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Maurice Hawkins Makes History Winning Back-to-Back WSOPC Main Events

By Lee Davy
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Maurice Hawkins Makes History Winning Back-to-Back WSOPC Main Events

Maurice Hawkins becomes the first player to win back-to-back World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event titles in the tour’s 12-year history after securing wins in Council Bluffs and Harrah’s Cherokee.
Maurice Hawkins has carved a piece of World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) history after becoming the only player to win back-to-back WSOPC Main Event titles.

Hawkins record-breaking success comes at the end of a magnificent month that has seen him win three WSOPC gold rings, and was only denied a fourth by another poker player on an incredible roll in the shape of Chris Carey. The run good began on April 6 when Hawkins had a premonition that he would win two titles in the month.

Later that day, Hawkins registered for the WSOPC $365 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Monster Stack at Iowa Council Bluffs and walked away with the $19,477 first prize after defeating 265 entrants.

So that was title No.1 out of the way. Title No.2 came two days later when Hawkins took the $113,152 first prize after beating 321 entrants in the $1,675 NLHE Council Bluffs Main Event.

They were the only two events he played at the festival.

Record Breaking Success at Harrah’s Cherokee

Maurice Hawkins Makes History Winning Back-to-Back WSOPC Main Events
[Image Credit: CardPlayer]
After sweeping all before him in Council Bluffs, Hawkins made his way to Harrah’s Cherokee, and suffered his first WSOPC disappointment after reaching the heads-up (HU) phase of the $365 NLHE event only to come up short against Chris Carey. It was the first time Hawkins had ever lost a HU encounter in the WSOPC although he outlasted 450 entrants to get that far.

His disappointment was short lived. Hawkins entered the $1,675 Main Event, and topped a field of 1,008 entrants to take the $279,722 first prize, and his seventh gold ring. Only three players have won more.

Not only is Hawkins the first player to win back-to-back WSOPC Main Event titles in the tour’s 12-year history, but also becomes only the third player to win three rings in a month, and has earned more money in April WSOPC events than anyone has won on the entire circuit.

Hawkins was the short stack when the play boiled down to the last 20-players. Then as things got interesting, Hawkins managed to shake things up a little, eliminating three of the final five opponents, before beating the WSOP bracelet winner Leif Force in heads-up action.

Hawkins has now earned over $2.2m in live tournament earnings, and will be one to watch in the big one during the summer. He earns a seat in the season-ending WSOP Global Casino Championships. The man who beat him in that $365 HU encounter at Harrah’s Cherokee, Chris Carey, will also be there after winning two events in that festival to win the Casino Championship.

Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event Final Table Results

1. Maurice Hawkins – $279,722

2. Leif Force – $172,943

3. Chip Ervin – $128,520

4. Karthik Ramakrishnan – $96,617

5. Philip Lowery – $73,468

6. Brannon Cashion – $56,519

7. Corey Bierria – $43,984

8. Martin Debruhl – $34,625

9. Hamid Izadi – $27,579

10. Jong Kim – $22,226