Schmidt Wins Viking Mini EventBy Bill RosenbergerSeventy-eight players gathered at Palace Billiards in Villa Park, IL, o­n Tuesday, March 1 for the Viking Cue Open 9-Ball mini event.  John Schmidt defeated Shawn Putnam, who just won his first major title at the North American Open Tour in Pittsburgh.The $1,000-added tournament was a single-elimination, race-to-7 event, with quite a few notable players taking place.  Niels Feijen and Sarah Rousey joined Schmidt and Putnam in a field full of players either getting in extra practice or simply qualifying for the five-day, $25,000-added championship tournament that starts at 6 p.m. CT this evening and runs through Sunday.  One of Tuesday night's highlights was the play of Feijen, who won his first three matches, all by scores of 7-0, before falling to Schmidt 7-4.  Feijen, Rousey, Tom Staphis Jr., and John Kucharo all finished in a tie for fifth; Troy Frank and Manuel Chow finished in third; while Schmidt and Putnam finished o­ne-two, respectively.Officials from the Viking Cue Tour estimate that over 90 people have already signed up for the championship tournament, but they are expecting at least 128 by the sign-up deadline of 4 p.m. CT this afternoon.                           Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the Viking Cue Open 9-Ball Tour.

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