Larry Price and Jeff Tabet Best Fields at The J. Pechauer Atlanta Open

The J. Pechauer Atlanta Open presented by the J. Pechauer Custom Cues Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour was held over the weekend of December 13th-14th at Mr. Cues in Atlanta, Georgia with a $1000 added open main event Saturday and a $500 added amateur/semi-pro second chance tourny Sunday only.

Although the turnout was lighter than anticipated, the competitive force at the venue was strong.  Included in the player's roster last weekend were names such as Cliff Joyner, Jesse Middlebrooks, Tommy Kennedy, and the list goes on.  But, on this day, Larry Price was to claw his way to the top of the pack.

Price took control of the hot-seat match with a convincing triumph over Tour Director Tommy Kennedy 7-2, while Kennedy went to the left side of the board to await his next competitive match.  That individual would be Clint McCallough as he was able to get by well-known Cliff Joyner in the quarters on the hill 7-6 to see Kennedy in his sights.  Once in the semis, McCallough wasted little time to get going against Kennedy – he maintained his focus throughout and eventually overtook Kennedy 7-5 to reach the finals.  The finals ended with Larry Price getting the better of McCallough though in a very close finish of 9-7.

Special notes from the main event include highest woman finisher – split $25 between Dana Aft and Kristen Malone; top senior, T.F. Whittington and Wayne Thompson split $50; highest junior, Jamie Cline took home $25; and a local non-profit charity in Atlanta received $30.

In addition to the main event, the second chance division was played on Sunday.  With a total purse of $1250, the end result found Jeff Tabet taking home the top prize of $500.  Tabet secured the hot seat away from Duane Bourgeois 5-4 and then bested Bourgeois again in the finals 7-3.  Bourgeois was pitted against David Shadden in the semis in which he overcame his opponent 4-2 to move ahead.

The tour is very thankful to Richard and Susan Sweet for hosting yet another very successful event; to Dave Biggers and Amber Lollar for assistance with running the event; and to all of its sponsors, which can be found at www.southeastopen.com/sponsors.asp

The J. Pechauer Mississippi Open at Skeeter's Billiards in Gulfport, Mississippi, will be the next stop for the tour after the holidays (January 24-25, 2009).  This event will be a $1000 added open (Saturday/Sunday) and a $500 added amateur/semi pro event held Sunday only.

Results (main event, purse $1680):
1st Larry Price $680
2nd Clint McCallough $500
3rd Tommy Kennedy $300
4th Cliff Joyner $200
5th/6th Jeff Tabet/Jesse Middlebrooks $400

Results (amateur/semi pro event, purse $1250):
1st Jeff Tabet $500
2nd Duane Bourgeois $320
3rd David Shadden $220
4th Evan Beeson $120
5th/6th Wayne Thompson/Hadi Lee $45