The PokerStars Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) always draws the very best poker tournament players out of the woodwork thanks to the massive prizes awarded and the prestige of becoming a SCOOP champion. Christian “WATnlos” Rudolph is one of many PokerStars players that plays a busy schedule during SCOOP, and when elite-level players log plenty of volume, stellar results tend to follow.

Rudolph helped himself to more than $193,000 across three marvellous SCOOP results. He twice finished third and took down a side event, as he started the 2023 SCOOP campaign in brilliant style.

The first of Rudolph’s two third-place finishes came in the SCOOP Edition of the $5,200 Titans Event, a tournament that saw 116 players battle it out for a slice of a $580,000 prize pool.

As you would expect from such a high-stakes event, the Titans Event drew in some of the biggest names in poker, and the final table was as stacked as it could be.

Pedro “pvigar” Garagnani ($16,883) and Ole “wizowizo” Schemion ($21,307) were the first two casualties of the final table. Former PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event champion Dimitar “KuuL” Danchev ($27,500) busted in seventh, with Germany’s “Sintoras” ($35,494) seeing their tournament end in sixth.

Estonia grinder Juanki “B4KR0LL3R” Vecino ($45,811) ran out of steam in fifth, Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet crashed out in fourth ($59,128), prompting the three surviving players to pause the tournament clock and discuss a deal.

Those negotiations ended in success, with Rudolph locking in $96,405 and third place, Alexandros “Pwndidi” Theologis finishing second for $100,536, and Hungary’s “boerni21” being crowned champion and receiving $104,998.

Rudolph went on to finish third in the $109 Sunday Warm-Up for $32,629 before taking down the $5,200 Super Tuesday 2nd Chance for $64,128. What an incredible start to SCOOP for Rudolph.

SCOOP Edition: $5,200 Titans Event Final Table Results

*reflects a three-way deal

Do You Know Which Poker Players Have Won the Most SCOOP Titles?

“Ant1K1lller” Takes Down SCOOP Edition Sunday Million

The SCOOP edition of the Sunday Million saw 7,093 players exchange $215 for the chance of becoming a PokerStars champion. This particular Sunday Million was played as a PKO, leading to some huge bounty payments as the tournament progressed.

“szaki07” was the only finalist not to reel in a score of at least five figures, although their $9,964 haul came super close. Everyone else that finished in second through eighth saw their PokerStars balances increase by between $14,147 and $89,473, going to show the size and scale of SCOOP tournaments.

Heads-up pitted “Ant1K1lller” of Kyrgyzstan against Brazil’s “RSak4.” Both secured more than $86,200 from the main prize pool but the final bounty payment was ginormous; it was worth almost as much as third-place!

That massive, read that as $52,531 bounty, went to Ant1K1lller who defeated RSak4 one-on-one to capture a $138,824 score, resigning the runner-up to an $89,473 consolation prize.

What is the Best Way to Play in the 2023 PokerStars SCOOP Main Event?

SCOOP 04-M: $215 NLHE Sunday Million Final Table Results

Other 2023 PokerStars SCOOP Highlights

Aside from the results mentioned above, Ilya “thienlao21” Korobkin was another six-figure prize winner courtesy of triumphing in a $1,050 No-Limit Hold’em tournament. “buttonclickr” came close to a $100,000 score, but their victory in the $2,100 NLHE PKO came with $98,292 with bounties included.

Other big winners included Marius “DEX888” Gierse, Lasse “Wistern “Jagd Lauritsen, and Ukraine’s Roman “RomeOpro” Romanovsky.

*includes bounty payments

Swedish grinder Jerry Odeen has started the PartyPoker MILLIONS Online KO like a house on fire, taking down the Opener event and building a large stack in the $500,000 guaranteed Main Event during the festival’s opening weekend.

Odeen has more than $1.2 million in live poker tournament winnings, and almost $10 million in cashes in the online poker world. It appears Odeen will smash through the $10 million barrier by the time the final MILLIONS Online KO event crowns its champion.

Odeen was one of 873 PartyPoker players that entered the $162 buy-in $100,000 guaranteed Opener event. All those entrants meant a $130,950 prize pool, almost a third more than the advertised guarantee.

With bounties included, none of the seven finalists won less than $1,807, which was the sum Vyacheslav Balayev banked when his tournament ended in seventh place.

Sixth place and $2,665 went to the United Kingdom’s Callum Gordno, before Allison Luan Lima Eleres fell in fifth for a $3,768 payday.

Another UK-based player, Robertas Gordonas, collected $4,456 for his fourth-place finish, and the MILLIONS Online KO Opener progressed to the heads-up stage when Dominik Siegl came unstuck in third; Siegl turned his $162 investment into $6,526.

Odeen and Elvis Renan fought tooth and nail in the one-on-one battle knowing they had locked in no less than $8,655 for their efforts. However, both players had busted many opponents on their way to heads-up, so the final bounty payments were substantial.

Renan had eliminated 14 opponents on his way to clashing with Odeen, but a 15th scalp eluded him. Renan fell in second place for a total score worth $12,934, leaving Odeen to win the first MILLIONS Online KO numbered event, a result worth $17,006.

MILLIONS Online KO Opener Final Table Results

PartyPoker Launches Round the Clock Freerolls; Gives Away $2,500 Daily!

Brombin Leads the MILLIONS Online KO Main Event; Odeen Sixth

The $530 buy-in $500,000 guaranteed MILLIONS Online KO Main Event attracted 210 players but only 32 of those navigated their way through to Day 2, locking in a min-cash as they did so.

Such luminaries as Artjoms Visockis, Tomas Fara, Boris Angelov, and Team PartyPoker’s Jaime Staples punched their Day 2 tickets. As did former MILLIONS Online champion Jonathan Van Fleet.

Bagging up a top 10 stack after the first of six starting flights are players such as Ioannis Angelou Konstas, the aforementioned hot-running Odeen, Patrice Brandt, former WCOOP Main Event champion Steven Van Zadelhoff, and current chip leader Paulo Brombin.

Brombin turned his 1,000,000 stack into a tournament-leading 22,722,425, which will take some catching.

MILLIONS Online Main Event Top 10 Chip Counts

Patrick Leonard Goes Back-to-Back in the PartyPoker Sunday Party!

Brazilians Dominate the MILLIONS Online KO Edition of the Sunday Party

The Sunday Party, PartyPoker’s flagship tournament, received the MILLIONS Online KO treatment this weekend. The guarantee returned to $150,000 but 1,620 entrants meant $162,000 was paid out.

PartyPoker is popular with Brazilian players, who often turn out in force for the online poker site’s biggest events. This was the case during the weekend, with five of the nine players at the Sunday Party final table having the famous Brazilian flag next to their names.

The first three players to be eliminated from the final table hailed from Brazil. Jonathan Wolter, Raphael Perfeito, and Joao Gabriel Stazite fell in quick succession, leaving only two of their countrymen in the hunt for the title and a five-figure payout.

One of those Brazilians, Danil Pires Martiani, busted in fourth for $5,906. Andrey Luis Da Silva was now Brazil’s sole representative at the final table, and they were determined to bring home the bacon.

After Bulgari’a Boyan Toshev bowed out in third, Da Silva demolished Denmark’s Cosmo Bendtsen heads-up, and clinched the title plus $17,389. Bendtsen, although disappointed not to become a MILLIONS Online KO champion, walked away with $10,263, giving them plenty of ammunition for the remainder of the series.

MILLIONS Online KO Sunday Party Final Table Results

PartyPoker’s Daily fastfoward Leaderboards to Give Out More Than P$1,000 Every Day

MILLIONS Online KO SPINS

PartyPoker has dozens of satellites from as little as $0.01 that feed into the biggest and most exciting MILLIONS Online KO events. if you fancy something slightly different, why not jump into some of the MILLIONS Online KO SPINS?

These $20 buy-in jackpot sit & go tournaments mostly award $40 cash to their champion, but they also pay MILLIONS Online KO tickets ranging from $55 to $530, the latter getting you into the $500,000 guaranteed Main Event!

PartyPoker MILLIONS Online KO Remaining Schedule

There are scores of MILLIONS Online KO side events running during the series, with a massive range of buy-ins to suit all bankrolls and skill levels. Those tournaments come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including six-max, seven-max, turbos, hyper-turbos, and more. The table below shows the upcoming numbered events, which carry the largest guarantees.

Of course, PartyPoker’s regular tournaments continue running throughout the MILLIONS Online KO series. You can check out the latest tournaments using the excellent PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar, a free to use tool that ensures you need never miss a value-packed tournament ever again.

Three days after losing $1 million in a bitter heads-up poker match, Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot gave credit where credit is due to his new rival Matt Berkey.

Some may have expected the Hustler Casino Live regular to make excuses for the beatdown, perhaps blaming variance. Instead, he took the high road and congratulated his opponent. On top of that, on Twitter, he apologized for referring to the Solve for Why founder as a “scammer.”

The high-stakes poker players battled in a $200/$400 no-limit hold’em match at Resorts World in Las Vegas that began last month and concluded last week. It was scheduled to last 100 total hours of play over multiple sessions, but there was a $1 million stop-loss in play that permitted the player who was behind to quit at that point. Airball, after losing a $300,000-plus pot to set-over-set, decided to call it quits $1,029,700 in the hole after just under 60 hours.

End of the Poker Rivalry?

As promised in a brief May 6 congratulatory tweet, Nik Airball tweeted out a lengthy note about the match and his heads-up opponent. He, as Solve for Why’s Matt Hunt wrote, showed some “humility.”

Shaun Deeb also gave props to Airball, but we won’t share the full tweet until Coherent Deeb swoops in the clean up the grammar.

Last but certainly not least, the most important response to Airball’s tweet comes from the poker pro Airball previously referred to as a “scammer.”

“I honestly think this statement is closer to the real person Nik is at his core than all of the antics reflect. Saw plenty of very small examples of him going out of his way to be kind both with his words and actions. Thank you for the apology,” Berkey responded.

While the World Poker Tour (WPT) has been busy in the United States recently reaching the final tables of stops at both Seminole Hard Rock and Choctaw Durant (Bin Weng is chip leader at both of those by the way), they’ve also added an amazing international stop this summer.

WPT Korea will take over the Jeju Shinhwa World from July 17-21 with a schedule that includes a ₩3,400,000 (~$2,550 US) Main Event, and a ₩17,000,000 (~$127,350 US) Alpha8 for One Drop event.

The two-day Alpha8 event begins on July 23. The One Drop Foundation will receive a portion of the entry fee from the event to continue its mission of ensuring sustainable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for communities facing extreme barriers.

Also, on the schedule is a ₩17,000,000 (~$12,735 US) High Roller which begins on July 21.

“Hosting the World Poker Tour gives us another opportunity to showcase our five-star amenities and amazing city,” said Jenny Lim, Landing Entertainment Korea at Jeju Shinhwa World Chief Marketing Officer. “We invite poker players from around the world to join us this summer for an amazing two weeks.”

WPT Korea Schedule

The 18-event festival schedule begins with preliminary events and a Main Event Satellite on July 15 while the first of three starting flights of the WPT Korea Main Event is scheduled for July 17 and carries a ₩2,000,000,000 (~$1.5 Million US) guarantee.

Satellites for the marquee events will run daily, including a five-seat guarantee for the Main Event which will utilize the Milestone format popularized at the 2022 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.

Poker fans around the world will be able to watch a live stream of both the ₩3,400,000 Main Event and the ₩17,000,000 (~$12,735 US) High Roller on WPT YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook pages.

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

It was not only the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte-Carlo festival that wrapped up this weekend but also the Mini EPT Monte-Carlo series that took place online at PokerStars. Like in most festivals, it was the Main Event that was the prime focus of the players, and this Main Event was extra special thanks to the generosity and added extras from PokerStars.

The Mini EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event was already impressive value thanks to PokerStars placing a $40,000 guarantee on the prize pool despite the buy-in being an affordable $5.50. In addition to a chunky guarantee, PokerStars added thousands of dollars worth of Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) tickets to the prize pool, plus a package to the upcoming EPT Barcelona Main Event worth €10,200 to the eventual champion. Brazil’s “MSG1997” is that champion.

Mike Watson Becomes Third Player in History to Win Two Live EPT Main Event Titles

Mini EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Results

A bumper crowd of 13,486 entrants meant the guarantee was not only hit but obliterated, and $66,081 in cash was awarded. The top 2,191 finishers saw a return on their $5.50 investment, with those finishing in the top 224 places also banking a SCOOP ticket for their efforts. Those SCOOP tickets ranged from $5.50 in value up to $1,050 for anyone that reached the final table.

Belarus’ “AlexSrg1989” was the first of the nine finalists to bow out and head for the showers; their ninth-place exit came with $551 in prize money plus a $1,050 SCOOP ticket.

“3leggedmare” of the United Kingdom crashed out in eighth for $773, which was the last three-figure sum of the tournament. Of course, they also secured a $1,050 SCOOP ticket, which they can use to try and take down one of the massive Main Events.

What is the Best Way to Play in the 2023 PokerStars SCOOP Main Event?

Seventh place and $1,084 went to “DiVine” before “carloshenr” busted in sixth for $1,521. Then came the untimely demise of “devel00per” of Poland, who reeled in $2,134, then “Nizza5” ran out of steam and had to make do with the $2,994 fourth-place prize.

Heads-up was set when Finnish grinder “Teippio” fell by the wayside in third and collected $4,210. MGS1997 and “voltercorwus” battled one-on-one for the title, and there was a huge disparity in the payouts. Not only was a difference of around $2,400 in the money aspect but the champion also captured a €10,200 package to the EPT Barcelona Main Event in August.

MSG1997 emerged from the clash unscathed and with $8,278 and the aforementioned EPT Barcelona package in tow. The runner-up walked away with $5,893 in cash plus a free shot at the $1,050 SCOOP Main Event.

Mini EPT Monte-Carlo Results

Congratulations to everyone that managed to become a PokerStars Mini EPT Monte-Carlo champion, but especially to “samosisland,” “ktosdes,” and “Pisein31415” who each turned small investments into five-figure hauls.

*includes bounty payments

PokerStars US kicked off the summer in style with May’s Ballers and Brawlers poker series. Ballers and Brawlers bring the familiarity of low, medium, and high-tiered events to a 10-day festival of No Limit Hold’em and Mixed Game events.

The Ballers and Brawlers series will kick off this Friday, May 12, and will run through Monday, May 22. The festival will guarantee $2.5 million in prize pools across Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania player pools with a combined Main Event pool of $250,000.

The schedule features progressive knock-out tournaments along with prestigious high-roller events, whether you are a Baller, Brawler, or both – there’s something for everyone.

The opening weekend gets underway in style with the $100K Baller Special and Brawler Mini Special with a $40K guaranteed. PokerStars US favorites “The Nightly Benjamin” and “The Jackson Jab” have had a B&B makeover as part of the enhanced tournament schedule.

Also featured in the 60+ event schedule are accessible mixed-game Brawler opportunities to play PLO8, Stud Hi/Lo, and more.

Shared Liquidity Highlights

Pennsylvania Highlights

Best Online Poker Sites for US Players

Ballers and Brawlers Spin & Go’s

Special edition Spin & Go tournaments are awarding Ballers and Brawlers Main Event entries and cash.

Find them in the Spin & Go lobby. They’re available for buy-ins of $1 & $10.

Here’s what you could win:

Daily Jackpot Bonus

In addition to the Ballers and Brawlers series, PokerStars players can look forward to another exciting Casino offer throughout the entire month of May.

Thanks to the Daily Casino Bonus Jackpot, there are chances to win every day this month.

Players who opt in and wager $1 every day have a shot at the $5,000 jackpot.

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

Daniel Negreanu ended an 0-3 record on PokerGO’s High Stakes Duel by defeating Eric Persson in Round 1 of the heads-up poker competition.

Both players bought in for $50,000 on Monday and were scheduled to return to action on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. PT for a rematch., but Persson declined his option due to “scheduling conflicts.”

For the first time in High Stakes Duel history, Phil Hellmuth wasn’t one of the competitors. The “Poker Brat,” who went 9-2 in 11 matches, lost to Jason Koon in the $1.6 million round of High Stakes Duel III. He declined a rematch and that series of games then concluded, leaving the game open for two new players.

Negreanu Catches Cards Early

Negreanu faced Hellmuth in HSD II in 2021 but lost all three matches for a total loss of $350,000. Things went more his way on Monday against Person, and Lady Luck was on his side.

Both players started with 50,000 chips and the blinds started at 100/200, increasing every 30 minutes. Within the first 20 minutes, Negreanu had picked up pocket aces twice, and flopped top pair in there as well. But he couldn’t get much action in any of those hands.

With both stacks about even, Negreanu raised to 700 with A♥A♦ and Person called with 8♥8♣. The flop had two face cards and Persson was forced to fold to a continuation bet. Moments later, Negreanu picked up aces again moments later and three-bet to 2,000 but couldn’t get any action when Person folded suited connectors.

Despite hitting some big hands the first half hour, both players stacks were around the starting amounts. But then it turned around when “DNegs” flopped middle set on a board of 5♦3♣J♦ and was up against 4♦2♣ for an open-ended straight draw. Persson bet 3,000 on that draw and received a call.

The turn was the 2♦ and again Persson bet, this time for 5,000, and was called. When the 4♥ appeared on the river, both players checked fearing a potential straight or flush, and Negreanu took down an important 18,000-chip pot.

Negreanu would build up a 3-1 chip advantage, but he was facing an opponent who wasn’t just going to lie down and quit. Persson threw out a few bluffs to build up his stack, with varying degrees of success.

In one hand on a board of 7♣J♦A♥7♦7♠, he bet 5,000 with 4♦3♥ and was able to talk Negreanu into folding J♥10♥. Persson would battle to close the gap, and at one point he nearly evened the match up. However, the rally was short-lived.

Negreanu picked up a 15,000-chip pot with four-high and a missed flush draw on the river when Persson, who had king-high, open-folded from under the gun. PokerGO commentators Nick Schulman and Ali Nejad were confused as to why Persson would just surrender the pot without waiting to see if his opponent would bet the river, especially with the best hand.

On the final hand, with Negreanu holding a 4-1 chip advantage, all the chips went into the middle of the table preflop with Negreanu holding A♠K♦ and Persson with A♦Q♦. The board ran out 10♥7♣J♥J♦6♠ and that was the end of the match.

There won’t be a rematch, which means Persson’s seat is now open for Round 2. Whoever ends up taking the seat will be required to pay $100,000 to enter the game.

_{*Images courtesy of PokerGO.}

The flagship event of the 2023 Poker Dream Manila live poker stop at the Grand Wing Casino at Newport City in Metro Manila has crowned a winner and the golden dragon trophy stays on home soil. Pinoy poker player Edwin “Hit D’ Heat” Dela Cruz entered the nine-handed final table out of a field of 499 entries with the lead and ultimately came out on top of a topsy-turvy heads-up duel with Italy’s Alessandro Taranto.

Both shared the lion’s share of the PHP 28,751,382 ($519,578) prize pool and Dela Cruz scored a third victory on the live poker circuit since February 2023, taking home the top prize of PHP5,510,000 ($99,518). Taranto put in a valiant effort especially considering that he dropped all the way down to just three big blinds in heads-up play and was just one diamond away from securing a miracle comeback victory. However, he ultimately had to settle for a consolation prize of PHP3,460,000 ($62,492).

The final spot on the podium belonged to a veteran poker pro from the Philippines in Terry Gonzaga, while fellow countryman David “Dave Spade” Erquiaga became the first casualty of the day.

2023 Poker Dream Manila Main Event Final Table Results

The aforementioned Erquiaga has taken the Asia-Pacific live poker scene by storm in the last two years with nine victories and more than half a dozen runner-up finishes. However, he became the first casualty of the final table when his pair of eights and a gutshot was looked up by Taranto with king-jack suited for top pair and top kicker.

The next casualty was Taranto’s countryman Nicola Montalbano, who bowed out in a three-way all-in showdown that propelled Gonzaga right back into contention. Valeriy Pak and the always dangerous William Teoh were the next two to collect their pay checks and Ryan McAllister followed suit in sixth place.

Until then, Dela Cruz was cruising atop the leaderboard but Tor Welo pulled ahead. In a pivotal hand, Dela Cruz then missed a flush draw with eight-six suited but rivered the nut straight and Welo paid off a heavy pot-sized bet in a duel of the chip leaders to shift the momentum back to the pinoy player.

The Norwegian never recovered from that heavy blow and bowed out in fourth place. Heads-up play was reached only a short while later when Gonzaga was dispatched by Taranto and the duel for the trophy started with a small lead for crowd favourite Dela Cruz.

Taranto dominated the early stages to pull even only for a string of hands to cut into his stack. The Italian was with one foot out of the door already when his last three big blinds went into the middle with eight-trey suited. However, the seven-deuce suited of Dela Cruz missed and the comeback commenced. Three double-ups later, Taranto even gained the lead, which then changed several times as both players were on the verge of victory.

After three and a half hours after the elimination of Gonzaga in third place, the champion was then crowned. In a limped pot, Dela Cruz’s ten-six flopped two pair and Taranto’s slow-played pocket queens went down in flames.

The $600 RunGood Series Checkpoint Main Event has concluded after ten hours of play saw the 44 players that started the day, out of a field of 359, play all the way down to a winner.

Coming out on top with the $39,655 grand prize and getting the lion’s share of the $186,680 prize pool along with the RunGood Poker Series ring was Stacey Berger who captured the title in what became quite the story.

Berger is a Reno local realtor by trade, and she made no secret of the fact that she was not used to playing main events as this was only the second one she had ever played.

“I love the game; I love to play. But it’s just hard to find time to do so. I usually play about once or twice a month,” she said afterward. “I expected to come in today to win $900 dollars (the min-cash), and here I am with the ring!”

She said the moment where she thought that winning may be possible was when she clawed her way back from just two big blinds to survive and keep going in the middle part of the day. As she kept the momentum rolling, her supporting rail grew as her local friends rooted her on, which was a new phenomenon to Berger.

“I didn’t know what a rail was before today,” she was heard saying to her tablemates at the final table when her support was mentioned.

Final Table Results

Berger’s inexperience and freshness on the scene were a factor in the heads-up battle that eventually led to her win. She entered heads-up play with only 25% of the chips against Christian Vinluan, and she was nearly eliminated as runner-up just a couple of hands in as she blinked a river straight to stay alive and denied Vinluan the victory.

From there, it was mostly one-way traffic for her as she was using large preflop opens, as much as 7x in some cases, and making large 30-40 big blind jams on flops and turns, which kept Vinluan off balance. She compiled pot after pot this way and eventually whittled down her opponent to conquer the field and win the ring.

Action of the Day

The day began with 44 players and was trimmed exactly in half down to 22 before the first break of the day. That brisk pace of eliminations would continue as it was one after another all the way down until the final table, where things started to get interesting.

Paul Sampson was the first victim of the final table in ninth place to kick it off.

Pat Lyons entered the final table with a big chip lead as things were looking to be going his way. But his luck would change quickly as his aces were cracked by ace-jack to lose a significant portion of his stack. He would never quite recover from that as he lost some flips to complete his fall from chip leader to an eighth-place finish.

After the initial quickness of the day, play slowed down seven-handed as it took some time before Charles Himes was eliminated in seventh place. Harley Brooks followed him out the door in sixth and Tony Barrera went out in fifth, after he had been the one to deal the decisive early blow to Lyons and change the dynamic of the final table.

Dwight Englekirk went under the radar for most of the night and slid into fourth place.

Darrel Dier was eliminated next in third place as he has quite a story of his own, which he noted he would like to share at some point with the poker world.

That would set up the aforementioned heads-up match between Vinluan and Berger.

2023 RGPS Reno Ring Event Winners