Windy City Open Starts

By Tom Martin, InsidePOOL Staff

The Third Annual Windy City Open Event is underway at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL. While not the largest field ever, many players have braved the snow and cold to get in o­n the action at this tournament bonanza.

The event began with local BCA Pool League action Wednesday night, with 31 players mixing it up in the race-to-6 (5 o­n the o­ne-loss side), $35 entry tournament. Harold Roberson took the top spot in the wee hours of the morning, defeating former winner Jeff Sergent in the second set of the true double-elimination finals. Sergent and Roberson faced off earlier in the hot seat match, where Roberson promptly sent Sergent to the “B” side of the board. Sergent then relegated Dan Shreider to third place. Roberson earned $350 for his victory, while Sergent started off with a payday of $230. Shreider and Tom McClusky, who filled out the top four, took home $160 and $100, respectively.

Also o­ngoing are the banner events, the Windy City Open 9-ball men’s and women’s divisions, with fields of 79 and 21, respectively. Heavy hitters like Jesse Bowman, Jason Kirkwood, and Jeff Sergent are the favorites, but with the talent being put o­n display here o­n the Diamond coin tables, it’s anybody’s game. o­n the women’s side, recently crowned BCA National 9-Ball champion Rebecca Wagner and Chicago ace Jacqui Herrera suffered early losses but lurk o­n the left side of the chart. Tina Larsen seems to be the o­ne to beat and will tee off against Angela Mears in the hot seat match Friday afternoon.

Players are lining up to register for the 8-ball portion of the event, which is scheduled to get underway Friday night. With spontaneous minis, doubles, and action galore, the Windy City Open is turning St. Charles into a 24-hour town. This event is sponsored by AmberBock Beer and Redbull, and Pheasant Run has showed its continued support by offering an unheard of $55 room rate for participants.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news o­n the Windy City Open.