Robert South held off a strong, one-loss side challenge by Henry Cofer to win the second set of a true double elimination final and capture the first place prize in the Great Southern Billiard Tour stop on the weekend of January 9-10. The $1,500-added amateur event drew 64 competitors to The POOL Room in Duluth, GA.
South got into the hot seat from among the winners' side final four by defeating Denny Singletary 7-4 and then surviving a hill-hill struggle against Horace Goodwin. Goodwin had sent Chad Rowal west 11-4.
Cofer, in the meantime, who'd been sent west by young Adam Pendley 11-5 in the third round, was on a seven-win march to the finals. Moving among the event's final 12 players, he got by Benny Conway, Jr. 7-7 (Conway had to get to 11) and Jeff Hooks 7-6 (Hooks had to get to 9) for the right to meet Singletary. It was Mike Basha, following victories over Pendley 7-6 and a double hill battle against Randy Jordan, who was there to meet Rowal. Rowal survived a hill-hill struggle against Basha to get into the quarterfinals, and with Singletary needing to reach 9 games, Cofer joined Rowal with a 7-6 win. Cofer then dropped Rowal into fourth place 7-5 and defeated Goodwin 7-4 in the semifinals.
With six in a row under his belt, and two, straight-up matches to seven games on tap, Cofer took the opening set of the true double elimination final 7-2. South, though, rallied to take the second set 7-4 and took home the first place prize.
