Lawson Earns First Fury Victory

Lawson Earns First Fury VictoryBy Steve JenningsDerek Lawson led a strong cast of local players at Cue n' Spirits in Winston-Salem, NC, on October 23. Lawon, along with Tim Bowen and Andy Hutchens, used their home field advantage to finish in the top four of the Fury Carolina Amateur 9-Ball Tour.Although Lawson is a regular at Cue n' Spirits, it was only his second tour appearance of the year. It didn't seem to faze him, as he blazed through the bracket with wins over Wes Largen 7-2, room owner Paul Sherman 7-4, and tour regular Dale Russell 7-5 to earn a spot in the hot seat.Bowen was also flying through his side of the chart with wins over tournament director Steve Jennings 7-4, Clark Talbot 7-4, and Andy Hutchens 7-1 to face Lawson in the hot seat match. The two battled and kept the match close, but it was Lawson who came out on top 7-4.Meanwhile, Russell was working his way through the one-loss side to reach the semifinals. After Bowen's falter in the hot seat, the two locals met up to see who would face Lawson. In the race to 5, Russell outlasted Bowen 5-3 to grab a spot in the finals.Lawson looked to jump out to a quick lead, but rattled a couple balls around the pocket, allowing Russell to get the 3-0 lead. In the fourth rack, Russell scratched on a kick shot on the 4 ball, leaving Lawson a run-out. After Lawson got within one game, the two players traded games back and forth to reach 5-4. Down by one, Lawson took two games for a 6-5 lead, but Russell bounced back to tie it at 6-all. In the following game, Russell miscued on the 6 ball, opening the door for Lawson to run out the game and eventually the match, winning his first Fury event 9-6.Results:1st Derek Lawson $4202nd Dale Russell $2553rd Tim Bowen $1704th Andy Hutchens $95Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the sport of billiards and pool.

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