By Dale Brimicombe.
July 13, 2024
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Brian's Cuesport Streams Link:
The Gunn Show XVII tournament held yesterday at Doolys Rockingham was another terrific chapter in a long line of great events created for the players by Paul Gunn. His passion for the game and its players have always been evident, and none moreso than in the latest chapter in which he himself could not attend due to illness, but the players turned out just the same to enjoy a day of fine pool shooting.
Six previous champions were in the strong field of 37 players. A couple of pre-tournament favourites were dispatched early on to the B side: Brian White fell 5-2 to Christian Mantolino while Colin Macdonald was edged out by Randy Demont in round two by a 5-4 scoreline. Meanwhile, two other former champions were navigating their way to the A side finals: Jeff Saulnier had wins over Nok Mantolino and Dale Brimicombe to reach the final while Percy Gouchie got by Craig Teal and the younger Mantolino to reach the finals. Gouchie posted a 5-1 victory to claim the hot seat, having to wait as play continued on the B side to see who his penultimate opponent would be. As previously mentioned, White and MacDonald lost early but that apparently was their motivation. White left a trail of carnage in his wake as he obliterated five straight opponents by a score of 4-0 before running into Brimicombe, who notched a 4-1 win and relegated White to a 5/6 finish. MacDonald also won his first five B side matches, including taking out both Mantolinos along the way, before he too fell a 4-2 victim to the resurging Brimicombe and became a 4th place finisher.
During this time Gouchie, who had been in the hot seat, fell victim to a serious migraine which he couldn't shake and which compelled him to withdraw from the tournament. Competition aside, a player's health and well-being are first and foremost and we all wish Percy well. Some consolation, though, in that he did collect the 2nd place prize money. So Saulnier and Brimicombe, although playing the B side final, were essentially playing for the win.
Saulnier jumped ahead early and it was another grinding match for Brimicombe, who had many games during the day where he struggled to finish. That lack of finish finally caught up with him as Saulnier bested him once again, showing that he still has the talent to compete after a bit of a layoff from competition in recent years.
There are always people to thank when these events are held: Paul Gunn, whose drive in creating and promoting the Gunn Show series of tournaments is bolstered by the support of the players who keep coming back for more; the host club Doolys Rockingham, whose manager Ashley Theriault and staff always go out of their way to accommodate and ensure the success of the events; Brian McNamara and Brian's Cuesport Streams do a fantastic job of live streaming to the billiard community, and the feedback he receives is always positive; Jeff Teas for picking up the things necessary for running the tournament (not the least of which was lunch!) and doing the 50/50 draw which raised $156 for the Canadian Cancer Society; and Craig Teal, whose expertise in running tournaments is second to none and was certainly appreciated on this day. Looking forward to Gunn Show XVIII in September! 😊🎱🏆
Dooly's Rockingham (37 Players)
1st Jeff Saulnier
2nd Percy Gouchie
3rd Dale Brimicombe
4th Colin MacDonald
5-6th Christian Mantolino
5-6th Brian White
7-8th Chess Harlow
7-8th Craig Teal
9-12th Janet Ritcey
9-12th Nok Manolino
9-12th Randy Demont
9-12th Tim Steeves
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