It may not feel like it in much of the world, but spring is on the way. And for many of us in the poker world that means it’s almost time for PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP).
The annual tournament series has been running at PokerStars’ global platform since 2009, and more recently in other regional markets including North America.
This year’s 25-day festival kicks off on March 1, but before then there’s the chance to do what many are already thinking of as January’s winter weather bites: warm-up.
138 events from February 1
The SCOOP Warm-up series will feature 69 events across both high and low buy-in levels for 138 tournaments in total, with buy-ins starting at just $2.20 and hitting a ceiling of $5,200.
There’s $10 million in guaranteed prizepools to play for, and 16 days in which to do it — the series runs from February 1-16.
Ahead of SCOOP proper, it's time to get your game in shape.The 2026 version of SCOOP Warm-up is a significant step-up from last year’s incarnation in every way, from guaranteed prize money to duration to the number of events.
SCOOP Warm-up series: 2025 vs 2026
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 9 days | 16 days |
| Total events | 78 (High & Low) | 138 (High & Low) |
| Guaranteed prize money | $6,000,000 GTD | $10,000,000 GTD |
| Ticket Machine giveaway | $50,000 in tickets | $200,000+ in tickets |
The 2025 series ended up awarding $8,466,257 in prize money. Whatever happens this year, that number will be surpassed.
Two Main Events are set to kick off on February 15: a $109 Low version with $1M GTD, and a $1,050 High edition with at least $300K to be won.
Other series highlights include:
- $109 Sunday Special PKO on February 1 ($500K GTD)
- $11 Mystery Bounty on February 4 ($50K GTD)
- $75 Sunday Special PKO on February 8 ($400K GTD)
- $22 Mystery Bounty Special on February 8 ($250K GTD)
- $109 Thursday Thrill PKO on February 12 ($100K GTD)
- $5,200 Titans on February 15 ($150K GTD)
Ticket Machine returns with over $200K in value
As well as being able to qualify for SCOOP Warm-up events via $0.50 Power Path tickets — awarded for free every day as part of the ongoing Power Path loyalty progam — PokerStars is also dusting off its Ticket Machine. This promotion has been used before in previous series, awarding Main Event seats via a daily raffle.
Raffles will take place every day at midnight ET from February 1-12, each one giving away 153 x $109 SCOOP Warm-up Main Event tickets.
To get a raffle entry players need to first opt-in via the Challenges window in the PokerStars client, then complete the following to earn up to three raffle entries per day:
- Play one SCOOP Warm-up event for a raffle entry
- Play a second SCOOP Warm-up event for a second entry
- Eliminate two or more players from any SCOOP Warm-up events for a third entry
Altogether 1,836 Main Event seats will be dished out over 12 days, totalling $200,124 in value of which more than $180K will find its way into the million-dollar-plus prizepool.
The SCOOP Warm-up series will run on PokerStars’ global platform. Details on the spring’s full SCOOP schedule, including regional versions, are expected soon.
