2021 series includes 88 bracelet events, with the Main Event running Nov. 4-17
The poker community waited more than two months for the news that came from WSOP.com on Tuesday morning. We’ve known for weeks that the World Series of Poker would return to its traditional live format at the Rio Las Vegas, but WSOP remained elusive with the full details of the schedule.
The wait is over, however, as we now know the full schedule for the 2021 World Series of Poker. The series runs from its familiar home at the Rio from Sept. 30-Nov. 23, with a slate of 88 bracelet events.
The $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, aka the WSOP Main Event, runs Nov. 4-17. The Main Event features four Day 1 flights (Nov. 4-7), and the final table is scheduled to play out Nov. 16-17.
Here’s a look at some of the notable events from the schedule released by WSOP.com Tuesday morning:
2021 World Series of Poker notable events
| Start Date | Event | Buy-in | Notes |
| Oct. 1 | The Reunion | $500 | Three starting flights; $5 million guaranteed |
| Oct. 5 | Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Champonship | $25,000 | 64 player cap |
| Oct. 8 | MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold;em | $1,500 | $1 million guaranteed for first place |
| Oct. 29 | COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold’em | $400 | |
| Oct. 31 | Poker Players Championship | $50,000 | Prestigious mixed-game tournament |
| Nov. 4 | No-Limit Hold’em Championship (WSOP Main Event) | $10,000 | Four starting flights Nov. 4-7 |
| Nov. 19 | HIGH ROLLER Pot-Limit Omaha | $50,000 | Largest PLO buy-in ever at the WSOP |
WSOP returns for 88-event schedule
The poker world at large last convened at the Rio for a live World Series of Poker in summer 2019. Nobody in attendance at that series knew that COVID-19 would postpone the series for more than two years.
The long-awaited return of the live WSOP kicks off Sept. 30 with the $500 Casino Employees Event, as per tradition. The following day should bring the masses into the Rio, with a massive event dubbed “The Reunion” by the WSOP.
The Reunion offers a $5 million guaranteed prize pool at a $500 buy-in. Players can play any of three Day 1 flights, scheduled for Oct. 1-3.
WSOP increased the buy-in for the Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship, upping the entry fee to $25,000 and capping the field at 64 players. That event takes place at the peak of poker’s heads-up craze, and will likely draw a roster of poker’s elite for the Oct. 5 start date.
Large fields and massive prize pools await players for the Millionaire Maker (Oct. 8 start date) and the Colossus (Oct. 29).
The $50,000 Poker Players Championship is considered by many pros as the most coveted title on the live poker calendar. This year’s edition of the tournament begins Oct. 31, and will no doubt draw the very best from poker’s roster of mixed-game specialists.
The WSOP will run its highest buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in history toward the end of the series. The $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha begins Nov. 19, after the conclusion of the WSOP Main Event.
The High Roller PLO tournament is one of eight tournaments that begin after the Main Event has wrapped. That slate includes the largest buy-in tournament on the schedule, the $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em, which begins Nov. 18.
Featured image source: Twitter
