|
AGE BEFORE BEAUTY!
Mike Panozzo
Saturday, May 02, 1998, 3:35 PM (Central)
Hall's 11-2 win over Luat was another win for the seniors.
|
The differences between the Camel Pro Billiard Series and the Senior Tour are beginning to get a little clouded. If early returns from the Shooter's 9-Ball Open in Olathe, Kan., are any indication, that is.
The opening stop on the Camel Series tour has seen the 50-plus crowd lay lumber on their younger counterparts. Pro Billiards Tour top gun Johnny Archer was eliminated from the 96-player field after only two matches, falling to seniors Larry Hubbart, 11-5,
and Dallas West, 11-9, in consecutive matches. Claude Bernatchez and Steve Mizerak also posted early wins, and current BD cover boy Buddy Hall spanked Philippine sensation Rudolfo Luat, 11-2, in a Saturday afternoon loser's brakcet match.
"The seniors can still play with anyone here," said Mike Massey. "If these tournaments were single-elimination, they'd do even better. But having to play five or six matches a day on the loser's side is where the younger players gain a big advantage."
And with the addition of Jim Rempe and senior-to-be Nick Varner (May 15), the senior circuit may well become nothing more than an extension of the Camel Series.
In other action at Shooter's, Francisco Bustamante, Varner, Tommy Kennedy, Paul Potier, Dennis Hatch, Kim Davenport, Tang Hoa and Efren Reyes all advanced to the winner's bracket sweet 16, scheduled to begin at 3:00 Saturday afternoon.
Full Fields Ahead!
|
Think the men pros are starving for a little tournament action?
According to Camel Pro Billiard Series director Larry Kiger of Sports Marketing Enterprises, save for three spots at the Tulsa 9-Ball Open in November, every 96-player field for the eight-tournament series is sold out!
"The first three events were filled before this event started," noted Kiger from Shooter's in Olathe, Kan., site of the inaugural 1998 Camel Series event. "Then, at the players meeting here, we updated the players on the status of the remaining tournament
s. Most of them had 30-40 openings. Suddenly, the entry fee money ($250 per event) started pouring in. Players were hitting the automatic tellers and borrowing money to sercure their spots."
The crush of entrants included the Pro Billiards Tour's top players. The PBT had pre-paid entries in the first four tournaments for its 28 touring pros, but nervous that they would be frozen out of events yet paid, most of the 28 (including Johnny Archer,
Earl Strickland, etc) anteed up in Olathe.
Absent from the Shooter's 9-Ball Open were Professional Cuesports Association stars Roger Griffis and CJ Wiley, who had suggested that he would pass on the entire series. According to Kiger, however, both have paid their entries into the remaining seven e
vents.
"We do have a waiting list for the future tournaments," added Kiger.
Will SME consider opening the fields to 128 players, or utilize qualifiying tournaments for extra spots?
"There are qualifying spots held in each event, the number of which vary depending on the market," said Kiger. "We'll be using the National 9-Ball Tour and American Poolplayers Association to fill those spots. But as for expanding the field, we don't feel
that we can do that legally after announcing the format as 96 players."
|
|
|
|
|
