WSOPC-Cherokee 

WSOPC Cherokee Main Event champion Tuyen Dieu

“What a turn card! What a f***ing turn card!!”

These were the words excitedly exclaimed by Tuyen Dieu and his rail as they celebrated the new WSOP Circuit Main Event champion’s victory. And yes, what a f***ing turn card it was .

After a king-ten-ten flop was checked through, the ace of diamonds fell on the turn, which Dieu bet. When he was check-raised all-in by Boas, who had a ten as Dieu held pocket aces for a full house, the thought going through his mind in that moment as he called and slapped down his aces was undeniable.

“I’m a champion now. Here we go, I’m rich! Finally, I’m rich!”

Dieu certainly is, claiming $287,230 and his first WSOP Circuit ring for topping the 1,224-entry field.

It’s an unlikely win for the cash game player from Vietnam who moved to the United States when he was 18. He said this was just his third-ever live tournament, and his friends who “take all my money” convinced him to join them in playing the Main Event.

According to the champ, those friends are the biggest beneficiaries of his win.

“They have a lot of percent of me. A lot. I’m not happy about that right now.”

Tuyen Dieu and his very happy friends

Dieu’s final table journey to winning his friends a bunch of money was an eventful one, as he had to overcome a murderer’s row of WSOP bracelet and Circuit ring winners to claim the title. That task was especially challenging, given that he started the day 7^th of the nine players.

Fortune smiled on him early in the day as seven-handed and needing a double-up, Dieu picked up his favorite hand, ace-queen, to double through Boas in a flip against the eventual runner-up’s pocket tens .

As critical as that hand was for Dieu, shortly after was the hand that gave him his shot at the title .

Dieu induced a river bluff from sixth-place finisher John Shepherd, which Dieu called with top pair, top kicker to take the chip lead.

“I knew I’m trapping him. I knew he was going to do that. So yeah, snap-call him.”

From there, Dieu battled with Joshua Palmer for the chip lead until three-handed play saw Boas overtake Palmer before Dieu performed the finishing blow on Palmer to set the heads-up match with Boas.

Toby Boas heads up vs Tuyen Dieu

With this substantial boost to the bankroll, Dieu says he may play some more tournaments, including the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, where he says, “I hope I can win one more time.”

As much as the money (however much he has left after paying his friends their share) or the ring means to him, it's a unique aspect of becoming a Main Event champion here at Cherokee that had him most excited when he learned about it.

WSOPC Cherokee Main Event championship banners

His name will go alongside every WSOP Circuit Main Event champion on a banner hanging inside the Cherokee Exhibition Hall, but it’s an honor he may have to prepare his mother for.

“My name’s gonna be up there? Are you for real? Wow, I (didn’t) even know that. Maybe if my Mom sees that, she’s gonna kill me, she’s over here a lot.”

WSOPC Cherokee Main Event final table results:

1. Tuyen Dieu - $287,230
2. Toby Boas - $191,474
3. Joshua Palmer - $134,584
4. Leslie Nettles - $96,069
5. David Moses - $69,661
6. John Shepherd - $51,325
7. Justin Levy - $38,431
8. Phuong Ta - $29,255
9. Ryan Eriquezzo - $22,646

Florin-Ciprian Elisei

It's not often you get a European player claiming a WSOPC Circuit ring, let alone one from the eastern part of that continent, so what a way to wrap up this latest incredible WSOP Circuit series here at Harrah's Cherokee.

Florian-Ciprian Elisei has won the final ring of the series, taking down Event #18: $400 Double Stack Closer for his first WSOP Circuit ring.

Eilisei, who now calls Bowie, Maryland home, topped the 397-entry strong field to earn $25,990 along with the ring and an invite to the WSOP Tournament of Champions.

While this is just Elisei's fourth WSOP cash, he has an impressive tournament resume between the United States and his home country, with over $500,000 in earnings according to the Hendon Mob.

Event #18: $400 Double Stack Closer final table results:

1. Florin-Ciprian Elisei - $25,990
2. Alex Sneed - $17,324
3. Manuel Fuentes-Quiroz - $11,958
4. Seun Oluwole - $8,431
5. Justin Grider - $6,074
6. William Stanford - $4,474
7. Kayla Clackum - $3,371
8. Jimmy Elkins - $2,599
9. Joseph Ritzie - $2,052
10. Madan Pritpal - $1,660

With that, the final ring of the series has been awarded and we're tying a bow on another incredible time here in the Smoky Mountains.

Stay with PokerOrg for more ongoing WSOP Circuit coverage from Southern Indiana and Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, where the Tournament of Champions will begin on Thursday.

We'll be on the floor for that one along with the rest of the action for those series, so keep your browsers locked here at PokerOrg.

Event #17: $2,200 High Roller champion Casey Hatmaker

He joked a couple of days ago about "busting the Cherokee $10K," referring to firing the maximum six allotted entries in the Main Event, but Casey Hatmaker has turned that distinction around to wrap his series on a high note.

Hatmaker won Event #17: $2,200 High Roller for his sixth WSOP Circuit ring, defeating Mark Davis heads-up, denying the runner-up a second ring of the series.

The $84,878 that Hatmaker earned is the largest career live WSOP score for the online phenom, as well as his first live piece of WSOP hardware to go with his previous rings and a bracelet.

Event #17: $2,200 High Roller final table results:

1. Casey Hatmaker - $84,878
2. Mark Davis - $56,478
3. Seth Fischer - $38,562
4. Ravee Sundar - $27,065
5. Justin Allen - $19,535
6. Justin Carey - $14,512
7. Casey Mann - $11,104
8. Chau Shing Lam - $8,760
9. Patrick Pratt - $7,132
10. Richard Fowlkes - $5,999

Cody Stanford

The $400 Double Stack Closer has reached the final table, and it's a player who's no stranger to WSOP Circuit hardware trying to add to his trophy case.

William 'Cody' Stanford leads the final nine players as he attempts to add an eighth Circuit ring to his resume.

Here's a look at how the final table shapes up.

• Seat 1: Seun Oluwole - 750,000
• Seat 2: Justin Grider - 2,545,000
• Seat 3: Elisei Florin - 1,075,000
• Seat 4: Joe Ritzie - 770,000
• Seat 5: Scott Elkins - 2,100,000
• Seat 6: Kayla Clackum - 1,250,000
• Seat 7: William 'Cody' Stanford - 2,880,000
• Seat 8: Alex Sneed - 2,150,000
• Seat 9: Salina Madan - 1,100,000
• Seat 10: Manuel Fuentes-Quiroz - 1,400,000