Friedhofen Completes Weekend Sweep

By Bill Rosenberger

Andy Friedhofen completed his undefeated weekend in Tulsa, OK, o­n the Midwest 9-Ball Tour.  He took the o­ne-pocket tournament the day before against Brian Jones and then continued his successes by sweeping through the 9-ball side o­n October 16-17.   

The Tulsa Billiard Palace, open 24 hours a day, brings in many of the skilled players from Tulsa, and this weekend was no different.  However, the strong field of 77 was unable to stop the hottest player in town.

Friedhofen breezed to the hot seat, where he met Shane McMinn.  The match was even early o­n, but Friedhofen took over and sent McMinn to the left side 9-5. 

In the semifinals, McMinn faced Darren Everett, and after the first few games, it looked like it would be a very close match.  McMinn and Everett both broke and ran the first three racks, with McMinn up 2-1.  After that, McMinn ran all but o­ne of his breaks and most of Everett's for the 9-2 win.

The rematch was set in the finals, but McMinn would have to win two sets against Friedhofen.  In the first set, with the score tied at 5-all, McMinn stayed hot and ran the final racks to win 9-6.  He kept control of the second set and went up 6-3.  Friedhofen took advantage of a mistake and ran out to get within two.  They traded games back and forth to put the score at 7-5, and Friedhofen took control of the table.  He broke and ran to take an 8-7 lead and ran out the final game after McMinn failed to pocket a ball o­n the break. 

With Friedhofen's 9-7 victory over McMinn, his first-place winnings from his four days of first-class pocket billiards left him with $2,300.  Tournament director Evelyn Dysart said that no o­ne has won both events and gone undefeated before.  Friedman, along with U.S. Open Champion Gabe Owen, is now o­ne of the hottest young players in Tulsa and is continuing to improve everyday.

9-Ball Results:

1st Andy Friedhofen $1,600

2nd Shane McMinn $1,100

3rd Darren Everett $800

4th Chen Lee $500

5th Jeff Melton, Josh Johnson $300

7th Chase Rudder, Charlie Brown $250

9th Harvey Click, Ralph Cortez, Ray Amaro, Billy Dyke $150