The 22 year-old US pro Dan “djk123″ Kelly has just captured his third WCOOP bracelet, putting him in an exclusive group alongside Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo and Team Online’s Donald “Anders” Berg.
Friday night, Dan “djk123″ Kelly beat a field of 1,426 players to win WCOOP event 37: $109 8-Game for $23,529. Amazingly, at the same time Kelly had almost reached the final table of WCOOP event 35: $215+R NL Hold’em, but fell just short in 10th place out of 1,254 players for a further $6,596.
In total, Kelly now boasts three WCOOP bracelets, including two picked-up in 2009, one at the $215 Razz event for $53,410 and the other in the $10,300 H.O.R.S.E. event for $252,350.
Dan “djk123″ Kelly has long been considered one of the greatest online tournament players in history, and his latest victory at the 2011 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker heaps further accolade on a career which has already earned him $4,914,336 playing tournaments online since 2006.
However, his poker prowess also extends to the live arena and in 2010 when he was old enough to try his hand at the WSOP, he managed three cashes including winning a bracelet at the $25,000 NLHE Six Handed for $1,315,518. This year, Kelly also managed 5 further cashes for $83,178 taking his live career earnings to $1,408,246 from 8 cashes at the WSOP. After winning his WSOP bracelet, Kelly commented:
“It’s a mixture of being shocked and excited. I definitely thought I could win, or I wouldn’t be playing. But you can’t expect to win a tournament, even if you play perfect. This definitely exceeds my expectations.”
Top pros heaping honours on Dan Kelly over the years include Annette Obrestad, who said he was the player who “always owns me,” and that he was one of the player she would least like to have position on her, alongside such pros as imper1um, lilholdem, or Mr. Menlo.
Pocket Fives Triple Crown winner Mark ‘dipthrong’ Hern also said of Kelly that “He pretty much taught me how to play tournaments. He was a crucial, instrumental factor in my getting good at MTTs.”
Job well done! 22 and already winning millions. I believe to get to this level, you need to start off small…and build up your skills.