Upsets are the Rule at Music City Open

Upsets are the Rule at Music City OpenBy Steve Trinward, InsidePOOL StaffSix "open bid" players in the Wednesday players’ auction all suffered a loss at least once in the first two rounds of play, with the very real possibility that only one or two of them might survive to Friday. Four, including the three top bids (James Walden, David Matlock, and Scotty Townsend), even lost their opening matches and have long tightropes to walk if they would survive to the Sunday showdowns. Add in some surprising early losses by other standouts (Joe Bowman; Nick Vita; Joe Dan Bilyeu; and B.J. Ussery, who is already eliminated) and you begin to see what an open shootout this year's Music City Open is turning out to be.
Defending champion Jonathan "Hennessee" Pinegar dropped Randy Gregory 11-3 in his 8:00 p.m. first round but then was overcome by Floyd Reasons 11-7. Another surprise was an early loss by Jamie Baraks. He opened by toppling a very game Mark Jarvis 11-5, but he met his match in Michigan’s Brandon Ashcraft, who'd already toppled Townsend. Thanks to a series of scratches, "bad rolls," and early loose play, Baraks went down 11-7. He is still alive for his 5 p.m. Friday match against Jessie Middlebrooks. The other "top seeds" (at least by the bidding) fell in a similar way. Dave Matlock succumbed to Ronnie Martin, then took a 5-all tie to an 11-7 win in his next encounter. Townsend, after falling to Ashcraft, drew the same kind of desperate chance as Pinegar did, having to face Nick Vita in a midnight elimination round. Meanwhile, James Walden avenged an opening loss to Dino Congiardo with an 11-2 stomping of J. J. Mayfield, only to be stuck with another of the Thursday midnight showdowns against Seth Mallard. Local hero Bobby Pickle is having a good tournament so far, though it took some late come back action to stay in the winners' bracket. Pickle handled Barry Boney fairly easily in his first match, then faced Lance Ireland and had his hands full from the start until pulling off a hill-hill victory. The ladies’ tournament begins at 7 p.m. There have already been sightings of multiple-defending champ Helen Thornfeldt, Monica Webb, and a few others, so it should prove to be a real battleground.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news on the Music City Open.

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