This year’s Spring Championship of Online Poker has exceeded expectations in nearly every way possible. While some had expressed concern about a reduced player pool in the wake of Black Friday, the tournaments on the PokerStars servers are beating guarantees left and right. So, without further ado, let’s get to our recap of the action.
The sixteenth event in this year’s SCOOP featured an interesting combination of rules. Shootout and 10-Max were in effect at each of its three tiers, as detailed below.
Event 16 – Low
With 5,209 entrants, this $20+$2 tournament featured an impressive $80K guarantee. As some quick math will tell you, it beat that mark rather handily. In total, the money climbed to $104,180, a sum which was distributed among the top 1,000 finishers. Players were seated at 10-Max tables with quadruple shootout rules in effect. Here’s the final table breakdown:
#1 – pikul1980 ($16,411.05)
#2 – Havana85 ($11,980.70)
#3 – nailuj90 ($9,155.75)
#4 – final rival ($6,511.25)
#5 – Lyonzy ($4,167.20)
#6 – shinerrr ($3,125.40)
#7 – akinho93 ($2,396.14)
#8 – cnfr12 ($1,798.97)
#9 – caprioli ($1,198.07)
#10 – Psutka23 ($677.17)
Event 16 – Mid
At the mid-level, players could earn a seat at this 10-Max, triple shootout event for $200+$15. An even 800 paid to play, resulting in a prize pool of $160,000. This far outstretched the initial $90,000 Guarantee. The top 100 places received a reward, with the low water mark set at $616. Here’s how things wrapped up:
#1 – kay3000 ($29,200)
#2 – delysid ($20,320)
#3 – jimychoo ($15,120)
#4 – GotURead ($11,280)
#5 – Mastercard1 ($7,920)
#6 – carmakozg ($6,400)
#7 – fifithecat ($5,040)
#8 – caprioli ($4,000)
#9 – Chipfreak_85 ($3,040)
#10 – chrisdm ($2,240)
Event 16 – High
In the biggest of the Event 16 segments, 100 players ponied up the necessary $2,000+$100. The tables were again set at the 10-Max capacity, with double shootout rules in effect. The number of entrants managed to double the $100K guarantee, pushing prize funds up to $200,000. The final table shook out like this:
#1 – javahound ($60,000)
#2 – hneves182 ($40,000)
#3 – Pappe_Ruk ($27,000)
#4 – lechuckpoker ($19,800)
#5 – johnxfleming ($14,000)
#6 – caio_pimenta ($11,000)
#7 – iamadumbnoob ($8,800)
#8 – Ramux ($7,500)
#9 – 69jocker69 ($6,400)
#10 – pezler06 ($5,500)
Event 19 featured standard No Limit Hold’em, free of any stipulations or special rules. Perhaps because of this simplicity, it also attracted some of the largest crowds. Check out the tier by tier breakdown below.
Event 19 – Low
Thanks to an entry pool of 20,510 players, the low-end of Event 19 more than doubled its $200,000 guarantee. Once all the entrants (and their $20+$2 buy-ins) had been counted, the total prize pool weighed in at a sizable $410,200. The top 3,150 finishers received a prize, with the minimum payout set at $28.71.
#1 – pash123 ($41,032.17)
#2 – Ath.Bachmann ($30,481.96)
#3 – antonioverga ($20,510)
#4 – JMSanchez99 ($16,408)
#5 – Quadchrazs ($12,306)
#6 – skydiveoslo ($8,204)
#7 – S Hawking ($5,763.31)
#8 – LuckBox26 ($3,691.80)
#9 – 13samo13 ($2,461.20)
Event 19 – Mid
Another standard No Limit Hold’em affair, this tournament also pushed far past its guarantee of $500,000. 4,395 players paid an entry fee of $200+$15, bring the winnable haul to $879,000. Here’s how the standings wound up:
#1 – Simaska ($138,003)
#2 – losttoriver ($102,843)
#3 – ca2103 ($72,517.50)
#4 – Fred_Brink ($50,542.50)
#5 – nicoji83 ($37,357.50)
#6 – ElRupert ($28,567.50)
#7 – (JooperHarryN $19,777.50)
#8 – Knipser11570 ($10,987.50)
#9 – FouTight ($7,032.00)
Event 19 – High
In the high-roller’s tier, things were just as exciting. Again, the simpler style of play seems to have attracted a larger pool. For proof, check the stats. With the same $2,000+$100 buy-in as Event 16’s top tier, this No Limit Hold’em tournament managed to draw 495 players (395 more than 16-High). This pushed the pot to just under a million – $990K. Two PokerStars pros made the final ten, L. Veldhuis ($22,275) and Pappe_Ruk ($11,880), respectively.
#1 – Paolo69 ($188,100)
#2 – AA DOCTOR ($138,600)
#3 – Dom2312 ($101,475)
#4 – lb6121 ($77,220)
#5 – Legadzo ($54,450)
#6 – fabstinho ($42,075)
#7 – Est-Ace ($32,175)
#8 – L. Veldhuis ($22,275)
#9 – jatteri ($16,434)
Featuring a trio of two-day tournaments, Event 20 proved to be one of the most grueling sessions in recent SCOOP memory. Nearly $3,000,000 was won over the course of these three games, with players once again enjoying an old fashioned No Limit Hold’em experience.
Event 20 – Low
By the time the three-hour late registration window had closed, an astonishing 22,065 players had entered this $20+$2 event. Par for the course, the $200K guarantee was more than doubled, reaching $441,300. The top 3,150 players received a return on their investment, with minimum payouts of $30.89. Here’s what the final table looked like:
#1 – dejwiz ($44,141.63)
#2 – assCARDSsin ($32,793)
#3 – MUSATHI1 ($22,065)
#4 – canhaveitall ($17,652)
#5 – asso 1 ($13,239)
#6 – The Grass ($8,826)
#7 – Flowkid1 ($6,200.26)
#8 – riverdr3amer ($3,971.70)
#9 – pipemaster55 ($2,647.80)
Event 20 – Mid
Another two-day tilt, this particular match saw 6,449 players pony up the required $200+$15. The prize pool crept all the way to $1,289,800 (almost $290K more than it’s $1M guarantee). The final nine earned their rewards:
#1 – vonBaranow ($201,727.15)
#2 – King_geoden ($150,261)
#3 – joaobarb ($106,215.03)
#4 – spielvederb ($72,873.70)
#5 – ricestub ($54,816.50)
#6 – tioalberto ($41,918.50)
#7 – alejandra36 ($29,020.50)
#8 – samirua ($16,122.50)
#9 – jusc ($10,318.40)
Event 20 – High
With 673 entrants paying that same incredible $2,000+$100 fee, participants in the high end event saw their contributions rise all the way to $1.346M. The top 81 finishers were paid nearly double their buy-in, earning $3,903.40 in the lowest money spots. The final table of this two-day event finished like this:
#1 – CuCbKu ($253,048)
#2 – kovi99 ($184,402)
#3 – Lottenice ($135,946)
#4 – ThEcLaiMEer ($102,296)
#5 – 1-ronnyr3 ($71,876. 40)
#6 – RAKUTE ($57,205)
#7 – sukin12 ($43,745)
#8 – nikolay76 ($30,285)
#9 – de bluffer ($20,190)