SCOOP Gets Off to a Great Start Shattering Nominal Guarantees
3 minutes
Last Updated: May 15, 2024
The first full week of the Spring Championship of Online Poker 2024 is officially in the books, and what a week it’s been. With players from all over the world flocking to the tables, the action was non-stop, and prize pools often swelled well beyond its original promise.
This is not uncommon to see, as the PokerStars SCOOP is one of the most popular online series in existence. Still, such a strong turnout is always a pleasant sight, confirming that the game we all love so much remains as popular as ever.
The first full week see a grand total of 129 events featuring a variety of formats, game types, and buy-in levels. Of course, there is plenty more action to go over the next couple of weeks, and this strong start should motivate you to get involved with this year’s SCOOP.
First Week of SCOOP Shatters Guarantees
The total value of guarantees for the first week of action was just over $23 million, which was an impressive number in its own right.
However, that number was blown out of the water as a grand total of 61,000+ unique players showed up to play, for a total number of entries that exceeded 426,000. By the time the dust had settled, SCOOP events awarded over $28 million in prizes.
As is usually the case with big series, a few players had a really strong start, claiming titles and big money that came along with them.
Talking about familiar names, it was Adrian Mateos who stole the early thunder, triumphing in the $5,200 PKO Titans tournament. The Spaniard was the last man standing in an impressive 106-player field, pocketing a total of $145k.
Mateos came close to winning another event just days later, but he fell one place short in the $400k Wednesday Mystery tournament. Despite the close miss, the runner-up finish was good for another $137k.
Simon ‘C. Darwin2’ Mattsson is another well-known player who got off to a great start in this year’s SCOOP. The Swede was triumphant in the $10k Super Tuesday High Roller, which was good for $186,000 and his eighth SCOOP title overall.
Lex Veldhuis came into this SCOOP still chasing his very first title. Despite his incredible commitment and countless deep runs, Veldhuis simply couldn’t make his cards hold when it mattered the most. All that changed on Monday!
After making the final table of the $5,200 Titans and proclaiming himself “probably the worst player at that table,” Lex managed to finally go all the way, winning the tournament to claim his first SCOOP title and $140,000 in prize money.
The Inaugural SCOOP League Heating Up
For the 2024 edition of its Spring Championship, PokerStars decided to spice things up a bit and give fans a chance to win some nice prizes along the way with the introduction of the SCOOP League.
The League is set up in a way where four PokerStars Team Pro members get to pick 30 team members in total. The four League captains are:
- Lex Veldhuis
- Fintan Hand
- Parker Talbot
- Benjamin Spragg
Each of them got to pick two players from the Team Pro roster, eight professional players, and 20 players selected from their streaming communities. Players selected from the streaming communities are given a free $215 SCOOP ticket to take their shot at big money.
All PokerStars players can also pick one team to support, and when all things are settled, everyone who supported the winning team will get to play in a special freeroll.
With Veldhuis finally booking the all-important SCOOP title, everyone who supported Team Lex will be over the moon. Remember, there is a valuable UKIPT / Estrellas package waiting for one lucky player who backs the right team!
2024 SCOOP Action Continues
The first third of the SCOOP may be in the books, but there is plenty more action remaining, and some $50,000,000 in prizes left for the taking.
This year’s rich schedule caters to all players, with buy-ins starting as low as $2.20, so everyone can get in the mix. Plus, with promotions like the inaugural SCOOP League and Power Path, there are many ways to get involved for free or at a significant discount.
There are very few series that bring the kind of variety that SCOOP has to offer, including a rich selection of tournaments featuring non-Hold’em variations. So, with two more weeks brimming with action and huge Main Events on the horizon, the time to get involved is now!