Maurice Hawkins extended his all-time WSOP Circuit record with a 24th victory on Saturday outside of Chicago, where he tackled the $400 Double Stack for just over $17K.
No matter your feelings on Hawkins, the WSOP Circuit's Main Character can't stop stealing the tour's spotlight, and he now stands four titles clear of Ari Engel and Daniel Lowery on the all-time leaderboard.
Hawkins won his 23rd WSOPC ring in February in the $400 Double Stack Closer. That win was his second of the Tunica series after he won the Mini Main a week prior, and he celebrated with a Michael Jordan-themed winner's photo to mark #23.
'Still printing'
There was no such winner's circle honor for #24s Kobe Bryant, Willie Mays, or Ken Griffey Jr., but Hawkins did take to X to revel in victory.
"Not a run. Not luck. This is what dominance looks like," Hawkins said on X.
"While they were chasing heaters… I was building edges. 24 WSOP Circuit rings later — still printing. Different mindset. Different results."
WSOP Circuit ring race
- Maurice Hawkins - 24
- Ari Engel - 20
- Daniel Lowery - 20
- Mike Setera - 17
- Josh Reichard - 16
Jungleman, Deeb respond
The announcement carried the standard bravado from the heelish champ and it drew some frosty responses and a lot of engagement, with the regular callbacks about Hawkins and his history of conflict over what some might call 'bad' debts.
"You know, if you made all your debts right and didn’t play the victim so much in spots where you’re quite in the wrong you could have a decent thing going," Dan 'Jungleman' Cates said.
Hawkins told Jungleman to "Keep my name out of your mouth" and replied to several others before Shaun Deeb, who recently won his second WSOPC ring to warm up for the WSOP POY race, checked in with a quote tweet from WSOP Europe:
It remains to be seen if the 24-time Circuit champ will answer the challenge with a future trip to Europe, but Deeb has now jumped into the Hawkins discourse from across the Atlantic. Either way, Hawkins seems to be at his level best when the world wants him to lose.
"Oh people don't like me," he replied to one non-fan. "I am going to cry."
