Hatch Wins Florida Pro Event Double-Hill

Hatch Wins Florida Pro Event Double-Hillby Rick DavisThe top eight left in the Florida Pro Tour’s third stop at Strokers Billiards saw a frenzy of action as the players inched closer to the big payout. Michael “The Hitman” Destafano faced off against Robb Saez, in a match where Saez took control and the win. Destafano was happy with his play and, when asked about the day, said, “The ten-ball format causes everyone to play more aggressive. Plus, it’s almost a disadvantage to break because you usually don’t get anything on the snap.” The other piece of the one-loss side saw Sparky Ferrell defeat Chris Bartram. Bartram and Destafano received $650 for their 7/8th place finish.View Brackets hereOn the winners’ side, Richie Richeson defeated “Rocket” Rodney Morris, and Dennis Hatch defeated Troy Frank. Hatch, who recently won events at the Super Billiards Expo and the Joss Northeast tour, said that, “The fast tables are making me play timid because I have a big stroke, and I can’t let the cue ball get away from me.”
Back on the one-loss side, Ferrell defeated Troy Frank while Morris bested Saez 8-5 and 8-7, respectively. Each eliminated player took away $900 each for their 5/6th place finish. Morris and Saez often travel together and are from the same room in Springhill, FL. Morris said, “It’s always tough playing a friend because of the emotions involved. I want to see him run the racks, but at the same time I want to win too. I knew that no matter what the outcome, I would feel upset.” In Morris’ next match, he defeated Ferrell, who left with $1,200 for his 4th place finish. Ferrell took 4th place at last week’s event as well. Hatch and Richeson played for the hot seat, where Hatch came out on top to win 8-5. Things started good for Hatch as he took 3 of the first 4 games, but then Richeson took 3 of the next 4 after that, making the score even at 4-all. Hatch, though, could not be stopped and took two more, then, after losing another, took the last two to win the match.Trying to fight back to the top, Morris faced Richeson for the right to play in the finals. Morris started strong, taking the first two, but then Richeson took 5 straight. They traded racks, and then Morris came back to win three more and tie the set at 6-all. Richeson took the next rack to get to the hill, and things looked bad for Morris, but he took the next two racks to win the match and the right to play Hatch, who was waiting in the hot seat. Richeson took away $1,500 for his 3rd place finish.The final match was a nail-biter all the way. Hatch took control early to get up 6-1 but Morris fought back making the score 6-5. From there Morris fought for every bit but could not hold out, and Hatch won double-hill. Morris took $2,000 for second place, while Dennis Hatch received $3,500 for first place in the Florida Pro Tour’s third stop.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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