17th Annual Music City Open Underway

17th Annual Music City Open Underway By Steve Trinward, InsidePOOL MagazineThe 17th annual Music City 9-Ball Open kicked off on Wednesday, January 7, 2004, with 74 players in the men's event and a maximum of 32 in the women's. The Music City Classic is being held through Sunday, January 12, at JOB Billiards in Nashville, TN.Wednesday night and all day Thursday saw the double-elimination, race-to-11 tournament field cut down to 60. In the opening round, there were only a few surprises but a lot of close calls, even for the favorites. Defending champion Shannon "The Cannon" Daulton, for example, survived a run by young upstart Dallas Roch, reaching the hill with a 10-3 lead, only to escape 11-9. He then dropped his second round to a more likely opponent, Dave Matlock, in a fairly even match. (Roch, meanwhile, managed an 11-6 ousting of Dallas Bilbrey to stay alive himself.)
Hometown favorite Bobby Pickle, who calls JOB Billiards his second home, had a mixed day: He took another top name, Larry Nevel, to school in their first-round match, running seven racks on the way to an 11-4 rout and barely allowing Nevel a shot. He then led Barry Emerson 6-4 before the latter ran seven straight wins to an 11-6 comeback. (Nevel, meanwhile, stayed alive with a commanding win over Bob Muriel.)In other action, local rising star Jonathon “Hennessee” Pinegar toppled Nate McGaha and Doug Young to stay among the unbeaten field. In the latter match, he survived Young's amazing last-ditch comeback -- three consecutive 9 ball drops on the break -- to win 11-9. Another match-up of fellow Nashvillians Anthony Barnett and Eric Hall eliminated Barnett after a seesawing showdown in which the latter held the hill at 10-8 only to see Hall run three games to win by the score of 11-10. In the final game, Barnett "rimmed the cup" on a corner shot with the 4 ball and then had to watch as Hall ran the table for the victory.Action begins again at 1:00 Friday afternoon, with rounds at 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and in the evening. The women's division begins at 7:00 p.m. and will feature an array of talented contenders. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest in the sport of billiards and pool.

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Inside Pool Magazine publishes billiard news. Definitive Synergy creates pool and billiard management software.