The SBE Predator Open 10-Ball event is one of those rare instances where everyone is not talking about the winner. The buzz on this event is all about the second-place finisher, Tommy Kennedy. Shane Van Boening won the event in the end, but it was Kennedy who kept setting off hand grenades throughout the brackets.
Van Boening was in the top bracket while Kennedy was in the bottom bracket, so they could not meet until way out at the end of the charts. Van Boening, fairly predictably, took down Robert Lewis and Alan Duty before the wood he was chopping got thick. It was then that he had to take on and defeat first Shawn Wilkie and then Dennis Hatch.
Van Boening then had to take on a tough-shooting Warren Kiamco. KIamco had already beaten Rob Hart, Jason Klatt, Oscar Dominguez and Rodney Morris, so he was ready for the fight. But Van Boening took him down and then went to do battle for the hot seat against Tommy Kennedy. And that is when he lost.
Tommy Kennedy had served notice two days prior when he defeated Johnny Archer. This was a rematch of his U.S Open win and Kennedy just shot the lights out to send Archer left. And Kennedy was only beginning to massacre the giants. He took down Mika Immonen next and then defeated Ralf Souquet to earn the right to face Van Boening for the hot seat. And he won that match to stand alone at the end of the winner’s bracket.
Van Boening had to go earn his right to be in the finals. Earl Strickland and Oscar Dominguez first fought for the right to play the last left-hand match. Strickland took that match-up to finish Dominquez in fourth place. But he could not handle Van Boening and Van Boening beat him to earn his seat on the final stage.
This time Van Boening would not be denied. He calmly played his normal, steady game and took the Pro Players Championship and the $10,000 first place money while Kennedy had to settle for second and the $5,000 that accompanied his trophy.
