It was his first win of his own, new Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour season, but it was his third of the year. Tommy Kennedy had started the year with a January victory on the tour in Fort Myers, finished fifth later that same month, and won his second in March. In April, he'd fallen to Cliff Joyner in the finals of the last event of the overlapping-year season. He started the new season with a bang, going undefeated, in spite of a strong, one-loss side challenge by Justin Hall, who won eight in a row on the one-loss side for the right to meet him in the finals. The $1,500-added event drew 32 entrants to Veteran's Billiards in Port Charlotte, FL on Sunday, May 1. With three behind him, Kennedy moved among the winners' side final four to face Danny Mosey, as Stephen Richmond squared off against Ed Cabrera. Kennedy got into the hot seat match with a 9-4 win over Mosey. Richmond joined him by defeating Cabrera 9-5. Kennedy dominated the hot seat match, allowing Richmond only a single rack. Hall, in the meantime, who'd earned a bye in the event's opening round and been sent over by David Eyes in the second round, was working his way back. He reached his halfway point with a victory over Judd Strain, and followed it with a 7-3 victory over Obie Cirilo to pick up Cabrera, coming off the winners' side final four. Mosey drew Erica Park, who'd defeated Tim Witherspoon and Wayne Catledge 7-5 to reach him. A 7-2 win for Hall and a 7-4 victory for Park, put them into the quarterfinals, where Hall ended Park's bid 7-4. Hall was picking up some speed, as Kennedy sat watching. He downed Richmond in the semifinals 7-3, and turned for a crack at the hot seat occupant. While praising Hall's trek to the finals, and his game play, Kennedy allowed him only four racks in an 11-4 victory that completed his undefeated day and third 2011 win on his tour. Though Erica Park was the top female finisher in the event, Jessica Barnes earned $25 as the top female finisher, not in the money.
- by AzB Staff
AZBilliards.com

Tommy Kennedy won his own Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour for the second time in 2011 on Sunday, March 28. He went undefeated through a field of 43 players, on-hand for the $1,000-added event, hosted by Park Ave. Billiards, in Orange Park, FL. To win it, Kennedy had to withstand a challenge from deep on the one-loss side by Rod Rentz, who won seven straight to meet him in the finals. Kennedy almost had to meet him in the semifinals, when David Grossman brought him to double hill in the hot seat match. Kennedy had sent Larry Jackson west 9-1, as Grossman was sending Ron Park over 9-7. Kennedy survived the double hill battle, and watched, as Rentz worked his way back through the west bracket. Rentz got a bye in the opening round, and won his first match, before being sent to the one-loss side by Park. With two down and five to go, he got by Bobby Garza 7-2 and Bobby Moore 9-4 to earn a rematch versus Park. Jackson picked up Butch Croft, who’d defeated Kelly Lake 7-5 and Mike Clay 9-5. Rentz won the Park rematch 9-7, as Croft dropped Jackson into the tie for fifth place 9-2. Rentz then defeated Croft 9-7 in the quarterfinals and took on Grossman in the semifinals. In what would prove to be his last victory of the day, he dropped Grossman into third place to face Kennedy. Kennedy had high praise for Rentz’ effort, not only against him personally, but throughout the tournament. Rentz battled him strongly in the single, race-to-11 final, but Kennedy prevailed 11-9 to take the title. Asher Li picked up $25 as the highest-placing junior in the event, while Mandy Brisson and Rachel Manning split $25 for being the highest-placing ladies.
- by AzB Staff
AZBilliards.com

Tommy Kennedy didn’t exactly dismiss the talent of one David Eyes, but in the midst of a double hill struggle against him in the finals of his Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour stop on Saturday, January 8, he certainly re-evaluated. Kennedy prevailed to go undefeated in the $500-added event, which drew a short field of 10 entrants to the Miscue Lounge in Fort Myers, FL. Six of the 10 players were awarded byes in the opening round of play, leaving Kennedy to face Steve Richardson, and Troy Frank facing Albert Baker. Kennedy and Frank advanced, moving on to meet Juan Encarnacion and Steve Gardner, respectively, in the event’s second round. Second victories for Kennedy and Frank moved them among the winners’ side final four, where Kennedy faced Eyes for the first time and Frank took on Jeremy Boling. Frank sent Boling west 9-7, as Kennedy chalked up a relatively easy 9-3 win over Eyes. Kennedy got into the hot seat with a 9-7 victory over Frank, fully expecting to see him again. It didn’t happen. Eyes opened his three-match trek back to the finals against Richardson, who’d defeated Gardner to reach him. Boling drew Baker, who’d ended Encarnacion’s day. Eyes and Boling squared off in the quarterfinals, following Eyes’ 7-5 win over Richardson and Boling’s 7-3 defeat of Baker. Eyes, with Kennedy looking on, re-evaluating, battled his next two opponents – Boling in the quarterfinals and then, Frank in the semifinals. He forced a double hill, final game against them, won them both, and turned to face Kennedy. For the third straight time, this time in a race-to-11 final, Eyes brought his opponent to the brink. As director of the tour, Kennedy had seen Eyes play before, most recently in their earlier match, and he stepped to the table with a lot of confidence; a confidence that underwent re-evaluation itself, as Eyes battled him to double hill. Kennedy sunk the final ball and chalked up the win, but came away from the table with a different perspective on his opponent. He played really well,” said Kennedy after the match. “It was the best I’d ever seen him play.”
- by AzB Staff
AZBilliards.com

Tony Crosby went undefeated to win the SE Open 9-Ball Tour stop on September 19th at Veterans Billiards in Port Charlotte, Florida. Crosby navigated the field of 29 players and took the hot-seat with a 7-4 win over Stephen Richmond. Richmond's day went from bad to worse as he them dropped a 7-3 match to Louis Altes on the one loss side. The extended single elimination final set was all Crosby as he cruised to an 11-4 win over Altes. Crosby pocketed $460 for first place, while Altes settled for $350 in second place prize money. - by AzB Staff
AZBilliards.com

Robb Saez took first place at the August 1 installment of the Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, defeating Anthony Meglino for the title. The $500-added event was hosted by Cunningham’s Pool and Darts in Vero Beach, FL, and attracted a 30-player field. Saez took first place at the August 1 installment of the Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, defeating Anthony Meglino for the title. Racing through the winners’ side of the chart, Meglino arrived at the final four to play Chris Gentile, whom he bested 7-4. The other winners’ side match saw Han Berber send Wyler Ball to the west side 7-3. In the ensuing hot seat match, Meglino easily dominated Berber 7-2 to await a finals opponent. Ball went on to face Saez in the quarterfinal match, and Saez sent him rolling 7-4 to advance to the semifinals, where he eliminated Berber 7-3. In the final race to 9 against Meglino, it was touch and go, but at the end of it all, Saez stood in the winner’s circle, having won the match 9-8.
- by InsidePoolMag.com

Tommy Kennedy juggled both tournament director and player duties at the March 6-7 installment of the Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, getting past last stop’s winner John “Mr. 403” Schmidt to top the open division, while Jason Moran topped Sunday’s amateur division. The $1,000-added open event drew 29 players to Skeeters Billiards in Gulfport, MS, while the $500-added amateur event drew 25. Kennedy edged out Cliff Joyner 9-8 to meet Schmidt for the first time in the hot seat match. Schmidt, who was coming off a 9-4 win over Johnny Armstrong, notched up another one against Kennedy, who went west to fight for a rematch. On the left side of the bracket, Jay Bird took care of Jason Moran and Neil Alexander before coming up on Joyner, whom he held to seven games to reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Greg Hagin notched wins over Josh Charbonnet and Luc Detierne to face Armstrong. Allowing Armstrong just three games, Hagin advanced to the quarterfinals, but the four games he marked up there against Bird put him in fourth. In the semifinals, Kennedy was ready for his rematch with Schmidt, and he dropped Bird into third 9-6 to earn his chance at revenge. In the single race-to 11 final match, the two veterans stayed close, trading games until Kennedy reached the hill 10-9. Schmidt was on his way to tying it up, but an unlikely miss on the 6 ball brought Kennedy back to the table, and he took care of what was left to earn his victory 11-9. Other open event winners were Neil Alexander, who earned $50 as the highest-finishing senior; Jessica Penick, who pocketed $25 as highest-placing lady; and Johnny Armstrong, who took home an extra $25 as the top junior. On Sunday, Moran’s 5-2 win over Jim Sterling put him into the hot seat match against Tracy Guernsey, who’d shut out Luc Detierne. Against Moran, though, he managed just one game, and he moved over to the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Steve Kuhnau, who’d suffered an earlier loss to Sterling, was making his way through the field, getting past Steve Neil Alexander and Mike Trawick for another crack at Sterling. Meanwhile, Ken Black pushed his way past Brandon Goudreau and James Faison to reach Detierne, whom he put in fifth 4-1 to reach the quarterfinals. There he faced Kuhnau, who’d exacted his revenge on Sterling 4-3. Another 4-3 victory put Kuhnau up against Guernsey in the semifinals, and a 5-3 win put him into the single race-to-7 final match, but that was where his run ended. Moran took control early and kept it, finishing up his undefeated event 7-2.
- by Lea Andrews
InsidePoolMag.com

John “Mr. 403” Schmidt spent a little time over the weekend of February 20-21 to show that the South still belongs to him. As proof, he took down Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam twice at the $1,000-added Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, which drew 42 players to Pockets Billiards in Dothan, AL. Schmidt breezed past Billy “Cecil” Paye 9-3 to meet up with Putnam for the first time in the hot seat match. Putnam, who’d just sent Stoney Stone west 9-6, found himself on the wrong end of another 9-6 match, and he moved over to the semifinals to vie for his rematch. On the left side of the bracket, Scotty Townsend was plowing a steady path through the field after taking an early loss to Putnam. Ousting WPBA pro Tracie Hines 9-2, he moved on to Denny Singletary, who’d advanced 9-5 over Eugene Browning. Meanwhile, JR Rossman won 9-5 over Clay Medlock to meet up with Tracy Guernsey, who’d had his own 9-5 victory over Mark Shimmelman. In the hill-hill match that ensued, Rossman marked up the final game to face Stone and another hill-hill match. This time, though, it was his opponent who took the final rack, and Rossman landed in fifth while Stone advanced to the quarterfinals against Townsend, who’d edged out Paye 9-8. Both Stone and Townsend were looking for the rematch against Putnam in the semifinals, but Townsend earned it with a strong 9-6 victory. The rematch was the same story as the original, though, and Townsend finished in third 9-7, sending Putnam on to his own rematch with Schmidt. The single race-to-11 final match erased Putnam’s earlier loss, and though he and Schmidt stayed tight through the first part of the set, Schmidt started to pull away after they tied up at five apiece. Hardly allowing Putnam any chances at the table, Schmidt dominated the rest of the match to earn his second consecutive Southeast Open win 11-5. Other winners over the weekend were Vicky Rybik, who earned $50 as highest-finishing amateur lady; Joe Davis, who took home $50 as highest-finishing senior; and Scotty Townsend’s son, Mike, who pocketed $25 as highest-finishing junior.
1st John Schmidt $760
2nd Shawn Putnam $500
3rd Scotty Townsend $400
4th Stoney Stone $300
5th JR Rossman $150
Billy Paye
7th Tracy Guernsey $75
Denny Singletary
9th Clay Medlock $50
Mark Shimmelman
Eugene Browning
Tracie Hine
- by Lea Andrews
InsidePoolMag.com Additional Information Local non profit charity of Dothan received $50.00
Highest lady finisher received $50. Vicky Rybik
Highest junior $25.00 Mike Townsend
Highest senior $50. Joe Davi Finals: John Schmidt 11 / Shawn Putnam 5
semi: Shawn Putman 9 / Scotty Townsend 7
hot seat John Schmidt 9 / Shawn Putnam 6
quarter loss: Scotty Townsend 9 / Stoney Stone

Mike Dechaine came from the one-loss side to defeat tour director Tommy Kennedy in the finals of the Southeast Open 9-Ball Tournament on the weekend of November 7-8. The $1,000-added event drew 15 entrants to Ultimate Billiards in Fort Pierce, FL. A $500-added amateur event drew 17 on Sunday and was won by Anthony Meglino in a 9-0 victory over Prescott Buckwold in the finals. Johnny Aguilar finished third in the amateur event. Matt Holland finished fourth. Dechaine advanced among the winner’s side final eight before heading west on the heels of a victory by Jerry Calderon. Calderon went on to defeat Hunter Lombardo in a hill-hill matchup, before giving way to Kennedy, who’d sent Mike Hutcheson west 7-5, and then gained the hot seat with 7-4 win over Calderon. Dechaine began his six-victory march to the winners’ circle with a win over Mike Bradford and followed it with a win over Randy Epperson, that put him up against Hutcheson. Curtis Kelly, in the meantime, was moving past Sam Staats and Meglino (who played in both events) for the right to square off against Lombardo. Lombardo defeated Kelly 7-4, as Dechaine got by Hutcheson 7-5, and the two met in the quarterfinals. With the races now advanced to nine games, Dechaine dropped Lombardo into fourth place 9-7, earning him a second chance at the man who’d sent him to the one-loss side, Calderon. Dechaine battled to a 9-6 win and turned to face Kennedy. An early 3-0 lead for Dechaine was erased by Kennedy, and the two battled back and forth to an 8-8 tie in the final race to 11. Dechaine won the 17th game and Kennedy broke for the chance to tie it back up. The 1-ball dropped on the break and Kennedy lined up a shot that saw the 2-ball travel three rails and drop in. Unfortunately, the cue ball continued to travel and dropped into a side pocket, giving Dechaine ball-in-hand and the opportunity to run out, which he did, putting him on the hill. A 1-9 combination after the subsequent break sealed the deal for Dechaine.“He played really well,” said Kennedy. “He made some great cuts and a lot of tricky shots to win it.” - by Skip Maloney - AzB Staff - 2009-11-08
AZBilliards.com

Tommy Kennedy got by Shawn Putnam twice, on his way to a victory on his own Southeast Open 9-Ball tour on the weekend of September 26-27. The $1,500-added Open portion of the event drew 35 entrants to the Southside Billiard Club in Savannah, GA. A $500-added amateur event, won by David Crocker, ran concurrently and drew 29 entrants. Kennedy and Putnam first locked cues among the winners’ side final four. Kennedy sent Putnam over to the battle for fifth place 9-5 to face Mike Staubes in the hot seat match. Staubes had sent J.R. Rossman west 9-7. Kennedy gained the hot seat with a 9-3 win over Staubes and waited for what turned out to be Putnam’s return. Putnam’s move to the one-loss side set him up against Ron Park, who’d gotten by Sam Staats and Ben Sadowski from among the event’s final 12. Rossman faced Jim Rushing, who’d defeated Kevin Caruso and Chad Stokes. Putnam and Rossman advanced to the quarterfinals with identical 9-5 wins over Park and Rushing. Putnam dropped Rossman into fourth place 9-2 and did the same thing to Staubes in the semifinal match that followed. Retribution was in the air, not only in terms of Putnam’s second shot at Kennedy in this tournament, but in light of the fact, as well, that in their last few meetings, including the US Open last year, Putnam had been the victor. The two battled back and forth through the opening games, with Putnam (according to Kennedy) making some ‘ridiculous’ kick shots and successfully utilizing his jump cue. Tied at 6-6, Kennedy edged out in front by two racks, and then added two more, to Putnam’s one, to reach the hill at 10-7. Kennedy watched as a ball in the eighteenth rack drifted a little further than he’d expected, and he was hooked. With ball in hand, Putnam finished the rack and then on the subsequent break, dropped the 9-ball. At 10-9, the two struggled back and forth over the first two balls before Kennedy hooked Putnam on a shot at the 3-ball. Putnam missed and with ball in hand, Kennedy ran the table to finish it. Crocker picked up the $460 first place prize in the amateur event with a hill-hill, 7-6 finals victory over Billy Holmes. Holmes took home $300 for second place. John Hill finished in third place ($200) and Larry Lee finished fourth ($150). - by Skip Maloney - AzB Staff - 2009-9-29
AZBilliards.com