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Suarez double-dips Britt to claim her second DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour title

Nichole Clark, Krystle Suarez, Kendra Britt & Desiree Collins

It’s been a good year for Krystle Suarez; her best recorded earnings year, her best in terms of the number of events in which she has cashed (4) and in the season finale of the 2022 DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour this past weekend (Saturday, Oct. 15), she came from the loss side to double-dip hot seat occupant, Kendra Britt and claim the event title. It was her first tour victory since she claimed title to the tour’s first event, a trial tournament held back in September 2019 at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX, which led to the creation of the tour and the scheduling of multiple events leading up to this year’s season of six. The $500-added season finale drew 26 entrants to Snookered Billiards & Bar in Frisco, TX.

As Suarez was battling to win her second tournament on the tour, her eventual opponent in both the hot seat match and double elimination finals, Kendra Britt, was looking for her first (recorded) win in a major regional tournament. And almost found it. Bound for the hot seat, Britt worked her way through Francisco Riza Pill, Kathy Knuth and Tina Soto to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Kailye Stevens. Suarez, in the meantime, following an opening round bye, sent April Gonzalez and Jacky Halper to the loss side to draw Desiree Collins in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Suarez and Britt gave up only a single rack to each of their opponents, sending them (Collins and Stevens) to the loss side and advancing to the hot seat match. Britt, who started all three of the matches she would play against Suarez with two beads on the wire in a race to 7, didn’t need them in the hot seat match. She sent Suarez to the semifinals 5-2.

On the loss side, Collins picked up Ginger Abadilla, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal match to Kailye Stevens and then defeated Janna Talmon 3-1 and April Gonzalez 3-4 (Gonzalez racing to 5). Stevens drew Nichole Clark, who’d lost her opening match to Collins and was working on a five-match, loss-side winning streak that would take her to the quarterfinals. She’d chalked up loss-side wins #3 & #4 against Alicia Stanley, double hill (3-6; Stanley racing to 7) and Kailye Stevens 3-2 (Stevens racing to 4). 

In a straight-up race to 3, Collins defeated Abadilla. Clark downed Stevens 3-2 (Stevens racing to 4). Collins and Clark battled to double hill in the quarterfinals that followed, with Collins eventually advancing to face Suarez in the semifinals.

Collins started those semifinals with four beads on the wire in a race to 7. She added just one, as Suarez went on to win 7-1 and earn her second and what needed to be a third shot against Britt in the double elimination finals.

With Suarez racing to 7 and Britt to 5, they played twice, with both matches going double hill. Suarez won them both 7-4 to claim the tour’s season finale title.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Snookered Billiards and Bar, as well as sponsors Cuetec, Kamui, Fort Worth Billiards Store and Doc’s Billiards Office. 

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Tara Williams goes undefeated to claim Stop #2 on DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour

Tara Williams, Ginger Abadilla, Aryana Lynch and Alicia Stanley

Since Tara Williams recorded her first win on the former OB Cues Ladies Tour in 2009, she had gone on to the winners’ circle of that tour numerous times, including, in what turned out to be her best recorded earnings year (2015), victories on six stops of the tour and just for variety that year, added a win on the Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Tour. This past weekend (Saturday, March 12), the multiple BCA and ACS state and national champion chalked up her first recorded 2022 win, going undefeated to claim a DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour title. The $500-added event drew 36 entrants to Snookered Billiards in Frisco, TX.

By the time Williams reached her winners’ side semifinal matchup versus Jamie Tidmore, she’d won 21 of her first 27 games, having sent Anna Billington (1), Monica Anderson (2) and Crystal Jones (3) to the loss side. Ginger Abadilla, in the meantime, one of the lower-rated competitors in the event (at a 3), parlayed her handicap into a successful race to the hot seat match. She got by Kathy Knuth 3-3 (Knuth racing to 4, so double hill), Francisca Riza Pili 3-2 (Pili racing to 4) and Melissa Britt 3-2 (Britt racing to 5), which brought her to a winners’ side semifinal against Alicia Stanley (racing to 7).

Williams downed Tidmore 7-2, as Abadilla punched her ticket to the hot seat match with a 3-3 win over Stanley (once again, racing to 7). Abadilla’s ship of good fortune (and not to downplay her efforts, combined with skill and persistence) ran aground in the hot seat match. No doubt cognizant of Abadilla’s success getting to the hot seat match, Williams shut her out to claim the hot seat.

Meanwhile, back at the Loss-Side Ranch, there was another competitor making her presence known – Aryana Lynch, two-time Billiards Education Foundation Junior National Champion (2018; 16 & Under and 2021; 18 & Under), and twice, winner on the 2021 DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour. Lynch won her opener against Snowy Belt 6-2 and then, ran into Alicia Stanley, who sent her to the loss side 7-2. Lynch proceeded to embark on a four-match run that saw her win 18 of the 20 games she played against three opponents, giving up one each to Rachelle Dytko and Brooklyn Kanady, before recording a forfeit win over Melissa Britt and then, shutting out Orietta Strickland to draw Tidmore, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. 

In the meantime, Stanley, in her first loss-side match, drew Jennifer Kim, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Tidmore and embarked on a similar, albeit shorter, loss-side run. She played eight games and didn’t give up a single rack to either of her two opponents, Francisca Riza Pili and Jennifer Pavlovick.

Lynch extended her loss-side streak to five with a 6-2 win over Tidmore. Stanley joined her in the quarterfinals after putting a stop to Kim’s brief, but illustrious loss-side run 7-3. Loss-side win # 6 for Lynch ended Stanley’s run 6-2, and in the semifinals, loss-side win # 7, 6-1 over Abadilla, put her into the finals.

Williams put a stop to that potential ‘loss waiting to happen.’ She allowed Lynch a single rack and claimed the event title 7-1.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Snookered for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, Cuetec, Doc’s Billiards Office and Kamui. The next stop on DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for Saturday, April 9, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Stixx and Stones Billiards in Lewisville, TX.

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Aryana Lynch goes undefeated again to win second straight DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour stop

Aryana Lynch

In the second of six scheduled stops on the DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour (an adjunct of the Open DFW 9-Ball Tour), 18-year-old Aryana Lynch, the Billiards Education Foundation’s Junior Champion (16 and Under Girls) in 2018 and the BCAPL Women’s 8-Ball Singles Champion in 2019, proved herself, once again, to be a formidable adversary. For the second time in a row, she went undefeated to claim a DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour event title. She improved her game winning average since she went 36-9 (80%) in games the first time out in February, going 30-6 (83%) this past weekend. The $500-added event drew 27 entrants to Snookered Billiards in Frisco, TX on Saturday, April 3.

Lynch was awarded an opening round bye in the 27-entrant bracket and didn’t have an opponent chalk up a rack against her until the third winners’ side round. She opened her second round with a shutout over Riza Pili and followed it with a 6-1 victory over Sheila Lowe, which set her up for a winners’ side semifinal battle versus Amanda Rowland. Her hot seat and finals opponent, Tina Soto, in the meantime, was also awarded a bye and downed Calaia Jackson 5-2, and Becky Smith 5-1 to draw Kathy Knuth in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Lynch got into the hot seat match with a 6-1 victory over Rowland. Soto joined her after sending Knuth to the loss side 5-1. Lynch claimed the hot seat 6-2 over Soto and waited on her return from the semifinals.

On the loss side, Rowland picked up Alicia Stanley, who, at skill level 7, had been Lynch’s toughest opponent in the tour’s opener in February. Stanley had a slow start this time out, falling to Ramona Baker Lee 4-2 (Stanley racing to 7) in the opening round. She went to work on a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would end in the semifinals. She had recently shut out Becky Smith and successfully wreaked her vengeance on Baker Lee 7-2 to face Rowland. Knuth drew Sheila Lowe, who followed her defeat at the hands of Lynch with two straight shutouts, over Calaia Jackson and April Gonzales to face Knuth.

Stanley advanced to the quarterfinals 7-2 over Rowland and was joined by Lowe, who stopped Knuth’s loss-side run at a single match 5-3. Stanley stopped Lowe’s loss-side run at three with a 7-3 win in those quarterfinals.

Soto then ended Stanley’s loss-side run at six matches with a 5-4 win in the semifinals (Stanley racing to 7). Soto turned for a second shot at Lynch in the hot seat.

Lynch duplicated the victory that had put her in the hot seat. She completed her second straight undefeated run with a second straight 6-2 win in the finals.

The DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour Committee of Monica Anderson, Jennifer Hooten, Ginger Abadilla and Tournament Director David “Doc” Reyes thanked the tour’s sponsors OB Cues and Fort Worth Billiards Superstore. The next stop on the tour, scheduled for May 15, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Stixx & Stones in Lewisville, TX.

Suarez wins eight on the loss side, double dips Soto in finals of DFW Tour experiment

Tina Soto, Orietta Strickland & Krystle Suarez (Photo courtesy Jesse Garcia . Bound by Imagination)

With the idea of introducing a Ladies Division into their 2020 schedule, the Dallas/Fort Worth 9-Ball Tour ran a ‘trial run’ event on Saturday, September 28. It was, according to tour representatives, a success and plans are moving ahead to include four or five events in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The trial event was won by Krystle Suarez, who, after being awarded a bye in the opening round, was defeated in the second round by Tina Soto, won eight on the loss side and then met and double dipped Soto in the finals to claim the event title. The event drew 35 ladies to Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX.
 
Soto, who’d won her opening round versus Jennifer Hooten, advanced after her defeat of Suarez to send Phoebe Simon and Tam Trinh to the loss side and faced Corina Campbell in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Orietta Strickland squared off against Jessica Demello in the other one.
 
Soto and Campbell locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Soto to the hot seat match. Strickland joined her after shutting Demello out. With Strickland racing to 7, Soto claimed the hot seat 5-5 and waited for Suarez to complete her loss-side run.
 
On the loss side, Campbell drew a re-match against Ricki Casper, whom she’d sent to the loss side in a third-round double hill battle. Casper was in the midst of six-match, loss-side winning streak that had recently included two straight shutouts over Christa Ramon and Nina Dolman. Demello picked up Suarez, five matches into her loss-side streak, having recently shut out Jennifer Pavlovick and downed Alicia Stanley 7-4.
 
Casper extended her loss-side streak, as she successfully navigated her rematch versus Campbell 6-1. Suarez joined her in the quarterfinals with a 7-2 victory over Demello.
 
Suarez ended Casper’s loss-side journey 7-2 in those quarterfinals and then earned her rematch against Soto with a 7-5 victory over Strickland in the semifinals. She and Soto battled to double hill in the opening set of the true double elimination finals, forcing a second set. Suarez upped her game a bit in the second set, shutting Soto out to claim the trial run of the DFW 9-Ball Tour’s Ladies Division.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, OB Cues, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, and the Dallas 8-Ball League. The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for October 19-20, will be hosted by the Billiard Den in Richardson, TX. 
 

Sanders wins battle of the ‘Kims,’ goes undefeated to claim Jerry Olivier Ladies Tour stop #2

(l to r): Kim Sanders, Kim Pierce, Jennifer Kraber & Alicia Stanley

Fresh from their battles at the NAPT Div. II Championships in Phoenix, AZ last month (Feb. 21-24), Kims Sanders and Pierce signed on to stop #2 of the Jerry Olivier Ladies Tour (JOLT). Pierce was runner-up to Bethany Sykes in the NAPT event and Sanders finished in the tie for 17th. They met twice on the recent JOLT event, and Sanders won both times to claim the title. The $2,000-added event drew 42 entrants to Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, TX.
 
They met first in a winners’ side semifinal, while Alicia Stanley and Audrey Araceli squared off in the other one. Sanders sent Pierce to the loss side 7-2 and in the hot seat match, faced Stanley, who’d sent Araceli over 7-1. Sanders claimed the hot seat in a double hill fight and waited on what turned out to be the return of Pierce.
 
On the loss side, Pierce picked up Angie Payne, who’d defeated Nicole McDaniel, double hill, and Michelle Cortez 7-5 to reach her. Araceli drew Jennifer Kraber, who’d eliminated Natalie Mans 7-6 and defeated Belinda Lee 7-2.
 
Pierce and Payne locked up in a double hill fight, eventually won by Pierce. She was joined in the quarterfinals by Kraber, who’d eliminated Araceli 7-3.
 
Pierce took the quarterfinal match 7-2 over Kraber, thereby spoiling a potential re-match nearly nine years in the making. In November 2010, Kraber (who won the inaugural JOLT event last March) and Kim Sanders battled in the finals of a stop on the Lone Star Billiards Tour, which became Sanders’ first and as far as we know, only victory on a regional tour (it should be noted that ‘as far as we know’ is not a definitive statement; our records are of events about which we have received information over the years. There are regrettably gaps in that information, but we do know they met at that event and Sanders did secure that event title).
 
Pierce moved on and secured her own rematch against Sanders with a 7-4 victory over Stanley in the semifinals. It was a true double elimination final, but Sanders kept it simple, winning the first and only set she needed 7-2 to claim what, according to our records, is only her second event title. The victory also qualified Sanders for an upcoming NAPT Div. II event in Sacramento, CA this coming June.
 
The Tour’s directing committee thanked the ownership and staff at Skinny Bob’s for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Jerry Olivier Custom Cues and MZTam.com. The next stop on the Jerry Olivier Ladies Tour (#3), scheduled for the weekend of April 13-14, will be a $2,000-added event, hosted by Diamonds Sports Bar in Port Arthur, TX. 

Davis downs Wiley twice to go undefeated on Predator Cues’ DFW 9-Ball Tour

(l to r): CJ Wiley, TJ Davis & Jordan Gartenberg

Sitting atop the early-season standings on the Predator Cues’ DFW 9-Ball Tour, CJ Wiley went into the finals of that 2018 tour’s third stop with a win and runner-up finish to his credit. Thanks to TJ Davis, Wiley had to settle for his second straight runner-up finish. On the weekend of March 24-25, Davis completed an undefeated run with two straight victories over Wiley, in the hot seat match and finals. While this allowed Wiley to retain his position at the top of the standings chart, Davis’ victory allowed him to jump up two steps, to settle in (for now) the runner-up spot. The $1,700-added event drew 105 entrants to Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX.
 
Davis and Wiley faced four opponents each on the trip to their respective winners’ side final matches. In their first four handicapped matches, Davis and Wiley, both racing to 9, faced an exactly equal average opponent, racing to 6; Davis faced one 7, two 6s and a 5, as Wiley squared off against two 7s, a 6, and a 4. Wiley did just a little better in the average score department over the first four matches (9-2.5 over Davis’ 9-3.2).
 
Davis picked up Tony Sulsar (racing to 8) in his winners’ side semifinal match, while Wiley drew Jordan Gartenberg (racing to 7). Davis downed Sulsar 9-5. Wiley joined him in the hot seat match with a 9-3 win over Gartenberg. Davis took the first of two over Wiley 9-4, which put him in the hot seat and guaranteed that he’d be recording his best finish, to date, on the 2018 tour (he’d finished 9/12th and 4th in the previous two events).
 
Sulsar, looking to improve on his 9th place spot on the tour standings, moved to the loss side and picked up Tony Top, who’d most recently defeated Alberto Nieto Garcia 7-3 and Isaac Leyendecker 7-2 to reach him. Gartenberger drew Justin Whitehead, who was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that had seen him eliminate the #2 player in the tour standings, Rick Stanley, as well as, most recently Corey Flud (#6) 8-3 and Tim Larsen 8-6.
 
Top downed Sulsar 7-6 (Sulsar racing to 8), as Gartenberg ended Whitehead’s loss-side winning streak, double hill. Gartenberg, already assured of his best finish, to date, on the 2018 tour, took another step, downing Top in the quarterfinals 7-5 to earn himself a re-match against Wiley in the semifinals.
 
Gartenberg fought furiously in that semifinal match, forcing a single deciding game. Wiley, however, won it 9-6 (Gartenberg racing to 7) to earn himself a second shot at Davis in the hot seat. Davis and Wiley duplicated their 9-4 score from the hot seat match, and Davis claimed the event title.
 
Last Lady honors went to Alicia Stanley, with a second-place split between Tracie Voelkering and Ricki Casper. A Second Chance event drew 12 entrants, and was won by Dee Davis. In a rare Second Chance appearance, Rick Stanley finished second.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Fort Worth Billiards Store, JB Cases, Dallas Eightball League, Outsville (AccuRack), Fargo Rate, BCAPL/CSI, Internet Marketing Solutions and Granite Guyz. The next stop on the Predator Cues’ DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for April 28-29, will be hosted by JR Pockets in Denton, TX.
 

Tara! Tara! Tara! – “Firecracker” Freight Train Keeps on Winning

Thirty-nine players showed up the weekend of March 19-20th at Legend’s Billiards in League City, TX to play in the second stop of 2016 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour.  Top players from all over Texas and one new player from Alabama were gunning for the $775 first place prize in this event.  With the awesome hospitality offered by Mindy and Craig Cohen and their staff, it was destined to be a great weekend of pool for all of the players.
 
It was a full day of action on Saturday as thirty-nine players were dwindled down to eight ladies in the main event. On Saturday night, the 9th-12th finishers were Jennifer Kraber, Monica Anderson, Michelle Cortez, and Alicia Stanley.  Great job ladies!  
 
Returning on Sunday, the final four in the winner’s bracket were Corina Campbell vs. Robyn Petrosino and Tara Williams vs. Amanda Lampert.  The four ladies returning on the one-loss side were Orietta Strickland vs. Angie Payne and Jennifer Yo vs. Ricki Casper.  Eliminated in the 7th-8th position was Jennifer Yo and Angie Payne, both of Austin, TX.  This was Jennifer’s highest finish to date in an OB Ladies Tour event, Congratulations Jennifer!  The 5th-6th places went to Amanda Lampert of Frisco, TX and Robyn Petrosino of Spring, TX; Congratulations Robyn on hitting her highest finish to date as well!  4th place was taken by Ricki Lee Casper of Houston, TX.  Congratulations to all the ladies for their great shooting that earned them the spot in the main event on Sunday!
 
Tara Williams of Fort Worth made her way through Saturday with wins over Adena Sanchez (7-0), Kim Pierce (7-2), Michelle Cortez (7-5), and Monica Anderson (7-2).  On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and to take the hot seat with wins over Amanda Lampert (7-4) and Corina Campbell (7-3).  
 
Corina Campbell of Dallas set up her highest finish to date by making her way through to the brackets, defeating on Saturday Teresa Garland (7-5), Lorna McEwan (7-5), and Jennifer Yo (7-2).  She continued her run on Sunday winning against Robyn Petrosino (7-6), before being taking her first loss in the finals (3-7) against Tara for the hot seat.
 
For the 3rd place match, Corina was matched against Orietta Strickland of Dallas.  Orietta jumped to a heavy lead at 6-2, but after a few unforced errors Corina was allowed back into the match.  By continuing to capitalize on the opportunities given by Orietta, Corina was able to tie the match at 6 games to have one game decide who would move on to the finals.  In the last game, both players traded safeties throughout the rack, but Corina missed a tough kick on the six to give Orietta ball in hand with four balls on the table.  The only problem with the layout was that the 8-9 were tied up on the bottom rail.  Orietta pocketed the 6 and played shape on the 7 to break out the trouble 8-9 layout, but when she executed the breakout, the 8-9 remained close together, forcing a combination on the 9-ball.  She studied the combination for a minute, then took the shot.  All the breath in the room was sucked in as the 9-ball rattled in the pocket but didn’t fall, leaving Corina an 8-9 combo for the match win.  Congratulations to Orietta for a great match to watch and another great tournament finish!
 
With Tara and Corina in the finals match, it was a rematch of the hot seat for the tournament. Just like the hot seat match, both players traded racks early in the set until the match was set at 3-3.  Once again, on the seventh game, Tara turned it on and didn’t look back.  She finished out the set just as she had the first time they played with a final score of 7-3.  Congratulations to Corina for her second place finish and reaching her highest finish to date on the tour!!!  With this second win of 2016, Tara has seventeen tour wins and now holds the OB Cues Ladies Tour record for the most wins by a single player.  Congratulations Tara on another great accomplishment!  
 
Thanks again to Legends for hosting all the lovely ladies for this second event of 2016, and to all our board members who do a fantastic job all year around.  
 
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com
 
Many thanks and love to all our families, fans, supporters—we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Also to the many, many ladies/ players/friends who traveled from near and far; we loved seeing you all again and greatly appreciate you making the journey to play on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone once again at Stop #3 – Click’s Billiards in San Antonio, Texas, May 21-22nd weekend. 
 
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or Facebook/obcuestour
 
Tournament Results & Payouts: $2000 monies added – 39 players
1st – Tara Williams – $775
2nd – Corina Campbell – $600
3rd – Orietta Strickland – $450
4th – Ricki Lee Casper – $340
5th/6th – Amanda Lampert, Robyn Petrosino – $170
7th/8th – Jennifer Yo, Angie Payne – $95
9th/12th –Jennifer Kraber, Monica Anderson, Michelle Cortez, Alicia Stanley – $45
 
Second Chance Tournament Results & Payouts: $100 monies added – 17 players
1st – Jillian Nickerson – $105
2nd –Teresa Garland – $81
3rd – Lorna McEwan – $54
4th – Yvonne Asher – $27
 
$30 Tough Luck Draw for drawing the reigning Tour Champ first round – Adena Sanchez
OB Cues Raffle Winners: Robyn Petrosino and Terry Petrosino