The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour drew a field of 54 players to FiddleStix Billiard Cafe in Canton, Ohio for this weekend's tour stop.
Early tournament favorite Shawn Putnam had double pressure to perform well in this one as his student Justin Daniels was also entered in the tournament and Putnam had a large crowd for friends who had made the hourlong trip from Youngstown to see him play. Add on to that, the fact that Putnam had been recruited to run the tournament too.
The crowd from Youngstown was in for a real treat as the winners side came down to Putnam vs Daniels for the hot-seat. Putnam took the early lead in the match and was on his way to the finish line, ahead 8-5. Then Daniels took control of the match and won four straight games to beat Putnam 9-8.
On the one loss side, Putnam had Nate Laidman waiting. Laidman didn't know what hit him as Putnam cruised to a dominating 7-1 win and a rematch with Daniels in the finals.
If Putnam had relaxed at all in the first match against Daniels, he certainly knew not to make that mistake again. Putnam beat Daniels 9-3 and 7-1 in the true double elimination final match. Putnam commented after the tournament, "I knew I was going to to hear about losing to Justin for the rest of my life. I couldn't possibly lose the tournament to him. That was by the the most pressure I have experienced in a final match in a long time."
Putnam pocketed $1150 for first, while Daniels took home $750. Laidman and Tulio Antonelli filled out the top four spots.
Complete Results
1st Shawn Putnam $1150
2nd Justin Daniels $750
3rd Nate Laidman $500
4th Tullio Antonelli $350
5th/6th Matt Long, Mark Maryo $195
7th/8th Adam Smith, Dave Bushway $75
9th/12th Steve Lavey, Ron Martin, Willie Van Guilder, Ben Zimmer $50
13th/16th Steve Helline, Chris Szuter, Brian Halter, Jason McCleary $35
File photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe - Pool Pics By Hoppe
