King of the Hill

Robin Hill

The Fury Carolina Amateur Tour made their fourth tour stop at B.G. McGee's in Greensboro on April 24, 2005. Forty-one players showed up and the action was fast and furious. Several new players joined the field of tour regulars, and the result was a day of surprises, upsets, and some great 9-ball throughout the event.

Eddie Little, fresh off two straight tour victories was the odds-on favorite going into the event, but a first round trip to the one loss side along with a second loss to a newcomer sent him home early. Robert Ray, last year's tour champ, put on a strong showing early in the day but the tide turned against him in the end, forcing him to settle for a 3rd place finish.

Dale Russell, a regular on the tour, managed to work through the winner's bracket to the hot seat with a hard fought 35-24 win-loss record. Robin Hill also took charge of the A side, with a game record of 21-7 before being sent to the left side. Hill then battled back with five straight match wins to earn a spot in the finals.

Hill had really hit his stride during his run through the one-loss bracket, and was still on fire at the beginning of the final match. Hill made a 1-9 combo in the first game, and followed up with two more wins to grab a 3 game lead. A break and run by Russell in game 4 stopped Hill's run, but only for a moment. A 5-9 combo and a 2-9 combo started Hill on another 4 game run. At 7-1, it looked like Hill was going to close it out, but Russell wasn't giving up. The two traded wins on the next three games to bring the score to 8-3, but Hill got back in gear and took the next game for a 9-3 win and a $490 payday.

Results: 1st Robin Hill $490
2nd Dale Russell $300
3rd Robert Ray $180
4th Jeff Pruitt $100
5th/6th Don Lilly, Michael Maurer $75
7th/8th Harry Florence, David Brown $50