In a nail-biting, double elimination final, Danny Smith put a cap on a nine-match, loss-side winning streak by defeating hot seat occupant Justin Hall, twice, double hill, to win the $1,000-added, 18th semi-annual White Diamond 9-Ball Open, held on the weekend of April 1-3. The event drew 128 entrants to White Diamond Billiards in Lafayette, LA.
Smith was cruising along on the winners' side, defeating his first two opponents - Tom Mooney and Corey Borque - by an aggregate score of 14-2 (Mooney chalked up the two). Then he ran into Alex Pagulayun, who sent him on his nine-match, loss-side trek back to the finals. Pagulayan then ran into Justin Hall, who sent him to the loss side 7-4, from which The Lion would not return.
Pagulayan wasn't alone. Included among the top competitors who never made it as far as the event's final 12 were Ronnie Wiseman, Josh Roberts, Robb Saez, James Davis, Jr. and Alex Olinger.
Hall advanced past Pagulayan to shut out Chip Compton, and face Kevin Guimond in a winners' side semifinal. Jimmy Majors, in the meantime, having sent (among others) Robb Saez to the loss side, and boasting an aggregate score of 35-9, faced Shane Winters. Hall sent Guimond to the loss side 7-2, and in the hot seat match, faced Majors, who'd sent Winters over 7-4. Hall took the winners' side final 7-4 over Majors, and waited on Danny Smith.
On the loss side, Smith launched his campaign to get back to the finals with victories over Mike Delawder, Ryan Robinson, Chris Miller and Evan Lunda, by an aggregate score of 28-9. He then defeated Ernesto Bayaua 7-2 and Chip Compton 7-5, to draw Winters. Guimond picked up Jason Klatt, who, having lost a double hill match to Winters, survived a double hill match versus Shane McMinn, and eliminated Kevin Cheng 7-3.
Smith and Klatt advanced to the quarterfinals; Smith, 7-4 over Winters, and Klatt, 7-3 over Guimond. Smith then shut Klatt out to advance to the semifinals against Majors. He downed Majors 7-4 for a shot at Hall in the hot seat. They played two straight, neck and neck matches to double hill. Smith won them both to claim the title.
