According to Maurice Hawkins, he’s now right where he’s suppose to be — sitting on top of the World Series of Poker Circuit leaderboard all by himself.

Hawkins became the first player to win 20 WSOP Circuit rings, outlasting 106 entries in the $600 Pot-Limit Omaha event at Caesars New Orleans for the record and $14,548. He also won a $5,000 package to the WSOP series in Bahamas that takes place this December.

He now owns two more rings than Daniel Lowery, and three more than Ari Engel, his two biggest rivals in the race to 20 rings.

“I mean no disrespect to anybody else that is in the race with me, but my name is supposed to be at the top. Point blank, this is my Circuit,” Hawkins told Poker.org after. “I respect Ari, as a matter of fact, I have been respecting him his whole career. I used to look up to him a little, and Dan is a great player, but I am supposed to be at the top.”

Lowrey, who won three rings this year to put him at 18, was one of a handful of players at the final table who were already WSOP Circuit winners. Daniel Pearlman was going for his sixth, David Cook his third, and Dave Weiner his second.

This is Hawkin’s fourth WSOP Circuit ring in 2025. The three previous ones came in May at the series at Harrah’s Cherokee, where he also finished as a runner-up. He not only sits on top of the hardware list, but also has won more money on the WSOP Circuit trail with $1.7 million in cashes than anyone else ($6.4 million in total).

Hawkins came to the final table third in chips after spinning up his 25,000 starting stack to 150,000 during the first few levels of play. Hawkins is the kind of player who fires multiple bullets and takes chances in order to build a big stack early. Say what you want about Hawkins, but he doesn’t lack any gamble in his game.

He said luck was on his side in this event, and he’s feeling it.

“I have been running good ever since I got here. Whether running good in gambling, in poker, I have been running good since I sat down.” Hawkins said. “You know how you just start feeling great? You get that feeling, and I have had that feeling. We go through so much turmoil as poker players, the downswings and wondering why things are happening, and it just feels good to run above EV.”  

Don’t be surprised if Hawkins makes several more deep runs at Caesars New Orleans this week. He says he’s there for the duration, and has his eyes set on ring 21 and the money that comes with it.

The Series in New Orleans runs until Sept. 1.