Rebecca Wagner wasn’t even planning on making the trip from Vegas to Phoenix for the AWBT’s second tour stop at Bullshooters on April 25th and 26th. It was only when she was able to get the weekend off work, that she agreed to accompany road partner Ashea Erdahl to the event. Wagner would end up mowing down a field of twenty eight players to earn first place in her first event of the new season.
Wagner would not have an easy path to the win however. Matches against Cynthia Haeffner and Tracie Hamman on Saturday were followed by equally tough matches against Jaye Succo and Bernie Store on Sunday. Wagner did not allow an opponent to the hill against her, and won two of those four matches 7-1.
Wagner’s opponent for the hot-seat, Store, would not have a path any easier. Store scored wins over Alicia De Leon, Jodie Villegas, Susan Williams and Erdahl before dropping the hot-seat to Wagner 7-4.
The one loss side on Sunday was a “who’s who” of top female talent, including Williams, Amanda Pulley, Justine Bishop and Susan Mello. After Susan and Susan scored wins over Pulley and Bishop, they were joined on the left side of the board by Erdahl and Succo. Susan Williams would keep her winning ways going, with a 7-2 win over Succo, but Mello would drop a hill-hill decision to Erdahl.
Things were not looking good for Williams in her next match, against Erdahl, as she trailed 5-2 in the race to seven. Williams had been in that position before though, and she drew on that experience to mount a great comeback for the hill-hill win.
The semi-finals between Williams and Store started out well for Williams, as she took an early 2-0 lead, but then it was time for Store to mount a comeback and she won seven of the next nine games for the 7-4 win and a rematch with Wagner in the finals.
The single race to nine extended final was closer than their earlier battle, but it ended in the same result, as Wagner defeated Store 9-6 for first place.
The win moves Wagner to second place on the AWBT points list, with Store still holding a comfortable lead over the rest of the list in first place. Williams, Haeffner and Barbara Lee fill out the top five positions on the list.
Although this event worked out well for Wagner, she still doesn’t see herself able to compete in many events this season due to work conflicts.
The AWBT has been forced to change their schedule, and the upcoming Stinger’s event has been moved to May 23rd and 24th.
The second chance event on Sunday saw Cynthia Haeffner beat Diana Leon for the hot-seat and then beat Tami Hathcock in the finals for an undefeated victory.
Assistant Tour director Tres Kane gave his thanks to Mike and Julie Bates, and the staff of Bullshooters for hosting and adding $300 to the main event and $100 to the second chance event, Jose Gonzales of Las Glorias Grille for adding $100 to the main event and his partner Kristie Ortega for running another fine event.
The AWBT kicked off their 2018 season on March 10th – 11th at Bullshooters with a field of 43 players and Bernie Store coming back from the one loss side to win and stake early claim to the AWBT points list.
Store’s path through the brackets started off with wins over Stephanie Woodman, Carol Strong and Sandi Wilson before running into Heather Cortez in the final eight. Cortez, the 2017 points list winner, sent Bernie packing to the one loss side in a hill-hill match.
After her win over Store, Cortez went on to defeat Nina Tagley in the final four and then Amanda Pulley for the hot-seat 7-3.
On the one loss side, Store got down to business with wins over Justine Bishop, Beth Orth, Jaye Succo (a hill-hill nail biter), Tagley and then Pulley in the semi-finals.
As is always the case on the AWBT, the finals were an extended race to 9 and Store cruised to a comfortable 9-5 victory for first place.
Sixteen players came back to Bullshooters on Sunday to compete in the second chance event, where Pearl Ortiz defeated Justine Bishop in the finals for first place.
In addition to the ladies events, the AWBT also held their first “Balls Only” event where Jason Melm completed an undefeated run with back to back wins over James Main in the finals for first place and $310 in prize money.
The AWBT will be at Freezer’s for the second stop of the season on April 28th – 29th where they will be playing 9-ball on the 9 foot tables with $500 in added prize money.
The Arizona Women’s Billiards Tour crowned it’s fifth different event winner, and a rookie event winner, at the final stop of the 2013 season at Bull Shooters on November 16th and 17th.
Saturday play saw it’s fair share of early favorites taking losses much sooner than they had hoped. April winner (and current points leader) Bernie Store handed Stacy Allsup a loss early on Saturday, but Store would soon join Allsup on the left side of the board after a loss to tour veteran Susan Mello.
Miller ended her streak of cashes after a loss to Nancy Ann Kennedy was followed up with a loss to Bernie Store late on Saturday.
Sunday morning brought eight players back with two time winner Susan Wililams facing Susan Wilbur and Susan Mello taking on Amanda Pulley. Both of these matches would be true battles with Pulley falling to Mello and Williams losing to Wilbur.
Meanwhile, Bernie Store was sending Jodie Villegas back to the one pocket table 7-5, and Nina Tagley was eliminating Stacey Allsup 7-6.
Next up on the one loss side was a battle between first and second place on the points list as points leader Bernie Store eliminated #2 ranked Susan Williams 7-5 to end Williams’ hopes for a tour points win for the year. The other one loss side match saw Pulley eliminate Nina Tagley in 5th place.
Back on the winners side, Susan Mello and Susan Wilbur were facing off in another battle. Mello looked to be running away with things at 5-1, but Wilbur won back to back games to get back within two at 5-3 before Mello win the final two games to the take her first hot-seat of the season.
On the one loss side, Bernie Store was taking on Amanda Pulley in a back and forth match. Pulley raced to a 4-1 lead, but Bernie soon righted her ship and clawed back to tie things up at 6-6. The comeback would prove to be for naught as Pulley dispatched Store 7-6 to end Store’s day in 4th place.
Next up was the match of the day as Amanda Pulley took on Susan Wilbur. This match started out firmly in Wilbur’s control as Pulley couldn’t seem to get anything together. Wilbur held a commanding 6-1 lead when Pulley started her comeback. The roles suddenly reversed and it was Wilbur who couldn’t close out a game and Pulley would took the reins of the match. Pulley won six straight games to earn a 7-6 victory and a spot in her first final match of the season.
The final extended race to nine match saw Susan Mello take an early 2-0 lead, but Amanda quickly erased that lead and tied the score at 2-2. Mello seemed to struggle closing out games in this match and Pulley was more than happy taking full advantage of those mistakes. Pulley won four more games to lead 6-2 before Mello would move another bead for herself. There would be no comeback for Mello as Pulley finished off the last two games for the lopsided 9-3 win and her first AWBT event win.
Sunday’s second chance tournament saw Terri Johnson-McCauley beat Beth Orth in the finals for first place.
Assistant Tour Director Tres Kane commented after the tournament, “The 2013 season was a great year for the AWBT with a lot of new faces winning and cashing. We celebrated not only the great competition but also a wonderful fellowship that will carry us into a very robust and successful 2014 season.”
The AWBT wants to thank BullShooters owners Mike and Julie Bates for hosting and adding a total of $400 to both tournaments. We want to thank Jose Gonzalez of Las Glorias Grille for adding $100 and the Friends of the AWBT for adding $200. Thanks to Kristie Ortega and her man Scooter for running another smooth tournament.
Don’t forget to come out and support the WPBA’s Regional Tour Championships at Bullshooters January 16-19.
