Maurice Hawkins Wins Record-Setting 15th World Series of Poker Circuit Gold Ring

Maurice Hawkins sat alone atop the World Series of Poker Circuit titles leaderboard for more than three years after winning his then-record-setting 14th WSOPC gold ring in a $400 buy-in event at the 2020 WSOPC Choctaw series. On April 17, 2023, Josh Reichard took down the WSOPC Grand Victoria Casino main event to secure his record-tying 14th ring.

Reichard and Hawkins ended up being tied for less than a month, as Hawkins managed to set a new record by winning his 15th ring on May 15. The Florida resident defeated a field of 92 entries in the WSOPC Harrah’s Cherokee $2,200 no-limit hold’em high roller to secure the hardware and the top prize of $54,599.

Reichard made a comment to WSOP Circuit after his recent win to tie Hawkins that seemed to downplay the race for the rings:

“To be honest, I really don’t care too much about records but this one is kind of cool … On [the WSOP’s] website, there are pictures of all the record holders and Phil Hellmuth holds the bracelet title, and I thought it’d be cool if my picture was next to his because we are two Wisconsin guys. I’m sure Maurice’s (Hawkins) picture will stay on there right now, but that just keeps me motivated to get there one day.”

“Put some respect on my name! I am Maurice Hawkins, that’s who I am. if you are going to call me out go ahead and say it. I am not a fan of the passive aggressive fake humble act, acting like you don’t care about the numbers when you clearly do,” said Hawkins after he regained the lead, evidently in response to Reichard’s comments.

Hawkins now has more than $2.2 million in WSOP Circuit earnings, the most of any player on that tour. His nearest competitor in that category is Daniel Lowery, who recently won his 13th ring. Lowery has $1,499,471 in recorded WSOPC earnings.

This victory also marked Hawkins’ 142nd cash in a WSOPC event, putting him in a tie for sixth place with Ian Steinman on the all-time cashes leaderboard for the tour.

Hawkins topped a tough final table en route to his record-furthering win, with bracelet winner Will Givens finishing seventh ($6,877) and World Poker Tour champion Dylan Wilkerson placing sixth ($8,893). 2022 WSOP $3,000 no-limit hold’em event runner-up finisher Toby Boas (2nd – $33,744) got all-in with pocket kings facing the pocket tens of Hawkins with the title on the line, but a 9-7-2-J-8 runout gave Hawkins a jack-high straight to win the pot and the title.

Here is a look at the payouts awarded at the final table:

Winner photo credit: WSOP.