(Featured image: courtesy of WPT)
Bertrand Grospellier is a world-renowned gamer, not only in poker but in e-sports as well.
Before fully transitioning into a professional poker career, he once conquered the online gaming platforms Starcraft and Warcraft. He has had a really good record in those online games, but he later retired in around 2002-2003 and focused on the card game.
But, it looks like ElkY’s back to the eSports world when he joined Team Liquid to play Hearthstone, which is another digital collectible card game. However, he’s still actively doing poker on the sides as well. Seems like he’s enjoying the best of both worlds, eh?
Not only was he good at e-sports, but he also has a really competitive poker career. He already has 2 WSOP bracelets and 1 World Poker Tour title to date. He’s a very promising gamer and the card gaming industry is looking forward to more of these.
| Full Name: Bertrand Grospellier | |
| DOB: February 8, 1981 | |
| Birthplace: Melun, France | |
| Profession: Pro poker player, pro e-sports player, Twitch streamer | |
| Wife: Jenny No | |
| WSOP Bracelets: 2 | |
| Net Worth & Career Earnings: $12+ Million |
Table of Contents
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier Bio
ElkY was born in Melun, France on February 8, 1981.
His childhood life wasn’t revealed yet, but in the early 2000’s, he lived in South Korea. There, he was chasing his dream of becoming the best e-sports player. And judging by his accomplishments, I guess he was able to live that dream.
He was one of the best players in Starcraft: Brood War. In 2001, he won 2nd place in the World Cyber Games held in South Korea. In the same year, he also placed 3rd during the KBK Jeju Starcraft tournament.
A year later, he got 4th place in both World Cyber Games 2002 and SKY 2 Ongamenet Starleague in South Korea as well. And in 2003, he finally became the champion for Starcraft: Brood War during the 2003 Euro Cyber Games in Paris, France.
When you think about it, he has had a very colorful e-sports career.
But, one of his Korean friends invited him to play online poker, and he just went with it without even thinking he would be making it big someday. So, he created an online account with PokerStars, and then history began.
Poker Career
He began playing online poker games in 2004 after being introduced by one of his friends. He easily loved the game, later revealing the similarities it has with his e-sports events.
Even when he played on computers and not on the felt yet, he was winning a lot of games. In fact, he has won 2 times in the World Championship of Online Poker 2009, earning him 2 bracelets.
Given his success in the e-sports industry and online poker world, ElkY has got a sizeable bankroll even before playing live tournaments on the felt. So, it was understandable why he didn’t start with low stakes. Instead, he joined a €500 buy-in event and got 9th place in Deauville.
His first major win happened in 2007 when he won 2nd place during the EPT Copenhagen. This time, he got a prize of around $400,000.
But, the start of his massive winnings was in 2008. He won $2 million after joining the $8,000 No-limit Hold’em event during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. This was under the EPT brand as well.
But that’s not all.
He also became the champion of the 2008 WPT championship game where he won a jaw-dropping $1.4+ million. A few years later, in 2011, he finally got his first WSOP bracelet after winning the 7-Card Stud event.
This earned him the famous “Triple Crown” title, which only means he was champion of all 3 events hosted by the 3 official poker brands worldwide.
Over the years of his poker career, he’s participated in a bunch of televised poker shows like “The Big Game” and “Shark Cage”, and has played with some of the best and famous poker players like:
- Daniel Negreanu,
- Phil Ivey,
- Phil Hellmuth,
- Antonio Esfandiari,
- Jennifer Harman,
- Justin Bonomo,
- Tom Dwan,
- Phil Laak,
- Eli Elezra,
- Scott Seiver,
- Jason Mercier,
- Isaac Haxton,
- Vanessa Selbst,
… and many others.
Personal Life
Just like most famous poker players, ElkY isn’t that much of a kiss-and-tell person.
He has kept his private life quiet. But, he has a long-time girlfriend-turned-fiance named Jenny No. It was in 2018 when they announced the engagement.
ElkY Net Worth
If you check The Hendon Mob, it says that he has accumulated live tournament winnings of over $14 million.
But after considering major losses and revenues from other ventures, his net worth is now estimated to be at $15+ million.
To date, here are his top cashes:
- 2nd place 2017 WSOP $111,111 NLHE for One Drop – $2,278,657
- 1st place 2008 EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure – $2,000,000
- 1st place 2008 Fiesta Al Lago WPT – $1,411,015
- 3rd place 2012 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo – $820,776
- 1st place 2011 EPT Grand Final – $779,221
So, is there anything you want to share about Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier? Share them in the comments section below!