James Williams Goes from 888 LIVE London to WSOP Main Event

For the past six months, 888poker has been qualifying dozens of players for the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Today, those players are all competing in the third and final starting flight.

Given online qualifiers have done well in the WSOP Main Event before – think Chris Moneymaker, Fernando Pons, etc. – we thought it’d be fun to take a look at some of the 888poker qualifiers chasing their poker dreams on Day 1c.

James Williams once studied sports coaching and development at the University of Gloucestershire, though he didn't finish his degree. Instead, he found poker at the age of 20 while playing home games with friends.

Williams, who has a long-term partner and a three-year-old son, has visited Vegas on two previous occasions (2010 and 2012) and lists Phil Ivey as his favorite poker player.

“He is such an iconic poker player and I have never been on the same table as him,” he said. As for his preparation for the Main Event, he revealed: “I have been going to the gym every day to get as fit as I can because I know I am going to need a lot of stamina to stay the course. Also, playing cycling and football.”

Williams won his way into the 2019 WSOP Main Event back in December when he topped a 656-entry strong field to win the 2018 888poker LIVE Festival London €1,100 Main Event for a career-high €121,000 ($154,269).

If he were to strike it rich in the Main Event, Williams already has some plans for the money: “I would invest some of the winnings in property.”