Maurice Hawkins has won his 18th World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ring at an event in Maryland. But sadly for the polarizing poker pro, his victory isn’t the main topic of conversation. Instead, people are more focused on the eviction of Divyam Satyarthi in third.
It came to light after the fact that Satyarthi had the best hand during the showdown in which he was eliminated. The American pro, who has total live earnings of $227,503, was all in against Hawkins. Unbeknownst to him, he had a flush, but Hawkins took the pot with a no-good wheel in the river.
Satyarthi would have doubled his stack
Screenshots of a video of the board confirm that Satyarthi did have a flush, the better hand of the two. If he had won as he should have, Satyarthi would have doubled his stack. Instead, Hawkins went on to win the event, taking home $140,752.
The dealer and surrounding staff missed the mistake. Reporters at the event explained that they only learned of the error hours after the incident, after which they told staff. But by this point it was too late.
The incident has caused controversy on social media, with various names in the poker space giving their take on the issue. WSOP commentator Norman Chad described the mistake as “unforgivable” and “game-changing.” He also called out WSOP news partner PokerOrg for failing to report on the miscue.
Poker pro DJ MacKinnon posted a poll to X asking if poker media members attending the event have a duty to report any mistakes they see. Around 66% of the 2,408 respondents said Yes, while 27% selected no.
Renowned TD Matt Savage had his own opinion: