Saunders and Kennedy Come Out on Top of KF Cue Tour
KF Cue Tour / Spring Hill, FL
by Lea Andrews
Though they chose different routes to get there, George Saunders and Tommy Kennedy both ended up in the same place the weekend of January 9-10: the KF Cue Tour winner’s circle at Capone’s Billiards in Spring Hill, FL. While Saunders went undefeated to top the $1,000-added, 40-entrant amateur event on Saturday, Kennedy rebounded from an early loss to Mike Davis in Sunday’s $1,000-added open event to capture his second KF Cue Tour victory this season.
Saunders got past Josh Lewis to reach the hot seat match, where he faced Dan Dennis, who was coming off a win over Joe Scarborough. A hard-fought 7-6 win left Saunders the sole undefeated competitor, and Dennis moved to the left side to look for the rematch.
To get there, though, he’d have to get past Derek Greenwood, who’d been moving through the west side after taking a hit from Saunders, marking up strong wins over Louis Altes, Bill Dunsmore, Scarborough, and Lewis to reach the semifinals. The finals would be a rematch no matter what, but it was Dennis who earned it, and when he reached the single race-to-9 final match, he made a strong case for himself, pushing the score to 8-8. But it was Saunders who topped the safety battle in the final rack, pocketing the final 9 to notch his first-ever KF Cue Tour win.
Dan Dennis and George Saunders
On Sunday, as Kennedy was moving steadily through the elimination rounds to reach the finals, Justin Hall was making his way through the right side, posting a 7-5 win over Davis to reach the hot seat match against Louis Altes, who’d just shut out Wesley White. Against Hall, though, Altes had no such luck, moving to the other side 7-4.
On the one-loss side, Kennedy, who’d run through Elvis Rodriguez 6-3, Derek Greenwood 6-0, and Lewis 6-2, faced Davis once again, allowing him only one game in a race to 6 and planting Davis in fifth. After a 6-3 quarterfinal win over Richie Richeson, who’d just ousted White, it was semifinal time for Kennedy, who allowed Altes to reach the hill but took the final rack for himself.
In the single race-to-7 final match, Kennedy went ahead and let Hall reach the hill, too, but when Hall broke open the final rack and left all the balls on the table, Kennedy took over, making the 1 and the 2 to set up a 3-9 combination, which he nailed for his second win this season.
Kennedy and Rocky McElroy
Amateur Results:
1st George Saunders $550
2nd Dan Dennis $400
3rd Derek Greenwood $300
4th Josh Lewis $200
5th Joe Scarborough $100
Louie Smith
7th Bill Dunsmore $75
Bill Delisle
9th Coot Highsmith $50
Bill Stoll
Louis Altes
Wesley White $50
Open Results:
1st Tommy Kennedy $500
2nd Justin Hall $400
3rd Louis Altes $300
4th Richie Richeson $200
5th Wesley White $100
Mike Davis