Jerry Yang - the 2007 WSOP Main Event champ(credit: Wikipedia)
We really didn’t know what to make of it when the announcement was made earlier this month that the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event was going to be delayed 117 days. The final table won’t be played in July. Oh no! It’s going to be played two days before the ESPN broadcast in November.
Why??????????????????????????
We figure that it’s definitely a marketing decision. This builds the drama for the TV broadcasts on ESPN. This helps online poker rooms (and perhaps the players) set up sponsorship deals. It could be a very lucrative decision for all involved. It also creates a lot of build-up opportunities. Perhaps, this will become, as WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said, “Poker’s biggest night. Ever!”
Of course, that remains to be seen.
We just wonder - what was wrong with the tradition? We liked the fact that the WSOP was decided during the summer. We liked knowing who won the event by August. We liked reporting on the winner and wrapping up the WSOP nice and neatly. We really did.
Now, we won’t know until November and the suspense annoys us. It, like former WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer suggested, will change the game. These players can benefit from watching each other on the broadcasts. They can also change up their game and become very different players in 117 days.
Will this increase the skill level at the final table? It could, but is that something we cared that much about? One of the best things about the WSOP was that anyone could win it. Anyone could…now, this type of format seems to improve the odds for professionals. In fact, it will create poker professionals out of the final table players before the final table is played…and not after like it did with Moneymaker, Hachem and to a lesser extent Jamie Gold and Jerry Yang, the 2007 WSOP Main Event winner.
Official live updates will take place as the event unfolds so poker geeks like me can read up on the hours upon hours of blind steals – or even watch it live at the Rio on November 9th and 10th.
We had come to expect the WSOP to be a certain way. We loved it as it was and are not sure that how it will evolve is the direction we want to see it take. However, we do reserve our final judgment until after November. Sure, adding in the drama will improve the ratings and expand the WSOP brand…but at what cost?