Honolulu, Hawaii, June 20, 2004
Another action-packed weekend of 9-Ball competition saw non-stop action from Friday night until a few hours before the last airline flights to the outer islands left on Sunday evening. Hawaiian Brian's was the perfect venue to compete, with 39 Brunswick Gold Crown tables and open 24 hours a day. Like Wild West gunfighters, players came to town looking for a shootout before, during and after the Aloha Open. With a full field of 128 players and a waiting list of wannabes, the tournament was another huge success.
When the smoke cleared, Honolulu's Ryan Lum and Maui's Gener Bio were the last two standing. In a race to 3 finals match, Ryan won the toss and promptly made the money ball on the break. After the next break, Jenner missed a ball and Ryan ran out. Ryan failed to make a ball on the next rack and Jenner ran out nicely and the score stood at 2-1 in favor of Ryan. Then Jenner broke and made the 9-ball on the break to even the score and force the hill-hill game. The hill-hill game is always a test of nerves and oftentimes comes down to who dogs it the least. After a couple of false starts, Ryan made a beautiful shot on the money ball to claim the first place prize of $3,500.00 and the Hawaiian Brian's commemorative ring.
The tournament was covered by Starr Tendo, who writes for Inside Pool magazine and plans to write a story on Hawaiian Brian.
Complete Results:
1st Ryan Lum $3,500
2nd Gener Bio $1,800
3rd Danny Kukonu $1,000
4th Kurt Kobayashi $500
5th/6th Kalei Aila, Alex Poole $300
7th/8th Kawika Calles, Lance Gurtiza $220
9th/12th Daniel Suan, Frenchie, Sam Corace, Ryan Kadoyama $150
13th/16th Reid Arizala, Kevin Lum-King, Bryce Luning, Lane Sato $110
17th/24th Chris Tseu, Malo Kuhns, Waiau Wong, Mike Lau, Cindy Higa, Tammy Halemano, Matt Kato, Cheri Kobashigawa $80
25th/32nd Ron Daniels, R.D., Jimmy Ladera, Milton Nakaishi, EZ Smith, Mary Matsumoto, Wayne Maruya, Rance Hashizaki $60
