Team PokerStars' Fintan "easywithaces" Hand completed a remarkable hat trick of Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) titles when he took down the SCOOP 34-H: $2,100 8-Max, PKO, Sunday Warm-Up live on his popular Twitch channel.
The victory was Hand's third in successive years with the Irishman having won the $1,050 Afternoon Deep Stack for $73,653 and followed that up by winning the $5,200 NLHE PKO High Roller for a career-best $232,156 in 2021. Hand now has a trio of SCOOP titles; this latest triumph came with an impressive $119,046 with bounties included.
The tournament drew in a 283-strong crowd, which meant a $566,000 prize pool. Eight members of Team PokerStars were among the entrants, but Parker "Tonkaaaa" Talbot, Ramon "RamonColillas" Colillas, Benjamin "bencb789" Rolle, Lex "L. Veldhuis" Veldhuis, and Rafael "GM_VALTER" Moraes busted before the main prize pool dished out its prizes. Indeed, Moraes fell in 35th place and burst the money bubble, although he did secure a $1,000 bounty payment.
Hand was left as the sole red spade when Benjamin "Spraggy" Spragg busted in 14th and Sam "SamSquid" Grafton popped the final table bubble with his ninth-place finish.
Nobody at the eight-handed final table walked away with less than $14,612, including bounties. That was the sum Ukraine's "234241234214432" reeled in when their tournament ended in an eighth-place finish. Seventh-place and $21,151 went to Sweden's Alfred "Kzzon" Karlsson before "aminolast" dusted off their stack and collected a $15,693 payout.
Austria-based Dutch superstar Jans "Graftekkel" Arends was the next casualty. Arends saw $29,614 make its way to his PokerStars account when he was dumped out in fifth. Only the eventual champion won more money from the bounty prize pool.
The came the elimination of former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Martin "M.nosbocaJ" Jacobson, who banked $27,155. Heads-up was set when British grinder Jonathan "Proudflop" Proudfoot bowed out in third, a finish good for $42,906.
Both Hand and "Pepapig88" locked in $47,266 but the final bounty payment was nothing short of massive. It was Hand who got his hands on it when he limp-called a shove from Pepapig88 with pocket queens and found himself against ace-nine of club. The flop was safe for Hand but the turn gave Pepapig88 some outs to a club flush. However, it was not meant to be for the Maltese player because the river bricked and they busted with a combined prize worth $59,077.
Hand got his hands on $119,046 and celebrated by dancing around his office, knocking down decorations in the process! Skip forward to around 4 hours 25 minutes of the embedded video below to see Hand's dance moves!
SCOOP 34-H: $2,100 NLHE 8-Max PKO Sunday Warm-Up Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fintan "easywithaces" Hand | Ireland | $71,820 | $47,226 | $119,046 |
| 2 | Pepapig88 | Malta | $11,851 | $47,226 | $59,077 |
| 3 | Jonathan "Proudflop" Proudfoot | United Kingdom | $12,640 | $30,266 | $42,906 |
| 4 | Martin "M.nosbocaJ" Jacobson | United Kingdom | $4,500 | $22,655 | $27,155 |
| 5 | Jans "Graftekkel" Arends | Austria | $12,656 | $16,958 | $29,614 |
| 6 | aminolast | Canada | $3,000 | $12,693 | $15,693 |
| 7 | Alfred "Kzzon" Karlsson | Sweden | $11,750 | $9,501 | $21,251 |
| 8 | 234241234214432 | Ukraine | $7,500 | $7,112 | $14,612 |
Garagnani Wins the Clash of the Titans; Banks $161K
Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani is a 2022 SCOOP champion after the Brazilian came out on top of a 156-strong field in SCOOP 35-H: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max Titans. As you would expect from a $5,200 buy-in tournament, the field was stacked with stellar names, but Garagnani left them all in his wake.
Any of the eight finalists would have made a worthy champion but only one of them would achieve their goal. Belarusian legend Ilya "Leqenden" Anatsky was the first final table member heading for the showers, doing so with $27,958 in tow.
"roo_400" and Jans "Graftekkel" Arends were the next players who found themselves without chips. The duo scooped up prizes worth $35,911 and $46,127, respectively.
Canadian star Guillaume "Nolet20" Nolet's exit in fifth place came with a $59,250 prize and left the waters ever so slightly less infested with sharks. Danish player "starwins :)" fell by the wayside in fourth for $76,105 before Ramiro "ramastar88" Petrone crashed out in third with $97,755 in prize money, sending the Titans event into the heads-up stage.
Garagnani and Lucio "WizardOffAz" Lima locked horns heads-up, with each Brazilian guaranteeing themselves a six-figure haul. No deal was struck despite there being a near $40,000 difference in prizes or the fact both players know each other very well. The lack of any negotiations meant Garagnani got his hands on $161,284 when he defeated his fellow countryman, resigning Lima to a $125,564 consolation prize.
SCOOP 35-H: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max Titans Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani | Brazil | $161,284 |
| 2 | Lucio "WizardOffAz" Lima | Brazil | $125,564 |
| 3 | Ramiro "ramastar88" Petrone | Uruguay | $97,755 |
| 4 | starwins :) | Denmark | $76,105 |
| 5 | Guillaume "Nolet20" Nolet | Canada | $59,250 |
| 6 | Jans "Graftekkel" Arends | Austria | $46,127 |
| 7 | roo_400 | Canada | $35,911 |
| 8 | Ilya "Leqenden" Anatsky | Belarus | $27,958 |
Recent SCOOP Highlights
There were plenty of big SCOOP scores over the weekend, including Niklas "Lena900" Astedt who won his sixth SCOOP title after triumphing in the $1,050 PLO8 6-Max event for $34,456.
Ami "UhhMee Barer locked in his second SCOOP title of the series by taking down the $1,050 NLHE 7-Max Hyper PKO, while Peter "Belabasci" Traply took his online poker tournament winnings past $16.1 million by winning the $1,050 NLHE 8-Max Sunday Kickoff for $66,879.
| Event | Entrants | Prize pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #29-H: $1,050 NLHE 8-Max PKO | 755 | $755,000 | GUNDIAS | $103,966* |
| #31-H: $2,100 NLHE 8-Max | 141 | $282,000 | Tomi "elmerixx" Brouk | $59,192 |
| #32-H: $1,050 NLHE 7-Max Hyper PKO | 245 | $245,000 | Ami "UhhMee" Barer | $57,160 |
| #33-M: $109 NLHE 8-Max Sunday Kickoff | 3,109 | $310,900 | Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt | $44,887 |
| #33-H: $1,050 NLHE 8-Max Sunday Kickoff | 395 | $395,000 | Peter "Belabasci" Traply | $66,879 |
| #36-H: $1,050 PLO8 6-Max | 170 | $170,000 | Niklas "Lena900" Astedt | $34,456 |
| #37-M: $109 NLHE 6-Max | 4,487 | $448,700 | lautixxxx | $63,961 |
| #37-H: $1,050 NLHE 6-Max | 617 | $617,000 | BBRS999 | $108,481 |
| #38-H: $530 NLHE 8-Max Turbo PKO | 828 | $414,000 | Christopher "lissi stinkt" Frank | $50,696 |
