Chau Time at the John T. Wright Memorial Tournament

By Bill Rosenberger
 
The Viking Cue Open 9-Ball Tour sponsored the John T. Wright Memorial Tournament at Quentin Corner Pocket in Palatine, IL, o­n December 18-19, 2004.  Fifty-one players, many of whom knew John, entered the event not o­nly to pay tribute but to compete against the area's top performers.

Manuel Chau, who took the last Viking event at Quentin Corner Pocket, fell o­n Day 1 to Neal Jacobs but battled back to be right in the thick of things as the tournament came to a close.  Danny Jokhul, an Englishman and the o­nly player not from the area, played a great tournament, advancing to the hot seat match against Tom Spencer.  Jokhul pulled out the win over Spencer, sending him to the o­ne-loss side to face Chau.

Chau had gotten to the semifinals with wins over Jacobs and Hernandez, and he didn't let up against Spencer, ousting him and advancing to the finals. 

The double-elimination finals set up to be a tight match between Jokhul, who had dominated throughout the weekend, and Chau, who was two sets away from a hard-fought comeback.  The first set was all Chau, as he easily won 7-1.  The second set was tighter, but Chau was able to complete the sweep with a 7-4 win.

"He [Manuel] got out when he had to get out and won," commented Jacobs o­n Chau's comeback win.
 
Results:
1st Manuel Chau $720
2nd Danny Jokhul $500
3rd Tom Spencer $300
4th Gil Hernandez $200
5th Neal Jacobs, Tom Karabotsos $100
7th Willie Munson, Chuck Ferrara $80

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