WSOP Addresses Cancelled Online Bracelet Event: “Disruption Severely Impacted Integrity of the Game”
On Monday, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) cancelled the WSOP Online Event #7: $250 Mystery Bounty bracelet event when players reported being booted from the software during the session, many due to geolocation issues.
It was Day 2 of the tournament, which had a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. A player early on Day 2 pulled the $100,000 mystery bounty – the largest possible jackpot – while others had nabbed $40,000 bounties. Approximately 60% of the field was affected, prompting officials to cancel the event.
The status of what would happen next, including whether or not players would be refunded, keep their bounties, etc. remained up in the air for nearly 48 hours before officials emailed affected players and laid out their plans, which included contributing an extra $550,000 to award each affected player a $500 tournament ticket for the inconvenience.
One such player was Mike Setera, who shared the email he received with PokerNews:
As you may know, unfortunately, the restart of Online Bracelet Event #7 (the ‘Event’) encountered connectivity issues, which resulted in a high number of players being unable to log in for the Event.
With around 60% of the player field being unable to connect and play in the Event, the World Series of Poker determined the disruption severely impacted the integrity of the game and made the difficult decision to suspend and ultimately cancel the Event. As a result, the play on Day 2 is considered null and void, and as such, we have decided an Online Bracelet will not be awarded for this Event, and play in the Event will not count towards our Online Bracelet Leaderboard.
We understand and apologize for the disappointment and frustration our players are experiencing. In keeping with our commitment to upholding the integrity of the game and treating players fairly, we are compensating all 1,100 players who restarted Day 2 of the $250 Online Bracelet Event #7.
• All player investments in the Event will be returned to their bankrolls.
• All players who pulled bounties or cashed in the Event will keep their prize money.
• The remaining prize pool will be distributed in a way we believe upholds the integrity of the game and is the fairest and most respectful to the spirit of the competition.Finally, we are contributing an additional $550,000 in compensation to players by awarding each of the 1,100 players affected a $500 tournament ticket, valid for one year. This ticket can be used for any $500 WSOP Online tournament, including the $1,000,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty Online Bracelet Event on June 22.
In accordance with the above compensation structure, in the next 48 hours, your account will be credited appropriately. We will also credit your account with the $500 tournament ticket.
We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your patience.
See you at the tables,
The WSOP Online Team
The email revealed that no bracelet would be awarded and that it wouldn’t count towards their leaderboard. But perhaps more importantly, 1,100 players would be compensated for their investment, and those “players who pulled bounties of cash in the Event will keep their prize money.” However, details on exactly how the prize pool will be distributed remain unknown.
While the online bracelet event was the most high-profile tournament impacted on Monday, it was far from the only one. A ring event was also affected, as was a full slate of other tournaments. A resolution regarding those events was not mentioned in the email and also remains unknown.
For additional information or questions, players can reach out to Kevin Mathers on X at @Kevmath.
