Every spring since 2009, PokerStars hosts their insanely popular Spring Championship of Online Poker otherwise known as SCOOP. The 2023 installment of SCOOP begins on May 7 and runs through the end of the month exclusively on PokerStars.
PokerStars has always been an online poker pioneer, but they also know how to host a fun tournament series. They began this concept with the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) back in 2002 when mostly everyone was playing internet poker via a dial-up phone connection. The WCOOP grew bigger and better every year, and became so popular that PokerStars didn’t want to wait an entire year to host another big-time series. Thus, SCOOP was born in 2009 so PokerStars could host a championship series twice a year and six months apart.
“We know that SCOOP is a time of year that the poker community set aside as there is so much to play for at all levels, whether it be the prestige of a SCOOP title, the trophy, the glory, or the huge prize pools on offer,” Poker Commercial Director from PokerStars Scott Goodall said. “We hope our players can join in our excitement and make plans whether that’s to become a SCOOP champion or to follow the action and watch many be crowned this spring.”
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SCOOP Turns 14
The 2023 SCOOP, or the 14th installment, begins on May 7 and will run daily for 25 days. The original SCOOP in 2009 was slated for only ten days. The current SCOOP is spread out over three and a half weeks with multiple tournaments every day.
This year’ SCOOP consists of 121 events and 363 total tournaments. There will be 16 different types of poker formats and variations, so it’s not just a heavy diet of No-Limit Hold’em.
The 2023 SCOOP features PLO 6-Max, HORSE, 8-Game Mix, NL 7-Max Progressive Knockout, 5-Card Draw, Omaha Hi/Lo, No-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, 7-Card Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, 5-Card PLO, PLO8, 2-7 Triple Draw, Razz, Limit Hold’em, NLH/PLO, and Badugi. There’s also 6+ Hold’em, which is PokerStars’ version of Short Deck poker.
PokerStars will also host a special women’s only SCOOP event on May 28. There are three different buy-in tiers for the ladies at $5.50, $22, and $109.
Main Event Sunday takes place on May 28, and the no-limit hold’em championship Main Event has three different tiers. The Main Event Low has a $109 buy-in and offers a $2 million guaranteed prize pool and the Main Event Medium has a $1,050 buy-in and a $4 million guaranteed prize pool. The Main Event High has a whopping $10,300 buy-in and a guarantee of $5 million.
For all of you PLO lovers, there’s also a PLO-version of the Main Event on May 28. The PLO Main Event also three tiers of buy-ins ranging from $109 to $1,050 to $10,300.
The 2023 SCOOP has over $75 million in guaranteed prize pools, with over $11 million set aside to the trio of Main Events.
Three Buy-In Tiers at SCOOP
PokerStars seeks to include everyone in SCOOP, which is why they have three different tiers of entry fees and buy-ins. Each specific event is actually three different tournaments and broken into a high, medium, and low tournament. Each tier has a different buy-in. PokerStars wants SCOOP accessible to everyone on their platform, so they hope that the low tier will attract many beginners and players with a limited bankroll.
The lowest entry fee is $2.20 for a low event and there’s at least six of those tournaments this year.
The highest entry fee in 2023 SCOOP is $25,000 for the Super High Roller on Monday, May 29.
Of course, online poker players love to take a shot at moving up in stakes and skill levels. SCOOP provides low-stakes players a chance to pad their bankroll by taking a dip into deeper waters with a medium or high buy-in event. It’s safe to say that players with deep pockets and pros are slugging it out in the high tier of events, but you’d be surprised how many pros also play at the low and medium levels.
PokerStars offers different formats in 2023 SCOOP. The lowest entry fee lever will provide players an opportunity to try out a different format without investing a significant portion of their bankroll. SCOOP’s low events give players a chance to try out Badugi, or learn Short Deck poker.
PokerStars is running SCOOP satellites, Fast Track events, and Spin&GO events so you can win tournament tickets. The Fast Track has a beginning step, or Step 1, with a $1.50 SNG. Step 2 includes a $20 SNG option or $20 multi-table tournaments. Step 3 has $109 MTTs, and Step 4 has a $1,050 MTT for high-priced events.
Do not miss out on the action this year.
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