The latest World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit stop at Harrah's Cherokee in North Carolina wrapped up on Monday and saw Louisiana's Jared Ingles taking down the $1,700 buy-in Main Event for his first gold ring and $300,736 after defeating North Carolina native Changlong Zeng, who earned $185,859 for his runner-up finish.
The WSOP Circuit stop consisted of 16 ring events with buy-ins ranging from $250 to $2,200. In total, the events generated an impressive $5.7 million in prize money.
It was the Main Event that attracted the largest field, 1,213 runners, to generate a prize pool of $1.8 million. Players in the field included Bin Weng (31st - $7,154), Ethan "Rampage Poker" Yau (39th - $5,421), Donnie Phan (45th - $4,789) and Jake Bazeley (56th - $4,272).
Final Table Action
According to WSOP live updates, Marshall White was the first player to go out at the final table when his pocket fives couldn't hold against the ace-ten of the eventual champion.
Ingles eliminated another opponent shortly after when he won another flip against John Gallaher, who earned $50,236 for his seventh-place finish. Next out was Adam Ney, whose ace-queen didn't improve against the pocket tens of Zeng.
Zeng went on a heater late into the final table, including when he held ten-nine and called the shove of Robert Hover, who held ace-queen. A ten-high flop was good news for Zeng, and a ten on the turn had his opponent drawing dead to go out in third place for $140,648.
The North Carolinian entered heads-up play with a two-to-one chip lead, but that changed in an all-in confrontation where his pocket threes couldn't hold against the Big Slick of Ingles, who spiked a king on the river to stay alive and take a massive chip lead. A few hands later, Zeng moved in with four-three and was out-flopped by the ace-ten of Ingles.
The first-place finish gives Ingles his first ring and biggest-ever tournament score. The Prospect, Louisiana resident previously had a million in live tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob, including a previous best score of $138,285 from a 56th-place finish in the 2010 WSOP Main Event.
Ingles had a close call in February when he finished 29th in the WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event to earn $9,506.
WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event Final Results
| RANK | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
| 1 | Jared Ingles | Dry Prong, LA | $300,736 | |
| 2 | Changlong Zeng | Greensboro, NC | $185,859 | |
| 3 | Robert Hover | Whitman, MA | $140,648 | |
| 4 | Max Le | Hopkinsville, KY | $107,339 | |
| 5 | Fikret Kovac | Atlanta, GA | $82,622 | |
| 6 | Adam Ney | Atlanta, GA | $64,146 | |
| 7 | John Gallaher | Lebanon, TN | $50,236 | |
| 8 | Rohit Kwatra | Concord, NC | $39,689 | |
| 9 | Marshall White | Boone, NC | $31,634 |
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Conrad Wins Third Ring
An early highlight in the series took place in just the first event, $400 NLH Double Stack, which Mexico's Chris Conrad took down to earn his third career ring in addition to $27,300. Conrad defeated Timothy Robinson during heads-up play, who in turn pocketed $16,872.
Other players at the final table included Tanner Bibat (third - $12,275), Mark Mcgarity (fourth - $9,061) and Donald Vandyke (fifth - $6,788).
“It feels good. It’s been a long time since I’ve won a live tournament,” Conrad, whose last win on the live felt came in 2018, told WSOP after the victory.
Conrad, who now has $1.4 million in live earnings, according to Hendon Mob, earned his first Circuit ring at the 2013 WSOP Circuit Harrah's Tunica in a $365 buy-in a Pot-Limit Omaha event, while his second ring came the next year at the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club in a $365 buy-in No-Limit Hold'Em Turbo Event.
Zeta Wins High Roller; Hawkins Finishes 4th
Pennsylvania's Frankie Zeta closed out the series by winning his first ring and $60,003 in Event #16: $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller. Zeta, who started playing poker in 2019, defeated Christopher Meyers, who in turn earned $37,086.
“It’s pretty sick. It’s a lot of hard work and to get validation for it feels really good. I’m fairly new to poker. I kind of missed out on a lot of these iconic poker moments that everybody seems to draw inspiration from," Zeta told WSOP.
Another notable storyline was that all-time ring leader Maurice Hawkins was at the final table in search of a record-setting 15th ring. Hawkins entered the final table fourth in chips and ultimately ended up finishing in fourth place for $18,098.
Aditya Prasetyo, meanwhile, was after a fourth ring and finished in sixth place for $9,889.
Other players who made deep runs in the High Roller event include Mark Merritt (third - $25,554), Richard Geyer III (fifth - $13,1850 and Brant Jolley (seventh - $7,642).
A full list of winners at WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee is available in the table below. Next up for the WSOP Circuit is an international stop at Casino Barriere Le Croisette in France April 14-26, while the next domestic stop will be at Horseshoe Tunica April 21-May 2.
Winners at WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee
| TOURNAMENT | ENTRIES | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
| Event #1: $400 NLH Double Stack | 405 | $133,650 | Chris Conrad | Playa Del Carmen, Mexico | $27,300 | |
| Event #2: $400 NLH (4 Flights) | 2,303 | $759,990 | Eric Sutton | Decherd, TN | $106,722 | |
| Event #3: $400 NLH | 563 | $185,790 | Benjamin Stone | Atlanta, GA | $34,723 | |
| Event #4: $400 Seniors NLH | 688 | $227,040 | George Zinaty | Charlotte, NC | $41,539 | |
| Event #5: $600 NLH | 361 | $185,915 | Tyler Barnes | Pinehurst, NC | $39,051 | |
| Event #6: $400 NLH 6-Max | 689 | $227,370 | Todd Rosenthal | Fort Mill, SC | $42,937 | |
| Event #7: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha | 286 | $94,380 | Brian Heaton | Greer, SC | $20,593 | |
| Event #8: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 2,298 | $758,340 | Spencer Smith | Atlanta, GA | $107,458 | |
| Event #9: $1,100 NLH | 435 | $424,125 | David Moses | Asheville, NC | $87,293 | |
| Event #10: $400 NLH | 359 | $118,470 | Yaser Al-Keliddar | Arlington, VA | $25,012 | |
| Event #11: $250 NLH Ladies | 122 | $24,400 | Stephanie Alderman | Atlanta, GA | $6,684 | |
| Event #12: $1,700 Main Event | 1,213 | $1,837,695 | Jared Ingles | Dry Prong, LA | $300,736 | |
| Event #13: $400 NLH | 476 | $157,080 | William Watson | Lexington, KY | $30,683 | |
| Event #14: $600 No-Limit Hold'em | 526 | $270,890 | Robert Reed | Cincinnati, OH | 51869 | |
| Event #15: $215 Seniors Event | 465 | $93,000 | Lance Munger | Huntersville, NC | $18,304 | |
| Event #16: $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller | 105 | $210,000 | Frankie Zeta | Chambersburg, PA | $60,003 |
