Maurice Hawkins: Record 26-Time WSOP Circuit Ring Winner
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Maurice Hawkins has built one of the most accomplished careers in World Series of Poker Circuit history. The American tournament professional holds the all-time WSOP Circuit record with 26 gold rings as of August 31, 2026, six more than the player in second place on the official WSOP leaderboard.
Hawkins has also accumulated more than $7.8 million in recorded live tournament earnings. His résumé extends well beyond Circuit events, with a World Poker Tour final table, deep runs in the WSOP Main Event and his strongest World Series of Poker performance to date during the summer of 2026.
He has yet to win a WSOP bracelet, but that absence has not prevented Hawkins from establishing a distinct place in tournament poker. His combination of longevity, volume and repeated success across the WSOP Circuit has made him the most decorated ring winner in the tour's history.
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Who Is Maurice Hawkins?
Maurice Hawkins is an American professional poker player originally from St. Louis, Missouri. The Hendon Mob lists Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as his residence.
His path to poker followed an athletic and academic background. In a 2016 CardPlayer profile, Hawkins discussed playing college football before an injury ended that part of his career. He later earned a biology degree and considered medical school before choosing professional poker.
Hawkins began recording significant tournament results during the poker boom. His WPT record includes a cash in the 2005 Caribbean Poker Adventure, while his emergence on the WSOP Circuit came a few years later.
The game most closely associated with Hawkins is no-limit hold'em. Most of his Circuit victories have come in that format, although his tournament record also includes results in pot-limit Omaha and mixed no-limit hold'em/pot-limit Omaha events.
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Maurice Hawkins' WSOP Circuit Career
The defining feature of Hawkins' résumé is his success on the World Series of Poker Circuit.
His first Circuit ring came in December 2008 at Harrah's Atlantic City, where he won a $500 no-limit hold'em event for $48,360. That victory began a run that eventually carried him past every previous WSOP Circuit ring record.
The most important acceleration came in 2016. Hawkins arrived at the Horseshoe Council Bluffs stop with four career rings and proceeded to win consecutive events. He captured a Monster Stack for his fifth ring before winning the $1,675 Main Event for $113,152 and ring No. 6.
He then traveled to Harrah's Cherokee and won another Circuit Main Event. Hawkins defeated a field of 1,008 entries for $279,722, becoming the first player in WSOP Circuit history to win Main Events at consecutive stops.
Later that year, he won the Palm Beach Kennel Club Main Event for $95,921. The victory gave Hawkins three Circuit Main Event titles during 2016 and pushed his career ring count to eight.
The record itself arrived in 2017. Hawkins returned to Council Bluffs and won its Main Event for a second consecutive year, earning $97,561 and his 10th ring. At the time, the victory moved him into sole possession of the all-time WSOP Circuit rings record and gave him a then-record fourth Circuit Main Event title.
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Record 26 WSOP Circuit Rings
The Circuit record continued to change hands and tighten over the following years as several prolific players accumulated rings, but Hawkins eventually moved back to the top and then created separation.
As of August 2026, the World Series of Poker lists Hawkins with:
26 WSOP Circuit rings
No WSOP bracelets
The No. 1 position on the all-time WSOP Circuit ring leaderboard
A six-ring advantage over second place on the official Circuit leaderboard
Five Circuit ring victories during 2026 alone
That total makes Hawkins the most decorated WSOP Circuit ring winner in the history of the tour.
His record has been built through repeated success rather than one concentrated run. Hawkins won his first ring in 2008, became the outright record holder for the first time in 2017 and was still adding titles nearly two decades after his earliest recorded live tournament results.
Other longtime Circuit standouts have remained part of the record race. Hawkins also crossed paths with Josh Reichard at several major events, including a 2026 WSOP final table.
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Hawkins' Record-Setting 2026 Season
The 2026 season became one of the strongest stretches of Hawkins' career.
He entered the year with 21 Circuit rings and won five more to reach 26. His 25th came in May when he defeated a 631-entry field in a $1,100 no-limit hold'em event at Harrah's Cherokee, earning $113,223.
Ring No. 26 followed at WSOP Circuit Choctaw in July. Hawkins won the $1,100 Mini Main Event, defeating 400 entries and collecting $76,380. The victory extended his all-time record to six rings more than the nearest player on the official WSOP Circuit leaderboard.
His success was not limited to ring events.
At the 2026 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Hawkins finished second in Event #28, the $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack. The tournament drew 3,332 entries, and Hawkins earned $135,864 after finishing behind Kenneth Gregory. Reichard placed third.
Hawkins then produced an even larger result in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship. He finished fourth from 3,668 entries and earned $432,875.
According to The Hendon Mob, that $432,875 payout became the largest recorded live tournament cash of Hawkins' career.
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Maurice Hawkins' Live Tournament Earnings
The Hendon Mob lists Maurice Hawkins with $7,870,361 in live tournament earnings as of August 31, 2026.
That number will change as Hawkins continues to cash in live events, so it should be treated as a snapshot rather than a permanent career total.
His largest recorded live cashes include several results from different stages of his career:
$432,875 for fourth in the 2026 WSOP $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship
$280,100 for 35th in the 2023 WSOP Main Event
$279,722 for winning the 2016 WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event
$259,160 for winning the 2024 WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event
$220,258 for fourth in the 2015 WPT Borgata Poker Open
The earnings history illustrates why Hawkins cannot be viewed only through his ring count. He has produced major scores at the WSOP, WPT and other tournament series while maintaining a high-volume Circuit schedule.
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World Series of Poker Results
Despite his Circuit record, Hawkins has not won a WSOP bracelet as of August 31, 2026.
He has nevertheless made several notable runs at the summer World Series of Poker.
One came in the 2017 $1,500 Monster Stack, where Hawkins finished sixth for $213,591. In 2023, he made a deep run in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event and ultimately finished 35th for $280,100.
His 2026 performance moved him closer than ever to a bracelet. Hawkins' runner-up finish in the $600 mixed no-limit hold'em/pot-limit Omaha event left him one position short of his first WSOP title.
A little more than a month later, he finished fourth in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship for a career-best $432,875.
Those results gave Hawkins two major WSOP final-table appearances during the same summer while he continued adding to his Circuit record.
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World Poker Tour Results
Hawkins has also recorded a substantial history on the World Poker Tour.
The WPT's official player database lists him with 13 Main Tour cashes, one final table and no WPT Main Tour titles.
His best WPT finish came at the 2015 Borgata Poker Open. Hawkins reached the televised final table and finished fourth for $220,258.
Other WPT results include deep runs at events in Montreal, Borgata and the WPT World Championship. His WPT résumé adds another dimension to a career most closely associated with the WSOP Circuit.
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What Makes Maurice Hawkins' Career Significant?
Hawkins' importance in tournament poker comes primarily from the scale and longevity of his WSOP Circuit record.
Winning one Circuit ring requires surviving an entire tournament field. Hawkins has done it 26 times across a career spanning multiple eras of the tour.
His 2016 run was particularly important to that legacy. Winning consecutive Circuit Main Events had never been accomplished before, and Hawkins followed that achievement by winning a third Main Event during the same calendar year.
By April 2017, he had reached 10 rings and taken sole possession of the all-time record. Nearly a decade later, he was again setting the pace, adding five rings during 2026 and reaching 26 overall.
The record also reflects a willingness to compete regularly in regional tournament poker rather than concentrating exclusively on major championship festivals. That sustained presence has made Hawkins closely identified with the WSOP Circuit itself.
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Maurice Hawkins' Playing Profile
Hawkins' tournament history points to a player built around extensive no-limit hold'em experience and a high-volume live schedule.
An official WSOP report from his first Circuit victory in 2008 described Hawkins discussing a situational approach to poker rather than relying on automatic plays. His results over the years have similarly come across a wide range of field sizes, buy-ins and tournament stages.
No-limit hold'em remains the foundation of his résumé, particularly in Circuit Main Events and preliminary ring tournaments. His 2026 WSOP runner-up finish in the mixed no-limit hold'em/pot-limit Omaha event also demonstrated that his results are not confined entirely to one format.
Rather than assigning Hawkins a subjective label such as loose-aggressive or tight-aggressive, his verified tournament history provides the clearer description: he is an experienced live tournament specialist whose greatest sustained success has come on the WSOP Circuit.
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Maurice Hawkins' Current Status
Hawkins remains an active tournament player as of August 31, 2026.
His 2026 results include five Circuit victories, a runner-up finish at the World Series of Poker, a fourth-place WSOP finish worth a career-best $432,875 and additional deep runs after the summer series.
The Hendon Mob lists him with more than $1.1 million in live earnings during 2026 alone through its latest recorded results.
He also continued playing Circuit stops after winning ring No. 26, finishing third in a $2,200 Harrah's Cherokee High Roller in August for $43,873 and fourth in a $400 six-max event at Horseshoe Tunica for $3,738.
With 26 Circuit rings, no WSOP bracelet and an active tournament schedule, Hawkins enters the next stage of his career with two very different markers attached to his résumé: he already owns the most prolific title record in WSOP Circuit history while still pursuing his first bracelet at the summer World Series of Poker.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP Circuit rings does Maurice Hawkins have?
Maurice Hawkins has 26 WSOP Circuit rings as of August 31, 2026. The World Series of Poker lists him as the all-time Circuit ring leader.
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Has Maurice Hawkins won a WSOP bracelet?
No. Maurice Hawkins has not won a WSOP bracelet as of August 31, 2026. His closest finish came when he placed second in the 2026 $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack.
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How much has Maurice Hawkins won in live poker tournaments?
The Hendon Mob lists Maurice Hawkins with $7,870,361 in live tournament earnings as of August 31, 2026. Career earnings totals change whenever new results are added.
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What is Maurice Hawkins' biggest live tournament cash?
Hawkins' largest recorded live tournament cash is $432,875. He earned that amount for finishing fourth in the 2026 WSOP $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship.
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Has Maurice Hawkins won a WPT title?
No. The World Poker Tour lists Hawkins with no Main Tour victories. His best WPT finish was fourth in the 2015 Borgata Poker Open for $220,258.
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Where is Maurice Hawkins from?
The Hendon Mob lists Hawkins as an American player born in St. Louis, Missouri, with a residence in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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Sources
World Series of Poker — Maurice Hawkins player profile
World Series of Poker — WSOP Circuit history and all-time ring leaderboard, updated August 2026
World Series of Poker — 2008 Harrah's Atlantic City Circuit coverage
World Series of Poker — 2016 Horseshoe Council Bluffs Main Event coverage
World Series of Poker — 2016 Harrah's Cherokee Main Event coverage
World Series of Poker — 2017 Horseshoe Council Bluffs Main Event coverage
World Series of Poker — 2026 $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack results
World Series of Poker — 2026 $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship results
World Series of Poker — 2026 WSOP Circuit Choctaw Mini Main Event results
The Hendon Mob — Maurice Hawkins tournament results and career statistics
World Poker Tour — Maurice Hawkins player results
CardPlayer — A Poker Life: Maurice Hawkins