Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier: Two-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner and Poker Triple Crown Champion
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier is a French professional poker player whose career connects elite esports competition with some of poker’s biggest tournament stages. A two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, European Poker Tour champion and World Poker Tour champion, Grospellier is also a member of poker’s Triple Crown club.
His résumé includes a $2 million victory in the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, a WPT Festa al Lago championship later that year and his first WSOP bracelet in 2011. He added a second bracelet at the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe and has accumulated more than $15.4 million in recorded live tournament earnings.
As of August 31, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Grospellier with $15,400,307 in live tournament earnings and a career-best live cash of $2,278,657.
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Who Is Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier?
Bertrand Grospellier is a French poker professional widely known by his longtime screen name and nickname, “ElkY.” Before becoming internationally recognized in poker, he competed professionally in esports, particularly StarCraft, and spent part of his gaming career in South Korea.
That competitive gaming background became a defining part of Grospellier’s poker story. He entered poker during the growth of online poker in the 2000s and developed a reputation for handling the volume, concentration and analytical demands of online play.
Grospellier later converted that online experience into major live tournament success. His results eventually extended across the EPT, WPT, WSOP, high rollers and major international poker festivals.
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Grospellier’s Breakthrough at the 2008 PCA
Grospellier’s defining early live victory came at the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas.
The PCA Main Event attracted 1,136 entries, the first time the event had surpassed 1,000 players. Grospellier won the tournament for $2,000,000 after defeating Hafiz Khan heads-up.
The victory established Grospellier as a major live tournament player and gave him an EPT Main Event title. It was also the first part of the three-title combination that would eventually make him a Triple Crown winner.
Grospellier continued producing major results after his PCA breakthrough rather than relying on a single career-defining score.
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WPT Festa al Lago Championship
Later in 2008, Grospellier added a World Poker Tour title at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
He won the WPT Festa al Lago for $1,411,015, defeating Nam Le heads-up.
That victory gave Grospellier major championships on both the EPT and WPT within the same year.
His WPT résumé also includes a third-place finish in the 2009 WPT World Championship. The World Poker Tour credits Grospellier with one Main Tour victory, two final tables and more than $2.3 million in WPT earnings.
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Grospellier Completes Poker’s Triple Crown
Grospellier completed poker’s Triple Crown at the 2011 World Series of Poker.
The commonly recognized version of the Triple Crown requires victories in a WSOP bracelet event, a WPT Main Tour event and an EPT Main Event. Grospellier already owned the EPT and WPT portions when he entered the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship at the 2011 WSOP.
He defeated a 126-entry field to earn $331,639 and his first bracelet. The official WSOP report on Grospellier’s 2011 victory confirmed that the championship was his first WSOP title.
The bracelet completed his Triple Crown and added a mixed-game accomplishment to a career that had already been built largely around no-limit hold’em.
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Grospellier’s Two WSOP Bracelets
Grospellier has won two WSOP bracelets.
His first came in the 2011 $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship. Eight years later, he earned his second bracelet at the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe in Rozvadov.
Grospellier won the €550 Colossus at WSOP Europe for €190,375 after navigating a field of 2,738 entries. The official WSOP event report identified the victory as his second career bracelet.
His two bracelet victories are notable for coming in substantially different formats. The first was a prestigious $10,000 stud championship, while the second came in a large-field no-limit hold’em event.
As of August 2026, Grospellier has two WSOP bracelets and no WSOP Circuit rings.
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The $2.27 Million One Drop Runner-Up Finish
Grospellier’s largest recorded live tournament cash did not come from a victory.
At the 2017 WSOP, he reached heads-up play in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop. Doug Polk won the tournament, while Grospellier earned $2,278,657 for second place.
That remains Grospellier’s largest individual live tournament score according to The Hendon Mob.
The result also demonstrated his ability to compete at the highest buy-in levels against elite international fields years after his 2008 breakthrough.
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Live Tournament Earnings
As of August 31, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Grospellier with $15,400,307 in live tournament earnings.
His career record includes:
Two WSOP bracelets
One WPT Main Tour title
One EPT Main Event title
Poker’s Triple Crown
More than $15.4 million in recorded live tournament earnings
A career-best live cash of $2,278,657
A $2 million victory in the 2008 PCA Main Event
A $1,411,015 victory in the 2008 WPT Festa al Lago
Major results in both no-limit hold’em and mixed-game competition
Live earnings totals change whenever a player records additional qualifying tournament results, so the figure should be treated as a current snapshot rather than a permanent career total.
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From Esports to Professional Poker
Grospellier’s competitive career began outside poker.
Before his rise at the tables, he became known in professional gaming, particularly through StarCraft competition. He moved to South Korea during the early development of professional esports and competed under the ElkY name before poker became his primary competitive pursuit.
His transition became one of the more recognizable crossovers between professional gaming and poker during the online poker boom.
Grospellier also developed a substantial online poker profile. PokerNews has documented his history as an early PokerStars Supernova and Supernova Elite player, milestones associated with extremely high playing volume on the platform.
His combination of esports experience, online poker volume and live tournament results made him a recognizable figure to audiences in multiple competitive gaming communities.
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Poker Sponsorship History
Grospellier has represented several major online poker brands during his career.
PokerNews lists him as a former PokerStars Team Pro, a former partypoker professional and a former GGPoker ambassador. His association with those brands reflected his international profile during different stages of the online poker industry.
His GGPoker partnership ended in 2025.
Sponsorship history can change over time, and Grospellier should not be described as a current ambassador for a poker operator without fresh confirmation.
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Grospellier’s Playing Reputation
Grospellier’s tournament record demonstrates versatility rather than specialization in only one form of poker.
Much of his biggest success has come in no-limit hold’em, including his PCA, WPT and WSOP Europe titles. However, his first WSOP bracelet came in Seven Card Stud against a championship-level field.
He has also consistently appeared in high roller and super high roller tournaments during his career.
That combination of online experience, high-volume play, no-limit hold’em success and mixed-game results helps explain the longevity of his tournament résumé.
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Recent Tournament Activity
Grospellier continued recording significant live results well beyond the period of his major 2008-2011 breakthroughs.
One of his most notable recent victories came in March 2024 at APT Taipei. Grospellier won the APT Taipei Superstar Challenge, defeating Lester Edoc heads-up and earning TWD 11,632,810, reported at approximately $367,793.
The Hendon Mob records his next live cash in the APT Jeju Main Event in April 2024, where he finished 103rd for the equivalent of $3,450.
As of August 31, 2026, The Hendon Mob does not list a later live tournament cash on Grospellier’s record. That does not establish that he has retired or stopped playing poker, and there is no basis to describe him as retired without reliable confirmation.
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Why Bertrand Grospellier Matters in Poker
Grospellier’s significance comes from more than his earnings total.
He emerged from professional esports before that career path became as mainstream as it is today, then built an elite poker résumé across online play and major live tours.
His PCA victory established him as an EPT champion. His Festa al Lago victory added a WPT title. His 2011 bracelet completed the Triple Crown, and his second WSOP bracelet demonstrated continued success years later.
His career also spans several distinct eras of modern poker: the online poker boom, the expansion of televised international tournament poker, the growth of high rollers and the increasing overlap between poker, streaming, gaming and esports.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bertrand Grospellier’s nickname?
Bertrand Grospellier is widely known as “ElkY,” the name he used during his esports career and later carried into professional poker.
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How many WSOP bracelets does Bertrand Grospellier have?
Grospellier has two WSOP bracelets. He won the 2011 $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship and the 2019 WSOP Europe €550 Colossus.
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How many WSOP Circuit rings does Bertrand Grospellier have?
As of August 2026, Grospellier has no WSOP Circuit rings.
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Has Bertrand Grospellier won a WPT title?
Yes. Grospellier won the 2008 WPT Festa al Lago at Bellagio for $1,411,015.
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Has Bertrand Grospellier won an EPT title?
Yes. Grospellier won the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, which was part of the European Poker Tour, for $2,000,000.
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Is Bertrand Grospellier a Triple Crown winner?
Yes. Grospellier completed poker’s Triple Crown in 2011 by adding a WSOP bracelet to his existing WPT and EPT championships.
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How much has Bertrand Grospellier won in live poker tournaments?
As of August 31, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Grospellier with $15,400,307 in live tournament earnings.
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What is Bertrand Grospellier’s biggest live poker cash?
The Hendon Mob lists Grospellier’s largest live tournament cash as $2,278,657, earned for finishing second to Doug Polk in the 2017 WSOP $111,111 High Roller for One Drop.
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Did Bertrand Grospellier play professional esports?
Yes. Before becoming a major poker professional, Grospellier competed in esports and became particularly associated with StarCraft under the name ElkY.
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Is Bertrand Grospellier still playing poker?
Grospellier has not been confirmed as retired. The Hendon Mob’s current record shows his most recent listed live tournament cash in April 2024, while his GGPoker ambassador relationship ended in 2025. Without reliable confirmation of retirement, he should be considered a poker player whose recent recorded live tournament activity has been limited.