SCOOP Action Heating Up

Stephen Chidwick wins the $215 FL Omaha hi/lo

No stranger to big tournaments, live or online, Stephen “stevie444” Chidwick already had SCOOP and WCOOP titles to his name coming into the 2016 campaign. When he reached the final table of Event 20, the $215 FL Omaha hi/lo, he had already battled through a field of 489 player, and still had numerous former COOP final tablists and a couple of champions left to beat. He eventually managed the task, defeating “1bloodflood” heads up, to take his second SCOOP title to go with his WCOOP title; taking home USD$18,582 in the process.

Stephen Chidwick (Photo WPT)

Brazilian “theispoker” adds title number twelve for his country

One of the more remarkable aspects of the 2016 SCOOP series has been the prominence of Brazil, who are well documented to have a population whose interest in poker is exploding right now. When it comes to national standings, Brazil have never been too far above average in their haul of titles in a major series, but perhaps this SCOOP is the sign of something bigger taking place. Number twelve arrived in the $27 buy in FL Omaha hi/lo, where “theispoker” managed to outlast 1,847 players to take home their first SCOOP title, and USD$7,940.

James Obst and the PLO masterclass

James “Andy McLEOD” Obst is quickly rising to become one of the most feared players from Australian shores, and he has augmented that reputation further this week with a dominating display in Event 11, the $1,050 rebuy PLO. After accumulating a sizable stack, he battered his decorated opponents at the final table, eliminating every one of them on his way to victory and USD$155,000 cash. This is becoming something of a habit for Obst, who won the $1,050 PLO 6 max this time last year for a third SCOOP title. With this win, he now has four, and a grand total of six career COOP titles.

Luke Schwartz bags number five

Having already added two SCOOP titles to his haul last year, Luke “lb6121” Schwartz has now added number five, beating a field of 145 in the $2,100 No Limit Omaha hi/lo 6 max. The tournament played as a Super Knockout event, with a progressive bounty on each player, meaning the total 1st prize for Schwartz exceeded USD$51,000 after a deal had been struck. Well known Russian pro, Vladimir Troyanovskiy had to settle for 2nd. Luke Schwartz is now just one SCOOP title behind the record of six, held by Calvin Anderson.

Shawn Buchanan claims fourth

Shawn “buck21” Buchanan has managed to claim his fourth career SCOOP title and sixth COOP after a roller coaster final table. Event 14, the $2,100 No Limit Omaha hi/lo Zoom saw 158 runners take their seats, with many star players taking part. By the time the final table had assembled, many of the most recognisable names had been sent to the rail. Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies did make the final table, but busted in 5th, while Shawn Buchanan almost busted too, dropping to below 10 BB's at one stage. He picked up a few good hands soon after however, and came back into the fight before gaining serious momentum to topple his challengers. He took home USD$82,160 for victory, and is now a four time SCOOP champion.

SCOOP Player of the Year title: Shaun Deeb in first position

In what is always a hotly contested leaderboard, the SCOOP Player of the Year award is currently a close run thing. Master of tournaments, Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb is currently leading the way, having been consistently going deep through the series to date. He has 450 points, but is being chased down by “SixthSenSe19” who currently sits on 430.  James “Andy McLEOD” Obst occupies 3rd with 375, and “Paffchen” is close behind with 340. The title could still be won by anyone, but Shaun Deeb certainly has a habit of grinding out good results no matter what the poker game.

Shaun Deeb (Photo PokerStars)