B.J Ussery added to his list of wins this season with an undefeated run at the Fury Carolina Amateur finale held at Babineau's Billiards in Raleigh, NC on December 4th, 2004.
Ussery wasn't the only winner this weekend though. Over $2500 in cash from the tour and merchandise from the title sponsor, Sterling Gaming promoter of Fury Cues, was given out to the top eight players on the points list before the tournament began. Points list winners were: 1st Robert Ray, 2nd Johnny Griffin, 3rd John Carson, 4th Billy Ethridge, 5th Dale Russell, 6th Eddie Little, 7th Danny Truner, and 8th Morris Wood. The tour also welcomed back the 2003 tour champion, Larry Faulk, who placed 4th in this event.
Once the tournament began, Ussery ran into last stop's winner Robert Ray in the second round and edged by with a 7-6 win. This sent Ray to the left side to fight it out while Ussery continued through the winner's side. When he got to the hotseat match, Ussery wasn't slowing down and defeated points runner-up Johnny Griffin 7-4 to earn a spot in the finals.
This set up the semifinal between friends Griffin and Ray. Ray had fought this far from a second round loss and wasn't going to stop now so he shut out Griffin 5-0, leaving him in 3rd place. This topped off Ray's B side record at 30-13 and sent him on for a rematch in the finals against Ussery.
Ussery has played Ray in the finals before and didn't give him a chance to bring the score close this time. Ussery started the final with a break and run for the first rack, then received ball in hand for a run out in the second rack. Ussery proceeded to take the next four games, bringing the score to 6-0 out of the gate. Ray's only win came in the 7th game, but things were out of his hands at this point. At 8-1, Ray scratched on the break and conceded the final game to Ussery for a 9-1 victory.
The tour will return to Babineau's for its season opener on January 15, 2005. Babineau's, owned by Paul and Cindy Babineau, is one of the premier rooms in NC featuring well maintained tables, full food and drink menu, and a deserving fine reputation.
Results:
1st B.J. Ussery $610
2nd Robert Ray $355
3rd Johnny Griffin $255
4th Larry Faulk $130
