Ruben Adame came to last weekend’s (Feb. 18-19) Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour stop (#2) having cashed in a previous (recorded) event only once, in August of last year, sharing 5th place with Tina Malm. He went home this past weekend with the first (recorded) regional tour victory on his resume, having gone undefeated at the $2,000-added event that drew 78 entrants to Tailgaters Sports Bar in Frisco, TX.
Adame battled below, at and above his ‘weight’ (7) in the event. Through eight matches, he faced three opponents ‘below’ and three ‘at’ his level. In the hot seat and finals, he defeated two competitors ‘above’ his level to claim the event title. Three of his eight matches went double hill, including his opening match against Marc Oler (below), his third-round bout against Lucah Gianino (below) and his fourth round match, in a straight-up race to 7, against Jonathan Rawlins. He followed the win over Rawlins with a victory over Rodger Shaffer (below) that put him into a winners’ side semifinal against Peter Stovall in what would be another straight-up race to 7.
In the meantime, Josh Hemsoth was advancing to meet him in the hot seat match. Hemsoth, awarded a bye in the opening round, played five matches to get there, all of them against opponents below his ‘weight’ level of 8. With one exception, all of Hemsoth’s opponents on his way to the hot seat match got two ‘beads on the wire’ in races to 8. The exception was Jennifer Hooten, who got four ‘on the wire’ in Hemsoth’s first match. She battled him to double hill before he advanced, downing Joe Pelayo (2), Keith Diaz (3), and shutting out Chase LaFerney to arrive at the other winners’ side semifinal against Miguel Hernandez.
Adame got into the hot seat match with a 7-5 victory over Stovall and was joined by Hemsoth, who’d survived a double hill battle against Hernandez. Adame, facing his first opponent above his rank, was awarded a single ‘bead on the wire’ in a race to 8. He didn’t need it. He allowed Hemsoth only a single rack and claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Clint Freeman, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Hernandez, went on a five-match run that propelled him all the way into the finals. He survived a double hill battle against Joseph Geesling and downed Rawlins 9-2 to draw Stovall. Hernandez picked up Tim Larson, who’d lost an opening-round, double-hill match to Jeff Turney and was working on a 10-match, loss-side streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals and had recently eliminated Rodger Shaffer 9-2 and Brian Cady 9-3.
Freeman advanced to the quarterfinals 9-3 over Stovall and was joined by Larson, who’d shut out Hernandez. Freeman ended Larson’s lengthy loss-side battles 9-4 in those quarterfinals and then, by the same score, downed Josh Hemsoth in the semifinals.
In the true double-elimination finals, Ruben Adame got two ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 9 against Freeman, which, as in his hot seat match, he didn’t need. He took the opening and, as it turned out, only set 7-4 to claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Tailgaters for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Cuetec and associate sponsor Fort Worth Super Billiards Superstore. The next stop (#3) on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 25-26, will be hosted by Rusty’s Billiards in Fort Worth, TX.
Coming off of what proved to be her best earnings year to date, Fort Worth’s Krystle Suarez opened her 2023 campaign on the Cuetec DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour the same way she’d finished it in October of 2022, with a victory. She cashed in four events last year; winning the one, runner-up in another and finishing fifth twice. She went undefeated on the tour’s $500-added season opener this past weekend (Sat., Dec. 14) which drew 34 entrants to Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX.
Suarez downed Collins 7-2 and was joined in the hot seat match by Kirkpatrick, who defeated Billington 4-2. Suarez claimed the hot seat 7-2 and waited on Kirkpatrick’s return.
On the loss side, Collins drew April Gonzales, who’d lost her opening match 4-2 to Jennifer Hooten and embarked on a five-match streak that was about to end and had included recent wins over Nicole Clark 5-1 and Jennifer Cayot 5-2. Billington picked up Tara Williams, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal match to Collins and gone on to down her first two loss-side opponents by an aggregate score of 14-1, giving up the one to Gail Roles and shutting out Nancy Rios.
Williams stopped Billington’s loss-side journey at a single game, defeating her 7-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. She was joined by Collins, who ended Gonzales’ five-match run, double hill.
With Williams racing to 7, Collins, in her second double hill match, eliminated her 4-6. In her third straight double hill match, a race-to-4 battle in the semifinals, Collins lost to Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick needed to win twice over Suarez in the true double elimination finals. She failed to win a rack as Suarez completed her undefeated run with a shutout over her.
Tour director David Reyes thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Cuetec, Fort Worth Billiards, Doc’s Billiards Office and Granite Guyz. The next stop on the Cuetec DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour,scheduled for Saturday, March 18, will be hosted by Snooker’s in Frisco, TX.
Daniel Herring was going to be the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour’s 2022 Tour Champion before the first rack was broken at the tour finale, held this past weekend (Nov. 19-20) at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX. Though he’d finish in the tie for 17th/24th competing in the finale, Herring was ahead by 350 points in the tour rankings going into it and effectively, couldn’t be caught. As it happened, his closest competitor for the tour champion title, Joshua Paredes, who finished in the tie for 9th/12th in the finale, was able to narrow the points gap down to 45 points (from 350 to 305) and remain in 2nd place in the rankings. Matt Wilson, who was in a tie for 9th place in the tour rankings going in and finished about 35 points behind Paredes for third place in the final rankings, went undefeated in the finale, claiming his second tour stop title. He’d defeated Herring in the finals of April’s stop. The $3,760-added tour finale drew 36 by-invitation-only entrants to Rusty’s.
After being awarded an opening round bye, Wilson’s path went through Curtis Caldwell and Fahad Alrawi (double hill), before running into Joshua Paredes in a winners’ side quarterfinal. He downed Paredes, double hill and faced Mark Lawson in a winners’ side semifinal. At the other end of the bracket, Doug Winnett opened with a 10-2 win over Jennifer Hooten and then locked up into two straight double hill battles against Robbie Smith and Tony Loeper. Winnett won them both to pick up Alberto Nieto Garcia in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Wilson defeated Lawson 5-3 and was joined in the hot seat match by Winnett, who’d sent Garcia to the loss side 7-2. With Winnett racing to 8, Wilson claimed the hot seat 5-5 and waited on Miguel Hernandez, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Lawson and was working on a five-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him all the way back to the finals.
On the loss side, Hernandez first ran into Curtis Caldwell, defeating him 6-6 (Caldwell racing to 8) and then, facing Don Baker, who’d arrived with Daniel Herring and Joshua Paredes as notches on his ‘gun belt,’ defeated him 6-3. Hernandez drew Garcia, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Lawson picked up Robert Reighter, who’d recently defeated Clint Palaci 7-5 and Tony Loeper 6-5 (Loeper racing to 8).
The two loss-side opponents in the 5th/6th matches advanced; Reighter defeating Lawson 5-3, while Hernandez dispatched Garcia 6-2. Hernandez and Reighter locked up in a double-hill, quarterfinal fight that continued Hernandez’ loss-side run and stopped Reighter’s.
With Winnett racing to 7 in the semifinals, Hernandez took another step. He defeated Winnett 6-5 and got a shot at the event title versus Wilson, waiting for him in the hot seat.
In a straight-up race to 6, the ‘570’ (Fargo Rate, Hernandez) faced the ‘536’(Wilson), Hernandez needing to win two matches to claim the title. Wilson took the first and only set to complete his undefeated run and claim the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour’s season finale title.
Tour directors thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards, as well as title sponsor Cuetec, and associate sponsor, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore.
The Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour’s 2023 schedule is, at the moment, a work in progress. The schedule is expected to be posted ‘sometime in December,’ according to tour representatives.
Since the pandemic landed on our collective heads two or three years ago and curtailed a lot of competitive activity, there has been a slow, but steady return of players, who either stopped playing altogether or in the absence of venue opportunities and availability of personal equipment, brought their game home. In addition to this return, there has also been an emergence on the part of players who for one reason or another have never been heard from before (or at least, very little) and are currently not only coming to the tables, but winning events for the first time.
Case(s) in point: Jennifer Hooten of Garland, TX, who, prior to this past weekend (Sat., April 9), had only cashed once at a regional tour event, finishing 13th at a stop on the mixed-gender DFW 9-Ball Tour, two years ago; a finish that made her the top female finisher at the event. She also won the 2019 Texas State BCA Women’s Fair Match Singles event in 2019, which went unrecorded by us here at AZBilliards. She came from the loss side at this most recent event to record her highest event finish on the tour, claiming her first regional tour title on the $500-added, Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour that drew 21 entrants to Stixx and Stones Billiards in Lewisville, TX.
Nancy Rios, from Dallas, came into the event with no recorded cash payouts whatsoever and advanced to the hot seat for the first time. As a result, her first recorded cash payout anywhere was the distinction of being an event’s runner-up. However one might assess the nature of the 21-entrant competition, anyone who’s ever stepped up to a pool table with cash on the line will tell you: You never forget your first win and/or first cash payout and the benefit of increased confidence in your efforts pays dividends the very next time you step to the table.
Hooten opened her winning campaign with a double hill win over Judy Frank and followed it with a 4-1 victory over Julie Stephenson, who was racing to 6, and has been recording cash payouts on the Hunter Tour, the OB Cues Ladies Tour and now, the DFW tour for over 20 years. Hooten advanced to face Ginger Abadilla in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Rios started with a victory over co-tour director Monica Anderson 3-1 (Anderson racing to 4), and downed Deliza Baumbach, double hill to Krystle Suarez in the other winners’ side semifinal.
With Suarez racing to 7, Rios advanced to the hot seat match with a double hill 3-6 win over Suarez. Abadilla joined her after sending Hooten to the loss side 3-1. In a straight-up race to 3, Rios claimed her first hot seat 3-1.
On the loss side, Hooten picked up Baumbach, who’d followed her winners’ side quarterfinal loss against Rios with victories over Ileana Sullivan 3-2 (Sullivan racing to 5) and Melissa Smith 3-1. Suarez drew Jennifer Pavlovick, who’d lost her opening match to Smith and was in the midst of a five-match winning streak that included the elimination of Julie Stephenson, double hill, and Tina Soto 5-2.
Pavlovick chalked up her fifth loss-side win, downing Suarez 5-4 (Suarez racing to 7). Hooten joined her in the quarterfinals with a shutout over Baumbach. Hooten put a stop to Pavlovick’s run in those quarterfinals 4-3 (Pavlovick racing to 5) and turned to a rematch against Abadilla in the semifinals.
Hooten allowed Abadilla only a single rack in the semifinals and moved on to what was the first (recorded) finals match for both her and her opponent. Hooten would need to win twice, and befitting a match, no doubt characterized by the mutual anticipation and eagerness, not to mention anxiety, of both competitors to claim their first regional tour title, the first set went double hill. With Rios racing to 3, Hooten won it 4-2. With emotions running in two separate directions (confidence and concern), Hooten chalked up all of the racks in the second set and claimed the title.
“Both of these ladies took advantage of the tour’s mission,” noted Co-Tour Director Monica Anderson, “designed to provide a fun, challenging, and rewarding tournament environment for both low, mid and high-level skilled players.”
“Our hot seat match (between Rios and Abadilla),” she added, “was a battle of two, skill level 3’s, who got there by taking advantage of missed opportunities by their higher-skill-level opponents.”
Anderson (along with co-tour directors Hooten and Abadilla) thanked the ownership and staff at Stixx and Stones Billiards, as well as title sponsor Cuetec, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore and Kamui. The next stop on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour, scheduled for July 9, will be hosted by Rusty’s in Arlington, TX.
