Earlier this month, Sam TheSquidGrafton (pictured) earned his ninth PocketFives Triple Crown. The award requires a person to take down three $10,000 prize pool tournaments across three sites tracked for the PocketFives Rankingswithin seven days. As he put it, “I’m following in the footsteps of the master, moorman1,” who has a record-setting two-dozen Triple Crowns, 12 more than the next closest person.

“It feels really good,” Grafton told PocketFives in an exclusive interview. “I had an abysmal Sunday and the $20 Rebuy on iPoker was the last tournament I was in. I had just gotten 12th in the Hot $44, so I was a little frustrated, but I kept my head and closed out the win.”

The €10,000 Sunday Eclipse, which runs on sites like Betfairon the iPoker Network, marked the last leg of his ninth Triple Crown. His other wins came in the PokerStars Big $11and Full Tilt Benjamin. He said of the trio, “This Triple Crown was particularly good because it included a couple of memorable tournaments. I never thought I’d win the Big $11, for example, and I chopped the Benjamin heads-up with a good friend, Richard TheClaimeer Trigg.”

Grafton is an old-timer in the England pokercommunity and signed up for PocketFives almost exactly five years ago. “I have been going for a long time now,” Grafton said. “I am one of the veterans of the UK online scene. I didn’t know it would last this long, but I still have a lot of desire. There is a lot I want to achieve too. I want to continue to be competitive, meet new people, and win big tournaments.”

Aside from his nine Triple Crowns, Grafton has $3.2 million in online tournament winnings and two scores of at least $100,000. “I don’t really chase Triple Crowns until I have two wins,” Grafton said. “Then, I take a little more interest in the sites I don’t have a victory on yet. They’re often small fields on the Euro sites, so although your ROI can never be as high, variance is a lot lower, and it’s a great feeling to play tournaments that are very winnable.”

He owns Sunday Brawl, PartyPoker$100K, and Big $109 wins, just to name a few, and has come dangerously close to two SCOOP titles. “I look up to the UK players who influenced me when I was coming up,” Grafton responded when asked who the top online players were right now. “I look up to players like hitthehole, TheClaimeer, NigDawG, and 810ofclubs (pictured), but I have massive love for anyone who shows a work ethic, plays in the right spirit, and loves the game.”

Grafton and 810ofcubs are tight, as the nine-time Triple Crown winner explained that 810ofclubs calls him every break. “We call him ‘The Jester’ because he always rings up during breaks and tells us a joke,” Grafton revealed. “Or, he makes up a limerick. It brings a smile to your face even if you’re having a tough day. That’s the sign of a great friend.”

Grafton is tied for the fourth most Triple Crowns in PocketFives history. Visit our Triple Crown Wall of Champions to learn how to get your own!

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