WSOP 2021: when does the Main Event start & what's the prize pool?

The 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, also known as the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, kicks off today, Thursday 4 November and is scheduled to reach its climax on Wednesday 17 November.

This year’s edition of WSOP, which is back to being fully in-person after a reduced, largely online event in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, got underway at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday 30 September.

WSOP 2021, which will host a total of 88 bracelet events, is due to run until Tuesday 23 November. A bracelet has been awarded to the winner of WSOP events since 1976, and is considered the most prestigious non-monetary prize available to a poker player.

You can check out the full WSOP schedule here.

What will the 2021 Main Event schedule be?

There will be four starting flights in the 2021 Main Event:

Thursday 4 November: Day 1A

Friday 5 November: Day 1B

Saturday 6 November: Day 2C

Sunday 7 November: Day 2D

The surviving players from flights 1A and 1B will progress to Day 2AB, which takes place on Monday 8 November, while those remaining from flights 1C and 1D will graduate on to Day 2CD, on Tuesday 9th.

The players who make it through Day 2AB and Day 2CD will then be combined on Day 3, which is due to be held on Wednesday 10 November.

On Day 7, on Sunday 14 November, the Main Event is reduced to its final nine players, before that field is cut further, to four, at the start of Day 8 on Tuesday 16th. This is the final table; the winner of the Main Event will then emerge the following day.

2021 Main Event: schedule in full

Day 1A: Thursday 4 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 1B: Friday 5 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 1C: Saturday 6 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 1D: Sunday 7 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 2AB: Monday 8 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 2CD: Tuesday 9 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 3: Wednesday 10 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 4: Thursday 11 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 5: Friday 12 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 6: Saturday 13 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day 7: Sunday 14 November 2021 - 11am PT

Day off: Monday 15 November 2021

Day 8 (final table): Tuesday 16 November 2021 - 1:30pm PT

Day 9 (final table): Wednesday 17 November 2021 - 1:30pm PT

What will the 2021 Main Event prize pool be?

The final field of players registered for the 2021 Main Event is yet to be announced, so the overall prize pool remains unconfirmed, as its size depends on how many players buy into the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship.

According to the payout calculator on the WSOP official website, however, a Main Event featuring 7,500 entrants would lead to a prize pool of $69,937,500 and $8,000,000 in winnings for the player that finishes in first place.

Per WSOP’s calculator, second place would get $4,400,000 and third would receive $3,400,000, with the top 1,125 finishers getting a gradually decreasing prize payment down to a minimum award of $15,000.

In 2019, the last time the Main Event was held completely in person, Germany’s Hossein Ensan picked up $10,000,000 after winning an event involving 8,569 entrants.

Last year’s champion, Argentina’s Damián Salas, was paid the far lower sum of just over $2,500,000, but this is because the 2020 Main Event, which was held in a combined online and in-person format because of the pandemic, featured just 1,379 entrants.