Bertrand Grospellier

Bertrand Grospellier

Grospellier at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo in April 2008
Nickname(s) ElkY
Residence London, England
Born (1981-02-08) February 8, 1981
Melun, France
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s) 1
Final table(s) 6
Money finish(es) 28
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		 122nd, 2009
World Poker Tour
Title(s) 1
Final table(s) 3
Money finish(es) 5
European Poker Tour
Title(s) 1
Final table(s) 2
Money finish(es) 18
ElkY
Bertrand Grospellier
Hometown Melun, France
Current team Team Liquid
League OnGameNet Starleague
Games StarCraft: Brood War, Warcraft III, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Championships Euro Cyber Games 2003 (SC:BW)

Bertrand Grospellier (French pronunciation: ​[bɛʁtʁɑ̃ ɡʁopɛlje]; born February 8, 1981 in Melun[1]), also known as ElkY /ˈɛlki/, is a poker player and former StarCraft: Brood War and Warcraft III esports player. He has won a World Poker Tour (WPT), a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and a European Poker Tour (EPT) title, giving him the Triple Crown. He is a Team PokerStars Pro and he currently resides in London, England.[2][3] Grospellier is ranked #77 on the Global Poker Index (info from July 8, 2014). In November 2015 Grospellier returned to the esports scene by joining Team Liquid as a Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft player.

StarCraft and WarCraft III

Grospellier was one of the top ranked StarCraft players in the world, having placed second in the World Cyber Games in 2001 and continuing his career in South Korea in the years subsequent including a fourth-place finish in an Ongamenet Starleague. By 2002, he picked up the newly released WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos and garnered success by finishing second in the televised Ongamenet WarCraft Retail League before retiring.[3]

Accomplishments

Poker

He has turned his attention to professional poker the last few years. Grospellier is a member of Team PokerStars. He was the first person ever to reach "Supernova" and "Supernova Elite" statuses on PokerStars - having earned 100,000 and 1,000,000 player points in 2 weeks, and 4 and a half months, respectively.[3]

Accomplishments

He set the Guinness World Record for most Single Table Sit & Goes played in one hour for a total of 62 at a $6.50 buy in with a profit of $23.60. As of August 2014, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,800,000.[12]

European Poker Tour

On Saturday, January 20, 2007 he finished second in the Copenhagen event on the European Poker Tour for 309,000 Euros. In January 2008, Grospellier finished in 1st place winning $2,000,000 at the European Poker Tour's (EPT) PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure.[13] A year later, while being knocked out of the main event of the PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure on day 1, Grospellier went on to take home the EPT5 $25,000 buy-in "High Roller" side event for $433,500.[2]

World Poker Tour

In October 2008, Grospellier added to his tournament haul by winning the World Poker Tour's Festa al Lago tournament, claiming a $1.4 million first prize. The win marked Grospellier's first-ever cash on the WPT. He also became just the third person, along with Roland De Wolfe and Gavin Griffin, to win a title on both the WPT and EPT.[2] As a result of his success on the seventh season of the World Poker Tour, Grospellier was awarded the distinction of "WPT Player of the Year." [14]

 World Poker Tour Titles
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
2008 $15,000 Festa al Lago $1,411,015

World Championship of Online Poker

Grospellier was disqualified from event 29 in the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) for agreeing to go all-in blind with another player. This violated the tournament rule which states "Poker is an individual (not a team) game. Any action or chat intended to help another player is unethical and is prohibited." His winnings were forfeited and other places were moved up in the standings to replace his finish.[15] Two other players (Annette_15 and charder30) had also violated the same rule earlier.[16]

On September 18, 2009, Grospellier won his first WCOOP bracelet in event 38.[17] He added a second bracelet only three days later in Event 43 by besting a field of 9,220 entrants. His winnings for both events totaled nearly $500,000.

 World Championship of Online Poker Titles
Year Event Tournament Prize (US$)
2009 Event 38 $530 No Limit Hold’em 1R1A $232,730
2009 Event 43 $215 No Limit Hold’em $263,323

Spring Championship of Online Poker Titles

Year Event Tournament Prize(US$)
2011 Event 35 $25,000 Heads-Up NLHE $112,500

World Series of Poker

Grospellier won his first WSOP bracelet in the '2011 Seven Card Stud Championship', overcoming a field of 126 to collect $331,639 in prize money. This win made Grospellier only the fourth player to win a WPT, EPT and WSOP title.

 World Series of Poker
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
2011 $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship $331,639

Charity

Today Bertrand Grospellier is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.[18]

Hearthstone

In November 2015 Elky returned to the esports scene by joining Team Liquid as a Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft player.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "WCG Official Website". worldcybergames.com. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  2. 1 2 3 Butt, Robert. "Bertrand Grospellier - Results". TheHendonMob.com. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  3. 1 2 3 Willis, Brad "Otis" (2007-11-25). "Final table decided in chase for APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open title - Seat 4: Bertrand Grospellier". pokerstarsblog.com. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  4. ↑ "SK.wc3 founded". Johannes 'jaba' Greiser. SK Gaming. Aug 6, 2002. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "WCG 2001 result". World Cyber Games official site. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "WCG 2002 result". World Cyber Games official site. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  7. ↑ "OGN Starleague History". Team Liquid. March 3, 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "历届以来的War3冠军" (in English and Chinese). Sina.com, Sports.cn. 22 June 2005. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "ECG: results". Lorenzo 'Naghokez' A. SK Gaming. Sep 28, 2003. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  10. ↑ "WCG 2003 result". World Cyber Games official site. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  11. ↑ "WCG 2004 result". World Cyber Games official site. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "Bertland Grospellier Poker Statistics". TheHendonMob.com. TheHendonMob.com. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Willis, Brad "Otis"; Howard Swains (2008-01-10). "Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier wins 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure". Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  14. ↑ WPT Leaderboards
  15. ↑ http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/61/mtt-community/elky-d-qed-500r-but-will-play-wcoop-me-303845/
  16. ↑ http://forums.ukgamblingforums.co.uk/annette-15-banned-t2410.html
  17. ↑ http://news.bluffmagazine.com/2009-wcoop-event-38-elky-excels-at-tough-final-table-7156/
  18. ↑ Peace and Sport
  19. ↑ Leslie, Callum (November 13, 2015). "Poker star and StarCraft legend ElkY signs with Team Liquid for Hearthstone". The Daily Dot. Retrieved November 14, 2015.

External links

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