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Pac-West Invitational Releases Exciting Schedule

Sam’s Billiards, hosting the Mosconi Cup points earning Pac-West Invitational June 21-25 released a schedule packed full of exciting components that offer something for cue sports enthusiasts of all backgrounds! The fun will kick off Wednesday evening June 21st at 5:00 pm with a Prime Rib VIP dinner including United States’ best pool player Shane Van Boening AND his European counterpart Mika Immonen! At 8:00 pm the 2 world-class competitors will then treat fans to a free exhibition of their skills and some interactive fun. 
 
Thursday June 22nd will bring more fun for enthusiasts with a player’s auction, which starts at 8:00 pm. Fans interested in bidding on their favorite player(s) must sign up for their bidding number prior to 8:00 pm. All monies raised at the player’s auction go into a prize purse that awards winning bidders based on how well their player finishes in the tournament. The draw for the tournament will take place directly after the auction finishes, and matches will be scheduled accordingly thereafter.
 
The industry’s leading website AZBilliards.com has been hired to live stream, maintain online brackets, and promote the event onsite free to viewers everywhere starting at 10am Friday June 23. For those in the Portland area, VIP seating is available as a three-day package for $150 – this provides front row, up close viewership of all 5 premium downstairs matches. To reserve VIP dinner or VIP event seating, please contact Carissa Biggs at 503-740-6683. 
 
The inaugural Pac-West Invitational sincerely appreciates sponsorship from industry leaders Iwan Simonis cloth and Aramith Super Pro pool balls – the very best cloth and balls in the cue sports world! 
 

2017 Mosconi Cup – Team USA standings after seven events

WITH THREE more events played on the USA Mosconi Cup ranking, it’s that man again as Shane Van Boening once again tops the list after winning the Pro Players Championship at the Super Billiards Expo. That’s brings the total of events played up to seven as the South Dakota Kid looks to make his 11th appearance in the event.
 
Despite missing the World Pool Series events in New York for personal reasons, Dennis Hatch stays in the upper echelons as he looks to make his fifth appearance in the Mosconi Cup. This year it’s about finishing in the top ten once the 16th and final event has been played out in early September.
 
That’s when USA skipper Johan Ruijsink will be making his picks from the top ten finishing players. To give himself some leeway in this make or break year for Team America, Ruijsink will be selecting four players from the top ten plus another whose final ranking won’t be of significance. 
 
There is a new West Coast event added to the roster and that is:
 
June 23/25 – Pac-West Invitational – Portland, OR
Table: 9 ft
Players: Max 64
Added: $10,000
Grade: One
 
Spots are limited to 64 in this event so players wanting to enter should write to carissabiggs@gmail.com
 
Due to a change in the format and scheduling of the World Pool Series events, players who gain points in both the main event and the secondary challenge event will have only the higher points out of two counting towards their ranking.
 
Ranking after 7 events
 
1 Shane VAN BOENING                90
2 Dennis HATCH                            82
3 Rodney Morris                             56
4 Billy Thorpe                                 55
5 Oscar Dominguez                        46
6 Donny Mills                                  40
7 Hunter Lombardo                        39
8 Johnny Archer                             35
9 Earl Strickland                             30
10 Brandon Shuff                           28
11 Josh Roberts                            27
12 Shaun Wilkie                            25
13 Justin Hall                                21
T14 Jarrod Clowery                      18
T14 Jorge Rodriguez                    18
 
 
For full rankings to www.matchroompool.com/mosconi-cup
 
2017 Mosconi Cup Team USA Ranking – Next Events
 
 
 
June 23/25 – Pac-West Invitational (Carissa Biggs) – Portland, OR
Table: 9 ft
Players: 64
Added: $10,000
Grade: One
 
July 12/16 – World Pool Series Event 3 (Darren Appleton) – New York
Table: 9 ft
Players: 128
Added: $16,800
Grade: One
 
July 12/16 – World Pool Series Challenge Event (Darren Appleton) – New York
Table: 9 ft
Players: 70 plus
Added: $2,500
Grade: Three
 
 
For full schedule go to www.matchroompool.com/mosconi-cup

$10,000 Added Pac-West Invitational Announced in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Ore. – Sam's Billiards, located in the historic Hollywood District of Portland, Oregon is slated to host an event unlike any the Pacific Northwest has ever seen. Scheduled as a warm up to the “West Coast Swing”, the $10,000 Added Pac-West Invitational will bring the very best cuemen the sport has to offer.

 

The contest will be a modified version of 10-ball, designed to eliminate the “luck factor”. For those familiar with 10-ball rules, the only change is that the incoming player always has the option to make the outgoing player continue shooting unless the outgoing player has declared he is playing a safety shot. Other than that, all matches will be a race to 9, winner breaks, jump cues allowed, and 3-foul rule in effect.

 

The event will kick off with a Calcutta Thursday June 22nd at 8:00pm. Tournament play will be held June 23rd – 25th from 10:00 am to 6:00pm daily. A full list of attending professionals and the live stream address will be released in a subsequent press release. If you are a professional caliber player who would like to attend, or for any other information, please contact Carissa Biggs at (503) 740-6683

Keeney outlasts Coffman to win Women’s event of the Chinook Winds 8-Ball Championships

Nicole Keeney with Men’s winner Skyler Woodward

Either way, one of the two finalists in the Women's division of the Chinook Winds 8-Ball Championships, held on the weekend of March 11-13, was going to chalk up her first 2016 title. Nicole Keeney and Mary Coffman, both looking for that win, squared off in the hot seat match, and twice in the finals. Keeney took two out of three to claim the title. The $5,000-added event  drew 37 women to the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, Oregon.
 
After being awarded an opening round bye, Keeney advanced through Carissa Biggs, Amanda Pulley and Heather Cortez to draw Kim Jones in a winners' side semifinal. Coffman, also awarded an opening round bye, defeated Melyssa Chasteen, survived a double hill match against Jeanne Christiansen, and defeated Carla Jean Beers, to pick up Cynthia Sliva in the other winners' side semifinal. Coffman downed Sliva 5-2, and was joined in the hot seat match by Keeney, who'd survived a double hill fight against Jones. Keeney took the opening round of her three against Coffman in convincing fashion, shutting her out to claim the hot seat.
 
On the loss side, Sliva drew Liz Lovely, who was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak that would take her as far as the quarterfinals. Lovely defeated Cortez 5-3 and Biggs 5-1, to reach Sliva. Jones picked up Beers, who'd gotten by Linda Carter in a shutout and defeated Susie O'Conner 5-3. Jones survived a double hill match versus Beers, and met up in the quarterfinals, with Lovely, who'd eliminated Sliva 5-3.
 
Jones ended Lovely's loss-side streak 5-3, only to be turned away in a double hill fight, by Coffman in the semifinals. The battle for the first 2016 title was on.
 
Coffman immediately made it a compelling story by bouncing back from her shutout defeat in the hot seat match to defeat Keeney 5-2 in the opening set of the true double elimination final. Keeney rallied in the second set, defeating Coffman by the same 5-2 score, to claim the event title.

Kirk defeats NWPA Tour Champ Suzanne Smith in final tour stop

Suzanne Smith, looking to punctuate her standing as the 2015 Northwest Women's Pool Association champion on the tour's final event of the season, made it all the way to the hot seat, before running into Kimberly Kirk in the finals. Kirk, playing in only her second event of the year, and looking for only her second win on the tour since 2002, won three matches on the loss side for the right to meet Smith, and then downed her in the finals. The $500-added event, streamed by Rail2Rail productions, drew 23 entrants to The Parlor in Bellevue, WA.
 
After giving up a total of only seven racks, over three matches (to Kim Toops, Kirsten Ferry, and Fran Johnson, Kirk was sent to the loss side in a double hill match, won by Patricia Tipton in a winners' side semifinal. Smith, in the meantime, defeated Liz Cole 7-3 in the other winners' side semifinal. Smith claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Tipton, and waited on the return of Kirk, or K2, as she was called throughout the Rail2Rail stream.
 
On the loss side, Kirk picked up Michelle Hughes, who'd won four matches on the loss side to reach her, including a double hill win over Jessica Aarhaus, and 6-3 victory over Mary Coffman. Cole drew Carissa Biggs, who'd defeated Cassie Francois 6-3 and survived a double hill fight versus Fran Johnson. Kirk downEd Hughes 6-3, as Cole was busy shutting out Biggs. 
 
The closest that Kirk had come to victory on the tour since 2002 was a runner-up finish to Cole in 2011. She got her three-year-delayed vengeance against Cole in the quarterfinals, defeating her 6-3 and moving on for a re-match versus Tipton. She took care of that, too, defeating Tipton 6-3, for a shot at Smith.
 
Kirk stayed steady in the finals, while Smith showed some vulnerability. Kirk took full advantage, getting out in front, eventually by five, to win 9-4 and claim the event title.

Biggs goes undefeated to create three-way tie for top spot in NWPA Tour rankings

In the end, it came down to dogged determination, rather than any dazzling display of superior skills. After a three-hour-plus final match, at the third stop on the Northwest Women's Pool Association Tour, on the weekend of May 16-17, Carissa Biggs, acting on an unforced error by her opponent, Natalie Seal, dropped the final 9-ball to chalk up an undefeated run that created a three-way tie for first place in the tour's rankings. The $500-added event, live-streamed throughout the weekend by Rail2Rail Productions, drew 26 entrants to Ballad Town Billiards in Salem, OR.
 
When the tournament began, Suzanne Smith sat atop the tour rankings, with Liz Cole and Jing Liu behind her, separated by a total of 80 points (Liu was the top-ranked player in 2014, with Cole second). Biggs and Seal, who would become the event's finalists, were in fifth and 14th place, respectively. Smith and Liu finished in the tie for fifth, adding 80 points to their ranking totals, while Cole finished fourth, adding 100 points to hers. Biggs' victory added 200 points to her total, while Seal added 160 as the runner-up. This created a three-way tie among Smith, Biggs and Cole, with Smith retaining the official top spot by virtue of a larger cash total in winnings. 
 
Biggs and Seal would meet twice; once in the hot seat and again, in the finals. Biggs advanced through Denice White, Adrianne Beach (who would be in the live stream broadcast booth at the end), and Tricia Heintz to meet Julie Valdez in one of the winners' side semifinals. Seal, winner over Juliana Goodman and Kim Toops (who'd just sent Liz Cole to the loss side), faced Jing Liu in the other. Seal survived a double hill battle over Liu, as Biggs defeated Valdez 6-4. Biggs claimed the hot seat 6-4.
 
On the loss side, Smith and Cole were working their way back for an eventual meeting against Valdez and Liu, both winning four to reach them. In the last two of those four, Smith had defeated Natasha Hook 6-4 and survived a double hill battle against Kim Toops to draw Valdez. Cole had gotten by Heintz and Melyssa Chasteen, both 6-1, to draw Liu. Smith's loss-side run came to an end at the hands of Valdez, double hill. Cole advanced 6-1 over Liu.
 
Valdez finished Cole's five-match, loss-side run with a 6-3 win in the quarterfinals. By the same score, her own three-match run on the loss side was stopped by Seal in the semifinals.
 
Displaying obvious signs of fatigue at this point, Biggs and Seal opened the final race-to-9 with a series of four games that made it clear it was going to be a long road to the winners' circle and left them tied at two games apiece. Seal was the first to break the back and forth pattern of the opening games, and won two in a row. Biggs, in a display of the aforementioned 'dogged determination,' then won four straight, which included the both of them attempting a 2-9 combination that eventually gave Briggs the game and tied the match at 4-4. 
Biggs took her first lead in the match at 5-4 and got her own two-game lead at 6-4. Seal closed the gap by a single game that saw them both make multiple attempts at the 9-ball, shooting long.  Seal was shooting at the 9-ball in the game that would have tied things up again, but found herself out of position. She missed her shot, and Biggs was up by two again.
 
Seal came back to close the gap yet again, but in game #14 at 7-6, Seal committed an unforced error, missing a straight-in shot at the 9-ball, and Biggs was on the hill. Seal came back to close the gap to within one again at 8-7. Biggs attempted a long jump shot in game #16 and gave Seal ball in hand, only to have it returned to her, when Seal scratched. Seal got another chance, but for the second game in a row, she missed her shot at the 9-ball, and Biggs closed it out at 9-7.

Jing Liu wins 5th Annual Martha Hartsell Memorial

Ford, Jing Liu, Liz Cole and Jim Lebold – Owner The Cue Ball

On April 25-26, 2015, the NWPA’s second tour stop of 2015 was hosted by The Cue Ball in Salem, OR.  The Cue Ball has supported our tour from the very beginning and we would like to thank Jim Lebold for all that he does for women’s pool. Martha Hartsell was a fierce competitor whose life was cut short by cancer in 2010. Many of the women on tour were good friends with Martha and in her honor, continue to play the game that she loved, making lifelong friends and rivals along the way.  
 
The NWPA would like to thank our sponsor Ozone Billiards and Volturi Custom Cases for their support of the 2015 season. Please check out their websites and show them your appreciation at www.ozonebilliards.com/www.volturicuecases.com. The NWPA tour standings and 2015 schedule are available at www.nwpatour.wordpress.com. The NWPA is sanctioned by the WPBA. All skill levels are welcome to play and players can accrue points towards their semiprofessional status while gaining experience playing some of the top women players in the northwest.
 
Twenty-eight ladies came out to compete Saturday morning. The tournament was run on 22 9-foot Brunswick Anniversary tables with Rail2Rail Productions providing a free live stream all weekend. The format was a race to 7, alternating break, 9 ball, with a race to 6 on the B side. There were several first round byes, but play sped right along. Tour players spent the remainder of their Saturday at Jake’s Bar, just down the road for ribeyes and  bartable action, an annual tradition for this event.
 
Sunday morning, only eight players remained. A side match ups included Jing Liu vs. Carissa Biggs and Liz Cole vs. Suwanna Matarazzo. Jing and Suwanna both advanced through their morning matches,  and then squared off for the hot seat.  2014 Tour Champion, Jing, defeated Suwanna 7-2 to earn her spot in the final while the other players duked it out to see who would join her. B side match ups included Rebecca Slyter vs. Melyssa Chasteen and Dara Koch vs. Suzanne Smith. Melyssa and Suzanne both advanced through their morning matches by the score of 6-3 and 6-2.  Fresh off her first loss, Liz rallied back to dominate 6-0, while Melyssa narrowly advanced over Carissa 6-5. Liz then squared off against Melyssa (her first loss had also been to Liz). Liz maintained a lead throughout the match and advanced by the score 6-4. Liz then played Suwanna again. After allowing her first match up slip away after being up 6-2, Liz was not to be denied. She defeated Suwanna 6-4 to earn a spot in the final. 2014 #1 and #2 showed would square off in their first finals of the 2015 season.
 
Jing Liu path to the final: Adrianne B (6), Tamre R (4), Kim T (2), Carissa B (5), Suwanna (2)
 
Liz Cole path to the final: Julianna G (3), Suzanne S (6), Melyssa C (6), loss to Suwanna (6), Suzanne (0), Melyssa (4), Suwanna (4)
 
The final was one race to 9, alternating break. Throughout the entire final, both players shot with confidence and made minimal errors. Exchanging racks, until 7-7, it seemed like there were all the makings of a hill-hill final. However, Jing had other plans. She closed out the final two racks to defeat Liz 9-7, winning her first event of the season.
 
With Jing’s win, she moved up to third in overall standings (she missed the first stop), while Liz moved up to 2nd, and Suzanne maintained her position at top of the standings. Great tournament ladies!  The NWPA’s next event is at Ballad Town Billiards in Forest Grove, OR on May 16-17.  
 

Suzanne Smith wins Washington State 9 Ball Championships

Kira North, Ford and Suzanne Smith (Photo courtesy of Sandro Menzel)

On March 21-22, 2015- the NWPA’s first tour stop of the 2015 season, the Washington State 9 Ball Championships, was hosted by Malarkey’s Pool & Brew in Tacoma, WA.  The tournament was ran on 9 9-foot Gold Crowns with Rail2Rail Productions providing a free live stream all weekend. The NWPA tour standings and 2015 schedule are available at www.nwpatour.com and is sanctioned by the WPBA. All skill levels are welcome to play and players can accrue points towards their semiprofessional status while gaining experience playing some of the top women players in the northwest. The main event was $750 added, while a Second Chance tournament was available to ladies not making it to the second day. We would like to thank our sponsors Ozone Billiards for donating magic racks for the entire season and Volturi Cue Cases for donating three $500 vouchers for custom cases. Raffle tickets can be purchased for the vouchers through Suzanne Smith (suzos78@gmail.com), and are $10 each. Only 50 tickets will be sold for each voucher, winners will be announced at the conclusion of each voucher’s ticket sales.
 
Thirty ladies came out to compete Saturday morning. There were several new players to the tour including including Cindy Salcedo (Bozeman, MT), Claire Binci (Corvalis, OR), Brittany Marshall (Spanaway, WA), Andrea Dexter (Renton, WA), and Dara Koch (Portland, OR). The tournament was ran on 9 9-foot Brunswick Gold Crowns. The format was a race to 7, alternating break, 9 ball, with a race to 6 on the B side. There were several first round byes, but play sped right along, without any major upsets going through the early rounds.
 
Sunday morning, only eight players remained. A side match ups included Cindy Sliva vs. Liz Cole and Julie Valdez vs. Kira North. Cindy and Kira both advanced through their morning matches, 7-2 and 7-5. Cindy and Kira then squared off in the hot seat match. Kira advanced by the score 7-5 to earn her spot in the final. B side match ups included Carissa Biggs vs. Kirsten Fery and Suwanna Matarazzo vs. Suzanne Smith. Carissa and Suzanne advanced through their first round of play 6-1 and 6-4, earning a shot at Liz and Julie. Liz and Suzanne both advanced through the next round by the same score: 6-3. Liz then squared off against Suzanne. Liz led throughout the entire match; however, it was Suzanne who would sink the final 9 ball in their hill-hill match up. Suzanne then played Cindy and defeated her as well, 6-4.
 
Kira North path to final: Mary O (F), Kathy S (3), Kim T (5), Julie V (5), Cindy S (5)
 
Suzanne Smith path to final: Patricia T (0), loss to Natalie S (6), Elaine E (2), Tamre R (4), Rebecca S (2), Suwanna M (4), Julie V (3), Liz C (5), Cindy S (4)
 
The final was one race to 9, alternating break. During the early racks, both players tried to find their groove. At 3-2 Suzanne, Kira was at the table with a 2 ball out. Unfortunately, Kira missed the 9 and scratched giving Suzanne the 4-2 lead. From that point, Suzanne continued to shoot with confidence, increasing her lead to 5-2 in the next rack, then allowing Kira her final rack of the set to make the score 5-3. Suzanne took advantage of opportunities afforded by her opponent, running out three of the final four racks from the 4, 5 and 2. Congratulations to Suzanne, this was her first tour stop in win since 2009, and to Kira for making her second final appearance in only three events played.
 
Great tournament ladies!  The NWPA’s next event is the 4th Annual Martha Hartsell Memorial and will be hosted at The Cue Ball in Salem, OR on April 25-26.  
 
Eight ladies returned on Sunday for the $100 added Second Chance tournament. With a $10 entry, half the field made some money in the true double elimination tournament, race to 3 on the A side and race to 2 on the B side.  Kim Toops ended up winning top prize, defeating Dara Koch in the finals. Good work ladies, nice shooting.
 
Second Chance Results
1st $70 Kim Toops
2nd $50 Dara Koch
3rd $35 Anna Busley
4th $25 Rebecca Slyter
 
 
 
 
 
 

Corey Deuel & Vivian Villarreal Champions of Chinook Winds Open 8-Ball

Corey Deuel

Corey Deuel drives a run-out pace and ran through the loser’s bracket, beating Canadian Champion John Morra in finals.  John Morra chopped through a star studded bracket to get to the point and showed he was in total command until coming up against Corey who held John to only 6 combined in games in both the finals matches on his way to the $10,000 1st place prize. 
 
Vivian Villarreal came out of the loser’s bracket, where she was sent packing by Cindy Sliva who waited on the point.  Vivian got through tough competitor Kim Jones, to return to Cindy again.   The finals match featured a lot of great play from both women. They both played like champions and Vivian had to struggle to capture the $4000 1st place check.  Cindy once again showed why she is one of the Northwest's finest, keeping up with seasoned professional, Vivian Villarreal. 
 
Chinook Winds added $21,000 to the 8-Ball Open events, $17,000 to Men’s division with guaranteed $10,000 for 1st  and $5,000 to the Women’s division with $4000 guaranteed for 1st place.  Western BCA added an additional $4000 to the events.  The Men’s division raced to 7 and the Women's raced to 5.  128 men and 38 women entered,  trying to get into the money.
 
A $1000 added Warm up 8-ball tournament took place Thursday before main event.   League players and those entered in Main event were welcome to play.  83 men entered the $25 entry, race to 3, Double elimination event.  The short race can be an equalizer with top players.  It was a smash event. There was over $3000 in prize money. Rafael Martinez took 1st,  Jason Shaw 2nd, Josh Roberts 3rd, Stan Tourangeau 4th,  Ace Brown and Corey Deuel 5th/6th,  Steve Lingelbach and Marc Vidal  7th/8th. 
 
The Calcutta went off well.  Auctioning through both fields took some time but it was well worth it. There was a net $25,280 in the men’s and $6425 in the women's.  Paul “Kez Dog” Marquez and Carissa Biggs helped out calling on bidders. It was a fun and exciting event.
 
It took a lot of hard work producing the Chinook Winds Open event.  Co-coordinators/directors Andrew Monstis and Mike Jensen worked 100’s of volunteer hours to make this event successful as it was.  It was about pool.  It was very rewarding to hear the praise coming from both participants and spectators.  The top players all said it was the best event they have ever been too.  First timers to the event said they had never seen such a great event. Others said this was the biggest event in the Northwest since “Ocean Shores” event in the early eighties. 
 
Special thanks to Mike Howerton, “Azbilliards”, Lenny Marshall “On The Rail TV”, Ozzy Reynolds of “Cuesports International” Ric and Bonnie Jones of Bad Boys Production and Chinook Winds & WBCA staff for their considerable help.
 
They say it’s better at the beach and they are right!  Chinook Winds Casino Resort is a full service facility and is an exceptional place for a  tournament venue.  Having this event tucked in at the beach in Lincoln City, Oregon creates an atmosphere you can’t find anywhere else. 
 
The huge gallery of spectators did watch many excellent matches as the Tournament unfolded. People were able to watch and learn what great pool playing is about. The crowds were in awe of top players like Vivian Villarreal, Stacy Allsup, Rebecca Wagner, Kathy MacDonald, Shane Van Boening, Scott Frost, Rodney Morris, Joshua Roberts, Danny Olson, Ace Brown and Jayson Shaw.  They were equally dazzled by top local players like Cindy Sliva, Kim Jones, Carissa Biggs,  Liz Cole, Danny Louie, Rafael Martinez, Stan Tourangeau, Matt Horner and Randy Baker. These great pool  players showed their talent.  Mike Massey Shared with the crowd  some of his patented trick shots, What fun!

Kim Benson dominates in her first appearance on NWPA

Jing Liu, Ford and Kim Benson

On June 21-22, 2014, the NWPA’s fourth tour stop of 2014 was hosted by The Black Diamond in Spokane, Washington.  The Black Diamond added $500 to the event and a Kwikfire Cue Raffle (donated by Suzanne Smith) added another $350 to the prize fund ($250 to the main event and $100 to the Second Chance.)
 
The NWPA would like to thank our sponsor Ozone Billiards and Volturi for their support for the 2014 season. Please check out their websites and show them your appreciation at www.ozonebilliards.com and www.volturicases.com. The NWPA tour standings and 2014 schedule are available at www.nwpatour.wordpress.com and is sanctioned by the WPBA. All skill levels are welcome to play and players can accrue points towards their semiprofessional status while gaining experience playing some of the top women players in the northwest.
 
Twenty-seven ladies came out to compete Saturday morning. New players to the tour included Kim Benson (HI), Christy Morgan (ID), and Cheryl Rosean (MT) . The tournament was run on 8 9-foot Brunswick Gold Crowns with Rail2Rail Productions providing a free live stream all weekend. The format was a race to 7, alternating break, 9 ball, with a race to 6 on the B side. There were several first round byes, but play sped right along. 
 
Sunday morning, only eight players remained. A side match ups included Suzanne Smith vs. Liz Cole and Jing Liu vs. Kim Benson. Suzanne and Jing both advanced through their morning matches, by the scores of 7-5 and 7-3, advancing them to the hot seat match. Jing and Suzanne battled it out in a hill-hill match up where a failed safe by Jing looked to be all the opportunity Suzanne would need to advance to her first final of the 2014 season. Suzanne missed an open shot on the 7 ball to leave Jing tough. Jing proceeded to pocket each of the last balls, culminating with an amazing 9 ball shot to advance to the finals and solidify her position on top of the tour’s overall standings. B side match ups included Amber Foster vs. Patricia Tipton and Carissa Biggs vs. Mary Olson. Amber and Mary both advanced through their morning matches by the same score of 6-5.  Fired up from their morning losses Liz and Kim rallied back through their next round, by the score of 6-4 and 6-2. Liz then squared off against Kim. Kim maintained a lead throughout the match and advanced by the score 6-4. Kim then played Suzanne, and Kim looked to be well on her way when a stumble on her final 8 ball allowed Suzanne back to the table with a fairly easy 2 ball out. Suzanne pocketed the 8 ball and scratched, giving Kim ball in hand to win the set 6-4.
 
Jing Liu path to the final: Rebecca S (6), Kim T (1), Patricia T (4), Kim B (3), Suzanne S (6)
Kim Benson path to the final: Dyamelle C (3), Natalie S (6), Elizabeth J (3), loss to Jing L (3), Mary O (2), Liz C (4), Suzanne S (4)
 
The final was one race to 9, alternating break. Throughout the entire final, Kim shot with such amazing confidence and precision, ultimately only missing four balls throughout the set, capitalizing on Jing’s mistakes as the match proceeded. Kim expanded her lead steadily throughout the match, allowing her opponent very few opportunities to find a rhythm. Kim defeated Jing 9-0 in just over an hour match to claim her first tour stop win on the NWPA. Congratulations to both ladies for an excellent tournament.
 
With Jing’s finish, she maintained her position on top in overall standings. Suzanne jumped up 7 spots with her 3rd place finish, and Liz maintained 2nd place in overall standings coming in 4th place. Great tournament ladies!  The NWPA’s next event is at The Parlor in Bellevue, WA on August 9-10.  
 
Eleven ladies returned on Sunday for the $200 added Second Chance tournament. There was no entry fee with the extra money and the true double elimination tournament was a race to 3 on the A side and race to 2 on the B side.  Rebecca Slyter ended up winning top prize, defeating Mary Coffman two sets in the final. Good work ladies, nice shooting.