Sunday's PokerStars NJCOOP schedule saw over $160K in total prize pools and 'fireball1998' capturing another title.

The third annual PokerStars New Jersey Championship of Online Poker continued on Friday evening with another pair of tournaments and over $15,000 up for grabs.

The first event on the schedule was Event #19 ($200 Triple Stud) with a $7,000 guarantee. The Friday night field was a bit exclusive, with only 45 players registering, but that was good enough to beat the posted guarantee. And without Chris ‘Money800NJ’ Moneymaker in the field this evening, it would be sure that someone else would be given an opportunity to take home a NJCOOP title.

That player was Matthew ‘MattEMenz’ Mendez from Sicklerville, NJ. Mendez earned $3,096.90 for the victory and added it to his over $775,000 in lifetime career earnings. ‘AxyAnderson’ finished in second for $2,092.50 and PocketFiver Ted ’TobogganM.D.’ Ely survived the bubble but busted in sixth place for $460.35.

In the late tournament, Event #20 ($50+R NLHE 3-Max Hyper Turbo), 64 players mixed it up to battle over the $8,000 prize pool. Only three players made the final table and it was ‘Highlightttt’ that took down the tournament. He earned $3,098.03 for first place, which was good for the largest single NJCOOP payday of the day. He also claimed to draw a little inspiration from Moneymaker himself.

The runner-up in Event #20 was Anthony ‘FlawlessBINK’ Maio. Maio added another $1,988.21 to his bankroll and inched ever closer to $3 million in career lifetime online earnings, currently sitting less than $7,000 shy of the mark. It was Maio’s third cash of the series, second to his headline victory in Event #6 which earned him a $30,000 Platinum Pass to the PSPC.

Yong ‘iFoldN0T’ Kwon was the third member of the final table, taking home $1,275.98 for his seventh cash of the series. In total, Kwon has earned just over $4,000 of the course of the series.

Event #19 – $200 Triple Stud
Entries: 45
Prize pool: $8,370

  1. MattEMenz – $3,096.90
  2. AxyAnderson – $2,092.50
  3. EdgyEddie – $1,255.50
  4. WhostolemyRR – $837.00
  5. ABRTVAHK – $627.75
  6. TobogganM.D. – $460.35

Event #20 – $50+R NLHE Three Max Turbo
Entries: 64
Prize pool: $8,000

  1. Highlightttt – $3,098.03
  2. FlawlessBINK – $1,988.21
  3. iFoldN0T – $1,275.98