Danny Hewitt took the long way home but arrived ahead of them all. Hewitt lost his first-round match in the Stan James Canadian Nine Ball Tour event this weekend held at Dooly's Billiards in Valleyfield, Quebec, but went all the way through the one-loss side of the charts to face an undefeated Jeff Kennedy. When he bested Kennedy 11-6 he claimed the title and was finally able to relax after two tough days.
For his part, Jeff Kennedy had an excellent event only to fall just short of his goal. In his last three matches he took on and bested Alain Martel, Erik Hjorliefson and Alain Robidoux. But Hewitt was not to be denied. Even though Kennedy took an early 6-3 lead, Hewitt had the grit to deny him any more racks and swept the rest of the set to grab the crown.
Players came from as far away as Edmonton, Alberta to compete in this tour stop. They are all in quest of not only the title here but the year-long points battle as well. The two point leaders at the end of the year will gain access to the WPA World 9-Ball Championship as well as the World Cup of pool and the Canadian National Championships. After this event Alain Martel is our new points leader.
Martel came in fourth in this event, just behind Alain Robidoux in third and ahead of Roger Colbert and Erik Hjorliefson in fifth. It is Martel's consistency that has hurtled him into the points lead. This is his second top four finish in two events. With three of the six events on the schedule now complete Martel is only halfway home and there will be many cueists looking to knock him off his perch during the next three stops.
