November Nine

For the date, see November 9.

The November Nine was the name used to refer to the final nine contestants, or final table, at the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) from 2008 to 2016. The winner of the WSOP Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker.[1]

Prior to 2008, the entire Main Event was played without interruption. Starting in 2008, in an effort to build excitement in the WSOP and to increase ratings for the tape-delayed televised shows, Harrah's Entertainment and ESPN decided to delay the final table until shortly before its scheduled broadcast. The delay would allow ESPN to cover the rest of the tournament leading up to the final table without viewers knowing the winner in advance.[2] Due to the timing of U.S. presidential elections, the final tables for the 2012 and 2016 Main Events were held in October.[3][4]

In 2017, Poker Central announced a television and digital media rights agreement with the WSOP and ESPN which returned the final table to the tail end of the rest of the tournament.[5]

  1. ^ "Final Table Set at World Series of Poker Main Event; Nine to Compete at Rio for $12 Million and Title of World Champion". Business Wire. Business Wire. 2006-08-09. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  2. ^ Skolovy, Daniel (2009-07-14). "How ESPN Can Improve the November Nine". Pokerlistings. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  3. ^ Fast, Erik (2012-02-01). "2012 World Series of Poker Final Table Moved To October". CardPlayer.
  4. ^ "IT'S HERE! 2012 WORLD SERIES OF POKER TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED". WSOP. 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  5. ^ "POKER CENTRAL & WSOP INK DEAL AND EXTEND ESPN RELATIONSHIP: THE 2017 WORLD SERIES OF POKER MAIN EVENT CHAMPION WILL BE CROWNED IN JULY". Poker Central. May 15, 2017.