Just a day after the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) ended on the dot-com market, global online poker giant, PokerStars has now announced the dates for the highly anticipated New Jersey version of the COOP series.
The 2020 New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOOP), one of the most prestigious online tournament series in the Garden State, is scheduled to take place this year from October 10 spanning for over two weeks through October 26.
It is scheduled to run just a week after the PACOOP series concludes in its neighboring state, Pennsylvania which ends on October 5. So if you reside in the Keystone State and want to compete in another COOP series, then you have the opportunity to hop to New Jersey.
While the full schedule is yet to be finalized, the operator has teased some important highlights of the NJCOOP 2020 series. The series promises $1 million guarantees, same as last year, and culminating in a $125,000 guaranteed Main Event.
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As is with every PokerStars series, players will be able to qualify for the NJCOOP Main Event through the special edition Spin & Go’s that will be running throughout the series. Also, there will be daily Second Chance Freerolls with tickets to the series for players who fail to reach in the money.
Highlights of the Upcoming NJCOOP 2020 Series:
- Scheduled to run from October 10 (Saturday) through October 26 (Monday)
- $1 million in total guarantees
- Series culminating in a $125,000 guaranteed Main Event
- Spin & Go Satellites and Daily Second Chance Freerolls
NJCOOP History and What to Expect in the Upcoming Edition
The upcoming NJCOOP series will be its fifth iteration since the operator’s entry into the market four years ago. The first two editions in 2016 and 2017 —both had $1.2 million in total guarantees featuring fewer than 50 events. The guarantees dipped in 2018 and onwards to $1 million.
The 2019 edition saw over 6500 total entries and $1.048 million distributed in prize money across 50 events. A majority of the events missed their guarantees, offering great value to the players. But the $300 buy-in Main Event did surpass its $100,000 guarantee. The tournament attracted 373 entrants to build a prize pool of $104,440.
NJCOOP History
| Year | Month | Guarantees | Tournaments | Gtd/Tournament | Main Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Oct | $1,200,000 | 43 | $27,907 | $200,000 |
| 2017 | Oct | $1,200,000 | 46 | $26,087 | $200,000 |
| 2018 | Oct | $1,000,000 | 47 | $21,298 | $150,000 |
| 2019 | Oct | $1,000,000 | 50 | $20,000 | $100,000 |
| 2020 | Oct | $1,000,000 | TBA | - | $125,000 |
However, year-over-year, PokerStars New Jersey’s cash game traffic is up 30%, much of that growth is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, PokerStars NJ’s online poker revenue has reported at least $1 million every month since March except for the month of August which only missed its seven-figure revenue by a mere $29,000.
The upcoming edition of NJCOOP will see its Main Event guarantee rise to $125,000. The buy-in has not been revealed yet but it is expected to be $300—the same as last year.
Also, if history is of any indication, NJCOOP 2020 is most likely to feature the total number of events close to 50. Buy-ins are expected to range from $30 to $1000.
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NJCOOP will be the operator’s sixth tournament series in New Jersey this year. It kicked off the year with a $300,000 guaranteed Winter Series, followed on with another $300,000 guaranteed Bounty Builder Series.
In April, PokerStars ran NJSCOOP during the height of the pandemic with $1.2 million guarantees spread over 96 tournaments. It ended up paying over $1.8 million.
In June, it returned with Summer Series ($500,000 guaranteed and 40 tournaments) and another Bounty Builder Series ($600,000 guaranteed and 53 tournaments) in July.
NJCOOP 2020 kicks off on Saturday, October 10 and runs through Monday, October 26. The full slate of tournaments for the series is expected to be announced soon.
