A strong field of 28 players including 6 touring pros, played in the belated opening stop for the SEAL tour, Halloween weekend. Two thousand was added to the event, hosted by the New Pool Room, in Duluth Georgia just North of Atlanta. The first day of competition was so fierce, Helena Thornfeldt was knocked out by a determined Janet Atwell, who came back from a 3-6 deficit to when the set 7-6.
The 2nd day saw 5 of the pros still in, 4 on the winner's side and Janet on the 1-loss. Three amateurs vied for the WPBA Qualifier spot, Diane Gabbard, Val Finney and Emily Wilmoth. Diane prevailed with a tough win over Val to nab the spot.
The finals came down too two of the rising stars on the WPBA, Tracie Hines went undefeated through the field to grab the hot seat, while Kelly Fisher made up for an earlier loss to Monica Webb with a win in the semis and a chance to play Tracie in the finals.
However Tracie proved her undefeated status was no "trick" and hammered out a 9-3 win over Ms. Fisher.
The 2nd chance tournament had over a dozen entrants and was won by Lara Rossignol over SEAL up and comer, 21 year old Jennifer Beal. SEAL has plans to make the 2nd chance tournament a WPBA Qualifier as well, at future events.
Complete Results:
1st Tracie Hines $345.00
2nd Kelly Fisher $269.00
3rd Monica Webb $209.00
4th Alice Rim $163.00
5th/6th Janet Atwell/Diane Gabbard $124.00
7th/8th Emily Wilmoth/Val Finney $95.00
9th-12th Helena Thornfelt, Marcia Manuel, Amy Chieppa, Lara Rossignol $71.00/each
Photo courtesy of Lara Rossignol
