The Smokin' Cue was hot in Charlotte on May 14, 2005 with the 5th Fury Carolina Amateur 9-Ball tour stop. Thirty-nine of the areas finest played it out on the 16 Gold Crowns, providing plenty of action throughout the day. Several tour regulars met head to head in many one-loss side battles.
Tour veteran David Slaughter put four straight wins together before falling victim to Florida's Bobby Hicks in the hot seat match. Hicks made it to the hot seat by stringing together five wins including a hill-hill victory over David Brown. Ironman Robert Ray, got three quick wins before making the trip to the left side after falling short against Robin Hill. Ray was able to rebound with seven straight B side wins including victories over Eddie Little and Slaughter to make his bid for the top spot.
The final match up saw Ray and Hicks close out the day in a classic match-up. The score was tied a nail-biting seven times during the match proving that both players were out for the win. Only one time during 17 game marathon was either player more than one game ahead. Hicks took the early lead 1-0 and 2-1, but Ray slipped ahead to a 4-2 lead after 6 games. Hicks then took the advantage 7-6. The score flipped again and Ray led 8-7. Hicks grabbed the next game to put both players on the hill, and Hicks went on to take the final game to win 9-8 and a hard-fought win.
Hicks, from Jacksonville, Florida, just happened to be in the area for the event. This was his first entry into a Fury tournament, but he now plans to enter more in the Florida area when he returns. Players in that division will have a new force to contend with, as he has shown with this victory.
Results:
1st Bobby Hicks $470
2nd Robert Ray $280
3rd David Slaughter $180
4th David Brown $100
5th/6th Mike Maurer, Riley Myers $75
7th/8th Cary Dunn, David Lear $50
