The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour was at Randolph's Billiards in Hickory, NC with a field of 49 players this weekend. Owner Randy Canipe has been holding Viking Tour events at Randolph's for years and it is always a favorite stop on the tour, in part due to the fantastic kitchen which is known as one of the best on the tour.
Brian White was one of the early favorites, and he did not let the fans down. He raced to the hot-seat, without even letting an opponent get close. The most games won against him in one set was four. The hot-seat was won by the score of 7-3 over Randy Hoeppner.
Hoeppner took his trip to the one-loss side, where he ran into a red-hot Randy Burris. Burris put on a show at the Viking Tour stop at Murphy's Brass Rail in Athens GA two weeks ago, when he lost his first match and came back through the one-loss side to finish in second place. This time, Burris lost his second match of the tournament and was plowing through the one-loss side. Burris handed Hoeppner loss #2 with a 7-5 score to set up the finals between Burris and White.
As well as Burris was playing on the one-loss side, he did not have an answer for Brian White as White dominated the final match and scored the 7-0 win.
White collected $1900 for first, while Burris settled for $1250 in second place money. Hoeppner and Cletus O'Dell filled out the top four spots.
The Viking Tour will be holding two stops next weekend. A $2000 added event at Game Time / Rip Tide in Greenville SC and a $1000 added event at Quentin Corner Pocket in Palatine IL. Reigning World 9-Ball Champion Earl Strickland has indicated his intention to play at the event in Greenville.
Complete Payouts:
1900 Brian White
1250 Randy Burris
820 Matt Hoeppner
400 Cletus O'Dell
200 Michael Fuller, John Parks
70 Mackie Lowery, Chuck Ritchie
40 Mike Bumgarner, Randy Canipe, Ron Parks, Chris Helton
