The Fast Eddie's 9 Ball Tour traveled to deep South Texas on October 17-19 to wrap up the 2003 regular season schedule. Fast Eddie's World Class Billiards of McAllen was ready for us and, as always, proved to be a great host.
Again, there were many very exciting matches as the talent in the field ran deep. Top picks were Charlie "Hillbilly" Bryant, David "Little David" Henson, Gilbert Martinez, Scott Kephart, Rick Stanley, Greg Medina and Joe Powell.
Finishing the tournament in 7-8th position were Rick Stanley of Austin and Charlie Mora of McAllen. Both played very well.
Cashing out in the 5-6th positions were Greg Medina of McAllen and Jesse Mata of San Antonio. Both of these gentlemen are scrappers and always in the hunt.
Taking fourth place was Lewis Jones of San Antonio. After losing his first match to Scott Kephart, 9-4, he had wins over Alex Pedraza, 7-4, Joseph Delagarza, 7-2, Sylver Ochoa, 7-4, Gilbert Martinez, 7-6, and Jesse Mata, 7-4, before running into Scott Kephart again and was sent to the bleachers, 7-4.
Third place went to David Henson of Pflugerville. Along the way, "Little David" handled Leonard Garcia, Bill Fuller, Pat Castro, Jesse Mata but was sent to the left side by Charlie Bryant. His final loss came at the hands of the straight shooting Scott Kephart, 7-4. A very nice third place finish for the steady David Henson.
Scott Kephart, who plays only part time, opened some eyes. "Bumpshape" defeated Lewis Jones, Charlie Mora, Andy Hernandez and was then sent to the brutal bracket by the rock solid Charlie Bryant. Bumpy defeated Lewis Jones again and David Henson to meet Charlie in the finals.
Meanwhile, Charlie looked as if he was on a Sunday stroll. He recorded wins of 9-6 over Rick Stanley, 9-3 over Greg Medina, 9-2 over Gilbert Martinez, 9-3 over Scott Kephart and 9-8 over David Henson. At one point, Charlie had David down 8-1, but David knows a little about scrapping himself and brought it back to 8-8 only to have Charlie break and run the case rack. What a great match!
This was Scott's first time in the finals and Charlie, and finals regular, proved just to much defeating Scott 9-5. Congratulations to Charlie on his first Tour victory!
Again, thanks to John Ramirez and his staff at Fast Eddie's- McAllen for hosting a great event!
Thanks to all the Tour members for a great year! See you at the Season Finale in November. It's been fun!
Total Payouts:
1st Charlie Bryant $2150
2nd Scott Kephart $1520
3rd David Henson $975
4th Lewis Jones $650
5th - 6th Greg Medina & Jesse Mata $340
7th - 8th Charlie Mora & Rick Stanley $100
