Top billiards players meet in local Midwest tour stop

A challenge match between a pair of pool veterans will kick off the first stop this year by the Midwest 9-Ball Tour at The Billiard Center in Cape Girardeau.

Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame member Buddy Hall, who earned the nickname "The Rifleman" for his style of straight style of shooting, will take on five-time world champion David Matlock in a challenge event at 7:30 p.m. today at the center at 26 North Main St. Today's game is a prelude to the day-long tournament that begins tomorrow.

Hall, originally from Metropolis, Ill., and now in Tampa, Fla., was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame in 2000. He has more than 70 professional titles and represented the United States in the 2001 World Games in Japan.

Matlock is a five-time world bar-table champion and is widely known as the best bar-table player in the world.

This weekend's event is the fifth of the year on the Midwest 9-Ball Tour, which last competed April 7 at Olathe, Kan., where Danny Harriman of Tulsa, Okla., defeated Hall 9-6 to earn $1,580 of the weekend's prize money.

Entries are being accepted through 11 a.m. Saturday for that day's event, which could feature more than 100 competitors. There is a $50 fee.

Spectator admission is free.