Robb Saez
A week ago, in Decatur, AL, Robb Saez won five matches on the loss-side, only to be denied by Justin Bergman in the finals of the River City Open. This week, from January 15-19, Saez was in Madison, TN for the 27th Annual Music City Open, and opted for the winners' side route to the finals. He stopped a seven-match, loss-side winning streak by Johnny Archer to claim the event title. The $6,000-added Open event drew 105 entrants to JOB Billiards in Madison, TN, while a concurrently-run, $1,000-added Ladies event, won by Brittany Bryant (separate story), drew 48 entrants.
A 16-entrant, single-elimination Midnight Madness event, held on Saturday night, saw Corey Deuel down Bobby McGrath in the finals to take the $4,800, first-place prize. Deuel had opened his Midnight Madness run with a victory over Johnny Archer, while McGrath, who collected $3,200 as the runner-up, defeated Robb Saez in one of the semifinals.
In the main event, while Archer was working his way back on the loss side, Saez advanced among the winners' side final four for a match against Deuel. Shane McMinn squared off against Danny Smith in the other winners' side semifinal. Saez downed Deuel 11-7, and in the hot seat match, met McMinn, who'd sent Smith to the loss side 11-8. Saez got into the hot seat 11-8 over McMinn, and watched Archer, as he fought back to meet him in the finals.
It was Deuel who had the misfortune of running into Archer on the loss side. Archer had four wins already, including an 11-7 victory over Nick Hickerson and an 11-5 win over Chuck Raulston. Smith drew Josh O'Neal, who'd sent Archer to the loss side and then, had himself been sent over by Saez. O'Neal picked up a forfeit win from the only female in the Open event, Brittany Bryant (a conflict with her participation in the Ladies event), and had eliminated Mike Dechaine 11-8.
O'Neal survived a double hill match against Smith to earn a himself a re-match against Archer, who'd eliminated Deuel 11-9. Archer got the best of the re-match, downing O'Neal 11-4, and then, defeated McMinn in the semifinals 11-7; Archer had taken an 8-0 lead in that semifinal match, before McMinn rallied to win seven of the final 10.
In the double elimination finals, Saez and Archer battled back and forth through to a tie at 6-6. Saez won four straight to reach the hill, but came up empty on the 17th rack, allowing Archer to clear the table. Archer made it 10-8 with a 7-9 combo, as the room buzzed with 'here comes Johnny' energy. Saez completed his undefeated run, winning the 19th rack and claiming the event title.
