In the hot seat match, Davis and Cliff Joyner of Rocky Mount, NC, traded games until Joyner pulled ahead 7-5.  Davis, who was having troubles making balls o­n the break, managed to win the next three to take the hill.  He made nothing o­n his next break, but when Joyner missed the 4 ball, Davis ran the remaining balls and sent Joyner to meet Sambajon in the o­ne-loss side.

Before the match began, Master of Ceremonies Scott Smith kept the audience entertained with his good-natured banter with Joyner regarding some of his past triumphs in the back room.  Sambajon and Joyner stayed close until a scratch o­n the 5 by Joyner with the score at 4 apiece gave Sambajon the edge.  He won that game and the next two.  He reached the hill o­nly to watch Joyner stage a comeback to bring the score to 8-7, but when Joyner scratched o­n the break in the last rack, Sambajon played a nice out to win the match 9-7.

The finals were true double elimination, so if Sambajon were to win the title and the first-place prize, he would have to beat Davis twice.  Davis, who has been playing seriously for the past 11 years or so, has really made an impact in 2003 and shows no signs of stopping.  The heart and mental fortitude he displayed in the final match were enviable.  He took a 3-1 lead over his opponent, who quickly turned the tables and brought the score to 6-3 Sambajon.  Still troubled with his break, Davis faltered, and Sambajon reached the hill after another break-and-run with Davis at 5.  A couple of key missed by Sambajon, coupled with some excellent play by Davis, made it a hill-hill match.  When he made the 6 ball o­n the last break, it was over – he ran the rest of the rack out like a champion to win the first professional tournament of his career.

Results:

1st Mike Davis $12,000

2nd Santos Sambajon, Jr. $6,500

3rd Cliff Joyner $3,600

4th Max Eberle $2,500

5th John Schmidt, Johnny Archer $2,000

7th Tony Annigoni, Jeremy Jones $1,500

9th Troy Frank, Ralf Souquet, Jose Parica, Arturo Rivera $1,100

13th George Michaels, Louis Ulrich, Scott Frost, Jimmy Mendoza $700

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