Copeland wins premier event at Diamond Billiard Club in Campbellsville, KY

It wasn't just the room's first tournament. It was Opening Day for the room itself. The Diamond Billiard Club in Campbellsville, KY opened its doors on Saturday, October 2, and immediately played host to a 46-entrant,  $1,000-guaranteed, B-class amateur tournament.  It was won by a player – Jay Copeland – who won nine straight matches on the one-loss side to get to the finals, and both sets of the true double elimination final that made him the room's first tournament champion.

“I'd have been happy with 20 players,” said Robert Frost, the club's owner (with partner Johnny Brumley), director of the tournament and recent winner himself on the Great Southern Billiard Tour in July. “I was ecstatic to be able to even open the place.”

From among the winners' side final four, it was Steve Hanson advancing to the hot seat. He'd sent Darryl Stites west 5-4, as Chris Bossey sent Leo Kincannon over by the same score. Hanson gained the hot seat with a 5-2 win over Bossey, and watched Copeland, as he worked his way back.

Following an opening round bye, Copeland was sent west in a shut out victory by Kenny Tran. Revenge would follow. After wins over Kenny Weatherly, Joe Powell, Brian Kincannon, Jerry Watts, and Jason Jalopalis, Copeland faced Tran a second time and sent him home 5-2, which put him into the first money round and set him up to face Stites.  Kincannon, in the meantime, squared off against Jake Roberts, who'd defeated Rick Rogers 5-3 and Jared Smith 5-1 to reach him.

Copeland and Kincannon faced each other in the quarterfinals, after Copeland defeated Stites 5-3 and Kincannon bested Roberts 5-4.  Copeland then won two straight 5-2 matches - versus Kincannon in the quarterfinals and Bossey in the semifinals – to complete his nine-win run on the one-loss side. He took two more against Hanson,  5-1 and 5-2, in the true double elimination final that followed to complete his successful bid to become the room's first ever tournament winner.