CNY 9-Ball Stop Won by Empey

CNY 9-Ball Stop Won by EmpeyBy Bill RosenbergerGary Empey stood alone on Sunday, November 14 at Salt City Billiards in Syracuse, NY. He beat 53 other players in the largest CNY 9-Ball Tournament in three years to earn a sweet first-place victory.Empey, who owns a small poolroom near Albany, NY, took his game east to battle Timmy Allen, Jerry Fields and Jose Mendez, who are some of the area's best players. Empey, who is also known as a strong player, had his game working all weekend, and he carried the momentum over to the final matches of the event.Empey and Allen matched up in the hot seat match, and the two battled back and forth in what was one of many hill-hill matches of the day. At 6-all, Empey was able to run out the rack and secure his spot in the finals. Allen headed to the west side to face Fields, who had just advanced with a win over Mendez. Again, the match went to the hill, but this time, Allen came out on top 7-6. The finals between Allen and Empey was a double-elimination, race to 7, and Allen had all the pressure on him, because he needed both sets to win the tournament. In his third consecutive hill-hill match, Allen pulled out the victory to force the second set. Empey and Allen battled back and forth for a third time on Sunday, and the match reached 5-all. Empey dug down and found the fortitude to finish Allen off 7-5. Tournament director Mike Renshaw said the competition was exciting to watch all weekend long. "None of the matches were a walk in park," he said. "Gary is always a strong player, and he showed why today." Results:1st Gary Empey $5752nd Timmy Allen $4003rd Jerry Fields $2754th Jose Mendez $2255th Seth DelVillano, Joe Mayo $1657th Jerry Crowe, Mike Houppert $110 Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the sport of billiards and pool.

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