Thirty-one players came out to the beautiful new Brewlands Bar & Billiards in Lakeland, Florida to kick off the 2015 Tiger Florida Tour season and Tour Stop #1. Jeannie Seaver showed the players that she’s still the main force to be reckoned with, winning the first stop of the year.
The format is a one-day, modified double elimination, race to 7 on the winners and 5 on the one-loss side. Players play down to four on each side then redraw into a single elimination board. The first goal is to make it to the Final Board.
Jessica Barnes, Crystal McCormick, Nicolle Cuellar and Seaver went undefeated to the Final Board. April Wallen, Courtney Bernard, Michell Monk and Kelly Coyle got there from the west. In the quarter-finals Wallen matched up against Barnes, who was playing lights out all day before losing to Wallen in a double-hill match. Cuellar, playing for the Qualifier spot advanced after sending Bernard home, 7-4. McCormick lost to Monk 7-4, and Seaver shot past Coyle, 7-1. This left Wallen against Cuellar in the semi-finals, and Monk against Seaver, who earlier sent Monk to the one-loss side. Wallen quickly knocked Cuellar out; however, Cuellar, as the last player standing competing for the Qualifier spot, won the paid entry into the WPBA Masters event at Soaring Eagle. Seaver was left playing Monk in a tough double-hill revenge match that saw both players making 9-ball combos and runouts. But Seaver pulled out, making it to the final match. In the end, Seaver shot by Wallen 7-2 to win the first event of the year.
A very special thanks to Tiger Products, returning as our title sponsor, Boynton Billiards, Great Lakes Billiards Supply, and our newest sponsor Discount Mugs. A huge thank you to the owners of Brewlands Bar & Billiards for helping to make this a successful event and Qualifier!
Amy Poulter – room owner, April Wallen, Crystal McCormick and Chris Fields
Fifty-one women converged at Amy’s Billiards in Stuart, Florida, for the Tiger Florida Tour’s $1,000-added 6th Annual “Cues for Cure” breast cancer awareness fundraiser on October 18th. At the end of the day, Crystal McCormick went undefeated to win the TFT’s last tournament of the year.
This event was a modified double elimination format, playing down to eight players on each side. The eight players on the losers side redrew into the winners side for a single elimination match. McCormick was focused all day in the short races to five, defeating Colleen Russell 5-1, Cassidy Mulligan 5-4, Nicolle Payne 5-2 and taking the win from Chris Fields 5-2. Fields defeated Cheryl Perez 5-3, Amy Poulter 5-1, and April Wallen 5-3, before losing to McCormick. All of the players who made the final board made the money.
April Wallen’s third place finish was just enough to earn the TFT 2014 Regional Tour Champion title, bypassing McCormick by 20 points. Jeannie Seaver, last year’s RT Champion finished the year in third place.
Thanks to all of the players, spectators and sponsors who supported this event, benefitting the South Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Thank you to Amy Poulter, owner of Amy's Billiards for being a great host of another great event! Thanks to the players and spectators who donated their time and money to participate. Thanks to those who donated prizes for the raffle: Hunter Lombardo, Alicia Borjas, Janis Sessions, Dianna Sullivan, Catherine Bragg and Suit Up. Thanks to the volunteers, Chris Gordon, Nick Walden and Led Uittenbogaard. Thank you to Tiger Products, our title sponsor, Ozone Billiards, Boynton Billiards, Great Lakes Billiards for their year-long support of our tour. Thank you to Jerry Sotelo for his patience and hard work as the Tournament Director.
Jeannie Seaver, Rocky Hockman (room manager) and Crystal McCormick
It's something of a stark reminder that most regional pool tours reward a combination of performance and participation. You can shoot lights out and rank below a lesser-skilled player who has competed in every stop on a tour. Jeannie Seaver won her second straight stop on the Tiger Florida Tour, going undefeated through the tour's modified double-elimination tournament on the weekend of August 9-10, but made little headway in the tour rankings, where she is currently in third place, behind April Wallen and Crystal McCormick. Kelly Cavanaugh, Cassidy Mulligan and Lisa McElroy are behind them. They all signed on to the sixth stop on the tour, a $500-added event that drew 25 entrants to Wally's in Lakeland, FL, and all made it into the final eight/money rounds.
Emerging from the double elimination proceedings for a re-draw to single elimination were Seaver, Cavanaugh, Wallen and Stephanie Mitchell on the winners' side. Advancing from the losers' bracket were Mulligan, McElroy, McCormick and Michell Monk. The quarterfinal matchups were hotly contested, with two of them going double hill and the other two falling just a game short of double hill.
Cavanaugh downed Mulligan, while Mitchell eliminated McElroy, both via the double hill route. Seaver defeated Monk while McCormick finished Wallen, both 7-5.
Seaver chalked up another 7-5, this one over Cavanaugh to advance to the finals. She was joined by McCormick, who finished McElroy's day 7-4. Seaver punctuated her undefeated run with a 7-1 victory over McCormick.
Tour director Mimi McAndrews thanked owner (Jim Thomas), manager (Rocky Hochman), and the staff at Wally's for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards, and Boynton Billiards. The next (and last) stop on this year's Tiger Florida Tour will be their 6th Annual Cues for the Cure event, at which participants arrive, dressed in pink and prepared to play a series of fund-raising games between themselves and spectators. The event is held to benefit the South Florida affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The event will be hosted by Amy's Billiards in Stuart, FL on October 18.
Jeannie Seaver, Stephanie Mitchell (room owner) and Crystal McCormick
Jeannie Seaver became the second player to win a stop on the newly-named Tiger Florida Tour (formerly, the Flamingo Tour), with an undefeated run on Saturday, July 12. The $400-added event drew 33 entrants to The Corner Pocket in Largo, FL.
For the third time in a row on the tour, Crystal McCormick was one of the event finalists, this time facing Seaver, instead of April Wallen. McCormick defeated Lyn Remsen, Vanessa Seaver, and Cassidy Mulligan to move among the event's final eight winners, and a re-draw to single elimination competition. Seaver, in the meantime, had received an opening round bye and then defeated Diane Chauliac, Stephanie Mitchell, and Kelly Cavanaugh. Also advancing from the winners' side of the bracket were Wallen and newcomer Amanda Newton. The four to advance from the losers' bracket were Sabra McArthur-Beahm, Helen Caukin, Jeannie Seaver's sister,Vanessa, and Maridana "Mike" Fitzgerald.
In the quarterfinal matchups, McCormick survived a double hill battle against McArthur-Beahm, as Caukin ended Wallen's hopes for a third straight win on the tour with a 7-5 victory. By the same score, Newton defeated Fitzgerald. Jeannie Seaver defeated her sister, Vanessa 7-3.
In the semifinals that followed, McCormick moved into her third straight final on the tour with a 7-1 victory over Caukin. Jeannie Seaver and Newton battled to double hill before Seaver prevailed to face McCormick in the finals. Seaver defeated McCormick 7-2 in the finals to complete her undefeated run and claim the event title.
Tour director Mimi McAndrews thanked room owner Stephanie Mitchell and her staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Tiger Cues, Ozone Billiards and Boynton Billiards. The next stop on the Tiger Florida Tour, scheduled for August 9, will be hosted by the Wally's in Lakeland, FL.
This past weekend (June 14), the five-year-old Flamingo Tour became the brand new Tiger Florida Tour, adopting its schedule and holding its first tour stop under the new name. The debut stop on the Tiger Florida Tour ended precisely the way that the final stop on the Flamingo Tour ended, with April Wallen and Crystal McCormick facing each other in a finals battle, eventually won by Wallen, by the identical score that had closed proceedings on the Flamingo Tour. The debut stop on the new Tiger Florida Tour drew 26 entrants to Brown's Billiards in Holly Hill, FL.
The early double elimination stages of the tournament led to eight players – four on the winners' side and four on the losers' side – being re-drawn to compete in a single elimination format. April Wallen, Christie Cloke, along with Kellys Kavanaugh and Coyle were the final four remaining on the winners' side of the bracket. Crystal McCormick, Sharon Hubbard, Jennifer Page and Roe Guarnero were the last four standing on the losers' side.
The re-draw set Wallen against Hubbard, Cloke versus Page, Kavanaugh against Guarnero and Coyle versus McCormick. Wallen and Page defeated Hubbard and Cloke by the same 7-2 score. McCormick won her quarterfinal match 7-5, while Kavanaugh, the odds-on favorite in her match versus Guarnero, allowed a cue ball to get away from her while shooting at the 9-ball in what was the deciding game in a double hill match. The cue ball found a pocket, giving Guarnero ball-in-hand, and the 7-6 win that advanced her to the semifinals.
Wallen advanced to her second final in a row on the tour with a double hill win over Page, as McCormick advanced to meet her for a second time with a 7-4 over Guarnero. Wallen completed her undefeated run and second tour victory over McCormick 7-5.
Tour director Mimi McAndrews thanked title sponsor Tiger Cues, as well as co-room owners Dean Dyreson and John Clow and their staff for their hospitality. She also thanked co-sponsors Ozone Billiards and Boynton Billiards. The next stop on the Tiger Florida Tour, scheduled for July 12, will be hosted by the Corner Pocket in Largo, FL.
“We are sad to say good-bye to our beloved Flamingo," said McAndrews in a press release announcing the tour's new title sponsor. "However, we believe that our new name and title sponsor will take the awareness of our tour and all of our sponsors to the next level. The Regional Tour will continue without interruption, and we look forward to having more open tournaments as well.”
April Wallen moved to the top of the Flamingo Tour rankings with a come-from-the-loss-side victory on Saturday, April 12. The $500-added event drew 27 entrants to Amy's Billiards in Stuart, FL.
The Flamingo Tour operates a modified double elimination format, in which players initially compete in a double elimination bracket, until there are four left on each side. At that point, the remaining eight players are seeded and play single elimination quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches.
Both Wallen and her finals opponent, Crystal McCormick, were in the group of four loss-side competitors, and both, after being awarded an opening round bye, had been sent to the loss side in their first round of play. Wallen had initially been defeated by Roe Guarnero 7-4, and then, on the loss side, chalked up victories over Toni Curry and Helene Caukin, both 5-1. Curry is a tour newcomer who will compete in the Billiards Education Foundation's 9-Ball Nationals in June. Wallen moved among the event's final eight with a 5-2 win over Vanessa Seaver.
McCormick lost a double hill battle versus Kelly Cavanaugh in her opening round of play, and then, went on something of a feast-or-famine, loss-side run. She won her first match, double hill, over Stephanie Mitchell (who came into the event as the tour's top-ranked player) and then shut out Kristie Cloke. Her double hill win over Guarnero put her among the losers' side final four. These two were joined by room owner Amy Poulter and Maridana "Mike" Fitzgerald.
In the meantime, Kellys Coyle and Cavanaugh, along with Jeannie Seaver and Sue Roberts advanced to be the final four on the winners' side. The quarterfinal matches set Coyle up to face Poulter, Cavanaugh met McCormick, Seaver faced Fitzgerald and Wallen squared off against Roberts.
Coyle and Poulter played the most hotly contested quarterfinal match, going double hill, before Coyle prevailed. Mike Fitzgerald defeated Seaver 7-4, and McCormick downed Cavanaugh 7-2, while Wallen advanced to the semifinals with a shutout over Roberts. Wallen's next match wasn't as easy. She and Fitzgerald fought to double hill, before a Fitzgerald scratch with two balls on the table, allowed Wallen to clear and advance to the finals. She was met by McCormick, who'd eliminated Coyle 7-2. April completed her run with a 7-5 victory over McCormick, to claim the event title and the top spot in the current tour rankings.
Tour director Mimi McAndrews thanked room owner Amy Poulter and her staff, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Simonis Cloth Satellite Tour, and Boynton Billiards.
In 1978, a college junior by the name of Maridana "Mike" Heydon won the Women's division of the American College Union International's annual pool tournament in Lincoln City, Oregon. About a year after college, Maridana Heydon quit the sport, "cold turkey," as she described it, to pursue a career and a family. On the weekend of March 8-9, 36 years later, at a $500-added stop on the Flamingo Tour, hosted by Wally's in Lakeland, FL, the former college champion re-emerged and as Maridana Fitzgerald, went undefeated through a field of 37 entrants.
Fitzgerald's path through the field went through Jennifer Page, Erikka Piersall and Crystal McCormack to move among the final four winners, who advanced to the tournament's single elimination phase, entailing four quarterfinal matches, two semifinals and a final. Her victory over McCormack to make the cut was the first of three straight double hill matches that would eventually move her into the winners' circle.
Fitzgerald drew Wallen, Mitchell faced Seaver, Mulligan had to contend with Ger and Barnes met Roberts. Mulligan shut Ger out to advance to the semifinals, while Mitchell and Roberts advanced with 7-5 victories over Seaver and Barnes. Fitzgerald survived her first of three straight double hill matches, over Wallen.
Both semifinal matches were double hill affairs, and both hinged on last minute mistakes. Mulligan gave Mitchell ball in hand, shooting at the 9-ball in the deciding game. Roberts had been up on Fitzgerald 6-3, but Fitzgerald fought back to tie it at 6-6. In the final rack, Roberts got a look at the 9-ball, but rattled it in the hole, essentially handing the semifinal victory to Fitzgerald.
"I thought the thing was over," said Fitzgerald later, but it wasn't and she advanced to the finals.
The final match also featured a costly error. Fitzgerald and Mitchell fought back and forth to yet another double hill juncture, at which point, Mitchell scratched, shooting at the 1-ball in the deciding rack. Fitzgerald ran the table to complete her undefeated run and claim the event title.
"It was not an easy runout," said tour director Mimi McAndrews of that final rack. "She worked for it."
For Fitzgerald's part, she was glad to be back at the tables, after being away for so many years. And aware, she said, of a higher level of talent than she remembered from her college years.
"I was very impressed with the quality of play at the tournament," she said. "There were some great players, and I was thrilled that I won."
Tour director Mimi McAndrews thanked room owner Jim Thomas and his staff, as well as sponsors Boynton Billiards, Ozone Billiards, and the Simonis Cloth Satellite Tour.
Dana Aft, Chris Devila (owner of Cunningham’s) and April Wallen
Dana Aft, rebounding from a stunning, double-dip defeat at the hands of Brittany Bryant in the Music City Open (January 17-19), traveled to a warmer climate and went undefeated in the season opener of the Flamingo Billiards Tour; a $250-added event that drew 39 entrants to Cunningham's Pool and Darts in Vero Beach, FL on Saturday, January 25.
"It was the largest attendance we've ever had for a regular event," said Tour Director Mimi McAndrews. "Normally, we'll draw about 32, with the exception of our annual breast cancer fund-raiser (Cues for the Cure), which drew 50 last year."
The modified, double elimination event saw the 39 entrants play a straight, double elimination format until only four players were left on each side of the bracket. From there, the remaining eight players squared off in single elimination quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches. The player mix, according to McAndrews, was a combination of tour veterans and newcomers; Aft, a 2013 Amateur Women's champion, was, technically, a newcomer to the Flamingo Billiards Tour.
Aft was matched up against Roberts, whom she'd sent to the loss side 7-4 during the double elimination phase of the tournament. Wallen played Coyle, Seaver met Dukich, and Ger met up with Cavanaugh.
With echoes of Music City no doubt reverberating in her, Aft watched Roberts take a 4-1 lead in their quarterfinal re-match, before she responded with a six-pack that moved her into the semifinals. Wallen downed Coyle 7-1, Seaver defeated Dukich 7-3 and Ger got by Cavanaugh 7-4.
In the semifinals, Wallen defeated Seaver 7-5, as Aft picked up her pace a bit and eliminated Ger 7-1. So it was, that the two tour newcomers, Aft and Wallen, met up in the finals. Aft took the final set 7-3 to claim the first 2014 Flamingo Billiards Tour title.
Mimi McAndrews thanked Chris Devila and his staff at Cunningham's, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Simonis Cloth Satellite Tour, Boynton Billiards, and Martz Cues.
The next stop on the six, possibly, seven-stop tour is scheduled for March 8. The $250-added event will be hosted by Wally's in Lakeland, FL. The tour is scheduled through October and will conclude with the 6th Annual Cues for the Cure event.
