SCOOP 2012: Isildur1's "Eureka!" moment

Viktor Blom is not an easy man to track down. I've known this for a long time. The media stalked him as Isildur1 for months. When it came time to cop to his identity, I still had to walk halfway across an island and find him in the back of a bar. He's wily. He's elusive. Twitter's @bigacsiga suggested I look in the toilet, or just wait for him to get back to the cash games.

And that was really the point, wasn't it?

Viktor Blom is a cash game player. He's not a tourney grinder. So, why in the world--how in the world--is he crushing the Spring Championship of Online Poker so hard?

As of this moment, Blom has won $438,408 in this year's SCOOP festival, more than anybody else playing. He's in fifth place on the overall SCOOP leaderboard having only played 38 events (by comparison, leader Shaun Deeb has played 74 events and won $174,503).

So, to put it bluntly, what the hell, Viktor?

"I played a lot of tournaments and SNGs when I started out and did well," he said. 'When I started playing cash, I kind of forgot about tournaments and didn't have any deep runs in a long time."

And then suddenly, Blom pops up in January, wins the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller at the PCA, and then backs that up with back-to-back SCOOP wins. It was a four-month performance that many poker players would give their career to have.

If you can imagine this, there actually sort of was an "ah-ha, Eureka!" moment for the young Swede, and it's just as smart as it is silly. After winning the big one at the PCA, Blom had a sort of revelation.

"It woke me up again," he said. "I realized if go deep, it's so much more exciting. So. I feel I play better now that I realize that."

For anyone wondering whether Blom plays for the money or the jollies he gets from his poker adrenal glands, that should answer your question. Blom isn't in it so much for the titles as the feeling.

"I enjoying tournaments more than I did before," Blom said today. "Maybe that's because I always busted in the beginning before."

Blom concedes two things: he has worked on his tournament game, and he still understands how bad luck on one hand can ruin an entire day. Though he didn't bring it up, I watched him play a hand the other day--deep in a big SCOOP event-- in which he four-bet all-in with aces and got calls from both jacks and ace-king. The jacks flopped a set. The ace-king ran out a straight. The aces ended up third best. If Blom had won that hand, he was probably guaranteed another giant SCOOP final table instead of a 20th place finish.

But again, Blom didn't even bring that hand up. At the time, I recall him typing something like, "I've been lucky before, too."

Now he just puts it like this: "It takes only one hand to go out of a tournament, but I guess that's the thrill to it."

That's about all you'll get out of Blom right now. He's busy. Not only does he have cash games to think about, but SCOOP runs for another five days, and Blom isn't going to let up.

"I'm going to try hit another deep run in a big one," he said.

After that, though, it's back to what you'd expect. That is to say, Blom is going to frame his mind right for the next few days of tourneys, but you know what's going to happen after that.

"The ones I play I'm going to try do do my best in," Blom said, "but, my biggest effort is still going to be in the cash games."

And that is your Eureka moment for the day.

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PokerStars Mobile: Where have you done it

Where have you done it? On a boat? In a moat? On a Carnival float? You can do it anywhere you like these days, and now PokerStars is set to give you a free iPad just for a picture of you doing it.

PokerStars Mobile gives you the ability to play poker wherever you like. As long as you have a reliable connection to the internet, you can play on the world's biggest, safest, most secure poker site. Want proof? Here's Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree getting in a few hands (note the life jacket--safety first, we say).

Smooth sailing for the mobile Liv Boeree

So, here's your chance. Go play PokerStars Mobile somewhere. Get a picture of yourself playing. Upload it to Twitter using the #playpokerhere hashtag and mentioning @PokerStarsUK. The best one out there will get a free iPad. In addition to the grand prize, PokerStars.co.uk will also be giving away a series of spot prizes for the best entries.

So get out there and find somewhere weird--but safe!--to play.

***

Terms and Conditions

1) All entries must be submitted via Twitter using the hashtag #PlayPokerHere
2) The competition will run from Wednesday 16th May 2012 to midnight on the 30th May 2012 - Any entries submitted after this time will be deemed invalid
3) Images of a sexual, racist, violent or that of another offensive nature are prohibited from the competition. Any entrants that submits such a nature are held liable and are not supported by the PokerStars or its partners
4) Images that exploit copyright law are prohibited and the entrants will be responsible for any legal action that transpires
5) The competition is run by PokerStars and not Twitter
6) The winner(s) will be selected by PokerStars and PokerStars decision is final.
7) Spot prizes will be issued to entrants throughout the competition at PokerStars discretion
8) The main prize will be an ipad 2 - 16GB Wifi + 3G in white
9) No cash alternative is available for spot prizes or the main competition prize
10) All prizes will be distributed to the winner(s) within 30 days of the end of the competition

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PokerStars Zoom Poker out of beta, available on
Android Mobile

After three hundred million hands, PokerStars has stripped the beta label off Zoom Poker and made it official. The newest poker innovation from PokerStars HQ is now officially ready for primetime.

A couple of months ago, PokerStars put out a beta release of Zoom Poker. The first two microstakes games that popped up in the player lobby hit their 1,500-player cap in a matter of minutes. We told you about the game. We told you about the Zoom Poker strategy. Now we can tell you, it's all for real and here to stay.

Since March, PokerStars has added stakes all the way up to $2.50/$5 and Zoom Poker games in the Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo and Five Card Draw variants. What's more, PokerStars also released Zoom for Mobile on the Android platform (available to players of PokerStars.com, PokerStars.eu and PokerStars.net).

If you're just learning about Zoom Poker, this post should explain most of the particulars. In short, it's the fastest way to play poker online. Jump in the pool, see your first hand, and play it if you like. If not, hit the Fast Fold button and move on to the next one. It's the game for anyone who has ever wanted to fold out of turn. What's more, you can multi-table to get in even more hands.

For full information on the game, visit the PokerStars Zoom Poker home page.

Enjoy!

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SCOOP 2012: Event 21 - $2,100 NLHE

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SCOOP 2012: Deeb does it again in Event #26-H
$2,100 Stud Hi-Lo

It was déjà vu all over again. Here we were at a SCOOP final table. It was a $2,100 event. They were playing Stud Hi-Lo, and Shaun Deeb was dominating. Was I in some sort of time warp or didn't I already write this article two days ago?

If Deeb made history two days ago then what was left to say today when he did it all over again? Today, Deeb won his third SCOOP title of the series without raising a sweat. It was the fourth of his career, and in doing so, made a mockery of the SCOOP Player of the Series race. Deeb could probably take a day off, but somehow, I don't think that's going to happen.

Today's event was SCOOP Event #26-H $2,100 Stud Hi-Lo which attracted a field of 74 runners to create a prize pool of $148,000 -- almost double the original guarantee.

Among them were previous SCOOP champions, Sunday Millions winners and a host of professionals including Team PokerStars Pros Alex Kravchenko, Bertrand Grospellier, Ville Wahlbeck, George Danzer, George Lind III and Anders Berg.

With the top 12 players getting paid, Team PokerStars Pros Theo Jorgensen and Kristian Martin snuck into the money, but missed the final table which was formed after about 9.5 hours of play:

Final Table Line up
Seat 1: DazzleO (29772 in chips)
Seat 2: slammedfire (41988 in chips)
Seat 3: shaundeeb (82890 in chips)
Seat 4: Fred_Brink (31916 in chips)
Seat 5: caprioli (52541 in chips)
Seat 6: kasparov007 (28460 in chips)
Seat 7: E. Katchalov (64571 in chips)
Seat 8: PerpCzech (37862 in chips)

It was arguably the toughest SCOOP final table line up ever assembled with each player holding exceptional poker credentials.

Daniel "DazzleO" Ospina was a previous SCOOP champion, Fred_Brink held a Razz WCOOP title while slammedfire was had a previous SCOOP runner-up result to his credit. Kasparov007 won a SCOOP title back in 2009 in this very same discipline, while PerpCzech had multiple SCOOP final tables this series including a win in Event#19-M Triple Stud.

Then we move onto Rodridgo Caprioli -- one of the finest SCOOP players in history -- with two previous SCOOP wins including a win in Event #4-H Badugi earlier in this series. Throw in Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov with a previous WCOOP title in 2009 to go with WPT and WSOP titles as part of $7 million in live tournament earnings.

And then there was Shaun Deeb. The runaway SCOOP Player of the Series leader had already caused a stir on Mother's Day when he won his second title of the series. That stir would near seven on the Richter scale if he could do it all over again today.

First to go was Daniel "DazzleO" Ospina. He three-bet on third, bet and called a raise on fourth, before his last chips were all in by fifth street. Ospina started with a pair of tens and could only improve to two pair on a board of [Td][Th][9c][2h][Qs][2d][6s] as kasparov007 started with a low draw but spiked trips to scoop the lot with a board of [3h][7d][6d][5c][Ah][5s][5d]. Ospina took home $4,810 for 8th place.

Despite claiming the first victim of the final table, kasparov007 was still one of the short stacks. kasparov007 dropped further after losing a solid pot to PerpCzech, before the antes got hold. With kasparov007 all in on third street, Shaun Deeb and Fred_Brink continued betting throughout and ultimately chopped up the pot. Deeb made a flush for the high, Fred_Brink caught an eight-six low, as kasparov007 couldn't only muster a pair of eights with an eight-seven low. kasparov007 collected $6,290 for 7th place.

Fred_Brink was on the short stack but it was slammedfire who was next to go. Slammedfire led the betting on every street before Shaun Deeb raised it up on the river to put his opponent all in. Slammedfire made the call with [3c][5s][5c][5d][7s][Kd][4c] for trip fives as Deeb caught a full house with a board of [9d][Qh][Qs][3d][3s][4s][Qd]. Slammedfire missed out on that elusive SCOOP title but $7,770 for 6th place should be some consolation.

Fred_Brink landed a double up with a six-high straight to scoop against Eugene Katchalov's pair of aces as Katchalov was in the danger zone. But he held on long enough to outlast Fred_Brink who clashed with Rodridgo Caprioli with a raising war on fifth street seeing Fred_Brink's last chips committed. Fred_Brink could only manage [2d][Js][Ah][Jd][7d][8c][Kc] for a pair of jacks which wasn't enough to better Caprioli's [Qc][9c][Ac][5d][Qs][5s][8d] two pair with queens and fives. Fred_Brink added $10,360 to his bankroll for 5th place.

The pressure was now on Katchalov, but he couldn't hang on any further. Just moments later, the Team PokerStars Pro stuck his chips in on fourth street with his board running out [Kc][2c][5c][Ks][5d][Qs][7c] for kings up, but Caprioli bettered that with [4d][As][Ad][Tc][5h][Th][2h] for aces up. Another impressive SCOOP run for Katchalov ended in 4th place for $14,060 in prize money.

Caprioli held the chip lead in what was a tight contest, with three very experienced and talented Stud players. The lead swapped around on several occasions, with Deeb surging into the front, before PerpCzech won two back-to-back scoops to take control. The second of those saw PerpCzech sustain heavy warfare from Deeb, while holding just a pair of jacks:

That hand sparked some interesting banter between the two:

PerpCzech said, "i just read shaun deebs soul"
shaundeeb said, "play everyhand"
shaundeeb said, "and call down 100"
shaundeeb said, "youll be right sometimes"
shaundeeb said, "we can play after if you want"
PerpCzech said, "only gonna read your soul once"
PerpCzech said, "once is good"
shaundeeb said, "and the 7 times you called me dwn dead"
shaundeeb said, "i said nothing"
PerpCzech said, "never mind then"
shaundeeb said, "dunno why youre such a **** online"
shaundeeb said, "and so nice in person"

The banter seemed to focus Deeb as he commented that he was determined to win all of the Stud SCOOP titles. He mounted a small comeback before PerpCzech proved his soul-reading abilities were no fluke with another impressive call down to sixth street with just a pair of deuces for the high and no low hand:

PerpCzech said, "am i allowed to talk sith now?"
shaundeeb said, "i mean if i bet i win"

Again the banter seemed to spark Deeb as he kicked up the aggression before PerpCzech was able to scoop consecutive pots once again to take over the chip lead.

While PerpCzech and Deeb continued to duke it out, Caprioli was caught in the middle of the storm. Caprioli got short and pushed his last chips on fifth street against Deeb. He started with a low draw, picked up some high cards, but ended up with neither as his board ran out [8d][3s][Ad][Jh][Kc][9h][2c]. Deeb tabled [5d][4c][7s][7c][Jc][2s][Qc] for just a pair of sevens which was enough to take it down and eliminate Caprioli in 3rd place for $20,720.

Heads-up chip counts
PerpCzech (250217 in chips)
shaundeeb (119783 in chips)

The two continued to throw friendly barbs in the chat box as Deeb landed the first significant blow, scooping a pot with a single pair of kings.

That was soon followed by the biggest pot of the tournament:

The action got very heavy on fifth street before slowing down by the river with Deeb's two pair enough to take it down and assume the ascendency. But PerpCzech wasn't going to just lay down. He fought back to even things up before Deeb collected back-to-back 100k pots, one with a very nice wheel straight, to leave PerpCzech crippled.

Moments later PerpCzech was all in on third street with his board running out [Kd][6d][9h][Ah][5s][Ts][8c] for just ace-high as Deeb made a pair of threes on his board of [Tc][2s][Kh][4h][3h][3d][8h] to claim the win! PerpCzech continued his fine SCOOP series with another $27,380 score as Deeb made history (again) to win his third SCOOP title of this series, the fourth of his career and another $40,300 in prize money.

Number of entrants: 74
Places paid: 12

Final Table Results
1st shaundeeb (Mexico) - $40,330
2nd PerpCzech (New Zealand) - $27,380
3rd caprioli (Brazil) - $20,720
4th E.Katchalov (Ukraine) - $14,060
5th Fred_Brink (Denmark) - $10,360
6th slammedfire (Canada) - $7,770
7th kasparov007 (Germany) - $6,290
8th DazzleO (Colombia) - $4,810

Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.

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SCOOP 2012: texaspl takes down Event #26-M ($215
Stud Hi/Lo)

Players managed to get a few SCOOPs of Stud today.

While today's seven-card tournament was Hi/Lo, the stakes were high. 452 players put up $215 a piece to create a $90,400 prize pool. By using fancy PokerStars mathematical magic, it was decided that 64 players would cash and the grand prize would be $17,176.

Out of the 452 players that signed up for the tournament, 12 had a red spade decorating their name. A few of the Team PokerStars players in the field included, ElkY, Andre Akkari, Pius Heinz, Eugene Katchalov, George Lind and George Danzer.

While Pius Heinz was the only Team PokerStars Pro to cash in this event -- he finished 52nd for $339 -- Team Pro had a studly performance in the High and Low version of this Hi/Lo event.

In Event #26-L, George Danzer made the final table and finished in 8th. George "Jorj95" Lind also made the he final table, he actually managed to outlast the whole field, winning the SCOOP title and $9,352.58.

On the High side of things, Eugene Katchalov made the final table. Out of the 74 players that put up $2,1000 for some high-stakes Stud H/L, Katchalov managed to finish in 4th, earning $14,060.

While he outlasted most of the players, Katchalov wasn't able to outlast the current leader of the SCOOP Player of the Series race, Shaun Deeb. We've been covering Deeb's tremendous SCOOP run extensively here, and here, and now he did it again.

Shaun Deeb won Event #26-H for a third 2012 SCOOP title and $40,330. Oh, he also made the final table of Event #26-L.

So yeah, that gut feeling you just had, that disturbance you felt in the Internet, as if millions of SCOOP Player of the Series dreams cried in terror and were suddenly silenced, that was Shan Deeb.

But back in the Medium camp, Poland's texaspl was busy winning a tournament too. texaspl is no stranger to the SCOOP, or Stud.

This was texaspl's third SCOOP final table, and his second in Stud. Last year, texaspl finished 5th in SCOOP Event #10-L:$33 Limit Stud and then he finished runner-up in Event #17-L: $16.50 PLO +R.

There's no doubt that texaspl was thirsty for a SCOOP watch, and now, his thirst has finally been quenched.

TEXASPL TAKING THE TOP

texaspl was third in chips when the tournament was down to its final six players. Play had been going on for around 10 hours and the last two Russians had just been eliminated.

KIRKILLU was the first final table elimination, finishing in 8th place for $1,808. KIRKILLU was followed closely by the last Russian, NAR74. NAR74's 7th place elimination brought the tournament down to six players and earned him $2,260.

This is where texaspl started to take a stand and make his name known to the final table:

After winning a few more pots, texaspl was ready to do some final table damage.

With 16K/32K limits and a 3,200 ante, Psixiatr brought it in with a [3d]. texaspl raised to 16,000 with an [ah].

To texaspl's immediate left, Mammola -- with an [8d] -- re-raised to 32,000. texaspl 4-bet to 48,000 and Mammola made it 64,000 to go.

texaspl called and Mammola was left with just under 10,000. Then the next street was dealt:

texaspl: (x)(x)[ah][9c]
Mammola: (x)(x)[8d][jh]

texaspl bet and Mammola called, putting himself all in.

The cards were exposed and three more were dealt to each player. When things were over, the final hands were:

texaspl: [5h][ad][ah][9c][6d][7c][qs]
Mammola: [8s][3c][8d][jh][9d][10c][5d]

Mammola showed a pair of 8s and a busted straight draw, but texaspl's aces took the pot. Mammola was eliminated in 6th place, adding $3,164 to his PokerStars bank account.

texaspl, on the other hand, would jump into the chip lead. By taking all of Mammola's chips, texaspl's stack grew to 742,274, just passing psixiatr's 732,535.

POOKU33 POKES AROUND

There'd be a few split pots and texaspl would lose the lead until Pooku33 took a piece off of Psixiatr.

With 20K/40K limits and a 4K ante, --H77H-- had the bring in with a [2h]. Pooku33 bet with an [8c] and both Psixiatr -- with a [3d] -- and texaspl -- with a [5d] -- made the call.

Pooku33: (x)(x)[8c][9c]
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[3d][8d]
texaspl: (x)(x)[5d][9d]

Pooku33 bet, Psixiatr raised and texaspl folded.Pooku33 called and brought on sixth street:

Pooku33: (x)(x)[8c][9c][10h][9h]
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[3d][8d][10s][Ks]

Pooku33 bet 40,000 and Psixiatr called. Both players checked the river and showed their hands:

Pooku33: [ah][ad][8c][9c][10h][9h][kh]
Psixiatr: [2s][7s][3d][8d][10s][Ks][3h]

Pooku33 took the pot and was up to 317,994.

This left texaspl with a small lead until icandodge22 took over the reins:

Pooku33 sank back down before making it back up to 318,000 again.

With 161,994 left and a [3c], Pooku33 bet 20,000. Action was folded around to --H77H-- who raised to 40,000 with a [kh]. Pooku33 called and brought on fourth street:

Pooku33: (x)(x)[3c][as]
--H77H--: (x)(x)[kh][jd]

Pooku33 check-called --H77H--'s bet 20,000, brining fifth street:

Pooku33: (x)(x)[3c][as][5d]
--H77H--: (x)(x)[kh][jd][7h]

--H77H-- bet 40,000 after a check, leaving himself with only 16,676. Pooku33 called again:

Pooku33: (x)(x)[3c][as][5d][2c]
--H77H--: (x)(x)[kh][jd][7h][7c]

--H77H-- moved all in and Pooku33 made the call, the final showdown was:

Pooku33: [4c][2h][3c][as][5d][2c][kc]
--H77H--: [3h][js][kh][jd][7h][7c][8s]

--H77H-- showed a pair of 7s and Jacks for the Hi pot and nothing for the low. Pooku33 would scoop it up with an A-5 straight and an A-2-3-4-5 Lo.

--H77H-- was eliminated in 5th place and won $4,520 for his finish.

Pooku33's rise would be short-lived as he would find himself severely short-stacked yet again.

Psixiatr brought it in with a [3d] and icandodge22 raised to 20,000 with a [7h]. Pooku33 moved all in for 32,670 and icandodge22 called.

After the river was dealt, Pooku33's fate as our 4th place finisher was sealed:

Pooku33: [10h][ac][qd][kd][6d][7c][5d]
icandodge22: [6h][7d][7h][qc][7s][2d][8d]

Pooku33's ace-high was no match for icandodge22's three 7s and Pooku33 earned $6,780 for his finish.

This last hand also put icandodge22 at 1.2MM, giving him more than texaspl and Psixiatr combined.

EVENING THINGS OUT

But texaspl would start to close the gap by taking a pot off of Psixiatr:

When the gap was closed enough, texaspl leapt right over and snatched the lead back from icandodge22.

With 25K/50K limits and a 5K ante, texaspl bet 25,000 with a [7h]. Psixiatr raised to 50,000 with a [js] and icandodge, with a [9d], called.

texaspl called too and all three players went to fourth street:

Psixiatr: (x)(x)[js][6h]
icandodge22: (x)(x)[9d][4s]
texaspl: (x)(x)[7h][8s]

Psixiatr bet 25,000 and everyone decided to go along for the ride:

Psixiatr: (x)(x)[js][6h][qc]
icandodge22: (x)(x)[9d][4s][2d]
texaspl: (x)(x)[7h][8s][kc]

texaspl and Psixiatr checked, bringing a 50,000 bet from icandodge22. Both players called and brought on sixth street:

Psixiatr: (x)(x)[js][6h][qc][7c]
icandodge22: (x)(x)[9d][4s][2d][kh]
texaspl: (x)(x)[7h][8s][kc]

icandodge22 bet 50,000 and everyone called again. texaspl led out for 50,000 on the river and both Psixiatr and icandodge22 folded.

texaspl won the 540,000 pot and took the lead with 1.2MM. icandodge22 was close behind with 900,000, and Psixiatr was left with just around three big bets.

All three of those big bets would go into the pot a few hands later. texaspl raised to 25,000 with a [3s] and Psixiatr raised to 50,000. texaspl called and the next street was dealt:

Psixiatr: (x)(x)[6d][5c]
texaspl: (x)(x)[3s][8s]

texaspl check-called Psixiatr's 25,000 bet and players went on to fifth street:

Psixiatr: (x)(x)[6d][5c][3c]
texaspl: (x)(x)[3s][8s][8h]

texaspl bet 50,000 and Psixiatr moved all in for 71,635. texaspl called and players went to showdown:

Psixiatr: [3h][ac][6d][5c][3c][5h][qh]
texaspl: [kc][4c][3s][8s][3d][5s]

Psixiatr showed a pair of 3s and 5s, but texaspl held the higher two pair with 8s and 3s. Psixiatr was eliminated in 3rd place, earning $9,275.04.

HEADS UP
With Psixiatr's elimination, the options for Event #26-M champion were narrowed down to two.

texaspl: 1,450,409
icandodge22: 809,591

texaspl then took a few pots off of icandodge22 and increased his lead even more. texaspl whittled icandodge22's stack down to about 120,000 before icandodge managed to double up:

texaspl would keep the heat turned up. For the rest of the match, the best icandodge22 could do was a 9-1 chip defect. icandodge22 managed to double up a few more times to stay in the game, but texaspl would soon put things to an end.

With about 70,000 left, icandodge22 bet 25,000 with a [ks]. texaspl raised to 50,000 with the [as] and icandodge22 moved all in for 68,456.

texaspl called and the final hand of the tournament was dealt:

icandodge22: [kh][ac][ks][9c][4d][9s][5d]
texaspl: [2d][kd][as][10d][ah][jc][qc]

icandodge22's kings and 9s weren't good enough to beat texaspl's straight and icandodge22 became our 2nd place finisher, earning $12,656.

This made texaspl our event champion. After two SCOOP final tables, he finally gets a victory and a fancy MOVADO watch. If that wasn't enough, he also gets $17,176.

Event #27-M Stud Hi/lo - Final Table Results and Payouts:

?Entrants: 452?
Places Paid: 64

1. texaspl (Poland) - $17,176?
2. icandodge22 (Finland) - $12,656?
3. Psixiatr (Latvia) - $9,275.04?
4. Pooku33 (Japan) - $6,780
?5. --H77H-- (Denmark) - $4,520
?6. Mammola (Canada) - $3,164
?7. NAR74 (Russia) - $2,260
?8. KIRKILLU (Russia) - $1,808

Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.

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SCOOP 2012: Shine a light on George "Jorj95"
Lind, Winner in Event $26-Low

Shaun Deeb woke up this morning with a lock on Player of the Series. He could have taken the day off and went surfing or hang gliding. But instead of those high-end adventure sports, he fired up his computer, logged onto PokerStars and bought into another SCOOP tournament -- Event #27 $27 Stud Hi/Lo.

The format was Stud Hi/Lo. Deeb was seeking his third title this year and fourth overall. When the tournament commenced, Deeb had five final tables under his belt along with 15 cashes and the top spot on the Leader Board.

Even though this event was a "Low" format, that didn't mean Deeb took it less serious than any other event he played in. He slashed and burned his way through a treacherous field of 2,178 players and somehow, his run good continued and he found himself among the final eight players for his seventh final table this SCOOP (he also made the final table of Event #27-High).

But Deeb was denied another title in this event. When the dust settled, it was PokerStars Team Online George "Jorg95" Lind who prevailed. Lind has been in the top 10 on the Leader Board for the last week and has 16 cashes under his belt. Now, you can now add a SCOOP title to his accolades.

Another day at the office for Team PokerStars Online George "Jorj95" Lind

The total prize pool for Event #27-Low $27 Stud Hi/Lo was $54,450 and the top 288 places paid out. Other notables who cashed in this Stud Hi/Lo event included Team PokerStars Pro George Danzer (8th), Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen (75th), and Team PokerStars Online Anders "Donald" Berg (136th).

With 45 players to go, Shaun Deeb emerged as the leader. Although he wouldn't retain the top spot for very long, he never dipped below the Top 10 in chips en route to the final table

With 33 to go, George Lind took over the lead and Deeb slipped to 8th overall. With 28 to go, Deeb won a couple of pots to jump into second.

With two tables left, Lind held the lead with 2.4 million. Deeb slipped to 7th in chips and Danzer fought tooth and nail with a short stack.

With nine remaining and playing hand-for-hand, Danzer was clinging on to dear life with a short stack. Danzer doubled up with two pair -- Kings and Queens -- against MBPoker26's Jacks and treys. He avoided a double up and squeaked into the final eight.

MBPoker26 bubbled off the final table in ninth place. MBPoker26's pair of Queens could not compete with vas_panev74, who scooped the pot with a 7-6-5-4-A low and an eight-high straight.

Event #27-L $27 Stud Hi/Lo - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: vas_panev74 (2,137,538)
Seat 2: xParaBelluMx (1,205,934)
Seat 3: Team PokerStars Pro George "GeorgeDanzer" Danzer (116,648)
Seat 4: peanut_no. 1 (1,180,550)
Seat 5: shaundeeb (699,234)
Seat 6: Team PokerStars Online George "Jorj95" Lind (3,660,327)
Seat 7: Chrucx2 (72,628)
Seat 8: Seylo (1,817,141)

With the final table set, George Lind held the lead with over 3.6 million. Meanwhile, Chrucx2 brought up the rear as the short stack.

ROCKS OFF: GeorgeDanzer eliminated in 8th place; shaundeeb eliminated in 7th place

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Two players busted out on a single hand -- George Danzer and Shaun Deeb. Here's how it happened:

Third Street:
xParaBelluMx: (X-X) [4h]
GeorgeDanzer (X-X)[6h]
shaundeeb (X-X) [Ad]
Seylo (X-X) [Tc]

xParaBelluMx brought it in for 24,000, GeorgeDanzer shoved all-in for 68,648, shaundeeb re-raised to 80,000, and both Seylo and xParaBelluMx called.

Fourth Street:
xParaBelluMx: (X-X) [4h][8d]
GeorgeDanzer (X-X) [6h][8s]
shaundeeb (X-X) [Ad][2d]
Seylo (X-X) [Tc][5c]

Deeb bet 80,000, and both Seylo and xParaBelluMx called.

Fifth Street:
xParaBelluMx: (X-X) [4h][8d][9d]
GeorgeDanzer (X-X) [6h][8s][As]
shaundeeb (X-X) [Ad][2d][Jd]
Seylo (X-X) [Tc][5c][7d]

Deeb fired out 160,000. Seylo called, but xParaBelluMx bailed.

Sixth Street:
GeorgeDanzer (X-X) [6h][8s][As][3d]
shaundeeb (X-X) [Ad][2d][Jd][8h]
Seylo (X-X) [Tc][5c][7d][Ac]

Deeb bet 160.000, Seylo raised to 320,000, and Deeb called.

On the river, Deeb moved all-in for his last 11,234, and Seylo called. Danzer showed [3c][3h][6h][8s][As][3d][Qs] for trip treys. Deeb showed [6d][5h][Ad][2d][Jd][8h][5d] for a Ace-high flush and an 8-6-5-2-A low. Neither hand could beat Seylo. Seylo held [6c][Kc][Tc][5c][7d][Ac][4d] for a better flush (Ace-King flush vs. Deeb's Ace-Jack flush) and a better low hand 7-6-5-4-A.

Alas, Danzer hit the road in eighth place and won $544.50. Deeb earned $1,089 for a seventh place finish. Another deep run for Deeb, who had one less tournament to worry about as he focused on the final table in Event #27-High.

Check out this double-elimination hand here:

SHAKE YOUR HIPS: Chrucx2 eliminated in 6th place

Short-stacked Chrucx2 was the next player to bust. Chrucx2 bombed it all-in on third street. Seylo and peanut_no. 1 both called and attempted to take out Chrucx2. In the end, Seylo won the hand with [As][Jc][3h][Qc][4d][2d][Qd] and a pair of Queens. Chrucx2 had (X-X)[Ad][8s][Qs][2h](X) showing but mucked his losing hand. Chrucx2 collected $1,633.50 for a sixth-place finish.

With five to go, vas_panev74 held the lead with 3.3 million, Seylo was second with 2.9 million, Lind was not far behind with 2.8 million, peanut_no. 1 held 1 million and shot-stacked xParaBelluMx held under 800K.

CASINO BOOGIE: Seylo eliminated in 5th place

Seylo's stack was under assault. Seylo lost a couple of minor pots to both Lind and peanut_no. 1. Seylo got into a tough spot with a dwindling stack and made a valiant final stand. On third street... vas_panev74 brought it in for 36,000, Lind raised to 120,000, Seylo bumped it up to 240,000, vas_panev74 folded, Lind re-raised to 360,000, Seylo called all-in for 69,899. Heads-up between Lind and Seylo. After the hands were dealt, no one qualified for a low. Lind won the entire hand with [3s][Ts][As][9h][Qs][7d][Ac] for a pair of Aces. Seylo lost with a pair of Jacks holding [2h][Jd][Js][4d][5d][3d][Tc]. Seylo, from Switzerland, won $2,722.50 for fifth place.

With four to go, Lind held the lead with 5.7 million and xParaBelluMx was the shorty with 675K.

TUMBLING DICE: xParaBelluMx eliminated in 4th place

A raising war broke out on third street. Lind capped the betting with (X-X)[6c] and xParaBelluMx called with (X-X)[Ah]. On fourth street, holding (X-X)[Ah][8c], xParaBelluMx was all-in after betting out, then calling a raise from Lind's (X-X)[6c][7s]. Once again, there was no qualifying low and Lind won the pot with a pair of sixes holding [5s][4c][6c][7s][Qh][9s][6s] against xParaBelluMx's Ace high and [5h][Ts][Ah][8c][Jh][Kh][7d]. xParaBelluMx was knocked out in fourth place and won $3,811.50.

With three players left in the hunt for the SCOOP title, Lind led the way with 6.5 million, while vas_panev74 trailed with 2.4 million, and peanut_no. 1 was last in chips with 1.9 million.

TORN AND FRAYED: vas_panev74 eliminated in 3rd place

The ultimate key to hi/lo games is to win the entire pot, and peanut_no. 1 picked one heck of a time to scoop. On sixth street, vas_panev74 got it all-in with (X-X)[3d][7c][3c][Th], and peanut_no. 1 called with (X-X)[3h][Qh]Ad][5c]. Without a qualifying low hand, vas_panev74 finished up with [8s][7h][3d][7c][3c][Th][6h] for just two pair. Unfortunately, peanut_no. 1 showed [4h][2d][3h][Qh][Ad][5c][5s]. The Wheel scooped the high and the low. Alas, vas_panev74 was knocked out in third place, but won $5,172.75.

HEADS-UP: George "Jorj95" Lind (Canada) vs. peanut_no. 1 (Germany)
Seat 4: peanut_no. 1 (3,516,698)
Seat 6: Jorj95 (7,373,302)

With two to go, George Lind held over a 2-1 advantage.

LOVING CUP: peanut_no. 1 eliminated in 2nd place; George Lind ships SCOOP title

Lind set the pace once heads-up began and peanut_no. 1 failed to get any momentum going after Lind won the first decisive pot. With (X-X)[8s][3c][9s][Jc](X) showing, peanut_no. 1 folded on the river against Lind's (X-X)[4d][Ks][Ah][Qd](X). Lind won a 4 million pot and peanut_no. 1 was crippled. The nightmare would finally ended two hands later.

On the final hand, peanut_no. 1 was dealt the (X-X)[4s] and Jorj95 was dealt the (X-X)[2c]. Lind brought it in for 60,000, peanut_no. 1 bumped it up to 200,000, Lind re-raised to 400,000, peanut_no. 1 re-raised all-in for 586,792, and Lind called. At showdown, peanut_no. 1 held [9h][Kh][4s][5h][7h][Js][Qs] for nothing more than King high. Lind won the pot with a pair of Queens and [7c][3d][2c][Qc][8d][Qd][9s].

For a runner-up performance, peanut_no. 1 earned $6,615.67. Meanwhile, PokerStars Team Online George "Jorj95" Lind won his first SCOOP title this year and collected $9,352.58 for first place.

Check out Lind's winning hand here in the replayer:

Event #27-L Stud Hi/lo - Final Table Results and Payouts:
Entrants: 2,178
Places Paid: 288

1. PokerStars Team Online George "Jorj95" Lind (Canada) - $9,352.58
2. peanut_no. 1 (Germany) - $6,615.67
3. vas_panev74 (Bulgaria) - $5,172.75
4. xParaBelluMx (Russia) - $3,811.50
5. Seylo (Switzerland) - $2,722.50
6. Chrucx2 (Denmark) - $1,633.50
7. Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb (Mexico) - $1,089
8. Team PokerStars Pro George "GeorgeDanzer" Danzer (Germany) - $544.50

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SCOOP 2012: Second SCOOP title for joacowalter
with Event #25-H win ($1,050 Triple Draw 2-7)

There are a handful of players in the 2012 SCOOP series who are dominating the headlines. Viktor Blom is a Team PokerStars Pro and online poker legend, in some respects. Shaun Deeb is a skilled online player with many titles, including a previous SCOOP win, to go with the two from this year thus far. But let's not leave joacowalter out of the mix. Tonight, the newcomer to the world of high stakes poker took a second SCOOP title and wrote an entry in the online poker history books.

*****

Limit Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball is a fun tournament option for those looking for a challenge that doesn't include the usual suspects of No Limit Hold'em or Pot Limit Omaha. The usual lingo is replaced with phrases like "stand pat" and "discard," and players must learn new strategies and tips for getting ahead in Triple Draw. And if poker players aren't up for that kind of challenge, I'm not sure who is.

This high buy-in of Event 25 offered players the chance to put up $1,050 for a chance at a Triple Draw title against some of the most well-known poker players in the world. And there were just enough to more than double the guarantee. The final numbers were:

Players: 118
Guarantee: $50,000.00
Prize pool: $118,000.00
Paid players: 18

There were several members of Team PokerStars in action in this event, and the first one to bust from it was Team Pro Martin Staszko, who left in 73rd place. Fellow Team Pro Ville Wahlbeck was right behind in 72nd place, and Team Online's George "Jorj95" Lind busted in 65th with fellow Online Pro Anders "Donald" Berg a few spots behind in 57th. Team Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier exited in 52nd, George Danzer in 33rd, and the last Team Pro standing - Eugene Katchalov - in 16th place for a min-cash of $1,534.00.

The players cashing in the tournament were mostly familiar names, including Tim "TurnRiva" Marsters who won SCOOP 15-M last week.

Play was seven-handed for well over 30 minutes, which ultimately led to the perpetually short-stacked Kroko-dill moving all-in after the first draw against joacowalter. Each player discarded one card for the second draw, and Kroko-dill stood pat in the end with [Jh][4s][6d][3h][5s]. But joacowalter took one more card and produced [5d][Tc][6s][2h][4c] for the win. Andrey "Kroko-dill" Zaichenko (pictured here) was eliminated in seventh place with $3,835.00.

Joacowalter goes for second title

The star-studded final table began in Level 21, with 1,600/3,200 blinds and these chip counts:

Seat 1: SirWatts (109,697 in chips)
Seat 2: vovtroy (113,395 in chips)
Seat 3: ImaLucSac (72,078 in chips)
Seat 4: merla888 (38,817 in chips)
Seat 5: joacowalter (137,335 in chips)
Seat 6: ZeeJustin (118,678 in chips)

During the first 30 minutes, joacowalter continued to dominate and increase the lead, while SirWatts solidified a second place spot. ZeeJustin lost ground, however, to sit in sixth place of the six players with a very short stack at the first break, and merla888 chipped up to sit in the middle of the pack as opposed to the starting stacks.

Bonomo bombs

ZeeJustin was soon down to fewer than 12K chips and got involved with original raiser SirWatts and caller joacowalter. Each of the three players discarded two cards, and when joacowalter bet and ZeeJustin raised, SirWatts folded. Joacowalter reraised, and ZeeJustin called all-in. Each player drew one card on the second draw and joacowalter stood pat while ZeeJustin took one more card on the last draw. ZeeJustin showed [7h][6h][8s][Kh][2s] for his tournament life, but joacowalter had him beat with [3c][2h][4s][8c][Td]. Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo, who finished second in Event 22-H yesterday, took sixth place in this event for $5,310.00.

SirWatts powers off

SirWatts struggled during four-handed play and finally got involved in a capped pot with merla888. Both players then took one card, and a bet from SirWatts was called by merla888. SirWatts stood pat after that, while merla888 took one card on each of the next two draws. SirWatts felt comfortable showing [2c][7d][8c][3c][4s], but merla888 turned over [6s][5s][2d][7s][4d]. After finishing second in Event 9H last week, Mike "SirWatts" Watson finished fifth tonight for $7,670.00.

Merla888 moves on

Merla888 struggled. Even after a double through vovtroy, merla888's stack was again reduced to less than 20K. Merla888 tangled with vovtroy again, and after both took two cards, a bet and call prompted them to each draw one. Vovtroy bet again, and merla888 responded by moving all-in. Vovtroy called and stood pat. Merla888 took one more card and showed [7c][Tc][6d][9h][3d], but vovtroy had [3s][7h][6c][8d][4c] for the win. Merla888 left in fourth place with $10,030.00.

ImaLucSac out of luck

A long three-handed battle left ImaLucSac facing tough competition. Finally, the short-stacked ImaLucSac pushed all-in after capped betting and then drawing two cards. Vovtroy was willing to play along and ended up with [Td][8h][2s][6h][3s], which bested the [8s][7h][2c][Th][6d] of ImaLucSac, who exited in third place with $15,340.00.

Joacowalter determined to win again

The heads-up match began with these chip counts:

Seat 2: vovtroy (179,337 in chips)
Seat 5: joacowalter (410,663 in chips)

Joacowalter saw the second bracelet like it was close enough to touch it, and that prompted a run of hands that gave joacowalter an enormous chip lead. Vovtroy was eventually relegated to a stack of less than 30K, though a double-up helped keep the action going. Finally, vovtroy pushed all-in for 5,174 chips, drew two cards, then another two, and finally one last card. Joacowalter took two, then one, and stood pat at the end with [9c][4c][3s][2c][7d]. Vovtroy showed [7h][6h][9d][8s][3c] and took second place and $20,650.00 in cash.

Joacowalter, on the other hand, claimed victory. And it was the second SCOOP title for joacowalter in the 2012 series, as the first came in Event 5-H last week. This title came with $30,680.00 and another Movado watch. Congrats!

2012 SCOOP Event #25-H ($1,050 Triple Draw 2-7) Results:

Total players: 118
Paid players: 18

1st place: joacowalter (Uruguay) $30,680.00
2nd place: vovtroy (Russia) $20,650.00
3rd place: ImaLucSac (Canada) $15,340.00
4th place: merla888 (Belgium) $10,030.00
5th place: SirWatts (Canada) $7,670.00
6th place: ZeeJustin (Canada) $5,310.00

Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.

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SCOOP 2012: Sumerki-2012 sits out, Flakon2010
wins Event #25-L ($11 Triple Draw 2-7)

Sumerki-2012 looked strong throughout the final table. From the time the final five paused to discuss a deal, sumerki-2012 was either the chip leader or the strongest fighter to regain that lead. Flakon2010 was the biggest obstacle, but when sumerki-2012 took a huge chip lead in the heads-up match, it looked like it was over. That was until sumerki-2012 mentioned a job and sat out the remainder of the tournament. Flakon2010 may have been able to mount a comeback but never got the chance, winning the tournament because he was literally the only player left participating in the game. Nevertheless, a win is a win and should be treated as such.

*****

Why would thousands of players line up to play a game like Limit Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball? To win a SCOOP title! (It's not a riddle, just a question and answer. Relax.) Put a price tag of $11 on a tournament with a $25K guarantee, and players will sign up for just about anything. But with Triple Draw gaining popularity among the greater players, everyone wants to become an expert, and there's no better way to gain experience than to register for an $11 SCOOP tournament.

Event 25 offered a low buy-in version of the event with that $11 buy-in, and nearly 3K players wanted in on the action. And again, the guarantee was shot down by the actual prize pool:

Players: 2,911
Guarantee: $25,000.00
Prize pool: $29,110.00
Paid players: 390

After the money bubble burst, courtesy of Team Wispy in 391st place, DBS2THELIMIT was the first player to cash for $16.88. Among the hundreds who also cashed were several Team PokerStars Pros, like Chad Brown, who cashed in 320th place, and Team Online's Anders "Donald" Berg in 275th place and George "Jorj95" Lind in 182nd.

Approximately 15 minutes before the 11-hour mark of the tournament, the elimination of Gase10 in eighth place started hand-for-hand play, and about 10 minutes later, jickgh_ty was at it again. After a previous double-up, jickgh_ty was anxious to move and ended up all-in after the second draw against sumerki-2012. They both stood pat on the third draw, and the [6d][7d][4d][3s][8d] wasn't good enough to beat the [6c][4h][2c][7c][5s] of sumerki-2012. Jickgh_ty exited in seventh place with $349.32.

Sumerki-2012 strong as final table begins

The final table began just after the 11-hour break in Level 40, with blinds of 60,000/120,000 and starting player stacks as follows:

Seat 1: Dac*ROkaL (1,545,922 in chips)
Seat 2: sumerki-2012 (3,529,642 in chips)
Seat 3: vyatka6666 (2,914,552 in chips)
Seat 4: Flakon2010 (2,543,670 in chips)
Seat 5: toffee74 (1,545,050 in chips)
Seat 6: Dranik26 (2,476,164 in chips)

Play went on for quite some time, with a break for the final six players to discuss the possibility of a deal. When it became clear it wasn't going to happen, they resumed play.

Dac*ROkaL doubled up through Dranik26, and the latter was never able to fully recover. A while later, Dranik26 pushed all-in and found callers in sumerki-2012 and Flakon2010. Flakon2010 and Dranik26 each drew one card and sumerki-2012 took two. The second draw saw sumerki stand pat but the other two each took one card again. Flaon2010 stood pat on the third draw, as did sumerki-2012, and Dranik26 took one more card. Sumerki showed [6c][7c][3s][4s][2h] to collect the side and main pot after Flakon2010 showed [4h][5h][8h][2s][7s]. Dranik26 simply mucked and left in sixth place with $520.19.

Five-way deal

The final five again paused the tournament to discuss a deal, and after a bit of adjustment to the chip-chop numbers, they agreed. With $500 set aside to be added to the winner's payout, these amounts were set in stone:

Seat 1: Dac*ROkaL (2,681,844 in chips) = $2,338.65
Seat 2: sumerki-2012 (4,090,126 in chips) = 3,057.96
Seat 3: vyatka6666 (934,552 in chips) = $1,696.19
Seat 4: Flakon2010 (3,413,428 in chips) = $2,712.32
Seat 5: toffee74 (3,435,050 in chips) = $2,723.36

Flakon is a force

Flakon chipped up continuously and with aggression, soon to be the dominant force at the table. And when Dac*ROkaL pushed all-in, Flakon2010 was there with the call, though toffee74 came along as well. Flakon2010 and Dac*ROkaL each took two cards to start the action, and toffee74 took one. Flakon2010 and Dac*ROkaL each took one card on the second draw, and toffee74 stood pat, and the same actiosn were reflected in the third draw action. Flakon2010 then showed [3d][2d][6s][8d][5d] for the low, and both other players mucked their hands. Dac*ROkaL exited in fifth place with $2,338.65.

Toffee74 was the next player at risk, all-in after the first draw against sumerki-2012. Sumerki stood pat at the next two opportunities, while toffee74 took one card each time. Toffee74 showed [9s][Kd][8h][2d][7h], but sumerki-2012 had [3s][4c][9h][6c][5h] for the lowest of the low. Toffee74 left in fourth place with $2,723.36.

Vyatka6666 struggles

After vyatka6666 lost a big pot to sumerki-2012, the former doubled through Flakon2010 to stay in action, even doubling through the same player again to gain more ground. But as sumerki-2012 collected chips, vyatka6666 lost them. Finally, vuatka6666 tangled with sumerki-2012 again and pushed all-in on the first draw. Sumerki-2012 called, and each player drew one card, while vyatka6666 stood pat on the third draw and sumerki-2012 drew one. Vyatka6666 hoped for a double-up with [9c][4s][5d][2c][8s], but sumerki-2012 produced [7s][8d][2s][6d][5s]. Vyatka6666 exited in third place with $1,696.19.

Good match goes bad

The final two players began their battle with these counts:

Seat 2: sumerki-2012 (7,481,540 in chips)
Seat 4: Flakon2010 (7,073,460 in chips)

Sumerki-2012 took some momentum into the match and didn't look back. With mostly average-sized pots, sumerki-2012 took chips after chips and climbed above 12 million chips. Flakon2010 doubled through sumerki-2012 at one point but left sumerki-2012 with over 10 million chips.

Suddenly, though, sumerki-2012 typed in the chat box: "I go on job" followed by "congrts." Sumerki-2012 then sat out and never returned. Flakon2010 could only say "wow" and continue taking the blinds.

We're not making this up.

So, when sumerki-2012's last 8,080 chips went all-in with the small blind, Flakon2010 posted the big blind. Sumerki-2012 folded and took second place with $3,057.96.

Flakon2010 won the tournament, which came with a SCOOP title, Movado watch, and $3,212.32. Congrats!

2012 SCOOP Event #25-L ($11 Triple Draw 2-7) Results (reflects deal):

Total players: 2,911
Paid players: 390

1st place: Flakon2010 (Latvia) $3,212.32*
2nd place: sumerki-2012 (Russia) $3,057.96*
3rd place: vyatka6666 (Russia) $1,696.19*
4th place: toffee74 (United Kingdom) $2,723.36*
5th place: Dac*ROkaL (Romania) $2,338.65*
6th place: Dranik26 (Netherlands) $520.19

*Based on a five-way chop with $500 added to winner's money

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SCOOP 2012: Hefty.TILT muscles way to #25-M title
($109 FL 2-7 Triple Draw)

No straights. No flushes. No trips or pairs or aces (always high). No, it's broken hands, uncoordinated cards, and lowly deuces players desire when it comes to fixed-limit, deuce-to-seven triple draw. And if at first they don't succeed in obtaining such, they draw and draw and draw again.

A total of 540 players joined the $109 buy-in "medium" version of PokerStars' Spring Championship of Online Poker FL 2-7 Triple Draw event. That meant a $54,000 prize pool, all told, more than twice the event's $25K guarantee. The top 72 would split the loot, with $10,260 going to the player who managed to build enough broken hands to claim all of the chips and a SCOOP title.

After just over six hours of play 100 players were left to pursue such hopes. Chipwise, Jordan "iMsoLucky0" Morgan had collected the most at that point with more than 75,000, with Filthy999, moggiii, Brendy88, and Barbosyan rounding out the top five. A little over an hour later the money bubble had burst and they were down to 72, with risti7, mundos, and ozenc then leading the way and Morgan still up there in fourth.

Two members of Team PokerStars were among the final 72, Marcin "Goral" Horecki and Ana Marquez. Horecki would hang on to his short stack for a while before lg123456789 took the last of his chips to send the Polish pro railward in 45th ($248.40). Meanwhile Marquez lasted a bit longer, though she finally was ousted by montoya049 in 39th ($270).

Other notables among the cashers included Tom "kingsofcards" Marchese (69th, $172.80), Alex "skalexjung" Jung (36th, $270), Morgan (28th, $324), SCOOP wunderkind Shaun Deeb (22nd, $378), and 2011 WSOP November Niner Phil "USCphildo" Collins (14th, $502.20).

At the 10-hour mark just 10 players remained gathered around two tables, with Menikagain leading as the only player with more than 500,000, and Filthy999 not far back with almost 475,000. bergeroo hit the rail shortly thereafter in 10th ($729). Then over the next 40 minutes JJinjo (9th), lg123456789 (8th), and ogotop76 (7th) each were eliminated as well, taking away $1,134 paydays apiece.

The final table was set.

Seat 1: Hefty.TILT (Sweden) -- 221,215
Seat 2: Filthy999 (Australia) -- 592,190
Seat 3: jusgivithere (Canada) -- 272,791
Seat 4: thehempy (United Kingdom) -- 260,780
Seat 5: mundos (Czech Republic) -- 482,154
Seat 6: Menikagain (Cyprus) -- 870,870

It took just over an orbit for the first elimination of the final table to come. With the stakes 10,000/20,000, jusgivithere raised from the cutoff and mundos three-bet from the small blind. It folded back to jusgivithere reraised all in for 32,791 total, and mundos called. Both players took two cards on the first draw, then one each, then stood pat. In the end mundos had [8c][6c][4d][3d][2s], just a touch better than jusgivthere's [8s][6h][5c][4s][2c] to knock the latter out in sixth.

Almost exactly one hour would pass before the next knockout, during which stretch Hefty.TILT grabbed the lead with more than 1.13 million while mundos slipped to become the short stack with a little over 90,000. Then, with the stakes up to 14k/28k, thehempy raised from the button, mundos three-bet from the small blind, Menikagain capped from the BB, and both thehempy and mundos called.

On the first draw, mundos discarded one, Menikagain two, and thehempy stood pat. It checked to thehempy who bet, and the other two called. The second draw saw thehempy standing pat once more while both opponents drew one. It checked to thehempy again who bet once more, mundos called off the last 20,945 left, and Menikagain called as well. On the third draw mundos stood pat, Menikagain took one, and thehempy stood pat a third time.

Menikagain picked up a king on the end, turning over [Kd][7c][4d][3s][2h], while thehempy tabled the better [8d][7s][5h][4h][2c]. Meanwhile, mundos mucked, hitting the rail in fifth.

About a half-hour later Hefty.TILT had chipped up close to 1.5 million while Menikagain had become the short stack with just over 80,000 -- just two big bets with the stakes at 20k/40k.

A series of raises before the draw between Menikagain and Filthy999 saw Menikagain almost all in, with the rest going in prior to the second. Filthy999 drew a single card on the first draw and then stood pat while Menikagain took two, one, and then one again. At showdown Filthy999 showed [7h][6d][4s][3h][2d] -- a "number two" -- while Menikagain had but [Kh][9s][7s][5h][2h] to go out in fourth.

They were approaching the 13-hour break when Hefty.TILT opened with a button raise (to 50k) and thehempy called from the big blind, drawing two while Hefty.TILT took three. thehempy led, Hefty.TILT raised, and thehempy called, drawing one on the second draw while Hefty.TILT stood pat. thehempy checked this time, and when Hefty.TILT bet, thehempy called all in for 2,055.

Both stood pat on the third round, then thehempy showed [8d][7s][6d][4c][3c]. It was a good hand, but not good enough, as Hefty.TILT had that barely beat with [8c][7c][6h][3h][2s] to send thehempy out in third.

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Heads-up play began with Hefty.TILT leading with 1,507,490 to Filthy999's 1,192,510. Within 20 minutes Heftly.TILT had claimed more than half of Filthy999's stack, then came a hand in which betting back and forth resulted in Filthy999 all in before the third draw. Both players then stood pat, but Filthy999 showed a 7-6 to beat Hefty.TILT's 8-6 and survive.

Hefty.TILT again chipped away at Filthy999, and before long the latter was all in again, but wiggled free by drawing a 9-low to Hefty.TILT's J-low.

But as Filthy999's stack remained small, the chances of coming back were growing slimmer, and soon the end came.

Down to just over 300,000 (with big bets up to 60k), Filthy999 raised from the button, Hefty.TILT three-bet, and Filthy999 called. Hefty.TILT drew one while Filthy999 took two, then Hefty.TILT bet, Filthy999 raise, and Hefty.TILT called.

The second draw saw Hefty.TILT discarding one and Filthy999 standing pat. Hefty.TILT checked, Filthy999 bet, Hefty.TILT check-raised, Filthy999 raised all in, and Hefty.TILT called.

Hefty.TILT was the one standing pat now, while Filthy999 broke the hand to draw one. Hefty.TILT turned over [8h][6d][4c][3h][2d] for an 8-low, better than Filthy999's [Jd][8s][6c][5s][2h]. The tourney was won.

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Congratulations to Hefty.TILT of Sweden for lowballing all of the way through a tough group of 540 to claim the five-figure first prize and SCOOP watch in Event #25-M!

2012 SCOOP Event 25-Medium, $109 Fixed Limit 2-7 Triple Draw:
1st: Hefty.TILT (Sweden) -- $10,260
2nd: Filthy999 (Australia) -- $7,560
3rd: thehempy (United Kingdom) -- $5,535
4th: Menikagain (Cyprus) -- $3,780
5th: mundos (Czech Republic) -- $2,700
6th: jusgivithere (Canada) -- $1,728

Entrants: 540
Places paid: 72

Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.

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