Tom Harwood wins the Corner Pocket Qualifier

Tom Harwood

A USBA Regional Qualifier was held at the Corner Pocket Billiards in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday January 17, 2009. The tournament was well-promoted with an expected turnout of 12-16 players but due to unforeseen circumstances, only 6 were in attendance for the competition.

A 6 player round robin tournament was held on 3 well-maintained Verhoeven heated 5' x 10' tables. The host, Bill Maloney, was very gracious in offering his room with no monetary compensation for the event. Thanks Billy!

The first round of matches started shortly after a brief players meeting was held at 10:30AM. In the first round, Don Sperber was upset by newcomer Mike Brodie 25-22 in a close and hard-fought match. Henry Ugartechea frustratingly dropped his first match to veteran Tom Harwood 25-12 which later proved to be a crucial match. Two other top local players Armando Wong and Alfonso Torres went head-to-head with Alfonso proving victorious with a 25-20 win.

The players were all in good spirits and as play continued the local crowd of spectators/players grew with many whispering to each other who their favorites were for each match. The players took a much needed 45 minute recess after the third round to grab a bite to eat.

Going into the final round there was a three-way tie with records of 3-1 between Tom Harwood, Henry Ugartechea, and Alfonso Torres. The tiebreakers were as follows: win/loss record, total points, and head-to-head. Tom had beaten Henry and Henry had beaten Alfonso at this point.

The final round proved to be the deciding factor when Tom Harwood pulled out a narrow and thrilling victory defeating Don Sperber 25-20. Alfonso Torres took great care in defeating Mike Brodie 25-13. The last match of the event wound up being a hard-fought one. With Henry Ugarthechea down 23-20, he stepped up to the table and shot a twice around the table 8-railer to score. Two points later, a natural awaited, but a miscalculation caused a kiss in the seemingly easy shot. Armando walked up to the table and with confidence scored his remaining two points to emerge victorious.

With a 4-1 record and 121 total points, Tom Harwood took 1st place and has qualified to play in the USBA Nationals. Congrats Tom!

Alfonso Torres, also with a record of 4-1 and 116 total points, took 2nd place and
$ 90.00 in prize money. A true gentleman of the sport, congratulations Alfonso!

Henry Ugartechea, with a record of 3-2 and 110 total points, took 3rd place and
$ 60.00 in prize money.

When it was all over, a great day of billiards was had by all who participated in the event. Thanks to all who participated as we all look forward to the USBA Nationals in February of 2009.

Tournament Chart

Henry Ugartechea
USBA Director, SE Region

Armando Wong, Henry Ugartechea, Mike Brodie & Tom Harwood

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Contact Henry Ugartechea
561-929-8100

Entry Fee: $ 130.00

Format determined by number of players.

10 player Round Robin

12 Players: 2 flights of 6 and 6 player RR Final.

6 Players = 1 player qualifies into Nationals

10 players = 2 players qualify into Nationals