 John Schmidt |
The weekend of October 6th and 7th ended up being quite an exciting weekend in the world of pool as it appeared everyone was getting in stroke for the upcoming U.S. Open – there were tournaments everywhere. Amongst the many fantastic events, Starcade Billiards hosted the Starcade Billiards Fall Classic in which seventy-two players made their way to Fort Walton Beach, Florida to participate. This $1500 added event drew many top regional players along with the 2006 U.S. Open Champion himself, John Schmidt.
The players came from Georgia, Louisiana, and many from within Florida to support this tournament. In the end, John Schmidt would prove why he was named champion last year – he ran through the field undefeated in the winners bracket with the closest individual scoring seven games in a race to nine. The quarter-finals and semi-final matches were extremely tight with Nick Spano besting Luther Blades (of Pensacola) 9-8, and then Paul Turner (of Atlanta) with the same score of 9-8.
In the finals match, Nick Spano would have to take on Schmidt in a single race to twelve. Although Spano was able to put six games on the scoreboard, it just was not enough to hold off Schmidt. The match ended with a score of 12-6 and Schmidt taking top honors.
File photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe
