Final Four Undefeated at Glass City Open

Final Four Undefeated at Glass City OpenBy Tom Martin, InsidePOOL StaffIt’s crunch-time at the Glass City Open, and after the one-loss bracket matches Friday afternoon, some of the big names are started to disappear from the field. Gabe Owen, who never seemed to find his rhythm throughout the event, fell to Chuck Altomare despite fighting back from an 8-5 deficit, only to miss an 8 ball that would have tied the match at nine games apiece. Troy Frank defeated Larry Nevel, and Nick Varner escaped a scare from youngblood Josh Brothers. After taking the lead at 4-3, Varner looked to run away with the match and quickly built a 9-4 lead. Brothers seemed to be flagging but gained momentum as Varner was unable to close out the match. Brothers fought his way back to 9-8 before having to push out, leaving a long cut on the 1 from the rail. Varner did not hesitate to shoot it in, however, and that proved to be curtains for Brothers as Varner negotiated the table to take the match. In other elimination matches, defending champion Johnny Archer sent Tommy Kennedy back to “FLA” with a 10-7 victory.
At the end of Day 3, only 16 of the original 96 players remain to fight for the $8,000 first prize. It was standing room only for most of the day at the Clarion Westgate Hotel, where fans were treated to some awesome action as many of the best players in the country got down in the dash for the cash. Recent Sudden Death Championship winner Corey Deuel, Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich, Earl Strickland, and Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant are the four who remain undefeated. Deuel earned his place with a 10-7 win over Italian champion Fabio Petroni and a 10-4 blistering of qualifier winner Brown. Basavich defeated David Matlock and came from behind to win a three-hour slugfest with Jeremy Jones. Strickland escaped the clutches of Detroit’s Brandon Ashcraft and then quieted the rowdy crowd rooting on hometown favorite Steve McAninch with a 10-6 victory. “The Earthquake” Keith Mcready sent Buddy Hall to the one-loss side in an exciting hill-hill match but then followed soon after because of a huge turnaround win by Bryant.In the elimination rounds late Friday night, Matlock fell victim to the sting of the “The Scorpion,” five-time Viking Tour player of the year Shawn Putnam blanked Chuch Altomare 10-0, Varner sent Petroni packing by a score of 10-7, and Canadian Jeff Pillon defeated Shawn Miller 10-2. Buddy Hall pushed Hoeksema off the “hill” and faces Jason Kirkwood in the early rounds Saturday. Troy Frank also defeated Ashcraft by the narrowest of margins and will be matched up Saturday with Jeff Carter, who eliminated Midwest Open 8-Ball winner John Binion 10-5 and upset Rodney Morris 10-8.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the Glass City Open.

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