Hawkins Bounces Back From WSOP Near-Misses With 26th Ring

Maurice Hawkins came within one place of his first WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas. Back on the Circuit, he immediately returned to collecting the hardware he knows rather better.

Hawkins won the $1,100 Mini Main Event at WSOP Circuit Choctaw, topping 400 entries for $76,380 and his record-extending 26th ring. It was already his fifth Circuit victory of the year.

Brian Green came closest to stopping Hawkins, reaching heads-up after Ari Engel and Will Givens were eliminated in fourth and third respectively.

Green reduced the all-time ring leader to six big blinds during their match. Hawkins nevertheless found a route back, eventually leaving Green with the $50,900 runner-up payout while he took the title and top prize.

The comeback capped a final table that included two players with their own recent claims to attention. Engel entered with 20 rings and an opportunity to reduce Hawkins’ advantage, while Givens was returning from a 19th-place finish in the WSOP Main Event worth $325,000.

Instead, Engel’s fourth-place departure left the record race unchanged behind Hawkins.

Hawkins now holds six more WSOP Circuit titles than his nearest challengers. Engel and Daniel Lowery are tied on 20, followed by Mike Setera with 18 and Josh Reichard with 16.

The current margin is a sharp change from the position less than a year ago. Hawkins and Engel had been level on 19 before Hawkins won two events at the 2025 New Orleans stop, becoming the first player to move beyond 20 Circuit rings.

• Two rings at Horseshoe Tunica in January and February
• A $400 no-limit hold’em title at Grand Victoria in April
• Ring No. 25 in a $1,100 event at Harrah’s Cherokee in May
• Ring No. 26 in the Choctaw Mini Main in July

Those five victories have generated a combined $252,641 in first-place payouts. 

Despite his dominance on the Circuit, Hawkins is still looking for his first WSOP bracelet. The official WSOP record lists 26 rings but none of the summer series’ top prize.

He came particularly close in the $600 mixed no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha event, finishing second to Brent Gregory at a final table that also included Daniel Negreanu and Alex Foxen.

Hawkins then produced the largest cash of his career later in the WSOP, placing fourth in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship. He earned $432,875 after outlasting all but three players in a field of 3,668. His overall live earnings have since reached approximately $7.7 million.

The run has occurred during an uneven year beyond his results. Hawkins filed for bankruptcy in April, but continued playing and won his next two Circuit titles at Cherokee and Choctaw.