Asst. TD Viet Do, Barry Strickland, Ernesto Bayaua and referee Bob McFerren
It was a great weekend for pool at Casper's in San Leon, Texas. This Lone Star event drew 70 players in all, 51 top Texas players in the 9-Ball Open, and 19 in the Ladies Open 9-Ball who played for over 7k in cash. Tour heavy hitters James Davis, Jr., Sylver Ochoa, and Charlie Bryant were in attendance along with tour newcomers Robert Clark, Bobby Morefield, and Kenny Stewart.
The second day of the 9-Ball Open brought back the final 16 players. The final eight in the Open winner's side saw Jay Russell v. Raymond Cardenas, Danny Lee v. David Parker, Charlie Bryant v. John Day, and Ernesto Bayaua v. Dennis Strickland.
After one round, upsets on the winner's side included John Day who defeated Charlie Bryant 9-6 and Ernesto Bayaua who ousted Dennis Strickland 9-1. This left Bayaua v. Day, and Lee v. Cardenas. The west side then paired Manuel Ayala v. Bryant, Dennis Strickland v. Ochoa, Ty Few v. Jack Russell, and Barry Strickland v. Parker. When the dust settled, it was Barry Strickland v. Ayala playing for third and Bayaua and Cardenas playing for the hotseat. Bayaua took it down 9-6, and Barry Strickland overcame Ayala 7-4. Strickland made it through Cardenas and back to Bayaua for the final. Barry Strickland bested Bayaua twice for a total of 12 straight match wins after losing his first match of the event to Tony Mendietta! Congratulations to everyone, and great playing Barry!
There were 11 players in the Open who also signed up for our $100 entry fee One Pocket event. The second day brought back our final 6. Congratulations to James Davis Jr. who snapped it off; Sylver Ochoa who finished runner-up; and Charlie Bryant who took third. Well done gentlemen!
The ladies event drew a strong field of 19 including Ming Ng, Deanna Kniola, Kim Pierce, Courtney Peters and Ricky Casper. But top honors on the women's side went to Kyu Yi and runner up Belinda Lee. Deanna Kniola finished a respectable third and newcomer from Dallas, Texas, Geraldine Guintu, received fourth. Tabetha Lewis of Temple, Texas played a phenomenal event, finishing 5th-6th along with tour favorite Michelle Cortez. Well done ladies!
We would like to thank our tour sponsors, Poison Cues, the Delta-13 Rack, Pool Philanthropist James Barnett, and Lone Star Live's Eugene Lee. Special thanks to Casper's owners Roy and Kathy Robinson who hosted another beautiful event.
Assistant Tournament Director, Viet Do, did an outstanding job, filling in for the director's partial absence due to illness. Great job Viet!
Our next two events are May 1st-2nd at Slick Willies in Houston (westheimer @ dairy ashford) and June 5th-6th at Crazy 8's in Port Arthur, Texas. We look forward to seeing everyone there!
For a complete schedule visit www.lonestarbilliardstour.com and visit our stream on tournament days at ustream.tv/channel/lonestarbilliardstour.
