Bigwigs Billiards in Newmarket played host to the “K” Tour Finals from June 27 ~ 29 and what an event it was. “K” Tour owner, Willy Hermoza, really stepped up to the plate and delivered a fitting finale to an unfortunately interrupted season. Friday night saw pre-tournament registrations, the players meeting and the Calcutta,
as well as mini-tournaments to “get ‘em in the mood” as a warm up for the weekend's play.
Saturday morning, the players showed up in force to do battle for the $20,000 added prize pool (and bragging rights) to end another season. “Tiger” tour members Brittany Bryant, Darlene Gardiner and Kristy DeVries showed up to give the boys some headaches (and free lessons) over a few 9-ball racks. Though they all played well, only the talented Bryant was able to make it through to the second day where she eventually knocked out room co-owner Rob “Butch” Blair.
Other familiar faces seen were Rob Brandenberg, Erik Hjorleifson, Jason Klatt, John and Mario Morra, Eric Hildebrand, Andrew Attard, Dan Doerner and Tol Kuy. Brandenberg had a surprisingly rough start and ended up going out in two straight matches as Hjorleifson, Klatt and the Morra boys got straight down to business.
As day one came to a close, Klatt, John Morra, Elio D'Andrea and Scott McDonald were still alive on the “A” side as Bryant, Dan Doerner, Mario Morra, Robin Bass and room owner Ken Botham, among others, had been relegated to the “B” side.
Sunday morning was going to be interesting as the final 32 players showed up to fight for the prize.
Outstanding is the only way to describe the quality of shooting displayed by some of the country's finest players.
Jump shots, massé shots, safety play... all performed flawlessly as the assembled spectators were treated to incredible displays of billiards not often seen. As the players rolled along, late into the evening, we pared the field down to the “A” side finals, Jason Klatt vs. Elio D'Andrea, and the “B” side finals, Dennis Rhodes vs. Scott
McDonald.
The Klatt vs. D'Andrea match was nothing short of spectacular as they traded racks back and forth until Klatt switched gears and shut D'Andrea down and advance to the finals. The Rhodes vs. McDonald match was more of the same as McDonald edged past Rhodes to get to the finish line and advance to the “B” side final where he would face D'Andrea.
Elio D'Andrea, the supreme gentleman, played like a man on fire, not giving Scott McDonald an inch to breathe while staying as humble as ever. McDonald fought like a warrior but just fell short as D'Andrea pushed past for a return match against the undefeated Klatt. Unfortunately for both players, the final match did not get underway
until 3:40 A.M. Monday morning. Jason Klatt was able to take advantage of an exhausted Elio and jump out to a commanding 8-0 lead. Elio bravely tried to fight back and won 3 racks on the trot until Klatt shut the door and won the match (at
5:00 A.M.) by a score of 10-3.
Champion – Jason Klatt - $8,000 + $2,000 Calcutta
2nd – Elio D'Andrea – $4,000 + $1,400 Calcutta
3rd – Scott McDonald - $2,000 + $700 Calcutta
4th – Dennis Rhodes - $1,000 + $400 Calcutta
A sincere “thank you” to Willy Hermoza for a memorable tournament on behalf of Bigwigs Billiards and we hope to see you again. We are all looking forward to Willy's next venture in the “K” Tour Series.
