Congratulations to Paul Grande for completing his undefeated run in taking down the 5th Stop of the Desert Classic Tour from Bullshooter's in Phoenix, Arizona. On July 9th-10th a much smaller crowd than normal on the tour came out to give this Big Table 8-ball event a try. With the smaller field of 22 players and the $1000 added money, players were very hungry to take home the cash.
As play came to an end and players returned on Sunday still in the running, there were 4 players that really stood out. Todd Rowitz defeated Dennis Orender and moved into the top 4. Susan Williams continued her run and also made it into the Top 4. Over on the winners side of the board Paul Grande and Chuck Evans were set to battle for the Hot Seat and secure a top 2 spot.
In the Hot Seat match Paul jumped out to a huge lead and had a chance to go up 6 - 0 before missing an 8-ball. Chuck jumped at the chance and fought back hard to get within one game at 7 - 6. With 3 solids left on the table, Paul came with a fantastic side pocket shot and went 4 rails for perfect shape on a touchy combo. He made the combo and then drew the cue ball on the last shot all the way down table for a straight in 8-ball to capture the Hot Seat and secure yet another trip to a DCT Finals.
Susan dispatched Todd in 4th place and moved on to face Chuck. This match was very lopsided as Chuck took control and never really let Susan into the match. He cruised to a 8-1 Victory to get his re-match with Paul.
Paul is no stranger to the Finals of a DCT Event, but this time he was looking to take home the first place prize! The two battled back and forth for the first 9 racks and Paul held a slight 5 - 4 lead. In the 10th game both players seemed to be running out of steam from the 2nd long day of play. With each missing a few shots, Paul seemed to have the final control of the rack until he drew the cue ball straight back into the side pocket while trying to get on the 8-ball.
The two players were all tied up at 5 when the wheels started to come off for Chuck. He missed many balls and left open tables for Paul. With Paul leading 8 - 5, he missed a routine shot but hooked Chuck with all of his balls on the table. The frustration came out of Chuck and Paul finished it off.
A special thanks to the DCT Crew, all the guest commentators including the great Jay Helfert, who was in the area visiting his daughter, and Mike Bates and the Staff of Bullshooter's for holding yet another great event! Bullshooters is home to many different pool leagues, pool tournaments, dart tournaments, poker, UFC and so much more. If you have never stepped into Bullshooters you are truely missing out.
The next event moves back down to Tucson, Arizona, for Big Table 9-ball at Pockets on August 20th - 21st with another $1000 Added! With only a few events remaining, players only have a limited amount of time to get the minimum number of tournaments in to qualify for the big money added Finale.
Full Payouts, Points List and Standings will be coming out soon.