As the almighty Pulp sang back in the early to mid-1990s, “Do you remember the first time?” and this is certainly a question that people love to answer. There is often nothing like the exhilarating rush of adrenaline and happiness when you do something for the first time and you can bet that Griffin Benger will be feeling very happy with himself this week. This is down to the fact that the triumph during Event Number 13 at the EPT9 London was the first time that Griffin Benger ever managed to win a major live poker tournament.
This isn’t to say that Benger is a rookie or a player still making his way into the world of poker. It is just that this proud Canadian has experienced a lot more joy and success in the online poker environment. It may well be that Griffin Benger doesn’t ring a bell for you but the name of ‘Flush_Entity’ is a lot more recognisable. This is an online moniker that has certainly had a lot of success over the years and with winnings in excess of $4m in the online arena, this is one poker player that definitely has the poker skills to pay the bills.
Poker firsts are worth celebrating
So, while the prize of £29,700 at the London EPT event was a big thrill, Benger probably took more from the fact that he was able to translate his online success into success at a real-life poker table and tournament. This could see a psychological barrier lifted for the player and who knows; perhaps this will be the springboard for a lot more success at poker tournaments around the world. Sometimes in life you just need to get the first one done under your belt and after that, life begins to a whole lot easier!
The overall prize pool managed to get beyond the £100,000 mark and there were 104 players involved in the NLHE Turbo event. It was a Canadian 1-2 in this event with Sam Greenwood being the runner-up tucked in behind Greenwood.
It was not as if Benger let this triumph get to his head though and as he walked away with a big cheque and a great sense of satisfaction, he was already making plans for his next assault. For Benger, this was to be the £10,300 High Roller event which was scheduled to get started at 4pm on the 14th of March so who knows, by the time you are reading this, he may well have been a winner once again. Never mind the High Roller event, when you get on a roll in life, it is sometimes best to sit back and enjoy the ride!