There were plenty of great storylines at the Year-End Championship.  The Champion was not determined, until the very last shot of the day.  The dramatic finish came down to a difference of... 1/2 inch to the left we have one Champ... 1/2 inch right we have another.  Then, there was the impressive subplot.  After leading the Bowler of the Year competition for over 10 months, Huyen Thai had to deal with the disappointment of being passed just a few weeks short of the finish line.  He responded like a true Champion, by proceeding to Win the YEC Title instead.  So, after he just missed earning the BOY Pennant (White), he replaced it by winning the YEC Pennant (Yellow).  Huyen capped a SPECTACULAR season, with a well deserved'Rookie of the Year' award prior to the Tournament, then put the BIG-Cherry-On-Top of his year, by winning the Tour's Feature Tournament of the year.  After a bit of a 4th quarter slump, ALL of the stars seemed to align for Huyen Saturday... first, in the Qualifying Round, Huyen and Hien Nguyen were tied for 1st on their pair.  In the 9th-10th Roll-Off to break the tie, Hien earned the spot in the Finals, while Huyen went into the '2nd Chance Round'.  He still made it into the Bracket Finals and then, by ONE PIN (222-221), beat James Strand in the Round of 16, then won by just TWO PINS (236-234) over Stu Gallagher in the Elite 8.  In the Final match, Bob Rouse came within 1/2 inch (or less), of picking up a baby split (3-10) for the victory.  I hope that Huyen bought a Lottery Ticket on the way home... it certainly was his Lucky Day!  CONGRATS Huyen for the 'Storybook' year!!
In another ironic chapter, we had 86 bowlers in this limited format, so we added one extra spot to the Cash List (17th).  Naturally, we had a tie for that spot, withDex Decastro & Gerry Daus deciding to 'go-for-it' with a 9th-10th Roll-Off, instead of splitting the money.  Gerry got the $150.00 check, but Jim Smith from the Narrows Pro Shop, stepped up and presented Dex with a Storm Ball Tote as a Consolation.

Before the Tournament started, Bob Rouse claimed that he was going to break his Win drought today... and he almost did!  Bob had his best finish in years, taking 2nd Place, but that 10th frame tough break (1/2 inch), is a moment that will stick in his memory for a long time.  The BIG runner-up check of $1,107.00 will certainly help soothe the wound.  That check pushed the 5 time Champ's Career earnings to an impressive $25,965.00. In a 3rd Place tie, Chuck Hufford & Samson Ibale both had the most dominate matches in the first few rounds, with winnings margins of 43, 57, 44 & 59 pins.  Samson earned $435.00, while Chuck earned $350.00.  Chuck's Winner's Pot share was passed down to the 5th Place Finishers.