Welcome to Day 1a of the 2021 WSOP Main Event
It's been 841 days since Hossein Ensan was crowned 2019 WSOP Main Event champion, the last time the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was held entirely in person. He topped an 8,569-player field — the second largest in history — to win $10,000,000.
Since then, we've seen Stoyan Madanzhiev triumph in the 2020 WSOP Online Main Event, and Damian Salas take down the hybrid live-online 2020 WSOP Main Event. But today will see the return of the all-live WSOP Main Event.
Whether you're an amateur or a poker professional, the buy-in is $10,000 and everyone playing in this year's Main Event will be looking to add their name to the list of WSOP Main Event champions, immortalizing themselves in poker history.
Players will play five 120-minute levels on Day 1a. There will be a 20-minute break after Levels 1, 2 and 4, with a 75-minute dinner break after Level 3. Surviving players can expect to bag up at approximately 11:15 p.m.
This year saw the number of starting flights increase to four, with two more flights subsequently added following the relaxation of US travel restrictions for European travellers.
Here is a look at the breakdown of Day 1 flights from 2019, and the number of entries. In addition, 98 players entered on Day 2ab, and 344 players entered on Day 2c.
| Day | Entries | Survivors |
|---|---|---|
| 1a | 1,334 | 962 |
| 1b | 1,914 | 1,421 |
| 1c | 4,879 | 3,664 |
Who knows how big this year's WSOP Main Event is going to be. As always, the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor bringing you all the action, drama and excitement as it happens from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.