Eddie Vonderau
It became, as Kory and Trena Wolford, owners of Wolf’s Den Billiards in Roanoke, VA suspected that it might, the last event of the old year and the first event of the new one. Beginning on New Year’s Eve and interrupted by a Champagne Toast at the stroke of midnight, a $1,000-added event drew 39 entrants to their pool room.
Junior competitor, 15-year-old Eddie Vondereau, a former BEF Junior National Champion and frequent competitor on the Junior International Championship series of events went undefeated to claim title to what the Wolfords have decided will become an annual event. What began in the early evening hours of the last day of 2023 ended somewhere in the vicinity of 5 a.m. on the first day of 2024.
The two competitors who ended up face-to-face in the hot seat match had similar roller-coaster rides that got them there. After being awarded an opening-round bye, Vondereau’s trip began with an 8-1 victory over Stuart Frost, followed by a double-hill win over Scott Roberts. The ‘ride’ leveled off a bit with two straight 8-4 wins over Earl Kent and, in a winners’ side semifinal, Daniel Wallace.
Chris Lillie, in the meantime, broke out of the gate with a 5-3 win over Charles Hartung, before giving up just a single rack to Candy Michelle and then, surviving a double-hill battle against Ted Highley. He gave up none at all to Corky McCormick and in the other winners’ side semifinal (which ended minutes ahead of the midnight champagne toast) two to Conner Scruggs. Vondereau claimed the hot seat over Lillie 8-2 and settled into a ‘chase the dawn’ wait for the finals.
Scruggs moved over to the loss side and picked up Kent, who’d followed his winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Vondereau with wins over Jeremy Boggs 7-2 and David Booth 7-5. Wallace drew Sam Hale, who’d lost his opening match to Scruggs and went on a seven-match winning streak that would end up taking him as far as the semifinals and had recently eliminated Corky McCormick 5-2 and Elijah Wallace, double hill.
Hale chalked up loss-side win #6 with a 5-4 victory over Wallace, who was racing to 7. Scruggs joined Hale for their quarterfinal rematch after sending Kent home 5-3.
Hale won the rematch 5-3, only to have his winning streak stopped by Lillie in the semifinals 5-2. Vondereau celebrated the New Year, completing his roller coaster ride to the event title by shutting Lillie out in the finals.
0 comments