Watson Smokin' in Charlotte

By Bill Rosenberger

Tony Watson and the Viking Tour host venue had a lot in common o­n Saturday, November 20.  Smokin' Cue Billiards is the name of the poolroom, and smokin' cue would describe Watson's hot stroke.

With wins over Robin Hill, Cletus O'Dell, Andre Edelman, and Steve Frail, Watson earned a berth in the hot seat match.  His opponent, Ron Park, had also had convincing victories over Scott Lewis, Bill Delk, Brian Capps, and Mike Janis.  Just as they had all day, Watson and Park battled down to the wire, but Watson took the hot seat with a 7-5 win.

Park was down but not out, and he bounced back fast with a 7-3 win over Mike Bumgarner in the semifinals.  The finals rematch was set, and it would be just as close as their previous contest.

Watson built a 6-4 lead, but Park nailed a 6-9 combo to inch back to within o­ne game.  Park broke in the twelfth rack, and it looked like he could even the match, as he ran the first few balls.  After a miss that left Watson a 5-6 combo, Park could o­nly watch as his opponent finished out the rack for the 7-5 win.

Results:

1st Tony Watson $1,005

2nd Ron Park $600

3rd Mike Bumgarner $400

4th Jeff Abernathy $200

5th Mike Janis, Steve Frail $100

7th Brian Davis, Scott Lewis $50