Jesus “Golden Boy” Atencio and Cesar Garcia racked up first-time wins at the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour 2021 “Comeback” Event, held March 27th-28th at Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, Texas. Atencio went undefeated in the 64-player, open 9-ball division, shutting out Wesley Escobar in the final, 7-0, while Cesar Garcia also went unmatched in the 64-player, amateur 9-ball division, conquering Victor “Champion” Rojas in the final, 5-1.
Producing only two events in 2020, the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour ceased tournament production in March 2020 and resumed business on March 27th, 2021, a little over one year later. Tour title sponsor, Poison by Predator Cues, sponsors Predator Cues, APA of North Harris County, Alamo Billiards, Outsville Billiards, Team StraightPool Eye, Southern Streaming, and flagship host venue, Big Tyme Billiards, helped facilitate a phenomenal “comeback” event for players all across Texas and Louisiana. There were 74 competitors, along with 52 women who participated in the Gulf Coast Tour women’s event, who couldn’t wait to get back to the business of playing competitive pool. The event garnered 126 players in all, and paid out nearly $15,000 in prize money. The tournament was played on twenty-three Diamond Bar Tables, with brand new Predator Arcos II Pool Balls, and Accu-Racks by Outsville Billiards. As always, Big Tyme provided a non-smoking atmosphere, impeccable equipment, and an attentive staff. All of these amenities made for a very enjoyable, tournament-going experience, and everyone was ecstatic to be back.
In the open 9-ball division, on his way to the winners’ side, final four, Jesus Atencio bested Gary Gunter, Steve Williams, 7-1, Stacy Benoit, 7-2, and Steve Lenz, 7-6, while Ernesto Bayaua blazed through Bobby Perez, Charlie Jenkins, 7-5, J.C. Torres, 7-0, and Derek Fontenot, 7-0. Wesley Escobar powered past Javier Alienes, 7-5, Justin Richard, 7-4, Theo Hoang, 7-3, and David “DG” Gonzales, 7-4. John Weeks of Lufkin, Texas tackled John Braud, 7-2, Kevin Frauenberger, 7-6, Brian Murphy, 7-2, and Victor Rojas, 7-3. In the final twelve, battling through the one-loss side, newcomer Dylan Chambers curbed Fontenot, 5-4, while Cesar Garcia dusted off Lenz, 5-3. It was Benoit over Gonzalez, 5-2, and Rojas toppling Coffman, 5-4. On the east side, Escobar took down Weeks, 7-2, while Atencio shut-out Bayaua, 7-0. In the hot seat match, Atencio was full steam ahead, derailing Escobar, 7-4. Back on the one-loss side, Garcia ended Chambers, 5-2, but fell to Weeks, 5-4. Rojas defeated Benoit, 5-1, and Bayaua, 5-4, but failed the test against Weeks, 5-4.
Waiting in the wings, Escobar overcame Weeks, 5-1, earning himself a rematch with Atencio. In the final set, Atencio showed no mercy, dominating Escobar, 7-0. Congratulations to Jesus Atencio on his first, Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour win.
In the amateur 9-ball division, on his way to the winners’ side, final four, Cesar Garcia bested Brian Murphy, Tracy Lacy, 5-4, Steve Lenz, 5-4, and Bill Fuller, 5-1. Justin Richard never let his guard down, defeating Rodolfo Rodriguez, Jr., 5-2, Bret Harlan, 5-3, Sonny Bosshamer, 5-3, and finally, Stacy Benoit, 5-4. Dennis Hadley took down Justin Hubacek, David Guerra, 5-1, Bart Bowman, 5-1, and lastly, Ray Porter, 5-2. Rounding out the final four, Victor Rojas overwhelmed Beau Courts, 5-0, Chuck Adams, 5-3, Jay Winters, 5-4, and Kevin Frauenberger, 5-2. As the east side, final four took shape, the west side went into elimination mode. Down to the final twelve, Lenz took out Porter, 5-4, and Frauenberger eliminated Robert Perez, 5-2. It was Coffman over Stacy Benoit, 5-3, and Fuller sliding by J.C. Torres, 5-4. On the winners’ side, Garcia secured his fifth win against Richard, 5-2, while Hadley fell to Rojas, 5-4. In the hot seat match, Garcia slid by Rojas to claim the victory, 5-4.
On the one-loss side, Frauenberger ousted Richard, while Hadley eased by Fuller, 5-4. Down to the final four, Hadley made his move against Frauenberger, 5-3, but was stopped by Rojas, 5-4. Once again, Rojas rose to meet Garcia, but was knocked once more, 5-1. Congratulations to Cesar Garcia on winning his first tournament, on the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour.
The Tour would like to welcome all the new players who attended from cities across Texas and Louisiana. Congratulations to Michael Presley and Debra Leger, who each won a set of Predator Arcos II Pool Balls. Tiffany Johnson scored, winning three Poison playing cues, along with Brittany Kromer, David Trevino, and Brian Murphy, who took home Poison Cues as well.
The next event will be April 24th-25th, 2021, at Slick Willies Family Pool Hall, located at 9315 Westheimer, in Houston, Texas. For more information about the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com.
Legends Billiards of League City, TX was the destination. 138 players in two divisions competed on the nine footers to see who would be this year’s Houston 9-Ball Open champions.
Thirty women entered the Ladies Division trying for a piece of the $1,900 purse plus $1,460 in Calcutta action. Playing down to the semi-final match were well-known Texas players Jennifer Kraber and Amanda Lampert. Jennifer won the match 5-2 and Amanda went west to await the results of the Natalie Rocha–Kim Pierce match. Natalie defeated Kim leaving her in fourth place with $190 in prize money plus another $145 in Calcutta cash. Natalie was unstoppable as she defeated Amanda to move into the finals. Amanda received $285 in prize money and $220 in Calcutta cash for third place.
Natalie was on a tear but Jennifer was having none of it as she defeated her 7-4. Natalie cashed $385 prize money plus $365 Calcutta for her second place finish. As the 2016 Houston Open champ, Jennifer received $570 plus $510 from the Calcutta for her efforts.
The Open Division drew 108 players fighting for a piece of the $16,630 purse plus another $13,690 from the player auction. When the music stopped, it was last year’s Houston Open champ Jeremy Jones and Cesar Garcia Jr in the hot seat. Looking to repeat, JJ made quick work of Cesar 7-2. Meanwhile, Kevin Cheng and former Houston Open champ, Charlie Bryant, were duking it out. Hillbilly prevailed 7-4 and moved on to play Cesar for the other berth in the finals. Taking fourth place, Kevin received $1,170 in prize money plus $1,230 Calcutta.
After defeating Cesar and leaving him in third place, Charlie moved on to the finals. Cesar cashed $1,610 in prize money plus another $1,780 from the Calcutta.
Jeremy was a man on a mission – it was JJ all the way. He defeated Hillbilly 9-3 to repeat as the 2016 Houston Open champion. Charlie received $2,340 in prize money in addition to another $2,400 from the Calcutta. Jeremy received $3,520 for first place plus $3,770 in Calcutta cash.
Congratulations to both Jennifer and Jeremy – our defending Houston Open champions!
PoolActionTV would like to thank Craig and Mindy Cohen as well as their great staff for their hospitality. They always do a fabulous job! We’d like to thank the Houston Open’s main sponsor, Jerry Olivier Custom Cues, for their support. We’d also like to thank John Barton of JB Cases, Club Billiards, Hanshew Custom Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Lomax Custom Cues, GoPlayPool.com, Kamui and Durbin Custom Cues for their support.
Thanks to Justin Schwartz for doing such a great job running the show as well as Terry Hanna and Jason “Helpdesk” Walton for keeping the ride smooth.
PoolActionTV’s next stop is the Tennessee State 8-Ball Championships and the Southern Cue & Case Show at the Chattanooga Billiards Club. Hope to see you there!!!
It was “all in the family” this past weekend, August 23rd-24th, 2014 at the Lone Star Billiards Tour event held at Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, Texas. James Davis, Jr. “Bastrop, Jr.” and James Davis, Sr. “Bastrop, Sr.” captured first and second, respectively, in the open 9-ball division while Frank Ferrer, Jr. captured the amateur 9-ball division, upgrading his status to “open” division player. The tour would like to thank Skinny Bob’s owners John and Sue Cielo for hosting another first-rate event, their 5th year as Lone Star Tour hosts. The Tour is proudly sponsored by Poison by Predator Cues, Delta-13 Rack, Ozone Billiards, ImproveYourShot.com, and APA of North Harris County.
First round action started Saturday at 3pm. James Davis, Jr. steadily worked his way through the winners’ side with wins over Jason Bagby, 7-4, Rudy Esteves, 7-5, David Henson, 7-6, and Manny Chau, 7-5. Another local favorite, Brian Sanders, made his stand as well, defeating Cesar Garcia, 7-5, Chuck Adams, 7-4, James Davis, Sr., 7-3, and finally Blaine Barcus to reach Bastrop, Jr. for the hot seat. New to the tour, Dallas player Roman Bayda suffered a second round loss to Barcus, 7-1, but made his way through the one-loss to finish in the money. Junior Jueco, Bagby, and Chris Smith also finished 9th-12th. John Eagle lost his bid for the final four winners’ side to Barcus, 7-3, and was subsequently eliminated by James Davis, Sr., 6-4. Frank Ferrer, Jr., suffered a loss in the same round to Chau, 7-5, and was eliminated by Henson, 6-4. These turn of events staged an all-too familiar shoot-out with veteran champions, Henson and Davis, Sr., playing for third place. On the east side, Davis, Jr. squeezed by Sanders to secure the hot seat, 6-5. Davis, Sr. squeezed by Henson and Sanders by the same score, 6-5. Father and son decided not to play the final match and instead split the winnings. It was agreed that Junior retain the title, perhaps a belated wedding gift after tying the knot with Emma Davis (formerly Stewart) at BCA Nationals this past July. They are expecting their first child, a boy, later this year.
In the amateur division, Frank Ferrer, Jr. faced off with Cesar Garcia for the hot seat. Ferrer’s victims included Aaron Isbell, 6-2, Cielo Velasquez, 6-0, Chris Salinas, 6-2, and John Eagle, 6-1. Garcia ousted David Escobedo, 6-4, Roger Senn, 6-4, Jason Bagby and Chad Hensen, 6-5. James Dugger suffered a first round loss and won 6 consecutive matches while Bagby made his way into the final four on the losers’ side as well. Dugger fell to Jacob Warriner, 5-4, while Bagby advanced over Rudy Sanchez. It was Hensen over Warriner and Bagby over Eagle. Hensen eliminated Bagby, 5-3, while Ferrer dominated Garcia for the hot seat. Hensen took down Garcia, but fell to Ferrer in the first set of the finals.
Congratulations to all the Poison VX Cue raffle winners; Jimmy Krone, Jerry Riley, James Smiser, and Chris James.
The Lone Star Finale is October 4th-5th at Bogies Billiards & Games, Houston, Texas. The ladies’ Gulf Coast Tour Finale will be on Saturday, October 4th, at the same venue. For more information, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com.
This year, Bad Boys Billiard Productions moved the BCAPL Texas 8-Ball State Championships to the Mayborn Center in Temple, Texas. Action was hot and heavy in 13 different tournaments from April 1st through 7th, 2014.
Action got started on Tuesday morning, April 1st with 40 Mixed Scotch Doubles teams chasing their dreams of being Texas State Champions and the $800 prize check that would accompany that honor. The teams of Beatty & Hyde and Bailey & Jones raced to the hot seat match playing a match every two hours until their showdown against each other at 8 PM. Both teams eager to guarantee themselves a spot in the finals played a very close match that saw Bailey & Jones prevail in a 4-3 win. Beatty & Hyde would now have to travel to the left side of the board to win a match to earn a chance for revenge in the finals. They were not the only team looking to exact a little payback for an earlier loss. The team of Franklin & Hess suffered a very close loss in their first match of the tournament to Beatty & Hyde and marched through the one loss side of the bracket with 8 straight wins to earn that shot at payback with Beatty & Hyde. In another tightly contested match, Franklin & Hess prevailed with a 4-2 victory and a shot at Bailey & Jones in the finals. The four combatants would have to wait until 2 PM Sunday afternoon as they also were competing in the Singles and Team tournaments. Due to the fact that Bailey & Jones were undefeated, they would have to be beaten twice in the finals and that is just what Franklin & Hess set out to do with a hill-hill victory in the first set, forcing the second and deciding set. Both teams regrouped and played another tightly contested set with Bailey & Jones coming through with the 4-3 victory and title of 2014 BCAPL Texas State Scotch Doubles Champions!
Wednesday morning the Men’s Open Singles and Men’s B Singles got underway with 202 players doing battle on the 80 Diamond tables. The Men’s Open Singles is a race to 5 with Advanced players having to win one more game if playing an Open player. After 14 hours of play, the list of undefeated players had gone from 110 players down to one, Advanced player, Cesar Garcia Jr., by result of a 6-1 victory over Frank Ferrer Jr. in the hot seat match. Frank would now have to win a match on the one loss side to earn a rematch with Garcia. That he did with a 5-0 win over Leonel Torres who finished 3rd. Ferrer would now have to beat Garcia twice to win the title and that Is exactly what he did with matching 5-2 wins Ferrer Jr. collected $1,520 plus the winner’s trophy for his performance.
In the Men’s B division, 92 players arrived with cues in tow to do battle. Roy Shumacher raced through the event undefeated, beating Adrian Womack Jr., who after losing his very first match of the tournament 4-2 to Victor Dabu, went on a tear winning eleven straight matches to make to the finals. Adrian came up one game short of the 4-3 final match score and had to settle for a second place finish and $290 in prize money for his hard work. Schumacher received the first place trophy and $460 for his stellar play.
Wednesday afternoon also saw the women come in to start their Open divisions with 29 in the Open and 16 in the B division. Good friends and teammates, Melinda Bailey and Tracie Voelkering battled their ways through a tough field to meet in the hot seat match that was won by Bailey by a 4-2 score. Tracie then went to the one loss side and defeated Angela Garza in a very close 4-3 match to earn a second shot at Melinda in the finals. Garza had to settle for a 3rd place finish. The finals would only last one set as Melinda Bailey continued her smart stellar play and defeat Voelkering 4-1 to win her very first Texas State Women’s open Singles Championship, the trophy and a $550 first prize. Couple with her win in the Scotch Doubles, made this a very nice week for Melinda!
In the Women’s B division, Stephanie Reyes went through the field undefeated and beat Cindy Vansickle 4-1 in the finals to win the trophy and $150 first prize.
Thursday morning got the Men’s Senior division underway with 74 experienced players playing a race to 5 to see who the champion would be. That man would be Kenny Ellis. Ellis marched his way through the field and claimed the hot seat with a 5-2 win over Pete Stoval sending him to the one loss side where he would meet Ismael Ramirez. Ramirez prevailed this time and would get a shot at Ellis in the finals. Ramirez won the first set with a 5-3 win sending the finals to a second and deciding set. Ellis regrouped though and left no doubt who the champion would be with a convincing 5-1 victory. Along with the BCAPL Texas State Senior Singles trophy, Ellis was rewarded with $1,100 for his stellar play.
Friday saw the teams roll in to do battle. Ninety three Mixed Open teams and 23 Women’s Open teams began their quest to be Texas State Champions! In the Mixed Open division, The Hitmen raced through the field undefeated and handled the Top Dawgs in the finals 13-5 to win the title and the $4,780 first place money. In the Women’s Open teams Boom Shaka Laka also went undefeated and beat the Elementals in the finals 11-8 to take the title and the $1,000 first place prize money.
Along with all the main events, there were also five Second Chance tournaments. In the Men’s Open Second chance, Chris Romero bested the 52 player field. In the Men’s B Second chance, Darren Charles double dipped Matt Jarolik in the finals to best the 35 player field. In the Women’s Open Singles, Celeste Espinosa came out on top of the seven player field. Team Second Chance winners were Chosen Few and Caught Strokin.
Along with all these tournaments, Bad Boys Billiard Productions did their best to insure the players got their green fees worth of playing pool and ran 98 mini tournaments during the event. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mayborn Center and their friendly and helpful staff for making this such an enjoyable venue to hold this prestigious event. We also want to thank each player who came to participate and support this great sport we all love. We look forward to an even bigger and better event next year!
Austin favorite James “Bastrop” Davis Sr. was cool, calm, and collected, as he made his way through a field of 32 top competitors to capture the Open 9-Ball Division of the Lone Star Billiards Tour Texas Open Warm-Up III held this past weekend, August 10th-11th, 2013 at Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round, Rock, Texas. In the final, Davis Sr. overcame European player Patrick Werren, 9-3, securing an undefeated, third tour victory. Amidst a field of 48 Amateur Division players, last year’s runner-up Chelo Velasquez captured his first tour victory over Raymond Cardenas, 7-1. Velasquez went undefeated as well without a single opponent surpassing 3 games. The event drew 80 players and paid out over $6,000 in prize money in addition to a free 9-ball division entry for each winner into the Space City Open II slated for December 6th-9th, at Bogies Billiards & Sports Bar, Houston, Texas.
In the Open Division, Bastrop’s path to victory included wins over David “Little David” Henson, 7-1, and Ed “Big Ed” Ambrose, 7-1, while Garett Sitz of College Station, Texas entered his bid for the hot seat ousting Pittsburg native Bob Guzik, 7-5, and upsetting Patrick Werren, 7-6. Steve Pennington upset Waco’s Doug Young, 7-6 and bested Cesar Garcia, 7-1, while local player Brian Sanders disappointed a wave of talent including Erik Renteria and Kevin Guimond. On the west side, Ambros eliminated Renteria, 6-5, and Henson sent Guimond packing, 6-2. Comeback players John Palmore and Brian Anderson were stopped in 9th-12th positions by Werren and Coffman, respectively. On the second day, races increased to 9 on the winners’ side and 7 on the one loss side. Winners’ side action saw Sitz fall to Davis Sr., 9-7, and Sanders steamroll Pennington, 9-3. Davis Sr. and Sanders teed off for a nail biter of a hot seat match. It was 8-6 Davis’ favor when Sanders answered back tying the match at 8. The shot of the match came when Davis Sr. kicked at a triple combination, the 1-ball to the 9-ball to the 8-ball, lined up towards the side pocket. As the shot was executed, long rail with deliberation and proper speed, the cue ball struck the 1-ball, hitting the 9-ball, in turn pocketing the 8-ball. Concluding the shot, the cue ball died, settling in front of a difficult 1-ball/9-ball combination, headed for the same pocket. With cue in hand, he pinpointed his aim, addressed the cue ball, and successfully pocketed the 9-ball. The crowd had little time to catch their breath as Werren forged ahead on the one-loss side eliminating Ambros, 7-1, Pennington, 7-1, and finally Sanders 7-5, to meet Davis Sr. in the finals. A young Werren shot out of the gate, taking a 2-0 lead. In the third game, Werren missed a routine 7-ball hooking the veteran player behind the 8-ball. Davis Sr. kicked one rail, long, and pocketed the 7-ball in the corner. The crowd gasped, followed by an explosion of clapping. Davis Sr. capitalized that game, consequently breaking and running the next rack. Werren answered back with an eight ball run, racking up his third game, but it would be his last as Davis Sr. replied with a 7 game shutout, besting Werren, 9-3.
Amateur Division action saw 36 players eliminated the first day, bringing back the final 12 for Sunday. It appeared as if last year’s Amateur Division Champion Frank Ferrer Jr. might repeat while last year’s runner-up Chelo Velasquez threatened a first-time win. After an impressive run by Victoria’s Alex Cardenas, he was sent west by contender and cousin, Raymond Cardenas. Flip Edwards fell to Ferrer, 7-6, Velasquez dominated David Neumann, 7-3, and David Escobedo struck down Colt Jackson, 7-5. On the west side, A. Cardenas bested Justin Wyly, 5-2, and Cesar Garcia eliminated Edwards, 5-3. It was Neumann over Brian Anderson, 5-1, and Jackson over Paul Jobe, 5-2. The level field played down with little or no upsets as R. Cardenas fell to Ferrer Jr. on the east side, 7-6, and Velasquez pounded on Escobedo, 7-3. Duking it out on the one loss side, A. Cardenas eliminated Edwards, 5-1, and Neumann thrashed Jackson, 5-1. Escobedo squeezed by A. Cardenas, 5-4, and R. Cardenas sent Neumann packing, 5-2. Hot seat action saw Velasquez torture Ferrer Jr., 7-1, while R. Cardenas left Escobedo in 4th place. R. Cardenas executed revenge on Ferrer Jr., staging his first Amateur Division final. Even though Velasquez underwent recent shoulder surgery on his stroking arm, it didn’t seem to hinder him as he slaughtered R. Cardenas in the final, 7-1, grasping what was denied him in 2012.
The Lone Star Tour would like to thank Skinny Bob’s Billiards and staff for hosting another first rate event.
The Lone Star Billiards Tour is sponsored by Poison by Predator Cues www.poisonbilliards.com, Delta-13 Rack www.delta-13.com, APA of North Harris County www.facebook.com/apanorthharriscounty, www.ImproveYourShot.com, and Ozone Billiards www.OzoneBilliards.com. Live streamed, recorded matches from this event may be viewed at www.ustream.tv/channel/lonestarbilliardstour. The complete event photo album can be found at www.facebook.com/lonestartour.
The Tour Championships will be held October 12th-13th, 2013 at Bogies Billiards in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com.
