PokerStars has scheduled this year’s first Championship series in the regulated Ontario online poker market.
Running for the first time, the Spring edition dubbed ONSCOOP — a short acronym for the Ontario Spring Championship of Online Poker — is scheduled to run on PokerStars Ontario from Saturday, March 25 through to Tuesday, April 11.
Over CAD $1.8 million is guaranteed over 43 events — each split into three tiers to cater to all types of players. The Low-tier starts at $5, the Medium at $20, and the High at $100. Buy-ins top at $2000 though most them range between $10 to $500.
The series is highlighted by a $300 buy-in Main Event boasting CAD $150,000 in guaranteed prize money. Two more Main Events accompany it — a Mini version promising $30,000 for a buy-in of $50 and a High Roller version guaranteeing $70,000 for an entry fee of $1000.
The rest of the series is spread across a vast variety of formats, including mixed game variants, Omaha Hi/Lo, turbos, freezeouts, PKOs, and more.
ONSCOOP 2023 Key Details
| Total Gtd | CAD $1,879,250 |
|---|---|
| No. of Tournaments | 129 |
| Avg Gtd | CAD $14,568 |
| Buy-ins | CAD $5 to $2000 |
| Championship Tournaments | 36 out of 129 (28%) |
| Non-Hold’em Tournaments | 24 out of 129 (19%) |
Over CAD $100K in Promotional Giveaway
In addition to the tournaments, a Player of the Series ONSCOOP Leaderboard aims to crown a series champion. There are four leaderboards — one for each tier and an overall Player of the Series, which not only awards a cash prize to the winner but also awards a trophy. CAD $40,000 is up for grabs via four different leaderboards.
PokerStars ON will also give away CAD $30,000 through ONSCOOP freerolls, offering tickets to the series. Another CAD $30,000 is being given through satellites in the form of added money. These bonuses and offers total CAD $100,000 — on top of the $1.8 million in guaranteed prize money.
| ONSCOOP Promotion | Prize Money (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Player of the Series Leaderboards | $40,000 |
| ONSCOOP Freerolls | $30,000 |
| Added Value Satellites | $30,000 |
| total | $100,000 |
Satellites are available to the Championship events, with buy-ins starting as low as $2. Special ONSCOOP Spin & Go’s are underway for a $3 buy-in, with $300 Main Event tickets as top prizes.
It will be PokerStars Ontario’s fourth online tournament series this year and the second Championship series since its launch in late June last year. The network started off the year with the Chinese New Year Series promising nearly CAD $900,000 in prize money over 75 tournaments. It followed it up with the more minute KO Weekend offering over $100,000 in prize money.
In February, the operator ran a unique 50/50 Series with all 50 tournaments priced at CAD $50, guaranteeing over $250,000 in prize money. And very recently, the operator ran the PKO-exclusive Bounty Builder Series with CAD $700,000 guarantees.
But this will not be the first Ontario Championship series. In Autumn, the operator ran ONCOOP with $2 million in guarantees spread over 132 individual tournaments. Compared to that, the overall series guarantee for ONSCOOP is down by over CAD $100k.
PokerStars Continues its Dominance in Ontario
PokerStars continues to maintain its lead in the Ontario online poker market in terms of cash game traffic, averaging 274 concurrent cash game seats, as per cash game statistics tracked by GameIntel and available on the Poker Industry PRO platform.
The network leads over WSOP Ontario, currently ranked two in the province, by almost 50 seats. Third-placed BetMGM Poker Ontario is reporting close to 160 seats, while 888poker Ontario is sitting at the bottom with over 30 seats.
With 274 average seats based on a seven-day moving average, PokerStars Ontario is holding nearly 40% market share in the province, while WSOP Ontario, powered by GGPoker, is not too far behind, holding an almost 33% share. BetMGM Poker and 888poker have 23% and 5% market shares, respectively.
Not signed up yet? Create your PokerStars Ontario account and get ready for ONCOOP 2023!
