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House Champions Justin Espinosa and Kim Sanders Takes 3rd Stop 2022 Arcadia Centex Pool Tour

Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, Texas was a buzz on the weekend of April 30th 2022 as the Predator Arcadia CenTex Pool Tour made its debut in the Austin-Round Rock area with its third stop at the wildly popular venue featuring 18 9-foot Diamond tables.

In the Open Division, 67 local and traveling players competed in the $1500 added 9-ball tournament with a $40 entry. The double-elimination event featured the Predator Arcos II ball set and Accu-Rack template racks with races to 7/5, alternative breaks, and 3-foul and 3-point rules in effect.  This event attracted Diveney-sponsored touring professional, Chip Compton, Predator professionals Ruben Bautista from Mexico and Daniel Schneider, and Predator Junior Pro, Lazaro ‘Lil Laz’ Martinez III. A handful of local Austin heavy hitters joined in their ranks: pro Justin Espinosa, up-and-coming Noah Contreras and the seasoned champs Kevin Guimond and James Davis Jr. Several favorites from across Texas also made their way for this stop: Albert Luna, Matthew Shoemaker and Jon Giles from San Antonio, Andy Jethwa from Houston, Robert Perez from Corpus Christi and Sky Massingill and Curtis Tidmore from Odessa.

The opening rounds proved safe for the higher ranked competitors with exceptions for Kevin Guimond, who lost his first match to Lil Laz 4-7, and for James Davis Jr, who also suffered a first-round 4-7 loss by local player, John Wright. Sky Massingill from Odessa, Texas squared off against the formidable Chip Compton in his second match and was sent to the one-loss side after a 4-7 defeat.  Jon Giles also found his way to the one-loss side in his second round by local player Kenney Nguyen 2-7.

In the concluding rounds, Chip Compton, fresh from his victory against Sky, secured his position on the winner’s bracket by defeating Daniel Schneider 7-3 on the streaming table. Albert Luna and Andy Jethwa also squared off in the fourth round where Albert capitalized on Andy’s shortcomings, sending Andy to the one-loss side with a 7-4 victory.  Justin Espinosa overcame Matthew Shoemaker with a dominating 7-2 win. As the day drew to a close, Laz Martinez, Curtis Tidmore, Noah Contreras and John Wright completed their rounds unscathed to move onto the next day’s proceedings.

Meanwhile, in the one-loss side, Jon Giles prevailed into the second day by edging Kevin Guimond and Daniel Schneider in back-to-back hill-hill battles. Andy Jethwa, after his loss to Albert Luna, eliminated James Davis Jr.5-0 and Patrick Perez, after his loss to Ruben Bautista, defeated Michael Taylor 5-1.  Sky Massingill barely skated by Robert Sopha 5-4 in the third round and proceeded to conclude his day by eliminating Robert Perez 5-2 and Bill Regalis 5-1.

16 players returned for second day in the Open Division with 8 players scheduled to face-off in the winner’s bracket: Albert Luna vs Curtis Tidmore, Noah Contreras vs John Wright, Chip Compton vs Ruben Bautista and Justin Espinosa vs Lazaro Martinez, and another 8 players in the one-loss side: Jon Giles vs Patrick Perez, Matthew Shoemaker vs Cody Simko, Andy Jethwa vs Joe Cannata and Eduardo Ramirez vs Sky Massingill.  Jon Giles, Cody Simko, Joe Cannata and Eduardo Ramirez’s run drew to a close in the 7th round of the one-loss side by the hands of their opponents and placing 13th- 16th.  The remaining top 12 players were guaranteed a payout.

Albert Luna advanced into the 6th round of the winner’s bracket against Noah Contreras when Curtis Tidmore’s attempt to take the match to hill-hill with Albert was unsuccessful.  However, Noah swiftly encapsulated his victory over Albert 7-1 to earn Noah his place in the hotseat match. Fresh to the one-loss side and in the 8th and 9th round, Curtis eliminated Patrick Perez 5-0  and Matthew Shoemaker 5-3.

Chip Compton and Ruben Bautista’s match quickly drew to a close as Chip overwhelmed Ruben with a 7-3 victory, allowing Chip to observe his next opponent between Justin Espinosa vs Laz Martinez. In Justin and Laz’s hill-hill match, attendants watched Laz Martinez execute a beautiful close-proximity jump shot, only to overcut the 6-ball and enable Justin to claim victory and advance to the next match against Chip.  Laz Martinez was unrecoverable and was swiftly eliminated by Sky Massingill in a stunning 0-5 loss, placing Laz 9th-12th.  Ruben also unceremoniously ended his run for the top, placing 9th-12th, when he was eliminated by Andy Jethwa.  Meanwhile, Justin and Chip’s exciting battle for the hotseat match took a surprising turn as streaming viewers witnessed Justin, down 3-6 with Chip on the hill, fought his way to victory.  Good friends, Noah and Justin fought a friendly but fierce match for the hotseat with Justin claiming the spot 7-4.

In the 10th round of the one-loss side for 5th-6th place, both remaining Odessa players were eliminated from competition as Chip briskly defeated Curtis Tidmore 5-0 while Albert Luna edged by in a hill-hill win against Sky Massingill 5-4.  In a swift match for 4th place, San Antonio’s ‘GOAT’ Albert Luna escaped a hill-hill match against Chip 5-3 to face Noah once more.  Afterward and in a tighter match between Albert and Noah for 3rd, Noah overcame Albert on the hill 5-4, and the Open Division tournament concluded with Noah and Justin splitting top place.

In the Women’s Division, seventeen bright and talented ladies competed in the 2-day double-elimination 9-ball event at the third stop of Predator Arcadia CenTex Tour that ran concurrently with the Open Division.  The event was played on Skinny Bob’s Billiards’s 9-foot Diamond tables using Predator Arcos II ball set and Accu-Rack template racks. Rules consisted of races 5/4, alternative breaks and 3-foul rule in effect with a 100% payout to the top 6 players accumulated from the $25 player entries and additional $500 added to the event.

12 of the 17 competitors were first-time attendants to the Predator Arcadia CenTex Pool Tour, including formidable Skinny Bob co-owner, Kim Sanders, alongside her fellow local Austin frontrunners: Jennifer Kraber, Michelle Cortez, Nicole Mcdaniel and Kim Pierce. Travelling contenders included Houston favorite, Natalie Rocha, and challengers Crystal Jones and Jamie Wilson from Odessa, Texas and Mary Mikita from Corpus Christi.

In the beginning rounds, Nicole Mcdaniel suffered an early loss from the redoubtable Michelle Cortez 1-5 and fought her way into the second day by eliminating  Kim Pierce 4-0, Zoe Lozano 4-0 and Michelle Abernathy 4-2 from the one-loss side. Michelle Cortez, fresh from her win against Nicole in the first round, also sent accomplished Jennifer Kraber to the one-loss side with a 5-3 victory to conclude Michelle’s matches for the first day. Crystal Jones from Odessa, Texas impressively defeated Kim Pierce 5-0 and her traveling companion, Jamie Wilson 5-3 before being sent to the one-loss side herself from her defeat to Kim Sanders 3-5.  Angela Miles remained undefeated at the conclusion of the first day with her victories against Rachel Hurst 5-3 and Natalie Rocha 5-4. Joining Angela, Michelle and Kim in the winner’s side, Mary Mikita defeated San Antonians, Zoe Lisa Bailey 5-3 and Zoe Lozano 5-1. Jennifer Kraber successfully persisted through the first day by eliminating Makenna Sanders 4-1 and Houston’s Natalie Rocha 4-3 from the one-loss side.

Six competitors returned for the event’s second day with a guaranteed pay-out for all places. On the winner’s side: Kim Sanders battled Mary Mikita on the streaming table and on the table adjacent, Angela Miles faced off against Michelle Cortez while Nicole Mcdaniel and Jennifer Kraber waited in the one-loss side.  Skinny Bob’s Billiards’ locals Kim Sanders 5-1 and Michelle Cortez 5-3 defeated their out-of-town opponents to battle it out in the hotseat match.  In the proceeding matches in the one-loss side, Nicole eliminated Angela Miles 4-3 and Mary Mikita ended Jennifer Kraber’s run for the top 4-1, placing Angela and Jennifer in 5th/6th place.  In the 4th place match, Mary Mikita swiftly defeated Nicole Mcdaniel 4-0 to face-off against Michelle Cortez after Michelle’s hotseat match loss to Kim Sanders 2-5.  The strategic 3rd place match between Mary and Michelle reached hill-hill with numerous back-and-forth safety plays where Michelle Cortez edged for the win and ended Mary’s first participation in the CenTex tours in 3rd place.  Good friends Michelle Cortez and Kim Sanders fought an intense battle in the finale where, for the second time, Kim proclaimed victory over Michelle with an outstanding 5-3 win and was crowned winner of the Women’s Division 3rd stop and Michelle as runner-up.

The next stop for Predator Arcadia CenTex Pool Tour 2022 is scheduled for the weekend of June 11th-12th, 2022 as a $2000-added Jack-and-Jill Scotch Doubles 9-ball Tournament hosted by Banana’s Billiards in San Antonio, Texas.

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Espinosa Undefeated in Arcadia Centex Pool Tour’s 3rd Stop

Justin Espinosa

The Arcadia Centex Pool Tour kicked off the 3rd stop at Double D’s Roadhouse in La Vernia, TX on Saturday, June 26th. The field included top picks of stop James David Jr., Daniel Schneider, Justin Espinosa, Albert Luna, Kevin Guimond and Andy Jethwa. 

The early rounds of the tournament yielded very few surprises with the top Fargo rated players cruising through the winner’s bracket. Rounding out the leaderboard, Patrick Croft and Cristina Schneider finished 7th/8th with Schneider winning “Top Lady” prize. The previous tour stop winner James Davis Jr. started out strong with wins over Justin Huber (7-4) and Roger Senn (7-1) before falling to Swiss Pro Daniel Schneider in a hill-hill battle. He was eventually knocked out by local favorite Albert Luna and finished in 5th/6th place. Joining him in 5th/6th was Daniel Schneider. Schneider came out strong with several rounds on the winner’s side but after defeating Davis, Schneider lost his next round to Justin Espinosa. On the B side he was eliminate by Andy Jethwa settling for 5th/6th. 

Local Favorite Albert Luna started out strong with decisive wins over Wayne Senn (7-0), Eddie Perez (7-1) and Andy Jethwa (7-5) before being sent to the one-loss side by Kevin Guimond. He rounded out his tournament with a win over James Davis Jr. (5-2) before suffering a revenge loss to Andy Jethwa leaving him in 4th place. 

Kevin Guimond had a strong performance blowing through the winner’s side to the hot seat match with a first round bye and wins over Frank Ferrer Jr. (7-1), Jeremiah Perez (7-0) and Albert Luna (7-3). Justin Espinosa handed Guimond his first loss (7-5) in the hot seat match sending Guimond to the one-loss side to face Andy Jethwa. Jethwa was on a roll after 4 consecutive wins on the B side and Guimond would settle for 3rd Place losing (5-2) to Jethwa. 

Andy Jethwa was sent to the B side in the 3rd round by Albert Luna losing 7-5. He came back strong knocking out Roger Senn, Cristina Schneider and Daniel Schneider. Jethwa would get his chance for revenge by also knocking out Albert Luna (5-1). His momentum carried through to the 3rd place match as he eliminated Kevin Guimond to earn his spot in the Finals. He would have to double dip Justin Espinosa to take the title. 

Espinosa had a fantastic performance running through the winner’s side undefeated and securing the hot seat from Kevin Guimond. The first match in the finals was a close fought match but Espinosa held on for the undefeated win taking down Jethwa 7-6 and denying his chance at a second set. 

The next tour stop takes place on August 14-15, 2021 at Fast Eddies Embassy in San Antonio, TX. Thank you to our tour supporters Predator Cues, Arcadia Billiard Cloth, Kamui, Brutal Game Gear, ROIS Leather, Backwards Billiards, Outsville and James Hanshew. 

Aicinena Takes Poison Lone Star San Antonio Open

Eric Aicinena, Rudy Sanchez and Manny Chau

Eric Aicinena proved he is the player to beat in San Antonio, going undefeated in a field of 57 competitors, overcoming Manny Chau in the finals, 6-5, to capture the inaugural Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour, San Antonio Open 9-Ball Event. 
 
Recently named the #1 Sports Bar by the San Antonio Express News, Fat Racks Sports Bar and Billiards hosted a stellar event this past weekend, July 8th-9th, featuring some of the best players Texas has to offer. Champions in attendance included Manny Chau, Ruben Bautista, David Guttierrez, and local favorites, Rudy Sanchez, Sam Manaole, and Frank Ferrer, Jr. Fat Racks added a generous $1,000 to the purse, and with 100% payback in the player auctions, the tournament paid an impressive $10,870. Thanks to the support of Fat Racks’ owners, Daniel and Alice Tarpley, title sponsor Poison by Predator Cues, PoisonBilliards.com, and sponsors Cyclop Pool Balls facebook@CyclopPoolBalls, Ozone Billiards OzoneBilliards.com, APA of North Harris County, facebook@APANorthHarrisCounty,  OutsvilleBilliards.com, and Jimmy Jenkins Realty , the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour posted one of its largest payouts to date. 
 
This special event featured one, open 9-ball division, as opposed to the two-division format (amateur and open), typical of Poison Lone Star Tour Events. On Saturday, players raced to six on both sides, and on Sunday, the one loss side was a race to five. San Antonio’s Eric Aicinena carved out wins over Cassidy Adams, 6-0, Fernando Colunga, 6-5, Joey Barajas, 6-1, and Candy Ramos, 6-1, while David Gutierrez “David G”, bested Jimmy Jenkins, 6-2, Daniel Tarpley, 6-0, Mickey Woinicki, 6-5, and Santiago Garza, 6-1. Sam Manaole logged wins over Clem Saenz, Justin Espinosa, 6-2, and Nuevo Laredo’s Felipe Yniguez, 6-3, while Manny Chau ousted Rudy Sanchez, 6-4, Albert Luna, 6-3, and Lynn Mascheck, 6-2. As the final four winners’ side took shape, one loss side matches were underway. Following a second round loss to Aicinena, 6-5, Colunga took out Chris Ramoz, 6-3, Neil Khan, 6-5, Martin Ramos, 5-2, Luna, 5-4, and Candy Ramos, 5-2. Following a third round loss to Garza, 6-4, Frank Ferrer, Jr. took out David Gonzalez, 6-5, Mark Canchola, 6-1, Joe Heinaman, 5-2, and Ariel Estrada, 5-1, before falling to Garza, once again, 5-2.  After suffering a second round loss to Chau, 6-4, Sanchez made an incredible comeback, securing eight wins, eliminating Ruben Bautista, 6-5, Jenkins, 6-0, Gail Eaton, 5-2, Sophia Lopez, 5-0, and Mascheck, 5-2. Newcomer Benje Piamonte eliminated Mingo Ybarra, 6-2, Espinosa, 6-2, and David Leal, 5-3, before falling to Mickey Woinicki, 5-4. In turn, Woinicki met his fate with Yniguez, 5-4. As the final four on the one loss side panned out, winners’ side action witnessed Chau defeat Manaole, 6-4, and Aicinena slide by Gutierrez, 6-5. Still alive on the one loss side, Colunga defeated Garza, 5-3, while Sanchez claimed his sixth win over Yniguez, 5-3. Manaole ended Colunga’s run, 5-2, while Sanchez overwhelmed Gutierrez, 5-2. Meanwhile, Chau and Aicinena teed off for the hot seat. Overwhelming play by Aicinena sent Chau to unfamiliar territory, 6-3. On the west side, Sanchez overcame Manaole, 5-2, but was stopped short by Chau, 5-1. Once again, Chau would face off with Aicinena, going head to head in the true, double elimination final. The crowd was silenced as Aicinena took the lead, 4-1, and Chau came back to tie it up, 4-4. Aicinena won the next game and Chau answered back. It was hill-hill and the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Following a series of forced and unforced errors in the second half of the rack, Aicinena caught a break, winning the final game, and his first win on the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour.
 
There were six ladies competing in this event, including Gail Eaton, Sophia Lopez, Kawania Watson, Megan Hardin, Angela Garza, and Clem Saenz. Congratulations to Sophia Lopez who finished 13th-16th, taking home the “Last Lady Standing” award in this open 9-ball event.
 
On Thursday, July 6th, 2017, the Texas billiard community suffered a great loss with the sudden passing of a dear friend and fellow pool player, Helen Hayes (43 years-old). Upon hearing the news, Fat Racks organized a balloon release on Saturday, raffled off product, and accepted donations, all on behalf of the Hayes family. Over 100 balloons were released in Helen’s honor, and $1,100 was raised to assist with medical and funeral expenses. The tour would like to express its deepest condolences to Helen’s family and friends, and thank each and every person who came out on Saturday to support this impromptu remembrance and benefit.
 
There were a number of players at this event competing on tour for the first time.  The tour would like to thank all those players and invite them back at every opportunity. The tour would also like to thank Jimmy Jenkins for his assistance in running the event, and Jerry Olivier for performing cue repair throughout the weekend. Congratulations to one of our newest players, Eddie Martinez, on winning the Poison Armour Cue Case, and Charlie Elders and Chase Nevels on winning Poison VX Break Jump Cues, in the Poison Raffles. 
 
The tour would like to acknowledge and thank its “special supporters” of this event, Veteran Albert Cortez, “Nino”, Tito Fernandez, Pat Castro “Chicago”, and Zach Ballas. 
 
Serving pool players, pool rooms, and sponsors since 2009, the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour celebrates its 10th Anniversary in 2018 as the longest-running billiards tour in the south. A special 10th Anniversary Event will be held for players who compete in at least two events between now, and January 1st, 2018. The tour strongly encourages all players to meet the eligibility requirements, in order to gain entrance into this one-of-a-kind tournament. The next tour stop will be held on August 26th-27th, 2017, at Bogies Billiards West in Houston, Texas. For more information, please visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com