Poteet and Chohan Shine in Mobile: How 7-Foot Tables and Alternate Breaks Rewrote the Story

Devin Poteet leaned over the table, eyes locked on the cluster in front of him. He placed the tip on the cue ball at the familiar contact point, drew back gently, then pushed forward. The cue ball cut into the 2 with a touch of inside english, rolled through two rails, and settled at the perfect angle for the 3-9 combo. Seconds later, Poteet tapped the 3 into the 9, closing out the final at 7-3. That was the defining moment of the Alabama 9-Ball Open final at The Billiard Club in Mobile, Alabama. Few people paid attention to that detail. A combo that ends a match does not tell the whole story, but it knows where the story begins. The event ran over two days as the opening stop of the Making It In America Tavern Series - a regional circuit for American players. Structurally, it was a double event: the Alabama 9-Ball Open with 91 players and added money reported between 10,000 and 12,000 USD depending on the source, and a One Pocket Division with 19 players and 2,000 USD added. Both divisions ran in parallel on 7-foot Diamond tables - bar-boxes common in American pool halls, not the 9-foot standard of world professional events. The key detail lies in the break rule. Organizers used alternate breaks - players alternate the break instead of the previous rack's winner breaking. This rule eliminates the advantage of a powerful breaker and forces both players to win racks by running out from neutral breaks. In other words, this is a tournament that rewards cue-ball control, not the strength of the opening shot. The field was packed with credentials. Kim Davenport - a Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer and 2026 Senior One Pocket Classic champion. Sergio Rivas - reigning Buffalo's Pro Classic 8-Ball champion. Shane McMinn - Music City Open winner. Josh Roberts and Justin Hall - One Pocket champions from the Making It In America series itself. Before picking a side, read what people call them. Devin Poteet began the tournament with a second-round loss to Haas - the player who eventually finished third. From the one-loss side, he won ten straight matches to take the title. That streak reflects both endurance and pressure tolerance rarely seen in regional events. Based on my experience tracking American pool matches, three technical factors built this winning run. First, break quality. In one one-loss-side match, Poteet broke and made three balls - a signal that he fully controlled the cluster after the opening shot. On a 7-foot table, balls re-settle faster than on a 9-foot table because of the smaller surface, so a strong break almost guarantees a run-out opportunity on a single visit. Second, cue-ball control. The inside-english cut through two rails for shape on the 3-9 combo in the final is one of the hardest plays in American pool. It requires precise calculation of angle of approach, angle of rebound, and speed across cloth that is still lively. The combo that closed the 7-3 scoreline further confirmed this player does not shake under decisive pressure. Third, break-and-run ability. On a 7-foot table under alternate breaks, every visit is worth roughly the same. The player who exploits neutral breaks better wins. Poteet did exactly that throughout his one-loss-side run. In the One Pocket division, Tony Chohan dominated in a different register. He won the final 4-1 over Josh Roberts, with three of the games ending at 8-0 and 8-1. In One Pocket, each player is assigned a fixed corner pocket and must pocket eight balls into their own pocket. It is a game of strategy, of controlling the four-ball zone near the opponent's pocket - not a game of finishing power. Chohan winning at near-shutout scores speaks to his move-play ability - reading the layout, locking the opponent's balls into defensive zones, and forcing mistakes. He is recognized as a Making It In America One Pocket champion, based at The Rack in Livonia, Michigan - an environment seen as a training ground for money-game players. It is a distinctive skill niche within American pool. Sergio Rivas finished third after winning five straight on the one-loss side. Shane McMinn took fourth after falling to Poteet in a dogfight. Josh Roberts beat Chohan 3-0 on the winners side but collapsed 1-4 in the final - a sign that his ability to convert form into final results is not yet stable at this sample size. The thicker the data file, the more the story must be told with a human ear, not a machine's eye. Behind every win-loss figure lies a tournament structure that decides who gets a chance and who does not. One detail few discuss: the 9-Ball division's added money was reported at two different levels. One source stated 12,000 USD, another 10,000 USD. This inconsistency is not minor. In regional events, added money determines the caliber of the field - and when the figure cannot be confirmed, the credibility of the next stop is affected too. The tournament structure also deserves scrutiny. On the winners side, matches ran to a maximum of 3 games (One Pocket) or races to 9/7 (9-Ball), while the finals extended to race 4 and race 11. In other words, the early rounds carry high variance, and only the final is a true form filter. Poteet's result - losing early then winning long - partly reflects this structure. A slow starter is not eliminated immediately, while a fast starter can still fold at the final stage. This also means Poteet's or Chohan's wins should not be read as proof of absolute superiority at a regional event. Both deserve their titles, but this is a tavern event - one that monetizes through player entries and player auctions rather than broadcast rights. Economically, it is a model self-funded by players, with added money that is modest compared to world-tour stops. The event also had a side event: a 48-player Nine Ball Mini, where Ian Jones defeated William Perry. It is how organizers expand revenue and create extra playing ground for regional players - a business model characteristic of American pool. A big event does not end when the last ball drops; it begins when the lights go out. The next thing worth tracking is not the trophy, but the next stop on the Making It In America Tavern Series. If Poteet holds this form across two or three more stops, he enters the ranks of genuine regional American pool contenders. If the ten-match streak was just one hot week, the story closes like a beautiful exclamation mark mid-season. The 7-foot table is fair to both possibilities.