Bustamante, Miller take Balls Only, Second Chance events
It was actually back-to-back victories on the Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour (AWBT) for her, albeit separated by 14 months. In November of 2020, with all of the tour’s host locations having closed thanks to the pandemic, Rae Evans-Taylor teamed with Brian Honoway to win the tour’s traditional season finale, a Jack and Jill Scotch Doubles event, hosted by Main Street Billiards in Mesa. One year and two months later, this past weekend (Jan. 29-30), the AWBT opened a new season at Bull Shooters in Phoenix and Rae Evans-Taylor, went undefeated to win the $1,000-added, 9-ball main event that drew 40 entrants to the room.
In a pair of concurrently-run events, Joven Bustamante came from the loss side to win a $250-added, BALLS ONLY 10-Ball event that drew 30 entrants and Sara Miller went undefeated to win a $250-added Second Chance event that drew 12.
Any thoughts that things might be a little different at the end of the 14-month hiatus were dispelled as Evans-Taylor faced two tour veterans in the hot seat match and finals of the 9-ball main event. Both of those veterans, Susan Mello and Nina Tagley, battled her to a double hill final game before she prevailed to claim the 9-ball title.
Evans-Taylor had gotten by Tracy Price, Jill Watson and Veronica Poore to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Jaye Succo. Mello, in the meantime, the first of the two tour veterans to face Evans-Taylor, had won a play-in preliminary round over Jodi Hirning and then sent Crystal Parada, Mari Simonson and junior competitor Kennedy Meyman to the loss side to meet up with Jamie Hagerty in the other winners’ side semifinal. Nina Tagley had won her opening match against Colette Kruse, before losing a double hill fight to Amanda Pulley and embarking on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would see her compete in the finals.
Mello downed Hagerty 6-4 while Evans-Taylor defeated Succo 7-5. Evans-Taylor claimed the hot seat with a double hill win over Mello.
On the loss side, Hagerty was the one who had the misfortune of drawing Tagley, who was, at the time, four matches into her loss-side trip, which had recently included victories over Marcy Thomas and Veronica Poore. Succo picked up Leandrea Gaff, who was also working on a four-match winning streak that was about to end. Gaff had just eliminated Amanda Pulley, double hill and Colette Kruse 6-3.
Tagley sent Hagerty home 7-1 and in the quarterfinals, faced Succo, who’d ended Gaff’s loss-side streak 7-2. Tagley stopped Succo’s loss-side wins at 1 with a 7-3 win in those quarterfinals.
Tagley and Mello battled in the semifinals, both of them looking for a rematch against Evans-Taylor in the hot seat. Mello had faced her most recently in the hot seat match of this event, while Tagley and Evans-Taylor had battled at other times and other places on the tour.
Tagley won the semifinal battle 7-3 over Mello. The finals were a straight up, extended race to 9 and proved to be the second double hill match of the event for both of them. Evans-Taylor dropped the last 9-ball and claimed the title.
Bustamante wins 7 on the loss side to win BALLS ONLY, Miller wins 4 to claim Second Chance
Joven Bustamante’s winners’ side journey in the 30-entrant BALLS ONLY, 10-ball event saw him give up five racks in two matches, losing the second match to a competitor (Adam Hanten) who only had to chalk up four racks to win, which he did. Bustamante’s subsequent seven-match, loss-side trip saw him give up a total of nine racks in seven matches; two racks, three times/one rack, three times and one shut out. He crowned this achievement with back-to-back shutouts in a true double elimination final over Robert Moreno, who’d been sitting in the hot seat waiting for him.
It was Moreno and Joey Barrera who battled for the hot seat in this one. It turned into a double hill fight that eventually sent Barrera to a doomed semifinal meetup with Bustamante. The two opponents who’d lost out in the winners’ side semifinals – Tim Biggs to Moreno 5-0 and Jesse Johnson to Barrera, double hill – moved to the loss side and walked right into their second straight loss.
Biggs lost to Avery Reece and Johnson ran into Bustamante, four matches into his loss-side streak. Bustamante downed Reece in the quarterfinals 7-1 and began a 21-0 streak that saw him defeat Barrera once in the semifinals and Moreno twice in the finals.
Sara Miller’s run through the 12-entrant Second Chance field was a breeze by comparison. She dropped three opponents 4-2 to claim the hot seat and then defeated one of those three (Kaia Fujimoto) a second time, double hill to claim the Second Chance title.
Fujimoto was Miller’s first and last victory (4-0). Miller was Fujimoto’s second and eighth opponent, representing both of her losses (6-2).
Miller’s third opponent, Mari Simonson, battled for the hot seat, but as the victim of Miller’s third 4-2 victory in a row, she moved to the semifinals to be shut out by Fujimoto. Jill Watson, who’d been defeated by Miller 4-2 in a winners’ side semifinal, survived a double hill fight versus Barbara Lee on the loss side, lost a double hill, quarterfinal match to Fujimoto and finished 4th.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Bull Shooters, as well as sponsors Realty One Group, A Best Billiards, Las Glorias Grill, Goober Pet Direct, Your Way Logistics, Idle Hands Vintage, Sophia’s House Cleaning, Avalon Home Performance LLC, Big Time Threads and Friends of the AWBT. The nest stop on the AWBT, scheduled for March 5-6, will be hosted by Griff’s in Las Vegas, NV.
The G Cue Billiard Store Diamond Pool Tour held their second stop of the season at Skip & Jan’s in Gilbert on June 17th – 18th, where they once again crowned a new winner in the amateur division, and a returning champion in the open division.
The amateur division kicked off on Saturday with 36 players and a new group of favorites at the top of the list. With tour stop one winner Max Maurer over the 625 Fargo limit, early favorites in this event included Rick Armbrust (619), Lee Brown (619), Ken Laney (618) and Mike Hamman (616). As a testament to the handicapped format of the event, only Armbrust would finish in the money.
Saturday play whittled the field down to the final eight players in the money, with Bob Mizer set to face Scott Vogelsburg (looking for his second big win in as many weeks) and Rick Armbrust set to face Nick Cipiti. The one loss side came down to Steve Stowers vs Wes Sowers and Randy Reid vs Jesse Johnson.
As play began on Sunday, Vogelsberg beat Mizer 8-2 in an even 8-8 race, and Armbrust beat Cipiti 9-6 in a 9-8 race.
On the left side of the board, Steve Stowers eliminated Wes Sowers 8-5 in an 8-7 race, while Randy Reid upset Jesse Johnson 6-2 in a 6-8 race. Stowers would then eliminate Mizer in a hill-hill match 8-6, and Cipiti bounced back from his earlier loss to send Reid to the seats with an 8-2 scoreline. Cipiti would soon be joining Reid in the seats, as Stowers scored a hill-hill win to eliminate Cipiti in 4th place. Due to the Father’s Day holiday, Vogelsberg forfeited his semi-final match against Stowers and the race to 9 final match was underway.
The final match came down to hill-hill, before Armbrust dropped the final 9-ball for the 9-8 win and first place.
On one side of the winner’s bracket, Foldes was on a tear. He defeated Carl Stewart, Ben Hrabina and Brian Long by a combined score of 30-2. On the other side of the winner’s bracket, it was Bobby Emmons making noise. Emmons defeated Tracie Hamman, Eric Young and then Mitch Ellerman in a hill-hill match.
Ellerman took the trip to the one loss side, where he then dropped a hill-hill match to Eric Young to finish in 4th place.
Back on the winner’s side, Emmons was playing like he didn’t have a care in the world and sent Foldes to the one loss side 7-3 (in a 7-10 match).
Foldes was ready for round two with Emmons though, as he then eliminated Young in a hill-hill 10-4 match.
Just to prove that the first time was no fluke, Emmons defeated Foldes in the first set of the finals by the same 7-3 scoreline.
The tour will next head out to Tucson on the 15th and 16th of July for two events on the 9’ tables at Pockets.
The G Cue Billiard Store Diamond Pool Tour is proudly sponsored by…
The first stop on the 2017 G Cue Billiard Diamond Pool Tour introduced a new player to the tour’s winners circle, and welcomed a long time member back.
The new season introduced a new format to the tour stops, which are now divided into a Fargo 625 and below “amateur” event starting on Saturday, and an “open” event for anyone that starts on Sunday. The amateur event drew a field of 45 players to Bullshooters on May 27th, ranging from two players rated 401, all the way to a 621 rated player. With higher rated players giving up one game for every 25 points difference in ratings, the top players struggled in early matches against the lower rated players. Eight of thirteen first round matches were won by the lower rated player.
Sunday play saw Maurer beat Duarte 8-2, and Pelton beat Johnson 8-6. Maurer then went on to take the hot-seat with a 7-3 win over Pelton.
On the one loss side, Hillen eliminated Hamman and then went on to send Duarte back home in 5th place. The other half of the one loss side saw Ampongan defeat Avila 8-3, but then drop his next match to Johnson 8-7. Hillen then ended Johnson’s tourney in 4th place with a 4-3 scoreline. Hillen then joined Johnson in the seats, after Pelton handed him an 8-2 loss.
The finals were a rematch of the hot-seat match, but this one was pretty lopsided as Maurer ran away with a 7-0 win for first place.
As the field narrowed, the winner’s side came down to one top player and three amateurs with Gus Briseno joining Jeremy Vicente, Fernando Prats and Nick Kline as the only undefeated players. Where other players had struggled with giving up games to the weaker players, Briseno had no problems at all, as he went on to take the hot seat after a 9-0 win over Vicente and a 9-1 win over Prats.
The one loss side came down to Prats and Pete Lhotka. Lhotka had found himself on the one loss side after one match, but put together an impressive winning streak that included wins over Joey Barrera, Chad Barber, Chris Adams, Martin Romero (revenge for his earlier loss), Vicente and Kline. Lhotka looked to be adding Prats to his list of victims when the late hour and back to back matches appeared to get the better of him. Lhotka faded and lost the match to Prats 5-6.
The rematch offered Prats another shot at Briseno, and while he bettered his earlier score against Briseno, it was still to no avail. Briseno came out on fire and took an 8-0 lead before dropping two games to Prats. Briseno then regathered himself and put the match away 9-2 for first place.
The G Cue Diamond Pool Tour will hold their second stop of the season at Skip & Jan’s in Gilbert, Az on June 17th – 18th.
The Legends and Champions Pool Tour are excited to announce that {Dynamite) Darren Appleton, back to back US Open Champion, multi time World Champion and 7 time Mosconi Cup team member for Team EUROPE will be joining (The Scorpion) Johnny Archer, US Open Champion, multi time World Champion, Hall of Famer and Guinness Book of World record holder for 18 times as a member of Team USA for the “Legends of Mosconi Cup” Tour. This tour will not only be fun for all spectators but a glimpse into the real personality of two of the greatest pool players in modern history.
Exhibitions will vary in each location as some are challenge matches against local Pro players and others are our standard show that include Q & A sessions, a little educational (Hear what a World Champion is thinking and why while running a rack) Trick shots, a challenge match, door prizes, Raffle and a chance for many to play a rack of Scotch Doubles with a World Champion against a World Champion (Fan Favorite). Of Course all will get the opportunity to have The Legends of Mosconi Cup take Pictures and sign autographs.
Clinics as always remain the same format. We only allow 12 students in each 4 hour clinic. The group of 12 is divided into 2 groups of 6 So you will never be in a group with more than 5 other students. This enables the best value and the most one on one attention as possible. Of course there is always something to learn as a group. Each group of 6 will spend 2 hours with each pro with a break in the middle for lunch. The cost for the clinic has remained the same also since The Legends and Champions Pool Tour was created. The fee is $200.00 per person for an opportunity that does not come around every day.
“This is going to be a lot of fun for all concerned. Away from the competitive nature of being a Professional Pool Player these two champions are as much fun to be around as anyone and don’t mind getting anyone around them involved. Having worked with both players I also know that they are very serious about making sure that they make sure that everyone in the clinics leave with something that will better their game and get to ask what they think will help them most.” Commented Mark Cantrill of the Legends and Champions Pool Tour.
Below is the Schedule and contact info.
June
Fri 10th = Exhibition – 7.30pm at 6 Pockets – Decatur, Alabama – See Pool room for VIP and admission.
Sat 11th = Clinic – 11am to 3pm – 6 Pockets – Decatur, Alabama
Sun 12th = Clinic – 1pm to 5pm – Krome Billiards – Little Rock, Arkansas (This clinic is full)
Monday 13th = Clinic – 5pm to pm Krome Billiards – Little Rock, Arkansas
Tues 14th = Exhibition – 7.30pm – High Pockets – Memphis, Tn – See Pool room for VIP and admission
Wed 15th = Clinic- 6pm to 10pm – High Pockets – Memphis, Tn.
Thurs 16th = Exhibition/Challenge match -7.30pm at Teacher’s Billiards – St Peters, Mo. Bergman and Quin singles matches against Appleton and Archer. See Pool room for VIP and admission.
Fri 17th = Clinic – 11am to 3pm – Teacher’s Billiards – St Peters, Mo.
Sat 18th = Clinic – 11am to 3pm – Starship Billiards – Springfield, Illinois.
Mon 20th = Exhibition – 7.30pm – Starship Billiards – Springfield, Illinois. See Pool room for VIP and admission.
Tues 21st = Exhibition- 7.30pm – The Pyramid Club – Addison, Illinois. (Very Limited number of VIPs and spectators) please contact RJ Wilkinson for information by email at MagicChalkUSA@yahoo.com
Wed 22nd = Clinic – 6pm to 10pm – Pyramid Club – Addison. Illinois.
Thurs 23rd = Exhibition – 7.30pm at Anazeh Sands EAST – Grand Rapids, Michigan. See Pool room for VIP and admission.
Fri 24th = Clinic – 11am to 3pm – Anazeh Sands EAST – Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Sat 25th = Exhibition – 7.30pm at Who’s Who Billiards – Bay City, Michigan. See Pool room for VIP and admission.
Sun 26th = Clinic – 11am to 3pm – Who’s Who Billiards – Bay City, Michigan.
For information on clinics, please feel free to contact Mark Cantrill at cantrillmark@yahoo.com or at 480-612-7732.
We are all looking forward to this tour and wish to thank All the pool room owners who are supporting the Legends of Mosconi Cup Tour. Also Matchroom Sport for their endorsement. RJ Wilkinson of Russian Magic Chalk, Justin Wray, Chris Renfro of Outsville for their sponsorship of the Accu-Rack, Jesse Johnson and Cozy Lamps, Ron Bryant for his constant support supplying out tour shirts for the past 10 years. We will be updating our sponsor list as we move forward.
Spike Aiardo battled a very tough George Bell to win the Diamond Pool Tour’s fourth stop at Pockets Pool & Pub in Tucson, Az on May 2nd – 3rd.
The field of 57 players was split with 20 “A” players and 37 “B” players, playing 8-Ball on the 9’ tables. With points leaders Scott Frost and Bobby Emmons not in attendance, the “A” bracket was wide open for a new player to make a name for themselves. That player would be Spike Aiardo who cruised through the bracket without a loss. Aiardo survived a close call in his first match, when he beat Las Vegas’ Bob Herchik 7-6, but it was smooth sailing after that as Aiardo took down Rudy Alameda 7-0, Brian Reich 7-2, and New Mexico’s Mickey Provencio 7-2 for the “A” bracket hot-seat.
The “B” bracket was led by “Hollywood” George Bell, in his first ever Diamond Pool Tour stop. Bell had a tough draw all day, with notable wins over Eric Lervold, Mike Hamman and Jesse Johnson to his credit. Bell took the “B” bracket hot-seat with a hill-hill win over Mike Bevins. That was was Bell’s third hill-hill win of the weekend.
The Greenmail top lady bonus went to Heather Cortez this month. She pocketed $100 for her 13th place finish in the “B” bracket. This was the third consecutive tournament where Cortez won at least a piece of the top lady bonus.
Once again, there was no Greenmail bounty awarded, since previous winner Joven Bustamante couldn’t make it from the Philippines to play in the event.
The “A” and “B” brackets came together on Sunday with Aiardo facing Bell on the winners side, and Andy Kachur taking on Todd Rowitz on the one loss side. Kachur eliminated Rowitz in a 7-1 match that saw both players struggle with the shot clock that was implemented due to the late hour. On the winner’s side, Bell stunned Aiardo 7-4 to become the first “B” player to win an overall hot-seat on the tour.
Aiardo righted his ship after the loss and eliminated Kachur 7-3, for another shot at Bell in the finals. Award would make the most of that rematch, defeating Bell 7-2 and 7-1 for his first (but certainly not last) Diamond Pool Tour win.
The Neil’s Garage Cabinets Second Chance tournament on Sunday found a field of eight players competing for just over $400 in prize money. The event was won by Lee Brown, who held off Ronnie Kidd in the second set of the double elimination finals.
Presenting sponsor, Casino Del Sol Resort, again took care of all of the tour players, presenting each player with a voucher for $60 credit at the Casino’s amphitheater. Players at the June stop will also receive one of these vouchers.
The tournament win catapulted Aiardo to second place on the “A” player points list, while Bell’s second place finish moved him into a tie for 6th place on the “B” player points list. Scott Frost and Nick Kline still lead the “A” and “B” lists respectively.
Tour organizers expressed their thanks to Curtis and Lenny, as well as their amazing staff, for sticking with the long hours involved with this event. Lenny Marshall, once again, provided great streaming coverage. George Teyechea, the voice of the Diamond Pool Tour, provided fans with informative streaming commentary all weekend long. As always, Rick Schmitz took another batch of amazing pictures for the tour.
The Diamond Pool Tour will return to Stingers Sports Bar in Glendale, Az on June 6th – 7th for 8-ball on the 7’ Diamond Smart Tables.
