Archer & Morris Rock Rawlins!
2014 Andy Cloth High Desert Shootout written by Monte Thayer . Follow us at https://www.facebook.com/andypoolcloth
The 2014 Andy Cloth High Desert Shootout held in Rawlins, WY on Sept. 26-28 was another huge
success! There were over 150 pool players from around the Rocky Mountain region competing for over
$30,000 of prize money in four different open divisions! There was also a three division Nubbins
Memorial Junior’s Tournament and a $400 added Hard Luck 9-ball Tournament on Sunday. The
tournament was highlighted by the presence of 4-time World Champion and Hall of Famer Johnny
“Scorpion” Archer and U.S. Open Champion, Rodney “Rocket” Morris! Both players not only displayed
their talent on the table by winning all three of the Masters events, Morris won the single elimination
10-ball and 8-ball events while Archer grabbed the double elimination Saratoga (an 8-ball & 10-ball
hybrid game) title, but their grace in interacting with all of the tournament participants was an “off the
charts” treat for the many players who had only previously read about or seen these two professionals
on television! Event promoter, EJ Glode, was delighted with the turnout for this 3rd annual event and
along with the tournament committee vows to make this event bigger and more special with some big
plans for the 2015 tournament!
While the two professionals worked their way through the three Masters events it was players from the
state of Colorado that dominated the three remaining divisions with Greg Romero taking home the title
in the Expert Division, Ross Smith was the champion in the Classic Division and Keith Pulley shot his way
to the top in the Sportsman Division. In the Masters, Tom Thompson of Pine Haven, WY recorded a big
win in the Saratoga tournament by beating Rodney Morris to advance to the final match against Archer!
As well, Andrew Pettenger from Denver, CO played well in shooting his way into the top four of each
event! In the junior’s division it was Kyle Chewning of Colorado taking the 18 and under title and in the
12 and under division it was Aaron Krapes also from Colorado taking 1st place. The Pee Wee division
title was claimed by Bailey Glode of Saratoga, WY. The Hard Luck 9-ball 1st place money went to Bruce
Wilson from Colorado.
According to Tournament Director, Monte Thayer, this tournament and the Wyoming Open that takes
place in late March in Saratoga, WY are a great way for pool players across the country to come together
and have a great time hanging out and competing with some of the sport’s greatest players and just
having a good time with sport of billiards in addition to competing for significant tournament and
calcutta prize money. With the help of some great major sponsors such as Andy Billiard Cloth, Dragon
Promotions, Polaris, Shively Hardware, Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company, The Newpoint Companies,
Pic Ranch, Hotel Wolf, Duke’s Bar & Grill, J. Pechauer Custom Cues and the Carbon County Visitor’s
Council these two events are gonna grow bigger and become much more than just a pool tournament!
quality. affordability. World class 