73 Wsop Bracelets Awarded Since August
In case you missed it, and it would be easy considering the lack of coverage, 73 World Series of Poker bracelets were awarded over the last two months. The World Series of Poker held WSOP Online in the United States on WSOP.com, Canada on WSOP.ca, and the rest of the world on GG Poker.
Several big names won WSOP bracelets over the last couple of months, but unless you were a diehard poker fan who scoured online poker sites, odds are you’d never know. Let’s take a quick look at some of the highlights of the WSOP online.
Kristen Foxen Makes History as Shannon Shorr Wins 2 in US WSOP Online
WSOP Online for the United States was played on WSOP.com in New Jersey and Nevada. The series awarded 33 WSOP bracelets, and some big names were among the winners.
Shannon Shorr was a well-known player who had never won a WSOP bracelet. He got that monkey off his back by winning two bracelets during the US series. Shorr won Event #17, a $2,000 NL 6-Max and followed that up a few days later by winning Event #27, a $1,000 NL Freezeout.
Kristen Foxen is considered the best female poker player in the game today, and during the series, she set a new record for women. She won the $888 NL Crazy 8’s to win her fourth career WSOP bracelet. This puts her #1 on the all-time bracelets list for women. It also ties her with Vanessa Selbst for most open-field bracelet victories at three.
Ari Engel recently set the record for most WSOP Circuit ring victories, and during the WSOP Online, he also won his third career bracelet. He won the $500 NL Turbo 6-Max for the title and $38,197.
Calvin Anderson picked up his third and fourth career WSOP bracelet in the US edition of WSOP Online. He won Event #4, the $1,000 PLO 6-Max and Event #7, the $5,300 NL Super High Roller. Toward the end of the series, Justin Lapka won his second career bracelet in the $5,000 Super High Roller Freezeout.
Bert Stevens Wins 2.7 Million in Largest WSOP Online Main Event in History
The other major WSOP Online series was on GGPoker for the rest of the world. The Main Event of the series, the $5,000 Main Event, drew a field of 6,023 entries to create a record prize pool of $28.6 million. Ultimately, Bert ‘girafganger7’ Stevens took down the bracelet and the $2.7 million top prize.
Stevens is a Belgian poker pro with a long track record crushing online poker. He streamed his final table over Twitch, with thousands watching him take down the bracelet.
Other notables taking down bracelets during the series include Terrence Chan, who finally won his first bracelet in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em Championship. Artur Martirosian won the $10k Heads-Up Championship, and Joao Vieira won the $25k GGMilllion$ Super High Roller Championship.
One event of the WSOP Online at GGPoker is still to be played out, with the $1,500 Millionaire Maker in Paradise playing its final table out live at WSOP Paradise in December.
Oh Ya – Canada Had a Series Too
In case you missed it, Canada also played eight bracelet events on WSOP.ca. The eight-event series dubbed WSOP Ontario was highlighted by the $1,000 WSOP Ontario Main Event. Sterling ‘Magical Panda’ Webley took down the event for $111,666 and his first career bracelet.
The eight-week series was successful for its area, with all but one event drawing at least 500 entries. The $210 Mystery Millions and $100 Mini Main Event drew 1,794 and 2,004 entries, respectively.
Glut of Online Bracelets Makes Numerous Unknown Champions
There are two ways to look at the WSOP Online series. First, it allows players to win a WSOP bracelet without travelling to WSOP tournament destinations. The events are also at a lower pricing point, giving amateurs even more opportunities to battle with the big boys.
However, the glut of online bracelets also diminishes the importance of a WSOP bracelet. When there are over 200 bracelets in a year to play for, the uniqueness of being a WSOP champion is lost. Furthermore, it will create numerous unknown champions that nobody will ever hear of.
While online bracelet events are certainly a boon for Caesars and GGPoker, it is safe to say that they have oversaturated the market. How long will it be before the lustre of winning a WSOP bracelet is lost, and attendance starts to plummet?
