Why did Will Givens miss out on a significant portion of the WSOP Main Event with a large chip stack?

Why did Will Givens miss out on a significant portion of the WSOP Main Event with a large chip stack?

Will Givens amassed a large chip stack on Day 5 of the WSOP Main Event, but mysteriously disappeared when the tournament resumed on Saturday.

Seeing an empty chair at the world's biggest tournament is a bit odd, with the rest of the players battling for potentially millions of dollars. But Givens—in a way, like Will Kassouf at the poker table—told PokerNews he had something more important than just showing up on time. Apparently, he couldn't crush his opponents at the table without the right nutrition. More specifically, avocado toast.

“I was at the gym, working out longer, meditating longer,” Givens said, explaining why he was almost half an hour late on the sixth day. “I ate avocado toast and eggs, walked a longer way, went outside, and got some sun. I was really immersed in my own world, and now I’m here.”

Not a one-time absence

Givens started Day 6 with nearly 100 big blinds, just 173 eliminations away from the $10,000,000 champion prize. But instead of the traditional preparation method, he opted to exercise and eat, unconcerned about when he would arrive in Paris Las Vegas.

However, this wasn't his only absence on Saturday. Givens arrived late for Level 1 but quickly got into the game, accumulating over 12 million chips (approximately 120 big blinds) by the second break. Day 6 saw a rapid elimination of players, reducing the field to 106. Despite having a large chip stack and an impending prize jump, Givens arrived late again after the break.

As of press time, Givens held the second-highest chip stack, behind only Malcolm Trayner. This was his first WSOP appearance in four years, following the lifting of his ban from Caesars Properties.

Givens has over $4.1 million in live tournament winnings at The Hendon Mob, including a 2014 WSOP bracelet. If he wins the Main Event, that prize money could more than triple. He's also known for playing high-stakes pot-limit cash games in Omaha, Texas. But he's fighting for the biggest bet of his life, and he might win this tournament in an unconventional way.

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