Have you drafted your Pick 3 SCOOP team yet? All you need to do is pick three players for the 2026 SCOOP festival and you could win a $5K Irish Open package! Hurry – the deadline is March 1 at 8am ET.
When the subject of a PokerStars COOP comes up, it's never long before people start talking about Benny Glaser, Patrick Leonard and the two Swedes, Niklas Astedt and Simon Mattsson. Or, to give them their even more familiar names on PokerStars (and Pick 3) – 'RunGodlike', 'pads1161', 'Lena900' and 'C. Darwin2'.
These are arguably the brightest shining stars in the COOP constellation: exceptional, proven talents of great durability and versatility. They are precisely who we think of when we consider the 'Big Hitters' in the world of long and varied online tournament series.
To the surprise of nobody, those four players feature among the 25 Big Hitters in our Pick 3 game. But they are not alone. And though you may well be justified in thinking no team can be without one of these guys, fantasy games are often won by those who spot the overachievers before everyone else. And remember, you can only pick one Big Hitter for your team. It's important you get this one right.
Let's consider a handful of other Big Hitters, whose COOP performances could clinch you the title.
The Thai-based Russians - 'FAL1st' and 'aDrENalin710'
Nobody quite understood the concept of a COOP streak until a Russian player named Denis 'aDrENalin710' Strebkov appeared on the scene at WCOOP 2018 and won an unprecedented five titles. He won tournaments at all buy-in levels and in five different variants, over small and large fields alike.
Strebkov's abilities haven't waned. He won four SCOOP titles in 2024 and another two last year, bringing his career total to 10. His WCOOP tally is a staggering 14. Strebkov has relocated from his native Russia to Thailand to continue to play, and he is the original clutch player still ruling the COOP.
What's even more notable, however, is that one of his friends is challenging him closely these days. 'FAL1st' – a visual gag on the devil-dealing legendary figure of Faust (imagine the L and 1 forming a U) – made the same eastward trip as Strebkov to continue to play, and the pair continue to grind with great success.
Presumably Strebkov knows the true identity of ‘FAL1st’, but few others do: this anonymous player continues to let their performances do the talking, and they're a leaderboard stalwart, playing all the tournaments available, no matter the buy-in nor the variant. 'FA1st' has more leaderboard points than anybody over the past few years. This dominance has earned them nine SCOOP titles and 11 in WCOOP, and most importantly, they show no sign of letting up.
The Albanian monarch: 'king153246'
Without meaning to demean anybody, it's probably fair to say that nobody would consider Albania to be a poker powerhouse. According to the Hendon Mob, only one Albanian has live winnings of more than $1 million, and before 2024 the Albanian flag had never appeared beside the name of any PokerStars COOP tournament winner.
However, now as we approach the first COOP of 2026, there are seven titles on Albanian mantelpieces. And six of them are in the same house.
The appropriately named 'king153246' has taken the throne as one of the most in-form COOP players of the past two years, winning two WCOOP titles in 2024, then two SCOOP titles in 2025 and another pair in the following WCOOP. But these were not flukes. This player also has 10 runner-up finishes over the same three tournament series and numerous further final table appearances.
Like both Strebkov and ‘FAL1st’, ‘king153246’ plays absolutely everything, which is precisely the kind of commitment you need in a fantasy player. Based on their relatively recent arrival, one might also assume they are comparatively young, which points to someone with the stamina and enthusiasm required to play the whole series once more.
After scintillating recent performances, they presumably also now have the bankroll to fire and fire. Don't be surprised to see ‘king153246’ wearing the Player of the Series crown again.
The future is now for 'Scarmak3r'
Poker commentators across Europe have long looked at Blaz 'Scarmak3r' Zerjav as a future star of the game, perhaps only failing to see just how good Zerjav was already. He may still be a relative newcomer (his first live tournament score came in 2019), but he's flown straight to the top.
In the live arena, Zerjav already has two WSOP bracelets and two runner-up finishes, as well as appearances at major final tables on the EPT and WPT. But he seems to be even more comfortable online, where he has plundered six SCOOP and six WCOOP titles since 2023.
Crucially, Zerjav's mastery has come in all disciplines, and he seems to be particularly shrewd in his game selection. While he is clearly brimming with talent, he has so far refused to be tempted by the nosebleed live tournament scene. That seems likely to continue through SCOOP 2026, and Zerjav is a lock for another large handful of cash (and leaderboard points) this time around.
Honorable mentions
The brilliant Brazilians
The only absolute certainty about any online series is that more titles will be won by Brazilians than any other nation. But it’s a trickier task to pick the best among them. All of Renan ‘Internett93o’ Bruschi, Kelvin ‘Kelvin_FP:AR’ Kerber, Yuri ‘theNERDguy’ Dzivielevski, and Pedro ‘PaDiLhA SP’ Padilha have the talents to do huge amounts of damage at this SCOOP. And there’s reason to think that if you can find the best-performing Brazilian, you can find the route to Pick 3 victory.
‘Premove’ and ‘FONBET_RULIT’
Two more Russians who have relocated to play, this pair have been winning COOPs since the earliest days. ‘Premove’ is the moniker of Andrey Skvortsov, who saves his very best for the Spring series, where he has won 11 of his 16 COOP titles. Even less is known about ‘FONBET_RULIT’ beyond the fact that they’ve been doing this a long time and continue to play tons. ‘FONBET_RULIT’ has won low, medium, and high titles among their nine COOP successes.
Draft your 2026 SCOOP Pick 3 team now, and you could win a 2026 $5K Irish Open package.
