PokerStars Releases Preliminary SCOOP Series’ Global Dates

Preliminary news surrounding PokerStars’ 16th edition of the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) has hit the market. Players globally are polishing their skills to participate in this legendary event. While the poker room hasn’t fully released the schedule, we know some information about the format, global start dates, and possible guarantees.

This Spring Championship has been around since 2009 and was once known as the largest poker tournament in the world. While GGPoker has since grown to surpass PokerStars and thus its SCOOP event, that doesn’t mean this Championship has lost its relevance. Players still participate each year, and 2024 is shaping up to be a memorable one.

It’ll offer two new features that set the 2024 SCOOP apart from previous years. One is the ever-popular Mystery Bounty tournaments, which debuts for the global dot-com market before it possibly does for the US and Ontario markets. The other is the “Path to SCOOP” promotion.

Players can use the Power Path qualification system to qualify for the Championships through multiple events. Buy-ins start at 25 cents, and by completing all the steps, players can win a $100 ticket to the Championships.

While not all markets have confirmed dates, we know a few. In past years, the NASCOOP (North American event) ran first, followed by the Southern European markets and then the dot-com market. 

The US market consists of Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the Southern European segregated markets include Spain, France, and Portugal. It seems this year might follow the same timeline, with the following dates confirmed:

• US & Ontario markets: April 5th to 22nd
• Southern European markets: April 7th to 28th
• Global Dot-com market: May 5th to 29th

While revealing the championship dates for the different markets, the room also revealed the guarantees for most. While the dot-com market’s guarantee isn’t certain yet, the following markets are:

• Michigan & New Jersey: $3 million
• Pennsylvania: $2.25 million
• Ontario: C$2.3 million
• Portugal, France, and Spain: €10 million

Looking at last year’s guarantees, we can see that Pennsylvania got an increase from its original $2 million guarantee. Further, Ontario also jumped from C$1.8 million to C$2.3 million, while the other markets remained the same. 

We expect figures around $75 million for the global dot-com market, as it had been last year, or even up to $80 million. Italy further promised a €7.5 million guarantee the previous year, which means it might have more or less the same this year.

Another market to keep an eye on is India. While INSCOOP has only appeared twice before, this year will be ideal for its third edition. PokerStars’ recent migration of its players from its platform to the sister poker room, Junglee Poker, shows changes are afoot in the market.

Last year’s Spring Championships was a raging success, as it distributed almost $92 million over 363 events. This year might be even bigger, with higher guarantees and raised stakes. We’ll keep an eye on the tournament and let you know about any major changes and announcements in the coming weeks.