Eighteen ladies played it out at Stroker's Billiards in Palm Harbor on August 13th for the latest stop on the ladies Fury Amateur 9-ball tour. Rising to the top of the field were the Florida Flash, Ellen Van Buren and fellow Orlando player, Niki Rasmussen. Rasmussen came to the hot seat match up with a 21-10 game record while Van Buren brought a 21-8 score to the table. The player's turned away other top contenders on their way with Rasmussen taking out Helene Caukin 7-3 and Van Buren taking a tough win over Jennifer Nelson 7-5.
When the two met to contend for queen of the hill honors, Van Buren controlled the table with strategic safeties and solid run outs to take a 4-1 lead. Rasmussen then began to win some battles to only trail by one game but two missed 9-balls left her sitting to watch Van Buren take the final racks for a 7-3 win. With the hot seat secured, Van Buren waited for an opponent from the B-side.
On the B-side, Jessica Barnes had just defeated Jennifer Nelson 5-3 while Mary Pendelton Brown took victors over Stephanie Mitchell 5-2. When Barnes and Brown met up, Brown put two games on the board but Barnes then took over to win the set 5-2 to move on to face Rasmussen in the semifinals. The early games were close with the players tying but an error on the 8-ball cost Rasmussen the rack and Barnes pulled away to a 5-3 win.
An undefeated Van Buren awaited Barnes in the finals. The two tied at 2-2 in the race to 9 and it looked like it might be a tight race until Van Buren jumped ahead. In the next two racks, Van Buren took advantage of two 9-ball combinations to gain a 4-2 lead. The next few racks were tied up and Van Buren kept control of the table with smart safety play, waiting for opportune times to run out. With strategy in tact, Van Buren strengthened her lead to 7-2. Barnes was able to take two more games but Van Buren stayed focused and with a run out in the final rack she secured her first Fury win with a 9-4 score.
Results:
1st Ellen Van Buren $300
2nd Jessica Barnes $180
3rd Niki Rasmussen $120
4th Mary Pendleton Brown $60
File photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe - Pool Pics by Hoppe
