Keith McCready said about the match, "The first set, he had me 6 to nothing, and I started coming at him.  He played a little lucky in a couple spots.  I managed to get to 7 games, with Earl o­n the hill, but I missed a 2-4 combo, a pretty easy shot, trying to play shape.  The ball hung in the pocket, and the kid won the first set, 9 to 8.  The second set, it was close all the way.  He had me in front again -- and I was charging again -- and  I got it to 8-8 (hill-hill), with me breaking.  I broke the balls perfect, pocketing a ball o­n the break.  The cue ball came to a stop in the middle of the table.  I was already lining up my shots for the run and could taste the second set, as I had to beat him twice from the losers'  bracket.  Then, it was like a nightmare as the 3-ball, appearing out of nowhere, slammed into the side rail hard.  I stood back and knew my fate when the 3-ball headed straight for the cue ball, throwing it into the side pocket for a scratch, giving Earl ball in hand.  The o­nly thing I could do was sit down and watch as Earl proceeded to live up to his name and run the rack for the win.  Earl was a pleasure to play with, and he was actually a little bit more relaxed playing me than he was playing his other opponents, which is a plus.  Mike Zuglan and Joe Tucker, who run the Joss Tour, ran a very superb tournament again, as usual.  Rich Warren, the manager of Classic Billiards in Rochester, New York, and the owner, Jackie, were the perfect hosts, making sure that ALL of the pool players were well treated and comfortable."

Earl Strickland is scheduled to arrive in Calgary o­n April 14 to compete in the upcoming Western Canadian Open 9-Ball Championships.

1st Earl Strickland

2nd Keith McCready

3rd Alex Pagulayan

4th Santos Sambajon, Jr.