Comeback by Cruz Earns Delray Open Championship

Making a comeback from the west side of the chart, Mario Cruz gave Richard Broumpton his first and o­nly defeat of the day to take first place at World Famous Sports Cafe & Billiards in Delray Beach, FL, where the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball tour made its thirteenth stop.   The $1,000-added event drew a total of 47 players to the Sunshine State o­n August 28-29, 2004.

After an earlier defeat, Cruz was sent to the o­ne-loss side where he faced Tommy "The Gun" Kennedy in the match for fourth place.  Cruz shot past his opponent to take that win 9-4.  Waiting for the outcome of the hot seat match, where Broumpton and Claude Merrier were locked in a tight battle, Cruz knew o­ne of the men would be his adversary in his bid for the spot in the finals.  After some tough play, Broumpton proved he was the o­ne to beat by taking the hot seat 9-7 over Merrier.  Moving to the o­ne-loss side, Merrier was defeated again by the same 9-7 score, o­nly this time it was Cruz dealing the defeat.

The final match was a single race-to-11, and still hot from his win in the semifinal match, Cruz took the lead early.  It was a tough battle, with Broumpton coming back o­n Cruz, but he couldn't stop his opponent.  Cruz took the win with an 11-8 final decision.

Results:
1st Mario Cruz $705
2nd Richard Broumpton $450
3rd Claude Merrier $350
4th Tom Kennedy $250
5th Ron Park, Marek Darek $150
7th John Ditoro, Tony (the sniper)Crosby $100
9th Tony Smith, Ed Kiess, Paul Lordi, Eric Barkley $70

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.