Maurice Hawkins Wins Record 13th World Series of Poker Circuit Gold RingThe 39-Year-Old Floridian Poker Pro Now Stands Alone As The WSOPC's All-Time Titles Leader |
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On April 15, 2019 Maurice Hawkins won his 12th World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring to join Valentin Vornicu in a tie for the most WSOPC rings. Just 17 days later, Hawkins managed to emerge victorious once again, taking sole possession of the top spot on the WSOP Circuit titles leaderboard.
The 39-year-old poker pro from West Palm Beach, Florida overcame a field of 432 entries to win the 2019 WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica $400 no-limit hold’em ‘Monster Stack’ $100,000 guaranteed event, earning $31,372. He now has career lifetime live tournament earnings of more than $3.6 million, with $1.6 million coming from WSOPC events alone.
In addition to the money, Hawkins also earned 288 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his second title and ninth final-table finish of 2019. As a result of his impressive start to the year, Hawkins now sits in 42nd place in the overall POY race standings, which are sponsored by Global Poker.
“I made a conscious effort to play better,” Hawkins told WSOP reporters after making history. “To be more focused, and to really value the opportunities and blessings that I have. I have the ability to play poker for a living, so I’ve been focusing on being a better person, on and off the felt and it’s translating all over.”
Hawkins came into the final table as the chip leader, but it was Hamid Izadi who entered heads-up play with the largest stack. Hawkins was able to battle his way back into the lead by the time the final hand arose. Hawkins raised to 325,000 from the button with the JJ, only to have Izadi move all in with A4. Hawkins called and the board ran out K10362 to secure the pot and the title for Hawkins.
Izadi earned $19,381 and 240 POY points as the runner up finisher. This was his seventh final-table finish of 2019. He now sits in 51st place in the overall standings as a result of this latest score.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
Place | Player | Earnings (USD) | POY Points |
1 | Maurice Hawkins | $31,372 | 288 |
2 | Hamid Izadi | $19,381 | 240 |
3 | Rex Clinkscales | $14,162 | 192 |
4 | Harry Arutyunyan | $10,515 | 144 |
5 | David Taylor | $7,929 | 120 |
6 | Marshall Douglas | $6,069 | 96 |
7 | John Richards | $4,713 | 72 |
8 | Larry White | $3,712 | 48 |
9 | Cody Rahn | $2,965 | 24 |
Photo credit: WSOP / IMPDI Worldwide / twitter: @impdiworld.