He graduated from the UC Santa Barbara and played Lock for UCSB's 2005 league championship rugby team.
[2] By the mid to late 2000s, Townsend was among the most highly respected professional online poker players in the world.
Although better known to be a heads up and short handed specialist online, Townsend has participated in several live tournaments, including an in the money finish at a World Poker Tour no limit hold 'em event,[5] and a 10th place finish at a World Series of Poker circuit event.
[6] In 2014, Brian Townsend played at the World Series of Poker (for the first time since 2011) and finished 170th out of 6,683 players for a $44,728 payday.
[7] In December 2009, Townsend was accused of sharing hand histories with professional poker players, Cole South and Brian Hastings.