If you didn’t notice, on December 9, Griffin Flush_EntityBenger (pictured) officially passed $5 million in tracked online MTT scoresin his PocketFives profile. His award comes on the heels of wins in the last week in the PartyPoker High Rollerfor $24,000 and the iPoker $100 Rebuy for another $11,000. Did we mention that he also won an EPT Berlin High Roller event earlier this year for a half-million bucks? Yeah, he is pretty good at poker.

PocketFives: Congrats on the $5 million cash badge. How are you feeling about it?

Griffin Benger: Great! It’s really an honor to join such elite company.

PocketFives: This came on the heels of a PartyPoker High Roller win. Walk us through how that tournament went.

Griffin Benger: It’s a tournament I haven’t had a great deal of success with in the past. Some weeks I even skip it. It’s a pretty tough event being a High Roller with a smaller field, and 10-handed doesn’t compliment my game especially well. It was actually quite a roller coaster from about 50 players down. I went down to six big blinds at one point. I called off with the nut flush draw in a 3bet pot, lost to a set, and then after building my stack back to 30 big blinds, I lost a huge flip with 6-6 against K-J to go down to two big blinds about 10 off the money.

I somehow doubled up a few times, snuck into the money, and then had a few fortunate spots at the final table that gave me a huge chip lead. With five or six players left, I had over half the chips in play and it was smooth sailing from there.

PocketFives: How many other games did you have up at the same time?

Griffin Benger: I had built up a few good stacks on Full Tilt Poker, but didn’t have more than four or five tables open with two tables left in the High Roller. I was on the final table of the T-Rex, so the High Roller was kind of an afterthought at the time. But, suddenly it was seven-handed and things started to really go my way, so I knew there was a good chance I could get the win.

PocketFives: What was the highlight of 2013 for you?

Griffin Benger: Without question winning the EPT Berlin High Roller back in late April. I won it on my birthday and it was the culmination of so much hard work. My biggest online scores weren’t victories, so even though they were for a significant amount of money, I always felt a little disappointed. To get the trophy and bracelet and be able to take the picture with all of my close friends and colleagues was a dream come true.

PocketFives: Is there a completely different feeling winning something live versus online? Are they at all comparable?

Griffin Benger: It’s a completely different level of satisfaction for a few reasons. To receive something tangible that represents the accomplishment like a trophy or a ring or a bracelet is really cool. WCOOP watches are nice, but getting it in the mail weeks later can’t possibly compare. Also, taking the picture with all of your friends who know how much it means to you and are able to share that experience and be part of that memory is really special.

A few years ago, my friends and I had this running joke that whenever we’d win an online tournament, we’d snap a picture on our phones of us holding up the two cards we won the tournament with in goofy poses. One of my closest friends, Carter cswidler Swidler (pictured), always made the best ones.

See who else has banked $5 million in online poker scores.

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