Deputy Editor
PokerStars announced a major scheduling shift for one of its flagship tournament series, as it will host the 2026 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) from March 1-25.
SCOOP had traditionally taken place through May, leading right into the summer World Series of Poker for many regulars. It had served as an ideal warm-up for many mixed-game grinders, an opportunity to play formats common at the WSOP but not at many other tournament series.
Now SCOOP will move to an earlier window, and it won’t conflict with any announced European Poker Tour (EPT) stops next spring. It will also take place right before competitor GGPoker’s World Series of Poker Europe, which is undergoing its own shift in time frame and venue.
“SCOOP remains one of the most anticipated events in the global poker calendar,” the company said in its press release. “Players can expect the same premium multi-tiered schedule, high-stakes drama, and standout events that have defined SCOOP for over 15 years, all landing earlier to give players a fresh start in 2026.”
In recent years, SCOOP has faced direct, aggressive competition from GGPoker’s World Festival, which the market leader has scheduled to coincide exactly with SCOOP. GGPoker hasn’t announced World Festival dates for 2026 and could still move its series to continue stepping on PokerStars’ toes. However, it may not want to do so because it would leave no downtime between the online series and WSOP Europe.
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What is SCOOP?
SCOOP has been around since 2009, building on the success of PokerStars’ flagship World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). It has awarded many millions of dollars in prize money and become a staple of the poker calendar, particularly for mixed-game and high-stakes players.
The 2025 SCOOP featured buy-ins as high as $15,000 and formats as obscure as no-limit five-card draw. Every tournament on the schedule has a three-tiered buy-in structure, with Low, Medium, and High options. That gives players of all bankrolls and skill levels an opportunity to participate and win.
Past SCOOP main event winners include Viktor Blom, Talal Shakerchi, and Charlie Carrel, and first-place prize money often exceeds $1 million.
PokerStars’ ongoing commitment to marketing and running both of its COOP international series stands in stark contrast to its lack thereof on the domestic front. PokerStars US has turned many American players off by pulling the plug on its domestic COOPs.
The market has not responded favorably, with PokerStars’ market share continuing to wane as BetMGM and WSOP take the lead.
Image credit: Theornamentalist/Wikimedia Commons (license)
