McKeon Cracks Pechauer billiards Competition

Pechauer All-American Tour / Colorado Springs, CO
by InsidePOOL Staff
The fiftieth and final stop of the 2007/2008 Pechauer All-American Tour was hosted by Antique billiard Museum in Colorado Springs, CO, the weekend of May 3-4. The $1,000-added event featured a $5 entry and drew 72 players in a double-elimination 9-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes, with Jeff McKeon recovering from an early loss to take top honors.
Ruben Silva marched undefeated through his bracket to the finals, while McKeon, despite an earlier round 9-4 loss to Silva emerged from his bracket to the finals.

In the last eight, Jim Barber eliminated Mark Morgan 7-3, while Nick Smith dominated Adrian Ayala 7-1. Both Smith and Barber fell at fifth place in the next round at the hands of Nate Smith and Bobby Hibbetts, respectively. Hibbetts, whose only loss came at the hands of Silva earlier, kept his momentum by dumping Nate Smith at fourth place by a 7-2 margin. Hibbetts’ recovery ended on the hill in the next round, courtesy of a 7-6 loss to once-defeated McKeon. The final match was a single race to 11, and McKeon took a small lead over Silva and never looked back in his 11-7 title win.

Results:
1st Jeff McKeon
2nd Ruben Silva
3rd Bobby Hibbitts
4th Nate Smith
5th Jim Barber
Nick Smith
7th Mark Morgan
Adrian Ayala

Parke Takes Home billiards Title

Pechauer All-American Tour / Decatur, IL
by InsidePOOL Staff
Larry Parke took home first place on the April 19 stop of the Pechauer All-American Tour. Hosted by Brickhouse in Decatur, IL, this $500-added event drew a full 32-player field in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.
In the hot seat match, Parke outmaneuvered Max Stortzum 5-2. Earlier, in the A-bracket semifinals, Parke turned back Larry Miller 5-2, while Stortzum outgunned Craig Hauck 5-2. In the B-side round of 8, Mike Green eliminated Mike Durbin at seventh place, while Dave Carr also exited at seventh place via a loss to Josh Johnson 2-5. The B-side quarterfinals featured Hauck ousting Mike Green 5-2 and Johnson finishing off Larry Miller 5-2. Johnson survived the semifinals by clipping Hauck 5-4, and he continued his hot hand in the B-side finals over Stortzum 5-1 to get a crack at Parke in the finals. Johnson appeared to be on cruise control in the finals after whitewashing Parke 5-0 in the first set, but Parke recovered nicely in the deciding set to claim the title by a 5-3 margin.

Results:
1st Larry Parke
2nd Josh Johnson
3rd Max Stortzum
4th Craig Hauck
5th Mike Green
Larry Miller
7th Dave Carr
Mike Durbin

Nodine Takes Down Pechauer billiards Event

Pechauer All-American Tour / Chenoa, IL
by InsidePOOL Staff
Bob Nodine triumphed at the April 12 stop of the Pechauer All-American Tour, defeating Mike Dunklin in the final match. This $500-added event was hosted by Finish Line Food and Fun in Chenoa, IL, and drew 38 billiard players in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.
Nodine, out of Streator, IL, took an undefeated route to the finals. In the A-side finals, Nodine outmaneuvered Mike Dunklin 6-3. Earlier, in the A-bracket semis, Nodine dominated local Merle Stalter 6-2, while Dunklin overwhelmed Kassy Werner 6-1.
On the B-side Larry Miller got hot and defeated Tommy Hernandez 3-2, Daniel Hoefing 4-1, Bob Waugh 4-1, and Mike Sather 4-0 before being defeated by eventual third-placer Merle Stalter on the hill 4-3. Also on the B-side Danny Waldrop got on a roll, defeating players Vik Dalavaipalle 4-1, Dennis Rodgers 4-3, and Kassy Werner 4-2. Stalter then eliminated Waldrop at fourth place on the hill 4-3. In a B-side finals battle for the right to play Nodine for the tournament finals, Dunklin ousted Stalter by a 5-2 margin. In the first set of the finals, both players reached the hill at 4-4, but Nodine pulled out the deciding game for the title 5-4.
Results:
1st Bob Nodine
2nd Mike Dunklin
3rd Merle Stalter
4th Danny Waldrop
5th Kassy Werner
Larry Miller
7th Dennis Rodgers
Mike Sather
9th Steve Allee
Vik Dalavaipalle
Bob Waugh
Chris Esker

Atwell Takes Come-From-Behind Victory

Pechauer All-American Tour / Portland, OR
by Skip Maloney
Down 5-1 early in the final match against hot seat occupant Dan Louie, Glen Atwell came back to win the final 6 games to capture the $1,500-added Pechauer All-American Tour stop in Portland, OR, at the Nite Hawk. The event drew 48 players the weekend of April 12-13.
Louie easily captured the hot seat by defeating Damien Rebman 9-3, while Atwell started the tournament’s final day on the one-loss side of the bracket with a 9-0 shut-out victory over Jeff Heath. He went on to best Jessie Allred 9-7 and then deposited Bob Zack into a fifth-place tie with a 9-6 win. Now in full stride, Atwell advanced to the quarterfinals and played a close match with Allan Hanson, winning 9-7. In the semifinals Atwell took a 9-5 victory over Rebman. The final match was a close one at first, but when the score was knotted at 5 apiece, Louie took a 7-5 lead before Atwell settled in to capture the last 6 games for the victory.
Results:
1st Glen Atwell
2nd Dan Louie
3rd Damien Rebman
4th Allan Hanson
5th Bob Zack
Bob Olsen
7th Gary Crane
Jessie Allred
9th Kenny Dodd
Steve Lingelbach
Stan Tourangeau
Jeff Heath

Rodriquez Takes a Win in TucsonPechauer All-American Tour / Tucson, AZ

by InsidePOOL Staff
The March 29 stop of the Pechauer All-American Tour saw Ramon Rodriquez triumph in the final match over Angel Martinez, taking first place. This $1,000-added event, hosted by Main Street billiards in Tucson, AZ, drew 46 players in a double-elimination 9-ball format on 9-foot Gold Crowns.
Rodriquez moved unscathed to the finals. In the hot seat match, Rodriquez’s powerful break dominated Martinez by a 9-1 score. In the A-bracket semifinals earlier on, Rodriquez outpointed Rudy Alameda 9-7, while Martinez outgunned Frank Wright by the same 9-7 margin.
On the B-side, Zeb Crawford and Dave Collins tied at fifth place via losses to Alameda and Wright, respectively. Alameda overwhelmed Wright in the B-side semis to end his march at fourth place by a 7-1 margin. The B-side finals saw Alameda take a 4-0 lead, only to have Martinez record 7 straight games in his column to stop Alameda at third place 7-4. The single race-to-11 finals featured great play and many outstanding run-outs, but as with the hot seat match, Rodriquez prevailed 11-6 over Martinez for the crown.

Results:
1st Ramon Rodriquez
2nd Angel Martinez
3rd Rudy Alameda
4th Frank Wright
5th Zeb Crawford
Dave Collins
7th Chris Paradowski
Al Gaudett