Payouts

1. Dan Doerner 1735*
2. Tol Kuy 1040*
3. Chris Melanson 675*
4. Robin Bass 460*
5,6. Erik Hjorleifson 200
5,6. Larry Firth 200
7,8. Randy Fawcett 125
7,8. Ken Stutz 125

* includes auction

47 players landed in Newmarket to throw their hats in the ring for the first 404 tournament of the new year. The field included notables Erik Hjorleifson, Mario Morra, Andrew Attard, Robin Bass, Larry Firth plus local favorites Dan Doerner, Tol Kuy, Dennis Rhodes and Rob Blair. The competition began with it's usual zest as players battled tirelessly to make the Sunday roster.

By day end, 8 players remained for the Day 2 matches. The final 8 consisted of 4 A-Side players and 4 B-Side players. The A-side matches consisted of Firth vs Melanson… Chris Melanson wins and Larry Firth arrives on the B-Side. The other A-side match is Doerner vs Kuy… Dan Doerner wins and Tol Kuy arrives on the B-Side. In the A-Side final Doerner defeats Melanson 9-6 now Dan can wait to see who can come through the B-Side to meet him in the Final. The B-Side matches provided some good entertainment and excitement for the onlookers. The first to be eliminated was Ken Stutz by the hand of Erik Hjorleifson, then Randy Fawcett by the hand of Robin Bass. This leaves a field of 6.

Next to go is Larry Firth as he cannot overcome the shotmaking (and pure luck) of Robin Bass. Following Larry is Erik Hjorleifson taking an early exit due to Tol Kuy's relentless attack. Now with 4 remaining, Robin Bass is the next to succumb to Tol Kuys B-Side march (8-5). Next on the Kuy list is Chris Melanson who had a good Sunday but couldn't get past the Kuy onslaught. Tol wins 8-5 again. This sets up the Final between a well rested Dan Doerner and a poised and ready Tol Kuy. Dan decides to turn on the after-burners and wins the match with a solid 9-1 performance. This is Dan's second win in a row as he also won the open 8Ball tournament the previous weekend at Bigwigs. Well done!