The citizens of PokerStarslandia hath spoken and picked the format for Event #13. The high version for this year's Player's Choice would be $700 NL Progressive Super-Knockout. Normally, that would be the primary story, but I completely buried the lede here and waited now to reveal that another Brazilian won a SCOOP event. If the calculations from our crack team of stat geeks locked in the basement at HQ are correct, then the victory by Thiago 'tgrigoletti' Grigoletti marks the eighth SCOOP bracelet for Brazil. Eight? Yes, eight. Vamooooooooooo!

Brazilians know how to throw a proper party. They also know how to crush poker tournaments. I have a theory why Brazilians do so well in SCOOPs. It has to do with the Catholic religion and the Lent holiday leading up to Mardi Gras a.k.a. Fat Tuesday, or the wildly festive Carnival in Rio and all over Brazil. Lent is a time for fasting. That's why the weeks leading up to Carnival is so crazy because everyone is partying hard one last time before they have to stay clean for 40 days and 40 nights and avoid sinful pleasures and vices. Alas, online poker is the perfect thing to fill the void during those sober, lonely nights of Lent. So by the time Lent is over when Easter rolls around, Brazilians have been grinding online poker for 40 straight days and nights. When SCOOP hits, they are in peak form. Sounds crazy...but the more you think about it, it makes perfect sense why Brazil is crushing SCOOP this year. You better bust out the rosary and brush up on your Hail Marys and Our Fathers.

Team PokerStars Pro Jason Somerville was near the front of the pack on all of Day 2 until it got down to the final two tables. He couldn't get anything going and barely made the final table as one of the short stacks. He busted in ninth place, but it was not meant to be for Somerville. After all, it was Brazil's day with a trio of Brazilians advancing to the final table.

The high version of SCOOP-13-H $700 NL Progressive Super-Knockout attracted 1,360 runners. They contributed to a prize pool worth $904,400. Only the top 153 places paid out with $78,049.72 set aside to the champion. In a Progressive Super-KO event... the more players you busted, the bigger your own bounty. Therein lies the rub because the more players you knock out, the bigger the price on your own head so your opponents have even more of a fiduciary incentive to terminate your stack with extreme prejudice.

Event #13-H was another spacious two-day event. Day 1 ended with Colombia's maoosalazar in the lead with 372K. Team PokerStars Pro Jason Somerville bagged up 224,420, which was good enough for seventh overall.

Fellow Team PokerStars Pro Elky also made it to Day 2, but he was at the opposite end of the spectrum with a shorty stack. On Day 2, super-short Elky busted when his [Ad][Js] lost to [Ks][Tc] after akis_333 caught running tens to win the pot. Elky busted in 92nd place.

When the final two tables were set, Jason Somerville looked comfortable in fourth overall with a shade under 1M. Yet, that would be the highest he'd peak because action slowed down immensely as the final table neared. It was a little strange with all of the big stacks at Somerville's table while all of the smaller stacks were on the other. With 11 to go, Somerville slipped and was treading water with a short stack. He also had the lowest bounty remaining. Somerville stayed alive long enough to make it to the final nine, but he was 9/9 in chips.

SCOOP-13-H - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: Kot_Spartac (740,464)
Seat 2: U_2GOOD4_M3 (2,778,251)
Seat 3: tgrigoletti (2,487,225)
Seat 4: maoosalazar (1,240,500)
Seat 5: vitinhorrn15 (992,284)
Seat 6: swordfish007 (1,180,010)
Seat 7: gilcoe (2,308,002)
Seat 8: Mr.Kingball (1,379,551)
Seat 9: Jason 'jcarverpoker' Somerville (493,713)

The final table commenced during Level 33 with blinds at 12K/24K and a 3K ante. Jason 'jcarverpoker' Somerville barely made the final table, but he made it as the short stack with 493K. Taiwan's U_2GOOD4_M3 held the big stack but a pair of Brazilians were hot on the trail with tgrigoletti right behind with approximately 2.5M and gilcoe holding 2.3M.

Somerville is one of the most known personalities in poker due to his popular Run It Up streams. He live-streamed his entire run in Event #13-H via Twitch, much to the delight of his legion of fans. It was his first final table at this year's SCOOP.

Three Brazilians made the final table, which meant that there was a decent chance a Brazilian would ship yet another SCOOP. Thiago 'tgrigoletti' Grigoletti has nearly $1 million in combined live/online earnings. He final tabled the BSOP in Brazil last year. And Victor 'vitinhorrn15' Santos has nearly $850K in online winnings.

Other notables included Manig 'swordfish007' Loser, who made a pair of WSOP final tables in 2013-14 and he went deep in a 2012 SCOOP, and Rory 'Mr.Kingball' Brown who has $1 million combined live/online winnings. Mr.Kingball final tabled a WCOOP Main Event last year and finished in sixth place for a $273K score. He also final tabled a WCOOP in 2014 and cashed in the 2014 WSOP Main Event.

TAKE ME AWAY: Team PokerStars Pro Jason 'jcarverpoker' Somerville eliminated in 9th place

Nearly 45 minutes before someone busted... and it was Somerville who picked a spot with [Ac][Qc] but lost a crucial hand against gilcoe's [9d][9c]. gilcoe opened to 59,360, Somerville shoved for 564,913, and gilcoe called. Somerville flopped a Queen, but gilcoe flopped a set of nines. Ouch. The board finished up [Qd][9h][4c][4s][5s]. Somerville lost with two pair against gilcoe's full house. Jason Somerville became the first player to bust at the final table. He won $4,974.20 for ninth place.

gilcoe gobbled up Somerville's bounty and banked half ($1,245.57), while his own bounty increased to $6,134.31.

Before signing off on Twitch, Somerville summed up: "I played this final table reasonable. I do not look back and see any hands I regret. Not a bad day. We had some really awkward things happen, especially with the final two tables. We hit some weird situations and tried to make the best of them.
We made our first SCOOP final table. Hopefully it won't be my last!"

With eight left, tgrigoletti was the new leader with 3.2M and swordfish007 trailed with 840K.

SPINAL MENINGITIS GOT ME DOWN: vitinhorrn15 eliminated in 8th place

A full orbit did not pass before we saw two bustouts in consecutive hands! In the first hand, Brazil's chances of winning another SCOOP diminised with vitinhorrn15's exit. The Brazilian vitinhorrn15 five-bet to 151,200 and maoosalazar called. The flop was [Jd][4c][2s], and maoosalazar check-called a 21,168 bet from vitinhorrn15. vitinhorrn15 was in trouble with [8h][6h] against maoosalazar's [Ks][9h]. The turn was the [Kd] and maoosalazar improved to a pair of Kings. The river was the [4h] and maoosalazar won the pot with two pair -- Kings and fours. Alas, vitinhorrn15 never improved and headed to the virtual rail in eighth place, which paid out $8,817.90.

Colombia's maoosalazar collected another bounty and banked $4,418.57 for picking off vitinhorrn15. maoosalazar's own bounty was bumped up to $12,684.22.

A TEAR FOR EDDIE: U_2GOOD4_M3 eliminated in 7th place

After a long lull at the final table, Somerville busted then less than eight hands later, two players hit the road on back-to-back hands. On the second hand, it was a situation where two of the smallish stacks rumbled. Mr.Kingball opened to 61,320, U_2GOOD4_M3 bombed it all-in for 394,571 with [Ks][Qc], and Mr.Kingball called with [As][5s]. The board finished up [8s][7d][3h][3s][Ah]. U_2GOOD4_M3 never improved and Mr.Kingball won the pot with Aces up. Taiwan's U_2GOOD4_M3 was knocked out in seventh place, which paid out $13,339.90.

Mr.Kingball picked up another bounty, banking $4,248.43 and increasing his own bounty to $14,668.82, which was the highest at the final table.

With six remaining, tgrigoletti continued to hold the lead with 3.4M, followed by three players with around 2.2M -- gilcoe, Kot_Spartac, and maoosalazar. The shorties were Mr.Kingball (1.7M) and swordfish007 (1.6M).

DRIFTER IN THE DARK: Mr.Kingball eliminated in 6th place

After a level of inaction...we had more fireworks. For a second time at this final table, we had players bust on consecutive hands. On the first hand, Mr.Kingball said his goodbyes and farewells. The Irishman open-shoved for 670,109 and got it all-in with the better hand and [Ac][Qc] against tgrigoletti's [Kh][Jh]. He even flopped an Ace, however, tgrigoletti rivered two pair to win the pot and bust the Irishman. For a sixth-place finish, Mr.Kingball collected $17,861.90. He also earned $14,668 in bounties, which would end up being the third most in the entire tournament. Mr.Kingball's total payday today was worth over $32,500. tgrigoletti banked a juicy bounty worth $7,334.41 for picking off Mr.Kingball. The Brazilian's own bounty swelled to $16,085.84.

I CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT: swordfish007 eliminated in 5th place

On the next hand, we had another fight to the death when swordfish007 got hooked by maoosalazar. It was the battle of the blinds... maoosalazar opened to 100,000 and swordfish007 called. maoosalazar bet out on the flop for 99,000 and on the turn for 224,190, and swordfish007 called both times. By the river, the board looked like [Qc][5c][4s][Jh][9d]. maoosalazar fired out 261,414, swordfish007 bombed it all-in for 1,656,292 and maoosalazar insta-called. maoosalazar tabled [Qs][Tc] and won the pot with top pair. swordfish007 picked a wrong spot to bluff the river with [Ts][5h] and just a pair of fives. Austria's swordfish007 was dunzo in fifth place, which paid out $22,383.90.

Meanwhile, maoosalazar earned $2,747 for snaring swordfish007's bounty, and their own bounty jumped to $15,431.22.

With four left in the hunt for the bracelet, maoosalazar was the new leader with 5.5M, followed by tgrigoletti (4.1M), Kot_Spartac (2.6M), and shorty gilcoe (1.4M).

MISTER, WOULD YOU PLEASE HELP MY PONY: Kot_Spartac eliminated in 4th place

The brisk pace continued. Only two orbits passed before we saw another liquidation. Rough. Tough. Brutal. Nothing can prepare you for the carnage witnessing pocket Aces get whacked in a drive-by shooting. All the money went in on the action-inducing flop of [Qd][Jc][5d] when maoosalazar bet 174,000, Kot_Spartac shoved for 1,128,011 and maoosalazar called.

Kot_Spartac: [Ac][As]
maoosalazar: [Qc][Tc]

Kot_Spartac was ahead with Aces versus top pair. However, doom was imminent when maoosalazar turned an open-ended straight flush draw. It seemed inevitable that Aces were gonna get crushed. maoosalazar never got there on the river, but instead, maoosalazar rivered trip Queens. Kot_Spartac faded the monster draw, yet Aces were snapped off by backdoor trips. Kot_Spartac was knocked out in fourth place. The Russian took home $31,473.12.

Another bounty for maoosalazar, who banked $1,319.60. Meanwhile, maoosalazar's bounty was a juicy $16,750.81.

VOODOO LADY: gilcoe eliminated in 3rd place

Four hands later it was Brazil vs. Brazil in another fight to the death. Two Brazilians entered, and only one was left standing. The board read [Jd][9h][2c][8c] with over 352K in the pot. gilcoe fired out 172,480, tgrigoletti raised to 494,960, gilcoe shoved for 1,512,784 and tgrigoletti called. tgrigoletti turned a straight with [Qc][Th] and gilcoe was in deep trouble with [Ks][9c] and only a pair of nines. The [2d] on the river was a formality because tgrigoletti dragged the pot with a Queen-high straight. Brazil's gilcoe was knocked out in third place, which paid out $42,959.00. One Brazilian remained. tgrigoletti banked half of gilcoe's bounty worth $3,067.16. tgrigoletti's own bounty was bumped up to a whopping $19,152.99.

HEADS-UP: tgrigoletti (Brazil) vs. maoosalazar (Colombia)
Seat 3: tgrigoletti (6,770,730)
Seat 4: maoosalazar (6,829,270)

After nearly two hours of play at the final table, it was dead even when heads-up began. Could Brazil win another SCOOP? Or will it Colombia's turn to step onto the winner's podium?

DEAL

With both players essentially even, they decided to chop it up. Any deal had to leave $2,000 on the table for the champ. They opted for split down the middle or $66,287.36 each. They quickly agreed on those simple terms and play resumed.

ROSES ARE FREE: maoosalazar eliminated in 2nd place; tgrigoletti wins another SCOOP for Brazil!

Heads-up lasted over an hour without anyone able to get anything close to a legit knockout. Something sparked tgrigoletti and the Brazilian went on a sick rush. He won 15 out of the last 18 hands en route to the victory. He started that rush trailing 7.2M to 6.3M. Most of the pots were small. He smallballed maoosalazar for the majority of the rush. Going into the final hand, tgrigoletti opened up a 2-1 edge 9.2M to 4.4M.

A raising war broke out when maoosalazar four-bet shoved for 4,380,906 and tgrigoletti called. Big Slick versus pocket deuces. The classic race. maoosalazar was flipping with [2c][2h] against [Ah][Kc]. As luck would have it, A king hit the flop and another crashed the party on the turn. tgrigoletti won the pot with trip Kings when the board ran out [Kh][6d][Jc][Ks][7d]. Brazil had secured another win.

Colombia's maoosalazar won $66,287.36 for a top-notch runner-up performance. maoosalazar also won an additional $16,750.81 in bounties for a total payday in excess of $83K!

tgrigoletti pocketed $8,375.41 for knocking out maoosalazar. He won $27,528.39 in overall bounties, which was the most in the Super-KO event.

Congrats to Thiago 'tgrigoletti' Grigoletti for winning Event #13-H. The People's Choice event paid out $68,287.36 to the winner in addition to a special commemorative watch by Movado. tgrigoletti's finally tally was $95,815. It's going to be another festive night in Brazil. Vamooooooo!

SCOOP-13-H ($700 NL Hold'em, Progressive Super-Knockout) results
Entrants: 1,360
Total prize pool: $904,400
Places paid: 153

1. Thiago 'tgrigoletti' Grigoletti (Brazil) $68,287.36 * + $27,528.39 bounties
2. maoosalazar (Colombia) $66,287.36 *+ $16,750.81 bounties
3. gilcoe (Brazil) $42,959.00 + $6,134.31 bounties
4. Kot_Spartac (Russia) $31,473.12 + $2,639.19 bounties
5. swordfish007 (Austria) $22,383.90 + $5494.00 bounties
6. Mr.Kingball (Ireland) $17,861.90 + $14,668.82 bounties
7. U_2GOOD4_M3 (Taiwan) $13,339.90 + $8,496.86
8. vitinhorrn15 (Brazil) $8,817.90 + $8,837.13
9. Team PokerStars Pro Jason 'jcarverpoker' Somerville (Canada) $4,974.20 + $2,491.13

* Denotes a deal between the final two players

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

Goalie versus striker trying to convert on a penalty kick. Pitcher versus slugger with two outs in the ninth inning with the tying run on third base. The ending of the 2016 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) Event #13-M's $82 8-Max, Progressive Knockout was much like these athletic stare-downs. Eyeing the striker's stride to guess if they are going left, right, or right up the middle. Pintoelbajon and ragAAAila19 would arrive at heads-up after two days of play nearly even in chips. But, pintoelbajon found the opening and scored the title along with $47,457.50 (plus $3,495 in bounties).

Read on below for pintoelbajon's full story.

As you glance at the Day One leaderboard, the Red Spade of Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier stood out. The three-time SCOOP 2015 champ, 2015 Player of the Series, and four SCOOP titles overall sat in the top 20 overnight as 125 of the original 5,403 players would return for Day Two action.

Unfortunately, Jason would need to move on to today's other offerings for another watch in Event #16 and #17 (along with playing some $400/$800 8-game on the side) as the Team Pro finished in 31st place collecting $987.73+$268.21 in bounties.

Another glance at the Day One board shows Marty "TheLipoFund" Mathis looking to add a major title. Back in 2014 Mathis made to heads-up play back-to-back Super Tuesday events (taking second for $86K and winning for $114K). As the tables compressed to two left, Mathis was still in.

Until he was not.

With the blinds up to 35K/70K ante 8,750 Mathis would four-bet to 911,911 trying to ward off anyone tempted to take a shot while owning a lesser hand. SFisch4 would fold but bauruzito would not as the Brazilian shoved 3.87 million with pocket sixes [6d][6c]. Owning a few less chips, Mathis called all-in with kings [Kc][Ks]. All was fine until the turned six [4s] [7c] [2c] [6h] [3d] ended the noted grinder's tournament in 14th place ($1,291.65+$351.90 in bounties).

Did not take long after the sixth hourly break to reach the final table. The blinds moving up to 60K/120K ante 15K chip leader ragAAAila19 led off for a raise to 270K as 888R8 shoved for 1.47 million. Pintoelbajon re-shoved for 3.5 million as ragAAAila19 gathered the massive stack for the move towards the spotlights. 888R8 turned over pocket sixes [6c][6h] but needed to fade pintoelbajon's [Ac][Qd]. The flopped nut flush draw became a turned nut flush [4c] [7c] [9c] [Kc] [3h] thus starting up the final table below:

Seat 1: SFisch4 (5640213 in chips)
Seat 2: Genyss13 (7497099 in chips)
Seat 3: bauruzito (6600089 in chips)
Seat 4: rooney69 (5352868 in chips)
Seat 5: pluis679 (4572224 in chips)
Seat 6: pintoelbajon (5446902 in chips)
Seat 7: Netonegao (5781423 in chips)
Seat 8: ragAAAila19 (13139182 in chips)

While ragAAAila19 led most of the seventh hour of play on Day Two, the big chip leader would push at one too many rivers as pintoelbajon snapped off a bluff towards the end of the hour, calling all-in to win a massive 18.5 million chip pot and take over the temporary lead. The average player would hold almost 40 BBs allowing all eight runners to reach the seventh hourly break with pintoelbajon stretching the chip leading stack to 23.5 million with blinds at 80K/160K ante 20K.

The "average" was a bit misleading as pintoelbajon's stack towered over the table, reaching half the chips in play after 15 minutes into the eighth hour.

All eyes were on bauruzito's short-stack holding less than four BBs. But, after flopping top pair with the blinds at 120K/240K ante 30K rooney99's [Kh][Th] went for broke against ragAAAila19 by shoving 1.4 million. RagAAAila19 sat patient calling with pocket aces [Ah][Ac] and managed to ride out the board [6s] [Tc] [9h] [Js] [5c]. For the two-day effort, rooney69 scored $2,279.39+$1,639.31 in bounties for eighth place.

A dozen hands later with the blinds remaining level. Genyss13 would open shove from UTG for 1.82 million as ragAAAila19 continued to mount a comeback after losing the chip lead to pintoelbajon by re-shoving for 7.7 million. The rest of the table grabbed a drink as Genyss13 showed [Tc][8c] needing clubs against ragAAAila19's pocket tens [Th][Td]. Not a single club appeared on the [6s] [Qs] [4d] [Kh] [Js] board sending Genyss13 away in seventh place ($3,798.98+$677.41 in bounties).

Things definitely shifted into higher gear as three hands later pluis679 would try to wrestle the blinds away from the chip leader by shoving three million from the small blind. Pintoelbajon was having none of that and called with [9c][Ac]. Pluis679 however was not firing blanks, turning over a dominating [Ad][Ks]. That big kicker was good until the flop and river dropped nines [8s] [3d] [9h] [Jd] [9d] ending pluis679's run in sixth place ($8,357.76+$1,267.55 in bounties).

RagAAAila19's comeback to prominence would get a huge bump on the next hand. Bauruzito, still alive with a short-stack, would shove 1.7 million as pintoelbajon made the call from the button. RagAAAila19 was not giving up the big blind and re-shoved for 9.9 million. Holding pocket jacks [Jc][Jd] the chip leader went for the double elimination as ragAAAila19 turned over [Kc][As] and bauruzito showed sevens [7c][7h]. A rivered king [4d] [6s] [3s] [Qh] [Kh] would put pintoelbajon's rout on hold but ragAAAila19 would collect bauruzito's bounty as bauruzito collected $14,436.14+$1,560.58 for fifth place.

After that heated string of hands, 15 minutes later with the blinds up to 140K/280K ante 35K SFisch4's stack felt the wraith of pintoelbajon and ragAAAila19 raising at will and taking the blinds. Holding 1.11 million left SFisch4 would shove over a small raise by ragAAAila19 with [Ah][7d]. Pintoelbajon joined the party from the big blind as both players checked to the river [5s] [Kh] [5c] [Js] [9h] as ragAAAila19 made a small bet chasing away pintoelbajon. Jacks and nines for ragAAAila19 [9d][Jh] was plenty to send SFisch4 out to sea in fourth place ($20,514.51+$309.11 in bounties).

One last player to dispose to start a heads-up match that has been simmering for the past two hours. Three hands after SFisch4 was released, Netonegao would try to break through this wall of chips with a three-bet shove for 3.86 million. But, pintoelbajon was going nowhere making the call with [Ah][Jh]. Bad news for Netonegao's [6h][Ac]. The [Ks] [Kc] [Jd] [2c] [8s] board did not improve things as Netonegao took away $26,592.89+$821.20 in bounties for third place.

While the story took a little turn after that early hand between the two but pintoelbajon with 27,773,596 chips and ragAAAila19 holding 26,256,404 the final sprint for the watch was about to begin.

Seven minutes into heads-up play pintoelbajon would score the first big hit. Raking in a 16.4 million chip pot after turning a flush and getting paid off by ragAAAila19's hand that will not be revealed until the replay. Five minutes after that pintoelbajon would call down ragAAAila19 after rivering a straight to snag a 14.9 million chip pot.

Down 47.5 million to 6.4 million ragAAAila19 look dead-in-the-water but managed to scrape and fight for the next 40 minutes until the blinds moved up to 250K/500K ante 62.5K. Still down 9.49 million to 44.5 million, ragAAAila19 found a decent ace [9h][As] and shoved over the limping pintoelbajon. The small bet had a pair of ladies [Qh][Qs] behind it as pintoelbajon quickly called. A glimpse of a wheel showed up but the [5h] [Th] [4c] [3d] [6c] board favored the SCOOP 2016 Event #13-M champion pintoelbajon who earned $47,457.50+$3,495.00 in bounties!

SCOOP-13-M ($82 NL Hold'em 8-Max, Progressive Knockout) results

Entrants: 5,403
Regular prize pool: $303,918.75
Bounty prize pool: $101,306.25
Places paid: 680

1. pintoelbajon (Argentina) $47,457.50 + $3,495.00 in bounties
2. ragAAAila19 (Romania) $32,671.26 + $3,604.41
3. Netonegao (Brazil) $26,592.89 + $821.20
4. SFisch4 (Canada) $20,514.51 + $309.11
5. bauruzito (Brazil) $14,436.14 + $1,506.58
6. pluis679 (Netherlands) $8,357.76 + $1,267.55
7. Genyss13 (Lithuania) $3,798.98 + $677.41
8. rooney69 (United Kingdom) $2,279.39 + $1,639.31

The first week's action is nearly complete, are you ready to claim your SCOOP watch? Click here to get a PokerStars account.

PokerStars has a lot of low-to-mid stakes sit & go grinders on the site, and the SCOOP-12-L event was their chance to shine and show off the skills that make them a living day in and day out. So many recreational players favour this format as well, due to the short time commitment required to play a game from start to end. This one's always popular and so it proved again. 

Brazil has had a remarkable start to the series and that run continued tonight as GhRibeiro won their seventh title, in just the 12th round of events. The player bettered a field of 3,354 players en route to the win and earned $13,176.26. The tournament had a guarantee of $50k but the great turnout saw that number swell to $82,340.70. 

There's a pretty easy target to make the money in a shootout tournament - win the first table. When we say easy, we mean easy to understand. Being a 6-Max in format, you have to deal with short-handed play, never get to move away from the player to your left, and then play a (potentially) fierce heads-up battle. And that's just for a min cash; GhRibeiro had to win three more tables to claim the title.   

Talking of min cashes. Fourteen PokerStars Pros dipped their toes into this one and three went on the make the money. Lex "L. Veldhuis" Velduis, Jamie "jamiestaples" Staples and Chris "Money800" Moneymaker all won their first round Sit & Go to secure a $135.03 payday, but all fell in their respective second rounds. 

Heads Up

Seat 4: GhRibeiro (34,545 in chips) 
Seat 6: berman As (25,455 in chips)
Blinds 200/400 (50 ante) 

The final table got down to the last two in a short amount of time which meant GhRibeiro and berman AS had a lot of chips to play with compared to that stage normally. They both settled into small ball approach, but all that changed 25 hands in. berman As 5x the big blind off the button and GhRibeiro went the time bank before three-betting out of the big blind. berman As's response was to move all-in for an effective 62.8 bbs with [ts][th] but GhRibeiro was sitting on [kd][ks] and called. The board ran blank and berman AS's stack dropped to 24 big blinds. Still plenty to play with but a position the player would never recover from.

Another 17 hands passed with berman As failing to get over 15k, and then it was all over the next hand. A limped pot brought a [qh][th][ad] flop and GhRibeiro check-raise-called the Bolivian's bet-shove.

GhRibeiro: [ah][5h] for top pair and nut flush draw.
berman As: [3h][7h] for a smaller flush draw.

berman As was in a world of pain and it was all over by the turn as the board ran out [qs][6s]. No glory for berman As but the $9,880.88 for play three spin & goes will ease the pain.

The final table

Seat 1: 85blackswan (10,000 in chips) 
Seat 2: AZUncle (10,000 in chips) 
Seat 3: IVIegahit (10,000 in chips) 
Seat 4: GhRibeiro (10,000 in chips) 
Seat 5: mindgamer (10,000 in chips)
Seat 6: berman As (10,000 in chips) 

Everyone who won their first table locked up $135.03; everyone who got through the second one saw their prize increase to $576.38; and going three in a row got you to the final table and a minimum payday of $2,042.04.

That's as far as mindgamer managed to go. The Austrian raised and was called by berman As along with 85blackswan. The flop fell [6s][ts][ad] and berman As raised mindgamer's c-bet. 85blackswan folded and the rest of the chips went in on the [kh] turn. The river came as the [7c] before mindgamer saw his set of kings had lost out to his opponent's [qc][jh] for a straight. 

The short-stacked IVIegahit was next to go. The Norwegian made a move from the button with [9c][7c] but eventual champion GhRibeiro was at behind with [ah][ks] and successfully re-shoved to isolate. The board ran blank and the final four remained. 

85blackswan went from having a straight to be straightened out, after berman As caught a river bluff all-in. The board read [2s][5s][kd][9h][kc] and berman As led and then tank called the shove holding [6c][6s]. It was a great call as 85blackswan opened [jd][tc] and was a goner. 

AZUncle had mostly kept out of the big confrontation but Mexican lost ace-over-ace to GhRibeiro before busting to the Brazilian the very next hand. Holding [kh][8d] in the small blind and sat on around 15 big blinds the player limped in and then called all-in after GhRibeiro shoved. It was a good call as GhRibeiro opened a dominated [kd][4d] but destiny brought a [2c][5d][6h][as][3c] board and a wheel, and the Brazilian would go on to fulfill a bigger destiny one exit later. 

SCOOP-12-L ($27 NL Hold'em 6-Max, Shootout) results
Entrants: 3,354
Total prize pool: $82,340.70
Places paid: 216

1. GhRibeiro (Brazil) $13,176.26
2. berman As (Bolivia) $9,880.88
3. AZUncle (Mexico) $7,410.66
4. 85blackswan (Austria) $4,940.44
5. IVIegahit (Norway) $3,293.62
6. mindgamer (Austria) $2,042.04

Event 12 was a big one on the 2016 Spring Champion of Online Poker schedule with the popular 6-Max Shootout titles set to run. The $2,100 buy-in high version of the tournament maxed out at 216 players on 36 tables with some of the top names in poker. When the dust settled, it was former TCOOP champion Nick "chilenocl" Yunis outlasting them all for his second major online title.

With the 216 player cap hit, every player had the same path to the top. Win three short-handed SNGs and get all the honors. First round winners were in all the money for a $4,773 min-cash but only the final table six would ladder up to earn a bigger piece of the $432,000 prize pool.

As the first day made its way towards the end, there were many big names trying to book their seat at the Day 2 final table including Shaun Deeb, Paul "paulgees81" Volpe, Keven "Stammdogg" Stammen, Artem "roi kin23" Litvinov, Chris "Big Huni" Hunichen, and Team PokerStars' George Danzer. None of those players would come back for the second day but we still a very talented group returning.

The final table lineup included three COOP champions, two Super Tuesday winners, a World Series of Poker Circuit ring holder, and somewhere near $15 million in career earnings.

Yunis earned his major online kudos in the HORSE event during the 2015 TCOOP series and the big win for WATnlos came with a Sunday Warmup title. Alex "bigfox86" Foxen won the 2015 SCOOP Ante Up Event #12-H to go along with his WSOP-C title from 2012.

Michael "munchenHB" Telker has over $7 million in earnings including a 2011 WCOOP title, Super Tuesday win, and he finished fourth in both the 2012 WCOOP and 2013 SCOOP Main Events. OLD TIME GIN is a regular in the big cash games and has a Super Tuesday win of his own plus a final table appearance during the 2013 WCOOP High Roller. Jimmy "jays94" Molloy rounded out the last six players and his $5.4 million in earnings include a runner-up finish a few days ago in Event #7-H.

Those six came back to 10K stacks and a slow structure. The levels kicked off at 15 minutes and capped at 30-minute for players who could make it an hour and a half into the final table. Player skills and deep stacks and room to maneuver set up a game that would take hours to complete, perfect for the amount of money on the line.

Seat 1: Michael "munchenHB" Telker
Seat 2: Nick "chilenocl" Yunis
Seat 3: Alex "bigfox86" Foxen
Seat 4: OLD TIME GIN
Seat 5: WATnlos
Seat 6: Jimmy "jays94" Molloy

Blinds: 50/100 with 10 Ante

jays94 gets 86'd, eliminated in 6th

As one would expect with six even stacks and 100 big blinds at the start, there was a lot of play in the early going with few big pots. The tough hands seemed to go the wrong way for Jimmy "jays94" Molloy and he was the shortest after 50 minutes of action.

He was down to 1,600 and put them in the middle with [as][kh] after OLD TIME GIN raised it up under the gun. The rest of the table let their hand go and OLD TIME GIN called with the dominated [kd][jd]. A good spot for Molloy until OLD TIME GIN added a flush draw on the [ad][8s][2d] flop.

The virtual dealer didn't wait until the river to deliver the bad news, it came right on the [7d] turn to give OLD TIME GIN the hand and send Molloy out first from the Shootout final table.

Chop it up

The biggest hand in the second hour of the final table produced little change in the stack sizes. Foxen and Yunis were heads-up to the [4s][4d][4c] flop when Foxen bet out 1,111 while everyone sat back and waited as Yunis kept losing his connection.

Yunis called the bet when he was reconnected and Foxen checked after the [2s] turn. Yunis bet 900 to get a call before the [as] river. This time, Foxen went with a check/raise all-in and Yunis called to create the 17K pot before it was split down the middle with them both holding an ace. Foxen was ahead until the river with [ah][qs] versus [ac][6c] and all he got for it was one extra chip from the odd-sized pot.

Foxen out-foxed, eliminated in 5th

Two hours into the final table and the stacks were still deep relative to the blinds, so it took two prime hands to get a lot of chips in the middle.

Telker began the hand with a raise under the gun and Foxen popped it up to 1,441 from the button. OLD TIME GIN three-bet to 3,425 from the small blind and Telker let his hand go. Foxen responded with a four-bet shove for 11,350 and OLD TIME GIN called after a moment's thought.

The WSOP-C champion was in trouble with [ac][jd] against OLD TIME GIN's [qc][qd] and things got a lot worse courtesy of the [qh][7h][2h] flop. Foxen needed running miracle cards but was drawing dead to 5th place after the [3s] turn, picking up $25,920 for his efforts.

Seat 1: Michael "munchenHB" Telker (20,287 in chips)
Seat 2: Nick "chilenocl" Yunis (7,678 in chips)
Seat 4: OLD TIME GIN (25,496 in chips)
Seat 5: WATnlos (6,539 in chips)

Blinds: 120/240 with 30 Ante

Yunis doubles through Telker

It didn't seem Nick Yunis was having any more connection issues and found a four-handed ace to put his chips to work. He was down to 4,432 and moved all-in from the small blind after Telker raised from the button.

OLD TIME GIN released his big blind hand and Telker called with [td][th]. Yunis had one overcard with [as][3h] and paired it up on the [ac][jc][7h] flop. Telker couldn't find a knockout ten as the board finished with the [2c] turn and [qh] river.

Seat 1: Michael "munchenHB" Telker (20,660 in chips)
Seat 2: Nick "chilenocl" Yunis (9,344 in chips)
Seat 4: OLD TIME GIN (21,472 in chips)
Seat 5: WATnlos (8,524 in chips)

Blinds: 160/320 with 40 Ante

Telker aced twice by Yunis, eliminated in 4th

The third hour of the final table rolled around when Telker ran into a short-handed cooler. He opened to 1,089 under the gun and Yunis three-bet to 2,100 on the button.

The blinds released their hands and Telker put in the rest of his 17K stack to receive the very definition of a snap-call from Yunis with [ad][as]. Telker needed help with [ah][qs] and caught a pair on the [qd][5d][5c] flop. That was as close as he would get as the board finished [kc][6c] to give Yunis the full double and knock Telker down to 2,300.

Telker picked up a double on the next hand but his comeback ended four hands later when he called a min-raise by Yunis to see the [ks][qc][7c] flop. He moved all-in with [9c][3c] and his flush draw was against [as][ac] which turned into a set on the [ah] turn.

The river blanked [9d] and Telker was eliminated in 4th place for $34,450.

Seat 2: Nick "chilenocl" Yunis (32,061 in chips)
Seat 4: OLD TIME GIN (14,258 in chips)
Seat 5: WATnlos (13,681 in chips)

Blinds: 250/500 with 60 Ante

Nick "chilenocl" Yunis adds a SCOOP in Event #12-H

The third-hour theme for Yunis continued into heads-up action and it took only 11 hands to settle the matter. OLD TIME GIN won seven straight pots in the middle but his attempt to catch a big double ran into another monster.

There were five bets to get all the chips involved when OLD TIME GIN shoved with [ac][qd] straight into the [kd][kc] of Yunis. There was never a sweat as the board quickly ran out [js][7s][4h][8h][ks] to end the match and give Yunis the title.

The final table lasted more than three hours with most of the action occurring in the last 30 minutes. OLD TIME GIN played a good game while others dropped around him but had to settle for runner-up money after the big run by Yunis.

Yunis added the second leg of the Triple COOP, this win going along nicely with his TCOOP HORSE title, and he earned $95,040 for beating a very tough field.

SCOOP-12-H ($2,100 NL Hold'em 6-Max, Shootout) results
Entrants: 216
Total prize pool: $432,000
Places paid: 36

1. Nick "chilenocl" Yunis (Chile) $95,040
2. OLD TIME GIN (Canada) $66,312
3. WATnlos (Germany) $49,680
4. Michael "munchenHB" Telker (Cyprus) $34,560
5. Alex "bigfox86" Foxen (United Kingdom) $25,920
6. Jimmy "jays94" Molloy (Canada) $17,280

It was entirely expected. On Tuesday morning I arrived at work and saw the same picture, the same headline, and the same result. I knew to expect it because it happened every year, whether it's SCOOP or any other Championship. And my reaction is always the same: dig out the last interview, make a "huh?" sound, and then scratching my head until I can find another way to ask "Andy McLEOD" what it's like to be James Obst.

On this occasion I was completely out. So, I resorted to basic curiosity, and given the likelihood that Obst would be neck deep in SCOOP for the duration, I kept the questions short, not wishing to impose.  

Obst at the PCA

So much for the fatigue on focusing purely on SCOOP for 15 days. Obst got back to me immediately. And while the questions are short and not exactly original, the answers most certainly are. Obst, now a four-time SCOOP winner, is one of those players you want to hear more from. Thankfully his habit of winning makes that prospect one of poker's rare certainties. 

On the first time he ever played online...

"It's a bit of a blur to me now. One of my friends on the Internet Chess Club often used to copy and paste the message you see in the chat box after he won pots  - "so and so wins pot ($10) with two pair" - I thought it seemed pretty damn cool. After my first experience learning poker at a home game I probably hit him up for a dollar and lost it at $0.02/0.04 Limit Hold'em!

On motivation...

Poker was a perfect fit for my personality, I knew it was something I could be good at so busting my meagre bankroll time after time was never a deterrent. Plus I figured one day if I won the $109 Rebuy enough times I'd get all the ladies, so that's still the main motivation of course. I figure I'm one win away... but that's what I thought the last time.

On having a regular job...

I haven't! Who knows what the future holds but it would be especially challenging to ever have to revert to regular now, having no background in regular... just as I'm sure it has been for many poker players.

On why he keeps playing...

My computer tends to find itself on regardless of my state of motivation, but generally I play for a couple of main reasons - the obvious one being that I could put whatever money I might win to good use; second being that I feel I've significantly underachieved up to now, for a number of reasons, so I don't want that to be the feeling I have when I stop playing.

On, one day, after poker...

I do have some big dreams outside of poker, but I tend to be a bit more low key than most and will keep them to myself for now :)

Until next time. 

We're the fifth of 12 days of SCOOP 2016. Here's the latest update with 37 of 165 tournaments (from 55 three-tiered events) now completed. 

Today's highlights:

* Shawn "buck21" Buchanan claims a fifth title
* Otitov of Russia wins big in the Super Tuesday
* Beeethoven87's SCOOP masterpiece

Round up of latest results

Buchanan took his fifth title in SCOOP 14-H, an Omaha H/L contest with 158 players. Buchanan secured the win after a one handed heads-up scrap against Us_Alex of Russia. Top prize was worth more than $82,000 to Buchanan. Will O'Connor was on hand with the report on the final table, which you can read here. 

The biggest win of the day was easily that of Otitov who won SCOOP 10-H, also known as the Super Tuesday Special Edition. With a field of more than 1,500 first prize was worth more than $235,000 to the Russia, after a two way deal with second placed Sinoire of Slovenia who took $214,571. Read Pauly McGuire's report on the event here. 

Lastly, Beeethoven87's win in SCOOP 14-M was not the richest, but it was arguably one of the most convincing. As Alex Villegas reported, Beeethoven87 conducted a white wash of his opponents, eliminating every player on his way to the $27,000 first prize, each elimination worthy of an encore.  

Find details of those results, and all of those from the Championship on our SCOOP 2016 results page, which also features links to all final table reports. 

Coming up today

SCOOP-15-L: $7.50 NL Hold'em [Ante Up], $50K Gtd (10:00 ET)
SCOOP-15-M: $82 NL Hold'em [Ante Up], $100K Gtd (10:00 ET)
SCOOP-15-H: $700 NL Hold'em [Ante Up], $200K Gtd (10:00 ET)
SCOOP-16-L: $11 NL Hold'em [Prog Super-KO], $100K Gtd (13:00 ET)
SCOOP-16-M: $109 NL Hold'em [Prog Super-KO], $300K Gtd (13:00 ET)
SCOOP-16-H: $1,050 NL Hold'em [Prog Super-KO, Thursday Thrill SE], $1M Gtd (13:00 ET)
SCOOP-17-L: $27 PL Omaha [Heads-Up], $25K Gtd - NO LATE REG (16:00 ET)
SCOOP-17-M: $215 PL Omaha [Heads-Up], $50K Gtd- NO LATE REG (16:00 ET)
SCOOP-17-H: $2,100 PL Omaha [Heads-Up], $150K Gtd - NO LATE REG (16:00 ET)

Check out the SCOOP 2016 homepage for more details. 

Playing to a finish today

SCOOP-12-L: $27 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Shootout], $50K Gtd - NO LATE REG
SCOOP-12-M: $215 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Shootout], $100K Gtd - NO LATE REG
SCOOP-12-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Shootout], $200K Gtd - NO LATE REG
SCOOP-13-M: $82 NL Hold'em [8-Max, Prog KO], $50K Gtd
SCOOP-13-H: $700 NL Hold'em [Prog Super-KO], $100K Gtd

Leader board

Päffchen leads, but James "Andy McLEOD" Obst's recent win puts him in second place. The familiar names of vovtroy, Shaundeeb and Colisea are not far behind. 

Check out the leader board for yourself on the SCOOP 2016 homepage, where you'll find the leaders in the low, medium and high categories, as well as what's at stake for the winners. 

The bottom line is simple: quarter of a million on the line for first place. Not too shabby of an ROI on a mere $1,050 investment. The second-richest prize in the first four days of SCOOP was up for grabs.

Russia's otitov outlasted a field of 1,525 runners including surviving a grueling marathon of final table in order to win the Super Tuesday Special Edition, which also pulled doubled duty as SCOOP Event #10-High. It appeared as though Anthony 'holdplz' Spinella was going to pull off a wire-to-wire victory in the Super Tuesday, but he got coolered and busted in fifth place.

The polarizing action at the final table oscillated between utter boredom and sheer exhilaration. But that's par for the course with poker, especially in deep-stacked tournaments with solid players downshifting gears to take advantage of 30-minute levels.In this instance, you could have watched Rounders (120-minute run time) three times in a row and you still would have time leftover to catch Rounders almost a fourth-time through during the prolonged heads-up match betweem Russia's otitov and Slovenia's Sinoire.

The Super Tuesday Special Edition was also the high version of Event #10-H $1,050 NL Hold'em. This particular 'special' incarnation attracted 1,525 runners. The Super Tuesday came with a $1 million guarantee, but it wasn't even close to kicking in when the prize pool tipped over $1.5 million. The top 171 places paid out with $259,250.00 set aside for the champ.

Deep run in Event #10-H for Team PokerStars Pro Akkari

Day 1 ended with only 149 players renaming. ThoNapalm bagged up the most chips with 420K. Team PokerStars Andre Akkari advanced to Day 2, but the Brazilian pro was among the short stacks.

On Day 2 Akkari had all of Brazil on the rail sweating his deep run in Event #10-H. Just when it looked like Akkari was poised for a huge comeback in the Super Tuesday, he was slayed down in brutal fashion much to the dismay of all of the Brazilian empire. Akkari four-bet shoved for 50,048 with [Qs][Qc] and bigstacked lulDocuments called with [Ks][Qh]. lulDocuments flopped a gutshot and rivered a Broadway straight to snap off Akkari's pocket Queens. Akkari busted in 71st place and took home $3,507.50.

With two tables to go, Anthony 'holdplz' Spinella passed 2M mark after dragging a 2.6M pot when his pocket Aces held up in a preflop raising war. He had gotten it all-in against Openshoves85's [Ad][Tc]. With 13 to go, holdplz became the first player to pass 3M. On the final table bubble holdplz continued to hold down the lead with 3.5M, while a trio of shorties treaded water below 1M.

The final ten played out a full level before someone busted. The board read [Kd][9s][7s][Ad][6h], sk2ll_m0dR checked, benatias tanked-bet 653,695, then sk2ll_m0dR semi-tanked before calling with only [Kh][2h] and a pair of Kings, presumably trying to pick off a bluff against benatias, who had top two after flopping a pair of Kings and turning two pait with [As][Kc]. benatias won the 1M pot and advanced to the final nine. Germany's sk2ll_m0dR bubbled off the final table in tenth place.

Event 10-H - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: otitov (1,282,904)
Seat 2: holdplz (3,239,945)
Seat 3: ThoNapalm (2,205,002)
Seat 4: benatias (1,356,050)
Seat 5: Sinoire (601,572)
Seat 6: jorginho88 (2,295,771)
Seat 7: Greenstone25 (2,469,434)
Seat 8: PureCash25 (1,196,712)
Seat 9: PISKER4VILDT (602,610)

The final table commenced during Level 35 with blinds at 9K/18K and 2,250 ante. holdplz advanced to the final table as the leader with 3.2M. A duo of shorties occupied the basement: Sinoire and PISKER4VILDT with approximately 600K each.

Anthony 'holdplz' Spinella won the first-ever WSOP online bracelet. He passed seven figures both online and in real life. He also went deep in a 2012 SCOOP event and also made a final table at the 2009 WCOOP. He took second in the Sunday Million back in 2007. He also shipped the "Monday Million" on Full Tilt five years ago for his biggest online score of $225K.

Johannes 'Greenstone25' Korsar has over $7.7M lifetime online earnings. He won an FCOOP title on PokerStars.fr in 2013. He also went deep at the first-ever WSOP Europe Main Event and made the final table.

Other notables at the final table included... Russia's otitov had a six-figure score when he shipped a WCOOP 2nd Chance in 2014... Croatia's ThoNapalm made a final table in Event #1-H... Nick "PureCash25" Rampone has been around the block a few times and even won the Super Tuesday in 2014.... jorginho88 won the Sunday Warm Up in 2014.

EYE KNOW: benatias eliminated in 9th place

By the time Level 38 began, no one had busted at the final table during the initial three levels of play, but holdplz was closing in on 4M. Late into Level 40, we saw the first elimination, then a few hands later, we had a second bustout. The proverbial flooddgates were opened.

Cooler time. Nothing is worse than running a big pair into another big pair while waiting around for a few hours to finally get a decent hand. Alas, that's benatias's sad story. After finally waking up with pocket Queens, benatias got ambushed by Kings. Rough, eh? Sinoire had four-bet shoved for 1,076,819 and benatias called all-in for 796,760. Sinoire led with [Kd][Kh] against benatias's [Qs][Qd]. The board -- [Ah][9c][6h][7d][2d] -- did not save benatias and pocket Kings held up for Sinoire. Israel's benatias became the first player to exit the final table. Ninth place was worth $16,470.00.

LITTLE BIT OF SOAP: PISKER4VILDT eliminated in 8th place

How about another cooler? Another tale of big pairs. This time it was Jacks into Aces. Big-stacked holdplz instigated the fracas when he opened to 79,875, jorginho88 just called, PISKER4VILDT shoved for 846,264, holdplz bailed, and jorginho88 called. PISKER4VILDT was in trouble with [Js][Jh] against jorginho88' [Ac][As]. However, PISKER4VILDT took the lead after flopping a set of Jacks. Alas, jorginho88 caught running clubs to win the pot with an Ace-high flush. Aces saved by the river flush. PISKER4VILDT's set of Jacks were no good. For an eighth-place finish, PISKER4VILDT earned $29,737.50.

With seven to go, holdplz chipped up to 4.8M and Greenstone25 was the shorty with 383K.

COOL BREEZE ON THE ROCKS: Greenstone25 eliminated in 7th place

It was time to pick any two cards and hope to do some damage. Greenstone25 made a final stand for 365,832 with [Jd][8h], but holdplz tried to pick him off with [Ah][Qh]. Neither player improved when the board ran out [Ts][7d][4h][2c][5c]. holdplz won the pot with Ace high. Sweden's Greenstone25 was dunzo in seventh place, which paid out $44,987.50.

TREAD WATER: PureCash25 eliminated in 6th place

And within an orbit, someone else bowed out. Shorty PureCash25 bombed it all-in for 237,066 and is all-in otitov re-shoved for 981,663 and holdplz called. Three-way.

holdplz: [Tc][Td]
otitov: [9d][9c]
PureCash25: [2d][2c]

Everyone showed up at the rumble with at least a pocket pair. Although the deuces would take the lead on the flop...only to relinquish it on the turn. The board ran out [Js][3c][2s][9h][4h]. otitov won the main pot and side pot with a set of nines (in a set over set situation). PureCash25 earned a nice chunk of cash. Sixth place paid out $60,237.50.

With five to go, holdplz was still the big stack with 4.7M followed by jorginho88's 3.8M. Sinoire was the shorty be default with 1.8M.

CHANGE SPEAK: holdplz eliminated in 5th place

Two of the biggest stacks rumbled and the results were disastrous for holdplz. jorginho88 opened to 96,000, holdplz raised to 306,525, jorginho88 re-raised to 603,600, holdplz shoved for 3,202,253, and jorginho88 had him covered and called. Yeah, you guessed it. Another premium pair vs. premium pair!

jorginho88: [Kc][Kh]
holdplz: [Jh][Jc]

jorginho88 was ahead with Kings but both players would make a four-flush by the river, with jorginho88 dragging the pot with a Ace-King club flush. The board finished up [Ac][7c][4d][3c][Tc]. For a fifth-place performance, Anthony' holdplz' Spinella earned $75,487.50.

With four to go, jorginho88 held more than half the chips in play with 7.5M.

POTHOLES IN MY LAWN: ThoNapalm eliminated in 4th place

Action slowed down a bit once it got four-handed. Short-stacked ThoNapalm was the next player to hit the bricks. jorginho88 opened to 135,000 and ThoNapalm called. The flop was [6c][3c][2s]. ThoNapalm checked, jorginho88 bet 221,000, ThoNapalm called. The turn was the [3h]. ThoNapalm check-called a 447,400 bet from jorginho88. The [4d] fell on the river and ThoNapalm shoved for 1,509,850. jorginho88 called.

ThoNapalm: [Kc][3s]
jorginho88: [Qs][5s]

ThoNapalm turned trip treys but lost to jorginho88's rivered six-high straight. For a fourth-place performance, ThoNapalm collected $103,700.00. With three to go, jorginho88 led with 9.5M, or twice as much as the other two stacks combined.

DEAL? NOPE

With three remaining, they decided to discuss a deal. jorginho88 led with a massive lead and a 9.9M stack, followed by Sinoire (3.1M) and otitov (2.1M). Any deal had to leave $20,000 on the table for the winner. Both ICM and chip chop numbers were floated. Sinoire liked the ICM numbers but otitov rejected both numbers and wanted to play on.

DEAL 2.0? NOPE 2.0

After the chips were slightly redistributed during a level, action was paused a second time to discuss a deal. jorginho88's lead was trimmed a bit to 7M, whereas otitov chipped up to second overall with 5.6M, followed by Sinoire's 2.5M. The numbers were floated but jorginho88 wanted a chip chop or no deal. The difference for the big stack was $209,307.46 vs. $204,987.06. Shorty Sinoire wanted at least 180K, or more than 9K more. jorginho88 laughed and said, "Let's play." For a second time in a row, deal negotiations collapsed. Action resumed without a deal in place.

THE MAGIC NUMBER: jorginho88 eliminated in 3rd place

Once the deal fell apart, you had a sense the final three were really out for blood. Tedium and fatigue had set in, and someone was on the edge of breaking. Then it happened. One of the biggest pots of the tournaments occurred. One player had pocket Queens cracked and the other got it all in on a straight flush draw. jorginho88's [Qh][Qc] lost to Sinoire's [6s][5s]. The money went in on a flop of [9h][4s][3s]. Sinoire whiffed on the straight flush, but turned a straight to win the 7.4M pot. jorginho88 crashed hard and became the shorty, while Sinoire rocketed into the lead.

Three hands later, jorginho88 met his fate after losing with [Qc][9h] against otitov's [Ac][Ks]. Both players rivered a four-flush, but otitov won the pot with the nut flush. For a third place finish, Portugal's jorginho88 earned $144,722.50.

HEADS-UP: otitov (Russia) vs. Sinoire (Slovenia)
Seat 1: otitov (7,696,054)
Seat 5: Sinoire (7,553,946)

Nearly six hours after the final table began, the final heads-up match was set. Both players were virtually deadlocked. They decided to chop up the rest of the cash and play out for the bling.

DEAL 3.0... YES!

Shrewd negotiating pays off! With both players even in chips, they discussed a deal for a third time. They had to leave $20,000 on the table (plus the Movado watch and the bracelet), but they agreed to a money chop: otitov with $215,303.56 and Sinoire with $214,571.44. With a deal in place, action resumed.

Heads-up would last nearly 90 minutes. The lead swapped hands too many times to count, but over the first 80 or so minutes, neither player could successfully bust the other. Eventually, otitov started to pull away and opened up a sizable advantage.

ME MYSELF AND I: Sinoire eliminated in 2nd place; otitov wins the SCOOP bracelet

There was a moment when this table might not ever end. Then again, the theme of this final table was "cooler city." Seemed like every big bustout occurred in a cooler-type situation. In the final hand, it took a set of dueces to crack pocket eights to settle this Super Tuesday Special Edition.

Going into the final hand, otitov led with 13.5M and had Sinoire on the ropes with 1.75M. otitov did not waste any time and open-shoved for 13,475,766, and Sinoire called all-in for 1,624,234. Sinoire was looking good with [8d][8s] against otitov's [2c][2h]... until the turn. Alas, the board ran out [Tc][9h][6h][2d][Ad] and otitov turned a set of deuces to win the pot and the tournament. Sinoire was knocked out in second place, which paid out $214,571.44.

Congrats to Russia's otitov for winning Event #10-H. The Super Tuesday Special Edition paid out $235,303.56, in addition to a champion's watch by Movada.

SCOOP-10-H ($1,050 NL Hold'em, Super Tuesday SE) results
Entrants: 1,525
Total prize pool: $1,525,000
Places paid: 171

1. otitov (Russia) $235,303.56 *
2. Sinoire (Slovenia) $214,571.44 *
3. jorginho88 (Hungary) $144,722.50
4. ThoNapalm (Croatia) $103,700.00
5. holdplz (Mexico) $75,487.50
6. PureCash25 (Canada) $60,237.50
7. Greenstone25 (Sweden) $44,987.50
8. PISKER4VILDT (Denmark) $29,737.50
9. benatias (Israel) $16,470.00
* denotes a deal between the final two players

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