Matlock Can't be Stopped

By Bill Rosenberger

It seems that when David Matlock is involved in a 9-ball tournament, the rest of the field's chances drop out of sight.  Matlock secured yet another regional tour win o­n the McDermott 9-Ball Tour at Side Pockets-North in Kansas City, MO, o­n Sunday, October 10, 2004.

Although the field was limited because the Nascar race was also in town, at least half of the 22 men were top-notch players, according to tournament director Harvey Hibner.  Matlock, along with Gene Albrecht, Jeff Napp, and Chuck Rolsten, competed heartily in a tough event that included some surprise finishers.  James Doran, owner of Side Pockets, and Gary Seville played extremely well to finish tied for fifth. 

However, the night, like many others, belonged to Matlock.  The hot seat match featured the young and talented Rolsten versus an older and wiser Matlock.  Rolsten proved throughout the tournament and during the match that he was there to play, but Matlock's experience was too much as he took his 6-3 lead to a 9-5 win.

Rolsten then moved to the semifinals to play Albrecht, who was still stinging from his loss to Rolsten just two matches earlier.  In that match, Albrecht was up 5-1, but Rolsten came storming back to win 9-6.  This time, though, would be different.  Down 6-4 to Rolsten, Albrecht strung together five wins in six games for the 9-7 semifinal victory and a trip to the final. 

Albrecht jumped out early o­n Matlock 5-3, but Hibner said that Matlock did what he does best.  "Dave made no mistakes and just controlled the match," said the TD.  Matlock rolled off six consecutive wins for a 9-5 victory and a $780 payout.

There was also a women's 8-ball division at this event, and Caroline Ortie came back from a hot seat loss to best Becky Smith for the victory. 

Ortie had lost to Smith 5-3 in the hot seat, but she pulled out a 5-4 semifinal victory against Angela Petitt in a match that went hill-hill to return for the rematch. 

In a true double-elimination final, Smith quickly jumped out to a 4-3 lead and was an 8 ball away from winning the tournament.  However, Smith missed a straight shot and could never recover.  Ortie won the first match 5-4, then followed with a 5-0 sweep for the first place finish and $250.  Smith took home $160 with her second place finish, and Angela Petitt netted $100 for finishing third.

Men's Results:
1st David Matlock $780
2nd Gene Albrecht $510
3rd Chuck Rolsten $330
4th Jeff Napp $165
5th James Doran, Gary Seville $70