Will Kassouf

William “Will” Kassouf was born on 19 December 1981 in London, England. He trained and worked as a solicitor before turning to poker full-time in 2013, initially building his bankroll at cash games in the Grosvenor Casino The Victoria in London. His first major tournament cash came in 2009 at the Irish Poker Tour, where he finished 6th in a €3,200 no-limit hold'em event for €100,800.

Kassouf rose to international prominence during the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event. His relentless table talk—what he calls “speech play”—and stalling tactics drew both attention and penalties on the ESPN broadcast. In a widely circulated hand, he moved all-in with 9♥6♣ and induced a fold from Stacy Matuson’s pocket queens, tabling his hand with the line “nine-high like a boss.” He was eventually eliminated in 17th place for $338,288 after his pocket kings ran into Griffin Benger’s pocket aces, a hand in which Benger delivered a much-quoted rebuke telling Kassouf to “check your privilege.” PokerNews named Kassouf’s Main Event run one of its top poker stories of 2016.

In December 2016, Kassouf won the €10,300 High Roller at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague festival. Heads-up against Patrick Serda, who held roughly a four-to-one chip lead, the two agreed to a deal under which Serda took the larger cash prize of approximately €719,000 while Kassouf received €532,500 (about US$555,619) along with the trophy and the title of champion. This remains his largest live tournament cash.

In 2017, Kassouf was signed as an ambassador for Grosvenor Poker. However, in September 2018, he was found to have palmed £100 in roulette chips at a Grosvenor casino; he acknowledged the incident, and his ambassadorship was terminated. During the online boom of 2020, he won the €1,100 online poker Irish Poker Masters Online Main Event on 16 December 2020, defeating a field of 1,341 entries for €215,163 after qualifying through a €109 satellite. He also won the PokerStars UKIPT Dublin High Roller in 2022 for €33,410. At the 2023 Irish Poker Open, Kassouf was accused by other players of leaving a cash-game table with chips from a pot he had lost, which he publicly denied.

At the 2025 WSOP Main Event, Kassouf again became a focal point, drawing multiple time penalties and shot clocks for slow play and unsportsmanlike conduct. He finished 33rd for $300,000, busting to Kenny Hallaert on Day 7, and was subsequently escorted from the property and barred from the remainder of the 2025 series after continuing his conduct in post-elimination interviews. In June 2026, he confirmed that he had been reinstated and would return to the WSOP.

Kassouf is closely associated with “speech play,” an extended form of table talk he uses to provoke reactions and read opponents. He has stated, “By speaking to [opponents] and engaging in conversation I'm picking up a lot more information than these so-called hooded zombies who just sit there for 12 hours a day and say nothing.” This approach has made him a polarising figure, praised by some as skilled psychological play and criticised by others as deliberate needling and slow play.

Kassouf lives in London, England. He worked as a solicitor before turning to poker full-time. His live tournament earnings, total more than $2.1 million as of 2026.