[3] He was accepted as a member by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in 1981.

[4] His first professional tournament was the 1981 International Open, where he lost 1–5 to Murdo MacLeod in the first qualifying round.

[1] Although he recorded a number of match victories in the following seasons, he did not reach further than the last 32 of a major tournament.

[1] He compiled a break of 141 against Tony Kearney in the qualifying rounds of the 1988 World Snooker Championship that was, at the time, the highest break ever made in the world championship qualifying rounds.

[7] However, the WPBSA soon opened membership for events to anyone over the age of 16 that paid the relevant fee, and Kelly continued to play in professional tournaments until 1992,[1][8] finishing the 1991–92 snooker season ranked 188th.