Recently in Gavin Griffin Category

Gavin Griffin was sick. Literally. His nose sniffled, his eyes were red, and his every breath seemed to be full of real effort. Even the frivolousness of his pink hair couldn't offset the clarity of Griffin's head cold. Yet, there was a determination in his eye that no one could deny.

A couple of seats down the table, Canadian pro Marc Karam sat with steel in his eyes. It had been just a year since Karam had made the final table of the PokerStars EPT Grand Final. That year, he'd watched American college student Jeff Williams go on to win the title. Now, Karam was heads up with Griffin, a man most famous then for once being the youngest person to ever win a World Series bracelet.

It was a heads-up match that promised and delivered a battle suited for the history books.

The final hand, as reported here at the PokerStars Blog, played out like this:

Gavin made it 150,000 to go pre-flop and Marc re-raised to 400,000. Gavin called. The flop came 3-2-4. Marc pushed out a bet of 500,000. Gavin thought for just a few seconds before raising to 2 million. The room suddenly felt like it does just before a huge electrical storm in the American Midwest. The skies opened when Marc announced, "All-in."

Gavin, still with the sniffles, looked like he was in pain. He had Marc covered by only about 500,000. After about two minutes of thought, he said, "You have the best hand."

"You're calling," Marc asked. We couldn't tell if he was incredulous or happy.

"Yeah, I call," Gavin said.

Marc forcefully put his 4-7 on the table. Top pair, seven kicker. Gavin showed K-5. He may not have thought he was in such good shape. With fourteen outs twice, he was in good shape. The turn, though, suddenly didn't look as good for the pink-haired pro. It was a three. The river seemed to come down slow. But just by looking at the boy's faces, it was clear what had happened. The river was a king, and just like that, Gavin Griffin had won the EPT Grand Final. Marc Karam, who everyone agrees played a stellar game here, finished in second place for €1,061,820.

The bridesmaid position is not one at which to sneeze, but it does not suit Karam well. He is among that group of poker players who not only love to win, but also hate to lose. Two Grand Final final tables in two years and no title to call his own. In the months that followed, Griffin's star only rose. He won a World Poker Tour event, became the first and only player to claim poker's unofficial Triple Crown, and was subsequently signed to the elite Team PokerStars Pro.

That, though, is the stuff of history, right?

Yes and no.

Here on Day 1B, Griffin and Karam share the room. Griffin is back to defend his title and Karam is here looking for his first EPT crown. They are several tables apart at the moment, but if yesterday's clever poker fates return today (the kind that put father and son at the same table) there is the chance we could see Griffin and Karam face off again.

One look at their faces makes clear their intentions for the day.

We'll keep an eye on both as the day progresses. In a field this large (we're hearing reports the field has eclipsed the 800-player mark), there is rarely hope of history repeating itself. However, we've seen stranger things happen and that's why we keep watching.

The skies were cloudy in Monte Carlo this morning, but by the middle of the afternoon, the sun broke through and cast the spotlight on Team PokerStars Pro's newest members.

PokerStars announced this morning it has added Gavin Griffin and Chad Brown to its stable of elite poker players. Both men are here in Monte Carlo and will be playing in the PokerStars EPT Grand Final.

For Griffin, this announcement comes at an appropriate time. It was just one year ago on this same property that Griffin won the EPT Grand Final title and more than $2 million. He returns this year to defend his title, but this time under the banner of Team PokerStars Pro. Griffin rose to fame in 2004 when, at 22 years old, he became the youngest person ever to win a World Series bracelet. After winning the EPT Grand Final, Griffin went on to win a World Poker Tour title, making him the first player to ever win the "triple crown" of poker (for more on this subject, don't miss the video blogs at the bottom of this post).

"This is the team I want to play with," Griffin said. "I am proud to be a part of this line up.”

Griffin will play at PokerStars under the name ‘GavinGriffin.’

Chad Brown has made a handsome living since 1993 when he first cashed in the World Series. Since then, he's been a major player on the poker scene. Over the years, he's been seen at many a final table, not the least of which was the 2006 World Championship of Online Poker $5,200 HORSE victory for $223,000.

"I'm ecstatic to be with Team PokerStars Pro," Brown said. "I am looking forward to winning a few bracelets and contributing to the Team."

Brown will play at PokerStars under the name ‘ChadBrownPro.’

It’s day three of the EPT Dortmund where 32 remaining players will play down to a final table later this afternoon.

But right now there’s another story to report, the kind of story that writes itself, of the good guy triumphing in a world laced with ego and brag. There’s no need for any artificial injection of hyperbole, the news is simple and good - that last night Gavin Griffin won the WPT event in Borgota making him the first winner of poker’s Triple Crown –WSOP, EPT and WPT titles.

The potential of the Orange County man was made clear when, aged just 23, Gavin won the WSOP $3,000 pot-limit hold’em bracelet back in 2004 - becoming the youngest player ever to win a bracelet.

Nobody was surprised then when last April he won the PokerStars EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo worth $2,434,061. The way he played was exceptional, but his attitude during that highlight week was equally impressive - his pink-haired support for breast cancer awareness at the centre of his life, with girlfriend Kristan at his side – a sane head on level shoulders with a healthy interest in the world beyond his hole cards.

How to win an EPT...

Since then Gavin has been a great friend of PokerStars, appearing as guest of honour at this year’s Hold’em 100 in London, a charity poker tournament in London that for the last 11 years has raised money for the Royal Marsden Cancer fund.

News of his run on the Triple Crown emerged early yesterday – second in chips at the Borgata he still had five players to beat, but beat them he did, holding Q-J to David Tran’s K-8 on the last hand catching a queen on the turn for much more than $1,401,109 prize money.

So at least this exclusive Triple Crown club now has a chairman, and whilst the Christmas party might make for a slow night Gavin won’t care. Sure, sooner or later someone else will be welcomed into the fraternity – there are enough players with two of the three titles to be getting close - but one thing is certain, that events like this happen rarely and when they do, particularly for the first time, they ought to be saluted.

Congratulations to Gavin Griffin, poker’s first Triple Crown winner –