Will the World Series Of Poker 2021 be played live?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost all businesses in countries all over the world. Poker in land-based casinos, in particular, has suffered a major blow, for obvious reasons.

Not only are the players required to sit right near each other on tables, but they also exchange cards and chips, making it an ideal playground for the COVID-19 spread.

Hence why most poker during 2020 has been held exclusively online. Due to there being little to no signs of improvement at this stage, poker aficianados can still only play their favourite game online. AmericaGambles and similar sites have thus become more popular, providing lists of the best online rooms for US players.

When it comes to the world series of poker, the biggest event in the world of poker, they had no choice but to postpone the 2020 event for the first time in their rich 50-year history. 

WSOP organised an online-only tournament for 2020 as an alternative option. Everyone the whole world over is concerned about public health and poker is most certainly not an essential activity. However, is there any chance that we might be faced with more positive circumstances next year?

Can the world series of poker return to brick-and-mortar casinos in 2021?

There must be great progress in the treatmen and containment of COVID-19 before the large-scale tournament can resume in land-based casinos. Vaccines may be a massive boost but the event is still too large-scale to be an ideal situation, at least for the time being. 

Regardless, we will most likely not witness a full-scale tournament, even if it returns to action. The main event features, on average, more than 6,000 players. At this point, it is only natural to expect that the 2021 world series of poker will only include American citizens. As it stands, no more than say, 500 entrants, would be included in the main event. 

Way too early to talk about live events

A series of live tournaments are usually held between June and September, at the most appropriate venues. The list of host casinos would also depend on the public health situation, which means that there is a chance of Las Vegas being unable to house any of the events. 

Either way, it is simply too early to talk about the possibility of a live WSOP tournament in 2021. 

For the latest updates, news and announcements, follow the WSOP website here.