Event #10: $1,700 MAIN EVENT

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

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:

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.

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.

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:   
Erik Gorman:   

The board did not provide any hope for Guthrie as it came       and her tournament was over in second place for a $160,978 score.

Erik Gorman	30,000,000	13,000,000
Hannah Guthrie	0	-13,000,000

The flop read    , Hannah Guthrie bet 1,400,000, and Erik Gorman called.

The turn was the   to further wet the board. Action went check-check. The river came the   and both players checked again.

Guthrie showed    while Gorman mucked to give Guthrie the slight chip lead.

Hannah Guthrie	16,000,000	3,900,000
Erik Gorman	14,000,000	-3,000,000

Michael Kassem three-bet to 825,000 preflop. Erik Gorman quickly jammed over the top. Kassem folded after a few moments to shrink his stack to a dangerously low level as Gorman continues his winning ways, taking down moderate pot after moderate pot in the last few orbits.

Erik Gorman	14,800,000	6,150,000
Hannah Guthrie	12,100,000	1,700,000
Michael Kassem	3,100,000	-6,000,000

Erik Gorman moved all in from the big blind. Ryan Jones was in the big blind and called quickly.

Jones was in trouble with the    against the    of Gorman.

The flop came     the turn gave Jones the lead as the   came off. And the river was the   to secure the double for Jones.

Ryan Jones	6,800,000	3,400,000
Erik Gorman	2,200,000	-3,100,000

Players are now on their dinner break which will be for 45 minutes.

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    against yet another set of rockets as Guthrie held the   .

The flop gave slim hope to Kovac as it came     but the turn   and river   came up empty for him and he was eliminated in fifth place.

Hannah Guthrie	12,300,000	4,000,000
Fikret Kovac	0	-3,100,000

In a blind-on-blind battle, the flop came    . Hannah Guthrie bet 225,000 from the small blind, Ryan Jones raised to 600,000, and Guthrie called.

The turn was the  . Jones fired again, this time for 900,000. Guthrie called again after a moment.

The river came the  . Jones fired a third barrel worth 1,200,000 and Guthrie played with her chips and thought it out for a while before opting to fold.

Ryan Jones	8,300,000	1,600,000
Hannah Guthrie	4,400,000	850,000

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    against the    of Kassem.

The board ran out       and Cartwright was gone in sixth place.

Michael Kassem	7,950,000	450,000
Kyle Cartwright	0	-1,200,000