PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) will come to a glittering end this week with three successful main events.
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The finale of PokerStars’ SCOOP has seen its three main events surpass their guarantees with ease. (Image: PokerStars)
The showcase MTTs of this year’s festival got underway on April 25 and all have surpassed their guarantees with ease.
The $109 SCOOP main event attracted the largest crowd. Although registration remains open until the start of Day 2, over 38,000 players had bought in at the time of writing.
That level of interest means the $3.8 million prizepool is more than $600,000 above the guarantee.
SCOOP Remains Popular with Players at All Levels
The $1,050 SCOOP main event was equally stacked. PokerStars set the guarantee at $5 million but, after an opening day of activity, that target has been bested by over $900,000.
Both the low and medium main events will payout six-figure sums to their eventual winners. As impressive as those stats are, it’s the $10,300 SCOOP main event that stood out on Sunday.
Despite boasting an entry fee beyond the bankrolls of most players, the tournament attracted over 660 entrants.
That means the $5 million guarantee has been exceeded by more than $1.6 million. And, more significantly, the winner will become a poker millionaire.
MTT Wars Create More Value for Players
PokerStars has grand ambitions when it announced this year’s SCOOP. Buoyed by continued success, the online operator increased the festival’s guarantee to $100 million.
That was up $15 million on 2020 when the final prizepool topped $135 million.
Although the final numbers won’t be in until the close of play on April 28, it looks as though this year’s series has been another triumph.
Very few events have failed to surpass their guarantees. Even if last year’s total payout isn’t beaten, SCOOP 2021 will still go down as one of the biggest online festivals in history.
The only challenger to PokerStars on this front is GGPoker. As the industry’s rising star over the last two years, GGPoker has broken new ground in a variety of areas.
It did that again in March when it announced a $150 million guaranteed Spring Festival. That was first for the site and a credible threat to PokerStars’ and its status as the top tournament destination online.
Whatever is happening in the fight for industry dominance, the real winners this spring have been players.
With at least $250 million in guaranteed prize money and hundreds of chances to win an online title, it’s a great way to move into a summer that should see live poker return in force.
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