Unstoppable Eberle Takes First at Shooter’s

by InsidePOOL Staff

Max Eberle came away from Shooter’s in Riverside, CA, $3,000 richer for taking first place at the Fourth Annual Labor Day Tournament held September 4-5, 2004.  A total of 104 players showed up for the $5,000-added event, including the likes of Marshall Jung, Ismael “Morro” Paez, cue maker Fach Garcia, Oscar Domingez, and Ernesto Domingez, who is a two-time winner of this event.  There was a show of ladies as well, with Melissa Herndon, Stephanie Boch, and Melissa Morris among those who came out to play.

After the considerable field had whittled down to the last few, ACUI Champion Eberle met Sacramento’s Billy Palmer to determine who would land in the hot seat.  After the match began with a 2-2 tie, Eberle inadvertently snookered himself and was forced to use the mechanical bridge to attempt the 8-foot kick shot he would need to get around it.  Leaning far into the table, “Mad Dawg” executed the shot, kicking the ball right into the pocket.  “It was a miracle shot,” said Eberle.  “It set the tone for the match.”  Eberle stayed in the lead from there o­n out, but Palmer kept the heat o­n him.   Finally, with the score 8-6, Eberle was able to get the final rack o­n his side of the board to win the hot seat 9-6.

It was to the o­ne-loss side for Palmer, where strong, veteran Southern California player Arturo Rivera was waiting for him to play the semifinal match.  Galloping out to the lead, Rivera reached the hill first and had a comfortable 6-3 spread over Palmer.  Proving he wasn’t out of the tournament yet, Palmer took four racks to overcome his opponent to take the 7-6 win.

After a long, grueling day, the final match began late into the night, with Palmer and Eberle clashing until nearly 4 a.m.  Eberle jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but it did not take Palmer long before he had it tied up 2-all in the single race to 11.  Gaining the lead o­nce more, Hollywood Billiards house pro Eberle took the score to 7-2.  But just as in their hot seat match, Palmer was right there, breathing down his neck after closing the gap to trail Eberle by o­ne at 7-6.  Each player managed to take a couple more racks a piece, but Palmer just couldn’t stop Eberle, who went o­n to take the win with an 11-8 final decision.  “Billy Palmer was my toughest matches,” said Eberle.  Continuing, he said, “I’ve been coming in second lately.  It was nice to snap o­ne off.” 

Results:

1st Max Eberle

2nd Billy Palmer

3rd Arturo Rivera

4th Damien Allishan

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