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Though Maurice Hawkins has extended the all-time WSOP Circuit ring record to 26, there are plenty of players who are in hot pursuit of the mark.
At Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa, Daniel Lowery earned his 21st WSOP Circuit ring, winning the $400 Big O tournament. He topped the 96-entry field to win $8,607 and his first ring since March. It was just his third ring that he won outside of traditional Texas Hold’em, and his first in Big O.
Ari Engel, who was also in pursuit of his 21st WSOP Circuit ring, fell just short, finishing in third place for $3,672. However, he wouldn’t even have to wait 24 hours to exact his revenge.
Engel sat down for Day 2 of the 68-entry $400 No-Limit Hold’em event. Despite being down 4-to-1 in heads-up play against Theresa Morley, he found a way to win the $6,613 top prize.
Engel, who is also a four-time WSOP bracelet winner, made an enormous hero call to take the lead, eventually closing it out.
“It was definitely scary, because I thought I had an edge in the heads-up game,” Engel told Poker.Org.
“It was tough, but the pot was really big. Ultimately, I thought I was good, so I called, but she had me covered, so if I was wrong, I was out. I was trying to play low variance, but this was not low variance at all, and I wanted to win.”
For Engel, who considers the WSOP Circuit ring as the “most illustrious prize in all of poker,” it was his first ring in over a year. He last won a ring in the very same casino, when he won the 80-entry $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em event for $22,372.
It’s also his second title in the last 40 days. Engel won the $1,300 WPT Championship in Cambodia at the end of August, topping the 391-player field to win $91,444. That win also pushed Engel over $10,000,000 in career live tournament earnings, making him one of just 200 players to reach that mark.
