Welcome To The Main Event: WSOP Moving Final Table To November

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) later today will announce at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas that it will broadcast its Main Event final table -- which determines the winner -- on ESPN in primetime in November on the same day the champion is crowned. Previously, the WSOP was played in its entirety over two weeks in July and aired on ESPN in November. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack: “Our intent is to provide an even bigger stage for our players. Now fans and viewers will ask ‘who will win’ our coveted championship bracelet instead of ‘who won'" (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal).

NEW FORMAT: USA TODAY's Gary Mihoces notes the WSOP is a 55-event series of tournaments that begins May 30, and ESPN will begin airing taped broadcasts of various events July 22, with a special segment set to air on November 4 "showing what the players have done between the July determination of the final nine and the final table." ESPN Senior Producer Jamie Horowitz said the net is "very excited about this change." Horowitz: "We want to detail that journey." Two-time Main Event champion Johnny Chan said the new format will allow players to connect with sponsors who "come to them and say, 'Hey, wear this patch or wear this logo. We'll give you X amount of dollars.'" But '04 Main Event champion Greg Raymer said, "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"  (USA TODAY, 5/1).