For players pursuing the elusive Triple COOP, the TCOOP title can sometimes be the toughest of the three to chase down. TCOOP's turbo structures tend to make things a little more chaotic than during, say, a SCOOP or WCOOP tournament. But for buzzard1881, who took down a second COOP title in TCOOP Event #6, catching a few breaks at the right time today guarantees that the rest of 2016 will hold literally dozens of non-turbo opportunities to join the Triple COOP club.

The field for today's event, which had no late registration and started at 10:00 a.m. ET, was 1,672 players, good for a $125,400 prize pool. The top 216 players - those who won their first two tables - cashed for at least $205.65, with $877.80 going to the players who busted from the semifinal tables. Those kicked off at 1:37pm ET, and it took an hour and eight minutes for them to play out completely. Once they did, these six winners of four tables apiece were left to compete for the first shootout title of TCOOP 2016:

Seat 1: buzzard1881 (5,000 in chips)
Seat 2: Avi Popo (5,000 in chips)
Seat 3: Knakworst93 (5,000 in chips)
Seat 4: Mrcaimann (5,000 in chips)
Seat 5: madnutscrazy (5,000 in chips)
Seat 6: Rodrigo "caprioli" Caprioli (5,000 in chips)

The first major action came on the 30/60 level when Mrcaimann opened for 150 on the button and madnutscrazy came along in the small blind to see the [2c] [Jh] [9h] flop. madnutscrazy check-raised Mrcaimann's bet of 180 to 420, and Mrcaimann called there and after madnutscrazy led for 528 on the [3c] turn. madnutscrazy then check-called a bet of 720 on the [5d] river, mucking when Mrcaimann turned over [Jc] [9c] for two pair, jacks and nines. That 3,696-chip pot gave Mrcaimann a stack worth 6,638 chips and the lead heading into the first break of the final table.

Mrcaimann grabbed another 1,535 chips nine minutes after the break without having to show down a hand, four-betting on the button after an opening raise to 225 under the gun by buzzard1881 and a re-raise to 550 from Avi Popo. But the biggest pot yet for the player from the U.K. came four minutes later after raising in the cutoff with [Td] [9d], flopping a combination flush-and-open-ended-straight draw, catching the straight on the turn of the [Ad] [8d] [7s] [Js] [Jc] board, and getting three streets of value out of buzzard1881, who had called the initial raise from the big blind.

After that 4,946-chip pot went to Mrcaimann, the chip counts looked like this with blinds and antes at 50/100/10:

Seat 1: buzzard1881 (3,166 in chips)
Seat 2: Avi Popo (4,803 in chips)
Seat 3: Knakworst93 (4,590 in chips)
Seat 4: Mrcaimann (11,681 in chips)
Seat 5: madnutscrazy (1,380 in chips)
Seat 6: caprioli (4,380 in chips)

Mrcaimann used the ammunition to try to take out the shorter stacks, but without success. First madnutscrazy, winner of a Sunday Kickoff last year, survived all-in against the leader in a blind-versus-blind showdown, calling with [Jd] [Td] after Mrcaimann shoved from the small blind with [Kc] [4c]. madnutscrazy caught top pair, turned a jack-high straight, and dodged any clubs on the river to chip up to 2,778. Mrcaimann got those chips back quickly enough through sheer aggression, but then buzzard1881 got all-in behind with [Ah] [9h] against Mrcaimann's [Tc] [Th], flopped an ace, and seized the lead with 7,546 chips.

The loss dropped Mrcaimann to second place, but not that far behind at 7,378 chips. But with the blinds and antes now up to 125/250/30, the momentum now shifted to buzzard1881, who picked up two pocket pairs and put that chip lead to work. First the Canadian player successfully isolated with [7d] [7s] after short-stacked madnutscrazy open-shoved, winning the flip against madnutscrazy's [Kc] [Th] on the [5h] [4d] [3c] [2d] [Qs] board to eliminate the player from India in 6th place ($3,109.92).

Four hands after that came a bigger score. buzzard1881 picked up [Js] [Jh] and called in the big blind after Knakworst93 open-shoved for 5,155 chips. The Dutch player's [6c] [6h] didn't improve on the [Qd] [Kc] [2s] [5h] [Ah] board, and Knakworst93 was gone in 5th place ($5,016).

buzzard1881 took a swing for the fences four hands later, calling with [7d] [7h] in the big blind after Avi Popo jammed for 2,800, but the Latvian player's [Ac] [Tc] caught an ace on the flop for the double-up. Eight hands later Avi Popo looked to be in position for another double at buzzard1881's expense, after opening under the gun with [Ad] [Qs] and being re-raised by buzzard1881 with [Ah] [8h]. But then the flop came [Jh] [8c] [Jc], and suddenly Avi Popo needed an ace, king, or queen to stay in the game. The [Js] and [4s] came instead, and Avi Popo was out in 4th place ($7,524).

With the table three-handed, the blinds and antes at 150/300/35 and rising, and buzzard1881's lead at almost 10,000 chips, a deal was struck. Mrcaimann had the shortest stack but asked for a bit more than ICM, citing a track record at sit-and-go tournaments. Then something interesting happened. Before three-time SCOOP champion Rodrigo "caprioli" Caprioli could add anything, buzzard1881 offered to give up $400 not just to Mrcaimann, but to caprioli as well, and offered up this nugget of humility:

buzzard1881: biggest holdem score im a fish

caprioli: lol

That sealed the deal and with $2,000 left on the table for the victor, the path to the tournament's end was clear. caprioli opened the second hand for the minimum on the button, holding [4c] [4s], and called quickly when buzzard1881 shoved from the small blind. But the leader held [Kd] [Kh], which stood up after the board came [Qh] [3d] [Td] [3c] [9h] and sent caprioli to the rail in 3rd place ($14,841.50), two spots shy of a fourth career COOP title.

Four hands later Mrcaimann picked up [Qh] [8s] and shoved on the button, and buzzard1881 called with [Kc] [7c]. Mrcaimann flopped top pair but buzzard1881 caught up with a club flush on the river of the [2s] [5c] [8d] [4c] [2c] board to end the game.

Mrcaimann took $14,018.13 from the deal, a little less than last year's winnings after making a four-way deal in SCOOP Event #17-L. As for buzzard1881, the winner's share was worth $17,539.45. Even more notably, it's a second career COOP title after WCOOP 2013's Event #42, adding a little more anticipation to this year's SCOOP and WCOOP series. Congratulations to both players for their early success in TCOOP 2016!

TCOOP-06 ($82 NL Hold'em, 6-Max, Turbo, Shootout) results
Entrants: 1,672 
Total prize pool: $125,400.00
Places paid: 216

1. buzzard1881 (Canada) $17,539.45*
2. Mrcaimann (United Kingdom) $14,018.13*
3. caprioli (Brazil) $14,481.50*
4. Avi Popo (Latvia) $7,524.00
5. Knakworst93 (Netherlands) $5,016.00
6. madnutscrazy (India) $3,109.92

*Reflects the results of a three-way deal that left $2,000 in play for the winner