GGPoker Clarifies and Adds to WSOP 2020 Online Info

Late last week, GGPoker and the World Series of Poker announced the non-US portion of the upcoming WSOP 2020 Online. The 54 events of the 85-event bracelet-awarding tournament schedule that comprises the series connect in mid-July and run through the first week of September.

The first announcement regarding the schedule left some information to be determined at later dates but also some confusion. Players were unclear about residency requirements to play and in which countries GGPoker would be available. The schedule did not include structure sheets or starting day information for multi-day tournaments.

All in all, the schedule was complete, but questions remained.

Today, we have answers to some of those questions.

GGPoker Schedule and Event Changes

We provided a simple list of the events for the GGPoker portion of the upcoming WSOP 2020 Online last week. The events will begin on July 19 and run through Sunday, September 6.

GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu then recorded a video to talk about some changes to the schedule.

First, the $10K NLHE Heads-Up Championship was on the original schedule for August 9, but they decided to move it back one day. Sundays are typically so busy that they wanted to give players more of an opportunity to focus on heads-up. It will now be on Saturday, August 8.

Second, they are adding another tournament to August 9. Alongside the $150 buy-in NLHE GGMasters WSOP Edition freezeout tournament with its $1 million guarantee, they are adding a $1,500 buy-in NLHE GGMasters High Roller freezeout with a $2.5 million guarantee.

Negreanu also explained a bit more about the Main Event. That $5K NLHE tournament with a $25K guarantee is set to hold its Day 2 action on Sunday, August 30. The WSOP and GGPoker have yet to determine how many flights and starting days will lead up to the Main Event. However, they have decided that each player will only be able to enter three times at the most.

Some important news about the @GGPokerOfficial @wsop this summer!

-A scheduling change

-Some clarity on the main event

-Travel rules for US Players pic.twitter.com/sbrP6A2cOx

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) June 29, 2020

There is still hope that there will be an opportunity to host a World Series of Poker Main Event, a $10K buy-in freezeout that will continue the annual tradition in Las Vegas later this year. The unpredictability of the coronavirus keeps that on ice for now, but if at all possible, the WSOP will try to do it.

Player Location Requirements

This subject quickly became a controversial one. As American players – and other in GGPoker-prohibited territories – wondered aloud how they could travel to another country to play the 2020 WSOP, they found disappointing information. They needed a “permanent fixed address in a country that GGPoker can offer services in.” That seemed to rule out a temporary address secured to play poker.

This is from GGPoker's Discord earlier today pic.twitter.com/la5ei1K2gj

— Kevin Mathers (@Kevmath) June 27, 2020

Negreanu actually addressed that question in his video message, acknowledging the confusion. “It’s actually going to be a lot simpler than you think,” he said. “You can get an Airbnb, you can get a hotel, wherever it is you want to go outside of the United States, all you need to do is show proof of address, and you’re good to go.”

This contradicts the verification information on the GGPoker website, which requires a utility bill or bank statement bearing the address. Quite possibly, for this series, GGPoker has relaxed those requirements to allow travelers to play.

As far as the countries allowing GGPoker, the site told us that the list changes from time to time. We know that Mexico and Canada are on the list. However, the site would not provide a list. Players must “try to register for an account.” “If their country is listed in the dropdown, we should be able to accept them.”

Players hoping to find out before they travel somewhere to play, however, might want to simply contact a GGPoker customer service representative to inquire.

Other Questions Addressed

The terms and conditions now listed on the GGPoker WSOP 2020 page of its website notes that players can be 18 years of age and older.

The WSOP 2020 Online Leaderboard will be for GGPoker events only.

There is a separate one for the US-based series

There will not be a combined leaderboard for a “Player of the Year” race. However, according to WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart, they “might consider a WSOP Online Player of the Year for their events on GG only.” Even so, he added that “given there are segregated fields and an imbalance of total number of events international versus domestic, it is not meant as a pure replacement for POY.”

First WSOP Promotion Goes Live

The first of several promotions related to the WSOP events on GGPoker targets micro-stakes players. The “WSOP Silk Road” allows players to qualify directly for WSOP events with “no steps, no satellites.”

Buy-ins range from $1.08 to $21.60. And each event promises a certain dollar amount’s worth of tickets in each event. There seem to be between five and ten events daily with a range of buy-ins and guarantees.

Running from July 1 through August 31, the first week of action is listed on the promo page.

The promotion also has its own Silk Road leaderboard. The winner receives a ticket to the WSOP Main Event worth $5K. Players already possessing a Main Event ticket can receive tournament dollars instead.

The @GGPokerOfficial WSOP Silk Road promotion starts July 1, a series of microstakes events with buy-ins from $1.08 to $21.60 offering tickets directly into Online Bracelet events.

The first week of events is already up at https://t.co/nidAmavO5x

— Kevin Mathers (@Kevmath) June 29, 2020

Updated Schedule

For your reading pleasure, this is the GGPoker schedule for the WSOP 2020 Online, updated to include the aforementioned changes.

July 19:  $100 NLHE Opener (2 days, 1 reentry/flight, $2M GTD)

July 19:  $1,111 NLHE Covid Relief by Caesars Cares (2 days)

July 19:  $525 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty 6-Handed

July 21:  $5K PLO Championship

July 22:  $1,500 NLHE Fifty Stack

July 23:  $1,050 PLO Bounty

July 25:  $600 NLHE Monster Stack 6-Handed (Asia time zone)

July 26:  $1,500 NLHE (Asia time zone)

July 26:  $2,500 PLO

July 26:  $400 NLHE Colossus (2^nd day of 3 days, 1 reentry/flight, $3M GTD)

July 26:  $400 PLOSSUS (2^nd day of 3 days, 1 reentry/flight, $1M GTD)

July 28:  $10K NLHE Short Deck Championship

July 29:  $2,500 NLHE 6-Handed

July 30:  $840 NLHE Bounty

August 1:  $500 NLHE Deepstack (Asia time zone)

August 2:  $1K NLHE Short Deck (Asia time zone)

August 2:  $1,500 NLHE Millionaire Maker (2^nd of 3 days, 1 reentry/flight, $5M GTD)

August 2:  $500 NLHE Turbo Deepstack

August 4:  $2,100 NLHE Bounty Championship

August 5:  $400 PLO

August 6:  $1K NLHE

August 8:  $800 PLO Double Stack (Asia time zone)

August 9:  $10K NLHE Heads-Up Championship (2 days, freezeout, no late reg, 128-player cap)

August 9:  HK$8K NLHE Asia Championship (2^nd of 2 days, 1 reentry/flight, HK$8M GTD)

August 9:  $150 NLHE GGMasters WSOP Edition (freezeout)

August 9:  $1,500 NLHE GGMasters WSOP Edition High Roller (freezeout)

August 11:  $5K NLHE 6-Handed Championship

August 12:  $2,500 NLHE Double Stack

August 13:  $525 NLHE Bounty 6-Handed

August 15:  $300 NLHE Monster Stack 6-Handed (Asia time zone)

August 16:  $1,500 PLO

August 16:  $500 NLHE Mini Main Event (2^nd of 2 days, 1 reentry/flight, $5M GTD)

August 16:  $840 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty

August 18:  $600 NLHE Deepstack Championship

August 19:  $800 PLO

August 20:  $500 LHE

August 22:  $500 NLHE Deepstack (Asia time zone)

August 23:  $1,500 NLHE Marathon (Asia time zone)

August 23:  $25K NLHE Poker Players Championship (2 days, $10M GTD)

August 23:  $50 NLHE Big 50 (2^nd of 2 days, 1 reentry/flight, $1M GTD)

August 25:  $1,500 LHE Championship

August 26:  $1K NLHE 6-Handed

August 27:  $1,500 PLO

August 29:  $300 NLHE Double Stack (Asia time zone)

August 30:  $400 NLHE Forty Stack

August 30:  $5K NLHE Main Event (2^nd of 3 days, freezeout flights, $25M GTD)

August 30:  $1K NLHE Turbo 6-Handed

September 1:  People’s Choice – Most popular

September 2:  People’s Choice – Pros vote

September 3:  People’s Choice – Spin the wheel

September 5:  People’s Choice – Most popular

September 5:  $1,050 NLHE Beat the Pros Bounty

September 6:  $10K NLHE WSOP Super Millions (2 days, $5M GTD)

September 6:  $100 NLHE WSOP Millions (2^nd of 2 days, 1 reentry/flight, $2M GTD)

September 6:  $500 NLHE Closer