Fast Eddie's Outdone By Sharp Gutierrez

A mighty field of 46 filled up Fast Eddie's o­n October 9-10, but thanks to his great play, David Gutierrez was the last man standing.  The weekend tournament, the tenth of the season for the Fast Eddie's 9-Ball Tour, boasted such players at Charlie Bryant, Danny Almaraz, and James Davis Sr.

It didn't matter to Gutierrez who was there or who his competition was.  Everyone else, though, was there to compete for the hefty prize.  They just didn't know how much of a force they were up against.

Davis was sent packing to the west side in his first match by Beto Cavazos, but he battled back with four straight wins to reach the quarterfinals.  His opponent was Charlie "Hillbilly" Bryant, who had traveled his own path to the semifinals.  He, too, had won four consecutive matches but ran into Gutierrez, who outlasted him in a tough match 9-6.

After Gutierrez bested Bryant, he faced Almaraz in the hot seat.  All of Almaraz's matches were close and down to the wire, starting with a 9-6 win over Neil Kahn, then two 9-7 wins over Eduardo Ramirez and Lewis Jones, and finally a hill-hill victory over Charlie Mora.  However, he ran out of gas against Gutierrez, who won easily 9-2.   

Meanwhile, Bryant and Davis slugged it out in the quarterfinals, but Bryant had a better stroke, winning 7-3.

In the semifinal match, Almaraz dug deep inside himself and found the strength to string together seven wins and best Bryant 7-2.  If Almaraz were to come back and win the tournament, he'd have to win two straight sets against Gutierrez in the rematch.  In the end, he was no match for his opponent, and Gutierrez won 9-3.
 
Results:
1st David Gutierrez $2,650
2nd Danny Almaraz $1,775
3rd Charlie Bryant $1,000
4th James Davis Sr. $540
5th Charlie Mora, Ralph Cortez $285
7th Corey Anderson, Lewis Jones $120
9th Beto Cavazos, Jui Lung Chen, Ted Dean, Steve Smith $80