(Featured image: courtesy of WPT)
It’s quite normal for us to hear about male poker players having great academic backgrounds with athletic interests. However, seldom do we encounter a pro who loves knives and the kitchen too.
And that’s what David Williams is all about. Well, not totally, because he was also once a very successful Magic player. (Just like Justin Bonomo, Scott Seiver, and Bryn Kenney.)
Today, he still plays at WSOP tournaments, but he isn’t active on other events like he used to.
As a father of one lovely child, he wanted to devote much of his time raising her. According to him, preparing for tournaments is already very demanding of his time so he doesn’t engage in any other activities besides that.
Right now, he is currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada.
| Full Name: David Anthony Williams | |
| DOB: June 9, 1980 | |
| Birthplace: Arlington, Texas | |
| Profession: Professional poker player | |
| Wife: N/A | |
| WSOP Bracelets: 1 | |
| Net Worth & Career Earnings: $8+ Million |
Table of Contents
David Williams Bio
David is born on June 9, 1980 in Arlington, Texas.
As a young boy, he was already so full of potential. As early as 16, he already took part in the advanced college program at the University of Texas under the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. He was well ahead of his peers.
A few years later, he got into Princeton Univeristy, but ended up transferring to Southern Methodist University where he took a degree in Economics. Academically, he had always excelled. And if I’m being honest, I think that totally helped him have a successful poker career of over 2 decades.
Just like Scott Seiver, Justin Bonomo and Brynn Kenney, before he got hooked on the felt, David once enjoyed playing Magic: The Gathering.
He was one of the best poker players to ever compete in official tournaments. He was even able to travel to different parts of the world just to compete. What a world-class talent it is.
He was at the peak of his career in Magic, winning the Grand Prix Championship three times.
Then, after some time, he got suspended after he was suspected of cheating in the game. After a year, he turned to online poker, and that was probably for the best. Look at where he is now.
Poker Career
At 15, David was already working as a telemarketer who did cold-calling, and he had several other jobs after that. After winning a lot of Magic tournaments, he was able to save up a decent bankroll which he used to pursue a professional poker career.
At first, he played on the felt at the underground rooms in Dallas. Of course, he wasn’t probably of legal age by that time. Then, when everything was set, he transitioned from underground to the legal WSOP events.
READ ALSO: Are Home Poker Games Legal?
His breakthrough arrived when he became the runner up during the 2004 WSOP main event. Though he didn’t win the first place, he was able to stash around $3.5+ million for that game. And that’s just the beginning of his journey to becoming a poker legend.
A few months later, he was also able to bag the second place at the WPT Borgata Open.
In this tournament, he took home over half a million dollars! Then finally in 2006, he got his first WSOP gold bracelet by rising as the champion of the $1,500 Seven-card Stud game.
Back in early 2000s, David also participated in PokerStars TV show “The Big Game” hosted by Amanda Leatherman. It was a popular show that invited lucky regular guests/recreational enthusiasts to win the prize while competing with the best players in the world.
The Big Game featured players like Phil Laak, Bill Perkins, Daniel Negreanu, The Viffer, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Jason Mercier, Vanessa Rousso, and many others.
Here’s one of the best episodes from that show:
The MasterChef Journey
Williams’ daughter, Liliana, is known to be a huge fan of MasterChef junior.
This probably inspired the young dad to participate in the world-class cooking contest. He was so close to getting the title during the 2016 MasterChef show, but lost to Shaun O’neal in the final round.
It wasn’t always rainbows and roses during the entire culinary journey. David faced the risk of elimination too many times, but was clearly very skilled since there were times when the judges would save him.
Personal Life
Just like many other popular players, David Williams continues to keep his personal life private.
But, we know very well that he has a daughter named Liliana. The name of her mom was not disclosed, and there was no mention what’s the real score about her and the poker Masterchef.
David Williams Net Worth
Williams, despite not being as active as he was before on the felt, has accumulated a net worth of $8+ million to date.
That’s still a sizeable amount to be considered as one of the richest players today.
Among his cashes, these are the biggest and most notable ones:
- 2nd place 2004 35th Annual WSOP Main Event – $3,500,000
- 1st place 2010 Five-Star World Poker Classic – $1,530,537
- 2nd place 2004 Borgata Poker Open – $573,800
Are you eager to see David Williams on the felt actively again? Do you know any other interesting facts about our poker masterchef? Share them in the comments section below!