A field of 34 players braved the snow to make it out to Mahoning Valley Billiards in Youngstown, OH on Sunday to compete in the Viking Cues Amateur 9-Ball Stop.
George Kimbrough distanced himself from the field as took the hot-seat with a 5-0 won over Mike Pistelli.
Pistelli then lost 5-4 to Daniel Bellew on the one-loss side. Bellew had lost his first match of the tournament and the win over Pistelli was his 8th straight win on the left side of the board.
Bellew was then facing the task of trying to beat Kimbrough twice in the finals. The first set saw Bellew claw his way to a 3-2 lead and looked to be in control, but a couple early 9-balls got Kimbrough back into the match. With the score tied 4-4, Bellew missed a 4-ball and that was his last chance as Kimbrough carefully navigated the rack for the 5-4 win.
Kimbrough earned $650 for first place, while Bellew took home $400 for second. Pistelli and Dave Slovick filled out the top four spots. Room owner Mike Martin competed in the event and did well, coming in short of the cash.
Mahoning Valley Billiards will be holding a $600 added amateur event on January 30th. Interested parties can call the room at 330-270-1742 for more info.
Complete Results:
1st George Kimbrough $650
2nd Daniel Bellew $400
3rd Mike Pistelli $250
4th Dave Slovick $160
5th/6th Joe Armeni, Rod Shimko $70
7th/8th Cory Young, Dan Madeline $45
