2021 WSOP – Highlights During The First Half Of The Tournament

The 2021 WSOP started on Sep 30 and will conclude on Nov 23 at the Rio in Vegas.

The biggest live poker tournament in the world is now mid-ways through.

We take a quick look at the highlights during the first four weeks of action.

# No COVID-19 Outbreaks

A lot of players entered the 2021 WSOP with a lot of concerns over COVID-19 and whether the protocols that the WSOP put in place which included mandatory vaccinations would be good enough to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 during the live poker tournament.

So far, the 2021 WSOP has progressed smoothly and there has been no outbreak.

# Many Players Absent

A number of players have decided to skip the 2021 WSOP. Some players decided it was too much of a risk to show up with thousands of poker players in attendance and play live poker. Now that the first half of the WSOP has gone on well, these players might change their mind and show up.

Some players including poker power couple Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell decided to boycott the 2021 WSOP as they did not like the WSOP forcing players to be fully mandatorily vaccinated in order to be eligible to play. Other popular players who have yet to show up at the 2021 WSOP include Chris Moneymaker, Phil Ivey, Todd Brunson, Vanessa Selbst and Huck Seed.

# Players Who Did Come Make An Impression

Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth did well in the first three weeks of the WSOP making multiple final tables and coming close to winning his 16th WSOP bracelet.

Hellmuth entered the tournament as the number one player with the most (15) bracelets to his name and was on the hunt to add to his tally and win his 16th bracelet.

When things were not going well for the Poker Brat at a final table where Anthony Zinno was present, Hellmuth went on a 15 minute abusive rant that made headlines on social media and forced him to issue multiple apologies. However, he put that behind him and created history when he won the Event #31: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw event and his 16th WSOP bracelet.

Hellmuth currently sits at the top of the WSOP POY leaderboard.

Adam Friedman

Adam Friedman created history when he ended up winning Event #36: $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship.

This was the third consecutive year in a row that he has won the Dealer’s Choice Championship.