WSOP Proves Online Bracelet Events Are a Hit

June 9th, 2017 | by Kaycee James

The World Series of Poker’s (WSOP) latest online bracelet has been another success thanks to more than 2,500 entrants.

Joseph Mitchell takes home $122,314 and closes the books on another successful WSOP online bracelet event. (WSOP.com)

When the WSOP first introduced an online bracelet event back in 2015, players and industry insiders were unsure how it would be received.

However, because Chris Moneymaker and online poker were the catalysts for the 2003 poker boom, the WSOP’s organizers wanted to pay tribute to this with a unique event.

After the preliminary rounds had concluded in the 2015 online event, the final six were brought to Rio’s in Las Vegas for the final table. On that occasion, it was Adam Spinella who came away with the first ever WSOP online bracelet, as well as $197,743, after besting a field of 905 players.

A Second Year of Success

Last summer, the WSOP parlayed the success of the inaugural event and not only welcomed more players, but broke the record for the largest ever regulated online tournament in history.

When the 1,247 field had been whittled down to just six, the Rio was once again the stage for the final showdown.

On that occasion, Clayton Maguire came away with the win and the biggest prize in WSOP online bracelet event history, $210,279.

Doubling down on two successful events, the WSOP decided to take things to a new level this summer with three bracelet events as well as the WSOP.com Online Championships (with $85,000 guaranteed and a Champion’s Ring).

The first bracelet event took place on June 3 and, when the 2,509 entries in the $333 buy-in event had been cut to just two, it was Joseph Mitchell and Mark Scacewater battling for the title. For Mitchell, the win came easier than he expected because his opponent was “sat out” and wasn’t able to return in time to mount a comeback.

A Strange Ending but a Great Result

Why Scacewater sat out after Michael Addamo was eliminated in third place isn’t clear, but it’s not something Mitchell will worry about now he’s the latest online bracelet winner.

Thanks to the $333,333 guarantee being stretched to $752,700, Mitchell took home $122,314, while his absent opponent pocketed $73,539.

With the book closed on another successful online event, the WSOP will now look towards the $3,333 Big Grind Online which gets underway on July 1. Although it’s still too early to tell whether or not the decision to host multiple online events was a wise one, it’s clear the WSOP has found an interesting new angle for its summer series.