Winners side, losers side. Dominating from the first game, coming back from 8-2 down. It doesn't matter. Johnny Archer can win from anywhere.
Archer's latest tournament victory was at the Turning Stone Classic XI held at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY.
At the last Turning Stone Classic, Archer cruised through the winners bracket unbeaten. This time was a little different.
Archer dropped a 9-6 match to Dennis Hatch in the third round and started his trek through the one loss side. Wins over David Vaughn, Dave Fernandez, Shawn Putnam, Ronnie Wiseman, Jonathan Pinegar, Jeremy Jones and Francisco Bustamante earned Archer a match with Raj Hundal in the semi-finals.
That match with Hundal looked to be the end of the line for Archer as Hundal had definitely brought his "A" game to the table. Hundal cruised to a quick 8-2 lead, but could not get over the hill and Archer won seven straight games to pull out the unlikely 9-8 win. "I can't believe it. I outplayed him all match and still lost" said Hundal. "If I wasn't so damned good looking, I would just go jump off a bridge" joked Hundal after the match.
Archer's opponent in the finals was the unlikely Charlie Williams. Williams has been more known for his promoting skills than his 9-ball skills in the past couple of years, but he reminded all of the fans on this weekend that he can still compete with the best of them. Williams had convincing wins over Shane Van Boening, Jeremy Jones and Hundal on his way to the finals.
Even with Williams showing his "A" game, he was no match for Archer in the finals. Archer took advantage any one chances he got and ran off to a 13-6 win for the title.
Archer earned $8000 for first place, while Williams took home $5000 for second. Hundal settled for $3600 and the assurance that he was the best looking player in the field.
