Valentin Vornicu Sets WSOP Circuit Ring Mark With Back-to-Back Wins

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Ever heard of Mike Hessman? He’s Baseball’s Minor League Home Run King, having hit 433 home runs over his career. The World Series of Poker Circuit is the premier “minor league” poker series in live poker. The difference is that many of its players have become household names due to their performance.

On Sunday, Valentin Vornicu set the all-time record for most career WSOP Circuit Ring victories after winning his 11th ring. However, he wasn’t done. On Monday, he won his 12th career ring after winning the $365 single day NL event.

Vornicu Wins Back-to-Back Rings to Becomes Ring King

Valentin Vornicu is one of only two players in WSOP Circuit history to have won 10 rings. He has been deadlocked with Maurice Hawkins until this past Sunday when we won Event #1 of the Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit stop.

The $365 NL Re-Entry event drew a massive field of 1,340 entries and created a top prize of $64,205. Vornicu made the final table of the event as one of the short stacks and according to what he told PokerNews, he was happy to merely try and ladder up to win more points towards the 2018 Global Championship.

However, things started to change and he found a timely double-up to get some chips. He then let his experience take over and he began to bust every player at the final table en route to his 11th career circuit ring and 50 points that gave him enough to earn his seat into this year’s Global Championship.

On Monday, Vornicu decided to enter the $365 Single Day NL event, a tournament that drew 349 entries. Vornicu late registered the event and went on a massive tear to make the final table as the chip leader.

After some initial setbacks, Vornicu managed to regain the chip lead and rode the lead all the way to back-to-back victories and his 12th career WSOP Circuit title.

Speaking to WSOP.com after the win, he stated, “What is there to say? Right now, I’m just super tired and super happy. Also, is this real? Is this real? I’ve never won back-to-back tournaments. Definitely not live. Maybe online, but usually after I win a tournament live, the next one I play I just bust before the first break.”

His back-to-back victories are his first wins at Harrah’s New Orleans. He’s now won rings at eight different stops, including four rings at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.

First the Rings, Now the Casinos Championship?

Now that Vornicu has the all-time rings title and his Global Championship in hand, there isn’t much left to claim short of more rings and the Harrah’s New Orleans Casino Championship title. The Casino Championship is basically the “Best Player” title at any one stop. Historically, the winner of either a WSOP Circuit Main Event or a Casino Championship gets an automatic berth into the Global Championship.

“I think every grinder is rooting for me to win Casino Champion because then there is another spot opening up for points [in the 2018 GCC]. And the last five years, I usually get in by winning a main event or Casino Champion. Only once I got in with points.”

Despite having an impressive resume in smaller events like the WSOP Circuit, Vornicu still lacks a major live poker title. He has over $1 million in career earnings, but his best career score came in 2016 when he finished 23rd in the WSOP Main Event for $269,430.

His best WSOP finish came in 2016 when he finished 6th in the $1,500 Razz Event. With momentum on his side following back-to-back Circuit Ring victories, this could be the year he finally breaks through and wins his first WSOP bracelet.