PCA 2013: Patrick Kelly leads final 59 of main event

Another day ends at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, with Patrick Kelly leading the main event with just 59 players remaining.

This was perhaps the most critical of days, when build up turns to business, when the empty-handed become the paid, when the bubble bursts and relief fills a room formerly filled with tension and fear. What’s more it tends to be a day that defines the big stack from those in a world of permanent struggle. Kelly is most certainly the big stack, with some 1.75 million chips to bag up tonight.

Chip leader Patrick Kelly

Something like that was chief on the minds of the 166 players who returned this morning. Some 22 of them would leave with nothing to show for their efforts before the bubble would burst, except the story that will keep them awake tonight. In the event two players would be swept aside in the same hand, Vegard Froshaug and Joao Santos, whose demeanour afterwards was anything but miserable.

Joao Santos (standing) departs on the bubble

That opened the proverbial floodgates, with a quick succession of players heading to the pay-out line.

Along the way today we lost Lisa Hamilton, Dwight Pilgrim, Matt Glantz, Shannon Shorr, Wil Molson, former chip leader Ashton Griffin, Gilbert Diaz, Max Silver and Michael Mizrachi. Team Pros were also among the departed, with George Danzer, Joe Cada, Fatima Moreira de Melo and George Lind all finishing in the money.

Fatima Moreira de Melo

Tomorrow things get even tenser as those remaining play on towards the final table. While Kelly leads he will be pursued by some of poker’s most able pursuers, among them
Joe Serock, the impressive Nicolas Godoy, Olivier Busquet, Eddy Sabat, Owen Crowe, Scott Clements, Mohsin Charania, Greg Mueller, Carlos Mortensen, Jesse Sylvia, Govert Metaal and Robert Mizrachi.

Team Pros Eugene Katchalov, who would win the $100 last longer, and new boy Jake Cody (who is on course to be the first double EPT champion) also remain, as does Team Online’s Tatiana Barausova.

Eugene Katcahlov

Tatiana Barausova

Jake Cody

They return at noon tomorrow for a day that would typically involve playing down to 24, although they could play on a little longer. Either way you can find the stories of the day right here, and hand for hand coverage on our live coverage page. That’s also where you can find a complete list of the surviving players and their chip counts, as well as the departed players and their pay-outs.

The main event trophy

For the stories from today check out the links below:

Main event Day 3 links