Dan Lowery nabs 17th WSOP Circuit ring as leaderboard battle ignites

The battle at the top of the WSOP Circuit all-time wins leaderboard is heating up. 

On Sunday night, Dan Lowery outlasted a 448-entrant field at the WSOP Circuit stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to lay claim to his 17th ring and move back within striking distance of the top spot. 

It marked the end of a crazy week that saw both players above him on the leaderboard win a ring as well. 

Maurice Hawkins' 18th Circuit victory was shrouded in controversy but that brought him level at the top with Ari Engel. The share of the lead was short-lived, however, as Engel responded in kind five days later. On March 8, Engel won the $500 buy-in WSOP Online Super Circuit series in Pennsylvania to move ahead with 19. 

To make things even more crazy at the top, Josh Reichard also won a ring last week to keep him in touch at the top with 16. 

Dan Lowery and his rail celebrate his 17th Circuit win.

Lowery: Every win means the world 

“Every win means the world,” Lowery said following his victory in the $250 Seniors event. “I love the competition and always love to win no matter what the size of the field.”

When asked about the race for the top spot, Lowery had this to say:

“It’s definitely something on the to-do list," he told us. "When it was down to 13 or 14 rings, Ari and I kind of challenged each other and it’s been fun since then. This past week’s been great because Maurice got the one in Florida and then he miraculously wins that Main in Baltimore. He just crushes, so he raised the bar a little bit. 

"And then Josh Reichard comes in and wins #16 and he’s also at the final table with the chip lead in Hammond right now. Ari won another to put him ahead with 19. So the race is on. It’s such a great week for the WSOP Circuit and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

With the World Series of Poker looming on the horizon, Lowery outlined his plans for the summer – and he wants a bracelet. 

“I plan to be there five of the seven weeks," Lowery said. "A lot of these bracelets, even though they’re diluted, I’d still like to have one. I’ve navigated big fields on the Circuit and at the WSOP, so I feel like I’m on the cusp. I feel like I’m one of the better ones to navigate a 3,000-player field. I like my chances on that; I’ve never lost focus when I’m in those fields." 

WSOP Circuit rings all-time leaderboard

^{Images Courtesy of WSOP/Hard Rock Tulsa}