The top 8 players from the 2009 Tour Season were seeded in this $4000+ added event and also received free entry.  All but one of those players made the finale and each advanced multiple rounds on the winners side before colliding with each other.  The one missing player was the 7th Seed Mike Pankoff.  With a very strong field of players, being seeded did not necessarily mean an easy first round match.  Gus Briseno drew 2008's 3rd place finisher in Jimmy Mendoza.  The epic first round match went hill-hill with Gus able to secure the victory and send Jimmy on the longer route.  

  As the tournament played down to the final 8 on the winners side of the board, one player stood out as a pleasant surprise.  Randy Thompson, a B rated player, showed some real heart in knocking off some A players to remain on the right side of the board going into the last day.  Randy recently participated in a BCA League in Phoenix that played solely on these same Diamond Barboxes and it payed off for him. 

  At the conclusion of Day 2, we were down to our final 12 players.  Scott Frost, Dennis Orender, Mitch Ellerman, Bobby Emmons, David Wiseman, Ronn Rutan, Tres Kane, Pete Lhotka, Gus Briseno, Randy Thompson, George Teyechea and Jimmy Mendoza.  The final 4 matchups on the winners side were Bobby vs Scott and Dennis vs Mitch. 

  On the one loss side and just in the money were some great battles.  David Wiseman defeated Gus Briseno 9 - 7, Pete Lhotka defeated George Teyechea 9 - 3, Ronn Rutan defeated Randy Thompson 9 - 3 and Tres Kane ended Jimmy's long run with a score of 9 - 7.  These players all tied for 9th-12th and took home $200.  Tres and Pete were both knocked off in the next round to tie for 7th-8th and $250. 

  Scott and Mitch advanced to the Hot Seat Match with wins over Bobby and Dennis.  Scott continued his strong play in taking the hot seat by a demanding margin.  This wouldn't be the last you'd see of Dennis as he showed tons of heart on this final Sunday.  Bobby and Dennis knocked off David Wiseman and Ronn Rutan in 5th-6th place and $325.  In the next 2 matches Dennis played near perfect in sending Bobby home in 4th place and then Mitch home in 3rd place.  Bobby received $570 and Mitch $650 for their great play all weekend long. 

  In the Finals Scott started out in dominating fashion in building a huge lead.  Dennis was able to fire back a few racks, but ultimately Scott's power was too much as he cruised to a 13 - 4 victory and the $1925 first prize.  Dennis took home $900 for his awesome display of 10-ball.

   1. Scott Frost  $1925
   2. Dennis Orender  $900
   3. Mitch Ellerman  $650
   4. Bobby Emmons  $570
   5-6 David Wiseman  $325
   5-6   Ronn Rutan  $325
   7-8   Tres Kane  $360
   7-8   Pete Lhotka  $260
   9-12 Gus Briseno  $200
   9-12 Randy Thompson  $200
   9-12 George Teyechea  $200
   9-12 Jimmy Mendoza  $200

Pictures By Nick Deleon