Sweep Complete for Matlock

By Bill Rosenberger

Just a few years ago, the biggest names and tournaments went through Shooters in Olathe, KS, but recently, o­nly the small regional tours have called upon their services to host events.  o­n November 5-7, spectators at the McDermott Midwest Tour event would swear that Shooters was again hosting a professional tournament, as another talented field wowed the crowd and brought the city back to life.

Midwest favorite David Matlock led the way yet again, as last week's winner, Steve Rector, followed up his performance with a second-place finish.  Before the 9-ball event, though, the tour hosted a o­ne-pocket tournament that saw 13 players play late into Friday night. 

Matlock, Rick Garrison, and LA Mark-as he prefers to be called-were involved in the final matches of the night.  First, in the hot seat, LA Mark swept Matlock 3-0 to send him to face Garrison in the semifinals.  Garrison, a local favorite, was no match for Matlock, as he took the match 3-1. 

In the double-elimination final match, Matlock simply dominated and returned the favor to LA Mark by sweeping him 3-0 in the first set and winning 3-1 in the second for the $380 first-place prize.  LA Mark claimed $220 for second, while Garrison took home $70 for third.

After a night's rest, the anticipated 9-ball tournament started.  Again, the top names emerged to meet in Sunday's final matches, with Matlock leading the way.  In the hot seat, he met Rector, who had ousted him in last week's final match.  Matlock didn't waste any time as he dominated the table 9-3. 

Rector headed to the semifinals to face Gary Serville in o­ne of the best matches of the tournament.  Serville jumped ahead with an early 5-1 lead, but Rector got in his groove and strung together six straight wins for a 7-5 lead.  Tournament director Harvey Hibner said that Rector played great defense just as much as he did offense.  "Steve started to get his breaks going and he took the lead.  He wasn't breaking and running-he just wasn't leaving Gary any offensive opportunities."

The two battled back and forth to get the match to the hill.  Serville broke, and the 9 ball rolled right up to the pocket but didn't fall.  He didn't have any good combination shots to try to sink it, so he played a safe.  Rector, though, played aggressive, and a few shots later, he sank the 9 for the win to earn a spot in the finals.

Spectators packed around the table to watch the double-elimination finals between Rector and Matlock.  In the first set, Matlock went up 3-0, and it looked as though he was going to breeze through the match, but Rector never backed down, storming back to win 9-4.  In the winner-take-all second set, Rector quickly went up 2-0.  The two battled back and forth, and Matlock went up 7-6.  Rector broke and ran the next match to tie it at 7-all, and then the match escalated.  In the following rack, Rector broke and sank six balls, not including the 9.  He didn't have a smooth combination shot, so he took the 2 ball.  He missed the next shot, and Matlock made the last two balls for an 8-7 lead. 

In the sixteenth rack, Rector bounced back to put the match o­n the hill.  Both Matlock and Rector played tough defense, and neither player could get their offense going.  After trading safes, Rector played defensively and left the cue ball hiding.  Matlock came to the table and fired the shot, making the ball o­n the cross-corner bank.  After that, he ran out the rack to take home another first-place finish.

Results:
1st David Matlock $1,010
2nd Steve Rector $790
3rd Gary Serville $635
4th Johnny Robertson $495
 

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the McDermott Midwest Tour.