As we head into the weekend we take a look forward to, and back on, the top stories from the PokerStars world.

1. Fifth anniversary of a perfect (Sunday) Storm

Let's start with the weekend's priorities, and the fifth anniversary of the Sunday Storm, or to put it another way, the most cost effective way of earnings a $100,000 payday this weekend. 

There's $1 million in the prize pool guaranteed with things kicking off at 13:30 ET this Sunday April 17. And did we mention this was all yours for a mere $11?

What's more there's a subtle change to celebrate the fifth year. If you bust out before late registration ends (that's 15:30 ET) you can re-enter all over again. 

Then there's the even better scenario of winning one of the 2,000 seats guaranteed in featured satellites on Sunday, costing as little as $0.11. Search "Storm" in the tournament filter not to get registered. 

For all the details go to the Sunday Storm Fifth Anniversary homepage.

2. Huge numbers and "cards up" at Monaco

I don't know if you've heard, but we're having a little get together in Monaco later this month. We'd love it if you could make it. 

We have plenty of space at our little Riviera bolt-hole known as the Monte Carlo Bay Resort & Casino and we're laying on 11 days of poker to fill the time between beautiful Mediterranean mornings (whether you've slept a lot), and mild and memorable evenings. 

We've left directions for you here, and if you're wondering what the entertainment will be like then this might give you some idea. 

In short we're expecting a good crowd of like-minded people, and about 80 different ways to make it a rewarding trip. 

Talking of which, check out the latest EPT Not Live podcast...

"After reading a few random tweets, and working their way through some suggestions for  grandparent names for Joe's mum and dad, the boys "Activate the HOLPOPE!" Neil Johnson is on the show to discuss a BIG change to #EPTLive in Monaco (the interview/announcement starts at around the 15-minute mark). James and Joe recap their weekend playing the UKIPT London Cup at the Hippodrome, with some fun stories and interesting hand histories, and Joe talks about his deep run in a tournament on PokerStars NJ in a genuine edition of 'Adventures in Online Poker'. There's a quick review of the last EPT 11 Grand Final TV show. And Zuly Bonilla from NYC competes for some "Chop Pot" goodies in a highbrow edition of 'Superfan vs Stapes'. #EPTNotLive"

Click here to listen to Episode 42.

3. One word: SCOOP

That's this month. But this week we looked to next month also, and the release of the SCOOP 2016 schedule. It's what May is all about. 

This year there are 55 events, each with three levels of entry (a total of 165 tournaments), running May 8 to 22, 2016. Amid that you'll find all manner of events, suiting all conceivable bankrolls. That means SCOOP is for you, whether you're a high rolling pro, an aspiring improver, or a recreational dreamer. 

Here are a few of the highlights:

* 13 events featuring at least a $1 million guaranteed prize pool.
* A $1 million (Low), $2 million (Medium) and $4 million (high) guaranteed three-day Main Event, with buy ins of $100, $1,000 and $10,000 respectively.
* A combined $40 million in guaranteed prize money across 165 tournaments.

As in previous years there will be three SCOOP Leader Boards, one for each level, plus an additional Overall winner, with cash, trophies and WCOOP tickets to be won. Find all the details on the SCOOP leader board homepage. If you have any other questions about this year's Championship, you'll likely you're your answer on the SCOOP FAQs. 

4. Surfer finds $350K on Everest

We got a great story out of the first running of the Mountain Series. If you're not familiar with how it worked, it ran for four days across last weekend, with tournaments named after different mountains from around the world - the higher the mountain the higher the buy-in.

Logically this meant the Series ended atop Mount Everest, where Costa Rican pro Federico "majagua69" Quevedo, a 32 year old surfing fanatic, won $350,280, the highest amount ever won by a Costa Rican player online. 

We wrote up the story on the PokerStars Blog, which you can read here. And if you don't read it at least stop by to see some great pictures, a bit like this one:

Federico Quevado enjoying some down time.

5. A bad hand, a bad swing, it's all the same thing

Does poker have a spiritual cousin in the sporting world? Some of us think so, and that cousin's name is golf. 

Last weekend at the Augusta National the Masters golf concluded in dramatic fashion, with one ten minute period spelling the end of Jordan Spieth's title claims. Ten minutes, with four shots from an otherwise immaculate four days of play. 

Daniel Negreanu getting the best of both worlds on the golf course

Does that sound a bit like tournament poker? Days of great poker ruined by a bad hand, often owing to circumstances out of your control?

Read the article and find out why as a poker player you're really just a golfer playing Amen Corner at the Masters. 

Good luck at the tables this weekend, particularly if you're in the Sunday Storm or looking for a last minute invitation to our little gathering in Monaco. As always send your comments to us on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog. 

More than 300 qualifiers registered for Main Event which will be streamed live from Day 2

The PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final, which starts in less than two weeks, has witnessed a record number of online qualifiers, PokerStars announced today. 

The Season 12 finale, which joins forces with the regional France Poker Series (FPS), will feature 80 events over 11 days at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. Among the Team PokerStars players set to compete at this season's Grand Final are Brazilian football legend Ronaldo Nazario, who is looking to better his 26th-place finish at PCA 2015 and Daniel Negreanu, who is the highest-earning live tournament player of all time with more than $32 million in winnings.

MASSIVE NUMBERS IN MONACO

The €5,300 EPT Main Event field will feature 302 qualifiers, including 121 players who managed to turn just €10 into a €9,000 prize package via the EPT Spin & Go tournaments. The number of online qualifiers this season has already beaten the Season 10 record of 210. More than 155 players have also qualified for this season's €1,100 FPS Monaco Main Event. 

Numerous players won their seat for just a few euros, with British poker professional Ben Dobson heading to Monaco after investing just €4.22. He will be joined in Monaco by 12 other players who have qualified for €55 or less. An additional two players won full packages after victory in the Team Pro Online Week freeroll. EPT satellites are running daily on PokerStars until April 26, with the final FPS Monaco satellite taking place on April 24.

Edgar Stuchly, PokerStars' Director of Live Events, said: "We're very excited about this season's finale. We reduced the Main Event buy-in to give additional players a chance to join us and that's exactly what has transpired with a record number of online qualifiers set to compete in this prestigious event. For all our regulars, as well as all those coming to an EPT for the very first time, we extend a very warm welcome to Monaco."

DAILY CARDS-UP BROADCAST

EPTLive will broadcast seven days of cards-up* action, starting with the Super High Roller and FPS Monaco Main Event final tables. Viewers can then follow the EPT Main Event from Day 2 through to the final table. This will be the first time an EPT tournament has featured daily 'as-live' cards-up coverage before the final table and is part of PokerStars' drive to continuously evolve its live event experience. More than 300 qualifiers registered for Main Event which will be streamed live from Day 2

Neil Johnson, PokerStars' Head of Live Poker Operations Europe, joined James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton on the latest episode of the EPT Not Live podcast to discuss the change: http://www.soundcloud.com/eptnotlive

*Cards-Up: 30-minute delayed broadcast with players' hole cards displayed on screen

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

The first major tournament of this season's festival is the new €10,000 High Roller, starting on April 26. The €1,000 FPS Monaco Main Event, the debut event of FPS Season 6, starts the following day. Last season, the event attracted 993 entries and was won by German player Sebastian Supper for €177,000. The EPT Main Event was won by Adrian Mateos for €1,082,000, giving Spain its first ever EPT champion after the 20-year-old defeated a 564-strong field.

One of the schedule's highlights, the €150 buy-in charity event on April 30, will raise funds for the EPT's official charity partner Right To Play, with a host of Team PokerStars Pros are expected to take part including Fatima de Melo, George Danzer, Vanessa Selbst, Celina Lin, Johnny Lodden, and Theo Jorgenson and amazing prizes up for grabs. 

This year's festival also includes several events making their Grand Final debut, including Monaco's first live Spin & Go tournaments with buy-ins ranging from €50 to €500. Players will have a chance to win the biggest prize yet, with the wheel awarding up to €10,000 per €500 spin in the three-handed game. 

#STARSFUN

#StarsFun activities taking place at the festival include a Multi-Sports Simulator contest with the overall winner snagging an Estrellas Barcelona Main Event package and. The EPT Grand Final Player Party will be taking place at the exclusive Jimmy'z nightclub - located in the same building as the event.

EUROPEAN POKER AWARDS

Other highlights include the 2016 European Poker Awards on May 3 at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel. This year's nominees include EPT photographer Neil Stoddart, PokerStars' Director of Live Events Edgar Stuchly and PokerStars Tournament Director Thomas Lamatsch, as well as last season's EPT Barcelona, EPT Prague and EPT Grand Final Main Events and Estrellas Poker Tour Barcelona. Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree will also attend to collect her award for winning the GPI Women's European Player of the Year category. 

KEY TOURNAMENT DATES

April 26-28, 2016 Single Re-Entry High Roller €10,000 + €300
April 27-May 1, 2016 FPS Main Event €1,000 + €100
April 28-30, 2016 Super High Roller €98,000 + €2,000
April 29-30, 2016 FPS High Roller €2,000 + €200
April 30-May 6, 2016 EPT Main Event €5,000 + €300
May 1, 2016 Single Day Super High Roller €49,000 + €1,000
May 4-6, 2016 EPT High Roller €25,000 + €750

For full details for the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT 12 schedule, please see: europeanpokertour.com

The nine who made this week's Super Tuesday final table on PokerStars were playing from nine different countries -- Argentina, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Slovenia -- not atypical for the weekly $1,050 no-limit hold'em contest that routinely attracts online poker's best players from all over the globe.

Those nine fought gamely, with a heads-up battle lasting over an hour concluding the night. When the last hand was dealt it was the Argentinian, Javiér "rasta25″ Venegas, claiming the final pot and the week's first prize of $101,840. Here's the story of how Venegas did it.

A total of 536 turned out for this week's Super Tuesday, that group building a prize pool of $536,000 that once again well exceeded the tournament's $425K guarantee.

It would take right at five-and-a-half hours for the field to play down to 63 and the money bubble to burst, at which point Mohsin "sms9231" Charania led the way.

About two hours later they were down to 18, with Charania down to a short stack and Willy "Wilmy_x" Arandazi the new chip leader. Jeff "kidwhowon" Gross was also still in the mix with an average stack, having been sharing his deep run with his Twitch followers all day and night.

Joaquin "elmelogno4" Melogno was the next out in 18th, with Charania following him to the rail in 17th and PreyOnDaLine in 16th. Those three each earned $4,288 for their finishes.

They crossed the tournament's eight-hour mark, then DonkCommitted fell in 15th and after losing his lead Willy "Wilmy_x" Arandazi was knocked out in 14th. Heide "heidi-bean" May followed in 13th, and those three each took away $5,360.

Next it was recent Sunday Million winner Damianos "damourinio" Aslanidis (12th), Oscar "KungKroon" Kroon (11th), and Phil "Grindation" McAllister (10th) hitting the rail, with that trio cashing for $6,432 apiece.

As the tourney approached nine hours, the final table began with Secret_M0d3 the new chip leader.

Seat 1: Secret_M0d3 (Slovenia) -- 552,974
Seat 2: Javiér "rasta25″ Venegas (Argentina) -- 217,734
Seat 3: Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez (Czech Republic) -- 492,710
Seat 4: Sergi "srxakgirona" Reixach (Mexico) -- 71,103
Seat 5: Jeff "kidwhowon" Gross (Canada) -- 196,389
Seat 6: wilywonka10 (Slovakia) -- 115,906
Seat 7: Paul "_pauL€FauL_" Höfer (Germany) -- 271,169
Seat 8: Benny "toweliestar" Spindler (Austria) -- 494,015
Seat 9: Graftekkel (Netherlands) -- 268,000

A few orbits went by, then with the blinds at 4,000/8,000 it was Sergi "srxakgirona" Reixach open-pushing for 116,806 from the hijack seat, then wilywonka10 three-bet shoving for about three times that stack from the button, forcing folds from both blinds. Reixach had [Ac][Jh] and was behind wilywonda10's [Ad][Qd], and five cards later -- [5c][6h][3d][8c][Qh] -- Reixach was on the rail in ninth.

About 15 minutes after that Secret_M0d3 min-raised to 18,000 from under the gun, and after Jeff "kidwhowon" Gross reraised all in for his last 92,589 it folded back around to the chip leader who thought a short while before calling. Secret_M0d3 had [As][6s] while Gross had [Tc][Th], and the latter was still ahead after the [6d][Qd][Js] flop and [Qs] turn. But the [2s] made a flush for Secret_M0d3, knocking out Gross for about 12 "sandbags" (as he refers to thousand-dollar bundles on his Twitch stream).

A little while after that Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez lost a preflop all-in to Paul "_pauL€FauL_" Höfer when the latter's ace-queen outdrew Gonzalez's pocket jacks. Then on the very next hand Gonzalez raised again from early position, and Secret_M0d3 -- who'd slipped back to the pack -- reraise-pushed from the big blind for 232,318 total (not quite 20 BBs).

Gonzalez called, having [Qd][Qh] this time while Secret_M0d3 was the one with [Jd][Jc]. The [Ks][9c][Qs][8h][2h] gave Gonzalez a set and left Secret_M0d3 unimproved and out in seventh.

A while after that wilywonka10 raised 2x to 28,000 from early position, Paul "_pauL€FauL_" Höfer made it 76,145 to go from the next seat over, wilywonka10 shoved for 315,999 total, and Höfer called.

wilywonka10 had [Ad][Js] but had run into Höfer's [As][Ac]. The board went [8c][Ks][Qh][Ah][6s], giving Höfer the pot and stopping wilywonka10 in sixth.

A little over five minutes later Benny "toweliestar" Spindler min-raised to 28,000 from UTG and was called by Paul "_pauL€FauL_" Höfer in the big blind. The flop came [5d][3d][Th], Höfer checked, Spindler continued for 30,000, Paul "_pauL€FauL_" Höfer check-raised all in, and Spindler called off the 163,120 he had left.

Spindler showed [Ah][As] this time for the overpair, but Höfer had flopped two pair with his [5h][3h]. The turn and river -- [Ks], then [Qc] -- didn't help Spindler, and the EPT8 London Main Event champion fell in fifth.

Höfer soon had over a million and the chip lead with four left, then came a hand in which Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez opened for 29,260 from UTG (just over 2x), then Höfer three-bet to 81,235 from the button. The blinds folded and Gonzalez called, then he checked following a devilish-looking [6h][6c][6s] flop. Höfer bet 58,345 and Gonzalez called, then after the [7d] turn Gonzalez checked again. Höfer fired once more -- 147,675 this time -- and Gonzalez called.

The river was the [Qc]. Gonzalez checked a third time, and after Höfer shoved all in, Gonzalez called wiht the 551,347 he had left, turning over [Ac][Kd] for the three sixes on the board plus his two kickers. But Höfer had [Qs][9d] for sixes full of queens, and Gonzalez -- who just won the Super Tuesday in January -- was done in fourth.

With Höfer now well in front the blinds moved up to 9,000/18,000 when Höfer limped in from the small blind, Graftekkel raised to 63,000 from the big, Höfer shoved, and Graftekkel called all in with the 247,439 behind.

Höfer had [Kc][Qd] while Graftekkel was hoping [8h][8s] would hold. The [9s][Qs][6c] then swung the edge Höfer's way, and after the [Jh] turn and [5s] river, Graftekkel's run had ended in third.

With that pot Paul "_pauL€FauL_" Höfer had 1,905,421 to enjoy a big lead over the 774,579 of Javiér "rasta25″ Venegas to start heads-up play.

The pair played about 15 minutes to reach the tournament's nine-hour mark, with Höfer still comfortably in front. Over the next half-hour Venegas gradually began chipping back, then Höfer won a big one to move back close to 2 million.

Then came a hand in which the pair battled to the river where Höfer made a bold all-in raise with queen-high and Venegas called with two pair, pushing him up over 1.8 million and into the lead. Finally -- about an hour and 10 minutes after the heads-up duel had begun -- the final hand took place.

It started with a min-raise to 70,000 by Höfer, with Venegas responding with a three-bet to 159,999. Höfer called, and the flop came [8h][6c][2c]. Venegas fired a 139,999 continuation bet, Höfer called, and the pair watched the turn bring the [Qh]. This time Venegas checked, and when Höfer pushed all-in with his last 594,889, Venegas called right away.

Höfer had [Jh][Th] for a heart flush draw plus a gutshot while Venegas had turned two pair with [Qc][8s]. The river then brought the [Ts] and it was all over -- Venegas had won.

Congratulations to Javiér "rasta25″ Venegas who after making multiple Latin American Poker Tour final tables managed to top this week's tough Super Tuesday field and talented, international final table to earn a handsome six-figure payday.

4/12/16 Super Tuesday ($1,050 No-Limit Hold'em) results
Entrants: 536
Prize pool: $536,000.00
Places paid: 63

1. Javiér "rasta25″ Venegas (Argentina)
2. Paul "_pauL€FauL_" Höfer (Germany)
3. Graftekkel (Netherlands) $54,940.00
4. Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez (Czech Republic) $41,808.00
5. Benny "toweliestar" Spindler (Austria) $29,480.00
6. wilywonka10 (Slovakia) $22,780.00
7. Secret_M0d3 (Slovenia) $17,420.00
8. Jeff "kidwhowon" Gross (Canada) $12,060.00
9. Sergi "srxakgirona" Reixach (Mexico) $8,897.60

You have to ask yourself, what was a man who lives to surf doing at the top of Mount Everest? Well, winning of course.

That's what Federico "majagua69" Quevedo does when he's riding a wave, and also when he's grinding at the day job. For Quevado, 32, is a surfer, a good one, as well as being a great poker player. To prove the former let me present the pictures below. I'll let his win in the Mountain Series yesterday speak to the latter.

Back from Everest: Federico Quevado

That Series concluded yesterday atop Mount Everest, so to speak, an event with a $2,100 buy in, a prize pool of nearly $2 million and a first prize of $350,280. It capped off a string of tournaments that began in the foothills of Mount Sugarloaf and, after trouncing up the likes of Olympus, the Matterhorn and Kilimanjaro, concluded on top of the world. 

Quevado in surf mode

Which is about where Quevado is right now. Nicknamed "Majagua", the Costa Rican dedicated his win to his friend Juan Carlos Egea, a fellow Costa Rican grinder who died recently. It's in his memory that Quevado now holds the record for the biggest online cash by a Costa Rican. It's something Quevado said he was proud about, but a record he intended to beat during SCOOP next month. 

Federico Quevado on dry land

For now he'll celebrate the win back at ground level, or at least sea level on Jaco beach. That's his home, but also to a large neighbourhood of ex-pats who grind. Few though unwind in such heroic fashion. 

Congratulations to him on a record breaking win. 

Ready to sign up for PokerStars? Click here to get an account.

Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

Raise your wrist, look down to your fancy watch, and start counting the minutes, because it's just about time for the biggest Spring Championship of Online Poker in history. Don't have a watch? Then just start counting and you might just win a really nice one (not to mention a lot of money).

That's right, friends, SCOOP is on the way, and with 55 events (and three buy-ins per event), we're set to see a monster tournament series.

Running May 8-22, SCOOP will be the biggest and richest tournament festival you'll find online. What's more, you don't have to be a high roller to win a championship. Each of the the events has a low, medium, and high buy-in tournament, so no matter the size of your roll, you can get in action.

How much action will there be? Well, over the course of the series, PokerStars will pay out more than $40,000 in guaranteed prize money. That will include at least $7,000,000 in the three Main Events on May 22.

SCOOP will once again host a Player of the Series race. Each of the three buy-in levels will have their own contests with cash and tournament ticket prizes. What's more, the overall winner will get $20,000 in cash and a Player of the Series trophy.

As we have every year since SCOOP's inception, the PokerStars Blog will have complete coverage of the series with final table wrap-ups of every event. We'll also be featuring some of the most colorful winners with some spotlight coverage. We'll also be keeping a very close eye on the Player of the Series race. After all, it sometimes gets pretty interesting.

To wit: Just last year, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier had an amazing SCOOP and finished atop the 2015 SCOOP overall leader board.

Who will it be this year? Only time will tell...speaking of which, there is also the matter of the watches. Each SCOOP champion gets a specialized Movada watch along with whatever prize money comes for first place. So, this time next year, you could be keeping time with your championship trophy.

Don't feel like you have time to waste? Keep your eye out for SCOOP satellites starting for as little as $0.11 or 1 StarsCoin. There will also be special VIP events throughout the run-up to SCOOP. You can read more about all of the above at the SCOOP Frequently Asked Questions page.

For all the details you need about SCOOP, its schedule, and its player of the series race, visit the 2016 Spring Championship of Online Poker home page.

Good luck!