The past few weeks have been pivotal in creating fever pitch among the upper echelons of the WSOP Circuit ring leaderboard. When the controversial character Maurice Hawkins won his record-tying 18th Circuit ring after a pivotal hand was misread, the poker world reacted in shock. Three men, however, just got back to work.
Over the past few weeks and months, the race to win the most WSOP Circuit rings has heated up, with Hawkins overtaken by Ari Engel with 19 rings. Daniel Lowery (18) and Josh Reichard (16) are both in hot pursuit of the top spot too, so we talked to the three men in a constant battle with each other to find out exactly what the war is like and whether the frequency of WSOP Circuit events has devalued the pursuit of them.
A Reputation for Greatness
Josh Reichard, Ari Engel, and Daniel Lowery have all won a vast number of WSOP Circuit rings – too many to hold with both hands. When they sit down in the WSOP-C events, do opponents tremble with fear or lick their lips in anticipation of knocking out the supposed big name at the felt? Each man’s reputation certainly precedes them whenever they sit down.
Josh Reichard: “I used to know everyone on the Circuit and be able to make a lot of in-game adjustments and exploits based off what I think they thought of me and what I knew about their games. The Circuit is an entirely new crowd from the days when I was grinding it religiously, so I don’t know much about these players, and a good majority of them may not know me or much about my game, so not as many adjustments to be made these days. There are a lot of people with a lot of rings these days, so I don’t think my reputation precedes me on the Circuit that much anymore.”
Ari Engel: “Reputation matters, and it has pros and cons. In an ideal world, I would love to be an anonymous player. When I started playing live, I was already a very successful online player but a complete unknown in the live world. I loved the way my opponents played against me as an unknown. Having said that, the way people play against you has a much more extreme effect when you’re A-Tier, but being a C or D-tier player, people do play somewhat differently against you. The most ideal is people who are either so scared they stay out of your way or so enamoured with the idea of beating you in a pot that they play hands they otherwise wouldn’t. Those extremes maybe happen to Phil Hellmuth in the Main Event more, but they don’t happen to me too often. There’s a bit of adjustment compared to a default player.”
Daniel Lowery: “Most players on the Circuit know me or know of me. I definitely have to be aware of which ones fear me and who is just out to get me. I know I often have a target on my back. If I can distinguish between the two, I’m generally able to build bigger stacks and make deep runs.”
Is Money or Glory a Motivation?
Money is a motivation for anyone playing professional poker, but the pursuit of a record number of WSOP Circuit rings alongside others is a unique race, and one that doesn’t exist in any tangible way in terms of WSOP bracelets thanks to Phil Hellmuth’s lead of 17 bracelets to his nearest rival Phil Ivey’s 11. So how aware of each other’s results are each of our Circuit crushers and how much does it motivate them to stay ahead?
Reichard: “The ‘ring race’ means zero to me. I don’t like the WSOP-C at all anymore, they’ve ruined it with their short-sighted greed. I play maybe two Circuit stops per year and don’t even play the full stops. I’m not competing for the ring leaderboard.”
Engel: “Having been a full-time player for 20 years now I do like to find extra side motivations in whatever manner I can. It can get a little monotonous just having the same goal of paying the bills and setting yourself up. I’ve always like leaderboards or different competitions I can have with myself or others – the ring chase is one of them! I try not to let it affect my decision-making but if it’s fairly close, I’ll choose to play a WSOP Circuit stop.”
Lowery: “Maurice and I have been in the trenches of the WSOP Circuit for several years. We’ve shared plenty of time on the felt and around each other at numerous stops. He has had the most success on the Circuit hands down. Josh and I have been in the same circle of friends for around a dozen years. I feel like he, his wife Ashley, and his dad Brett are part of my family, I’m always pulling for him! Ari and I have been friends for years as well. We kind of kick-started this ‘ring race’ in late 2023 and challenged each other. Ari is such a class act, I’m not sure you’d ever hear a bad word about that man. Although I’m excited to win tournaments, I’m always pulling for my friends to do well. To be on top of the rings leaderboard would be cool for sure!”
Memories of WSOP Gold
While Engel is the only player of the three to win WSOP bracelets, having bagged four, the collective 53 WSOP Circuit rings between the trio have led to magical memories being made. Plenty live long in the minds of the players attempting to top their own personal leaderboard battle.
Reichard: “I can’t narrow it down to just one. They all mean something to me and stick out for different reasons. Winning tournaments isn’t easy, so when it happens it’s important to always cherish the moment. Whenever my friends and family are involved they probably mean a little more. Playing Chris Conrad heads up was an awesome moment, our ladies were on the stage watching the heads-up match together and another friend Paul Ewen was also at that final table. Playing Nick Revello heads up in our home state with friends watching on was up there. A good friend of mine Mo Nuwwarah and I both won rings on the stage at Hammond on the same day, that was super cool. That same event Chris Conrad and Byron Ziebell were at the final table with me as well, and the four of us were all staying at the same Airbnb during the glory days of the Circuit. Another great friend Michael Sanders and I drove across the country together from Council Bluffs to Cherokee and won back-to-back events within 24 hours of arriving. Daniel Lowery and I won rings on the same day back in the day and both the Main Events [I won] stand out, the first one being my first time winning a Circuit main which was a long-time goal of mine. The second main was also very close to home an hour’s drive from my front door. My parents and a bunch of friends getting to enjoy it with me – my mom doesn’t get to see many – made it extra special.”
Engel: “Many of my rings have great memories attached but there’s always something special about winning your first one. The other one that comes to mind was an online $500 PLO and I was heads-up against John Riordan who at the time used to sit at the high stakes on WSOP .com and take on all comers in PLO. He’s way better than me; if we ran that match 100 times he’d win it 75-80 times. That day I won, it felt really special. I was playing mixed cash games at the Wynn all day and had the online Circuit event on my laptop. When I got heads-up I stopped playing the cash game. Most of the time I feel like I’m a favorite when I get heads-up. There, I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I was l such an underdog math-wise. I ran amazing and beat him.”
Lowery: “Haha! Winning a nightly excites me. So you can imagine how fun it is to win a trophy. When I won my first Circuit ring, I had won between $400,000-500,000 on the Circuit and didn’t have a ring. I had more Main Event final tables than anyone and several close calls. Winning my first in my favorite city of New Orleans with a huge crowd around me was very memorable!
Winning the Choctaw Main Event was special because I had been close there a lot, and everyone claimed I was the ‘King of Choctaw’ and I won my highest score in front of about 30 of my good friends cheering for me on the rail was very special. To get a banner up in the rafters was maybe the coolest accolade I’ve received so far. But my favorite on the Circuit would oddly enough be a fourth-place finish in a Main Event in New Orleans that holds the strongest memory. I was at the final table with the chip lead and my best friend and road dog Andrew Nguyen was second in chips. There were bleachers on both sides with people cheering so loud. Drinks were being delivered in mass quantities to our friends and it was the rowdiest rail ever seen on the Circuit hands down!”
Are There Too Many WSOP Circuit Events?
There is often the argument made that the frequency of WSOP Events is such now that winning rings – or even a WSOP bracelet – has been devalued. Our three WSOP greats have different views on whether this is the case.
Reichard: “It still always means something winning poker tournaments, but they have devalued the meaning of rings and bracelets. That said, winning a WSOP bracelet is still currently on the top of the list of poker accomplishments I’m hunting.”
Engel: I somewhat agree that they’re devalued, especially with the online Circuit rings on multiple sites. At the same time, for bracelets if you’re comparing it to the way it was in the year Moneymaker won (2003), I know there were a lot less bracelets but the total number of unique entrants and the number of bracelets awarded… I don’t know which one has the worse ratio. It’s been played up that there are low buy-ins – and during COVID there was a $50 online event – but it’s not like it was easy to win. As you can tell, I’m a little torn. One thing I know is the actions speak louder than anything, and Americans show that they really, really want to win them. People still show up and play them.”
Lowery: “I feel that all of the online stuff has definitely changed the feel and allure of winning a ring or a bracelet for a lot of people. The kids online are great, and they should definitely be awarded rings. I also believe their accomplishments should be showcased separately as to show a different leaderboard. It’s a different type of setting in my opinion. To think that people have double digit wins in online events and aren’t being talked about much is sad. I feel they should have their own category so they can be honored and be proud of their individual accomplishments as well. I think there is a guy with 12 and another with 14. It sucks that online poker isn’t legal in all states so that we could all grind those sites every time there’s a series.”
The End Game for the ‘Ring Race’
Each man pursues the title of ‘Most Circuit Event Victories’, even if it is between them in their own private race. But what are their individual end games? Will success in the WSOP-C events be career-defining by or could those results act as a springboard to greater or success further down the line?
Reichard: “I really hope that it’s not at all what my career is defined by. I love the game and have a long career ahead of me. WSOPC rings aren’t going to be a large part of that due to things mentioned above. Hopefully I stay on top of my game and excel everywhere I play. In the recent past and going forward that has been and will be more MSPTs, WPTs and basically any tour that isn’t the WSOPC the great majority of the time.”
Engel: “There was a time when Alex Foxen played some minor league stuff, and a lot of the great players played minor leagues and the real success is no longer playing those. The fact that I’m 20 years in and still playing $400 tournaments is something I’m OK with but it also shows I’m a good player but not a great player. The end goal is to graduate from the minors. Whether that’s going to happen or not I don’t know and I don’t have the same level of risk-taking that some other players do. From a skillset point of view I’m very honest about where I am. Many of my peers have – I believe – better poker fundamentals, but ultimately they went broke and left the game because they chose to play higher than [they could sustain] when they were no longer successful and that’s something I’ve tried to avoid. If I look at lofty goals, playing PGT and Triton events would be one of them, to be successful in the major leagues but this competition in the ring chase will probably continue there are a bunch of online guys who’ve really climbed up over the last year. Dan could start playing more than eight events a year, or Josh could start playing more than two events a year!”
Lowery: “I’ve always been a small to mid-stakes grinder when I’ve gotten to play. I’ve taken very few shots at bigger stuff. I feel if I were to share a spot just once on top of the rings list, I’d feel I met my goal. The goal was to get 20, and I’ll continue to play some Circuit stuff until I win that many. But for the most part, I simply go where I can hang out with friends in fun places. I’d like to travel to more countries and experience new things while continuing to play. I need to put in some volume in bracelet events to eventually win one. I’ve only played 35-40 bracelet events in my entire career. Most professionals play close to that many in a summer. I want to continue to help promote women in poker and grow the game any way I can – it’s such an awesome game!”
The WSOP Circuit ring race will run and run and one day maybe Reichard, Lowery and Engel will be looking back at their time racing for the lead with fondness. Maybe they’ll still be in the hunt for more. One thing is certain, right now they are each chasing a unique place in poker history, and one that may mean less with each passing year.
