Throughout the 20 years of the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC), there have only been a handful of players who have won Main Events in back-to-back stops.
Most recently, the feat was accomplished by Evan Sandberg at Lake Tahoe in 2024 and 2025. On Monday, Hamid Izadi joined the club after successfully defending his title at Caesar’s Southern Indiana.
"I felt like I had a responsibility to keep my title and defend it,” the double-crowned champion said minutes after the win. “So I was more careful because I knew a lot of people were probably gunning for me, just to make sure I’m not getting here, but I was cruising pretty good.
"I stayed away from certain players during the tournament and then I applied pressure when I had to. As you know, you have to play good and run good at the same time. I ran pure since yesterday, all of my hands held up and when I needed help, I got help.”
Dreams become reality... almost
As the reigning champion, Izadi came into the final day of play with the chip lead and never relinquished it.
While others dropped out, Izadi’s intuition – combined with a dream from his close friend and heads-up opponent Robert 'Skinny' Hankins – seemed to be working to his benefit.
“First of all, he is a good friend of mine, but when we started I thought it was going to be me, him, and Brad [Albrinck]. I was hoping that I would get heads up with 'Skinny', but when we came in this morning he told me ‘Hamid, I had a dream this morning: we got heads up and you let me win.’ I said his dream is probably all correct except for that last part, I want to win.”
Robert Hankins (right) dreamt about reaching heads-up play against Hamid Izadi – but he had the final finishing positions backwards. Albrinck went out in third place and the two 10-time ring winners reached the heads up portion of play with Izadi holding a slight lead over Hankins.
Both of them posed for a photo, with each player holding up the number that they finished in from Hankins’ dream. As the dealer got the cards pitching, Izadi quickly added to his chip lead.
It ended in a preflop clash, with Hankins’ holding 
against Izadi’s 
.
As the final river card of the tournament peeled off, both players initially thought they had chopped before Izadi realized that his kicker played for the pot. The good friends and fierce competitors embraced, with plenty of smiles to go around.
With the win, Izadi became only the second player in the history of the WSOPC to win four Main Event titles. Despite this, he hopes to continue to pile on the accomplishments and is more motivated than ever to do so.
"To me, playing poker and learning everyday and getting experience to get here, it means you’re doing something right. It motivates you to do better and better and better every time you play.”
'I'm going to catch him'
Turning to his support system, Izadi spoke highly of his family.
“I love the [WSOP] Circuit, I love Main Events everywhere I go, and I am really proud of myself," he told PokerOrg. "Most importantly is my family support, because they let me come and play. Honestly I’m very happy, because I wanted to be the second guy to win four Main Events or more – hopefully more to come. I’ll win the next one at Choctaw.”
Only 15 players in the history of the WSOPC have collected 11 rings and, until Monday, only one player had managed to win four WSOPC Main Events.
Maurice Hawkins retains his lead in the ring race with 26 titles and had a deep run at this stop (as well as finishing runner up to Izadi at the 2025 iteration of the Main Event).
Hamid Izadi is one of many players chasing Maurice Hawkins (pictured) in the WSOPC ring race. “I’m going to catch him soon,” commented Izadi. “He's a good player, but I’m going to catch him soon.”
It appears that no amount of poker accomplishments will keep the 11-time WSOPC ring winner at home as he looks forward to grinding the next few weeks of 2026.
“I am booked every week," he said. "I’m taking 10 days off during Thanksgiving, I’m going to Choctaw for the Main, Chicago Elgin for the Main, then I’m going to be at the Cherokee Main. I need to win a couple million before the end of the year.”
PokerOrg's coverage of the WSOPC Main Event in Southern Indiana is now concluded – but be sure to stay tuned for continued news from the circuit.
