For most of the year, Benjamin Spragg spends his days streaming online poker tournaments from his home in England. As a member of PokerStars Team Online since 2017, ‘Spraggy,’ as he’s best known, is one of the biggest poker streamers on Twitch and established himself as a poker content creator with a consistently engaged audience.
A major element of his appeal, beyond the level to which he interacts with his audience, is a dry wit that he also carries over to his Twitter, making him a must-follow during any poker event he takes part in.
Once a year, Spragg makes a trip to Las Vegas centered around the World Series of Poker. Until 2022, despite millions in online tournament earnings and a pair of PokerStars WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) titles, Spragg hadn’t recorded a WSOP cash. Then he put together three cashes at last year’s WSOP, including a deep run in the tag-team event.
In the ensuing 12 months, Spragg began to take on a far more ambitious live schedule and recorded 16 live cashes along the way. He returned with a purpose at the 2023 WSOP and earned his biggest live cash since 2019, finishing 80th in a 10,416-entry field in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker. Spragg also managed to cash in the $1,500 Monster Stack and $500 Colossus.
“I’ve made some decent runs. Fields are up, which is good,” said Spragg. “Everyone seems to be enjoying a poker boom, and I’m having a good time.”
Now, as the summer of poker starts to wind down, Spraggy has eyes on a much bigger prize – the WSOP Main Event.
“Well, I’ve been to Vegas quite a bit, and I’ve played a lot of live poker over the last two or three years,” said Spragg. “But you know, the World Series, obviously, it’s a very special time here, especially around Main Event time.”
Despite jumping out to a strong start in the first few levels of Day 1C, the 2023 WSOP Main Event turned ugly in a hurry for Spraggy. He bagged just 20,200 from a 60,000 starting stack on Day 1C, and when he returned for Day 2 on Friday it got even uglier. But even as his stack dwindled into the single digits, Spraggy didn’t give up hope – no matter how much sarcasm dripped from his Tweets, like when celebrity chef Guy Fieri presented the 2023 WSOP Main Event bracelet in the Horseshoe Event Center.
“No one wants to bust the Main Event,” said Spragg. “The structure affords you a lot of chances for redemption. I was short on Day 1, short again on Day 2 and now I’ve sprouted up, and I’m in good shape. Got about 100K, from all the way down at 7K.
“I think the most important thing is, we’re playing one sometimes-slow table of live poker, and you just can’t be too impatient,” Spragg added. “I was down to 10, 15 or 20 big blinds for two or three levels. Like I said, this structure is going to allow you time to get back in, and I was fortunate to benefit from that.”
On his way to bagging chips for Day 3 – 153,500, to be precise – Spraggy backed his way into a signature look for the tournament. It all kind of happened by accident, as he concocted a strategy to try to fade into the crowd in the amateur-heavy Day 1C field.
“I was like, ‘I’ll blend in,’” said Spragg. “I buy a Las Vegas hat, sunglasses, Las Vegas tourist shop t-shirt. I think, alright, because I don’t have any obligations here for PokerStars, like at an EPT, maybe I’ll just sneak under the radar, and people will think I’m a tourist.”
That plan quickly fell apart when he remembered his professional obligations as a member of Team PokerStars, and then further devolved when Spraggy was immediately recognized by two familiar faces at his starting table.
“I forgot that I have to wear my Team Pro patch,” said Spragg. “And then I get to my first table and it’s Mike Holtz, who’s won WSOP.com Online Player of the Year, Juan Pardo – ‘Malaka$tyle’, a high stakes tournament reg. And they’re there, saying ‘Alright, Spraggy, what’s up?’ And I’m just thinking cover blown. What a complete waste of time, and now I’m just dressed like this all day.”
Something about the outfit stuck with Spraggy, though, and when he came back for Day 2 he decided to carry a similar vibe when putting together his outfit for Friday’s session.
“It was comfortable,” said Spragg. “And I’m in a similar get-up today. I kept the hat and the shades. Even though they weren’t particularly lucky on Day 1, they weren’t unlucky. And I’m still here.”
Spraggy has been one of the more active players on social media in the WSOP Main event field throughout the first few days of the tournament. For him, it’s simply an extension of his typical approach to poker.
“I think it’s just that I’m addicted to my phone,” said Spragg. “I’m on Threads now as well – I’m a Threads guy, apparently. It’s about having fun playing the World Series, and this is probably the only time that you can have fun to this extent – a lot of tables, very casual, having a good time. You get some downtime with two-hour levels and some slow play.”
And to those appreciating Spraggy’s running updates, along with his appreciation for Guy Fieri, the MSG Sphere, and a variety of other topics, Spraggy hopes to carry on as he looks to earn his first career WSOP Main Event cash.
“If people are enjoying my presence on Twitter during the Main Event, then thank you very much – and look forward to more.”