ESPN will broadcast the 2020 World Series of Poker, taking on a new hybrid format due to restrictions and protocol in place due to COVID-19, as well as the first-ever Heads Up World Championship and International and Domestic Final Tables that will all air exclusively on ESPN2.
What’s Happening:
- For the 19th consecutive year, ESPN will exclusively broadcast the 2020 World Series of Poker Main Event on Sunday, Feb 28 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The series will feature four hours of hand-to-hand action of the International and Domestic Final Tables, culminating in the first-ever Heads Up World Championship. Hosting the program is legendary announcer Lon McEachern, and for the first time as co-host, poker pro Jamie Kerstetter.
- The 51st year of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 No-Limit Hold-Em World Championship, also known as the Main Event, was unlike any of the previous fifty events, taking on a new hybrid format due to travel restrictions and out of an abundance of caution for player safety. Play began online, with one entry on WSOP.com or GGPoker.com before shifting to a live setting for final table play on two continents. The winners of the two final tables then battled in the first-ever heads-up duel for the World Championship at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. At stake, $1 million in additional prize money courtesy of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and GGPoker, and the most valuable trophy in the world of sports – the 2020 diamond and gold encrusted WSOP Main Event bracelet.
- The 2020 Main Event made millionaires of both first and second place for the domestic field, and when combined with first and second place payouts for the international bracket, saw four players hitting the millionaire mark thanks to the tournament.
- The World Series of Poker is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world, having awarded more than $3.29 billion in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest-running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2019, the event attracted 187,298 entrants from 118 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and awarded more than $293 million in prize money. In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent of WSOP Europe in 2007 and the WSOP Asia-Pacific in 2013 and the WSOP International Circuit Series in 2015. All WSOP events are subject to the then-current and applicable WSOP tournament rules.
What They’re Saying:
- Ty Stewart, executive director of the World Series of Poker: “We could not be more excited to deliver poker fans new primetime content on ESPN, with compelling storylines and unpredictable action, these episodes remind us all why there was a poker boom in the first place.”
- Tim Bunnell, senior vice president, programming & acquisitions, ESPN: “We are ecstatic that even in an unprecedented year, we can give our audience another fantastic World Series of Poker event to look forward to. The format may be different, but the action remains captivating.”