Pokerstars Set to Kick Off Annual Scoop Series 4 April

For the 13^th year in a row, PokerStars will host its Spring Championship of Online Poker, better known as SCOOP. The annual series always occurs in the spring. It was the first online poker series to cater to players of all bankrolls when it launched in 2009, with every event offering a low buy-in, medium buy-in, and high buy-in. Each event on the series then boasts of three different buy-ins and guarantees.

The 2021 SCOOP series is set to start this weekend, running 4-28 April.

The month of tournaments will offer 102 events, which equals 306 individual tournaments, and $100 million in prize pool guarantees.

Biggest SCOOPs in History

The very first SCOOP in 2009 offered 22 events, which translated into 66 tournaments. Though it was before reentries became popular, there were still nearly 200K players in action. That created more than $39M in prize pools.

One year later, PokerStars set up 38 events that turned into 114 tournaments. With more than 461K entries, the prize pools added up to nearly $64M.

In 2020, the year of the pandemic, turnout was so impressive that PokerStars increased the number of tournaments and offered 124 events with 372 tournaments. The record year tallied more than 2.7M entries – including reentries – and awarded more than $185M.

To date, SCOOP has hosted 1,932 total tournaments, which garnered 9,280,540 entries, including players from 76 countries and nations around the world. Prior to the start of this year’s series, PokerStars paid out $999,353,882 in SCOOP prize money.

This means that this year’s events will put that prize total over $1B. And that could happen in the first day or two of the upcoming series.

SCOOP 2021 offers up 102 events, which will total 306 individual tournaments. In total, the guarantees add up to $100M, though the final payouts will likely exceed that number.

It all gets underway on Sunday, 4 April, and it will wrap on Wednesday, 28 April.

Notable Tournaments

The buy-ins for the 2021 SCOOP will range from $2.20 to $25K. To buy in to every single one of them would require $258,650, so it might be a good idea to be a little selective.

Most will want to participate in the Main Events, if possible. There will be satellites for all. And there is plenty of time to tackle them, as they are not scheduled until 25 April. They are as follows:

• Event 92-L on 25 April: $109 NLHE 8-Max Main Event ($3M GTD)
• Event 92-M on 25 April: $1,050 NLHE 8-Max Main Event ($5M GTD)
• Event 92-H on 25 April: $10,300 NLHE 8-Max Main Event ($5M GTD)
• Event 93-L: $109 PLO 6-Max Main Event ($350K GTD)
• Event 93-M: $1,050 PLO 6-Max Main Event ($750K GTD)
• Event 93-H: $10,300 PLO 6-Max Main Event ($1.25M GTD)

There is one event that plays in phases, which is another word for starting flights. Phased events offer a multitude of flights, and players who make it through a flight with starting chips can return for Day 2. Phases are already running and will do so all the way through to Day 2 on Tuesday, April 27.

• Event 1-L: $2.20 NLHE Phase ($200K GTD)
• Event 1-M: $22 NLHE Phase ($1M GTD)
• Event 1-H: $215 NLHE Phase ($2M GTD)

Poker Variations

Most players prefer No Limit Hold’em (NLHE). This is why SCOOP 2021 offers 72 events in that standard variation, which translates into 216 tournaments. Event 52 offers a Fixed Limit Hold’em for a slight change. And Events 40 and 101 offer 6+ Hold’em, also known as Short Deck Poker. But there are other options as well.

• Pot Limit Omaha: Events 5, 14, 47, 58, 73, and 93
• Fixed Limit Omaha Hi/Lo: Event 21
• 5-Card PLO: Event 42
• No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo: Events 11, 38, 65, and 88
• 7-Card Stud: Event 69
• 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo: Event 23
• No Limit 2-7 Single Draw: Event 71
• Fixed Limit 2-7 Triple Draw: Event 44
• 5-Card Draw: Event 11
• Badugi: Event 78
• Razz: Event 49
• 8-Game Mix: Events 27 and 83
• HORSE: Events 9 and 76
• NLHE/PLO Mix: Event 96

More than 100 tournaments, including in Omaha, Hold’em, and Draw, will play in the PKO (progressive knockout) format. There will be one event in Total PKO Bounty format, too.

And for those without a lot of time to play, fourteen events will feature a turbo structure, and two (30 and 102) will play as hyper-turbos.

Check out the full schedule via PokerStars’ blog, which allows you to search by date, start times, events, or any search term.

Leaderboards for Regulars

The Player of the Series leaderboards are a common way to reward the top players for their frequent play and solid cashes. Players accrue points based on their finishing positions and the types of tournaments played.

There are four categories of leaderboards based on buy-in levels of low, medium, and high, as well as an overall leaderboard.

• Low Leaderboard: $5K + trophy for winner, $2,500 for second, 20 places paid
• Medium Leaderboard: $10K + trophy for winner, $7,500 for second, 10 places paid
• High Leaderboard: $15K + trophy for winner, $10K for second, $5K for third, 3 places paid
• Overall Leaderboard: $25K + trophy for Player of the Series

Discounted Entries

Most players do not have the bankrolls to play in most of the tournaments in SCOOP. That is why satellites are so popular, and there are several ways to play them to qualify for SCOOP tickets.

One way to qualify is the SCOOP Fast Track, which is just as it sounds. Players can start qualifying for just $1 in the daily steps tournaments or even buy in for $11 at Step 2. Step 4 is the MTT that will award the $10,300 Main Event tickets.

The special SCOOP Spin & Go is another way to qualify. Those are the $4 and $22 buy-in fast-play Spin & Gos. There will be cash and tournament tickets for a variety of events, even the $10,300 Main Event.

Finally, the SCOOP Ticket Machine begins on 4 April and will run throughout the series. By opting in to this option, each time a player busts from a tournament, they will receive a ticket to a daily draw. Those draws will award SCOOP tickets. In fact, PokerStars is prepared to award $1.5M in SCOOP tickets through this singular promotion.