Portland, OR - Bob Zack, better known as Robert by his friends at The Rialto Poolroom, Bar, and Cafe, was the last 'local' left in the Pechauer Tour stop the weekend of July 22-23. Fortunately for him, last actually meant first! It was one of the first major tournaments The Rialto has held in many years, but after remodeling the entire facility, the management decided to give The Pechauer Tour a shot! From the wonderful staff at The Rialto, to the great attitude of the players, to the efficient tournament direction, the weekend couldn't have gone better if we had scripted it! Bob Zack was instrumental in bringing this stop to fruition, so it really only seemed like Karma's sweet gift that he would come through and win it!
The Rialto boasts 11 Gold Crown IV's on the main level, and an additional 3 antique Brunswicks, as well as a snooker table on an upstairs balcony level. Players traveled from Boise, Bend, Coos Bay, Seattle and all points in between. The competition was fierce, as the well-established names seemed to be pitted against one another in the bottom bracket; which left the top bracket up for grabs! Jesse Johnson came through the top bracket with wins over 3 very solid local players Bill Ruddick, Dan Rodriguez, and Cedric Sloan. However, Mike Stevens, one of the top point earners in this year's tour, stopped Johnson in his tracks. Stevens went on to take wins over Todd Gooch and Bob Zack to sit in the hot seat and wait for the loser's bracket to finish up.
On the backside of the bracket, the guys seemed to work extra hard to send Glenn Atwell home early as Bob Zack spanked him 9-3 on the winner's side, and Jesse Allred came back from a 6-1 deficit to win the match 9-7, leaving Atwell in the 5th place position. Allred had no plans of going home after he defeated Atwell as he turned around in the next match to defeat Gary French by the same score. He then had the tables turned on him as Bob Zack defeated him 9-7 to go on to the finals.
The final match between Bob Zack and Mike Stevens was a single race to 13. Tensions were high, and the match was close, as it is never easy to compete against a friend. The crowd seemed to enjoy the action, and naturally all Bob's friends from The Rialto were cheering him on. In the end, it ultimately really was Bob's tournament by a close final score of 13-10. We would also like to recognize Linda Knight, who went the furthest of 5 females in the tournament. She had a formidable hill-hill win over Justin Lilje and ultimately ended up in 17th place!
As an added plug for The Rialto, because I couldn't seem to work it into the article, the food there is absolutely incredible! The Rialto head cook Spencer, is a whiz in the kitchen and the menu is made completely from scratch! The enthusiasts in Portland are missing out if they aren't hitting balls at The Rialto!
Complete Results:
1st Bob Zack $900
2nd Mike Stevens $650
3rd Jesse Allred $425
4th Gary French $225
5th Todd Gooch, Glenn Atwell $125
7th Michael Jensen, Jesse Johnson $75
9th Matt Poole, Steve Hanks, Carl Spencer, Micah Bell $50
