Mustapha "lasagnaaammm" Kanit Wins PokerStars SCOOP $10K Main Event For $1.3 Million
The 2015 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) on PokerStars came to a close on Monday with the conclusion of the $10,300 SCOOP High Main Event. With 694 entrants, the tournament generated a huge $6.94 million prize pool, well exceeding the advertised $4 million guarantee.
After two long days of play, Italy's Mustapha "lasagnaaammm" Kanit was the last man standing to claim the big $1.3 million-plus top prize along with his second SCOOP watch. Kanit previously won a $2,100 no-limit hold'em event for $376,920 during last year's SCOOP festival.
It has been an incredible month for Kanit, as not only did he win the SCOOP High Main Event, but he was also victorious in the EPT11 Grand Final €50,000 Super High Roller, winning €936,500. It is not every day that a poker player wins that large of a prize in a live tournament and an online tournament in the same month.
Other well-known players on the final table in this event were Emil "Maroonlime" Patel, finishing in second place for $950,780, Andei "I am Bobbie" Streltsou earning fourth for $527,440, Tonio "prrrak4783" Röder ending his run in fifth for $370,596, Christian "eisenhower1" Jeppsson, taking sixth for $294,950, and Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb, placing in seventh place for $225,550.
SCOOP Event #45-High: Main Event ($4M Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000+300 | 694 | $6,940,000 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mustapha "lasagnaaammm" Kanit | $1,304,720 |
| 2 | Emil "Maroonlime" Patel | $950,780 |
| 3 | KumariOy | $700,940 |
| 4 | Andei "I am Bobbie" Streltsou | $527,440 |
| 5 | Tonio "prrrak4783" Röder | $370,596 |
| 6 | Christian "eisenhower1" Jeppsson | $294,950 |
| 7 | Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb | $225,550 |
| 8 | albeainy | $156,150 |
| 9 | hello_totti | $104,100 |
Day 2 of the SCOOP High Main Event began with 68 of the original 694 players returning to compete for the top prize, and as one would expect, the field was jam-packed with big names. Portugal's Rui "Sousinha23" Sousa was the first player out on Monday, finishing in 68th place for $22,208.
Other notable players to hit the rail early in the action on Day 2 included Andries "Pokerger1337" Swart (67th - $22,208), Andrey "ThePateychuck" Pateychuk (53rd - $26,025), Grayson "gray31" Ramage (49th - $26,025), Richard "nutsinho" Lyndaker (42nd - $27,760), Tom "jabracada" Hall (39th - $27,760), Jeremy "EndlessJ" Menard (38th - $27,760), Dan "w00ki3z." Cates (33rd - $31,230), Elio "smokrokflock" Fox (32nd - $31,230), and David "dpeters17" Peters (30th - $31,230).
Later in the day, it was Evan "PURPLE"K"99" Parkes bowing out in 23rd place for $38,617, followed by the exits of Alexandros "mexican222" Kolonias (17th - $52,050) and Billy "b8chatz" Chattaway (16th - $52,050).
Daris "DEX888" Pedes finished in 13th place for $65,930, before 2013 SCOOP High Main Event winner and nosebleed ring-game pro Viktor "Isildur1" Blom exited in 12th place for $79,810.
With 10 players left, the tournament witnessed a lengthy hand-for-hand session. The final table was established, when both "Imraan Ladak" and "hello_totti" both bowed out in 10th and ninth places, respectfully.
Just five hands into the final table, with blinds at 12,500/25,000, it was Austria's Röder opening for 52,500 from the button with the K♥4♥, and Lebanon's "abeainy" defended from the big blind with the J♠9♠. Both players were all in on the flop of 9♥J♥6♥, giving Röder a king-high flush and "abeainy" top two-pair. "Abeainy" was unable to improve his hand on the turn or river, earning $156,150 for eighth place.
According to the PokerStars Blog, it was seven-time COOP winner Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb offering some advice in the chat box, stating, "Hey guys, remember everyone [is] going to watch [the] replay. So don't do anything crazy. You'll never live it down."
Unfortunately for Deeb he was the next player to exit the tournament when his 9♣9♠ was unable to hold against Kanit's A♣Q♣. Deeb collected $225,550 for his seventh-place finish.
Christian "eisenhower1" Jeppsson was also on the losing end of a flip when his K♠J♥ was unable to improve against Emil "Maroonlime" Patel's 2♦2♠. Jeppsson was already the shortest stack on the final table when this hand occurred and banked $294,950 for finishing in sixth place.
As play continued, it was Röder to exit the tournament in fifth place for $370,556, after his 9♦9♠ failed to hold against "KumariOy", who was holding the A♠4♥. He was drawing to just two outs after the 6♦4♦4♣ came on the flop and was unable to get there. The 8♣ appeared on the turn, followed by a J♦ on the river.
Belarus' Streltsou finished in fourth place for $527,440 after shoving with the 10♠8♠. He was unable to improve against Kanit's A♣J♠.
With three players left, Russia's "KumariOy" was well in the lead, as he had been throughout the final table. After losing several flips, this player was the next player to exit the tournament in third place for $700,940 when he lost yet another flip when his A♣10♥ was unable to improve against Kanit's 4♦4♥.
After this hand, it left Kanit with a 3-1 chip advantage against Patel, with each player guaranteed to earn $950,780. Patel was able to whittle his way back, winning some small pots during the first few hands of play before a dramatic hand unfolded to end it all.
Patel opened from the button with a min-raise to 120,000 with the J♠10♥. Kanit three-bet to 343,220 with the Q♠Q♦. Patel called, and an action flop of J♦Q♥9♥ appeared. Kanit led for 287,420 with top set, which Patel called with middle pair and a straight draw.
The Q♠ appeared on the turn, giving Kanit four-of-a-kind, and also giving Patel continued hopes to win the hand with his middle pair, along with his straight draw. Surprisingly to those watching the hand unfold, both players checked the action before the 10♠ appeared on the river. Kanit wasn't going to slow-play two streets in a row, and he bet 947,210. Patel opted to go all in for 2,565,739, which Kanit promptly called.
Patel was rewarded a hefty $950,780 consolation prize, with Kanit receiving the winner's haul of over $1.3 million. Additionally, Kanit received a coveted SCOOP watch and his name in the record books for winning the 2015 SCOOP High Main Event.
Tom Grigg Wins Medium Main Event for $609,000; Koon Third in Low
Running alongside the $10,300 Main Event on Sunday were the $1,050 medium and $109 low buy-in variants. Australia's Tom "tollgate" Grigg won the $1,050 SCOOP Medium Main Event for $609,206.86 after agreeing to a heads-up deal with Canada's "Azn1nvas1on", who banked $552,005.86 for second place. Here's a look at the results from the medium and low SCOOP Main Events:
PokerStars SCOOP Event #45-Medium: Main Event ($2M Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000+50 | 4,238 | $4,238,000 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom "tollgate" Grigg | $609,206.86* |
| 2 | Azn1nvas1on | $552,005.86* |
| 3 | Andrija "cynicalfish" Martić | $349,635.00 |
| 4 | Pascal "Päffchen" Hartmann | $243,685.00 |
| 5 | Jandro Mura | $180,115.00 |
| 6 | ROBAZAN | $137,735.00 |
| 7 | Kurt "kurt23x" Fitzgerald | $95,355.00 |
| 8 | thipoker10 | $52,975.00 |
| 9 | smoothwith2s | $33,904.00 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
PokerStars SCOOP Event #45-Low: Main Event ($1M Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $100+9 | 22,164 | $2,216,400 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apostolis "apostolis20" Bechrakis | $203,176.89 |
| 2 | CrazySezya | $183,176.88 |
| 3 | Jason "jakoon1985" Koon | $110,820.00 |
| 4 | sge_fr3ak | $88,656.00 |
| 5 | GrovSnus | $66,492.00 |
| 6 | Balomiker | $44,328.00 |
| 7 | Titanic27 | $31,140.42 |
| 8 | TTo6eDiTe/\b | $19,947.60 |
| 9 | Duderino911 | $13,298.40 |
*Special thanks to Stanislav Serov for information in this article.
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