On the weekend of May 18-19, 2016, OB Cues Ladies Tour made it to one of their favorite stops on the yearly tour calendar at Click’s Billiards in San Antonio. General Manager Miranda Dalka and her exceptional staff extended their awesome hospitality and services the entire two day weekend. They were superb hosts to 35 players and a large group of fans, friends, and family members who came out to join in the weekend festivities. A strong contingent of players from all over Texas came to try their luck and brought out their best pool playing skills as all were vying for the $800 first place prize money. A big, big thank you to Click’s Billiards and Miranda for supporting the tour and we will most certainly be back next year.
Also first and foremost a big high five and utmost thanks to our title sponsor OB Cues. OB Cues, our main sponsor since 2008, is one of the leading pool cues and shafts manufacturers in the world. They have a plethora of quality and intrinsically crafted products to complement your pool playing arsenal. Be sure to check them out at obcues.com—you won’t regret it! They are also made in the USA, in Plano, TX to be specific. Thank you OB Cues!
To precede with the tournament updates, by day’s end on Saturday, the final eight ladies would continue their winning ways in the Main Event competition on Sunday. The final four in the winner’s bracket pitted the three Jennifer’s in the tournament, against the lone stand-out, Tara. Facing each other early Sunday was Jennifer Pavlovick (Grand Prairie) vs Tara Williams (Ft. Worth) and Jennifer Kraber (Austin) vs. Jennifer Yo (also of Austin). The four ladies returning on the one loss side were Terry Petrosino (Spring) vs. Kim Pierce (Austin) and Orietta Strickland (Dallas) vs. Natalie Mans (League City).
7th-8th finishers were Kim Pierce and Orietta Strickland. 5th-6th places went to Jennifer Pavlovick and Natalie Mans. 4th place winner was Terry Petrosino and 3rd place winner Jennifer Yo. Jennifer Pavlovick has had a couple of high finishes this year already and we hope to see her continued winning ways in more OB stops throughout this year. Good shooting Jennifer—keep up the great work!
Tara Williams made her way through Saturday with wins over Barbara Wisdom (7-4), Corina Campbell (7-3), and Krystal West (7-0). On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and to earn a spot at the hot seat with another win over Jennifer Pavlovick (7-0). On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Jennifer Yo was making her way through her Saturday matches, posting wins over some tough opponents. She had wins over Frances Marron (7-1), Michelle Cortez (7-6), and Kim Pierce (7-5). On Sunday morning, she continued her run besting Jennifer Kraber (7-6) for her spot in the hot seat match. In the hot seat match, Tara jumped to a quick lead and didn’t look back, winning her spot in the finals against Jennifer Yo (7-3).
For the 3rd place match, we knew Jennifer would be the victor but we didn’t know which one. Jennifer Kraber didn’t allow Jennifer Yo to keep as close as she had in the winner’s side match and defeated Jennifer Yo (7-3). This would then allow Tara the opportunity to challenge all of the Jennifer’s on Sunday. Big congratulations to Jennifer Yo for this being her highest finish to date in any OB stop. Jennifer was the 2015 OB Cues Ladies Tour Best Sportswoman recipient and we know that she is truly an asset to the tour and we wish her well in continued success in future OB events.
In the finals, in the true double elimination format, Jennifer Kraber would need to beat Tara twice in order to win the event. Both players started out the match strong, but Tara prevailed to win her third tournament of the year. Congratulations to both ladies for a great event! With this third win in 2016 and the last two wins of 2015 for Tara, she broke her own consecutive win record with five wins in a row. Congratulations for an awesome accomplishment Tara! Keep on keepin’ on!
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 – CK’s Billiards in Dallas, Texas, June 25-26th weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
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
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
Enjoying a large increase in participation this year (with some divisions up 50-100%), the 2013 Pure X Cues ACS National Championships capped off a banner year of growth for the nine-year old American CueSports Alliance (ACS). The New Tropicana Las Vegas proved to again be an attractive venue for the event, as scores of entertainment venues are conveniently located in this section of The Strip! And most attendees stayed at The Trop. Players enjoyed online coverage in all divisions throughout the event via onsite monitors and their smart phones. A record $36,500 in added prize monies drew players from throughout North America to twenty-three divisions of competition. Despite the large turn-out, players such as Mike Singleton, Beth Fondell, Dustin Gunia, Jessica Frideres and the team Wrecking Crew (LA) still earned top honors in multi-events. All flow charts are still viewable by accessing www.compusport.us; then “Tournaments”; then “ACS Nationals.” With the jump in attendees, ideal dates in mid-May and the attractive location, many participants projected that these Championships on its 10th anniversary “will be even bigger next year!”
Singles action began at the first of the week with handicapped 9-ball. Mike Singleton of Sulphur, LA, improved on his past mediocre performances in the Nationals to outlast 69-year old Lyn Wechsler (Rochester, NY) for the Men’s 9-Ball Singles honors. On the distaff side, past 8-Ball champion Beth Fondell (Owatonna, MN) remained undefeated throughout, including her one final’s set against Phoenix, Arizona’s Bernie Store to earn her Women’s 9-Ball Singles crown! Results from the many divisions of 8-ball singles included: Dustin Gunia (Omaha, NE) displaying dominating form to defend his Men’s Advanced Singles 8-Ball crown over Lyn Wechsler (Rochester, NY) ; Beth Fondell (Owatonna, MN) obtaining a rare double by outlasting defending champion Jessica Frideres (Fort Dodge, IA) on the last ball of the deciding set to claim the Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Singles title – 7-6; Ben Sutherland (Peoria, AZ) losing to Julian Russell (Fort McMurray, ON/CAN) in the first set of the finals, only to recover to gain the deciding set for the Men’s Open 8-Ball Singles championship; Toni Barnes (Shawboro, NC) scoring a title with a one-set finals defeat over Sophia Morquecho (Glendale, AZ) for the Women’s Open 8-Ball Singles laurels; once-defeated Dennis Coolen (Bridgewater, NS/CAN) outdistancing Joe Herne (Hogansburg, NY) in two sets for the Men’s Standard 8-Ball Singles division success; and Melanie Jacobs (Hogansburg, NY) besting Frances Jensen (Calgary, AB/CAN)in one set for the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Singles glory.
In the senior-aged 8-ball singles divisions, Carl Coffee (Pueblo, CO) took down Claude Gragg III (Arlington, TX) in the first set of the finals for the Men’s Senior (55+) 8-Ball Singles crown – leaving Gragg to take the runner-up position for the second straight year; Debbie Snook (Boone, CO) stopped three-time defending champ, Shawn Modelo (Antioch, CA), in the winner’s bracket finals and then took the Women’s Senior (50+) 8-Ball Singles title by upending Linda Asleson (Billings, MT) in two sets in the tourney finals; and Richard Foley (Ketchikan, AK) delegated undefeated Charles Smith (Whitesboro, TX) to the runner-up position for a second straight year in taking the Super Senior (65+) Singles 8-Ball Singles title in two sets!
The two Scotch Doubles 8-Ball divisions showcased perhaps the most dominant amateur scotch doubles team in the country, with defending champions Dustin Gunia and Jessica Frideres (NE/IA) capturing the Advanced Scotch Doubles division with a comfortable one-set win over Labernaline Store/ Steve Stowers (AZ); and the team of Arlene David/ Bill Mason (VA) needing just one set as well to claim victory over Sophia Morquecho/ Burt Balancad (AZ) in the Open Scotch Doubles category.
With the ACS schedule in the latter portion of the week allowing non-conflicting accommodation of entry into both 9-ball and 8-ball team competitions, there was still plenty of competition to keep every player involved – especially those out of the money who automatically qualified for free second-chance team divisions! In the Men’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division, defending champion Dick’s Pick [Ronnie Allen, Jimmy Moore, Greg Kuhl, George Huffman, Chris Akey and James Carmona] (Las Vegas, NV) reloaded but with the same results to take down Jitnot (NS/CAN) in the title match in two sets – after Jitnot had originally claimed the hot seat. The Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division showcased Victoria’s Secret [Susie Miller, Linda Asleson, Jonella Staus and Teresa Keller] (MT) outpointing Colorado’s T’s Bar in the round-robin format. In the Men’s Open 8-Ball Team competition, once-defeated Wrecking Crew [Mike Singleton, Blaine Stanford, Jamie Spivey, Rodney Browne III and Luke Coffey] took two sets from No Flash (AZ) in the title match. The Women’s Open 8-Ball Team division’s San Antonio’s Fuhgettaboutit [Barbara Wisdom, Kenyon Juo Young, Sophie Lopez, Kawania Watson and Maria Lopez] survived a deciding set over After Eight (FL) for the title.
Harbor Hills (WI) [Al Carmody, Mark Schmidt, Tim Gamerdinger, Tom Decker and John Schlapman] needed only one set in the Men’s Standard 8-Ball Team division final’s clash to make Comrades (GA) the bride’s maid. In the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Team division, British Columbia’s Venus Envy [Theresa Warren, Susan Johnston, Susan Kottke and Roxanna Alton] took off the deciding set of the finals to repel New York’s Mohawk Chicks for the crown.
The 3-person 9-ball team divisions featured some of the top 8-ball team placers as well. Undefeated Gotta Have It [NE/IA] [Jerrod Frideres, Jessica Frideres and Dustin Gunia] turned back Las Vegas’s Dick’s Pick in the first set of the finals for the Men’s Advanced 9-Ball Team title. Open 8-Ball Team runner-ups – After Eight (FL) [Flori LeHart, Michelle Jarrell, Janet Smith and Jamie Toennies], succeeded in ousting Miller Time (FL) for the Women’s Open 9-Ball Team laurels. In the Men’s Open 9-Ball Team category, Wrecking Crew (LA) [Jamie Spivey, Mike Singleton and Luke Coffey] doubled up on its Open 8-Ball Team win to capture this title as well with a two-set finals sweep over 9 Ball Shockers (AZ).
In the 9th Annual ACS National Artistic Pool Championships, Dennis Brown of Creston, BC claimed another title for Canada, edging out hundreds of entries. ACS would like to especially thank our title sponsor – Pure X Cues, as well as Gary Benson and his tournament direction staff at High Country Promotions, as well as the exhibiting vendors and the host site – the Tropicana Las Vegas! The ACS Nationals is already looking to returning to the Tropicana May 10-17, 2014! The ACS is a national non-profit, member-governed association which will sanction any local pool league (whether player-run or owner-operated) via a $10 annual sanction fee. Contact the ACS at 1-888-662-1705 or www.americancuesports.org for complete information on sanctioning your league!
The ACS currently sanctions leagues in 38 states and enjoys reciprocal relations with its sister organization in Canada (Canadian Cue Sport Association – CCS). Twelve state associations are affiliated to ACS; and the ACS offers the Midwest ACS Championships each January at the Riverside Resort & Casino in Iowa. The ACS produces a national amateur Pure X All American Tour each Fall thru Spring and offers certification for both instructors and referees dedicated to the sport.
