Player of the Decade Johnny Archer really likes the Puerto Rican Island. For the second year in a row he dominated the island's biggest event, The Puerto Rico Shoot-Out. Even though there were other Pro Players in the event like Robb Saez, Corey Deuel, Gabe Owen, Pablo Matheu and Tony Robles, local hero Alan Rolon reached the finals against Archer once again. However, Rolon's seasoning throughout last year, wasn't enough once again as Archer dominated his winner's side final 7-0 and the final match 9-4.
In what proved to be a tournament of upsets, Archer seemed unfazed and was the only one of the Americans who didn't suffer the same fate. The tone was set early as local player Javi Perez upset Corey Deuel in the first round. The Puerto Rican players seemed to gain confidence from this match, as they went on to eliminate Deuel and Owen early and keeping them out of the money. Rolon proved once again he was the best player on the island, beating Owen, Robles and Robby Saez, who finished third.
The biggest surprise of the tournament was local veteran Enrique Montalvo, who battled his way to a 4th place finish with great shot-making all day long. He took out Robles, who until that point looked determined to take home the title from his hometown. Said Robles: "I really wanted to take home this title because I'm really proud of being Puerto Rican. This was very important to me because I wanted to dedicate this tournament to my grandmother who just passed away this Christmas. But I'll definitely come back here next year to try to complete the mission." Meanwhile, city mayor Abel Nazario, pleased with how the event turned out this year, promised to help make it even bigger next year. He also presented Robles with a proclamation when they honored him before the final match.
But in the end, the scene belonged to Archer. Archer said: "I felt I had a good stroke and playing well today. I felt really good and comfortable and that really helped me. I'm glad we have such good friends in Puerto Rico as the Calvo family and I'm looking forward to complete the three-peat next year.
Complete Results:
1st Johnny Archer $2,000
2nd Alan Rolon $1,000
3rd Robb Saez $600
4th Enrique Montalvo $400
5th/6th Tony Robles, Eric Gonzalez $250
7th/8th Juan Rodriguez, Aaron Franken $150
Photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe - Pool Pics By Hoppe
