John-Paul Kelly used to play soccer. Now, based on what he did in Las Vegas, you could say he plays poker. A 23-year-old Englishman, Kelly topped a final table that included Eric Seidel to win Event 20, the $1,500 Pot-Limit hold’em tournament, of the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Kelly becomes the first English player in two years to capture WSOP gold.

“This has to be the highlight of my life, so far,” Kelly said.

Seidel, who finished seventh, cashed for the 55^th time at the WSOP, fourth on the all-time list.

Justin Scott, Mark Seif and Kathy Liebert also made money in Event 20.

The prize pool for the competition was $864,045.

Event 20

Pot-Limit Hold’em

Buy-in: $1,500

Entries: 633

Payouts

1. John-Paul Kelly, Aylesbury, UK … $194,434
2. Marc Tschirch, Germany … $120,102
3. Jason Dewitt, Mishawaka, IN … $78,826
4. Kyle Carlston, Las Vegas … $54,711
5. Aaron Virchis, Las Vegas … $40,048
6. Tony Steward, Dallas, TX … $30,837
7. Eric Seidel, Las Vegas … $24,919
8. Andrew Radel, Forest Lake, MN … $21,082
9. Ravi Raghavan, Northbrook, IL … $18,637
10. Philip Collins, West Columbia, SC … $13,332