Fast Eddie's Sports Bar in Goldsboro, North Carolina hosted the eighth stop on the 2008-2009 Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour April 18-19. Twenty-six players competed in the $1000 guaranteed added Main Event. Keith Bennett defeated Sam Monday in the final match, earning $1000 for first place.?
To kick things off, an Early Bird Tournament was held on Friday night. Phillip Richardson defeated Russell Sasser (7-2) in the final match. Results for this event were: 1st Phillip Richardson, $130; 2nd Russell Sasser, $80; 3rd Cary Dunn, $30; and 4th Larry Pittman, $20.
On Sunday, there were three mini-tournaments. First place in the Junior Tournament went to Justin Ward, who defeated Patrick Pipkin (9-1) in the final match. Two juniors, Patrick Sasser and Ward, qualified for Junior Nationals by finishing at the top of their respective divisions. Top honors in the Ladies' Tournament went to Belinda Calhoun, who defeated Karen Webb (7-2) in the final match.
In the last mini-tournament on Sunday, Delton Howard took first place in the Second Chance Tournament, defeating Russell Sasser (7-6). Results of this event were: 1st Delton Howard, $110; 2nd Russell Sasser, $60; 3rd and 4th Cary Dunn and Elvis, $25 each.
In the Main Event, Bennett earned the hotseat thanks to victories over Joe Whaley (7-2), Younger Chapman (7-4), Mac Harrell (7-3), Sam Monday (7-2) and Larry Pierce (7-1).
Meanwhile, Monday made short work of Rob Leeper (7-1) and Belinda Calhoun (7-0) before narrowly edging Phillip Richardson (7-6). After his loss to Bennett (7-2), Monday defeated Russell Sasser (7-0). Sasser, who had previously defeated Mike Davis (5-2) in the Early Bird Tournament on Friday night, had just eliminated Davis (7-3) from the Main Event. Monday's sent his last two opponents packing – 17-year-old D. J. Outlaw (7-2) and Larry Pierce (7-1) - to set up a rematch with Bennett.
In the final match, a single race to nine, Monday won the lag and quickly posted a break-and-run. A missed 3-ball in the second rack gave the table to Bennett, who cleared the table to tie the score. Making four balls on the next break, Bennett seemed to be poised to assert control over the match. A missed 7-ball, however, gave Monday an easy out. Monday missed early in the fourth rack and Bennett tied it at two games apiece.
Four of the next five games were won by Monday. Bennett pocketed the 9-ball with ball-in-hand after Monday scratched on the 8-ball. A break-and-run in the ninth rack gave Monday a 6-3 lead.
In the tenth rack, Monday was forced to shoot safe after the break. Bennett's kick left Monday snookered on the 2-ball. Monday jumped, making the 2, but scratching behind it, as well. With ball-in-hand, Bennett cleared the table. A miss late in the eleventh rack left Monday with a difficult 8/9 combination, which he missed.
Down by only one game at 6-5, Bennett came up empty on the break. Monday ran the table and went back up by two games at 7-5. Bennett seized an opportunity in the thirteenth rack, however, making the 2-ball off the 3 to break up a cluster and run out. A mistake by Monday gave Bennett ball-in-hand and soon the score was tied at 7 games apiece.
Feeling the momentum, Bennett broke and ran to take the hill. Monday had three opportunities at the table in the sixteenth rack, but Bennett prevailed to win the match. Final score: 9-7.
On Saturday evening, WPBA Hall of Famer Belinda Calhoun entertained the crowd with a Play-the-Pro session in which fans had the opportunity to challenge Calhoun in a game of pool. Everyone who participated received an autographed photo of Calhoun and a chance in two drawings. Ray Richardson won a 9-ball that was signed by the top three finishers in the Main Event and Matt Highsmith won a 30-minute player analysis with Calhoun, a certified instructor with Colliding Spheres.
Congratulations to cue raffle winner James Whitley, who was the lucky winner of a Limited Edition cue, valued at $850, from Jacoby Custom Cues and to Phillip Richardson, who outlasted twelve other participants to win $160 in the Break Contest.
Rock City Promotions wishes to extend special thanks to the staff and ownership of Fast Eddie's Sports Bar, home of the Carolina Open, and to OB-1 Cues for supporting the Jacoby Tour.
The next stop on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour will be May 16-17 at Sharks-N-Shooters in Rocky Mount, NC. The event will guarantee $1000 added with $1000 for 1st place. Also, top Junior Tournament finishers in both of the boys divisions will automatically qualify for Junior Nationals.
