Hillbilly Rolls in Viking Regional Championship

By Bill Rosenberger

When the Viking Cue Open 9-Ball Tour moved its regional championship to the larger Pool Room in Marietta, GA, they definitely made the right move.  The February 26-27 event drew a full field of 128 players, and they made full use of the 36 tables at the venue.

The field included top amateur players B.J. Ussery and Bruce Berrong, as well as some UPA and WPBA touring pros.  Helena Thornfeldt and Monica Webb joined the field, as did Earl Strickland, John Schmidt, and Charlie "Hillbilly" Bryant. 

Both Webb and Thornfeldt played well throughout the event, advancing to Sunday with undefeated records.  However, they were late getting to the poolroom and had to forfeit their opening matches, but they're talented play still earned both of them a seventeenth-place finish. 

As the day progressed, four players that might usually be found in the final few matches all finished in the same round.  Strickland, Schmidt, Berrong, and Jim Jennings all finished in ninth place with payouts of $475.

Sunday night's action featured four other tough competitors, with Bryant and Brian Butler facing off in the hot seat, while Ussery and David Broxson did battle in the quarterfinals.  Both matches turned out to be lashings, as Bryant won 9-2 and Broxson earned a 7-1 victory.

Broxson and Butler faced off in the semifinals, with Bryant waiting in the wings for a final-match opponent.  Both players showed extreme resiliency, but in the end, it was Butler earning the 7-4 win to reach the finals.

In the double-elimination finals, both Bryant and Butler were ready for the long and grueling match.  The first set was close from the o­nset, as they traded games back and forth.  In the end, Butler ran away with it for the 9-6 win, but it was the first and last time any opponent put up six games against Bryant.  ]

In the second set, Bryant regained the momentum, racing to a 4-0 lead.  But Butler didn't give in, winning two games in a row to cut the lead in half.  However, Bryant played solid, taking the next six games to reach the hill, and after Butler tallied two more wins, "Hillbilly" closed it out for his first victory of 2005.

"I played solid, but it wasn't my best," Bryant said.  "I'm real happy to get my first win [of the year] under my belt."

Results:

1st Charlie Bryant $5,490

2nd Brian Butler $3,850

3rd David Broxson $2,700

4th B. J. Ussery $1,800

5th Steve Moore, Brian Capps $1,100

7th Ronnie Park, Paul Song $750

9th Bruce Berrong, John Schmidt, Earl Strickland, Jim Jennings $475

13th Todd Drake, Aaron Frady, Dave Maddux, Robert South $300

17th Mark Gregory, Jeff Abernathy, Jerry Grooms, Helena Thornfeldt, Patrick Brown, Scott Lewis, Horace Godwin, Monica Webb $200

25th Rick Howard, Billy Tyler, Joe Tucker, Paul Turner, Billy Bailey, Ed Pope, Joe Rossman, Chuck Dorsett $100

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