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Photo provided courtesy of Dan Meadows.

Back in 1986, at the Resorts Tournament, Dick Lane walked up to Nick Varner and said, "Man, I'm telling ya, I just played a kid who's gonna be some kind of player. He shot straight as Jesse James... he was phenomenal." The young man he was talking about was Johnny Archer. Johnny has since then been named player of the year for several years, has many titles under his belt (including two World Championships!) and just recently won the 1999 U.S. Open Championship.

Now nicknamed "The Scorpion", Archer went four years without a win in a professional event. He ended that streak by winning the Nashville open in September of this year and then winning his very next event, the most prestigious event in the world, the 1999 U.S. Open. Before that, he came in second three times at the U.S. Open. A determined Archer beat Jeremy Jones in the finals, 11-7.

Jeremy Jones was asked who he thought was going to be the top player of the year before the Camel season began, and he said, "Johnny Archer. He was the most consistent player in 1998, and he didn't even win a tournament that year. I think he will win it this year." Well, Johnny was close - he finished the year ranked number 3!

Congratulations Johnny on being voted by your peers as the Best nine ball player of the year!

Players Votes Votes Player 21 Johnny Archer 19 Earl Strickland 5 Efren Reyes

Fans Votes Votes Player 13 Efren Reyes 6 Johnny Archer 2 Earl Strickland