Williams and Archer Take it Home in New Iberia

The Dragon Promotions Pro 9-Ball and 10-Ball events in New Iberia over the past week were pretty well dominated by Johnny Archer, who won the 10-Ball event and took third in the 9-Ball.. Charlie Williams won the 9-Ball event with a hill-hill win over Rodney Morris. This was sweet revenge for Williams, as it was Morris who had earlier beaten him 9-5 and sent him over to the loser's side where Williams had to dispatch Johnny Archer 9-7 in order to win the rematch with Morris that became his victory.

In the 10-Ball event Archer was simply remarkable. He had one tough match after another and it can easily be argued that he had the toughest draw on the board. After beating Michael Alonzo (BCAPL National Champion) he then destroyed Brandon Shuff 9-2, Rodney Morris 9-5, Shane Van Boening 9-5 and Thorsten Hohmann 10-7 to take the win. This event, sponsored by Poison and Predator Cues, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls and Ozone Billiards as well as by Emerald Billiards, the host, is now in it's fourth year.

There were a couple of notable disappointments, however. The 9-Ball field drew only 26 players and the 10-Ball attracted only 18. As a result, the prize funds for the two events together totaled less than $10,000, a sad reflection on the state of the modern billiard economy. If experienced promoters such as Dragon cannot attract the big bucks for an American event while still hosting big-dollar events overseas that is an indicator for the American industry that is anything but positive. On a stronger note, Dragon has been able to generate much higher funding levels for the upcoming World 14.1 Tournament with a total purse of $75,000, so the well is not yet regarded as having a dusty bottom. But it is a sad day when a player such as Shawn Punam, who turned in an impressive performance with two fifth-place finishes can only take home $375 after taking out his entry fees and that before he eats the first cheeseburger or pays for his hotel room and gasoline.


RESULTS:

9-Ball

1) Charlie Williams: $1,400,00
2) Rodney Morris: $800.00
3) Johnny Archer: $600.00
4) Shane Van Boening: $450.00
5-6) Shawn Putnam, Brandon Shuff  $350.00
7-8) Thorsten Hohmann, Jamie Farrell: $250.00
9-12) Brian Abate, Jimmy Majors, Ron Canterbury, Tommy Najar
13-16) Erica Park, Michael Alonzo, Wesley WHite, Michael Allen
17-24: Kenny Vincent, Jacob Pennison, Nick Serpas, Larry Phlegar, Joshua Newman, Doug Schexnayder, Thomas Wallace, Shep Thibadeux
25-26: Kaori Ebe, Kenneth DeCuire

Total Purse: $4,450

10 Ball:

1) Johnny Archer  $2,000
2) Thorsten Hohmann  $1,000
3) Shane Van Boening $700
4) Rodney Morris: $500
5-6) Josh Newman, Shawn Putnam. $350
7-8) Kevin Guimond, Brandon Shuff, $225
9-12) Jimmy Majors, Erica Park, Jamie Farrell, Charlie Williams
13-16) Wesley White, Kaori Ebe, Larry Phlegar, Jeremy Jones
17-18) Michael Alonzo, Kednny Vincent

Total Purse: $5,350