If there's a SCOOP event, rest assured that Shawn 'buck21' Buchanan will be circling the waters like a famished shark jonesing to feast on the first thing that falls into the water. It seems like buck21 makes a final table in every other SCOOP event. When you're a legend like buck21, you cast a gigantic shadow, so it appears that the bogeyman is lurking around every corner. Although Shawn 'buck21' Buchanan ripped off another deep run in Event #29-H, he fell short of the final table when he busted in 12th place, much to the relief of the remaining players.

Georgios 'GeoManousos' Sotiropoulos was the most notable shark left circling the final table waters. He'd won a Sunday Million and a SCOOP, so GeoManousos was on a mission to take home SCOOP bracelet #2. He got off to a sizzling start in 2016 when he shipped the LAPT Bahamas Main Event at the 2016 PCA. However, his run in Event #29-H came to an abrupt end in fourth place.

This bracelet boiled down to a heads-up battle between Uruguay's elmelogno4 and Lithuania's Matas 'bebaimis777' Cimbolas. elmelogno4 had proven end-game skills with a Sunday Million victory, whereas Matas 'bebaimis777' Cimbolas was a skilled online and live player with over $2.5 million in combined earnings. After nearly an hour of sparring, elmelogno4 picked off bebaimis777 in second place to win the SCOOP title. That makes two majors for elmelogno, who now has a Sunday Million win and a SCOOP bracelet, which is only halfway towards a rare Stars Slam.

The high end of SCOOP Event #29-H $2,100 NL attracted 994 runners who created a prize pool worth $1,988,000, which nearly doubled the $1 million Guarantee. The top 117 places paid out with $357,840.00 originally set aside for the champion.

This opening day of this two-day affair ended with only 142 survivors. THEMOS17 ended Day 1 as the overall chip leader. The Greek bagged it and tagged it for 420K. Felipe 'mojave' Ramos was one of the short stacks, but the Team Pro from Brazil advanced to Day 2. He barely made the money but he cashed in 114th place for $3,976. mojave busted right after the money bubble popped at 117.

The playdown to the final table hit a slog around four or five tables and continued until the final table bubble. FishOnHeater from Hungary held a commanding lead for most of Day 2, until the chase pack started closing in with 20 or so remaining, With two tables to go, Shawn 'buck21' Buchanan was in the middle of the pack. With 15 remaining, buck21 hit a snag and slipped to the back of the pack after he dropped a 1.5M pot against KJulius10, who turned a full house against him. That had propelled KJulius10 to the front of the peloton with Hong Kong's RayJing.

With 12 to go and each table 6-handed, buck21 was 12/12 with 317K while bigbluffzinc was the biggie was 3.7M. It was time to make a sand against his nemesis... buck21 open-shoved for 297,105 with [Qs][Jd] and KJulius10 called with [Ad][Th]. Although buck21 flopped a Queen to take the lead, KJulius10 spiked an Ace on the river to win the pot. Another deep run for Shawn 'buck21' Buchanan, but he fizzle out just before the final table and busted in 12th place for $20,874.00.

With ten to go and action hand-for-hand we had a bad beat alert when FishOnHeater's [Jc][Tc] took out que_te_crio's [Ac][Jh] after flopping top two pair. Malta's que_te_crio bubbled off the final table in tenth place, which paid out $20,874.00.

SCOOP-29-H - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: bigbluffzinc (2,644,628)
Seat 2: bebaimis777 (1,962,769)
Seat 3: GeoManousos (2,117,253)
Seat 4: elmelogno4 (1,399,369)
Seat 5: FishOnHeater (3,101,842)
Seat 6: BanicIvan (1,818,912)
Seat 7: KJulius10 (2,821,646)
Seat 8: RayJing (1,233,185)
Seat 9: MaltLiquor40 (2,780,396)

The final table commenced during Level 33 with blinds at 25K/5K and a 6,250 ante. FishOnHeater led with 3.1M and RayJing was the shorty by default with 1.2M. A trio of players got a second shot at another SCOOP final table this year: FishOnHeater, BanicIvan, and bigbluffzinc.

Several players of note...

- American nomad Kyle 'KJulius10' Julius won a WCOOP in 2015 and binked a Sunday Million in 2012. He also had a runner-up in the Milly in 2013.

- Georgios 'GeoManousos' Sotiropoulos won a SCOOP in 2014 and shipped the Sunday Million last year. He almost won two SCOOPs in 2014, but Dzmitry 'colisea' Urbanovich beat him heads-up in one event. Sotiropoulos also won the LAPT Bahamas Main Event at the PCA earlier this year.

- Uruguay's elmelogno4 won the Sunday Million in 2014 for a $214K score.

- MaltLiquor40 final tabled the WCOOP Main Event that Fedor Holz won.

- Ivan 'BanicIvan' Banic final tabled Event #4-H. He also went deep with an 8th place score at the EPT12 Dublin main event in February.

- FishOnHeater final tabled Event #5-L but busted in second place.

- bigbluffzinc final tabled Event #7-H and his biggest score was a final table in the Milly back in November 2015.

- Lithuanian-born Matas 'bebaimis777' Cimbolas took second in the inaugural Mountain Series Kilimanjaro event last month for a $119K score. He also final tabled a 2015 SCOOP for a juicy third-place score worth $141K. He also final tabled the EPT11 Deauville, but busted in 8th place.

RAINY DAY WOMEN: KJulius10 eliminated in 9th place

First player to bust at the final table? Ouch. Aces cracked? Double ouch. KJulius10 suffered a wicked bad beat.

GeoManousos four-bet shoved for 2,696,010 with [7h][7s] and KJulius10 could not call off his stack of 1,056,206 fast enough with [As][Ad]. The board ran out [Kc][9d][7c][Tc][Qd]. GeoManousos took the lead on the flop and his set of sevens held up to win the pot. He chipped up to over 4.1M to seize the overall lead. Aces snapped off. Kyle 'KJulius10' Julius became the first player to exit the final table. Ninth place paid out $24,850.00.

VISIONS OF JOHANNA: bigbluffzinc eliminated in 8th place

More than a full level played out before the second player hit the bricks.

BanicIvan kicked off the party with a raise to 175,000, bigbluffzinc bombed it all-in for 1,125,449 with [Td][Th] and BanicIvan called with [As][Ks]. Classic confrontation. Race. Coin flip. Pocket tens vs. Big Slick. We've seen it so many times...and you know what's coming before I even finish this paragraph. Yeah, the proverbial Ace on the river sunk bigbluffzinc's hopes and dreams and aspirations of winning a SCOOP crown. He'll have to wait another day because his tens lost the race when the board ran out [9s][8h][5c][5d][Ad]. For an eighth-place finish, bigbluffzinc earned $40,754.00.

With seven to go, RayJing jumped into the top slot with 5.7M, GeoManousos was second with 3.7M, and BanicIvan was third with 2.7M. Four stacks were roughly even with 2M or so: bebaimis777, FishOnHeater, elmelogno4, and MaltLiquor40. Still plenty of poker left to play with blinds at 35K/70K.

TEMPORARY LIKE ACHILLES: FishOnHeater eliminated in 7th place

Perhaps the final table is speeding up? It took 34 minutes between the first two bustouts, and it's only been 17 minutes since the last dust up.

One of the shorties made a move, but got outflopped. bebaimis777 opened to 176,000, FishOnHeater shoved for 1,214,038 with [Kh][Qh] and bebaimis777 called with [8c][8s]. It was another race. Although FishOnHeater flopped top pair, bebaimis777 flopped a set and turned a boat. The board finished up [Ks][8h][5s][5c][Jd] and FishOnHeater lost with two pair against bebaimis777's full house. For a seventh-place finish, Hungary's FishOnHeater took home $60,435.20.

With six remaining, bebaimis777 took a turn in the top spot with a 568K stack. RayJing was not far nehind with 498K. Meanwhile, elmelogno4 was the shorty with 150K.

STUCK INSIDE MOBILE WITH THE MEMPHIS BLUES AGAIN: MaltLiquor40 eliminated in 6th place

Six-handed lasted nearly two full levels before MaltLiquor40 got emptied out. bebaimis777 opened to 207,000 and MaltLiquor40 called from the big blind. Both players checked the flop of [Jh][Td][6c]. The turn was the [6s]. MaltLiquor40 moved all-in for 683,966 and bebaimis777 called.

MaltLiquor40: [As][Ts]
bebaimis777: [Jd][Tc]

bebaimis777 flopped top two. MaltLiquor40 flopped a pair of tens and turned two pair, but still trailed. The river was the [Jc] and bebaimis777 improved to a boat. Canada's MaltLiquor40 was dunzo in sixth place, which paid out $80,315.20.

With five left in the hunt for the bracelet...GeoManousos was out in front with 7M, followed by bebaimis777 (6.4M), elmelogno4 (2.9M), RayJing (2.5M), and shorty BanicIvan (960K).

AGAIN OBVIOUSLY FIVE BELIEVERS: BanicIvan eliminated in 5th place

Five-handed went rather quick all things considered. bebaimis777 opened to 248,400 and BanicIvan called and defended the big blind. Both players checked the flop of [Jc][Td][6c]. The turn was the [Kd]. BanicIvan check-called a 280K bet from bebaimis777. The [Th] fell on the river. BanicIvan checked, bebaimis777 fired out 1,191,800, and BanicIvan called all-in for 803,452.

bebaimis777: [Kh][8h]
BanicIvan: [Jh][8c]

BanicIvan thought his Jacks up would be the better hand, but bebaimis777 turned a pair of Kings and rivered a stronger two pair. Ivan 'BanicIvan' Banic busted in fifth place, which paid out $100,195.20. Meanwhile, big-stacked bebaimis777 chipped up to over 8.1M.

4TH TIME AROUND: GeoManousos eliminated in 4th place

GeoManousos's stack came under assault and he slipped to the back of the pack. When he found a pocket pair, he tried to double up. bebaimis777 opened to 248,400, GeoManousos bombed it all-in for 2,552,674 with [8c][8h], and bebaimis777 called with [Td][Th]. Ouch. Eights into tens? It sorta got worse on the flop after bebaimis777 improved to a set. However, GeoManousos picked up a glimmer of hope with a gutshot draw. He rivered a set of eights, but it was not good enough to win. He lost set-over-set to bebaimis777's set of tens. The board finished up [Js][Tc][7s][2s][8d]. Georgios 'GeoManousos' Sotiropoulos was knocked out in fourth place, which paid out $14,4130.00.

With three to go, bebaimis777 held a sizable lead with 12.2M against elmelogno4's 5.9M and RayJing's 1.7M.

LEOPARD-SKIN PILL-BOX HAT: RayJing eliminated in 3rd place

Three-handed also went rather quick, mainly because RayJing got to around 1M and was an easy target. In the battle of the blinds, elmelogno4 raised to 8M from the small blind with [Kd][8d] and RayJing called all-in for 1,206,528 with [Ks][7d]. It was a classic match-up of ole King-eight versus King-seven. The board finished up [Jc][8s][5d][Qc][9h]. RayJing never improved and hit the virtual rail. elmelogno4 flopped a pair of eights, which held up. RayJing was knocked out in third place, which paid out $192,836.00.

HEADS-UP: bebaimis777 (Lithuania) vs. elmelogno4 (Uruguay)
Seat 2: bebaimis777 (8,724,420)
Seat 4: elmelogno4 (11,155,580)

With two to go, elmelogno4 held the slight edge.

Heads-up lasted longer than expected because it got off to a rapid start, you almost expected it would end quick because both players were not shy about shipping their stacks at any given moment. On the sixth hand of heads-up, elmelogno4 won a 5M pot uncontested. That had capped off four wins in five hands and he had chipped up to an overwhelming margin of 16M to 3.8M. By the 12th hand of heads up, bebaimis777 fell into a deep hole and was down 9-1. bebaimis777 launched a counterattack and regained some lost ground, but he could never really gain any serious momentum. He was all-in a couple of times and dodged the sharp blade of the guillotine on more than one instance. A perplexed elmelogno4 couldn't figure out how to put away the pesky bebaimis777.

DEAL

With two to go, elmelogno4 led with 11.1M against bebaimis777's 8.7M. They agreed to split up the money but had to leave $20,000 on the table to the champion. They agreed to these terms: elmelogno4 would lock up $303,713.90 and bebaimis777 would also get $292,566.10. With a deal in place, action resumed.

MOST LIKELY YOU GO YOUR WAY AND I'LL GO MINE: bebaimis777 eliminated in 2nd place; elmelogno4 wins SCOOP bracelet!

After the deal, bebaimis777 couldn't hold off elmelogno4 and eventually succumbed after losing 10 out of the final 12 hands.

Going into the final hand, elmelogno4 led 16.3M to 3.5M. elmelogno4 opened to 200,000 and bebaimis777 called. The flop was [8d][4h][2c] and bebaimis777 check-called a 275,000 bet from elmelogno4. The turn was the [Td]. bebaimis777 checked, elmelogno4 bet 650,000, and bebaimis777 check-raised all-in for 2,810,262.

bebaimis777: [Qc][9d]
elmelogno4: [Tc][7h]

elmelogno4 turned a pair of tens to take the lead. bebaimis777 got it all-in on a gutshot draw. The river was the [6c] and bebaimis777 never improved. elmelogno4 won the pot, and bebaimis777 busted in second place.

For a runner-up finish, Matas 'bebaimis777' Cimbolas earned a payday worth $292,566.10.

Congrats to the newest SCOOP champion... Uruguay's elmelogno4. First place paid out $323,713.90 plus a cool champion's watch by Movado. After winning the Sunday Million and now a SCOOP, elmelogno4 is halfway to a Stars Slam.

SCOOP-29-H ($2,100 NL Hold'em) results
Entrants: 994
Total prize pool: $1,988,000
Places paid: 117

1. elmelogno4 (Uruguay) $323,713.90 *
2. Matas 'bebaimis777' Cimbolas $292,566.10 *
3. RayJing (Hong Kong) $192,836.00
4. Georgios 'GeoManousos' Sotiropoulos (Austria) $144,130.00
5. Ivan 'BanicIvan' Banic (Croatia) $100.195.20
6. MaltLiquor40 (Canada) $80,315.20
7. FishOnHeater (Hungary) $60,435.20
8. bigbluffzinc (Canada) $40,754.00
9. Kyle 'KJulius10' Julius (Canada) $24,850.00

* Denotes a deal between the final two players

Visit the SCOOP homepage for a complete schedule. Also, find out who is on top of the Leader Board and in contention for Player of the Series.

Pauly McGuire is the author of "Lost Vegas" and a freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

Andres Carrillo had been one cool customer the entire week. A chip leader early and always among the big stacks as the Latin American Poker Tour Panama Main Event moved towards its final stages, he always seemed in control of himself and often the table as well.

That sense of calm continued all of the way to three-handed play with Aaron Mermelstein and Ruben Suarez, and remained the case as Mermelstein fell in third and Carrillo took a lead during heads-up.

But for a moment things started to look doubtful for the Colombian. Suarez' loud rail of supporters, some waving Venezuelan flags, may not have rattled him, but losing a few pots -- including once folding the best hand after Suarez had bluffed him -- might well have.

But Carrillo regrouped. He found a spot and pushed it. And he won. 

Carillo becomes the second Colombian ever to win an LAPT Main Event title, following Weider Gutierrez who won in Medellin back in Season 6, and earns a handsome first prize of $138,225 for his efforts.

When the final eight arrived for today's final day -- all that was left from a 553-entry field -- it was the Spaniard, Raul Paez leading the group chip-wise with Mermelstein of Philadelphia not far behind to start the day. 

Meanwhile Alcides Gomez brought the shortest stack to today, and it only took about a half-hour for him to put it all at risk with ace-jack. Alas for the Miami-based pro, Austin Peck picked up kings in the small blind, and five cards later Gomez was on the rail in eighth.

Paez continued to maintain his lead as Carrillo became the short stack. But Carrillo -- sitting to the left of Paez -- began to accumulate while Paez began to lose chips, and while there were no busts it was Carrillo ascending to take the lead while Suarez found himself in seventh position.

The Colombian Anderson Blanco -- at one time a chip leader himself early on Day 3 -- then got short as well, and got all his chips in on a ten-high flop holding pocket aces while Carrillo had an open-ended straight draw. 

Blanco wanted to see blanks, but the turn card filled Carrillo's straight and soon Blanco was out in seventh.

With six left Carrillo looked in control, but the short stacks kept doubling, perhaps most dramatically in a hand that saw Mermelstein all-in with pocket fours against Paul Cukier's kings, and spike a four on the river to survive. Not too long after that Mermelstein -- like Carrillo -- had gone from worst to first in the counts as the blinds and antes got bigger and the stacks more shallow.

That hit helped end Cukier's run more quickly than he'd have liked. The Costa Rican grandson of WSOP bracelet holders Max and Maria Stern would put his chips in behind jack-ten, get called by Suarez who had queen-ten, and fail to improve to fall in sixth.

Moments later Suarez took care of another short stack, stopping Paez in fifth after the latter's king-jack couldn't improve versus Suarez's pocket nines.

And right on the heels of that hand came another flip, this one between Mermelstein's king-queen and Peck's pocket tens. A king on board sent Peck down to just a single blind, and one hand later Mermelstein won that, too, to send the 20-year-old out in fourth.

Three-handed play between Mermelstein, Suarez, and Carrillo lasted much longer than it seemed it might. The stacks were shallow to start, but they made it through a couple of levels to see them get even shallower, with the lead changing hands constantly and all-ins turning into day-saving double-ups over and again.

Indeed, in one hand Carrillo was all-in with ace-king against the king-ten of Suarez, and a ten on the flop looked as though Carillo was destined to finish third. But an ace fell on the turn and Carrillo kept his seat.

Finally Mermelstein -- a two-time World Poker Tour champ looking for an LAPT title to add to his collection -- saw his run stopped in third when his queen-ten failed to catch up to Carrillo's ace-queen.

Suarez had the edge to start heads-up play, but as noted above Carrillo seized it, lost it, seized it again, and finally sealed the deal. Suarez comes one spot shy of becoming the tour's first Venezuelan champion.

Carrillo more than triples his career tournament earnings with this win. Indeed, after earning that big six-figure score, it isn't surprising to see Carrillo looking cool and calm once more.

LAPT9 Panama Main Event final table results

Entries: 553

Places paid: 79

Prize pool: $721,665
1. Andres Carrillo (Colombia) $138,225
2. Ruben Suarez (Venezuela) $86,880
3. Aaron Mermelstein (USA) $62,200
4. Austin Peck (USA) $48,500
5. Raul Paez (Spain) $30,040
6. Paul Cukier (Costa Rica) $29,880
7. Anderson Blanco (Colombia) $22,300
8. Alcides Gomez (USA) $15,440

Thanks for following our coverage all week from the Sortis Hotel, Spa & Casino. Here are each day's live updates, where you can relive it all:

Day 1A live updates
Day 1B live updates
Day 2 live updates
Day 3 live updates
Final table live updates
Final table profiles

The LAPT takes a break for a few months before returning in late September in Punta del Este for LAPT9 Uruguay. Until then, beunos noches from Panama!

Sometimes making a deal at the end of a tournament can make the game move faster - the stakes are exactly the same for everyone in on the deal, and at the end of a long event players can often ready to make a play or hit the hay. Then there are the occasions where nobody is ready to quit playing just yet and the lack of money pressure means the freedom to play your best game of poker until one player comes out ahead. Sweden's Henkijnho91 drew one of the latter in Event #29-L and came out ahead after a well-contested, 49-minute duel with Mikael "fuddebuf" Hansen.

The field of 14,068 players on Day 1 built a $345,369.40 prize pool. Their number was reduced to just 165 over the first 32 levels of play, with 1,635 players cashing out in the process. Even though they returned with an average stack of 35 big blinds, Day 2 moved along briskly, trimming would-be competitors from the field at a rate of two every three minutes for nearly four solid hours. Three of the players who were in the top nine to start the day - Peirak started in third place, Sahar888 in sixth and AMasta89 in eighth - weathered the process that brought the tournament to the final table, which would end up taking nearly as long as the entire Day 2 lead-up to finally reach its resolution.

Seat 1: guix2x (28,059,859 in chips)
Seat 2: Peirak (9,866,254 in chips)
Seat 3: ICyberU (42,409,314 in chips)
Seat 4: chaka tej (14,955,148 in chips)
Seat 5: Mikael "fuddebuf" Hansen (29,401,018 in chips)
Seat 6: Ph4N (12,936,218 in chips)
Seat 7: AMasta89 (47,013,695 in chips)
Seat 8: Henkijnho91 (49,692,157 in chips)
Seat 9: Sahar888 (47,026,337 in chips)

The leaderboard was crowded at the top with four players over 70 big blinds apiece, and the two players with under 25 big blinds were only relatively short-stacked. Without immediate pressure on them, more pots were played out to the river without anybody playing for all their chips. And when the shorter-stacked players did move all-in, they won, at least in the early going. In the first half-hour of the final table there were wins for TCOOP 2013 winner Ph4N, Peirak, and fuddebuf that kept those players from collecting the first payout. The run had to end sooner or later, though, and chaka tej was the unfortunate player to break the streak. The Polish player re-raised all-in with [As] [Kd] on the button after ICyberU opened with [7d] [7h], failed to pair on the [4d] [2h] [5c] [Jc] [8c] board, and was gone in 9th place ($2,072.21).

Both Peirak and TCOOP 2016 finalist guix2x would manage to fend off elimination not once but twice in the following half-hour. But neither was able to do much more than subsist after those wins, and both eventually slipped back down into double-up-or-die territory. guix2x ended up going first, calling all-in for 12.2M after AMasta89 jammed over the top of Ph4N's opening raise. Ph4N folded and guix2x's [Jc] [Js] fell to [Ah] [Ks] on a [8c] [Kd] [2c] [9d] [8d] board, sending guix2x out in 8th place ($3,108.32).

The blinds and antes climbed to 800K/1.6M/200K and Peirak's stack continued to dwindle, dipping below 9M before the Russian player picked up [Ac] [Qh] on the button and moved all-in over the top of Henkjinho91, who had opened the betting in middle position with [Kd] [Ts]. Henkjinho91 called and caught a pair of tens on the [3d] [Tc] [3h] [5s] [7d] board, sinking Peirak in 7th place ($6,562.01).

Sahar888 doubled up on the next hand with [Ah] [Kh], calling all-in after TCOOP 2014 winner AMasta89 open-shoved with [As] [Jc]. AMasta89 caught two pair on the flop, but the [Kd] on the turn made a bigger two pair to give Sahar888 the 42M-chip pot. That left AMasta89 in rough shape with 10M chips, and four hands later the German player opened the betting on the button for all 10M with [Ac] [Kh]. This time Sahar888 had [Jc] [Jh] and caught a set on the turn of the [8s] [Qs] [9h] [Js] [4c] board, knocking AMasta89 out in 6th place ($10,015.71).

About 15 minutes later ICyberU opened all-in for just shy of 30M, holding [7h] [7s], and fuddebuf, the past Sunday Million, Super Tuesday, WCOOP, TCOOP, and two-time SCOOP finalist, was the only caller with [Kh] [Qc] on the button. The race was fuddebuf's from the [Ah] [Kc] [Qs] flop on, and once the [8s] turn and [2d] river had come and gone, ICyberU was gone in 5th place ($10,015.71).

That pot gave fuddebuf a buffer at the top of the chip counts with 133M and nobody else holding more than 74M, and it grew further a few hands later after sahar888 moved all-in for 26.5M on the button with [Qd] [8c]. fuddebuf isolated with [Kd] [Jd] and promptly fell behind when sahar888 made two pair on the [9d] [8d] [Qh] flop, but the [Tc] turn made a king-high straight. The board paired on the river, but with the [9h] and not a queen or an eight, so Sahar888 left in 4th place ($16,923.10).

fuddebuf was poised to run away with the tournament, holding 184M chips, but Henkjinho91 doubled through the Danish player on the very next hand when Henkjinho91's [Ad] [8h] had a better kicker than fuddebuf's [Ts] [8c] for three of a kind on the [6h] [8d] [5c] [8s] [As] board. The buffer from moments before had disappeared just like that, and Henkjinho91 now had the lead with 129M to fuddebuf's 119M.

Ph4N had been hanging on to a short stack quite successfully since the very start of the table, but that run soon came to an end. The Romanian player moved in on the button with [5d] [5h] and couldn't even get a coin flip - Henkjinho91 called with [Qd] [Qs] in the small blind. The [Js] [Kc] [9c] [2s] [Ah] brought no help, and Ph4N's run ended in 3rd place ($23,830.48).

A Scandinavian duel

Henkjinho91 immediately asked if fuddebuf wanted to pause the tournament to look over the numbers. fuddebuf said, "I will probably want a little bit extra if we do. If you are cool with that then we can look," and Henkijnho91 replied, "we can discuss but I'm not giving up much." And he didn't give up much at all, driving a hard bargain - but not so hard that the two players couldn't pass the time with some friendly sports chat:

Within 10 minutes they were back in play, and they would remain there for nearly 40 minutes more. Henkijnho91 took a larger lead on the first pot back, semi-bluffing with a gutshot straight draw before backing into top pair on the river and getting paid. That kept the Swedish player ahead by a 2-to-1 margin for about 10 minutes. Then fuddebuf strung eight wins together, capped by a 60M-chip pot. The Danish player limped on the button and called Henkijnho91's re-raise to 8.4M, then called another 7.2M on the [3s] [3h] [5c] flop. Henkijnho91 checked the [6c] turn and called fuddebuf's 14M-chip bet, but check-folded on the [Th] river, giving fuddebuf the 156M-to-124M chip lead.

fuddebuf extended that lead by about 55M before both a hand came up where the board made a straight for both players. fuddebuf turned a seven-high straight with [4c] [4d] and the board reading [3c] [6h] [5d] [7h], but Henkijnho91's [9c] [8s] had a nine-high straight with the same cards. Henkijnho91 flat-called the Danish player's 11.2M-chip bet before getting all-in after the [Kd] river and taking down a 195M-chip pot.

fuddebuf got back to within striking distance of the lead a bit later, doubling to 125M with [Jh] [Js] against [Kh] [Jd], and slowly crept back until they were separated by just one big blind. Then the 49-minute heads-up match would come to an end when they both picked up big hands and went to war, fuddebuf with [Ks] [Kd] and Henkjinho91 with [Ah] [Qc]. All the chips went in before the flop and fuddebuf was just one card away from the win with the board reading [4h] [3d] [8d] [7c], but the [As] river made aces for Henkjinho91 to close out the tournament.

It was the second career runner-up SCOOP finish for fuddebuf, after taking second in a SCOOP 2013 event. And it's the first COOP title for Henkjinho91, who earned a total of $41,154.42 after the winner's cash, plus a nifty Movado watch, for the victory. Congratulations on the win!

SCOOP-29-L ($27 NL Hold'em) results
Entrants: 14,068
Total prize pool: $345,369.40
Places paid: 1,800

1. Henkjinho91 (Sweden) $41,154.42*
2. Mikael "fuddebuf" Hansen (Denmark) $36,200*
3. Ph4N (Romania) $23,830.48
4. Sahar888 (Russia) $16,923.10
5. ICyberU (Finland) $13,469.40
6. AMasta89 (Germany) $10,015.71
7. Peirak (Russia) $6,562.01
8. guix2x (Brazil) $3,108.32
9. chaka tej (Poland) $2,072.21
*Reflects the results of a two-way deal that left $4,000 in play for the winner

Volumes have been written about the virtues of taking the initiative at the poker table, but sometimes the best situations arise when the game comes to you. Lithuania's zZero92 can attest to that after watching three players exit the final table in quick succession, making a deal, and then playing fast and loose en route to a win in Event #27-L that had appeared unlikely just an hour earlier.

Day 1 of this tournament attracted a monster field of 11,996 players, who would play 36 levels of poker before ending for the night with 50 players remaining. Before that 1,450 players collected payouts, leaving the rest of the $294,501.80 prize pool to be distributed on Day 2.

Romania's shtefone was the chip leader overnight with 14.2 million, a 118-big-blind stack, but would be eliminated halfway through the second day. MrKloutt from Andorra was the highest-ranked player at the end of Day 1 to make the final, having started with 10.9M chips in 4th place. The rest of the players who made it through the field came from up and down the leaderboard at Day 2's start, hanging on for just over three hours of play to reach what would prove to be a very short SCOOP final table.

Seat 1: Golaith13 (30,355,060 in chips)
Seat 2: houdini_msu (53,964,206 in chips)
Seat 3: MrKloutt (17,087,178 in chips)
Seat 4: clancywigam (70,621,164 in chips)
Seat 5: zZero92 (48,400,660 in chips)
Seat 6: amitshur2984 (19,491,732 in chips)

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At only an hour and six minutes of eventual running time, the Event #27-L final table was short even for a 6-max SCOOP tournament. That was thanks in large part to three early exits leaving the path clear for the others to make a deal.

amitshur2984 looked sure to be the first player knocked out after moving in for 17.6M over the top of houdini_msu's 2.4M opening raise, holding [Td] [Th]. houdini_msu called immediately with [Ad] [Ah] and was 86.8 percent to win the hand after the [9s] [4s] [Jh] flop, but the [7d] turn and [8h] river bailed amitshur2984 out with a jack-high straight.

That left MrKloutt on the hot seat, and a few hands later the player from Andorra picked up [Kh] [Qd] in the small blind. The action folded around and MrKloutt moved all-in for 14.5M, drawing a call from past Super Tuesday champion and Sunday Million finalist clancywigam, who was in the big blind with [As] [4h]. Neither player's hand improved on the [5h] [8c] [Td] [8s] [Js] board, and MrKloutt departed in 6th place ($3,681.27).

Four hands later clancywigam was in the big blind again, this time holding [Ac] [Qh]. The Irish player re-raised to 9.5M after houdini_msu opened for 3.7M in the small, and then called after houdini_msu re-raised all-in for 42.8M. houdini_msu's [Ad] [Jh] needed some help but never came close to getting it as clancywigam ended up with queens full of aces once the [4h] [7s] [As] [Qs] [Qd] board was complete. With that, houdini_msu disappeared in 5th place ($5,890.03).

amitshur2984 picked up another pocket pair on the next hand, this time [9h] [9c], and was the only caller for 24M after Golaith13 opened the betting all-in. The Dutch player's [Ah] [7s] came close to a straight on the board but ultimately fell short, sending Golaith13 to the rail in 4th place ($11,780.07).

Deal time

After just six minutes of play, the final table lineup had been cut in half:

Seat 4: clancywigam (128,378,816 in chips)
Seat 5: zZero92 (49,450,660 in chips)
Seat 6: amitshur2984 (62,090,524 in chips)

The topic of a deal came up immediately and after a few hands play was paused to talk it over. It took 14 minutes - more than twice as long as the first three knockouts had taken - but they reached an agreement based on the chip-chop numbers that gave clancywigam $33K, amitshur2984 $26K, and zZero92 $25K.

zZero92 to hero

With experience and a sizable chip lead on clancywigam's side, the Irish player was the easy pick for the win. But the 800K/1.6M/200K blinds and antes exerted a lot less pressure with half of the players gone, and having the deal in place seemed to free the others up to play fast and loose. zZero92 in particular came out attacking after locking up the cash, re-raising to 8M out of the big blind after clancywigam had opened with a min-raise to 3.2M. clancywigam called and then both players checked the [8c] [As] [Th] flop, bringing the [Ah] on the turn. clancywigam called 7.2M there but folded to another 11.2M-chip bet after the [6h] river, and zZero92 took the 32M-chip pot. clancywigam got paid on a flush for a 71M-chip pot a few hands later, but then amitshur2984 took two in a row worth a combined 78M.

zZero92 would take the biggest part of clancywigam's stack in two pots about 10 hands apart. In the first, the Lithuanian player min-raised on the button with [Qh] [Td], clancywigam called in the big blind with [Tc] [7d], and both players caught top pair on the [2s] [5d] [Th] flop. All the rest of zZero92's chips went in there and the turn and river came [5h]-[Js], dropping clancywigam to a 92.6M-chip stack. The second pot, which came just after the blinds and antes went up to 1M/2M/250K, was much larger, and the action all came before the flop. clancywigam opened the betting from the small blind for 4.8M, holding [Ks] [Qd], and then re-raised all-in when zZero92 made it 12M to go. zZero92 called with [Ac] [Jh], good for a pair of jacks and the 142M-chip pot after the board came [5h] [6d] [Jd] [4s] [8c].

Far from down and out, clancywigam won several more hands, including a coin flip with [Ac] [Js] against [5d] [5h] to get back close to 100M chips. But zZero92 kept surviving when necessary, including a particularly close call after open-shoving with [Th] [9d]. clancywigam called with [Ah] [Kh] in the big blind and watched board deliver diamonds on the flop, turn, and river of the [2h] [4d] [Qd] [Ad] [8d] board to give zZero92 the improbable win for 67M.

Beyond keeping zZero92 alive, that pot brought clancywigam's stack back under 30M chips again. The territory would prove too dangerous this time around, as the Irish player eventually ended up moving all-in from the small blind with [Qh] [8s] and seeing zZero92 call with [Kh] [Jc]. A king on the flop sealed the deal, the board finished reading [3d] [Ks] [6d] [3s] [2d], and clancywigam walked in 3rd place with the biggest share of the deal money at $33,412.82.

amitshur2984 had the advantage as heads-up play began, holding 146M chips to zZero92's 92.9M, but soon enough the Lithuanian player had turned that around and taken control. Then came a race with a pair and two overcards, with the [4c] [4s] belonging to zZero92 and the [Ad] [Th] in amitshur2984's hand. The slim favorite hit a set on the flop and dodged a straight draw after the turn to hold up on a [Jd] [4d] [9c] [Kc] [7d] board, and the tournament came to a close.

With the extra cash for the win, zZero92 ended up with the second-largest prize of the tournament at $29,822.89, despite having the shortest stack when the deal was struck. Then there's that whole "SCOOP title and champion's watch" thing, which I've been told makes for a good icebreaker at parties. Congratulations to zZero92 for making the most of a rare opportunity!

SCOOP-27-L ($27 NL Hold'em, 6-Max) results
Entrants: 11,996
Total prize pool: $294,501.80
Places paid: 1,500

1. zZero92 (Lithuania) $29,822.89*
2. amitshur2984 (India) $26,591.38*
3. clancywigam (Ireland) $33,412.82*
4. Golaith13 (Netherlands) $11,780.07
5. houdini_msu (Canada) $5,890.03
6. MrKloutt (Andorra) $3,681.27
*Reflects the results of a three-way deal that left $4,000 in play for the winner

The Triple Draw bracelet came down to a high noon shootout between a pair of American exiles: Nick 'TheTakeover' Schulman and Marco 'NoraFlum' Johnson. NoraFlum already won a SCOOP over the weekend and sought a second bracelet, but one of the toughest lowball players in the galaxy stood in his way. During a lengthy heads-up battle, NoraFlum had TheTakeover on the ropes but could not connect on a knockout. TheTakeover absorbed the blows and took advantage of a second chance by launching his own offensive that culminated in a successful come-from-behind victory to win his first-ever SCOOP bracelet.

Nick 'TheTakeover' Schulman is a legend unto himself with nearly $8 million in live earnings. The former NYC pool hustler hopped aboard the tidal wave fueled by the glorious online poker boom at the turn of the century. Schulman won a major televised event and the rest is history. When most of his 20-something counterparts were diving deep into the virtual fish-filled NL and PLO waters, TheTakeover was grinding it out in high-roller sections of brick and mortar casinos like Bobby's Room at the Bellagio, where he cut his teeth playing various lowball games against old-school Vegas legends like Doyle Brunson and Chip Reese. He was the kid hanging with the old-timers...and he more than held his own. A decade later, Nick 'TheTakeover' Schulman is considered one of the premier Triple Draw Deuce to Seven players. He won two WSOP bracelets (in 2009 and 2012) and nearly won a third last summer at the WSOP, but Phil Galfond edged him out to spoil the hat trick.

Although TheTakeover not what you consider a "high volume" online player, it was not a surprise to see Nick Schulman playing in a SCOOP Triple Draw event. It also wasn't a surprise to see him at the final table for Event #28-H. So, it's not a shocker that he won it even though he began the final table last in chips. And it's even funnier that the New York City native won the bracelet under the banner of the tropical paradise nation of Turks and Caicos.

The high version of SCOOP Event #28-H $2,100 Triple Draw 2-7 attracted 126 total entries, or 76 original entries and 50 additional entries. The total prize pool was $252,000. Only the top 18 places paid out with $65,520.00 set aside to the champion.

SCOOP-28-H - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: krakukra (248,880)
Seat 2: TheTakeover (92,825)
Seat 3: NoraFlum (380,205)
Seat 4: theNERDguy (221,535)
Seat 5: Ronny '1-ronnyr3' Kaiser (151,745)
Seat 6: paulgees81 (164,810)

The final table commenced during Level 21 with stakes at 4K/8K. NoraFlum held the lead with 380K, while TheTakeover was last with 92.8K. Could NoraFlum win a second SCOOP in less than a week?

Difficult final table. Seems like everyone had some sort of pedigree... Marco 'NoraFlum' Johnson won a bracelet over the weekend and has a pair of WCOOP wins in 2012 and 2014... Paul 'paulgees81' Volpe won a WCOOP in 2014, SCOOP in 2013, and Sunday Million in 2011. He needs a TCOOP for a Triple COOP and Stars Slam... Ronny '1-ronnyr3' Kaiser won a SCOOP in 2015 and also shipped a Super Tuesday... Yuri 'theNERDguy' Martins won a WCOOP last year. He also took second in the 2014 WCOOP Main Event (losing to Fedor Holz heads-up)... Russia's krakukra won an 8-Game WCOOP in 2015.

Nick 'TheTakeover' Schulman had not won any SCOOPs coming into today, but he won millions playing in live events as a regular on the high roller circuit. He won two WSOP bracelets in lowball events and nearly won a third last summer if OMGClayAiken didn't spoil his bid for three. One thing was for certain... despite the chip deficit, TheTakeover was the favorite to win the bracelet.

TRIBULATIONS: paulgees81 eliminated in 6th place

The final six slugged it out for almost an hour before someone bowed out and it wasn't TheTakeover. Nope, he managed to survive the first liquidation. Instead, Paul 'paulgees81' Volpe met his fate in sixth place. paulgees81 slid to under 20K as the shorty when the hand began. paulgees81 capped the betting pre-draw and was all-in for 19,310 against the theNERDguy. On the opening draw, both players discarded two. On the second draw, both players discarded two. On the final draw, theNERDguy tossed away two, but paulgees81 only drew one. At showdown...

theNERDguy: [Ad][5c][4d][3s][2h]
paulgees81: [3h][3d][6c][5d][2s]

paulgees81 lost with a pair of treys to theNERDguy's A-5-4-3-2 low. Canada's Paul 'paulgees81' Volpe was the first player to exit the final table. Sixth place paid out $11,340.00.

With five remaining, TheTakeover was the shorty with 88K and NoraFlum led with 535K.

NEVER AS TIRED AS I'M WAKING UP: krakukra eliminated in 5th place

Russia's krakukra stack kept sliding and he tried to stop the mass erosion with a timely double up. Meanwhile, TheTakeover was rising and needed more chips to mount a massive comeback if he wanted to win a SCOOP title.

Betting got capped pre-draw by krakukra against TheTakeover. On the opening draw, krakukra and TheTakeover both discarded a single card. krakukra check-called a 6,000 bet from TheTakeover. On the second draw, both players drew a single card. krakukra checked, TheTakeover fired out 12,000 and krakukra called all-in for 8,300. On the third and final draw, krakukra drew one and TheTakeover stood pat. At showdown....

krakukra: [Jh][7h][5h][3c][2s]
TheTakeover: [8s][7s][4d][3s][2c]

TheTakeover won with a lower low with 8-7-4-3-2 against krakukra's J-7-5-3-2. Russia's krakukra took home $16,380.00 for fifth place.

With four to go, TheTakeover climbed out of the basement. NoraFlum led with 529K, followed by 1-ronnyr3 (300K), TheTakeover (238K), and theNERDguy (192K).

DISCO INFILTRATOR: 1-ronnyr3 eliminated in 4th place

Two shorties threw down and cannibalized each other. Moving day for shorty 1-ronnyr3. With only 52,555 left, it was time for the Swiss cardslinger to double up or go home. Betting was capped pre-draw against theNERDguy. On the first draw, both players discarded one. During betting... theNERDguy fired out 8,000, 1-ronnyr3 raised to 16,000, theNERDguy three-bet to 24,000, and 1-ronnyr3 called all-in for 4,555. On the second draw, theNERDguy stood pat and 1-ronnyr3 drew one. On the third and final draw, theNERDguy stood pat and 1-ronnyr3 discarded one again. At showdown...

theNERDguy: [8h][6s][5h][3c][2d]
1-ronnyr3: [9c][7d][4s][3h][2c]

1-ronnyr3 lost with 9-7-4-3-2 against theNERDguy's better low of 8-6-5-3-2. For a fourth-place finish, Switzerland's 1-ronnyr3 took home $21,420.00.

With three to go, NoraFlum held the majority of chips in play with 732K, followed by TheTakeover's 391K and theNERDguy's 137K.

LOSING MY EDGE: theNERDguy eliminated in 3rd place

The theNERDguy's short stack got even shorter when he slipped to under 100K. Like a wounded gazelle in the Serengeti, he was being hunted down by a pair of stalking lions. theNERDguy made a final stand in a shootout with TheTakeover. Betting, as per usual, was capped preflop. On the first draw, TheTakeover discarded one and theNERDguy stood pat. TheTakeover checked, theNERDguy bet 10,000, TheTakeover check-raised to 20,000, theNERDguy called. On the second draw, both players stood pat. TheTakeover fired out 20,000, theNERDguy raised all-in for 32,870, and TheTakeover called.

TheTakeover: [7c][6s][4h][3c][2d]
theNERDguy: [8h][7h][6c][5d][3d]

theNERDguy lost with a 8-7-6-5-3 low against TheTakeover's 7-6-4-3-2 low. TheTakeover won the pot and advanced to the final two. Yuri 'theNERDguy' Martins busted in third place, which paid out $32,760.00.

HEADS-UP: Nick' TheTakeover' Schulman (Turks and Caicos) vs. Marco 'NoraFlum' Johnson (Mexico)
Seat 2: TheTakeover (423,075)
Seat 3: NoraFlum (836,925)

Could NoraFlum won a second SCOOP within a few days (and a fourth overall COOP)? Or will TheTakeover muscle him out and slap a bracelet on his wrist for the first time?

The heads-up bout lasted over an hour and the lead changed hands too many times to count. During the first half of their match, each player took advantage of a string of mini-rushes. TheTakeover won 7 out of 8 to seize the lead 773K to 487K. But, NoraFlum launched a counter-offensive and won 9 out of 12 hands including 7 in a row to chip up to 911K to 348K. That would be as high as NoraFlum would get because TheTakeover was not about to roll over an die so easily. In the second half of their match, TheTakeover methodically chipped away at the lead and eventually evened it up when heads-up ht the 60-minute mark. At that juncture, TheTakeover shifted into into Elvis TCB mode (i.e. "taking care of business" like only the King could). He rattled off six wins in seven hands to chip up to 888K. TheTakeover won a trio of 224K pots and NoraFlum was on the ropes. In three hands, it would all be over.

DAFT PUNK IS PLAYING AT MY HOUSE: NoraFlum eliminated in 2nd place; TheTakeover wins the SCOOP bracelet!

Going into the final hand, NoraFlum's stack had dwindled down to under 44K and TheTakeover chipped up to 1.2M. Betting got capped pre-draw, with NoraFlum all-in for 43,850. On the first and second draws, both players discarded a single card. On the third and final draw, TheTakeover stood pat, but NoraFlum was still trying to make a decent low and drew one last card. At showdown...

TheTakeover: [9h][7c][6s][5h][4s]
NoraFlum: [Qd][8h][7s][6h][3c]

NoraFlum lost with Q-8-7-6-3 low against TheTakeover's 9-7-6-5-4 low. For a runner-up finish Marco Johnson a.k.a. NoraFlum won $44,100.00. He missed winning a second bracelet by a narrow margin.

Congrats to the TheTakeover for winning Event #28-H and his first-ever SCOOP bracelet. First place paid out $65,520.00 in addition to a swanky champion's watch courtesy of Movado.

SCOOP-28-H ($2,100 FL Triple Draw 2-7) results
Entrants: 126 (76 entries, 50 re-entries)
Total prize pool: $252,000
Places paid: 18

1. Nick 'TheTakeover' Schulman (Turks and Caicos Islands) $65,520.00
2. Marco 'NoraFlum' Johnson (Mexico) $44,100.00
3. Yuri 'theNERDguy' Martins (Australia) $32,760.00
4. Ronny '1-ronnyr3' Kaiser (Switzerland) $21,420.00
5. krakukra (Russia) $16,380.00
6. Paul 'paulgees81' Volpe (Canada) $11,340.00

Visit the SCOOP homepage for a complete schedule of remaining events. Plus, find out who is in contention for Player of the Series.

Pauly McGuire is the author of "Lost Vegas" and a freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

Many players who enter the world of poker through No-Limit Hold'em stick with that variant, and maybe some Pot-Limit Omaha, but never move of and try mixed games. If only they would, then they'd find a rich tapestry of games await them. One of the easiest to pick up, and one of the most enjoyable is Fixed-Limit 2-7 Triple Draw. 

The 28th round of SCOOP events saw this variant enter the fray. A generous $25k was guaranteed for the $27 Low entry, but that was smashed after 1,611 players entered, creating a $39,550.05 prize pool. The top 204 players made the money on Day 1, locking up a minimum $45.48. The final table of six was reached by the end of the day and the returned players would earn a minimum of $988.75. The player walking away with the title would get $6,526.50.

Six Team Pros entered this one. Four failed to cash, one made the money but busted after that, and one made it all the way to today's final table. Jason "JasonMercier" Mercier managed a bit more than a min cash, taking away $51.41 for his 159th place finished. Adrienne 'talonchick" Rowsome primarily focuses on mixed games and that expertise helped her to make Day 2, albeit in fifth place (of six). 

Final table

Seat 1: dmcneally7 (2,336,965 in chips) 
Seat 2: clancywigam (351,770 in chips) 
Seat 3: KlgAborigen (4,453,000 in chips) 
Seat 4: AintNoSun (4,645,070 in chips) 
Seat 5: GrabYaGun (3,321,585 in chips) 
Seat 6: Adrienne 'talonchick" Rowsome (1,001,610 in chips) 

talonchick may have entered the day in second to last spot but her position was better than clancywigam's, who was dead last with a third of the Team Online member's chips. The Irish player failed to recover and was first to go. dmcneally7 raised from the cutoff before clancywigam three-bet the button and AintNoSun four-bet from the big blind. Both opponents called, with clancywigam's being an all-in one. AintNoSun and dmcneally7 drew one to clancywigam's two, before the action was checked. The players drew the same as the first round and AintNoSun check-called a bet from dmcneally7. Clancywigam drew two on the last draw round, AintNoSun drew one again and dmbneally7 stood pat before checking behind. AintNoSun opened [4h][ac][6h][8c][2s] losing out to dmcneally7's eighty-seven with [5h][4c][8s][3s][7c]. clancywigam mucked and was out early. 

talonchick only lasted one more hand and it was dmcneally7 who did the damage again. Her stack had shrunk to fewer than two big bets so when she raised from under the gun, it was all-in. dmcneally7 called in the next seat and GrabYaGun called in the big blind, before drawing four. talonchick drew two and dmcneally7 just the one. GrabYaGun drew two, talonchick three and dmcneally7 stood pat. It looked like a good draw for GrabYaGun who check-raised and then stood pat. dmcneally7 had bet-called and stood pat behind before calling one more bet with [4c][5h][2c][8s][3d]. It beat GranYaGun's [3s][8c][2d][5d][6c] and talonchick who mucked.

dmcneally7 failed to kick on after taking out the two short stacks and fell to the chip leader KlgAborigen, who has started the final in second place. AintNoSun opened from under the gun before dmcneally7 three-bet from the small blind. KlgAborigen and AintNoSun both called before all three drew two. dmcneally7 continued and then three-bet after KlgAborigen raised. AintNoSun folded but KlgAborigen four-bet and was called. dmcneally drew two and then led with another bet; KlgAborigen stood pat and then raised enough to set the Brit all-in. dmcneally called, drew one more and then opened [4d][8c][6d][9d][2d] for a ninety-eight. KlgAborigen also had a ninety-eight but a better one with [5d][8s][4s][9h][2c] and took a commanding lead through to three-handed play.

AintNoSun made the biggest strides at that stage mostly to the detriment of GrabYaGun's stack, although it was KlgAborigen who came along and finished off the Hungarian. The Russian raised from the button and GrabYaGun called from the big blind before drawing two to his opponent's one. Check-bet-call and both drew one before GranYaGun bet-called all-in. Both players stood pat and GrabYaGun's stack was shot after [4s][5h][th][7c][9s] couldn't beat the nut hand ([7s][3d][5s][4c][2c]) of KlgAborigen. 

Heads up

Seat 3: KlgAborigen (13,366,885 in chips) 
Seat 4: AintNoSun (2,743,115 in chips)

The start of heads up play was a slow affair (in terms of big pots), contrasting the pace of play the final table had seen so far. More than 70 hands passed before AintNoSun managed to find some traction, showing down a ninety-seven to get their stack up to 3.5 million. It took until hand 100 until AintNoSun won a decent pot with an eighty-six to get within touching distance of five million. From then though, KlgAborigen fought back and undid all the losses and some. With the blinds increasing the pots, and therefore the swings, got a lot bigger. 

A bit turning point came from AintNoSun when a 2 million chip pot, the biggest head-up pot so far, went their way - [js][5s][6c][9d][4d] beating [5h][4c][3s][6s][ad]. That got AintNoSun to within 2 million of KlgAborigen and a short while after the lead for the first time since two remained. A 2.8 million pot with a ninety-seven beat KlgAborigen's [2h][7s][5d][4c][kh], who seemed to have a nut draw that failed to com in.

This ding-dong battle, that had seen more hands than the rest of the final table combined, saw KlgAborigen fall two-to-one behind before storming back into the lead once more, and then behind once more, for the last time. The Russian survived two all-ins but couldn't survive a third one. 

AintNoSun raised and KlgAborigen called before the players drew three and two. KlgAborigen led and was called before both drew one. The two players then kept raising until KlgAborigen was all-in. Both players stood pat and KlgAborigen opened an eighty-six with [8s][3s][5h][2d][6d], losing out to AintNoSun's [4d][7h][2c][6c][3d]. 

These two players entered the final table as the chip leaders and were the last two standing. After an epic heads up battle, AintNoSun was a deserved winner after making a great comeback. Congratulations to KlgAborigen for playing a huge part, and to all the rest of the finalists. 

SCOOP-28-L ($27 FL Triple Draw 2-7) results
Entrants: 1,611
Total prize pool: $39,550.05
Places paid: 204

1. AintNoSun (Austria) $6,526.50
2. KlgAborigen (Russia) $4,884.43
3. GrabYaGun (Hungary) $3,559.50
4. dmcneally7 (UK) $2,373.00
5. Adrienne 'talonchick" Rowsome (Canada) $1,582.00
6. clancywigam (Ireland) $988.75

You've heard it time and again: life is about the journey, not the destination. This weekend's Run It Up Resorts Rumble turned out to be about both.

To understand why, you need to ask yourself a question: how far would you journey for a $30 poker tournament? To your bedroom? To a buddy's house? A half hour to a local casino?

Would you travel for 13 hours by car?

At least one person did just that, one of 124 people who traveled from far and wide to play a $30 poker tournament, meet their hero Jason Somerville, and be a part of PokerStars' five-year journey back to the United States.

On any normal day, Brandon Turner would be rebuilding the inside of Wendy's restaurants. He owns a remodeling business with his dad, and they travel all over the state of Indiana for their work. This weekend, Brandon decided he would drive even further. He left Greenwood, Indiana and started driving east.

"It took me almost 13 hours with traffic," Turner said. "I'm just a huge fan of Jason (Somerville). I've always wanted to meet him. I love poker. I've missed PokerStars since it went away on Black Friday, and I just wanted to get back to playing again."

So, there he sat in a ballroom full of players in one of Atlantic City's most storied buildings, home of its first Boardwalk casino and a hotel where Sinatra used to play.

The moment marked the intersection of several different journeys: of players looking for a chance to play legal poker in the United States, of Jason Somerville's Run It Up empire creating a new live event, and of PokerStars first steps to rebuilding itself in the regulated parts of the USA.

"Doesn't it make you angry?" Somerville said at one point during the day about his American fans' inability to play legally outside New Jersey. "Isn't it so dumb?"

It was part motivational speech, part Q&A, and part political rally led by one of poker's most charismatic young heroes.

"Let's use this angst," he said. "We can use this passion...for change."

Again, all of this--the day of poker, Q&As, turkey burgers, chess matches, corn hole, and a beach party--was undeniably part of a destination for many; you don't drive 13 hours without having somewhere you're meant to be going. Nevertheless, the event itself felt like a first step for many people in the room, perhaps more so for Chris Young than anyone.

Two years ago he lived in Boca Raton, Florida when an Audi made a right turn on red. It slammed directly into Young and his motorcycle.

"I flew 200 feet and landed on a Mazda," Young said. "I shattered my right femur, lost six pints of blood."

In the two years since, he went through multiple surgeries and bone grafts, all of which left him unable to work a regular job. Take one guess how he spent his time recovering.

Young buried himself in NLHE theory, read everything about poker he could get his hands on, and started listening to Somerville's broadcasts. Finally, after two years of getting better, he was ready to start his new job with the Local 486 in Baltimore. He's in plumbing and pipefitting, and he started work first thing today.

But before that, he took his last weekend of a very long two years, to drive up from Baltimore and play poker among his heroes. Along the way, he got them to sign his cane.

Every story in the room that day was different, but the common thread among them was how happy the players were to be back on PokerStars, even for a simple $30 poker tourney.

Throughout the day, they heard from the likes of Liv Boeree, Barry Greenstein, Vanessa Selbst, and Chris Moneymaker. Some of them played--eight at a time--in chess games against Jen Shahade (she won every game).

The tournament itself, despite only costing $30, was tough by any measure. A majority of the people playing it have spent more than their fair share of time watching Somerville's countless hours of Twitch streams. The players are, in a word, good. Because they share the same training and talent, some of them found themselves pondering the poker physics behind equal talents clashing at the table.

"Everybody playing has been trained by carver (Somerville's pseudonym)," player Colin Byerly said while looking in amazement around the room. "Everybody knows what is happening, but there is nothing you can do about it."

Meanwhile, the man with the cane had a mission in mind.

While the craziness played out around him, Young won one of the first big hands of the tournament, and a few hours later he sat around the final table with the other eight finalists.

It was a turbo event, and the final table went fast. Young managed to place fourth and watched from the sidelines as Dan Sewnig (aka monkeyman067) took the first Run It Up Resorts Rumble title. Sewnig had qualified for $1.50, won his buy-in, $200 in cash, and two nights at Resorts. It also gave him the chance to meet Somerville.

"He's very professional. He's very outgoing. He's exactly what poker needs to keep this rolling," Sewnig said of Somerville. "When I saw that he was going to come to New Jersey, I was very excited, because he is going to bring people in."

By and by, the players shut down their laptops, asked Somerville questions for an hour, and then retired to the beachside Landshark Bar and Grill for the VIP Club Live party where...well, we don't tell all of the stories now do we? (But, we do have photos!)

There is no telling exactly where all this will lead. Somerville has his eyes on more Run It Up Events. The Americas Cup of Poker is coming to Resorts next month. And there will be more. The PokerStars staff spent all of Saturday signing up new accounts for people, and there appears to be a bright future in New Jersey. As for the rest of the USA, that's still a matter of time.

Even still, as the VIP Club Live party began Saturday night, a light rain had started to clear off the Atlantic City coast. As the revelers shook off the rain and dove into the food, someone screamed "Rainbow!" and just as sure as it was captured on Lee Jones' cell phone, there it was above us.

Somehow, people had come from far and wide just for a chance to play on PokerStars again, and by the end of it, they all stood at the end of the rainbow.

It felt fitting in the best possible way.

Winning a tournament in any of the PokerStars Championships of Online Poker - or the COOPs for short - is a highly-respected accomplishment, often regarded as the pinnacle of a player's poker career. So imagine coming close several times but never quite being able to clinch a title. The good news is that the next festival is just around the corner; the bad news is that the fields get bigger and the tournaments tougher every year.

One player who knows that feeling is South Africa's SONGJOY. First there was the ninth-place finish in a $265 PLO Knockout tournament in the 2012 WCOOP; then the ever-so-close runner-up finish in the $700 PLO in the 2013 WCOOP; and then another final table during the 2014 SCOOP - a fifth-place finish in a $109 NLHE Turbo Progressive Super-Knockout.

Well, I'm happy to reveal that SONGJOY took down his first ever COOP title today in the SCOOP-26-L $11 NL Hold'em 8-Max tournament for a handsome prize of $11,864.27.

A total of 11,618 players began play at 1pm WET on Sunday (15th May), creating a prize pool of $116,180 - more than double the $50K guarantee. The deep payout structure meant that at least 23 per cent of entrants would make the money, and that number eventually ended up meaning 2,863 players were paid.

After 36 15-minute levels of play just 25 players remained, all of which would come back today to play down to a champion. The UK's Isaac741 led the way with 10,255,529, while the short stack was Poland's Tomson1946 with 905,255. The latter would be the first to bust on the day, while Isaac741 made it all the way to 10th before being eliminated for $631.87. After one more elimination we had our final table of eight. 

SONGJOY (South Africa) 45,357,883
addo140 (United Kingdom) 16,698,009
ohanaaa (Brazil) 16,005,464
grantul (Slovenia) 14,620,489
BalBadwal (United Kingdom) 11,240,961
jointy333 (Germany) 5,032,170
Fahrenheit95 (Russia) 3,816,002
Solidthought (United Kingdom) 3,409,022

Three UK players meant the Brits had a good chance of winning a title today, while ohanaaa's appearance continued Brazil's amazing run here in the 2016 SCOOP. As you can see though, SONGJOY came into the final table as a massive chip leader, and it was a lead he wouldn't give up once.

15 minutes of non-stop action

The first level of final table play saw four players eliminated.

The sole Russian Fahrenheit95 was the first player to fall during 43 (240K/480K, 48K ante). He opened to 960,000 from under the gun and it folded to the UK's addo140 who raised it to 2,234,445. When it folded back to Fahrenheit95 he moved all-in for 9,543,508 and got a call.

The Russian had the [as][ks] but what trailing the Brit's [kc][kh], and it was all over by the turn of the [ts][4d][8d][kd] board as addo140 had turned a set. The [9s] hit the river and with that, Fahrenheit95 was out in eighth for $911.53.

Shortly after that, Solidthought was gone too. The UK player jammed all-in for 2,923,022 under the gun and only his fellow Brit addo140 called. It was the [ac][jc] against the [qd][ks] but addo140 secured another knockout as the board ran out the [2d][8s][kd][3c][7c]. For seventh, Solidthought banked $1,314.96.

Next up was grantul in sixth. It folded to him on the button and he moved all-in for 7,895,909, and once again it was addo140 who made the call from the small blind. SONGJOY gave up the big blind and the cards were revealed:

grantul: [jh][js]
addo140: [ad][qh]

It was a classic race, but the [3c][6c][4d][Ah][Td] board paired addo140's Ace and sent grantul on his way with a $1,896.91 consolation prize.

jointy333 then became the fourth player to depart in Level 43. SONGJOY opened to 986,000 before the player from Germany jammed for 4,084,170 with the [ts][th] and was called by the chip leader with the [5s][5h]. It was a great spot for jointy333 to double, but the [qc][5d][qd] was a crushing blow and left him drawing to two outs. A ten didn't land on the turn or river and jointy333 won $2,736.43 for his efforts.

Down to four

SONGJOY had almost double the chip stack of his closest rival, addo140, as four-handed play rolled on. The shortest stack was BalBadwal, and we'd soon say bye bye.

With the blinds now at 280K/560K, BalBadwal moved all-in for his last 7,458,991 and SONGJOY called from the big blind. The player at risk had the [as][3d], but would need some help as SONGJOY had a pair with the [5d][5s]. The [7d][4d][2s] flop meant SONGJOY didn't want to hit a set; any five would now five BalBadwal a straight. The [qh] landed on the turn, and the [2c] river completed the board, eliminating BalBadwal in fourth for $3,947.49.

Despite all the hard work eliminating players early on in this final table, by the time we reached Level 45 (320K/640K) it was addo140 who had become the shortest stack. Brazil's ohanaaa was now SONGJOY's biggest competitor, but the player from South Africa would take an even bigger lead by eliminating addo140 in third.

addo140 just limped from the small blind and SONGJOY bumped it up to 1.72 million. addo140 then moved all-in over the top for 13,329,576 and was called. He had gotten frisky with the [9c][jh], but was in terrible shape against the [qh][qs] of SONGJOY. The  [7h][8d][2c] flop brought the possibility of a gutshot, but the [7s] turn and [3s] river were no help at all. For third place, the last remaining UK player addo140 cashed for $5,694.51.

SONGJOY chip lead was always going to be hard to overcome, so it was no surprise to see this heads-up battle end swiftly. The blinds were now 400K/800K and ohanaaa limped only for SONGJOY to raise it 2.64 million. The player from Brazil jammed for 22,743,132 and SONGJOY made the call.

ohanaaa [ks][th]
SONGJOY: [ac][9s]

The [Ah][8c][Td] flop paired both but SONGJOY was still out in front with the Aces. Anyone watching from Brazil would have been cheering for a King or ten, but the board was completed by the [7d] and [5s] and we had a well-deserved champion.

Congratulations to ohanaaa who put in another fantastic showing for Brazil, banking  $8,214.69 in the process. 

But special congratulations to your latest SCOOP champion, South Africa's SONGJOY, who won $11,864.27.

SCOOP-26-L ($11 NL Hold'em 8-Max Deep Payouts) results
Entrants: 11,618
Prize pool: $116,180
Places paid: 2,863

1. SONGJOY (South Africa) $11,864.27
2. ohanaaa (Brazil) $8,214.69
3. addo140 (United Kingdom) $5,694.51
4. BalBadwal (United Kingdom) $3,947.49
5. jointy333 (Germany) $2,736.43
6. grantul (Slovenia) $1,896.91
7. Solidthought (United Kingdom) $1,314.96
8. Fahrenheit95 (Russia) $911.53

Jack Stanton is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

* CLICK TO REFRESH FOR LATEST UPDATES
* CHIP COUNTS | PRIZE POOL AND PAYOUTS

* Day 4 will play down to a winner
* Prize pool: $721,665; 1st place: $138,225
* 8 players of 553 entries remain

12:10pm: Play begins
Level 25 - Blinds 15,000/30,000 (ante 4,000)

The final table has begun! There are about 36 minutes left to go in Level 25. Again, a reminder of where everyone is seated and the stacks to start. --MH

11:30am: Final table player profiles

From 553 entries just eight players remain with a chance to become the next LAPT Main Event champion. Play gets underway in about half an hour, which gives you plenty of time to get to know the final eight with these quick introductions:

Seat 1: Austin Peck, USA -- 1,351,000

Though he won't be turning 21 until this August, Austin Peck has already had plenty of experience at the tournament tables where he's been collecting cashes steadily for the last couple of years playing in places where the playing age is 18 and up. 

In the USA he's cashes on several different tours, the highlight coming this February when he won a WSOP Circuit ring in an event at West Palm Beach. A couple of weeks after that he finished 20th in the World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic Main Event in Niagara Falls, then last month earned a career-high cash of $24,467 by final-tabling the WPT DeepStacks event in Jacksonville, Florida where he finished fifth. Taking sixth or better today will exceed that total. --MH

Seat 2: Anderson Blanco, Colombia -- 1,225,000

One of two Colombians at today's final table, Anderson Blanco carried the chip lead into yesterday's Day 3, fell back to short-stacked status for much of the afternoon, then successfully climbed back to have an almost-average stack to start today's final table. Blanco has already guaranteed himself a career-high score today, wherever he finishes. He also has topped his previous highest finish in an LAPT Main Event, a 19th-place showing at LAPT5 Colombia. --MH

Seat 3: Ruben Suarez, Venezuela -- 1,477,000

Ruben Suarez is the 13th Venezuelan player to make an LAPT Main Event final table, and hopes to be the first of that group to break through and claim a title. He has only a couple of cashes on his tournament poker résumé thus far, including a 27th-place finish in the LAPT8 Peru Main Event a year ago. His biggest cash came right here in Panama City back in January when he won a $1,000 Jackies Poker Tour event, topping a 235-entry field to earn $48,000. --MH

Seat 4: Paul Cukier, Costa Rica -- 1,341,000

The lone Costa Rican left in the field, Paul Cukier has a handful of previous small cashes collected in the USA, at the PCA in the Bahamas, and in San Jose in his native country. His biggest previous cash was for $4,043 for finishing 156th in a WSOP event back in 2012, so he's already assured himself of a career-high payday here in Panama today. --MH

Seat 5: Alcides Gomez, USA -- 562,000

The Miami based pro Alcides Gomez has his fair share of final table results and experience including a podium finish from last month's Seminole Hard Rock Poker Challenge Main Event. He'll return today as the low man on the totem pole, playing just over 560,000 and he'll need to spin up a stack if he's going to notch another podium finish in this LAPT9 Panama Main Event. --WOC

Seat 6: Raul Paez, Spain -- 2,580,000

Raul Paez will return to the final table as the chip leader. With over $1,800,000 in career earnings, "El Toro" is the most experienced player remaining and he's hoping that the third time can be the charm at an LAPT final table. The Spaniard finished third at the Main Event final table in Columbia during Season 5, then three years ago bubbled the final table in Panama. --WOC   

Seat 7: Andres Carrillo, Colombia -- 659,000

Andres Carrillo returns as one of two players under the million-chip mark, meaning that the Columbian will likely be active early at this LAPT9 Panama final table. Carrillo's past tournament results are relatively few and far between, but with scores from across the globe -- including EPT final table finishes in Barcelona and Malta -- if he is able to find an early double, he'll be a contender. --WOC

Seat 8: Aaron Mermelstein, USA -- 1,802,000

As we said yesterday, if chip leader Raul Paez is the creme, Aaron Mermelstein is what settles just under the creme. He'll come back second in chips and the two-time World Poker Tour champion will be looking to make Sortis Hotel, Spa & Casino history today. He currently sits third on the all-time Sortis money list and a deep run today could earn him his best career LAPT finish and move him up that leaderboard. --WOC   

PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at LAPT9 Chile: Will O'Connor and Martin Harris. Photos by Carlos Monti. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog

It's another eclectic bunch for today's Latin American Poker Tour Main Event final table, with three Americans, two Colombians, and players from Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Spain. The group brings a variety of experience and past results to today's final table. As we ready for the 12 noon start today, spend a little time getting to know each of the final eight a little better below.

Seat 1: Austin Peck, USA -- 1,351,000

Though he won't be turning 21 until this August, Austin Peck has already had plenty of experience at the tournament tables where he's been collecting cashes steadily for the last couple of years playing in places where the playing age is 18 and up. 

In the USA he's cashes on several different tours, the highlight coming this February when he won a WSOP Circuit ring in an event at West Palm Beach. A couple of weeks after that he finished 20th in the World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic Main Event in Niagara Falls, then last month earned a career-high cash of $24,467 by final-tabling the WPT DeepStacks event in Jacksonville, Florida where he finished fifth. Taking sixth or better today will exceed that total. --MH

Seat 2: Anderson Blanco, Colombia -- 1,225,000

One of two Colombians at today's final table, Anderson Blanco carried the chip lead into yesterday's Day 3, fell back to short-stacked status for much of the afternoon, then successfully climbed back to have an almost-average stack to start today's final table. Blanco has already guaranteed himself a career-high score today, wherever he finishes. He also has topped his previous highest finish in an LAPT Main Event, a 19th-place showing at LAPT5 Colombia. --MH

Seat 3: Ruben Suarez, Venezuela -- 1,477,000

Ruben Suarez is the 13th Venezuelan player to make an LAPT Main Event final table, and hopes to be the first of that group to break through and claim a title. He has only a couple of cashes on his tournament poker résumé thus far, including a 27th-place finish in the LAPT8 Peru Main Event a year ago. His biggest cash came right here in Panama City back in January when he won a $1,000 Jackies Poker Tour event, topping a 235-entry field to earn $48,000. --MH

Seat 4: Paul Cukier, Costa Rica -- 1,341,000

The lone Costa Rican left in the field, Paul Cukier has a handful of previous small cashes collected in the USA, at the PCA in the Bahamas, and in San Jose in his native country. His biggest previous cash was for $4,043 for finishing 156th in a WSOP event back in 2012, so he's already assured himself of a career-high payday here in Panama today. --MH

Seat 5: Alcides Gomez, USA -- 562,000

The Miami based pro Alcides Gomez has his fair share of final table results and experience including a podium finish from last month's Seminole Hard Rock Poker Challenge Main Event. He'll return today as the low man on the totem pole, playing just over 560,000 and he'll need to spin up a stack if he's going to notch another podium finish in this LAPT9 Panama Main Event. --WOC

Seat 6: Raul Paez, Spain -- 2,580,000

Raul Paez will return to the final table as the chip leader. With over $1,800,000 in career earnings, "El Toro" is the most experienced player remaining and he's hoping that the third time can be the charm at an LAPT final table. The Spaniard finished third at the Main Event final table in Columbia during Season 5, then three years ago bubbled the final table in Panama. --WOC   

Seat 7: Andres Carrillo, Colombia -- 659,000

Andres Carrillo returns as one of two players under the million-chip mark, meaning that the Columbian will likely be active early at this LAPT9 Panama final table. Carrillo's past tournament results are relatively few and far between, but with scores from across the globe -- including EPT final table finishes in Barcelona and Malta -- if he is able to find an early double, he'll be a contender. --WOC

Seat 8: Aaron Mermelstein, USA -- 1,802,000

As we said yesterday, if chip leader Raul Paez is the creme, Aaron Mermelstein is what settles just under the creme. He'll come back second in chips and the two-time World Poker Tour champion will be looking to make Sortis Hotel, Spa & Casino history today. He currently sits third on the all-time Sortis money list and a deep run today could earn him his best career LAPT finish and move him up that leaderboard. --WOC   

And as a reminder, here's what they're playing for (along with the LAPT trophy):

1st: $138,225
2nd: $86,880
3rd: $62,200
4th: $48,500
5th: $38,040
6th: $29,880
7th: $22,300
8th: $15,440

Stick close to the PokerStars blog for start-to-finish coverage of the final table today, including live updates, chip counts, photos, and more.

PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at LAPT9 Chile: Will O'Connor and Martin Harris. Photos by Carlos Monti. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog