Mike Davis
With delivery of an unopened toy, participants in the December 8-9 Toys for Tots Tournament, under the auspices of the Action Pool Tour, got $10 knocked off their entry fee. The exchange accrued to the benefit of Toys for Tots, more than the pool players, because unless you're buying a toddler toy, the chances of it costing $10 or less are remote. That said, the 63 entrants who signed on for the 8-ball tournament, hosted by VIP Billiards in Catonsville, MD, brought far more than 63 toys to the site.
"I didn't count," said tour director Ozzy Reynolds, "but we had two big bins full of them and one player (Guy Yates) brought a small bicycle. VIP Billiards' owner, Steve Didier, made the arrangements with Toys for Tots, including the presence of a US Marine to guard those toys on Saturday."
Mike Davis, on temporary leave from duties as a member of the WPBL's Las Vegas Dice team, went undefeated through the 8-ball tournament, chalking up his first victory of the 2012/2013 APT season (he'd won the 2011/2012 season finale in September at the same location). In addition to getting by Dominic Noe twice, Davis ended the tournament with an 83% winning average over 59 games played; seven matches in which he gave up a total of only 10 racks, nine of them over the final three.
Davis went through the opening rounds of the tournament like a hot knife through soft butter, shutting out David Sund, James Pounds, and Jeremy Perkins. Between Pounds and Perkins, Lee Fallin had chalked up a single rack against him. From among the winners' side final four, familiar APT opponent Brian Deska challenged him, but a 7-4 Davis victory sent Deska west, and Davis to the hot seat match. Noe, in the meantime, gave up eight racks in his first three, against Bruce Gardner (1), Billy Gallagher (4) and Ozzy Reynolds (3), before shutting out Rafael Reyes for a winners' side final four match against Brett Stottlemyer.
Davis downed Deska 7-4, as Noe was busy sending Stottlemyer over 7-3. Davis took the hot seat match 7-3, and waited for Noe to return.
Deska moved over for a re-match against Dave Hunt, whom he'd sent to the loss side in the third round of play. Hunt got by four opponents, including Greg Sabins and Mike McNaughton, both 5-2. Stottlemyer drew a re-match, as well, against Robb Saez, whom he'd sent west, also in the third round. Saez, too, got by four for the re-match, including a shutout over Shaun Wilkie, and a 5-3 win over Andy Lincoln.
It was Stottlemyer and Deska hooking up in the quarterfinals, after Stottlemyer had eliminated Saez 5-1, and Deska ended Hunt's day 5-2. In a familiar APT match-up between Deska and Stottlemyer, it was Stottlemyer advancing with a 5-2 win for a semifinal re-match against Noe.
Noe took their second meeting 5-3, and turned for a second shot against Davis. A 7-2 win by Davis completed his undefeated run through the field of 63.
Kia Sidbury, who finished in the tie for 25th place, won $100 as the top female finisher. A regular on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour, Sidbury was last seen in the winners' circle at a Planet Pool Tour Ladies Division stop in October at the same location.
