After a short break, the Fury Central Florida Amateur 9-ball tour kicked off 2005 with the season opener at Bankshot Billiards in Ocala, January 16. With 47 players ready to get their names on the points list and plenty of new players to compete, it looks to be a strong start to a great season.
Tournament winner, Julio 'Latin Connection' Aquino, didn?t have such a strong start as he lost his first match to poolroom owner, Mike Kohn. This didn't deter him from going on to string together 8 straight wins to get to the semifinals. Meanwhile, John Stucky was completing his undefeated run of the winner's bracket, with a win over Dave Ross 7-6 in the hot seat match. This sent Ross to the B side to play Aquino in the semis. Aquino took the win in the hill-hill, putting Ross in 3rd and sending himself on to the finals after a long road through the left bracket.
In the finals, Aquino faced undefeated John Stucky. Both players had just finished hill-hill matches, and both were on winning streaks; this was sure to be close. The players fought to 7-7 in the race to 9 until Aquino made the final move and took the last two games for a 9-7 win and first place.
Other players that took some names in the event were the only two women to compete in the event, Tracie Hines and Ellen Van Buren. Both ladies made it to the winner's side quarterfinals before falling to the top four finishers and taking 5th/6th.
Results:
1st Julio Aquino $480
2nd John Stucky $260
3rd Dave Ross $160
4th Robert 'Shorty' Otto $100
5th/6th Tracie Hines, Ellen Van Buren $80
7th/8th Rich Martin, Jason Gard $60
9th?12th Nomar Paula, Jeff Holton, Julio Delpozo, Josh Conn $40
