The WSOP is performing damage control as many complaints emerge ahead of the tournament
At this point in any previous year, pro poker players from many countries would be gathering at the Rio Convention Center, getting ready to play the next World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. However, 2020 is not like any other year, and the coronavirus pandemic took over the live poker world and sent it to the online scene. This year, players located in Nevada or New Jersey - including those who can travel there – are all set for the first day of the WSOP Online Bracelet Series, which kicks off today. Over the past few days, a few players raised some concerns regarding the quality of this online series and how cheating could be present. Now, WSOP has responded to those critiques and claims it is ready for a great online poker experience.
Not all comments have been bad; several other people in the community are completely excited about playing the online series. However, for some others, the series is lacking a few games and missed the true concept of the event. To that, executive director Ty Stewart responded by saying, "We’re ready for a unique chapter in our history with an ambition as great as anything we’ve done, period. It’s the esports version of the WSOP, and it’s going to be huge."
In response to the missing games, Stewart said that officials did not have enough time to prepare for the online series due to how things developed. He added that the software is not ready to host those kinds of games and "there is simply not enough demand" for running them. Also, to respond to players who complained about the low buy-ins offered for some of the events, Stewart said that there were problems with the logistics of transferring large amounts of money to the site, but the organization did include the most popular events for this series.
