Bertrand „ElkY“ Grospellier
Born in Melun, France, in February 1981, Bertrand Grospellier is a professional poker player and former professional gamer, widely recognized by his nickname "ElkY." Currently residing in London, United Kingdom, Grospellier has made a name for himself in the world of competitive gaming and poker.
He started his career as a professional gamer and quickly gained recognition as one of the world's top StarCraft players. In 2001, he secured second place at the World Cyber Games in Seoul, South Korea. Following that, he achieved fourth place in the SKY 2 Ongamenet StarLeague. In 2002, he emerged as the runner-up in the Ongamenet WarCraft Retail League, which was even broadcasted live on television. The subsequent year saw him clinching first place at the Euro Cyber Games in Paris, France, and fifth place at the World Cyber Games in Seoul, South Korea. Additionally, in 2004, he accomplished the feat of reaching the top 16 at the World Cyber Games in San Francisco.
| Land | Professional since | Favorite games | Bracelets | Highest profit | total profits | 2023 All-Time Money List | Global Poker Index (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2007 | Texas Hold'em | 0 | 2.278.657 $ | 13.506.077 $ | 27 | 440 |
| Hometown: | Melun, France |
| Interesting facts: | Becoming a professional poker player. Holder of the Guinness World Record (World Record). |
| Key moments in poker: | 1. at the WPT tournament Festa al Lago, 1st place at Event 38 in the WCOOP 2009, and 1st place at Event 43 in the WCOOP 2009. |
| Number of WSOP bracelets: | None |
| WPT/EPT Winnings: | A two |
| Total tournament winnings: | $ 10.999.795 (Stand 2017) |
Title and achievements in poker
After his career as a StarCraft player, Grospellier found his calling in professional poker. In 2006 and 2007, he successfully qualified for numerous events in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). It was in 2007 when he emerged as the runner-up in the European Poker Tour (EPT) held in Kopenhagen. A year later, he claimed the top spot in the EPT PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure, walking away with a staggering $2,000,000 in winnings. In 2009, Grospellier made another appearance at the EPT PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure's main event, but unfortunately, he was eliminated on the very first day. However, he persevered and secured a victory in the $25,000 buy-in "High Roller" side event of EPT5, pocketing a handsome $433,500. Grospellier's triumph extended to the World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament Festa al Lago in 2008, where he took home a prize money of just over $1,400,000. This marked his first WPT cash win. He became only the third individual to achieve both a WPT and EPT title. Grospellier's success in the seventh season of WPT led to him being honored with the prestigious title of WPT Player of the Year.
Career in Online Poker
Grospellier is a member of the PokerStars team and holds the distinction of being the first poker player to achieve the Supernova and Supernova Elite status at PokerStars. In just under two weeks, he accumulated 100,000 player points. Over a span of approximately four months, he managed to elevate his player point tally to a grand total of 1,000,000.
During the 29th event of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), Grospellier violated the rules and was consequently expelled from the tournament. As a result of his disqualification, he forfeited his winnings from the event, allowing other poker players to climb up the final leaderboard. Grospellier participated in the WCOOP 2009, where he achieved his first bracelet at Event 38, the "$530 No Limit Hold'em 1R1A" tournament. Merely three days later, he added to his total bracelet count by winning Event 43, "$215 No Limit Hold'em." He received a total prize of $500,000 from these two events.
