Moore Scores at Diamond Pub
Diamond Pub 9-Ball Tournament / Louisville, KY
by Tom Fryer
Junior Moore is a champion, and he has first-time promoter Ernie Borraga to thank. Borraga joined forces with Louisville’s venerable tournament room, The Diamond Pub, to stage a 9-ball event November 1. Of the 32 invited players competing in the $375-added event, Moore was the one who took home top honors.
The tournament had a $40 entry with races to 5 on both sides and a loser-breaks format. The short races and loser breaks seemed to ensure that there would be no easy path to victory for the strong field assembled.
First to make an impression was self-admitted long shot Jerry Sauer Jr. He blasted his way into the winners’ semifinals before being dropped by Moore. Kenny Weatherly was also undefeated to the semis, where he was upended by Bill Watson. Sauer and Weatherly were eliminated in the next round to finish in a fifth-place tie. That left Bryan Roberts to match up with Vince Vaughn. Roberts prevailed 5-3, leaving Vaughn with a fourth-place finish. The winners’ final with Moore and Watson was a tense 5-3 win for Moore. Watson moved on to face Roberts for a spot in the finals, but Watson was once again stymied 5-3 and settled for the $180 third-place check.
Borraga joined forces with Louisville’s venerable tournament room, The Diamond Pub, to stage a 9-ball event November 1.
Soon to be a senior citizen, Moore struggles daily with his diabetes, and additionally by the time the championship round began his back was hurting so badly that “he couldn’t wait for it to be over.” It was no surprise, then, that he lost to Roberts 5-2, extending the match to true double elimination. The last set did go to Moore, but not until each man had reached the hill. Roberts collected $360 for second, while Moore took the $700 first prize, along with a $175 entry into the 9-ball event in January’s Derby City Classic that was added by Diamond Billiards.
Results:
1st Junior Moore
2nd Bryan Roberts
3rd Bill Watson
4th Vince Vaughn
5th Jerry Sauer Jr.
Kenny Weatherly
7th Matt Clark
Traynor Frate