The Mezz West State Tour headed south to beautiful La Mesa, CA, right outside San Diego for stop #4 of their 17 event season. A very strong field of 94 players made the trek to compete in the $2000 added 10 ball event and the field was littered with pros and amateurs alike.
Leading the top half of the bracket was Mexican champion, Ernesto Dominguez with solid wins over Jay Beatty, Paul Langley, Anthony Ortega, Joey Chin, Henry Brodt, and Victor Ignacio all the way to the hot seat match. The 60 year old veteran showed his experience and grinded his way each match with solid safety play and decision-making skills.
Meanwhile, on the bottom half of the bracket, San Diego pro Victor Ignacio took full advantage of his home court by defeating some very solid MWST regulars such as; Danny Gokhul, Beau Runningen, Ben Yumal, Attila Csorba, and Sal Butera until he ran out of gas against Dominguez for the hot seat.
While Ernesto and Victor slithered their way through the winners side, a very strong group of players grinded their way through the B bracket. Three pro players consisting of Beau Runningen, Vilmos Foldes, and Oscar Dominguez all lost early in the event until they all ran out of steam to end up in the 9-12 bracket for the event. 3rd place finisher from event #3, Attila Csorba kept his solid form with another strong finish, 7-8th with pool player turned poker player, Scott White. Former APA national champion, Henry Brodt displayed his experience and solid play with a very respectable finish in 5th place alongside Ben Yumul, filipino local sharpshooter. However, quietly stomping through the losers side was Sal Butera on the upper half and Rocket Rodney Morris on the south side. These two seasoned veterans played solid pool all weekend and it was unfortunate they met for the second time on the losers side to decide 4th place. After losing to Butera on the winners side, Rocket Rodney avenged his earlier loss with authority playing flawlessly winning 9-1.
The finals on the losers side was between hometown semi pro Victor Ignacio and Mosconi Cup legend, Rodney Morris. The match ended quickly in favor of the Rocket and at the end of the tunnel awaited senor Ernesto Dominguez. It was a battle of the veterans but too many early mistakes combined with Rodney's powerful break, Rodney ran away with the match with an 11-6 scoreline. This now makes Rodney the leader in the points department and marks his third victory of the 4 events held this season.
Also, a big congratulations to Brook Thomason for taking home the $100 top female bonus out of 6 female entrants.
The Mezz West State Tour would like to thank all their sponsors: Mezz Cues (Miki-Mezz.com), West State Billiard Supply (WestStateBilliards.com), Zan Tips (Zan-Tip.com), Taom Break/Jump Tips (TaomTips.com), Andy Cloth (AndyCloth.com), Ozzy Reynolds and CSI (PlayCSIPool.com), PiUs Company, So Cal Tap, Kurzweil Country Meats, fast&loose desgins (fastnloosedesigns.com), Contact Point Media, Turtle Rack, NYC Grind (NYCGrind.com) and AZ Billiards (AZBilliards.com).
We would also like to thank Clyde Norris, along with the entire On Cue Billiards staff for hosting the event. We would also like to thank all the players for coming out and supporting the tour.
The Mezz West State Tour travelled to gorgeous Stiix Billiards in Ventura, California over the weekend of May 23rd and 24th. The event attracted 93 players, which Rodney Morris, Oscar Dominguez, Sal Butera, Beau Runningen, Dave Hemmah and Vilmos Foldes were just a few heavy hitters that made it out to the tournament. Not to be taken lightly, the open players made their presence known with the attendance of Chris Robinson, Attila Csorba, Manny Herrera, Joey Chin, Geoff Somers and newcomer Brian Cady.
The top half of the bracket was all about the “7”players with Brian Cady, Melissa Herndon, Manny Herrera and Joey Chin making it out of a tough top bracket to find themselves in the final eight winners side. The bracket included big names such as Brian Parks, Sal Butera and Dave Hemmah. Newcomer, Brian Cady made his way to the final eight winners by finding victory over tour regulars James Harris, Bob DePlachett and Justin Logan before running into Manny Herrera in the final eight. Manny found himself there after wins over Rich Hodge, Spencer Ladin, Jay Beatty and Chino Reyes. The match between Brian and Manny went HILL-HILL with Brian taking the W, securing him into the final four winners of the event to face off against LA local Joey Chin. Joey Chin secured his spot in the final four by winning against Mark Anthony Hernandez, Brook Thomason, Sal Butera and Chris Santana before running into Melissa Herndon in the final eight. Melissa took wins over Juan Smith, Geoff Somer and Bob Jocz. The Melissa and Joey match up went HILL-HILL as well, with Joey making a great out to secure the win. In the final four, Brian Cady vs Joey Chin was one to be seen. The match stayed tied the entire set, eventually reaching HILL-HILL once again, with Brian Cady moving onto the hot seat match.
The bottom bracket was also loaded with killers like Oscar Dominguez, Rodney Morris, Vilmos Foldes, Corey Harper, Attila Csorba, Daminen Rebman, Beau Runningen and young-gun Chris Robinson. Making their way to the final eight winners were Attila Csorba with wins over Frank “The Barber” Almanza, Ashton Schaffer and Rhiyan Qi, where he was met with top player Corey Harper. Corey Harper found his way there with wins over Rodney Morris, a match that he was down 8-2 in and grinded back to win 9-8, Henry Brodt and Marshall Anonby. The match between Csorba and Harper was heavily one sided, with Csorba taking the win and moving on the final four winners , where he would meet Oscar Dominguez who took wins over Cole Gibbons, Dan Aguiar, Vilmos Foldes and Chris Robinson. The face-off between Dominguez and Csorba was a tough one, but in the end Csorba made a few errors that Dominguez took advantage of, allowing Dominguez to be victorious 9-5 and sending him to face Brian Cady in the hot seat match.
In the hot seat match, Dominguez showed complete domination over Cady winning 9-4, without Cady making too many errors. Cady would then travel to the loser side and await his chance to make it to the finals.
The losers side was a battle with Dave Hemmah winning 7 matches straight until being knocked out by Chris Robinson and forcing him to take 7th/8th. Chris Robinson went on to knock out Joey Chin, before losing to Attila Csorba, forcing him to take 4th place in the 93 player field. Csorba would now face a determined Cady for his chance in the finals. Cady out played Csorba winning 9-5 and giving him another chance at Dominguez in the finals.
During the finals, each player struggled with the break, forcing several dry breaks and push outs. In the end Dominguez took advantage of every error Cady made found himself winning 11-6. This was the first ever win for Dominguez on the MWST and would push him into the #1 spot in the point rankings.
The Mezz West State Tour would like to thank all their sponsors: Mezz Cues (Miki-Mezz.com), West State Billiard Supply (WestStateBilliards.com), Zan Tips (Zan-Tip.com), Taom Break/Jump Tips (TaomTips.com), Andy Cloth (AndyCloth.com), PiUs Company, So Cal Tap, Kurzweil Country Meats, fast&loose desgins (fastnloosedesigns.com), Contact Point Media, Turtle Rack, NYC Grind (NYCGrind.com) and AZ Billiards (AZBilliards.com).
We would also like to thank owners Jerry and Peggy Matchin, along with the entire Stiix Ventura Billiards staff for hosting the event. We would also like to thank all the players for coming out and supporting the tour.
OnJuly 11th-13thand for the 5th year in a row, Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower will be hosting its annual ‘Hard Times 10-Ball Open’ tournament.. With $5,000 added money and POV Pool’s live streaming preparations underway, it’ll be another unforgettable event. Won by Carlo Biado last year, he bested Alex Pagulayan in a landslide final battle, 11 games to 1. Hard Times 10 Ball always attracts an assorted field of the best from all over the world and we can only guess who will be this year’s champion to rise to the top. Past top finishers of this event have been, Dennis Orcullo, Shane VanBoening, Ralf Souquet, Wang Can, Rodney Morris, Manny Chau, Max Eberle, Scott Frost and many others.
Confirmed So Far…
The internationally known pool promoter, author and tournament director,Jay Helferthas confirmed with POV Pool thatWarren KiamcoandDennis Orculloare confirmed for this years event. Also, widely known to be an agent and manager for two other players whilst on the West Coast, we have a confirmation fromBrook ThomasonthatFrancisco BustamanteandEfren Reyeswill also be competing. Reigning CSI, US Open 10-Ball Champion,Rodney Morrisstates that he will compete this year, just before flying to Japan for The Japan Open in Tokyo. And, there has been some discussion thatShane VanBoeningmay also make an appearance which, if this is the case, means it’s a matter of time before the rest will follow. And, as of June 16th we have a confirmation for Marie Lim, who is taking some of the entries, that the four traveling Taiwanese players,Ko Pin Yi,Ko Pin Chung,Chang Jun LingandCheng Yu Hsuanare also going to attend and compete. As they develop, more player and promotional updates can be found onThe Hard Times 10-Ball’s, Facebook Event Page.
West State Billiards named as Main Sponsor!
This year’s main sponsor or the event will be none other than Southern California’s West State Billiards, located in Fullerton, CA – Operating since 1946, West State Billiards will be providing brand new 860 Simonis Brand cloth for 20 tables, soon to be installed by the Dominguez Family (Ernesto and Oscar). Tournament direction will be led by professional pool player and longtime house-pro at Hard Times, Dave Hemmah. With the new equipment and strong tournament leadership the entrants of this year’s event can expect nothing but the best quality and service at this annual event.
Jenny “The Asian Assassin” Lee marks her first major win this year by defeating Stacy Novack in the finals of the ‘Tiger So Cal Ladies Tour’. After two days of grueling play by some of California’s most talented female pool players, it was these two veterans to the Tiger SCLT who remained to battle it out in the race-to-9 final match.
Due to WPBA player (and Tournament Director) Melissa Herndon‘s early promotional efforts plus several mini-qualifiers run by Raquel McCluskey prior to the event; and despite a rather stormy weekend looming in the skies of Southern California, On Cue Billiards in La Mesa remained in the crosshairs of 29 female gunslingers and a host of railbirds for this double elimination, race-to-7 event.
Probably the longest journey made to play the event was that of Emilyn Callado‘s, hailing from San Francisco. Emilyn remained in the top 8 finishers, even after losing early to Stacy Novack. She powered through three more matches against Shannon Powell, Brandy Pamintuan and Nellie Del Rosario on Saturday before falling to Melissa Morris in her one and only match on Day 2 of the event. Emilyn’s close 7-5 loss against Melissa landed her tied for 7th/8th in the tournament.
Despite the handful of talented veterans competing, two tough greenhorns, Dara Nakagawa and Lila Woodland found themselves in the top eight players on Day 2.
Lila, from San Diego, defeated Dara in her first match, and then sent former WPBA player Melissa Morris to the loser’s side…showing her determination to do well in the event. But she hit a wall with her first loss against Trinh Lu from Rosemead, CA.
On Sunday, Lila finally met her fate, finishing in 5th place after a rematch against Melissa, where she just couldn’t gain the momentum she had against the “Cue-Maker’s Daughter” in their previous match on Day 1. Meanwhile, Fountain Valley’s Dara Nakagawa fought an uphill battle after losing her first match to Lila, trudging her way to 8th place by defeating Raquel McCluskey, Hiroko Makiyama and Wendy Chou. Dara’s run to the finish was cut short by the very talented Tina Pawloski, who’s fast-paced play and pool knowledge was on display throughout their match.
The reigning 2011 State Champion and eventual 2nd place finisher of this event, Stacy Novack earned her spot in the hot seat by defeating Verni Flauta, Emilyn Callado, Tina Pawloski, Jenny Lee and Trinh Lu. Jenny Lee won her first three matches of Day 1, beating Melinda Huang, Brook Thomason, Wendy Chou before suffering her first loss to Stacy. Jenny then came back on Day 2 to defeat Tina Pawloski, Melissa Morris and Trinh Lu, which earned her a rematch with Stacy and guaranteeing her a 2nd place award for this event. But Jenny Lee had other plans…
The final match between Jenny and Stacy was quite a contrast of styles. Jenny Lee had already played several matches on Sunday and was well in-stroke for the final match. She seemed to be playing faster and more aggressively than normal. Jenny has been known to play at a slower pace in the past, but today it seemed like she was moving in ‘fast forward’, giving few chances to Stacy and leaving her tough on most safeties; even playing some very good kick-shots and getting good rolls.
Stacy’s demeanor remained consistent as she took her time to execute, but she seemed to play a bit tighter than normal and sometimes even a little hesitant. Capitalizing on this, Jenny jumped ahead early in the first half of the match to an impressive 6-1 game lead. A couple of sloppy breaks by Jenny, who sent the cue-ball flying off the table, could have been a good turning point for Stacy. She had ball in hand and wide open racks, but unfortunately she failed to close them out. Those two missed chances, coupled with the already distant lead, proved to be an impossible climb back for Stacy, and the match finally ended in a 9-2 defeat by Jenny Lee.
In a conversation with the 20-year pool veteran after the event, Stacy stated, “I haven’t sought out extra help or knowledge with my game for quite sometime, but now feel that I am in a place that is receptive to elevating my game to the next level.” By day’s end, Jenny Lee was visibly exhausted and even stated at a break between games that she was enduring some physical pain and discomfort brought on by leg cramps, which started just before the match. Nonetheless she kept her mind on the game and showed no signs of weakness. Jenny’s laser-like focus cut through her opponents in her typical ‘Assassin’ style.
Yet again, Melissa Herndon is to be congratulated for another seamless Tiger SCLT event, sponsored by Tiger Billiard Products, PoolDawg and Delta-13 and streamed live from On Cue Billiards in La Mesa, CA by Daniel Busch of POV Pool who stepped in for veteran streamer, Andy Chen. Congratulations also go Nellie Del Rosario, who won the second chance event undefeated in a field of 14 players…and to Shar Vanderstyne, the winner of the Tiger Classic Series, TC-1 Cue raffle.
This marks the first Tiger SCLT event of the year, which served as an excellent warm-up for the following Tiger sponsored tour stops, also to be streamed live:
April 14th & 15th $1,000 Added ($1,500 added with 32 players) – Tiger So Cal Ladies Tour event at Hard Times Billiards, Bellflower CA
April 21st & 22nd Tiger West Coast Women’s Tour $1,000 Added / The 2012 Women’s 9-Ball California State Championship at California Billiard Club, Mountain View, CA
