He's been playing poker recreationally for nearly 30 years but Brazilian Leonardo Pires is now enjoying the spotlight more than ever. The 46-year-old from Minas Gerais has maintained the chip lead in the $5,300 PCA 2016 Main Event two nights in a row and goes in to Day 4 with 2,095,000. Pires plays poker for fun, with his work life split between business and politics. This year's PCA is not his first appearance at EPTs; he has also competed in European Poker Tour events on European soil, playing in both Malta and Monaco. Outside of poker and work, his other passions are football, surfing and the traditional volleyball-style Brazilian sport of Peteca.

Although some distance behind, Pires's nearest rival at present is English player Philip "Grindation" McAllister who goes in to Day 4 with 1,329,000. The 22-year-old's online nickname "Grindation" will ring a bell with online players thanks to his achievements in the 2014 PokerStars SCOOP. McAllister banked his two biggest cashes during the series, finishing second in Event #1-H for $232,960 and besting that a few days later with a fifth place finish in Event #44-H for $350,838. He also had a runner-up finish in the Sunday Million back in August 2012 and was fourth in last year's WCOOP Super Tuesday. In live poker, McAllister has amassed $180k in winnings including third place in the EPT11 Prague €2k event for €56,710.

Among 73 players returning for Day 4 will be Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier and Friend of PokerStars Felipe "Mojave" Ramos. The former has 704,000 while the latter bagged 135,000.

Along with Mercier, another two EPT champions remain in contention for the PCA 2016 Main Event title - EPT Berlin winner Davidi Kitai (389,000) and EPT Vilamoura champ Toby Lewis (134,000).

The bubble burst today with the elimination of LAPT Bahamas third place finisher Knut Karnapp, who was ousted in 104th place. Among those who cashed (but bust later in the day) were PCA 2016 $100k Super High Roller champ Steve O'Dwyer (89th), JC Alvarado (91st), Kevin MacPhee (99th), Allen Kessler (107th), Chris Oliver (125th) and Georgios Zisimopoulos (135th).

The flagship PCA Main Event attracted 928 entries overall (including five no-shows) creating a $4,500,800 prize pool. The top 135 players will get paid and the last man standing is set to take $833,260, along with the title and coveted trophy.

PCA 2016 Main Event Day 3 top five chip counts:
1st - Leonardo Pires, Brazil, 2,095,000
2nd - Phillip McAllister, UK, PokerStars player, 1,329,000
3rd - Matthew Waxman, USA, 949,000
4th - David Eldridge, USA, 859,000
5th - Paul-Francois Tedeschi, France, 834,000

POKERSTARS CARIBBEAN ADVENTURE MAIN EVENT HISTORY:
2004: 221 players, $1,657,500 prize pool, Gus Hansen (Denmark) for $455,780
2005: 461 players, $3,487,200 prize pool, John Gale (UK) for $890,600
2006: 724 players, $5 647 200 prize pool, Steve Ambrose (Canada) for $1,388,600
2007: 937 players, $7,063,842 prize pool, Ryan Daut (USA) for $1,535,255
2008 (EPT4): 1,136 players, $8,562,976 prize pool, Bertrand Grospellier (France) for $2,000,000
2009 (EPT5): 1,347 players, $12,674,000 prize pool, Poorya Nazari (Canada) for $3,000,000
2010 (EPT6): 1,529 players, $14,831,300 prize pool, Harrison Gimbel (USA) for $2,200,000
2011 (EPT7): 1,560 players, $15,132,000 prize pool, Galen Hall (USA) for $2,300,000
2012 (EPT8): 1,072 players, $10,398,400 prize pool, John Dibella (USA) for $1,775,000
2013 (EPT9): 987 players, $9,573,900 prize pool, Dimitar Danchev (Bulgaria) for $1,859,000
2014 (EPT10): 1,031 players, $10,070,000 prize pool, Dominik Panka (Poland) for $1,423,096
2015 (EPT11): 816 players, $7,915,200 prize pool, Kevin Schulz (USA) for $1,491,580
2016 (EPT12): 928 players, $4,500,800 prize pool, $833,260 for the winner

TEAM JAFFEE WINS THE BASKETBALL SHOOTOUT TOURNAMENT
Some 32 competitors were up early at the Atlantis Resort this morning but it wasn't poker on their minds - instead they were taking part in the #StarsFun Basketball Shooutout tournament featuring Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier. There were eight four-a-side teams in the event and the line-up featuring Jared Jaffee, David Robinson, Kunal Patel and Wade Townsend emerged victorious. Each member of the winning team earned entry into a $1k PCA side event as their prize. "Team Jaffee" beat a squad comprising Tyler Hurman, Tyler Patterson, Evan Panesis and Jeff Burns in the finals. Among the others who entered were 2013 WSOP Main Event champ Ryan Riess, Nick Maimone and Elliot Smith.

MEDIA INFO
All media attending the PCA are prohibited from any kind of gaming anywhere in the Bahamas for the duration of the event. This includes off-property casinos, online or in your hotel room. You must credit PokerStars in the first instance of your event coverage and write PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in full, not just PCA. The PSLive guidelines provides further general information.

PCA 2016
A record 104 tourneys are taking place at Atlantis during the 2016 PCA festival. Aside from the Super High Roller, second LAPT Bahamas Main Event (unlimited re-entries, starts January 7, now with reduced $2,200 buy-in) and PCA 2016 Main Event, there is also a $50k One-Day High Roller Single Re-Entry on January 9. The three-day $25k High Roller starts Jan 12 and the $600 Ladies Event on Jan 14. Check out the PCA 2016 promo video here.

POKERSTARS BLOG / SOCIAL MEDIA
Full reports and updates can be found on the PokerStars blog. For social media, see @PokerStars_PCA.

PCA WEBCASTS
EPTLive is broadcasting live today with coverage of the PCA Invitational Charity tourney from 2pm (EST). Tomorrow the cameras switch to Day 2 of the PCA Main Event on January 10. Coverage continues daily until the January 14 cards-up final table.

Leonardo Pires from retains the PCA Main Event chip lead after Day 3.