The PokerStars 2026 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) kicked off on March 1 and, already, the best and brightest players in the virtual poker arena have started to distinguish themselves.
While he's best known for his prowess on the football pitch, PokerStars Ambassador Neymar Jr. is no slouch on the felt – and yet a SCOOP title continues to evade him. Thus far, the Brazilian has had three breakaway chances at a win and, each time, he's come up short. In his most recent close call, Neymar Jr. was up against the best of the best in the $5,200 NLHE PKO Bounty Builder SHR.
Benny Glaser, in news that comes as no surprise, stands amidst the small crowd of players who have claimed SCOOP silverware in the early goings of the series. With his $16,625 victory in the $320 NLHE Turbo Fenomeno, Glaser added a 12th SCOOP win to his bulging trophy case – bringing his total COOP title tally to a whopping 28.
If you've entered a team into PokerOrg's SCOOP Pick 3 competition, now's a good time to take stock of your players as several of the Big Hitters have made deep runs.
Neymar close again in Super High Roller
After fighting his way through stacked fields to reach the final table in both the $530 NLHE SCOOP Kickoff and the $1,050 NLHE Mystery Warm-Up, Neymar Jr. returned to the battlefield on Tuesday, March 3 as one of six players still in the hunt for the $5,200 NLHE PKO Bounty Builder SHR title.
With $36,724 (plus bounty prizes) for the eventual winner, the former Barcelona winger had to contend with the likes of Simon 'C. Darwin2' Mattsson and Daniel 'starwins :)' Petersen to claim his maiden title. While he managed to outlast the Swede to reach three-handed play, Neymar Jr.'s day came to an end when he committed chips with 
against Petersen's 
.
The king-high runout improved only the Dane and forced Neymar Jr. to settle for another close-but-no-cigar finish.
Petersen went on to close out the victory, defeating 'kZhh' heads-up to claim the title.
Glaser tries for 2nd win of series
Elsewhere in the SCOOP streets, Glaser found himself with a chance to notch a second win early in the series. With seven players remaining in the $1,050 HORSE 6-Max, Glaser was in need of a serious spin as the second-shortest stack. While he managed to outlast four more players at the final table, the Brit's quest for another SCOOP win ended in disappointment as he bowed in third place.
With plenty more events on the schedule, Glaser will no doubt find himself with another shot at narrowing the gap between him and all-time SCOOP title leader Mattsson.
Featured image courtesy of Eloy Cabacas/Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd/PokerStars
