Event #38: $250 NLHE [Super Tuesday SE], $50K Gtd | 2021 Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP)

Mar 03, 2021

PokerNews MICOOP Updates Schedule

Hill Kerby

From February 20 through March 8, PokerStars and FOX Bet is hosting the inaugural Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP), which will be comprised of 60 tournaments ranging in buy-ins from $10-$500 and offer $1,000,000 in guaranteed prize pools.

What’s more, PokerNews will be offering live updates from eight of the premier events.

Things kicked off this past Saturday with the $100 buy-in, $30K GTD Event #1: Kick Off NLH, which will be reported here on PokerNews. The festival will conclude with a $300 buy-in, $125K GTD Main Event on March 7-8, which will also be reported.

Here’s a look at the remaining events PokerNews will live report over course of the series.

Event #41: $250 PLO [6-Max, High Roller], $12.5K Gtd (March 03, 2021)
Event #44: $250 NLHE [Progressive KO, Thursday Thrill SE], $35K Gtd (March 04, 2021)
Event #55: $300 NLHE [Main Event], $125K Gtd (March 07-08, 2021)

“Coming off the launch of our real-money gaming brands in Michigan, it is clear that players want the world-class offerings that only PokerStars can bring,” said FOX Bet CEO Kip Levin. “As the sole online and mobile poker product in Michigan, our commitment and investment in PokerStars is vital as we aim to bring all aspects of a great customer experience to the poker community. We are excited for Michiganders to join our most popular series and crown our first big winner who will join in the prestigious footsteps of other Championship Of Online Poker (COOP) champions.”

Satellites for the MICOOP are running now for as little as $2. Additionally, players can win their way via freeroll routes.

Main Event Depositor Freeroll: Deposit $30+ with code 'MICOOP' and get a ticket to a MICOOP Depositor Freeroll on March 7, where 35 Main Event seats will be up for grabs.
Second Chance Freerolls: Play a MICOOP event and fail to make the cash, and receive a ticket to a second chance freeroll, running daily.

To enjoy MICOOP, players need to register for PokerStars HERE.

Mar 03, 2021

Twenty-Eight Remain on Break (full)

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Hill Kerby

Play is now midway through Level 22 with blinds of 5,000/10,000 and an ante of 1,250 as another five-minute break has been reached. Twenty-eight players remain, just one elimination away from reaching the final three tables and two away from closing out the first round of payouts. Among those in-the-money eliminations include "Buckoh555", "D-Cronk0126", "POJvsPOTT", "spyder13138", "prince0114", and "rebuy1000".

Complete chip counts among the final 28 have been provided below, with "megatron06869" still on top of the leader board.

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Mar 03, 2021

"D-Cronk0126" Runs Into Aces To Bust

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Hill Kerby

In Level 21 with blinds of 4,000/8,000 and an ante of 1,000, "D-Cronk0126" shoved for their last 51,239 in early position and were called by "JDrik09" in middle position. "tkfly1324" re-jammed in the cutoff for 248,635, forcing everybody else out of the pot.

"D-Cronk0126":
"tkfly1324":

"D-Cronk0126" found four immediate outs on the flop , but running came behind to leave them unimproved and bring about their elimination from the tournament.

Mar 03, 2021

"Trying2Donate" Eliminated on the Bubble

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Hill Kerby

In Level 20 with blinds of 3,500/7,000 and an ante of 875, action folded to "Trying2Donate", who open-jammed on the button for 80,737. "PrinceTurtle" was ready and waiting in the big blind.

"Trying2Donate":
"PrinceTurtle":

"Trying2Donate" found themselves up against big slick and saw the flop give their opponent top pair, top kicker. Left with only backdoor outs, the turn gave them a glimmer of hope as they picked up an open-ended straight draw. Unfortunately for them, the river left them unfulfilled and they finished the tournament in 36th place as the official bubble finisher.

All 35 remaining players are now in the money and will earn at least $552 for their efforts.

Mar 03, 2021

Hand-For-Hand Play Begins

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Hill Kerby

In Level 20 with blinds of 3,500/7,000 and an ante of 875, "HotAndTan" was down to their last 5,945 and called all in from early position. "tsaroffish4" raised to 17,500 in the cutoff and got no further takers.

"HotAndTan":
"tsaroffish4":

Despite having two live cards, "HotAndTan" found themselves drawing dead by the turn on a runout of as "tsaroffish4" made Broadway to score the knockout and eliminate "HotAndTan" in 38th place.

Moments prior, both "SupremeOG24" and "bushr0d906" were also eliminated, and "$tueys Gho$t" found the rail shortly thereafter when their failed to connect against the of "spyder13138". Just 36 players remain across four full tables with one more elimination needed for play to reach the money. Hand-for-hand play is in effect until that feat is accomplished.

Mar 03, 2021

"PLAYIN_4_STAXX" Done Dirty as Five Tables Remain

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Hill Kerby

In Level 19 with blinds of 3,000/6,000 and an ante of 750, "spyder13138" open-limped in early position and "justinbrown69" limped behind in the cutoff. "PLAYIN_4_STAXX" was in the small blind and shoved for 111,081, receiving action only from "spyder13138".

"PLAYIN_4_STAXX":
"spyder13138":

A chop was the likely scenario but the flop left the possibility of backdoor clubs ending things for "PLAYIN_4_STAXX". Such a nightmare became reality as the turn and river appeared in quick succession, giving "spyder13138" the nuts and sending "PLAYIN_4_STAXX" to the rail in 44th place. A couple of eliminations after theirs now has the field down to 40, and just five more eliminations are needed to reach the money.

Mar 03, 2021

Poker Pro Andrew "autokorekt" Korby Off to Hot Starts on PokerStars Michigan

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Hill Kerby

Andrew "autokorekt" Korby has been on a nice little run on PokerStars Michigan thanks to winning three tournaments in two days. While none of them were official MICOOP events, it was still a nice little heater for the 32-year-old who has been playing the game since the age of 14.

Korby, a full-time pro from Farmington, first took down the $100 NLHE Nightly Stars by besting a 134-entry field for $2,731.11. He followed that up by besting a 45-entry field to win the $200 Bounty Builder PKO for nearly $3,000 more. Finally, he would claim a $20 nightly title for another $1,340.

"Nothing crazy but still not bad," he told PokerNews. Korby usually plays $1-$2 and $2-$5 pot-limit Omaha but has been grinding tournaments now that PokerStars has come to Michigan (he's happy to no longer be traveling over the border to Windsor, Canada to have to play).

"It's nice to have some early success on the new Michigan PokerStars as it's been a long time coming since we've been able to play on here," said Korby, a self-taught player who as put in "lots of hours" and experienced "crazy swings" playing PLO.

According to The Hendon Mob, Korby has $51,701 in live lifetime earnings dating back to 2011. That includes a career-high $9,661 for finishing second in a 2015 Wynn Summer Classic $300 NLH event.

Mar 03, 2021

"Owens18853" Gets Another Double

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Hill Kerby

In Level 18 with blinds of 2,500/5,000 and an ante of 625, action folded around to Henry "xlzou1990" Zou on the button and he opened to 10,000. "Maximu$131" re-jammed for 82,909 in the small blind and "Owens18853" called all in for barely less, totaling 82,582. Zou folded.

"Owens18853":
"Maximu$131":

The possibility of a chop reared its head on the flop , but the turn and river left the king kicker of "Owens18853" in play and they earned the full double, leaving "Maximu$131" with just 327 that they would find themselves unable to spin back up, resulting in their elimination among a handful of recent bust outs that has brought the field down to 47.

Mar 03, 2021

"ntoxikated" Blacked Out by the River

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Hill Kerby

In Level 17 with blinds of 2,000/4,000 and an ante of 500, "ntoxikated" open-jammed for 50,575 in the hijack and received action from "zscoro" in the small blind, who covered by less than 400.

"ntoxikated":
"zscoro":

The two were off to the races and "ntoxikated" pulled way ahead on the flop . The turn left them with just two outs to fade, but the river was one of those two and resulted in "zscoro" improving to a set to eliminate "ntoxikated" shortly after break.

Several others have also been eliminated as of late, and just 51 now remain.

Mar 03, 2021

Sixty Left On Break

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Hill Kerby

Just 60 players now remain as the tournament reaches its third break of the night midway through Level 17 (2,000/4,000/500). "megatron06869" is atop the counts by a wide margin with almost 350,000. The next closest is "Trying2Donate", who is the only other player above a quarter-million. Updated counts from the majority of the field have been provided below.

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