A man won second place and raked in over $100,000 at the World Series of Poker Ladies Championship on Monday.
Aubrey Williams, a 31-year-old professional poker player who identifies as a woman, took home $129,692 for his runner-up finish, his first six-figure win in a tournament. He bested 1,475 other competitors until losing to poker champion Skye Chen after a three-hour match.
Williams is an accomplished poker player. He won the No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack event in 2022, bringing home $6,604, and defeated Brock Wilson for a $19,219 prize pool at another tournament. He also won Borgata Winter Poker Open $1,000 Hybrid Championship, netting $52,540.
Nevada gaming regulations authorize players based on legal identification, allowing Williams to play unrestricted in the woman’s category since his license labels him as a female.
Williams was blasted by some people online for “stealing” money from women with his second-place finish.
“Aubrey Williams, a man pretending to be a woman, is currently winning in the World Series of poker LADIES championship,” prominent social media commentator Libs of TikTok posted. “Men are even the best female poker players. What a time to be alive.”
Aubrey Williams, a man pretending to be a woman, is currently winning in the World Series of poker LADIES championship
Men are even the best female poker players 🤡
What a time to be alive https://t.co/xabpzqmihf pic.twitter.com/SpRWbGPLUT
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 28, 2026
Williams brushed off the criticism he has received online, saying he doesn’t monitor social media and that nobody in the women’s competition was upset they had to play against him. He also denied having any ulterior motives in playing in the tournament.
“I’m a woman, so I play in the women’s event,” Williams told PokerNews. “It’s not like making a statement or anything. I’m just playing a tournament.”
Williams has also claimed that it was women who convinced him to affirm his identity by playing in the women’s competitions.
“And so many women are like ‘You need to play. You need to play.’ And I played one, and it was just like so fun that I kept playing,” Williams said. “They’re actually fun to play.”
Many in the poker community have signaled their support for Williams competing in the women’s division. Global Poker award winner Caitlin Comeskey posted on X, “Anyone who dares to mess with Aubrey in person or online publicly will have to deal with me.” She added, “If you use her for rage bait to help your pathetic online platform, I will come at you with the fire of 10,000 suns.”
Poker streamer Keith Becker also came to the defense of Williams, stating that “trans women are women” and that “hateful voices do NOT speak for everyone in poker,” and WSOP bracelet winner Liv Boeree praised Williams’ “feminine energy” that added to the “vibe” of the women’s poker competition.
Williams has described himself as a “degenerate” and “not good at not being a smart ass, especially when I know I’m right,” which he said has caused him to be fired from multiple other jobs.
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