World Series of Poker Schedule

Some people need to know their limits.

Event #25 offered players three chances to get their short-handed fixed-limit Hold'em game on. The high version of the event featured a $2,100 buy-in and drew 131 entrants, obliterating the $75,000 guarantee by creating a $262,000 prize pool.

Jarcon86 came out on top and won $68,120.00. The even lasted just over 12 hours -- a quarter of which was spent at the final table -- and featured several big names. Team PokerStars Pro was represented by Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Theo Jorgensen. Team PokerStars Online was also in the field, with Randy "nanonoko" Lew and Richard "Tzen1" Veenman representing the virtual red spade.

But only 18 players would cash this event and -- of course -- only six could make it to the...

Final table

Seat 1: OPTIMUS9RIME -- 71,396
Seat 2: blanconegro -- 110,594
Seat 3: StinkyToeFoo -- 113,427
Seat 4: jama-dharma -- 105,800
Seat 5: Jarcon86 -- 113,459
Seat 6: Sasuke234 -- 140,324

Stacks were fairly even when the final table started, but that couldn't last forever. Half the players started to chip up and the other half slid.

No double SCOOP

jama-dharma was the only player remaining to own a SCOOP watch. jama-dharma won SCOOP #9-H ($2,100 Mixed Hold'em) back in 2010.

jama-dharma has skills in limit and even took the final table lead early on, chipping up to 145,000. Other players took notice:

Sasuke234: chip leader is limit pro
Sasuke234: we are all ***ed

But that's when jama-dharma's descent started. Limits were 2,500/5,000 and StinkyToeFoo raised from middle position. jama-dharma re-raised and StinkyToeFoo four-bet. jama-dharma called and the flop came [4d][10s][kh]. StinkyToeFoo bet and jama-dharma called, bringing a [jc] on the turn.

There was a round of checks and a [2h] on the river. StinkyToeFoo bet and jama-dharma called and mucked when StinkyToeFoo showed [ah][kd].

jama-dharma dropped to 126,050 and lost the lead to Sasuke234. jama-dharma then raised from the button and Sasuke234 called from the big blind, bringing an [ad][2d][as] flop. jama-dharma bet, Sasuke234 raised and jama-dharma called.

The turn was a [3c] and jama-dharma check-folded to Sasuke234's bet. jama-dharma dipped below the six-figure and never crossed it again.

OPTIMUS9RIME was also losing a bit during this time:

jama-dharma then dipped to 50,000 when blanconegro raised to 5,000 from the button. jama-dharma called from the big blind and the flop came [8c][4s][ks]. jama-dharma check-raised blanconegro and blanconegro called, bringing a [qh] on the turn.

jama-dharma led out, blanconegro called and the river was a [4d]. jama-dharma put out one last bet and blanconegro called, showing [jc][8d] and taking down the 40,000 pot. jama-dharma showed [jd][5d] and was left with 51,000.

jama-dharma then fell to Jarcon86.

Limits were up to 3,000/6,000 and Jarcon86 raised from under-the-gun. jama-dharma called from the big blind and the flop came [as][6c][10c]. Jarcon86 bet, jama-dharma raised and a [10h] came on the river when Jarcon86 called.

Jarcon86 called jama-dharma's turn bet and the [qh] fell on the river. jama-dharma bet again and Jarcon86 raised to 12,000.

jama-dharma only had 5,300 behind and folded.

jama-dharma then folded his small blind and moved all-in for 3,800 on the button. Jarcon86 and Sasuke234 called from the blinds and checked down the [7d][8h][5h][7c][2s] board. Jarcon86 turned over [as][5c] and everyone else mucked.

jama-dharma became our first final table elimination and earned $11,790 for finishing 6th.

One more

Sasuke234 was still the chip leader with 230,000 and StinkyToeFoo was in second with about 190,000. The elimination put Jarcon86 in a close third with 176,000.

blanconegro and OPTIMUS9RIME on the other hand were hanging in with about 30,000 apiece. Limits went up to 4,000/8,000 and blanconegro managed to score a double up.

blanconegro raised to 8,000 from under-the-gun and Sasuke234 re-raised from the small blind. blanconegro four-bet and Sasuke234 called, bringing a [3h][8h][5c] flop. Sasuke234 bet and blanconegro called all-in. blanconegro had [ad][6s] and was up against Sasuke234's [ah][5h].

Sasuke234 had a pair and a flush draw, but the turn was a [js] and the river brought a [6d] to give blanconegro the bigger pair. blanconegro doubled up through Sasuke234, but then gave it all back a few hands later.

blanconegro raised from the cutoff and Sasuke234 called from the big blind. The flop came [6c][5d][8s] and Sasuke234 check-raised blanconegro's bet. blanconegro re-raised and Sasuke234 four-bet, bringing a call and a [9d] on the turn. Sasuke234 bet and blanconegro called all-in with 1,396.

Sasuke turned over [qs][8d] while blanconegro showed [ac][js] for his tournament life. blanconegro was eliminated in 5th place and earned $17,030.00.

A comeback

Jarcon86 dipped down to 65,000 with four players left and became the tournament shortstack. But that was before winning a massive pot:

Jarcon86 then won a bit more off OPTIMUS9RIME.

OPTIMUS9RIME raised from the button and Jarcon86 called from the big blind. The flop came [6h][9h][10h] and Jarcon86 check-called OPTIMUS9RIME's bet. Both players checked when the [kh] came on the turn and Jarcon96 bet the [as] on the river. OPTIMUS9RIME called and mucked when Jarcon86 showed [jh][10c]. OPTIMUS9RIME was down to 46,000 and lost a few more small pots.

OPTIMUS9RIME's last hand started when Jarcon86 raised from the button and OPTIMUS9RIME called from the big blind. There was a [jc][6h][ah] flop and OPTIMUS9RIME check-raised Jarcon86. Jarcon86 re-raised and OPTIMUS9RIME four-bet to 16,000.

Jarcon86 called and OPTIMUS9RIME moved all-in for 4,292 when the [5s] came on the turn. Jarcon86 called and showed [ks][qh] to OPTIMUS9RIME's [as][8s]. Jarcon86 was in need of a 10 and the river complied with a [10d].

OPTIMUS9RIME was eliminated in 4th place, a finish worth $22,270.00.

Down to two

Sasuke234 was still in the lead with 300,000 when we got three-handed. Jarcon86 started third with 164,000 to StinkyToeFoo's 187,000 but our eventual champion took a few bites out of StinkyToeFoo's stack.

Sasuke234 raised from the button, StinkyToeFoo re-raised from the small blind and Jarcon86 four-bet from the big. Sasuke234 folded and StinkyToeFoo called, bringing a [9d][4h][4c] flop. StinkyToeFoo called Jarcon86's flop bet but folded to Jarcon96's bet on the [4d] turn.

Jarcon86 took second place with 190,000 and StinkyToeFoo dipped to 167,000.

Then Jarcon86 raised to 8,000 from the button and StinkyToeFoo called. The flop came [ac][6d][4c] and StinkyToeFoo check-raised. Jarcon86 called and the [3s] came on the turn. StinkyToeFoo bet, Jarcon86 raised and StinkyToeFoo called, bringing a [3c] on the river. Jarcon86 bet again and StinkyToeFoo folded, leaving himself with 119,000.

StinkyToeFoo then dipped below 100,000 and lost nearly half his stack to Sasuke234.

Sasuke234 raised from the small blind and StinkyToeFoo called, bringing a [7d][7h][8h] flop. Sasuke234 bet and then three-bet after StinkyToeFoo raised. A [5d] came on the turn after a call and Sasuke234 bet another 8,000. StinkyToeFoo raised and Sasuke234 called, bringing a [js] on the river.

Sasuke234 check-called StinkyToeFoo's river bet and turned over [6d][8c] to beat StinkyToeFoo's [10c][6s].

StinkyToeFoo was down to 57,000 and lost even more to Sasuke234:

StinkyToeFoo was out the next hand.

StinkyToeFoo raised to 8,000 from the button and both blinds called. The flop came [jc][9s][6d] and Jarcon86 bet. Sasuke234 called, StinkyToeFoo called all-in and the [10s] came on the turn. Both players checked and the river was an [8c].

Sasuke234 bet, Jarcon86 folded and StinkyToeFoo showed a set with [8s][8d]. But the rivered set couldn't beat Sasuke234's rivered straight with [qc][jd].

StinkyToeFoo was out in third and won $45,850.00.

Heads-up

Sasuke234 started the heads-up match in the lead with 446,618 to Jarcon86's 177,851.

It would be a long uphill battle for Jarcon86, but the Finnish player eventually made it. Sasuke234 held the lead for a large portion of the heads-up match and then players were even for the other part. Jarcon86 took the final lead when we hit 6,000/12,000 limits.

Jarcon86 raised from the button and Sasuke234 called, bringing an [ad][5d][qc] flop. Jarcon86 bet, Sasuke234 raised and Jarcon86 called, bringing a [6s] on the turn.

Sasuke234 bet again and Jarcon86 raised. Sasuke234 threw in a re-raise and Jarcon86 called, bringing a [qs] on the river. Sasuke234 check-called Jarcon86's final bet and mucked when Jarcon86 showed [qh][5c].

Jarcon took the lead with 350,000 to Sasuke234's 300,000. Jarcon86 then continued to hack away at Sasuke234's stack, bringing him below 200,000:

Sasuke234 managed to get back beyond 200,000 for a bit, but Jarcon86 finally took Sasuke234 into the five digits.

Sasuke234 raised to 12,000 and Jarcon86 called, bringing an [as][7s][7d] flop. Jarcon86 check-raised and Sasuke234 called. The turn was a [3d] and Sasuke234 bet. Jarcon86 raised and Sasuke234 called, bringing a [jc] on the river.

Jarcon86 bet again and Sasuke234 mucked when Jarcon86 showed [8c][7h]. Sasuke234 was now down to 97,000.

The limits went up to 8,000/16,000 and it was all over a few minutes later. Sasuke234 raised from the button and Jarcon86 called. Sasuke234 bet the [4c][ks][9c] flop and Jarcon86 called, bringing a [4s] on the turn.

Sasuke234 bet again and Jarcon86 raised, Sasuke234 re-raised and Jarcon86 four-bet to 64,000. Sasuke234 called all-in and turned over [kd][3s] to Jarcon86's [qh][4h]. The river was a [7d] and the tournament was over. Sasuke234 won $45,850 for the runner-up finish while Jarcon86 wins the watch and $68,120.00.

PokerStars 2013 SCOOP Event #25-H ($2,100 FLHE 6-Max) results:

Entrants: 131
Prize pool: $262,000
Places paid: 18

1. Jarcon86 (Finland) $68,120.00
2. Sasuke234 (Sweden) $45,850.00
3. StinkyToeFoo (Taiwan) $34,060.00
4. OPTIMUS9RIME (Germany) $22,270.00
5. blanconegro (Mexico) $17,030.00
6. jama-darma (Russia) $11,790.00

We've finished another SCOOP. There are still several more events including all three buy-ins of this year's SCOOP Main Event. For satellites to that event and all remaining events -- plus a leader board and results -- check out the SCOOP homepage.

Alexander Villegas is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

SCOOP is known and loved for its variety and its multiple buy-in levels. Still, some of the best events on the schedule remain no-limit hold'em freezeouts like Event #22-H. A two-day tournament with 30 minute levels, and a slow structure, this event featured plenty of room for post-flop play and lots of room for the kind of play that make for great railbirding. And with $1.25 million in guaranteed prize money, there was sure to be a first prize worthy of such a marathon tournament.

Those qualities drew a field of 1,048 players to the tables on Monday, May 19th, building a total prize pool of $2,096,000. Late in the day the field had shrunk enough to begin paying out, and Team PokerStars Pro's Johnny Lodden made the cut (87th place, $4,820.80). When Level 20 concluded only 71 of the starters had made it through.

Day 2 began with blinds and antes of 1.5K/3K/375 and a field led by the United Kingdom's Mr Negreanu with 434K. Others in the top 10 included former Super Tuesday winner Sheeter 200 with 325K, Team PokerStars Pro's Ivan Demidov (321K), multiple online Triple Crown winner Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorski (315K), and Brian "$tinger 88" Hastings (300K).

Mr Negreanu (14th, $17,816), Hastings (31st, $8,593.60) and Demidov (21st, $9,641.60) fell short, but the others were still in the running when the final table began at 8:10 p.m. ET.

Seat 1: Str8$$$Homey (1,829,685 in chips)
Seat 2: Sonderskönig (1,399,712 in chips)
Seat 3: pablox55 (2,461,490 in chips)
Seat 4: tonydatiger5 (281,806 in chips)
Seat 5: Sheeter 200 (299,005 in chips)
Seat 6: Flufferd (1,876,152 in chips)
Seat 7: David "WhooooKidd" Baker (468,029 in chips)
Seat 8: poker41day (356,324 in chips)
Seat 9: Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorski (1,507,797 in chips)

The blinds were at 10K/20K with 2.5K antes. With 2009 WCOOP Event 23 champion Str8$$$Homey and two-time WSOP bracelet winner and former SCOOP winner David "WhooooKidd" Baker also in the lineup, the stage was set for an epic final table battle - and the game itself lived up the setting.

With three short stacks hovering between 14 and 18 big blinds there was plenty of incentive for action in the early going - and it mostly went in favor of the underdogs. Israel's poker41day was the first to chip up, doubling through Belgium's Flufferd after three-betting all-in with [Qd] [Qs] and getting called by [Tc] [Ts]. That boosted the Israeli player to a more comfortable 670K. Six hands later, a lot of pre-flop action and a friendly flop card led David Baker to double up to 958K:

Not all of the short stacks were able to find spots to double up, though. Canada's tonydatiger5 had few chances through the first 41 hands, but on Hand #42 the Canadian player picked up [As] [Qh]. With a minimum raise to 50K by p0cket00 and a flat-call from Sonderskönig in front, tonydatiger5 three-bet to 175K. p0cket00 folded, but Sonderskönig four-bet and tonydatiger5 called all-in for 222K total. Sonderskönig's [Ks] [Jh] still trailed after the [6h] [2s] [3d] flop, but the [Kh] turn flipped things upside down. The [5d] fell on the river to end tonydatiger5's run in 9th place ($26,200).

WhooooKidd chipped up to 1.4M thanks to two pots against Argentina's pablox55, each worth more than 520K. Then Sheeter 200, desperate with just four and a half big blinds, moved all-in for 115K before the flop on Hand #55 with [Ad] [8c]. p0cket00 raised to isolate with [Ac] [Ks] and won the 330K-chip pot when the board fell [6d] [3h] [5d] [Td] [4s], sending Sheeter 200 to the rail in 8th place ($42,968).

Around and round they went

With play seven-handed, the remaining players were stacked like so:

Seat 1: Str8$$$Homey (1,079,380 in chips)
Seat 2: Sonderskönig (1,312,603 in chips)
Seat 3: pablox55 (2,681,890 in chips)
Seat 6: Flufferd (1,417,503 in chips)
Seat 7: David "WhooooKidd" Baker (1,350,974 in chips)
Seat 8: poker41day (386,398 in chips)
Seat 9: Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorski (2,251,252 in chips)

The early stretch of seven-handed play was dominated by pablox55, while WhooooKidd and Str$$$Homey stepped up to take some sizable pots a little later. But it was p0cket00 who stopped pablox55 from running away with the chip lead in this hand:

Just six hands later, p0cket00's [9d] [9c] wouldn't hold up in a three-way pot that saw poker41day triple up and Str$$$Homey win a 1.51M-chip side pot. A few orbits later Str$$$Homey and WhooooKidd both won pots worth more than 1M,. Another orbit after at they were joined by Sonderskönig, but the player from Thailand soon lost a coin flip against p0cket00 and slipped just under 1M total. Finally, on Hand #140 of the final table, Sonderskönig was in the 50K big blind holding [Ah] [Jh] and facing an early-position raise to 108K and two flat-calls; after moving all-in for 1.01M, Sonderskönig watched as David Baker raised to isolate. The other players folded and Baker showed his [Qd] [Qs]. The [7h] [Th] [Ks] [Ts] [5c] board changed nothing, the queens held up, and Sonderskönig broke the deadlock with a finish in 7th place ($63,718.40).

Connect four

After 85 of seven-handed play without any eliminations, the next four took very little time by comparison. Just eight hands after Sonderkönig's departure it was pablox55, who had been one good pot away from a dominant lead earlier on, behind the eight-ball. The Argentine player opened the betting on Hand #148 with a minimum raise to 100K, holding [Ad] [Jc], and called after WhooooKidd jammed for an effective 979K more from the big blind. Baker's [Ah] [7h] was behind only until the [5h] [7c] [8d] flop. The [8c] turn and [Qs] river ended pablox55's run in 6th place ($84,678.40).

Three hands later the action folded to Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorski in the small blind and he moved all-in for 678K, holding [Kc] [Td]. The player who had crippled him with a well-disguised, runner-runner flush during seven-handed play, Str$$$Homey, made the call with [Ah] [2c]. Neither player connected with the [7c] [3s] [Qs] [8d] [3d] board, so the ace played and p0cket00 was gone in 5th place ($105,638.40).

The deluge didn't stop there. WhooooKid and Str$$$Homey split the next 15 pots between themselves and took out the other two players along the way. Flufferd went first after three-betting Str$$$Money's minimum raise and calling all-in for 1.23M with [As] [Qd]. Str$$$Money's [9c] [9h] held up on the [6d] [Ts] [4h] [2h] [4d] board and Flufferd left in 4th place ($151,960).

Left with just 515K, poker41day stuck around for seven more hands before getting in pre-flop with [Ad] [3d] against WhooooKidd's [Tc] [7c]; the [Kc] [3s] [Js] [7d] [5s] board paired but players but sevens beat treys. That eliminated poker41day in 3rd place ($203,312), a career-best payday by nearly $190K.

An epic match to end an epic table

After 164 hands, the final two players now faced off against each other:

Seat 1: Str8$$$Homey (4,699,772 in chips)
Seat 7: David "WhooooKidd" Baker (5,780,228 in chips)

The two agreed to look over the numbers for a possible deal but couldn't come to an agreement. With both players at least 94 big blinds deep, they settled in for a long battle. And a long battle it was. For 95 hands they went back and forth; Baker seized the initiative in the early going before Str$$$Money was able to turn things around and even the score. Then the Canadian player took control in much the same way as Baker had. Finally, on the 95th hand of heads-up play and the 259th hand of the final table, Str$$$Homey prevailed and claimed the title.

David "WhooooKidd" Baker might have been unable to claim a second career SCOOP title, but the accomplished pro earned another $272,480. That topped his previous best PokerStars cash, a $215K score from his $5,200 PLO win during SCOOP 2009. Meanwhile it was the first SCOOP title for Str$$$Homey, leaving the former WCOOP event winner just a TCOOP title away from the Triple COOP. At $377,280, this win was more than two and a half times as valuable as Str$$$Homey's previous best cash at PokerStars.

SCOOP 2013 Event #22-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em
1,048 entrants
$2,096,000 prize pool
117 places paid

1st place: Str8$$$Homey (Canada) $377,280
2nd place: David "WhooooKidd" Baker (Mexico) $272,480
3rd place: poker41day (Israel) $203,312
4th place: Flufferd (Belgium) $151,960
5th place: Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorski (Canada) $105,638.40
6th place: pablox55 (Argentina) $84,678.40
7th place: Sonderskönig (Thailand) $63,718.40
8th place: Sheeter 200 (Canada) $42,968
9th place: tonydatiger5 (Canada) $26,200

Jason Kirk is a freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

Hey Shaun? Yeah, you. Shaun Deeb. The dude with more SCOOP watches than limbs. Hear that? Shhhhhh... listen! Those are footsteps, Shaun. Calm down, it's not the cops. It's just Calvin Anderson chasing down your record. It's safe for now, but let me tell you, the guy had a pretty sick day. First stop was Day 2 of Event #22-M. Came in 14th out of 8,000-something players. All the while, he was still grinding #25-M. Yeah, man. 6-max LHE. He made the final table in the middle of the pack and then came from behind heads-up to beat Nick Abou Risk for the title. Yeah, I know you won five. But now he's won four. And you won four of those five all in the same year, so...it could happen? Not saying I doubt you or anything, but I'd keep an eye out.

Calvin "cal42688" Anderson won his first SCOOP watch in 2010, topping a $16.50 buy-in turbo PLO event. A year later, he won the next two in a single 24-hour period, one in Stud Hi/Lo, the other in Razz. Today, at his ninth career SCOOP final table, Anderson won his fourth title in as many disciplines of poker, topping Event #25-M ($215 FL Hold'em 6-Max).

639 players came out to min-raise their way to fame and fortune, the prize pool topping out at $127,800. 84 places were paid with first place set to earn $23,643.00. More than a dozen Red Spades were in the field, including Victor Ramdin, Theo Jorgensen, Liv Boeree, and Chad Brown, but when it came to cashing, they went 0-14.

The betting limits were up to 10,000/20,000 on the final table bubble. With less than three big bets remaining, as1025 picked up [Kh][Jc] and raised to 20,000. Jonstarz three-bet, and as1025 capped. The rest of as1025's chips went in on the [Ts][9h][3s] flop and jonstarz revealed [9s][9d] for middle set. As1025 needed a queen or running cards to survive, but got the [6c] and [4h] instead. Jonstarz raked in the pot and as1025 departed in seventh place, setting the final table.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: b8chatz (503,245 in chips)
Seat 2: nabourisk (207,358 in chips)
Seat 3: Truelove13 (787,158 in chips)
Seat 4: nimzon (579,554 in chips)
Seat 5: cal42688 (517,266 in chips)
Seat 6: jonstarz (600,419 in chips)

Truelove13 won't wait

"I need a new watch," cal42688 quipped as cards went in the air.

He certainly had his work cut out for him at this final table, which featured a two-time UKIPT champion in Nick "nabourisk" Abou Risk as well as nimzon, who made a SCOOP final table in this same format in 2009, albeit with a $5,200 buy-in.

Truelove13 brought the chip lead into the final table but couldn't hang onto it for long. With the board reading [Ah][9h][5h][5s] on the turn, jonstarz capped the betting and Truelove13 called. Truelove13 check-called one more bet when the [Ks] hit the river, jonstarz revealing [Kh][7h] for a flopped flush. Truelove13 fell to 336,000 and ground his way back to 400,000 before jonstarz flushed him out again. In a three-way pot with nimzon, jonstarz turned a queen-high flush and nearly tripled his stack.

Down to 80,158 in chips, Truelove13 capped the betting preflop vs. nabourisk and tossed his last 158 in on a [Ad][4s][3s] flop. Both had flopped top pair, but nabourisk was winning the kicker war, his [As][Kd] dominating Truelove13's [Ac][9d]. Truelove13 did not improve, the turn and river falling the [Ts] and the [Jd] to send him home in sixth place.

nabourisk nicks nimzon

Nimzon dropped to 391,000 in the early going when nabourisk turned trip sevens and nimzon called him down. Only a few minutes later, nimzon slipped to only 159,000 after the aforementioned three-way pot where jonstarz turned a queen-high flush (see replayer above). Nimzon ground his way back up to 277,000, but suffered a cooler against nabourisk. The betting was capped three ways preflop, then capped again between nabouris and nimzon on the [8d][5d][3h] flop. Nabourisk check-called 40,000 on the [Jd] turn and another 40,000 on the [Jc] river to learn his [Qd][Qc] had survived. Nimzon's [Td][Th] was up in smoke and he was left with only 37,554 in chips. They went in on the next hand vs. b8chatz and cal42688, who checked down the [Kd][8h][Js] flop. When the [5c] came on the turn, cal42688 led out and b8chatz folded. Cal42688's [Ks][3h] led nimzon's [Jc][2d], the [Ts] falling to end nimzon's run in fifth place.

jonstarz out in fourth, b8chatz third

Jonstarz was down to 218,000 when he saw a [Qd][8s][4c] flop against nabourisk. Both players checked, and nabourisk checked again when the [Ts] came on the turn. Jonstarz bet 50,000, nabourisk raised, and jonstarz called. Nabourisk led out when the [6s] hit the river and jonstarz folded, saving his last 67,679.

Those chips went in preflop on the very next hand. Cal42688 and b8chatz checked the [Qh][9h][6h] flop, but when the [Jd] came on the turn, cal42688 led out. B8chatz folded and cal42688 turned up [Kc][Th] for a king-high straight. Jonstarz's [Ah][3c] needed a river heart to make the nut flush, but the [Ts] fell instead, eliminating him in fourth place.

Two hands later, b8chatz raised to 60,000 from the small blind and nabourisk called from the big. B8chatz led out on the [Kc][9c][9h] flop and bet his last 41,980 on the [Th] turn, nabourisk calling him down with [5d][9s] for trips. B8chatz was already drawing dead with [Ad][8h] and exited in third place, good for a $13,099.50 payday.

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 2: nabourisk (1,845,501 in chips)
Seat 5: cal42688 (1,349,499 in chips)

Nabourisk struck first, hitting a [Qc][8s][5c] flop with [Ac][Qh]. He got maximum value on the hand, three-betting preflop and leading the flop, turn, and river. Nabourisk moved past 2 million in chips, but cal42688 evened the counts when he flopped an open-ended straight draw and filled it on the river, winning a 720,000 pot. Three hands later, cal42688 took the chip lead. After three-betting pre, leading the flop and turn, and check-raising the river, cal42688's pocket kings prevailed on the [9h][7c][6h][Qs][Qd] board, good for an 800,000 pot. Cal42688 moved up to 1.8 million and vaulted over the 2 million mark on the very next hand.

More good fortune befelled cal42688 when he flat-called a raise with [Ah][3c] and hit a [Ac][Ad][Kd] flop. Cal42688 raised nabourisk's flop bet and led out on the [Tc] turn. Nabourisk called and they saw the [7s] hit the river. Cal42688 got in one more bet, his trips taking down the 640,000 pot while nabourisk fell below a million in chips.

Nabourisk lost even more ground when he tried to run a bluff. He opened for 100,000 preflop and cal42688 called from the big blind. Cal42688 check-called 50,000 on the [Kh][Qh][6d] flop, and checked again when the [8h] hit the turn. Nabourisk bet 100,000 and cal42688 called. The river was the [Kd] and cal42688 checked a third time. Nabourisk took one last shot and bet, but cal42688 called him down, tabling [Qc][2s] for two pair. Nabourisk could only show [9c][Th] for a busted straight draw and fell to 500,000 in chips.

Cal42688 closed out the match a short time later. The action was capped on the flop and the last of nabourisk's chips went in on the turn, but he missed his open-ended straight draw. Cal42688's pair of nines held up to win the hand and his fourth SCOOP title.

Kudos to Calvin "cal42688" Anderson on his fourth SCOOP title! He banked $23,643 for the win while runner-up Nick "nabourisk" Abou Risk earned $17,636.40.

PokerStars 2013 SCOOP Event #25-M ($215 FL Hold'em [6-Max]) results

Players: 639
Prizepool: $127,800
Places paid: 84

1. Calvin "cal42688" Anderson (Mexico) $23,643.00
2. Nick "nabourisk" Abou Risk (Ireland) $17,636.40
3. b8chatz (United Kingdom) $13,099.50
4. jonstarz (United Kingdom) $8,946.00
5. nimzon (Finland) $6,390.00
6. Truelove13 (Russia) $3,834.00

Kristin Bihr is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

Shaun Deeb has five SCOOP titles in his brief professional career. Deeb is like the Tiger Woods of the Spring Championship of Online Poker because he's the master of his own domain and chasing his own ghost. Then again, Deeb has not won any SCOOP events in 2013. Is he losing his edge? That's how much supreme excellence we expect out of Deeb, due to his stupendous and super-human feats at the poker table. In case you haven't been paying attention, Deeb was a bridesmaid twice already this year with a pair of second-place finishes in SCOOP events. When the day began, Deeb sat second overall for Player of the Series, an impressive accomplishment considering he had not won a single 2013 SCOOP event... so far.

I know what you're thinking. If you listen to the tin-foil hat-wearing donks in certain poker forums, then you might actually believe the urban legend that Shaun Deeb is not human and he's either an alien-hybrid from another solar system, or a cyborg with superior artificial intelligence that was created by the CIA at a clandestine, underground test facility in the remote Nevada desert.

Who knows the true origins of Shaun Deeb? One thing is for certain... whenever Deeb plays, everyone gets the hell out of his way because it's only a matter of time before he steamrolls right over you. If you blink, you're road kill.

But this was not destined to be Shaun Deeb's night. Deeb embarked on a another deep run and final tabled yet another SCOOP event, but he fell short of winning his 6th SCOOP title when he exited in fifth place in Event #24-H Mixed NL/PLO.

ImaLucSac was the fortunate one who shipped Event #24-H and thwarted Deeb's attempt at padding his stats.

SCOOP Event #24-H $1,050 Mixed NL/PLO attracted a 362 runners. It seems like a small number, but the field was loaded with several hundred of the premier mixed game connoisseurs. The top 45 places got a cut of the $362,000 prize pool, with $70,047.00 set aside to the eventual champion. This mixed event featured alternating rounds of NLHE and PLO, which meant they played NL during odd-numbered levels and gambled it up with PLO during even-numbered levels.

Team PokerStars Online taking a shot at a SCOOP crown in this event included Mickey "mement_mori" Peterson, Jorj95, nkeyno, Pessagno. Team Pros participating in Event #24-H included Theo Jorgensen, George Danzer, Chad Brown, Richard Toth, Eugene Katchalov, Toni Judet, Vivian Im, and Lex Veldhuis.

Only 45 players advanced to the money. Theo Jorgensen and mement_mori were among the fortunate players who secured themselves a cash. With 100 to go Theo Jorgenson held a sizable lead with almost twice as many chips as second place, but as the tournament raced toward the money bubble, Jorgensen slipped toward the middle of the pack.

Right after the money bubble burst, Team PokerStars Pro Jorgensen hit the skids and was knocked out in 44th place. Jorgensen earned a $2,172 play day. Not long afterwards, Team Online mement_mori bounced in 37th place, which also paid out $2,172.

With 18 remaining on the final two tables, high-stakes grinder zivziv held the lead with 267K. With 11 to go, Markush13 was out in front with Deeb sitting close by in second place.

With ten players remaining and vying for the final table, action went hand-for-hand. Former big-stack, zivziv, unceremoniously bubbled off the final table in tenth place when his [Kd][Qd][Jh][9s] lost to fuddebuf's [Jc][Tc][8h][7d]. The board ran out [Ts][8c][6c][8d][Qs], and although zivziv rivered a Queen-high straight, it failed to beat fuddebuf's full boat. The final table was set and Deeb was in the hunt for another SCOOP title.

Event #24-H Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: shaundeeb (228,151)
Seat 2: ihaveAAdream (27,444)
Seat 3: Markush13 (381,260)
Seat 4: ILYAK1717 (187,312)
Seat 5: fuddebuf (602,732)
Seat 6: ImaLucSac (62,820)
Seat 7: pokerkluka (78,395)
Seat 8: Schinken777 (135,666)
Seat 9: shtirlitz_ (106,220)

The final table commenced during Level 23 and a round of NL. The blinds were 2K/4K and a 500 ante. Denmark's fuddebuf sat on the big stack with 602K. Shaun Deeb was third overall with 228K. Bringing up the rear was short-stacked ihaveAAdream with 27.4K.

ihaveAAdream eliminated in 9th place

The round was NL. Short-stacked ihaveAAdream did not last very long at the final table before open-shoving for 17,944. Markush13 re-raised all-in 31,888 to isolate and everyone else bailed. Heads-up. Markush13 had ihaveAAdream dominated:

Markush13: [Ac][Jh]
ihaveAAdream: [Ah][7d]

The board ran out [Tc][6d][5s][2s][Kd]. Neither player improved, but Markush13 dragged the pot with Ace-high and a Jack-kicker. Germany's ihaveAAdream was out-kicked and became the first player to bust at the final table. For a ninth-place performance, ihaveAAdream took home $6,335.00.

Schinken777 eliminated in 8th place

During a round of NL... ImaLucSac open-shoved for 69,820, Schinken777 called all-in for 59,566 from the small blind, and shtirlitz_ (who had both players covered) called from the big blind. Three-way pot.

ImaLucSac: [4c][4d]
shtirlitz_: [Ad][Kh]
Schinken777: [Ah][Td]

ImaLucSac was ahead with pocket fours. The board ran out [Jd][7h][2d][Jc][3c] and ImaLucSac's fours held up. ImaLucSac won both the main pot (188,698) and side pot (16,508). shtirlitz_ lost the pot and was crippled. Schinken777 failed to improve and was knocked out in eight place, which paid out $8,688.00.

shtirlitz_ eliminated in 7th place

Two hands later, the round was still NL and we saw another bustout when shtirlitz_ bombed it all-in for 37,800 and ILYAK1717 called. ILYAK1717 led with [As][5s] versus shtirlitz_'s [Kh][Qd]. The board ran out [9c][8h][7d][7s][Jh]. Both players did not improve their hands, but ILYAK1717 dragged the pot with Ace-high. Russia's shtirlitz_ bounced out in seventh place, which paid $12,308.00.

With six remaining, fuddebuf continued to hold the lead with 596K. Markush13 was second with 420K, and Deeb was fourth with 230K.

pokerkluka eliminated in 6th place

During a round of PLO we lost another player... fuddebuf min-raised to 10,000, pokerkluka re-raised to 37,500, and fuddebuf called. The flop was [9h][5h][5s]. fuddebuf checked, pokerkluka bet 82,500, fuddebuf check-raised to 165,000, and pokerkluka called all-in for 30,090.

fuddebuf: [Qh][Qs][6s][2h]
pokerkluka: [Ac][Ad][8s][2s]

Although pokerkluka was ahead with Aces, fuddebuf re-draw to a flush after the flop. The turn was the [4h] and fuddebuf took the lead with a flush. The river was the [2d] and fuddebuf won the pot with a Queen-high flush. For a sixth-place finish, pokerkluka earned $15,928.00.

With five to go, fuddebuf chipped up to approximately 900K and held almost half of the chips in play. Deeb slipped to 200K and was fourth overall.

Shaun Deeb eliminated in 5th place

Shaun Deeb was silent for most of the final table and never really got anything going. He was trying to win SCOOP victory #6 for his first win this year, but Deeb came up short during a round of NL and was bounced in fifth place.

On Deeb's final hand... Markush13 opened with a raise to 12,600, ImaLucSac bumped it up to 32,600, shaundeeb moved all-in for 200,238, Markush13 folded, and ImaLucSac called 167,638. Heads-up.

ImaLucSac: [Ah][Kc]
Shaun Deeb: [Ad][Qs]

Deeb found himself in trouble when he ran his [Ad][Qs] into ImaLucSac's Big Slick. [Ah][Kc]. The board finished up [Kh][Jd][3d][Ac][7s]. Deeb had flopped a Broadway gutter, but failed to get there. ImaLucSac flopped a pair and turned two pair to win the pot. Alas, Shaun Deeb's run came to an end with a fifth-place finish, which paid out $20,634.00.

ILYAK1717 eliminated in 4th place

During a round of NL, we went from four to three. Markush13 opened with a raise to 14,000, ILYAK1717 bumped it up to 29,987, Markush13four-bet shoved for 253,634, and ILYAK1717 called all-in for 221,776. ILYAK1717 was behind the eight-ball and dominated by Markush13.

Markush13: [As][Js]
ILYAK1717: [Ad][9h]

The board ran out [Kd][5c][2d][Qc][4c]. Markush13 turned a Broadway draw, but whiffed on the river. Neither player improved their hands, but Markush13 won the pot with Ace-high and a stronger kicker. For a fourth-place performance, ILYAK1717 earned $29,865.00.

With three players remaining, fuddebuf was in first with 906K, Markush13 sat in second with 508K, and ImaLucSac was the shorty with 395K.

WORST TO FIRST: ImaLucSac

During a fortunate round of NL, ImaLucSac avoided an elimination and doubled through fuddebuf in a pot worth over 696K. ImaLucSac bombed it all-in preflop with [4d][4s] and chased down fuddebuf's [Tc][Th] when he flopped a set of fours. That decisive hand gave ImaLucSac a slight chip lead over fuddebuf (696K to 633K). ImaLucSac tried to pull away and chipped up to 955K, which was more than half the chips in play.

It didn't take long before ImaLucSac's stack was under assault by fuddebuf, who regained the lead with 858K.

Markush13 eliminated in 3rd place

During a round of PLO, we lost another player. ImaLucSac min-raised to 16,000, Markush13 bumped it up to 56,000, fuddebuf re-raised to 96,000, ImaLucSac folded, and Markush13 called. The flop was [Kc][Th][5s]. Markush13 jammed all-in for 89,847 and fuddebuf called.

Markush13: [Js][Ts][8c][5c]
fuddebuf: [Ad][Qc][Qh][2d]

Markush13 flopped two pair and took the lead. The turn was the [Jh] and fuddebuf turned a Broadway straight. The river was the [6s]. Markush13 could only muster up two pair and fuddebuf won the pot with a straight. Markush13 was knocked out in third place, which paid out $39,820.00.

HEADS-UP: fuddebuf (Denmark) vs. ImaLucSac (Canada)
Seat 5: fuddebuf (1,020,762)
Seat 6: ImaLucSac (789,238)

When heads-up began, ImaLucSac trailed. Heads-up only lasted nine hands and ImaLucSac won six out of the last eight hands.

The most decisive pot was a 1.6 million doozy during PLO that ImaLucSac won. Although fuddebuf flopped a set of sevens with [As][8s][7s][7d], ImaLucSac turned a straight with [Qh][Jd][9c][8h] and won the pot. fuddebuf was crippled and left with around 146K. ImaLucSac finished him off two hands later.

fuddebuf eliminated in 2nd place; ImaLucSac ships Event #24-H!

On the final hand during a round of PLO... fuddebuf min-raised to 16,000 and ImaLucSac called. The flop was [Ac][Tc][8d]. ImaLucSac checked, fuddebuf fired out 16,000, ImaLucSac check-raised to 80,000, fuddebuf shoved for 122,724, and ImaLucSac called.

ImaLucSac: [Ah][8s][7s][7c]
fuddebuf: [Qc][9d][6d][3c]

fuddebuf flopped a straight draw and a flush draw, while ImaLucSac flopped two pair. The turn was the [Ts] and the river was the [As]. ImaLucSac rivered a full house and won the pot. Meanwhile, fuddebuf busted out in second place.

Denmark's fuddebuf collected $52,490.00 for a runner-up performance.

Congrats to ImaLucSac, who shipped Event #24-H and earned $70,047.00 for first place, not to mention a sleek SCOOP champion's watch.

View the final hand in the re-player:

2013 SCOOP Event #24-H $1,050 Mixed NL/PLO - Final Table Results:

Entrants: 362
Prize Pool: $362,000
Places Paid: 45

1. Dylan "ImaLucSac" Linde (Canada) - $70,047.00
2. fuddebuf (Denmark) - $52,490.00
3. Markush13 (Belarus) - $39,820.00
4. ILYAK1717 (Finland) - $29,865.00
5. Shaun Deeb (Mexico) - $20,634.00
6. pokerkluka (Netherlands) - $15,928.00
7. shtirlitz_ (Russia) - $12,308.00
8. Schinken777 (Germany) - $8,688.00
9. ihaveAAdream (Germany) - $6,335.00

Get your SCOOP fix by visiting the SCOOP home page. View the remaining schedule or find out who is currently in the lead for Player of the Series. Plus, if you're a stat geek, check out the comprehensive SCOOP stats page.

Pauly McGuire is an author and freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

Of all 132 tournaments on the 2013 SCOOP schedule, only the three Event #25 tourneys offered limit hold'em players a shot at their favorite game, and the $27 buy-in "low" version proved plenty attractive.

By the time late registration concluded there were 3,463 registered for the six-handed event, thus building a total prize pool of $85,016.65 that more than tripled the event's $25K guarantee. After more than 10 hours' worth of raises, three-bets, and capped pots, it was Russia's Koraseg prevailing to win the watch and a nifty $12,314.44 first prize after a heads-up chop with stevopoulin of Belarus.

It took about four hours and 20 minutes for that big field to play down to 450 players and the cash, with EyesNvrLie sitting in the top spot at that point with more than 140,000 or more than three-and-a-half times the average stack.

About an hour-and-a-half after that they were down to 100 players, then led by LucaBrasi n1 with more than 470,000.

Among those hitting the rail during that stretch were Team Online members Shane "shaniac" Schleger (416th, $44.20), Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara (368th, $45.05), and Team Pro and Event #12-H winner George Danzer (164th, $85.01).

Former leader EyesNvrLie also hit the rail in 271st ($52.71), and as play continued LucaBrasi n1 would fall as well in 31st ($276.30).

As the tourney approached the eight-hour mark just 18 were left, led by elmelogno4 with more than 2.41 million.

Among those remaining was James "Andy McLEOD" Obst who soon went out in 18th for a $552.60 cash. He was followed by 7Be/\eC7 (17th), dapea (16th), WalterJSC (15th), No10Nostr8 (14th), and pele06 (13th), each of whom also earned $552.60.

Over the next 40 minutes the final 12 played down to six, with elmelogno4 continuing to enjoy the chip lead while building a stack up over 7 million. commatzu (12th), tomacampi (11th), and pk420 (10th) each picked up $722.64 for their finishes, while Scombat (9th), BIG-ice-cube (8th), and dimitri1978 (7th) took away $935.18 apiece.

The final six-handed table was set.

Seat 1: stevopoulin (Belarus) -- 1,574,897
Seat 2: rosjim (United Kingdom) -- 992,278
Seat 3: padjes (Netherlands) -- 919,427
Seat 4: KIA666 (Denmark) -- 1,434,654
Seat 5: elmelogno4 (Uruguay) -- 7,408,149
Seat 6: Koraseg (Russia) -- 5,015,595

The stakes were 60,000/120,000 to begin the final table, and it only took about five minutes for rosjim to get whittled down to a stack of just 242,278. Then came a hand in which rosjim raised from early position, chip leader elmelogno4 three-bet from the small blind, rosjim capped it to go nearly all in, and elmelogno4 called.

The flop came [Th][5s][Ts] and when elmelogno4 bet, rosjim called for the last 2,278. elmelogno4 had [Ad][3c] while rosjim had [Ac][6d], and it looked like either a rosjim win or a chop was imminent. But the [3h] fell on fourth street to pair elmelogno4's trey, and after the river [Jc], rosjim was out in sixth.

They pushed past the nine-hour mark, then with the limits up to 80,000/160,000 elmelogno4 raised from UTG, KIA666 three-bet from the big blind, elmelogno4 capped it, and KIA666 called.

The flop came [4h][3s][Th]. KIA666 bet, elmelogno4 raised, and KIA666 called with the 37,232 left, turning over [As][2s] for a wheel draw. Meanwhile elmelogno4 had [Ac][7d], and after the [6c] turn and [8s] river they were down to four.

Shortly after that hand the stakes moved up to 100,000/200,000 and elmelogno4 was raising once more from under the gun. It folded to padjes in the big blind who called, then the flop came [4s][Jc][8h]. padjes checked, elmelogno4 bet, padjes raised all in for 144,427, and elmelogno4 called.

It was [Kd][Td] for padjes and [Ad][3d] for elmelogno4. The [Ah] then fell on the turn to pair elmelogno4 and leave padjes hoping to fill a gutshot to Broadway. Fifth street then brought the [2c], and elmelogno4 had claimed a third straight victim to knock padjes out in fourth.

Despite earning those three knockouts, however, elmelogno4 had been overtaken by Koraseg who had over 8.35 million when three-handed play began to elmelogno4's almost 6.5 million and stevopoulin's 2.46 million.

Over the next sequence Koraseg continued to accumulate chips while elmelogno4 slid back to third position, then finally to less than half a million as the stakes bumped up again to 160,000/320,000. Then a hand occurred in which Koraseg raised, stevopoulin three-bet, then elmelogno4 called all in for 337,432 total and Koraseg called as well.

The flop came [3c][Ac][Jh] and after stevopoulin checked, Koraseg bet and stevopoulin stepped aside. Koraseg showed [Ah][Qc] for aces while elmelogno4 had [9c][3s] for a pair of treys. The turn was the [5s] and river the [8h], and elmelogno4's run had been stopped in third.

Heads-up play began with Koraseg enjoying a better than 2-to-1 lead with 11,888,027 to stevopoulin's 5,426,973. They played five hands with Koraseg chipping up a little further, then paused proceedings to discuss a possible deal to divide the remaining prize money.

"Chip chop" numbers were soon produced (the same as ICM when heads-up), leaving $500 for which to play, and both players quickly agreed, thereby guaranteeing themselves five-figure paydays.

The pair would trade small and big bets for another half-hour, with stevopoulin gradually catching up and then passing Koraseg to snatch the lead away. But Koraseg swiftly fought back and after a claiming a quick series of pots stormed back in front, then had stevopoulin on the ropes with just 726,973 when the stakes had risen to 200,000/400,000.

That's when Koraseg raised from the button and stevopoulin called, and the pair saw a flop come [Jd][7c][6s]. stevopoulin checked, Koraseg bet, stevopoulin check-raised all in for 326,973, and Koraseg called.

stevopoulin: [5c][4h]
Koraseg: [Ad][Js]

It was top pair for Koraseg and an open-ender for stevopoulin. The turn paired the board, coming [6c]. Then came the river... the [2c]! It was all over... Koraseg had won!

Congratulations to Koraseg, winner of Event #25-L! And kudos as well to stevopoulin for making it to heads-up play and the two-way chop.

PokerStars 2013 SCOOP Event #25-L ($27 Limit Hold'em) results (*reflects two-way deal)

Players: 3,463
Total prize pool: $85,016.65
Places paid: 450

1. Koraseg (Russia) $12,314.44*
2. stevopoulin (Belarus) $10,515.36*
3. elmelogno4 (Uruguay) $7,098.89
4. padjes (Netherlands) $4,548.39
5. KIA666 (Denmark) $2,763.04
6. rosjim (United Kingdom) $1,487.79

There's plenty more SCOOP to go, with nearly a week's worth of tournaments still remaining. Check out the SCOOP site for all the details.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

I'm no detective. If you present me with a locked room mystery, I'm likely to make a few polite inquiries and then, stymied by the apparent unsolvable nature of the mystery and the incomplete information in front of me, throw my hands up in the air and say, "The butler did it," even though the butler never, ever does it.

Crack the code, solve the puzzle, save the day. Isn't that the way detective fiction goes?

Seems to be just as true for tournament poker. Whoever cracks the code of the other players first stands the best chance of being anointed the champion at the end of the tournament. In SCOOP 2013 Event 24-M, that honor went to wadzon.

Long before the final table began, however, Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov showed off his mixed game mystery-solving skills in Event 24-M. He made a spirited run through the field before bowing out in 43rd place, good for $502.88. He was joined on the money side of the results list by Team Online player Caio Pessagno, who finished in 187th place.

The double elimination of Yoo4 and ridziarz in a PLO hand on the final table bubble meant that only eight players took seats at the final table instead of the usual nine.

Seat 2: flodopoker (1715074 in chips)
Seat 3: Fishtripp (161686 in chips)
Seat 5: henri72 (1107965 in chips)
Seat 6: wadzon (438500 in chips)
Seat 7: teckidtq (825324 in chips)
Seat 8: anusgutten (2179820 in chips)
Seat 9: xhiti_b (2184429 in chips)

Level 32: PLO, blinds 15k-30k
Average: 998k (33 BBs)

Slow beginnings

As the final table started, both Fishtripp (5.5 BBs) and Mikleler (12 BBs) were in danger of busting out. At the other end of the spectrum, anugutten and xhiti_b were neck-and-neck for the chip lead. anusgutten got out of the gate first by taking 240,000 chips off of xhiti_b on the second hand of the final table.

Short-stacked Fishtripp never made it out of the gate at all. Fishtripp was put out to the proverbial pasture in 8th place by xhiti_b. Fishtripp opened pre-flop for pot to 105k, then called all in on a [9s][jd][4c] flop for 56k more. At that point, Fishtripp's [ah][qh][jc][5c] had the lead with a pair of jacks, but xhiti_b's [6s][kh][td][3h] turned a king-high straight and then ducked Fishtripp's river outs to a full house.

xhiti_b was involved again just before the 11pm break when Mikleler caught an unlucky river card to exit in 7th place. The chips were all in pre-flop - all 277k of them for Mikleler. xhiti_b's single-suited queens [qc][qc][7d][5s], didn't look like they'd hold against Mikleler's [ac][jh][ts][8h] after the board developed [7s][td][6c][9d] by the turn, giving Mikleler a straight. But the river [2d] improved xhiti_b to a diamond flush to send Mikleler crashing to the rail.

Despite these eliminations, xhiti_b wasn't building much of a chip lead. With 6 players left and blinds at 20k-40k NLHE, anusgutten and xhiti_b both had about 2.4 million in chips. flodpoker and henri72 were virtually tied with about 1.4 million each, and wadzon and teckidtq were the short stacks.

anusgutten staked a claim to the chip lead for a second time, first by taking another 500,000 chips from xhiti_b in a pot that went to showdown and then by knocking out teckidtq in 6th place. teckidtq tried open-shoving for 533k from the cutoff, but anusgutten had been dealt [as][qs] and got right in there. teckidtq showed two 8s but couldn't fade anusgutten's overcards, as an "ace from space" hit the river to improve anusgutten to the winning hand.

Deal off, game on

When the game switched to 25k-50k PLO, flodopoker inquired, "anybody interested in a deal?" Nobody responded. The band marched on, with anusgutten again falling back to the pack and henri72 taking over the chip lead for the first time. It got worse for anusgutten when anusgutten got on the wrong side of set over set against wadzon to drop all the way to 4th in chips out of the remaining 5 players.

henri72 made a huge stride forward in the counts by eliminating flodpoker in 5th place. flodopoker tried to shove a draw but the draw didn't come in:

When henri72 tacked on a few more small pots to crest the 5-million chip mark, it seemed that the other three players, who all had stacks of roughly 1.2 million in chips, were in a race to see which one would meet henri72 heads up. wadzon knocked anusgutten out in 4th place during the 30k-60k NLHE round on a flip when pocket 4s held against [ac][qh] pre-flop. Two hands after that, xhiti_b opened to 120k pre-flop, then called all in for 1.25 million more after wadzon shoved [ac][9c]. xhiti_b's [kd][9d] never overtook wadzon.

Like that, only two player remained. henri72 started with a 5-to-4 chip lead.

wadzon: deal 50/50?
henri72: 50/50 when it is equal, not yet

On the 2nd hand of heads-up play it became very unequal. henri72 was dealt pocket kings; wadzon caught pocket aces. All the chips went in pre-flop and aces held to reverse the chip advantage in favor of wadzon, 8-to-1.

After the 12am break, pocket queens worked out a bit better for henri72 against wadzon's [ac][ts]. henri72 secured a full double-up to cut the chip deficit down to 7-to-2. henri72 bounced down to about 1.2 million again, then double up to 2.4 million. The stacks bounced in that range for a while.

The final blow came in the 40k-80k PLO round. Sitting with the button, henri72 opened for the minimum to 160k. wadzon called, then checked a queen-high flop, [qh][3d][8c]. henri72 continued for 320k, then got a million more all in after wadzon check-raised. wadzon showed down bottom two pair with [ac][kc][8s][3s] and was up against naked aces, [ad][as][4h][qc]. The turn [7s] and river [8d] sent henri72 to the rail as the runner-up and made wadzon a new SCOOP champion.

SCOOP 2013 Event 24-M $109 Mixed NLHE / PLO results

Players: 1796
Prizepool: $179,600
Places paid: 234

1. wadzon (Russia) - $28,736.00
2. henri72 (Estonia) - $21,552.00
3. xhiti_b (Switzerland) - $16,164.00
4. anusgutten (Norway) - $11,808.70
5. flodopoker (Austria) - $8,531.00
6. teckidtq (Canada) - $6,645.20
7. Mikleler (Russia) - $4,849.20
8. Fishtripp (Finland) - $3,143.00
9. ridziarz (Poland) - $1,796.00

There are still plenty of events left before the 2013 edition of SCOOP comes to an end. Find a schedule of the remaining tournaments and qualifiers to them, along with results and leaderboards, at the SCOOP home page.

Dave Behr is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

The ups and downs that come with PLO are inevitable, and the mix of that game with NLHE is challenging. MrSax00beat entered final table play with the chip lead and increased it, but ARMEN1US overcame more chip fluctuations to end up in the heads-up battle against MrSax00beat. And the strong chip lead at the beginning of that match was enough to take ARMEN1US right into the winner's circle.

*****

There is no question that the game of No Limit Hold'em remains as popular as ever among all types of players, but it has had to allow room at the top for Pot Limit Omaha. While PLO is not as commonly known or played as NLHE by any means, players are getting to know it as they once did with Hold'em. The rise of PLO in past years has been something too big to ignore. And it is why it makes perfect sense to include a NLHE/PLO mix in any good online poker tournament series, especially one like the Spring Championship of Online Poker.

Event 24 was that opportunity for fans of both games to show their proficiency in both as well. The low buy-in offered players the chance to grab a SCOOP title for only $11. And the prize money was guaranteed at $50K as well, which was quite a good chunk of money for the reasonable buy-in, even thought that amount soared well past the guarantee when registration closed. The final numbers for this event were:

Players: 8,232
Guarantee: $50,000.00
Prize pool: $82,320.00
Paid players: 1,080

There were two Team PokerStars Pros who made it through the money bubble and onward. Of them, Martin "AABenjaminAA" Hruby was the first to exit in 618th place, and none other than the Flying Dutchman was on his way to another deep run. Team Pro Marcel Luske fell short of yet another major final table, though, and finished in 347th place for $31.28.

Meanwhile, other stars in the game of poker were working their way toward SCOOP fame. Hand-for-hand play began near the 10.5-hour mark of the tournament, and the final table bubble burst when BetterToFold moved all-in during PLO with [4c][Tc][Ah][Ad]. AfraocOG was along for the ride with [Jc][Kd][8h][Ks], which became a full house on the [Kh][4h][3c][3s][5c] board. BetterToFold exited in tenth place with $452.76.

MrSax00beat leads but it's crowded at the top

The final table was set in Level 38, with blinds of 60,000/120,000 for PLO. The players and their initial chip stacks were as follows:

Seat 1: AfraocOG (6,351,144 in chips)
Seat 2: viljoo (5,345,596 in chips)
Seat 3: ARMEN1US (2,134,867 in chips)
Seat 4: doublegandt (5,017,769 in chips)
Seat 5: sacred7 (1,256,126 in chips)
Seat 6: MrSax00beat (6,834,598 in chips)
Seat 7: CrazyLissy (6,763,838 in chips)
Seat 8: shakentoucan (6,265,034 in chips)
Seat 9: Sphyraena (1,191,028 in chips)

MrSax00beat took some large initial pots, though, to extend the lead, but CrazyLissy did the same and rose to the chip lead before the level even finished. But despite efforts of players like CrazyLissy and shakentoucan, MrSax00beat took pots like one worth more than 6.2 million from shakentoucan to climb back to the top and soar well beyond the reach of others. MrSax00beat soon pushed over the 14 million-chip mark.

Then there were some double-ups. Sacred7 doubled through shakentoucan, and the latter doubled through AfraocOG. Sphyraena did it through MrSax00beat, and ARMEN1US doubled through doublegandt.

Doublegandt needed to recover chips from that ARMEN1US hand and moved all-in from middle position with [3s][3c] in the NLHE round. CrazyLissy reraised from the small blind to isolate, which worked, and showed [Ac][Jh]. The board came [Js][6d][Ks][Kd][5d], and doublegandt's lesser two pair warranted elimination in ninth place, which was worth $637.98.

On the very next hand, AfraocOG made a move, starting with an UTG raise. ARMEN1US reraised, and AfraocOG reraised all-in holding [Th][Td]. ARMEN1US did one better with [Js][Jd]. The board of [Jc][8c][6c][Ts][4d] gave both players sets, but the jacks were good enough to eliminate AfraocOG in eighth place with $987.84.

Two hands after that, in PLO, sacred7 moved all-in UTG with [Qc][Ac][Th][8s]. Shakentoucan called, as did ARMEN1US in the big blind. Those two players checked down the board as it came [2d][8c][Kd][Jd][2c], and shakentoucan turned over [Kc][9h][7h][Td] for the best two pair. Sacred7 departed in seventh place with $1,769.88.

Sphyraena doubled through MrSax00beat again but remained one of the shortest stacks of the six remaining players. So, a few hands later, the same two players engaged in a preflop raising war until Sphyraena finally called all-in with [Ks][7d][Ts][Kd]. MrSax00beat showed [Js][Td][Qs][5d], which turned into a full house on the [Qc][Tc][Qd][3c][8h] board. Sphyraena had no choice but to accept sixth place and the $2,551.92 that went with it.

The fall of a shakentoucan

Shakentoucan had a solid run near the top of the leaderboard, but with losses like this, it was tough not to feel frustrated:

Just a few hands later, shakentoucan was all-in from the posting of the small blind in NLHE. ARMEN1US and CrazyLissy were still in the hand, but when the flop showed [7h][7d][Ts], CrazyLissy bet, and ARMEN1US folded. CrazyLissy showed [Kh][Qh], and shakentoucan turned over [Kd][Td]. But the turn and river came [5s] [Qd], giving CrazyLissy the best two pair. Jesse "shakentoucan" Johnston, who finished third in SCOOP Event 6M, took fifth place in this one for $3,375.12.

ARMEN1US then doubled through CrazyLissy in this hand:

Two hands later, CrazyLissy doubled back through ARMEN1US to stay in action, and then did it again through MrSax00beat.

Final four forge a deal

The last four players in the tournament paused the action to discuss a deal. After receiving chip-chop numbers and making some slight adjustments, they did agree to the following payouts, which exclude an extra $1K and SCOOP watch for the winner:

Seat 2: viljoo (5,803,096 in chips) = $6,117.70
Seat 3: ARMEN1US (12,927,197 in chips) = $8,614.68
Seat 6: MrSax00beat (12,856,069 in chips) = $8,590.59
Seat 7: CrazyLissy (9,573,638 in chips) = $8,004.28

Only a few hands after play resumed, CrazyLissy doubled again through MrSax00beat in PLO, but ARMEN1US continued to climb to retain the chip lead. Viljoo doubled through ARMEN1US, while MrSax00beat was on the low end of the four chip counts. But MrSax00beat doubled through viljoo and then again through CrazyLissy.

Viljoo was the next one to move, doing it with [Th][Qc][3d][9d] against the [As][2h][7s][8d] of MrSax00beat. The board of [Kd][5s][Tc][2c][7h] gave MrSax00beat two pair and all of the chips, leaving viljoo out in fourth place with $6,177.70.

On the very next hand, CrazyLissy got into a hand with ARMEN1US to see a raised flop of [Ks][2d][As]. ARMEN1US bet, and CrazyLissy check-raised. When ARMEN1US pushed it again, CrazyLissy pushed all-in with [5d][Qs][Js][Jc]. ARMEN1US called with [9h][Ac][Ad][Ts] and pulled off the full house on the river, which beat the flush of CrazyLissy, pushing the latter out in third place with $8,004.28.

A fight to the finish

Heads-up play then began with these chip counts:

Seat 3: ARMEN1US (32,001,515 in chips)
Seat 6: MrSax00beat (9,158,485 in chips)

MrSax00beat never gave up but never made much progress in the battle. With MrSax00beat finally whittled down to less than 6 million chips in NLHE, ARMEN1US challenged with an UTG all-in raise. MrSax00beat called with [Ad][7d], and ARMEN1US showed [2c][2h]. The flop of [8s][Ts][4s] helped neither player, nor did the [Jd] on the turn. The [2d] on the river only gave ARMEN1Us the set of deuces and eliminated MrSax00beat in second place with $8,590.59.

ARMEN1US of Germany won the SCOOP title, watch, and $9,614.68. Congrats!

PokerStars 2013 SCOOP Event #24-L ($11 NLHE/PLO) results:
Players: 8,232
Prizepool: $82,320
Places paid: 1,080
(Payouts reflect four-way deal)

1. ARMEN1US (Germany) $9,614.68*
2. MrSax00beat (Austria) $8,590.59*
3. CrazyLissy (Russia) $8,004.28*
4. viljoo (Finland) $6,177.70*
5. Jesse "shakentoucan" Johnston (Canada) $3,375.12
6. Sphyraena (Australia) $2,551.92
7. sacred7 (Norway) $1,769.88
8. AfraocOG (Peru) $987.84
9. doublegandt (Canada) $637.98

Check out the SCOOP homepage for all of the upcoming tournaments and satellites, as well as the leaderboard and SCOOP statistics.

Jennifer Newell is a PokerStars freelance contributor.

Every poker player loves an overlay and today's Event #26-M Courchevel H/L tournament provided $17,000 in additional money to meet the $150,000 guarantee. Courchevel is an interesting tweak to the game of Omaha with players dealt 5 hold cards and one of the flop cards revealed before action is opened. The added information combined with a pot-limit and turbo structure provided plenty of action along with the added money. The money bubble burst not long after the late registration, rebuy, and add-on period ended and players hit the door at an impressive rate.

Dan "djk123" was atop the leaderboard for most of the later parts of the tournament until just a few hands before the final table bubble. With very little room to run bad, Kelly was eliminated in 9th place to just miss the final table and a chance at his 2nd SCOOP title. The rest of the players were very short stacked in relation to the blinds with only chip leader AceQuad (1,652,214) holding a significant number of those chips. Most of the elimination hands at the end of the tournament were all-in pre-flop and just watching the board run out.

Noah "Exclusive" Boeken was looking for his 2nd SCOOP title of the week but would need a lot of help sitting on just 15k in chips. C. Darwin2 was also looking for a second SCOOP title while two other players (AceQuad, Akademnuk) have past success with Sunday Million titles.

Final table chip counts:

Seat 1: Akademnuk (311,993 in chips)
Seat 2: ratskerops (367,148 in chips)
Seat 3: R_Caiaffa (352,952 in chips)
Seat 4: C. Darwin2 (625,868 in chips)
Seat 5: AceQuad (1,652,214 in chips)
Seat 6: Lakss12 (463,572 in chips)
Seat 7: Noah "Exclusive" Boeken (15,812 in chips)
Seat 8: agustin_kv (200,441 in chips)

Blinds: 40k/80k
Average: 498,750 (6.2 BBs)

R_Caiaffa makes the final table for one hand, eliminated in 8th

It took exactly one hand at the final table to eliminate the first player and just one of the two which were all-in after the flop. With the [6s] showing pre-flop, R_Caiaffa opened to 280,000 from UTG and was called in one spot by AceQuad. The flop brought out [Qd][9s] prompting R_Caiaffa to put in the remaining 72,952 which was called by AceQuad. R_Caiaffa showed [Jd][As][2h][6h][5h] for a pair of sixes and AceQuad was holding [Ac][3s][3h][7d][4h] for a pair of threes. The turn and river ran out [Ah][7s] to give AceQuad better running Aces up and pipped the low to scoop the pot. R_Caiaffa was eliminated in 8th place for $2,250 and AceQuad's chiplead expanded.

Akademnuk and Exclusive wheeled out in 3-way pot, eliminated in 6th and 7th place

With the [6s] showing pre-flop, both Noah "Exclusive" Boeken and Akademnuk both put all their chips in the middle before being called by AceSquad in the small blind. When the cards were exposed, the hands help plenty of possibilities.

Exclusive: [Qh][Qs][Ts][8h][2c]
Akademnuk: [As][Ks][Kh][7d][5s]
AceQuad: [Ah][Js][9h][5h][3d]

The flop completed [6s][2d][Ac] to put Akademnuk ahead for the high, AceQuad holding the low, and Boeken drawing very thin. The [4c] gave AceQuad a 6-high straight for the high and a wheel for the low. Noah "Exclusive" Boekn was unable to complete the come back and finished 7th for $3,375 with Akademnuk knocked out in 6th for $5,250.

agustin_kv tangles with the chipleader, eliminated in 5th place

Just a few hands after knocking out two players scooping with a 6-high straight and wheel, AceQuad duplicated the feat at the expense of agustin_kv who began the hand with just 1.7BBs. With the [6s] once again showing pre-flop, AceQuad bet pot when UTG which was called all-in by agustin_kv and more Courchevel adventure was underway.

AceQuad: [Ac][Jd][9c][6d][4c]
agustin_kv: [Kc][Kd][8d][8h][6c]

The flop completed [6s][3h][Ah] put AceQuad ahead with Aces up and the running [2c] and [5d] scooped the pot sending agustin_kv to the rail in 5th place for $7,500.

C. Darwin2 battles natural selection, eliminated in 4th place

After watching AceQuad do all the heavy lifting at the final table, it was time for someone else to get in the act. C. Darwin2 open shoved UTG for just over 2BB and was called by ratskerops in the big blind with the [Jh] showing pre-flop.

C. Darwin2: [Ad][Kh][Jc][Tc][5c]
ratskerops: [As][Jd][Th][8s][4s]

Both had a piece of the pre-flop Jack but the reminder of the flop would settled the matter with [Jh][4h][4c]. There was no runner-runner help for C. Darwin2 and was eliminated in 4th place for $11,250.

AceQuad runs into resistance, eliminated in 3rd place

Former Sunday Million winner AceQuad spent the majority of the final table as comfortable a chiplead as someone can have in a turbo but ran into a few big hands against the remaining to opponents. With the [4s] showing pre-flop, AceQuad and ratskerops put in a few smaller bets battling in the blinds. ratskerops bet the 640,000 pot after the flop completed [4s][Td][2d] and called AceQuad's raise all-in.

ratskerops: [Ah][Jh][5s][5d][3s]
AceQuad: [Jd][9s][8s][7s][6d]

After knocking out three players earlier in the final table with the wheel, AceQuad was on the other side of it when the [3h] on the turn and no help on the river. AceQuad went from dominate chip lead to the rail in 3rd place for $15,000.

ratskerops hits on the the river and wins 2013 SCOOP Event #26-M

Heads up play was not destined to run very long with blinds at 80k/160k and less than 4million chips between them. ratskerops was holding the chiplead when the final chips went in the middle against Lakss12 and the [Jd] showing pre-flop.

Lakss12: [Jc][9d][7s][4d][2d]
ratskerops: [Qs][Th][8s][7c][5s]

The flop complete [Jd][6c][3s] put Lakss12 ahead in the hand but ratskerops picked up more outs with the [3s] on the turn. The final dagger came with the [Qd] on the river to provide bigger two pair for ratskerops and the title. Lakss12 was knocked out one from the championship and picked up $20,250. ratskerops is the latest SCOOP champion and earned $28,155 for the effort.

PokerStars 2013 SCOOP Event #26-M ($109 1R1A PL Courchevel H/L Turbo) results:

Players: 690
Prizepool: $150,000
Place paid: 88

1. ratskerops (United Kingdom) $28,155
2. Lakss12 (Norway) $20,250
3. AceQuad (Mexico)$15,000
4. C. Darwin2 (Sweden) $11,250
5. agustin_kv (Argentina) $7,500
6. Akademnuk (Russia) $5,250
7. Exclusive (Netherlands) $3,375
8. R_Caiaffa (Brazil) $2,250

Check out the SCOOP homepage for all of the upcoming tournaments and satellites, as well as the leaderboard and SCOOP statistics.