March 15 sees 18 more events shuffle up and deal, including an exciting trio of tournaments starting at 5:30 p.m. GMT. At that time, a $55 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed PKO edition of the Sunday Million, a $530 vanilla, $1 million guaranteed Sunday Million, and a $5,200 Titans event shuffle up and deal.
When Albania's "king153246" won the $530 Fixed Limit Hold'em Event last week, it was their sixth title. Nobody in the history of the Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) had ever won more than five in a single series.
"king153246" broke his own record on March 14 with a victory in the $530 NLHE Mystery Bounty High Roller. This latest first-place finish is the mystery Albanian's ninth in the space of two years!
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | king153246 | Albania | $4,507 | $8,486 | $12,993 |
| 2 | Deiv4za | Lithuania | $9,507 | $6,640 | $16,147 |
| 3 | Juanki "B4NKR0LL3R" Vecino | Estonia | $288 | $5,196 | $5,484 |
| 4 | 99dm84 | Bosnia & Hervegovina | $288 | $4,066 | $4,354 |
| 5 | MyOnlyMemory | New Zealand | $5,576 | $3,181 | $8,757 |
| 6 | DoterGor | Belarus | $13,389 | $2,489 | $15,878 |
| 7 | pabliq9 | Argentina | $5,000 | $1,948 | $6,948 |
| 8 | Stonedream | Finland | $0 | $1,524 | $1,524 |
| 9 | Ilya "Leqenden" Anatsky | Belarus | $0 | $1,192 | $1,192 |
Belarus' Ilya "Leqenden" Anatsky and Belgian ace Michael "merla888" Gathy both captured the sixth SCOOP titles of their careers on March 16. Anatsky came out on top of a 183-strong crowd in the $530 NLHE Deep Stack event, while Gathy won the $215 8-Game PKO.
Anatsky's victory ended a two-year wait for another SCOOP title. He had to contend with the likes of "Ansel21," "99dm84," "B00mslang," and third-place finisher "BillLewinsky" at the final table. His final opponent was "StehAufEdik" of Malta, whom he made short work of to reel in $18,151 of the $91,500 prize pool and SCOOP trophy number six.
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilya "Leqenden" Anatsky | Belarus | $18,151 |
| 2 | StehAufEdik | Malta | $14,083 |
| 3 | Joris "BillLewinsky" Ruijs | Costa Rica | $10,927 |
| 4 | B00mslang | Germany | $8,478 |
| 5 | judem96 | Belgium | $6,578 |
| 6 | 99dm84 | Bosnia & Hervegovina | $5,103 |
| 7 | LAFAL1O | Albania | $3,959 |
| 8 | Ansel21 | Ukraine | $3,072 |
| 9 | MyRabbiFoo | Ukraine | $2,383 |
Gathy also became a six-time SCOOP winner, with five of his victories coming in non-Hold'em events, including this one. Gathy's sixth win came in the $215 8-Game PKO, which earned him $5,102.
Gathy has a reputation as a fearless No-Limit Hold'em player. Indeed, all four of his World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets come from that format. However, during SCOOP, Gathy excels in mixed games. He has victories in a $215 and $2,100 FL Triple Draw 2-7, a $2,100 8-Game, a $1,050 HORSE, and now this $215 8-Game PKO.
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael "merla888" Gathy | Mexico | $2,650 | $2,452 | $5,102 |
| 2 | de_fabbe | Germany | $1,413 | $2,452 | $3,865 |
| 3 | lucas | Denmark | $1,178 | $1,570 | $2,748 |
| 4 | king153246 | Albania | $390 | $1,174 | $1,268 |
| 5 | SolidYerna | Sweden | $210 | $878 | $1,086 |
| 6 | Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi | United Kingdom | $100 | $657 | $757 |
| 7 | wiNNin83 | Germany | $581 | $536 | $1,117 |
Swedish superstar Jerry "Perrymejsen" Odeen has climbed to joint first-place in the SCOOP titles leaderboard after winning the $109 No-Limit Hold'em event for $18,285. That victory, his fourth of 2026, takes his tally to an incredible 14. Fellow Swede Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson also has 14 titles; nobody has more.
Odeen's first SCOOP win came in 2019. He won another in 2021, then two more in 2022. He finished top of the pile in one event in 2023, three times in 2024, and won another two in 2025. This year, Odeen has now won four events.
His latest victory saw him leave 1,137 opponents in his wake, including Tudor "tdr01" Lazar at the final table. Andrey "Premove" Skvortsov, who has 13 SCOOP wins, fell in fifth.
Eventually, Odeen battled heads-up with "iwillkillset" of Belarus, and there was only ever going to be one outcome: an Odeen victory. Odeen clinched the title and the $18,285 top prize. Can he become the first player to win 15 SCOOPs before the 2026 festival ends?
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerry "Perrymejsen" Odeen | Sweden | $18,285 |
| 2 | iwillkillset | Belarus | $13,034 |
| 3 | LAFAL1O | Albania | $9,291 |
| 4 | IAMtheSELF | United Kingdom | $6,623 |
| 5 | Andrey "Premove" Skvortsov | Bosnia & Herzegovina | $4,721 |
| 6 | DoryanGh | Argentina | $3,365 |
| 7 | Tudor "tdr01" Lazar | Romania | $2,398 |
| 8 | Endofcovid2031 | Switzerland | $1,710 |
| 9 | KroonoPP | Hungary | $1,218 |
Brazilian ace Renan "Internett93o" Bruschi can seemingly do nothing wrong at the PokerStars tables at the moment. Bruschi can now call himself an 11-time SCOOP champion after coming out on top in the $1,050 PLO 6-Max event for $25,853. Amazingly, this victory was the Brazilian's fifth of the series!
Bruschi first won a SCOOP in 2021, triumphing in the $109 No-Limit Hold'em event. He then drew a blank until the 2024 SCOOP, where he won the $1,050 HORSE. Something special happened in 2025; Brusch captured four titles. That incredible form has continued into 2026, with Bruschi winning another five SCOOP events!
The Samba star's latest SCOOP victory came in the $1,050 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max event, a tournament that drew 115 entrants and created a $115,000 prize pool. Once the final table was reached, Bruschi had another title in his sights.
Three-handed play saw Bruschi tangle with Ole "wizowizo" Schemion and Germany's "B00mslang." Schemion bowed out in third, leaving Bruschi one elimination away from becoming an 11-time SCOOP winner. That elimination happened, and a delighted Bruschi became only the seventh PokerStars player in SCOOP history to win 11 or more titles.
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renan "Internett93o" Bruschi | Brazil | $25,853 |
| 2 | B00mslang | Germany | $19,828 |
| 3 | Ole "wizowizo" Schemion | Austria | $15,207 |
| 4 | h3pp4p01k4 | Finland | $11,663 |
| 5 | texasilainen | Finland | $8,945 |
| 6 | #Naktro91 | Moldova | $6,860 |
| 7 | texasflood2 | Brazil | $5,261 |
A compact field of 35 entrants battled it out for supremacy in the $10,300 edition of the Thursday Thrill. Those entrants fought for $200,000 in the regular prize pool, shared by the top five finishers, and another $200,000 in progressive bounty payments. At the end of the night, Joao "Naza114" Vieira was the last player standing. He got his hands on a cool $146,361 and the seventh SCOOP title of his career.
Only the top five finishers won a slice of the regular prize pool, which meant "Tapsicalle?," "stek84," "starswins :)" and Leonard "Grozzorg" Maue all reached the final table but had to make do with the bounties they'd collected on the way there.
Ireland's Conor "conoror96" O'Rourke was the first in-the-money player to bust. His total haul weighed in at $22,491.
Man of the moment, Renan "Internett93o" Bruschi, came close to winning the sixth title of this year's SCOOP, but he ultimately fell in fourth for $33,548.
Third place and $64,986 went to Ole "wizowizo" Schemion, which set up an enticing heads-up battle between Vieira and Enrico "WhaTisLov3" Camosci. The latter fell at the final hurdle and padded his bankroll with $90,736, leaving Vieira to claim a $146,361 top prize plus the seventh SCOOP trophy of his illustrious career.
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joao "Naza114" Vieira | United Kingdom | $75,000 | $71,361 | $146,361 |
| 2 | Enrico "WhaTisL0v3" Camosci | Malta | $19,375 | $71,361 | $90,736 |
| 3 | Ole "wizowizo" Schemion | Austria | $23,750 | $41,236 | $64,986 |
| 4 | Renan "Internett93o" Bruschi | Brazil | $8,750 | $24,798 | $33,548 |
| 5 | Conor "conoror96" O'Rourke | Ireland | $6,250 | $16,241 | $22,491 |
| 6 | Leonard "Grozzorg" Maue | Austria | $6,875 | $0 | $6,875 |
| 7 | starswins :) | Denmark | $2,500 | $0 | $2,500 |
| 8 | stek94 | Brazil | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 9 | Tapiscalle? | Malta | $3,750 | $0 | $3,750 |
Moldova's Pavel "siilentm0de" Plesuv is now a four-time Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) champion after capturing two titles in the space of a few days. Earlier this week, Plesuv won the $1,050 No-Limit Hold'em event for $28,101. On March 14, he took down the $1,050 NLHE Thursday Thrill for another $47,774.
A field of 255 entrants created a $255,000 prize pool. Half of that sum went into the regular prize pool, and the remaning 50% paid out as bounties. Many established grinders finished in the top 31 places, where the regular prize pool was awarded. They included Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson, Patrick "pads1161" Leonard, and Team PokerStars' Sebastian "peace&loove "Huber.
Being a $1,050 buy-in tournament, you would expect stars to litter the final table. That happened, with some serious big hitters present and correct.
Vlad "dariepoker" Darie fell in eighth, and Estonia's "DingeBrinker" joined him on the rail one place later.
Brazilian Paulo "paulinhoo00" Brombin exited in fourth, with Bulgaria's "AchoBagdanov" seeing their deep run end in a third-place finish. The Bulgarian's elimination left Plesuv heads-up against Germany's "assel007", and Plesuv got the job done. He scooped his fourth SCOOP title and $47,774 in prize money.
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pavel "silentm0de" Plesuv | Moldova | $26,203 | $21,571 | $47,774 |
| 2 | assel007 | Germany | $12,031 | $21,571 | $33,602 |
| 3 | AchoBogdanov | Bulgaria | $1,687 | $14,151 | $15,838 |
| 4 | Paulo "paulinhoo00" Brombin | Brazil | $2,968 | $10,751 | $13,719 |
| 5 | PotnaPekka | Finland | $937 | $8,168 | $9,105 |
| 6 | Simon "DaDumon" Grabenschweiger | Austria | $8,031 | $6,205 | $14,236 |
| 7 | DingeBrinker | Estonia | $2,625 | $4,714 | $7,339 |
| 8 | Vlad "dariepoker" Darie | Romania | $250 | $3,582 | $3,832 |
| 9 | Luan "Relthor1301" Barbosa | Brazil | $500 | $2,976 | $3,476 |
March 14 was a day to remember for several of PokerStars' big hitters, with plenty of household names adding 2026 SCOOP titles to their already impressive resumes.
Pavel "silentm0de" Plesuv won his fourth title, while Ilya "Leqenden" Anatsky and Michael "merla888" Gathy became six-time SCOOP champions. Joao "Naza114" Vieira won his seventh SCOOP event, "king153426" is now a nine-time winner, with Renan "Internett93o" Bruschi capturing his fifth win of 2026 and his 11th in total.
Then there was Jerry "Perrymejsen" Odeen, who won his fourth event of 2026, bringing his total to 14, the joint-most in SCOOP history.
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCOOP 68-L: $109 Mini Thursday Thrill | 2,853 | $285,300 | Tapiscalle? | $30,666 |
| SCOOP 68-M: $1,050 Thursday Thrill | 255 | $255,000 | Pavel "silentm0de" Plesuv | $47,774 |
| SCOOP 68-H: $110,300 Thursday Thrill High Roller | 35 | $400,000 | Joao "Naza114" Vieira | $146,631 |
| SCOOP 73-L: $22 NLHE Deep Stacks | 4,325 | $86,500 | SSchranck | $12,341 |
| SCOOP 73-M: $109 NLHE Deep Stacks | 1,138 | $113,800 | Jerry "Perrymejsen" Odeen | $18,285 |
| SCOOP 73-H: $530 NLHE Deep Stacks | 183 | $91,500 | Ilya "Leqenden" Anatsky | $18,151 |
| SCOOP 74-L: $55 PLO 6-Max | 695 | $34,750 | Robin "robinho" Ylitalo | $5,960 |
| SCOOP 74-M: $215 PLO 6-Max | 279 | $55,800 | yez s1r | $10,618 |
| SCOOP 74-H: $1,050 PLO 6-Max | 115 | $115,000 | Renan "Internett93o" Bruschi | $25,853 |
| SCOOP 76-L: $11 8-Game PKO | 1,273 | $12,475 | lachesism22 | $1,647 |
| SCOOP 76-M: $55 8-Game PKO | 416 | $20,800 | Unkn0wn123 | $3,621 |
| SCOOP 76-H: $215 8-Game PKO | 133 | $26,600 | Michael "merla888" Gathy | $5,102 |
| SCOOP 77-L: $5.50 NLHE Turbo Micro Mystery Bounty | 10,325 | $50,592 | Bugenhagen76 | $3,050 |
| SCOOP 77-M: $55 NLHE Turbo Mini Mystery Bounty | 2,941 | $147,050 | mc1dot | $9,922 |
| SCOOP 77-H: $530 NLHE Turbo Mystery Bounty | 194 | $100,000 | king153246 | $12,993 |
| SCOOP 78-L: $55 NLHE Turbo | 1,216 | $60,800 | ANCTIL111 | $9,562 |
| SCOOP 78-M: $320 NLHE Turbo | 201 | $61,847 | galionen | $12,286 |
| SCOOP 78-H: $1,050 NLHE Turbo | 56 | $56,000 | ratioBR | $19,686 |
A deep run in the online poker tournament streets can sometimes produce spots that look straightforward at first glance but become far more complicated once you dig into the numbers.
During a recent PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) event, PokerNews contributor Lukas Robinson found himself facing one of those decisions at the final table of the $109 Sunday Kickoff.
Holding A♠K♥ in the big blind with seven players remaining, Robinson was faced with a button shove and a call from the small blind. In chip EV the decision might seem simple, but once ICM pressure enters the equation, the situation becomes far less clear.
Using the multiway preflop AI solver available in GTO Wizard, Robinson analyzed the hand to determine whether calling with AKo was correct, or whether the optimal play was actually to find a fold.
There are no SCOOP events finishing today, as there's a slight pause in the action before the series roars into life again over the weekend.
There's the final days of the Thursday Thrills events to look forward to, as well as a host of events getting underway, where players can grind for the chance to taste victory on Saturday.
Check out PokerStars to plan a busy weekend of cards and the chance to add your name to the SCOOP honor roll.
