Key Takeaways
WSOP blamed widespread connectivity points, not simply geolocation, for the occasion’s failure.
Gamers continued to earn bounties for almost two hours whereas most had been locked out.
Over $550,000 in $500 match tickets are being given to affected Day 2 gamers.
All Day 2 outcomes had been nullified, however gamers hold prior cashes and bounties.
“We sincerely apologize for the frustration and frustration,” learn the e-mail from WSOP that lastly landed in gamers’ inboxes on Wednesday night.
Three days after WSOP On-line was pressured to cancel its $1 million assured Thriller Bounty on-line bracelet occasion, the operator has formally defined what went mistaken and the way it plans to make issues proper.
All gamers who reached Day 2 will get their buy-ins refunded, hold any bounties or cashes they earned earlier than the cancellation, and obtain an added $500 match ticket as a goodwill gesture. In complete, WSOP is freely giving over half 1,000,000 {dollars} in additional compensation.
The match was Occasion #7 on the summer season’s on-line bracelet schedule, a multi-flight Thriller Bounty with a $250 buy-in and a pleasant $1 million assure. It attracted 7,623 entries and swelled the prize pool to over $1.7 million, producing roughly $190,000 in charges for WSOP within the course of.
Of these entries, 1,100 gamers superior to Day 2, the place the bounty portion of the format was on account of kick in, which resumed on Sunday.
However as Day 2 resumed, a whole bunch of gamers had been unable to log in to the WSOP consumer. Whereas some media shops initially blamed geolocation points, a reasonably widespread snag within the US regulated market, it quickly grew to become clear that the issue ran deeper.
WSOP later confirmed “connectivity points” had been in charge. The platform runs on software program offered by 888poker, although it’s value noting that issues of this scale are uncommon even on 888’s personal community.
Regardless of the problems, the match continued operating for almost two hours whereas the vast majority of the sector sat out, permitting the logged-in minority to scoop blinds and bounties, together with the highest thriller bounty with a $100,000 prize. It was solely after two hours of lopsided play that the match was stopped.
WSOP has confirmed that no bracelet will probably be awarded for the occasion. Day 2 outcomes have been nullified, however gamers will nonetheless get again their full funding. Anybody who cashed or hit a bounty will probably be allowed to maintain these earnings. The remainder of the prize pool, no matter remained after Day 2 was scrubbed, will probably be redistributed, although the operator has not defined precisely how that calculation is being made.
As well as, all 1,100 Day 2 gamers will obtain a $500 match ticket, legitimate for 12 months, a transfer that provides roughly $550,000 in additional worth. The operator says gamers ought to see all compensation of their accounts inside 48 hours.
Not Everyone seems to be Glad
Whereas WSOP’s plan sounds beneficiant on paper, participant response has been sharply divided. Some welcomed the $500 match tickets and the choice to let gamers hold any bounties or cashes. Others criticized the three-day silence and lack of readability round how refunds had been calculated.
Six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb known as the provide insufficient. Then again, David “ODB” Baker, a three-time bracelet winner himself, mentioned the result “appears overly honest.” Twelve-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Michael Setera additionally applauded the operator’s effort to make issues proper — however questioned why there’s nonetheless no phrase on different affected tournaments, just like the ring occasion that ran the identical day.
Some gamers additionally voiced frustration over the shortage of readability round how payouts had been decided. Some gamers argued that WSOP didn’t use an ICM-based mannequin and as an alternative issued what appeared like flat, arbitrary refunds.
Social media posts confirmed gamers receiving wildly completely different quantities, some as little as $700, others getting $1215, and some even reporting payouts of $3000, with no official rationalization for the discrepancies.
This isn’t the primary time WSOP or its companions have run into bother throughout main on-line occasions. In 2020, GGPoker, the host of WSOP bracelet occasions for worldwide gamers, needed to postpone a number of tournaments on account of server points. In 2023, the identical factor occurred once more. Even WSOP itself needed to pull a bracelet occasion final yr after it failed to fulfill the minimal entries required. However a mid-tournament cancellation after bounties have already been awarded? That’s an unprecedented misstep for a bracelet occasion.
The WSOP on-line bracelet collection rolls on, with 30 bracelets scheduled this summer season. One other $1 million Thriller Bounty is about for June 22, utilizing the identical construction.
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