Excitement has been mounting over the past few weeks as GGPoker grew closer to launching the WSOP Online series bracelet events. It was the first time that gold bracelet events were open to international players online and players from around the world were ready to compete. The events were set to begin on July 19 and got off to a roaring start. Players have earned bracelets and big bucks so far. While everything was seemingly running smoothly, apparently the online poker site was subject to a DDoS attack.
Trouble Early On
According to PokerNews, the staff members of GGPoker have confirmed details around two separate incidents of server issues as well as a distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS). Because of the problems, Event #32 and Event #33 were postponed.
According to GGPoker’s Twitter page on Sunday, a critical bug was found, and the two events had to be postponed. Everyone will start with the current stack when the tournaments resume. So, what took place?
The first issue was delays in the server that affected the loading time of the client as well as dealing during cash games and table loading during Spin & Gold’s. Tournament table loading and tournament registration were also an issue.
This incident began at 13:53 UTC and continued through 17:11. Reportedly, it was due to a large number of players logging on and observers which created bottlenecks with service. GGPoker used a temporary fix.
A short time later, at 17:48, the next incident began. This lasted a shorter time frame, ending at 18:17 UTC. When GGPoker tried to increase the late registration time frame to help fix delays, it caused certain players to be disconnected.
The DDoS Attack
If that wasn’t enough, the site was then subject to a DDoS attack. This happened early on the 20th. One of the servers of GGPoker was hit which caused players to be unable to load the client. When the site was getting ready for the WSOP Online, the server was improved to provide better performance and deal with the increased number of players. However, at the same time, it was unable to remain shielded from protection against DDoS attacks.
All the servers have been checked and a second layer of DDoS protection provided to ensure the site is protected. This type of attack does not happen too often, but when it does, players are affected. GGPoker has already laid out what they plan to do for those competing in the event.
In The Opener, 3,684 players were still in the competition. They will each be given a $100 tournament ticket due to the inconvenience. For Event #33, the online poker provider will be doubling the money that was collected for charity.
Players who were competing in these events can get back online on July 26 to compete once again. Everything should work correctly now that the bugs have been handled and a second layer of protection has been added. So far, the WSOP Online Series has been able to continue with no issue.
