2021 NJ/MI SCOOP Days 7-8: Benji 'OtB_RedHeron' Felson Dominates in NJ
Table Of Contents
Now through May 24, Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) festivals are running in both Michigan and New Jersey on PokerStars.
Both events are running concurrently May 8-24 with more than $3 million in total guarantees between them spread among 285 individual tournaments, most events having a High, Medium, and Low tier. There are events for players of all sorts with buy-ins ranging from $5 to as high as $2,000 and formats from the intricate and challenging 8-game to no-frills no-limit hold'em.
After eight days of play, there have been 34,232 entries total between the two markets for $1,615,221.95 in prize money.
Click here for more information on PokerStars USA SCOOP events.
Felson Puts Together Stellar Weekend
Lots of big names have put together strong results in the early going of PokerStars NJSCOOP, but Benji “OtB_RedHeron” Felson put his stamp on the series in a big way. Not only did he ship two of the bigger events on the schedule — and back-to-back at that — he had another near-miss with a third-place finish.
It started in 25-H: $100 NLHE [Nightly Stars SE], $8K Gtd on Saturday. There, Felson topped a field of 93 for $2,023, besting the likes of "iFoldN0T" and two-time 2021 NJSCOOP champ "IIIbILLYmAC" at the final table.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benji “OtB_RedHeron” Felson | $2,023.34 |
| 2 | MartinChatwn | $1,532.28 |
| 3 | epdawg5 | $1,160.43 |
| 4 | thekidraf04 | $878.83 |
| 5 | mikeyeager | $665.56 |
| 6 | iFoldN0T | $504.04 |
| 7 | chikyrod18 | $381.72 |
| 8 | davidabcdefg | $289.09 |
| 9 | IIIbILLYmAC | $248.39 |
Then, the very next High event was 26-H: $200 NLHE [8-Max, Bigstack], $17.5K Gtd. It proved to be a juicy one as 76 entries were recorded, leaving the tournament more than $2,000 shy of the guarantee to give some free value to those who fired.
Amazingly, Felson was the last one standing again, earning $4,277.05.
Previous runner-up "MartinChatwn" also produced a strong follow-up with a third-place finish while "iFoldN0T" also rejoined them at the final table to earn fourth-place money.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benji “OtB_RedHeron” Felson | $4,277.05 |
| 2 | monkeyman067 | $3,242.07 |
| 3 | MartinChatwn | $2,457.57 |
| 4 | iFoldN0T | $1,862.89 |
| 5 | Batzz88 | $1,412.12 |
| 6 | Angel "Chr0meKing" Lopez | $1,070.42 |
| 7 | NEIRB2021 | $811.40 |
| 8 | Anthony "FlawlessBINK" Maio | $702.86 |
Not only did Felson pull off that double, but while he was winning the latter event, he was busy finishing third in the 26-M: $100 NLHE [8-Max, Half Price BigStack], $12.5K Gtd for another $1,558.73. All told, that was $7,859.12 in prize money for Felson.
Other notables scooping events included Daniel "AvaGray" Lupo, 09123459 and Ryan "hagz2richez" Hagerty. The latter snagged his first win of the series while Lupo tacked on a second. 09123459, meanwhile, collected their third win to lead the way thus far.
Finally, "evanb004" was a low-stakes star pulling a double of their own. They won both 25-L: $20 NLHE [The Big 20 SE], $3.5K Gtd and 26-L: $30 NLHE [8-Max, Bigstack, Mini], $7.5K Gtd for more than $2,100 total.
Recent 2021 NJSCOOP Winners
| Date | Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14 | 21-H: $100 NLHE [Deepstack, Nightly Stars SE], $8K Gtd | 105 | $9,639 | karish33 | $2,207.69 |
| May 14 | 21-M: $30 NLHE [Deepstack], $5K Gtd | 251 | $6,852.30 | #3lynchmob | $1,319.01 |
| May 14 | 21-L: $20 NLHE [Deepstack, The Big 20 SE], $3.5K Gtd | 266 | $4,841.20 | DripBayless | $924.02 |
| May 14 | 22-H: $200 NLHE [4-Max], $15K Gtd | 71 | $15,000 | Daniel "AvaGray" Lupo | $4,660.90 |
| May 14 | 22-M: $100 NLHE [4-Max], $10K Gtd | 97 | $10,000 | Barney889 | $2,335.35 |
| May 14 | 22-L: $30 NLHE [4-Max], $6K Gtd | 207 | $6,000 | Ryan "hagz2richez" Hagerty | $1,174.23 |
| May 14 | 23-H: $75 PLO [6-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO], $4K Gtd | 44 | $4,000 | 09123459 | $1,756.32 |
| May 14 | 23-M: $30 PLO [6-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO], $2K Gtd | 46 | $2,000 | RNigro_1105 | $659.43 |
| May 14 | 23-L: $10 PLO [6-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO], $1K Gtd | 130 | $1,183 | wujamie | $290.58 |
| May 15 | 24-H: $75 NLHE [8-Max, Rebuy], $8K Gtd | 118 | $8,053.50 | ForTheThr1ll | $3,077.66 |
| May 15 | 24-M: $30 NLHE [8-Max, Rebuy], $6K Gtd | 222 | $6,060.60 | 09123459 | $1,439.35 |
| May 15 | 24-L: $10 NLHE [8-Max, Rebuy], $4K Gtd | 392 | $4,000 | zBeanHeaDz | $831.33 |
| May 15 | 25-H: $100 NLHE [Nightly Stars SE], $8K Gtd | 93 | $8,537.40 | Benji “OtB_RedHeron” Felson | $2,023.34 |
| May 15 | 25-M: $30 NLHE, $5K Gtd | 172 | $5,000 | Fidel_Quistro | $1,066.77 |
| May 15 | 25-L: $20 NLHE [The Big 20 SE], $3.5K Gtd | 186 | $3,500 | evanb004 | $694.92 |
| May 15 | 26-H: $200 NLHE [8-Max, Bigstack], $17.5K Gtd | 76 | $17,500 | Benji “OtB_RedHeron” Felson | $4,277.05 |
| May 15 | 26-M: $100 NLHE [8-Max, Half Price BigStack], $12.5K Gtd | 121 | $12,500 | TopDogCD | $2,748.66 |
| May 15 | 26-L: $30 NLHE [8-Max, Bigstack, Mini], $7.5K Gtd | 258 | $7,500 | evanb004 | $1,446.79 |
| May 15 | 4-L: $10 NLHE [Heads-Up, Turbo, Progressive Total KO, Zoom], $2.5K Gtd | 230 | $2,500 | Barney889 | $690.70 |
*reflects final table deal
"WadeDavenport" Biggest Winner in Michigan Events
On the Michigan side, some big prize pools were built, none more so than that of 16-H: $200 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, Bigstack], $25K Gtd on Saturday. It blew through the number with 188 entries for a prize pool of $34,968.
The tournament had $3,032 earmarked for the top two finishers, with the bounties being the deciding margin between the two spots and did that ever prove to be the case. "WadeDavenport" bested "EASTMANAGEMENT" to add a whopping $4,490.12 in knockout monies to their total. That was roughly triple the amount collected by anyone else, pushing their total prize to $7,522.40, one of the larger chunks paid out on PokerStars MI over the course of the series.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WadeDavenport | $7,522.40 |
| 2 | EASTMANAGEMENT | $3,787.81 |
| 3 | xlzou1990 | $3,246.83 |
| 4 | ChaaarliesHouse | $3,093.06 |
| 5 | 9NINENINE | $1,389.95 |
| 6 | Gotzillions | $895.82 |
| 7 | grandma1967 | $985.50 |
| 8 | aardvark555 | $1,022.31 |
| 9 | JdubsPoker | $833.99 |
All prizes include bounties
A player who final tabled that event, "aardvark555," won another one of the larger prizes on Friday when they shipped 15-H: $100 NLHE [4-Max], $17.5K Gtd for $4,494.82. Combining that with the $1,022.31 from the $200 PKO, aardvark555 has piled up more than $5,500 in winnings over the past couple of days.
"PLAYIN_4_STAXX" also notched a win worth $4,112.12 for topping a field of 436 — including rebuys and add-ons — in 14-H: $50 NLHE [Rebuy], $15K Gtd.
Action continues with big Sunday slates on both sites. Most notably, Michigan players get 20-H: $200 NLHE [Sunday Special SE], $100K Gtd while those in New Jersey have "Jersey Special" events with $15K and $25K guaranteed. PokerNews will provide recaps of all of the action on Monday.
Recent 2021 MISCOOP Winners
| Date | Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14 | 14-H: $50 NLHE [Rebuy], $15K Gtd | 436 | $19,838 | PLAYIN_4_STAXX | $4,112.12 |
| May 14 | 14-M: $15 NLHE [Rebuy], $7.5K Gtd | 893 | $12,189.45 | aqbdogaqbdog | $2,298.02 |
| May 14 | 14-L: $5.00 NLHE [Rebuy], $3K Gtd | 728 | $3,312.40 | fuenteslogan | $637.65 |
| May 14 | 15-H: $100 NLHE [4-Max], $17.5K Gtd | 254 | $23,317.20 | aardvark555 | $4,494.82 |
| May 14 | 15-M: $30 NLHE [4-Max], $10K Gtd | 420 | $11,466 | Alcatraz5432 | $2,069.85 |
| May 14 | 15-L: $10 NLHE [4-Max], $4K Gtd | 469 | $4,267.90 | takechip21 | $760.67 |
| May 15 | 16-H: $200 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, Bigstack], $25K Gtd | 188 | $34,968 | WadeDavenport | $7,522.40 |
| May 15 | 16-M: $50 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, Bigstack], $17.5K Gtd | 417 | $18,973.50 | NineFiftySix | $3,036.68 |
| May 15 | 16-L: $20 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, Bigstack], $8K Gtd | 525 | $9,555 | C@$hAppThePlug | $1,616.39 |
| May 15 | 17-H: $100 5-Card PLO [6-Max], $7.5K Gtd | 126 | $11,566.80 | chunkypineapple | $2,535.36 |
| May 15 | 17-M: $30 5-Card PLO [6-Max], $4K Gtd | 179 | $4,886.70 | BlairHuntAce | $974.79 |
| May 15 | 17-L: $10 5-Card PLO [6-Max], $2K Gtd | 239 | $2,174.90 | Buckle Up Folks | $419.40 |
| May 15 | 18-H: $50 NLHE [Heads-Up, Turbo, Progressive KO, Zoom, Total Knock Out], $10K Gtd | 224 | $10,192 | RunLikeDiva | $2,247.19 |
| May 15 | 18-M: $15 NLHE [Heads-Up, Turbo, Progressive KO, Zoom, Total Knock Out], $5K Gtd | 326 | $7,500 | Neckerson | $2,649.35 |
| May 15 | 18-L: $5.00 NLHE [Heads-Up, Turbo, Progressive KO, Zoom, Total Knock Out], $2K Gtd | 339 | $2,000 | GOP Machine | $516.61 |
*reflects final table deal
Both NJSCOOP and MISCOOP will have continued coverage here on PokerNews via daily recaps and live reporting of select events. You can find the homepage for the New Jersey coverage here and the Michigan coverage here.
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