The Diamond Pool Tour concluded their 2016 regular season on October 22nd – 23rd with a field of 39 players playing 8-ball on the 7’ Diamond Smart Tables at Skip & Jan’s Sports Bar in Gilbert. 

 

This stop was unique in that it featured more “A” players than “B” players. The “A” player bracket held 22 top players with 21 of them looking to keep Mitch Ellerman from winning a record fourth consecutive tour stop. If he was going to win it, it would have to be from the one loss side, after a third round hill-hill loss to New Mexico’s Mickey Provencio. The winner’s side came down to Scott Frost scoring a 7-5 win over Bobby Emmons. On the one loss side, Ellerman showed that he was going to give up on win #4 without a fight. Ellerman scored wins over Brian Reich, Eric Young, Ben Hrabina, Chuck Evans and Emmons to earn his spot on the final bracket. 

 

The 17 player “B” bracket came down to two new players, as Brian Poore took on Steve Stowers for the “B” bracket hot-seat. Poore had scored tough hill-hill wins over both JR Ascension and Evan Brinkman, sandwiched around a 7-1 win over Adam Kroll,  in his run to the hot-seat match, while Stowers had scored lopsided wins over Victor Garcia, Rick Schmitz and Susan Williams on his run. The match for the hot-seat was another lopsided win for Stowers, has he defeated Poore 7-1. Poore took the loss in stride and eliminated Tucson’s John Schramm 7-3 to earn his spot on the final board. 

 

Scott Frost took the overall hot-seat with a 7-2 win over Stowers on Sunday. Ellerman was still busy trying to notch win #4, and quickly eliminated Brian Poore 7-3 in a very deserving 4th place finish. Ellerman then defeated Stowers 7-3 and it was Frost vs Ellerman for the tournament win. While the tournament win would have given Ellerman his 4th straight, it was only fitting that the tour’s other player with three consecutive wins, Scott Frost, was the one to keep him from win #4. Frost won the finals in one round with a 7-6 victory. 

 

Ellerman can still take solace in winning the “A” player points list, and even though he was not in attendance at this event, Oscar Avila took the “B” player points list win. Both players will win a prize package including a custom QB cue, Volturi case and Hanshew jump cue. Those prize packages will be presented to the players at the tour’s finale on November 17th – 20th at Casino Del Sol in Tucson.

 

Tour staff thanked Natalie and her staff for hosting another great event, as well as “Fast” Lenny Marshall for streaming matches all weekend and Rick Schmitz for the best photos in Arizona. 

 

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The Diamond Pool Tour held their 6th stop of the year – and first stop at Metro Sportz Bar – on September 10th – 11th, with a field of 56 players playing 9-ball on the 7’ Diamond Smart Tables. While the event held it’s fair share of surprises, it was Mitch Ellerman notching his second straight tour stop win.

 

The “A” bracket’s field of fifteen players saw Mitch Ellerman ride the top of the bracket with wins over Bret Huth, Jason Sweet and Scott Frost. Meanwhile on the bottom half of the bracket, it was last year’s “A” player points list winner Brian Reich making his mark. Reich had wins over Chuck Evans, Mike Sandoval and Bobby Emmons to earn his place against Ellerman for the hot-seat. While Ellerman’s win over Reich was not a real surprise, what was surprising was the 9-0 scoreline. On the one loss side, Frost was looking for another shot at Ellerman. Frost eliminated Sandoval, Emmons and Reich to earn that shot. 

 

One nice addition to the “A” bracket was another appearance by Arizona pool veteran Tommy Dilorenzo. Tommy came out of retirement at the August stop at Kolby’s with mixed results. This month saw more of the player that Arizona is familiar with, as Dilorenzo had wins over Bryan Bach and Aaron Purdy. Dilorenzo’s two losses, to Ray Robles and Chuck Evans, were both hill-hill matches that could have gone either way. It’s good to see Tommy back in action and we expect pool fans will see his “A” game in full force very soon.

 

In contrast to the “A” bracket, the “B” bracket’s 41 players saw an early surprise with points leader Karloz Chavez going “two and out” in the event. Chavez lost a hill-hill decision to Susan Williams and was then eliminated by Manny Luevano 9-7. The top half of the bracket was won by Oscar Avila, while the bottom half was won by Metro regular Eric Osburn. Both players fought their way through more than their share of close matches to get to the hot-seat match, and then that match was another close one with Avila earning a hill-hill win over Osburn. The one loss side saw George Bell on a roll. Bell had lost to Rick Schmitz in his first match of the day, but he was still alive eight matches later. After eliminated Mike McGovern 9-6, Bell went on to send Osburn to the cheap seats 9-5.

 

While the tournament saw a number of Metro regulars come out to support the tour, two players that earned attention were Susan Williams and junior player Nathan McGovern. Williams, the sole female in the field kept up her winning ways after the first round match with Chavez. Williams went on to beat Dana Moore and Tim Rachu, before falling to Osburn in round four. Williams came back on Sunday, but was eliminated early Sunday by George Bell. While McGovern, the only junior player in the field, didn’t win any matches, the pool gods were not kind in the draw they gave him. After a second round loss to Seth Johnson, McGovern had to then take on Luevano. McGovern gave it his all, and we hope to see him at a future event to give it another try. 

 

Before Sunday player could get underway, tournament director Chuck Parrill and Metro Sportz Bar owner John Upshaw had to reconfigure the room to make room for a larger than originally expected football crowd. John and Chuck didn’t miss a beat as they roped off six tables and gave the tournament players as much space as they could manage for day two of the event. 

 

When the brackets came together, it was a rematch from a month ago with Ellerman facing Avila for the overall hot-seat once again. This match went to Ellerman 9-4. On the one loss side, Frost was eliminating Bell in 4th place 9-3. Seeing his rematch with Ellerman only a match away, Frost then made quick work of Avila in a 9-0 match. The overall final match went one set, with Ellerman scoring a hill-hill win for his second straight Diamond Pool Tour win.

 

Ellerman’s win gives him a 200 point lead on the “A” players points list, with two events left to play. Barring Ellerman missing an event, Frost will have a tough time catching him. The “B” players points list, on the other hand, is much closer. Chavez’s “two and out” was the opening that Avila needed to catch him, and Avila now enjoys a 40 point lead over Chavez. Rick Schmitz is in a distant third place, 135 points back. 

 

As always, “Fast” Lenny Marshall provided excellent streaming coverage of the event, and Rick Schmitz took great pictures of all of the tour competitors. John Upshaw and his staff did a great job of taking care of the players and fans all weekend long. 

 

The tour will finish up it’s regular season in October with two stops. Pockets in Tucson will host big table 9-ball on October 1st – 2nd, and then Skip and Jan’s will be the location for Barbox 8-ball. These two stops will be the last chance that players have to play in the requisite two events in order to qualify for the season finale at Casino Del Sol in Tucson on November 17th – 20th. 

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The Diamond Pool Tour returned to Kolby’s Corner Pocket in Tempe, Az on August 6th – 7th with a field of 46 players playing 8-Ball on the 9 foot tables. It may have taken a little longer than some fans had expected, but this event saw Mitch Ellerman’s first trip to the winner’s circle this season.

 

The first big surprise in the 15 player “A” bracket was seeing Scott Frost sent to the one loss side in the first round by 8-ball specialist Brian Begay 6-1. Begay then dropped his next match to Emilio Maestes, who then dropped his next match to Bobby Emmons. Emmons’ next match was for the “A” bracket hot-seat against Mitch Ellerman, and you guessed it, he dropped the match. Ellerman’s path to the hot-seat was paved with wins over Ben Hrabina, Brian Reich, George Teyechea and then Emmons. Frost would bounce back from the opening round loss to make day two, but his second match on Sunday was a rematch with Begay, that he dropped hill-hill. Emmons then defeated Begay hill-hill to earn his spot on the final bracket.

 

The 31 player “B” bracket was led by Junior Flores and Oscar Avila. Avila had wins over Bill McKnight, Todd Dilley, Karloz Chavez and Jack Ritonya on his way to the hot-seat match. Half of those wins were tough hill-hill victories. Flores had wins over Brady Williams, Ryan Franklin, Kurt Siebels and JR Ascension. Flores’ biggest win was 6-4, with three matches going hill-hill. The “B” bracket hot-seat would go to Avila, with a 6-3 scoreline over Flores. The loss to Avila may have lit a fire under Chavez, as he won five straight matches on the left side including a 6-2 win over Flores, to earn his spot on the final bracket. 

 

When the brackets came together, it was Ellerman taking the final hot-seat with a 6-1 win over Avila. On the left side, Emmons made quick work of Chavez 6-2 and then eliminated Avila 6-1. The finals would go one set, with Emmons scoring a 6-3 win for first place. 

 

The tournament win adds distance between Ellerman and Frost on the “A” players points list. Ellerman has now built a 155 point lead over Frost, who leads Bret Huth by 45 points for second place. Avila’s 3rd place finish tightens up the “B” player points list. Chavez’s lead over Avila is now 85 points, with Schmitz trailing by 25 points in third place.

 

Tour organizers thanked Kong Xian Gru and Brian Desantis (and their staff) for hosting another successful event. The wait staff always takes great care of the tour. “Fast” Lenny Marshall shared the event with everyone online and Rick Schmitz once again provided the tour with a batch of great pics. 

 

The tour will be at Metro Sportz Bar on September 10th – 11th, playing barbox on the 7’ Diamond tables.

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The Diamond Pool Tour returned to Tucson for their third stop of the season where 46 players played 10-ball on the 9’ tables at Pockets Pool & Pub on June 18th – 19th. This stop crowned its third different winner in as many stops, as “The Rocket” Rodney Morris ended his “2016 Arizona Tour” with a dominating tournament win. 

 

The “A” player bracket only drew 13 players with Rodney Morris and George Teyechea the last two left standing on the right side of the board. Teyechea obviously picked up some pointers while hosting Rodney Morris all week, as he displayed his “A” game all day Saturday. Teyechea had wins over Bret Huth, Mike Hamman and Mitch Ellerman on Saturday, while Morris beat Eric Young, Gus Briseno and Brian Reich. 

 

Sunday play in the “A” bracket saw Morris send Teyechea to the one loss side, and Ellerman get his revenge by defeating Briseno, Young and Teyechea.

 

The “B” bracket had 33 players and was dominated by Joe Guerra and Tonee Allin. Both players remained undefeated all day Saturday, never allowing an opponent to the hill against them. While Guerra and Allin were undefeated, special note has to be made about the play of two six rated players in the event. Chuck Bower won three matches on the winner’s side and was one win away from making it to Sunday undefeated. With Sunday being Father’s Day, Bower opted to bow out of his Sunday match to spend time with his family instead. Another six rated player, Jeff Lenschow, claimed he only played in the event for something to do while his son Sam played. The elder Lenschow would win two matches on the right side before being eliminated two spots out of the money. Both players showed a lot of heart and class all day on Saturday.  

 

The “B” bracket saw Allin defeat Guerra on the winner’s side 7-3, while Jack Murray took advantage of the forfeit from Bower and then defeated Rick Schmitz 7-4. Guerra would bounce back from his loss to Allin and defeat Murray hill-hill to make the final four players. 

 

When the brackets came together, it was Morris defeating Allin 7-1 and Ellerman handing Guerra a loss by the same 7-1 score. Allin fared better against Ellerman than he did against Morris, but still lost the match 7-3. The finals only went one set with Morris scoring a 7-2 win to cap off a week that included a win over Scott Frost in Bullshooter’s first Battle of the Bullpen and then an undefeated victory on the Diamond Tour. 

 

After three events, Mitch Ellerman holds a slim lead over Gus Briseno on the “A” player points list, while Tonee Allin holds a dominating lead over Karloz Chavez on the “B” player points list. With Allin’s impending raise at the July 3rd ratings committee meeting, Chavez will ascend to the top spot of the list with Guerra close on his heels. 

 

Tour organizers thanked Curtis and his amazing staff at Pockets for dealing with pool players all weekend, as well as Rick Schmitz for the great photos and “Fast” Lenny Marshall for another tireless weekend of streaming pool. 

 

The Diamond Pool Tour will be back in action on July 16th – 17th for their first stop at Main Street Billiards in Mesa, Arizona. Sixteen beautiful 7’ Diamond pool tables at Main Street should bring out a great field of players for this BCA 8-Ball warm up event. 

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