Thursday was another big day for the 2021 PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker as eight more events played down to a winner and awarded titles to 24 players. The day’s highlights included one of tournament poker’s most talented players adding to his legacy plus a little unexpected extra value for those who were on the mid-week grind.

Adrian ‘Amadi_017’ Mateos took down his fourth career SCOOP title, second of the series, after besting the 477-entry field of Event #50-H ($1,050 NLHE, PKO). Mateos took home the $36,993.73 first-place prize and added another $47,117.14 in bounties for a total haul of $84,110.87. Mateos grabbed a SCOOP victory earlier in the series when he topped the 873 runners in Event 13-M ($1,050 NLHE). Even though that tournament was considered a “Medium”, it came with a massive $146,714.34 payday.

Just like his earlier victory, he was forced to face down against plenty of top talent in Event #50-H including Belgian grinder ‘karimmae’ who finished in second place, earning a total of $47,743.35, bounties included. Not to mention, Niklas ‘Lena900’ Astedt, who is running white-hot this spring. Astedt ended up in third place, adding just $26,113.55 to his over $22 million in recorded career earnings.

There was a little extra value to be had on Thursday as three different tournaments missed their advertised guarantees and provided players some (always welcome) overlay.

Sweden’s ‘Grus/Snus’ navigated through the rebuy-heavy field in Event #47-H ($530 + R PLO, 6-Max) to take home their first SCOOP title. After 157 entries fired off 309 rebuys with 83 add-ons, the prize pool came up $25,500 short of the $300,000 guarantee. ‘Grus/Snus’ took full advantage and took home $60,683.52 for first place while ‘MB TREMENDO’ locked up $45,601.02 as the runner-up. ‘Samustti’ finished in third place which was good for $34,267.17.

The overlay in Event #48-H ($5,200 NLHE, 8-Max, Midweek Freeze) was nearly double that of the tournament that came before it. The Midweek Freeze drew 140 runners which left it $50,000 short of the $750K guarantee. Lithuania’s ‘necgaidziai’ was the biggest beneficiary of the overlay, earning the title and the handsome $157,426.77 first-place prize. ‘DingeBrinker’ also booked a six-figure score, banking $121,869.52 as the runner-up. Dominykas ‘Mikensonas’ Mikolaitis earned $94,343.47 for finishing in third place.

The end of the overlays took place in Event #52-H ($1,050 Limit Hold’em 6-Max) and it wasn’t much of a miss. The Limit event drew 62 runners, which technically missed the guarantee by just $3,000. It took just over eight hours for ‘coman567’ to min-raise his way to the $22,850.02 first-place prize and their first SCOOP victory. German grinder Julian ‘jutrack’ Track barely missed out on his second SCOOP win, falling in second place which was good for $15,134.41. ‘2bb100hands’ was the last of the five-figure winners, earning $10,024.09 for third place.

In Event #51-H ($530 NLHE, Freezeout) ‘PatrickRass’ topped the 687-player field to win $58,501 for first. ‘qieng’ from Austria was the runner-up and walked away with $42,157.48 while ‘Jesper8’ captured the bronze and booked a $30,380.17 score.

It was another deep run for Russia’s ‘FONBET_RULIT’ in Event #54-H ($530 PLO8, 6-Max) however the two-time SCOOP champion fell just short of acquiring a third title, falling in third place for $16,127.09. ‘onmybicycle’ did one better to finish as runner-up which paid $22,379.58. It was ‘texasilainen’, from Finland, who collected all the chips and claimed their first SCOOP title and the $31,056.39 up top.

Ukraine’s ‘Andre_Hansen’ nabbed his second career SCOOP title and $98,159.82 for taking down Event #55-H ($2,100 NLHE, 6-Max). ’FreeLancerZZ’ took second place for $72,978.36 and Alex ‘Pwndidi’ Theologis ended up in third place, padding his bankroll with a $54,256.94 score.

The final event of Thursday’s schedule was Event #56-H ($530 NLHE, Turbo, PKO) which took under five hours to play to a champion. In the end, it was Russian crusher Rinat ‘Zapahzamazki’ Lyapin who walked away the winner and earned his third career SCOOP title and $69,958.97 (bounties included) for first place. Finland’s ‘mnstrkll’ was the last elimination of the night, falling in second place and banking $40,142.13 for their efforts. Julian ‘jutrack’ Track notched his second top-three finish of the evening, ending up in third place for a total payday of $22,827.75.

Other winners on Thursday included ‘RUS_FISH’ (Event #47-L), ‘exstrike1’ (Event #47-M), ‘davideriksso’ (Event #48-L), ‘mrAndreeew’ (Event #48-M), ‘Castanella’ (Event #50-L), ‘Mr.Pedr0’ (Event #50-M), ‘Alcoholix20’ (Event #51-L), ‘$aymon9’ (Event #51-M), ‘paulera292’ (Event #52-L), ‘pokerqmaster’ (Event #52-M), ‘bamboking’ (Event #54-L), ‘Kashmir_uzi’ (Event #54-M), ‘fafinharj’ (Event #55-L), ‘onmybicycle’ (Event #55-M), ‘Archigram66’ (Event #56-L), and ‘LeoMattosAK’ (Event #56-M).

Event #47-H ($530 + R PLO, 6-Max)
Entries: 157 + 309 rebuys + 83 add-ons
Prize pool: $300,000 ($25,500 overlay)

1. Grus/Snus – $60,683.52
2. MB TREMENDO – $45,601.02
3. Samustti – $34,267.17

Event #48-H ($5,200 NLHE, 8-Max, Midweek Freeze)
Entries: 140
Prize pool: $750,000 ($50,000 overlay)

1. necgaidziai – $157,426.77
2. DingeBrinker – $121,869.52
3. Mikensonas – $94,343.47

Event #50-H ($1,050 NLHE, PKO)
Entries: 477
Prize pool: $477,000

1. Amadi_017 – $84,110.87
2. karimmae – $47,743.35
3. Lena900 – $26,113.55

Event #51-H ($530 NLHE, Freezeout)
Entries: 687
Prize pool: $343,500

1. PatrickRass – $58,501
2. qieng – $42,157.48
3. Jesper8 – $30,380.17

Event #52-H ($1,050 Limit Hold’em 6-Max)
Entries: 62
Prize pool: $65,000 ($3,000 overlay)

1. coman567 – $22,850.02
2. jutrack – $15,134.41
3. 2bb100hands – $10,024.09

Event #54-H ($530 PLO8, 6-Max)
Entries: 331
Prize pool: $165,500

1. texasilainen – $31,056.39
2. onmybicycle – $22,379.58
3. FONBET_RULIT – $16,127.09

Event #55-H ($2,100 NLHE, 6-Max)
Entries: 254
Prize pool: $508,000

1. Andre_Hansen – $98,159.82
2. FreeLancerZZ – $72,978.36
3. Pwndidi – $54,256.94

Event #56-H ($530 NLHE, Turbo, PKO)
Entries: 885
Prize pool: $442,500

1. Zapahzamazki – $69,958.97
2. mnstrkll – $40,142.13
3. jutrack – $22,827.75