Conor Beresford: Professional Poker Player Profile

The British online crusher who spent nearly half of 2020 as the #1-ranked player in the world.

AT A GLANCE

Nationality	British (York, England)
Online Alias	1_conor_b_1
Live Earnings	$2,752,283 (137 cashes)
Online Earnings	$17M+ (estimated)
Peak Online Rank	#1 Worldwide — PocketFives (2020)
Online POY	2020 PocketFives Player of the Year
Weeks at #1	29 consecutive weeks (2020)
Biggest Live Cash	$436,812 — PCA $50K Seven-Max, 2023
Biggest Online Cash	$728,028 — GGPoker Super MILLION$, 2022

BACKGROUND

Conor Beresford is a professional poker player from York, England. He built his reputation almost entirely online, grinding under the alias ‘1_conor_b_1’ for over a decade before his live results caught up to his digital dominance. His career online earnings exceed $17 million — one of the largest online tournament bankrolls in UK poker history.

Beresford’s rise wasn’t overnight. He first appeared on poker’s radar in 2011 when he won the PokerStars SCOOP Main Event for $735,300, one of the most prestigious online titles available. But his real breakthrough came in 2020, a year that turned him from respected grinder to globally recognized elite.

Early in his career, Beresford was staked — meaning he played with a backer’s money in exchange for a share of winnings. After a big Sunday Million final table finish in 2012 that netted him roughly $60,000 (half of which went to his backer), he struggled to find direction. His backer at the time, a coach known as BBZ, sent him to Vancouver to study hyper-turbo SNGs and grind Supernova Elite on PokerStars. Beresford has since credited that intervention as the turning point that kept him in the game.

KEY CAREER EVENTS

Year	Event	Platform	Result	Prize
2011	PokerStars SCOOP Main Event	Online	1st	$735,300
2019	PokerStars Sunday Million	Online	1st	$112,185
2020	GGPoker 2020 Series Championship	Online	2nd	$611,134
2020	PokerStars HS Series Event #32 ($5,200 8-Max ME)	Online	1st	$378,205
2020	PokerStars HS Series Event #39 ($10,300 NLHE)	Online	1st	$239,652
2020	PokerStars SCOOP Event #32-H ($530 NLHE)	Online	1st	$85,959
2020	PokerStars WCOOP Event #33-H ($5,200 HR)	Online	1st	$162,674
2022	GGPoker Super MILLION$ (WSOPC)	Online	1st	$728,028
2022	EPT Prague €10,300 High Roller	Live	3rd	€256,300
2022	UKIPT London Main Event	Live	2nd	£145,120
2023	PCA $50,000 Seven-Max	Live	1st	$436,812

TOP TITLES

Tournament	Series	Year	Platform	Prize
PCA $50,000 Seven-Max	PCA	2023	Live	$436,812
GGPoker Super MILLION$ (WSOPC Ring)	WSOPC	2022	Online	$728,028
HS Series Event #32 ($5,200 8-Max ME)	PokerStars	2020	Online	$378,205
HS Series Event #39 ($10,300 NLHE)	PokerStars	2020	Online	$239,652
WCOOP Event #33-H ($5,200 NLHE HR)	WCOOP	2020	Online	$162,674
SCOOP Event #32-H ($530 NLHE)	SCOOP	2020	Online	$85,959
Sunday Million	PokerStars	2019	Online	$112,185
SCOOP Main Event	SCOOP	2011	Online	$735,300

Note: Beresford also holds 3 SCOOP titles total and a WSOP Circuit ring.

INSIGHTS

💡 2020: The Year That Defined Him Beresford didn’t just have a good 2020 — he had one of the best online years any player has ever recorded. He held the #1 PocketFives ranking for 29 consecutive weeks, banked six six-figure scores, and won the Online Poker Player of the Year award by over 4,000 points. Fourteen of his top-20 career online cashes happened in that single calendar year. The COVID-19 pandemic expanded the online poker schedule dramatically, and Beresford was positioned perfectly to capitalize on it.

💡 Online Giant, Live Late Bloomer The gap between Beresford’s online earnings ($17M+) and his live totals ($2.75M) is striking. It reflects a common dynamic among elite online specialists: live poker demands a different schedule, travel commitment, and adjustment to reading physical opponents. His first recorded live title didn’t come until January 2023 — at the PCA $50,000 Seven-Max, no less. He didn’t ease into live poker. He went straight for the super high roller tables.

💡 Two Wins in Four Days — $617K in a Week In April 2020, during the PokerStars High Rollers Series, Beresford won back-to-back events: $378,205 on April 5 and $239,652 on April 9. Over $617,000 in four days of online play. That stretch — combined with his SCOOP title in May — was the tipping point that pushed him to #1 in the world.

💡 He Almost Quit the Game After a promising Sunday Million final table in 2012, Beresford bought a Rolex, celebrated hard, and then sold it back. He later admitted he wasn’t sure what to do next and would likely have stopped playing if his backer hadn’t intervened. The redirect to Vancouver to study SNGs and grind Supernova Elite gave his career structure at a pivotal moment. It’s a reminder that sustained poker careers often hinge on just one mentor or inflection point.

💡 The $728K Win That Also Came With a Ring Beresford’s GGPoker Super MILLION$ victory in April 2022 wasn’t just his biggest ever cash at the time — it also came with a WSOP Circuit ring, making it one of the rare online results that carries the same prestige weight as a live title. His win beat his previous career high by over $116,000.