Poker Writer
Ari Engel won his 20th career WSOP Circuit event in Council Bluffs late on Thursday night to pull him within one of Maurice Hawkins on the circuit ring leaderboard.
Engel won Event #12: $1,100 at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, Iowa, to cross the twenty ring milestone. He came into Iowa in just half a day to compete for rings after playing cross-country at the Borgata.
Won ring #20 in council bluffs tonight!
— Ari Engel (@AriEngelPoker) September 12, 2025
Poker commentator Norman Chad — a friend of Engel’s — went on X to make some jokes about the win, envisioning a theoretical physical confrontation with Hawkins.
BREAKING @AriEngelPoker NEWS
He wins his 20th @WSOP circuit ring in $1100 NLH event at Horseshoe Council Bluffs.
He knocked out the 9th, 8th, 7th, 6th, 5th, 3rd & 2nd-place finishers.
If he ran into Maurice Hawkins in the parking lot, he would’ve knocked him out too. #TeamAri
Engel won this most recent ring just two weeks after Hawkins became the first player to win twenty rings in New Orleans. However, Hawkins grabbed a second ring in that same series to bring his total to 21 rings and maintain his lead. He also finished second in another event a few days later, which would have given him 22.
Engel, who has just turned 42, held the overall circuit ring lead for most of the last few years. Several of those came in online events in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, all his rings since November 2024 have been in live events.
WSOPC Leaderboard Changes in 2025
Engel’s lead seemed reasonably secure at the top heading into 2025. But 2025 has turned into a year of resurgence for the 45-year-old Florida-based Hawkins, winning five rings to go from 16 rings to 21.
Hawkins’s rings in 2025:
| Ring # | Date | WSOPC Location | Event | Entries | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Feb 9 | Pompano Beach | 40/40/40 Grandmaster | 208 | $16,137 |
| 18 | Feb 27 | Balimore | Main Event | 468 | $140,752 |
| 19 | Apr 21 | Tunica | Monster Stack | 571 | $34,711 |
| 20 | Aug 26 | New Orleans | $600 PLO | 106 | $14,548 |
| 21 | Aug 28 | New Orleans | $400 NLH | 159 | $12,996 |
Third-place circuit ring winner Daniel Lowery now has 18 rings. He has won two rings in 2025 to keep his name in the mix, though he now trails Hawkins and Engel by a couple of rings.
One player to watch who has rapidly skyrocketed up the ring leaderboard is Mike Setera. The 25-year-old has 16 rings, all since 2022, and most of them online.
at 25 we pivot to a lifestyle brand https://t.co/s7XnntyXtU pic.twitter.com/Bvya5XqgPA
— Mike Setera (@MSetera) September 4, 2025
