When the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) was first announced to the poker community, players liked the idea. Besides the catchy name, the offerings of three buy-in levels to each tournament was more than appealing, as players at all levels of the game could find a way to make their bankrolls work for this series. Even those without sufficient money in their PokerStars accounts could find satellites for mere pennies on the dollar and win their way into a tournament whose results could change their poker worlds.

The first 21 events made for 63 tournaments and tens of millions of dollars in prize money. Players came out in droves, crushed guarantees, and walked away with sometimes life-changing money.

And that brought us to the Main Event. Event 22 offered three different buy-ins, this one being the high-stakes tournament with a $10,300 buy-in for the NLHE excitement. There were 502 players who entered the $5 million guarantee event, which pushed the prize pool just past that to a cool $5,020,000. That would be split according to the finishes of the final 54 players, though a sizeable portion - $963,338.00 - was reserved for the winner.

The first day of action consisted of 22 levels of play and resulted in the vast majority of the players taking leave of the tournament. And when it was over after 12 hours, xxjondxx led the 14-player field, though he was trailed by PearlJammer, j.thaddeus, Chowdahhead4, and actionDJ.

Day 2 began with Level 23, blinds of 2,500/5,000, and a 625 ante.

Action was to be had right away. j.thaddeus immediately took the chip lead from xxjondxx, and $teveyMoney doubled through Tecknowledgy, who then doubled through Moorman1. The double-ups were fast and furious for the first 30 minutes, but eventually, someone would lose one of those decisions. Magisterium was the first to lose the all-in, going down to j.thaddeus. MazeOrBowie then took out pokerjamers. Both players received $55,220 for their 14th and 13th finishes.

Tecknowledgy left soon after in 12th place, at the hands of actionDJ, and the day's original chipleader, xxjondxx, was eliminated in 11th place by the uber-aggressive j.thaddeus. And in only a few minutes of hand-for-hand play, BriDge2PaiN was eliminated by Chowdahhead4 in 10th place. All three of them received $65,260.

With that, the final table began with chip counts as follows:

Seat 1: teacuppoker (104,776 in chips)
Seat 2: j.thaddeus (1,150,492 in chips)
Seat 3: MazeOrBowie (243,940 in chips)
Seat 4: actionDJ (842,557 in chips)
Seat 5: ragen70 (808,362 in chips)
Seat 6: PearlJammer (676,174 in chips)
Seat 7: Moorman1 (93,688 in chips)
Seat 8: Chowdahhead4 (617,123 in chips)
Seat 9: $teveyMoney (482,888 in chips)

The first to go from the final table was teacuppoker, who pushed all-in with [Ah] [9d] and was called by $teveyMoney and his [8d] [7d]. But the board came [Jh] [5c] [8h] [3c] [7c], and the two pair eliminated teacuppoker in ninth place with $83,332 in prize money.

And only moments later, Moorman1 seemed to be looking for an opportunity to double as he had done a few hands earlier. It was after the [3s] [Jd] [Ks] flop and [Jc] turn that $teveyMoney made the all-in raise, and Moorman1 called all-in for his tournament life holding [As] [7s]. $teveyMoney showed [Ad] [Td], and the river came the [4d] to take away Moorman1's flush hopes. He finished the tournament in eighth place with $112,950.

It took a little time to see the demise of the next player, but after a big chip loss to PearlJammer, actionDJ was under 100K chips and had to move. He pushed all-in preflop with [Qc] [Jc] versus the [Kh] [Qh] of ragen70, and the cards fell [6s] [4d] [8s] [8h] [5s] to allow ragen70's hand to stand up. actionDJ was ousted in seventh place with $163,150.

The six players remaining went back and forth for more than an hour and a half. Play turned extremely cautious, and no talks of a potential deal distracted anyone. There was money to be won, and all of them were aiming to take the top prize.

Finally, Chowdahhead4 got involved with j.thaddeus to see a [Kh] [Qc] [Ts] flop, at which point j.thaddeus made a bet that prompted Chowdahhead4 to come over the top all-in with pocket sixes. j.thaddeus couldn't call quickly enough with pocket kings. The [As] on the turn and [Qh] on the river sent Chowdahhead4 out in sixth place with $213,350.

Play sped up somewhat when Chowdahhead4 broke the ice. Next up was the previously chipped up $teveyMoney who lost momentum through the last few levels of his tournament life. It was the [Tc] [Qh] that prompted him to move all-in preflop against the dominating [Ah] [Qs] hand of MazeOrBowie. The board ran out [6d] [7d] [8s] [Qc] [Kc], and $teveyMoney was gone in fifth place with $281,120.

A short time later, MazeOrBowie pushed for 625,347 for his tournament life with pocket sevens, but j.thaddeus found pocket queens with which to make the call. The board completely blanked with [4d] [3c] [As] [Th] [5c] to end MazeOrBowie's main event run in fourth place, which was worth a respectable $401,600.

Three-handed, PearlJammer and ragen70 were in serious trouble as j.thaddeus sat with over 4 million chips. The two shorter stacks were pushing all-in regularly but not finding j.thaddeus ready to play. Finally, PearlJammer risked just over 300K with pocket deuces, but j.thaddeus had pocket jacks...but PearlJammer flopped quads, which beat the full house of his opponent for a stunning double-up. Check it out here:

RSS readers click through for hand replay

But PearlJammer lost most of those chips when ragen70 was able to double through him shortly thereafter, and the rest of PearlJammer's stack went in with [Kd] [Qh]. ragen70 was there for the call with [Ah] [Th], and the board produced nothing with [2d] [5h] [Jc] [7s] [3d]. And PearlJammer was gone in third place with $527,100.

Heads-up action began with the following chip counts:

j.thaddeus (3,879,797)
ragen70 (1,140,203)

It didn't take long before the short stack succumbed to the monster stack of j.thaddeus. ragen70 was aggressive during heads-up play and finally went to see a flop of [3d] [Qc] [9h]. Both players check to see the [Ac] on the turn. A bet from ragen70 and call from j.thaddeus brought the [6c] on the river, which prompted a check-raise all-in from ragen70 with [Jh] [6d] and the rivered pair. But j.thaddeus called with [Tc] [8c] and the rivered flush to leave ragen70 out in second place with $715,350.

RSS readers click through for hand replay

And j.thaddeus claimed a hard-fought victory in the Event 22-High Main Event of the 2009 SCOOP! The cash reward was $963,338, the bonus prize was a SCOOP champion's watch, and the ultimate glory was in the title of SCOOP main event champion. Congratulations!

SCOOP Event 22-High Final Table Results:

1st place: j.thaddeus ($963,338)
2nd place: ragen70 ($715,350)
3rd place: PearlJammer ($527,100)
4th place: MazeOrBowie ($401,600)
5th place: $teveyMoney ($281,120)
6th place: Chowdahhead4 ($213,350)
7th place: actionDJ ($163,500)
8th place: Moorman1 ($112,950)
9th place: teacuppoker ($83,332)

As the 2009 SCOOP series becomes a memory, take a look at the leaderboard page for results your favorite players (or yourself) and the PokerStars.tv site for all of the event highlights.

Day 2 live blog coverage of the SCOOP High Stakes Main Event NLHE is brought to you by Jen Newell and Martin Harris.

Click refresh to see the latest information as the 14 finalists play for their shares of the $5,020,000 prize pool. For a look at previous coverage, see the Event 22-High recap.

9:35pm--That's a wrap!

Thanks for joining us for the action today! Stay tuned to the PokerStars blog for a full recap of this event to be posted shortly and the final overview of the 2009 SCOOP in the coming days.

9:27pm--ragen70 runner-up ($715,350); j.thaddeus Event No. 22-H champion ($963,338)

ragen70 hung on gamely, but on the 23rd hand of heads-up time finally ran out against j.thaddeus.

Play had reached Level 32, with blinds 12,500/25,000 and antes 3,125. ragen70 had 1,308,928 chips, about a fourth of j.thaddeus' 3,711,072.

j.thaddeus minimum-raised from the small blind/button to 50,000, ragen70 reraised from the big blind to 150,000, and j.thaddeus called. The flop came [3d][Qc][9h], and both players checked. The turn was the [Ac]. ragen70 bet 175,000, and j.thaddeus called.

The river brought the [6c]. ragen70 checked, j.thaddeus bet 300,000, ragen70 check-raised all in for 980,803 total, and j.thaddeus called.

ragen70 showed [Jh][6d] for a pair of sixes, and j.thaddeus [8c][Tc] for the rivered flush. ragen70 was out in 2nd, and j.thaddeus was the SCOOP Main Event (high) champion!

And here is the final hand in all its glory:

RSS readers click through for hand replay

9:17pm--ragen70 chips up

After 16 hands of heads up, not much had changed. j.thaddeus had just over 4 million, and ragen70 a little less than 1 million. ragen70 won a sizable pot on the next hand, though, with a big river bet to which j.thaddeus folded.

j.thaddeus now has 3,597,548 to ragen70's 1,422,452.

9:08pm--Chip counts as heads up play begins

j.thaddeus -- 3,879,797
ragen70 -- 1,140,203

9:07pm--PearlJammer jettisoned in 3rd ($527,100)

After that crazy hand in which PearlJammer flopped quads, it appeared perhaps something strange might be afoot. But ragen70 stomped that out, and quick.

ragen70 raised to 45,000 from the button, and PearlJammer shoved all in for 408,207. j.thaddeus folded, and ragen70 called, showing [Ah][Th] to PearlJammer's [Qh][Kd].

The board came [2d][5h][Jc][7s][3d], and the ace was good enough. PearlJammer was out in 3rd, and we are heads up.

9:05pm--ragen70 doubles through PearlJammer

The two shorter stacks tangled with ragen70 pushing all-in preflop with [Jd] [Tc], PearlJammer reraising all-in with [Ah] [Qd], and j.thaddeus folding. The two watched the board come down [8s] [7c] [6c] [2c] [Td], and that river card allowed ragen70 to double.

9:02pm--What a flop

PearlJammer doubled through against ragen70 when his [Ad][Qc] held up against ragen70's [Qd][Js]. That brought the two about even with approximately 350,000 chips each (to j.thaddeus' 4.26 million).

Then came this wacky hand. ragen70 raised to 45,000 from the button, PearlJammer jammed all in for 303,898, then j.thaddeus reraised all in. ragen70 got out of the way, and the cards were turned over: PearlJammer's pocket deuces vs. j.thaddeus' pocket jacks.

PearlJammer survived this one. We'll let you see how:

RSS readers click through for hand replay

8:56pm--Good fold

Pearljammer and ragen70 have been taking turns shoving all in repeatedly, but j.thaddeus has yet to bite.

Just had a hand in which ragen70 folded his button, then PearlJammer folded the small blind. j.thaddeus decided to show: [Ac][Ah].

8:51pm--Chip counts at fourth hour-break of Day 2

Level 31
Blinds 10,000/20,000, ante 2,500
Avg. chip count: 1,673,333
Players remaining: 3
First prize: $963,338 (yep, still the same)

1. j.thaddeus -- 4,094,604
2. ragen70 -- 621,322
3. PearlJammer -- 304,074

Just before the break, PearlJammer made some all-in moves preflop, but it was up to j.thaddeus to call, and it didn't happen. Looks like there will be more all-in action when play resumes.

8:44pm--MazeOrBowie muzzled in 4th ($401,600)

Chip leader j.thaddeus, with over 3.3 million, raised to 40,000, and a short-stacked MazeOrBowie pushed all-in for 625,347. It folded back around and j.thaddeus called.

MazeOrBowie showed [7d][7s], well behind j.thaddeus' [Qs][Qd]. The board came [4d][3c][As][Th][5c], and we were down to three.

That hand pushed j.thaddeus up over 4 million, way ahead of ragen70 (741,322), and PearlJammer (270,074).

8:42pm--Alert - j.thaddeus folded to a MazeOrBowie bet

After an initial raise from j.thaddeus preflop, MazeOrBowie reraised and got the call. When the flop hit [6d] [7s] [Jd], MazeOrBowie came out with a bet of 144,000, and j.thaddeus fold. We repeat, he folded to give the 248K pot to his opponent.

j.thaddeus sits on a stack of well over 3 million chips.

8:28pm--And they have a winner over there!

The aforementioned $1,050 NLHE main event has been won by JC Alvarado in only a few hands! A sincere congratulations to Team PokerStars member Alvarado on the phenomenal victory.

8:23pm--JC Alvarado vs. ErikXP at medium-stakes main event table

Again, in other news, poker fans should keep an eye on the SCOOP $1,050 main event, as it just reached heads-up action between chip leader and Team PokerStars Pro JC Alvarado and formidable opponent ErikXP. The two are battling it out for a first place prize of more than $500,000, and it is an exciting match thus far.

Check out the live blog for that event here, but don't forget to toggle back to us!

8:20pm--$teveyMoney leaves with 5th place money ($281,120)

MazeOrBowie raised to 48,000 from UTG+1, and it folded around to $teveyMoney who pushed all in for 293,717. MazeOrBowie made the call, showing [Ah][Qs] versus $teveyMoney's [Tc][Qh].

The community cards came [6d][7d][8s][Qc][Kc], and $teveyMoney was out in 5th place. Meanwhile, MazeOrBowie is now up to 605,434.

8:16pm--j.thaddeus taking control

Now five-handed, the table's dynamic has shifted a bit with j.thaddeus' having catapulted to a large lead. j.thaddeus now has over 2.6 million, with the other four players collectively adding up to about 2.25 million.

And j.thaddeus isn't sitting quietly with that big stack. Just now j.thaddeus opened with a raise from UTG, and when ragen70 reraised from the button j.thaddeus wasted no time coming back over the top with a hefty reraise to 270,000 (about a third of ragen70's stack). ragen70 folded, and j.thaddeus continued his aggressive ways.

8:01pm--Chowdahhead4 heads home in 6th ($213,350)

PearlJammer opened for 32,750 from the cutoff seat, and Chowdahhead4 repopped it to 87,560 from the button, leaving 281,506 behind. $teveyMoney folded in the small blind, but chip leader j.thaddeus kicked it up to 224,000 from the big blind. Chowdahhead4 thought about 30 seconds, then made the call.

The flop came an enticing [Kh][Qc][Ts]. j.thaddeus led for 70,000, then Chowdahhead4 shoved all-in for 145,066, and j.thaddeus quickly made the call.

j.thaddeus [Ks][Kd]
Chowdahhead4 [6s][6h]

Bad times for Chowdahhead4. The turn was the [As], making a chop possible. But the river was the [Qh], and Chowdahhead4 was out in 6th place.

j.thaddeus becomes the first to crack the 2 million mark, now having 2,149,608.

7:51pm--MazeOrBowie chooses to risk it and double it

It was a hand that saw betting on all streets between j.thaddeus and MazeOrBowie, which finally resulted in an all-in move on the part of the latter on a [Qc] [Ah] [3h] [Ks] [7s] board. And with the [Tc] [Jd], MazeOrBowie won with the straight and doubled up to nearly 700K in chips.

All of the action was caught here:

RSS readers click through for hand replay

7:44pm--Chip counts at third hour-break of Day 2

Level 29
Blinds 7,000/14,000, ante 1,750
Avg. chip count: 836,666
Players remaining: 6
First prize: $963,338

1. j.thaddeus -- 1,633,678
2. $teveyMoney -- 1,127,976
3. ragen70 -- 928,751
4. Chowdahhead4 -- 500,566
5, PearlJammer -- 486,074
6. MazeOrBowie -- 342,955

7:38--Chips Ahoy!

Lot of chips on the table.

We're nearing the end of Level 28, with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and 1,750 antes. With six players left and the average stack 836,666, that means the average number of big blinds in each player's stack is nearly 70. The current short stack, MazeOrBowie, has almost 30 big blinds with a stack of 356,455.

7:28pm--PearlJammer takes another hit

It's been a rough hour for PearlJammer. The last hit to his stack came at the hands of j.thaddeus in the big blind. PearlJammer was the raiser preflop and the bettor after the [2s] [Ac] [Jh] flop. But when the [3h] came on the turn and PearlJammer led out, j.thaddeus raised it to 204,000, and PearlJammer folded, giving the 323,550 pot over to his opponent.

After that hand, PearlJammer sat in fifth chip position out of the six remaining spots with his 475,629 stack.

7:14pm--Sixes sweet for $teveyMoney

With a stack of a little more than one million chips, $teveyMoney raised to 28,200 from middle position, and it folded around to PearlJammer who with 892,789 called from the big blind.

The flop came [6d][9c][8s], and both players checked. The turn was the [As]. PearlJammer checked, $teveyMoney bet 44,220, and PearlJammer called.

The river was the [Kd]. PearlJammer again checked, and this time $teveyMoney placed a very binary-looking bet of 101,110, and PearlJammer thought about 15 seconds before making the call. $teveyMoney showed [6s][6h] for the flopped set, and PearlJammer mucked.

$teveyMoney is up to 1,204,930, while PearlJammer now has 717,739.

7:03pm--$teveyMoney going for the big bucks

When it's time, it's time. $teveyMoney found some hands and some opportunities to gather some much needed chips. First, he took a 308K-chip pot from Chowdahhead4, then got involved with PearlJammer. The two went to see a [2h] [Qh] [5c] flop, a [3s] turn, and a [2d] river, at which point the last bet from $teveyMoney prompted a fold from PearlJammer and gave the 359,180-chip pot to $teveyMoney.

With that, he sits firmly in the top two of the final six players. There seems to be nothing but a victory on $teveyMoney's mind, especially after finishing second in Event 17-High only a few days ago. That was worth over $250K, but there is nearly quadruple that amount of money on the line today, not to mention a SCOOP main event title.

6:54pm--I know that you know that I know that you know I know what you know

With the blinds 5,000/10,000, ragen70 open-raised to 25,000 from the button, PearlJammer reraised to 69,750 from the small blind, Chowdahhead4 folded, ragen70 re-reraised to 164,500, PearlJammer re-re-reraised to 286,750, and ragen70 re-re-re-reconsidered and folded.

PearlJammer is up to 1.15 million, while ragen70 has 810,751.

6:46pm--Chowdahhead4 takes chunk from j.thaddeus

Chowdahhead4 just made a chip grab from j.thaddeus' stack. With about 350,000 in the middle and the board showing [Kc][3h][9d][2s], j.thaddeus bet 150,000, Chowdahhead4 raised to 320,000, and j.thaddeus let it go.

Chowdahhead4 is up to 946,706, while j.thaddeus is still in the lead with 1,110,156.

6:42pm--In other news, congrats to JannotLapin!

As most of you know, there were three main events going on today, each one representing a different buy-in level. This here $10,300 was the high, the medium $1,050 buy-in is still in progress, and the $109 main event has wrapped.

After only a few hours of Day 2 action, JannotLapin defeated Sador1983 to win the SCOOP title. Congrats!

6:38pm--Chip counts at second hour-break of Day 2

Level 27
Blinds 5,000/10,000, ante 1,250
Avg. chip count: 836,666
Players remaining: 6
First prize: $963,338

1. j.thaddeus -- 1,410,156
2. PearlJammer -- 1,037,379
3. ragen70 -- 850,351
4. $teveyMoney -- 687,650
5. Chowdahhead4 -- 621,706
6. MazeOrBowie -- 412,758

And since there has been a slowdown in the action here over the last few rounds, here is a screen shot showing how players look when they're on a break. Intriguing, no?

6:19pm--actionDJ axed in 7th ($163,150)

After that big hand with PearlJammer, actionDJ had slipped down under 100,000, and as a consequence had open-shoved a couple of times already, getting no callers. On the most recent occasion, actionDJ showed pocket queens to the table.

A few hands later, it folded around to actionDJ on the button who once again pushed all-in from the hijack seat, and this time ragen70 decided to make the call. actionDJ showed [Qc][Jc], and ragen70 [Kh][Qh]. The board came [6s][4d][8s][8h][5s], and actionDJ was gone in seventh place.

6:09pm--PearlJammer gets action from actionDJ...and a double-up

PearlJammer is an action player, and actionDJ has the word in his name. Guess there should be no surprise that the two eventually tangled.

The all-in move came from PearlJammer after a preflop raising war, and actionDJ ended it by calling with [As] [Kh]. PearlJammer showed pocket jacks, and the race was on. The flop of [Jc] [Td] [7s] gave the upper hand to PearlJammer but the straight draw to actionDJ, but the [7d] on the turn and [9h] put those hopes to rest and gave PearlJammer the double and right in line with j.thaddeus for the chip lead.

RSS readers click through for hand replay

6:04pm--One-bet, two-bet, three-bet, four...

Had a little standoff happen just now between chip leader j.thaddeus (1.15 million) and PearlJammer, one of four players hovering between 700,000-750,000.

PearlJammer open-raised to 16,750 from middle position, and it folded around to j.thaddeus who reraised to 45,666 from the small blind. It folded back to PearlJammer who reraised again to 124,750. j.thaddeus took a moment, then made it 224,000 total.

PearlJammer thought a bit, then decided to scamper with the 593,674 he had left. j.thaddeus tripped up near 1.3 million on that one.

5:53pm--Moorman1 no more, gone in 8th place ($112,950)

Just minutes after the last elimination, Moorman1 decided it was time to move it or lose it.

It began when Moorman1 and $teveyMoney went to see a [3s] [Jd] [Ks] flop. Moorman1 bet and $teveyMoney called, which brought them to the [Jc] turn. Moorman1 led out, but $teveyMoney raised all-in. Moorman1 made the decision to call all-in for his tournament life with [As] [7s] and the flush draw, but $teveyMoney showed [Ad] [Td] for the pair on the board with his ace kicker. The river came a blank [4d] to eliminate Moorman1 from the tournament in eighth place, which was worth a solid $112,950 payday.

5:46pm--teacupppoker drained, out in 9th ($83,332)

On the very next hand after MoorMan1's double up, $teveyMoney raised to 18,230 from middle position, and teacupppoker shoved over the top for 68,276. $teveyMoney called, showing [8d][7d], behind teacuppoker's [Ah][9d]. But the flop came [Jh][5c][8h], giving $teveyMoney a pair. The turn was the [3c] and the river the [7c], and teacuppoker's day was done, having been eliminated in 9th place.

$teveyMoney now has 604,789.

5:45pm--MoorMan1 gets some more, man, from MazeOrBowie

Sitting with 134,188 when the hand began, MoorMan raised to 19,000 from middle position and the table folded to MazeOrBowie who shoved all-in from the big blind for nearly a quarter million. MoorMan1 called with what was left with a pair of nines, and MazeOrBowie showed [Kh][Qc]. The board ran out seven-high, and MoorMan1 double up to 278,001. MazeOrBowie now has 111,752.

5:43pm--And the action slowed...

It could be a reflection of the money on the line. There could be a lack of all-in opportunities. Or players could still be digesting what they could get their hands on for a snack during the last break. Whatever the reason, there was a distinct lack of post-flop action over the past ten minutes.

5:34pm--Chip counts at first hour-break of Day 2

Level 25
Blinds 3,500/7,000, ante 875
Avg. chip count: 557,777
Players remaining: 9
First prize: $963,338

1. j.thaddeus -- 1,152,742
2. actionDJ -- 860,557
3. ragen70 -- 750,612
4. PearlJammer -- 678,424
5. Chowdahhead4 -- 612,623
6. $teveyMoney -- 494,138
7. MazeOrBowie -- 230,440
8. MoorMan1 -- 143,188
9. teacuppoker -- 97,276

5:26pm--Final table underway!

Seat 1: teacuppoker (104,776 in chips)
Seat 2: j.thaddeus (1,150,492 in chips)
Seat 3: MazeOrBowie (243,940 in chips)
Seat 4: actionDJ (842,557 in chips)
Seat 5: ragen70 (808,362 in chips)
Seat 6: PearlJammer (676,174 in chips)
Seat 7: Moorman1 (93,688 in chips)
Seat 8: Chowdahhead4 (617,123 in chips)
Seat 9: $teveyMoney (482,888 in chips)

5:24pm--BriDge2PaiN tossed over in 10th ($65,260)

With 149,702 to start the hand, BriDge2PaiN open-raised to 16,000 from the button, then ragen70 reraised to 43,000 from the small blind. Chowdahhead4 got out of the way, then BriDge2PaiN reraised all-in, and ragen70 made the call.

ragen70 showed [Ac][9c] and BriDge2PaiN [Ad][Kh]. The flop was fine for BriDge2PaiN: [Tc][7d][8s]. But the turn was a nine, and so was the river, and BriDge2PaiN was out in 10th.

Watch and feel BriDge2PaiN's pain:

RSS readers click through for hand replay

5:19pm--Hand-for-Hand

Now down to ten players, the tournament is being played hand-for-hand until the next elimination. j.thaddeus continues to maintain the chip lead with more than 1.15 million. teacuppoker and MoorMan1 are the current short stacks with less than 100,000.

5:10pm--Downfall of a chipleader; xxjondxx exits in 11th place ($65,260)

In a serious turn of events for xxjondxx, some early confrontations left xxjondxx with a more than 400K and room to move, but he got involved with j.thaddeus on a hand he couldn't release. The two went to see a [9s] [6c] [8d] flop, at which point xxjondxx bet out 26,000, j.thaddeus raised to 68,999, and xxjondxx pushed all-in. j.thaddeus called and showed pocket nines, and xxjondxx turned over [8h] [7d]. The [Kh] hit on the turn to change nothing, and though the [8c] on the river looked good for xxjondxx, a second look noted that it made a full house for j.thaddeus.

With that, j.thaddeus took a trip to the top of the leaderboard, while xxjondxx took a walk away from the tournament in 11th place.

5:08pm--Tecknowledgy TKOed in 12th place ($65,260)

Tecknowledgy had 199,667 chips and decided to raise to 16,475 from middle position. actionDJ promptly repopped it to 43,454 right behind, and when it folded back Tecknowledgy shoved and actionDJ called.

Tecknowledgy showed [5c][5d] and actionDJ [Ac][Th]. The flop was [7c][Qd][Qc]. "7" typed actionDJ, hoping to turn Tecknowledgy's fives into mush. The [Ad] on the turn did the trick, anyway. The river was the [Js], and Tecknowledgy was sent to the rail in 12th place.

actionDJ is now up to 857,362, second behind j.thaddeus.

5:06pm--pokerjamers jams no more - out in 13th place ($55,220)

Another quick one. pokerjamers was down to 58,838 and pushed it all-in preflop with [Ad] [7s]. MazeOrBowie woke up with [As] [Ks] and reraised all-in to isolate, which worked. The two watched the virtual dealer give them [8s] [Kh] [7c] [Td] [4s] to end the hand and leave pokerjamers out of the tournament in 13th place with a $55,220 reward.

5:04pm--Magisterium muted in 14th place ($55,220)

It was inevitable that Magisterium would move all-in eventually, and it finally happened with a solid [As] [Kd], but j.thaddeus was the caller with pocket jacks, and the board ran out [2c] [Qh] [4h] [Js] [7h]. The turned set eliminated Magisterium in 14th place with a solid payday of $55,220.

5:03pm--ragen70 all the rage

A little over a half-hour into play here in Day 2. We're now in Level 24 (blinds 3,000/6,000, antes 750), and ragen70 sits atop the leaderboard with 738,209. Chowdahhead4 is in second with 711,261.

4:59pm--Hold on

Just saw another big all-in confrontation involving $teveyMoney, this time with MoorMan1. A series of raises preflop meant $teveyMoney was all in with [9c][9h] against MoorMan1's [Ad][Qd]. The flop brought a queen, but a nine, too -- [Qs][8d][9d] -- and the [2c] turn and [6c] river meant $teveyMoney had bounced way up to 535,151.

"whatttaa hold baby!!!!!!!" said $teveyMoney afterwards. A decidedly less pleased MoorMan1 is now down to 79,813.

4:57pm--Trouble for teacuppoker

teacuppoker has been quite active in the early going, but it hasn't been working out thus far. After starting the day with nearly a quarter million in chips, a recent hand with actionDJ knocked teacuppoker down to just 102,138 chips -- 14th of 14 at the moment.

4:55pm--ragen70 doubles through j.thaddeus

No one is being kicked to the rail yet.

Moments after the pokerjamers double-up, ragen70 and his relative short stack got involved with j.thaddeus preflop. ragen70 was all-in with [Qh] [Jc] against the [Tc] [2c] of j.thaddeus. The board brought a queen on the [3c] [Qc] [6s] flop, and a [5d] and [2d] sealed the double-up deal for ragen70.

Only a few hands later, ragen70 doubled through pokerjamers to propel himself to the very top of the leaderboard and relegate pokerjamers to the opposite end.

4:53pm--pokerjamers jams a double-up through xxjondxx

Down to less than 200,000 in chips, pokerjamers was ready to move. A preflop raising battle prompted an all-in move from pokerjamers with pocket kings, and xxjondxx called with [Ac] [Ks]. The board brought no ace - [5c] [9h] [5s] [6d] [4s] - and pokerjamers doubled to stay alive and well.

xxjondxx was relegated to fifth place on the leaderboard, only one spot above pokerjamers.

4:44pm--Tens terrific for Tecknowledgy

In the next few hands following that early tussle with $teveyMoney, another quarter or so Tecknowledgy 's stack had dribbled away down to 123,956. Then came a hand in which Moorman1 raised to 13,000 from middle position, Tecknowledgy shoved all-in from the big blind, and MoorMan1 called.

Tecknowledgy showed [Tc][Td] and Moorman [Ah][Th]. Tecknowledgy could've liked the flop much: [8c][2h][9h], but the [Qc] on the turn and [6s] on the river meant Tecknowledgy's tens had held.

Tecknowledgy moves back up to 253,537, while MoorMan1 slips to 354,671.

4:40pm--What they're playing for

Just a little reminder of the cashola at stake here today:

1st place: $963,338
2nd place: $715,350
3rd place: $527,100
4th place: $401,600
5th place: $281,120
6th place: $213,350
7th place: $163,150
8th place: $112,950
9th place: $83,332
10th-12th places: $65,260
13th-14th places: $55,220

Quite significant are the differences between busting in 14th place versus winning the event.

4:35pm--Early action

On just the sixth hand of play over on Table 34, we've already had some action. Tecknowledgy opened to 12,475 from early position, and it folded around to $teveyMoney who shoved all in for 92,219. Tecknowledgy thought a bit, then made the call, showing [Jc][Tc]. $teveyMoney turned over [Qh][Ts].

The board came [9h][Kd][2h][Ac][7d], and $teveyMoney doubled up to 193,813. Meanwhile, Tecknowledgy slipped to 167,056.

4:35pm--j.thaddeus immediately takes lead from xxjondxx

On the third hand of the day at Table 6, xxjondxx and j.thaddeus began a preflop raising war that ended with xxjondxx folding and j.thaddeus taking the lead. It didn't take long for the aggressive players to get into gear.

4:30pm--It's on!

The second and final day of action in the high stakes main event has begun in Level 23 with blinds at 2,500/5,000 and a 625 ante. With an average stack of 358,571, there are several short stacks who will be looking to make moves and others with nearly twice that average who will need to hang on to those chips. We anticipate action early...

Day 2 coverage to begin at 4:30pm ET

Join us here at 4:30pm ET for Day 2 coverage of the 2009 SCOOP $10,300 Main Event. The 14 remaining players and their chip counts are as follows:

1. xxjondxx (663,843)
2. PearlJammer (639,019)
3. j.thaddeus (624,273)
4. Chowdahhead4 (616,156)
5. actionDJ (561,682)
6. Moorman1 (481,702)
7. Tecknowledgy (270,525)
8. teacuppoker (241,291)
9. pokerjamers (211,112)
10. ragen70 (173,464)
11. Magisterium (163,154)
12. BriDge2PaiN (157,339)
13. MazeOrBowie (115,471)
14. $teveyMoney (100,969)

Every tournament series has its main event. After days filled with hold'em, stud, mixed games, heads-up events, and even razz for those so inclined, it all comes down to the big one. It's the tournament that everyone wants to win, a title that every poker players wants to hold, and prize money that anyone could use.

The Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) was a bit different. Instead of one main event, it offered three. As all of the events in this unique series presented three options to players - buy-ins at a high, medium, and low level - so did the main event. There were three opportunities for players with various bankroll situations to compete in their own big one, the lowest being a $109 buy-in, the medium level requiring $1,050, and the high stakes event with a $10,300 price tag. This was the latter.

Tournament organizers wisely made the main event a two-day affair, cutting off the tournament after 22 levels, which roughly translated into 12 hours of play. With the players in mind, those who would be competing for hundreds of thousands of dollars, there would be a break in the action before Day 2.

But our concern here is Day 1. It was certainly an exciting one. The $10K buy-in brought high stakes players and satellite winners alike to the felt, and the final number showed there were 502 of them altogether. That pushed just past the $5 million guarantee to create a prize pool of $5,020,000 and set the first place prize at an astounding $963,338.00. For those of you who aren't into the math portion of this recap, it's nearly a million dollars!

The tough part would be making it into the money. Only 54 spots paid, so the majority of the field would play for hours today without anything but online poker memories and a few hand histories to show for it. But that was what made it so exciting...trying to get into those 54 places, but more importantly, all the way to the final table that would be watched by online poker fans from around the world.

There were numerous Team PokerStars Pros in on the action, including Peter Eastgate, Vanessa Rousso, Hevad Khan, Alex Gomes, Noah Boeken, Leo Fernandez, Dario Minieri, Chad Brown, Greg Raymer, Daniel Negreanu, JC Alvarado, William Thorson, Bertrand Grospellier, Barry Greenstein, John Duthie, Andre Akkari, Humberto Brenes, Ivan Demidov, and Victor Ramdin. Unfortunately, none of them made it to the money, and Dennis Phillips was the last one to be eliminated in 102nd place...still a bit from that cash zone.

When the money bubble burst, courtesy of bubble player D0ntAstic who left the tournament in 55th place, that made way for Daniel "steamraise" Alaei to make it to 54th place, where he exited with $25,100 for the effort. Still remaining in the field at that point were a number of high-profile, well-respected players, including two Team PokerStars members.

Steve Paul-Ambrose finally found his way out in 40th place, which was worth $27,610 in prize money. Ylon Schwartz was not far behind, as he took a tumble in 36th place for a $30,120 payout. Schwartz's departure was documented here:

RSS readers click through to see replay

With that, the field diminished more quickly than some anticipated. As Level 21 came to a close, there were only three tables remaining with 20 players among them. And for quite some time, there were two players fighting card for card to take the chip lead. PearlJammer and j.thaddeus sat atop the leaderboard and kept their lead substantial enough that no other player was able to crack into the top two for the remainder of the evening.

As the night/morning began to wind down, THAY3R accepted a 21st place finish, Taknapotin left in 20th, FA_Morgath in 19th, MezmerizePLZ in 18th, hafizzle in 17th, N00000ooooo in 16th, and Vandiesel in 15th, the last of which happened at the hands of the fastest mover of the last level, xxjondxx. The elimination of Vandiesel happened like this:

RSS readers click through to see replay

As numerous players doubled up in the last level - MazeOrBowie, pokerjamers, teacuppoker, Moorman1, and ragen70, one competitor had his sights set only on the top of the leaderboard. Though PearlJammer and j.thaddeus held tight in the top two spots for quite some time, and Chowdahhead4 came to hold a solid third place position, it was xxjondxx who consistently chipped up and took the lead.

And that's where it stood when the overnight break kicked in. xxjondxx sat in first place, trailed closely by PearlJammer and j.thaddeus, Chowdahhead4, and actionDJ.

All of the chip counts for Day 2's returning players are below, and they will begin play in Level 23 with blinds at 2,500/5,000 and a 625 ante. The average player's stack is 358,571, but it is no-limit hold'em, and anything can happen. The final 14 competitors will return on Monday, April 13, at 16:30pm ET to play for the win.

SCOOP Event 22-High Survivors (Day 1):

1. xxjondxx (663,843)
2. PearlJammer (639,019)
3. j.thaddeus (624,273)
4. Chowdahhead4 (616,156)
5. actionDJ (561,682)
6. Moorman1 (481,702)
7. Tecknowledgy (270,525)
8. teacuppoker (241,291)
9. pokerjamers (211,112)
10. ragen70 (173,464)
11. Magisterium (163,154)
12. BriDge2PaiN (157,339)
13. MazeOrBowie (115,471)
14. $teveyMoney (100,969)

Tune in to the PokerStars blog for the live updates portion of this event as the SCOOP champion is determined. In the meantime, visit the SCOOP page for general information, the leaderboard page to track your favorite players (or yourself), or the PokerStars.tv site for all of the event highlights.