Shaun Deeb won yet another event on Day 10 of the SCOOP, his third of the series.
Viktor Blom is not an easy man to track down. I’ve known this for a long time. The media stalked him as Isildur1 for months. When it came time to cop to his identity, I still had to walk halfway across an island and find him in the back of a bar. He’s wily. He’s elusive. Twitter’s @bigacsiga suggested I look in the toilet, or just wait for him to get back to the cash games.
And that was really the point, wasn’t it?
Viktor Blom is a cash game player. He’s not a tourney grinder. So, why in the world–how in the world–is he crushing the Spring Championship of Online Poker so hard?
As of this moment, Blom has won $438,408 in this year’s SCOOP festival, more than anybody else playing. He’s in fifth place on the overall SCOOP leaderboard having only played 38 events (by comparison, leader Shaun Deeb has played 74 events and won $174,503).
So, to put it bluntly, what the hell, Viktor?
“I played a lot of tournaments and SNGs when I started out and did well,” he said. ‘When I started playing cash, I kind of forgot about tournaments and didn’t have any deep runs in a long time.”
And then suddenly, Blom pops up in January, wins the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller at the PCA, and then backs that up with back-to-back SCOOP wins. It was a four-month performance that many poker players would give their career to have.
If you can imagine this, there actually sort of was an “ah-ha, Eureka!” moment for the young Swede, and it’s just as smart as it is silly. After winning the big one at the PCA, Blom had a sort of revelation.
“It woke me up again,” he said. “I realized if go deep, it’s so much more exciting. So. I feel I play better now that I realize that.”
For anyone wondering whether Blom plays for the money or the jollies he gets from his poker adrenal glands, that should answer your question. Blom isn’t in it so much for the titles as the feeling.
“I enjoying tournaments more than I did before,” Blom said today. “Maybe that’s because I always busted in the beginning before.”

Blom concedes two things: he has worked on his tournament game, and he still understands how bad luck on one hand can ruin an entire day. Though he didn’t bring it up, I watched him play a hand the other day–deep in a big SCOOP event– in which he four-bet all-in with aces and got calls from both jacks and ace-king. The jacks flopped a set. The ace-king ran out a straight. The aces ended up third best. If Blom had won that hand, he was probably guaranteed another giant SCOOP final table instead of a 20th place finish.
But again, Blom didn’t even bring that hand up. At the time, I recall him typing something like, “I’ve been lucky before, too.”
Now he just puts it like this: “It takes only one hand to go out of a tournament, but I guess that’s the thrill to it.”
That’s about all you’ll get out of Blom right now. He’s busy. Not only does he have cash games to think about, but SCOOP runs for another five days, and Blom isn’t going to let up.
“I’m going to try hit another deep run in a big one,” he said.
After that, though, it’s back to what you’d expect. That is to say, Blom is going to frame his mind right for the next few days of tourneys, but you know what’s going to happen after that.
“The ones I play I’m going to try do do my best in,” Blom said, “but, my biggest effort is still going to be in the cash games.”
And that is your Eureka moment for the day.
Viktor Blom is not an easy man to track down. I’ve known this for a long time. The media stalked him as Isildur1 for months. When it came time to cop to his identity, I still had to walk halfway across an island and find him in the back of a bar. He’s wily. He’s elusive. Twitter’s @bigacsiga suggested I look in the toilet, or just wait for him to get back to the cash games.
And that was really the point, wasn’t it?
Viktor Blom is a cash game player. He’s not a tourney grinder. So, why in the world–how in the world–is he crushing the Spring Championship of Online Poker so hard?
As of this moment, Blom has won $438,408 in this year’s SCOOP festival, more than anybody else playing. He’s in fifth place on the overall SCOOP leaderboard having only played 38 events (by comparison, leader Shaun Deeb has played 74 events and won $174,503).
So, to put it bluntly, what the hell, Viktor?
“I played a lot of tournaments and SNGs when I started out and did well,” he said. ‘When I started playing cash, I kind of forgot about tournaments and didn’t have any deep runs in a long time.”
And then suddenly, Blom pops up in January, wins the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller at the PCA, and then backs that up with back-to-back SCOOP wins. It was a four-month performance that many poker players would give their career to have.
If you can imagine this, there actually sort of was an “ah-ha, Eureka!” moment for the young Swede, and it’s just as smart as it is silly. After winning the big one at the PCA, Blom had a sort of revelation.
“It woke me up again,” he said. “I realized if go deep, it’s so much more exciting. So. I feel I play better now that I realize that.”
For anyone wondering whether Blom plays for the money or the jollies he gets from his poker adrenal glands, that should answer your question. Blom isn’t in it so much for the titles as the feeling.
“I enjoying tournaments more than I did before,” Blom said today. “Maybe that’s because I always busted in the beginning before.”

Blom concedes two things: he has worked on his tournament game, and he still understands how bad luck on one hand can ruin an entire day. Though he didn’t bring it up, I watched him play a hand the other day–deep in a big SCOOP event– in which he four-bet all-in with aces and got calls from both jacks and ace-king. The jacks flopped a set. The ace-king ran out a straight. The aces ended up third best. If Blom had won that hand, he was probably guaranteed another giant SCOOP final table instead of a 20th place finish.
But again, Blom didn’t even bring that hand up. At the time, I recall him typing something like, “I’ve been lucky before, too.”
Now he just puts it like this: “It takes only one hand to go out of a tournament, but I guess that’s the thrill to it.”
That’s about all you’ll get out of Blom right now. He’s busy. Not only does he have cash games to think about, but SCOOP runs for another five days, and Blom isn’t going to let up.
“I’m going to try hit another deep run in a big one,” he said.
After that, though, it’s back to what you’d expect. That is to say, Blom is going to frame his mind right for the next few days of tourneys, but you know what’s going to happen after that.
“The ones I play I’m going to try do do my best in,” Blom said, “but, my biggest effort is still going to be in the cash games.”
And that is your Eureka moment for the day.
Where have you done it? On a boat? In a moat? On a Carnival float? You can do it anywhere you like these days, and now PokerStars is set to give you a free iPad just for a picture of you doing it.
PokerStars Mobile gives you the ability to play poker wherever you like. As long as you have a reliable connection to the internet, you can play on the world’s biggest, safest, most secure poker site. Want proof? Here’s Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree getting in a few hands (note the life jacket–safety first, we say).
So, here’s your chance. Go play PokerStars Mobile somewhere. Get a picture of yourself playing. Upload it to Twitter using the #playpokerhere hashtag and mentioning @PokerStarsUK. The best one out there will get a free iPad. In addition to the grand prize, PokerStars.co.uk will also be giving away a series of spot prizes for the best entries.
So get out there and find somewhere weird–but safe!–to play.
***
Terms and Conditions
1) All entries must be submitted via Twitter using the hashtag #PlayPokerHere
2) The competition will run from Wednesday 16th May 2012 to midnight on the 30th May 2012 – Any entries submitted after this time will be deemed invalid
3) Images of a sexual, racist, violent or that of another offensive nature are prohibited from the competition. Any entrants that submits such a nature are held liable and are not supported by the PokerStars or its partners
4) Images that exploit copyright law are prohibited and the entrants will be responsible for any legal action that transpires
5) The competition is run by PokerStars and not Twitter
6) The winner(s) will be selected by PokerStars and PokerStars decision is final.
7) Spot prizes will be issued to entrants throughout the competition at PokerStars discretion
The main prize will be an ipad 2 – 16GB Wifi + 3G in white
9) No cash alternative is available for spot prizes or the main competition prize
10) All prizes will be distributed to the winner(s) within 30 days of the end of the competition
After three hundred million hands, PokerStars has stripped the beta label off Zoom Poker and made it official. The newest poker innovation from PokerStars HQ is now officially ready for primetime.
A couple of months ago, PokerStars put out a beta release of Zoom Poker. The first two microstakes games that popped up in the player lobby hit their 1,500-player cap in a matter of minutes. We told you about the game. We told you about the Zoom Poker strategy. Now we can tell you, it’s all for real and here to stay.
Since March, PokerStars has added stakes all the way up to $2.50/$5 and Zoom Poker games in the Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo and Five Card Draw variants. What’s more, PokerStars also released Zoom for Mobile on the Android platform (available to players of PokerStars.com, PokerStars.eu and PokerStars.net).
If you’re just learning about Zoom Poker, this post should explain most of the particulars. In short, it’s the fastest way to play poker online. Jump in the pool, see your first hand, and play it if you like. If not, hit the Fast Fold button and move on to the next one. It’s the game for anyone who has ever wanted to fold out of turn. What’s more, you can multi-table to get in even more hands.
For full information on the game, visit the PokerStars Zoom Poker home page.
Enjoy!

It was déjà vu all over again. Here we were at a SCOOP final table. It was a $2,100 event. They were playing Stud Hi-Lo, and Shaun Deeb was dominating. Was I in some sort of time warp or didn’t I already write this article two days ago?
If Deeb made history two days ago then what was left to say today when he did it all over again? Today, Deeb won his third SCOOP title of the series without raising a sweat. It was the fourth of his career, and in doing so, made a mockery of the SCOOP Player of the Series race. Deeb could probably take a day off, but somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Today’s event was SCOOP Event #26-H $2,100 Stud Hi-Lo which attracted a field of 74 runners to create a prize pool of $148,000 — almost double the original guarantee.
Among them were previous SCOOP champions, Sunday Millions winners and a host of professionals including Team PokerStars Pros Alex Kravchenko, Bertrand Grospellier, Ville Wahlbeck, George Danzer, George Lind III and Anders Berg.
With the top 12 players getting paid, Team PokerStars Pros Theo Jorgensen and Kristian Martin snuck into the money, but missed the final table which was formed after about 9.5 hours of play:

Final Table Line up
Seat 1: DazzleO (29772 in chips)
Seat 2: slammedfire (41988 in chips)
Seat 3: shaundeeb (82890 in chips)
Seat 4: Fred_Brink (31916 in chips)
Seat 5: caprioli (52541 in chips)
Seat 6: kasparov007 (28460 in chips)
Seat 7: E. Katchalov (64571 in chips)
Seat 8: PerpCzech (37862 in chips)
It was arguably the toughest SCOOP final table line up ever assembled with each player holding exceptional poker credentials.
Daniel “DazzleO” Ospina was a previous SCOOP champion, Fred_Brink held a Razz WCOOP title while slammedfire was had a previous SCOOP runner-up result to his credit. Kasparov007 won a SCOOP title back in 2009 in this very same discipline, while PerpCzech had multiple SCOOP final tables this series including a win in Event#19-M Triple Stud.
Then we move onto Rodridgo Caprioli — one of the finest SCOOP players in history — with two previous SCOOP wins including a win in Event #4-H Badugi earlier in this series. Throw in Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov with a previous WCOOP title in 2009 to go with WPT and WSOP titles as part of $7 million in live tournament earnings.
And then there was Shaun Deeb. The runaway SCOOP Player of the Series leader had already caused a stir on Mother’s Day when he won his second title of the series. That stir would near seven on the Richter scale if he could do it all over again today.
First to go was Daniel “DazzleO” Ospina. He three-bet on third, bet and called a raise on fourth, before his last chips were all in by fifth street. Ospina started with a pair of tens and could only improve to two pair on a board of [Td][Th][9c][2h][Qs][2d][6s] as kasparov007 started with a low draw but spiked trips to scoop the lot with a board of [3h][7d][6d][5c][Ah][5s][5d]. Ospina took home $4,810 for 8th place.
Despite claiming the first victim of the final table, kasparov007 was still one of the short stacks. kasparov007 dropped further after losing a solid pot to PerpCzech, before the antes got hold. With kasparov007 all in on third street, Shaun Deeb and Fred_Brink continued betting throughout and ultimately chopped up the pot. Deeb made a flush for the high, Fred_Brink caught an eight-six low, as kasparov007 couldn’t only muster a pair of eights with an eight-seven low. kasparov007 collected $6,290 for 7th place.
Fred_Brink was on the short stack but it was slammedfire who was next to go. Slammedfire led the betting on every street before Shaun Deeb raised it up on the river to put his opponent all in. Slammedfire made the call with [3c][5s][5c][5d][7s][Kd][4c] for trip fives as Deeb caught a full house with a board of [9d][Qh][Qs][3d][3s][4s][Qd]. Slammedfire missed out on that elusive SCOOP title but $7,770 for 6th place should be some consolation.
Fred_Brink landed a double up with a six-high straight to scoop against Eugene Katchalov’s pair of aces as Katchalov was in the danger zone. But he held on long enough to outlast Fred_Brink who clashed with Rodridgo Caprioli with a raising war on fifth street seeing Fred_Brink’s last chips committed. Fred_Brink could only manage [2d][Js][Ah][Jd][7d][8c][Kc] for a pair of jacks which wasn’t enough to better Caprioli’s [Qc][9c][Ac][5d][Qs][5s][8d] two pair with queens and fives. Fred_Brink added $10,360 to his bankroll for 5th place.
The pressure was now on Katchalov, but he couldn’t hang on any further. Just moments later, the Team PokerStars Pro stuck his chips in on fourth street with his board running out [Kc][2c][5c][Ks][5d][Qs][7c] for kings up, but Caprioli bettered that with [4d][As][Ad][Tc][5h][Th][2h] for aces up. Another impressive SCOOP run for Katchalov ended in 4th place for $14,060 in prize money.

Caprioli held the chip lead in what was a tight contest, with three very experienced and talented Stud players. The lead swapped around on several occasions, with Deeb surging into the front, before PerpCzech won two back-to-back scoops to take control. The second of those saw PerpCzech sustain heavy warfare from Deeb, while holding just a pair of jacks:
That hand sparked some interesting banter between the two:
PerpCzech said, “i just read shaun deebs soul”
shaundeeb said, “play everyhand”
shaundeeb said, “and call down 100″
shaundeeb said, “youll be right sometimes”
shaundeeb said, “we can play after if you want”
PerpCzech said, “only gonna read your soul once”
PerpCzech said, “once is good”
shaundeeb said, “and the 7 times you called me dwn dead”
shaundeeb said, “i said nothing”
PerpCzech said, “never mind then”
shaundeeb said, “dunno why youre such a **** online”
shaundeeb said, “and so nice in person”
The banter seemed to focus Deeb as he commented that he was determined to win all of the Stud SCOOP titles. He mounted a small comeback before PerpCzech proved his soul-reading abilities were no fluke with another impressive call down to sixth street with just a pair of deuces for the high and no low hand:
PerpCzech said, “am i allowed to talk sith now?”
shaundeeb said, “i mean if i bet i win”
Again the banter seemed to spark Deeb as he kicked up the aggression before PerpCzech was able to scoop consecutive pots once again to take over the chip lead.
While PerpCzech and Deeb continued to duke it out, Caprioli was caught in the middle of the storm. Caprioli got short and pushed his last chips on fifth street against Deeb. He started with a low draw, picked up some high cards, but ended up with neither as his board ran out [8d][3s][Ad][Jh][Kc][9h][2c]. Deeb tabled [5d][4c][7s][7c][Jc][2s][Qc] for just a pair of sevens which was enough to take it down and eliminate Caprioli in 3rd place for $20,720.
Heads-up chip counts
PerpCzech (250217 in chips)
shaundeeb (119783 in chips)
The two continued to throw friendly barbs in the chat box as Deeb landed the first significant blow, scooping a pot with a single pair of kings.
That was soon followed by the biggest pot of the tournament:
The action got very heavy on fifth street before slowing down by the river with Deeb’s two pair enough to take it down and assume the ascendency. But PerpCzech wasn’t going to just lay down. He fought back to even things up before Deeb collected back-to-back 100k pots, one with a very nice wheel straight, to leave PerpCzech crippled.
Moments later PerpCzech was all in on third street with his board running out [Kd][6d][9h][Ah][5s][Ts][8c] for just ace-high as Deeb made a pair of threes on his board of [Tc][2s][Kh][4h][3h][3d][8h] to claim the win! PerpCzech continued his fine SCOOP series with another $27,380 score as Deeb made history (again) to win his third SCOOP title of this series, the fourth of his career and another $40,300 in prize money.
Number of entrants: 74
Places paid: 12
Final Table Results
1st shaundeeb (Mexico) – $40,330
2nd PerpCzech (New Zealand) – $27,380
3rd caprioli (Brazil) – $20,720
4th E.Katchalov (Ukraine) – $14,060
5th Fred_Brink (Denmark) – $10,360
6th slammedfire (Canada) – $7,770
7th kasparov007 (Germany) – $6,290
8th DazzleO (Colombia) – $4,810
Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.
PKR and PokerNews have come together to give new customers the chance to win a $4,500 WSOP package!
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Players managed to get a few SCOOPs of Stud today.
While today’s seven-card tournament was Hi/Lo, the stakes were high. 452 players put up $215 a piece to create a $90,400 prize pool. By using fancy PokerStars mathematical magic, it was decided that 64 players would cash and the grand prize would be $17,176.
Out of the 452 players that signed up for the tournament, 12 had a red spade decorating their name. A few of the Team PokerStars players in the field included, ElkY, Andre Akkari, Pius Heinz, Eugene Katchalov, George Lind and George Danzer.
While Pius Heinz was the only Team PokerStars Pro to cash in this event — he finished 52nd for $339 — Team Pro had a studly performance in the High and Low version of this Hi/Lo event.
In Event #26-L, George Danzer made the final table and finished in 8th. George “Jorj95″ Lind also made the he final table, he actually managed to outlast the whole field, winning the SCOOP title and $9,352.58.
On the High side of things, Eugene Katchalov made the final table. Out of the 74 players that put up $2,1000 for some high-stakes Stud H/L, Katchalov managed to finish in 4th, earning $14,060.
While he outlasted most of the players, Katchalov wasn’t able to outlast the current leader of the SCOOP Player of the Series race, Shaun Deeb. We’ve been covering Deeb’s tremendous SCOOP run extensively here, and here, and now he did it again.
Shaun Deeb won Event #26-H for a third 2012 SCOOP title and $40,330. Oh, he also made the final table of Event #26-L.
So yeah, that gut feeling you just had, that disturbance you felt in the Internet, as if millions of SCOOP Player of the Series dreams cried in terror and were suddenly silenced, that was Shan Deeb.
But back in the Medium camp, Poland’s texaspl was busy winning a tournament too. texaspl is no stranger to the SCOOP, or Stud.
This was texaspl’s third SCOOP final table, and his second in Stud. Last year, texaspl finished 5th in SCOOP Event #10-L:$33 Limit Stud and then he finished runner-up in Event #17-L: $16.50 PLO +R.
There’s no doubt that texaspl was thirsty for a SCOOP watch, and now, his thirst has finally been quenched.
TEXASPL TAKING THE TOP
texaspl was third in chips when the tournament was down to its final six players. Play had been going on for around 10 hours and the last two Russians had just been eliminated.
KIRKILLU was the first final table elimination, finishing in 8th place for $1,808. KIRKILLU was followed closely by the last Russian, NAR74. NAR74′s 7th place elimination brought the tournament down to six players and earned him $2,260.
This is where texaspl started to take a stand and make his name known to the final table:
After winning a few more pots, texaspl was ready to do some final table damage.
With 16K/32K limits and a 3,200 ante, Psixiatr brought it in with a [3d]. texaspl raised to 16,000 with an [ah].
To texaspl’s immediate left, Mammola — with an [8d] — re-raised to 32,000. texaspl 4-bet to 48,000 and Mammola made it 64,000 to go.
texaspl called and Mammola was left with just under 10,000. Then the next street was dealt:
texaspl: (x)(x)[ah][9c]
Mammola: (x)(x)[8d][jh]
texaspl bet and Mammola called, putting himself all in.
The cards were exposed and three more were dealt to each player. When things were over, the final hands were:
texaspl: [5h][ad][ah][9c][6d][7c][qs]
Mammola: [8s][3c][8d][jh][9d][10c][5d]
Mammola showed a pair of 8s and a busted straight draw, but texaspl’s aces took the pot. Mammola was eliminated in 6th place, adding $3,164 to his PokerStars bank account.
texaspl, on the other hand, would jump into the chip lead. By taking all of Mammola’s chips, texaspl’s stack grew to 742,274, just passing psixiatr’s 732,535.
POOKU33 POKES AROUND
There’d be a few split pots and texaspl would lose the lead until Pooku33 took a piece off of Psixiatr.
With 20K/40K limits and a 4K ante, –H77H– had the bring in with a [2h]. Pooku33 bet with an [8c] and both Psixiatr — with a [3d] — and texaspl — with a [5d] — made the call.
Pooku33: (x)(x)[8c][9c]
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[3d][8d]
texaspl: (x)(x)[5d][9d]
Pooku33 bet, Psixiatr raised and texaspl folded.Pooku33 called and brought on sixth street:
Pooku33: (x)(x)[8c][9c][10h][9h]
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[3d][8d][10s][Ks]
Pooku33 bet 40,000 and Psixiatr called. Both players checked the river and showed their hands:
Pooku33: [ah][ad][8c][9c][10h][9h][kh]
Psixiatr: [2s][7s][3d][8d][10s][Ks][3h]
Pooku33 took the pot and was up to 317,994.
This left texaspl with a small lead until icandodge22 took over the reins:
Pooku33 sank back down before making it back up to 318,000 again.
With 161,994 left and a [3c], Pooku33 bet 20,000. Action was folded around to –H77H– who raised to 40,000 with a [kh]. Pooku33 called and brought on fourth street:
Pooku33: (x)(x)[3c][as]
–H77H–: (x)(x)[kh][jd]
Pooku33 check-called –H77H–’s bet 20,000, brining fifth street:
Pooku33: (x)(x)[3c][as][5d]
–H77H–: (x)(x)[kh][jd][7h]
–H77H– bet 40,000 after a check, leaving himself with only 16,676. Pooku33 called again:
Pooku33: (x)(x)[3c][as][5d][2c]
–H77H–: (x)(x)[kh][jd][7h][7c]
–H77H– moved all in and Pooku33 made the call, the final showdown was:
Pooku33: [4c][2h][3c][as][5d][2c][kc]
–H77H–: [3h][js][kh][jd][7h][7c][8s]
–H77H– showed a pair of 7s and Jacks for the Hi pot and nothing for the low. Pooku33 would scoop it up with an A-5 straight and an A-2-3-4-5 Lo.
–H77H– was eliminated in 5th place and won $4,520 for his finish.
Pooku33′s rise would be short-lived as he would find himself severely short-stacked yet again.
Psixiatr brought it in with a [3d] and icandodge22 raised to 20,000 with a [7h]. Pooku33 moved all in for 32,670 and icandodge22 called.
After the river was dealt, Pooku33′s fate as our 4th place finisher was sealed:
Pooku33: [10h][ac][qd][kd][6d][7c][5d]
icandodge22: [6h][7d][7h][qc][7s][2d][8d]
Pooku33′s ace-high was no match for icandodge22′s three 7s and Pooku33 earned $6,780 for his finish.
This last hand also put icandodge22 at 1.2MM, giving him more than texaspl and Psixiatr combined.
EVENING THINGS OUT
But texaspl would start to close the gap by taking a pot off of Psixiatr:
When the gap was closed enough, texaspl leapt right over and snatched the lead back from icandodge22.
With 25K/50K limits and a 5K ante, texaspl bet 25,000 with a [7h]. Psixiatr raised to 50,000 with a [js] and icandodge, with a [9d], called.
texaspl called too and all three players went to fourth street:
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[js][6h]
icandodge22: (x)(x)[9d][4s]
texaspl: (x)(x)[7h][8s]
Psixiatr bet 25,000 and everyone decided to go along for the ride:
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[js][6h][qc]
icandodge22: (x)(x)[9d][4s][2d]
texaspl: (x)(x)[7h][8s][kc]
texaspl and Psixiatr checked, bringing a 50,000 bet from icandodge22. Both players called and brought on sixth street:
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[js][6h][qc][7c]
icandodge22: (x)(x)[9d][4s][2d][kh]
texaspl: (x)(x)[7h][8s][kc]
icandodge22 bet 50,000 and everyone called again. texaspl led out for 50,000 on the river and both Psixiatr and icandodge22 folded.
texaspl won the 540,000 pot and took the lead with 1.2MM. icandodge22 was close behind with 900,000, and Psixiatr was left with just around three big bets.
All three of those big bets would go into the pot a few hands later. texaspl raised to 25,000 with a [3s] and Psixiatr raised to 50,000. texaspl called and the next street was dealt:
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[6d][5c]
texaspl: (x)(x)[3s][8s]
texaspl check-called Psixiatr’s 25,000 bet and players went on to fifth street:
Psixiatr: (x)(x)[6d][5c][3c]
texaspl: (x)(x)[3s][8s][8h]
texaspl bet 50,000 and Psixiatr moved all in for 71,635. texaspl called and players went to showdown:
Psixiatr: [3h][ac][6d][5c][3c][5h][qh]
texaspl: [kc][4c][3s][8s][3d][5s]
Psixiatr showed a pair of 3s and 5s, but texaspl held the higher two pair with 8s and 3s. Psixiatr was eliminated in 3rd place, earning $9,275.04.
HEADS UP
With Psixiatr’s elimination, the options for Event #26-M champion were narrowed down to two.

texaspl: 1,450,409
icandodge22: 809,591
texaspl then took a few pots off of icandodge22 and increased his lead even more. texaspl whittled icandodge22′s stack down to about 120,000 before icandodge managed to double up:
texaspl would keep the heat turned up. For the rest of the match, the best icandodge22 could do was a 9-1 chip defect. icandodge22 managed to double up a few more times to stay in the game, but texaspl would soon put things to an end.
With about 70,000 left, icandodge22 bet 25,000 with a [ks]. texaspl raised to 50,000 with the [as] and icandodge22 moved all in for 68,456.
texaspl called and the final hand of the tournament was dealt:
icandodge22: [kh][ac][ks][9c][4d][9s][5d]
texaspl: [2d][kd][as][10d][ah][jc][qc]
icandodge22′s kings and 9s weren’t good enough to beat texaspl’s straight and icandodge22 became our 2nd place finisher, earning $12,656.
This made texaspl our event champion. After two SCOOP final tables, he finally gets a victory and a fancy MOVADO watch. If that wasn’t enough, he also gets $17,176.
Event #27-M Stud Hi/lo – Final Table Results and Payouts:
Entrants: 452
Places Paid: 64
1. texaspl (Poland) – $17,176
2. icandodge22 (Finland) – $12,656
3. Psixiatr (Latvia) – $9,275.04
4. Pooku33 (Japan) – $6,780
5. –H77H– (Denmark) – $4,520
6. Mammola (Canada) – $3,164
7. NAR74 (Russia) – $2,260
8. KIRKILLU (Russia) – $1,808
Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.
Shaun Deeb woke up this morning with a near lock on Player of the Series. He could have taken the day off and went surfing or hang gliding. But instead of those high-end adventure sports, he fired up his computer, logged onto PokerStars and bought into another SCOOP tournament — Event #26 $27 Stud Hi/Lo.
The format was Stud Hi/Lo. Deeb was seeking his third title this year and fourth overall. When the tournament commenced, Deeb had five final tables under his belt along with 15 cashes and the top spot on the Leader Board.
Even though this event was a “Low” format, that didn’t mean Deeb took it less serious than any other event he played in. He slashed and burned his way through a treacherous field of 2,178 players and somehow, his run good continued and he found himself among the final eight players for his seventh final table this SCOOP (he also made the final table of Event #27-High).
But Deeb was denied another title in this event. When the dust settled, it was PokerStars Team Online George “Jorg95″ Lind who prevailed. Lind has been in the top 10 on the Leader Board for the last week and has 16 cashes under his belt. Now, you can now add a SCOOP title to his accolades.
The total prize pool for Event #26-Low $27 Stud Hi/Lo was $54,450 and the top 288 places paid out. Other notables who cashed in this Stud Hi/Lo event included Team PokerStars Pro George Danzer (8th), Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen (75th), and Team PokerStars Online Anders “Donald” Berg (136th).
With 45 players to go, Shaun Deeb emerged as the leader. Although he wouldn’t retain the top spot for very long, he never dipped below the Top 10 in chips en route to the final table
With 33 to go, George Lind took over the lead and Deeb slipped to 8th overall. With 28 to go, Deeb won a couple of pots to jump into second.
With two tables left, Lind held the lead with 2.4 million. Deeb slipped to 7th in chips and Danzer fought tooth and nail with a short stack.
With nine remaining and playing hand-for-hand, Danzer was clinging on to dear life with a short stack. Danzer doubled up with two pair — Kings and Queens — against MBPoker26′s Jacks and treys. He avoided a double up and squeaked into the final eight.
MBPoker26 bubbled off the final table in ninth place. MBPoker26′s pair of Queens could not compete with vas_panev74, who scooped the pot with a 7-6-5-4-A low and an eight-high straight.
Event #27-L $27 Stud Hi/Lo – Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: vas_panev74 (2,137,538)
Seat 2: xParaBelluMx (1,205,934)
Seat 3: Team PokerStars Pro George “GeorgeDanzer” Danzer (116,648)
Seat 4: peanut_no. 1 (1,180,550)
Seat 5: shaundeeb (699,234)
Seat 6: Team PokerStars Online George “Jorj95″ Lind (3,660,327)
Seat 7: Chrucx2 (72,628)
Seat 8: Seylo (1,817,141)
With the final table set, George Lind held the lead with over 3.6 million. Meanwhile, Chrucx2 brought up the rear as the short stack.
ROCKS OFF: GeorgeDanzer eliminated in 8th place; shaundeeb eliminated in 7th place
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Two players busted out on a single hand — George Danzer and Shaun Deeb. Here’s how it happened:
Third Street:
xParaBelluMx: (X-X) [4h]
GeorgeDanzer (X-X)[6h]
shaundeeb (X-X) [Ad]
Seylo (X-X) [Tc]
xParaBelluMx brought it in for 24,000, GeorgeDanzer shoved all-in for 68,648, shaundeeb re-raised to 80,000, and both Seylo and xParaBelluMx called.
Fourth Street:
xParaBelluMx: (X-X) [4h][8d]
GeorgeDanzer (X-X) [6h][8s]
shaundeeb (X-X) [Ad][2d]
Seylo (X-X) [Tc][5c]
Deeb bet 80,000, and both Seylo and xParaBelluMx called.
Fifth Street:
xParaBelluMx: (X-X) [4h][8d][9d]
GeorgeDanzer (X-X) [6h][8s][As]
shaundeeb (X-X) [Ad][2d][Jd]
Seylo (X-X) [Tc][5c][7d]
Deeb fired out 160,000. Seylo called, but xParaBelluMx bailed.
Sixth Street:
GeorgeDanzer (X-X) [6h][8s][As][3d]
shaundeeb (X-X) [Ad][2d][Jd][8h]
Seylo (X-X) [Tc][5c][7d][Ac]
Deeb bet 160.000, Seylo raised to 320,000, and Deeb called.
On the river, Deeb moved all-in for his last 11,234, and Seylo called. Danzer showed [3c][3h][6h][8s][As][3d][Qs] for trip treys. Deeb showed [6d][5h][Ad][2d][Jd][8h][5d] for a Ace-high flush and an 8-6-5-2-A low. Neither hand could beat Seylo. Seylo held [6c][Kc][Tc][5c][7d][Ac][4d] for a better flush (Ace-King flush vs. Deeb’s Ace-Jack flush) and a better low hand 7-6-5-4-A.
Alas, Danzer hit the road in eighth place and won $544.50. Deeb earned $1,089 for a seventh place finish. Another deep run for Deeb, who had one less tournament to worry about as he focused on the final table in Event #27-High.
Check out this double-elimination hand here:
SHAKE YOUR HIPS: Chrucx2 eliminated in 6th place
Short-stacked Chrucx2 was the next player to bust. Chrucx2 bombed it all-in on third street. Seylo and peanut_no. 1 both called and attempted to take out Chrucx2. In the end, Seylo won the hand with [As][Jc][3h][Qc][4d][2d][Qd] and a pair of Queens. Chrucx2 had (X-X)[Ad][8s][Qs][2h](X) showing but mucked his losing hand. Chrucx2 collected $1,633.50 for a sixth-place finish.
With five to go, vas_panev74 held the lead with 3.3 million, Seylo was second with 2.9 million, Lind was not far behind with 2.8 million, peanut_no. 1 held 1 million and shot-stacked xParaBelluMx held under 800K.
CASINO BOOGIE: Seylo eliminated in 5th place
Seylo’s stack was under assault. Seylo lost a couple of minor pots to both Lind and peanut_no. 1. Seylo got into a tough spot with a dwindling stack and made a valiant final stand. On third street… vas_panev74 brought it in for 36,000, Lind raised to 120,000, Seylo bumped it up to 240,000, vas_panev74 folded, Lind re-raised to 360,000, Seylo called all-in for 69,899. Heads-up between Lind and Seylo. After the hands were dealt, no one qualified for a low. Lind won the entire hand with [3s][Ts][As][9h][Qs][7d][Ac] for a pair of Aces. Seylo lost with a pair of Jacks holding [2h][Jd][Js][4d][5d][3d][Tc]. Seylo, from Switzerland, won $2,722.50 for fifth place.
With four to go, Lind held the lead with 5.7 million and xParaBelluMx was the shorty with 675K.
TUMBLING DICE: xParaBelluMx eliminated in 4th place
A raising war broke out on third street. Lind capped the betting with (X-X)[6c] and xParaBelluMx called with (X-X)[Ah]. On fourth street, holding (X-X)[Ah][8c], xParaBelluMx was all-in after betting out, then calling a raise from Lind’s (X-X)[6c][7s]. Once again, there was no qualifying low and Lind won the pot with a pair of sixes holding [5s][4c][6c][7s][Qh][9s][6s] against xParaBelluMx’s Ace high and [5h][Ts][Ah][8c][Jh][Kh][7d]. xParaBelluMx was knocked out in fourth place and won $3,811.50.
With three players left in the hunt for the SCOOP title, Lind led the way with 6.5 million, while vas_panev74 trailed with 2.4 million, and peanut_no. 1 was last in chips with 1.9 million.
TORN AND FRAYED: vas_panev74 eliminated in 3rd place
The ultimate key to hi/lo games is to win the entire pot, and peanut_no. 1 picked one heck of a time to scoop. On sixth street, vas_panev74 got it all-in with (X-X)[3d][7c][3c][Th], and peanut_no. 1 called with (X-X)[3h][Qh]Ad][5c]. Without a qualifying low hand, vas_panev74 finished up with [8s][7h][3d][7c][3c][Th][6h] for just two pair. Unfortunately, peanut_no. 1 showed [4h][2d][3h][Qh][Ad][5c][5s]. The Wheel scooped the high and the low. Alas, vas_panev74 was knocked out in third place, but won $5,172.75.
HEADS-UP: George “Jorj95″ Lind (Canada) vs. peanut_no. 1 (Germany)
Seat 4: peanut_no. 1 (3,516,698)
Seat 6: Jorj95 (7,373,302)
With two to go, George Lind held over a 2-1 advantage.
LOVING CUP: peanut_no. 1 eliminated in 2nd place; George Lind ships SCOOP title
Lind set the pace once heads-up began and peanut_no. 1 failed to get any momentum going after Lind won the first decisive pot. With (X-X)[8s][3c][9s][Jc](X) showing, peanut_no. 1 folded on the river against Lind’s (X-X)[4d][Ks][Ah][Qd](X). Lind won a 4 million pot and peanut_no. 1 was crippled. The nightmare would finally ended two hands later.
On the final hand, peanut_no. 1 was dealt the (X-X)[4s] and Jorj95 was dealt the (X-X)[2c]. Lind brought it in for 60,000, peanut_no. 1 bumped it up to 200,000, Lind re-raised to 400,000, peanut_no. 1 re-raised all-in for 586,792, and Lind called. At showdown, peanut_no. 1 held [9h][Kh][4s][5h][7h][Js][Qs] for nothing more than King high. Lind won the pot with a pair of Queens and [7c][3d][2c][Qc][8d][Qd][9s].
For a runner-up performance, peanut_no. 1 earned $6,615.67. Meanwhile, PokerStars Team Online George “Jorj95″ Lind won his first SCOOP title this year and collected $9,352.58 for first place.
Check out Lind’s winning hand here in the replayer:
Event #26-L Stud Hi/lo – Final Table Results and Payouts:
Entrants: 2,178
Places Paid: 288
1. PokerStars Team Online George “Jorj95″ Lind (Canada) – $9,352.58
2. peanut_no. 1 (Germany) – $6,615.67
3. vas_panev74 (Bulgaria) – $5,172.75
4. xParaBelluMx (Russia) – $3,811.50
5. Seylo (Switzerland) – $2,722.50
6. Chrucx2 (Denmark) – $1,633.50
7. Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb (Mexico) – $1,089
8. Team PokerStars Pro George “GeorgeDanzer” Danzer (Germany) – $544.50
Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.
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