Bernie Pettipiece wins 2008 Arizona State Straight Pool Championship

The 2008 Desert Classic Tour was at Kolby’s Corner Pocket in Tempe, Arizona, for the 3rd leg of their 2008 tour.  Up for grabs was the title of “2008 Arizona State Straight Pool Champion”.  Bernie Pettipiece won the tournament when he defeated Scott Frost in the finals.  Chuck Evans finished third and Tres Kane finished fourth.  The tour directors are Dennis Orender and Jimmy Mendoza.  “On the rail” site owner, Lenny Marshall, was on hand to provide internet live stream for the event as well.   

The Tournament kicked off on Saturday, June 21st, with 42 players prepared to make a run for the state title.  Straight Pool enthusiasts such as Jimmy Mendoza, Babe Thompson, and Bernie Pettipiece, were only a few of the favorites on hand for the tournament.

After play on Saturday, twelve players returned on Sunday and found themselves in the cash.  Returning on Sunday with one loss were Tres Kane, Babe Thompson, Jimmy Mendoza and Dennis Orender.  Returning on Sunday with no losses were Mike Williams, Chuck Evans, Bernie Pettipiece, David Wiseman, Scott Frost, Gus Briseno, Paul Grande and Bobby Emmons.

As Sunday afternoon approached, only Chuck Evans and Scott Frost remained on the winner’s side, to play for the hot seat.  Scott defeated Chuck and sent him to the one-loss side of the board.  While Scott was making quick work of opponents on the A side of the bracket, Tres Kane was quietly making his run on the B side.  After losing his second match of the tournament on Saturday, Tres rolled off an amazing seven straight victories, before falling victim to Bernie Pettipiece.  Tres settled for 4th place, while Bernie moved on to defeat Chuck, who settled for third.

The finals saw two Kolby’s regulars facing off for the state title, in a one race final to 125.  Scott quickly jumped out to a 33-6 lead, only to watch as Bernie methodically fought his way back into the match.  The two players exchanged runs until Bernie scratched on a cut shot, while leading 92-86.  Upon reaching 100, Scott was faced with a cross-side bank shot on the one ball.  Scott missed the bank and it appeared as if his run had ended; however, a lucky kiss off of another ball caromed the one into the called pocket.  This allowed Scott to remain at the table and continue his run.  

Just as it looked like Scott was going to run away with the title, a missed shot allowed Bernie another chance.  

As he did all weekend, Bernie maintained his composure and pulled ahead to 117-105, before nearly scratching on a tough breakout shot.  A miss on the ten ball, and Scott found himself only needing 20 balls to seal a victory.  As quickly as his luck arrived earlier on the three-rail bank shot, it disappeared when he found himself frozen on the same one ball, without a clear shot.  

After trading intentional fouls, Scott went for a tough backwards cut/carom that just missed falling in the pocket.  Bernie calmly approached the table, counted out the nine balls he needed, and proceeded to clear the table for the state title. 

Congratulations to Bernie Pettipiece for his victory and becoming the 2008 Arizona State 14.1 Champion!

The highest eight and under finishing players were Ken Cottrell and Brady Valentino, who took home first and second, respectively, for the eight and under side pot.  In addition to winning the state title, Bernie Pettipiece also took home the highest run bonus with a 71.

The Desert Classic Tour would like to thank all of the sponsors for the 2008 season:  On Q Cases, Visual Impressions, Teague Custom Cues, Law Offices of Aldon G. Terpstra, Tiger Products, Keith Nickerson Custom Cues, Nick Varner Custom Cues and Cases, Rixx Pixx, AzBilliards Info Newspaper, Graphic Design and Leather Wraps by Jeff Pranke, azpoolscene.com, Breakball Promotions, and TXT web design.  A special thanks to Lenny Marshall, who provided the internet live stream for this event.

The fourth stop of the Arizona Desert Classic Tour will be on July 26-27, at Metro Sports Bar, in Phoenix, Arizona.  This will be a 9-ball event played on 7’ bar tables.  Please visit www.desertclassictour.com for further tour information.