Tina Malm had to come a little further on the loss side than Shaun Wilkie did, but when the Open and Ladies events' of the Action Pool Tour's (APT) seventh stop concluded on the weekend of July 8-9, they'd both come back to challenge their respective hot seat opponents, and chalked up their third victory on the tour. The Open event drew 71 entrants, while the Ladies' event drew 13 to Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD.
It could be argued that it would have been Wilkie's fourth win on the tour, had it not been for the presence of Dennis Orcollo at the VA State 10-Ball Championships back in February. That said, though, Wilkie did defeat Orcollo in a winners' side semifinal in those championships, and advanced to the hot seat, only to fall in the finals. This time around, Wilkie had to contend with Karen Corr. Following victories over BRyan Jones, Alan Duty, the winner of the Ladies' event, Tina Malm and TJ Moore, Wilkie drew Corr in a winners' side semifinal. Scott Haas, in the meantime, squared off against Jordan Grubb. Corr took Wilkie right to the brink before Wilkie finished the double hill win that put him in the hot seat against Haas, who'd defeated Grubb 7-4. Wilkie took Haas to the brink in that hot seat match, before Haas finished it, consigning Wilkie to a semifinal re-match against Corr.
On the loss side, Corr picked up Bruce Nagle, who'd eliminated Malm via shutout and Dave Hunt 6-4 to reach her. Grubb drew veteran APT competitor Brandon Shuff, who'd been sent to the loss side by Haas in the third round and was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak that included two double hill wins (over Duty and Matt Krah), before chalking up a shutout over Paul Oh and a 6-4 win over Jimmy Varias that set him up against Grubb.
Corr got into the quarterfinals 6-3 over Nagle, and was joined by Shuff, who'd eliminated Grubb 6-4. Corr and Shuff went double hill before Corr advanced to a re-match against Wilkie in the semifinals. Wilkie defeated Corr 6-4 and got his own re-match, versus Haas in the finals. In the extended race to 9, Wilkie defeated Haas 9-4 to claim his third APT title.
Malm loses opener, wins five on the loss side to meet and defeat Lampert in Ladies final
Things did not start out well for Tina Malm, who entered the ladies event of the APT's 7th stop in the #2 position in the ladies rankings (behind Judie Wilson, who's appeared in all seven stops on the tour). In the opening round, Malm faced Tina Castillo, who was appearing on the tour for the first time this year. Castillo won that opener 6-4, and after a 6-1 victory over Peggi Wilkinson, faced Anita Sowers in a winners' side semifinal. Amanda Lampert, in the meantime, faced Terri Stovall, who'd defeated Judie Wilson 6-2 and Jennifer Tully 6-3 to reach her.
Lampert and Sowers advanced to the hot seat match; Lampert 6-4 over Stovall and Sowers 6-3 over Castillo. Lampert claimed the hot seat over Sowers 6-1 and waited on Malm.
Castillo's move to the loss side put her in an immediate re-match against Malm, who'd defeated Tully 5-1, and Gwen Townsend 6-4 to reach her. Stovall drew Kia Sidbury, who, after an opening round loss to Townsend, had defeated Melissa Mason (double hill), Nicole King and shut out Judie Wilson to reach her. Stovall and Sidbury battled to double hill before Stovall advanced to the quarterfinals to meet Malm, who'd successfully wreaked her vengeance on Castillo 5-3.
With two more, back-to-back 5-3 wins – against Stovall in the quarterfinals and Sowers in the semifinals, Malm got a shot at Lampert, waiting for her in the hot seat. The two battled to double hill before Malm dropped the final ball and chalked up her third APT victory of the 2017 season.
A Second Chance tournament, which drew 23 entrants, saw Steve Fleming come back from a hot seat loss to Josh McCauley to defeat him 6-2 in the finals.
Legends Billiards of League City, TX was the destination. 138 players in two divisions competed on the nine footers to see who would be this year’s Houston 9-Ball Open champions.
Thirty women entered the Ladies Division trying for a piece of the $1,900 purse plus $1,460 in Calcutta action. Playing down to the semi-final match were well-known Texas players Jennifer Kraber and Amanda Lampert. Jennifer won the match 5-2 and Amanda went west to await the results of the Natalie Rocha–Kim Pierce match. Natalie defeated Kim leaving her in fourth place with $190 in prize money plus another $145 in Calcutta cash. Natalie was unstoppable as she defeated Amanda to move into the finals. Amanda received $285 in prize money and $220 in Calcutta cash for third place.
Natalie was on a tear but Jennifer was having none of it as she defeated her 7-4. Natalie cashed $385 prize money plus $365 Calcutta for her second place finish. As the 2016 Houston Open champ, Jennifer received $570 plus $510 from the Calcutta for her efforts.
The Open Division drew 108 players fighting for a piece of the $16,630 purse plus another $13,690 from the player auction. When the music stopped, it was last year’s Houston Open champ Jeremy Jones and Cesar Garcia Jr in the hot seat. Looking to repeat, JJ made quick work of Cesar 7-2. Meanwhile, Kevin Cheng and former Houston Open champ, Charlie Bryant, were duking it out. Hillbilly prevailed 7-4 and moved on to play Cesar for the other berth in the finals. Taking fourth place, Kevin received $1,170 in prize money plus $1,230 Calcutta.
After defeating Cesar and leaving him in third place, Charlie moved on to the finals. Cesar cashed $1,610 in prize money plus another $1,780 from the Calcutta.
Jeremy was a man on a mission – it was JJ all the way. He defeated Hillbilly 9-3 to repeat as the 2016 Houston Open champion. Charlie received $2,340 in prize money in addition to another $2,400 from the Calcutta. Jeremy received $3,520 for first place plus $3,770 in Calcutta cash.
Congratulations to both Jennifer and Jeremy – our defending Houston Open champions!
PoolActionTV would like to thank Craig and Mindy Cohen as well as their great staff for their hospitality. They always do a fabulous job! We’d like to thank the Houston Open’s main sponsor, Jerry Olivier Custom Cues, for their support. We’d also like to thank John Barton of JB Cases, Club Billiards, Hanshew Custom Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Lomax Custom Cues, GoPlayPool.com, Kamui and Durbin Custom Cues for their support.
Thanks to Justin Schwartz for doing such a great job running the show as well as Terry Hanna and Jason “Helpdesk” Walton for keeping the ride smooth.
PoolActionTV’s next stop is the Tennessee State 8-Ball Championships and the Southern Cue & Case Show at the Chattanooga Billiards Club. Hope to see you there!!!
A stellar field of 48 women came to CK Billiards in Dallas on the weekend of June 25-26 for the OB Cues Ladies Tour 4th stop. This is the first time that the OB Tour has stopped at CK Billiards and the event attracted several players from other regional tours, as well as other states, who came to experience the great fun of the OB Tour and the wonderful hospitality of CK Billiards.
Thank you to Jennifer Sherman, General Manager of CK Billiards, for her hospitality and service to all supporters, fan, players and general public. Also special thanks to event sponsors Starwoodmotors and Barisita Brothers. Starwoodmotors caters to an automobile style which is unique and luxurious for their custom/handcrafted vehicles. Be sure to check them out at Starwoodmotors.com to see all about their specialized services and offerings. Barista Brothers strives to provide the utmost in coffee service like no other. They have a passion for absolute excellence with their coffee products and services. You can read all about their passion and products at baristabrothers.com. Enjoy!
As the tournament day progressed, Saturday was indeed a long day with so many ladies and many interesting upsets. The Freight Train that is Tara “Firecracker” Williams (Ft. Worth) was derailed by Nicole Keeney (Colorado), and former tour stop winners Orietta Strickland, Amanda Lampert (both of Dallas), Terry Petrosino (Houston), Jennifer Kraber and Michelle Cortez (both of Austin) all suffered at least one loss by the end of Saturday’s play.
Sunday brought back 12 ladies. On the winner’s side, Nicole emerged victorious over Ricki Casper (Houston), and Belinda Lee (Pearland) won a hill-hill battle against board member Shayla Neris (Austin). The four B-side matches saw up-and-coming player Yvonne Asher (Houston) defeat Amanda; two-time tour champion Tara beat Jennifer Pavlovick (Irving), new tour member Toby Stogner (Amarillo) won vs. Tera Saunders (Dallas), and Jennifer wound up on the winning side of a hill-hill battle against Terry. Shayla and Ricki both finished in 5/6thplace, which required a race-to-seven battle to determine who would win the qualifier for the next NAPT Tour stop, as they were the last remaining candidates out of 11 qualifier contenders and both finished in the same position. The two NAPT Qualifier winners were Ricki and Belinda. Unfortunately for Belinda, she will not be able to make the Grayslake NAPT Division 1 Pro event, so Shayla will be taking the invite. We wish all OBCLT representatives best of luck at the Shooter’s Sports Bar and Billiards, Grayslake, IL – $21,000 total purse event August 18-21, 2016.
The final four players were Nicole vs. Belinda for the hotseat match, and Tara vs. Jennifer K. on the other side. Nicole, who in recent years has won the OB Tour stops she has attended, won the hotseat, sending Belinda to the B-side. Jennifer managed to capture a hill-hill win against Tara while she then continued to defeat Belinda and meet up with Nicole in the finals.
Right before the finals match was about to commence, the raffle drawing for the two beautiful OB cues donated to support the tour followed an unbelievable trend, sending both cues home to Terry Petrosino and Richard Holstein, who now own an arsenal of OB cues!
As in a true double elimination format, Jennifer would have to beat Nicole two sets to win the tournament and that is exactly what she did. In the first set, Nicole made a couple uncharacteristic errors which Jennifer was able to finish each game all the while giving her confidence and strong momentum with full steam ahead. Jennifer was truly on a roll and playing in near flawless fashion, caught a gear and finished the first set 7-3. They began the second set almost immediately, and while Jennifer still couldn’t miss a ball, Nicole played strong herself, fighting back with absolutely beautiful shotmaking and finesse of her own, with several break and runs during the final set. Jennifer reached the hill first and had a chance at 6-5 to finish out the tournament win with a break and run, but made the nine-ball and then scratched, thus making it a nail-biter and tense game, set and match for the eventual winner. In the final game, Nicole had the same opportunity and shot as Jennifer did in the previous game, but just barely missed pocketing the nine giving Jennifer the win. It was Jennifer’s birthday, so it was probably meant to be. There were a few June birthdays that weekend, including the Tour angel Carter’s birthday, so there was much celebrating all weekend. The ladies presented Carter with an Edible Arrangement, cupcakes and his own personal figurine with our undying love and honor to have Carter as part of this tour family always and forever. We love you Carter!
Thank you to the OB board members, who go out of their way to make the events fantastic even when tournament play lasts past midnight and then they have to be back early the next day. Thank you again to Carter for all the support, chocolate, energy goodies and love of the game and the ladies. Special thank you to all the players who traveled from near and far to participate and make the tour the fun experience that it is! And last of all thanks to OB Cues, our title sponsor since 2008. They have the best products and are the best sponsors ever—bar none. Check them out at obcues.com and be sure to get the Digicue…..one of their newest product offerings……you can’t go wrong with this one.
Main Event Tournament Payouts – ($2000 added) – 48 players
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
Top 3 Finishers: (L-R) Terry Petrosino, Tara Williams, and Ricki Casper
Fifty-two players set a season high attendance the weekend September 19-20th at Slick Willie’s Family Pool Hall in Austin, TX to support the OB Cues Ladies Tour and remember the loss of a local Austin OB player, Emma Stewart-Davis. This was the second year for Slick Willie’s to host the ladies event and we were very happy to be back at their excellent establishment. A very big thanks goes out to Rob Mercado for accommodating the OB Ladies again on this weekend of pool and remembrance.
Sunday rounds were scheduled to start late to allow players time to attend the memorial celebration for Emma Stewart-Davis in Elgin that morning. Emma began playing on the OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball in 2013 and quickly became a positive force on the women’s tour. Her kind words of encouragement and laid back attitude helped players feel at ease. Though she played just a few short years on the tour, she was so open and warm, that she made a mark that will last for years. Her mother said it best about Emma, “She was beautiful when she opened her mouth” – her beauty was both external and internal in the loving way she treated everyone she met. She will be deeply missed by all the players and spectators of the events. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her husband, James Davis, Jr, her son, James Davis III, her family, and all of those whose life she touched during this difficult time.
After a late run on Saturday night, fifty-two players were reduced to eight ladies returning on Sunday afternoon. The final two remaining in the winner’s bracket were Ricki Casper and Tara Williams. The six ladies returning on the one loss side were Amanda Lampert vs Terry Petrosino, with Sheri Palma-Jones awaiting the winner and Kim Sanders vs. Kawania Watson, with Jennifer Kraber awaiting the winner. Placing in the money, but not returning to Sunday, were the 9-12th finishers: Marilina Nieves (San Antonio), Tam Trinh (Austin), Kari Grant (Austin), and Natalie Mans (League City).
Eliminated first round Sunday morning at the 7/8th positions were Kawania Watson of San Antonio and Amanda Lampert of Frisco. Kim Sanders of Leander and Sheri Palma-Jones of San Antonio finished in the respective 5/6th positons. Jennifer Kraber of Austin took the 4th place position.
Ricki Casper of Houston made her way through Saturday with wins over Rachel Hurst (7-3), Kim Sanders (7-4), Amanda Lampert (7-4), Kari Grant (7-2), and Sheri Palma-Jones (7-4). On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Tara Williams of Fort Worth was making her way through her Saturday matches. She posted wins over Michelle Cortez (7-4), Darcy Durham (7-3), Barbara Wisdom (7-3), Tam Trinh (7-6) and Jennifer Kraber (7-3). In the hot seat match on Sunday, Tara got ahead early in the match against Ricki and didn’t look back. Tara showed solid play in the match with several run-outs, finishing the match with a score of 7-1.
For the 3rd place match, Terry made her way through six matches in the one-loss side before facing Ricki, to see who would come out ahead to face Tara in the finals. Just like in the last tour event for this round, Terry was an unstoppable force in this match. She kept control of the match the entire time and was able to secure her spot in the finals with a 7-2 win over Ricki. Congratulations to Ricki for her great play all weekend and for her highest finish to date on the tour!
Terry Petrosino of Houston secured her second spot in the finals in two events and was poised to take on Tara Williams. Just like the last event, she was coming through the one-loss side and needed to win two sets against the current tour champion to win the event and the $770 first place prize. She once again jumped in the lead to get ahead 4-1, but Tara worked to close the gap at 4-3. A few missed opportunities allowed Terry to once again pull ahead again in the match. Tara continued to fight her way to keep it close, but Terry was determined to close the first set out and managed to grab the first set with a final score of 7-5. Both players regrouped and came back to the table ready to have one set determine the winner. This time, Tara controlled the match, getting ahead quickly, but this time it was Terry clawing her way back into the match. Tara once again dug deep to gain a firm lead and was able to close out the final set with a score of 7-4 and take the win. Congratulations to both ladies for another great tournament! With this fifth tour stop win of 2015, Tara Williams breaks another OB Ladies Tour record by becoming the only player to win five stops within a calendar year. She also secured her 2015 Tour Championship with this event, becoming the fourth player in tour history to win the Tour Champion award in consecutive years.
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
Also 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 #7 and the tour championship stop at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas, November 7-8th weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or stay up to date with instant news by adding us on Facebook/obcuestour
Tournament Results & Payouts: $2000 monies added – 52 players
1st – Tara Williams – $770
2nd – Terry Petrosino – $600
3rd – Ricki Casper – $465
4th – Jennifer Kraber – $345
5th/6th – Kim Sanders, Sheri Palma-Jones – $205
7th/8th – Kawania Watson, Amanda Lampert – $125
9-12th – Marilina Nieves, Tam Trinh, Kari Grant, and Natalie Mans – $90
Best of the Rest Tournament Results & Payouts: $100 monies added – 18 players
1st – Michelle Cortez – $120
2nd – Angie Payne – $85
3rd – Monica Anderson – $50
4th – Helen Hayes – $25
Goody-Giveaway Winners:
$50 Shell Gift Cards (5) – Erin Mickle, Helen Hayes, Julie Stephenson, Darcy Durham, Amanda Lampert
WPBA T-Shirt – Annette Saunders
$30 Tough Luck Draw for drawing the reigning Tour Champ first round – Michelle Cortez
Sophia Lopez, Terry Petrosino, Tara Williams and Michelle Cortez
Twenty-eight players showed up ready for pool action August 15-16th weekend at P.O.E.T.S. Billiards in College Station, TX. This was the first time the tour was at P.O.E.T.S Billiards. Special thanks to John Wine and his staff for taking care of all the ladies, fan and supporters. They were gracious in their service and hospitality. The equipment was great and lots of room to feel at ease for this two day event. Extra special thanks to longtime tour player Gail Roles for all her assistance in securing this site and making us all feel welcome in her hometown. P.O.E.T.S. added $2K to this event and everyone was certainly appreciative of the warm welcome!
By day’s end on Saturday, six ladies would be returning to continue their winning ways in the Main Event on Sunday morning. The two undefeated players in the winner’s bracket were Michelle Cortez (Austin) and Terry Petrosino (Houston). The four ladies returning on the one loss side were Sophia Lopez (San Antonio) vs. Julie Stephenson (Keller) and Jennifer Kraber (Austin) vs. Tara Williams (Ft. Worth). Placing in the money, but not returning to Sunday, were the 7/8th finishers Angie Payne (Austin) and Kawania Watson (San Antonio).
Eliminated in the first round Sunday morning at the 5th-6th position was Julie Stephenson (Keller) and Jennifer Kraber (Austin). For the second tournament in a row, Sophia Lopez (San Antonio) took 4th place and showed she will be a consistent top finisher on the tour. Good tournament to one and all!
Terry made her way through Saturday with wins over Shayla Neris (7-5), Michelle Yim (7-6), Amanda Lampert (7-4), and Tara Williams (7-6), besting the tour champion in her first match loss since the first match of the first tour event of 2015. On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Michelle was making her way through her Saturday matches with her steadily consistent play. She posted wins over Helen Hayes (7-6), Julie Stephenson (7-5), Leslie Anne Rogers (7-6), and Sophia Lopez (7-5). In the hot seat match, it was a slow and steady race to the finish line. Both players displayed their superior skills at the table, but a few missed opportunities by both ladies, kept the match close throughout. Michelle ended up on top in the match 7-4 and got to wait to see who would be coming through the one-loss side to meet her in the finals.
For the 3rd place match, Terry once again met up with Tara. Just like when they met in the winner’s side on Saturday, Terry jumped ahead quickly in the match and never looked back. With solid play and some great kick-shots, she shut down the tour champion’s winning streak, leaving Tara to settle for a 3rd place finish by a final score of 7-4.
At this event, Terry showed us why she was so successful on the tour in the past. Her last event to win on the OB Cues Ladies Tour was in 2011. In early 2012, she decided to take a break and did not participate on the tour in the last two years, but she decided that this was the year to come back and try her hand again at being competitive in women’s events. We are glad she did as it was a pleasure to watch the finals match between Michelle and Terry. In this true double elimination format, Terry would need to beat Michelle twice to take the win and she intended on just doing that. She quickly got up early 4-0 in the match during the first set, but Michelle was down, but not out. Michelle focused on getting control in the match and came back to close the gap 4-3. On the next game, it looked like Michelle would tie the score up, but a missed opportunity on an 8-ball allowed Terry to gain another game. After that, they traded racks back and forth, with Terry coming out ahead in the first set 7-5 and forcing one final set for the title. In the second set, Terry once again dominated the match early with her solid play and run-outs. This time, she did not allow Michelle to come back in the match and finished out the final set with a score of 7-4. Congratulations to both ladies for a great tournament!
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. Don Owen, Royce Bunnell, we couldn’t have all our fun and excitement without you. OB Cues makes the best low defection shaft in the market. They also have a fine line of cues with special Infinity inlay features. Corporate office and factory based in Plano, TX and all products made in the USA. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com.
Thanks again to P.O.E.T.S. Billiards. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, be sure to check them out. Also grateful to our other sponsors: Ozone Billiards, Mz Tam Trinh at mztam.com for all your personalized and custom pool cases, chalkers, many more goodies. And the one and only Carter Nakashima, our mentor, our photographer, our #1 fan and mainly our forever friend! We love you, Carter. We love you one and all.
Also 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 #6 – Slick Willie’s Billiards in Austin, Texas, September 19-20th weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or stay up to date with instant news by adding us on Facebook/obcuestour
Jennifer Kraber, Amanda Lampert, Sophia Lopez and Tara Williams
Thirty-six players showed up Father’s Day weekend June 20-21st at Legend’s Billiards in League City, TX to play in Stop #4 of OB Cues Ladies Tour 2015 calendar. Top players from throughout the Texas area were competing for the first place prize in this $2000 added monies event. Legend’s Billiards, home of the Houston Open, and many other special tournaments throughout the years, is always a player favorite, with courteous and welcoming staff, fans as well as well-maintained Brunswick/Diamond equipment. We look forward to coming back for years to come. Special thanks to Mindy and Craig Cohen for hosting us on this holiday weekend!
By days end on Saturday, eight ladies would be returning on Sunday morning to continue in the Main Event. The final four remaining in the winner’s bracket were Sophia Lopez (San Antonio) vs Tara Williams (Ft. Worth) and MzTam Trinh (Austin) vs. Jennifer Kraber (Austin). The four ladies on the one loss side were Natalie Esparza (Houston) vs. Terry Petrosino (Houston) and Amanda Lampert (Dallas) vs. Board Member Tracie Voelkering (Ft. Worth).
7th-8th places went to Tracie and Natalie, which is her highest finish in only her second event after a tough first round loss. 5th-6th places went to Terry and MzTam, who also had her highest finish ever and 4th place went to Sophia. Great shooting to everyone. Keep up the great work!
Tara made her way through Saturday with wins over Janna Preston (7-0), Natalie Mans (7-4), and Amanda Lampert (7-5). On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and earned a spot for the hot seat with a win over Sophia Lopez (7-4). On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Jennifer was making her way through her Saturday matches with the strong play that has made her a consistent and formidable player. Her winning matches were as follows: besting Natalie Esparza (7-5), Shayla Neris (7-3), and Terry Petrosino (7-6). On Sunday morning, she continued her run taking down MzTam (7-0) which would secure her spot in the hot seat match. In the hot seat match, it looked like it was going to be over quickly in Jennifer’s favor when she jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Tara regained her focus though and managed to get on the board to bring the score to 4-3 with some strong play. Tara missed a 9-ball to allow Jennifer to pull ahead 5-3, but composed herself and ran the next rack to close it out at 5-4. A late miss by Jennifer then allowed Tara to tie it up at 5 games apiece. Trading run outs the next two games, it came down to a single game to decide the winner. Tara appeared to have the advantage after a solid break, but a tough leave on the 5 ball forced to her to make a few difficult shots in a row. On the 8-ball, Tara slightly overcut the ball and left it hanging in the pocket but Jennifer was left directly behind the 9-ball. She looked over her options and decided to go for a jump shot, but couldn’t quite get over the 9-ball, giving Tara ball in hand on the last two balls to take the hot seat match and wait for her finals opponent.
In the semi-finals match, Amanda and Jennifer traded racks early and it appeared that both players would be grinding it out for the single spot available in the finals. However, when tied at 2-2, Amanda caught a gear and quickly began pulling ahead in the match. She played some great outs and strategic safeties to shut Jennifer down in the match, finishing out the set with a final score of 7-2. Good tournament Jennifer—nice 3rd place finish!
As the finals were now set and both Amanda and Tara being champions in their own right, everyone knew it was going to be a strong and solid fight to the finish. Amanda, seeking to avenge her earlier loss on Saturday to Tara, she quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Tara posted her own solid play to tie it up at 2 games each. After trading games until tied at 4-4, an early miss by Amanda allowed Tara to pull ahead for the first time in the match. Tara won the next game as well and looked ready to finish out the set, but a tough leave on the 8-ball gave Amanda opportunity to stay in the match and bring the score to only a one game deficit at 5-6. On the final game, it looked as if Amanda was going to force a hill-hill set, but a missed six ball allowed Tara to finish the set with a final score of 7-5. Congratulations to both ladies for a fantastic tournament! With this fourth win in 2015 for Tara, she makes tour history by becoming the first player to ever win four consecutive events. She also becomes only the third player to win four stops in a calendar year – Amanda Lampert had four wins in 2013 and Leslie Anne Rogers scored four wins in 2004. Congratulations on the awesome accomplishment Tara! You have made your mark in tour history!
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
Also 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 #5 – P.O.E.T.S. Billiards in College Station, Texas, August 15-16th weekend. P.O.E.T.S. Billiards is a new stop on the OBCLT calendar; so let’s show them how these tour ladies roll with a large showing in attendance.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or Facebook/obcuestour
Michelle Yim, Tina Malm, Helen Hayes, and Tara Williams
Forty players showed up the weekend of May 2 & 3rd at Clicks Billiards in San Antonio, TX to play in the third stop of 2015 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. Top players from throughout the Texas area and one player from San Diego were vying for the $775 first place prize in this event.
9th-12th finishers were Barbara Wisdom, Tracie Voelkering, Natalie Mans, and Kim Pierce. 7th-8th place went to Jennifer Kraber and Gail Roles (her highest finish to date!); 5th-6th places went to Sophia Lopez and Belinda Lee. 4th place went to Helen Hayes and 3rd place went to Michelle Yim.
Tara Williams made her way through Saturday with wins over Krystal West (7-6), Terry Petrosino (7-2), and Michelle Yim (7-1). On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and to earn a spot at the hot seat with another win over Sophia Lopez (7-4). On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Tina Malm was making her way through her Saturday matches without much opposition. She posted wins over Angela Garza (7-1), Monica Anderson (7-0), Natalie Mans (7-1) and Tracie Voelkering (7-3). On Sunday morning, she continued her run besting Belinda Lee (7-2) for her spot in the hot seat match. In the hot seat match, both players showed the reason that they made it through their brackets with the tough field that was in attendance this May weekend. After trading racks until tied a four games apiece, a missed safety by Tina after the break allowed Tara a run out to pull ahead 5-4. With the alternate break format, Tara broke and ran the next rack to reach the hill, and then Tina answered back with her own break and run to set the score at 6-5. On the final rack, Tara once again broke and ran to take the hot seat and wait for her opponent.
For the 3rd place match, Tina quickly got a lead over Michelle Yim and didn’t look back, earning a spot in the finals with a 7-1 win. In the finals, in the true double elimination format, Tina would need to beat Tara twice in order to win the event. It was not to be though; both players struggled early on to find the level of play that had allowed them to make their finals appearance. After a few back and forth racks, there nerves settled down, but Tina was already down 4 games by the time she was able to make it on the board. Tara was able to finish out a few racks when up 5-2 to win the event in one set with a final score of 7-2. Congratulations to both ladies for a great tournament! With this third win in 2015 for Tara, she makes only the third player to ever win three consecutive events; Lisa Marr was the first player to complete this feat in 2002 and Leslie Anne Rogers completed this feat in 2004. Congratulations on an awesome accomplishment Tara!
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
Also 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 #4 – Legends Billiards in League City, Texas, June 20-21st weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or Facebook/obcuestour
Tara Williams, Amanda Lampert, Jennifer Kraber and Belinda Lee
Slick Willie’s in Katy, TX was the host site for Stop #2 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour 2015 schedule. Special thanks to Trey and his staff for welcoming 51 ladies who showed up the weekend of March 14th-15th to play in this 2-day, true double elimination, 9-ball tournament. Players from all over Texas and one player from Oklahoma were gunning for the $775 first place prize in this event and lots of laughs, camaraderie and action was had by all.
9th-12th finishers were Natalie Mans, Jennifer Yo, Lorna McEwan, and Celeste Espinosa. This was Jennifer, Celeste and Lorna’s highest finish to date. Great job ladies! 7th-8th went to Kim Pierce and Natalie Esparza (in her first OB event!); 5th-6th places went to Terry Petrosino and Kawania Watson. 4th place was Belinda Lee and 3rd place went to Amanda Lampert.
Tara Williams made her way through Saturday with wins over Toni Esteves (7-0), Ricki Lee Casper (7-5), Karren Sui (7-2), and Natalie Mans (7-0). On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and took the hot seat with wins over Belinda Lee (7-3) and Amanda Lampert (7-4).
Jennifer Kraber decided to repeat Tara’s feat from the first event – losing her first round match 7-6 to Julie Stephenson, she then won nine straight matches on the one loss side to meet Tara Williams in the finals. She had four hill-hill matches in her road to finals with wins on Saturday over Janna Preston (7-6), Tracie Voelkering (7-0), Monica Anderson (7-6), and Rebecca Arcangeli (7-6). On Sunday morning, she continued to take down players winning out over Natalie Mans (7-2), Natalie Esparza (7-5), Terry Petrosino (7-3), Belinda Lee (7-3), and finally Amanda Lampert (7-2) to secure her spot in the finals.
With Tara and Jennifer in the finals again, it setup a rematch from the first event of 2015. Tara quickly got ahead in the match 3-0, but Jennifer started her climb back with a break and run in the 4th rack, then scraped out the next two games with strong play to tie the match at 3-3. Tara quickly turned the match momentum back around with a few key safes and managed to finish out the finals in one set with a final score of 7-3. Congratulations to both ladies for another great tournament!
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
Also 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 2-3rd weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or Facebook/obcuestour
Forty-seven players showed up the weekend of January 24-25th to play in the first stop of 2015 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. It was a combination of both new and regular players, with some players playing for the first time in over a year. It was a fun and exciting event with the new players getting a taste of their first OB Cues Ladies Tour event. There were plenty of raffles, good times, and most importantly, chocolate to be had at this event. For 2015, some new changes were announced during the players meeting – the payouts will be reduced from ½ to 1/3 of the field to 1/3 to ¼ of the field for all future events. Additionally, the previous free entry raffled to players at the event is now a bounty aka “Tough Luck Draw”– the player to draw the previous year’s Tour Champion, gets their entry fee returned. In this event, board member Tracie Voelkering drew Tara Williams in the first round. She opted to raffle her entry, as she has a free spot already for serving on the board and thus the free entry was won by Courtney Evans ($30 tournament entry). Tracie went on to defeat Tara 7-6 in her first match, knocking the tour champ to the one loss side early.
9th-12th finishers were Angie Payne, Jennifer Pavlovick, Snowy Belt, and Angela Garza. Great job ladies! 7th-8th went to Shayla Neris and Michelle Cortez; 5th-6th places went to Janna Preston and Michelle Yim. 4th place was Amanda Lampert and 3rd place went to Orietta Strickland.
It was a long road to the finals for Tara after her first round defeat. She won nine straight matches on the one loss side to meet Jennifer Kraber in the finals. The first set was a close match-up as both players displayed their skills on the table with both run-outs and safety play. Tara managed to pull ahead the first set to win 7-4 and force one final set for the win. In the second set, Tara built on the momentum of the first set and ran away with the match, defeating Jennifer 7-1 in the finals. It was an excellent match-up and it definitely showed how these players finished in their respective first and second positions last year in the tour rankings.
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
Also 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/ player/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 #2 – Slick Willie’s at Katy, Texas, March 14th-15th weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or Facebook/obcuestour
