Proving that you can never count wily veterans out, Tommy Kennedy won 10 matches on the loss side during the Saturday, August 3 stop on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour and earned the right to challenge hot seat occupant Kyle Bova for the event title. The final match never happened, as Kennedy and Bova opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes. In another ‘veteran’ note, the event itself offered Vietnam veterans free entry and in the end, awarded two Vietnam veterans – Ronny Park and Joe Scarborough - $50, which they split. The $1,000-added event drew 40 entrants to Brewland’s Billiards in North Lakeland, FL.
With Kennedy at work on the loss side, having been defeated by Felix Luna in the opening round of play, Bova settled in, advancing to a winners’ side semifinal match against Ashley Chewcaskie. Rhyan Hunter and Jeremy Bell squared off in the other one.
Bova downed Chewcaskie 7-1 and in the hot seat match, faced Hunter, who’d survived a double hill match versus Bell and sent him off to an immediate match against Kennedy. Bova shut Hunter out to claim the hot seat in what proved to be his final match.
On the loss side, Bell drew the ‘wily veteran,’ Kennedy, seven matches into his 10-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently included victories over one of the Vietnam veterans, Joe Scarborough, 6-4 and Dennis Brown 6-2. Chewcaskie picked up Nathan Rose, who’d recently eliminated the other Vietnam veteran, Ronny Park 6-3 and Steve Wiggam 6-2.
Kennedy and Rose advanced to the quarterfinals; Kennedy, 6-3 over Bell and Rose, 6-2 over Wiggam. It was eight down and two to go for Kennedy, as he chalked up loss-side victory # 9 against Rose. Not, as it turned out, without a fight, though. They battle back and forth to a deciding 11th game, won by Kennedy.
In what was the last match of the event, Kennedy completed his loss-side run with a 6-3 win over Hunter in the semifinals. Kennedy and Bova decided on the split, awarded Bova the official event title, snapped their picture and away they went.
Kennedy thanked the ownership and staff at Brewland’s for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Simonis Cloth, Mueller Recreational Products and Tournamentsnearme.com.
