s hybrid online/live Main Event attracted 1,379 combined entrants from the separate U.S. and international fields. International champion Damian Salas of Argentina eventually defeated U.S. champion Joseph Hebert heads-up live at the Rio, earning a total of $2.55 million.

This year’s WSOP will feature a full range of buy-ins, from $400 to $250,000. Here are some of the highlights:

■ Sept. 30: A $1,000 No-limit Hold’em charity event for COVID-19 relief.

■ Oct. 1: The Reunion, a $500 buy-in No-limit Hold’em event with a $5 million guaranteed prize pool.

■ Oct. 5: A $25,000 heads-up No-limit Hold’em Championship with an elite field capped at 64 players.

■ Oct. 10: The $1,000 Flip and Go, in which every player goes all-in on the first hand (after selecting two cards to play from the three dealt to them). The winner immediately makes the money, and the tournament plays out in a normal format.

■ Oct. 31: The $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship, with 2-7 No-limit Single Draw added as a ninth game in the rotation.

■ Nov. 17: A $1,979 No-limit Hold’em tournament that pays tribute to Poker Hall of Fame members. Hall of Fame members who enter the tournament will have bounties on their heads matching the year of their induction. The Hall of Fame started in 1979.

■ Nov. 19: A $50,000 Pot-limit Omaha event, part of a High Roller series that includes $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000 No-limit Hold’em events.

Also, massive field No-limit Hold’em events will be held every Friday and Saturday of the series, including the Millionaire Maker, Monster Stack, Double Stack, Colossus and The Closer. Freezeout tournaments — events with no re-entry allowed — will be held at five price points from $500 to $5,000.

CBS Sports Network acquired the rights to broadcast the WSOP this year and plans to air 15 hours of Main Event coverage, as well as coverage of 18 other bracelet events, in conjunction with the subscription video service PokerGO.

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.