Jody Swim Asserts Himself En Route To Winning First Predator CSNS Tour Finale
- Cue Sports Nova Scotia
- Apr 27
- 3 min read
Updated: May 1
By Dale Brimicombe
April 27, 2025
Main event bracket:
Live stream – Day One:
Live stream – Day Two:
The inaugural edition of the Predator Tour Finale was held recently at Doolys Portland. With 9-ball the game this year and 54 of the 71 qualified players in attendance, the action heated up quickly with a tour title and a spot to the nationals on the line.
The main draw of the event featured a straight double knockout format. Several top contenders, including Chris Penney and Bill MacPherson, felt the sting of making early exits, while other young guns like Jheno Francisco and Mitch Tucker made their mark on the event with deep runs into the final eight.
Jody Swim has been the hottest player in the province lately, with a first and second place finish in the last two tour events, a second-place finish at the Maritime Spring Classic in PEI, and a championship title at the JR Wedge Memorial in Saint John. A man on fire, he continued his dominant play and secured his place in the A-side final with a 9-6 win over rankings champion Kyle Richard.
Meanwhile, Bruce Lilly, one of only a handful of players who played all ten ranking events and who finished third in the rankings this year, survived three hill-hill matches to get to the A-side final, including a 9-8 thriller against newcomer Jheno Francisco in the final four. Swim then dispatched Lilly 9-6 to secure the hot seat and await the winner of the carnage being created by another newcomer on the B-side. Francisco had earlier pushed Mitch Tucker to the B-side in a hotly contested 9-7 win in the second round. Tucker then played like a madman, reeling off NINE straight victories on the one-loss side, including wins over Clayton “Magoo” Dennis, Colin MacDonald, Kyle Richard, and Brian White, then capping it off with an 8-1 drubbing of Lilly in the B-side final to reach the penultimate match against Swim. Jody was having nothing to do with the comeback kid, though, as he smoothly closed out the match 11-6, becoming the first
Predator Tour Finale champion.
Main event payouts:
1st $850 + national spot - Jody Swim
2nd $555 - Mitchell Tucker
3rd $420 – Bruce Lilly
4th $335 – Brian White
5th/6th $200 – Kyle Richard, Jheno Francisco
7th/8th $135 – Colin Macdonald, Wayne H Thibodeau
9-12 $85 – Shane Crawford, Michael Cullymore, Wekatesk Augustine, Christopher Bright
13-16 $50 – Terry MacInnis, Michael Basque, Dale Brimicombe, Jeff Saulnier
The event also featured an added bonus for the lesser Fargo-rated players of actually having an eight player playdown in two divisions - Brendan MacEachern and Paul Gunn were the winners in each of those divisions.
550 and Under Fargo payouts:
1st $120 – Brendan MacEachern
2nd $90 – Kris Dunbar
3rd/4th $45 – Ricky Johnson, Leon Sylliboy
450 and Under Fargo payouts:
1st $120 – Paul Gunn
2nd $90 – Saline Penney
3rd/4th $45 –Lynn Gould, Lynne Palmer
Many thanks to Predator for being our main sponsor again this year, supplying cues for us to raffle off which provided added money to our tour and financial support to our players attending the national events. The Predator Arcos balls and racks have also added an aspect of quality to the tour events that has been much appreciated by the players.
Thanks also to Tracey Goodyear , Jen Reid and the staff at Doolys Portland for hosting our event – you folks make the long days easier with your incredible attention to detail and service. A special shout out to Craig Teal who took on the task of order/pick-up/delivery driver for the amazing lunch supplied to the players.
Thank you to Brian McNamara and his ever-popular Brian's Cuesport Streams for providing live stream action to the many fans around the province and beyond. Also, to the many hands of the tournament committee, who continue to make this one of the best run tournament series in the Maritimes. None of this is possible without the support of the players who love the game so much and continue to come out in droves to enjoy the camaraderie and competition - thank you!
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