SCOOP 2025 Leaderboard Winner: Carrying MTTs Lying in Bed with a Laptop

In the morning – the sea. In the afternoon – poker. In the evening – the sea and poker, but it all depends on the mood.

This is the path of Vitaly, who writes on GipsyTeam's international forum under the nickname Smorchokkonichesky. We talked with the top-1 leaderboard of the main spring series of PokerStars about rivalry with online legends, strategy, motivation and travels around the Balkans and Central Asia.

– Hi, I'll start with your quote from May 2022: "8 days of scoops, 8 days in the minus. There are still hopes to place on a medium leaderboard." How many years have you been purposefully playing series on PokerStars, with an emphasis on leaderboards?

– It turns out that I tried it for the first time in 2022.

– Before this, was it the usual “boring” life of an MTT player?

– Before, I played almost nothing except Hold'em, very rarely and completely as an amateur. Then I watched streamers, especially one called Zapahzamazki, who was pulling down the SCOOP leaderboards. I got imbued with this Olympic atmosphere, the spirit of competition, and started to connect to other games.

– Do you play tournaments in non-core disciplines in a plus position?

– Now, yes, I play some outside of the series. For example, the $55 evening Octopus ( Ed. – the most expensive daily 8-game tournament on PokerStars). I keep my ROI at 50-60%, although I re-enter a lot, despite the fact that it is a progressive knockout.

– Could you make money in these disciplines?

– Probably. Outside of the series, I earn $1,000-$1,500 a month in these tournaments. Plus, I manage to make some money in cash games.

– Is there still cash for mixed games on PokerStars?

– It happens periodically. $2/4 is regular, and something more expensive – $10/20 or $20/40 – is less common. And you reg-war there, of course. Often you have to play heads-up or 3-max.

– Phenom Poker tried to revive the interest in mixed games in 2025. Do you play there?

– I haven’t tried it yet (Ed. – while this material was being prepared for publication, Vitaly started conquering leaderboards on a new site for mixed players). I want to, but I never get around to it. I see that some well-known players are actively promoting it, but new rooms are psychologically difficult for me.

– It's noticeable. 99% of your screenshots in the diary are from PokerStars. Do you only play on PokerStars?

– Then I played on Pokerdom (a popular Russian poker room), because PokerStars left Montenegro. Then I moved to Bosnia, but the support didn't change the address for a long time. It was boring without a active tables, so I got into the series. I managed to take both the general and knockout leaderboards.

– So the only way to make you play anywhere other than Stars is to literally take away your access to them?

– Yeah. Although I still play on Pokerdom from time to time, I can play spins on pineapple for half an hour before going to bed. I know that they added big tournaments, for example, where avr0ra plays, but it’s not at all convenient for me to play in this room.

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PokerStars starting out holding online poker games back in 2001 and now the company is worth over 6 billion dollars. They sponsor a slew of tournaments like the European Poker Tour, UK and Ireland Poker Tour, plus a handful of others. Over the years, PokerStars has remained on top of the online poker industry. They’ve expanded to offer fantastic online casino games and sports betting.

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– Is it about the software?

– Yes, and it's the same with other rooms. Time banks are always burning. Once I played the main at Pokerdom: hands folded automatically, and I didn't even notice that I was sitting out.

– You wrote that you haven't played a single hand for real money in GG Network rooms. Is that still true?

– Yes.

– Are there reasons other than the unfamiliar software?

– I don’t like what they are doing with poker, namely, turning it into a casino game. Horrible structures, horrible conditions for regulars. Even Ivan Bryksin (PokerOK executive), I think, doesn’t hide the fact that the final goal is for everyone to play with very low expectations and for it to turn into entertainment. So that no one makes money in the long run.

I think poker is a game of skill. And PokerStars, in my opinion, is maximally developing it in this regard with their series. And what GG is doing, on the contrary, is killing it. I just don't want to play there on principle.

– So, you’re refusing potential profit on principle?

– Yes. There are good tournaments there, you can fight for chests with a large number of fans. But I don't want to support such a room at all.

– Are there any tournaments within the series where you register solely for points, even though you play them at a loss?

– I wouldn’t say about the tournaments themselves, but I definitely do negative reentries for the sake of the leaderboard. For example, some progressive knockout on Stars for $1,000 in Hold’em. I jump from 20 bb, although this is clearly very negative. Such a reentry will have about -30% ROI. But you have to do this precisely for the sake of the expectation of the entire series.

It’s hard to talk about exotic disciplines. There are many expensive non-Hold’em tournaments that take place literally twice a year. No one plays an adequate volume in them, so it’s difficult to assess the expectation objectively.

– By exotic expensive you mean something like a $2,000 Badugi?

– For example. Although now there are no $2,000 ones, only $1,100 ones. And as for expensive Hold'em, I don't know how good I am, because PokerStars is full of regulars.

– Which of the exotic games that leaderboards “introduced” you to do you find most interesting and why?

– My favorite is 2-7 triple draw. Among the limit games, it has the greatest variability of strategies and moves. You can make red from passive opponents, flexibly adjust to regular opponents. 2-7 single draw is also cool in this regard, but it is more of a “believe it or not” game, so the gameplay is a little less elegant.

Next on the list are the herds. In the high herd, you can also play a lot of fun and fight fiercely. In the high-low herd, due to the greater number of suitable starters, crazy multi-pots are often formed, in which you have to make difficult decisions.

In this series, I was also hooked by pot-limit Badugi – for the first time in recent years, there was a tournament on it. This game is usually played at micro-limits, so during the series, everyone learns on the go.

– At the beginning of this triumphant SCOOP, you had tickets to the $10,000 and $5,000 high roller tournaments. You ended up in the money. Would you have played on your own if you hadn’t had tickets?

– Usually the decision depends on the start of the series. This time everything went well and towards the end I even dove into $5,000 tournaments. But there were few of them on the schedule: I played 2 with tickets, and 3 at my own expense.

It's important to understand that there were weekly leaderboards. And if I saw an opportunity to grab prizes in them, I probably would have played on my own for $5,000. It's a tactical decision that is made based on the situation.

– Where did you get such expensive tickets?

– Before the series, there was a Sunday Million Season with a light schedule: 3-4 tournaments a day for 2 months. I grinded everything, won both the general and low leaderboards, for which I received tickets.

– It was very nice to start the series with two “free” ITMs in expensive tournaments. Did these finishes significantly affect the final result? Can we say that the points you got in them formed the gap from your opponents with which you finished the series?

– No, that's definitely not true. In the end, I had a 700-point lead over second place. About 100 came from these two tournaments. Even if you look at the high leaderboard for the first week, I had a lead of more than 100 points.

– How should the series start for you to stop fighting for the leaderboard?

– High tournaments should hit the bankroll very hard. But if the current system with weekly leaderboards takes root, I will fight in them to the end. Perhaps I will become less fanatical about re-entering expensive progressive knockouts.

– If you add up all the MTT leaderboards on PokerStars, are you in the black?

– Yes.

– Thanks to the latest success?

– I already had a plus. I had a big minus only in the first series in 2022. But even there I was able to qualify for the main for $10,000 and get into the prizes. That's why I got from -$35,000 to -$15,000. All other attempts were either a small plus or zero. And now I've got a good overall plus.

– And all this time you were playing on a laptop, controlling it through a touchpad?

– Yes.

– Have you always played like this or was it just this series?

– Always. When I started and played micro limits, I had a regular computer at home. Then, when I started living alone, I switched to a laptop.

– And how many years have you been playing on a laptop?

– Since 2017.

– Madness! And always with a touchpad?

– I tried a mouse, but it didn’t work for me. It’s not convenient.

– Don't tell me it's more convenient on the touchpad! Can you really do without misclicks?

– Got the hang of it. Misclicks happen, but they happen to those who use a mouse too.

– Do you have a work place? A desk, a chair, a separate room with blackout curtains?

– I don’t even have a permanent place. I either play on the bed or go to the kitchen. Sometimes I settle down on the balcony.

– How many hours do sessions last in this mode?

– It varies. Of course, I can get stuck in MTTs for 15 hours in the morning. Or I can go to the sea and open a few tables for a few hours watching a series or YouTube.

– Sounds like the kind of ultra-free schedule that many poker newbies dream of. How old are you?

– 26.

– Do you already have the feeling that this approach to the game is affecting your health?

– No, I feel fine.

– And you don’t feel any discomfort at all?

– I just don’t really need comfort. I throw myself into the game and that’s it. I remember my grandfather saying that a bad dancer’s ballet shoes are rubbed. A fitting phrase.
The quality of the game doesn’t depend on these factors. It depends on your passion and immersion in the process.

– So, those who need a good chair to increase ROI and game volume are whiners who are not focused enough?

– In my understanding, yes.

– What could motivate you to set up a traditional workplace?

– To be honest, it’s hard to imagine doing that.

– I wanted to ask if you prepare specifically for the games, but I suspect that here too the answer will be a simple “no”. Is that so? You just sit down and play as usual?

– Something like that. I set an alarm so as not to miss the start of tournaments, but I almost always wake up early on my own.

– What about nutrition, physical activity, daily routine?

– Nothing special. If I have time, I try to walk to the sea and swim.

– So, you've achieved your goal – you've won the SCOOP leaderboard. What are your goals now?

– At the very least, I still want to go for a WCOOP titles.

– It seems that these achievements are of approximately the same order. Don't you want to aim for something higher?

– I disagree. WCOOP is different from SCOOP, it is more complicated. There are expensive tournaments that are not held in the spring. For example, the world championship in 8 games, in Razz, in 2-7 triple draw. They are more expensive and in terms of the fight for the leaderboard they have more weight.

– Will the next attempt be this fall?

– Of course, I will play and try to gain a foothold in the top.

– You have several constant opponents in the fight for the leaderboard, the same Fal1st. Does the spirit of rivalry appear during the series?

– Of course. Of all the leaderboard grinders, I consider him the most dangerous opponent – he plays purposefully, re-enters until he melts. It is noticeable that he adjusts his strategy to the leaderboard.

– Who of you has a better chance of taking top 1 at WCOOP 2025?

– It depends on how the first tournaments go. I think I'm stronger in Hold'em, he's stronger in Omaha, and in Limit, it's a fighting draw. That's the way I see it. But if you ask who adapts better to the situation on the leaderboard, I don't know how to answer. It all depends on the situation.

– During deep runs, do you think about the points that are awarded for this or that place?

– It is necessary. We need to take into account the point page jumps. Everyone has, say, one bubble in the tournament, and I have five or six of them.

– Do you often find yourself in this situation?

– Usually in bigger fields. In High tournaments, the fields are small. If you get into the prizes, then, as a rule, close to two tables, and already a lot of points are awarded. And in large fields, a decent difference in points appears earlier. And it may turn out that in ITM there are several "point jumps".

– Do you have to forget about playing for first place?

– Quite often. Sometimes, in some $5.5 Low tournament, I folded AK to a push. Obviously, in a $530 tournament, in a similar situation, I would always go all-in.

– What's the difference?

– In the ratio of buy-in and points. The $5.5 tournament gives more points to the leaderboard because there are more participants. The points are “more valuable” there than in the $530 tournament. In addition, in $530, a large stack gives more chances to reach the final table.

– If you end up with Fal1st at the final table, will that affect your strategy?

– It has happened before. It didn't have much of an impact, because there is no big difference in the points received, the expectations are about the same. You don't really look at the leaderboard at the finals, and the prize money is quite big. The exception is if the situation in the tournament table is very close at the end of the series.

– There was exactly such a situation in one of the weekly leaderboards: you and Lena900 had 480 points each. If you had ended up at the final table of one of the last tournaments with equal stacks, would it have affected the strategy? Would you have played more aggressively or waited for elimination?

– The example with him specifically is irrelevant because he is from Sweden, and the local PokerStars license does not allow receiving prizes for the leaderboard. So I would have received the first place payout anyway.

But I have a sporting interest in taking first place. So I think I would try to sit it out on principle for the sake of winning the leaderboard.

– The day before our conversation, you wrote in your blog that you made it to the second day of the live series in Albania. The first place is €1,000,000. What is your current best cash offline?

– I have zero cashes in live poker. I played literally three times in my life. I don’t like live, because everything is very slow. And the casino atmosphere is also stressful, the gambling addicts who pound the table with their eyes shining, tilting. Online you don’t see the other side of the game. And watching this live is very exhausting.

Yes, there are some nice amateurs who are interesting to talk to. It is obvious that they came in a good mood. But often there are not very mentally healthy and balanced people.

And my back gets very tired.

– An unexpected comment from a person who has been playing on a laptop for 8 years and doesn’t get stressed.

– Ha-ha, yes. I don’t know why, but that’s exactly it.

– Live poker is often criticized because of smokers. Are players allowed to smoke in casinos in Albania?

– Where I play, it’s forbidden in the poker room, but it’s allowed in the slot room. It does occasionally blow in from there, but it’s not a big problem.

– Are you thinking about your chances of making your first ITM of a million euros?

– For auristic reasons, I try never to think about expectation or victory.

– What do you think about the field in Albania? Not the most visible country on the poker map, there must be a lot of fans?

– I am participating in a stage of the large Italian series La Notte Degli Assi, it travels around Europe, but this is my first time in Albania. I wouldn’t say there is a rush here. I played one of the Day 1s at the beginning of the week, because there was a discount on the buy-in – €1,000. And starting from Thursday it will be €1,150. I think that people will start actively arriving then. And now there are few people and almost all are amateurs. I met literally a couple of regs – some Poles, one Ukrainian.

– How weak is the field on average, compared to online poker? How would you rate your ROI?

– Lots of weak ones. The level is about the same as in a serial for $11 at an early stage. ROI is hard to estimate. Some qualify for the tournament from online satellites, there will be stronger guys there. Probably more than 50%.

– Do you plan to attend other live series in the future?

– No, it's too much of a departure from the comfort zone. I won't go to grind the series on purpose. If I can combine it with traveling – yes. For example, play limited editions on some Stars series.

– Something like HORSE for $10,000?

– Something like that. There's no $10,000, but there should be $5,000 and $2,000 tournaments. I'd play something like that.

– It’s not surprising that you mentioned travel, because long, detailed reports about them are one of the features of your blog. Should we expect more content like this?

– Of course, I hope to continue. I have a lot of photos from Tajikistan, from Pamir. I can’t post them yet because I lost the charger for my camera. But when I buy one, I’ll upload and post them.

– Great spoiler, an incentive to subscribe!

– Yes, it will be very interesting, there are colorful photographs of Afghans from the Afghan Bazaar.

– Why do you travel to the Balkans/Central Asia instead of more popular tourist destinations?

– I traveled with my parents in my childhood and teenage years to civilized Europe. It is comfortable to relax there, beautiful pictures, but mentally there are few differences. You won’t get any tourist wow-impressions from how people live, compared to the mountain villages of Tajikistan.

In the Balkans, I was very interested in their recent history: the collapse of Yugoslavia and the wars. I read and watched a lot on this topic. I love countries where the political system has changed relatively recently. It is interesting to observe the change in aesthetics of the world of the past and present.

The most interesting Balkan country for me is Bosnia. There, in essence, three different authorities with radically different visions of the future must somehow coexist in one state. The most monuments, museums and other traces of the Balkan wars. And also the most beautiful nature, the largest percentage of forests. I have never found so many saffron milk caps as near Sarajevo!

Albania is interesting because it is essentially what North Korea will be like 30 years after a regime change.

There are also many unique things. It is one of the most secular Muslim countries in the world. At the same time, it is one of the poorest and safest in Europe. It has the highest density of bunkers, and one of them is very atmospherically located in a rock. It also has the slowest railway in Europe with old trains. But at the same time, Tirana is more transformed than other Balkan capitals after a regime change.

While waiting for an Albanian visa, I lived in Central Asia and also immersed myself in the region's history after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It became interesting to see everything with my own eyes. The lack of a language barrier is appealing – there is an opportunity to communicate in your native language. This allows you to communicate more with the older generation than in the Balkans, visit for tea and just communicate.

– Which country did you find most suitable for living?

– You need to look at the criteria a person uses to choose: the presence of the sea, services and deliveries, safety, climate. For example, you can feel very comfortable in a cottage village in Mexico if you don’t go beyond its borders…

For me, Albania is ideal – the sea, safety, atmosphere, food is much higher in my Maslow pyramid than any services and infrastructure.

– Where would you not live, even for a million dollars?

– In countries that are at war. Otherwise, if we talk about "living for one year", I am ready to go anywhere. I think this is a unique experience.

– After 2022, there are few Russian players left on PokerStars. Only the top players who can afford to relocate abroad continued to play steadily.

– I wouldn't say only top players. Many mid-limit regs have also moved, to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus.

– How much is that in percent?

– It’s hard to say, because PokerStars traffic generally falls after 2022. If the question is about the strength of the field, then it hasn’t become critically harder or easier. Most of those who influence the wait have moved and retained access to Stars.

– If PokerStars returns to Russia, will little change in the game for you, except for AFS? Will there be additional competitors in the leaderboards?

– I don't think anything will change. In the leaderboards, Zapahzamazki will probably be a strong opponent. I told you that I got interested in leaderboards following his example. And he will certainly play if the opportunity arises.

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