(l to r): Gerardo Perez, Daniel Herring & Kevin Guimond (photo:Jesse Garcia, Bound by Imagination)
While the top point leaders in the Predator DFW 9-Ball Tour’s standings list (#1 through #5) were languishing on the loss side of the Oct. 19-20 bracket of the tour’s 10th stop – only two of them finished in the money (#1 Tim Larson, tied for 7th and #5 Jay Ryda, tied for 17th) – #42 (Gerardo Perez) and #63 (Daniel Herring) advanced through the 88-entrant field and battled twice to claim the event title. Perez was the undefeated winner of the $1,500-added event, hosted by the Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
All but one of the top five on the standings list – #4 Amos Bush – had competed in all nine of the tour’s events, and Bush had only missed one. It was Gerardo Perez’ sixth appearance on the 2019 tour and his best finish had been in a tie for 9th place last month. Herring had competed in only three of the tour’s stops, with a best finish of a tie for 13th place in August (He’d won a stop on the tour just over a year ago). They both battled players higher in the points list during their trek to the finals, but neither of them faced any one of the top five, though as it turned out, it was not for lack of trying. Greg Sandifer (#2) was on the loss side at the end of the opening round. Larson, Davis, Bush and Ryda all moved over after the third round.
Herring and Gregory battled to double hill before Herring prevailed and advanced to the hot seat match. He was joined by Perez, who’d defeated Emerson 7-4 (Emerson racing to 8). With Herring racing to 8, as well, Perez claimed the hot seat 7-5 and waited on Herring’s return.
Over on the loss side, Sandifer and Bush had been knocked out before the first money round (33rd-48th). TJ Davis made it to that first money round (17th-24th), but went home with just the $160. Tim Larson, who’d been sent to the loss side by Emerson, was in the midst of a very brief winning streak that had started in the first money round and after three wins, including a 9-1 victory over Chris Rickman, had ended with a defeat at the hands of Jersey Jack Lynch, who advanced to pick up Emerson. Gregory drew Kevin Guimond, who, after losing to Larson in the third round, was in the midst of an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals. He’d recently eliminated Crispian Ng 9-6 and Walter Heunerfuerst 9-5 to draw Gregory.
Emerson downed Lynch 8-1. Guimond joined him in the quarterfinals after a 9-3 win over Gregory. In the semifinals, with Guimond racing to 9, he and Herring battled to a double hill standstill before Herring ended it for a second shot against Perez in the hot seat.
With Herring racing to 8, he and Perez fought to 6-7, double hill, before Perez ended it to claim his first event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at the Billiard Den, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues and main event sponsors Ft. Worth Billiards Superstore, JB Cases, Accu-Rack, CSI, Granite Guyz, Dallas 8-Ball League, BCAPL, RackEm TV (streaming sponsor), FargoRate, and IMS (Internet Marketing Solutions). The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of November 16-17, will be the tour’s Season Finale at Rusty’s in Arlington, TX.
Amos Bush, Tony Sulsar, Rick Stanley and Doug Winnett
Rick Stanley cashed in two events on the Texas-based Omega Billiards Tour in 2016, finishing third in August and runner-up to Danny Williams in September. On the weekend of February 11-12, he completed this somewhat modest climb up the 'finish' ladder with an undefeated win on the tour. The $1,700-added event drew 87 entrants to Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
With victories over Steven Thorne, Bob Youngblood, Denny Steed, Albert Nieto, and Jay Murillo, allowing them each an average of just over three racks per match, Stanley moved into a winners' side semifinal against Doug Winnett. Tony Sulsar, in the meantime, who'd allowed an average of just over 2.4 racks per match against Crispian Ng, Brandon Thrasher, Terrance Cockman, Douglas Pitts, and Hector Guerrero, faced Shan Iyer in the other winners' side semifinal.
Stanley and Sulsar moved into the hot seat match; Stanley 9-4 over Winnett and Sulsar 8-2 over Iyer. Stanley claimed the hot seat 9-4 over Sulsar and waited on what turned out to be the return of Amos Bush, who launched a nine-match, loss-side winning streak to challenge him in the finals.
Bush, who'd been sent to the loss side by Julie Stephenson, double hill, in his second round of play, got by Mike Voelkering, Juan Batista, Rob Lovelace, Douglas Pitts, and Jay Murillo to earn himself a re-match against Stephenson in a battle for 7th place. He downed her 7-1 to draw Iyer. Winnett, in the meantime, picked up Robert Kempf, who'd defeated Barry Emerson 6-6 (Emerson racing to 8) and, in a straight-up race to 6, Hector Guerrero 6-4.
In a straight-up race to 7, Bush picked up loss-side win #7, double hill over Iyer. He was joined in the quarterfinals by Winnett, who'd eliminated Kempf 7-4. Bush then defeated Winnett 7-3.
Bush completed his loss-side run with a 7-5 semifinal victory over Sulsar, earning himself a shot against Stanley in the finals. Stanley, though, was not in the mood to allow Bush a well-earned event victory. He defeated Bush 9-3 (Bush racing to 7) to claim the event title.
Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at the Billiard Den for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Omega Billiards, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. The next stop on the Omega Billiard Tour, scheduled for March 25-26, will be another $1,700-added event, hosted by Pockets Billiards in Euless, TX.
On the weekend of April 30-May 1, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by JR Pockets in Denton, Texas. The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere, and we very much appreciate each and every one of them!
We were able to extend the field to 85 players for this fourth stop of the 2016 season with guaranteed $1,500-added.
There were several players who were the “talk of the tournament” this weekend. One was Jay Murillo who has been working on his game and found himself placing an impressive 3rd place! He fought hard all weekend and although wished he would have placed even higher, he had a fantastic tournament. Another player talked about was local sharp-shooter Robert Clark. He lost his first match on Saturday morning and never gave up and fought his way back through the one-loss side and won 11 straight matches to find himself in the finals! This leads to the third talk of the tournament: Eventual winner Warren Kaimco. He flew in all the way from the Philippines to play (just kidding, he happened to be in Texas for another tournament the weekend before and was able to fit in this Omega Tour stop). Warren has such a gentle composure and the players loved to have such a champion play among them. Warren was gracious and posed for many photos and also gave advice when players asked, at the same time he was killing it on the pool table.
Warren made his way to the finals over J Brotherton 9-3, Jeff Georges 9-4 (and Jeff said he had him scared, but we aren’t sure based on the score), Jordan Gartenberg 9-2, Hector Guerrero 9-2, Cory Anderson 9-5, and Jay Murillo 9-3. Jay Murillo made his way to third place with great wins over Phillip Kirk 6-0, Trent Stith 6-5, Roman Bayda 6-6, Tony Sulsar 6-6, Mike Rountree 6-5 before being sent to the one-loss side by Warren 9-3. Robert Clark lost to his first match to Gerardo Perez 7-7, and then won against Lorena Garcia 8-3, Tracie Voelkering 8-3, George Merchan 8-0, Larry Land 8-6, Willie Speed 8-4, Barry Emerson 8-7, Jamie Whelch 8-3, Hector Guerrero 8-3, Mike Rountree 8-4, Cory Anderson 8-5 and then Jay Murillo 8-3.
Warren and Robert squared off in the finals and the fans were in for a treat with GREAT shots and safeties between the two players to lead to a hill-hill first set! After several safes back and forth, Warren eventually had a shot and ran out the match hill-hill to not force a second set, and secure an Omega Billiards Tour title!
4th place was filled by Cory Anderson, 5th/6th places were filled by the “mikes,” Mike Rountree and Mike Voelkering who both had a great tournament, and 7th/8th places were filled by Hector Guerrero and Alberto Nieto.
Congrats to ALL the players and fans for a great event!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and OB Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Irving Ink and Thread, AZBilliards.com, Pool School, and BilliardsPress.com.
This year OB Cues is our Ranking sponsor and will be donating three OB Cues to the top ranked 3 players at the end of the year! BCAPL/CSI has joined again and will be giving away 5 BCAPL free entry fees the 2017 BCAPL Nationals.
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank JR Pockets owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend! She would also like to thank her fabulous team: Heather Farr, Dana Speed, and Jeffrey Georges.
A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many large tournaments across the country.
The next stop will be held June 4-5 at Fox and Hound in Dallas, Texas. $1,500 added and already full with 80 players. We have ten stops total again in 2016. Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!
On the weekend of September 12-13, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by Clicks Billiards in Arlington, Texas. The staff and owners treated the players well with great food and an amazing atmosphere, and they took care of all us all weekend long covering very long hours and we very much appreciate each and every one of them.
The field of 80 players was full again of top players and by Sunday afternoon everyone kept their eyes on 2014 Omega Tour Champion, Nick Conner, and newly-crowned Texas Open Champion, Sky Woodward. They seemed to be the players to beat in this $1,500-added tournament.
David Bell placed an impressive 3rd place (his highest finish yet) and Chris (Woody) Smith placed 4th – his highest finish yet as well. Both players played great all weekend and earnt those top spots for sure. Always tough to beat both Cory Anderson and Barry Emerson placed 5th/6th and traveling all the way from Houston (both) Mike Liang and Eric Hsu placed 7th/8th in the tough field of 80 players.
Young gun Sky Woodward made his way to the hotseat with wins over Joseph Pruiett 9-1, Ed Redman 9-1, Mike Voelkering 9-4, Mark Szabo hill hill (9-5) Chris Smith 9-4 and Cory Anderson 9-0. Nick Conner made his way to meet Sky in the hotseat with wins over Jay Murillo 8-4, Mike Liang 8-3, Frank Cherry 8-6, David Bell 8-3, and Berry Emerson 8-2. The hoteast was a GREAT match and it would go hill-hill! Sky would end up on top and sent Nick to the one-loss side where he defeated David Bell 8-4 for a rematch with Sky, this time in the finals. Again, it was a fantastic match of great shots and skill and again it went hill-hill! Would there be a second set in the true double elimination finals? Nope – Sky would win the match hill-hill and seal his first place at this Omega Billiards Tour Stop! Congrat’s to Sky for his great play in Texas the last week, and congrat’s to Nick for an impressive 2nd place against strong competitors (and the only one to get hill hill (twice) with Sky.
Congrats to ALL the players and fans for a great event!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, Poison Break Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and Lucasi and Players Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Hulsey Custom Cues, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Pro Billiard Service, AZBilliards.com, Billiards Digest, and BilliardsPress.com.
After eight stops this year (one more to go for the final point standings), Greg Sandifer has snuck to first place with 715 points, Daniel Herring is close by in second place with 710 points and Nick Conner has moved into the top 3 with 590 points. Close behind is Cory Anderson with 555 points (4th) and Crispian Ng with 480 points (5th). It’s a tight points race for the end of season Predator prizes! And only ONE more event to go for the rankings!
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank Clicks owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend!
A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many large tournaments across the country.
The next stop of the Omega Billiards Tour will be October 10-11 at Speeds Billiards in Arlington, Texas. $1,500 added and limited to 80 players. Still 1 more stops left before the $4,500-added Season Finale! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!
On the weekend of April 25-26, the Omega Billiards Tour was honored to play at JR Pockets in Denton, Texas. The players always love playing at JR Pockets as the tables are always newly refelted, food is good, and atmosphere is prime for great pool. In the end, newly crowned BCAPL Texas State Champ would go undefeated and win the $,1,500 added event with 80 players!
After a great opening day on Saturday, there was still a lot of great competing going on. By Sunday afternoon, Crispian Ng defeated Dylan Weinheimer 7-3, Marc Brown 7-5, and Willie Speed 7-4 before meeting up with Greg Sandifer. Greg had defeated Barry Emerson 7-5, David Bell 7-4 and Frank Cherry hill-hill before meeting up with Crispian. Greg and Crispian went back and forth at first, then Greg led to take the match 7-4.
On the one-loss side, Tony Matthew was fighting hard and defeated many players Sunday to make it to 4th place. And Frank Cherry was having a great tournament as well and placed an impressive 3rd. Willie Speed and Barry Emerson would place 5th/6th while Jeremy Jones and Jesse Hernandez filled out the 7th/8th places out of 80 players. Congrats to Willie Speed for his highest finish yet, along with Tony Matthew and also Frank Cherry!
Crispian would defeat Frank Cherry 7-2 on the one-loss side to then have a rematch with Greg in the finals. But Greg was playing top-notch and defeated Crispian 7-3 to win his FIRST Omega Billiards Tour stop!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, Poison Break Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and Lucasi and Players Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Hulsey Custom Cues, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Pro Billiard Service, AZBilliards.com, Billiards Digest, and BilliardsPress.com.
After four stops so far this year, Daniel Herring remains in first place on the Predator Player Points Tracker with 500 points. Cory Anderson is in second with 325 points, Greg Sandifer moved up to third with 275 points and Crispian Ng fills the fourth place ranking with 265 points.
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank JR Pocket owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend! They worked hard to get the place ready for all the players.
A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many of the large tournaments across the country.
The next stop of the Omega Billiards Tour will be May 30-31 at Fox and Hound in Dallas, Texas. $1,500 added and limited to 80 players. Still 4 more stops left before the $4,500 Season Finale! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas! Check out the website for more details: http://www.omegabilliardstour.com/
And follow the brackets live online at: http://omegatour.challonge.com/
On the weekend of February 21-22, Daniel Herring won his first Omega Billiards Tour Stop! The event was $,1,500 added with 80 players and held at The Billiard Den in Richardson, Texas.
After a great opening day on Saturday, there was still a lot of great competing going on. By Sunday afternoon, Tommy Ulbik defeated Curtis Cardwell hill-hill, then Steve Raynes 6-3, and also Jeremy Jones 6-6 to win a spot in the hotseat. Daniel Herring defeated Crispian Ng 7-3, Steve Collins 7-4, and Denny Sneed 7-1 to also win a spot in the hotseat.
On the one-loss side, 2014 Tour Champion Nick Conner defeated Phillip Palmer 8-2 and Crispian Ng 8-2 before running into a determined Denny Sneed who won 7-1. Barry Emerson defeated Paul Guernsey 8-4, Steve Collins 8-3, Cory Anderson 8-6, and Jeremy Jones 8-5.
Barry and Denny were then battling it and it went hill-hill with Denny coming out on top. Barry would place 4th.
In the hotseat, another battle was going on between Daniel and Tommy. It was the first time for each to be in the hotseat and both were playing really, really well. When the smoke cleared, Tommy had won hill-hill. This sent Daniel to the one-loss side where Denny Sneed was waiting. Denny was the farthest traveler (from Odessa, Texas) and he got off to a good start against Daniel, up 4-1. Daniel didn’t give up though and won the next 6 games and defeated Denny 7-4. Denny would get another third place under his belt on the Omega Tour!
Daniel then matched up against Tommy again, this time in the finals. Daniel won the first set in the double elimination format by a score of 7-2. He would repeat that score in the second set to earn him his first Omega Tour stop title!
After the event, Tournament Director Melinda Bailey talked to both players. She asked Daniel how it felt and he said, “Great.” That’s it? “Okay, it feels awesome. I was upset I lost the hosteat match hill-hill and then when I found myself down 4-1, I didn’t want my tourney to end that way. Then I won 6 in a row to get another chance in the finals. I felt like I’ve been due for a win for quite some time. I haven’t won a big tournament in many years, so this feels really awesome. ”
Tommy was a little deflated to get second, but still very happy with his highest finish yet. Tommy said, “I just tried to forget about my misses and play the right shot.” Well, it worked!
Daniel would win his FIRST Omega event and Tommy would place an impressive 2nd out of 80 players! Congratulations to ALL the players!!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, Poison Break Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and Lucasi and Players Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Wallace Custom Cues, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Pro Billiard Service, AZBilliards.com, Billiards Digest, and BilliardsPress.com.
Melinda Bailey would like to thank The Billiard Den owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend! A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many of the large tournaments across the country.
The next stop of the Omega Billiards Tour will be March 28-29 at Pucketts in Fort Worth, Texas. $1,500 added and limited to 80 players. Still 6 more stops left before the $4,500 Season Finale! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas! Check out the website for more details on how to get involved in the Dallas-Fort Worth area pool tour:
On the hill at 8-7 in the opening set of a true double elimination final at the 41st Annual Texas Open over Labor day weekend, Robb Saez took aim at a 9-ball that was to have forced a second set against hot seat occupant, Charlie Bryant. The 9-ball dropped and the second set was . . . wait a minute . . . the cue ball is still traveling, and it drops, too, producing an audible gasp from a roomful of spectators, stunned commentary from the PoolActionTV commentators and a flurry of comments from the on-line chat room, watching the live stream. Bryant followed this most dramatic moment with a less dramatic, though decisive break-and-run rack, which earned him his second Texas Open title, and denied Saez his second. Bryant had won in 2010, Saez in 2011. Chip Compton took the title in 2012 and last year's champion (defeating Bryant in the finals) was Warren Kiamco.
One of the oldest, if not the oldest, pool tournaments in the country, the annual Texas Open has had its share of top name winners, including Shane Van Boening (2008), Buddy Hall (1998), Gabe Owen ('99), three-time winners Gilbert Martinez, Jr. ('90, '92 and '93) and Jeremy Jones ('94, '02, '03), and two-time champions CJ Wiley ('96, '97), and now, Bryant, of course. The Texas Open Trophy was named after Bob Vanover, who won the event a total of eight times, including six straight from 1981 to 1986.
The $3,000-added Open event drew the full field of 128 entrants to Skinny Bob's Billiards in Round Rock, TX. The $1,000-added Ladies event, in which Vivian Villareal successfully defended the title she'd won last year, drew 32 entrants.
In the Open event, the Hillbilly and Robb Saez met first in the hot seat match. Bryant had worked his way through five opponents to meet and defeat James Davis, Jr. 9-5 in a winners' side semifinal. Saez, whose five-match march to the winners' side semifinals had included wins over two former Texas Open champions (Jeremy Jones and David Henson), met and defeated Sean King 9-7. In their first of two, Bryant took the hot seat match 9-6.
The loss side still had some lurking former champions (Al Mason, Chip Compton, Henson and Jones, for example), but by the time James Davis, Jr. arrived from the winners' side final four, there was only the one – Jones – left. Davis drew Manny Chau, who'd defeated Barry Emerson and Junior Jueco to reach him. King drew Jones, who'd gotten by Tuan Tran and survived an epic, double hill battle against Shane Manaole.
Davis eliminated Chau 9-5 and in the quarterfinals, faced King who'd finished Jones' bid 9-3. King defeated Davis 9-7 and got a second chance against Saez in the semifinals. In another epic, live-streamed, double hill battle, Saez took down King a second time, and got his second chance at Bryant.
Neither player in what proved to be the only set of the finals ever had more than a two-game lead, and just when observers were beginning to feel a shift in momentum, the player down by two (Bryant or Saez, at different times) took command to tie things up. Saez took the lead at 8-7, and was hoping that the next game would not only re-establish a two-game lead, but win the opening set. The stunning drop of the cue ball as he shot at the 9-ball effectively ended the match, as Bryant followed up with a flawless rack to claim his second Texas Open title.
Texas Tornado repeats as Texas Open Ladies Champion
The ladies' event almost came to a Vivian Villareal versus Belinda Calhoun final. The Texas Tornado worked her way through five opponents to be in the hot seat for those finals. Belinda Calhoun dropped her opening match and won seven on the loss side before being eliminated in the semifinals by Julie Comitini.
Villareal had sent Nicole McDaniel to the losers' bracket 7-2 in a winners' side semifinal and in the hot seat match, faced Comitini, who'd defeated Emma Stewart-Davis 7-5 (No confirmation of this, but Stewart-Davis and James Davis, Jr. may have been the Texas Open's premier newlyweds). Villareal took the first of two against Comitini 7-2, and was a single match away from reclaiming the Texas Open Ladies title.
The newlywed bride was the one who ran into Calhoun, who'd just eliminated loss-side opponents # 3 (Cindy Cole) and #4 (Kim Pierce). McDaniel picked up Michelle Cortez, who'd defeated Kim Sanders and Ricki Casper. Calhoun and McDaniel advanced to the quarterfinals, where Calhoun chalked up her final loss-side win 7-3.
Calhoun's run came to an end against Comitini in the semifinals, but not without a double hill fight. The Texas Tornado descended on the finals table, and swept Comitini out of contention, giving up only a single rack to defend her title.
On the weekend of August 2-3, local player and top pick Barry Emerson finally claimed his first Omega Billiards Tour stop! He went undefeated through 80 players to win the top prize at the fifth stop of the $1,500-added 2014 Omega Billiards Tour event held at Wizards in Richardson, TX.
Barry Emerson (owner of Pro Billiards Service) made his way to the finals with wins over Bob St John (8-1), Jesse Hernandez (8-1), Doug Winnett (8-6) and Wes McCarson (8-5) to make it to Sunday. On Sunday morning he defeated Phillip Palmer 8-3, and Crispian Ng 8-4 to then play for the hotseat. His hotseat opponent would be William Howard who found himself for the first time in the hotseat of an Omega Tour event!
Nick Conner (the previous Omega Tour event winner) had lost Saturday night but was ready Sunday for sure. He sailed through the one-loss side with wins over Jess Hernandez (7-4), Matt DeVance (7-4), Jim Colling (7-2) Chris Ferguson (7-3), Crispian Ng (7-5) and then over newcomer to the tour Randy Morrow (7-3).
William Howard lost to a determined Barry Emerson in the hotseat 8-2 and then lost to Nick Conner 7-3. But William placed a very impressive 3rd place!
This allowed Nick and Barry to battle it out in the finals. Barry started off strong but Nick was making a comeback. But Barry stopped that and won 8-4 to seal his first win and first place! Barry earned $925 for first place and Nick gathered up $530 for second place.
The whole tournament was a great display of talent! Congratulations to ALL of the players for their fine play and great finishes!
The Predator Player Tracker is in full force and the top three players at the end of the year will win a plethora of awesome Predator Prizes! Only 2 more stops to see who gets all the Predator products: Currently Nick Conner is now in the top ranked spot, Crispian Ng is in second, and Barry Emerson is in the third place ranking. Further, fourth through eighth places at the end of the year rankings will each receive a free entry into the 2015 BCAPL Nationals!
A HUGE thank you goes out to Predator Cues, Poison Break Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and Lucasi and Players Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Wallace Custom Cues, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Pro Billiard Service, AZBilliards.com, and BilliardsPress.com.
Tour Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank Wizards owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend! A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many of the large tournaments across the country.
The 2014 Omega Billiards Tour calendar is already set with 2 more stops and a Season Finale. The sixth stop will be held at Clicks in Arlington, Texas September 6-7, 2014! Each stop is limited to 80 players (an increase from 64) and the monies guaranteed added has increased to $1,500 for each stop!! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!!
The 2014 Schedule is online and payments can be received via the Omega Tour website.
On the one hand, a player can't but feel confident about an opponent he's already defeated in a double elimination tournament. On the other hand, when that opponent starts mowing 'em down on the loss side, and gets all the way back to the finals, a hot seat occupant can't help but wonder whether he'll be next. Crispian Ng faced just such a scene during the April 26-27 stop on the Omega Billiards Tour. He'd survived a double hill battle against Tony Sulsar and watched, as Sulsar battled his way back to the finals. Ng shut him down in a single set final to complete an undefeated run on the $1,500-added event that had drawn 80 entrants to JR Pockets in Denton, TX.
Once Ng had dispatched Sulsar to the loser's bracket in a winners' side quarterfinal, he turned to face Steve Raynes. Ricky Jaramillo, in the meantime, met up with Chuck Dement. Ng and Jaramillo met in the hot seat match, once they had defeated Raynes and Dement, both 7-5. Ng and Jaramillo battled to double hill before Ng prevailed to sit in the hot seat, and watch Sulsar complete his loss-side run.
That loss-side run began with an 8-4 victory over Greg Sandiser, and an 8-3 win over Robbie Smith, which set Sulsar up for a match against Dement. Steve Raynes drew Barry Emerson, who'd gotten by Todd Comitini 8-4 and Robin Barbour 8-5. Sulsar and Emerson eliminated Dement and Raynes, both 8-4, and faced each other in the quarterfinals.
Sulsar chalked up another 8-4 win, leaving Emerson in fourth place, and then, defeated Jaramillo in the semifinals 8-5. Five down on the loss side, and two to go, as Sulsar moved into the double elimination final against Ng. Ng, though, defeated Sulsar a second time 7-5 to complete his undefeated run and claim the event title.
Tour Director Melinda Bailey thanked Richard and Nona Bryan of JR Pockets, as well as Michael Hoang of Omega Billiards. The next stop on the Omega Billiards, set for June 14-15, will be a $1,500-added event hosted by Rusty's Billiards in Fort Worth, TX.
On the weekend of June 22nd-23rd, Tony Sulsar claimed the top prize on the newly inaugurated Omega Billiards Tour's 4th stop of 2013 at Rusty’s Billiards in Fort Worth, TX. Tony has now won his second Omega tournament in a row! Over $8,000 was given out in monies and prizes this weekend! (Tourney payouts + prizes + player’s auction.) Here is how it all went down….
At last month's tournament, Tony Sulsar went undefeated to win the tourney, but this time his road to the finals was derailed by a determined Sky Massingill which stopped Tony getting to the hotseat match undefeated. Sky would have a fabulous tournament defeating William Howard, Adam Pontious, Charlie Smith, Willy Orozco, and then Tony to meet local Dylan Weinheimer in the hotseat. Dylan, who is a beast on the table, proved that easily by winning over Sam Hargrove, Vince Miller, the always formidable Greg Sandifer, consistent Mike Voelkering, and David Josephson. He then prevailed with a hill-hill win over Sky in the rocking chair to have a seat in the finals.
Tony would make an impact on the one-loss side by first defeating the talented Barry Emerson hill-hill, Curtis Cardwell, and then Sky to secure his spot in the finals. Brian Anderson and Greg Sandifer both placed 7th/8th and had a great tournament. Barry and David Josephson would place an impressive 5th/6th (their highest finish yet) and Curtis had a fantastic event placing 4th! Sky would also have his highest finish to date placing 3rd and we know he will be in the winner’s circle soon on the Omega Tour.
In the finals, Dylan and Tony had their work cut out for them. On this handicapped tour, they both race to 8 (the handicaps range from 5 to 9) and the fans were in for a treat as both players performed very well with their smooth strokes and excellent cue ball control! One could not help but improve their game just by watching these two players. The first set was a nail biter and went hill-hill. The second set was not as close, but still fantastic play with Tony coming out on top and winning 8-4. Dylan placed an impressive 2nd place while Tony captured the first place monies, including a beautiful Lucasi Hybrid cue. Tony’s long day came to an end around midnight after capturing the coveted 1st place crown. A BIG congrats to all the players! There were several new faces and numerous high finishes for the tour’s regulars.
The Predator Player Points Tracker will be tested for only two more stops to see who wins the coveted Predator prizes at the end of the year! Tony Sulsar now sits in 1st place, with Crispian Ng in 2nd and Jesse Hernandez in 3rd. The top 3 ranked players earn Predator Prizes at the end of the year and everyone is anxious and ready to place higher and higher in the stops to move up on the list! CSI / BCAPL are giving free entries to the 2014 BCAPL Nationals for players ranked 4th-8th at the end of the year, also. Thank you to our additional sponsors, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Lucasi Cues, Players Cues, AZBilliards.com, and BilliardsPress.com.
Tour Directors Melinda Bailey and Brian Anderson would like to thank Rusty’s Billiards and their awesome staff for their great hospitality all weekend! A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, who is the main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards supply are well known for the huge booths at many of the large tournaments across the country. The next (fifth) stop on the Omega Billiards Tour is scheduled for August 3-4 at Clicks Billiards in Arlington, TX. All of the six events for 2013 on the Omega Billiard Tour's inaugural season have been filled to their 64-player capacity, with a 50+ waiting list! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!!
Thank you to all the players, fans, sponsors and pool rooms!!!
