Tour newcomer Peter Charles was the big story at the first official Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour Spring 9-Ball Event, held on February 27-28, 2016, at Bogies Billiards West. This event drew a staggering 73 entries in the amateur 9-ball division, and 53 in the open 9-ball division. After losing in the fourth round to J.C. Torres, 7-6, Pete Charles went on to decimate the amateur division, besting Anthony Gepayo in the finals, 7-3, 5-1, to capture his first amateur 9-ball division title. Former tour champion, Andy Jethwa, went undefeated in the open 9-ball division, overcoming Blaine Barcus in the final match, 9-8, adding yet another title to his Poison Lone Star Tour resume.

 

Bogies Billiards West, along with tour sponsors www.OzoneBilliards.com, Delta-13 Rack www.Delta-13.com, and the APA of North Harris County www.facebook.com/apanorthharriscounty, aided the tour in facilitating another successful event, with a 126 player turnout, and providing an additional $1,500 for the prize fund. 

 

On the winners’ side of the amateur 9-ball division, newcomer Eduardo Hernandez made his bid for the final four with wins over Fernando Lopez, Chuck Adams, 7-6, Michael Pickering, and Tyler Partin, 7-3, while Dickinson’s Josh White ousted Charlie Jenkins, 7-2, Matt Peters, 7-0, Masahiro “Hiro” Nakahara, 7-6, and Viet Do, 7-3. Anthony Gepayo took down J.J. Manley, Barry Titus, 7-6, David Massie, 7-0, Jacob Watson, 7-2, and Will Felder, 7-6, while J.C. Torres logged wins over Marty Walker, Daniel Wise, 7-2, Lester Foy, Pete Charles, 7-6, and David Leal, 7-3. White shut down Hernandez, 7-6, and Torres fell to Gepayo, 7-3. While the winners’ side was playing out, the one loss side was heating up.  After losing his first match to Kevin Nguyen, Bobby Perez won 6 consecutive matches, including wins over Chris Collette, 5-2, and Jesse Langston, 5-3.  Notching his belt once more with a victory over Jacob Watson , Perez advanced to the final 12, along with Pete Charles who defeated Joshua Pangilinan, 5-2, Abel Lara who ousted Michael Pickering by the same score, and Nakahara who ended Nguyen’s run, 5-3. It was Perez over Partin, Charles defeating Do, 5-3, Lara ousting Felder, 5-4, and Nakahara over Leal, 5-4, to round out the final four survivors on the one loss side. Back on the east side, White and Gepayo teed off for the hot seat. Gepayo proved too much for White, sending him west, 7-2. On the one loss side, Charles eliminated Perez, 5-2, while Felder ended Nakahara, 5-3. Charles went on to shut out Torres, 5-0, and Felder fell to Hernandez, 5-4. Charles was on a role and on his way to the finals as he made quick work of Hernandez and White, by the same score, 5-2. After two days of grueling play, Gepayo and Charles faced off in Sunday’s finals. Charles maintained his consistent play, and although Gepayo put up a good fight, he succumbed to Charles two sets, 7-3, 5-1.

 

In the open 9-ball division, resident player and former tour champion Andy Jethwa began his quest for the hot seat, defeating Jesse Langston, J.C. Torres, 9-3, and Phillip Tieu, 9-4. Bobby Perez played his way out, with wins over Charlie Jenkins, Blaine Barcus, Chuck Adams, 9-4, and Chase Wheeler, 9-2.  Chase Rudder made an impressive run for the final four on the winners’ side, besting Rick Johnson, Greg Deyo, and Jacob Cantu, 9-1, while Sonny Bosshamer overcame Gerardo Alvarez, 9-5, J.J. Manle y, 9-4, and Anthony Gepayo, 9-3.  Jethwa made quick work of Perez, and Rudder sent Bosshamer west, by the same score, 9-2. True to form, Jethwa defeated Rudder for the hot seat, 9-3. On the one loss side, Tieu won 4 straight matches, including victories over Aldo Rosso, 7-5, Michael Pickering, 7-4, and Tom Welch, 7-1. Nguyen took down 6 consecutive matches, eliminating David Leal, 7-6, Jesse Langston, 7-1, and Anthony Gepayo, 7-5.  Nakahara was blazing his own trail on the west side, with wins over Steve Williams, 7-4, J.C. Torres, 7-3, and Mike Wheeler, 7-8. Perhaps the biggest comeback on the one loss side came from Barcus, who won an impressive 5 consecutive matches to meet Nakahara in the final four on the one loss side. Tieu eliminated Nguyen, 7-5, but fell to Perez, 7-2, while Barcus took down Nakahara, and Bosshamer, 7-5. Barcus went on to defeat Perez and Rudder, by the same score, 7-2, amassing 9 consecutive match wins to meet Jethwa in the finals. The first set was a real crowd-pleaser, as Jethwa and Barcus took it to the hill. Jethwa’s intense focus and determination served him well, as he secured the final game, and became the first open 9-ball title holder on the new Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour.

 

The Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour would like to thank all the players throughout Texas who attended this event. Tyler, Laredo, Dickinson, Austin, and many other cities were well represented! Congratulations to all the raffle winners who took home Poison by Predator products, and many thanks to the wonderful, attentive staff at Bogies West. 

 

The next PLSBT event will be held at Ariana’s, located at 13802 Homestead Rd., Houston, Texas, on May 14-15, 2016. The Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour encourages everyone who loves to play pool and compete in a friendly atmosphere, to attend an event. 

 

Our NEW WEBSITE is coming soon! For the most current information, please visit: 

 

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/LONESTARTOUR

WWW.TWITTER.COM/LONESTARTOUR09

There were 88 players in attendance this past weekend at Bogies West in Houston, Texas, the newest Lone Star Billiards Tour venue, hosting its first two-day, 9-ball event in addition to a Gulf Coast Women’s 9-ball event. Former Lone Star Tour Champion Chase Rudder fought his way through an elite field of 39 players, while Marvin Diaz took care of business in his 51-player division, to capture 2015 Lone Star titles.

 

The Lone Star Tour Spring 9-Ball Event kicked off on Saturday, March 7th, and played through Sunday afternoon. Chase Rudder surged to a hot seat victory over Austin’s Tom Mooney, 9-3, and Abel Lara took down Bill Fuller in the amateur side hot seat, 7-1, but the finals would shape up a bit differently than expected. 

 

Saturday’s competition brought back the final 40 competitors on Sunday. Open division action saw Rudder defeat Joey Torres, 9-6, James Davis, Jr., 9-3, and Raymond Cardenas, 9-6. Mooney bested Josh Dordek, 9-5, Jesse Langston, 9-7, and Mike Liang, 9-1, to meet Rudder for the hot seat. After a second round loss to Kevin Nguyen, League City’s Denis Strickland had an epic run with wins over Chuck Adams, Will Felder, Marc McClure, David Gutierrez, and Jesse Langston, to meet Joey Torres. On the topside, it was Davis, Jr. over Dordek, and Strickland put another notch in his belt with a 7-4 win over Torres. Davis Jr. ousted Liang, 7-3, and Strickland secured his seventh win over Cardenas, 7-6. On the east side, Rudder defeated Mooney for the hot seat, 9-3, while Strickland eliminated Davis, Jr. on the east, 7-6. After eight straight match wins, Strickland was still going strong. The former Houston Open Champion went on to secure his ninth straight win, eliminating Mooney, 7-4, earning himself a well-deserved shot at first place. In an amazing display of stamina, the veteran Strickland mustered enough steam to overcome Rudder for a tenth straight win, 9-5. Rudder knew it was time to tighten his belt and end Strickland’s reign. Stepping up his game, Rudder shut-out Strickland the second set, 7-0, to win his first event of 2015. 

 

In the amateur division, Houston’s own Abel Lara reached the winners’ side final four with wins over Bobby Dominguez, Tyler Partin, Erik Renteria, and Horacio Cortez while Marvin Diaz bested Scooter Thweatt, Kevin Nguyen, and Josh Dordek, to meet Lara. Bill Fuller overcame Viet Do, Raymond Cardenas, and Anthony Gepayo, while Austin’s Justin Espinosa made his way through Sonny Bosshamer, John Newsome, and Tom Mooney. On the one loss side, Gepayo eliminated Renteria, 5-3, and Mooney bested Nguyen, 5-2. On the bottom side, Dordek ousted Newsome, 5-2, and Derrell Taylor fell to Cortez, 5-3. Back on the east side, Lara bested Diaz, 7-3, and it was Fuller over Espinosa, 7-5. On the one loss side, Diaz defeated Mooney, 5-3, while Dordek shut-out Espinosa, 5-0. Lara claimed the hot seat, dealing Fuller his first loss, 7-1. Diaz made his way back through Dordek, then Fuller, for a rematch with Lara. Diaz sent the finals into overtime, capturing the first set, 7-5. During the second set, after a few unforced errors by Lara, Diaz took the lead and secured the win, 5-2.

 

This year the Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Tour (www.facebook.com/gulfcoasttour) will stage a women’s 9-ball event at each Lone Star Tour stop. There were 29 ladies competing in Saturday’s event, with Natalie Esparza emerging undefeated with a 7-5 win over Terry Petrosino. Read the complete article at www.wpba.com.  

 

The Lone Star Billiards Tour would like to thank sponsors Poison by Predator Cues, www.poisonbilliards.com, Delta-13 Rack, www.delta-13.com, Ozone Billiards, www.OzoneBilliards.com, www.ImproveYourShot.com,  and the APA of North Harris County, www.facebook.com/apanorthharriscounty.  

 

"Thank you" to Bogies West, GM Stephanie Verron and staff, for hosting a first-rate event. The tour would also like to recognize Chuck Adams and Ricki Casper for their assistance with tournament direction. 

Last but not least, congratulations to Robyn and Richard Petrosino who each won a Poison VX Break/Jump Cue in Saturday’s raffles.

 

The next event will be May 16-17 at Ariana’s (the old Rose Country), 13802 Homestead Rd., Houston, Texas. This will be the first bar table event on tour since 2011 and we look forward to a big turnout. There are (16) tables and they will be open. For more information about Ariana’s, visit www.facebook.com/arianashonkytonkcantina. 

 

For event details and information on the 2015 season, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com. “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LoneStarTour.