PokerStars is back with another Spring Championship of Online Poker and, this year, the guarantee is the biggest it’s ever been.
SCOOP 2021 will run from April 4 to April 28 and feature 306 MTTs spread across three buy-in levels as well as a $100 million guarantee.
This is the first time PokerStars has offered a nine-figure guarantee and, in part, it’s thanks to the success of last year’s series which paid out $185 million.
Same SCOOP, bigger guarantee
SCOOP’s fundamental structure will remain the same this year. That means each of the 102 events will be available at three different buy-in levels: Low, Medium, and High.
The festival starts on April 4, but Event #1 is already underway. The phased MTTs cost $2.20, $22, and $215.
Because it’s a phase event, there are multiple Day 1s. Players can enter as many times as they like, and the top finishers from each opening flight will progress to Day 2.
The official opening day of SCOOP 2021 features six events, a total of 18 MTTs, and more than $5 million in guaranteed prize money. From there, the schedule encompasses a variety of Hold’em and non-Hold’em events.
SCOOP peaks with six main events on April 25
- $5,000,000 guaranteed – $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max Main Event High
- $5,000,000 guaranteed – $1,050 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max Main Event Medium
- $3,000,000 guaranteed – $109 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max Main Event Low
- $1,250,000 guaranteed – $10,300 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max Main Event Large
- $750,000 guaranteed – $1,050 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max Main Event Medium
- $350,000 guaranteed – $109 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max Main Event Low
Offering a $100 million guarantee is significant for three reasons. Firstly, PokerStars has never offered one this big. The site has surpassed that figure numerous times, but never has a series started with this much guaranteed prize money.
PokerStars proving it can still compete
Secondly, it’s $15 million than SCOOP 2020 guaranteed. Following a surge of interest last year, the total payout of $135 million far exceeded the $85 million guarantee. By that measure, it would seem PokerStars’ tournament team is confident that SCOOP 2021 could be bigger than ever.
Finally, only Partypoker and GGPoker have promised $100 million+ guarantees before. Partypoker partnered with the WPT for a dual $100 million series in 2020, while GGPoker joined forces with the WSOP to host series of that magnitude.
It would appear that PokerStars is flexing its proverbial muscle with its latest SCOOP.
GGPoker and Partypoker have become legitimate challengers to PokerStars’ dominance over the last 12 months. This may be the biggest reason SCOOP 2021 has an unprecedented nine-figure guarantee.
