Upeshka De Silva Disqualified at 2020 WSOP Main Event Final Table Due to COVID-19 Infection

Upeshka De Silva has been disqualified from the 2020 WSOP Main Event Final Table following a positive test for COVID-19.

The three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner spent 10 days in quarantine and still tested positive. Six days later he tested negative only to test positive the following day.

Upeshka De Silva

Upeshka De Silva Disqualified from World Series of Poker

Early yesterday morning the story was broken on Twitter by podcast king Joey Ingram. Ingram posted a short list of possible solutions but none were serious contenders.

Options I see: 

  • Other 8 players agree to postpone the final table 
  • WSOP postpones 
  • Play event online 
  • ICM payout 
  • Play online until Upeshka busts
  • Nothing

Upeshka De Silva now faces the end of his run in the WSOP Main Event US leg with ninth place money of $98,813.

Just like with Peiyuan Sun who failed to arrive at the Kings Casino for the international leg final, the rules are clear. Disqualification and minimum final table prize money.

Zero Tolerance for Upeshka De Silva

The tone of De Silva’s tweets betrays how distraught he is at the thought of missing out.

For what it’s worth, there still hasn’t been any official announcement from the WSOP organisers. Could a solution be found. It’s highly unlikely, it has to be said.

Upeshka De Silva

De Silva also doesn’t sound like he is happy with the testing protocols put in place by the WSOP. Responding to Joey Ingram he said,

“Thx joey , this whole experience has been an absolute shit 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. I have insight on how both wpt and wsop have handled covid fts”    

He is also waiting to resume a WPT final table that was postponed early last year. It would be a travesty if he was to miss out on that opportunity as well.

Damian Salas Barred From Entering the US for the $1 Million Heads-up Finale

As if things weren’t going badly enough, Damian Salas, the winner of the international leg final table, was prevented from entering the US yesterday.

Damian Salas

The Argentinian was in Europe less than 15 days ago to complete his popular victory at the Kings Casino, Rozvadov, Czech Republic. Apparently this invalidated his “certificate of exemption” issued by the WSOP to travel.

“I was going to travel to Las Vegas on Saturday via Dallas. But 15 minutes before leaving for the airport I received a notification that in Dallas they did not recognize my certificate and that they would not let me in.”

Talk about poor timing.

Now the $1 million heads up finale is scheduled to take place two days later than planned on January 2 2021, unless yet another calamity strikes the WSOP 2020.

Don’t forget to check out the latest poker news to see if Upeshka De Silva finds a solution to his troubles and if Damian Salas finally makes it into the US.

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Professional Poker Journalist
Mark Patrickson is a poker journalist with over ten years of experience. He writes for VIP-Grinders.com, sharing his deep knowledge of poker. He creates interesting content about poker strategy, trends, and news for poker fans worldwide.
Filed Under: Poker Gossip Poker News

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