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Roster of $1,500 Events Unveiled for 2020 WSOP

  • This year's edition includes 25 tournaments, 18 game variations
  • Just under half of the newly announced $1,500 events are freezeouts
  • The first WSOP $1,500 buy-in event was in 1977, held every year except 1985
  • 2020 WSOP will also feature a $1,500 event leaderboard
Dan Katz

Dan Katz graduated with a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Emory University. He clearly uses neither of those degrees now, having been writing about the gambling industry (specializing in poker) since 2005. Prior to that, he was an IT and management consultant. He is an avid gamer, primarily on PC, and enjoys collecting retro video games and consoles; finding room to set them all up is his current challenge. Dan lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and two children. You can get in touch with Dan at [email protected].

The Rio in Las Vegas, home of the WSOP
There will be 25 $1,500 buy-in events at this summer’s 2020 World Series of Poker, with nine announced as freezeouts. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

$1,500 tournaments offer something for everyone

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) continued its gradual schedule reveal this week, announcing the line-up for the $1,500 events of the 2020 edition.

There are 25 such tournaments this summer, amounting to one more than last year. The $1,500 tournaments offer something for everyone, with 18 different game types represented.

We have found the $1,500 price point to be the sweet spot in poker”

Previously announced groupings of events include the “Value Menu” of events with $1,000 or lower buy-ins, the $10,000 Championship events, and the 17 tournaments that are new to the 2020 WSOP.

“We have found the $1,500 price point to be the sweet spot in poker, perfectly balancing affordability, field size and prize pool to offer great value for participating players,” said WSOP Vice President Jack Effel in Wednesday’s announcement.

Continued focus on freezeouts

In its schedule releases, the World Series of Poker has stressed the multitude of freezeout events for 2020, and this batch is no different.

19 of the 25 events at the $1,500 price point had not been previously announced. Of those 19, nine are freezeouts, or tournaments in which players can only buy-in once. Lose all your chips, you’re out. No second chances.

That leaves ten of the newly-published 2020 WSOP events as non-freezeouts. All of them allow for just one re-entry. So, while many of the events will not truly be $1,500 buy-in tournaments, the most they will go up to is $3,000.

Three of the six $1,500 events that were already announced are freezeout tournaments, including the Mystery Bounty event. Two of the non-freezeouts – Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em and Closer No-Limit Hold’em – have multiple flights and permit one re-entry per flight.

More than 40 years of $1,500 buy-in events

The first $1,500 event debuted at the 1977 WSOP, the eighth annual World Series of Poker. It was one of just 13 events. The tournament attracted 38 entries, four more than the $10,000 Main Event did. Louis Hunsucker had the honor of winning that first $1,500 WSOP tournament and its $34,200 first prize. Only three players made the money that year.

Since then, there has been a $1,500 event on the World Series of Poker schedule every year except, for whatever reason, in 1985. That year, though, there were eight $1,500 events out of the 14 total tournaments on the WSOP schedule.

players who cash in the $1,500 buy-in events will earn leaderboard points

The 2020 WSOP edition adds an extra wrinkle: a $1,500 event leaderboard. As full details have yet to be revealed, all that is known so far is that players who cash in the $1,500 buy-in events will earn leaderboard points. The top points earners at the end of the summer will win prizes.

This leaderboard is separate from the WSOP Player of the Year race, which was won in 2019 by Robert Campbell.

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