PokerStars’ signature Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) has concluded in the US markets after more than two weeks of action.
The series was split into two separate runs: one for the combined player pool of Michigan and New Jersey, and another standalone series for Pennsylvania.
Both ran from March 21 to April 7. The MI-NJ SCOOP featured 132 tournaments with a total guaranteed prize pool of $2.25 million, while the PA SCOOP offered $2 million across 129 tournaments.
Each series comfortably surpassed its guarantees. The shared liquidity edition was the larger of the two, awarding $2.7 million—exceeding its guarantee by 20%—with over 45,000 entries recorded across the schedule.
PokerStars US SCOOP 2025 Final Numbers
- MI-NJ SCOOP: $2.7M prize money, 45,241 entries
- PA SCOOP: $2.4M prize money, 38,961 entries
The Main Events, unsurprisingly, were the marquee attractions of the series at PokerStars US. In the shared liquidity SCOOP, the $300 buy-in NLHE Main Event with a $200,000 guarantee drew 687 entries, missing its target by $7,640. The $2,500 High Roller Main Event also fell just short, attracting 50 entries—two shy of the number needed to meet its $125,000 guarantee.
However, the $50 buy-in Main Event proved to be the most popular of the series, pulling in 1,136 entries and surpassing its $50,000 guarantee by $1,600. Altogether, the three Main Events generated $376.6K in prize money.
Over at PokerStars Pennsylvania, the PA SCOOP also impressed, awarding a total of $2.4 million—exceeding its guarantees by 20%. The series attracted 38,961 entries across 129 tournaments. Two out of three Main Events exceeded expectations.
The $2,500 High Roller drew 55 entries, surpassing its $125,000 guarantee by $7,000. The $300 Main Event came close to its $200,000 guarantee, with 651 entries leaving a shortfall of $17,720. The $50 version attracted 863 entries, building a $39.2K prize pool. Combined, PA’s three Main Events awarded $371.2K.
In total, both series combined for more than $5.1 million in prize money and over 84,000 tournament entries.
Farewell to PA-Only SCOOP?
This may very well be the final standalone SCOOP series for Pennsylvania players, as the state is on track to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), which allows for shared player pools across participating states. While other regulated states are already part of the compact, Pennsylvania has been the lone holdout—until now.
The Keystone State is expected to officially join MSIGA as early as next week, pending the signature of Governor Josh Shapiro. Unlike Michigan’s rollout, which saw a delay of several months before operators launched shared liquidity, Pennsylvania’s merger is expected to move more quickly. At least one or two operators are anticipated to link their PA player pools with their existing multi-state networks shortly after the agreement is finalized.
Once that happens, future championship series like SCOOP will be unified, featuring players from all three states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Jersey—in a single combined festival. With the next major series expected this fall, PokerStars is likely to have its shared liquidity network fully operational by then.
Given the success of this year’s SCOOP—more than $5.1 million awarded across both series—it wouldn’t be surprising to see PokerStars aim for a $5 million guaranteed SCOOP next time around. If it happens, it would mark the operator’s largest online tournament series in the North American market to date.
It is not just PokerStars that stands to benefit, other major operators like WSOP and BetMGM Poker are also expected to merge their Pennsylvania player pools once the state joins MSIGA, marking a significant milestone for the US online poker industry.
BetRivers Poker, which currently operates exclusively in Pennsylvania, would also gain the ability to link with other states. While the operator hasn’t launched outside PA yet, it is reportedly preparing for expansion behind the scenes, with potential entries into New Jersey, Michigan, Delaware, and West Virginia.
If all goes according to plan, BetRivers could eventually operate a four- or even five-state shared liquidity network, dramatically expanding its reach and impact in the US market.
Meanwhile, PokerStars is currently hosting the SCOOP Warm-Up on its global dot-com platform, featuring $6 million in guaranteed prize money across just 78 tournaments. As part of the promotion, $50,000 worth of tickets will be awarded, including entries to the main SCOOP series set to run from May 11 to June 2.
Although the full schedule and total guarantees for the main event haven’t been revealed yet, it’s expected to be massive—likely boasting at least $70 million in guaranteed prize pools.