Robert Clark, Jamie Cummings, Rick Stanley and Gus Briseno
Rick Stanley has been a card-carrying mainstay of the Texas pool community for all of the 21st century. Since his first recorded cash payout competing at the Texas Open in Round Rock, TX in August, 2000, finishing 17th in his first of four appearances at the Open, he went on to compete in the former Fast Eddie’s Tour, the Omega Tour (four wins in 2017), the DFW 9-Ball Tour (a win in 2018) and recorded his best earnings year in 2020 on the basis of a single win in an Oklahoma event known as the Elite 9-Ball Shootout. He’s been as low as #1,186 on our AZBillards Money Leaderboard (in his first year of recorded earnings) and climbed as high as #29 in that best recorded earning year, 2020. This past weekend (Aug. 26-27), he added a win at the On The Snap Tour, going undefeated in a $1,000-added event that drew 31 entrants to Jeffro’s Billiards in Canton, TX.
Stanley and another Texas pool community icon, Gus Briseno battled twice to claim this event title; two hotly-contested battles for the hot seat and event title in the finals. Both enjoyed relatively uneventful trips to the hot seat match; Stanley recording a 68% game-winning average (28-13), while Briseno, aided by back-to-back shutouts in his first two rounds, arrived at the hot seat match with a 78% game-winning average (28-8). Each had survived a double-hill match along the way. Stanley in his opening round against Joey Bourgeois and Briseno in his winners’ side semifinal against Robert Clark. Other than that, neither had an opponent score more than three against them.
After his brush with a potential trip to the loss side versus Bourgeois, Stanley downed Greg Sandifer (2), Shane McMinn (3) and in his winners’ side semifinal, Cameron Cummings (2) to sit at the hot seat match ‘table.’ Following his no-racks-against opening rounds against Gary Carson and Clint Palaci, Briseno gave up two to Pasini Toloa before locking up and eventually winning the double-hill challenge from Clark in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Stanley’s game-winning average dropped three points to 68% in his next match, but he grabbed the hot seat in a double-hill battle against Briseno. Briseno headed off to the semifinals with a lowered game-winning percentage, as well (69%).
On the loss side, as the numbers reached the first money round, there were still some potential threats in the mix. Clark picked up Bourgeois, who’d followed his opening-round, double-hill loss to Stanley with six straight, that included the recent elimination of Blake Lopez 7-2 and Shane McMinn 7-4. Cameron Cummings picked up his Dad, Jamie Cummings, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Clark and followed it with a double-hill win over Bobby Terry and a 7-3 victory over Tim Beggs.
Cameron and his father fought to within a game of double hill, but it was the elder Cummings (Jamie) who edged out in front at the end, winning the match 7-5 and advancing to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Clark, who eliminated Bourgeois 7-1.
Clark sent Jamie Cummings home by the same 7-1 score in the quarterfinals. Not to be denied, however, Briseno put a stop to Clark’s modest loss-side run with a 7-3 victory in the semifinals.
It might have taken two, but it didn’t. Stanley took the opening set of the true double-elimination final 7-5 to claim Stop #7, his first On The Snap Tour title.
Tour director Jeff “Sully” Sullivan thanked the ownership and staff at Jeffro’s Billiards in Canton, TX, as well as sponsors DigitalPool, Diamond Billiard Products, Aramith Balls, Iwan Simonis Billiards, JB Cue Cases – True Custom Cues Cases, Jeffrey Tucker, Outsville, Inc., Dallas Heating and Air Conditioning and Stix and Stones Billiards. The next On the Snap Tour stop (#8), scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 16-17, will be hosted by Stixx and Stones in Lewisville, TX.
0 comments