AzBilliards has released the March issue of the Billards Buzz online publication.
February news includes coverage of the NAPT Division II Championship, The Empire State 9-Ball Championship, Eurotour Leende Open and Jay Swanson Memorial. Also check out the regular contingent of columnists as Jerry Briesath has an aiming tip for amatuers, The Sports Doc explains the difference between playing to win and playing to avoid losing, Anthony Beeler talks about dealing with a slump and Melinda Bailey interviews Gordy Vanderveer,
Our first, last year, was just a small tournament with local talent of 31 players to honor our hometown "Texas Legend" Junior Norris, Texas Pool Hall of Famer. But this year was a huge celebration and tournament. Junior Norris celebrated his 90th birthday in GRAND STYLE, surrounded by friends and family, for 2 days as FAST EDDY'S Billiards & Games of Wichita Falls, TX hosted an OUTSTANDING 64 PLAYER TOURNAMENT and VETERANS CELEBRATION!!!!!
Great players, good food, and just a wonderfully awesome time. Fast Eddy’s Billiards and Games in Wichita Falls hosted the 2 day event June 27th & 28th with some of the best players in the Southwest and some players came from as far as Las Vegas to compete. The 64 player bracket maxed out days before the event and more players were soliciting for a spot to test their talent for a chance to win their share of the $3,200 prize pool.
Watch for our 3rd Annual JUNIOR NORRIS 9 BALL SHOOT OUT in JUNE 2016. 128 PLAYERS OVER 3 DAYS OF PLAY. Don't miss it…Gonna be the BEST 9 BALL TOURNAMENT IN TEXAS. For information contact Sherrie “Norris” Glenn via email at sherrieglenn2004@gmail.com
On the weekend of December 14-15th, young gun Anthony Shea claimed the top prize on the newly inaugurated Omega Billiards Tour's Season Finale of 2013 at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX. Anthony went undefeated to capture the first place prize, making him the youngest winner yet, at a mere 20 years old!
Over $9,500 was given out in monies and prizes this weekend! (Tourney payouts + prizes + player’s auction.) Here is how it all went down….
Anthony started off his tournament run with an upset by defeating last month’s tourney winner, Coy Lee Nicholson, 7-7. Then he defeated Jay Murillo 7-1, TJ Klein 7-2, squeaked by Juan Parra 7-6 to last until Sunday. Steve Raynes was also on a tear and won his first match against the always formidable Crispian Ng 6-5, then William Howard 6-4, Danny Williams 6-3 and Jeff Georges 6-3 to last til Sunday. The always tough Tony Sulsar (after a bye) defeated his next three opponents 8-3 to meet Anthony on Sunday morning. Sky Massingill defeated his 4 opponents 7-4 to meet up with Steve Raynes Sunday morning.
On the winner’s side on Sunday morning, Anthony Shea would defeat Tony Sulsar 7-4, while Steve Raynes sent Sky Massingill left with a score of 6-4. Steve and Anthony would battle it out for the hotseat with Anthony coming out on top 7-2. Sky then defeated David Josephson 7-5 but was stopped by Tour Champion tough Tony Sulsar 8-5. Tony kept on his winning style by then defeating Steve Raynes hill-hill. Steve had a fantastic tourney placing his highest finish to date at 3rd place!!
In the finals, it looked like it would be pushed to two sets, as Tony Sulsar was ahead 7-2. But Anthony kept his composure and kept fighting back until the score was hill-hill. Anthony broke, and then ran out for the win! Hill-hill thriller and his FIRST Omega Billiards Tour title!!
Congratulations to ALL the players for their fine play and great finishes!
Anthony earned $725 plus a beautiful Lucasi Cue for First Place and Tony earned $525 for Second place. Steve Raynes earned $400 for 3rd place (payouts do not reflect the Player Auction).
This event was the Omega Billiards Tour’s Season Finale with $2,000 added! At this event, Predator prizes were given out to the top 3 ranked players and Tony Sulsar claimed 1st place and is now the VERY first Omega Billiards Tour Champion! Tony will get free entry fees into the 2014 Season AND a Predator Sport 4×8 Case, BK Break Cue, and Sport Playing Cue with 314-2 Shaft! Second place rankings went to Coy Lee who finished this last event in First to propel him to 2nd place! Coy Lee will get a Predator Sport 4×8 Case and BK Break Cue. Third place goes to Mike Voelkering who had a stellar year! He will get a Predator Sport 4×8 Case and 314-2 Shaft!
Fourth through eighth places will each receive a free entry into the 2014 BCAPL Nationals! Congratulations to 4th place ranked Crispian Ng, 5th/6th ranked Amos Bush and Jesse Hernandez, and 7th/8th ranked players Steve Raynes and Alberto Nieto!
A HUGE thank you to Predator Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and Lucasi and Players Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Pro Billiard Service, APA of Tarrant County, AZBilliards.com, and BilliardsPress.com.
Tour Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank Rusty’s Billiards and their awesome staff for their great hospitality all weekend! A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many of the large tournaments across the country.
The 2014 Omega Billiards Tour calendar is already set with 7 stops and a Season Finale. The first stop will be held at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas January, 11-12, 2014! Each stop is limited to 80 players (an increase from 64) and the monies guaranteed added has increased to $1,500 for each stop!! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!!
The 2014 Schedule is online and payments can be received via the Omega Tour website.
Thank you to all the players, fans, sponsors and pool rooms!!!
On the weekend of June 22nd-23rd, Tony Sulsar claimed the top prize on the newly inaugurated Omega Billiards Tour's 4th stop of 2013 at Rusty’s Billiards in Fort Worth, TX. Tony has now won his second Omega tournament in a row! Over $8,000 was given out in monies and prizes this weekend! (Tourney payouts + prizes + player’s auction.) Here is how it all went down….
At last month's tournament, Tony Sulsar went undefeated to win the tourney, but this time his road to the finals was derailed by a determined Sky Massingill which stopped Tony getting to the hotseat match undefeated. Sky would have a fabulous tournament defeating William Howard, Adam Pontious, Charlie Smith, Willy Orozco, and then Tony to meet local Dylan Weinheimer in the hotseat. Dylan, who is a beast on the table, proved that easily by winning over Sam Hargrove, Vince Miller, the always formidable Greg Sandifer, consistent Mike Voelkering, and David Josephson. He then prevailed with a hill-hill win over Sky in the rocking chair to have a seat in the finals.
Tony would make an impact on the one-loss side by first defeating the talented Barry Emerson hill-hill, Curtis Cardwell, and then Sky to secure his spot in the finals. Brian Anderson and Greg Sandifer both placed 7th/8th and had a great tournament. Barry and David Josephson would place an impressive 5th/6th (their highest finish yet) and Curtis had a fantastic event placing 4th! Sky would also have his highest finish to date placing 3rd and we know he will be in the winner’s circle soon on the Omega Tour.
In the finals, Dylan and Tony had their work cut out for them. On this handicapped tour, they both race to 8 (the handicaps range from 5 to 9) and the fans were in for a treat as both players performed very well with their smooth strokes and excellent cue ball control! One could not help but improve their game just by watching these two players. The first set was a nail biter and went hill-hill. The second set was not as close, but still fantastic play with Tony coming out on top and winning 8-4. Dylan placed an impressive 2nd place while Tony captured the first place monies, including a beautiful Lucasi Hybrid cue. Tony’s long day came to an end around midnight after capturing the coveted 1st place crown. A BIG congrats to all the players! There were several new faces and numerous high finishes for the tour’s regulars.
The Predator Player Points Tracker will be tested for only two more stops to see who wins the coveted Predator prizes at the end of the year! Tony Sulsar now sits in 1st place, with Crispian Ng in 2nd and Jesse Hernandez in 3rd. The top 3 ranked players earn Predator Prizes at the end of the year and everyone is anxious and ready to place higher and higher in the stops to move up on the list! CSI / BCAPL are giving free entries to the 2014 BCAPL Nationals for players ranked 4th-8th at the end of the year, also. Thank you to our additional sponsors, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Lucasi Cues, Players Cues, AZBilliards.com, and BilliardsPress.com.
Tour Directors Melinda Bailey and Brian Anderson would like to thank Rusty’s Billiards and their awesome staff for their great hospitality all weekend! A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, who is the main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards supply are well known for the huge booths at many of the large tournaments across the country. The next (fifth) stop on the Omega Billiards Tour is scheduled for August 3-4 at Clicks Billiards in Arlington, TX. All of the six events for 2013 on the Omega Billiard Tour's inaugural season have been filled to their 64-player capacity, with a 50+ waiting list! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!!
Thank you to all the players, fans, sponsors and pool rooms!!!
