WILL WSOP’S DELAYED FINAL TABLE FORMAT BE ABANDONED?
Thursday, November 3, 2011 : Possible reconsideration of 4 month hiatus in main event final table
With the stage set for the resumption this month of the World Series of Poker main event final table, attention has once again been focused on the television-friendly hiatus between the final table denouement and the rest of the mid-year tournament action.
Poker players and railbirds alike have consistently panned the curious World Series of Poker practice in recent years of delaying for four months the main event final table action once the nine finalists have been decided, but this week here appeared to be hope that this hiatus could be abandoned in the future.
WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky told PokerListings there have already been talks about "tweaking" this frustrating format, noting that the live coverage ESPN provided for the WSOP Main Event this summer had been a potential game-changer. The television network presented 45 hours of live coverage at the 2011 WSOP Main Event and it appeared to be a runaway success with everyone concerned.
“If you’re doing something live do you really need to delay it four months and try to build this anticipation to get people to watch?” Palansky observed. “It doesn’t quite work.”
Introduced in 2008, the delayed action format has seen three Main Event final tables delayed in order to promote the event, increase ratings and give players a chance to secure sponsorships. But there is a growing feeling that the world's largest poker tourney should return to the pre-2008 practice of
playing the main event through to completion without interruption.
Palansky said the delayed format would have to be revisited in light of the most recent numbers, which were still being analysed.
November 6-8 will see Martin Staszko, Eoghan O’Dea, Matt Giannetti, Phil Collins, Ben Lamb, Badih Bou-Nahra, Pius Heinz, Anton Makiievskyi and Sam Holden return to the Rio felt to decide the 2011 WSOP main event, with the winner taking home millions of dollars, and millionaire status for every player.
