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HALL STARTS OFF 1998 IN STYLE
Mike Panozzo
Sunday, May 03, 1998, 8:55 PM (Central)
Hall, flanked by director Scott Smith and RJR's Larry Kiger, checked in with the year's first win.
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The disparate styles of Francisco Bustamante and Buddy Hall met head-on in the title match of the inaugural Camel Pro Billiards Series event of 1998. The flashy, fast-paced Bustamante advanced undefeated to the championship battle at the Shooter's 9-Ball Open in Olathe, Kan., while the painfully methodical Hall posted six straight wins on the loser's side to battle for the $14,030 top prize in the 96-player, $70,000 tournament.
True to form, Bustamante raced through the opening rack. Unable to string racks, Bustamante then watched helplessly as the match slowed to a see-sawing crawl. A two-game burst by Hall broke a 2-2 tie, and the burly Floridian eventually reached the hill with a four-game cushion, 10-6. But several errors allowed Bustamante to get to within 10-9 before Hall finally put the match away, 11-9, to win the pro season's opening tournament. For Hall, the win was sweet.
Bustamante fell short in the final.
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"It was really disappointing last year to play so well," said Hall, who finished second to Jose Parica in the Camel Points race, "but still not win a tournament."
Hall battled through seven loser's bracket matches to win in Olathe, and every match seemed to be a struggle. The final three matches on Sunday took nearly eight hours to complete.
"I didn't play particularly well," Hall said. "But I'm a tough old dog, and I battled all the way."
And along the way, he managed to make a few enemies.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," said Hall, who had several run-ins with competitors. "It's been so long since I won, and I wanted to win so bad. My nerves were a mess. I apologize for my behavior. Now that I won one, though, maybe I'll be different."
The loss was disappointing for Bustamante, who came within a match of winning his second straight Camel event.
"I just couldn't make balls on the break," said Bustamante, who won $7,000 as runnerup. "And I missed three easy shots. I didn't play well."
The win also moved Hall into first place in both the annual Camel Points rankings (as this was the first event of the 1998 calendar year), and first in the 12-month points rankings, which establishes the seeding for upcoming tournaments.
FINAL RANKINGS - (Rank; Points; Prize Money)
1. Buddy Hall, 140, $14,030; 2. Francisco Bustamante, 120, $7,030; 3. Dennis Hatch, 100, $5,530; 4. Tang Hoa, 80, $4,530; 5. (tie) Ralf Souquet/Tommy Kennedy, 70, $3,530; 7. (tie) Kim Davenport/Nick Varner, 60, $2,830; 9. (tie) Paul Potier, Alain Martel, Claude Bernatchez, Efren Reyes, 50, $2,130; 13. (tie) Jimmy Wetch, Ernesto Dominguez, George SanSouci, Howard Vickery, 40, $1,730; 17. (tie) Ron Wiseman, H. Takahashi, Santo Sambajon, Pat Fleming, Jeff Carter, Mike Rinella, Danny Harriman, Rudolfo Luat, 35, $1,430.
Hall Not Hatch's Buddy
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You could see the steam rising from Dennis Hatch's head following his loss to Buddy Hall in the loser's bracket final of the Shooter's 9-Ball Open in Olathe.
"Buddy asked me if I was going to shake his hand," Hatch said after the 11-8 loss relegated him to third place in the 96-player Camel Pro Billiards Series season-opener. "And I said, 'No'. He was whining about the rack, cussing the crowd, calling me lucky. It was embarassing. I've never seen Buddy act that way. I told him he should apologize to the crowd. I didn't even want to be out there."
Hall, whose ornery behavior in the past year has been the topic of numerous tour discussions, engaged in several run-ins during the Shooter's event. Hall also seemed to give new definition to the term "deliberate play" in Olathe, dragging matches out well over two hours. (The need for a shot clock was painfully apparent this weekend. Hall's 11-10 win over Tang Hoa on Sunday afternoon lasted more than 2 hours and 45 minutes!)
"Buddy's argued with virtually everyone he's played this past year," said one tour contemporary. "I think it started when he quit smoking."
Even Hall admitted to being at fault.
"It must be me," Hall said Saturday, following an all-too-infrequent incident-free match. "Everybody can't be wrong!"
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