Kelly Fires his Aces to Take PCA Day 3 Chip Lead

Patrick Kelly is the chip leader at the end of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Day 3 after a rush of eliminations left just 59 players in the tournament.

Day 3 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure saw 166 players returning to the tables in the hope of being one of the 144 who would cash in the event. Day 2 overnight leader, 19-year-old Nicolas Godoy, was hopeful of turning a $10.00 satellite into a $1.85 million payday and, although not enjoying the progressive day he had experienced on Day 2, is still among the top ten players on the leaderboard.

While little was happening for Godoy, Joe Serock initially took the chip lead – crushing Jeremy Kottler with K♥ K♣ and then busting Mor Ben David just before the bubble in an A♣ A♦ > K♦ K♠ race. Serock also benefitted from the willingness of other players to get their chips into the middle once they were assured of a cash, and collected dividends from Antonio Matias (A♠ A♣ > A♦ 10♥) before using his massive chip stack to force Anthony Borde out of a quarter million chip pot.

The Rise and Rise of Patrick Kelly

Patrick Kelly – who was only still in the tournament courtesy of cracking Max Silver´s Aces late on Day 2 (10♠ 8♠ > A♣ A♦) – enjoyed a sensational day at the tables, where Aces again played a significant role in his rise to becoming Day 3 overnight chip leader. First he took advantage of Fatima Moreira de Melo shoving her small stack in with K♠ 8♠ when hitting a set of Queens on the flop, and then doubled up to 400,000 chips when hitting a set of Queens on the flop once again to crack Fabian Quoss´ A♣ A♥.

Kelly got over the million chip mark when getting all his chips into the middle with A♣ A♠ and getting a call from Michael Malm (K♠ K♦), and finished the night with 1,750,000 chips after coming out on top again against Max Silver – this time flopping a spade flush against Silver´s paired King (K♣ J♦). Max Silver will be sick of the sight of Patrick Kelly, but at least picked up $21,000 for finishing in 82nd place.

Looking Ahead to Day 4 of the PCA Main Event

When play resumes at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, the 59 remaining players will be entering Level 20 (blinds 5,000/10,000 – ante 1,000) with the average chip stack 501,864. Julius Colman currently is the player most at risk with 124,000 chips, but who is assured of a minimum prize of $26,000. Play is scheduled to continue until just 24 players remain.