Another massive WSOP Circuit series at Cherokee
Cash gamer Dieu adds name to WSOP Cherokee history
It’s always an incredible time when the WSOP Circuit returns to Cherokee, North Carolina, and our recent stop there was no different.
Massive fields, huge paydays, tons of smiles and an incredible list of champions to add to WSOP Circuit lore. Cherokee unquestionably delivered once again.
IN REVIEW: WSOP-C Cherokee
Cash gamer Dieu adds name to Cherokee history
His last name translates to "God” in French, and Vietnamese-born Tuyen Dieu has now been immortalized in the annals of WSOP Circuit Cherokee history with his name on a Main Event championship banner inside the Cherokee Exhibition Hall.
Saying afterward that he was just in the Main Event because of the goading of his poker buddies, Dieu is $287,230 richer after topping the 1,224 entry field in just his third-ever live tournament.
“I’m a champion now. Here we go, I’m rich! I’m finally rich!”
These were the thoughts that went through Dieu’s mind when runner-up Toby Boas moved all in on the tournament’s final hand while Dieu held the virtual nuts of a turned top full house of aces over tens against Boas’ losing trip tens.
Along with Boas, Dieu outlasted a final table loaded with WSOP bracelet and Circuit rings including David Moses (5th place) and Ryan Eriquezzo (9th place).
Plus, another tournament newbie, recreational cash gamer Leslie Nettles made an incredible run to 4th place, claiming nearly $100,000 for his efforts after entering the tournament on a last longer-bet with a friend.
It truly was a Main Event with a little bit of everything.
Series Highlights: Esquivel and Higgins stack rings in side events
Esquivel gets two rings in three days after Main Event disappointment
Just a couple of weeks prior to Cherokee, Michael Esquivel had been considering stepping away from the felt, frustrated and disheartened by an extended downswing. He decided to give it one more shot at Tunica and it paid off financially with a runner-up finish in the Main Event for $74,552. But coming so close to winning still left him wanting more.
At Cherokee, Esquivel found the top of the mountain, not once but twice in three days, claiming victory first in the $400 6-Max event for $46,068, then winning the $400 Monster Stack for a career-best $108,705.
Downswing over.
Higgins wins ring number eight, McEwen denies him #9
Meanwhile, Matthew Higgins, who had just come off a seventh Circuit ring at Tunica in the $1,100 PLO High Roller, earned himself his eighth along with a six-figure score, winning the Mini Main Event for $132,204.
The win was especially significant for Higgins, as it came three years to the day of his mother’s passing.
Just a couple of days later, he was on the verge of ring number nine in a marquee heads-up battle with Preston McEwen, who was going for an eighth ring of his own.
McEwen would come out on top of their duel to win the $600 Pot-Limit Omaha event, but it was another impressive result for Higgins.
Video Highlights:
With the standard massive tournament fields at Cherokee, that made for plenty of opportunity to catch some big hands and untimely bad beats. David Moses was on the wrong end of one of the worst ones at the final table of the Main Event.
Those championship banners on the wall prompted the question of what the coolest thing to win for a Circuit title would be, and it of course had to be asked, just what it is about Cherokee that makes it such a legendary WSOP Circuit venue?
IN PICTURES: Cherokee ring winners
Also among the newly-crowned Circuit champions was Fikret Kovac, who ended an incredible stretch of ‘so close, yet so far’, as after 19 WSOP Circuit final tables (including six Main Event FTs) without a win, Kovac wasted no time this series ending the drought by winning the series-opening $400 Double Stack event.
Omar Sader was on-site to capture all of the series’ triumphs. Enjoy each of their moments highlighted below. For even more of our favorite photos, scroll all the way to the bottom of this newsletter.
IN NUMBERS: WSOP-C Cherokee
While there are plenty of numbers to choose from when it comes to any WSOP Circuit series at Harrah’s Cherokee, there are two numbers that stand above all.
The entry number and the prize pools awarded.
As usual, they are an impressive couple of numbers, thanks to the players that show up in force four times a year at the Smoky Mountain staple of the Circuit.
May 2025 WSOPC Cherokee series totals:
Ring events: 18
Total entries: 13,900
Total prize pool: $6,804,905
NEXT TO ACT: Upcoming stops
It’s your last chance to experience the 2024-25 WSOP Circuit season, as our final two stops are underway at Commerce and Southern Indiana, leading us into the 56th annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas starting on May 27th.
We hope to see you at one or more of our upcoming series!
Behind the lens: Cherokee photos
Omar Sader captured photos from the felt from every single ring event. Enjoy some of our favorites. These and hundreds more are available to download for free thanks to PokerOrg. Scroll down to see how to download yours.
Capture your own on-the-felt memory
Every time we sit at the table is a chance to make a lasting memory on the felt. Whether you capture a ring this time or not, help us bring your experience to life. Head to PokerPhotos.org to browse our free photo galleries and even request your own photo at the next Circuit stop!