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Predictions on Whether 2020 WSOP Will Run This Fall

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Now that the 2020 World Series of Poker has been postponed, talk has already begun on whether the event will run at all in 2020. A few weeks ago, we made several recommendations as to how the WSOP could still hold the event in 2020 and it is likely that organizers will have some tough decisions over the next few weeks.

Below are the likely scenarios that we see happening for the 2020 WSOP. We don’t have any insider information, so this is entirely logical speculation based on the current global situation.

WSOP Gets Moved Online

The WSOP has already hinted that they will hold WSOP competitions this Summer. They are already holding Circuit events online, so it isn’t unreasonable to expect that at least part of the schedule will be moved online.

Back in February, the online bracelet schedule was finalized. This year, 14 events are scheduled online for the 2020 WSOP. It would not be unreasonable to expand this schedule to 30 or even 50 online events.

If this happens, don’t expect the series to run at WSOP.com in the Nevada and New Jersey. Rather, expect the event to be moved to 888poker to accommodate for international clients. This would also allow for a greater spread of games.

The downside to moving events online is that the schedule will probably be limited to a handful of variants. You won’t see events such as Dealer’s Choice in an online schedule.

The Series Runs With a Reduced Schedule

PokerNews and others have already speculated that the WSOP will run a reduced schedule should they hold the event this fall. We concur for a couple of reasons. First, the crowd that is able to attend the WSOP in the Fall will be smaller than the Summer. Next, there will be some still unwilling to risk their health so soon after what we hope will be the end of the pandemic.

Another reason for a reduced schedule could be the potential Summer contests. If WSOP officials hold bracelet events online during the Summer, that could pick up some of the slack for the Fall schedule. We predict a schedule of somewhere between 40 and 50 events this Fall.

WSOP is Canceled for 2020

This final scenario is a worst-case scenario and one that nobody would like to see. There are several predictions regarding how the pandemic will unfold. Some estimates put the coronavirus running its course sometime this Summer. Others predict that a second wave will hit this Summer, with some predicting the Summer wave worse than the current one.

Should this pandemic plod along throughout the Summer, or worse still, a second wave hit, then officials may be forced to cancel the event. This would be done to protect the health of staff members and individual players.

Our Prediction – The WSOP Will NOT Be Canceled – But….

Ultimately, we do not believe that the 2020 WSOP will be canceled. However, we also don’t believe that it will look anything like it has in the past. Instead, we think that it will be more of a hybrid series with about half of the schedule held online, and the rest held live.

We could also see the Vegas portion of the series cut to about the same length as WSOP Europe. Since both are being held in the fall, it would make sense for both events to be shorter events to squeeze them in by the end of the year.

So let’s look ahead and predict the worst. The pandemic does not let up or get worse. If this happens, we predict that the WSOP will move the series entirely online like Poker Master and the Irish Open have done already this year.

There are many that will speak out against such a move, but ultimately it may have to be an option. An online WSOP would not be in any way ideal, but it would be better than canceling the series outright. If all else fails, that is what we predict will happen.

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