CJ Wiley should be the ‘poster child’ for some form of additional prize awarded to competitors in pool tournaments who lose an opening round match and win 10 or more on the loss side to meet and ultimately either defeat or lose to the occupant of a given tournament’s hot seat. Perhaps extra tour ranking points, a little bonus cash? Something, for while runner-up money is all well and good, a 10-match or more winning streak on the loss side of a double elimination bracket is a significant accomplishment, worthy of some official kind of recognition.
Though Rick Stanley went undefeated on the February 17-18 stop (#2) on the Dallas/Fort Worth 9-Ball Tour and deserves all of the accolades that go along with that, he did so by chalking up eight match victories, all with the double elimination bracket’s built-in margin for error, allowing a single loss without elimination. The handicap format saw Stanley (racing to 9) face six 7s, one 6, and one 9 (Wiley), and chalk up an average score against opponents of 9-2.7. CJ Wiley won 12 on the loss side of that double elimination bracket, with an average match score of 9-3, and faced five 6s, six 7s, and one 8, before his straight-up race to 9 in the finals against Stanley. The tour-ranking end result allowed Wiley to maintain his #1 spot on the tour rankings, while Stanley, competing in his first stop on the 2018 tour, moved from nowhere into second place. The $1,700-added event drew 108 competitors to The Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
Stanley downed Bush 9-1, as Flud (in a straight-up race to 7) defeated Hunter 7-3. Stanley claimed the hot seat 9-4 over Flud and waited for Wiley to complete his epic loss-side run.
Over on the loss side, Wiley got by five opponents just to advance to the first money round (the tie for 25th place). He got by four more, including a 9-5 win over Donny Gregory and a 9-4 win over Steve Collins, before running into Bush, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Hunter drew TJ Davis, who’d eliminated Cody Wright 8-4 and Marcelino Santiago 8-1 to reach him.
Wiley downed Bush 9-4, and was joined in the quarterfinal match by Davis, who’d eliminated Hunter 8-2. Wiley took the quarterfinal match over Davis 9-3 and completed his long trek back to the finals with a 9-5 win over Flud in the semifinals.
And there it was. The final match between two of the DFW 9-Ball Tour’s top-ranked competitors, although one (Stanley) had yet to compete on the tour’s 2018 schedule. Stanley completed his undefeated run with a 9-5 victory over Wiley and settled into the second spot on the tour rankings.
The weekend also included a new, but soon-to-be-repeated preliminary event, held on Friday night, pitting two area teams (Dallas & Fort Worth) against each other. Called the DFW 2018 Tour Cup, and modeled after the Mosconi Cup, the first event saw Dallas take the Cup 5-2.
“It was very well-received,” noted tour representatives, “and we will more than likely be having more events of this type in the future.”
A Second Chance event that drew 17 entrants saw Tony Sulsar take the top spot, with Shan Iyer as runner-up. The “Last Lady” award of the main event ($50) was split between Kiengchay (Kitty) Phoutthavong and Tera Saunders.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of the Billiard Den, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, JB Cases, Dallas Eightball League, Outsville (AccuRack), Fargo Rate, BCAPL/CSI, Internet Marketing Solutions, and Granite Guyz. The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 24-25, will be hosted by Rusty's Billiards in Arlington, TX.
It's been 14 years since Jeremy Jones climbed to the # 8 spot on the AZB Money Leaderboard. He won the US Open 9-Ball Championships and Texas Open that year (2003), as well as a stop on the Fast Eddie's Tour. He was also a member of the winning USA Mosconi Cup team and was among the top ten finishers in 11 of the 13 events in which he went home with cash. Jones has added earnings to his AZ database page every year since 1998, when he finished in the tie for 17th at the US Open.
Though 2017 has been something of a slow year (so far) for Jones, he has chalked up a few top 10 finishes in a number of events, including (in descending, cash earnings order) the Derby City Classic (5th in One Pocket), the Big Tyme Classic (5th in Main Event and One Pocket), and the inaugural Scotty Townsend Memorial 9-Ball Tournament (7th). On the weekend of August 5-6, he joined a record field of 123 entrants on the Omega Billiard Tour's 8th stop (previous record on the tour was 105 entrants), and after winning his first three matches (over Victor Sorto, Curtis Caldwell and Joe Pelayo), was sent to the loss side by Crispian Ng. From there, he mounted a seven-match, loss-side winning streak, culminating in an appearance in the finals in which he double dipped hot seat occupant Danny Williams to claim his first 2017 event title. It was only his second appearance in an Omega Billiard Tour final. His first was in the tour's inaugural year (2102) and he was the runner-up. There is some suspicion that in this most recent second appearance in an Omega Billiard Tour final, he was (somehow) motivated by the fact that he'd recently, in July, become a newlywed. The $1,700-added event that led to his first 2017 win was hosted by Wizard's in Richardson, TX.
Williams sent Hasan to the loss side 8-3, and in the hot seat match, faced Wilcoxson, who'd survived a double hill fight against Turney (6-6; Turney racing to 7). The battle for the hot seat proved to be Williams' last win of the weekend, and he made the most of it, shutting Wilcoxson out 8-0 to claim that hot seat, and await the return of "Double J."
"Double J," in the meantime, was working his way back. On the loss side, he got by Douglas Pitts, Justin Whitehead, Denny Snead, and downed familiar foe, David Gutierrez 9-6 to draw Hassan. Turney drew Crispian Ng, who'd recently defeated Luis Lopez and Tony Sulsar, both 8-4, as a Ng/Jones re-match in the quarterfinals loomed on the horizon.
It didn't happen. Jones did his part, downing Hassan 9-3, but Turney eliminated Ng 7-5. Jones took the quarterfinal match versus Turney 9-2, and then brushed Wilcoxson aside, allowing him only a single rack in the semifinals.
Over the next 23 games, in two double elimination final sets, Jones gave up only five racks. He gave up two in the opening set against Williams, and allowed him only one more than that in the second set to claim the event title, and his first 2017 win.
Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at Wizards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Michael Hoang of OMEGA Billiards Supply, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. The next stop on the Omega Billiard Tour, scheduled for Sept. 9-10, will be a $1,700-added event, hosted by Speeds in Arlington, TX.
Amos Bush, Tony Sulsar, Rick Stanley and Doug Winnett
Rick Stanley cashed in two events on the Texas-based Omega Billiards Tour in 2016, finishing third in August and runner-up to Danny Williams in September. On the weekend of February 11-12, he completed this somewhat modest climb up the 'finish' ladder with an undefeated win on the tour. The $1,700-added event drew 87 entrants to Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
With victories over Steven Thorne, Bob Youngblood, Denny Steed, Albert Nieto, and Jay Murillo, allowing them each an average of just over three racks per match, Stanley moved into a winners' side semifinal against Doug Winnett. Tony Sulsar, in the meantime, who'd allowed an average of just over 2.4 racks per match against Crispian Ng, Brandon Thrasher, Terrance Cockman, Douglas Pitts, and Hector Guerrero, faced Shan Iyer in the other winners' side semifinal.
Stanley and Sulsar moved into the hot seat match; Stanley 9-4 over Winnett and Sulsar 8-2 over Iyer. Stanley claimed the hot seat 9-4 over Sulsar and waited on what turned out to be the return of Amos Bush, who launched a nine-match, loss-side winning streak to challenge him in the finals.
Bush, who'd been sent to the loss side by Julie Stephenson, double hill, in his second round of play, got by Mike Voelkering, Juan Batista, Rob Lovelace, Douglas Pitts, and Jay Murillo to earn himself a re-match against Stephenson in a battle for 7th place. He downed her 7-1 to draw Iyer. Winnett, in the meantime, picked up Robert Kempf, who'd defeated Barry Emerson 6-6 (Emerson racing to 8) and, in a straight-up race to 6, Hector Guerrero 6-4.
In a straight-up race to 7, Bush picked up loss-side win #7, double hill over Iyer. He was joined in the quarterfinals by Winnett, who'd eliminated Kempf 7-4. Bush then defeated Winnett 7-3.
Bush completed his loss-side run with a 7-5 semifinal victory over Sulsar, earning himself a shot against Stanley in the finals. Stanley, though, was not in the mood to allow Bush a well-earned event victory. He defeated Bush 9-3 (Bush racing to 7) to claim the event title.
Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at the Billiard Den for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Omega Billiards, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. The next stop on the Omega Billiard Tour, scheduled for March 25-26, will be another $1,700-added event, hosted by Pockets Billiards in Euless, TX.
On the weekend of September 17-18, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by Speed’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas. The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere. Fourteen tables allowed us to open the field up to 89 players!
Rick Stanley, a tough player with a great attitude, made his way to the hotseat match with wins over Larry Land 8-1, Stephen Hansen 8-3, Mike Rountree 8-2, Robert Kempf 8-2, and Walt Anderson 8-2. Local pro CJ Wiley had wins over Vincent Tovar 9-3, Crispian Ng 9-6, Phillip Palmer 9-1 , JD Wordlaw 9-1 and Joey Barnes hill-hill to meet Rick Stanley in the hotseat match.
The always-tough Danny Williams had wins over Gale Gladden 7-0, Viet My 7-6, and Mike Nagaki 7-6 before losing to Robbie Cleland 6-7. Danny then made his way through the one-loss side with wins over Vincent Tovar 7-1, Cory Anderson 7-2, Brandon Sizemore 7-4, Doug Winnett 7-3, Joey Barnes 7-6 and Walt Anderson 7-3.
In the hostseat match it was anyone’s game between top players Rick Stanley and CJ Wiley, and Rick Stanley came out on top with a close score of 8-7.
Then CJ Wiley played Danny Williams in the semi-final match and it was another close score with great play for the fans and Danny edged the win 6-7.
The finals match was then set between Rick Stanley and Danny Williams. The fans were really enjoying the great runs and safeties by the players. Danny Williams would win the first set in this true-double elimination tournament 7-5 which forced a second set. The second set went hill-hill! And then Danny Williams would win the last game of the tournament to capture first place and the Omega Tour title!
Big congrats to Danny Williams for his 1st place finish! Congrats to Rick Stanley for a hard-fought 2nd place and also to CJ Wiley for his great 3rd place finish. Shout-out to 78-year-old Walt Anderson for placing 4th! Wow!
5th/6th places were filled by Joey Barnes and Steve Sheppard, and 7th/8th places were filled by Paul Guernsey and Doug Winnett.
Congrats to ALL the players and fans and sponsors for another great event!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, OB Cues, and BCAPL/CSI. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Irving Ink and Thread, AZBilliards.com, Pool School, and BilliardsPress.com.
This year OB Cues is our Ranking sponsor and will be donating OB Cues to the top ranked 3 players at the end of the year! BCAPL/CSI has joined again and will be giving away 5 BCAPL free entry fees the 2017 BCAPL Nationals. After 8 stops, Tony Sulsar leads the Rankings with 665 points, CJ Wiley moved up to second place with 635 points, and Crispian Ng is third with 560 points. Only one more stop to go for ranking points before the Finale!
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank Speeds owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend! She would also like to thank co-Director Heather Farr – couldn’t have done this without you!
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 large tournaments across the country.
The next stop will be held October 15-16 at Clicks in Arlington, Texas. $1,500 added and already full with 85 players. We have ten stops total in 2016. Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!
Check out the website for more details: http://www.omegabilliardstour.com/
And follow the brackets live online at: http://omegatour.challonge.com/8speeds17
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 August 3rd-4th, Amos Bush not only won the Omega Billiards Tour's 5th stop of 2013 at Clicks Billiards in Arlington, TX, he did after losing his very first match! Winning 12 straight matches in a row, including a double dip in the finals, Amos captured the first place prize and moved himself squarely into the top 5 Rankings!
Amos lost his very first match to the always formidable Jesse Hernandez 7-4. But that didn’t stop him – he went on a rampage and defeated Jim Colling 8-5, Anthony Shea 8-0, Willie Speed 8-4 and Jeff Georges 8-3 to make it to Sunday. On Sunday he defeated Shannon Modesitt 8-4 then Corey Flud 8-0. He then ran into a determined Tony Sulsar (winner of the last two stops), and that match went hill-hill with Amos coming out on top 8-7. Then Amos had a rematch with Jesse and won 8-4, and also toppled over the always-tough Crispian Ng (newly BCAPL Nationals 9-Ball Champ) 8-5 and then Mike Voelkering 8-5 to earn a spot in the finals.
Mike Voelkering had another fantastic tournament placing 3rd. He made it into the hotseat match with only one opponent getting over 3 games against him. In the hotseat match, a heartbreaker carom on the 9 barely hung in the pocket for an almost hill-hill match. He fought hard against Amos in the semi-final but Amos was shooting good all weekend, also, and Amos won 8-5. Congrat’s to Mike for placing 3rd!
Undefeated till the finals was a determined Jack Lynch (known as “Jersey Jack”). He had an excellent tournament and defeated a lot of good players to get to the finals! He had wins over Tony Matthew 7-1, Danny Williams 7-6, Dylan Weinheimer 7-5, Corey FLud 7-3, Walter Huenerfuerst 7-2 and Mike Voelkering 7-5 where he then waited for Amos to make his way for the final match-up.
In the finals, Amos caught a gear and won the first set 8-1. In the second set, Jersey was able to capture 4 games, but again Amos prevailed and won the second set 8-4. Amos earned $560 plus a beautiful Lucasi cue for First Place and Jersey earned $450 for Second. Mike earned $300 for 3rd place (payouts do not reflect the Player Auction).
A BIG shout out to newcomer Walter Huenerfuerst for placing 5th in his first Omega Billiards Tour event and also to Robert Sifuentes who might now be considered the “Giant Killer” as he got past several high-ranked players to place an impressive 7th place – his highest finish yet!
The Predator Player Points Tracker is for sure tested now with only one more stop left for the season to see who wins the coveted Predator prizes at Season Finale! Tony Sulsar remains in 1st place, with Crispian Ng in 2nd and Mike Voelkering moving up to 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 Click’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 last stop on the Omega Billiards Tour is scheduled for October 5-6 at Speed’s 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 60+ waiting list! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!!
Thank you to all the players, fans, sponsors and pool rooms!!!
