 This is a huge news:Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier has become the newest member of ‘Team Liquid’ – a Netherlands-based eSports organisation that sponsors professional gamers and owner of which is also the owner of this very site, LiquidPoker.net!
By joining Team Liquid, ElkY, has become the first joint sponsored poker and online gaming pro. He joins Team Liquid to play Hearthstone, Blizzard Entertainment’s popular online collectible card game, while continuing to represent PokerStars as a member of the brand’s elite group of professional poker players.
This new appointment marks a return to his competitive gaming roots for the Frenchman, who is one of the most successful StarCraft players ever. His gaming accomplishments include second-place finishes in the World Cyber Games in 2001 for StarCraft, and in the Ongamenet WarCraft Retail League in 2002, plus a first-place finish in the Euro Cyber Games in 2003, among other achievements. His appetite for skill and strategy games soon led him to poker, where he has concentrated his talents for the last decade, winning over $10 million, a coveted Triple Crown (EPT, WPT, WSOP titles), and picking up a Guinness World Record for the most Single Table Sit & Go’s played online in one hour.
Of his new appointment, ElkY said: “As it was a dream come true for me to join PokerStars Team Pro, today another of my dreams becomes reality as I become a Team Liquid player. When I discovered poker, I had to make the difficult choice to leave the competitive gaming world to focus my energy fully on poker. 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.”
Liquid'Nazgul, owner of TeamLiquid, commented: "Today, one of esports' legendary players returns to competitive gaming. We are proud to announce that ElkY has joined the Hearthstone division of Team Liquid. Bertrand is one of the most successful non-Korean players in Brood War's history—arguably second only to Grrrr...—and he is a true trailblazer, traveling to Korea to pursue his dream before progaming was even considered a rational pursuit. His desire to become the best led him to a far away country because he understood that it was not possible anywhere else, and it is that same desire that compelled him to return to esports. It was only a few days ago that he made a surprise appearance at BlizzCon for a Hearthstone showmatch against Daniel Negreanu, but his road does not end there. He will make his first competitive appearance under Team Liquid at SeatStoryCup just as this announcement goes live.
ElkY and I have a long history that goes back for more than 15 years. We both played Brood War competitively and had been practice partners for a long time before I moved to Korea at age 18. In Seoul, it was ElkY that took care of me, showed me the city, and taught me the foundations necessary to become a progamer. Later on, after our careers had ended and we both transitioned into poker, our friendship continued and we were able to rely on each other when needed. As we all know by now, his success extended into his new career; for the past 10 years his travels through the poker circuit have been well documented. During that time he accumulated over $10m in prize winnings, became a PokerStars sponsored player, set the Guinness World Record for most Single Table Sit & Goes played in one hour, and had countless TV appearances, and is one of the few players to win the poker the triple crown (WSOP, WPT, EPT wins). Now, he's back to complete the circle, and looking to be an ambassador for both poker and Hearthstone.
When he approached me about a return to competitive gaming through Hearthstone, it was a no-brainer that he fit in perfectly with the organization. The industry of esports has changed so much over the past decade, but his appetite remains strong as he plans to stream regularly along with competing with the best. We look forward to supporting him wholeheartedly, and we know that Neirea, SjoW, Savjz, Dog, and our entire coaching staff are all excited to have him on board."
Lee Jones, Director of Poker Communications at PokerStars, said: “There are many similarities between poker and gaming, and ElkY’s unrivalled success in both fields is a testament to his unwavering thirst for skill and strategy games. As the boundary between poker players and strategy gamers continues to blur, it is trailblazers such as ElkY who are narrowing the gap between people who consider themselves gamers, and those who consider themselves poker players. We look forward to the new era of strategy gaming that ElkY’s appointment represents.”
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This is a huge news:Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier has become the newest member of ‘Team Liquid’ – a Netherlands-based eSports organisation that sponsors professional gamers and owner of which is also the owner of this very site, LiquidPoker.net! 
United States. Nov 14 2015 20:33. Posts 2734
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