2016 WSOP Preview – Colossus II, Crazy Eights and More

The 2016 WSOP is just days away, and many poker players are already on their way to Vegas for what looks to be another fantastic event. 69 tournaments are scheduled for this edition of the WSOP, headlined by the Colossus II. That said, let’s discuss what to expect from the Colossus II along with other featured tournaments in the 2016 WSOP.

Event #2: Colossus II Prize Pool increased to $7 Million

It wasn’t hard figuring out the big story of the 2016 WSOP as the inaugural Colossus tournament smashed the attendance record with 22,374 entrants. Numerous players turned out mainly because the buy-in was $565, but also because they wanted to compete for the $5 million guaranteed prize pool. The Colossus II will increase the guaranteed prize pool to $7 million while keeping the buy-in at $565. This means there’s a very good chance that we could once again see an attendance record broken.

Event #14: Millionaire Maker is Back Again

Low buy-in events have really become popular at the WSOP over the last few years, and the $1,500 Millionaire Makers is no exception to this. The big attraction to the Millionaire Maker is that at least one player is guaranteed to win $1 million dollars. Last year it was Adrian Buckley emerging from a 7,275-player field to collect a $1,277,193 payout. This year two players are guaranteed a million-dollar prize, so perhaps the field and top payout will increase.

Events #27 and #31: Seniors Championship and Super Seniors

The $1,000 Seniors Championship has grown into one of the biggest events at the WSOP, drawing 4,193 players last year. So it’s little surprise that the Seniors Championship will be back along with the second running of the Super Seniors tournament. As opposed to the regular Seniors event, which allows players 50 and over to enter, Super Seniors only lets 65+ players enter. Event #33: Summer Solstice

Low buy-in events like the $1,500 Summer Solstice tourney usually feature quicker levels to reduce the larger field size. But Summer Solstice differs because it has 90-minute levels. As explained by the WSOP, “We celebrate the longest day of the year by having the longest levels of any event under $10k buy-in.”

Event #41: Monster Stack

The Monster Stack is yet another popular low buy-in tourney, attracting 7,192 entrants in 2015 and awarding a $1,286,942 payout to winner Perry Shiao. So it’s no surprise that the Monster Stack is back again, with each player starting with 15,000 chips.

Event #54: Crazy Eights 8-Handed

888poker is really taking advantage of their sponsorship deal with the WSOP by rolling out an $888 buy-in “Crazy Eights” 8-handed tournament. The 8s don’t stop here because the winner is guaranteed an $888,888 top payout. Players start this event with 5,000 chips, and anybody who’s eliminated can buy back into remaining flights.

Event #55: Players Championship

The $50,000 Players Championship is always an exciting, star-studded event, as evidenced by Mike Gorodinsky ($1.27m) beating Jean-Robert Bellande ($785k) heads-up to win last year. The 2016 Players Championship will feature eight different variants, which include: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, Limit Hold’em, No-Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Razz, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low/8-or Better and Pot-Limit Omaha.

Event #67: $111,111 High Roller for ONE DROP

The WSOP had planned to alternate between the $1 million Big One for ONE DROP and the $111,111 buy-in High Roller for ONE DROP every other year. Given how this is the second year in a row that the $111k event will be running, we’re assuming that the $1 million buy-in tourney is gone for good. In any case, this is still an impressive high-stakes event where last year’s champion, Jonathan Duhamel, will try to defend his title after winning $3,989,985.

Event #68: 2016 WSOP Main Event

The $10k buy-in Main Event will cap the action, with nine players being guaranteed $1 million and 1,000 players being guaranteed a payout for the second year in a row. One notable change is that entrants will begin with 50,000 starting chips, which is up significantly from 30,000 chips in previous years. Players will be trying to dethrone the defending champion, Joe McKeehen, who won $7,683,346 in the 2015 Main Event.

Other Notable 2016 WSOP Tournaments

Event #61 – $1,000 buy-in NL Hold’em Tag Team tourney, with 2-4 players on each team. All team members must play at least one round of blinds, and those not in play wait outside the ropes until they sub in. All players from the winning team will receive a WSOP gold bracelet.

Event #62 – $25,000 buy-in PLO 8-handed High Roller that lasts four days.

Event #65 – $10,000 buy-in Ladies Championship NL Hold’em. Once again, ladies will only pay $1,000 to enter, with the $10k buy-in meant to ward off guys.

Event #66 – $1,000 buy-in WSOP.com online NL Hold’em. 905 players entered last year, with Anthony Spinella winning the tournament and $197,743.

Event #69 – $1,000 Little One for ONE DROP. Players will receive an additional 5,000 in tournament chips for making a $111 donation to the ONE DROP foundation.

Another Record-Breaking WSOP?

Last year’s WSOP broke the attendance record as a combined 103,512 players entered the 68 events. The prize pool record was broken too as over $210 million was handed out, with 51 events awarding at least $1 million or more.

“It’s hard to fathom that this event can continue to grow the way it has,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the WSOP. “But with the schedule we’ve put together for this year, we are confident 2016 will be another record-breaker at the WSOP.”

With an extra event and some lineup changes, Stewart may very well be right that the 2016 WSOP will be another record-breaker.