series. 2015 expansion – WSOP International Circuit In 2015, the WSOP International Circuit was launched, with rounds in Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa. The winners of each tournament join the WSOP Circuit winners to play the WSOP Global Casino Championship. The International Circuit has expanded to 13 tournaments for the 2017/18 season. 2020 expansion – WSOP Online Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions on live poker events, there was a heavy focus on online events for 2020 and 2021, with dedicated online series during both years. Number of bracelet events per year Format The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet and a monetary prize based on the number of entrants and buy-in amounts. Over the years, the tournament has grown in both the number of events and in the number of participants. Each year, the WSOP culminates with the $10,000 no-limit hold'em "Main Event," which, since 2004, has attracted entrants numbering in the thousands. The victor receives a multi-million dollar cash prize and a bracelet, which has become the most coveted award a poker player can win. The winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker. Since 1971, all WSOP events have been tournaments with cash prizes. In 1973, a five-card stud event was added. Since then, new events have been added and removed. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP; later on, the winners of events before 1976 were retroactively given bracelets. The tournament grew slowly for over a decade, reaching 52 participants in 1982. In the early 1980s, satellite tournaments were introduced, allowing people to win their way into the various events. By 1987, there were over 2,100 entrants in the entire series. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, there were 45 events, covering the majority of poker variants. Participation in the Main Event peaked that year, with 8,773 players. The number of participants in the WSOP grew every year from 2000 until 2006. Following 2006, new online gambling legislation restricted the number of online qualifiers to the event. 2007 was the first dip in numbers in the 21st century while in 2008 more people participated than the previous year. In 2000, there were 4,780 entrants in the various events, but in 2005, the number rose