Strickland & Schmidt Upset at Viking Billiards Event

by InsidePOOL Staff

In the 2 p.m. winners'-bracket rounds at the Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour's National Championship event, there were a couple of upsets as the undefeated billiard players were narrowed to only eight. This is the fourth day of the tournament, which concludes tomorrow after the championship match at 6 p.m.

Viking Tour Championship photo gallery

There were a number of close calls in the afternoon round. Dennis "The Hatchetman" Hatch had a close call against Justin Pope 11-10, while Stoney Stone continued to dominate, besting Tony Watson 11-9. Shannon Daulton won 11-8 over Tom D'Alfonso, Sparky Ferrell defeated Anthony Morgan 11-5, and Chris Bartram upset reigning U.S. Open champion John Schmidt 11-7.

In a featured match-up, Steve Moore and Cliff Joyner met up, with Moore reaching a 9-6 lead. Both made excellent shots in the next rack, including a long-rail cross-bank by Moore and a kick shot on the 2 by Joyner, but a hung 3 ball allowed Moore to reach the hill. Moore gave up another two racks before a safety battle on the 4 ball went his way, and he won 11-8.

Earl Strickland had a close match against Justin Hall and found himself sent to the west side of the chart 11-9 after relinquishing an 8-1 lead, while former U.S. Open champ Corey Deuel also found himself on the wrong end of a hill-hill battle with Keith Bennett.

In the one-loss side, several players were eliminated after the 2 p.m. round, including Tony Crosby, Jason Klatt, Sarah Rousey, Shane Van Boening, Ike Runnels, Richard Broumpton, Leil Gay Jr., and Horace Godwin.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.