Ezra Seymour, Kaito Okumura and Hongjin Yi with the BEF’s Steve Sherman
We had a packed field of 15 wonderfully talented, competitive junior players at Corner Pocket Sports Cafe in Bakersfield, California on April 26th. It was an exciting event and these kids put on a show! Sportsmanship and talent filled the room. I was so proud of all these players!
The following were the results:
In the 18 & Under Boys 10-Ball division. Kaito Okumura went undefeated. He beat Ezra Seymour for the hot-seat 4-0, and then beat Hongjin Yi in the finals 4-1.
10 Ball 18 & Under Boys
• 1st place: Kaito Okumura
• 2nd Place: Hongjin Yi
• 3rd Place: Ezra Seymour
Allison Ramirez, Kimberlee Peevey and Hongjin Yi
The 12 & Under Mixed 9-Ball division saw Hongjin Yi with wins over Kimberlee Peevey for the hot-seat (4-1) and again in the finals (4-0).
9 Ball Mixed 12 and under
• 1st Place: Hongjin Yi
• 2nd Place: Kimberlee Peevey
• 3rd Place: Allison Ramirez
Hongjin Yi, The winner of the 9 ball event pulled the raffle for the awesome Lucasi Cue package valued at $1,375. The winner was ticket #37, Bill Seymour! Bill was the lucky winner of a Lucasi Pro Series – Zebrawood Cue Butt, Lucasi Pro Carbon InFUZED Shaft, Pro Line 3″ & 6″ Stackable Cue Extension Kit and Pro Line Weight Bolt Kit!
This was the second stop of the Southwest Youth Championship Tour. Next stop is May 10th at Slate Street Billiards in Rio Rancho New Mexico!
Big thank you to our sponsors of this tour stop! Please support our sponsors who support junior pool!
• Lucasi Cues
• Balabushka Cue Company
• Corner Pocket
• West State Billiards & Gamerooms
• Barlow Realty
• MidTown Barbers
• We Play Billiards Custom Apparel
Thank you to Jam Up Apparel for providing custom championship jerseys for the two winners!
A big shout out to Darren Weiss, executive producer and lead actor in the 2024 movie BREAK. Darren was kind enough to autograph a copy of the movie with a personal message & picture for each and every junior player who played in the event. The kids really enjoyed receiving this special gift and I am grateful for Darren’s support for junior pool and taking the time to do this for us. If you haven’t already, head on over to your favorite streaming service and give the movie a watch, it’s a fun movie!
