 Tournament Director Doug Ennis, Mike Davis, Larry Pittman and room owner James Gray |
Mike Davis was on the verge of defeat in the final match of The Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour stop on February 10th at Sharks-N-Shooters in Rocky Mount, NC. Down 7-2 in a single race to 9, Davis stormed back against local favorite Larry Pittman with the quiet, calm demeanor for which he is known. After Davis won 6 games in a row to take the hill, Pittman managed to win one more game but couldn't put it away.
Pittman earned his way into the championship match by handily defeating Ty Bissett (7-1) Ben Manning (7-1) and Tony Davis (7-0). The hotseat match proved to be a close one, however, as local sparring partner Phillip Richardson took Pittman to the hill before losing (7-6).
Davis, meanwhile, defeated Joe Macon (7-0) and Mike Frowein (7-4), but was sent to the one-loss side by Richardson (7-4). After wins over Ty Bissett (7-3) and T. J. Moore (7-0), Davis avenged his previous loss by defeating Richardson (7-1).
The crowd at Sharks-N-Shooters enjoyed a great final match between Pittman and Davis. Pittman jumped out to a 7-2 lead, thanks to four break-and-runs. With ball-in-hand in the tenth rack, however, Pittman failed to run out, giving Davis a third game. Davis made three balls on the next break and shot safe. After Pittman scratched, Davis took ball-in-hand and ran out.
Gaining momentum, Davis broke and ran the twelfth rack, making the score 7-5. Davis came up empty on the next break and it looked like Pittman was finally getting his opportunity. However, a failed safe gave Davis control of the table once again. Pocketing the 3-ball behind his back and on one foot, Davis then made the 4-ball, breaking out a 5/7 cluster. Finally, Davis cut the 5-ball, drawing the cue off of the 8-ball, and ran out.
The fourteenth rack was a defensive battle. When Davis saw an opportunity, however, he ran out, tying the score at 7. A break-and-run in the fifteenth rack put Davis on the hill and it looked like Pittman wouldn't return to the table. Davis scratched as he pocketed the 1-ball in the next rack and, with ball-in-hand, Pittman ran out.
Hill-hill in the fifteenth rack, Pittman made two balls on the break and was forced to shoot safe. Davis shot safe back and was rewarded with ball-in-hand. Davis ran out to take first place and $500 cash. Complete payout results are shown below.
This was definitely not Davis' first rodeo. Representing USA in the Mosconi Cup in Rotterdam, Holland this past December, Davis passed muster by coming from behind 4-1 against Mika Immonen of Finland. The win helped to prevent Team Europe from taking the Mosconi Cup from the Americans, who have held the trophy since 2002. Perhaps the “Come-back Kid” just needs a little pressure before he grinds out his victories!
The next stop on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour will be at M & M Billiards in Hillsborough, NC on March 3rd, 2007. For more information go to www.rockcitypromotions.com or call Rock City Promotions at 252-908-0754.
