ElkY

Bertrand Grospellier
ElkY at King's Casino Rozvadov in 2020
Nickname(s)ElkY
ResidencePrague, Czech Republic
Born (1981-02-08) 8 February 1981 (age 43)
Melun, France
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)2
Final table(s)6
Money finish(es)47[1]
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		122nd, 2009
World Poker Tour
Title(s)1
Final table(s)2
Money finish(es)5
European Poker Tour
Title(s)1
Final table(s)2
Money finish(es)18
Current team
TeamTeam Liquid
GameHearthstone
Esports career information
Games
Career highlights and awards
  • Euro Cyber Games champion (2003)
Information last updated on 19 February 2016.

Bertrand Grospellier (French pronunciation: [bɛʁtʁɑ̃ ɡʁopɛlje]; born 8 February 1981 in Melun[2]), also known as ElkY /ˈɛlki/, is a French 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 partypoker Pro and he currently resides in Prague, Czech Republic.[3][4] ElkY is ranked #77 on the Global Poker Index (info from 8 July 2014). In November 2015 ElkY returned to the esports scene by joining Team Liquid as a Hearthstone player.

StarCraft and WarCraft III

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ElkY 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.[5]

Accomplishments

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Poker career

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He has turned his attention to professional poker the last few years. ElkY was a member of Team PokerStars. He was the first person to reach "Supernova" and "Supernova Elite" statuses on PokerStars - having earned 100,000 and 1,000,000 player points in 2 weeks, and 4+1⁄2 months, respectively.[5]

Accomplishments

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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 usually playing a high number of simultaneous tournaments he has transferred well to the single live event.

European Poker Tour

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On Saturday, 20 January 2007, he finished second in the Copenhagen event on the European Poker Tour for 309,000 Euros.[14] In January 2008, ElkY finished in 1st place winning $2,000,000 at the European Poker Tour's (EPT) PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure.[15][16] A year later, while being knocked out of the main event of the PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure on day 1, ElkY went on to take home the EPT5 $25,000 buy-in "High Roller" side event for $433,500.[17]

World Poker Tour

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In October 2008, ElkY added to his tournament haul by winning the World Poker Tour's Festa al Lago tournament, claiming a $1.4 million first prize.[18] The win marked ElkY'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.[3] As a result of his success on the seventh season of the World Poker Tour, ElkY was awarded the distinction of "WPT Player of the Year.[19]

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

World Championship of Online Poker

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ElkY 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.[20] Two other players (Annette_15 and charder30) had also violated the same rule earlier.[21]

On 18 September 2009, ElkY won his first WCOOP bracelet in event 38.[22] 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

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ElkY 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 ElkY only the fourth player to win a WPT, EPT and WSOP title.

ElkY won his second bracelet in the 2019 WSOPE winning the $550 Colossus No limit holdem event.

World Series of Poker
Year Tournament Prize
2011 $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship $331,639
2019E €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold’em €191,172

An "E" following a year denotes bracelet(s) won at the World Series of Poker Europe

Career earnings

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As of February 2018, his total live tournament winnings exceed $13,500,000.[23]

Charity

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Today, ElkY 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.[24]

Hearthstone

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In November 2015, Elky returned to the esports scene by joining Team Liquid as a Hearthstone player.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Bertrand Grospellier". WSOP.com. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  2. ^ "WCG Official Website". worldcybergames.com. Retrieved 27 April 2008.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b "Bertrand Grospellier's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Partypoker".
  5. ^ a b Willis, Brad "Otis" (25 November 2007). "Final table decided in chase for APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open title - Seat 4: Bertrand Grospellier". pokerstarsblog.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
  6. ^ "SK.wc3 founded". Johannes 'jaba' Greiser. SK Gaming. 6 August 2002. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  7. ^ "WCG 2001 result". World Cyber Games official site. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  8. ^ "WCG 2002 result". World Cyber Games official site. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  9. ^ "OGN Starleague History". Team Liquid. 3 March 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  10. ^ "历届以来的War3冠军" (in English and Chinese). Sina.com, Sports.cn. 22 June 2005. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  11. ^ "ECG: results". SK Gaming. 28 September 2003. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  12. ^ "WCG 2003 result". World Cyber Games official site. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  13. ^ "WCG 2004 result". World Cyber Games official site. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  14. ^ "European Poker Tour - EPT Copenhagen, No Limit Hold'em - EPT Main Event". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  15. ^ "PokerStars Caribbean Adventure - PCA 2008, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  16. ^ Willis, Brad "Otis"; Swains, Howard (10 January 2008). "Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier wins 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure". Retrieved 11 January 2008.
  17. ^ "PokerStars Caribbean Adventure - PCA 2009, No Limit Hold'em - High Roller Event". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  18. ^ "6th Annual Festa Al Lago Classic, WPT Championship". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Bertrand Elky Grospellier Season 7 Player of the Year WPT World Championship Level 28: 100,000-200,000". World Poker Tour. 25 April 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  20. ^ "elky d/q'ed from 500r, but will play WCOOP ME - MTT Community - Multi Table Tournament Poker Community". forumserver.twoplustwo.com.
  21. ^ "Annette_15 Banned from stars - Poker-Forum| Betting Forum: UKGF". Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  22. ^ "2009 WCOOP Event #38: ElKY Excels at Tough Final Table | BLUFF Poker News". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  23. ^ "Bertland Grospellier Poker Statistics". TheHendonMob.com. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  24. ^ "Peace and Sport". www.peace-sport.org.
  25. ^ Leslie, Callum (13 November 2015). "Poker star and StarCraft legend ElkY signs with Team Liquid for Hearthstone". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
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