by InsidePOOL Staff

Bobby McGrath Jr. bested Gil Hernandez twice at the March 19 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour for the title, going undefeated through the 30-player field. The $500-added event was hosted by the Pontiac Crystal Palace in Pontiac, IL, and featured a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes with masters spotting one game to the open field.

Bobby McGrath Jr. bested Gil Hernandez twice at the March 19 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour for the title, going undefeated through the 30-player field.

Hernandez placed Bob Nodine in the B-side of the event in a hill-hill match 6-4, while McGrath Jr. sent Ike Runnels to the B-side with his outstanding comeback, being down 5-0 to win at 6-5. Then, in their first meeting, McGrath Jr. took the hot seat with a win over Hernandez 6-4.

On the B-side it was Eric Naretto who was getting the hot stroke. Naretto displaced Runnels at fifth place using the one-game spot to win 3-1. Donnie Thompson took down Nodine at fifth with a 4-2 win. This set up a great match between Naretto and Thompson for a chance at Hernandez. It was a close match, with neither player giving any room for errors. In the end Naretto had the break and run for the win with both players on the hill.

Naretto went on to play Hernandez for a chance at McGrath. This time Hernandez would not be denied, ending a super performance from the young Naretto, who went down 4-2. This set up a rematch between Hernandez and McGrath for the title. However McGrath was the man of the day, with another win over Hernandez for the title 6-0.

Results:
1st Bobby McGrath Jr. $385
2nd Gil Hernandez $240
3rd Eric Naretto $165
4th Donnie Thompson $110
5th Bob Nodine $55
Ike Runnels
7th Eric Harris $45
John Pokora

by Lea Andrews

Michael “Bulldawg” Fuller went undefeated through a tough crowd at the February 19-20 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour to nab his first tour win of the season. The $1,000-added event was held at On The Snap Billiards in Fuquay-Varina, NC.

Fuller went undefeated through a tough crowd at the February 19-20 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour to nab his first tour win of the season.

Fuller knocked aside Cary Dunn 8-4 to meet up with Sidney Champion in the hot seat match. Champion, who’d managed to edge past frequent high-finisher B.J. Ussery 8-7, didn’t fare so well against Fuller, moving west 8-5.

On the other side, Adam Stanton, who’d fallen earlier to Ussery 8-4 after being up 4-2, took care of Dunn 8-5 to get another crack at Ussery. This time he once again nudged ahead, pushing the score to 4-3, but Ussery rebounded, finishing the set 8-5 to get his own second chance against Champion in the semifinals. Holding Champion to five games and leaving him behind in third, Ussery moved on to the final match against Fuller.

Ussery opened up strong in the single race-to-11 final match, getting out to a 4-1 and 5-3 lead, but Fuller fought back with five racks of his own to get up 8-5. Though Ussery managed to mark up the next two games, the rest of the set went to Fuller, who finished with three straight games to take first 11-8.

Though Adam Stanton didn’t cash in the main event, he did manage to put a little money in his pocket by dropping a ball after the break in the break-and-run contest. Stanton’s shot earned him $93, and the pot will move up to $94 at March 19-20 event. The final winner of the weekend was Eric Fair, who went home with a Jacoby cue valued at $500 after his ticket was drawn in the raffle.

Results:
1st Michael Fuller $1,000
2nd B.J. Ussery $250

by InsidePOOL Staff

It was an epic final match between two stars of the game, but in the end, Darren Appleton was the first English player to be crowned U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion. The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships were held this past week at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, and boasted a $50,000-added prize purse.

Appleton went undefeated through the 256-player field.

Appleton went undefeated through the 256-player field, arriving in the hot seat match by virtue of wins over Corey Deuel, David Alcaide, Efren Reyes, fellow countryman Jayson Shaw, Ronnie Alcano, Zion Zvi, and Ronald Tutien. To cap off a challenging road to that point, waiting for him was two-time defending champion Mika Immonen, ready to put a third Open feather in his cap.

A rule change this year was implemented: On the final day, to win a match a player needed to win by two games. This came into effect first during Deuel’s match with Warren Kiamco in the quarterfinals. Their score seesawed to 10-all, then 11-all. Kiamco inched ahead to 12-11 when Deuel scratched on the break, but Deuel won the safety battle in the next rack to knot the score again. Deuel ended up with ball in hand to reach 13-12, and when he broke the following rack, the 1-9 combo lined up perfectly for a 14-12 victory.

The hot seat match started off equally, but Appleton began pulling ahead to go up 7-2. Two errors and then a break and run gave Immonen three racks, but then the Finn scratched on the break, and Appleton made it 8-5. They traded the next couple of racks, and then Immonen moved closer after an empty break by Appleton and then a break and run-out of his own, making it 9-8. A safety battle saw Appleton emerge victorious in the following rack, but Immonen grabbed the next game. Now at 10-9 in Appleton’s favor, Immonen executed a tough cut on the 4 ball but then hung the 7 ball. Unable to believe his luck, Appleton dropped the 7, the 8, let out a “Wooooo!” and Immonen conceded the 9.

After two such close matches, the semifinal match was a bit anticlimactic. Deuel was primed from his narrow victory over Kiamco, and though the first six games were split to make the score 3-all, that was where Immonen’s tournament ended. Deuel charged him for every mistake and also had a few break and run-outs to nudge the score up gradually to win 11-3.

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships 256-player tournament brackets (updated continuously)

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Final 8-player tournament brackets (updated continuously)

No one could describe the final match as anything but a complete nail-biter, though. The score went back and forth to 4-all before a leader emerged. Appleton pulled ahead to 8-4 after a couple of misses by Deuel and a break and run-out. But Deuel got back in the match easily enough, and soon the score was 9-8 Appleton. The finals were meant to be a race to 13, but with the winner needing to win by two racks, it was impossible to predict. The two fought back and forth, with Appleton maintaining a slight edge always. That is, until the score evened at 11 apiece. Then a break and run by Deuel gave him the advantage. But a dry break by Deuel restored parity, and then a break and run-out by Appleton gave him the edge at 13-12. A missed 2-7 combo gave the next rack to Deuel, but Appleton edged back up with a fantastic jump shot on the 4 ball. Up 14-13 and needing one last rack to win the $40,000 first-place prize, Appleton broke, and it looked as though nothing was going to drop at first, but the 8 ball slowly rolled into the side pocket. It was a fairly easy layout for Appleton, who nevertheless took his time sinking each ball. Another “Wooooo!” after the 7 ball, then he sank the 9 ball and fell to the floor, the 2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion.

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2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 1

272 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 2

150 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 3

132 Photos

Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

40 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 4

162 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 5

368 Photos

by InsidePOOL Staff

Dave Shlemperis double-dipped the Tri-State Tour’s October 2 event: Not only did he win the $500 break and run contest, he went undefeated through the 33-player field of the B-D 9-ball event. The $500-added event was hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.

Dave Shlemperis double-dipped the Tri-State Tour’s October 2 event: Not only did he win the $500 break and run contest, he went undefeated through the 33-player field of the B-D 9-ball event.

Tackling Ra Hanna in the winners’ side final four, Shlemperis came out the 7-5 winner. He advanced to the hot seat match to meet Keith Adamik, who had just sent Bogie Uzdejczyk to the one-loss side after a hill-hill win 7-6. Adamik put up a good fight, but it was Shlemperis who would claim the hot seat 7-4.

Uzdejczyk quickly left the building after being sent west—his next match was against Guy Iannuzzi, who eliminated him 7-3. Hanna followed Uzdejczyk after a crushing 7-1 loss to Yomaylin Feliz. In the quarterfinals, Feliz moved on to face Iannuzzi but fell short by half, as Iannuzzi sent her home 8-4.

On a roll, Iannuzzi matched up with Adamik in the semifinals to see who would face the undefeated Shlemperis in the next round. It was a close match, but Iannuzzi triumphed 7-5, while Adamik went home with third place. In the finals, though, it was all Shlemperis, who continued his winning streak after winning the break and run contest to remain undefeated, besting Iannuzzi 7-2 for the title.

Results:
1st Dave Shlemperis $600
2nd Guy Iannuzzi $350
3rd Keith Adamik $240
4th Yomaylin Feliz $180
5th Ra Hanna $65
Bogie Uzdejczyk

Many pool players play poker in their spare time. It seems natural and the games are very similar. Some even play online video poker. Casinos the world over have jackpots and bonus wins, but one of the best wins online is the online casino bonus wins that players can win more frequently.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Brandon Shuff successfully defended his Virginia State Championships title, going undefeated through the 64-player field undefeated. The event was hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA, the weekend of July 17-18.

The quarterfinal match was a lopsided one between Larry Kressel and John “Jordan” Newton. Kressel took a quick 3-0 lead before Newton got on the board, which he did after Kressel scratched on his next break. Newton won the following rack as well, but then Kressel stepped forward again, reaching the hill 8-3 with a couple of break and runs. Newton was on his way out in the next rack but was forced to play safe on the 9 ball, and Kressel hit it but left a shot for Newton, who pocketed it to make the score 8-4. One more rack went to Newton after Kressel missed the 9 ball and then scratched. But Kressel capitalized on a safety in the final game, and when Newton left him a shot on the 3 ball, he cleared the remaining balls to win 9-5.

Another one-sided match ensued when Kressel moved on to face David Hunt in the semifinals. Though it began evenly enough, with each player taking a game at the start, Hunt took a two-game lead by winning the next two racks thanks to a missed 6 ball by Kressel and a break and run of his own. Kressel evened the score at 3 apiece, and from there he dominated the match completely. In every rack Hunt had at least a chance to take control of the match but never capitalized. Hunt miscued on the 8 ball to allow Kressel to make it 7-3, and then he scratched on the 8 ball in the next rack to hand Kressel the hill. Each player had a couple of innings in the final rack, but when Hunt missed the 8 ball, Kressel was there to sink it and then the 9 ball to win the match 9-3 and move on to the finals against Shuff.

View the 2010 VA State 9-Ball Championship tournament brackets

Shuff successfully defended his Virginia State Championships title, going undefeated through the 64-player field undefeated.

Shuff started off strong in the finals, which was an extended single race to 11, reaching a 3-0 lead before Kressel got on the board. The constant play and lateness of the hour may have taken its toll on both players, but they fought down to the finish. Kressel drew within a game at 5-4 when Shuff missed a 5 ball, but Shuff pulled away to a 7-4 lead after that. However, Kressel brought the score even when Shuff scratched in two successive racks and then miscued in the next. An empty break by Kressel saw Shuff pull ahead by a game, and then two more errors in the next two games put Shuff on the hill. Kressel opted to play safe on the 2 ball, and Shuff jumped it in. A couple of shots later and he was looking at a 6-9 combo, which he made with ease to defend his title and win the championship event 11-7. Both Shuff and Kressel earned paid entries into the 2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships.

Congratulations go to Ticket #7 holder, Amy at Buffalo Billiards in Washington DC, the Winner of the McDermott Cue M72A in the Inside Pool Magazine and Propool.com promotion held at the Virginia State 9-Ball Championships. See for more special promos at ProPool.com.

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The battle for fourth place pitted Francisco Bustamante against Shane Van Boening. Both players kept the match tight until a safety battle in the 15th game gave Shane ball in hand and an 8-7 lead. Thanks in part to his powerful break in the next game in which Van Boening pocketed 4 balls on the break, this set was ended with a break and run sending Bustamante home with 4th place.

After losing the hotseat to Li-Wen Lo, Lee Van Corteza would now face Van Boening for the opportunity to exact his revenge in the finals. Once again, both players would keep the match close until a dry break by Corteza at 5-5 let Shane string together 3 racks to get himself on the hill. Lee Van wasn’t done with this match quite yet and fought back to tie the match and force one final rack for the chance to play against Li-Wen Lo. After a few uncharacteristic misses from both players, Lee Van came away with the win and handing Shane Van Boening his final loss and putting him in 3rd place.

Corteza bested both Van Boening and Li-Wen on the final day to capture the inaugural US Open 10-Ball Championship.

Along with the $20,000 prize money, Barry Behrman and Mark Griffin surprised Lee Van Corteza with the news that they would be working in conjunction with each other and would be rewarding Lee Van with paid entry into this year’s U.S. Open 9 Ball Championships.

Jerry Forsyth

WPA Press Officer

The World 8-Ball Championships final was a run-out fest between Niels Feijen and Karl Boyes. The First rack had a bit of back and forth action and was taken by Boyes. Then he broke and ran three consecutive racks to lead 4-0. When he came up dry on his next break Feijen ran the table and then broke and ran the next rack. 4-2. Then Feijen suffered a dry break and Boyes cleared that table and broke and ran the next. Another dry break brought Feijen back to the table to clean up. With the score at 6-3 Feijen broke but the table came up tough. He missed his second shot at the table and Boyes returned the favor by missing his second shot attempt as well. Again Feijen came to the table and again his second shot failed. The table simply was not being at all generous with opportunities. Boyes studied the table for a while and jacked up for a nifty little nip shot into the corner that gave him the chance to clear the table. When he succeeded the score became 7-3 in our race to 13 and Feijen was in trouble deep.

Two more break and runs for Boyes brought his lead to 9-3 before he had another dry break and Feijen did a marvelous job of breaking out two trouble balls in order to get himself the point and bring the score to 9-4. Feijen then broke and the balls again came apart poorly. It was a struggle to get through the rack and Feijen scratched on his fourth ball, giving ball in hand to Boyes. Boyes had no problem clearing the table to gain a 10-4 advantage. Another break and run brought Boyes to 11-4 but then his next break came dry and Feijen needed to get some momentum going. Feijen managed to clear that table and then put together some break and runs of his own. A great little nip shot on the final ball in game number 18 brought him hope as the score narrowed to 11-7. Feijen followed with two more break and runs to bring the score to 11-9 but then broke dry.

With his recent World 8-Ball title, Boyes joins Appleton and Peach as the latest world champion to be crowned from the UK.

Boyes took that table but then broke dry himself. Feijen ran the table out. Then Feijen jumped the table on his break shot and Boyes had ball in hand to win the Championship. On his fifth shot he was off just enough so that the draw shot wound up with him snookered behind the two ball. He missed his attempt at a good hit and with the ball in hand Feijen ran out to take the score line to 12-11. Feijen mad a ball o the break but the table was anything but easy. He studied his way from ball to ball and wound up with a tough cut on the 14. He took a lot of time to get comfortable with the shot and nailed it. He made the next shot but left himself a tough cut on the 11 to finish off his set of balls. He made it but came up just short of position. Another tough cut. But he dropped the 8 ball and we had a double-hill final with Feijen breaking.

View the UAE WPA World 8-Ball Championships Group Brackets

View the UAE WPA World 8-Ball Championships Single Elimination Brackets

Feijen came to the table knowing that his break had failed him several times before. It failed again. He broke dry and Boyes came to an open table. You could see the tension of the moment robbing Boyes arm of its trustiness. He missed position on his first shot and only had one shot to choose from. But he made that and then looked good to clear it up for the win. The final four balls were fairly easy ones and Boyes confidence was coming back quickly. They all dropped and then Boyes began to feel it. He walked back to his chair, shook Feijen’s hand and then gave us a double fist pump to celebrate moment. Karl Boyes, Champion of the World.

Jerry Forsyth

WPA Press Officer

The World 8-Ball Championship in Fujairah, UAE, held the round of 32 first today. This is single-elimination so that any loss means the end for the losing player. It is a race to ten games with the winner breaking. Our first round featured half of the remaining field and there are very few players left who cannot be mentioned as possible candidates to take it all.

The first player eliminated today was Scott Higgins. He ran into an extremely sharp Ronnie Alcano and got buzz-sawed 10-3. Alcano simply gave him no air. It seemed that every time Alcano had a shot he ran out the table, including at least six break and run performances.

To prove the toughness of the remaining field, Mika Immonen (Current US Open and World Ten Ball Champion) was the second man eliminated today. He was pitted against Russian superstar Ruslan Chinakhov and was out of the match early as he found himself down 3-1. To his credit, he then fought back to a tie at 3 games apiece but then Chinakhov buried him with runs and Immonen rarely came to the table with a shot. It soon went to 9-4, and then to 9-5. Immonen then scratched on the next break and Chinakhov cleared the table to send the number one ranked player in the world to the door.

Karl Boyes certainly game with his game today. He steamrolled Masaki Tanaka 10-3 and played brilliant safeties when he needed in order to allow Tanaka no quarter. Stephan Cohen, the current World 14.1 Champion, used his skills to dismantle Pei Wei Chang 10-5 in a match where he was never under threat. Cohen, despite his credentials, still somehow manages to fly under the radar and players do not understand his power until it is too late and their fates are already sealed. Cohen does nothing to change this. He never brags about his wins, he just quietly hangs around and awaits the next match with a slight grin on his face, a grin that allows him to continue to appear non-threatening. In a pillow fight, his is the pillow with the brick in it.

Vicencio Tanio is another player who does not get the attention his game deserves. He faced an extremely tough Jalal Alsarisi and just kept edging his lead out there until he won the match 10-6. Dennis Orcullo and his countryman Lee Van Corteza had a real nail-biter of a match. They stayed neck and neck throughout with neither man ever enjoying more than a one game lead. Finally it came down to a 9-9 game with Orcullo breaking. Orcullo made three balls and then played safe but Van Corteza escaped that and cleared the table to claim the win 10-9. At about the same time Yukio Akakariyama finished off Francis Crevier in a match that saw Crevier suffer more than his share of bad luck. At one point Crevier executed a lovely thin cut shot on the eight ball only to watch in agony as the cue ball also found a pocket and cost him the point. The final match of the first session stayed close but Jeff de Luna found strength when he needed it and ran through the last rack to take the win at 10-8.

View the UAE WPA World 8-Ball Championships Group Brackets

View the UAE WPA World 8-Ball Championships Single Elimination Brackets

The World 8-Ball Championship in Fujairah, UAE, held the round of 32 first today.

Antonio Gabica was the next man to progress as he stormed past Marlon Manalo 10-6 and Niels Feijen did the same as he doubled the effort of Basher Hussein 10-5. Our final man to move on was Andreas Roschkowsky who fought a close one with Matues Sniegocki to emerge victorious 10-7.

The sweet sixteen round is always a round of great interest. All of the players have proven themselves to be ‘on game’ and all are playing with the knowledge that they have the power to be hoisting the trophy at week’s end. This round is broken into two sessions of four games per session.

Two giants of the game were the first to be eliminated. Ronnie Alcano lost 10-4 to Vicenio Tanio and Lee Van Corteza got ousted 10-2 by Jeff de Luna. Ruslan Chinakhov continued his fine work this week by downing Yukio Akakariyama 10-7 while Karl Boyes stayed alive with a 10-6 win over Stephan Cohen.

Joven Alba made one of the greatest comebacks of the event when he was down 6-1 to Antonio Gabica and rallied to win their match 10-7. Andreas Roschkowski began his match with Marcus Chamat with both men close in the early stages. But he pulled ahead and never surrendered the lead past the halfway point to win 10-6. Darren Appleton and Pin Yi Ko had a very long match lasting over 2¾ hours that saw Appleton winning 10-8 after Ko jumped the cue ball off of the table on his break shot.

Our final result came after a marathon match between Niels Feijen and Ralf Soquet that lasted nearly 3½ hours. The break haunted both men and neither could ever establish a comfortable lead. Most of the match was spent with only a point or two difference between them though at one point Feijen did lead 8-5 before Souquet began reeling him back in to lead 9-8. But Souquet’s next break came dry and Feijen had an opportunity to take the match to double-hill. He would not disappoint and when he cleared the table both men stood only one rack away from the win. Feijen had the break shot and when he made a ball on the break the handwriting was on the wall. He cleared the table take the win and progress while our defending champion was left to wonder what might have been.

by Lea Andrews

A big obstacle—Southern superstar Sam Monday—stood in Mike Basha’s way at the February 27-28 Great Southern Billiard Tour stop, but Basha stood his ground to earn his spot in the winner’s circle. Basha and Monday were among the field of 51 that gathered at Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar in Goldsboro, NC, for the $1,500-added A/B amateur event.

B-ranked Basha got past fellow B-player Justin Ward to reach the hot seat match against B-ranked Tony Williams, who’d managed to fend off Monday, who was racing to 11, 7-9. Taking care of Williams 7-2, Basha claimed the hot seat, while Williams took his spot in the semifinals.

On the left side of the bracket, B-ranked Rick Royster made his way past B-ranked Bobby Hicks 7-6 to face recent winner Tony Morrison, who’d ousted A-player Zach Wilson 9-6. After easing past Morrison 7-7, Royster moved on to Ward. Meanwhile, AA-ranked Sparky Ferrell blew through A-ranked “Pokey” 11-1 to meet up with Larry Faulk, who’d breezed by fellow A-player Montez Lloyd 9-3. Ferrell edged out Faulk hill-hill 11-8, but that score got flipped on him by Monday, and he landed in fifth. Monday advanced to the quarterfinals against Royster, who’d squeaked past Ward 7-6, and looking for the rematch with Williams in the semifinals, Monday put Royster in fourth 11-5. Against Williams, Monday more than made up for the last match, earning his spot in the finals 11-2.

In the first set of the true double-elimination final match, Basha reached the hill first, but Monday took the next two racks to make it hill-hill 10-6. His break and run in the final rack pushed the second set, which he opened with another break and run. Allowing Basha few chances at the table, Monday stretched his lead to 5-0, but after topping a safety battle, Basha got on the board, and he took advantage of some unlikely opportunities in the next racks to keep it close at 7-3. He made it 7-4 with a 3-9 carom and 7-5 with a 4-9 combination, but Monday took three in a row to reach the hill. In the alternate-break format, Basha broke open the next rack, putting more into his final break than he’d put into others in the set, but his reward was a cue ball on the floor and what looked like no more chances at the table. The ultimate reward came late, though, as Monday missed what was, for him, a routine shot on the 6 ball, allowing Basha back at the table to make it hill-hill. It was Monday’s turn to break, and after making a delicate cut on the 1 ball, he found himself bridging behind the 8 ball for a shot on the 2. He overcut it and Basha pocketed it instead, and though he was faced with tough position on the 4, a thin cut all the way down the rail put the 4 in the pocket and the cue ball in position for the 5. Basha’s win was just a matter of staying in line, and he pocketed the rest of the balls to notch his first GSBT victory 7-10.

The next $1,500-added stop will be at Raising Cain’s in Inman, SC, March 6-7.

Basha and Monday were among the field of 51 that gathered at Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar in Goldsboro, NC, for the $1,500-added A/B amateur event.

1st Mike Basha $1,000
2nd Sam Monday $500
3rd Tony Williams $300
4th Rick Royster $200
5th Justin Ward $100
Sparky Ferrell
7th Tony Morrison $70
Larry Faulk
9th Bobby Hicks $40
Zach Wilson
Montez Lloyd
“Pokey”

by Lea Andrews

Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam, who made his first appearance—and first win— on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour at last season’s finale, made his second appearance and second win the weekend of December 12-13. Putnam was among the small but talented field that gathered at Sharks-N-Shooters in Rocky Mount, NC, for the $1,000-added event.

Putnam chose to take a detour on his way to the finals, falling 7-4 to Glenn Russell on the winners’-side final four. Russell moved on to the hot seat match, where he met Delton Howard, who’d edged out Michael “Bulldawg” Fuller 7-6. Howard clinched the hot seat 7-3, sending Russell west to try to make his way back.
On the one-loss side, Bill Duggan breezed past Willie Simpson 7-2 and moved on to another lopsided match, though he was on the wrong end of this one. Fuller allowed him just one game to face Putnam, who’d allowed Chip Klein just two games. Against Fuller in the quarterfinals, Putnam found himself down 5-3, but he notched four straight games to advance to the semifinals 7-5. There, he once again faced Russell, who’d made it to the hill in their last match before Putnam had marked up his first game. This time, it was Putnam who got up 6-0, and he put Russell in third 7-1.

In the single race-to-11 final match, Putnam and Howard started off fairly evenly, trading racks and near-perfect play to tie up at 2 games apiece, but from there, Putnam began to pull away, taking advantage of a couple of misses to go up 7-2. Howard made it 7-3 after Putnam scratched on the break, but Putnam took the next two to make it 9-3. On his way to a break and run in the rack following, Putnam scratched on the 5 ball, allowing Howard a fourth game, but Howard’s miss on the 5 in the next rack put Putnam on the hill. After Putnam left a thin cut on the 8 hanging, Howard managed another game, but “Big Bubba” had a big lead and he wasn’t giving it up. Howard played safe on the 7 ball after a 7-8 combination, leaving Putnam a long, difficult shot, but Putnam nailed it and got position on the 9 to earn his second win 11-5.

Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam, who made his first appearance—and first win— on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour at last season’s finale, made his second appearance and second win the weekend of December 12-13.

It wasn’t Putnam’s only win this weekend—he also earned $100 for his 7-1 victory over Ken Hendricks in the finals of the early bird tournament Friday night, and though he had enough luck on his side to get his name drawn twice for a crack at the break and run pot (a name is drawn again if the first player doesn’t cash), that’s where his luck ran out. He managed to pocket balls on both breaks, but was left without an opening shot twice, upping the jackpot to $61 per ball at the next event. Another player with two wins this weekend was Dylan Letchworth, who took first in both the second-chance tournament and the juniors’ division, while Jacki Duggan topped the ladies’ division.

Results:
1st Shawn Putnam $1,000
2nd Delton Howard $450
3rd Glenn Russell $100