Team PokerStars’ Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis came agonizingly close to capturing his first PokerStars Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) title when he fell at the final hurdle in one of the many high-stakes events adorning the busy schedule.
Veldhuis was one of 150 entrants in the SCOOP 21-H: $3,150 NLHE 7-Max High Roller Single Re-Entry event, a tournament that saw some of the world’s best players fight it out for a slice of the $450,000 prize pool.
The top 17 finishers saw a return on their investments, so spare a thought for Jonathan “Proudflop” Proudfoot, who busted in 18th place and popped the money bubble.
Such luminaries as Tomi “elmerixx” Brouk, Gavin “gavz101” Cochrane, and Sami “Lrslzk” Kelopuro fell inside the money places, as did Yuri “theNERDguy” Dzivielevski, and final table bubble boy “13santoy13.”
Each of the finalists locked in at least $18,817 for their efforts, but nobody wanted to collect that sum because almost $95,000 awaited the eventual champion.
Ireland’s Gary “GaryT20” Thompson was the first of the players at the final table to be relieved of their chips, and they had to make do with the previously mentioned $18,817 score.
Sixth place and $24,623 went to Simon “simon1471” Higgins of the United Kingdom, before Joao “Naza114” Vieira, who resides in the UK, fell in fifth for $32,219.
They may not have taken down this high-stakes SCOOP event but fourth-place finisher “ContraSpemSper0” may win an award for one of the longest aliases on PokerStars. The Ukrainian’s demise resulted in $42,159 landing in their PokerStars account.
Heads-up was set when the dangerous Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet crashed out in third, a finish good for $55,166.
Van Fleet’s exit meant Veldhuis had come closer than ever to getting the proverbial SCOOP monkey off his back. The fateful final hand saw Veldhuis all-in and at risk holding king-queen against the ace-jack of hearts in the hand of “Ebaaa11.” A king on the flop looked to have rescued Veldhuis, but an ace on the river extended Veldhuis’ ait for a long overdue ‘COOP victory.
Veldhuis headed into the night with $72,185 reasons to be happy, while Ebaaa11 reeled in a $94,456 payout.
SCOOP 21-H: $3,150 NLHE 7-Max High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ebaaa11 | Montenegro | $94,456 |
| 2 | Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis | Belgium | $72,185 |
| 3 | Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet | Canada | $55,166 |
| 4 | ContraSpemSper0 | Ukraine | $42,159 |
| 5 | Joao “Naza114” Vieira | United Kingdom | $32,219 |
| 6 | Simon “simon1471” Higgins | United Kingdom | $24,623 |
| 7 | Gary “GaryT20” Thompson | Ireland | $18,817 |
Dzivielevski Claims $205,131 Super Tuesday Haul
There was a time when the PokerStars Super Tuesday was the online poker tournament every high-stakes grinder wanted to win. Although the tournament has lost some of its lustre in recent years, the SCOOP edition of the long-running event was nothing short of spectacular.
PokerStars increased the buy-in to $10,300, yet it did not prevent 52 unique players purchasing 24 re-entries, and creating a $760,000 prize pool.
Only the players who navigated their way to the nine-handed final table saw some of that prize money become theirs, and it was “hello_totti” that crashed and burned in tenth and became the last player to bust empty-handed.
Pascal “Pass_72” Lefrancois was the first finalist heading for the showers. He was joined by the likes of Daniil “NVoskob1986” Kiselev, Rodrigo “SELOUAN1991” Selouan, and Canada’s “Heidegger807” before Dzmitry “Colisea” Urbanovich bowed out to leave only four players in the hunt for the title and the massive first-place prize.
The final four became three when Pablo “pabritz” Brito Silva ran out of steam, then only two after Poland’s “PAX176” found themselves void of chips.
Dzivielevski, who finished ninth in the $3,150 high roller, found himself heads-up against the seasoned pro Sami “Lrzlsk” Kelopuro. The one-on-one battle went the way of the Brazilian, resigning Kelopuro to a $153,643 consolation prize, and locking up an incredible $205,131 for himself.
SCOOP 15-H: $10,300 NLHE Super Tuesday Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuri “theNERDguy” Dzivielevski | Brazil | $205,131 |
| 2 | Sami “Lrslzk” Kelopuro | Finland | $153,643 |
| 3 | PAX176 | Poland | $115,078 |
| 4 | Pablo “pabritz” Brito Silva | Brazil | $86,193 |
| 5 | Dzmitry “Colisea” Urbanovich | Latvia | $64,559 |
| 6 | “Heidegger807” | Canada | $48,354 |
| 7 | Rodrigo “SELOUAN1991” Selouan | Brazil | $36,217 |
| 8 | Daniil “NVoskob1986” Kiselev | Latvia | $27,127 |
| 9 | Pascal “Pass_72” Lefrancois | Canada | $23,694 |
Super Benny Glaser Bags Yet Another SCOOP Title
As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, Benny “RunGodlike” Glaser seemingly wins a SCOOP event every year. Since 2018, Glaser has helped himself to a SCOOP title each series, and continued that ridiculous trend by triumphing in the $1,050 NLO8 6-Max PKO event.
Glaser not only got his hands on another $35,554 but his victory was his eighth in a SCOOP tournament; only Calvin “cal42688” Anderson (10) has more SCOOP victories.
If winning eight SCOOP titles was not impressive enough, Glaser has now won 16 ‘COOP events, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Is Glaser the greatest-ever British poker player? You will not find many people who would disagree with that statement.