Archer Takes Athens by Storm

J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour / Athens, GA

by Skip Maloney

Johnny Archer found a mid-tournament stride that propelled him to a first place finish in the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour June 21. A small field of 19 entrants was on hand for the $500-added, open portion of the event at Lucky Dawgs Billiards in Athens, GA.

After struggling through the opening two rounds, winning 7-5 and 7-6 to advance to the final four on the winners’ side, Archer sent Bruce Berrong, west with a commanding 7-1 victory. He followed that up in the hot seat match by defeating Henry Cofer without losing a single game.

Earlier in the day, on the one-loss side, Ed Roldan, Jim Jennings, Ron Park and T.F. Whittington advanced into the event’s final eight with victories over B.R. Tatum, David Shadden, Mark Patterson, and Marc Finley, respectively. Jennings and Park then moved into the final 6 with victories over Roldan and Whittington.

Berrong and Billy Holmes fought through the left side by dropping Ron Park and Jim Jennings into fifth place, respectively, and turning to face each other. Berrong defeated Holmes in the quarterfinals and Cofer in the semifinals by identical 7-2 scores.

Archer’s 14-1 momentum in the two matches that preceded the final didn’t stay with him in the rematch against Berrong, who, though making only one ball on any break in the match, never allowed Archer’s lead to advance beyond two games. At 6-5, with a chance to tie, Barrong missed an easy 8 ball that eventually put Archer up again by 2. Berrong won three of the next four racks to bring it to hill-hill, but Archer prevailed in the final game.

Results:
1st Johnny Archer
2nd Bruce Barrong
3rd Henry Cofer
4th Billy Holmes
5th Ron Park
Jim Jennings
7th Ed Roldan
T.F. Whittington
9th B.R. Tatum
David Shadden
Mark Patterson
Marc Finley