The November Nine was started in 2008 to build anticipation for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) final table. Fans were supposed to be worked into a frenzy, excited to see the dramatic finish to the world’s premiere poker tournament. An almost fourth month wait was planned to benefit the tournament, fans, and world wide press coverage. A bold plan. A resoundingly unsuccessful result.
The WSOP is (finally) reconsidering the November Nine format. 2011’s November Nine is just around the corner, but this might be the last one. The months and months of waiting has never been popular with fans, and this year’s live ESPN coverage may be enough to convince key event organizers of another way of doing things.
Seth Palansky, WSOP Communications Director, spoke out about the format recently, and said that the WSOP is seriously considering “tweaking” the format. A “tweak” could mean anything, but one can hope it means a significantly shorter delay between the main tournament and its final table. Palansky said that ESPN’s live coverage this year is a major factor in these discussions. The 45 hours of live play broadcasted brought in successful audience numbers and if anything, proved to event organizers that tournaments do enough anticipation-building already. A long delay (a delay many believe to be entirely pointless) may not be the most effective method of making the most of the enthusiasm found in the WSOP’s fan base.
After the 2011 November Nine, Palansky said that organizers plan to “revisit the concept.” In a comment which will give hope to many a poker fan, Palanksy bluntly said, “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? It doesn’t quite work.” Exactly.