There are plenty of motivations to will players to perform at their top level in a quest to win an Atlantic 9-Ball Tour event. There is, of course, the prize money. No one would turn down the $1500 first place cash. There is the accomplishment itself, defeating arguably the strongest field of competition of any regular event held in Atlantic Canada, stamping those that come out on top as one of the most talented players around. There is the validation that hours of practice and commitment have paid off in a pinnacle result in a marquee event.
For Richard “Buddy” Young, winning his first Atlantic 9-Ball Tour event also meant representing the tour that has sponsored him since the early days of the tour’s inception, not to mention adding to the justification of the support of his other sponsors, and his family. Young, who showed great focus throughout the final day, was visibly gratified following the win, letting it sink in that he had achieved one of his major goals in pool. What made the win especially sweet for Young was that the final victory was over a player for which he has great admiration. “To be the best, you need to beat the best”, and Chris Dempsey has proven on the Atlantic 9-Ball Tour, he is the man to beat, having won more previous tour events than anyone else.
Young and Dempsey had met earlier in the day in the A-Side final. That match went Young’s way 9-3. Sunday’s B-side matches began with Rick Leon defeating Gilles LeBlanc 9-5, Ray Saunders over Nick Kaiser 9-8, Brad Doyle besting Randy Demont 9-7, And Jason Thomas bringing down Greg Wilson 9-1. The losers of those matches finished 9-12th. Thomas went on to beat Doyle 9-7, and Leon took out Saunders 9-3, leaving Saunders and Doyle in a tie for 7th place. Next Leon was victorious over Bill MacPherson 9-7, while Thomas advanced over Dale Young 9-4. Young and MacPherson finished 5th-6th. It was then Thomas moving on past Leon in a 9-5 clash in Thomas’ favor, placing Leon in 4th place. Here Thomas was stopped in 3rd place by Dempsey 9-6, to earn Dempsey a return engagement with Young in the final.
The final saw Young continuing to have his way with Dempsey, reaching the hill first at 12-8 in a one set race to 13. Dempsey, however, is never one to count out, despite the odds. Dempsey mounted the next three games through a mixture of great safety play, running of balls, and some evident tightness on the part of Young, having the win almost within his reach. At 11-12 down, Dempsey looked to be set to take the match to the hill, but a jawed six-ball provided Young an unexpected opportunity at the table. Young composed himself, and deposited the remaining balls for the tournament victory.
The Ladies division was won by Angela Belding, securing the final victory over Jennie Saulnier 9-3. Leigh Ann Giles placed 3rd, and Shauna Boyle was 4th.
The Second Chance event was won by Magoo Dennis over Jeff Saulnier. Randy Demont and Kyle Richard placed in a tie for 3rd.
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