ElkY, one of the few non-koreans that actually made it as a progamer, was recently interviewed by Rush-Time.net. In the interview, he says that he is leaving Brood War, mostly because of poker. This was pretty expected, as ElkY hasn't been that active in the scene for a long time.
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Mr. Oakley, the orange-haired progamer or whatever you want to call him, announced in this interview that he is in fact retiring from StarCraft. "I've been a progamer for 3 years now, and my motivation isn't really the same as before," he explains in the interview. He means that it's impossible to train enough to be at the top. ElkY says that he'd rather spend his time doing something else. The main reason is something that has made a lot of other StarCraft players retire - poker. "Honestly poker is a much more lucrative hobby and in a way is like a new challenge for me."Progamer poker tournament won by ElkY
GameIndustry.biz recently published an article about PokerStars Pro-Gamer Challenge where various progamers from the gaming scene participated. StarCraft legends like
Grrrr..., 
Tillerman and of course ElkY were some of the players in the tournament. The tournament was won by the French progamer which gave him a seat to Deauville EPT, a TV-broadcasted poker tournament in France and Austria. This is mentioned in the interview, as well as other gamers' point of views on online poker.
Grrr, 
poGDI and ElkY at World Cyber Games 2004 in San FransiscoWill stay in Korea, sponsored by AMD
ElkY will however stay in Korea, as the micro-processing company AMD wants to sign a new contract with him. They want him for exhibitions and events, but ElkY plans to travel a lot now after leaving StarCraft behind. Looking back on his career, he values the 2nd place at WCG 2001 the most, and of course all his StarLeague appearances. "I thank the French Brood War community for its support during my long career."
Might come back for WCG 2005
One of the last questions brought up World Cyber Games 2005, where ElkY said he probably will take part. He also says that he might be doing a comeback some day. Lastly he says that StarCraft is a great game that has given him a lot. "I hope I have represented France the best way I could."
Links
Rush-Time.net - Interview with ElkY (French)
TeamLiquid.net - Translated interview by ChApFoU
GameIndustry.biz - Article about Pro-Gamer Poker Challenge