Ari Engel adds his 16th WSOP Circuit ring to take control of the board
Canadian poker star Ari Engel was tied for 15th for the most World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) rings at the start of the $400 buy-in Omaha/8 event at the Hammond, Indiana stop. He would finish the tournament standing alone at the top of the leaderboard.
Engel navigated through 117 entrants, defeating Tan Nguyen heads-up for the title and winning $10,749. It was the third Circuit ring he’s won at the popular Horseshoe Hammond cardroom outside Chicago. Indiana resident Nguyen took home $6,643 for second place.
Maurice Hawkins won his 15th WSOPC ring in May at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina to stand alone in first place. Engel would tie him in August after winning his 14th and 15th rings at Graton Resort & Casino.
Josh Reichard, who won his 14th ring last spring, had been just one off the lead. However, that would all change on Tuesday when Engel extended the record he previously shared with Hawkins while putting Reichard two wins behind.
A two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Engel has now accumulated $8.4 million in live tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob.
Engel won his first WSOPC ring in Atlantic City in 2007. However, he took his dominance in Circuit events up several notches in 2023 with five rings and has almost three months remaining to capture more titles.
Engel won his WSOP bracelets in 2019 and 2021, including one No-Limit Hold’em title and another playing Omaha/8. He has proven to be a successful player in both Hold’em and non-Hold’em poker variants.
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