The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) Main Events have drawn to a close, with six tournaments in total grabbing center-stage. Three no-limit hold’em events and three pot-limit Omaha tourneys gave players of all levels and preferences a chance to compete for online poker glory — and big money.
The biggest of the guaranteed prizepools were found in the High and Medium NLH Main Events, yet both managed to outstrip the huge $3M guarantees as the Medium NLH awarded $3,465,000 and the High $3,395,000.
The latter is surely one of the toughest online tournaments to win, with its 679-player field comprising many of the game’s most accomplished and experienced players. In the end experience appears to be a factor, as Brazil’s Iago ‘stek94’ Botelho emerged victorious with a payout of $505,633 after a heads-up chop with their compatriot ‘hellzito’, who took $495,584.
Botelho has form — impressive form — having won the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) $1K Main Event last year for $441,809. In fact, he has won three ‘COOP titles in the past three years, and two of them were Main Event wins. We’ll have what he's having.
The Medium NLH Main Event went the way of Germany’s ‘nic81411’ who took down $497,321 for the win, with no deals made this time. The Low SCOOP Main Event title went to ‘c0lrl30n3_89’ of Romania who fired five bullets, with the last one hitting the spot. The $2M guarantee was covered, with the massive field of 20,110 players creating a final prizepool of $2,011,000. $173,351 of that went to the winner after a three-way chop which saw runner-up ‘ZingaBoy’ take $155,005 and third-place finisher ‘SemaMoney’ bank $134,476.
As the series enters the final straight, three teams are in with a great chance of winning the SCOOP League.Overlays add value in PLO Main Events
Of the three pot-limit Omaha (PLO) Main Events, two fell short of their advertised guarantees which meant it was a trip to value town for players in the Low and High versions, with the latter in particular offering a great opportunity for those who played.
The $5,200 High PLO had a $500K guarantee but drew a field of just 61, meaning close to $200K of the prizepool was funded by the organizers. Seven players made the money, including familiar names like Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson, Andras ‘probirs’ Nemeth and perennial winner ‘FAL1st’, but the lion’s share went to Lauri ‘Lateski’ Varonen of Finland who banked $192,075 for the win.
The $109 Low PLO also overlaid by 223 entries, or around $23K. Lithuanian player ‘karolukas263’ earned $30,199 of the $200K prizepool for their win, while the $1,050 Medium PLO — which surpassed its $400K guarantee by $9K — was won by Austria’s ‘RhoNin9’ for $78,823.
The Main Events may be done and dusted, but SCOOP continues through to June 2 with dozens of events still to play. Head to PokerStars now to check it out.
