2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Cherokee

$1,700 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Cherokee

Final Results
Winner
Erik Gorman
Winning Hand
aq
Prize
$260,480
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,700
Entries
1,000
Level Info
Level
33
Blinds
100,000 / 100,000
Ante
200,000

Erik Gorman Wins WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event ($260,480)

Level 33 : 100,000/100,000, 200,000 ante
Erik Gorman
Erik Gorman

The World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,700 Main Event is now history and taking home the top prize of $260,480 was Erik Gorman, who topped a field of a smooth 1,000 entries to win his first gold ring.

Donning his Baltimore Ravens apparel throughout his run, the Maryland resident captured the ring after he had come close on a few other occasions, particularly in 2014 when he finished third in the same tournament. This win more than doubles his career WSOP earnings, adding $260,480 to his previous total of $216,606.

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Erik GormanMaryland$260,480
2Hannah GuthrieMontgomery, AL$160,978
3Michael KassemKingsport, TN$120,770
4Ryan JonesBurlington, NC$91,459
5Fikret KovacBanja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina$69,920
6Kyle CartwrightBartlett, TN$53,968
7Marshall WhiteBoone, NC$42,058
8Ken AldridgePleasant Garden, NC$33,098
9Randall RothwellDayton, TN$26,304
10Spencer ChamplinScarborough, ME$21,114

Road to Title

It was a classic worst-to-first story as Gorman began the day dead last in chips out of the returning 15 players. However, on the second and fourth hands of the day he immediately shot his stack up toward the top. That quickly changed his perspective moving forward on the day.

“Yeah. Those two hands were sick. I was like, I have a chance now,” he said after the win.

Gorman would remain among the chip leaders for the rest of the day, helped in large part by the hand he identified as a key one to help him win. It happened when Kyle Cartwright shipped pocket nines right into Gorman's pocket aces with two tables remaining. Gorman battled his way down to the final table and from there played solid poker, often maneuvering his way to getting the best of his competitors during short-handed play.

After beginning heads up almost even in chips, Gorman found himself whittled down to a 3:1 chip disadvantage against Hannah Guthrie. That is when a bit of good fortune would save Gorman when he got it in behind on the turn, his two pair up against a flush. The river filled up his boat to give him the dramatic survival. He would take down the title just a couple of hands later.

Action of the Day

Outside of Gorman’s victory, the story of the day was Guthrie, a player out of Alabama. A newcomer with only three modest cashes previously, she was able to navigate her way through the sea of monsters that the final day offered to find herself on the cusp of the title and eventually the second-place finish for a whopping $160,978.

That sea of monsters came in the form of many of the Circuit's most well known and most successful players. Last December’s Cherokee champion Jake Bazeley’s attempt to go back-to-back ended quickly as he was eliminated in 14th place.

The bust outs would continue until the final table was reached where a total of 16 WSOP circuit rings and two WSOP bracelets were represented. The owner of two of those circuit rings, Spencer Champlin, was the first player to bite the dust at the final table when he was eliminated in 10th place. After Randall Rothwell bowed out in ninth, WSOP bracelet winner Ken Aldridge fell in eighth place. Marshall White’s elimination in seventh place would see the ring total reduced by another four.

The most decorated player at the final table with eight circuit rings and one bracelet was Cartwright, who was eliminated in sixth place leaving two-time circuit ring winner Ryan Jones as the only player remaining with a previous ring. When Jones was eliminated in fourth place it guaranteed there would be a new ring winner. Michael Kassem’s elimination in third place set up the aforementioned heads-up battle that saw Gorman conquer the loaded field.

WSOPC Harrah's Cherokee Ring Winners

Here's a look at all those who captured rings at Harrah's Cherokee:

TournamentEntriesPrize PoolWinnerPrize
Event #1: $250 NLH Double Stack323$64,600Lenol Clark$14,378
Event #2: $400 NLH Multi-Flight2,249$741,840Ray Langston$96,921
Event #3: $400 NLH Turbo552$182,160Sam Cynamon$35,304
Seniors Event #1: $250 NLH1,006$201,200Carol Porter$34,534
Event #4: $600 NLH393$202,395Todd Mercer$42,907
Event #5: $400 NLH 6-Max634$209,220Josh Johnson$40,330
Event #6: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha287$147,805Joey Fabre$33,837
Event #7: $400 Monster Stack1,193$633,930Leif Force$97,676
Event #8: $1,125 NLH267$267,000Todd Mercer$62,282
Event #9: $400 NLH333$109,890Aria Homayounnejad$24,330
Event #10: $1,700 Main Event1,000$1,515,000Erik Gorman$260,480
Event #11: $400 NLH Turbo350$115,500Taylor Williams$25,184
Event #12: $400 NLH Turbo438$144,540Jaeyoung Wi$29,755
Seniors Event #2: $250 NLH576$115,200Michael Gunning$22,057
Event #13: $400 NLH Double Stack471$155,430Ricardo Eyzaguiree$31,386

Thanks to winning two events and two other small cashes for $106,421 in earnings, Todd Mercer was crowned the WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Casino Champion with 105 points. That meant the three-time ring winner won a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.

Todd Mercer
Casino champ Todd Mercer

That does it for the PokerNews coverage of the WSOPc Main Event in Cherokee. However, we're currently offering live updates from the WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino $1,700 Main Event, which is happening now Follow that tournament here.

Tags: Erik GormanHannah GuthrieKen AldridgeKyle CartwrightRyan JonesSpencer Champlin

Hannah Guthrie Eliminated in 2nd Place ($160,978)

Level 33 : 100,000/100,000, 200,000 ante
Hannah Guthrie
Hannah Guthrie

Immediately after falling behind in chips thanks to the miracle river, Hannah Guthrie jammed over a raise from Erik Gorman and was snap-called.

Hannah Guthrie: {a-Spades}{3-Spades}
Erik Gorman: {a-Hearts}{q-Hearts}

The board did not provide any hope for Guthrie as it came {q-Diamonds}{k-Spades}{6-Clubs}{10-Hearts}{10-Diamonds} and her tournament was over in second place for a $160,978 score.

Player Chips Progress
Erik Gorman us
Erik Gorman
30,000,000 13,000,000
Hannah Guthrie us
Hannah Guthrie
Busted

Tags: Erik GormanHannah Guthrie

Gorman Hits River Boat to Survive

Level 33 : 100,000/100,000, 200,000 ante
Heads Up Play
Heads Up Play

The flop came {4-Spades}{9-Diamonds}{4-Diamonds}. Hannah Guthrie bet 900,000 and Erik Gorman called.

The turn was the {3-Diamonds} to put a third diamond on the board. Guthrie bet 1,900,000. Gorman thought a few moments and moved all in for 8,500,000 and he was snap-called by Guthrie.

"Uh oh that's not good," said Gorman as he turned over the {7-Hearts}{7-Clubs}, which was well behind the {q-Diamonds}{6-Diamonds} flush of Guthrie.

But the river saved Gorman's tournament life as the {4-Clubs} binked to fill up Gorman and launch him from out the door to the chip lead.

Player Chips Progress
Erik Gorman us
Erik Gorman
17,000,000 3,000,000
Hannah Guthrie us
Hannah Guthrie
13,000,000 -3,000,000

Tags: Erik GormanHannah Guthrie

Michael Kassem Eliminated in 3rd Place ($120,770)

Level 33 : 100,000/100,000, 200,000 ante
Michael Kassem
Michael Kassem

Michael Kassem moved all in from the button, he was called by Erik Gorman out of the small blind. The big blind got out of the way.

Michael Kassem: {q-Spades}{10-Hearts}
Erik Gorman: {a-Clubs}{j-Hearts}

The board ran out {6-Spades}{3-Clubs}{2-Spades}{6-Hearts}{7-Diamonds} and Kassem was eliminated in third place.

Player Chips Progress
Erik Gorman us
Erik Gorman
17,000,000 2,200,000
Michael Kassem us
Michael Kassem
Busted

Tags: Erik GormanMichael Kassem

Ryan Jones Eliminated in 4th Place ($91,459)

Level 33 : 100,000/100,000, 200,000 ante
Ryan Jones
Ryan Jones

From the small blind, Ryan Jones moved all in over the top of a raise from Erik Gorman, who called the jam quickly,

It was a flip for Jones's tournament life.

Ryan Jones: {a-Spades}{j-Spades}
Erik Gorman: {10-Hearts}{10-Spades}

The board ran our safe for Gorman as it came {5-Clubs}{q-Clubs}{9-Hearts}{5-Spades}{7-Clubs} and Jones was eliminated in fourth place.

Player Chips Progress
Erik Gorman us
Erik Gorman
9,400,000 7,200,000
Ryan Jones us
Ryan Jones
Busted

Tags: Erik GormanRyan Jones

Fikret Kovac Eliminated in 5th Place ($69,920)

Level 32 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Fikret Kovac
Fikret Kovac

Fikret Kovac jammed all in preflop and was snap called by Hannah Guthrie.

The hand of the day made another appearance as Kovac was thoroughly dominated with {k-Clubs}{q-Clubs} against yet another set of rockets as Guthrie held the {a-Spades}{a-Diamonds}.

The flop gave slim hope to Kovac as it came {10-Clubs}{q-}{5-} but the turn {2-} and river {9-} came up empty for him and he was eliminated in fifth place.

Player Chips Progress
Hannah Guthrie us
Hannah Guthrie
12,300,000 4,000,000
Fikret Kovac ba
Fikret Kovac
Busted

Tags: Fikret KovacHannah Guthrie

Kyle Cartwright Eliminated in 6th Place ($53,968)

Level 32 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Kyle Cartwright
Kyle Cartwright

The eliminations continued at a rapid pace as Kyle Cartwright moved his short stack into the middle preflop and was called quickly by Michael Kassem.

Cartwright's tournament life was at stake with the {7-Diamonds}{4-Diamonds} against the {a-Spades}{k-Spades} of Kassem.

The board ran out {q-Clubs}{9-Clubs}{5-Diamonds}{a-Hearts}{6-Hearts} and Cartwright was gone in sixth place.

Player Chips Progress
Michael Kassem us
Michael Kassem
7,950,000 450,000
Kyle Cartwright us
Kyle Cartwright
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Kyle CartwrightMichael Kassem

Marshall White Eliminated in 7th Place ($42,058)

Level 32 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Marshall White
Marshall White

Soon after the previous elimination, there was another preflop all-in.

Marshall White was at risk with the {a-Clubs}{k-Clubs} against the {10-Diamonds}{10-Hearts} of Ryan Jones.

The board ran out a clean {8-}{q-}{9-}{9-}{10-} and White was eliminated in seventh place for $42,058.

Player Chips Progress
Ryan Jones us
Ryan Jones
5,300,000 1,600,000
Marshall White us
Marshall White
Busted

Tags: Marshall WhiteRyan Jones

Ken Aldridge Eliminated in 8th Place ($33,098)

Level 32 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Ken Aldridge
Ken Aldridge

Michael Kassem raised from early position and WSOP bracelet winner Ken Aldridge, who was in the big blind, re-raised it. Kassem jammed all in and Aldridge snap-called.

In a remarkable turn of events, Kassem was once again the beneficiary of aces over kings in the span of three hands.

Ken Aldridge: {k-}{k-}
Michael Kassem: {a-Diamonds}{a-Clubs}

The board ran out {7-Clubs}{4-Diamonds}{4-Clubs}{2-Spades}{5-Spades} and Aldridge was gone just like that in eighth place.

Player Chips Progress
Michael Kassem us
Michael Kassem
7,500,000 3,750,000
Ken Aldridge us
Ken Aldridge
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Ken AldridgeMichael Kassem