Sakai Seals the Deal By Bill Rosenberger Miyuki Sakai's undefeated weekend at Mr. Cues II in Atlanta, GA, and Traci Hines' third-place finish left both players within three points of reaching new heights in the professional ranks. The ladies are two of the top players on the Seal Tour and proved on October 16-17 they're ready for the next level. The Seal Tour's Tournament director Mike Blomgren says that both ladies will be on the pro tour within a few months. For this weekend, though, they belonged to Atlanta. The two highly competitive ladies were lucky enough to meet in the second round on Saturday and displayed the skills they needed on the table. Sakai jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Hines came back to win four straight for the 4-3 lead. After Sakai tied it at 4-all, Hines jumped ahead two games. But Sakai could not be stopped, and she took three in a row for the 7-4 win. Sunday's matches were intense, but nothing compared to this second-round match. Sakai would meet up with Ellen Van Buren in the hot seat, and the match would stay close, as the ladies traded games back and forth. Eventually, Sakai jumped ahead and won 7-5. Van Buren headed to the one-loss side to face Hines, who had worked her way to the semifinals. But on this night, Hines would not have the chance to avenge her loss to Sakai. Van Buren was up early and often and cruised to a 7-4 win. Sakai must have been relaxing while she waited for her finals oppoent, because she showed no signs of fatigue in her rematch with Van Buren. The closest Sakai let her get was 5-1, as she easily polished off her undefeated weekend, winning 9-4.
Results: 1st Miyuki Sakai $405 2nd Ellen Van Buren $316 3rd Traci Hines 4th Betty Sessions 5th Rebecca Wagner, Lisa O'Boyle 7th Kim Whitman, Angel Starr Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the sport of billiards and pool.
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