Music City Down to Final Few

Music City Down to Final FewBy Steve Trinward, InsidePOOL StaffIn an apparent effort to let exhaustion play a role in the outcome, the Music City Open tournament directors put the one-loss players through a marathon Saturday, with some players having to suit up for as many as five consecutive matches, followed by the traditional Midnight Madness shootout.At last count, only Blake Todd, Chad Vilmont, and Brandon Ashcraft remained undefeated. Meanwhile, teenager Todd from Memphis got by Doug Young 11-8 in the other winners’ bracket semifinal after another nip-and-tuck battle, winning the last four games of the match.
On the one-loss side, a match between Billy Bailey and David Braxson was extending beyond 90 minutes, with Braxson holding a slight lead. Bailey, owner of Diamond Billiards in Jasper, TN, had reached that point with a from-the-grave comeback against the feisty but sometimes erratic Jamie Baraks, who blew a hill-4 lead in the process, despite a couple of rather remarkable jump-cut shots along the way.Baraks had gotten to that point by besting Pooky Rasmeloungon 11-7, Floyd Reasons 11-5, and finally crafty veteran David Matlock 11-8. For some reason, however, against the less-imposing Bailey, he just could not seem to close the deal. After missing his final attempt at a jump-cut shot, and as Bailey lined up to run the last four inevitable balls, Baraks turned away and, in one motion, snapped his cue stick in half in utter frustration.Another match of note pitted two local veterans and longtime friends Bobby Pickle and Jimmy Reid against one another, with Reid emerging 11-5. Pickle had just survived another local standout, Tennessee State Champion Nick Hickerson, in a thrilling 11-7 match, in which Pickle swept the last four games. Reid, meanwhile, had bested James Forsythe after suffering his only loss of the week, 11-8 to young Todd, before facing off with Pickle.On the ladies’ side, there were only a few matches played, but they also thinned the field considerably. Monica Webb knocked multiple-time defending champion Helena Thornfeldt from the unbeaten ranks with a commanding 7-2 victory. In the other winners' side match, Emily Wilmoth of Boca Raton, FL, took down the younger of the Hardwick sisters, Alison (only 15), 7-4. Sunday's play resumes at 2 p.m., beginning with a showdown of the remaining undefeated players. Then the one-loss battles continue until only one is left to face the top dog, presumably at 6 p.m. The ladies will also play off to determine the ultimate Queen of Music City, at least for this year. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news on the Music City Open.

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