Josh Johnson Wins All American Tour Stop

The thirty-second stop on the 2007/2008 Pechauer All American Tour (produced by the American CueSports Alliance – ACS) was hosted at Leisure Time Billiards in E. Moline, IL, on Saturday, February 2. The $500 added event drew twenty-one players in a double-elimination 9-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes. Josh Johnson (Bettendorf, IA) marched undefeated to the finals. In the hot-seat match, Johnson (rated an “8” on a regional handicap system used) clipped Rich Bideaux [6] (Moline, IL) on the hill-hill game 8-5. Earlier in the A-bracket semi-finals, Johnson escaped Shannon Rasmussen [6] (Cedar Rapids, IA) 8-5, while Bideaux outgunned Bruce Welch [5] (Cedar Rapids, IA) 6-3. In the B-side quarterfinals Jesse Bowman [8] (E. Moline, IL) eliminated Rasmussen [6] 8-4, while Anthony Garcia [5] ousted Bruce Welch [5] 5-2 – each tying for 5th place respectively. In the B-side semifinals Jesse Bowman [8] knocked out Garcia [5] 8-3. The B-side finals ended Bowman's run, as Rich Bideaux [6] held off Bowman [8] 6-5 to gain another shot at Johnson for the title. Bideaux had to defeat Josh Johnson two sets for the crown, but Johnson was having none of it – turning back Bideaux in the hill-hill game by an 8-5 margin for the title!

By virtue of Josh Johnson being the highest-finishing ACS member in the event, he qualified for a free 9-ball singles entry into the 2008 ACS Nationals in Las Vegas – courtesy of the ACS. The ACS wishes to thank sponsors J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Championship Billiard Fabric and Nick Varner Signature Cases for their support in donating “Value-In-Kind” product for this and all stops on the Pechauer All American Tour. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the 2007/2008 All American Tour by contacting the ACS.

The Tour continues on Saturday, February 9, with a $500 added 8-ball event at Leisure Time Billiards in Sterling, IL (contact Jim Lafavre at 815-625-8279). Further information, entry details and schedules for the 2007/2008 Pechauer All American Tour are available at www.americancuesports.org.