Some people trophy hunt. Others flag hunt. But in poker, what separates the names that last from the ones that pass through is hardware, bracelets, and rings. This week at Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa, two of the game’s most decorated Circuit grinders added to their collections.
Daniel Lowery won his 21st WSOP Circuit ring on September 22 in the $400 Big O. Ari Engel followed less than 24 hours later with his own 21st in the $400 NLH. Both wins happened at the same stop, on consecutive days.
Maurice Hawkins, who already sits at 26 rings and has been running away from these two all year, can afford to feel comfortable with a five-ring lead even as his closest rivals tick upward. The gap is five. The race for the all-time Circuit record just got a fraction more interesting.
Lowery First, Ring #21 in Big O
Lowery got there first. The Arkansas sawmill owner and self-described part-time player took down Event #7, a $400 Big O tournament at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, for $8,607 from 96 entries.
Lowery was the last one standing in a field that paid 13 places. Ari Engel was at the same final table, finishing third for $3,672. He finished third, two spots from a ring of his own, which meant the two men who have been chasing Hawkins for years were in the same room when Lowery crossed the line first, Engel watching his rival reach 21 while still at the table.
Event #7: $400 Big O | 96 entries | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | September 22, 2026
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Daniel Lowery | $8,607 |
| 2 | Sean Moore | $5,502 |
| 3 | Alan Engel | $3,672 |
| 4 | Baxter Wirth | $2,562 |
| 5 | Dee Wampler | $1,873 |
| 6 | Steven Schulte | $1,437 |
| 7 | Timothy Garles | $1,161 |
| 8 | Kristopher Wilcox | $990 |
| 9 | Darin Utley | $894 |
| 10 | Timothy Adamson | $857 |
| 11 | Jon Gibbs | $857 |
| 12 | Eric Grave | $817 |
| 13 | Ryan Remmes | $817 |
Lowery won his first WSOP Circuit ring in New Orleans in 2013, in a $365 NLH event where friends were on the rail cheering when his name was called. He has said more than once that he only needs to be on top once.
“I’ve told everybody, I only need to be on top once,” Lowery said. “If I was ever to get on top, I wouldn’t worry about chasing or competing that hard.”
He is not on top. He is tied for second after temporarily holding that spot alone for less than a day. But 21 rings is a number only three players in WSOP Circuit history have ever reached.
Engel Follows Less Than 24 Hours Later
Engel did not need long to respond. Less than 24 hours after finishing third in Lowery’s Big O event, the Canadian grinder won Event #9, a $400 NLH tournament at the same Horseshoe Council Bluffs stop, for $6,613 from 68 entries.
Engel posted on X: “Winner! Ring #21 in a small field council bluffs 400 NL.” Characteristically understated for a milestone that puts him equal with Lowery in the all-time record books.
Event #9: $400 NLH | 68 entries | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | September 23, 2026
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan Engel | $6,613 |
| 2 | Theresa Morley | $4,094 |
| 3 | Mark Fink | $2,790 |
| 4 | Jarryd Hawkins | $1,992 |
| 5 | Matthew Alexander | $1,493 |
| 6 | Jesse Keel | $1,178 |
| 7 | Jacob Long | $981 |
| 8 | Daniel Biddle | $866 |
| 9 |  Donnie Phan | $811 |
| 10 | Jordan Russell | $811 |
| 11 | Trevor Klein | $811 |
Engel’s career spans almost every format. He has won rings live and online, full ring, six-max, heads-up, NLH, PLO, HORSE, Omaha Hi/Lo, and Mystery Bounty. He has four WSOP bracelets, the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event for $1,120,110, and over $10 million in recorded career earnings tracked at The Hendon Mob.
As a child, he spent 14 hours a day reading sacred texts at an Orthodox Jewish school near Chicago. His father was a rabbi. He graduated from NYU in finance and business management with Wall Street in mind and then turned $150 into $15,000 online in ten days and never looked back. The circuit ring collection is the product of two decades of relentless grinding across almost every format the game offers.
Hawkins: 26 Rings, a Bankruptcy Filing, and a Bad Boy Image He Has Earned
Hawkins won ring #26 two months ago, not at Council Bluffs. He took down the $1,100 Mini Main Event at WSOPC Choctaw in Oklahoma on July 25 for $76,380, coming back from six big blinds in heads-up play against Brian Green to close it out. Engel was at that final table too, eliminated in fourth. It was Hawkins’s fifth Circuit ring of 2026 and his 26th overall, extending a record he has been building since 2013.
The year 2026 has not been straightforward off the felt. Hawkins filed for bankruptcy in the spring, just weeks after winning ring #24. The story generated headlines and a PokerNews podcast episode. He went on to win ring #25 at Harrah’s Cherokee in May, then ring #26 at Choctaw in July. He also came agonizingly close to his first WSOP bracelet at the summer series, finishing second in the $600 mixed NLH/PLO event behind Brent Gregory at a final table that included Daniel Negreanu and Alex Foxen. He has 26 Circuit rings.
He has zero bracelets. That is the one thing still missing, and it is the thing he wants most.
“I’ve got the recipe, and I’m spreading it all over America,” Hawkins said after the Choctaw win. “I figured some things out about my game, about other people’s games, and now I’m just applying it.” You could question a lot of things about Hawkins over the years. You cannot question the ring count.
Where the All-Time List Stands
| Rings | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Maurice Hawkins | United States |
| 21 | Ari Engel | Canada |
| 21 | Daniel Lowery | United States |
More Chances for WSOP Circuit Rings This Week
Two WSOP Circuit stops fire this week. WSOPC California runs September 24 to October 5 at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln.
Across the Atlantic, the first-ever WSOP Circuit Malta gets underway September 25 at Casino Malta in St. Julian’s, running through October 5 with 12 ring events and a €1,500 Main Event starting September 30. poker.pro will be on the ground in Malta, with Glenn Brown providing daily recaps from Saturday and Jason Glatzer commentating on the final day.
While we expect Hawkins, Engel, and Lowery to remain in the United States chasing rings on home soil, the Malta stop offers European players a great chance to collect WSOP Circuit hardware on their own turf for the first time or to add to their collection.
The full schedule and everything you need to know are at poker.pro.
- Read more: The WSOP Circuit Is Coming to Malta for the First Time
- Read more: The Full Breakdown: Every WSOP Circuit Malta Ring Event (Sept. 25-Oct. 5).
- Article originally produced at poker.pro.
- Images courtesy of WSOP.com and 8131 Media.
