Jesper Hougaard was the first to win the first WSOP bracelet in 2008. And though he entered the second day as one out of more than six hundred players event with the chip lead, the nine-man final was an uphill battle for Kelly, with French cash-game pro Fabien Dunlop holding a overwhelming chip lead from the start. Kelly mentioned that his plan was to be calm and patient and he managed to stick to it perfectly well. After winning his first WSOP bracelet in a USD1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event this summer, Kelly is now known as only the second player to win WSOP bracelets on both sides of the Atlantic in one and the same year. By far the most experienced player at the table, Kelly simply sat back as Dane Thor Drexel, French Winamax pro Anthony Roux, the relatively unknown Adnan Alshamah from Syria, fellow Englishmen William Martin, Neil Suarez and Richard Allen all gambled away their stacks. He went into a heads-up match with Dunlop having two times less chips but doubled up his stack very soon, held on through at least one bad beat and emerged triumphant. 'I was very tired and couldn't play my best game.'- he said afterwards. “There were a lot of people who hadn't made a big final before, so I thought they might be a bit eager to go all in," he said to the press after the match. "I could see some of the faces; once they lost a couple of pots they were counting their chips and looking to move all in. So I opted to just sit back and try to get heads up with Fabien and then take it down from there. That was my plan." – he explained. Dunlop played the role of big stack aggressor perfectly throughout the match, but Kelly said the experience of his WSOP bracelet win this summer helped him remain patient. Dunlop, who said he could not fall asleep all the night before the final because of nerves, was disappointed with his performance. Having two World Series of Poker bracelets in his poker portfolio, Kelly said he will play the WSOPE main event in London next week and has certain plans for a few more pieces of WSOP gold.
