The first stop of the 2005/2006 McDermott All American Tour (produced by the American CueSports Alliance - ACS) was launched at Leisure Time Billiards in E. Moline, Illinois, on Saturday, October 22. Each tour stop has the flexibility to handicap or not handicap its event, and host Dwaine Bowman (along with most of the Midwest Tour stop proprietors) used a regionally-recognized handicap that ranked high Master-caliber players at "5", lower Masater-caliber players at "4" and Open-caliber players at "3" and below. The event featured double-elimination 8-ball on bar boxes, and Moline, Illinois resident, Aaron Bean (rated a "3"), sailed undefeated through the field. In the hot-seat match, Aaron eclipsed Davenport, Iowa's Gary Norman (3) 3-1. In the consolation finals, Gary was upended by E. Moline's Jared Kelly 0-3. The title match was nip and tuck, and Bean won the championship in the decisive game, clipping Kelly 3-2.
Players with "4" averages completed the prize money payout list. The Tour is open to any amateur player, and all entries pay the same entry fees. The highest-finishing ACS member receives a free entry into either the 2006 ACS National 8-Ball Championships or the 2006 ACS National 9-Ball Championships. 2nd-place Jared Kelly earned the honors at this event! The ACS wishes to thank sponsors McDermott Handcrafted Cues, Silver Cup Chalk and PJ's Billiard Supply Co. for their support in donating "Value-In-Kind" product for this and all stops on the McDermott All American Tour. Sponsorship opportunities are still available by contacting the ACS.
The next Tour stop will be a one-day $500 added 8-Ball tournament at Whitey's Billiards in Burlington, Iowa, on Saturday, November 5. For onsite entry details, call host Whitey Walker at 319-752-3635. Information and schedules for the 2005/2006 McDermott All American Tour are available at www.americancuesports.org. The ACS is a non-profit, national organization dedicated to heightening the interest and awareness of cue sports through the support and sanctioning of organized competition throughout the United States and North America.
Final Results:
1st Aaron Bean (Moline, IL) $300
2nd Jared Kelly (E. Moline, IL) $200 + free ACS Nationals entry
3rd Gary Norman (Davenport, IA) $140
4th Dave Knight (Moline, IL) $100
5-6th Frank DeCastecker (Moline, IL), Dwaine Bowman (E. Moline, IL) $45
