ESPN and Poker Central have announced the preliminary schedule of the live coverage of the 2018 Main Event of the World Series of Poker.

Beginning on July 2 and continuing every day through the conclusion of the event on July 14, ESPN will air no less than 40 total hours of live play across both their ESPN and ESPN2 channels. This year, ESPN is adding to their hours of poker coverage by showcasing the massive $1,000,000 buy-in Big One For One Drop tournament immediately following the Main Event on July 16-17.

“ESPN has a long-running relationship with the World Series of Poker, and we are always looking for ways to bring viewers the most preeminent coverage,” said Doug White, ESPN senior director, Programming & Acquisitions. “By doubling down on our broadcast and digital platform coverage, we’re going to bring fans and viewers even closer to the sport’s biggest events from all aspects and angles.”

For all of the action that ESPN doesn’t cover, Poker Central’s PokerGO paid streaming service will be providing hours of auxiliary action. While the PokerGO schedule for the World Series of Poker will be announced at a later time, fans can expect plenty of additional hours of in-depth coverage, as they provided in 2017.

“Last year, both ESPN viewership and PokerGO subscriptions numbers were very strong throughout the WSOP Main Event,” said JR McCabe, chief digital officer for Poker Central. “This year, we’re doubling down on live coverage for the World Series of Poker by adding the Big One for One Drop and bring even more live poker to fans worldwide.”

In addition to the live coverage, ESPN will continue to produce the more traditional episodic re-telling of how the Main Event unfolds.

“We’re ecstatic that ESPN and Poker Central continue to raise the bad and deliver more live poker content to audiences across the globe,” said Executive Director of the World Series of Poker Ty Stewart. “Fans today demand immediacy and wall-to-wall coverage and this year’s offering delivers on that in spades.”

The current contract between ESPN and the World Series of Poker is currently slated to continue through 2020.