June 7-9
Previous best placement for Maurice Hawkins at the WSOP, a sixth-place finish in the 2017 Monster Stack.
-
1ST
Kenneth 'Brent' Gregory
$204,140
-
2ND
Maurice Hawkins
$135,864
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3RD
Josh Reichard
$99,831
-
4TH
John Ghosn
$73,984
-
5TH
Alex Foxen
$55,305
-
6TH
John Holley
$41,703
-
7TH
Kelly Mahana
$31,724
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8TH
Daniel Negreanu
$24,347
Everything was coming up roses for Maurice Hawkins in his pursuit of a first WSOP bracelet on Tuesday night.
Until it suddenly wasn't.
Hawkins, one of poker's most controversial figures, had been waiting a long time to finally add a gold bracelet to his all-time leading set of 25 WSOP Circuit rings, but a late comeback by Kenneth 'Brent' Gregory stole the show and sent him home to settle for a second-place prize. Gregory claimed his first bracelet, instead, outlasting an unexpected $600 final table with some of the biggest names in poker.
"This is about as tough as a $600 field is going to get," Gregory told reporters. "Somehow, I prevailed against some of the best players in the world. Luckily for me, it was pretty turbo-y."
The speedy structure was no joke, and Gregory outlasted thousands of players to win his first bracelet. The $600 No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha combo drew 3,332 entries, so it was some surprise that the hyper-fast tournament shook out with the likes of Hawkins, Daniel Negreanu, Alex Foxen, and Josh Reichard sitting at the end.
The finale would also include John Holley, who brought 12 WSOP Circuit rings of his own to the party. Combined with the 25 of Hawkins and the 17 of Reichard, more than 50 WSOP rings were represented at the final table.
Rail pushes Reichard, Gregory
It was also the first final table of the summer for Negreanu, and it would come to a shocking end at the hands of Hawkins. Kelly Mahana and Holley bowed out next before a crucial double knockout by Hawkins in a hand of PLO. Foxen and John Ghosn would fall in the same go, losing to Hawkins and his 
when the board flopped 
to give him a straight.
The dust settled, and three-handed play started hot after Reichard doubled through Gregory to leave the eventual champ at the bottom of the chip counts. Hawkins, still in command, had more than half the chips in play.
It was no shock that Hawkins, who carries a lot of baggage from claims of unpaid debts, did not have the crowd behind him. Reichard had his usual heavy rail of Midwestern poker supporters, and many of them would stick around to pull for Gregory after their guy eventually bowed out in third place.
Gregory side-stepped any outward opinion of Hawkins, but he felt the support from all over the world.
"I had thousands of people probably pulling for me today, so it feels pretty damn good. At least they were pulling for me when I got heads-up."
The comeback
A visibly emotional Hawkins would enter heads-up play with a big advantage, but it went away after Gregory doubled and the tone shifted in what once seemed like a runaway victory.
- Hawkins:
- Gregory:
- Board:
"Once I got the double up, there was the whole atmosphere where everyone was pulling for me. I felt like it was gonna happen. It's just one of those things."
Gregory soon doubled again after a shove on the turn:
- Hawkins:
- Gregory:
- Board:
The river was , and Gregory took the chip lead.
Hawkins would find a hope spot shortly after, getting it in on the turn with the best hand.
- Hawkins:
- Gregory:
- Board:
The river 
sealed it and brought the counts back to near even, but Gregory pulled away to take the lead before the final clash. Hawkins was all in after the flop, and he needed a lot of help to stay in the tournament.
- Hawkins:
- Gregory:
- Board:
The board finished up with and to seal Gregory's unlikely victory.
Images courtesy of World Series of Poker.
