Waltrip in Paradise After BCA Qualifier Win

by Harrison Todd

 The final qualifier for the Men's BCA Open 9-Ball tournament was held March 26-27 at Paradise Pool & Billiards in Corpus Christi, TX.  A strong field of 36 players competed for the qualifier, but it was the young Shayne Waltrip who took home the win.

The 25-year-old Waltrip is a five-time former BCA Junior National participant and a two-time Corpus Christi city champion.  Now married and working fulltime, pool has taken a back seat in his life, but o­ne wouldn't have been able to tell as he ran through the field undefeated. 

In three Saturday matches, Waltrip dropped just nine total games, as he earned wins over Hector Benavidez, Robert Perez, and Bill Fuller.  o­n Sunday, he bested Russell Killgo 9-7 to set up the hot seat match with Sherman, TX, native J.P. Kinman. 

Kinman came through the winners' bracket with four decisive wins, but Waltrip was too strong, as he came out ahead with a 9-6 win.  Kinman took his game to the semifinals to face Shane Evans, whom he had bested in their second-round match.  Evans, too, was o­n a roll, ousting Shane Hvamstad and Killgo to advance to the semis.  However, Kinman dominated the match, cruising to a 9-4 victory to earn a return trip to the finals. 

In the finals, both Waltrip and Kinman knew what the stakes were-paid entry into May's BCA Nationals in Las Vegas, NV, and a $500 travel allowance.  The race-to-9, alternating-break final started off in Kinman's favor, as he built an early 3-1 lead.  After Waltrip tallied another win, Kinman notched two of his own, the latter with a jump-carom o­n the 9 ball to extend his lead to 5-2. 

Waltrip was down but not out, countering with three straight wins to tie the match up.  After trading the next two games, Waltrip caught fire, getting two more games to reach the hill at 8-6.  In the following game, both players traded a few early safes, but in the end, Waltrip was able to run out, earning the 9-6 victory.  

Results:
1st Shayne Waltrip
2nd J.P. Kinman
3rd Shane Evans
4th Russell Killgo
5th Shane Hvamstad, Bill Kester
7th Daniel Coffman, Ray Tyler
9th James Bissol, Bill Hyde, Bill Fuller, Doug Winnett
13th David Christal, John Villarreal, Gilbert Rojas, Hector Benavidez
 

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