Is PokerStars Ambassador Neymar on Verge of First SCOOP Title?
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It didn't take long for the big names to come out for the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker, with seven events getting underway on opening night.
But one player will be eagerly anticipating the resumption of events on Monday night, with PokerStars Ambassador Neymar Jr enjoying a stellar Sunday as he chip leads one event and made it to the final table of another.
Neymar Leads $530 SCOOP Kickoff
Neymar is a regular on PokerStars during major online poker festivals such as SCOOP. In September 2025, he finished seventh in the WCOOP $10,300 Super Tuesday and was back in action on the opening night of SCOOP 2026.
From a field of 240 in the SCOOP 02-H: $530 SCOOP Kickoff, just 16 players remain. Neymar sits in first place, ahead of five-time SCOOP winner Andrey "Anjeyyy" Novak and two-time winner Pavel "silentm0de" Plesuv.
Also still in contention are all-time SCOOP title leader Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson (14 titles), who sits 14th of 16 left, and Adrian "Amadi_017" Mateos, who is outside of the top ten in 11th.
The remaining players have all locked up $1,361 with $23,075 awaiting the winner.
SCOOP 02-H: $530 NLHE SCOOP Kickoff Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neymar Jr | Brazil | 2,244,918 |
| 2 | Andrey "Anjeyyy" Novak | Ukraine | 2,044,012 |
| 3 | Pavel "silentm0de" Plesuv | Moldova | 1,883,128 |
| 4 | assel007 | Germany | 1,849,133 |
| 5 | rbh4970 | Denmark | 1,817,224 |
| 6 | WYIYW | Austria | 1,686,090 |
| 7 | Edouard Dumas | Mexico | 1,657,118 |
| 8 | 10Badboy10 | Thailand | 1,602,881 |
| 9 | Paulo "paulinhoo00" Brombin | Brazil | 1,453,784 |
| 10 | shapkera | Bulgaria | 1,452,251 |
SCOOP Legends Out in Force in Event 03-H
Looking at the final nine, it's easy to see why Benjamin "Spraggy" Spragg told PokerNews how special SCOOP really is. The final table features 52 SCOOP titles, with 45 of those split between four players.
Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson sits second in chips behind Germany's "HardiZ1", with the likes of Niklas "Lena900" Astedt (11 titles), Patrick "pads1161" Leonard (10 titles) and "FAL1st" (10 titles) breathing down his neck.
There's also a spot at the final table for Mikita "fish2013" Badziakouski, whose sole SCOOP title came back in 2021.
Bringing up the rear is PokerStars Ambassador Neymar Jr and "1EP3", who are the only players at the final table yet to claim SCOOP titles. However, "1EP3" will return tonight with the largest bounty prize on their head — a whopping $22,292 in total.
SCOOP 03-H: $1,050 NLHE Mystery Warm-Up Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounty | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HardiZ1 | Germany | $1,875.00 | 2,208,621 |
| 2 | Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson | Sweden | - | 2,150,636 |
| 3 | Niklas "Lena900" Astedt | Sweden | - | 1,769,937 |
| 4 | Patrick "pads1161" Leonard | United Kingdom | $11,875.00 | 1,637,390 |
| 5 | Mikita "fish2013" Badziakouski | Ukraine | $2,291.67 | 1,555,106 |
| 6 | FAL1st | Thailand | $416.67 | 1,418,526 |
| 7 | PeroQmaloSoy | Andorra | - | 1,350,288 |
| 8 | 1EP3 | Andorra | $22,291.67 | 1,144,180 |
| 9 | Neymar Jr | Brazil | - | 865,316 |
Badziakouski Leads SCOOP 06-H: $1,050 NLHE 7-Max
Brazilians will be of interest not just in Neymar on Monday night, but also the exploits of Alisson "heyalisson" Piekazewicz and Renan "Internett93o" Bruschi with 14 players left in SCOOP 06-H: $1,050 NLHE 7-Max.
Leading the way is Mikita "fish2013" Badziakouski, but the two Brazilians sit comfortably inside the top 10 with $26,250 awaiting the winner.
SCOOP 06-H: $1,050 NLHE 7-Max Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikita "fish2013" Badziakouski | Ukraine | 1,365,214 |
| 2 | CatfishBillyMan | Mexico | 1,028,507 |
| 3 | RicoMinibAby | Austria | 995,931 |
| 4 | king153246 | Albania | 981,058 |
| 5 | CPUrul0r | Austria | 953,914 |
| 6 | Alisson "heyalisson" Piekazewicz | Brazil | 806,155 |
| 7 | Renan "Internett93o" Bruschi | Brazil | 795,195 |
| 8 | IgammiI€120 | Brazil | 647,697 |
| 9 | JustTrappedU | Austria | 547,480 |
| 10 | de_skills | Brazil | 473,697 |
Sunday, March 1 SCOOP Results
In total, there were six champions crowned on opening night. "Rabeinho" won their second SCOOP title in as many years after winning the $5.50 SCOOP Kickoff. Also winning their second SCOOP title were "dekciww" and "konsti1710".
"mathiace" walked away with the largest first-place prize, winning $21,334 after a heads-up deal with "jhstaygler"
| Event | Field | Winner | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCOOP 02-L: $5.50 NLHE [SCOOP Kickoff] | 10845 | Rabeinho | $6,969 |
| SCOOP 02-M: $55 NLHE [SCOOP Kickoff] | 3442 | mathiace | $21,334 |
| SCOOP 05-L: $11 PLO | 113 | HJAY8 | $25,404 |
| SCOOP 07-L: $22 NLHE [Turbo, Mystery Bounty, Sunday Cooldown] | 7568 | dekciww | $9,980 |
| SCOOP 07-M: $109 NLHE [Turbo, Mystery Bounty, Sunday Cooldown] | 1899 | Viejolobo66 | $14,061 |
| SCOOP 07-H: $530 NLHE [Turbo, Mystery Bounty, Sunday Cooldown] | 163 | konsti1710 | $9,031 |
