The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour was at Bankshot Billiards in Hilliard, OH this weekend where a field of 59 players competed on the 9' tables.
With Shawn Putnam not able to make it through the snow to the Ten Ball Challenge in Atlantic City, he was the favorite to win this event and post his third straight Viking Tour win this season. It looked like he would do just that and he cruised through Saturday without allowing an opponent to score more than three games against him in the race to seven format. Putnam defeated Shane Albugh 7-4 to get to the hot seat match where Gary Huggins from Columbus, OH stunned Putnam with a 7-2 loss as Huggins claimed the hot seat.
Putnam took the loss in stride and went to the left side of the board where he beat Tony Mougey 7-5 to set up the rematch with Huggins in the finals. This was the exact same spot Putnam was in last week when he won the Viking Tour event at Fiddlestix Billiard Café in Canton, OH with 9-2 and 9-1 wins in the finals.
Putnam took control early in the first match and posted a 7-2 win to force the final set to determine the tournament winner. Putnam started the second set by winning the first three games to jump to a 3-0 lead. If the crowd was expecting Huggins to just put his cue away and settle for second, they were in for a surprise. Huggins won the next seven games for the 7-3 victory and first place.
Huggins collected $1450 for first, while Putnam settled for $850 in second place prize money. Tony Mougey and Doug Metcalf filled out the top four positions.
The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour will be at Mr. Pockets Pool & Pub in Pittsburgh, PA next weekend for a $1,000 Added Race to 7 on the 9' tables.
Complete Payouts:
1st Gary Huggins $1450
2nd Shawn Putnam $850
3rd Tony Mougey $500
4th Doug Metcalf $300
5th/6th Steve Dennis, Shane Albugh $150
7th/8th Pat Lewis, Gene Burkhammer $80
9th/12th Justin Daniels, Ron Scalziti, Gary Link, Jamie McWhorter $50
13th/16th Mike Alvarez, John Funk, Ken Kerekes, Steve Arwick $30
