PokerStars SCOOP Series Kicks Off with Big Prize Pools and Exciting Matches

The SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) series, which began in 2009, has grown significantly over the years. In its inaugural year, the series featured 66 tournaments with a total prize pool of $40,000,000. The main event, with a buy-in of $10,300, attracted 502 participants, and the winner, Jud "j.thaddeus" Ainsworth, took home $963,338.

In 2010, the SCOOP series expanded to 114 tournaments, with a total prize pool of $63,000,000. The main event saw 615 participants, and Ryan "toetagU" Fair emerged victorious, earning $1,163,804.36. The series is known for its unique format, offering tournaments in three different buy-in levels: low, medium, and high.

This year, the SCOOP series will start on May 8 with a guaranteed prize pool of $45,000,000 and the same number of tournaments as the previous year. Russian players have had notable success in the SCOOP series, winning 8 tournaments over two years. High-stakes tournaments have seen victories by Russian stars such as Vyacheslav "Amke" Zukov, Feruell, and Alexei "Gump" Makarov.