PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) is once again upon us, with Swedish phenomenon C.Darwin2 proving that only the fittest survive in the evolutionary battle that was the $1,050 SCOOP Event #1 (high) on Sunday night.
C.Darwin won $226,106 and his second SCOOP title, after beating Brazilian Francisco “chicalltreta” Correia heads-up.
The 2016 SCOOP championships will run until May 22 and promise to be the biggest ever, with 55 events, each divided into low, medium, and high buy-in levels. That makes for an overall schedule of 165 tournaments, with over $40 million in guaranteed prize pools up for grabs.
As ever, the festival will culminate in three concurrent main events, all taking place on the final day (May 22). This year, there will $7 million in guaranteed prize pools on that day alone, with $1 million for low ($100 buy-in), $2 million for medium ($1,000 buy-in), and $4 million for high ($10,000 buy-in).
SCOOP Hits New Jersey
Meanwhile, for the first time since Black Friday in 2011, Americans will once again be taking part in a SCOOP championship. Or at least Americans who happen to be located in New Jersey at the time will be able to, that is.
From May 15 to May 30, PokerStars.NJ will be throwing on a SCOOP for the New Jersey ring-fenced market, with the main events kicking off May 29, and more than $1 million in guarantees across the entire festival.
Which brings us to the announcement this week that the live final of the team poker event known as the Americas Cup will be held at Resort Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, which is PokerStars’ land-based partner in New Jersey, from June 23-27.
Cup Runneth Over With Stars
The Americas Cup draws top poker players from across the Americas to represent their countries in a series of online and live match-ups. This year, twelve teams will compete in three groups over four weeks, with the top five players from each country winning the chance to play for $100,000 in the live final.
Team America is likely to be heavily represented by New Jerseyans, and that’s because its players will be plucked from the best-performing of those at the inaugural SCOOP NJ.
Considering that the current WSOP Main Event World Champion, Joe McKeehen, is a New Jerseyan, that may bode well for the US team.
“The Americas Cup of Poker has been growing for the last seven years and this year will not be an exception,” said Andre Akkari, Brazilian Team PokerStars Pro. “This year not only sees an improved structure and more tournaments, but also a great live final in New Jersey to wrap up all the action. The question is will Brazil beat Argentina this time around or will it be the USA’s time to shine?”
