The 2011-2012 Lucasi Hybrid Cues All American Tour – presented by the American CueSports Alliance (ACS) – showcased Stop #11 at Finish Line in Chenoa, IL, Saturday, November 12. The $500-added 8-ball tourney excluded "Masters", drew 17 players and was played on 7-foot bar boxes.
Bob Nodine (Streator, IL) went to the hot seat with wins over friends Doug Williams (Pontiac, IL) 5-1 in the semi-final round of the winner's bracket and Eric Naretto (Odell, IL) 5-1 in the finals. Mike Schultz (Champaign, IL) got hot on the one loss side after an early loss to Williams by stopping Chris Wilder (Chenoa, IL) at 7th-8th by a score of 4-1. He them got his revenge on Williams with a score of 4-0 to leave Williams at a tie for 5th-6th place. This would set a matchup between Schultz and Andy Hauschild (Shipman, IL) who was also hot after a first round loss to Dave Goode (Essex, Il). Hauschild defeated John Pokora (Springfield, IL) at 7th-8th by a score of 4-3. He then took down Jacob Varner (Rantoul, IL) at 5th-6th by outscoring him 4-2. This set up a great match between the two hot players of the night. Hauschild took the early lead, but Schultz was not going to let this get him down. He battled back and won the match 4-3, thus leaving Hauschild with a 4th place finish. Next up for Schultz was Naretto. Shultz continued to stay strong with the first 3 wins before Naretto could get started. However it was not enough to keep Schultz down. He won this set 4-2 dispatching Naretto at 3rd. This set up a title match that was not to be for Schultz. Bob Nodine was just a bit too much to handle on the night, as he defeated Schultz 5-0 to remain unbeaten for the title.
By virtue of Bob Nodine being the highest-finishing ACS member in the event, he qualified for a free 9-Ball singles entry into the 2012 Lucasi Hybrid ACS Nationals at the Tropicana Las Vegas – courtesy of the ACS. The ACS wishes to thank sponsors Lucasi Hybrid Cues, Championship Billiard Fabric and Nick Varner Signature Cases for their support in donating "Value-In-Kind" product for this and all stops on the Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour. Sponsorship opportunities and tour stop openings are still available for the 2011/2012 All American Tour by contacting the ACS.
The Tour showcases one stop over the Thanksgiving weekend: the annual $1,000 Added 8-Ball Turkey Shoot at Match-Ups in Fort Collins, CO, November 26-27 (contact Mike or Nicole Hellmer at 970-482-2337). Further information, entry details and schedules for the 2011/2012 Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour are available at www.americancuesports.org.
