Knoll Earns Fire Cracker Victory
McDermott All-American Tour / Port Charlotte, FL
by InsidePOOL Staff
Billiard News – The Fire Cracker 8-Ball Tournament, hosted by Q’s Sports Bar and Girl in Port Charlotte, FL, July 1, brought a seasoned group of 18 exceptional pool players together. Matches pitting master-division men, open-division men, and open-division women together for the $840 in prize monies showcased one of the area’s toughest recent competitions.
Master men played to six games, while open men played to 4, and women played to 3. This leveled the playing field so that all the prize money was up for grabs for every competitor. The double-elimination tournament quarterfinals saw master player Paul Bramwell defeat Larry Fife, sending him to the one-loss side. Ken Coulter also sent Shawn Collie to the west side in a closely fought match. Master players Steve Knoll and Glen Olsen struggled through a difficult match that saw Olsen head to the dark side, while Shaun Jones bested Chris Machuga to advance.
On the one-loss side the top-finishing woman, Kelli Knoll, finished in a seventh-place tie after suffering a frustrating 4-1 defeat at the hands of Shawn Collie. Travis Laswell won over Trey Jankowski to advance to the money.
The winner’s side semifinals saw Coulter drop to the left side at the hands of Bramwell in a 6-2 defeat, while Knoll crushed Jones in a 6-0 whitewashing. On the one-loss side Collie eliminated Jones into fifth place, and Coulter defeated Laswell to place him in the other fifth-place spot.
The winner’s side finals matched two master players with Knoll playing consistent run-out pool to defeat Bramwell 6-1. Coulter met his demise in the west side, as Collie got his revenge in a 4-2. Collie then proceeded to eliminate Bramwell 4-2, which placed Bramwell in the third-place position.
The tourney finals pitted open player Collie against undefeated master player Knoll. Collie had to defeat Knoll twice for first place in the double-elimination format. The first set reflected Collie’s stamina and determination as he defeated Knoll 4-4. The second match demonstrated the seasoned master player’s tenacity and skill, as he overwhelmed Collie 6-0 for the title.
Results:
1st Steve Knoll
2nd Shawn Collie
3rd Paul Bramwell
4th Ken Coulter
5th Shaun Jones
Travis Laswell