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Rodney Morris Wins Wyoming Open

Rodney Morris

Saratoga, Wyoming-  Rodney “Rocket” Morris won his second time in Saratoga at this year’s 5th Annual Wyoming Open. He went through a talented field of 8-Ball players that included the likes of Charlie Williams, Raj Hundal, Amar Kang, Mark Tadd, Tony Piazza, Marc Vidal, and more. The event was sponsored by Poison Cues by Predator and Asia’s #1 cloth Andy Cloth will be the official cloth used during the event.

The Wyoming Open drew nearly 150 players from Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and of course the top pros which came from England, Florida, and California. There were a total of 5 events including the opening night Saratoga Open, and the 8-Ball main events with Sportsman, Classic, Masters, and Ladies divisions.

” Almost all the divisions were full, so I’m really ecstatic about that. There will definitely be a 6th Annual Wyoming Open next year. I plan on making the event bigger and better for all the players and divisions. We always want improvements. “, says EJ Glode , promoter of the Wyoming Open.

In the Classic Division which was hosted for intermediate level players, Ronnie Chavez defeated Chris Wilson in the 64 man field. Jordan Thayer and Chris McCreary rounded out the top 4.

In the Sportsman Division, Eric Burgman won the event over Brian Guice. The Poison Cues Ladies Open saw Melissa Little go undefeated over Tenille Whitten in the finals .

The Masters Division drew 57 players with several contenders. Defending Champion Charlie “Korean Dragon” Williams took an early loss to Raj Hundal in the second round but managed to come back and qualify for the final 16 bracket. Raj Hundal only dropped 2 games (to Williams), in his first 3 matches with two 7-0 shut-outs. Rodney Morris cruised through along with road buddy Amar Kang to the winner’s bracket finals which Amar won.

In the final 16 rounds, the players were all drawn into a new double elimination bracket. Unknown local Utah talent Ace Brown upsetted Charlie Williams 6-4 in a stellar played match. Raj Hundal dropped his match to Amar “AK-47” Kang but rebounded with a 7-6 decider over Ace Brown. Williams rebounded with back to back wins including a 7-1 over Vidal, a 7-6 revenge match over Hundal, and a 7-6 over Mark Haddad. Leaving the final three players Williams, Morris, and Kang which became known as the Rat Pack, the pro crew of players that traveled to the event together and roomed.

Morris stopped Williams from a Wyoming Open repeat at 7-4 and then defeated Kang 7-6 in the first set of the finals. Forcing a deciding set, Morris came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 7-4 to become the Wyoming Open Champion again.

“EJ does a terrific job promoting pool in the region of the country. I always look forward to coming here to play and help out”, said Morris. Rodney is sponsored by Poison Cues made by Predator which he has his own signature line, and managed by Dragon Promotions.

Coincedentally Morris, Kang, Williams, and Hundal all use Predator Poison technology and they represented the top 5 finishers of the event which was sponsored by Predator and Poison Cues.

The pro players will give fans and players an opportunity to learn tomorrow in Wyoming at the Poison Pro Pool School hosted by Duke’s Bar & Grill.

The event is majorly supported by the town’s own businesses which include : Hotel Wolf, Duke’s Bar & Grill, Valley Foods, Riviera Lodge, Carbon County, and Shively Hardware.

For more info or to play in the Wyoming Open contact EJ Glode  ejglode@yahoo.com or 307-329-8924

Fans of the Rocket can follow him at http://www.facebook.com/rodneyrocketmorris

Tony Piazza wins All American Tour Stop

Roy Yamane, Sam Cordova and Tony Piazza

The 2011-2012 Lucasi Hybrid Cues All American Tour – presented by the American CueSports Alliance (ACS) – conducted its nineteenth stop at Greenfields Pool & Sports Bar in Lakewood, CO, Saturday, January 28. The $1,000-added 8-ball scratch tourney on 7-foot Dynamo bar boxes drew 49 players. On the A-side, Tony Piazza (Lakewood, CO) and Roy Yamane (Littleton, CO) met for the hot seat after Piazza dispatched Andrew Pettinger (Denver, CO) 5-2 and Yamane upended Sam Cordova (Pueblo, CO) 5-4 in the semi-finals. Piazza then remained the lone undefeated player by outpointing Yamane 5-2.

On the B-side Jim Fraser (Westcliffe, CO) and Ed Borrego (Denver, CO) were eliminated at 7th place to the cues of Kevin Williams (Pueblo, CO) 5-0 and Ron O’Meara (Colorado Springs, CO) 5-2 respectively. But in the next round both Williams and O’Meara were ousted, courtesy of Andrew Pettinger 5-4 and Sam Cordova 5-1 respectively. Cordova kept up his momentum in the next round by stopping Pettinger at 4th place by a 5-1 margin. Sam then avenged his only loss by taking down Roy Yamane in the B-side finals by a 5-3 score. Cordova had to defeat Tony Piazza two sets for the title, but Piazza was having nothing of that – dispatching Cordova 5-2 for the title! 

By virtue of Roy Yamane being the highest-finishing ACS member in the event, he qualified for a free 8-Ball singles entry into the 2012 Lucasi Hybrid ACS Nationals at the Tropicana Las Vegas – courtesy of the ACS. The ACS wishes to thank sponsors Lucasi Hybrid Cues, Championship Billiard Fabric and Nick Varner Signature Cases for their support in donating “Value-In-Kind” product for this and all stops on the Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour. Sponsorship opportunities and tour stop openings are still available for the 2011/2012 All American Tour by contacting the ACS at www.americancuesports.org.

The Tour showcases one stop this Saturday, February 4: a $500 added 8-Ball Tourney [not open to Elite, Advanced or A players] at Cue Masters Billiards in Dubuque, IA (contact Bill Kramer at 563-599-7884).