Mayu “marroca5” Roca, one of the premier players from Latin America and 2011 WCOOP bracelet winner, was seeking his second career SCOOP title (he won one in 2012). marroca5 fought and clawed his way to heads-up in Event #29-M, however, he was unable to knock out Thailand’s skilledyou and fell short in his quest for a second SCOOP crown. Despite trailing almost 2-to-1 in chips, skilledyou overcame the deficit and patiently chiseled away at marroca5’s stack before triumphantly taking down Event #29-M.

SCOOP Event #29-M $215 Fixed-Limit Hold’em [6-Max] attracted 577 runners. They created a prize pool worth $115,400.00, which more than doubled the initial $50K guarantee. Only the top 78 places paid out, with $21,926.00 originally set aside to the eventual champion.

Team Poker Stars Pros taking a shot at a SCOOP title included Andre Akkari, Nacho Barbero, George Danzer, Johnny Lodden, Marcin Horecki, and ElkY. PokerStars Team Online grinding out this event included nkeyno, mement_mori, and Luka ‘LukaSteel’ Kovac.

Among those who advanced to the money: Team PokerStars Pros Nacho Barbero (7th place), Andre Akkari (33rd), and George Danzer (54th), along with Team Online Naoya ‘nkeyno’ Kihara (57th). Nacho went the deepest, but narrowly missed a chance at a final-table appearance.

nkeyno went to battle with 6♣ 6♠ against Krazy90’s A♦ J♣ , but he got counterfeited on the river and Krazy90 dragged the pot. Team Online’s nkeyno cashed in 57th place. George Danzer was short-stacked and got it all-in with Q♣ 5♥ but muddaklicka flopped two pair with A♣ 9♦ , and Danzer went home in 54th place. Andre Akkari lost a flip with K♠ J♦ against want2winca$h’s 10♦ 10♠ and busted out in 33rd place.

With 12 to go on the final two tables, Nacho Barbero chipped up to third with 353K. With 7 to go, action went hand-for-hand and Nacho slipped to the back of the pack as the short stack. Nacho was super short for a couple of levels and miraculously held on for as long as he did. Alas, a final table was not in his future. Nacho got it all in with A♣ 10♥ against marroca5’s Q♣ J♥ . The board ran out 10♣ 5♥ 2♠ Q♠ 9♠ and marroca5 won the pot. Nacho Barbero went busto and unceremoniously bubbled off the final table in seventh place. With six to go, the final table was officially set.

SCOOP Event #29-M Final Table – Chip Counts:
Seat 1: skilledyou (724,699)
Seat 2: SirWatts (1,079,373)
Seat 3: Bastenok (417,945)
Seat 4: huiiiiiiiiii (258,815)
Seat 5: marroca5 (251,820)
Seat 6: markovitsus (152,348)

The final table commenced during Level 25 with stakes at 12K/24K. SirWatts was the only player with over 1M and held the lead, while markovitsus was the short stack with 152K. Notables at the final table included 2008 WPT Bellagio Cup winner Mike “SirWatts” Watts and Mayu “marroca5” Roca, a former WCOOP and SCOOP champion.

markovitsus eliminated in 6th place

Short-stacked markovitsus was the first player to exit the final table. markovitsus kicked off a raising war and action was capped preflop between markovitsus and skilledyou. The flop was 4♦ 3♠ 3♣ . markovitsus fired out 16K, skilledyou made it 32K to go, markovitsus shoved all-in for 36,696, and skilledyou called. skilledyou led with A♥ Q♠ versus markovitsus’s A♣ 10♥ . The turn was the 8♣ and the river was the 7♥ . Neither player improved, but skilledyou dragged the pot with a pair of treys and an Ace-Queen kicker. Estonia’s markovitsus became the first player to bust at the final table and collected $3,588.94 for a sixth-place finish.

huiiiiiiiiii eliminated in 5th place

Five-way did not last very long before we saw another bustout. huiiiiiiiiii min-raised to 32K, Bastenok three-bet to 48K, huiiiiiiiiii four-bet shoved for 62,815, and Bastenok called. huiiiiiiiiii was ahead with Q♠ Q♥ against Bastenok’s K♦ 5♣ . Bastenok flopped trip Kings and that’s all she wrote. The board ran out K♣ K♥ 6♦ 8♣ 2♦ and Bastenok’s trips held up. For a fifth-place performance, Austria’s huiiiiiiiiii took home $5,770.00.

With four to go, SirWatts led with 1.2M, skilledyou was second with 760K, Bastenok third with 562K, and marroca5 brought up the rear with 313K.

Bastenok eliminated in 4th place

Betting was capped preflop to 100K by SirWatts in a multi-way both with Bastenok and skilledyou. The flop was J♣ 10♦ 6♣ . skilledyou checked, SirWatts fired out 25K, Bastenok called, skilledyou check-raised to 50K, SirWatts called, and Bastenok called all-in for 15,760. The 5♥ fell on the turn… skilledyou bet 50K, and SirWatts called. The 3♦ spiked on the river… skilledyou bet 50K, and SirWatts called. At showdown, skilledyou tabled K♠ K♣ for a pair of Kings, which won the pot. Both SirWatts and Bastenok mucked their losing hands. For a fourth-place finish, Bastenok earned $8,078.00.

With three to go, skilledyou lead with a shade under 1.5M, marroca5 was second with 1M, and SirWatts was the shorty with 352K.

SirWatts eliminated in 3rd place

SirWatts lost the bulk of his stack when marroca5 rivered two pair against him in a 400K pot. A couple of hands later, SirWatts would meet his inevitable fate. SirWatts was all-in preflop and both marroca5 and skilledyou called. The board ran out 7♥ 4♥ 3♠ A♦ J♦ . skilledyou check-called the flop and the turn. On the river, skilledyou check-folded to marroca5. At showdown, marroca5 tabled A♣ 4♦ and won the pot with two pair — Aces and fours. SirWatts made a final stand with 10♥ 3♦ . He hit the flop but a pair of treys were not good enough to avoid an elimination. For third place, SirWatts earned $11,828.50.

HEADS-UP: skilledyou (Thailand) vs. marroca5 (Colombia)
Seat 1: skilledyou (1,080,335)
Seat 5: marroca5 (1,804,665)

With two to go, marroca5 held the lead, but not quite 2-1.

DEAL

With two remaining, action was paused right away to discuss a deal. They had to leave $1,000 on the table to the eventual champion. The numbers were floated: marroca5 ($19,338.20) and skilledyou ($17,743.80). skilledyou wanted marroca5 to get only 19K, which he agreed to. The new terms were: marroca5 ($19,000.00) and skilledyou ($18,082.00). With a deal in place, play resumed.

marroca5 eliminated in 2nd place; skilledyou wins SCOOP Event #29-M!

Although he started out with the lead, marroca5 slowly bled away chips. Once skilledyou seized the lead, he methodically chipped away at marroca5’s stack until he had a chance to deliver a knock-out blow.

On the final hand… marroca5 opened to 80K, skilledyou bumped it up to 120K, and marroca5 called. The flop was J♠ 10♥ 6♥ . skilledyou fired out 40K and marroca5 called. The K♦ fell on the turn. skilledyou bet 80K, marroca5 moved all-in for 89,330, and skilledyou called. skilledyou led with two pair and K♣ J♦ versus marroca5’s Q♣ 8♦ and open-ended straight draw. The 2♠ fell on the river, which did not help marroca5. skilledyou dragged the pot and won the tournament.

For a gutsy runner-up performance, marroca5 took home $19,000.00.

Congrats to Thailand’s skilledyou, who earned $19,082.00 for first place in Event #29-M!

View the final hand in the replayer:

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SCOOP-29-M: $215 FL Hold’em [6-Max]
Entrants: 577
Prize pool: $115,400.00
Places paid: 78

1. skilledyou (Thailand) $19,082.00 **
2. marroca5 (Colombia) $19,000.00 **
3. SirWatts (Canada) $11,828.50
4. Bastenok (Russia) $8,078.00
5. huiiiiiiiiii (Austria) $5,770.00
6. markovitsus (Estonia) $3,588.94

** Denotes a deal between the final two players

Visit the SCOOP homepage to view a schedule of remaining events and see who is in the running for Player of the Series.

Pauly McGuire is an author and freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

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