The 2021 PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker is speeding to a conclusion as another four events wrapped up on the evening before the start of the Main Events. While players may be waiting in anticipation for the final Sunday of the series, Saturday provided its own brand of excitement as a pair of longtime grinders earned their third career SCOOP titles and one of PokerStars’ own pros battled for a victory in front of an audience of thousands.
With over 14,000 viewers following the action on Twitch, PokerStars ambassador Fintan ‘easywithaces’ Hand took down Event #82-H ($5,200 NLHE, 8-Max, PKO, High Roller) for his second career SCOOP title. Hand was rewarded with the $95,437.47 first-place prize plus another $136,718.74 in bounties for a massive total score of $232,426.12. Lucas ‘landapincha’ Landa finished in second place and walked away with his own six-figure score of $158,093,55, bounties included. And Jonathan ‘luckyfish89’ Clark ended up in third place which was good for a total haul of $78,487.21.
Brazilian pro Pablo Brito ‘pabritz’ Silva, currently the #17-ranked player in the world, earned his third career SCOOP title after winning the evening Turbo, Event #89-H ($1,050, 6-Max, Turbo), for $71,038.72. The victory is the latest score in what has been a nice series for Silva, one in which he picked up two six-figure scores including a 4th place finish in Event #13-H for over $109,000 and his runner-up finish in Event #33-H where he earned just over $188,000. Finishing in second place was ‘OMGitshunt’ from Belarus who earned $51,668.83. Silva’s countryman Geovanne ’Grande_Prego’ Pereira took third in this one and will use the $37,580.52 score to soar past $900,000 in lifetime career online earnings. Also of note, while it wasn’t the same win that Hand had earlier in the day, PokerStars pro Lex Veldhuis made a deep run in this one, finishing up in sixth place for $14,459.90
It took just over eight hours for ‘Kashmir_uzi’ to claim their fourth career SCOOP title, second of the series, by besting the 223-entry field of Event #88-H ($1,050 NLO8, 6-Max). Not only did the UK grinder win all the chips, they also won the $43,089.98 first-place prize to go with it. Another longtime grinder, Canada’s ’kirbynator’, finished as the runner-up and earned $32,035.77. Argentina’s ‘Assad91’ made a deep run as well, finishing in third place for a $23,817.51 score.
After having finished as the runner-up in Event #12-H, Russia’s ‘aleksandrs10’ did himself one better by winning their first career SCOOP title in Event #83-H ($2,100 8-Game) and adding the $42,645.76 first-place prize to their bankroll. Swedish grinder ‘ShipitFTW911’ worked their way into second place and picked up $31,878.36 while high stakes cash game pro Alexander ‘joiso’ Kostritsyn managed a third-place finish which was good for $23,829.59. Also of note, Russian crusher Rinat ‘Zapahzamazki’ Lyapin finished in fourth place for $17,813.01 and current All-Time Online Money List leader Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira added to his more than $23 million in career online earnings with a fifth-place finish for over $13,000.
Other winners on Saturday included ‘Premove’ (Event #82-L), ‘ludako123’ (Event #82-M), ‘Pomka668’ (Event #83-L), ‘Chillolini’ (Event #83-M), ‘nicolas.ro1’ (Event #88-L), ‘tratata44’ (Event #88-M), ‘Curi_Insano’ (Event #89-L), and ‘bengkassler’ (Event #89-M).
Event #82-H ($5,200 NLHE, 8-Max, PKO, High Roller)
Entries: 222
Prize pool: $1,110,000
1. easywithaces – $232,426.12
2. landapincha – $158,093,55
3. luckyfish89 – $78,487.21
Event #83-H ($2,100 8-Game)
Entries: 79
Prize pool: $158,000
1. aleksandrs10 – $42,645.76
2. ShipitFTW911 – $31,878.36
3. joiso – $23,829.59
Event #88-H ($1,050 NLO8, 6-Max)
Entries: 223
Prize pool: $223,000
1. Kashmir_uzi – $43,089.98
2. kirbynator – $32,035.77
3. Assad91 – $23,817.51
Event #89-H ($1,050, 6-Max, Turbo)
Entries: 387
Prize pool: $387,000
1. pabritz – $71,038.72
2. OMGitshunt – $51,668.83
3. Grande_Prego – $37,580.52