The World Series of Poker has announced the schedule for the 2021 WSOP Europe, set to run from November 19 to December 8. As has been the case for several years and will almost certainly be the case for many more, the festivities will be held at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, on the German border.
WSOP Europe is comprised of 15 gold bracelet events, adding up to over €11 million in guaranteed prize pools. Aside from its much shorter schedule, one of the primary differences between the WSOP Europe and the traditional World Series of Poker in Las Vegas is that all of WSOP Europe’s tournaments have guarantees.
The biggest guaranteed prize pool is for, as one might guess, the €10,350 WSOP Europe Main Event, coming in at €5 million. If history is a guide, the total prize pool should eclipse that guarantee. The last three WSOP Europe Main Events topped 500 entrants and with live poker looking like it’s booming post-pandemic shutdowns, there probably won’t be an overlay.
But of course, with the Delta variant of COVID-19 taking over and cases on the rise again worldwide, you never know how mass gathering-type events like poker tournaments could be affected. The World Series of Poker said on Tuesday that they have in place “a thorough hygiene concept for the safety of the players and the WSOP and King’s Resort staff,” so fingers crossed, not just for the WSOP Europe, but for the people’s health, in general.
“After the difficult year 2020, we are excited to give the players what they deserve and have been waiting for, the biggest tournament series in Europe with the biggest guarantees” said King’s Resort owner Leon Tsoukernik in Tuesday’s press release. “We are looking forward to giving top service and hospitality for all poker players as per King’s Resort standards.”
The last World Series of Poker Europe was in 2019, before the pandemic shut everything down. The 2019 Main Event was the largest in WSOP Europe history, attracting 541 entrants. Alexandros Kolonias won the title and €1,133,678.
In a fun bit of scheduling magic, the World Series of Poker has also put a WSOP Circuit stop at King’s Resort right before the WSOP Europe, August 12 to September 14. The WSOP Circuit stop and WSOP Europe combined have over €15 million in guarantees. So poker players who don’t have a full-time job to go back to (and plenty of money for a hotel room) can park themselves in Rozvadov for a few months and have all the live poker they can drink up.
“We can’t wait to return to King’s Resort for the 2021 WSOP Europe and bringing bracelets back to Europe,” said WSOP Director Gregory Chochon. “King’s Resort has become the center of the poker world in Europe and it’s the best place for a poker reunion all players can celebrate.”
The full 15-event 2021 WSOP Europe schedule can be found on the World Series of Poker’s website.