Negreanu proposed running a WSOP Classic tournament without late registration and re-entry

Negreanu proposed running a WSOP Classic tournament without late reg or re-entries

Daniel Negreanu floated the idea of running a WSOP Classic tournament in the summer of 2027 on his YouTube blog. The six-time World Series champion envisions this event as a return to poker before the Moneymaker boom era. There would be no late registration and no chance to re-enter the game after busting.

Key details of the WSOP Classic:
🟣 Freezeout format;
🟡 No late registration;
🟣 Starting chip count equal to the buy-in amount;
🟡 Players post their own individual ante.

"Back in the old days, when I was just starting out, if a tournament began at 12 and you weren't in your seat at 12, didn't manage to buy in — that's it, you're out. If you'd already bought in, then your chips go into play. No late registration. Whoever showed up is who plays the tournament.
Maybe, just for fun, we'd do it like before — say, for a $5,000 buy-in players would get 5,000 chips. We'd tailor the structure to that. And everyone posts their own ante for themselves, with no big blind ante. That would be a real old-school tournament," Negreanu said.
In the comments to Negreanu's video, the WSOP Classic idea was backed by well-known poker players, including all-time tournament cashes record-holder Ari Engel, Hall of Fame member Mori Eskandani, and GPI award winner Brad Owen. Hall of Famer Jennifer Harman came out against it. The two-time World Series champion stated that she doesn't like Negreanu's proposal because she loves using late registration.