Hampton Ridge Wraps Up Season with Dramatic Finish

By Bill Rosenberger

The Hampton Ridge 9-Ball Tour wrapped up its 2004 season o­n December 4-5 at Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA.  Fans and players alike could not have anticipated the exciting play that took place o­n Sunday that led to Frankie Hernandez's amazing win.

After the first day of play, Matt Krah was the clear front-runner, especially with an early-round win over Hernandez 9-6.  Krah was again flying through the field until he ran into Lee Holt.  Holt didn't really control the table; rather, his breaks propelled him to a 9-5 win, with four of them sinking the 9 ball.  

In the o­ne-loss bracket, Hernandez was quietly staging his own comeback.  In the match to determine fifth place, Josh Brothers took an 8-6 lead and had the break against Hernandez.  But Brothers missed the 3 ball and was unable to regain control, as Hernandez came back for the 9-8 win.

In the other fifth/sixth place match, an ailing Eddie Abraham faced Krah.  Abraham, who recently had back surgery, pulled his back in the prior match, which he won over Bob Maidhof.  Tournament director Jose Burgos asked Abraham if he wanted to forfeit against Krah, but Abraham wanted no part of it.  "He said he wasn't a quitter, and that he'd finish the match," said Burgos.  Although his effort was valiant, Krah took the win 9-5.

Next up for Krah was a rematch with Hernandez, and it looked like this was the end of the line for Hernandez.  Down 5-0, though, he took over the match and ran out all of his racks and most of Krah's, winning 9-5. 

In the hot seat, Phil Sherman faced Lee Holt, and Holt held the lead the entire match for a 9-6 win.  Sherman and Hernandez then faced off in the semifinals, and for the second straight match, Hernandez was facing a deficit.  But down 4-0, he pulled it together and came back to win 9-6.

Early o­n in the final match, it was anyone's to take.  Holt grabbed an early 2-1 lead, but Hernandez strung together five straight racks to take a 6-2 lead.  After Holt won the next game, Hernandez won four in a row to get to 10-3.  Holt managed three straight racks, but it was just too much to overcome as Hernandez not o­nly took an 11-6 win but also $1,500 and a paid entry in the 2005 U.S. Open.  Since Hernandez already has a sponsorship to get into the Open, he was awarded the $500 that would have been spent o­n the entry fee.

Burgos and the Hampton Ridge Tour made sure that all 35 of the finale's players went home happy.  Not o­nly did they pay out 12 spots, but the 23 people who didn't finish in the money were given Hampton Ridge Cues for their participation.  And thanks to all the sponsors, including Hampton Ridge Billiards, InsidePOOL Magazine, and Mike Mosley Insurance, the tops points leaders were all awarded slots into some major events.  Brothers earned a Sledgehammer Cue and a slot into the pro 9-ball division of Allen Hopkins' Super Billiards Expo at Valley Forge in March for finishing first, while Krah, who earned second place, gets an entry into any open event and is leaning toward the U.S. Open or Valley Forge.

This season's success will also help Burgos raise the bar next year, when the top points finisher gets a paid entry into the 2006 Skins Billiards Championship. 

Results:

1st Frankie Hernandez $1,500 + $500 U.S. Open entry

2nd Lee Holt $800

3rd Phil Sherman $500

4th Matt Krah $400

5th Josh Brothers, Eddie Abraham $350

7th Brandon Sluzalis, Bob Maidhof $300

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