2012 PokerStars SCOOP Day 16: Nick "GripDsNutz" Grippo Wins SCOOP-H Main Event

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May 22, 2012 11 min read

The 2012 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) at PokerStars came to an end Monday night as six events that began on Sunday each crowned a winner, closing the book on what has been a memorable two weeks in online poker. Nick "GripDsNutz" Grippo sealed it by winning the biggest prize of the series, $798,765, for claiming victory in the high buy-in Main Event.

PokerStars SCOOP 40-H: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event Two-Day ($2.5M Guaranteed)

Day 2 of the high buy-in Main Event resumed with 63 players. The final hand on Day 1 saw the money bubble burst, so everyone playing on Day 2 was pocketing at least $22,748.

Among those who didn't make the final table: Kazu "imashokU" Oshima (13th - $51,700), Stefan "I'am_Sound" Huber (15th - $51,700), Andre "aakkari" Akkari (16th - $41,360), William "Altrum Altus" Reynolds (19th - $31,020), Peter "twirlpro" Turmezey (24th - $31,020), Griffin "Flush_Entity" Benger (26th - $31,020), Calvin "cal42688" Anderson (27th - $31,020), Ben "NeverScaredB" Wilinofsky (31st - $28,435), Vojtech "Vojta_R" Ruzicka (32nd - $28,435), Jamie "TheCronic420" Rosen (34th - $28,435), Rory "Mafews" Mathews (35th - $28,435), Spencer "UH Big Tex" Hudson (36th - $28,435), Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen (39th - $25,850), Anthony "wwwBTHEREcom" Gregg (40th - $28.850), Jon "FatalError" Aguiar (42nd - $25,850), Sorel "zangbezan24" Mizzi (46th - $24,999), Andrey "Kroko-dill" Zaichenko (49th - $24,299), Fredrik "Fred_Brink" Jensen (50th - $24,299).

For those who did, here were their chip counts to start:

"B4d3m3!st3r" was the first to depart, doing so at 8,000/16,000/2,000. Action folded to "sosickPL" who raised to 32,000 from the hijack. From the small blind, "B4d3m3!st3r" re-raised all for 286,312. With plenty of chips left behind, "sosickPL" called with 10♠10♥ and was racing against the K♠J♦ of "B4d3m3!st3r." The flop came down A♠10♣4♥ to give "sosickPL" a set. "B4d3m3!st3r" picked up outs to Broadway, but the 9♣ turn was no help. The10♦ river gave "sosickPL" quads and a pot worth nearly 600,000.

"römpsä" was the next out the door during the 10,000/20,000/2,500 level. "UrMySponsor" opened to 40,000 in early position and "römpsä" three-bet shoved for 452,646 from the hijack. Chip leader Nick "GripDsNutz" Grippo re-raised all in with the big stack. A fold from "UrMySponsor" revealed A♦A♠ for Grippo, ahead of the K♥Q♣ of "römpsä." The board rolled out 10♠3♥3♠J♥6♠ to give the pot to Grippo, who boasted and a stack of more than 2,000,000.

Grippo scored the next knockout as well, sending "r4st4f4ri" to the rail in seventh place at 15,000/30,000/3,750. Action folded to Grippo in the cutoff and he min-raised to 60,000. From the small blind, "r4st4f4ri" shoved for 458,012. Grippo called with J♦10♦, trailing the Q♣J♥ of "r4st4f4ri." The Q♠4♣4♥ flop was excellent for "r4st4f4ri," but Grippo lucked out when the K♣ turn and 9♠ river gave him a winning straight. Considering "r4st4f4ri" got there with A♦4♦ against Grippo's A♠A♥ in the previous level, Grippo probably felt pretty good about the runner-runner straight.

Not done yet, Grippo eliminated "hotmark777" in sixth place. First to act, Grippo min-raised to 60,000. Next to act was "hotmark777" who re-raised all in for 527,656. Action folded back to Grippo who promptly called with K♣K♥. Well behind with 10♣10♦, "hotmark777" wasn't helped by the 7♥7♠3♣A♠2♠ board.

Two hands later, "wizowizo" would fall at the hands of "UrMySponsor." The action started with "UrMySponsor" raising to 60,000 from the hijack. From the cutoff, "wizowizo" three-bet jammed for 594,455. It folded around to "UrMySponsor" who called with A♠10♥. Though he was dominated by the A♥Q♥ of "wizowizo," "UrMySponsor" prevailed when the board came down J♣10♠3♣6♦4♠.

Six hands later, "sosickPL" min-raised to 60,000 on the button and "UrMySponsor" three-bet to 148,777 from the small blind. That didn't bother "sosickPL" who came back over the top with a four-bet to 287,554. "UrMySponsor" five-bet shoved for 1,359,074 holding 5♥5♠ and "sosickPL" called with 9♣9♥. The board fell A♣8♥3♠A♥10♠ to give "sosickPL" the pot and nearly an even stack with Grippo.

The chip counts to start three-handed play were:

Grippo: 3,266,001
"sosickPL": 3,125,241
"sp00led": 1,363,758

By the time the break came, "sp00led" had doubled up by spiking a three-out river against Grippo. The chip counts looked as follows:

Grippo: 2,159,349
"sosickPL": 2,401,795
"sp00led": 3,193,856

The three players argued over a deal for a good while but ultimately agreed on an even chop which guaranteed each of them $718,675, with $80,000 left to play for.

On the fifth hand after play resumed Grippo doubled through "sp00led," returning the favor from before with a river win. Grippo's A♣6♣ got there against the 10♣10♥ of "sp00led" when the board ran out J♠5♠3♦7♠A♥.

Three hands later Grippo took a huge lead into heads-up play when he eliminated "sosickPL." At 17,500/35,000/4,375, Grippo raised to 81,465 from the small blind. "sosickPL" three-bet to 167,390 from the big blind, only to see Grippo four-bet to 374,645. Five-betting was on "sosickPL's" mind as he made it 591,360. A six-bet jam came from Grippo, leading to an all-in call for an additional 1,579,405 from "sosickPL." Grippo tabled 9♦9♠, well ahead of the 8♦8♣ of "sosickPL." The board rolled out K♠9♥4♣10♣5♣ to eliminate "sosickPL" in third place.

The chip counts to start heads-up play were 6,134,353 for Grippo and 1,620,647 for "sp00led." The early portion of heads-up play was dominated by "sp00led" who gained a small lead. However, Grippo buckled down and grinded out a victory. He closed it out an hour and 52 minutes into the duel.

With the blinds at 30,000/60,000/7,500, "sp00led" min-raised to 120,000 on the button and Grippo three-bet to 298,765. A four-bet shove for 1,422,207 was "sp00led's" last play of the tournament as Grippo called and revealed 6♥6♠. "sp00led" was behind with A♥3♦, and despite catching a little help from the 10♠5♣2♣ flop, the 8♦ turn and 5♠ river closed the book on the 2012 SCOOP.

Congratulations to Nick "GripDsNutz" Grippo for taking the SCOOP Main Event-H for $798,675!

*denotes three-handed deal

PokerStars SCOOP 40-M: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event Two-Day ($1.5M Guaranteed)

Only 74 players returned for Day 2 of the medium buy-in Main Event. Among those falling short of the final table were Dylan "WhiteRabbito" Honeyman (12th- $21,937.05), Veronica "Princesa" Dabul (14th - $16,686.55), Jesper "KipsterDK" Hougaard (18th - $11,236.05), McLean "PureProfitFo" Karr (21st - $9,452.55), Jude "j.thaddeus" Ainsworth (23rd - $9,452.55), Mike "Timex" McDonald (30th - $8,204.10), Kane "kangis" Kalas (38th - $7,490.70), Rich "ChipRich20" Hare (47th - $6,777.30), David "malicous222" Randall (51st - $6,777.30), and Peter "twirlpro" Turmezey (58th - $6,420.60).

Outlasting them all was "suarez_BG", whoe earned a cool $560,019 for the win.

PokerStars SCOOP 40-L: $100 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event Two-Day ($1M Guaranteed)

Eighty-eight players returned for Day 2 of low buy-in Main Event and several came oh-so-close to the final table. Among them were Ryan "RJules12" Julius (11th - $8,298), Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (14th - $6,417.12), Mike "Gags30" Gagliano (15th - $6,417.12), and Derek "derek8" Lerner (20th - $3,983.04).

A three-handed deal took place and in the end, "john_tri80" earned top honors for $198,725.75.

*denotes three-handed deal

PokerStars SCOOP 39-H: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max Two-Day ($750K Guaranteed)

Just 41 survived Day 1 in the "high" version of the two-day six-handed NLHE. As it happened, the two chip leaders, "Fiskin1" and "raidalot," began Day 2 seated at the same table, although "Fiskin1" was sitting out for the first few minutes of play.

When "Fiskin1" returned, however, a big pot soon brewed between the pair in which "Fiskin1" shoved all in on the turn on a 10♣Q♣9♥3♦ board to force a fold from "raidalot," thus earning "Fiskin1" a 426,750-chip pot. That bumped "Fiskin1" up over 700,000 while knocking "raidalot" back to just over 300,000 and out of the top 10.

Meanwhile, early eliminations on Monday included Chris "Moorman1" Moorman (41st - $6,888), Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick (40th - $6,888), Mike "Gags30" Gagliano (39th - $6,888), Russell "rdcrsn" Carson (38th - $6,888), Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver (37th - $6,888), and Chris "NigDawG" Brammer (36th - $8,064).

A table change didn't slow down "Fiskin1," who soon knocked out Leandro "leopeluca" Csome (35th - $8,064) to climb up over 900,000 for a brief period before slipping back to the pack.

Not long after, "raidalot" would fail to recover from that early hit from "Fiskin1," hitting the rail in 31st ($8,064), to be followed by Ricky "RonaldKosh" Fohrenbach (30th - $9,408) and Ariel "ArielBahia" Celestino (29th - $9,408).

With 27 left, "Fiskin1" still led although had dropped back close to 650,000, with "lirarerik," "a.S.e High," and Mike "SirWatts" Watson all starting to close in. After Laurence "rivermanl" Houghton fell in 26th ($9,408), "Fiskin1" won a huge 700k-plus pot to push way up close to 1.4 million after using J♥J♠ to beat the A♦K♥ of "EZz_GAME" and eliminate the latter in 25th ($9,408).

Among those following to the rail were Mathew "Matfrankland" Frankland (22nd - $11,592), Randal "RandALLin" Flowers (20th - $11,592), William "Altrum Altus" Reynolds (17th - $14,952).

"Fiskin1" remained on top for much of that stretch until "mindgamer" caught up to move into the chip lead with three tables left. But by the time Brandon "oncommand" Meyers went out in 13th ($14,952), "Fiskin1" was back on top. The next stretch saw "a.S.e High" (12th), "Python817" (11th), and Aaron "JeanGrae" McCready (10th) all eliminated, each earning $21,840. They were followed by "Big_nat123" (9th), Fredrik "FiSHeYe1984" Keitel (8th), and "Lateski" (7th), who each came away with $33,600 scores.

The remaining six reassembled around the final table, and here's what their stacks looked like at that point:

On just the sixth hand of the final table, "Turko_man" opened with a min-raise to 32,000 from middle position, then "7tHEcROw7" reraised to 88,475 from the small blind. It folded back to "Turko_man" who called, showing 10♥10♦ to "7tHEcROw7"'s J♣J♥. The flop came 6♣2♠J♦ to improve "7tHEcROw7" to a set, and by the turn "Turko_man" was already drawing dead and was eliminated in sixth.

The remaining five would battle for more than an hour-and-a-half, after which "mindgamer" led with nearly 2.9 million, with Mike "SirWatts" Watson second with about 2.46 million. Meanwhile, "RomeOpro" had become the short stack with 563,684, and would push that all in from the cutoff only to get one caller in Watson from the small blind. "RomeOpro" had K♣Q♣ and Watson A♥10♥. By the turn the board showed 8♣A♦6♠A♣ — trips for Watson but a flush draw for "RomeOpro" — and after the 5♥ river they were down to four.

A few hands later the remaining quartet of players agreed to pause to discuss a possible deal, but terms couldn't be reached and the group played on for another hour-and-a-half before the next knockout.

With the blinds at 20,000/40,000, "Fiskin1" opened for 110,000 from the small blind and Watson called from the BB. The flop came A♠7♠8♣, and "Fiskin1" led for 120,000, getting a call from Watson. The turn was the K♣, and "Fiskin1" again bet — 280,000 this time — and Watson called once more. The river was the 6♠ and when "Fiskin1" shoved all in for 845,972, Watson called yet again, turning over 10♣9♣ for a rivered straight. "Fiskin1" showed 2♦2♥ for a lowly pair of deuces, and they were down to three.

That huge pot gave Watson the chip lead, and soon he'd push up over 5 million while "7tHEcROw7" and "mindgamer" both hovered between 1.5 and 2 million. It wasn't long after that Watson opened for 2x from the button to 80,000, "7tHEcROw7" reraised to 202,175 from the small blind, then "mindgamer" shoved all in for 1,432,691 total. Watson then reraised again to more than 2.66 million total, and "7tHEcROw7" called with the 1,746,130 left behind.

"7tHEcROw7" showed J♣J♠, Watson A♠Q♠, and "mindgamer" 10♠10♥. It was a chance for a double-KO for Watson, and the 9♠4♦7♠ made that possibility even greater by bringing Watson a spade flush draw. But the turn was the 8♥ and river the 8♣, knocking out "mindgamer" in third and sending the more than 4.3 million-chip pot toward "7tHEcROw7."

The last two players would battle for almost another 20 minutes, with "7tHEcROw7" increasing the lead by pushing close to 7 million while Watson fell to just over 1.43 million. Then came a hand in which "7tHEcROw7" opened for the minimum, betting 100,000 from the button, and Watson called. The flop came 10♥3♠7♦ and when Watson checked, "7tHEcROw7" again bet 100,000. Watson then check-raised to 250,000, "7tHEcROw7" shoved all in, and Watson called.

Watson had Q♠10♦ for top pair of tens, but "7tHEcROw7" had picked up J♦J♣ once again for the better pair. The turn was the 8♦ and river the J♠, giving "7tHEcROw7" a set, the hand, and the title.

PokerStars SCOOP 39-M: $200 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max Two-Day ($500K Guaranteed)

Just 44 survived the first day in the "medium" version of Event #39, with Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver returning to the chip lead, and Tobias "PokerNoob999" Reinkemeier and Alex "AlexKP" Petersen both among the top four stacks.

Oliver lasted to the final table for a fourth-place finish, while Reinkemeier went out in 22nd ($5,227) and Petersen in 29th ($4,181.60). Other notables cashing on Monday prior to the six-handed final table included Jonathan "MONSTER_DONG" Karamilikis (25th - $4,181.60), Jamie "TheCronic420" Rosen (28th - $4,181.60), and Dmitry "Russian_nuts" Stelmak (40th - $2,822.58).

In the end it was "skllzdatklls" outlasting Brian "oncommand" Meyers heads-up to take the title and nearly $160K first prize.

PokerStars SCOOP 39-L - $25 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max Two-Day ($250K Guaranteed)

Just 39 made it through to Monday's second day of play in the "low" version of Event #39, with "eiro07," "DarkAvenger3," and "CasualWorker" returning virtually even for the chip lead. None of those three would make the final table, however, with "DarkAvenger3" going out in 29th ($1,260.69), "CasualWorker" falling in 18th ($2,266.13), and "eiro07" going out in 15th ($2,266.13).

"Betrob7" had the chip lead to start the final table, but in the end it would be "lucas drolet" winning the SCOOP watch and lion's share of the prize pool after a five-way chop.

*denotes five-handed deal

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