| Paul
Potier extended his lead in the Pechauer West Coast 9-Ball Tour
by finishing 2nd at BreakZone Billiards in Torrance, Ca Jan
4th. Potier has played in 3 stops with two 2nd place finishes
and one first place win. Only one year ago we asked the same
question of Billy Palmer who dominated the first several stops
to take a commanding lead in points. Ultimately, it was Rafael
Martinez who put the "World" in World-Class pool as
he dazzled and amazed crowds to quietly sneak up on and steal
Palmer’s lead. At the end of the year it was really only
one small stop that made the difference in points. Both players
received beautiful Pechauer Custom Cues as part of the tour
point’s prize package.
With prize packages beefed up and more stops in Southern California
this year, Potier definitely has his work cut out for him! With
the likes of Moro Paez, Dave Hemmah, Marshall Jung, and Lorry
DeLeon, among some others in the LA area poised to knock Potier
off his pedestal, a Canadian – Los Angeles, North/South
battle of sorts could be in the works!
As of January 30th, 2004 Potier has 550 points; 225 points separates
him from 2 second place spots currently held by Mike Vidas of
Vancouver, BC and David Hemmah of Los Angeles, CA. The biggest
question will be whether or not we can get those LA contenders
up to the bay area stops in late February and mid March at Buffalo
Billiards and California Billiard Club respectively. Potier,
who is currently traveling up and down the West Coast on the
Honeymoon Tour (recently married to a beautiful and wonderful
young woman named Akiyo), will be participating at KC’s
Midway Bar & Grill stop January 31 & February 1st. Tourangeau,
Lingelbach, Atwell and Lilje will have the best opportunities
to advance their positions while holding Potier down, but if
history plays any role in the future, Potier could just take
a very hefty lead! A bounty was placed on Potier’s head
at the most recent stop at BreakZone Billiards in Torrance,
CA, but to no real avail, he still took 2nd place!
It is always tough to predict the future of pool, but one thing
is for sure, with his 550 points, Potier has a lead of more
than one tour stop win and will definitely be adding to that
total in upcoming events. It will be interesting to see whether
those in striking range do the same. |
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