Clancy Brown Powers His Way Through A-Lister’s to Win the 8th Annual Ed Asner & Friends Celebrity Poker Tournament

It was a night of the stars as the 8th Annual Ed Asner & Friends Celebrity Poker Tournament played out on the virtual felts on August 29. The star-studded field ultimately crowned a champion in American actor Clancy Brown (cover image)!

With Emmy-award winning actor Ed Asner hosting the extravaganza, it was always going to be a glamourous spectacle. With the likes of Adam Goldberg, BD Wong, Ben Affleck, Brad Garrett, Bryan Cranston, Brent Spiner, Dan Lauria, Danny Bonaduce, Daryl Hannah, Dan Foley, David Arquette, Diedrich Bader, Dylan McDermott, Jack Black, James Cromwell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kim Cattrall, Mia Farrow, and many others participating in helping raise money for charity, it was indeed a sight to behold.

While the previous editions of this charity poker tournament had taken place at a live venue, this edition was moved online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The charity collaborated with Faded Spade to ensure the event could still go ahead.

You can watch the live stream of the tournament below.

The charity, i.e., the Ed Asner Family Center, is dedicated to helping and assisting individuals with autism, development delays, and other special needs. Asner has a son and grandsons on the autism spectrum, so it is a cause close to the acting legend’s heart.

“This is my favorite event of the year. Not just because the dollars go to helping keep the programs of the center running. But, because of the inclusive, ‘leave your ego at the door’ fun of it. It’s unlike any other event that I can think of,” Asner had written on the event’s website.

The players who reached the final table received a poker-related prize, while non-poker players or people who couldn’t play in this event, were able to tune in for the live stream and participate in a silent auction.

All the celebrities playing in this charity event signed a special jersey that was auctioned off. The same stars also signed a special bounty t-shirt that will be sent out to anyone who busted them from the tournament.

The final showdown took place between Clancy Brown and Susan H. With the board open , Susan was all-in with for a rivered pair of queens. But Brown’s had her beat with a flush, as he went on to win the tournament.

When asked what his strategy was when he realized that he was the biggest stack on the final table, Brown replied, “Honestly man, I don’t play poker. I don’t know what I was doing. I was just experimenting around and having some fun. I probably bullied some people a couple of times.”

When asked where he was planning on keeping the huge trophy that he had just won, Brown said, “My wife is going to kill me. There is a trophy that she has to find a place for now. I have a couple of animation art things in my office, and that’s about all I am allowed in my house. Maybe I’ll donate it to the family center so they can auction it off.”