Online tournament players looking for some action over the coming months seem to be spoiled for choice. In addition to the recently unveiled FTOPS XII, tournament junkies can also get their fix in the upcoming Poker Stars Spring Championships of Online Poker. A sister to the famous WCOOP, this latest creation features an innovative three tiered schedule where a low and mid stakes copy of each higher level tournament will run along side the high stakes marquee events.
In a move similar to the Full Tilt’s new MiniFTOPS, each of the 22 separate events in this series will have three identical versions running at any one time, the only difference being the level of buy-in. In an attempt to reach out to recession hit players everywhere, buy-ins for the lowest level will start as low as $5, while the high-stakes experts enjoy entry fees as large as $25,000. The ethos behind the new format is to give players who have always dreamed of WCOOP glory a shot at their own massive tournament win. A middling level will also be available for the multitude of professional grinders or more well bankrolled amateurs.
The series begins on the 2nd of April and concludes on the 13th with a two-day main event boasting buy-ins of $10,000, $1,000, and $100. Step tournaments and satellites are available for all of the above, along with a multitude of other SCOOP events. All the major poker disciplines are catered for, with rebuy and second chance tournaments also contributing to the diversity. The highlight for many a railbird, or wannabe 1v1 champion, will be the $25,000 heads up tournament on April 12th, complete with a $250 cousin.
An astonishing $30 million in guaranteed money will be stuffed into the prize pools, with the biggest beneficiary being the main event. The highest stakes will see $5 million added, with the mid-stakes taking $3 million and the low-stakes a very respectable $1 million. It has also been revealed that a new “Fast Dealing” system will be trialed during the SCOOP. This new system deals cards to players even faster than currently, but also cuts down on the time to act by five seconds, from 25 to 20.
The full schedule can be seen on the PokerStars website or in the FlopTurnRiver forums.