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Sullivan, Ryan & Freeman go undefeated at 5th Annual Royce Bunnell Memorial Tournament

Roman Bayda, Clint Freeman andT.J. Davis

It was, to say the least, a long, busy weekend. Beginning on Thursday, Dec. 10 and culminating on Sunday, Dec. 13, the 5th Annual Royce Bunnell Memorial Tournament played host to four separate events. The $2,000-added (total) event drew 16 players to a One Pocket tournament on Thursday, a 32-player 8-ball event and a 13-entrant Ring Game on Friday. By far the largest of the four events, a 58-player 9-ball event, began on Saturday and concluded on Sunday, Dec. 13.

The event was directed by David “Doc” Reyes, who, for nine years, worked for Royce Bunnell during his tenure as the CEO of OB Cues. Reyes has run this event since its inception in December, 2015, less than a month after Bunnell had died of a heart attack at the age of 49. Bunnell, in addition to his innovations and general advocacy of the pool industry was a friend to many and is missed by as many, to whom he was a mentor and friend. 

Jeff Sullivan went undefeated through four opponents to win the single-elimination One Pocket tournament on Thursday. Jim Ryan won six matches against five opponents to go undefeated in the 8-Ball event, while Clint Freeman won seven matches against seven opponents to claim the 9-Ball title. Gerardo Perez won Friday night’s Ring game.

In races to 3, Jeff Sullivan and Roman Bayda worked their way through two opponents to arrive at the two semifinal matches. Sullivan had defeated Tom Barnett and Walt Anderson to face Corey Flud in one semifinal. Bayda had downed Robert Kempf and Daniel Herring and faced Gerardo Perez in the other semifinal. Sullivan advanced to the finals 3-1 over Flud, as Bayda and Perez battled to a deciding 5th game, won by Bayda. Sullivan put a bit of an exclamation point on his winning of the One Pocket title by shutting Bayda out in the final.

In the double-elimination 8-ball event, which also featured races to 3 and commenced on Friday, Jim Ryan got by Tony Solis, Clinton Mayo and Moe Harbaji to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against TJ Davis. Daniel Herring had defeated Doug Winnet, Jason Judd, and Jamel Wordlaw to square off against Jason McKenzie in the other winners’ side semifinal. Ryan and Herring advanced to the hot seat match; Herring, 3-1 over McKenzie and Ryan, double hill over Davis. Ryan won a second straight double hill match, downing Herring to claim the hot seat. 

Davis would return from a three-match, loss-side trip to face Ryan a second time in the finals. It proved to be Ryan’s third straight double hill victory and it earned him the 8-ball title.

In the 58-player, 9-Ball event, Roman Bayda made a bid for his appearance in a second final. He failed, however, to make it back from the semifinals and had to settle for 3rd place in 9-ball. The runner-up in the 8-ball tourney, TJ Davis, did make a second appearance in a final. He had to win nine loss-side matches to get to the final before being relegated to his second runner-up finish by Clint Freeman.

Freeman got by Mohammed Alrawi, Mark Lawson, Tony Top, and Shan Iyer to draw Clint Palaci in his winners’ side semifinal. Bayda, in the meantime, who’d started his campaign off with a double hill win over Dario Gomez, went on to defeat Alberto Nieto, Travis Landsdowne, and Doug Winnet to draw Lance Schofield in his winners’ side semifinal. 

Bayda sent Schofield to the loss side 7-4. He was joined in the hot seat match by Freeman, who’d defeated Palaci 7-5. Freeman claimed the hot seat 7-3 over Bayda and waited for TJ Davis to complete his nine-match, loss-side streak. 

That loss side streak was going well (six down, three to go) when Davis, following 7-4 wins over Crispian Ng and Doug Winnet, ran into Palaci. Schofield drew Shan Iyer, who’d recently survived a double hill fight over Steve Lenz and then eliminated the One Pocket winner, Jeff Sullivan, 7-4. Iyer survived a second double hill fight, over Schofield, and advanced to the quarterfinals. Davis joined him after downing Palaci 7-2.

Davis used back-to-back 7-3 wins over Iyer in the quarterfinals and Bayda in the semifinals for his second shot at a title. Freeman denied him with a 7-4 win in the finals that gave him the 9-ball title.

“Doc” Reyes thanked the ownership and staff at the Billiards Den for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, Doc’s Billiards Office, JB Cases, Dallas 8-Ball, Outsville Accu-Rack, OB Cues, John Eagle Honda, and Action 903 for the live stream.

Editors Note: Consider this report to be preliminary, featuring specific highlights of the four events held over the past weekend. We’re continuing to talk to participants and organizers of this 5th Annual event, honoring the late Royce Bunnell and all of the influence and friendship he brought to bear on the pool industry during his tenure with OB Cues. A more comprehensive report, to include commentary from some of the individuals whose lives he touched, will be found in the first 2021 edition of THE BILLIARDS BUZZ, to be published the first week in January.    

McMinn goes undefeated to win 4th Annual Royce Bunnell Memorial Tournament

Gary Abood, Shane McMinn and Randy Staggs

As it turned out, both finalists in the 4th Annual Royce Bunnell Memorial Tournament, held over the long weekend of December 13-15, were looking to boost their 2019 resume; one, by chalking up only his second (recorded) victory of the year and the other, with a first (recorded) cash finish anywhere in over two years. Given the date, it was likely to be their last 2019 tour/event victory and/or cash finish. Shane McMinn, who went undefeated to claim the title, had won the DFW 9-Ball Tour’s season opener back in January. For runner-up Gary Abood, the Bunnell Memorial became his first (recorded) cash finish in any event since he finished 4th at the inaugural Scotty Townsend Memorial 9-Ball Tournament in March of 2017. The $2,000-added Bunnell Memorial, organized and sponsored by OB Cues, drew 68 entrants to the Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
 
Shane McMinn’s path to the winners’ circle opened with a bye and three straight matches in which he allowed his opponent – in order, Greg Sandifer, Noel Villalobos and Isaac Wooten – only a single rack. McMinn advanced to down Ryan Robinson 7-3 and draw his first match against Abood in a winners’ side semifinal. Abood had arrived after chalking up one 7-2 victory over Alberto Nieto and three, 7-3 wins over Jason Judd, Billy Pinion and Corey Flud. Randy Staggs, in the meantime, squared off against Steve Raynes in the other winners’ side semifinal.
 
Staggs got into the hot seat match with a 7-4 win over Raynes. Abood chalked up twice as many racks against McMinn in the winners’ side semifinal than all of McMinn’s previous opponents combined, necessitating a 13th deciding rack. McMinn dropped the last 9-ball and moved on to the hot seat match. McMinn returned to form, allowing Staggs only a single rack as he claimed the hot seat.
 
On the loss side, Raynes picked up Gerardo Perez, who’d lost his opening match to TJ Davis and was in the midst of an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals and had most recently included victories over Ryan Robinson 7-5 and, in a successful rematch, TJ Davis, 7-4. Abood drew Juan Parra, who was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end and had included recent victories over Jeff Sullivan 7-3 and Walter Huenerfuerst 7-2.
 
Abood and Perez advanced to the quarterfinals with identical 7-5 victories over Parra and Raynes, respectively. Abood then ended Perez’ loss-side winning streak 7-4 in those quarterfinals and earned a second shot against McMinn with a 7-4 victory over Staggs in the semifinals. 
 
Unlike their double hill, winners’ side semifinal match, the finals saw McMinn return, once again, to the form that ultimately earned him the event title. He gave up two racks to Abood in the 7-2 finals, ending with an aggregate score of 35-15; a 70% winning percentage. To Abood’s credit, his runner-up finish came as the result of having won just over half of the racks that McMinn had lost. 
 
McMinn and Abood figured prominently in two other events that were part of the 9-Ball Royce Bunnell Memorial. The weekend began with a 32-entrant, 8-Ball Mini Tournament, which was won by Gary Abood with OB Cues President Jesse Garcia as the event’s runner-up. There was also a Banks Ring (Chip style) Tournament, won by McMinn, with Jeff Sullivan finishing as runner-up and Chris “Woody” Smith in 3rd place. 
 
David “Doc” Reyes, Customer Service Manager for OB Cues, who’s been the main promoter and ‘head of the spear’ in the organization of this annual memorial event, along with the President of OB Cues, Jesse Garcia and CEO Mark Griffin (both of whom competed) thanked Marci Rothberg and her Billiard Den staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors (representatives), OB Cues, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore (Albert Trujillo), John Eagle Honda Dallas (JP Kinman, GM), Outville Racks (Chris Renfro), Granite Guyz and Dallas 8-Ball League. Reyes and Jennifer Hooten directed the event, while RackemTV sponsored the stream with commentary by Billy Guy and Marc Gonzalez as commentators. 

Perez goes undefeated, downing Herring twice to win his first Predator DFW 9-Ball Tour stop

(l to r): Gerardo Perez, Daniel Herring & Kevin Guimond (photo:Jesse Garcia, Bound by Imagination)

While the top point leaders in the Predator DFW 9-Ball Tour’s standings list (#1 through #5) were languishing on the loss side of the Oct. 19-20 bracket of the tour’s 10th stop – only two of them finished in the money (#1 Tim Larson, tied for 7th and #5 Jay Ryda, tied for 17th) – #42 (Gerardo Perez) and #63 (Daniel Herring) advanced through the 88-entrant field and battled twice to claim the event title. Perez was the undefeated winner of the $1,500-added event, hosted by the Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
 
All but one of the top five on the standings list – #4 Amos Bush – had competed in all nine of the tour’s events, and Bush had only missed one. It was Gerardo Perez’ sixth appearance on the 2019 tour and his best finish had been in a tie for 9th place last month. Herring had competed in only three of the tour’s stops, with a best finish of a tie for 13th place in August (He’d won a stop on the tour just over a year ago). They both battled players higher in the points list during their trek to the finals, but neither of them faced any one of the top five, though as it turned out, it was not for lack of trying. Greg Sandifer (#2) was on the loss side at the end of the opening round. Larson, Davis, Bush and Ryda all moved over after the third round.
 
Just goes to show that on any given Sunday. . . .
 
After an opening round bye, Perez advanced through Chase LaFerney, Jesus Sorto, Noel Villalobos and Crispian Ng (#10, highest he faced) to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Barry Emerson. Herring, also with an opening round bye, sent Corey Flud, Walt Anderson, Kenny Rowell and Chris Rickman to the loss side and squared off against Donny Gregory (#12, Herring’s ‘highest on the list’ opponent) in the other winners’ side semifinal.
 
Herring and Gregory battled to double hill before Herring prevailed and advanced to the hot seat match. He was joined by Perez, who’d defeated Emerson 7-4 (Emerson racing to 8). With Herring racing to 8, as well, Perez claimed the hot seat 7-5 and waited on Herring’s return.
 
Over on the loss side, Sandifer and Bush had been knocked out before the first money round (33rd-48th). TJ Davis made it to that first money round (17th-24th), but went home with just the $160. Tim Larson, who’d been sent to the loss side by Emerson, was in the midst of a very brief winning streak that had started in the first money round and after three wins, including a 9-1 victory over Chris Rickman, had ended with a defeat at the hands of Jersey Jack Lynch, who advanced to pick up Emerson. Gregory drew Kevin Guimond, who, after losing to Larson in the third round, was in the midst of an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals. He’d recently eliminated Crispian Ng 9-6 and Walter Heunerfuerst 9-5 to draw Gregory.
 
Emerson downed Lynch 8-1. Guimond joined him in the quarterfinals after a 9-3 win over Gregory. In the semifinals, with Guimond racing to 9, he and Herring battled to a double hill standstill before Herring ended it for a second shot against Perez in the hot seat.
 
With Herring racing to 8, he and Perez fought to 6-7, double hill, before Perez ended it to claim his first event title.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at the Billiard Den, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues and main event sponsors Ft. Worth Billiards Superstore, JB Cases, Accu-Rack, CSI, Granite Guyz, Dallas 8-Ball League, BCAPL, RackEm TV (streaming sponsor), FargoRate, and IMS (Internet Marketing Solutions). The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of November 16-17, will be the tour’s Season Finale at Rusty’s in Arlington, TX.

Guernsey double dips Sulsar to win season and tour finale of Omega Billiard Tour

(l to r): Paul Guernsey, Tony Sulsar & Mike Rountree

On the weekend of December 15-16, at a $5,400-added event, which drew 75 entrants to Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX, Paul Guernsey ended a three-match trip on the loss side to defeat  Tony Sulsar twice in a double elimination final, and capture the event title. In another interpretation of ‘double elimination final,’ it was not only the last event of the Omega Billiard Tour’s sixth season, it was also the final event of the Omega Billiard Tour itself.
 
Taking a cue from tour director Melinda Bailey about this occasion, we’ll defer comments on the end of the tour to the end of this report and highlight the players and the event that closed out its 2017 season.
 
For a while, at the start of Paul Guernsey’s pool career (or at least as much of it as was recorded here at AZBilliards), the only event at which he regularly earned any money was the annual Texas Open. The first time he appeared in our database, he finished second behind David Gutierrez in the 27th Annual Texas Open in 2000. It was the only entry for him that year. The following year, the only entry was his 4th place finish in the 28th Annual Texas Open. Two years later, he finished in the tie for 13th place at the 30th Annual Texas Open, and the following year, he finished 4th again. All single entries in his site profile. Just over a decade later, he started showing up on the payout lists of the Omega Billiard Tour; twice in 2015, once in 2016, and this year, four times, including another second-place finish, behind Justin Whitehead at an Omega stop in April (he competed in five of the tour’s 12 events in 2017).
 
This past weekend, Guernsey broke through and won his first major event, doing it in what most players would describe as ‘the hard way;’ coming from the loss side to challenge and twice defeat a hot seat occupant.  He played a preliminary round (one of 12 matches to gain entry into the larger winners’ side bracket), and advanced through four other matches, allowing his opponents an average of between three and four racks per match (3.6) in races to 8; against Steve Raynes (4), Bobby Diggs (2), Dario Gomez (5), Aram Hasan (6) and a measly single rack to Doug Winnett. This gave Guernsey a shot at Mike Rountree in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
 
Tony Sulsar, in the meantime, bypassed the preliminary round and faced four opponents, with whom he was stingier than Guernsey, giving up an average of between two and three racks per match (2.75) against Shan Iyer (3), Steve Sheppard (4), Chris Rickman (1) and Mike Nagaki (3). This set Sulsar up in the other winners’ side semifinal against Roman Bayda, who had just sent the tour’s #1-ranked player, Rick Stanley, to the loss side.
 
In a straight-up race to 8, Sulsar advanced to the hot seat match over Bayda 8-4. He was joined by Rountree, who’d sent Guernsey to the loss side 7-7 (Guernsey racing to 8). Sulsar claimed the hot seat 8-5 over Rountree, chalking up what would prove to be his last match win.
 
On the loss side, Guernsey picked up Stanley, who, following his loss to Bayda, had eliminated Phillip Palmer 9-5 and Mike Nagaki 9-3. Bayda drew Luis Lopez, who was working on a six-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently included wins over Doug Winnett 7-4 and Gerardo Perez, double hill, in a straight-up race to 7.
 
Guernsey ended Stanley’s short, loss-side bid for a fifth win on this year’s tour with an 8-5 win, as Bayda ended Lopez’ loss-side streak at six with a double hill win (8-6). Guernsey and Bayda battled to double hill in the quarterfinals that followed, with Guernsey advancing for a second shot against Rountree in the semifinals.
 
Guernsey got by Rountree 8-4 in those semifinals and with, at minimum, another runner-up finish in his pocket, he turned his attention to Sulsar in the hot seat; the tour’s #8-ranked player (Sulsar) versus its #23-ranked player (Guernsey). Guernsey took the two-set opener in convincing fashion 8-3, and though Sulsar would chalk up two more racks in the second set, it wasn’t enough to keep Guernsey from capturing his first title on the tour’s last stop.
 
Regarding this last event on the tour she’s directed for the past six years, tour director Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards (where the tour began six years ago, and ended on this weekend), as well as sponsors Michael Hoang of OMEGA Billiards Supply, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. Regarding the past six years, she had a few more expressions of gratitude to pass along.
 
The announcement came in September. It stated that “due to increased responsibilities at (Bailey’s full-time job), and future career opportunities,” along with the need for the tour’s main sponsor, OMEGA Billiards Supply, “to make sound business and financial decisions” that, by mutual agreement, they “could no longer move forward with the Omega Billiards Tour after this year.” The statement expressed thanks “to all, for helping put the DFW (Dallas/Ft. Worth) pool scene back on the map for the past five and a half years.”
 
“We loved the players, the pool rooms, and the fans,” the statement went on to say, “and we wish you all nothing but the best in your pool journeys.”
 
Bailey added the released statement and wrote about the decision in a September entry to her blog – Pool is a Journey (http://pooljourney.blogspot.com/2017/09/tough-decisions.html).
 
“I want to sincerely thank you for always being so supportive, responsive and a great friend to (me) and the tour,” she wrote.
 
She expanded on this theme in one of her regular-as-clockwork e-mails to us here at AZBilliards, which provided us, at the conclusion of every tour stop, all of the information necessary to write a coherent report on each event.  It should be noted, in that regard, that we here at AZBilliards extend our thanks to her, as well.
 
“It had always been a dream of mine to start a tour in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for the players and businesses,” she wrote to us. “I am so honored to have received such great support the last six years from the players, the sponsors and pool rooms that helped make the tour successful.”
 
“We grew from six stops a year with 64 players at each stop, and $1,200-added, to 12 stops a year with nearly 100 players and $1,700-added,” she wrote. “THANK YOU! Going to miss you all.”
 
She also took the time to explain that a new tour will debut in the DFW area soon, with, she explained, “11 stops next year.”
 
“So,” she wrote, “players will still have a tour to play on, which is really awesome.”
 
At the conclusion of her September blog entry, she inserted a quote from Lessons Learned in Life, which summed up the joy of the tour, the friends she’d made, and ultimately, the turmoil of the decision to move on.
 
“You will know you made the right decision,” it said, “when you pick the hardest and most painful choice, but your heart is at peace.”
 
We wish her well! 

Smith Lights Up Space City Open VI

Danny Smith

Danny “The Shredder” Smith captured his first-ever Space City Open 9-Ball title, plowing through an 83-player field, undefeated, besting Roberto “Superman” Gomez in the first set of the true double elimination final, 9-3. Josh Roberts went undefeated in the 40-player, one pocket division, ousting John Morra in the first set, 3-2, taking home his first Space City Open One Pocket title. Jeremy “Double J” Jones went undefeated in the 9-ball banks division, taking down Tommy Tokoph in the first set, 3-2, earning himself a whopping fourth, banks division title. Wrapping up four long days of match play, the ladies 9-ball concluded on Sunday, with Gail “Virginia Slim” Eaton defeating Ming “The Empress” Ng, to capture her second, Space City Open title. 
 
In its sixth year, the four-day, four-division, $6,000 added Space City Open VI (SCO) was held at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar in Houston, Texas, November 30th – December 3rd, 2017, featuring top players from across America. This year’s line-up featured a cast of new talent, including Danny Smith, Roberto Gomez, John Morra, Jason Brown, and Kelly Isaac, along with numerous others. Admission was free, and fans enjoyed four days of top-notch pool, provided by world-class players.
 
In the 9-ball division, Danny Smith obliterated the field with wins over Marlin Griffith, 9-4, J.C. Torres, 9-3, Jeremy Jones, 9-7, and Alex Calderone, 9-4, while Jason “Jaybird” Brown took down Taylor Hobbs, 9-8, Curt Sheldon, Josh Roberts, 9-8, and James Davis, Jr., 9-2. Two-time Space City Open 9-Ball Champion, Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant, made his way to the final four with victories over Mike Wilson, 9-2, David Twitty, 9-6, Kevin Guimond, 9-0, and Cesar Arechiga, 9-2, while Roberto “Superman” Gomez overcame Kenneth Price, 9-6, Randy Nickerson, 9-3, Chase Rudder, 9-5, and John Morra, 9-2. On the one loss side, Tommy Tokoph took out Roberts, 7-3, and Jones eliminated former pro C.J. Wiley, 7-1, while Yovani Salvia ousted Rudder, 7-4, and Jeff Chauncey destroyed Guimond, 7-1. Back on the east side, Gomez bested Bryant, 9-6, while Smith overwhelmed Brown, 9-4. Smith ran away with the hot seat match, defeating Gomez, 9-2. The one loss side witnessed Morra overpower Tokoph, 7-1, and Jones handily defeat Arechiga, 7-0. Davis, Jr. ended Rudder, 7-6, while Guimond dusted off Calderone, 7-4. Morra went on to eliminate Jones, 7-4, and Brown, 7-1, while Guimond overcame Davis, Jr., 7-3. Bryant squeezed by Guimond, 7-6, rounding out the final four players in the division. Morra was on a role, taking out Bryant, 7-2, to win his fourth match on the one loss side. He was stopped short by Gomez, 7-1, finishing in a respectable, third place. Gomez earned himself a rematch with Smith, and “The Shredder” was ready. With his spot-on break, it was a short-lived set for Gomez, much like the first. Smith shot out of the gate and never looked back, capturing the first set, 9-3, and his first, Space City Open 9-Ball title.
 
[photo id=48363|align=right]Last year, Josh Roberts finished runner-up in the one pocket division, but this year he came out on top.  Roberts ran through a 40-player field, undefeated, booking wins over Jim McCary, Adam Cooper, and Ted Reeves, 3-1, while John Morra overcame Gabe Owen, Marvin Diaz, 3-0, and Sylver Ochoa, 3-1. Houston’s Ernesto Bayaua made his way to the final four with wins over Cliff Joyner, Dallas’ Gerardo Perez, 3-0, and Roberto Gomez, 3-1, while Justin Whitehead overwhelmed Curt Sheldon, 3-0, Corey Flud, 3-0, and Kent Berthelot, 3-1. On the one loss side, Davis, Jr. eliminated Ochoa, 3-1, Brown defeated Reeves, 3-0, and Diaz ended Berthelot, 3-1. Following an early hit at the hands of Roberts, Jeremy Jones won four matches, including victories over Jeff Bramblet, 3-0, Jeff Chauncey, 3-1, and Gomez, 3-1. As the final eight took shape, winners’ side matches witnessed Roberts edge out Morra, 3-2, and Whitehead dust off Bayaua, 3-1. Roberts wasted little time with Whitehead, capturing the hot seat, 3-0. Back on the west side, Brown denied Ochoa, 3-0, and Bayaua, 3-2, while Jones squeezed by Diaz, 3-2, falling in turn to Morra, by the same score.  Morra made quick work of Whitehead, 3-0, moving on to Roberts, and the finals. In the first set, players were neck and neck. Tied at two a piece, an unforced error by Morra sealed his fate, and Roberts ended the set to secure his first, Space City Open One Pocket title.
 
Kicking off the four-day, billiard extravaganza, was the 26-player, 9-ball banks division, witnessing former Mosconi Cup MVP and former U.S. Open Champion, Jeremy Jones, capture his fourth Space City Open Banks title. Jones blazed a path through Kent Berthelot, 3-0, Gail Eaton, 3-0, and Roberto Gomez, 3-1, while Tommy Tokoph handled Ricki Casper, 3-0, former U.S. Open runner-up, Tan Hoa, 3-2,  and Scotty Evans, 3-1. Former U.S. Open Champion, Gabe Owen, checked off Alfred Flores, 3-0, Richie Richeson, 3-0, and Jason “Jaybird” Brown, 3-1, while Cliff Joyner overwhelmed Beaumont’s Carl Honey, 3-0, Will Felder, 3-1, and Alan Myers, 3-1. On the one loss side, John Morra took out Berthelot, while Roberto Gomez ousted James Davis, Jr., 3-1. Canadian Alex Olinger ended Alan Myers, 3-2, while Josh Roberts handled Jason Brown, 3-1. Down to the final eight, on the east side, Jones defeated Tokoph, 3-1, and Owen slid by Joyner, 3-1. In a speedy, hot seat match, Jones crushed Owen, 3-0. Back on the west side, Gomez eliminated Morra, but fell to Joyner, 3-1, while Roberts took out Myers, 3-0, falling to Tokoph in the next round, 3-0. Tokoph was on the war path, sending home Joyner, 3-2, and Owen, 3-2, reaching Jones, and the finals. Players teed off, both keeping pace as the set progressed. Tied at two a piece, Jones inched ahead in the final game, closing out the set to defend his 2016 title and secure his fourth banks title.
 
[photo id=48362|align=right]Wrapping up Space City, 24 women battled it out on Sunday for over $2,400 in cash in the ladies 9-ball division. Gail “Virginia Slim” Eaton came out firing, ousting Terry “The Terrorizer” Petrosino, Calaia Jackson, 7-1, and Toledo’s Kelly Isaac, 7-6, whiLe Ming “The Empress” Ng made her way to the final four with wins over Cindy Ferry, Nayla Hoak, and Joyce Davis. Angleton’s Brandi Booth came out firing, securing victories over Ricki Casper, 7-3, and Robyn Petrosino, 7-6, while Teresa “The Princess of Pool” Garland took down Alicia Huff, 7-5, and Yvonne Asher, 7-1. On the west side, Isaac eliminated Denton’s Amy Jones, 5-2, and T. Petrosino reined in Davis, 5-3.  Natalie Mans squeezed by Asher, 5-4, and R. Petrosino extinguished Yvonne Ramirez, 5-2. Down to the final eight, east side action saw Isaac eliminate T. Petrosino, 5-3, and Garland, 5-4, while Mans dusted off R. Petrosino, 5-1, in turn, falling  to Ng, by the same score. Ng went on to eliminate Isaac, 5-4, and Booth, 5-1, earning herself a rematch with Eaton. In the first set of the true, double elimination final, Ng served Eaton her first loss, 7-6, and the finals ventured into overtime. Players displayed poise and composure in the late hour, but only one player could wear the crown. Players fought for every game, but it was Eaton who pulled ahead to end the second set, 5-3, capturing her second, Space City Open 9-ball title. 
 
The Space City Open extends a heartfelt “thank you” to everyone who supported this event; Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar, along with owners David and Shannon Richardson, the entire Bogies’ staff, assistant tournament director, John Newsome, Simplified Electronics, APA of North Harris County, Gulf War Veteran Mike McDonald, Ozone Billiards, and Outsville Billiards. “Special Supporters” of this event included Mark Stubbs, Glen Benton, Ted Reeves, Adam Cooper, Richard Holstein, Richard “Black Diamond” Stuart, and Art Politte. This year’s event featured booths by Jerry Olivier Cues and Cue Repair, Joe Salazar Connoisseur of Custom Cues, Champions Cues, Bryant Billiards, and Q-Xtender.com.
 
Space City Open VII is set for December 6th-9th, 2018. For sponsorship information, please contact Kim Newsome at 713.825.1411, or email lonestartour@gmail.com. 

Stanley jumps way out in front of Omega Billiard Tour standings with undefeated fourth win

(l to r): Tony Top, TJ Davis, Rick Stanley

 

Rick Stanley cemented his hold on the top spot in the Omega Billiards Tour rankings with an undefeated win on the weekend of October 14-15. It was his fourth overall win on the tour since February, and his third undefeated trip. The $1,700-added event drew 64 entrants to The Hideaway in Dallas, TX.
 
Stanley had to face a relatively unexpected opponent in both the hot seat match and finals. Tony Top, who made his first appearance on the 2017 tour in September, finishing well out of the money, successfully navigated his way through six opponents – five on the winners’ side and one on the loss side – to challenge Stanley and in finishing second, rocketed from #170 on the rankings list to somewhere among the tour’s top 40 players.
 
Following victories over Frank Cherry, Robert Reighter, Robin Barbour, and Gerardo Perez, Stanley moved into a winners’ side semifinal match against TJ Davis. Top, in the meantime, having defeated Curtis Cardwell, Highway Sigadi, Mike Nagaki, and Robert Clark, faced Hector Guerrero in the other winners’ side semifinal.
 
Stanley sent Davis to the loss side 9-3, as Top was busy sending Guerrero over 7-3. In their first of two, Stanley claimed the hot seat over Top with a 9-4 win.
 
On the loss side, Davis picked up Robert Clark, who, following a defeat at the hands of Top in one of the winners’ side quarterfinals, had defeated Mike Voelkering (#2 in the tour rankings) 8-3 and Alberto Nieto 8-1. Guerrero drew Gerardo Perez, who’d dropped a winners’ side quarterfinal match against Stanley and then, over the next two matches, gave up only two racks; none at all to Michael Thomas and two to Curtis Cardwell.
 
Davis downed Clark 8-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Perez, who’d eliminated Guerrero 7-4. Davis ended Perez’ three-match, loss-side streak 8-6 in those quarterfinals, and then had his two-match, loss-side streak ended in a double hill battle against Top.
 
The wait did nothing to slow Stanley down. He’d given up four racks to Top in the hot seat match, and reduced that number to one in the finals, claiming the event title.
 
Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at The Hideaway, 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 November 11-12, will be a $1,700-added event, hosted by The Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
 

Warren Kiamco Captures Omega Billiards Tour Title

Warren Kiamco

On the weekend of April 30-May 1, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by JR Pockets in Denton, Texas.   The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere, and we very much appreciate each and every one of them!  
 
We were able to extend the field to 85 players for this fourth stop of the 2016 season with guaranteed $1,500-added.  
 
There were several players who were the “talk of the tournament” this weekend.  One was Jay Murillo who has been working on his game and found himself placing an impressive 3rd place!  He fought hard all weekend and although wished he would have placed even higher, he had a fantastic tournament.  Another player talked about was local sharp-shooter Robert Clark.  He lost his first match on Saturday morning and never gave up and fought his way back through the one-loss side and won 11 straight matches to find himself in the finals!  This leads to the third talk of the tournament:  Eventual winner Warren Kaimco.  He flew in all the way from the Philippines to play (just kidding, he happened to be in Texas for another tournament the weekend before and was able to fit in this Omega Tour stop).   Warren has such a gentle composure and the players loved to have such a champion play among them.  Warren was gracious and posed for many photos and also gave advice when players asked, at the same time he was killing it on the pool table.  
 
Warren made his way to the finals over J Brotherton 9-3, Jeff Georges 9-4 (and Jeff said he had him scared, but we aren’t sure based on the score), Jordan Gartenberg 9-2, Hector Guerrero 9-2, Cory Anderson 9-5, and Jay Murillo 9-3.   Jay Murillo made his way to third place with great wins over Phillip Kirk 6-0, Trent Stith 6-5, Roman Bayda 6-6, Tony Sulsar 6-6, Mike Rountree 6-5 before being sent to the one-loss side by Warren 9-3.  Robert Clark lost to his first match to Gerardo Perez 7-7, and then won against Lorena Garcia 8-3, Tracie Voelkering 8-3, George Merchan 8-0, Larry Land 8-6, Willie Speed 8-4, Barry Emerson 8-7, Jamie Whelch 8-3, Hector Guerrero 8-3, Mike Rountree 8-4, Cory Anderson 8-5 and then Jay Murillo 8-3.  
 
Warren and Robert squared off in the finals and the fans were in for a treat with GREAT shots and safeties between the two players to lead to a hill-hill first set!  After several safes back and forth, Warren eventually had a shot and ran out the match hill-hill to not force a second set, and secure an Omega Billiards Tour title!  
 
4th place was filled by Cory Anderson, 5th/6th places were filled by the “mikes,” Mike Rountree and Mike Voelkering who both had a great tournament, and 7th/8th places were filled by Hector Guerrero and Alberto Nieto.  
Congrats to ALL the players and fans for a great event!
 
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and OB Cues.  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 three 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. 
 
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank JR Pockets owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend!  She would also like to thank her fabulous team:  Heather Farr, Dana Speed, and Jeffrey Georges.    
 
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 June 4-5 at Fox and Hound in Dallas, Texas.   $1,500 added and already full with 80 players.  We have ten stops total again 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/
 
And check out video compilation from this event:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KPmR-cqB8s

Stevie Collins Snags His First Omega Billiards Tour Title

Stevie Collins

On the weekend of February 20-21, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by The Billiard Den in Richardson, Texas.   The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere, and we very much appreciate each and every one of them!  
 
We were able to extend the field to 88 players for this second stop of the 2016 season.  And it was tough to predict who would come out on top with all the talent in the field.
 
Always a top contender, Crispian Ng, had a great tournament with tough matches over Chase LaFerney 7-5, teammate Robin Barbour 7-5, Alberto Nieto 7-4, Jim Colling 7-5 and best friend David Josephson 7-5.  Stevie Collins was fighting through the bottom half of the bracket with wins over Kyle Rowland 7-0, Chris Smith hill-hill, George Merchan 7-2, Ian Perez 7-1, and Anthony Schaeffer 7-2 before finding Crispian in the hotseat.  Crispian would win another close one in the hotseat match over Stevie by a score of 7-5.
 
Gerardo Perez would place his highest finish with an impressive 3rd place!  He lost his second match hill-hill then won TEN matches in a row to meet up the Stevie Collins in the Semi-Final match.   Stevie would win 7-3 to find a spot in the finals, but a HUGE congrats to Gerardo for his fine play all weekend.  Denny Sneed placed high again in the Omega with a 4th place finish, with David Josephson and Anthony Schaeffer both placed their highest finish with 5th/6th places out of 88 players.  Special shout out to George Merchan for placing 7th/8th (his highest finish to date) and to Ian Perez for his 9th place finish in his first Omega Tour event.
 
The finals were a tough, tough battle between Stevie Collins and Crispian Ng.  Crispian is a BCAPL Nationals 9-Ball Champion and Stevie Collins is also a top player (and this was his home pool room).  Both players wanted the win badly and it showed. First set went a thrilling hill-hill with Stevie never giving up, forcing a second set.  Then the second set went hill-hill again!  Stevie continued his great play and ran out 7 balls to win the game, the match, the finals, and the tournament!  His first Omega Billiards Tour win!  Congratulations also to Crispian for fighting hard all weekend for his second place finish.  He’s always hard on himself, but he played so good all weekend and deserves lots of kudos as well.
 
Congrats to ALL the players and fans for a great event!
 
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and OB Cues.  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 three 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. 
 
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank The Billiards Den owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend!  She would also like to thank her fabulous team:  Heather Farr and Dana Speed.    
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 March 19-20 at Clicks in Arlington, Texas.   $1,500 added and limited to the first 80 PAID players (already full).  We will have ten stops total again 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/
 
And check out video compilation from this event:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET8xjxyD1i0&feature=youtu.be