The "Nearly Man": Spraggy Prepares to Hunt an Elusive First SCOOP Title
Table Of Contents
With the 2026 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) getting underway this Sunday, Benjamin "Spraggy" Spragg finds himself at a unique crossroads.
Traditionally, the series is a marathon of late nights, high stakes, and a full-on month of streaming. But this year, the PokerStars Ambassador is balancing the most prestigious grind in online poker with a much more demanding schedule: fatherhood.
With a four-month-old son at home and a series that has moved up to an earlier March slot, Spraggy sat down with PokerNews to discuss his quest to shed the "nearly man" label, and how childcare is changing up his SCOOPschedule..
Preserving the Prestige
In an era where the poker calendar is filled with eye-catching tournaments and massive guarantees every week, Spraggy remains a firm believer in the sanctity of the "COOPs." While many tournaments are quickly forgotten, he argues that SCOOP has managed to retain its soul through sheer longevity.
"I don't think you can get any more special than SCOOP"
"It feels different, obviously, because it's a little bit earlier," he said. "But I don't think you can get any more special than SCOOP.
"We have a lot of money in poker these days, probably more than ever, actually. In terms of different series that you play, you could be in action 24/7 if you wanted to. But most of the time, you're just playing for money, and you forget who wins what. And you end up asking yourself whether the winners matter.
"But you can’t buy 10 or 15 years of history. It has to emerge naturally, which SCOOP has. People come out to play for the trophies. SCOOP still means something, and I think physical trophies do go a long way to helping that as well."
Spraggy says that one thing that helps with prestige is the presence of physical trophies for online tournaments, something PokerStars hands out for SCOOP and WCOOP. The proud owner of two WCOOP titles, and PokerStars Ambassador since 2017, Spraggy says he has them on display in his house.
"Whenever people come over [and see the trophies], they're always intrigued. 'What did you win this one for?' or 'What was the best one?' And it's nice to have memories of tournaments. I don't remember winning the $215 StacKOsaurus or the Big $109. But I remember my $5.50 WCOOP win. I remember the $1,050 Turbo PKO WCOOP win."
Diapers, Sleep, and Solver Deficits
The biggest variable in the 2026 campaign is Spraggy's life off-camera. With an infant in the house, the "10-hour session" is no longer a guarantee. He and his wife, fellow poker player Marle Spragg, are now coordinating their grinds around "shared responsibility" for childcare.
"I'll be playing as much as I can. There might be some days when I'm not able to do a full 10-hour session as I normally would. Especially with Marle hunting for trophies as well.
"The SCOOP Warm-Up helped get the eye back in and dust off the cobwebs. Having good tournaments to play and getting your eye back in, getting used to playing bigger stakes, it definitely helped."
The "Nearly Man" Narrative
Despite having two WCOOP titles to his name, the SCOOP trophy has remained frustratingly out of reach. Spraggy likens his history in the series to the England national football team at major tournaments—always a contender, but often falling just short.
"I've put myself in positions to win, and I think at some point it will happen"
"I've lost heads-up for a SCOOP title maybe three or four times," says Spraggy. "So I've done all the hard work. I've put myself in positions to win, and I think it will happen at some point.
"You can be the best player in SCOOP and end up not winning. Or conversely, you could be like me, the worst player and maybe win. You can't hyperfixate too much on not having won the trophy as long as you're playing your best and putting your best foot forward."
Spraggy says that online poker tournaments and poker in general are ongoing processes. Instead of training for a major championship, normally, training happens side-by-side with playing.
"Poker is just something that you're always chipping away at your mistakes, and trying to fix your leaks. And you've just got to do it on the job. All I can do is prepare the best I can and see where the cards fall."
But as for the million-dollar question, what would a win feel like?
"When I won the $5.50 WCOOP, it was in Dublin during the pandemic. And it was for $4,000, and I was jumping up and down on the bed, I was so excited. I was delighted because that's something to hold onto, something that's real.
"It's something that in 10 years, when my little boy grows up and says, 'What did you do? I'll be able to show him this trophy that I won. In a world where everything else is ephemeral, to me, winning something and having something with a history really matters."
