The determined look o­n the Youngstown, OH pro’s face spelled trouble for the field of 83 men and 3 ladies, the largest of the young season for the tour, as he warmed up for the semi-annual Pittsburgh event at Mr. Pockets o­n March 2-3. He wasn’t the o­nly strong player in the field as he was joined by pro player Troy Frank, Robb Saez from the Joss 9-Ball Tour, Lyn Wechsler from the Joss Tour, Don Steele of nearby Greensburg, PA from the Senior Tour, and several past Viking event winner’s from Southwestern PA including Brian Mahan, Bill McCollim and Sean Graham. The $4,440 purse was o­ne of the highest ever recorded at a Pittsburgh Viking Tour event.

            Shawn Putnam and Sean Graham were the last two unbeaten players, and after the king seat match, won 7-5 by Putnam, he sat back to await his challenger. At the same time, Tom Purich of Sharon, PA, who had lost an earlier match to Putnam, was working his way through the loser’s bracket, beating o­ne fine player after another until facing Lyn Wechsler of New York state who he deposited in 4^th with another smooth stroking performance. Purich next faced Graham in the semis with Purich scoring a 7-4 win and a rematch with the intimidating Putnam. Shawn Putnam put o­n his usual display of power pool in the final, cruising to a 7-3 win and the $1,240 first prize.