SCOOP-2017: Eastern European Players Shine in Online Poker Championship

The SCOOP-2017 online poker championship is nearing its conclusion with 20 tournaments left, starting on May 23.

The $25,000 buy-in tournament, the most expensive in the series, saw a triumph for Eastern European players. Alexander Trofimov, known as Black, took the top prize. Nikita Bodiakovsky from Belarus secured second place. The $25,000 heads-up tournament was won by Ben Sulsky, who earned $180,000.

Players from former Soviet countries dominated the limit Omaha Hi-Lo and 2-7 Triple Draw tournaments, winning all three titles. Andrey Zhigalov sold 50% of his action in several SCOOP tournaments, with mako27 taking the largest share of 30%. Artem Kobylinsky from Kyiv won over $4 million in online tournaments without ever winning more than $100,000 in a single event. Alexey Makarov finished second in a high-stakes Omaha tournament, earning $111,910. Several tournaments were interrupted due to server issues, and nine will be replayed on May 23.