Can Benjamin Spragg finally shed the "nearly man" label and add a SCOOP trophy to his mantle?
With the 2026 series now underway, there has never been a more exciting time to follow the PokerStars Ambassador as he balances fatherhood with the most prestigious grind in online poker.
Don't miss a single hand of the action—head over to the PokerStars lobby now to see the full SCOOP schedule and click here to read more about Spraggy's SCOOP preparations.
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.
| 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 |
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.
| 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 |
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.
| 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 |
Welcome to the PokerNews coverage of the 2026 PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker!
We'll bring you all the action from high-stakes drama to star-studded leaderboards. Last year Simon “C. Darwin2” Mattsson made SCOOP history, winning five titles to move to 14 overall — the most of any play in history.
Our daily coverage will bring you all the action from PokerStars, with events already underway from Sunday night. Stay tuned to PokerNews!
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