Brian Rosenbaum, Ernesto Bayaua, Joey Torres and Robert Crane
Ernesto Bayaua went undefeated to capture the 39-player, open 8-ball division, while Sonny Bosshamer ran through a 47-player field, to secure the amateur 8-ball division, at the first stop on the 2018 Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour. Bayaua overwhelmed Brian Rosenbaum in the final, 3-0, while Bosshamer denied Lufkin’s Chad Reece in both sets of the true double elimination final, 3-2, 3-2.
Lake Jackson, Freeport, Stafford, Lufkin, Victoria, and San Antonio, were just a handful of cities represented by players competing in the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour 8-ball event, held on January 13th-14th, 2018, at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar in Houston, Texas. The Tour would like to acknowledge and thank all the new players who attended their first Tour event, some hailing from Houston’s North Harris County APA and Houston Best of Billiards leagues. Props go out to Ruth Paine, Alamo City 8-Ball Association operator, who was the lone, female competitor in the event. Many thanks to Mike Fabacher who provided the free, two-day live stream, and Michael Presley for his assistance in the booth. Once again, Tour title sponsor Poison by Predator Cues PoisonBilliards.com, and sponsors Cyclop Pool Balls facebook@CyclopPoolBalls, Ozone Billiards OzoneBilliards.com, APA of North Harris County facebook@APANorthHarrisCounty, OutsvilleBilliards.com, and VaporKnightsUSA.com, facilitated another successful event that paid out over $4,500 in prize money, to the top twelve finishers in each division.
In the open division, former Poison Lone Star Tour Champion and APA National Champion, Ernesto Bayaua, ran through Jake Jurgens, 3-1, Sonny Bosshamer, 3-1, and Kevin Frauenberger, 3-1, while Canada’s Robert Crane bested Lance Johnson, Steve Williams, 3-2, and Joey Torres, 3-1. Former Tour Champion, Brian Rosenbaum, overcame “Mikey Boy” Martinez, 3-1, Sylver Ochoa, 3-1, and Mark Cardenas, 3-1, while Doug Gray ousted Brian Humphrey, 3-2, Dave Ramirez, 3-1, Michael Presley, 3-0, and Chris Thompson, 3-2. On the west side, in the final twelve and in the money, Frauenberger slid by Curt Sheldon, 3-2, and Torres eliminated Ochoa, 3-2, while Cardenas cancelled Williams, 3-0, and Bosshamer terminated Thompson. On the winners’ side, Rosenbaum stopped Gray, 3-2, while Bayaua closed out Crane, 3-0. In the hot seat match, Bayaua made quick work of Rosenbaum, 3-0. On the flip side, Torres was on a tear, eliminating Frauenberger, 3-2, and Gray, 3-0, while Bosshamer overcame Cardenas, but fell to Crane. In turn, Torres eliminated Crane, but lost the next round to Rosenbaum, 3-1. With that win, Rosenbaum earned a rematch with Bayaua. In the finals, Bayaua won the flip and never looked back, running three racks against Rosenbaum, and going undefeated to win his first event of 2018.
In the amateur division, newcomer Shane Aguinaga of Freeport, Texas, made his way to the winners’ side final four, booking wins over Shelby Green, Chuck Adams, 3-2, Eboo Alali, 3-2, and Bill Fain, 3-1, while Sonny Bosshamer sliced through Brandon Anderson, 3-0, Brian Humphrey, 3-0, Robert Crane, 3-0, and Mark Cardenas, 3-1. Lufkin’s Chad Reece took charge, logging wins over Chris Gutierrez, Michael Presley, 3-0, Steve Siarski, 3-1, and Eric Hsu, 3-2, while Tony Scott took down John Frye, 3-0, Jake Jurgens, Lance Johnson, 3-0, and Will Felder, 3-1. On the west side, in the final twelve and in the money, Hsu fell to Frauenberger, 3-1, and Felder foiled Alali, 3-1, while Fain bested Williams, 3-1, and Siarski ousted Cardenas, 3-2. Winners’ side final four action witnessed Bosshamer defeat Aguinaga, 3-2, and Reece derail Scott, 3-1. Reece went on to end Bosshamer’s run, 3-1, winning his first hot-seat match, on Tour. Staying alive on the one loss side, Felder dusted off Frauenberger, 3-2, and Aguinaga, 3-0, while Fain ended Siarski, 3-1, only to fall short against Scott, 3-2. Felder slipped by Scott, and into the final four, but was denied by Bosshamer, 3-1. Once again, Bosshamer met up with Reece, in a battle to the bitter end. Reece faltered the first set, 3-2, sending the finals into overtime. In the second set, Bosshamer edged out Reece, 3-2, to win his first event of 2018.
Serving pool players, pool rooms, and sponsors, since 2009, the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year as the longest-running billiards tour in the south. A special 10th Anniversary Event will be held for players who compete in at least two events between now, and July 7th, 2018. Players are strongly encouraged to meet the eligibility requirements, in order to gain entrance into this event. The next tour stop will be open and amateur 9-ball, held on February 10th-11th, at Bogies West, 9638 Jones Road, Houston, Texas. For more information, including access to the free live stream, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com.
In an amazing display of talent beyond his young years, 14 year old Houston local Joey Torres blazed through a field of 37 players, going undefeated to win the Poison by Predator Tour Open 8-Ball event on June 8th, 2014, held at Bogies Billiards & Sports Bar in Houston, Texas. This was a third consecutive tournament win for Torres, winning two previous Lone Star Tour amateur events, upgrading Torres to “open division” player status.
From start to finish Torres played incredible, ousting a plethora of talent including Nick Hood, 4-0, Sonny Bosshamer, Marvin Diaz, 4-2, Danny Roland, 4-3, finishing up with contender Erik Renteria for the hot seat, 4-0. With a purse nearing $3,000, the event kicked off around 2:30pm along with the PxP Tour live stream and a string of deafening upsets. In the second round Bob McFerren defeated #2 ranked PxP player, Rafael Martinez, 4-3. Danny Roland leveled the playing field, taking a bite out of Ernesto Bayaua, 4-3, and Manny Chau, 4-1. Finding himself in the finals more often than not, Erik Renteria beat Kevin Clemons, 4-1, Kevin Bivens, 4-2, and David Taylor, 4-3, while former Lone Star Tour Champion Danny Lee won his bid for the final four with wins over Derrell Taylor, Bill Fain, 4-2, and Will Felder, 4-0. In the winners’ side final four, Renteria slid by Lee while Torres escaped Roland, by the same score, 4-3. Torres’ momentum proved insurmountable for Renteria who lost the hot seat match, 4-0. On the one loss side, Chau defeated Dalton Riley and Danny Lee while Martinez set the chart on fire with 8 consecutive wins, including knockouts over tour veterans Sonny Bosshamer and David Taylor. Martinez ended a great run by Roland, eliminated Chau, 4-1, and moved on to Renteria. In the first game, Renteria set the tone with a break and run. Martinez was down 2-1 until an unforced error by Renteria propelled him to a 4-2 victory. Torres and Martinez teed off for the final match. From start to finish Torres held complete control leaving Martinez a total of 3 offensive shots the entire set. Torres swept Martinez, 4-0. Aside from his tournament earnings, Torres won a paid 9-ball entry ($75) into the Space City Open to be held December 4th-7th, 2014 at Bogies Billiards & Sports Bar in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/spacecityopen.
The Poison by Predator Tour would like to recognize Delta-13 as its official rack and the APA of North Harris County as its official league. Become a PxP Tour Player, membership is free! For more information visit www.PxPTour.com
Rafael Martinez went undefeated at the second Poison by Predator stop defeating Chase Rudder in the final, 4-1. Martinez conquered a talented field of 36 players in the one-day, $500 added open 8-ball event, which yielded a purse in excess of $2,500. Players ventured from far and wide to compete against the likes of Sylver Ochoa, Manny Chau, and Sam Manaole, but it was business as usual for flamboyant pool superstar Martinez who “wowed” the crowd, coasting to a near flawless victory.
Winners’ side action saw hot seat contender Manny Chau tear his way through Ben Zamudio, 4-0, Blaine Barcus, 4-3, Chase Rudder,4-1, and Bill Fain, 4-0, while Martinez made quick work of Sylver Ochoa, 4-0, Eppie Madrigal, 4-2, Sam Manaole, 4-1, and Ricky Hughes, 4-0. On the one loss side, Ochoa captured an incredible 6 consecutive matches including wins over Chris Villanueva, 4-0, Sam Manaole, 4-2, and Bill Fain, 4-1. On a mission of his own, Rudder ousted Jack Cavalier, 4-2, and Ricky Hughes, 4-1, for a third place face-off with Ochoa. Rudder took full advantage after a couple of unforced errors by Ochoa, ending the set, 4-2. East side, hot seat action saw Martinez best Chau, 4-1, presenting Rudder with a chance at redemption. Little time passed as Rudder quickly, calmly, and confidently, claimed the set, 4-1. Holding strong, Martinez had lost only 4 games heading into the finals. Going toe to toe with 3x PxP event champion Rudder, the finals were shaping up to be a sheer explosion of wit and skill. In the final set, it was more of the same for Martinez, who came out firing, and on this day, proved a bit much for the PxP champ. Not only did Martinez take home $500 for his first place victory, but also a free entry into the Space City Open III 9-Ball division, coming December 4th-7th, 2014, to Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar, Houston, Texas. For more information on the Space City Open, visit www.facebook.com/spacecityopen.
The title sponsor for the PxP Tour is Poison by Predator cues. Find your Poison at www.poisonbilliards.com. The official tour rack is Delta-13, www.delta-13.com and the official league is the APA of North Harris County, www.facebook.com/apanorthharriscounty. Finally, the tour would like to thank David Richardson and Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar for their continued support. For more information about the PxP Tour, please visit www.pxptour.com.
On June 16th-17th, Houston’s Sports Bar held its first $1,000 added Lone Star event of 2012, drawing 57 entries over Open and Amateur divisions. Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant, Manny Chau, David Gutierrez, Al Mason, and Sylver Ochoa helped make up the 25 player, star-studded Open division. New faces in the 32 player Amateur division included Bobby Pacheco, Ray Porter, Derrick Ray, Henry Rocha, Robert Garcia, Isai Rodriguez, and David Rodriguez.
Saturday’s Open play narrowed the field to 12 finalists for Sunday. Grady Cooper and Henry Rocha were two unusual suspects who played their way into the final four winners’ side for Sunday. Cooper defeated Al Mason 9-5 and Henry Rocha bested Sonny Bosshamer 9-6 to get there, but were both defeated in their hot seat bids by Sylver Ochoa and Charlie Bryant respectively. Cooper and Rocha secured 7th-8th place finishes. David Gutierrez suffered a first round loss to Mason and won 5 consecutive matches until he was upset by Bosshamer, 7-2. It seemed like old times as Ochoa and Bryant hammered it out for the cat bird’s seat. They traded racks, executing dead-lock safes and kicking in balls, until Ochoa pulled ahead and closed it out, 9-7. The “Hillbilly” made quick work of Bosshamer then exacted dual-set revenge on Ochoa to win his first Lone Star Open division title in 2 years!
There were several big stories on the “B” side. Pasadena, Texas newcomer, Ray Porter, stormed the Amateur division escaping 3 hill-hill matches to reach the hot seat. Surprise player Bill Fain reached his bid for the final four winners’ side with wins over Steve Williams, Carlos Martinez, and Henry Rocha. Fain lost to Bosshamer, 7-4, and was then eliminated by Brent Thomas, 5-3. Demetro depleted Thomas in the first round, but after 6 rounds of wins, Thomas exacted revenge on Demetro in the quarter finals. After a 7-4 loss to Porter for the hot seat, Bosshamer faced off with Thomas’, ending his 7 match winning streak. Victory was short-lived for Bosshamer as the indomitable Porter swiftly secured the final set to win his first Lone Star Amateur division event.
Congratulations to Tiffany Boysen who finished “top lady” in the Amateur division. There were 2 juniors who participated in the Amateurs, Mike Calderaro and Michael Fain. Junior Nick Calderaro competed in the Open, drawing Sylver Ochoa his first round and losing by a score of only 9-6. Many Lone Star tour players continue to reach for, and accomplish their goals, with each and every event in which they compete. Keep your momentum going!
The Lone Star Billiards Tour would like to thank its exclusive cue sponsor, Poison by Predator cues, www.poisonbilliards.com, its exclusive rack Delta-13, www.delta-13rack.com, www.PoolWebsites.com, APA of North Harris County, and Gulf Coast Billiards. The tour would also like to acknowledge and give special thanks to Carlos Ledson Miller, who generates the tour standings. Many thanks to BCA referee, Derrell Montgomery, and Jerald “Topwater” Jackson for their tournament assistance.
Paul Holleman from Baytown, Texas won a Poison VX Jump Cue and Cleveland, Texas’ Mike Terry won a VX2.9 Break/Jump in the Poison by Predator cue raffles. Enjoy your new cues gentlemen!
The Tour would like to thank Houston’s owner Eric Hill and his wonderful staff for making this a first rate event. The Olhausen tournament tables were recovered in brand new 860 Simonis cloth for the players to enjoy. Tour Director Kim White says, “Houston’s was so accommodating to the Tour and its players. We look forward to coming back.”
The next event is July 7th-8th at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar. We hope you’ll join us.
