The Spring Championship of Online Poker is just a couple of weeks away, and the entire poker world is gearing up for the popular SCOOP. The full schedule for the series should be dropping shortly, allowing players plenty of time to prepare and figure out the events they want to play.
This is always one of the most exciting periods of the year for tournament grinders, but PokerStars is adding some extra fuel to the fire with the return of the SCOOP League.
In a nutshell, five PokerStars ambassadors have picked their teams for the series, adding an extra layer to the competition but also giving all players a chance to get involved, sweat their favorites all the way to the finish line, and pick up generous rewards if they choose right.
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2025 SCOOP League Details
This year’s SCOOP League will feature five ambassadors taking on the role of team captains. Each ambassador gets five picks — four pro players and a wildcard. These five make up their team for the series and will collect points based on their results in SCOOP events.
Names of this year’s captains are:
- Ben ‘Spraggy’ Spragg
- Parker ‘tonkaaaa’ Talbot
- Kevin ‘Kelvin_FP:AR’ Kelber
- Seb ‘peaceandlove’ Huber
- Fintan ‘easywithaces’ Hand
This will be the first SCOOP League for Seb Huber, but he is no stranger to this format, having won the very first WCOOP League back in September 2024.
Captains get to pick four pros plus a wildcard, which can be any player playing on the site. These fives met on Monday on Spraggy’s YouTube channel to choose their teams, and many of the usual suspects made the cut, including Patrick ‘pads1161’ Leonard, Niklas ‘Lena900’ Asted, and Benny ‘RunGodLike’ Glaser.
| Team Spraggy | Team Fintan | Team Tonkaaaa | Team Huber | Team Kelber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick ‘Pads1161’ Leonard | Jerry ‘PerryMeJsen’ Odeen | Tiago ‘Tgrigoletti’ Grigoletti | ‘Fal1st’ | ‘Internet930’ |
| ‘Mc1Dot’ | Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion | Denis ‘Adrenalin710’ Strebkov | Blaz ‘Scarmak3r’ Zerjav | Niklas ‘Lena900’ Asted |
| ‘King153246’ | ‘Flerrehuuve’ | Niclas ‘Flushiisback’ Thumm | Andre ‘Premove’ Skvortsov | Benny ‘RunGodLike’ Glaser |
| Roman ‘Romeopro’ Romanovsky | ‘Sintoras’ | Simon ‘C.Darwin2’ Mattsson | Lasse ‘Wistern’ Lauritsen | Geraldo ‘GeraldoCesar’ Cesar Neto |
| Daniel ‘Smillethehero’ Smiljkovic | Wildcard: Jamie ‘JamieDwan21’ Dwan | Wildcard: shipitftw911 | Wildcard: Talal ‘Raidalot’ Shakerchi | Wildcard: Murilo ‘Fruble’ Milhomem |
Everyone’s Invited to Get Involved
While there will be only 25 players picked for the five teams, everyone can get involved, enjoy the League, and potentially reap some valuable rewards at the end.
Namely, all players can back the team they think will run away with the victory. Simply log into your PokerStars account, navigate to the Challenges section, and make your prediction.
Choose carefully, as all those who back the winners will get to participate in the All-In Shootout Freeroll hosted by the team’s captain, dishing out $20,000 in prizes.
On top of this, once players select which team they want to back, they’ll start earning points by eliminating other players from SCOOP events. The top 20 players behind each captain will progress to the SCOOP Battle Royale on June 1, which will award $14,000 worth of Gold, Silver, and Bronze passes. The winner will pick up a $10,300 Gold Pass, plus they’ll get to contribute points to their captain’s total.
Looking at what the teams look like, there are really no safe bets. The only thing we know for sure is that the 2025 SCOOP League will be very competitive, with all options up in the air until the last few tournaments.
So, head over to PokerStars and make your pick. Even if this year’s Spring Championship of Online Poker isn’t in the cards for you, this is a nice way to have some skin in the game and enjoy the series.
