The 2024 PokerStars Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) runs from May 5 through May 29. It features 128 events and a staggering $75 million in combined guaranteed prize pools. Plenty of new tournaments have added to the excitement, but the inaugural SCOOP League has captured the poker community’s attention.
The SCOOP League runs throughout the series and sees four teams captained by Team PokerStars pros hit the virtual felt. Each team consists of the captain, two Team PokerStars pros, eight regular pros, and 20 players from each captain’s streaming community. Those team captains who are looking to become the inaugural SCOOP League champions are:
- Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis
- Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot
- Fintan “easywithaces” Hand
- Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg
The four captains have already selected professional players for their rosters, with the remaining 20 open spaces on each team being filled by players competing in each team captain’s home games on May 2 and May 3; you can find these home games in the PokerStars lobby by searching for “SCOOP League Community Tournament.”
Fifteen players will become part of the SCOOP League team, each receiving a $215 SCOOP ticket to boot. The final five spots are filled through giveaways in each pro’s community.
You Could Win a UKIPT Malaga Package
The four teams will battle it out throughout the 2024 SCOOP in the hope of becoming the inaugural SCOOP League champions. You can get in on the action by showing your support for your favorite team, or at least the team you think will perform best.
Enter the starcode “SCOOPLeague” in the PokerStars client (via the “Tools” tab) to receive a freeroll ticket. Use this ticket to enter one of four freerolls, each bearing the name of Veldhuis, Talbot, Hand, or Spragg. You only get one freeroll ticket, and using it to register for one of the four freerolls is akin to voting for that team. Choose wisely because you cannot unregister!
If you choose to enter the freeroll of the SCOOP League winners, you’ll get to play for some superb prizes in that freeroll. Those reaching the freeroll’s final table will receive a Power Path Step 4 ticket, with the eventual champion bagging a UKIPT Malaga package!
Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis’ Team
| Sam “SamSquid” Grafton | Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot |
| Patrick “pads1161” Leonard | Benny “RunGodlike” Glaser |
| Jerry “perrymejsen” Odeen | Ole “wizowizo” Schemion |
| Denis “adrenalin710” Strebkov | “WhatIfGod” |
| Marius “DEX88” Gierse | Paul “_pauL€FauL_” Hoefer |
Veldhuis’s team looks incredibly strong and should challenge for the title. The Dutchman selected Sam “SamSquid” Graton and Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot from the roster of PokerStars Team Pros before assembling a team of eight online poker superstars.
Patrick “pads1161” Leonard almost always challenges for the overall SCOOP Player of the Year award, while Benny “RunGodlike” Glaser always crushes ‘COOP events, evident by his 23 career titles.
Veldhuis has also selected Swedish duo “WhatIfGod” and Jerry “perrymejsen” Odeen, Russian sensation Denis “adrenalin710” Strebkov, German superstar Ole “wizowizo” Schemion! The talent doesn’t stop there because Paul “_pauL€FauL_” Hoefer and Marius “DEX888” Gierse round out the Dutchman’s professionals.
Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot’s Team
| Ben “”Spraggy” Spragg | Laase “Wistern” Jagd Lauritsen |
| Niklas “Lena900” Astedt | Yuri “theNERDguy” Dzivielevski |
| “ShipitFTW911” | Bruno “great dant” Volkmann |
| James “TheDrunkLife” Whittet | Christian “CMoosepower” Elgstram |
| Blaz “Scarmak3r” Zerjav | Audrius “Stakelis24” Stakelis |
Talbot selected Team PokerStars Pros Ben “Spraggy” Spragg and Laase “Wistern” Jagd Lauritsen, and eight PokerStars regulars will hit the tables to back them up.
Swedish legend Niklas “Lena900” Astedt is sure to rack up plenty of points, as is four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Yuri “theNERDguy” Dzivielevski, who will play every game on the bustling SCOOP schedule.
“ShipifFTW911,” Dzivielevski’s fellow Brazilian Bruno “great dant” Volkmann, and Lithuanian grinder Audrius “Stakelis24” Stakelis will be in the hunt for SCOOP titles, as will Christian “CMoosepower” Elgstram, James “theDrunkLife” Whittet, and Slovenia’s Blaz “Scarmak3r” Zerjav.
Fintan “easywithaces” Hand’s Team
| Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis | Marle “MarlzTV” Spragg |
| Alex “FutureofMe” Kulev | Tobias “Senkel92” Leknes |
| “flerrehuve” | Robin “Robinho” Ylitalo |
| “ArtHouse2011” | “roflcopter88” |
| “gnetaren” | Jon “jonkyte” Kyte |
Hand originally planned to pick an all-Irish team but had to change those plans when he realized those plans were problematic. “I wanted to pick only Irish players but quickly realized that would be a problem, so I added some Scandis due to the fact the Vikings ruled Ireland for hundreds of years”
Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis and Marle “MarlzTV” Spragg are Hand’s Team Pros. Hand’s other pro selections include the incredible mixed game specialist Tobias “Senkel92” Leknes, former EPT London champion Robin “Robinho” Ylitalo, Jon “jonkyte” Kyte, and Ireland-based Bulgarian Alex “FutureofMe” Kulev.
The rest of Hand’s squad are online poker specialists who choose to keep their real names away from the public eye. They are “flerrehuve,” “roflcopter88,” “ArtHouse2011,” and “gnetaren.” How do you rate Hand’s team’s chances?
Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg’s Team
| Sebastian “peace&loove” Huber | Georgina “GJReggie” James |
| Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira | Joao “Naza114” Vieira |
| Kelvin “Kelvin_FP:AR” Kerber | Simon “C. Darwin2” Mattsson |
| “FAL1st” | Espen “Hymn2ninkasi” Jorstad |
| Bernardo “bedias” Dias | Talal “raidalot” Shakerchi |
Sebastian “peace&loove” Huber and Georgina “GJReggie” James are the duo Spragg selected from the PokerStars Team Pro roster. Spragg seems to have focused his attention on high-stakes specialists who play mixed games in addition to No-Limit Hold’em events.
Joao “Naza114” Vieira and Talal “raidalot” Shakerchi will likely play every tournament costing $215 upwards and probably many more in Vieira’s case. Rui “RuiNF” Ferreira, the 2022 WSOP Main Event champion Espen “Hymn2ninkasi” Jorstad, and Brazilian duo Kelvin “Kelvin_FP:AR” Kerber and Bernardo “bedias” Dias, back them up.
Making up the team of eight pros, but certainly not only making up the numbers, are the incredibly talented Swede Simon “C. Darwin2” Mattsson and the online Goliath known as “FAL1st,” who won the low leaderboard and overall leaderboard of the 2023 SCOOP.
Nail Your Colors to the Mast!
All four SCOOP League teams are packed with talent, and any of the four could walk away with the title of SCOOP League champions. Now is the time to nail your colors to the mast, select which team you think will emerge victoriously after the long SCOOP grind, and win yourself a place in a value-packed freeroll with a UKIPT Malaga package waiting to be won.
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