Billiards Digest Interactive - Main Event - Billiard Tournament Coverage

Camel Pro Series -South Jersey 10-Ball Open
South Jersey Expo Center, (800) 665-6326
Pennsauken, NJ
June 10 - 14th

Report: Friday 12, 1998:
Current Camel Pro Billiards Series points leader Buddy Hall defeated Steve Mizerak 9-3 and Andy Lincoln 9-4 to advance to the third round of the winner's bracket in the Camel South Jersey Open yesterday. Hall squares off against Bob Maidhof in his first match today at the South Jersey Expo Center in Pennsauken, N.J. Hall won the first stop of the year at the Shooter's 9-Ball Open in Olathe, Kan.
Other notable matches at the South Jersey Open include Allen Hopkins defeating Pat Fleming of the Pro Billiards Tour 9-2, Larry Hubbart topping Earl Strickland 9-7, Wade Crane defeating Kunihiko Takahashi 9-5 and former U.S. Open champ Tommy Kennedy beating Roger Griffis 9-8. One notable no-show at the second stop of the Camel Series is C.J. Wiley, who according to sources, could not attend because he was opening a new pool room back home.
Featured matches for today include Shannon Daulton against Jim Rempe, Johnny Archer against George Breedlove and Jimmy Wetch versus last year's Camel Series points winner Jose Parica. Look for more updates throughout the weekend.
Report: Saturday 13, 1998:
The field narrowed further as competition continued in South Jersey. Friday's matches saw last year's Camel Series winner Jose Parica fall into the one-loss bracket after losing to Jim Rempe 9-7, only after Rempe himself was knocked into the one-loss bracket by Shooter's 9-Ball Open winner Buddy Hall, who bested Rempe 9-3.
Nick Varner advances into the final four with a 9-3 win over Allen Hopkins, but Hopkins managed to stay alive with a 9-7 win over Jeff Carter.
Report: Sunday, June 14, 1998:
Francisco Bustamante continues to be the most torrid player on the Camel Pro Billiards Series, as he beat Paul Potier today 9-6 to win the winne’rs bracket of the South Jersey Open in Pennsauken, N.J. Bustamante will appear in his third straight Camel event title match, where he will meet fellow Filipino and mentor Efren Reyes, who defeated Potier in the loser’s bracket finals.
Prior to beating Canada’s Potier, Bustamante, who now resides in Kiel, Germany, beat an all-star cast to get to the finals, including Nick Varner (9-7), Buddy Hall (9-7), Dennis Hatch (9-2) and Reed Pierce (9-2). Play began at 4:00 p.m. CDST.
Reyes is looking to bounce back from a subpar year - for him - in 1997. Although he managed a second place at the U.S. Open, Reyes never broke the winner’s circle. Other than Potier, Reyes shot down Johnny Archer (9-3), Hatch (9-3), Jimmy Wetch (9-5) and Michael Coltrain (9-6).
Report: Monday, June 15, 1998:
Efren Reyes broke a major title drought with a 9-8 win over Francisco Bustamante in the finals of the South Jersey Open in Pennsauken, N.J. Reyes, who hadn't won a major professional event since the Professional Billiards Tour's Western Open in Denver of 1996, came back from an 8-5 deficit to overtake his protege Bustamante by winning four straight games.
Bustamante has now appeared in three straight Camel Pro Billiards Series title matches, dating back to last year's season-ending Denver Open. His record over those three matches is 1-2. His win came over fellow Filipino Rodolfo Luat while he has fallen to Buddy Hall at the Shooter's 9-Ball Open and now Reyes. Both Bustamante and Reyes finished in the top 5 in Camel Series points at the end of 1997. Bustamante now has the lead for the 1998 bonus; the winner receives a $50,000 bonus. For his victory, Reyes earned $15,062 while Bustamante collected $7,652.

Look for complete coverage in the August issue of Billiards Digest.