s Platte Valley Open Williams Crowned Platte Valley Open Champion By Samm Diep, PoolTipJar.com On April 2-3, the small town of Saratoga, Wyoming, population of roughly 7,500, filled the city with pool players for their fourth annual Platte Valley Open. Locals were treated to some world class bar table 8-ball. “The tournament went fantastic! I’ve loved pool since I was five years old and I can’t get enough of it. It’s a way to get everybody together,” said tournament director E.J. Glode. In the masters division, 52 of the finest players from Wyoming and Colorado came to try their luck. The $9,000 added prize money also drew players from the as far as Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. The professional team of “The Rocket” Rodney Morris, “The Hitman” Raj Hundal, and “The Korean Dragon” Charlie Williams also made an appearance. Four players advanced from each of the original four brackets into a 16-player redraw finals board which started on Saturday night. The first round of the evening saw a finals caliber match between Morris and Hundal. Both players shot quickly and loosely with an outcome of Hundal advancing 7-5. From Denver, Tony Piazza and Rafael Ibarra both gave it a good run, finishing tied for 5th place. On the b-side, Piazza was down 5-2 against Portland, Oregan’s Glenn Atwell. The veteran bar table champion began losing his grip allowing Piazza to close the gap and take the lead. While up 6-5, a fatal scratch in the side would cost Piazza that game. At hill-hill, Atwell broke and scratched allowing Piazza another chance for the kill. Uncharacteristically, Piazza missed with ball in hand and Atwell took that match to advance. The Rocket awaited his match with the winner. Atwell would keep the momentum going against Morris and Hundal. After several failed attempts to run out, Atwell defeated Morris 7-1 and then did the same to Hundal by a score of 7-5 after being down 5-4. Williams went undefeated through the A-side and watched as Atwell took out his travel companions one at a time, shattering the pro team’s hopes of taking 1, 2, and 3. Williams, who delivered Atwell his first loss, came out strong. He quickly jumped to a 5-0 lead. Atwell had several opportunities but could not capitalize. At 5-0, Atwell made a tricky run to get on the board then proceeded to run the next two racks making it 5-3. It appeared that he was making a comeback until he missed a 9 ball in the side pocket in the following rack allowing Williams to get to the hill. The gentlemen battled over the next couple games until Williams finally
gained control in the last rack pocketing the 8 ball for the win. The final score was 7-4. Pom Rai of Fort Collins, Colorado won the Classic division and Danny Haynes from Rawlins, Wyoming took the Sportsman division. Both men came through their respective fields without losing a match. Rai came through the 64-player field to meet Denver’s Steve Thomas in the finals after Thomas lost his first match of the redraw. Haynes’ victory of the 48-player field earned him $400 while Rai pocketed $1,200. MASTERS DIVISION 1st $3,500 Charlie Williams 2nd $2,400 Glenn Atwell 3rd $1,900 Raj Hundal 4th $1,300 Rodney Morris 5th $715 Rafael Ibarra, Tony Piazza 7th $460 Eddie Mattaya, Mark Haddad 9th $210 Marc Vidal, BJ Spencer, Derek McMaster, Justin Reckemeyer 13th $115 John Sandifer, Matt Sanchez Johnny Vasquez, Mark Sand CLASSIC DIVISION 1st $1,200 Pom Rai 2nd $950 Steve Thomas 3rd $750 Kelly Gorham 4th $600 June Brooks 5th $390 Dan Rolling, Gary North 7th $240 Nick Dittmar, Jimmy McKinney 9th $130 Donald Parker, Jim Stewart Seth Johnson, Ken Vechnek 13th $63 Robert Peach, Brad Crouch Jerry Flute, Colleen Johnson SPORTSMAN DIVISION 1st $400 Danny Haynes 2nd $310 Brian Schmitker 3rd $240 John Saputo 4th $190 Chris Duke 5th $115 Phillip Canaday, “Nubbins” 7th $75 Lee Hanley, Brian Schwartzkopf 9th $30 Dan Tewes, Bill Ward Keith McLendon, Jodi DeBerard
Steve Thomas
Danny Haynes
Brian Schmitker
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Glenn Atwell
Pom Rai
May 2011 - The Break
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