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Hooten comes from the loss side, wins first regional title on Cuetec DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour

Ginger Abadilla, Nancy Rios and Jennifer Hooten

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.

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Tara Williams goes undefeated to claim Stop #2 on DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour

Tara Williams, Ginger Abadilla, Aryana Lynch and Alicia Stanley

Since Tara Williams recorded her first win on the former OB Cues Ladies Tour in 2009, she had gone on to the winners’ circle of that tour numerous times, including, in what turned out to be her best recorded earnings year (2015), victories on six stops of the tour and just for variety that year, added a win on the Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Tour. This past weekend (Saturday, March 12), the multiple BCA and ACS state and national champion chalked up her first recorded 2022 win, going undefeated to claim a DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour title. The $500-added event drew 36 entrants to Snookered Billiards in Frisco, TX.

By the time Williams reached her winners’ side semifinal matchup versus Jamie Tidmore, she’d won 21 of her first 27 games, having sent Anna Billington (1), Monica Anderson (2) and Crystal Jones (3) to the loss side. Ginger Abadilla, in the meantime, one of the lower-rated competitors in the event (at a 3), parlayed her handicap into a successful race to the hot seat match. She got by Kathy Knuth 3-3 (Knuth racing to 4, so double hill), Francisca Riza Pili 3-2 (Pili racing to 4) and Melissa Britt 3-2 (Britt racing to 5), which brought her to a winners’ side semifinal against Alicia Stanley (racing to 7).

Williams downed Tidmore 7-2, as Abadilla punched her ticket to the hot seat match with a 3-3 win over Stanley (once again, racing to 7). Abadilla’s ship of good fortune (and not to downplay her efforts, combined with skill and persistence) ran aground in the hot seat match. No doubt cognizant of Abadilla’s success getting to the hot seat match, Williams shut her out to claim the hot seat.

Meanwhile, back at the Loss-Side Ranch, there was another competitor making her presence known – Aryana Lynch, two-time Billiards Education Foundation Junior National Champion (2018; 16 & Under and 2021; 18 & Under), and twice, winner on the 2021 DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour. Lynch won her opener against Snowy Belt 6-2 and then, ran into Alicia Stanley, who sent her to the loss side 7-2. Lynch proceeded to embark on a four-match run that saw her win 18 of the 20 games she played against three opponents, giving up one each to Rachelle Dytko and Brooklyn Kanady, before recording a forfeit win over Melissa Britt and then, shutting out Orietta Strickland to draw Tidmore, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. 

In the meantime, Stanley, in her first loss-side match, drew Jennifer Kim, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Tidmore and embarked on a similar, albeit shorter, loss-side run. She played eight games and didn’t give up a single rack to either of her two opponents, Francisca Riza Pili and Jennifer Pavlovick.

Lynch extended her loss-side streak to five with a 6-2 win over Tidmore. Stanley joined her in the quarterfinals after putting a stop to Kim’s brief, but illustrious loss-side run 7-3. Loss-side win # 6 for Lynch ended Stanley’s run 6-2, and in the semifinals, loss-side win # 7, 6-1 over Abadilla, put her into the finals.

Williams put a stop to that potential ‘loss waiting to happen.’ She allowed Lynch a single rack and claimed the event title 7-1.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Snookered for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, Cuetec, Doc’s Billiards Office and Kamui. The next stop on DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for Saturday, April 9, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Stixx and Stones Billiards in Lewisville, TX.

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Jennifer Kim wins her first major tournament on DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour

Jennifer Kim, Orietta Strickland and Jennifer Pavlovick

Like many before her, Jennifer Kim began playing in an APA league, before graduating to regional tournament play. She’d made a few appearances on the recently-launched DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, at which, noted tournament director Monica Anderson, “she had not fared very well.”

And then, along came Orietta Strickland, who recently began to tutor Kim.

“They’d been working together for a few months,” said Anderson, “and when we saw (Kim) this time, it was a different player.”

Different enough to have signed on with 17 others to the $500-added, July 10 stop on the DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, hosted by Rusty’s in Arlington, TX and chalked up her first major event victory anywhere. Kim lost only one match in the effort, battling for the hot seat. And for a second and necessary third shot in a true double elimination final against the woman who’d defeated her (Jennifer Pavlovick), Kim downed her mentor, Orietta Strickland, in the semifinals. According to Anderson, the mentor didn’t actually lie down and play dead for the student, but she did miss some critical shots at critical moments, leading to victories for Kim, who was racing to 4 throughout the tournament.

Kim faced five opponents on her way to the winners’ circle, one of them – Pavlovick – three times. In her seven matches, as a skill level “4,” she started four of them with a single bead on the wire in a race to five. She started one match in which she gave her opponent a single bead on the wire in a race to 4. After being awarded an opening round bye, she won her first match, a straight-up race to 4, double hill versus Angie Kirkpatrick and then, defeated tournament director, Monica Anderson 4-2 (Anderson racing to 5). Kim drew April Gonzales in one of the winners’ side semifinals.

Pavlovick, in the meantime, who started all of her matches by granting all four of her opponents, through six matches, a single bead on the wire in races to 5, opened with victories over Tera Saunders 5-2 and Sharolyn Sumner 5-1. She drew Crystal Dunn in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Pavlovick advanced to the hot seat match by sending Dunn to the loss side 5-1. Kim joined her after sending Gonzales over, double hill (4-2). Pavlovick, in what proved to be her last winning match, claimed the hot seat 5-2. 

On the loss side, Kim’s mentor, Orietta Strickland, who’d lost, double hill, to Charlie Marie 4-6 in the 2nd winners’ side round, survived a double hill battle versus Sheila Lowe 7-4 in her first loss-side match and then, downed Anderson 7-2. She fought and won another double hill match against Phoebe Simon, winning 7-3 to draw Crystal Dunn.  Gonzales, in the meantime, drew Sandy Harrington, who’d recently eliminated Sharolyn Sumner, double hill (4-3), and shut out Angie Kirkpatrick.

Gonzales downed Harrington 3-2. Strickland joined her for the quarterfinals, after eliminating Dunn 7-2. Strickland then shut out Gonzales and entered the semifinals against her student, Jennifer Kim, sporting a virtual ‘ton’ of momentum.

It didn’t do her a lot of good in those semifinals, as (noted earlier) she turned the table over to Kim on a number of critical occasions. Kim advanced to the true double elimination finals over her mentor, having not given up a single rack to her in the semifinals.

Strickland had apparently transferred some of the momentum that she’d built up during her five-match, loss-side run to her student. Kim battled Pavlovick to double hill in the opening set of the true double elimination final, before winning it to force the second set. Kim gave up only a single rack in that second set to claim her first major event title.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, OB Cues and Doc’s Billiards Office. The next stop on the DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for Saturday, September 25, will be hosted by Snookered in Frisco, TX. The next stop on the regular DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for July 24-25, will be hosted by the venue which hosted this event, Rusty’s in Arlington, TX.

Aryana Lynch Chalks Up the Win on DFW 9-ball Ladies Tour Stop #1

The 2021 DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour Season kicked off their 1st of 6 stops on Saturday, February 27th at Rusty’s in Arlington, TX. 30 ladies from various parts of the state wanted to play some 9-ball and play they did. Lots of players primarily from the DFW Metroplex participated in this one-day event but there were also players from Houston, San Angelo, San Antonio and Victoria, TX who made the trek to Big D and we thank everyone who came out for some nail-biting competition.

The DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour is an extension of the DFW 9-Ball Tour. All ladies 9- ball events are handicapped (SL 3 to SL 7), Fargo rated, double-elimination tournaments. They are all guaranteed $500 money added, $40 entry fee, one day events, non-smoking venues and played on 7’ Diamond bar tables.

The mission of the DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour is to give lower-level skilled players an opportunity to test their mettle against higher level skilled players. Our higher- level skilled players also provide advice, pool knowledge and are inspirations for all on how we want to play when we grow up. It is a win-win for everyone, maybe not with cash, but a reward in knowing that we share a love and passion for this game and can help someone out in the process.

DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour is proud to be sponsored by Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, OB Cues, Dallas Eight Ball League and Doc’s Billiards Office. We thank all sponsors for their interest in pool and keeping the competitive flame burning for lady pool players all over the country.

April Gonzales

Before the action commenced for the day, one of our junior players, April Gonzales (SL 3), will be celebrating her 13th birthday on March 4th, so we wanted to make it an early memorable occasion for her. She is our little princess, and always a good sport, while we tried to “harmoniously” sing Happy Birthday, shared pizza with everyone, delicious pool ball cupcakes, sodas (graciously given by her Dad), and photo opportunities galore. Happy 13th Birthday April! We love you!

Aryana (SL 6), no stranger to the winner’s circle, had a winning record of 36-9. This girl can play, and she is only 18 years old. Her closest tournament match was against Alicia Stanley (SL 7) and both players were playing very well as champions so often do. They both performed some well executed defensive plays, but it was Aryana who took the win 6-4 and the rest of her tournament day was smooth sailing from there. She went undefeated to take the 1st place title and $500.

Jennifer Pavlovick, Aryana Lynch and Yvonne Ramirez

Main Event top finishers and payouts:
1st – Aryana Lynch (SL 6) – $500
2nd – Jennifer Pavlovick (SL 5) – $340
3rd – Yvonne Ramirez (SL 5) – $220
4th – Ileana Sullivan (SL 4) – $140
5th/6th – Monica Anderson (SL 5), Linda Long (SL 4) – $100 7th/8th – Yvette Cox (SL 5), Tiffany Pryor (SL 5) – $75

As some of the ladies were not quite ready to go home early, we had a Second Chance event with a $20 entry and $100 added by the Tour with 7 players vying for the SC Crown.

Janet Ybarra, Ginger Abadilla and Rachelle Dytko

1st – Ginger Abadilla (SL 3) – $130* 2nd – Rachelle Dytko (SL 5) – $80* 3rd – Janet Ybarra (SL4) – $30

*They chopped it up and Rachelle got the extra $10. From the picture below, it looks like they are all repping Hustlin – not a pre-requisite for playing in the Second Chance

Thank you to Rusty’s (Jeff and his hard-working crew), to all our sponsors, players and fans and everything you do for the game we love. We cannot thank you enough!

Our next ladies’ event will be Saturday, April 2nd at Snookered Billiards & Bar, 9550 Dallas Parkway, Frisco, TX. For registration info, go to the DFW 9-Ball Tour web page, dfw9bt.com

DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour Committee
David “Doc” Reyes
Jennifer Hooten
Ginger Abadilla
Monica Anderson

Suarez wins eight on the loss side, double dips Soto in finals of DFW Tour experiment

Tina Soto, Orietta Strickland & Krystle Suarez (Photo courtesy Jesse Garcia . Bound by Imagination)

With the idea of introducing a Ladies Division into their 2020 schedule, the Dallas/Fort Worth 9-Ball Tour ran a ‘trial run’ event on Saturday, September 28. It was, according to tour representatives, a success and plans are moving ahead to include four or five events in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The trial event was won by Krystle Suarez, who, after being awarded a bye in the opening round, was defeated in the second round by Tina Soto, won eight on the loss side and then met and double dipped Soto in the finals to claim the event title. The event drew 35 ladies to Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX.
 
Soto, who’d won her opening round versus Jennifer Hooten, advanced after her defeat of Suarez to send Phoebe Simon and Tam Trinh to the loss side and faced Corina Campbell in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Orietta Strickland squared off against Jessica Demello in the other one.
 
Soto and Campbell locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Soto to the hot seat match. Strickland joined her after shutting Demello out. With Strickland racing to 7, Soto claimed the hot seat 5-5 and waited for Suarez to complete her loss-side run.
 
On the loss side, Campbell drew a re-match against Ricki Casper, whom she’d sent to the loss side in a third-round double hill battle. Casper was in the midst of six-match, loss-side winning streak that had recently included two straight shutouts over Christa Ramon and Nina Dolman. Demello picked up Suarez, five matches into her loss-side streak, having recently shut out Jennifer Pavlovick and downed Alicia Stanley 7-4.
 
Casper extended her loss-side streak, as she successfully navigated her rematch versus Campbell 6-1. Suarez joined her in the quarterfinals with a 7-2 victory over Demello.
 
Suarez ended Casper’s loss-side journey 7-2 in those quarterfinals and then earned her rematch against Soto with a 7-5 victory over Strickland in the semifinals. She and Soto battled to double hill in the opening set of the true double elimination finals, forcing a second set. Suarez upped her game a bit in the second set, shutting Soto out to claim the trial run of the DFW 9-Ball Tour’s Ladies Division.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, OB Cues, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, and the Dallas 8-Ball League. The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for October 19-20, will be hosted by the Billiard Den in Richardson, TX. 
 

Kim Pierce Brings the Heat at Stop #1 of 2017 OB Cues Ladies Tour

(left to right: Orietta Strickland, Kim Pierce, Chris Fields, Jennifer Pavlovick)

The OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball Tour, the largest and longest running regional tour in the country, also a member of NAPT (North American Pool Tour), hosted 64 players at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX the weekend of February 4-5.  OB Cues has been the title sponsor for this tour since 2008 and we continue to give thanks to them and all they do not only for this ladies tour but for all players, fans, and billiards aficionados worldwide.  OB Cues, a leader in the industry with shafts, cues, outstanding customer service plus an offering of billiard accessories and to top it all off, they are located in Plano, TX, with all shafts and cues made in the USA.  Be sure to check them out at obcues.com.  Thank you OB Cues for all you do.

 

With 64 players vying for the top prizes in this $2000 added monies event, just as the day was long, sharp shooting, stamina and endurance would become major factors for everyone participating in this two-day event.  The tour greeted players from all over DFW Metroplex, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Longview, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana—just to name a few areas.

 

The tour also enjoyed welcoming many first time players to test their mettle and take a venture into the OBCLT experience and the wonderful hospitality of Rusty’s Billiards. The tour would like to thank Rusty’s owners and staff for their gracious hospitality and years of continued support!

 

Saturday was an eventful day as sixty-four players were dwindled down to sixteen players who would return on Sunday morning to battle for the $750 1st place prize money.  Saturday’s play saw first time OB tour stop player Janet Ybarra, ACS Texas board member, go undefeated as she made her way through the winner’s bracket posting wins over Kathy Knuth (7-1), Brooklyn Kanady (7-3), and Kelly Jones (7-6). On the one-loss side, Aryana Lynch – a relative newcomer to the OB tour and its youngest player at 14 years old – also had a great run in her bid for the final 16.  After suffering a first round loss to Shaunte Starley (3-7), Aryana grinded her way through the B side, posting wins over Kienchay Phoutthavong (Kitty) (7-5), Jessica DeMello (7-4), and Hopey Carter (7-5).  Although the final round of play on Saturday night saw Rachel Petersen emerge victorious over Aryana (7-4) to move on to Sunday, Aryana posted her best OB tour stop finish to date (tied 17-24th place) and proved that she is definitely a contender!

 

On Sunday morning, winner side matches were Janet Ybarra (Grand Prairie) vs. Jennifer Pavlovick (Irving); Orietta Strickland (Dallas) vs. Natalie Rocha (Houston); Kim Pierce (Austin) vs. Deedra Trammell (Waxahachie) and Chris Fields (Arlington) vs. Julie Stephenson (Keller).

 

On the other side of the bracket and still giving it their all were Natalie Mans (League City) vs. Angie Payne (Austin); Tina Soto (Ft. Worth) vs. Corina Campbell (Carrollton); Rachel Petersen (Midwest City, OK) vs. Teresa Garland (Houston) and Gail Roles (College Station) vs. Terry Petrosino (Houston).

 


 

In the four winner’s side matches Sunday morning, Kim Pierce emerged victorious over Deedra Trammell (7-0), Orietta Strickland posted a win over Natalie Rocha (7-3), Jennifer Pavlovick won vs. Janet Ybarra (7-3), and Chris Fields defeated Julie Stephenson (7-1).  The four B-side matches saw Tina Soto defeat Corina Campbell (7-4); Angie Payne won over Natalie Mans (7-5), Terry Petrosino posted a win over Gail Roles (7-4), and Rachel Petersen wound up on the winning side of her match vs. Teresa Garland (7-4).

 

Kim Pierce continued her winning streak, sending Chris Fields to the B-side with a score of (7-5) and Orietta Strickland also posted a win against Jennifer Pavlovick (7-1).  This set the stage for Kim and Orietta, two undefeated players vying for the hot seat match but Orietta was solid in her play and shooting and secured her spot in the finals with a win of 7-3.

 

Chris defeated Tina Soto (7-2).  Tina, only playing in a couple of OB Cues Ladies Tour events,  scored her highest finish to date 5th/6th which was pretty sporty for just her 2nd time at bat.  Nice work Tina.

 

Chris then knocked out Jennifer Pavlovick with a score of (7-3).  This 4th place spot was the highest finish ever for Jennifer.  She has been playing on the tour for a bit but has been coming on with a surge during these last two years.  She is a top shooter and staying consistently strong throughout her tournament play.  She will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.  Superb finish Jennifer!  You go girl!

 

Next was a rematch between Chris and Kim but Chris ran out of steam playing Kim as the Texas Heat came on strong with a win (7-3), thus securing her spot in the finals to avenge her hot seat loss to Orietta.

 

In true double elimination format, Kim would need to defeat Orietta twice and that’s exactly what she did.  In the first set, it looked to be all Orietta who was up in the match 5-2, but due to some unfortunate rolls and uncharacteristic misses by Orietta, she forgot to shut the front door and Kim came back to score the first set win 7-5.

 

The second set was a lot like the first.  It looked like Orietta was going to take it away as she reached the hill first.  However, Kim continued to fight the fight and keep on battling.  She was able to finish out some games by capitalizing on some problem position play by Orietta, and making it a hill-hill match.  The final game saw Orietta almost running out but she had a tough finish with the 8 and 9 on opposite ends of the table and both near the short rails.  A straight in shot on the 8 would be a challenge draw to get position for the 9 ball and it came up short.  Orietta then opted to take a long rail kick on the 9 but it rattled out of the corner pocket leaving Kim an easy shot with the 9 ball inches away from the pocket.  This was Kim’s very first OB Cues Ladies Tour stop win since playing on the tour.  Congratulations Kim and Orietta for a great, great tournament.

 

Our next stop will be at Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, TX the weekend of March 25-26.  Big Tyme is hosting their first OB Cues Ladies Tour event.  Thank you to the management and staff for having us.  We are anxious and looking forward to seeing everyone there!

 

Main Event Tournament Payouts – ($2000 added) – 64 players

 

1st – $750 – Kim Pierce

2nd – $575 – Orietta Strickland

3rd – $430 – Chris Fields

4th – $330 – Jennifer Pavlovick

5th/6th – $200 – Tina Soto, Deedra Trammell

7th/8th – $135 – Julie Stephenson, Natalie Rocha

9th/12th – $100 – Janet Ybarra, Angie Payne, Rachel Petersen, Terry Petrosino

13th/16th – $80 – Natalie Mans, Teresa Garland, Corina Campbell, Gail Roles

 


 

 

Best of the Rest Tournament – $100 added monies – $10 players

 

1st – $90 – Yvonne Asher

2nd – $60 – Robyn Petrosino

3rd – $40 – Carrie Williams

4th – $10 – Tracie Voelkering

 

Additional Tournament Winners:

 

Tournament Free Entry ($30) – Belinda Guerra

Omega Billiards Towels – Angie Payne, Janna Preston, Orietta Strickland

Omega Billiards Bag – Tammy Gregory, Shirley Fields, Carrie Williams, Jeannie Kim

Gift Basket (courtesy Tara Williams) – Teresa Garland

$50 Gas Cards (6) – Shanute Starley, Brandy Stewart, Tracie Voelkering, Ileana Ford, Natalie Rocha, Shayla Neris

 

Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!

 

Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or stay up to date with instant news by adding us on Facebook/obcuestour

 

Jennifer Kraber Scores Birthday Win at OB Cues Ladies Tour at CK Billiards in Dallas

A stellar field of 48 women came to CK Billiards in Dallas on the weekend of June 25-26 for the OB Cues Ladies Tour 4th stop.  This is the first time that the OB Tour has stopped at CK Billiards and the event attracted several players from other regional tours, as well as other states, who came to experience the great fun of the OB Tour and the wonderful hospitality of CK Billiards.

 

Thank you to Jennifer Sherman, General Manager of CK Billiards, for her hospitality and service to all supporters, fan, players and general public.  Also special thanks to event sponsors Starwoodmotors and Barisita Brothers.  Starwoodmotors caters to an automobile style which is unique and luxurious for their custom/handcrafted vehicles.   Be sure to check them out at Starwoodmotors.com to see all about their specialized services and offerings.  Barista Brothers strives to provide the utmost in coffee service like no other.  They have a passion for absolute excellence with their coffee products and services.  You can read all about their passion and products at baristabrothers.com.  Enjoy!

 

As the tournament day progressed, Saturday was indeed a long day with so many ladies and many interesting upsets.  The Freight Train that is Tara “Firecracker” Williams (Ft. Worth) was derailed by Nicole Keeney (Colorado), and former tour stop winners Orietta Strickland, Amanda Lampert (both of Dallas), Terry Petrosino (Houston), Jennifer Kraber and Michelle Cortez (both of Austin) all suffered at least one loss by the end of Saturday’s play.

 

Sunday brought back 12 ladies.  On the winner’s side, Nicole emerged victorious over Ricki Casper (Houston), and Belinda Lee (Pearland) won a hill-hill battle against board member Shayla Neris (Austin).  The four B-side matches saw up-and-coming player Yvonne Asher (Houston) defeat Amanda; two-time tour champion Tara beat Jennifer Pavlovick (Irving), new tour member Toby Stogner (Amarillo) won vs. Tera Saunders (Dallas), and Jennifer wound up on the winning side of a hill-hill battle against Terry.  Shayla and Ricki both finished in 5/6thplace, which required a race-to-seven battle to determine who would win the qualifier for the next NAPT Tour stop, as they were the last remaining candidates out of 11 qualifier contenders and both finished in the same position.  The two NAPT Qualifier winners were Ricki and Belinda.  Unfortunately for Belinda, she will not be able to make the Grayslake NAPT Division 1 Pro event, so Shayla will be taking the invite.  We wish all OBCLT representatives best of luck at the Shooter’s Sports Bar and Billiards, Grayslake, IL – $21,000 total purse event August 18-21, 2016.

 

The final four players were Nicole vs. Belinda for the hotseat match, and Tara vs. Jennifer K. on the other side.  Nicole, who in recent years has won the OB Tour stops she has attended, won the hotseat, sending Belinda to the B-side.  Jennifer managed to capture a hill-hill win against Tara while she then continued to defeat Belinda and meet up with Nicole in the finals.

 

Right before the finals match was about to commence, the raffle drawing for the two beautiful OB cues donated to support the tour followed an unbelievable trend, sending both cues home to Terry Petrosino and Richard Holstein, who now own an arsenal of OB cues!

 

As in a true double elimination format, Jennifer would have to beat Nicole two sets to win the tournament and that is exactly what she did.  In the first set, Nicole made a couple uncharacteristic errors which Jennifer was able to finish each game all the while giving her confidence and strong momentum with full steam ahead.  Jennifer was truly on a roll and playing in near flawless fashion, caught a gear and finished the first set 7-3.  They began the second set almost immediately, and while Jennifer still couldn’t miss a ball, Nicole played strong herself, fighting back with absolutely beautiful shotmaking and finesse of her own, with several break and runs during the final set.  Jennifer reached the hill first and had a chance at 6-5 to finish out the tournament win with a break and run, but made the nine-ball and then scratched, thus making it a nail-biter and tense game, set and match for the eventual winner.  In the final game, Nicole had the same opportunity and shot as Jennifer did in the previous game, but just barely missed pocketing the nine giving Jennifer the win.  It was Jennifer’s birthday, so it was probably meant to be.  There were a few June birthdays that weekend, including the Tour angel Carter’s birthday, so there was much celebrating all weekend.  The ladies presented Carter with an Edible Arrangement, cupcakes and his own personal figurine with our undying love and honor to have Carter as part of this tour family always and forever.  We love you Carter!

 

Thank you to the OB board members, who go out of their way to make the events fantastic even when tournament play lasts past midnight and then they have to be back early the next day.  Thank you again to Carter for all the support, chocolate, energy goodies and love of the game and the ladies.  Special thank you to all the players who traveled from near and far to participate and make the tour the fun experience that it is!  And last of all thanks to OB Cues, our title sponsor since 2008.  They have the best products and are the best sponsors ever—bar none.  Check them out at obcues.com and be sure to get the Digicue…..one of their newest product offerings……you can’t go wrong with this one.

 

Main Event Tournament Payouts – ($2000 added) – 48 players

1st – Jennifer Kraber – $770

2nd – Nicole Keeney – $600

3rd – Belinda Lee– $450

4th – Tara Williams – $340

5th/6th – Ricki Lee Casper/Shayla Neris – $190

7th/8th – Yvonne Asher/Toby Stogner – $120

9th-2th – Amanda Lampert/Jennifer Pavlovick/Terry Petrosino/Tera Saunders – $80

 

Best of the Rest Tournament Payouts ($100 added monies) – 14 players

1st – Michelle Cortez – $100

2nd – Teresa Garland – $70

3rdKathy Knuth – $45

4th – Melissa Smith – $25

 

Free Giveaway Winners

$50 Gas Cards (5) – Yvonne Asher, Monica Anderson, Tam Trinh, Lori Maples, Tina Malm

 

Our next stop is September 17-18 at Slick Willie’s in Austin, TX.

 

Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!

 

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The Jennifer’s vs. Tara but Firecracker Freight Train Just Keeps on Rolling

On the weekend of May 18-19, 2016, OB Cues Ladies Tour made it to one of their favorite stops on the yearly tour calendar at Click’s Billiards in San Antonio.  General Manager Miranda Dalka and her exceptional staff extended their awesome hospitality and services the entire two day weekend.  They were superb hosts to 35 players and a large group of fans, friends, and family members who came out to join in the weekend festivities.  A strong contingent of players from all over Texas came to try their luck and brought out their best pool playing skills as all were vying for the $800 first place prize money.  A big, big thank you to Click’s Billiards and Miranda for supporting the tour and we will most certainly be back next year.
 
Also first and foremost a big high five and utmost thanks to our title sponsor OB Cues.  OB Cues, our main sponsor since 2008, is one of the leading pool cues and shafts manufacturers in the world.  They have a plethora of quality and intrinsically crafted products to complement your pool playing arsenal.  Be sure to check them out at obcues.com—you won’t regret it!  They are also made in the USA, in Plano, TX to be specific.  Thank you OB Cues!
 
To precede with the tournament updates, by day’s end on Saturday, the final eight ladies would continue their winning ways in the Main Event competition on Sunday.  The final four in the winner’s bracket pitted the three Jennifer’s in the tournament, against the lone stand-out, Tara.  Facing each other early Sunday was Jennifer Pavlovick (Grand Prairie) vs Tara Williams (Ft. Worth) and Jennifer Kraber (Austin) vs. Jennifer Yo (also of Austin).  The four ladies returning on the one loss side were Terry Petrosino (Spring) vs. Kim Pierce (Austin) and Orietta Strickland (Dallas) vs. Natalie Mans (League City).
 
7th-8th finishers were Kim Pierce and Orietta Strickland. 5th-6th places went to Jennifer Pavlovick and Natalie Mans. 4th place winner was Terry Petrosino and 3rd place winner Jennifer Yo.  Jennifer Pavlovick has had a couple of high finishes this year already and we hope to see her continued winning ways in more OB stops throughout this year.  Good shooting Jennifer—keep up the great work!
 
Tara Williams made her way through Saturday with wins over Barbara Wisdom (7-4), Corina Campbell (7-3), and Krystal West (7-0).  On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and to earn a spot at the hot seat with another win over Jennifer Pavlovick (7-0).  On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Jennifer Yo was making her way through her Saturday matches, posting wins over some tough opponents.  She had wins over Frances Marron (7-1), Michelle Cortez (7-6), and Kim Pierce (7-5).  On Sunday morning, she continued her run besting Jennifer Kraber (7-6) for her spot in the hot seat match.   In the hot seat match, Tara jumped to a quick lead and didn’t look back, winning her spot in the finals against Jennifer Yo (7-3).
 
For the 3rd place match, we knew Jennifer would be the victor but we didn’t know which one.   Jennifer Kraber didn’t allow Jennifer Yo to keep as close as she had in the winner’s side match and defeated Jennifer Yo (7-3).  This would then allow Tara the opportunity to challenge all of the Jennifer’s on Sunday.  Big congratulations to Jennifer Yo for this being her highest finish to date in any OB stop.  Jennifer was the 2015 OB Cues Ladies Tour Best Sportswoman recipient and we know that she is truly an asset to the tour and we wish her well in continued success in future OB events.
 
In the finals, in the true double elimination format, Jennifer Kraber would need to beat Tara twice in order to win the event.  Both players started out the match strong, but Tara prevailed to win her third tournament of the year.  Congratulations to both ladies for a great event!  With this third win in 2016 and the last two wins of 2015 for Tara, she broke her own consecutive win record with five wins in a row.  Congratulations for an awesome accomplishment Tara!  Keep on keepin’ on!
 
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com
 
Also many thanks and love to all our families, fans, supporters—we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Also to the many, many ladies/ players/friends who traveled from near and far; we loved seeing you all again and greatly appreciate you making the journey to play on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone once again at Stop #4 – CK’s Billiards in Dallas, Texas, June 25-26th weekend. 
 
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or Facebook/obcuestour

Tara Williams Scores Win at Stop #1 of OB Cues Ladies Tour

Forty-seven players showed up the weekend of January 24-25th to play in the first stop of 2015 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. It was a combination of both new and regular players, with some players playing for the first time in over a year.  It was a fun and exciting event with the new players getting a taste of their first OB Cues Ladies Tour event.  There were plenty of raffles, good times, and most importantly, chocolate to be had at this event.  For 2015, some new changes were announced during the players meeting – the payouts will be reduced from ½ to 1/3 of the field to 1/3 to ¼ of the field for all future events.  Additionally, the previous free entry raffled to players at the event is now a bounty aka “Tough Luck Draw”– the player to draw the previous year’s Tour Champion, gets their entry fee returned.  In this event, board member Tracie Voelkering drew Tara Williams in the first round.  She opted to raffle her entry, as she has a free spot already for serving on the board and thus the free entry was won by Courtney Evans ($30 tournament entry).  Tracie went on to defeat Tara 7-6 in her first match, knocking the tour champ to the one loss side early.
 
It was a long day Saturday as forty-six players were dwindled down to twelve ladies returning on Sunday morning to battle for the $760 in prize money for first place. The final four in the winners bracket returning were Jennifer Kraber vs. Janna Preston and Orietta Strickland vs. Amanda Lampert.  The eight ladies returning on the one loss side were Tara Williams vs Angie Payne, Jennifer Pavlovick vs. Shayla Neris, Michelle Cortez vs. Snowy Belt, and Michelle Yim vs. Angela Garza
 
9th-12th finishers were Angie Payne, Jennifer Pavlovick, Snowy Belt, and Angela Garza.  Great job ladies! 7th-8th went to Shayla Neris and Michelle Cortez; 5th-6th places went to Janna Preston and Michelle Yim. 4th place was Amanda Lampert and 3rd place went to Orietta Strickland. 
 
It was a long road to the finals for Tara after her first round defeat.  She won nine straight matches on the one loss side to meet Jennifer Kraber in the finals. The first set was a close match-up as both players displayed their skills on the table with both run-outs and safety play.  Tara managed to pull ahead the first set to win 7-4 and force one final set for the win.  In the second set, Tara built on the momentum of the first set and ran away with the match, defeating Jennifer 7-1 in the finals.   It was an excellent match-up and it definitely showed how these players finished in their respective first and second positions last year in the tour rankings.  
 
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com
Also many thanks and love to all our families, fans, supporters—we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Also to the many, many ladies/ player/friends who traveled from near and far; we loved seeing you all again and greatly appreciate you making the journey to play on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone once again at Stop #2 – Slick Willie’s at Katy, Texas, March 14th-15th weekend. 
 
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or Facebook/obcuestour
 
Tournament Results & Payouts: $2000 monies added – 47 players
1st – Tara Williams – $765
2nd – Jennifer Kraber – $555
3rd – Orietta Strickland – $428
4th – Amanda Lampert – $319
5th/6th – Janna Preston; Michelle Yim – $222
7th/8th – Michelle Cortez, Shayla Neris – $142
9th/12th – Angie Payne, Jennifer Pavlovick, Snowy Belt, Angela Garza – $95
 
Best of the Rest Tournament Results & Payouts: $100 monies added – 22 players
1st – Tracie Voelkering – $120
2nd – Jennifer Yo – $85
3rd – BB Fubara – $55
4th – Teresa Garland– $30
5th/6th – Lorna McEwan, Monica Anderson – $15
 
Goody-Giveaway Winners:
$50 Shell Gift Cards (6) – Monica Forrest, Tera Saunders, Snowy Belt, Tara Williams, Tracie Voelkering, Lisann Bennett
MzTam Cue Case (2) – Lorna McEwan, Samantha Hall
MzTam Customized Chalk – Jennifer Kraber
 
OB Cues Raffle Winners: Stephen John, Christina Stutts

Michelle Cortez Scores Her 1st OB Cues Ladies Tour Win

OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball Tour held their 8th and final tour stop December 6th – 7th at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas.  The owner and manager, Jeff Pitts and Tim Gildon and all the bar and wait staff did a wonderful job taking care of all the ladies, a full field of 32 players ready to rack and roll!
 
At the players meeting, board member Monica Anderson announced yearly awards and a special celebration of the birthday of a beloved and long-time tour member who passed last year, Becky Jones.  Becky’s daughter was in attendance and a cake was prepared in Becky’s honor.  On the awards side, the sportswomanship award went to Jackie Forster, with a special mention to her travel buddies – four ladies who add a lot of good company and good play to the tour.  The most improved player was the “tiny giant killer” Angie Payne, who was last year’s sportswoman of the year.  The tour champion was undecided at the outset, but all Tara McCracken Williams needed to do was finish better than 5th/6th and she accomplished more than that, getting second this tournament.  Tara also won the qualifier for the WPBA event at Soaring Eagle and will go represent in February!  
 
With exactly 32 players, no one got a bye, and there were some tough matches early on, including past tour stop winners Orietta Strickland and Lisa Marr.  Lisa won the match 7-6 but then had to contend with Jennifer Kraber, who’s had a great year, and put Lisa on the loser’s side with a resounding 7-2 win.  But Jennifer’s winning ways were short-lived, when she ran into Amanda Lampert, past champion many times over and this year’s outgoing tour champion.  The loser’s side quickly became littered with great players, and at the end of Saturday, only four women were left standing on the winner’s side: Amanda Lampert, who would play Julie Stephenson on Sunday, and Michelle Cortez, who would be up against Chris Fields, who came all the way from Florida.
 
Sunday’s B-side matches were Jennifer Kraber vs. Jennifer Pavlovick and Tara McCracken Williams vs. Angie Payne.  Pavlovick and Payne came in 7th/8th.  Amanda Lampert and Michelle Cortez won their Sunday winner’s side matches to compete for the hot seat.  Michelle, a long time player and always a threat, has had a fantastic year, finishing third in Austin, which was her highest finish to date.  She overcame that finish with this tournament’s hill-hill match with Amanda, securing herself the hotseat and a guaranteed second place.  It was eventually Tara who attempted to double-dip her, but without success.  In another hill-hill battle, Michelle Cortez didn’t let Tara to the table in the final game, breaking and running her way to first place and $750!  Congratulations to her for a fantastic tournament and to all the ladies for some awesome shooting.
 
Thanks again to Rusty’s for our first and last tournament this year, and to all our board members who do a fantastic job all year around.  A special year-end thank you to the man behind the tour, always supporting the ladies and feeding us Godiva chocolate, a great friend and wonderful person, Carter, we love you.