Last weekend (January 8), Mike Davis got into the hot seat on the Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour and was defeated in the finals by Tommy Kennedy. This week, on January 14, Davis took a different route, to a different, preferable outcome. It was Davis this time who was sent to the semifinals, from whence he returned to defeat hot seat occupant, Justin Hall, in the finals. The $1,000-added event drew 22 entrants to Hammerheads in Holiday, FL. Davis and Kennedy met in this one, as well; among the winners' side final four. Davis sent Kennedy west 9-6 and advanced to the hot seat match against Hall, who'd defeated James Roberts 9-3. Hall got into the hot seat on the heels of a decisive 9-2 victory over Davis in their first of two. Kennedy moved over to face Jason Richko, who'd gotten by Mark Walthen 7-3 and shut out Bill Delisle to reach him. Roberts picked up Louis Altes, who'd defeated Jose Del Rio 7-4 and Art Seamen 7-3. Kennedy and Altes moved into the quarterfinals with identical 7-3 victories over Richko and Roberts. Altes then prevented a Kennedy/Davis rematch with a 7-3 defeat of Kennedy in those quarterfinals. Davis allowed Altes only a single rack in a semifinal victory that gave him a second shot at Hall. Hall took an early, three-game lead, 5-2, before Davis settled in to win eight in a row to reach the hill first in the extended, race-to-11 finals. Davis scratched on the subsequent break, opening the door to a three-game run by Hall. An unforced error by Hall in the 19th rack, though, gave Davis the chance he needed. He finished the rack to capture the event title. - by Skip Maloney - AzB Staff - 2012-01-16
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Tommy Kennedy likes to play from behind. He doesn't recommend it as a strategic option, but for him, being behind in a tournament or individual match tends to focus him in ways that large leads don't. He utilized this preference to return from the semifinals of the first 2012 stop on his Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball tour, on Sunday, January 8, and defeat hot seat occupant, Mike Davis, who'd sent him to the semifinals. The $5,000-added event drew 47 entrants to Veteran's Billiards in Port Charlotte, FL. From among the winners' side final four, Kennedy sent Danny Green west with a commanding 11-1 victory that included seven 9-balls on the break (which failed to count, since they failed to enter either the side pocket or the corner pockets from which he broke). Davis, in the meantime, prevailed in a double hill battle that sent Stoney Stone to the loss side. In their first of two, Davis defeated Kennedy 11-9, and sat in the hot seat awaiting his return. Green moved over to pick up Justin Hall, who'd defeated Steve Giedraitisz 9-7 and Han Berber in a double hill match. Stone drew Josh Lewis, who'd gotten by Trey Jankowski 9-5 and Ray Linares 9-6. Green and Stone made short work of their first, loss-side opponents; Green eliminating Hall 9-6, Stone defeating Lewis 9-2. Stone defeated Green 9-4 in the quarterfinals that followed, and then fell to Kennedy by the same score in the semifinals. Kennedy's 'plan' (coming from behind) was in full swing. Davis opened the single race to 13 finals with two in a row, and Kennedy responded with four racks that gave him the lead. Davis tied it up, and Kennedy responded with four to go up 8-4. Davis came right back with four of his own to tie things at 8-8, but they'd prove to be the last four games he'd win. Kennedy won the next five, with a couple of 'break and runs' for good measure to secure the event victory. "When I'm either even or down, I play better, because I bear down more," said Kennedy the next day. "When it got to 8-8, I figured, OK, it's a race to five now, and I just took advantage of the opportunities when they presented themselves." At the conclusion of the tournament, Mike Davis was presented with a Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball 'Greatest Attitude' award, which added a trophy with that achievement inscribed on it to his second place winnings "He was really happy about the award," said Kennedy. "He'd told me that he'd gotten trophies for winning tournaments before, but never anything like that."
- by Skip Maloney - AzB Staff - 2012-01-09
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Tommy Kennedy credits the removal of coffee from his diet for his recent string of three victories on his own Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour; the latest of which occurred on the weekend of August 27-28, at a $1,000-added event that drew 37 entrants to Zingale's Billiards in Tallahassee, FL. "The change," he said, of his decision to quit drinking coffee about four months ago, "has been dramatic. I feel more steady, alive, and not so super-tired all the time. I drink tea now, so I don't think it was the caffeine. I think the coffee itself had something in it that disagreed with me." This time around, unlike the back-to-back tournaments he won on the weekend of August 21-22, Kennedy had to come from deep on the one-loss side to chalk up the event win. Keith Brintan sent him to the one-loss side in the second round of play, and would face him again in the battle for the fifth-place tie. Brintan advanced to the winners' side final four, where he was sent west by Wayne Stone. Josh Hilliard joined Stone in the battle for the hot seat, after defeating Kriss Pitts. All three matches among the final four winners were 9-2 victories for the advancing players, including the hot seat match, won by Hilliard, who then waited for Kennedy's return. Brintan moved over and ran right into Kennedy, who'd defeated Denny Fox and Luther Blades to reach him. Pitts drew John Amiss, who'd gotten by Arthur Hunyh and Andrew Stewart. Kennedy wreaked his vengeance on Brintan 9-2 to move into the quarterfinals, where he was joined by Pitts, who'd downed Amiss 9-5. Kennedy won the next two – the quarterfinals versus Pitts, and the semifinals against Stone – by identical 9-3 scores, and turned to face the remaining obstacle in his quest for a three-peat. He took the extended race-to-11 finals by a score of 11-4. Denny Singletary won a $100-added Second Chance tournament on Sunday, defeating Rich Whitacar in the finals 7-4. Venue owner Mike Zingale finished third, with Cole Davis in fourth place. Kennedy returned the $15 registration fee, included in the $35, Second Chance entry fee, to the tournament. In addition to thanking Vingale and his staff, Kennedy thanked both Tracie Majors, and Lee Lloyd for their assistance with the event.
- by Skip Maloney - AzB Staff - 2011-08-29
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Tommy Kennedy's Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour happened to schedule two separate events on the same weekend. The first, on Saturday, August 20, happened at Hammerheads in Holiday, FL, while the second, on Sunday, August 21, was about two hours south, at Veteran's Billiards in Port Charlotte. Kennedy won them both, defeating Mike Davis in the finals both times. The $1,000-added event on Saturday drew 34 entrants to Hammerheads, while the second, another $1,000-added event, drew 18 to Veteran's Billiards. Davis advanced to the hot seat in the Saturday event, sending Kennedy to the semifinals, from whence he'd return to defeat Davis in the finals. In the Sunday event, Kennedy sent Davis to the one-loss side from among the winners' side final four and faced Tony Crosby in the battle for the hot seat. Crosby went to the semifinals where he was downed by Davis, who returned to face Kennedy. They played four matches over the two days, and Kennedy took three of them. On Saturday, Kennedy had sent Han Berber west 9-7, as Davis was sending Erica Park over 9-5. This set up the first of their four; advantage, Davis in the battle for the hot seat 9-4. Berber moved over to take on Mike Delawder, while Park faced Adam Wheeler, who'd been sent west 8-3 by Kennedy from among the final eight winners. Wheeler and Delawder made Berber and Park's loss-side journey brief; Wheeler downing Park 7-3, and Delawder finishing Berber's day 7-5. Wheeler won the quarterfinals that followed, and got a second chance versus Kennedy in the semifinals. Kennedy had allowed him only three racks in their first meeting, and gave up only one more in the second match. Kennedy tied the four-game matchup between he and Davis at 1-1 with a commanding 11-3 win in the extended race-to-11 finals, that spoiled Davis' bid for an undefeated day. On Sunday, they met up first among the winners' side final four. Kennedy sent Davis west 9-3, and in the hot seat battle, faced Tony Crosby, who'd just defeated Frank Strain 9-2. Kennedy gained the hot seat with a 9-5 win over Crosby, and waited for his fourth and final matchup versus Davis. First up for Davis on the one-loss side was John Filax, who'd gotten by Eddie Falcon 7-4, and Travis Laswell 7-5. Strain picked up Devon Rogers, who'd defeated Bill Bloom and Steve Richmond, both 7-4. Davis and Rogers squared off in the quarterfinals, once Davis had defeated Filax 7-4 and Rogers had eliminated Strain 7-2. Davis survived a double hill battle against Rogers in those quarterfinals, and followed that with a 7-3 victory over Crosby that gave him a second (make that fourth) chance against Kennedy. Davis put up a stronger fight in Sunday's race-to-11 finals, but Kennedy finished it two games in front at 11-9 and completed his undefeated day. "This," said Kennedy on Monday, "should just about pay my (cell phone) bill."
- by Skip Maloney - AzB Staff - 2011-08-24
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In the opening round of play in the Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour stop on Saturday, June 11, Mike Davis sent Anthony Meglino to the one-loss side. Three rounds later, Davis was in the hot seat, awaiting the completion of an eight-match winning streak by Meglino that included three double hill wins and set up an improbable rematch. Davis prevailed to take home the first place prize, but not before Meglino put up a strong fight in the extended race-to-11 finals. The $1,000-added event drew 23 entrants to Veteran's Billiards in Port Charlotte, FL. From among the winners' side final four, Davis faced John DiToro, as Louis Altes squared off against Troy Frank. Davis sent DiToro west 9-2 to get into the hot seat match versus Altes, who'd sent Frank over 9-5. Davis gained the hot seat with a 9-3 victory and awaited Meglino's return. With half of his winning streak behind him, Meglino defeated Felix Luna, double hill, for the right to face Frank. Di Toro picked up Jerry Calderon, who'd defeated Travis Laswell 7-2. Meglino and Calderon made Frank and DiToro's visit to the one-loss side brief; Meglino surviving his second straight double hill battle over Frank, as Calderon was busy defeating DiToro 9-4. Meglino got caught up in his third straight double hill match in the quarterfinals against Calderon. He survived it, and downed Altes 9-6 in the semifinals, for a long-awaited rematch against the man who'd forced him into such a long day. The extended race-to-11 was a constant struggle, and though Davis completed the match and his undefeated weekend ahead by three at 11-8, Meglino had come within a single shot of being as close as a single game. At 10-8, Meglino took a shot that jammed two balls into a pocket. Neither fell, and one of them was the 9-ball. Davis took advantage and ended the match. - by Skip Maloney - AzB Staff - 2011-06-15
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