Joyner Wins BCA One-Pocket Championship

Joyner Wins BCA One-Pocket ChampionshipBy Tom Martin, InsidePOOL StaffTo no one’s surprise, Cliff Joyner topped the 51-player field to win the $3,900 first prize and title of U.S. Open One-Pocket Champion, being held in conjunction with the BCA Pool League National Championships at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.Joyner and Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton met once again in the single-set race-to-5 finals. Daulton had run through Joyner earlier like he wasn’t even there in the hot seat match. Afterward, Joyner pounded Chicago’s Marco Marquez 4-0 in a 38-minute match, stopping Marquez at third place and reaping his opportunity for revenge.
Daulton took the first game of the finals 8-6 but conceded the second match after over-cutting the 6 ball. Tied one game apiece, Daulton gained a 4 to –1 lead in the third game, only to hang a ball and see Joyner run 9 and out to go up two games to one.The fourth game was all Daulton, and, down 6-0, Joyner gave a rare display of frustration, taking a flyer that quickly allowed Daulton to tie the match at 2-2.Daulton took the lead and the momentum in the fifth game, going up 3-2. A scratch cost him the lead in the next match, though, and Joyner was given new life at 3 apiece. When Daulton accidentally pocketed the game ball for his opponent in the next game, Joyner took a 4-3 lead. The players tied the last game on the hill with great safety play, but Daulton got an unlucky kiss that gave Joyner a straight-in shot on his last ball. Dalton netted $2,300 for second, while Marco Marquez and fellow Chicago player Ike Runnels took home $1,400 and $860 for third and fourth place, respectively.In the mixed doubles event, the team of Bert Kinister and Orietta Strickland remained undefeated as they swept the field to win. Their opponents in the finals were Canadian couple Dave and Anita McMahon, who lost earlier to Kinister and Strickland in a hard-fought but eventually lopsided hot seat match. The McMahon’s fought their way back to the finals but were stopped cold as Kinister and Strickland played an almost flawless final, in which they emerged victorious by a score of 6-1. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the BCA Pool League.

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