Controversial poker pro Maurice Hawkins sought a record-tying 17th World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) ring on Monday at Harrah’s Cherokee. But he was denied during heads-up play by Susan Faber in the $600 No-Limit Hold’em event.

Event #5 attracted 305 entrants, creating a prize pool of $157,075 at the Cherokee, North Carolina casino. In the end, it came down to a bracelet winner against a longtime pro with a history of unpaid debts accusations. And it was the former who came out on top to secure the ring and the $33,493 first place prize, while the runner-up took home $22,329.

WSOPC Cherokee Event #5 Final Table Results

Circuit Ring Crusher Comes Up Short

Hawkins won his 16th ring in May at Harrah’s Cherokee in the $1,700 buy-in Main Event. He surpassed Josh Reichard and Daniel Lowery to move alone into second place all time, one ring away from the record held by Ari Engel.

The opportunity to catch up to Engel presented itself for Hawkins on Monday. Vaughn Steeves busted in third place for $15,567, setting up a nearly even heads-up match. Faber, a 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, held a slight chip lead. But her opponent entered the match 16-8 lifetime when heads-up for a Circuit ring.

You can change that record to 16-9 now after Faber, who won her first ring, came out victorious and spoiled the record-tying party. Faber won her second recorded live poker tournament, according to The Hendon Mob, and first since 2019 when she won the $500 No-Limit Hold’em Salute to Warriors for $121,161 at the World Series of Poker. The newly minted WSOP Circuit champion now has $290,000 in lifetime live tournament cashes.

Hawkins, on the other hand, has nearly $5.8 million in The Hendon Mob results. Despite a lengthy history of large cashes in poker tournaments, the WSOPC crusher has just about as lengthy of a history of allegedly refusing to pay off debts to backers. PokerNews has extensively covered the allegations over the past five years, including on a March episode of the PokerNews Podcast where Chad Holloway and co-hosts Kyna England and Mike Holtz discussed the situation.

Hawkins has taken plenty of shots at PokerNews for, as he says, misreporting the story and distorting the truth. But Holloway has shown up with receipts that shoot down those claims, including a report in 2022 with statements from the backer he owed a significant amount of money to, along with a Florida civil court judgment against the poker pro.

On the felt, Hawkins continues his mastery of the WSOP Circuit and other mid-stakes poker tournaments. But on Monday, Faber successfully played the spoiler role.

Conrad & Sheaves Capture Rings

The Harrah’s Cherokee stop includes 20 ring events and runs until Aug. 12, with the $1,700 buy-in Main Event scheduled to begin Aug. 10. Six players have already captured a gold ring in North Carolina, with a seventh to be awarded on Tuesday in the $400 Mini Main. There were just two players remaining in that tournament at the time of publishing.

Chris Conrad and Warren Sheaves are among those who’ve captured WSOP Circuit gold during the current series. Conrad took down Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed for $44,287, his seventh ring. Sheaves captured Event #6: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-or-Better for $23,488 to win his first ring.

Two starting flights of Event #9: $400 Monster Stack kicked off during Tuesday’s action at the popular card room. The tournament features a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.

WSOP Circuit Cherokee Stop Current Results

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