Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier: Biography, Career and Poker Results

October 10, 2026

Table of Contents

Bertrand Grospellier, known as “ElkY”, is a French professional poker player from Melun who was a well-known StarCraft player in South Korea before he turned to poker in 2005. He was the first player to reach Supernova Elite status on PokerStars, won the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $2,000,000, and completed poker’s Triple Crown of EPT, WPT and WSOP titles in 2011. He has won two World Series of Poker bracelets. ^[1][3][6]

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier at a poker table during the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo in 2008 — “Bertrand Grospellier EPT4” by Equipo Unibet, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier: key facts

Name	Bertrand Grospellier ^[1]
Nickname	“ElkY” ^[1]
Born	Melun, France ^[1]
Nationality	France ^[1]
Known for	StarCraft career in South Korea; first PokerStars Supernova Elite; poker’s Triple Crown
WSOP bracelets	2 (104 WSOP cashes, 11 final tables) ^[2]
Major titles	EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 2008; WPT Festa al Lago 2008; WSOP $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship 2011; WSOP Europe Colossus 2019 ^{[3][4][5][10]}
Poker Hall of Fame	Finalist in 2022 ^[14]
Live tournament earnings	$15,400,306 as of October 5, 2026 ^[1]

Early life: from StarCraft to poker

Grospellier was born in Melun, France. ^[1] He started playing computer games at the age of three, when his brother got a computer, and later moved on to playing other people online. ^[8] In 2001 he moved to South Korea to compete in StarCraft, the strategy game in which he became known under the name “ElkY”. ^[1]

In a 2009 interview with PokerNews he explained that he won qualifying tournaments in France, finished second in the championship in Korea and then received a sponsorship deal. He said he enjoyed the culture and the language there and could still speak Korean. It was in Korea that he met the Dutch player Victor Goossens: “It was more or less because of him that I ended up playing poker,” Grospellier said. ^[8]

Beginning in poker: the first Supernova Elite

Grospellier started playing poker professionally in 2005. ^[1] Online, he was the first player to reach both Supernova and Supernova Elite status on PokerStars, earning 100,000 player points in two weeks and then 1,000,000 points in four and a half months. ^[1] Card Player reported that he reached that status playing $5-$10, $10-$20 and $25-$50 no-limit hold’em cash games and big buy-in sit-and-gos, and that he moved into live tournaments by winning satellites on PokerStars. ^[7]

He later described the pace of that challenge to PokerNews: at one point he played 24 hours a day for a whole week, with 15-minute naps every four hours. He said he lost money at the tables during that period but won it back through the bonuses he received from PokerStars. ^[8]

He represented PokerStars as a Team Pro from 2006 to 2018, partypoker from 2018 to 2020 and GGPoker as an ambassador from 2020 to 2025. ^[1] His first big live result on the European Poker Tour came in 2007, when he finished second in the EPT Copenhagen Main Event to Magnus Petersson for $400,000. ^[1]

Playing style

Grospellier built his game online, mostly in No-Limit Hold’em, and in 2011 Card Player described him as “the most successful online player who has ventured over to the live-tournament poker world”. ^[7] In the same interview he named observation as one of his strengths, saying that in all forms of poker players are observing opponents and studying game flow: “Every poker game is about those things.” That approach carried over to Seven Card Stud, the game in which he won his first bracelet, and he also finished 11th in the 2011 $10,000 deuce-to-seven lowball world championship. ^[7]

Greatest achievements

Tournament results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
2017	WSOP $111,111 High Roller for One Drop (130 entries)	2nd	$2,278,657	[9]
2008	EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event	1st	$2,000,000	[3]
2008	WPT Festa al Lago $15,000 Championship, Bellagio	1st	$1,411,015	[4]
2012	EPT Grand Final €100,000 Super High Roller	3rd	€621,000	[1]
2011	EPT Grand Final Madrid €25,000 High Roller	1st	€525,000	[1]
2019	EPT Prague €50,000 Super High Roller	2nd	€501,590	[1]
2011	WSOP $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed Championship	3rd	$447,074	[1]
2009	PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller	1st	$433,500	[12]
2007	EPT Copenhagen Main Event	2nd	$400,000	[1]
2011	WSOP $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship (126 entries)	1st	$331,639	[5]
2019	WSOP Europe €550 Colossus (2,738 entries)	1st	€190,375	[10]

2008: the PCA and the Festa al Lago

In January 2008 Grospellier won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, his first EPT title, beating Hafiz Khan heads-up; Khan received $1,094,976 for second place. ^[3] In October of the same year he won the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago at Bellagio for $1,411,015, his second major title of 2008, after holding pocket tens against Nam Le’s ace-queen in the final hand. ^[4] A year after the PCA win he returned to the Bahamas and won the PCA High Roller for $433,500. ^[12]

World Series of Poker

At the 2009 WSOP Main Event, Grospellier finished Day 3 as the chip leader with 1,380,500 chips, with 789 players left in the field. ^[15] His first bracelet came two years later in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship, which drew 126 entries and a prize pool of $1,184,400. He beat Steve Landfish heads-up for $331,639; Landfish took $204,924. ^[5] PokerNews reported that Grospellier began heads-up at a 1.5:1 chip disadvantage and that Landfish led 24:1 at one point before Grospellier came back to win. ^[6]

In 2017 he finished second to Doug Polk in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop, a 130-entry field, for $2,278,657; Polk won $3,686,865. ^[9] In November 2019 he won his second bracelet in the €550 Colossus at WSOP Europe in Rozvadov, a 2,738-entry event with a prize pool of €1,300,550, defeating Avraham Dayan heads-up for €190,375. ^[10] His WSOP.com profile lists 2 bracelets, 104 cashes, 11 final tables and $4,425,213 in earnings. ^[2]

Triple Crown, rankings and Hall of Fame

The 2011 bracelet completed poker’s Triple Crown: titles on the European Poker Tour, the World Poker Tour and at the WSOP. PokerNews counted it among its top stories of 2011, alongside Jake Cody, who completed the Triple Crown the same summer. ^[6]

Grospellier was No. 1 in the Global Poker Index in July 2011. ^[11] In January 2014 PokerNews placed him No. 6 in its GPI Player of the Decade list, the only European on it, noting that he held the GPI top spot for 18 weeks in 2012 and that 2011, with 16 cashes for $2,150,565, was the best year of his career. ^[12] In June 2022 he was named one of ten finalists for the Poker Hall of Fame; Card Player noted at the time that he was number one on France’s all-time money list with more than $14.6 million. ^[14]

Return to esports

In November 2015 Grospellier joined Team Liquid to play Hearthstone, becoming, according to Card Player, the first jointly sponsored poker and online gaming professional. ^[13]

In his own words

“With these wins I proved to myself that I can beat any field, and that was a really good feeling.” On his 2008 PCA and Festa al Lago titles, 2009. ^[8]
“I was very famous in Korea. Now, because of poker, I get respect all over the world.” 2009. ^[8]
“It’s really amazing, especially because I have been trying to join this group for a while.” On completing the Triple Crown, 2011. ^[7]
“Hearthstone is one of the first games that shares the same skills as poker, and I am very excited for what the future holds in my multi-gaming career.” On joining Team Liquid, 2015. ^[13]
“I was two cards away from busting in fifth, and now I am first.” After winning the WSOP Europe Colossus, 2019. ^[10]

Iconic hands and moments

ElkY’s top moments (PokerStars)

ElkY on The Big Game (PokerStars)

FAQ about Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier

What is ElkY’s real name?

ElkY’s real name is Bertrand Grospellier. “ElkY” is the name he used as a StarCraft player before poker. ^[1]

How old is Bertrand Grospellier?

Card Player gave his age as 41 when he was named a Poker Hall of Fame finalist on June 22, 2022, which places his birth in 1980 or 1981. ^[14]

Where is ElkY from?

He is French and was born in Melun. ^[1] In 2019 PokerNews reported that he was living in Prague. ^[10]

What is Bertrand Grospellier’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $15,400,306 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews. Online winnings, cash game results and sponsorship income are not included in that figure. ^[1]

How many WSOP bracelets does ElkY have?

Two: the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship in 2011 and the €550 Colossus at WSOP Europe in 2019. ^[2][5][10]

Has ElkY won the WSOP Main Event?

No. His best-known Main Event run came in 2009, when he was the chip leader at the end of Day 3. ^[15]

What is poker’s Triple Crown, and when did ElkY win it?

The Triple Crown means winning a tournament on the European Poker Tour, on the World Poker Tour and at the World Series of Poker. Grospellier completed it in 2011 with his first WSOP bracelet, after his 2008 PCA and Festa al Lago wins. ^[6]

Is ElkY in the Poker Hall of Fame?

He was one of ten finalists for the Poker Hall of Fame in 2022. ^[14]