diff --git a/doc/ws.md b/doc/ws.md
index fc14e7e97..051ac8235 100644
--- a/doc/ws.md
+++ b/doc/ws.md
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ tracking is disabled. In this case the `'close'` event is emitted in the next
 tick. The optional callback is called when the `'close'` event occurs and
 receives an `Error` if the server is already closed.
 
-### server.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, callback)
+### server.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head[, callback])
 
 - `request` {http.IncomingMessage} The client HTTP GET request.
 - `socket` {net.Socket} The network socket between the server and client.
@@ -236,6 +236,9 @@ If the upgrade is successful, the `callback` is called with two arguments:
 - `websocket` {WebSocket} A `WebSocket` object.
 - `request` {http.IncomingMessage} The client HTTP GET request.
 
+If the `callback` is not provided the [`'connection'`](#event-connection) event
+is emitted instead.
+
 ### server.shouldHandle(request)
 
 - `request` {http.IncomingMessage} The client HTTP GET request.
diff --git a/lib/websocket-server.js b/lib/websocket-server.js
index 3c7939f28..f667b9f9e 100644
--- a/lib/websocket-server.js
+++ b/lib/websocket-server.js
@@ -102,14 +102,10 @@ class WebSocketServer extends EventEmitter {
     }
 
     if (this._server) {
-      const emitConnection = this.emit.bind(this, 'connection');
-
       this._removeListeners = addListeners(this._server, {
         listening: this.emit.bind(this, 'listening'),
         error: this.emit.bind(this, 'error'),
-        upgrade: (req, socket, head) => {
-          this.handleUpgrade(req, socket, head, emitConnection);
-        }
+        upgrade: this.handleUpgrade.bind(this)
       });
     }
 
@@ -221,7 +217,7 @@ class WebSocketServer extends EventEmitter {
    * @param {(net.Socket|tls.Socket)} socket The network socket between the
    *     server and client
    * @param {Buffer} head The first packet of the upgraded stream
-   * @param {Function} cb Callback
+   * @param {Function} [cb] Callback
    * @public
    */
   handleUpgrade(req, socket, head, cb) {
@@ -326,7 +322,7 @@ class WebSocketServer extends EventEmitter {
    * @param {(net.Socket|tls.Socket)} socket The network socket between the
    *     server and client
    * @param {Buffer} head The first packet of the upgraded stream
-   * @param {Function} cb Callback
+   * @param {Function} [cb] Callback
    * @throws {Error} If called more than once with the same socket
    * @private
    */
@@ -405,7 +401,11 @@ class WebSocketServer extends EventEmitter {
       });
     }
 
-    cb(ws, req);
+    if (typeof cb === 'function') {
+      cb(ws, req);
+    } else {
+      this.emit('connection', ws, req);
+    }
   }
 }