SCOOP Main Event Coverage

Investing $30million and walking off with $1.5million might seem to be a losing proposition, but for Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi thankfully the two things were separate deals, the 53-year old Brit taking down yesterday’s Main Event title in the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) just days after his huge investment in Intelligent Energy.

Shakerchi had to fight off some of the world’s top players in the $10K buy-in event, with the likes of Scott Seiver and John Juanda also making the final table of the SCOOP biggie, which saw 824 entries, doubling the $4million guaranteed prize fund - of which ‘raidalot’ scooped $1,468,001.

The hedge-fund specialist has made billions from his day job in London, so the money is purely pocket change-just like the $2.6million in live tournament earnings - but lifting the title against such opposition is another notch in the remarkable player’s belt.

Entering the final table in top spot with 10million chips, Shaechi fought off brave challenges from ‘s0nny_bLacCk’ who took down 3rd place for $792,000 and then won the heads-up battle with Sean ‘nolez7’ Winter.

Winter had survived an early final table hit when he walked into Scott ‘gunning4you’ Seiver’s pocket aces, and fought his way back to contest the top spots, eventually walking off (or logging off rather in the online festival!) with $1,048,000 for his troubles.

The final hand was a nut-flush over flush affair, only four hands into heads-up showdown. Shaerchi’s 2BB raise saw Winter call, with the flop appearing 4♣ 3♦ 2♦ and Winter check-calling the smallish c-bet from ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi.

The 7♥ turn card saw more of the same, but the river J♦ proved fatal to Winter, his check-raise shove being called instantly, Shakerchi showing down the A♦7♦ for the nut flush against Winter’s 9♦10♦.

Shakerchi, meanwhile, had finally hit paydirt after entering all three versions of every event in the SCOOP jamboree, with an impressive 23 cashes and three final tables before his $10K Main Event triumph.

As for the $30million mentioned in the intro, Talal Shakerchi’s business interests include the firm Intelligent Energy- “a British company seeking to revolutionise smartphones by replacing batteries with superior hydrogen fuel cells”.

Shakerchi made the decision to re-invest the $30million to save the company from going into administration, and would see his shares rise from 14.8% to over 70% should his offer be accepted by shareholders.

With a long history of financial and poker prowess at the highest levels and stakes, and taking into account his latest successes, it’s unlikely that ‘raidalot’ will become ‘losealot’ anytime soon!

The Main Event final table standings and payouts look like this:

1. Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi $1,468,001
2. Sean ‘nolez7’ Winter $1,048,000<
3. s0nny_bLacCk $792,000
4. Scott ‘gunning4you’ Seiver $596,000
5. Markku ‘markovitsus’ Koplimaa $416,000
6. Pablo ‘pablotenisis’ Fernández $336,000
7. John ‘LuckBox’ Juanda $256,000
8. Lasse ‘IReadB00ks’ Nielsen $176,000
9. EvnomiYa $104,000