Piazza Double-Dips Owen
Bar Table 8-Ball Tournament / Englewood, CO
by Samm Diep, PoolTipJar.com
On August 21-22, Table Steaks South (soon to be known as Billiards Ink) in Englewood, CO, hosted a $1,000-added bar table 8-ball tournament, the second in a series of big-money-added events this summer. The tournament was held in conjunction with a Team CSI exhibition featuring Earl Strickland and John Schmidt, led by team manager Mark Cantrill.
On August 21-22, Table Steaks South (soon to be known as Billiards Ink) in Englewood, CO, hosted a $1,000-added bar table 8-ball tournament, the second in a series of big-money-added events this summer.
It was an ACUI face-off. Silva, the 2004 ACUI champ, and Piazza, a two-time ACUI winner, put on an 8-ball clinic for the room full of spectators. The gentlemen exchanged racks until the score was tied 3-3. In the final game, Piazza broke the balls wide open and weaved through a sophisticated run-out to face Owen in the finals. “I got fourth last time and third this time, so I should get at least second next time,” jokingly said Silva.
With two savvy bar table 8-ball players in the finals, the crowd knew they were in for a treat. Very few errors were made in the first set. It was run-out after run-out. Then, in the final rack at 4-4, Owen made a critical error. He scratched on the break, allowing Piazza to run that rack and take the first set. The theme continued into the second set, except this time, Owen seemed to lose some focus. With only a race to 4, every little mistake counted. While up 3-2, Piazza finally gave up on his second ball break and blasted the rack wide open to run out.
Results:
1st Tony Piazza $1,060
2nd Gabe Owen $560
3rd Ruben Silva Jr. $240
4th Tommy Tokoph $190
5th Ron Lincoln $135
Sam Cordova
7th Bobby Begey $80
Steve Chan
9th Ed Barego $50
John Sanderfer
Richie Cunningham
Andy Pettinger
