Barely two weeks in, and $200 million in prize money has already been awarded in PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) and competitor GGPoker's Spring Festival (GGSF), according to data compiled exclusively by pokerfuse.
The two series are the largest of their kind ever held in online poker. The pair are scheduled over the same dates, leading to one of the industry’s biggest showdowns in history.
In the red corner is PokerStars, with their $100 million SCOOP 2021. It is the largest guarantee the operator has ever promoted for a single series (though last year, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, SCOOP 2020 did ultimately guarantee some $135 million after it was extended multiple times).
In the opposing corner is upstart GGPoker with their competing GGSF—the very first of its kind, and by far the largest series guarantee ever promoted by any operator in online poker’s history. At $150 million, it is a truly breathtaking figure. The prizes are spread over 335 tournaments, which also makes it one of the most prestigious ever attempted.
While one may have guessed the pair had finally bitten off more than they could chew, the figures so far tell a very different tale. Two weeks in, and both operators will be very happy with the turnout, with most guarantees easily surpassed.
SCOOP vs GGSF 2021 Stats (Through to Apr 19)
| SCOOP | GGSF | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Gtd | $100,000,000 | $150,000,000 |
| Total Tournaments | 306 | 335 |
| Avg Gtd | $326,797 | $447,761 |
| Tournaments Run So Far | 198 (65%) | 231 (69%) |
| Prize Pools So Far | $79,628,107 | $120,256,992 |
| Gtd Surpassed | 41.4% | 23.4% |
| Total Entries so Far | 1,005,638 | 413,206 |
| Overlays | 8 (4%) | 15 (6.5%) |
| Total Overlay | $199,755 | $271,510.00 |
| Rake Collected | $5,378,509 | $5,528,228 |
A Huge SCOOP of Success for PokerStars
As of the conclusion of Sunday’s events—just over two weeks, and three weekends into the action—and SCOOP has completed 198 of its 306 events (65%).
In total, it has generated prize money just shy of $80 million on guarantees of $56 million—on average an excess of over 40%. In total, the operator has generated $5.4 million in rake.
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There have been a few overlays, but you have to search carefully to find them. In total, pokerfuse has counted eight in total, totaling less than $200,000.
On the other hand, the highs are too numerous to count. Many have gone over double their guarantees. All the banner events have easily cleared their promised guarantees.
To give a just one typical example, a trio of million-dollar guaranteed tournaments at the weekend combined to generated $4.6 million in prize money, attracting some 33,000 entries between them.
In total, SCOOP 2021 has attracted an unbelievable 1 million individual entries to its tournaments.
GGPoker’s Spring Festival a Triumph So Far
GGPoker has also lived up to its hype. There have been 232 events so far (69%), with just shy of $100 million guaranteed—an average of $421,000 and typical for the series overall.
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Despite this pretty staggering figure, the operator has also easily exceeded this figure, generating a total of $120.3 million, an average of over $520,000 per event. It has earned $5.3 million in rake.
There have been a few more overlays—15, by pokerfuse’s account—but again, these have all been trivial in size.
Among the successes are a string of seven-figure guaranteed tournaments, and by and large these have been successes. A few have got close to the mark, and one (a $5 million super high-roller early on) overlaid, but the vast majority have been big wins for the operator.
The biggest tests of the series so far were three big Sunday tournaments yesterday: The Headliner NLH ($400 buy-in, $2.5 million guaranteed); the same in Omaha ($400 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed); and the biggest event so far in the schedule: The $10,000 buy-in Super MILLION$, with the now-signature $10 million prize pool.
Each cleared their guarantees. The Headliner NLH smashed its guarantee with a $3.4 million prize pool. The other two squeaked through.
Spring Series 2021 Comparison
| Series | SCOOP | GGPoker Series |
|---|---|---|
| Total Gtd | $100M | $150M |
| Tournaments | 306 | 335 |
| Series Duration (days) | 25 | 22 |
| Avg Gtd | $326,797 | $447,761 |
| Avg GTD Per Day | $4,000,000 | $6,818,182 |
| Largest Gtd | $5M | $10M |
| Tournaments with $1M Gtd Prize Money | 24 | 39 |
| Buy-ins Range | $2.20 – $25,000 | $5 – $25,000 |
It is a staggering accomplishment by both operators. With $200 million paid out in barely more than two weeks, it has to mark one of the largest fortnights of online poker in history.
Yet just over one week remains on both sites—and the biggest tournaments are mostly contained within these final days. Almost half of the SCOOP guarantees for the series will be paid out in this remaining time, including six Main Events which alone guarantee more than $15 million.
For GGPoker, there remains another $50 million or so to be paid out in its final week. $10 million of this will be in just one event: The $1500 NLHE Main with a massive $10 million guarantee.
Both operators will be exceptionally happy with their performance and will be confident going into the back half of their series. For players, it represents a remarkable time for online poker: the next ten days will see another $100 million paid out over just two operators.
