The 2021 Poker Masters crowned a couple of new champions this week with Chris Brewer shipping Event #8 $25,000 NL, Stephen Chidwick binking Event #7 $10,000 NL, Maxx Coleman winning Event #6 $10,000 8-Game, and Daniel Negreanu victorious in Event #5 $10,000 NL. Overall, Brock Wilson is atop of the leaderboard with Brewer and Negreanu in hot pursuit of the Poker Masters purple jacket with four events remaining.

Norm Macdonald, a comedian from Canada known for his stint as the host of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, passed away at age 61 after a decade-long battle with cancer. Macdonald was an avid poker player and sports bettor. Macdonald cashed in a trio of World Series of Poker events, won two lo-fi Aria nightly tournaments, and was briefly sponsored by PokerStars during the height of the online poker boom in the late 2000s.

Russia's Aleksei 'Ha KoJleHu' Vandyshev outlasted a field of 4,092 runners to win 2021 World Series of Poker Online Event #27 $5,000 NL Hold'em Championship at GGPoker that had 27 different opening flights. Vandyshev won his first WSOP gold bracelet and earned a hefty payout worth $2,543,073 after he defeated Brazil's Edson 'CrownUpTsu' Tsutsumi Jr. heads up for the title.

Doyle Brunson aka Texas Dolly is getting his own documentary film, but this one seems a little bit extra special because it will be helmed by Jason Heir, the director from Michael Jordan's "The Last Dance", which was a huge hit for ESPN and Netflix last year. Heir is producing and directing the untitled documentary about the legendary Doyle Brunson, which also does not have a release date.

The folks at partypoker have a new pitchman for their partypoker US operations when pro Darren Elias was tapped as the company's latest brand ambassador. Elias is one of the best players to ever set foot on the World Poker Tour with four WPT titles and now he's a vital part of partypoker's strategy in their legal US markets.

Since the World Series of Poker determined that all players will have to show proof of vaccination in order to participate in 2021 WSOP bracelet events, cash games, and satellites, the powers to be at the WSOP removed a mask mandate on Tuesday, which means players have the option to wear a mask at the tables. However, the WSOP does not have a vaccination mandate for dealers and staff, which is the latest cause of concern among the poker community.

The 2021 World Series of Poker Online continued at GGPoker with four more newly-minted bracelet winners. Armando D'avanzo, playing from Malta, shipped Event #22 $400 COLOSSUS for a hefty score worth $409,007 after surviving a field of 10,903 runners. Brazil's Eduardo Rodrigues won his first bracelet in Event #20 $1,500 MONSTER STACK NL Freezeout. Ukraine's Andrii Derzhypilskyi took down Event #19 $840 6-Handed Bounty NL. Russia's Radmir Sadirov binked Event #18 $5,000 Short Deck Championship and outlasted a tough final table.

The World Series of Poker announced that they will require all players to show proof of vaccination at the 2021 WSOP at the Rio this fall, otherwise they will not be able to compete for a bracelet event. This year's live-version of the WSOP knew they were going to struggle to draw big numbers, but hoped the vaccination requirement will boost entrants and overall participation.

It was only a matter of time before Phil Hellmuth's win streak ended in high-stakes heads up poker matches. Tom Dwan stepped into the second round of High Stakes Duel III and emerged the victor with a $200,000 score by defeating Phil Hellmuth at PokerGo's studio at the Aria in Las Vegas.

The celestial Galactic Series from PokerStars returns to southern Europe beginning 5 September and running through 26 September. The 2021 Galactic Series features 303 events and a €10 million in guaranteed prize pools, including the €1 million guaranteed Main Event on September 19. There will be special Galactic trophies awarded to ten championship event winners in ten Galactic Series Championship Events.

The 2021 WSOP Online continued at GGPoker and a few more winners were awarded bracelets over the weekend. Lithuania's Vincas Tamasauskas outlasted 267 runners to win Event #13 $5,000 PLO Championship. Brazil's Renan Bruschi outlasted a sizable field of 2,639 runners to win Event #14 The Big 500. Israel's Gaby 'kidrurim' Livshitz was the last player standing in 2021 WSOP Online Event #17 $400 PLOSSUS, which attracted 4,576 runners, and paid out $152,165 in total winnings and bounties to Livshitz.

PokerStars added a new ambassador to their ranks. They announced the addition of German poker pro Benjamin 'BenCB' Rolle as an ambassador, along with a partnership with his poker teaching site Raise Your Edge that will debut in September. Rolle is a stellar MTT player who has big sores in the WCOOP and SCOOP over the years. Rolle also has a popular stream on Twitch, which he'll continue doing as a PokerStars ambassador.

Erik Seidel won his ninth WSOP bracelet and his first online bracelet with a victory in 2021 WSOP Online Event #11 $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller at GGPoker. A total of 624 runners took a shot at the High Roller bracelet and Seidel was the last player standing. The final table also included Chin-Wei Chien, Rui Ferreira, Isaac Baron, Thomas Muehloecker, Francisco Benitez, Joachim Haraldstad, and Shyngis Satubayev. Seidel won $977,842 and the bracelet for the victory at GGPoker.

The 2021 World Series of Poker Online continued their international leg at GGPoker and crowned two more bracelet winners. In Event #10 $400 Double Chance PLO, Hungary's Roland 'Quina Quen' Czika outlasted 975 runners and emerged the victor. Hong Kong's Hinojas 'POLALIFE!' Jerome won WSOP Online Event #12 $1,000 Double Stack for a sweet score worth $635,576 and prevent Brazilian pro and GGPoker ambassador Felipe Ramos from winning a bracelet.

The 2021 World Series of Poker Online continued their international leg at GGPoker with two more bracelet events. Brazil's Lucio 'WizardOfAz' Lima won 2021 WSOP Online Event #9 $525 Superstack Turbo for his first bracelet after outlasting 2,229 entrants and deny on Anson Tsang a bracelet. Daniel Smiljkovic added a bracelet to his growing resume with a victory in 2021 WSOP Online Event #8 $5,000 NL 6-Handed for a score worth $423,426, after he bested a tough international field of 479 runners.

PokerStars finally released the full schedule of events for the 2021 World Championship of Online Poker, which begins its 20^th incarnation on Sunday, August 22 and runs through September 15. There are 102 events with three tiers of buy-ins for 306 total tournaments with $100 million in guaranteed prize pools. The $5,200 buy-in WCOOP Main Event has a $10 million guarantee and begins on Sunday, September 12.

Four more international players won WSOP bracelets at GGPoker. Brazil's Thiago 'IneedWasabi' Macedo took down 2021 WSOP Online Event #4 $800 Double Chance by surviving a field of 1,643 runners and three tough Finnish players at the final table. Poland's Kacper Pyzara shipped WSOP Online Event #5 $315 Bounty Deepstack for a total score worth $79,789. Georgios Sotiropoulos won his second career bracelet and $117,022 with a victory in Event #6 $200 FLIP & GO. Brazil's Eduardo Pires won Event #7 Milly Maker for a sick score worth $1.38 million after he faded a field of 5,437 runners.

The first three events of the 2021 WSOP Online at GGPoker for international players is in the books. Poland's Bartlomiej 'chester20o' Swieboda won WSOP Online Event #1 The Return for a $161,111 score after he outlasted a massive field of 30,810 runners. Brazil's Joao Simao won his first WSOP bracelet with a victory in Event #2 $1,111 Caesars Cares Charity Event for $206,075. Also, Italy's Nicolo Molinelli took down Event #3 $2,500 Limit Hold'em Championship while grinding from Malta.

Tom Dwan and Phil Hellmuth will finally meet each other in a long-awaited heads-up battle. The two have a throwdown set for late August for High Stakes Duel III with $200,000 on the line. Tune in to PokerGo on August 25 and see if Hellmuth can maintain his undefeated record after beating Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, and Nick Wright.

The 2021 WSOP Online at WSOP.com has come to an end with Drew 'dudeguydrew' O'Connell from new Jersey taking down Event #32 $1,000 NLH Championship. O'Connell banked $146,893 and outlasted a final table that included Jason Rivkin, Felix Vandeput, Alex Foxen, Kfir Nahum, Dan Gallegos, Michael Trivett, Kyle Phillips, and Millard Hale. Also, Daniel 'RiverRats' Lazrus shipped Event #28 $3,200 High Roller Championship for a score worth $205,347 and Chris 'Robotbob47' Moorman added another bracelet to his collection when he took down Event #29 $800 NL 8-Max Turbo Deepstack for a score worth $102K.

The first trailer for the highly-anticipated next generation poker movie is now available. The Card Counter will be released on September 10, 2021. It is directed by Paul Shrader and stars Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish. It's billed as a revenge thriller that happens to take place within the high-stakes world of poker.