PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) Event 2 $1050 action and results
It seemed fitting that one of the earliest tournaments on the 2009 SCOOP calendar should be Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, a split-pot game that requires players to scoop the whole pot if they expect to make any headway against the field. To some, PLO8 (as its known) is the devil's game. Omaha Hi/Lo is a game of draws. Going all the way to the river with a monster draw is the very essence of the game. But pot-limit betting structures are designed to make it very difficult to draw, creating a frustrating tension in the game.
To its devotees, PLO8 is a true gambler's game. Since preflop hand values run closer together than they do in holdem, there's a real sense that a player is never too far behind before the flop. Such a mindset appeals to the loose-aggressive action junkie that burns at the core of every poker player's psyche.
327 players attempted to dial into that mindset earlier today by stepping up to the virtual felt and shelling out $1,050 for the high-stakes version of SCOOP #2. $327,000 went into the prize pool, creating a temping first-place prize pool of $66,871.50 and a SCOOP Champion's Watch.
Among the player battling for that first-place payday were five Team PokerStars Pros: Chad Brown, Ivan Demidov, Daniel Negreanu, Victor Ramdin and Katja Thater. It was a rough day for the team, with only Thater managing to crack the top 100 on the leaderboard. She ultimately bowed out of the tournament in 66th place, thereby preventing the Team PokerStars Pros from notching a cash in this event.
There were, however, 36 players who did make the money after bean1869 was eliminated as the bubble boy in 37th place. Those 36 players half-potted, full-potted, drew and quartered their way down to a final table.
Final table results (including two-way deal)
1. finsfan7 - $61,686.62
2. tatta - $54,234.88
3. Slavik_Krs - $36,951
4. bleu329 - $27,795
5. OmahaEd - $18,966
6. Benjaphon - $14,715
7. DenYoungGun - $11,445
8. Kcannon - $8,175
9. caprioli - $6,213
SCOOP is still going on – qualify, register and play here at PokerStars.