McCollum Goes Undefeated While Walsman Makes a Comeback

McCollum Goes Undefeated While Walsman Makes a Comeback

Viking Cue Open & Amateur 9-Ball Tour / Columbus, OH
by Rick Davis
Taking place at Cornfed Reds in Columbus, OH, the Viking Cue 9-Ball tour brought their latest pair of open and amateur billiard events over the March 31-April 1 weekend. In the open division 2006 U.S. Amateur Champion Bill McCollum stormed through the event, going undefeated, while in the amateur division Arlo Walsman survived a brief visit to the one-loss side before claiming his division.
In the open division McCollum met Leil Gay in the hot seat match. With the set tied at 5-all, Gay broke and ran another rack to take a lead, but then a scratch and various errors gave the set away to McCollum 9-7. Over on the one-loss side Bill Lott shut out Shane Jackson 9-0, while Shane Albaugh crept past Marc Vidal 9-7. Albaugh then flew past Lott in the quarterfinals thanks to a four-pack, and in the semifinals Albaugh continued to shoot strong, eliminating Gay 9-6. In the finals, it was no contest as Albaugh took the first two racks only to watch McCollum take the next five before adding another four -pack on to win the match 9-2.
In the amateur division things were controlled through most of the event by Timmy “T-Town” Heath, who skipped past Arlo Walsman 6-2 in the hot seat match. On the one-loss side Alex Olinger drilled Danny Barnes, while Billy Pinion did the same to Ed Hancock, both matches going 6-2. In the quarterfinals Pinion eliminated Olinger 6-3 but then was ripped apart by Walsman 6-1 in the semifinals. Walsman then was able to claw his way to the finals, where he was looking for revenge. With Heath up 5-2, Walsman cleared a rack then opened a two-pack before final masterful safety set him up to take the set 6-5. Finally, with only one set remaining, Walsman kept control, taking it 6-3 to own the event.
Viking Tour Columbus, GA image gallery
Open Results:
1st Bill McCollum
2nd Shane Albaugh
3rd Leil Gay
4th Bill Lott
5th Shane Jackson
Marc Vidal
Amateur Results:
1st Arlo Walsman
2nd Timmy Heath
3rd Billy Pinion
4th Alex Olinger
5th Danny Barnes
Ed Hancock

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