John Gabriel Holds Off Brian Jones for Midwest 9-Ball Tour Victory

Ending the month of November and bringing in December (November 29th-December 2nd), the Midwest 9-Ball Tour held its latest stop at Magoo's in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This event provided three divisions for the players to choose from including one-pocket, an open, and a women's competition.

The first event to come to conclusion was the $1000 added one-pocket tournament held on Friday evening. With a total of sixteen players, only four made their way to the final rounds. Joey Gray of Oklahoma City came in and stole the show to take top honors and a $700 prize. Following shortly behind were second place finisher Chris Weast $500, third Brian Jones $300, and fourth David Strawn $140.

Next, the ladies had the opportunity to show off their skills. Fourteen regional women came out to go toe to toe with each other for this $610 added tournament, but Michelle McDermott rose to the top with her first place finish and $500 win. Stephanie Veenis took second ($300), Ginny Keeler third ($200), and Rhonda Moses fourth ($100).

That left the event that everyone came for that started on Saturday mid-day - the $3390 added bar table nine ball event. Bringing in seventy-five players, the field dwindled down to the final group of sixteen and then down to only four. For the hot-seat match, the battle was between John Gabriel and Daniel Neldner. That match ended with Gabriel besting Neldner 9-6 and securing his spot in the finals.

The quarter-finals saw Brian Jones take on James Baraks and win a tight race at double hill, allowing Jones to move on to play Daniel Neldner in the semis. Unfortunately for Neldner, Jones continued his trek through the one-loss side with a winning score of 9-5, placing Neldner in fourth for the weekend.

The final round was a true double elimination match. In the first set, the score was tied at one time 3-3 between John Gabriel and the one-loss side champ Brian Jones. That would be the last time Gabriel would score in that set as Jones finished up the first set 9-3, forcing a second. The entire second set was close and with Gabriel jumping on the hill first with a score of 8-7, it looked as though Jones would have to settle for second. Although, Jones was able to win the next game to match up the score 8-8, it would ultimately be John Gabriel that pulled off the win 9-8.

The next stop for the tour is December 15th and 16th at Side Pockets in Papillion, Nebraska. This $2500 total added bar table event with host both an open and ladies division nine ball tournament. For additional information on this and other stops, see their website www.9balltour.com