The Fast Eddie's Olhausen 9 Ball Tour 2006 Sponsored by Ray Schuler Legacy Cues held its second event of the year at the N. W. Military location in San Antonio on February 11-12th. One hundred thirty one players in two divisions showed to do battle with the sticks and stones over the weekend.
With a full field of 96 players in the open division, the talent ran strong and deep. Top picks were Jui Lung Chen, James Davis Sr., Sylver Ochoa, Rich Schmiegel, Sam Manole, Claude Marrier, Jimmy 'Vegas' Moen, James Davis Jr., Kenny Greer, Danny Almaraz, Rick Stanley and Scott Kephart.
Finishing out in the 17-24th placements were Bobby Brown, Henry Rocha, Tom Wallace, Claude Marrier, Kenny Greer, Candy Ramos, Marty Rodriguez and Eduardo Ramirez.
Martin Salinas, Frank Cherry, Jimmy 'Vegas' Moen and Sylver Ochoa battled their way into the 13-16th positions. Great shooting by all!
Jumping into the 9-12th placements with solid play were Joe Macnamara, Charlie Mora, Scott Kephart and Destry Ensley.
Robert Newkirk of Weatherford, Tx. and Robert Stewart of Waco ended their runs in the 7-8th positions. Both gentlemen fought hard and played great 9 ball.
Our Tour would not be successful and run so smoothly without the help of Bill Fuller of Brenham, Tx. Bill not only helps with the on-site portion of the Tour, but works doggedly behind the scenes on the promotional end of the Tour. It's great to see him finish in the upper echelon with a fine 5-6th placement. Also finishing 5-6th was Ernesto Bayaua who is a new comer to the Tour. Watch out, as we will be seeing more of this young man's name on the money list in the future.
Gordon Van der Veer of Dallas, a recent transplant from Chicago, has been raising eyebrows with his tenacious and consistent style of play. Gordon is a fine gentlemen that plays with a 'never give up' attitude and is a lot of fun to watch. Gordon finished with a great 4th place finish.
Danny Almaraz of San Antonio must like this tournament site as he placed second in last year's event here. Again, he did well as he quietly took the 3rd place position Danny is fun to watch, as he possesses an eager enthusiasm along with an infectious smile.
Jui Lung 'The Quiet Man' Chen and James 'Bastrop' Davis Sr., both multiple Tour event winners, locked horns in the finals of the winner's bracket for the hot seat. The battle seesawed with James coming out on top, 9-7. This moved Chen to the left side to play for the winner of the one loss side in which he quickly handled Danny, 7-2. This set up the finals for a rematch between Chen and Bastrop.
As the finals started after midnight, surprisingly, both players were not showing much fatigue after two marathon days of play. Again, the battle flip-flopped back and forth as the two ended up tied at 7-7 in the race to 9. James nailed the last two games finishing with a beautiful 8-9 combo to win the set. Congratulations to these fierce competitors.
Thanks to Tracy, Danny and their staff for hosting a great event.
A big thanks to Olhausen Billiards and Schuler Legacy Cues for your generosity and support. Also, our humble thanks to Teodora's Mini-Tacos, The Custom Cue Connection, Mystick Cues, OB-1 Shafts, and the Connoisseur of Custom Cues. Tino, Ron, Jack, Royce and Joe, you add so much to the Tour.
Thanks to Mary, the raffle lady. Your smile makes us smile.
Finally, a special thanks to all players, spectators and supporters for making this the largest event in the Tour's history. We look forward to seeing you all March 25-26 in Lubbock, TX.
Complete Results:
1st James Davis Sr. $3800
2nd Jui Lung Chen $2485
3rd Danny Almaraz $1890
4th Gordon Vander Veer $1320
5th/6th Bill Fuller, Ernesto Bayaua $930
7th/8th Robert Newkirk, Robert Schneider $595
9th/12th Joe Macnamara, Charlie Mora, Scott Kephart, Destry Ensley $340
13th/16th Martin Salinas, Frank Cherry, Jimmy Moen, Sylver Ochoa $100
17th/24th Bobby Brown, Henry Rocha, Tom Wallace, Claude Marrier, Kenny Greer, Candy Ramos, Marty Rodriguez, Eduardo Ramirez $65
