A top poker player who made it to the final table of the biggest poker tournament in the world was sent packing after he tested positive for COVID-19.
Poker professional Upeshka De Silva was disqualified from this year’s World Series of Poker No-Limit Hold’em after navigating his way through a United States-only field of 705. The winner took home over $1 million.
Caesars Entertainment, the host of the tournament, confirmed in a statement that one of the final nine players in the tournament was removed from the game, given ninth place, and awarded $98,813 for his performance due to coronavirus protocols.
“As a result of the COVID precautions implemented by the company to help protect the players and team members, one of the nine players will not be able to participate in the U.S. final table,” the statement read.
Owing to the unprecedented nature of COVID-19, the tournament field this year was split between U.S. and World players, with most of the early rounds taking place online.
In De Silva’s absence, poker player Joseph Herbert claimed this year’s top prize. De Silva expressed outrage in a tweet following the announcement.
“I tested negative on a nasal swab pcr test saturday the 26th, but positive on the official mouth swab pcr test at the rio on the 27th,” De Silva said. “This whole experience has been an absolute s–t show. I know I’m drawing slim for options but I want to get the story out at the least about how this was handled and the protocols that were put in place.”
