The Stakes Go Up in Memphis

The Stakes Go Up in MemphisBy Steve TrinwardSaturday in Memphis the stakes got higher, as the second annual Memphis Classic, with a total purse of $15,000, kicked off at Bob Prater's expansive Highpocket's Billiard Club. Some of the top names in the game showed up: Barry Emerson, Jeremy Jones, Shannon Daulton, Johnathan Pinegar ... and even Earl “The Pearl” Strickland stepped to the floor and took his shots, making a total field of 77.This was added to the defending champion Shane McMinn, the quiet Oklahoman Gabe Owen, and mini tournament winner “Kid Delicious,” a few seasoned veterans like Dave Matlock, and a wide array of what the auctioneer called “flat bellies” (his term for the young and wild breed, both local and regional).
Once the proceeding got rolling, there was action aplenty. Among the early showdowns were between Music City Open champ Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar and Luke Gaines. Throughout the games, only one time was there more than a one-game difference between them, and the lead jockeyed back and forth all the way, until Hennessee finally put Gaines away 9-8. Hennessee went on to a hard-fought match with Nick Vita but fell just short at 9-7 after having seemingly won the battle. He will play Sunday noontime in an attempt to rise from the one-loss round to challenge again.The winner of Friday's mini, Danny Basavich, drew crowds for his matches on Saturday, alternating between annihilating his opponents and systematically defeating them. From his opening-round 9-1 squelching of Gary Browning to his 9-3 handling of Rodney Morris in the next bracket to his finishing flourish against the top 20 women's-ranked Lisa Marr to finish the day, he was a crowd-pleaser throughout. The Sunday lineup in the winners’ bracket includes many of the names you'd expect: Tony Fargo will face Earl Strickland; two Shanes, McMinn and Jones, match up appropriately; Barry Emerson battles James Baraks, Tom Seymour plays Nick Vita; Blake Todd faces Gordon Vanderveer; Shannon Daulton squares off with Gabe Owen for about the hundredth time; Jeremy “Double J” Jones meets “Kid Delicious”; and Chris Bartram deals with Lil’ John.The one-loss bracket includes Dave Matlock (who fell before “Double J”); Jonathan Hennessee; the two women, Marr and Gabriel, are still in the hunt; and several others. Still a lot of great matches to be played. If you are in the Memphis area, come on down!Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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