Blaz Zerjav's Third SCOOP Title Earns Precious Points For Team Tonkaaaa

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
5 min read
Blaz Zerjav

Team Tonkaaaa may currently occupy third place in the inaugural SCOOP League but they are not out of the running just yet. After Parker "tonkaaaa" Talbot came up short in the $1,050 H.O.R.S.E. a couple of days ago, one his team members took down the SCOOP 98-H: $1,050 NLHE 6-Max PKO, earning themselves $63,785 and some precious leaderboard points.

Zerjav Wins SCOOP 98-H: $1,050 NLHE 6-Max PKO

Blaz "Scarmak3r" Zerjav came out on top of a 270-strong field after a dominant performance at the virtual felt. Zerjav's $63,785 haul was made up from $22,434 from the regular prize pool and an astonishing $41,351 worth of bounty payments. Zerjav's bounty haul was almost as much as first and second place combined.

Zerjav found himself heads-up with Malta's "Haringbuis" after the likes of Boris "b.a.angelov" Angelov, "starwins :)" and "Granter777" had fallen by the wayside. Having locked in $22,434 for reaching heads-up, Zerjav made short work of "Haringbuis" in the one-on-one clash, eliminating them in second place and receiving the final two bounties of the tournament.

SCOOP 98-H: $1,050 NLHE 6-Max PKO Final Table Results

RankPlayerCountryBountiesPrizeTotal Prize
1Blaz "Scarmak3r" ZerjavSlovenia$41,351$22,434$63,785
2HaringbuisMalta$8,554$22,434$30,988
3Klopp4zeKopMalta$3,218$14,157$17,375
4Granter7777Andorra$1,875$10,494$12,369
5BiazuttiBrazil$6,140$7,778$13,918
6starwins :)Denmark$1,437$5,765$7,202
7Boris "b.a.angelov" AngelovBulgaria$4,046$4,569$8,615

The victory was Zerjav's third PokerStars Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) of Zerjav's illustrious career. The SCOOP League leaderboard points Zerjav picked up for his latest win propelled him into the top ten points earners in the league.

Team Lex continues to dominate proceedings, but could Team Tonkaaa be mounting a late charge up the SCOOP League standings? Some massive events are still to be played before SCOOP concludes on May 29, so anything could happen.

TeamPointsChange
Lex11,865+645
Spraggy9,710+505
Tonkaaaa6,870+540
Fintan5,015+420

Seventh SCOOP Title For Denis Strebkov

Denis Strebkov
Denis Strebkov

Denis "aDrENalin710" Strebkov bagged the seventh SCOOP title of his career by taking down SCOOP 101-H: $1,050 5-Card PLO 6-Max PKO. Strebkov outlasted a star-studded cast of 150 entrants and received $32,177 of the $150,000 prize pool.

Austria's Niki "RealAndyBeal" Jedlicka was the first of the finalists heading for the exits. The untimely demises of "Mescari," QuBall311," MAMbl4" and "mari4ka9510" left Strebkov heads-up against Hungary-based grinder James "TheDrunkLife" Whittet.

Both heads-up players were guaranteed $13,385 plus the bounties they'd collected, but Whittet would not collect any more scalps because he fell at the final hurdle, like so many do when facing Strebkov, and had to make do with an $18,666 score. Strebkov's latest SCOOP victory came with $32,177.

None of the SCOOP League players have earned as many points as Strebkov. The Thailand-based Russian has accumulated 1,950 points, 55 more than the prolific "FAL1st" of Team Spraggy. Strebkov is now tied with Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira, Jussi "calvin7v" Nevanlinna, Mike "SirWatts" Watson, Jerry "Perrymejsen" Odeen, Tobias "Senkel92" Leknes, and Matthew "MUSTAFABET" Ashton on seven wins.

SCOOP 101-H: $1,050 5-Card PLO 6-Max PKO Final Table Results

RankPlayerCountryBountiesPrizeTotal Prize
1Denis "aDrENalin710" StrebkovThaland$18,792$13,385$32,177
2James "TheDrunkLife" WhittetHungary$5,281$13,385$18,666
3mari4ka9510Ukraine$7,261$8,806$16,067
4MAMbl4Kazahkstan$750$6,702$7,452
5QiBall311United Kingdom$750$5,101$5,851
6MescariLithuania$3,609$3,883$7,492
7Niki "RealAndyBeal" JedlickaAustria$5,414$3,149$8,563

Two Near Misses for Fintan "easywithaces" Hand

Fintan Hand
Fintan Hand

Team Fintan finds itself bottom of the SCOOP League, but they have not given up on avoiding winning the wooden spoon, and team captain Fintan "easywithaces" Hand is leading by example.

On May 23, Hand went deep in SCOOP 100-H: $530 NLHE Early Classic, bursting the final table bubble when he busted in tenth place. That event was eventually won by Manuel "BigFudge95" Fritz, who collected $43,442.

Hand managed to reach the final table of SCOOP 96-H: $530 NLHE Wednesday Mystery. He finally fell in fourth place, having not eliminated an opponent since the money bubble burst at 111 players, meaning he did not experience the thrill of opening a mystery bounty envelope. He did, however, collect $11,454 from the regular prize pool.

2024 PokerStars SCOOP Results From May 23

Preben Stokkan
Preben Stokkan

Preben "prebz" Stokkan was one of the biggest winners on May 23 after coming out on top in SCOOP 105-H: $1,050 NLHE 7-Max Mystery Bounty for $39,900, while Thomas "MarToMchat" Boivin helped himself to the $34,139 top prize in SCOOP 98-M: $215 NLHE 6-Max PKO

EventEntrantsPrize PoolChampionPrize
SCOOP 96-L: $22 NLHE Wednesday Mystery10,411$208,220messigoku$12,297*
SCOOP 96-M: $109 NLHE Wednesday Mystery3,993$399,300metelindberg$22,713*
SCOOP 96-H: $530 NLHE Wednesday Mystery736$368,000Jbiancolini$46,672*
SCOOP 98-L: $55 NLHE 6-Max PKO3,668$183,400winiperri$19,739*
SCOOP 98-M: $215 NLHE 6-Max PKO1,306$261,200Thomas "MarToMchat" Boivin$34,139*
SCOOP 98-H: $1,050 NLHE 6-Max PKO270$270,000Blaz "Scarmak3r" Zerjav$63,785*
SCOOP 100-L: $22 NLHE Early Classic4,738$97,760SkyKrieger$13,494
SCOOP 100-M: $109 NLHE Early Classic2,159$215,900OrderinChaos1$32,209
SCOOP 100-H: $530 NLHE Early Classic489$244,500Manuel "BigFudge95" Fritz$43,442
SCOOP 101-L: $11 5-Card PLO 6-Max PKO2,309$22,628charly33200$2,779*
SCOOP 101-M: $109 5-Card PLO 6-Max PKO599$59,900josembmg$8,288*
SCOOP 101-H: $1,050 5-Card PLO 6-Max PKO150$150,000Denis "aDrENalin710" Strebkov$32,177*
SCOOP 104-L: $33 NLHE Copacabana4,521$135,630DR. ELDAR$19,333
SCOOP 104-M: $215 NLHE Copacabana1,128$225,600TakeZITO1$36,249
SCOOP 104-H: $1,050 NLHE Copacabana227$227,000rollingdrone$44,299
SCOOP 105-L: $11 NLHE 7-Max Turbo Mystery Bounty9,906$97,078TavimWin$5,848*
SCOOP 105-M: $109 NLHE 7-Max Turbo Mystery Bounty2,712$271,200Mastermandel$18,181*
SCOOP 105-H: $1,050 NLHE 7-Max Mystery Bounty301$301,000Preben "prebz" Stokkan$39,900*
SCOOP 106-L: $5.50 NLHE 6-Max Turbo PKO5,651$30,000laurotencio$2,992*
SCOOP 106-M: $55 NLHE 6-Max Turbo PKO2,689$134,500Gerra_up$15,283*
SCOOP 106-H: $530 NLHE 6-Max Turbo PKO351$175,500Jamie "Ship It 2010" O'Connor$26,454*

*includes bounty payments

No SCOOP events take place on Fridays, as players take a well-earned respite from the action. Saturday sees the start of several new events, and the conclusion of some high-stakes tournaments that started on May 21.

SCOOP 103-H: $2,100 8-Game is one of those paused events. Only five players remain, with Yuri "theNERDguy" Dzivielevski leading the way by some distance, which is great news for Team Tonkaaaa.

The trio of Thursday Thrills will also crown their champions, including SCOOP 102-H: $5,200 NLHE PKO Thursday Thrill, where Roman "Gogac sniper" Hrabec leads the final nine back into battle. First place pays $60,638 plus likely as much in bounties!

Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the 2024 SCOOP as we bring you the inside scoop in our daily updates.

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Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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