It's official: the World Series of Poker Main Event will adjourn for 117 days so that they can play and broadcast the final table after ESPN airs the taped WSOP shows in November. The schedule is:
- July 14: play down to final table
- Nov. 4: ESPN special on what the players have done in the intervening months
- Nov. 9, 10 AM Pacific/1 PM Eastern: final table plays down to two players
- Nov. 10, 10 PM Pacific/1 AM Eastern: heads-up battle for title starts, finishing early on the 11th
- Nov. 11: ESPN airs two-hour final table show at 9 PM Eastern
Some players' responses:
- Daniel Negreanu: "It's going to create way more buzz. … It's going to be more like a live event. … You're going to see some really kind of more sophisticated play."
- Doyle Brunson: "Frankly, I don't like it. … I guess it will create a lot of hype. ... It seems a little overkill or something to me."
- Greg Raymer: "It might be huge for the continued growth of poker; however, the down side is this long gap allows the players to become completely different people between the time they make the final table and when they play it."
You can find more details in the
press release,
2+2's FAQ, and our
previous article.
Two hours is pretty short for a final table. I wish we'd see more hands.
ReplyDeleteSome other concerns are:
ReplyDelete1) The length of the delay. It would be better to cover just the final two tables for TV and have a much shorter delay.
2) There won't be a final table pay-per-view, so we won't be able to see every hand. There will be final table reporters as usual, so you can follow every hand without the video if you like (I don't).
See also our five posts live blogging the conference call about the announcement. The last one has a link where you can listen to the entire call: http://urlbrief.com/8fe8ac
ReplyDeletePost updated with starting times for the two taping days of the Main Event final table.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Feldman says "I'm 95% sure that you'll be able to hear a live feed from the WSOP on bluffmagazine and worldseriesofpoker.com." Why, at this late date, isn't there clear information on what's available? If the fans can't find a broadcast they won't be listening to it.
ReplyDeleteworldseriesofpoker.com now mentions the audio feed on their site. bwin-wsoplive.com continues to have a countdown to the feed. I don't see any mention on bluffmagazine.com yet.
ReplyDeleteFinal table audio broadcast with stats.
ReplyDelete