ElkY and Veldhuis, who both played Starcraft professionally before finding poker, had been training for the fight since 2009 and decided to finally get it done as part of a TV show that was filming in the area.
We even talked to Grospellier and Veldhuis earlier this year about the fight and they gave us a few quotes that now seem somewhat prophetic.
“I think his biggest advantage is his reach,” said ElkY. “That’s definitely the hardest thing I’m going to be able to counter. Even though getting hit isn’t very nice, I think it’s going to end well.”
In the end Veldhuis’ reach proved to be too much for ElkY to handle and two roundhouse kicks sent the French pro to the mat.
The match also provided an interesting Thai vs. Dutch angle as ElkY studied Thai kickboxing. At the time Veldhius downplayed the significance of being Dutch.
“Holland is the tallest nation in the world so my genes have given me good reach, which will help a lot,” he said. Holland does do well in kickboxing but it’s not like in Thailand where it’s really part of the culture. It’s not like all kids learn to kickbox in Holland.”
There was a substantial amount of money riding on the event including a $50k wager between the participants. Earlier in the year ElkY said pride was the bigger concern.
“Man I really don’t want to lose to him,” he said. “I will be so ashamed. The money is definitely not the most important thing.”
Unfortunately for ElkY he definitely lost. We’ve found one clip of the fight that you can watch above. That second roundhouse kick looks painful.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com