Continuing with its series of regional Championships of Online Poker (COOP) that began at the end of October, PokerStars is readying for the beginning of the United States and Canadian COOPs this Sunday.
Beginning November 21st and stretching through November 28th, players in Canada and the USA will be competing for bragging rights in their respective countries. PokerStars has 11 events scheduled for each series and each slate will test players in several different disciplines of poker.
The USA COOP starts off on Sunday with what should be one of the richer events on the schedule. A $55 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys tournament will begin at 5:00pm ET and feature a guaranteed prize pool of $150,000. No Limit tournaments are a main fixture of the schedule, with buy-ins ranging from the $55 rebuy to the $530 Main Event, which has a guaranteed $1 million prize pool, but other poker fixtures such as Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, HORSE, and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo will also be featured.
The Canadian COOP will follow the same format as the USA COOP, albeit with smaller guaranteed prize pools. On Sunday, a $55 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys tournament will start at 5:00pm ET, with a guaranteed prize pool of $25,000. The Canadian COOP will also play the same variations as the USA COOP, with the $530 Main Event on November 28th featuring a $200,000 prize pool.
Of special interest to Canadians playing in the event will be the opportunity to hit the virtual felt against the current World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel. This will give poker fans in the “Great White North” the opportunity to take on Duhamel and possibly lay claim to having beaten the reigning Main Event winner.
American players will be taking on everyone from the 50 states and Virgin Islands, while all of the provinces of Canada will take part in that country’s national championship.
The Russian COOP was the first series to be held. In total, 3,515 players took part in the 11-event schedule, easily passing the guaranteed prize pool in every event. For the $320 Main Event, “JustMyUnluck” claimed the title and a $21,358.47 first place prize.
Just after the RCOOP kicked off, the Nordic COOP began on November 4th. Over 2,500 players from such countries as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Greenland stepped up to battle it out for their regional championships. In the $530 Main Event, players “Blimschen” and “TEIT91” agree to chop the prize pool and the latter emerged as the victor, earning $43,750 and giving “Blimschen” a $38,750 payday.
On the same day that the Nordic Championship started, the Baltics COOP began. 2,368 players came out from such countries as Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, with the $215 Main Event drawing out 131 players and cracking the $10,000 guaranteed prize pool. Vilnius’ “sekme” defeated Tallinn’s “m0nit” to take home the Baltics Main Event title and the $6,026 first place bounty.
Running concurrently with the USA and Canadian Championships are the Germanic Championships, Asia Pacific Championships, and the Mediterranean Championships. Following the completion of the current round of COOPs, keep an eye out for the following regional series:
United Kingdom and Ireland – December 5th to 12th
Central and Eastern Europe – December 9th to 19th
Latin America – December 5th to 12th
Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg – December 9th to 19th
Spain, Portugal, and Andorra – February 13th to 20th
Full details on the completed, running, and upcoming championships can be found at Poker Stars.
