Jason Kirkwood Blows Through Windy City Field

Jason Kirkwood Blows Through Windy City FieldBy Tom Martin, InsidePOOL StaffNumber-one pick Jason Kirkwood went undefeated to take the Windy City 9-Ball title at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL. His opponent in the finals was Donnie Branson, who mounted an amazing come from behind win over Jeff Sergent to earn his chance at the title and avenge his earlier 7-4 loss to Kirkwood on the winners’ side. It was not to be, however, as Kirkwood played an almost flawless final, holding all of his serves in the alternate-break format and mercilessly taking advantage of break troubles by Branson, eventually cruising to a lopsided 7-1 victory. Results:1st Jason Kirkwood2nd Don Branson3rd Jeff Sergent4th Aaron Goodwin5th Chad Lund, Tom SommersFriday night action also saw the Women’s 9-Ball event draw to a close, and it was Rebecca Wagner who emerged from the one-loss side of the bracket to defeat Angela Mears in two sets. Wagner took the first set easily in a 5-1 rout, but Mears was determined to make the most of the second set. Never more than a single game separated the two throughout the match, but Wagner made the most of the sometimes erratic play by scoring some fantastic safeties. It was Mears who reached the hill first, but a missed 4 ball gave Wagner life, and another great safety allowed her to knot the score at 4. Wagner came up dry on the last break, but Mears hooked herself on the 3 ball and was forced to kick, leaving Wagner jacked up over the 7 and facing a very difficult out. Wagner took a few moments to compose herself and then proceed to navigate a very tough table to take the win and the $300 first-place prize.Results:1st Rebecca Wagner2nd Angela Mears3rd Tina Larsen4th Maria Juana Armato Takes Gold Medal from SterlingIn the BCA Pool League Open 8-Ball event, Mark Armato defeated Mike Sterling in two sets to take the $480 top spot. Sterling, who arrived in the finals undefeated, never seemed to be able to catch a gear and often found himself with one ball remaining, which is death in 8-ball, as Armato simply played safe until he had the opportunity to run the table, which he did with aplomb, taking the first set 5-0 and only allowing Sterling two games in the deciding set. on the women’s side, it was local Susan Rose who took the title in the 28-person field.The 8-ball events began late Friday and are currently underway. The event, sponsored by AmberBock beer and Redbull, is scheduled to run through Sunday.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news on the Windy City Open.

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