Betty Sessions
Betty Sessions stormed undefeated through the field of 42 ladies over the weekend of December 1-2 at Game Time Billiards in Greenville, South Carolina, to claim the top spot. The opponents she left in her wake included Michelle Davis (7-3), Cindy Davis (7-2), Kim Young (7-3), Tricia Barbisch (7-2), Kelly Willis (7-6), Tori Duncan (7-4), and, finally, Janet Atwell (7-1) in what was probably the shortest finals in the history of the SEAL Tour, lasting only 35 minutes, with Janet's only game coming from a 2-9 combo in the fifth rack.
Janet's road to the finals was quite a bit longer than usual. She began by defeating Anita Cravens (7-6) and Melissa Highfill (7-5) in two close matches, but lost her third match at the hands of Tricia Barbisch (4-7) to take an early trip to the one-loss side. She then had to get by Martha Hardison (7-4), Kim Young (7-5), Marcia Manuel (7-3), Margo Yoder (7-1), Kelly Willis (7-2), Tricia Barbisch in a rematch (7-2), and Tori Duncan (7-2) before meeting up with Betty Sessions who was waiting in the hot seat. Impressively, Janet has reached the finals in all three SEAL events so far this season, winning the first event, and she had her sights set on another tournament win before being stopped cold by 'The Storm.'
Finishing strongly in 3rd place, a personal best, was Tori Duncan, who is becoming quite a familiar face in Sunday's final 12. Adding to her 4th place finish at the first stop, she seemed to be on a mission as she bested Chasitity Purcell (7-3), Andrea Pridmore (7-2), Donna Wise (7-5), Marcia Manuel (7-4), and Lisa O'Boyle (7-1), making it all the way to winners bracket finals before losing to Betty (4-7) and then Janet (2-7). With her game reaching new heights, she is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Tricia Barbisch has created quite a stir in the past 2 events as well. Playing with newfound confidence after her first-ever tournament victory in last month's Second-Chance event, she began the weekend with wins over Jackie Corley (7-2) and Janet Atwell (7-4) (quite an accomplishment for even the best of us!), but then lost to Betty Sessions (2-7). Unfazed, she proceeded to the one-loss side to defeat Jessica Crooks (7-4), Suzanne Steinhauser (7-6), and Lisa O'Boyle (7-3), before losing her rematch with Janet (2-7) but ending with a very respectable 4th place finish.
Rounding out the top eight were Lisa O'Boyle and Kelly Willis in 5th/6th place and Suzanne Steinhauser and Margo Yoder in 7th/8th place.
Many thanks to Jimmy Hodges and all the staff at Game Time for their hospitality in hosting our event in their fine establishment. The Brunswick Gold Crown tables played great all weekend, and we very much appreciate their support of the SEAL Tour.
