Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier is a French professional poker player who made his first live-event cash in 2005. In the first 6 years, he cashed 59 times, made 34 final tables, won 10 events, won a WPT title, cashed at the WSOP 16 times, won a gold bracelet, and earned over $8.6 million. During that time he also rose to become one of the top online poker players in the world.

Born in the small Ile-de-France community of Melun, on February 8, 1981, Bertrand had little to challenge his mind in the French countryside. The internet provided intellectual stimulation, and he soon became adept at video games to the point of serious competition, excelling at the game StarCraft. He eventually moved to South Korea to compete as a professional gamer, and he quickly became a gaming star, winning awards including first place in the 2003 Euro Cyber Games.

Through friends in the gaming community, in 2004 Grospellier discovered poker, which fed his competitive spirit and where his analytical skills came in handy. In 2007, he deposited money on PokerStars and quickly built a bankroll by multi-tabling under the screen name “ElkY.” Playing up to 12 hours a day, in just two-weeks he reached “Supernova” VIP status. A few months later, he became the first player to ever achieve “Supernova Elite” status, becoming one of PokerStars highest earners, which led to him being signed as a member of the PokerStars Pro Team.

Bertrand’s first live event cash was in 2005, when he made the final table of the €500 NLHE event at the French Open in Deauville, finishing 9th for €2,000. His next cash was at the 2006 WSOP, where he finished 37th in the $2,000 NLHE event to earn $10,478. Back in Europe, he finished the year with a 16th place finish in the EPT €5,000 NLHE at the Big Double in Baden to collect €12,578.

In 2007, Bertrand cashed 6 times, starting with a pair of EPT cashes. In Copenhagen at the EPT Scandinavian Open, he had a runner-up finish for DKr 2,308,608 in the DKr 37,500 NLHE. At the EPT Warsaw, he finished 18th in the zł15,000 NLHE to earn zł24,282. He cashed 3 times at the WSOP, making his first final table, finishing 9th in the $2,500 NLHE for $29,124. To cap off his year, he finished 5th in the $2,500 NLHE APT Macau Main Event to earn $48,576.

In 2008 that Bertrand proved to the world that “ElkY” was just as good in tournaments as he was online, cashing 10 times and winning a pair of major events. In January, he traveled to the EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas and beat a field of 1,135 other players to win the $7,800 PCA Main Event for $2 million. He went on to cash at the Wynn Classic, the EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo, and finish 5th in the €10,000 NLHE at the Rendez Vous A Paris for €78,660.

At the 2008 WSOP, Bertrand cashed twice, finishing 16th for $31,781 in the $5,000 NLHE, and making the money in the Main Event. He finished his year by staying in Las Vegas, where he cashed twice at the Festa al Lago Classic, finishing runner-up for $55,870 in the $2,500 NLHE, and winning the $15,000 WPT Championship to take home $1,411,015. His last pair of cashes for the year were at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, where was 12th in the $3,000 NLHE, and took 9th in $5,000 NLHE for $18,760.

Bertrand’s first of 13 cashes in 2009 was at the PCA, where he won the $24,500 NLHE High Roller Event to collect $433,500. Later the same month, he finished 3rd in the €20,000 NLHE High Rollers Event at the EPT Deauville to earn €76,800. Back in the USA, he cashed at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, the Wynn Classic, the NBC Heads-Up Championship, and finished 3rd in the $25,000 WPT NLHE Championship at the Five Star World Poker Classic for $776,245.

At the 2009 WSOP, he cashed 3 times, which included taking 13th for $30,398 in the $1,500 NLHE, and cashing in the Main Event. To finish his year, he cashed at the EPT Barcelona, won the Caesars Cup Europe vs. USA, won the Team Event at the Belgian Open, and cashed at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

To start 2010, Bertrand finished 9th in the €5,000 NLHE Main Event for €51,500 at the EPT Deauville. After cashing at the Euro Finals of Poker, he cashed in 3 more EPT events, before cashing twice at the WSOP. In the fall, he won the €1,500 NLHE for €40,000 at the Barriere Poker Tour Lille, cashed at the EPT Barcelona, cashed at the France Poker Series, and won the Trophees Haussmann €3,000 NLHE Main Event in Paris for €110,800.

In 2011, Bertrand cashed 16 times and won his first gold bracelet. As in previous years, he started the year by cashing at the PCA, then made the money at the EPT Deauville. At the L.A. Poker Classic, he took 3rd in the $25,100 High Roller Event to collect $146,055. After a final table appearance at the EPT Berlin, Bertrand took down a pair of events at the EPT Grand Final in Madrid, earning €525,000 when he won the €25,000 NLHE High Roller Event, and collecting €153,000 when he won the €10,000 NLHE High Roller Turbo.

At the 2011 WSOP, Bertrand would finally enjoy the level of success he had earned everywhere else in the world. He increased his career WSOP earnings from under $250,000 to over $1,000,000 in a mere 3 weeks by cashing in 4 events. After a cash in the $1,500 NLHE Shootout, he finished 11th in the $10,000 NL Deuce-to-Seven Championship for $27,928. Just a few days later, he collected his first gold bracelet when he won the $10,000 Stud Championship for the title and $331,639. He ended his WSOP run by finishing 3rd in the $10,000 NLHE 6-Max Championship to earn $447,074.

After cashing at the Bellagio Cup, October found Bertrand in Europe, where he had a pair of back-to-back 5th place finishes. At the EPT/UK & Ireland Poker Tour London, he earned £45,300 in the £10,000 NLHE 6-Max High Roller Turbo, and at the WSOP Europe Cannes, 5th in the €3,000 NLHE Shootout event paid him €47,763. In November, he made the final table in the €3,000 NLHE Main Event at the WPT Marrakech to finish 8th and earn €20,230. To end his amazing year, Bertrand finished runner-up in the درهم 30,000 NLHE High Roller event for درهم 340,000 at the France Poker Series Sunfest Mazagan El Jadida,  and cashed at the EPT Prague.

Officially making his home in London, England, ElkY continues to play online poker and holds the Guinness World Record for playing the most single-table sit-n-gos (62) in one hour. In May 2011, he won the PokerStars SCOOP $25,000 NLHE Heads-up event to collect $112,500.

As for what the future may hold for the quiet and humble Bertrand, he is one of 22 world-famous poker pros who have signed-up to play in the inaugural $1 million buy-in event at the 2012 World Series of Poker to benefit the Charity “One-Drop.” When away from the poker tables, he enjoys spending time with his girlfriend and is involved in the “Champions for Peace” club, a group of 54 famous athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport.