Warren Kiamco - Photo courtesy of Melinda Bailey
Tournament organizers could not have asked for a better marquee set of matchups than what they got during the $5,000-added, 7th Annual Oklahoma State Bar Table 9-Ball Championships on the weekend of November 9-10. In both the hot seat and finals, Warren Kiamco faced Charlie "Hillbilly" Bryant. Kiamco won them both. The event drew 128 entrants to Jamaica Joe's in Midwest City, OK.
The tournament brought out the usual list of Midwest 9-ball suspects, including Bryant, Chip Compton, Shane McMinn and John Gabriel (to name just a few). When it got down to the winners' side final four, Compton drew Kiamco, while Bryant squared off against Canadian shooter, David Parker. In identical 9-4 wins over Compton and Parker, Kiamco and Bryant advanced to the hot seat, from where Kiamco took the first of their eventual two 9-7.
Parker and Compton moved west and met up with Mark Shelton and John Gabriel. Shelton, who'd been sent over by Sean King and was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him to the semifinals, had defeated Nick Tafoya 9-7 and Steve Raynes 9-6. Gabriel had eliminated both Shane McMinn and King, double hill.
It was Shelton and Gabriel who advanced to the quarterfinals, handing Parker and Compton their second straight defeat, both 9-6. Shelton completed his loss-side run with a 9-7 win over Gabriel.
The event, originally scheduled to be completed on Sunday night, was extended into Veteran's Day on Monday when one of the matches determining the tie for ninth place (Steve Raynes vs. Bill Roberts) went three hours, delaying advancement on the loss side. They concluded the Sunday night proceedings after the quarterfinal match and resumed with the semifinals on Monday. So, rested and ready to go, Bryant defeated Shelton 9-7 in the semifinals for a second shot at Kiamco. Kiamco, though, eliminated the need for a two-set final and defeated Bryant 9-7 to claim the event title.
