Feature Articles: Brady Bests Viking Field at Mother's
Posted by: editor on Thursday, May 15, 2003 - 04:47 PM EST

Brady Bests Viking Field at Mother's by Paul Berg The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour's May 10-11 event at mother's in Charlotte, NC, consisted of 58 of the top players in the region. The player's auction added $1,650 to the $1,000 Mike Janis' tour had already tossed in. Sponsors' posters and merchandise decorated the intimate Diamond room, and it was free entry for women. You couldn't go wrong there o­n Mother's Day.Local Norris Brady came out the winner in a 7-6 final over tour regular Mike Davis. Norris had bested Tony Watson o­n Saturday 7-6 after Watson had closed a 6-2 gap in the brisk race-to-seven, double-elimination format. Norris stayed o­n in the winner's bracket and never lost, beating Riley Myer 7-5 and eventual third-place finisher Robert Ray 7-4 to reach the hot seat. Davis started Sunday in the o­ne-loss bracket, beating Watson 7-1 in a feature match dud, but the rest of his day was grueling. He came from behind to beat Janis 7-6 with a safe o­n the case 9 ball, fought through Hickory's Chuck Ritchie and then Leon Long by 7-5 scores, and finally ousted Mike Fuller to reach Ray, again 7-5.Fuller has taken fourth place two straight weekends at the biggest tournaments in the region, and this week he made a strong charge through the o­ne-loss bracket himself. It was Davis who would emerge with a 7-3 win over Robert Ray, a traveler from Raleigh who looked tired from all-night sessions.Davis never got a chance to beat Brady a second time, as the steady Charlotte native played a tactically sound final to clinch an unbeaten Viking Tour victory. Results: 1st - Norris Brady ($580)2nd - Mike Davis ($400)3rd - Robert Ray ($300)4th - Mike Fuller ($200)5/6 - Leon Long/Riley Myer ($100)7/8 - Chuck Ritchie/Mike "Shane" McGill ($60)9/12 - Mike Janis/Ronnie Park/Randy Canipe/Dillon Matheson ($40)