Stephanie Mitchell and Margie Soash
Fort Pierce, Fla. (March 6, 2010) -- Two things are generally true about pool hall owners: they shoot a pretty mean stick, and they rarely get up at sunrise.
Such was the case for two hard-working room owners, each playing with only two hours of sleep, who squared off in the finals of the Flamingo Billiards Tour stop on March 6th at Ultimate Billiards in Fort Pierce, Fla. Margie Soash of Hollywood Billiards in Hollywood, Fla. outlasted Stephanie Mitchell, owner of The Corner Pocket in Largo, Fla., after a long, safety-dominated slugfest.
It was the first Flamingo Billiards Tour event for Margie and five other new members, all of whom made a big impression at the tour's 2010 kick-off event. Margie went undefeated for the day, after squeaking by Mimi McAndrews (7-6) and Christie Cloke (7-5).
But, Stephanie started the day with a loss (7-3) to new member JoAnn Mason Parker, the 1990 WPBA U.S. Open champ who has returned in excellent form after a long hiatus. Stephanie then caught a bye (and a 10-minute nap) before blanking Kelly Cavanaugh (7-0).
After the modified double-elimination redraw, Stephanie avenged her early loss to JoAnn (7-4), Jessica Barnes defeated Kim Caso (7-2), Jeannie Seaver swept Helene Caukin (7-0) and Margie went 7-5 against Melissa Durkin, another impressive new member.
In the semi-finals, Jeannie Seaver fought back from a 6-2 deficit, but eventually lost to Margie (7-5). Meanwhile, Stephanie ran the final table on Jessica for a 7-3 victory.
The first game of the finals was a precursor of things to come, with each player getting 6 turns at the table. Smart, tactical play, tight pockets and tired eyes led to a true test of focus and endurance. After Margie took Game 1, Stephanie went on a 5-game streak before jawing the 9-ball in Game 7.
Game 8, a 10-inning game, went to Margie, but Stephanie stormed back by running 7 balls to take Game 9. With Stephanie now on the hill, the match returned to tactical positioning and safety play. Margie took the next two games (including another 10-inning slugfest) and suddenly the long day was down to one double-hill game.
Game 12 started with an ugly table and brought out every shot in the book -- combo, carom, masse, corner hook, kick and safe -- but it ended with the dreaded rattle. After making a tough 8-ball, Stephanie jawed a long 9 in the corner, leaving Margie the game and the match.
Special thanks to Bill Mallen, JoAnn Mallen and Gary Gilsinan of Ultimate Billiards (www.ultimate-billiards.com) for their great equipment, food and hospitality, and to tour sponsors Ozone Billiards (www.ozonebilliards.com), Boynton Billiards (www.boyntonbilliards.com) and Tweeten Fibre (www.tweeten.us) for their valued support of the tour.
The next Flamingo Billiards Tour stop is April 10th at Corner Pocket Billiards (www.cornerpocketbilliards.com) in Orlando. Please check www.flamingobilliardstour.com for all details and the complete tour schedule.
