Florida Pro Tour Kicks Off

Florida Pro Tour Kicks Offby Rick DavisThe second stop of the Florida Pro Tour saw a huge opening at Player’s Billiards in Melbourne, FL. The event had a full field of players and had to turn away those on a waiting list in order to not run over the 64-player cap. A wide array of entrants from local tour regulars to those who are nationally known came to battle it out for their share of the $8000-added purse. Early-round action showcased some excellent play from Hunter Lombardo, “Rocket” Rodney Morris (pictured right), Ron Wiseman, Adam Wheeler, and others who cruised through their opening rounds. Tournament director John DiToro lost to Ben Conway Jr. in a tough match and noted, “It was a great match that went double-hill,” adding, “Ussery played a beautiful masse, which led to a safety battle that led to a tough shot on the ten ball, which I missed.” At the same time, Robb Saez defeated Nick Varner, and former U.S. Open champion Gabe Owen defeated Florida player Neil Fujiwara. Saez said that he and Varner played aggressively in their match. “Varner miscued in rack eight, which made a huge difference being 5-3 instead of 4-4,” said Saez afterwards.
Continued action saw Lombardo, one-pocket man Richie Richeson, and others continue on the winners’ side, while tour regulars Butch Croft and Randy Epperson fell to the one-loss side. Morris lost to Conway Jr. in the second round, while DiToro, who was Conway’s first victim, stayed alive and played his way to within a round of the money.With one more round to see the top eight on the winners’ side and three rounds on the one-loss side, it’s still anyone’s game as the players race to reach the top sixteen, who will return on Sunday morning. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the world of billiards and pool.

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