Second Annual Windy City Open Results

Second Annual Windy City Open Results Tom Martin, InsidePOOL MagazineThe Second Annual Windy City Open has drawn to a close. The four-day event, held at the Radisson Chicago-Alsip Hotel, concluded with a wrap-up of the final three of the five events. In the Open 8-Ball division, Jeff Sergent reigned supreme, going undefeated through the 87-player field. He faced 9-Ball Open event winner Jesse Bowman in the finals of the race-to-6 (5-game race on the one-loss side) tournament. Bowman, who lost his second match, fought his way all the way through the one-loss bracket to reach the finals.
While struggling with his break, Bowman was playing his typical fast-and-loose style of play, running tables at an average of 90 seconds a rack. Jeff Sergent, on the other hand, a little more methodical of a player, was in top form. He took the hot seat from James Baraks with a 6-3 victory. Bowman cruised to a 5-1 win to earn a place in the finals. There, however, Sergent played almost flawlessly and never missed a ball. Starting with a break-and-run, then taking advantage of a no-in break in the second game and bad safe in the third, Sergent quickly built a 3-0 lead. Bowman broke and ran out to take a game, but from there it was all Sergent. A perfect break and successful navigation of a difficult rack made it 4-1, and a then terrible break by Bowman, where nine balls remained in the rack area was no problem for Sergent, who continued to make everything he shot at. Bowman had a final chance when Sergent failed to make a ball on the break on the hill, but faltering position play led to a miss. Sergent played a simple lock safety, and Bowman missed the subsequent kick, giving Sergent ball in hand, the match, and the $3,700 (including players’ auction) first-place prize. Behind Bowman, Barakas and John Risko filled out the top four spots.The Women’s 8-Ball event culminated in former touring pro Debbie Martin prevailing on the winners’ side, waiting for the winner of the third-place match that pitted Pam Bell against Jolene Herum. Bell, who won the 9-ball tournament here at the Windy City, was bidding for her second title and a potential sweep. She jumped to a 3-1 lead and smoothly ran out the final game after a miss by Herum.Perhaps the four days of play took there toll on Bell, for in the final match she was far from her usual self, making several unforced errors and exhibiting a rare lack of confidence. For her part, Martin battled fiercely, and there was never a gap of more than a single game the entire set. With both players on the hill, however, Martin missed a bank on the key ball and was unable to close out the match. Bell, still “limping,” cleared the table to force a second set. There it was all Martin, as she ratcheted her game up a notch and that, mixed with continued erratic play by Bell, resulting in an amazing 5-0 whitewash. Ironically, this weekend was a mirror image of the Wisconsin State Championships, where Bell won the 9-ball event but was defeated in two sets by Martin.Bell was able to salvage something of Sunday, however, as she and partner Cecil Messer came back from the one-loss side of the Mixed Scotch Doubles 8-Ball event to prevail over Rebecca Gardner and Aaron Goodwin with a 3-0, 3-0 two-set win. Bell and Messer pocketed $500 for their victory over the strong 31-team field. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest in the sport of billiards and pool.

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