Who will secure a Triple Crown next?

A few days ago, Roland de Wolfe won a special WSOP bracelet: that bracelet made him the second player to secure poker’s “Triple Crown”: a WSOP, a WPT and an EPT title. Gavin Griffin is currently the only other player who managed to achieve this performance. De Wolfe’s recent achievement has started a flurry of speculations in the poker press: how long will it take till a third player joins De Wolfe and Griffin in the “Triple Crown” ranks and who is most likely to become the third “Triple Crown” winner?
According to players’ individual motivations, their willingness to travel to various live events and the depths of their bankrolls, experts have put together a list of those most eligible for the prestigious collection of titles.

Factoring in all the above, Jason Mercier is considered the prime candidate to equal De Wolf’s and Griffin’s “Triple Crowns”.
Mercier has a deep roll and he has been doing extremely well lately on the live circuit. Being as young as he is, he’s also considered to have plenty of motivation and energy, most importantly however, he’s already in possession of two pieces of the “Triple Crown”.

He is currently the only player to possess two EPT titles, one earned in 2008 in San Remo, and another one in the London High Rollers’ event. He’s recently won a WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 PL Omaha event of the 2009 WSOP, where he bested a field of 809 to get to the goods.
Everything considered, Mercier does indeed look like the ideal candidate, but then again there are other players who already possess two of the three crown jewels: Phil Ivey, Scotty Nguyen, Erick Lindgren, Doyle Brunson, Dan Harrington and Joe Hachem are only a few of the best known names. In Mercier’s case though, a more or less unique combination of motivation, youth and bankroll size adds to the odds.

Based on those factors, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier can certainly be considered a top candidate as well. He too has already bagged two of the Triple Crown’s jewels: an EPT title won in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and a WPT one secured in the Festa al Lago at the Bellagio, both titles scored in 2008.

He is currently in hot pursuit of the WSOP gold, but he’s come up almost empty handed so far, having scored only a cash finish in the $2,500 PL Omaha/Holdem event of the 2009 Series. Still, everything considered, I’m inclined to hold Grospellier the top dog Triple Crown-wise over Mercier. He too is young, has plenty of motivation and his bankroll is equally impressive. On top of all that, the ex-Starcraft champion has a taste for embarking on outrageous record-breaking attempts.

Daniel Negreanu’s name cannot possibly be left off the list. He too is a representative of the younger generation, he too possesses a large enough bankroll and it seems like whenever he sets his mind on achieving something, he gets there. Negreanu has no fewer than 4 WSOP titles and he has two WPT titles too to go with them. The EPT is the only vert where the Canadian has fallen short so far, but that fact may well be due to his few EPT participations. If he decides to chase down that EPT title, sooner or later he will get it.

Sebastian Rutherbeg wouldn’t have been considered a contender at all a little over a year ago. He has picked up a WSOP bracelet as well as an EPT one last year though, in under three months. His WSOP bracelet came in the $5,000 World Championship 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo event, and he earned his EPT title at the Series’ Barcelona stop.

He came close to completing the Triple Crown via a deep-cash in the 2008 North American Poker Championships, but he ran out of steam and finished 31st eventually.
Another guy who came even closer than Ruthenberg to completing the Triple Crown, was Carlos Mortensen. Mortensen has won the WSOP Main Event, and the WPT Championships in 2007 and he came tantalizingly close to winning an EPT title in the Grand Final, finishing in 11th place.

Barry Greenstein has the WSOP and the WPT parts of the Crown covered as well: he has three WSOP bracelets, a WPT one, and he’s definitely no stranger to EPT events.
Other names that may be considered as reasonable candidates are those of David Benyamine, Antonio Esfandiari, Dave Ulliott and Rob Hollink.