PokerStars’ flagship Spring Championship of Online Poker — aka SCOOP — is heading to the Ontario online poker market for the first time, with the first event kicking off on March 25.
Billed as ONSCOOP (Ontario Spring Championship of Online Poker), the inaugural version guarantees CAD $1.8 million in prize money across the board over two weeks on PokerStars Ontario.
43 events have been scheduled — each split into three tiers: Low, Medium, and High — totaling 129 tournaments. The buy-ins come in nearly a dozen different price points starting at CAD $5 and going up to CAD $2000 — though the majority range between $10 to $500.
- Excellent tournament schedule
- The best variety of game types
- #1 Rated online poker room in Ontario by pokerfuse.com
First-Ever ONSCOOP Overview:
- Takes place from March 25 to April 11
- Guarantees over CAD $1.8 million
- 43 events split into three tiers — totaling 129 tournaments
- Buy-ins range from $5 to $2000
- $250k guaranteed across three tiers of Main Event
- Mixed games are included
- Leaderboards, added value satellites, and freerolls as part of promotions
Highlights on the schedule include the Sunday Special Championship event on March 26, coming in three different tiers: $20, $200, and $2000 with guarantees of $7500, $48,000, and $50,000, respectively. On April 4, the Super Tuesday Championship runs with a trio of buy-ins of $50, $300, and $1000, promising $10,000, $28,000, and $38,000, respectively.
The headliner is the $300 Main Championship Event, boasting CAD $150,000 in guaranteed prize money. Two more Main Events accompany it — a Mini version guaranteeing $30,000 for a buy-in of $50 and a $1000 buy-in High Roller edition sporting a $70,000 guarantee.
The operator has also scheduled a Main Event Trainer ahead of the Main Championship events, with combined guarantees of nearly $70,000.
Beyond these crowd-pleasers, the operator has added a decent spread of other formats, with around a dozen niche tournaments represented, including Omaha Hi/Lo, Five Card PLO, mixed rotation, and even a 5-Card Draw event.
The über-popular Progressive Knockout (PKO) format is well-represented on the schedule, coming in various forms, including a Total KO edition where the entire buy-in is added to the bounty prize pool.
Three dozen tournaments have been designated Championship events, including the three Main Events, PLO, and other mixed events.
The operator is running a slate of promotions to help get players in seats. CAD $40,000 will be given away through the Player of the Series leaderboards. The prize money is spread across the Low/Medium/High tiers as well as an 'Overall’ category. An additional CAD $30,000 in prize money is up for grabs via freeroll tournaments across the three weeks of play, plus there will be CAD $30,000 in added value satellites.
The operator has also put on a $3 buy-in Spin & Go, with $300 ONSCOOP Main Event tickets as top prizes.
The ONSCOOP festival announcement comes just days after PokerStars Ontario hosted its Bounty Builder series — a tournament series dedicated entirely to the PKO format. The series guaranteed CAD $700,000 over 100 tournaments, culminating in a $75,000 guaranteed Main Event. Before that series, the operator held the 50/50 Series with over CAD $250,000 in guaranteed prize money.
- Excellent tournament schedule
- The best variety of game types
- #1 Rated online poker room in Ontario by pokerfuse.com
SCOOP won’t be just running in the Ontario market. PokerStars has also scheduled SCOOP in the US regulated markets. Two series will run there — one for the PokerStars US shared liquidity network comprising New Jersey & Michigan players boasting $3 million in guarantees and the other for the segregated Pennsylvania players promising $2 million.
The operator has also scheduled SCOOP in the segregated Italian market guaranteeing €7.5 million, while in the Southern European market comprising French, Portuguese, and Spanish players, over €10 million is guaranteed.
PokerStars’ SCOOP will run in the dot-com market from May 7 to 31. However, no further details have been revealed yet.
PokerStars’ ONSCOOP 2023 runs from March 25 to April 11.
Not signed up yet? Create your PokerStars account and start building your bankroll ahead of SCOOP! Head to our PokerStars Ontario Review to learn more.
