It’s your last chance to join the month-long Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) party! Eighteen tournaments begin on the final Sunday, and here’s where you catch up on what’s been happening so far…
TODAY’S HEADLINES
• Maslak wins again; pushes Player of Series race to wire
• Soccer star Neymar cashes in SCOOP
• “Gaul4200” adds SCOOP to WCOOP problems
• Eighteen events on final SCOOP super Sunday
BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Career fourth for Maslak: In 2019, Konstantin “krakukra” Maslak won the second SCOOP title of his career during a dominant series, and ended up topping the leader boards in both the “low” and “high” buy-in categories, as well as claiming overall “Player of the Series” accolades. This year, remarkably, Maslak might not top any leader boards, but he has doubled his tally of titles. Last night, he won his second SCOOP of this series (his second within a week in fact), his fourth overall, when he was the last man standing from the $2,100 buy-in PKO turbo. It earned him a total haul of $72,946.70, including bounties, after beating the 225-entry field. Only the performances of Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira stand between Maslak and back-to-back Player of the Series victories but, as detailed in the “Leader Board” section below, Maslak is closing in again.
Konstantin “krakukra” Maslak: A second PoY?
Neymar Jr takes to the SCOOP tables: Maslak may have taken down the lion’s share of the prize pool, but he was not the biggest name cashing the event. Even Lex Veldhuis, who streamed his 17th-place finish to thousands on Twitch, had to take second billing to the man who finished in 12th. With play in France’s Ligue 1 cancelled, the Brazilian soccer star, and former PokerStars ambassador, Neymar Jr (whose screen-name is the cunning “neymar-jr”) has made a few appearances at the SCOOP felt, none more successful than his run to the final two tables in last night’s $2K. His winnings of $6,719.08 are small fry in comparison with the wages he earns from Paris St-Germain, but the competitive spirit runs deep in this one.
Neymar Jr: Soccer star back at the tables
OFFICIAL SITE & SCHEDULE | RESULTS
LEADER BOARDS | ALL BLOG REPORTS
More problems fr “Gaul4200”: Last September, the poker player who goes by “Gaul4200” on PokerStars was facing a pleasant problem. He had just won his first title in the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and said, “44K is a lot of money for a 20-year-old student in Germany. I don’t know what to do with that!” We hope he has figured out how to spend his riches because the “problem” just got worse. Last night “Gaul4200” won a SCOOP title, as well as $58,580.14. That was the prize for defeating a 4,102-entry field in the $109 buy-in version of SCOOP-112. He’s still 20. He’s still in Germany. The way he’s playing, this problem will continue to get worse.
Philippines gets off the mark: It was a relatively quiet Saturday night in SCOOP, with only six champions ascending to the top of the podium. But the night’s biggest winner, “MRiverAce“, was notable not only for the $88,882.25 paycheck, but also because he became SCOOP’s first champion from the Philippines. There are more than 100 million people in the country, but few play online poker. It makes MRiverAce’s achievement all the more notable.
TODAY’S RESULTS
| Tournament | Entries | Prize pool | Winner | Country | Prize |
| 112-L: $11 NLHE | 25,538 | $250,272 | _m0ney2_89 | Russia | $25,420.22 |
| 112-M: $109 NLHE | 4,102 | $410,200 | Gaul4200 | Germany | $58,580.14 |
| 112-H: $1,050 NLHE | 486 | $500,000 | MRiverAce | Philippines | $88,882.25 |
| 118-L: $22 NLHE 6-Max, Turbo, PKO | 12,802 | $256,040 | Wangel666 | Russia | $18,992.23† |
| 118-M: $215 NLHE 6-Max, Turbo, PKO | 2,067 | $413,400 | bugiaso | Romania | $49,130.50† |
| 118-H: $2,100 NLHE 6-Max, Turbo, PKO | 225 | $450,000 | krakukra | Russia | $72,946.70† |
| Daily totals | 45,220 | $2,279,912 | $313,952.04 |
†inc. bounties
STAT TRACKER
Tournaments completed: 345
Tournaments ongoing: 9
Starting today: 18
Entries so far: 2,540,921
Prize pools so far: $170,568,879
First-place prizes awarded: $23,623,340
Totals refer to completed tournaments only.
TWITCH WATCH
“PURPLE”K”99” extended the hand of friendship to Lex Veldhuis last night as the two got involved in a blind vs. blind pot in the $215 6-Max last night. “enjoyed the vids with u and ben”, PURPLE”K”99 said. Lex was gracious in the chatbox but ruthless with the chips. See how Veldhuis repaid the friendly approach:
Lex admitted that he hadn’t played much seven-card stud, but he knows a good hand when he sees one. Here’s the Dutch pro, playing the 8-Game, getting dealt rolled up aces, which makes for a beautiful sight. But does it make for a win? Hmmm…
FEATURE! FEATURE! FEATURE!
In our most recent SCOOP feature, we asked a long list of SCOOP champions what are the three things that they think they do well that have helped them to the top of the online game. It wasn’t just about pumping hot air up them, either. This is so that you can learn from them and improve your own game.
How to be a better player
The answers read like a “how to” manual for elite level poker: dedication, persistence, application, concentration. As Phil Galfond once said, “The biggest misconception in poker is that poker is its own innate skill, like saying ‘I’m good at dancing’.” The best poker players possess a vast array of skills and traits which have led them to success.
Here’s your chance to learn from the best:
The three things SCOOP winners do well (and how you can start doing them too)
Other features:
What common mistakes do players make at the tables to make them exploitable?
The roadmap to winning a SCOOP title, as outlined by 2020 champions
TOP TWEETS
I wonder if anyone has actually ever clicked reg on the 8-game and it WASN’T a misclick during SCOOP.
— Fintan Hand (@EasyWithAces) May 30, 2020
INTERVIEWS! INTERVIEWS! INTERVIEWS!
We’ve been catching up with numerous other SCOOP champions over the series, happy to share the secrets of their success, or simply to introduce themselves to the poker world.
Lorenzo Baynes
Most recently, Lorenzo “O”Pazzzo”” Baynes discussed his return to the poker tables after years away — a decision that earned him $115K and a SCOOP title, and got him right back in the mood. “Since my victory, I’m playing every day,” he said. Read the full interview.
Hear from some other SCOOP champions:
Seun “AfRoBiZzLe!” Oluwole on a brilliant SCOOP so far
William “JUCA_PIRAMA1” Oliveira and a rise from 2BBs
Pedro “BigodinSagaz” Henrique: Following a path to success
László “Lackoo87gcb” Molnár: “I think I’m starting to like it!”
Cristian ‘Chapex’ Chapoñan: One for Peru
Jonathan “Corback_fr” Therme: Sunday Million winner left speechless
Nicolas “Nicoverlast” Wright: pacing a treadmill to success
Swedish pro Adam “pruttzz12” Jonsson: How to beat Urbanovich, Beresford and Kurganov
Vitor “vitoradiron” Adiron: “I’ll continue working on my failures”
Guilherme “teruliro” Orrico: Two WCOOPs and now one SCOOP
“plens” targets bucket-list EPT appearance
Tapio “PikkuHUMPPA” Vihakas: “I am as lazy as a human can be”
Catalina “catam18” Marmureanu”: A result for all women in poker
Paul “pistolp999” Kroezen: A triumph of perseverence
Adam “adamyid” Owen: Defeating end-boss “veeea”
Matt “MUSTAFABET” Ashton: Tournaments are practice for cash games
Antanas “Nr1InEurope” Bakaitis: “I’m no good at Texas Hold’em!
“MarkBang”: First out to last man standing
“thegodfisher”: Busy broker finds time to win SCOOP title
Oleg “Fukuruku” Vasylchenko: Poor student becomes richer
Michael “Malicious20” Cottier: $9.5K from a $2.20 buy-in tournament!
Dimitrios “papadatos69” Papadatos: Making most of downturn in tourism
William “Williaml666” Barbosa: Best feeling ever!
Last hand double-KO gives ‘PufuMiu’ win in Event #11-L
Ready to sign up for PokerStars and play SCOOP? Click here to get an account.
FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE!
Poker News on the case
There’s no better way to follow all the SCOOP action than via Poker News’ live updates — and there’s one last chance on the final Sunday!
Poker News will be watching the following tonight, and through to their conclusion:
SCOOP-120-H: $2,100 NLHE, Sunday Warm-Up, $500,000 guaranteed
SCOOP-121-M: $109 NLHE, 8-Max, PKO, Sunday Million, $2.5 million guaranteed
SCOOP-121-H: $1,050 NLHE 8-Max, PKO, $1.5 million guaranteed
CLICK FOR FULL UPDATES SCHEDULE
LEADER BOARD LATEST
Konstantin “krakukra” Maslak’s victory in the Turbo PKO last night has ensured a thrilling end to the Player of the Series race. Since yesterday’s update, Maslak has added 115 leader board points, closing the gap on Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira to 60 points. That’s still a lot, but it hasn’t been this close since the first week of SCOOP.
Remarkably, Ferreira hasn’t won a title during this series, but his stats are spectacular nonetheless. Up to Friday (ie, not including tournaments that finished yesterday), Ferreira had recorded 103 in-the-money finishes, from 501 tournament entries, and cashed for $533,902.40. He made eight final tables. Maslak had 97 cashes from 475 buy-ins, for a total $222,237.43. (To repeat, this does not include last night’s success.) The pair are a long way ahead, in terms of sustained excellence, and incredible stamina, during this SCOOP.
Latest standings:
1 – Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira, Netherlands, 2,055 points
2 – Konstantin “krakukra” Maslak, Russia, 1,995
3 – Talal “raidalot” Shakerchi, UK, 1,695
4 – Patrick “pads1161” Leonard, UK, 1,590
5 – Muka82, Brazil, 1,475
(Prizes: 1st: $50,000 + Trophy; 2nd: $20,000; 3rd: $10,000)
COUNTRIES LEADER BOARD
Players from Russia won half of the six tournaments that wrapped last night, pushing the country’s total to 32 from the series so far. Although they are technically still in the race, with 18 tournaments still undecided, it seems unlikely the Russians will be able to leapfrog either Brazil or the UK at the top of the standings. At the other end of the countries leader board, the Philippines appeared for the first time overnight. That means representatives of 45 countries have won a SCOOP title this year.
Latest standings:
44: UK
43: Brazil
35: Russia
22: Germany
21: Netherlands
18: Canada
13: Ukraine, Austria
12: Sweden
11: Norway
Nine: Mexico, Ireland, Finland
Eight: Hungary
Seven: Romania
Six: Greece
Five: Belarus, China, Poland, Lithuania
Four: Argentina, Lebanon
Three: Peru, Malta, Croatia
Two: Denmark, Belgium, Japan, Uruguay, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Moldova, Latvia
One: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, North Macedonia, South Korea, Czech Republic, Macau, Cyprus, Slovenia, Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia, Philippines.
STARTING TODAY
This extended SCOOP was always going to go out with a bang and this final Sunday sees 18 tournaments getting under way, with buy-ins and speed settings to suit every kind of budget and time constraints. Obviously we have the Sunday Million Special Edition in the middle of it, with a $2.5 million guarantee, played as a PKO tournament this time. But it all gets started with the Sunday Kickoff and we welcome back the Sunday Supersonic (a hyper-turbo) to round things off tonight. There’s also a cheeky PLO tucked in there for fans of the four-card game. Enjoy!
Day 32: Sunday, May 31
8am ET – Event 119: NLHE 8-Max Sunday Kickoff PKO
Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530
Guarantees: $75,000, $275,000, $400,000
10.30am ET – Event 120: NLHE Sunday Warm-Up
Buy-ins: $22, $215, $2,100
Guarantees: $175,000, $400,000, $500,000
1pm ET – Event 121: NLHE 8-Max, Sunday Million PKO
Buy-ins: $11, $109, $1,050
Guarantees: $500,000, $2,500,000, $1,500,000
2.15pm ET – Event 122: PLO 6-Max
Buy-ins: $22, $215, $2,100
Guarantees: $100,000, $200,000, $400,000
5pm ET – Event 123: NLHE Turbo Sunday Cooldown
Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530
Guarantees: $60,000, $200,000, $500,000
6pm ET – Event 124: NLHE 6-Max Hyper Turbo Sunday Supersonic
Buy-ins: $11, $109, $1,050
Guarantees: $100,000, $250,000, $250,000
GET SCHOOLED
Today offers your last chance to get involved in SCOOP, and there are tournaments at all levels. Whatever your experience level, PokerStars School’s online tutorials will help out as you try to prepare to play. They are always relevant.
PokerStars School has all the information you need on how to get involved, how to make sure you have the right bankroll, how to play the satellites and how to play the tournaments themselves.
Click through to get yourself properly prepared:
Am I SCOOP ready? Planning, bankroll, mindset
Gearing up for SCOOP – General tournament strategy
Multi table tournaments (MTT) course
Poker satellite strategy
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