Maurice Hawkins added another chapter to his WSOP Circuit legacy on Wednesday, taking down the $400 Monster Stack at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Tunica for his 19th career WSOP Circuit ring, tying Ari Engel for the all-time lead.
Engel, who had held the top spot on his own since March 8, won is 19th ring just five days after Hawkins tied him in a controversial victory at the WSOPC Baltimore stop.
Hawkins beat 571 entries in Tunica and picked up $34,711 for the win after he outlasted a tough final table and ultimately defeated Dylan Crawford heads-up. Crawford took home $21,452 for his runner-up finish.
Dramatic end to tough final table
The final hand brought a dramatic end to the run. Crawford went for a bold bluff with ace-high, but Hawkins had it all the way — a full house, deuces full of threes — and he snap-called to clinch the victory.
It was a dramatic run, perhaps foreseen in an earlier phone call with his son.
“My son called me completely out of nowhere,” he said. “He told me he had a dream I was going to win a lot of money. He’s in the military, and he never says stuff like that. But this time, he just said it. And then it happened.”
After the difficult final table, Hawkins said he tried to avoid unnecessary risk and pick his spots carefully.
“I think everyone was playing really good poker, except for here and there,” he said. “I was just trying to ladder up slowly, and not take too many high variance spots. I didn’t think I needed to facing my opponents. And then we ran good in a spot where the guy tried to ‘squirrel jump’ at me — as me and the homeboys say — with the ace-high on the final hand, so that was beautiful.”
'And then win the Main.'
Hawkins also commented on how he sees the current state of the WSOP Circuit, especially the online events.
“It's a great accomplishment, but this whole online situation,” Hawkins said, “Where you got guys getting five, six, seven rings but five out of the last six cashes is no more than five thousand. It’s terrible. The state of online ring hunting, I just don’t like it.”
Looking ahead, Hawkins said he already bagged chips for the Mystery Bounty event and outlined his plan for the rest of the stop.
“I actually dreamt it up — win the Monster, win the Mystery Bounty, and then win the Main.”
WSOPC Tunica $400 Monster Stack final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maurice Hawkins | $34,711 |
| 2 | Dylan Crawford | $21,452 |
| 3 | Michael Mieszala | $15,081 |
| 4 | Michael Costello | $10,822 |
| 5 | Dave Alfa | $7,931 |
| 6 | Adam Henning | $5,939 |
| 7 | Connor Steinbrook | $4,545 |
| 8 | Charles Dawson | $3,558 |
| 9 | Anh Nguyen | $2,849 |
| 10 | James Hart | $2,336 |
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