BEST IN THE WEST

champs Derek Acuff & Dante Rohe

        Derek Acuff and Dante Rohe claimed the first major titles of their JBT careers in exciting action at the Best In The West Tournament, hosted by AMF Chandler Lanes.

        Acuff opened in the tenth frame of the first round of the scratch division stepladder finals, but got away with it as Dallas Leong couldn't take advantage, and so Derek's 224 edged Leong's 222 to advance, while Leong settled for fifth and Keith Fung in sixth,

        That was clearly the spark Derek needed, as he rolled from there, beating former Best In The West champ Eric Hatchett 227-185, and following with a 224-192 win over red-hot Adel Wahner to reach the title game.

        Cortez Schenck continued his chase for history by leading this event, and seemed comfortable on both oil patterns (left lane long, right lane short).  However, he lost the look a bit in the title match, while Acuff just got stronger.  The 244-205 final result was good for the 25th JBT title of the veteran lefty's career, but also a long awaited very first major.

        Joshua Molloy fired a big 251 game to win round one of the handicap stepladder finals over Joshua Mabry (221) and Zachary Nesius (169).  He followed with a double in the tenth for a 248-243 thriller of a win over ANdrew Thomas.  Marguerite Evans then stopped Molloy's run with a 232-217 win to move on to the title match.

        Dante Rohe fired a 296 game to take the game one lead, and fourteen games later he still found himself in the top spot.  The title match was a good one between the two veterans, but in the end Rohe finished off the dream event with a 218-206 win, third career title, and first major.

        Thanks to the crew at Chandler for hosting our Tour.  Want in on all the fun?  Just check out our schedule and come on down!