Cherish Andrews Wins U.S. Poker Open Event for $117,000 in Las Vegas
Cherish Andrews, won her first major title of 2026 last night as she decimated the final table of the U.S. Poker Open Event #3. Winning $117,407 after a deal with fellow PokerStake player Adam Hendrix, Andrews, who was the 2024 Global Poker Index Female Player of the Year, was ecstatic, celebrating the end of what she called a “big, sad downswing” at the start of the year.
Biggest Field So Far in USPO Series
Cherish Andrews topped 115 entries in the $5,000-entry No Limit Hold’em Event #3 last night as the 2026 U.S. Poker Open got its second PokerStake winner in just three events. After her partner Brock Wilson’s stirring victory on Sunday night in Las Vegas bagged the three-time event winner in the 2026 PGT season $120,000 up top, his partner Cherish won the amended top prize of over $117,000 after a deal with fellow PokerStake seller Adam Hendrix.
With just 17 players making the money places, Day 1 of the event was all about surviving the money bubble for many players, with Jesse Kertland the unfortunate player to miss out on profit in 18th place when his king-queen was beaten by Michael Berk’s ace-queen. Inside the money places, plenty of PokerStake players stamped their tickets, with Andrew Lichtenberger (15th for $11,500), Alex Foxen (14th for $11,500) and Dylan Linde (10th for $17,250) all missing out on the seven-handed final table.
Once seven remained, it was Yifu He who led the field on 4.6 million chips, with Cherish languishing a little on 2 million. The PokerStake player bided her time and played terrific stuff to then bust David Stamm in seventh place for $23,000 when his ace-five couldn’t overtake Cherish’s ace-queen, a lady in the window helping rubber-stamp her latest big pot.
Rampage Ruled Out
With six players returning on the final day, another elimination kickstarted Cherish’s run to glory. All-in with ace-king, Michael Berk could feel aggrieved at losing his tournament life, as Cherish’s ace-queen made a Broadway straight across the 
board. Berk’s run to the last day was worth $28,750.
Soon, another big name left, as the popular poker vlogger Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau was busted in fifth for $37,375. All-in with pocket threes from the button, Cherish called with pocket tens from the small blind and flopped tens full of queens on the flop, eventually leaving Yau drawing dead to the river. Next to go was Sam Laskowitz, who lost a flip with ace-queen to Hendrix’s pocket nines to bust in fourth for $48,875.
The American was only out of the door before the crucial hand of the tournament played out, Cherish getting her chips in good on a board showing 
with 
. Yifu He called it off with 
and had the redraw to the full house to knock Cherish out of the event but an insignificant 
wasn’t that card and instead, He’s stack was crippled.
Soon, heads-up was confirmed. He shoved when short with jack-five and Hendrix called with queen-ten, making two-pair to take out the luckless former chip leader. Yifu He cashed for $63,250 in third, while Hendrix went into the heads-up battle with the lead. After a few minutes of discussion, the two players agreed a deal whereby Hendrix would win $115,468 and Andrews $108,407, leaving $9,000 and the USPO trophy to play for.
The Winner’s Circle
“Having people like Brock and my friends and family in my corner still rooting me on means a lot.”
Although he began the final duel with an almost 2:1 chip lead, Adam Hendrix couldn’t close it out. Two pots without showdown put Cherish into the lead and when the Hawaiian player shoved with pocket eights, Cherish called with pocket nines, holding through the board to take the title and $117,407.
On Day 1, well before the money bubble, Cherish had made an inspired fold against the flopped set of Yifu He, calling his hand as she laid down her own.
“I don’t want to say what I folded, I had a really big hand,” she said after victory. “But it kind of just felt like to me queens or nines.”
24 hours later, the same hand ended the event in her favor. Three days ago, Cherish’s partner and fellow PokerStake seller Brock Wilson had mentioned in his post-match interview that he expected to see her “in the winner’s circle again, hopefully soon”. It came true in fine style and Cherish paid tribute to her partner in thanking her support team.
“Having people like Brock and my friends and family in my corner still rooting me on and knowing I can do it means a lot,” she told PokerNews. “I’ve been on a really big, sad downswing to where I actually told my friends over the weekend I wasn’t coming to play the last $5,000 [event]. I was like ‘I’m retired. I’m not coming back.’”
Thankfully for Cherish, that wasn’t the case and she now sits atop the 2026 U.S. Poker Open leaderboard after her latest major title win. Head to our dedicated 2026 USPO staking page and choose your champion in the next U.S. Poker Open event!
| PGT 2026 U.S. Poker Open $5,000 Event #3 Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Cherish Andrews | United States | $117,407* |
| 2nd | Adam Hendrix | United States | $115,468* |
| 3rd | Yifu He | United States | $63,250 |
| 4th | Sam Laskowitz | United States | $48,875 |
| 5th | Ethan Yau | United States | $37,375 |
| 6th | Michael Berk | United States | $28,750 |
| 7th | David Stamm | United States | $23,000 |
* after a heads-up deal.