Donovan Dean Captures Second Career WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event Title

Donovan Dean is now a two-time World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee major occasion champion. The Alabama resident took down the WSOPC $1,700 major occasion on the North Carolina poker hotspot again in December of 2022, after which backed that up with a title run this summer season. The more moderen victory noticed Dean defeat a discipline of 1,451 entries to earn $326,206 and his third profession WSOPC gold ring.

This was the second-largest payday but for Dean, trailing solely the $356,963 that he secured together with his first win on this event. His third ring was earned again in 2016 in a $360 buy-in event at this similar venue.

Dean now has almost $1.7 million in profession event earnings, with the vast majority of that coming from his success in WSOPC occasions.

This occasion awarded 960 Card Player Player of the Year factors to its champion. With six final-table finishes totaling 1,642 factors, Dean is now sitting inside the highest 200 within the 2024 POY standings introduced by Global Poker.

The sturdy turnout for this $1.5 million assured occasion resulted in a closing prize pool of almost $2.2 million, with the highest 213 finishers incomes a share. Among the massive names that ran deep had been 2023 WSOP major occasion champion Daniel Weinman (twenty eighth), four-time ring winner Bradley Mercer (twenty fifth), and bracelet winner Russell Brooks (tenth).

The closing day started with Dean within the lead and 9 gamers remaining. He scored his first knockout of the day when his 9-7 bested the A-Okay of short-stacked Srinivasa Vadlamudi (eighth – $33,870) in a three-way all-in that included Tommy Doyle.

AJ Rebhan knocked out Justin Hall (seventh – $44,450), four-time WSOPC ring winner Brett Bader (sixth – $59,249), Tuan Nguyen (fifth – $80,192), and Michael Hunsucker (4th – $110,186) to slender the sector to 3.

Doyle was the following to fall, together with his pocket threes operating into the pocket nines pof Dean, who made a straight by the river after the chips went in preflop. Doyle earned $153,664 because the third-place finisher.

The closing hand of the event ended up being a traditional preflop coin flip, with Dean holding OkayJ towards the 88 of Rebhan. The board got here down A107J5 and Dean made a pair of jacks to lock up the pot and the title. Rebhan secured $217,454 because the runner-up.

Here is a take a look at the payouts and POY factors awarded on the closing desk:

Photo credit score: WSOP / Regina Cortina.