Colossus Tournament 2017

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Colossus Tournament 2017 6,4/10 7390 reviews

Posted 18:41 UTC-8 JanKores. Level 40. THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em. Pomponio's live tournament cashes had totaled less than $140,000 before he entered this. The 2019 WSOP Colossus gives players 40,000 chips to start and a much deeper structure. The 2019 edition of the World Series of Poker Colossus event has a bunch of changes when compared to the 2018 version of the event. In fact, almost everything other than the event’s name has been changed for this year’s WSOP, but players should very much.

The 2017 World Series of Poker schedule was released this week, almost a month earlier than the 2016 edition came out. Along with the addition of five WSOP bracelet events to the summer's slate (from 69 awarded in 2016), there are eight new events on tap for 2017, as well as some changes to some pre-existing events sticking around from previous years.

Let's break down the schedule for the 48th annual WSOP, which will once again emanate from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

  • The WSOP main event kicks off the first of three starting days on July 8. The buy-in remains $10,000, levels are still two hours long and players start with 50,000 chips for the second straight year. The field will play down to the November Nine on July 17. For the first time, players will be able to buy-in for the main event and every tournament at that buy-in level and below with a credit card.

  • Among the eight new events is a $365 no-limit hold'em tournament called 'The Giant,' which will set the record for smallest live buy-in WSOP bracelet event. Each of five starting sessions will run at 7 p.m. on five consecutive Fridays, starting on June 9. Each player who reaches a certain threshold of players will receive a minimum-cash payout and advance to Day 2 on July 8, with the final table playing out on July 9.

  • The smallest buy-in ever for a WSOP bracelet event is also part of the 2017 schedule, as one of three online events being offered. After two years of $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em online tournaments on the WSOP schedule, a $333 and a $3,333 buy-in event have been added. All three events will play out in a single day, with unlimited re-entries, and there will not be a live final table for any of the three tournaments.

  • The first open event of the 2017 WSOP is the $10,000 tag team no-limit hold'em championship, which kicks things off for bracelet hopefuls on May 31. With the success of the $1,000 version of this event in 2016 (which also returns for 2017), a $10,000 edition has been added. For those unfamiliar with the format, teams of two to four people perform cooperatively with one stack (each player can tag in and out) until just one team remains. All members of the winning team receive their own bracelet.

  • After holding a 'summer solstice' event in 2016, the name and the gimmick have been altered slightly for a tournament now called 'The Marathon.' Taking its cues from the 26.2 miles a marathon runner must complete, the buy-in is $2,620 and players start with 26,200 chips. Levels are 100 minutes throughout, and the tournament will span five days.

  • A one-day, $1,000 super turbo bounty no-limit hold'em event with 20-minute levels and a $300 bounty on each player takes place on June 20.

  • The non-hold'em events have expanded, as well, with the edition of a $2,500 'mixed big-bet event' (all no-limit and pot-limit games) and a $10,000 championship for pot-limit Omaha hi-low split 8 or better.

Colossus Tournament 2017 Champions

“The focus of the schedule remains squarely on two core principles: the biggest prize pools possible and diversity in offerings to provide something for everyone,” said Jack Effel, WSOP tournament director. “The 48th running of the globe’s biggest poker series promises to deliver on these core principles and ensure another action-packed summer at the Rio.”

WSOP executive director Ty Stewart shared his thoughts.

Colossus

“This 2017 schedule reflects our continuing goal to broaden poker’s appeal and encourage first timers and recreational players to come experience the WSOP for themselves,” Stewart said. “With the new $365 buy-in 'Giant' anchoring Friday nights, alongside a tent-pole event awarding millions every weekend, we believe we have the offering to be well worth the trip. Plus, for the serious and high-stakes player, we remain committed to having the most diverse schedule of events of any tournament in the world. Whatever your game or bankroll, let the bracelet chase begin.”

There are 19 events (25.7 percent of the schedule) with a buy-in of $10,000 or more, although one of the tournaments that falls under that qualification is the Ladies no-limit hold'em championship, which only technically hits that mark to dissuade men from entering (women only have to pay $1,000 for entry).Three events come in at more than $10,000 -- the $25,000 Eight-handed pot-limit Omaha high roller, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop.

Familiar favorites like the Crazy Eights, Millionaire Maker, Monster Stack, Colossus and the Little One for One Drop are back, as well. As is the case with 'The Giant,' there are unlimited re-entries for each starting session in the Crazy Eights event (which guarantees an $888,888 first-place prize) and The Little One for One Drop (which once again takes place after the WSOP main event begins). For the Millionaire Maker and Colossus, each player is allowed a single re-entry per flight; the Monster Stack is a pure freeze-out. The Colossus III guarantees an $8 million prize pool and a $1 million first-place prize; the Millionaire Maker, as you might expect, guarantees the winner will also receive a minimum of $1 million.

With the exception of the WSOP main event, bracelet events that start at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. will restart at 12 p.m. on Day 2. Tournaments that start at 3 p.m. will have 2 p.m. Day 2 restarts.

The $565 buy-in Colossus poker tournament attracts the largest field of any World Series of Poker event. Unfortunately, this year’s Colossus fielded the smallest group of players in its short history.

Brazilian Roberly Felicio won the event, banking the $1,000,000 first-place prize

Colossus fields shrink each year

This year’s tournament fielded 13,070 entries. The tournament, a five-day event, ran from June 2 to June 7.

There’s no denying the tournament is a gigantic event. Multiple big-name players offer instructions for how to navigate the huge number of players in the event.

Still, this year’s event was the smallest incarnation of the Colossus so far. In fact, the fields have shrunk each subsequent year since the tournament’s debut in 2015.

The 2015 event remains the largest version of Colossus. In fact, it’s the largest live tournament ever played, with 22,374 entries generating a prizepool that ballooned over $11 million.

The fields have tumbled by 42 percent since. Even more alarmingly, each year’s decline has been greater than the last.

This year’s event hosted nearly 5,000 fewer entries than 2017’s event alone. Overall, attendance is down by more than 9,000 entries.

Why the shrinkage, WSOP?

The dying fields might seem confusing. After all, the WSOP continues chugging along, with this year’s Main Event ranking as the second-largest in that event’s history.

However, there are three main reasons that the Colossus is less colossal this year:

Cannibalization

WSOP management took a bit of a flyer on the Colossus in 2015. There was a great deal of uncertainty about offering such a low buy-in event.

Furthermore, the team had to withstand criticism from top pros and amateurs alike. The low buy-in drew their ire because, in their view, it cheapened the value of the coveted WSOP bracelet.

So, when tens of thousands of people showed up, management felt emboldened about smaller buy-in events. It began introducing more low buy-in tournaments in 2016, when a $565 Pot-Limit Omaha event appeared.

The following year brought two events which were actually lower in buy-in than even the Colossus. A $333 online poker event on WSOP.com and the $365 buy-in Giant likely shaved off some of the players who would normally stretch for the Colossus.

Colossus Tournament 2017 Games

So, in 2018, WSOP hit an all-time high for low buy-in tournaments, introducing a PLO Giant. That addition brought the total of three-digit buy-in events to five.

Colossus Tournament 2017 Bracket

Scheduling/competition

The Colossus field also shrank due to the numerous options available to players at the same time. Two of the aforementioned low buy-in events ran either just before or during the Colossus.

For example, the $365 WSOP.com event ran entirely on what amounted to be Day 2 of the Colossus. The player pools from those two events alone combined for nearly 12,000 entries. Sure, some players multi-tabled by playing on their computer or tablet at the table

Colossus Tournament 2017 Leaderboard

There was also an MSPT event at Venetian running at the same time. This event, part of Venetian’s Deepstacks Series, drew over 4,400 entries and carried a guarantee of $3.5 million.

All these competitors and complaints about the tournament structure could lead to a dwindling field. However, there is also one other, and simpler, reason for the decline.

Novelty

It may sound unfair, but the Colossus just isn’t the new baby anymore. The event still promises a big field, sure, but the addition of so many new events – including the lower buy-in ones – have drained interest in the tournament.

This problem doesn’t have an easy solution. The reason why a tournament like the Main Event can continue to sustain or grow usually has to do with its presentation.

The Colossus has a reputation as a tournament for getting lucky, rather than as a skill-heavy event. Aside from the chance of rubbing elbows with famous pros (who are likely goofing around), there’s not much draw for a player who has worked hard to hone his or her game.

Winning a WSOP bracelet means engaging in gambling, to be sure. However, at their core, the events themselves should not be gambles. Otherwise, we should all just play slots tournaments.