Proving that you can never count wily veterans out, Tommy Kennedy won 10 matches on the loss side during the Saturday, August 3 stop on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour and earned the right to challenge hot seat occupant Kyle Bova for the event title. The final match never happened, as Kennedy and Bova opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes. In another ‘veteran’ note, the event itself offered Vietnam veterans free entry and in the end, awarded two Vietnam veterans – Ronny Park and Joe Scarborough – $50, which they split. The $1,000-added event drew 40 entrants to Brewland’s Billiards in North Lakeland, FL.

 

With Kennedy at work on the loss side, having been defeated by Felix Luna in the opening round of play, Bova settled in, advancing to a winners’ side semifinal match against Ashley Chewcaskie. Rhyan Hunter and Jeremy Bell squared off in the other one.

 

Bova downed Chewcaskie 7-1 and in the hot seat match, faced Hunter, who’d survived a double hill match versus Bell and sent him off to an immediate match against Kennedy. Bova shut Hunter out to claim the hot seat in what proved to be his final match.

 

On the loss side, Bell drew the ‘wily veteran,’ Kennedy, seven matches into his 10-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently included victories over one of the Vietnam veterans, Joe Scarborough, 6-4 and Dennis Brown 6-2. Chewcaskie picked up Nathan Rose, who’d recently eliminated the other Vietnam veteran, Ronny Park 6-3 and Steve Wiggam 6-2.

 

Kennedy and Rose advanced to the quarterfinals; Kennedy, 6-3 over Bell and Rose, 6-2 over Wiggam. It was eight down and two to go for Kennedy, as he chalked up loss-side victory # 9 against Rose. Not, as it turned out, without a fight, though. They battle back and forth to a deciding 11th game, won by Kennedy.

 

In what was the last match of the event, Kennedy completed his loss-side run with a 6-3 win over Hunter in the semifinals. Kennedy and Bova decided on the split, awarded Bova the official event title, snapped their picture and away they went.

 

Kennedy thanked the ownership and staff at Brewland’s for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Simonis Cloth, Mueller Recreational Products and Tournamentsnearme.com.

 

According to our records, Julio Burgos hasn’t been around for long, but he’s certainly been around a lot. In his first and only year (2018) in our database of active and cash-earning competitors, he won a stop on Florida’s AllOutPool Tour, and cashed in events in California (the 6th Annual Cole Dickson Memorial), Texas (Texas 10-Ball Championship) and Indiana (Derby City Classic’s One Pocket Division). He opened his 2019 efforts on the weekend of January 19-20, when he added a victory on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, going undefeated, and downing Florida and Seminole Tour veteran, Raymond Linares, twice. The $1,000-added event drew 62 entrants to Rack’s Billiards in Sanford, FL.

 

Burgos and Linares advanced to the final four on the winners’ side of the bracket and faced Steve Voucher (for Burgos) and Bobby Garza, co-tour director of the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (for Linares). On Sunday, Burgos downed Voucher 9-6, as Linares was busy sending Garza over 9-7. Burgos claimed the hot seat 9-7 over Linares and waited on his return.

 

On the loss side, Voucher picked up the tour’s director, Tommy Kennedy, who’d defeated Bee Hyzinga 7-4 (on Saturday) and Joselito Martinez 9-6 (on Sunday). Garza drew Cristobal D. Barrows, who’d eliminated Dennis Brown, double hill, and Rhyan Hunter 9-5.

 

Voucher and Garza got right back to work, handing Kennedy and Barrows their second loss; Voucher over Kennedy 9-2 and Garza over Barrows 9-6. Voucher took the quarterfinal match over Garza 9-4, and put up a double hill fight against Linares in the semifinals. Linares dropped the last 9-ball, though, and advanced to a rematch against Burgos in the finals.

 

Burgos and Linares played the same number of games in the race-to-11 final that they’d played in the hot seat match. Burgos won 56% of the games he won in that hot seat match (9-7), but 69% of the games he won in the final (11-5), completing his undefeated run to claim his first 2019 event title.

 

Tour director Tommy Kennedy thanked the ownership and staff at Rack’s Billiards, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Simonis Cloth and Mueller Recreational Products. He also extended a thanks to Janene Phillips, co-tour director with Bobby Garza of the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, who ably assisted him with the event. The next stop on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for March 2, will be hosted by Doodles Billiards in Hinesville, GA.