PokerGo Goes Big with New WSOP Streaming Schedule

Kaycee James

3 years ago

World Series of Poker (WSOP) viewers will be able to watch more events than ever before this summer thanks to PokerGo’s new streaming schedule.

PokerGo will work alongside ESPN’s MediaZone to provide more coverage of this year’s WSOP. (Image: espnmediazone.com)

Announced on May 22, the expanded schedule will include 37 broadcasts, including start-to-finish coverage of the Main Event and $1 million Big One for One Drop.

As with last year’s inaugural run of online streams, viewers will have to subscribe to PokerGo to watch 2018’s content.

Multiple Ways to Watch

For those that subscribe, time-delayed live broadcasts will feature color commentary from Ali Nejad, Lon McEachern and Norman Chad as well as technical analysis from visiting pros. For those that don’t, the WSOP will soon be announcing a free-to-view partner that will air selected events throughout the series.

To give online viewers a reason to watch, Poker Central’s PokerGo will show unique content from the biennial Big One for One Drop. Although ESPN has the exclusive TV rights to show certain stages of the $1 million buy-in tournament in the US, PokerGo will give viewers around the world a chance to see the action.

As the WSOP looks to build on the momentum its built up over the last five years, the organizers are hopeful that more fans tune-in this summer. Streaming the action from inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino Las Vegas is all part of the festival’s rebuilding process.

Innovations Continue to Help WSOP Grow

After the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) put an end to US online poker in 2006 and Black Friday shutdown any sites still active in the country back in 2011, the annual festival suffered.

With players unable to access their bankrolls on sites such as Full Tilt and fewer online satellites, attendance figures dropped. As the industry has recovered and online poker regulation has grown on a state-by-state basis in the US, things have started to turn a corner.

In 2017, the Main Event attracted its third-largest field ever when 7,221 players paid the $10,000 entrance fee.

Using this as a basis for change, the WSOP has introduced a number of new tournaments and provisions over the last five years.

Showing the biggest tournaments via an online platform has become an integral part of this process and an expanded broadcast schedule this summer could help attract more players in 2019.

PokerGo WSOP 2018 Broadcast Highlights

June 2: WSOP 2018 $3K No Limit Hold’em Shootout Final Table

June 8: WSOP 2018 $10K Heads Up No Limit Hold’em

June 19: WSOP 2018 $50K Poker Players Championship Final Table

July 12: WSOP 2018 $10K Main Event Final Table | Day 1 (ESPN)

July 17: WSOP 2018 $1M Big One for One Drop | Day 3