Last month, Swedish PocketFives.com member bearbeer took down a coveted online poker Triple Crown. To accomplish the feat, bearbeer brought home the bacon in three $10,000 prize pool tournaments across three sites tracked for the Online Poker Rankings. He accomplished the feat within a seven-day period. bearbeer’s first leg was a big one, as he finished first in the UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed on February 14th. The victory was an accomplishment in itself, as he banked $48,000 and brought home 468 PLB Points.

At one point in the UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed, bearbeer found himself seated alongside fellow Swedish online poker player Mrdawwe, who sits at #70 in the Rankings. On the action down the stretch in the $200 buy-in tournament, bearbeer told PocketFives.com, “We had our battles since we were the big stacks. The structure of the UB tournament is really good in the middle and late stages. Even with a 1,750/3,500 blind level, there was a lot of 3betting and 4betting.” Mrdawwe ultimately finished third in the Sunday Major, winning $19,000.
The February victory in the UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed was bearbeer’s second trip to its winner’s circle in two months. In late December, bearbeer won the event for $45,000. He commented on his dual victories: “Winning a major tournament twice in two months was pretty cool. It’s very streaky. I went almost 10 months where my largest cash was only $15,000, which is pretty bad when you specialize in MTTs, but the last three months have been really good.” In November, bearbeer won the Cake Poker $100,000 Guaranteed for $29,000.

Three days after the UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed, bearbeer was up to his winning ways once again, this time taking down the $35,000 Guaranteed Super Wednesday on PartyPoker for $9,500. We asked the Swede to compare his ride through the two poker tournaments: “The PartyPoker tournament was easier since the field was smaller, maybe 300 compared to a 1,000, but in player quality, it was a little bit easier. People tend to overplay their hands on PartyPoker if you consider the very late and very small antes.”

On February 18th, bearbeer won the Titan Poker $12,500 Guaranteed Double Stack, winning $3,400. In the $100 buy-in tournament, bearbeer told PocketFives.com that he had a big lead throughout the later stages of the contest, but entered heads-up play even in chips. However, he struggled mightily and quickly dropped to a 10:1 chip deficit. At one point, his tournament life was on the line with pocket sixes against K-J. The flop came jack-high, squashing his Triple Crown hopes, but a six on the river saved the day. From there, bearbeer fought back for the win and a brand new badge in his profile.

His three wins accounted for 767 PLB Points, the second highest total for a Triple Crown winner in February. To open the month, Mark dipthrong Herm (pictured at left) piled up more than 1,000, the largest tally of the new year. The Swedish player explained his mindset after capturing a Triple Crown: “It is, of course, a cool thing that not many players have done. On the other hand, it doesn’t mean any extra money, but the tournament cashes bring a lot of money anyway.”

bearbeer was introduced to Texas Hold’em six years ago after being familiar with Five Card Draw. He told PocketFives.com, “I thought it was a great game compared to Five Card Draw, which was the most common game in Sweden then. You can’t make any good reads in Five Card Draw like you can in No Limit Hold’em. I played online, grinding my way up in cash games, and then three years ago, I started specializing in MTTs.” Since 2010 began, bearbeer banked $135,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the Rankings.

When this author thinks of Swedish online poker players, Isildur1 is top of mind. The mystery player continues to duel with some of the game’s best, including Full Tilt Poker pros Phil Ivey (pictured at right) and Tom durrrr Dwan. On Isildur1, bearbeer remarked, “He seems like a stone cold lunatic. I’ve never met him, but have many friends who have played him online at lower stakes like $50/$100 and said that he is tough since he 3barrels so often, but I think his game has improved a lot since then.”

See who else has dominated the virtual felts by checking out the Triple Crown Wall of Champions.