It is that time of year when PokerStars USA hosts its ever-popular Championship of Online Poker. Here, we present all the information you need on the Michigan edition of the series.
MICOOP 2021 takes place from September 10 to 27, running simultaneously with the corresponding events in Pennsylvania and New Jersey— PACOOP and NJCOOP.
The series has a total guaranteed prize pool of $1,500,000, and there are a whopping 68 events over the course of the 18-day festival, seven of which come with trophies for the winner.
The highlight of the series is of course, the $300 Main Event, with a mouth-watering $150,000 guaranteed prize pool—that is 10% of the total promised over the entire series. But while this tournament is obviously the headline grabber, there are fantastic events peppered throughout the festival.
MICOOP 2021 At a Glance
- Starts September 10
- Ends September 27
- Total events of 68 on schedule
- Series guarantee of $1.5 million
- Main Event guarantees $150,000
- Average event guarantee of $22,058
Buy-ins start from just $10 and go all the way up to $1000 for the high rollers. So regardless of your bankroll, you are bound to find plenty of events that appeal. Another striking feature of the schedule is the plethora of game variants on offer. There are a dozen non-hold’em events, including a few mixed game contests.
There is a wide choice of formats too, including Heads Up, Zoom, Progressive KO, and Battle Royale tournaments. And as if that was not enough, PokerStars Michigan is running a slate of promos to tie in with the series —from the depositor freeroll, to sit n go satellites, to the MICOOP 2021 Leaderboard Challenge. PokerStars MI is really pushing the boat out this September.
All in all, this will be one of the biggest festivals in Michigan’s short history of regulated online poker. The only others that come close to these numbers are PokerStars’ own previous COOP and SCOOP series.
MICOOP 2021: Headline Stats
| Min Buy-In | $10 |
| Max Buy-In | $1,000 |
| Average Buy-In | $135 |
| Total Buy-In | $9,195 |
| Average Guarantee | $22,058 |
| Total Guarantee | $1.500,000 |
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PokerStars MI: Best Value Tournaments in MICOOP
If small buy-ins with big prize pools are what you are after, then look no further. In total, there are 17 events with entry fees of $50 or under —11 of them having five-figure guarantees. Those 11 tournaments have a total of $182,000 in guaranteed prize money, for an outlay of just $450.
Two events have buy-ins of just $10. Of these, the stand-out is clearly the MICOOP Warm-up which runs on Sept 10. The guarantee here is a remarkably ambitious $10,000—it will need to attract 1000 players to cover. So be on the lookout for a possible overlay.
MICOOP 2021: High Value Events
| Date | Event | Name | Buy-In | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | MICOOP 01 | Warm Up | $10 | $10,000 |
| Sep 13 | MICOOP 15 | PKO, Battle Royale | $30 | $10,000 |
| Sep 15 | MICOOP 21 | NLHE (6-Max) | $30 | $12,000 |
| Sep 18 | MICOOP 32 | Duel Threat | $50 | $15,000 |
| Sep 18 | MICOOP 33 | PKO Duel Threat | $50 | $15,000 |
| Sep 19 | MICOOP 38 | Mini Sunday Special | $30 | $15,000 |
| Sep 20 | MICOOP 43 | Progressive Total KO | $50 | $10,000 |
| Sep 22 | MICOOP 48 | Turbo Zoom | $50 | $10,000 |
| Sep 25 | MICOOP 57 | PKO Bigstack | $50 | $15,000 |
| Sep 26 | MICOOP 61 | Mini Main Event | $50 | $30,000 |
| Sep 27 | MICOOP 66 | NLHE Phase 2 | $50 | $40,000 |
MICOOP Schedule Highlights
Looking through the MICOOP schedule, several tournaments immediately leap out as events to look out for. The blue riband contest is obviously the $300 Main Event, which stars on September 26, and carries a massive guarantee of $150,000.
But aside from that, there are plenty of other tournaments that catch the eye. The series really gets into full swing on Saturday, September 11, with the $100 Big Kickoff that has $50,000 guaranteed. The day after features another $100 tournament, the Sunday Special—with $75,000 pledged.
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|---|---|
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| Main highlight | Best tournaments and game selection |
The Sunday Special SE, taking place on September 19, has a relatively affordable $200 entry fee, but a tasty $90,000 prize pool to battle it out for.
On September 21, the Super Tuesday MICOOP Special Edition has $40,000 guaranteed— a massive payout for a midweek game —for a buy-in of $250. And just two days later, the Thursday Thrill carries the same price tag and prize pool.
All of those competitions are $300 or less to enter, but for those with slightly fatter wallets, there are a few High Roller events on the itinerary.
MICOOP 2021: High Rollers
| Date | Event | Name | Buy-In | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11 | MICOOP 06 | PKO High Roller | $500 | $40,000 |
| Sep 12 | MICOOP 12 | 6-Max High Roller | $500 | $40,000 |
| Sep 19 | MICOOP 39 | NLHE High Roller | $500 | $40,000 |
| Sep 26 | MICOOP 62 | High Roller Championship Trophy Event | $1000 | $60,000 |
Special Offers for MICOOP 2021
To celebrate this bumper crop of tournaments, PokerStars MI is running four fantastic promos to get you the mood for some serious action throughout the festival. All four are open to new and existing players alike.
Depositor Freeroll
PokerStars is giving Michiganders a great chance to gain free entry into the $150,000 GTD Main Event. Existing players simply need to deposit $30 into their accounts—using the code MICOOP —any time before September 26, and they will receive a ticket for the tournament.
New players signing up to PokerStars MI get an even better deal. They will be automatically entered into the freeroll, simply by creating an account before the same deadline—no deposit required. that is on top of the ongoing welcome bonus which consists of $50 worth of free play plus a first deposit match of up to $600.
The Main Event Depositor Freeroll starts at 14:00 ET on September 26 and the top 50 finishers will all win tickets to the $300 Main Event commencing later that day.
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STARS600Second Chance Freerolls
Players that bust outside of the money bubble-in any MICOOP event—will receive a Second Chance Freeroll Ticket. The Freeroll tournaments run on September 13, 20, and 25 and each has $15,000 of prizes up for grabs. Players with more than one freeroll ticket can use them for re-entry.
MICOOP Spin and Gos
As with PokerStars other big series, players can win Main Event tickets by playing Spin & Gos. The $3 hyper-turbos have a 100x multiplier top prize in the form of a $300 ticket for the flagship tournament—which are triggered at a rate of 2500 in 1,000,000.
MICOOP 2021 Leaderboard Challenge
This is the promo for serious tournament grinders. The top nine finishers in each MICOOP event will receive points towards the challenge and the top ten players on the final leaderboard will win a share of $7500—with $2000 and a MICOOP trophy for the overall winner.
MICOOP 2021 Full Schedule
| Event | Date | Name | Buy-In | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 | Sep 10 | Warm Up | $10 | $10,000 |
| #02 | Sep 10 | Big Warm Up | $100 | $20,000 |
| #03 | Sep 10 | Turbo Warm Up | $30 | $6000 |
| #04 | Sep 11 | NLHE/PLO Mixed Game Warm Up | $30 | $4000 |
| #05 | Sep 11 | Big Kickoff | $100 | $50,000 |
| #06 | Sep 11 | PKO High Roller | $500 | $40,000 |
| #07 | Sep 11 | PL 5-Card Draw | $50 | $4,000 |
| #08 | Sep 12 | Marathon | $100 | $25,000 |
| #09 | Sep 12 | HORSE | $100 | $6,000 |
| #10 | Sep 12 | Sunday Special | $100 | $75,000 |
| #11 | Sep 12 | PLO | $100 | $12,000 |
| #12 | Sep 12 | High Roller | $500 | $40,000 |
| #13 | Sep 12 | Sunday Second Chance | $50 | $8500 |
| #14 | Sep 12 | Super Sonic PKO | $75 | $8000 |
| #15 | Sep 13 | Battle Royale PKO Turbo | $30 | $10000 |
| #16 | Sep 13 | Battle Royale PKO | $200 | $30,000 |
| #17 | Sep 13 | PLO8 | $100 | $8,000 |
| #18 | Sep 14 | Bigstack | $200 | $32,500 |
| #19 | Sep 14 | Limit Hold’em | $100 | $6,000 |
| #20 | Sep 14 | PLO PKO | $50 | $6500 |
| #21 | Sep 15 | NLHE | $30 | $12,000 |
| #22 | Sep 15 | Single Re-Entry | $100 | $15,000 |
| #23 | Sep 15 | Championship Trophy Event | $250 | $30,000 |
| #24 | Sep 15 | Progressive Total KO | $100 | $10,000 |
| #25 | Sep 16 | Deepstack PKO $50 Bounty | $200 | $22,500 |
| #26 | Sep 16 | Deepstack PKO | $75 | $15,000 |
| #27 | Sep 16 | Stud | $50 | $3000 |
| #28 | Sep 17 | Nightly Stars SE PKO | $100 | $20,000 |
| #29 | Sep 17 | NLHE | $200 | $25,000 |
| #30 | Sep 18 | Afternoon Deepstack | $30 | $8500 |
| #31 | Sep 18 | Stud H/L | $100 | $6500 |
| #32 | Sep 18 | Duel Threat | $50 | $15,000 |
| #33 | Sep 18 | Duel Threat PKO | $50 | $15,000 |
| #34 | Sep 18 | PLO High Roller | $250 | $15,000 |
| #35 | Sep 18 | Zoom | $100 | $17,500 |
| #36 | Sep 19 | Bigstack Marathon | $100 | $25,000 |
| #37 | Sep 19 | Sunday Special SE | $200 | $90,000 |
| #38 | Sep 19 | Mini Sunday Special | $30 | $15,000 |
| #39 | Sep 19 | High Roller | $500 | $40,000 |
| #40 | Sep 19 | Sunday Second Chance | $100 | $12,500 |
| #41 | Sep 20 | Nightly Stars SE PKO Battle Royale | $100 | $25,000 |
| #42 | Sep 20 | Freezeout | $200 | $15,000 |
| #43 | Sep 20 | Progressive Total KO | $50 | $10,000 |
| #44 | Sep 21 | Super Tuesday MICOOP SE | $250 | $40,000 |
| #45 | Sep 21 | 4-Max PKO | $50 | $5000 |
| #46 | Sep 21 | Super Tuesday Late Edition | $75 | $12,500 |
| #47 | Sep 22 | Nightly Stars SE 6-Max Edition | $100 | $25,000 |
| #48 | Sep 22 | Zoom | $50 | $10,000 |
| #49 | Sep 23 | Thursday Thrill PKO | $250 | $40,000 |
| #50 | Sep 23 | NLO8 | $50 | $4000 |
| #51 | Sep 23 | Thursday Thrill PKO Late Edition | $75 | $15,000 |
| #52 | Sep 24 | Stars SE 4-Max Edition | $100 | $17,500 |
| #53 | Sep 24 | Deepstack | $200 | $20,000 |
| #54 | Sep 24 | Progressive Total KO, Zoom | $20 | $6000 |
| #55 | Sep 25 | Afternoon Bigstack | $75 | $,15,000 |
| #56 | Sep 25 | PKO Bigstack | $200 | $25,000 |
| #57 | Sep 25 | PKO Bigstack | $50 | $15,000 |
| #58 | Sep 25 | PL 5-Card Omaha | $100 | $8500 |
| #59 | Sep 26 | Sunday Marathon SE | $100 | $25,000 |
| #60 | Sep 26 | Main Event | $300 | $150,000 |
| #61 | Sep 26 | Mini Main Event | $50 | $30,000 |
| #62 | Sep 26 | High Roller Trophy Event | $1,000 | $60,000 |
| #63 | Sep 26 | Hyper Turbo Deepstack | $100 | $10,000 |
| #64 | Sep 27 | Wrap Up | $100 | $30,000 |
| #65 | Sep 27 | Mini Wrap Up | $10 | $4,000 |
| #66 | Sep 27 | Phase 2 | $50 | $40,000 |
| #67 | Sep 27 | 8-Game Trophy Event | $200 | $15,000 |
| #68 | Sep 27 | Turbo Last Chance | $150 | $15,000 |
Comparing MICOOP to Previous Series
PokerStars MI is still very much in its infancy and has only staged two major series thus far.
The operator’s inaugural MICOOP—shortly after launch in February—outstripped all expectations, with guarantees having to be raised several times over. What had started out as a $1 million series, ended up generating over $2,200,000.
The first MISCOOP, back in May, outperformed even that—generating $2.3 million and becoming the biggest online series ever held in Michigan.
With the $1.5 million earmarked for the upcoming return of MICOOP, PokerStars is obviously not expecting quite the same numbers this time round. Nevertheless, the story so far for PokerStars MI has been an exceptionally successful one, so don’t be surprised if we see another huge series this time around.
FAQ
When is MICOOP taking place?
MICOOP runs from September 10 through 27.
What can we expect from the series?
There are 68 tournaments on the schedule with a vast range of buy-ins—from $10 all the way up to $1000. The series has a total prize pool of $1.5 million and builds up to a $300 Main Event that has a $150,000 guarantee.
What games are on offer?
As you would expect, the bulk of the series is made up of NLH events, but they come in a variety of shapes and sizes—with Progressive KOs, Heads Up, Battle Royale, and Zoom formats all featuring.
Aside from Hold‘em though, there is a good spread of other game types, such as PL Omaha, 5-Card Draw, Stud, and even some Mixed Games thrown into the mix.
How does the 2021 MICOOP stack up against previous series in Michigan?
It is still early days for PokerStars MI, having launched at the beginning of 2021. As such, the operator has only run two COOP festivals in the state so far, each generating just over $2 million. The upcoming edition has been slightly scaled back, with its guaranteed total prize pool pitched at $1.5 million.
Are there any events for smaller bankrolls?
Yes! 17 of the tournaments on the MICOOP 2021 schedule have buy-ins of $50 or less. Three of those events are just $10 to enter. There is also a Depositor Freeroll, for players who put $30 or more into their PokerStars accounts during the series—with 50 Main Event tickets up for grabs.
Are there any events for high rollers?
Four of the tournaments have buy-ins of $500 or more, with the biggest being the High Roller Championship Trophy Event, which has a buy-in of $1000, and a guarantee of $60,000.
Are there any promotions running for the series?
PokerStars MI has four promos for players taking part in MICOOP. They are as follows:
- Depositor Freeroll
- Second Chance Freerolls
- MICOOP Spin & Gos
- MICOOP 2021 Leaderboard Challenge
What are the banking options like?
PokerStars MI has a wide array of methods for getting your money on and off the site. These include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Skrill. Full details can be found in our one-stop guide to PokerStars MI.
