Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, North Carolina, played host this weekend (May 10-11, 2008) to the latest Great Southern Billiard Tour stop – The Sanford Open. The venue itself has been said to be quite unique and original. The owner, Jimmie Bullis, is an antiques collector and has added flair to his room through that avenue. If that was not enough to peek your interests, the $1500 added main event and $250 added second chance event kept spectators on the edge of their seats with such top names in attendance as Shannon Daulton, Wade Crane, Mike Davis, Larry Nevel, Ron Park, Mike Fuller, and Eddie Little to help fill out the total field of thirty-eight players.
Dwindling down the field Saturday, the brackets saw only sixty players return on Sunday:
Winners side:
Mike Davis / Jackson Jeffreys – Davis 9-2
Ron Park / Nathan Pulkingham – Park 9-6
Shannon Daulton / Larry Nevel – Nevel 9-6
Mike Fuller / Jeff Pruitt – Pruitt 9-8
One-loss side:
Jay Jeffries / Younger Chapman – Chapman 9-6
Eddie Little / Christy Norris – Little 9-8
Tony Morrison / Brian Overman – Morrison 9-5
Shawn Ray / Michael Pate – Ray 9-8
A total of three double-hill thrillers, who could ask for more!
The winners side of the field saw an already decorated tour member, Larry Nevel, continue his reign with wins over Jeff Pruitt 9-3, and Mike Davis (Davis defeated Ron Park 9-4 to get to Nevel) for the hot-seat to wait for his opponent in the final round. That opponent ended up being the one man that Nevel continues to run into over and over, Shannon Daulton.
On the one-loss side after his initial loss to Nevel of 9-6, Daulton went on to defeat Younger Chapman 9-6, Mike Fuller 9-7, Ron Park 9-4, and ultimately Mike Davis in the semis 9-6. Davis held the lead at one point 6-5, but was unable to hold off Daulton for the win causing Davis to settle for third place and Daulton to move on to battle it out with Nevel yet again, but this time with a deficit of two sets to overcome for the win. Unfortunately for Daulton, Nevel was spot on and did not leave the door open for Daulton to walk in this weekend. Congratulations to Larry Nevel for another fine finish and for taking the title of The Sanford Open Champion.
Other honorary mentions on the one-loss side of the chart included, Tony Morrison's victories over Jackson Jeffries 9-2, Nathan Pulkingham (Pulkingham defeated Shawn Ray 9-7 just prior to this match), and in the quarters, stole the win from Jeff Pruitt 9-2.
Congratulations also to 9th-12th finishers Younger Chapman, Eddie Little, Jackson Jeffreys, and Shawn Ray. Trailing immediately behind was top woman, Christy Norris, toughing it out with the men and earning $50 for her 13th-16th place finish.
The tour will head to Breakers Sports Bar and Grill in Knoxville, Tennessee, the weekend of May 17th-18th for their next $1500 added event. For more information on the tour or its upcoming events, contact Shannon Daulton directly at (865) 850-4572.
