(l to r): Jason Richko, Nick Applebee & Obbie Cirilo
Rose, White and Mitchell announced as 2019 Player of the Year, Top Junior and Top Female
By all accounts, Obbie Cirilo doesn’t get out on the tables much. As of this past weekend, February 1-2, he’s chalked up exactly two cash finishes in his (recorded) pool career, which began, as far as we know in January, 2018. Both cash finishes were event victories and both, including this past weekend, were on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour. His opponent in the hot seat and finals of this Sunshine State Pro Am season opener, Jason Richko, hasn’t been at the tables much recently either. He entered the tournament with only five cash finishes in the same amount of time; no event wins, but all on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour. Richko, however, has a history that dates back 20 years to what’s been recorded in our database as his first cash finish anywhere; 13th at the Planet 9-Ball Intergalactic Open in Tampa that year (2000).
So. . the newcomer and seasoned veteran battled twice in the $1,450-added event which drew 64 entrants to Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL. Richko won the first of the two, but Cirilo came back from a semifinal win to defeat him in the finals and claim the title.
Cirilo downed Applebee 7-2 to earn his spot in the hot seat match. Richko earned his with a 7-1 victory over McNulty. In their first of two, Cirilo and Richko battled to double hill before Richko prevailed to claim the hot seat.
Applebee moved to the loss side and picked up Bobby Garza, who’d been sent over in the event’s second round and was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end and had most recently included back-to-back, double hill victories over Linares and Llamas. McNulty drew Nicholle Cuellar, who’d been defeated in a winners’ side quarterfinal by Applebee and gone on to defeat Dave Stern 5-2 and Trenton White, double hill, in a match that featured the event’s top female finisher (Cuellar) and top junior (White).
McNulty downed Cuellar 6-3, and was joined in the quarterfinals by Applebee, who’d ended Garza’s streak 5-2. Applebee and McNulty locked up in a double hill fight that eventually did send Applebee to a semifinal matchup against Cirilo. Cirilo put a stop to Applebee’s short, loss-side run 5-3 and turned his attention to a rematch against Richko in the hot seat.
Cirilo was battling for his second victory on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, and only his second cash finish in two years. He completed the task, downing Richko 9-6 in the finals to claim the season opening title.
Tour awards 2019 Player of the Year, Top Junior and Top Female Player
[photo id=51590|align=right]The event also featured awards for the tour’s 2019 best players. Nathan Rose, who finished at the top of the 2019 tour standings was named Player of the Year. Trenton White, who finished second in the standings was the tour’s Top Junior player, while Stephanie Mitchell finished as the tour’s top female, 6th in the overall standings.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jose and Lyshia Del Rio and their Stroker’s Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, who donated the cue, the raffle of which – won by Ethan Tinsley – added $450 to the prize fund, and $300 worth of gloves. They also thanked sponsors Stitch It To Me Embroidery, Central Florida USA Pool League, Diamond Products, Kamui, AZBilliards and Kodi Allen “for always helping to sell the tickets.”
The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 7-8 at Rack’s Billiards in Sanford, FL, will feature two non-point events. There will be an Open One Pocket event and a 9-Ball Amateur event for competitors with Fargo Rates of 600 or under.
Proving that you can never count wily veterans out, Tommy Kennedy won 10 matches on the loss side during the Saturday, August 3 stop on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour and earned the right to challenge hot seat occupant Kyle Bova for the event title. The final match never happened, as Kennedy and Bova opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes. In another ‘veteran’ note, the event itself offered Vietnam veterans free entry and in the end, awarded two Vietnam veterans – Ronny Park and Joe Scarborough – $50, which they split. The $1,000-added event drew 40 entrants to Brewland’s Billiards in North Lakeland, FL.
With Kennedy at work on the loss side, having been defeated by Felix Luna in the opening round of play, Bova settled in, advancing to a winners’ side semifinal match against Ashley Chewcaskie. Rhyan Hunter and Jeremy Bell squared off in the other one.
Bova downed Chewcaskie 7-1 and in the hot seat match, faced Hunter, who’d survived a double hill match versus Bell and sent him off to an immediate match against Kennedy. Bova shut Hunter out to claim the hot seat in what proved to be his final match.
On the loss side, Bell drew the ‘wily veteran,’ Kennedy, seven matches into his 10-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently included victories over one of the Vietnam veterans, Joe Scarborough, 6-4 and Dennis Brown 6-2. Chewcaskie picked up Nathan Rose, who’d recently eliminated the other Vietnam veteran, Ronny Park 6-3 and Steve Wiggam 6-2.
Kennedy and Rose advanced to the quarterfinals; Kennedy, 6-3 over Bell and Rose, 6-2 over Wiggam. It was eight down and two to go for Kennedy, as he chalked up loss-side victory # 9 against Rose. Not, as it turned out, without a fight, though. They battle back and forth to a deciding 11th game, won by Kennedy.
In what was the last match of the event, Kennedy completed his loss-side run with a 6-3 win over Hunter in the semifinals. Kennedy and Bova decided on the split, awarded Bova the official event title, snapped their picture and away they went.
Kennedy thanked the ownership and staff at Brewland’s for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Simonis Cloth, Mueller Recreational Products and Tournamentsnearme.com.
Countrymen Jeffrey (The Bull) De Luna and Ronnie Alcano from the Philippines, fresh from their appearances at the first Doug Beasley Custom Cues Open 9-Ball in Raleigh, NC traveled from the Tar Heel State to the Sunshine State on the weekend of June 23-24 to compete in the 7th stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour. They advanced through the field of 46, on-hand for the $500-added event at Boulevard Billiards in Ocala, FL and met twice; once in the hot seat and again, in the finals. Alcano took the first match, and De Luna won the second to claim the event title.
De Luna’s path to the final two matches went through a bye, and then, Don Kreischer, Joe Scarborough, and Gary Orefice to meet up, in a winners’ side semifinal, with Trenton White, a teenager who is currently 5th in the tour’s point standings and on his way to the Junior Nationals in New Orleans in July. Like De Luna, Alcano was awarded a bye in his opening round, and then went on to defeat Wayne Kelly, and Kody Kelly, to draw Les Duffy in the other winners’ side semifinal.
By identical 7-3 scores, De Luna and Alcano advanced to the hot seat match over White and Duffy. Alcano took the first of two against De Luna 7-5 and waited in the hot seat for his return from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Trenton White picked up Nathan Rose, who’d eliminated Jason Richko, double hill. Duffy drew Tommy Kennedy, who, after an opening round bye, had been sent to the loss side in his second round by Rose, and won three straight double hill victories (over Moe Fattah, Kreischer, and Thomas White) and a 5-3 victory over Orefice to draw Duffy.
Rose knocked out Trenton White 6-4, as Duffy got by Kennedy 5-3. Duffy and Rose locked up in a double hill quarterfinal that eventually sent Duffy to the semifinals against De Luna.
De Luna ended Duffy’s brief loss-side run 5-1 in their re-match semifinals and turned to his re-match against Alcano. De Luna completed his single match, loss-side run with a 9-5 victory over Alcano in the finals to claim the event title.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked the ownership and staff of Boulevard Billiards for their hospitality, describing their hosting of the event as “awesome” and looking forward to returning to the venue in 2019. They also thanked sponsors Play The Game Clothing Co., Jacksonville Roofing, USA, Kamui Tips and AZBilliards. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am (Stop #8), scheduled for July 14-15, will be hosted Strokers in Palm Harbor, FL.
(l to r): Bobby Garza, Janene Phillips, Jeannette Lee and Justin Hall
It's been five years since Justin Hall chalked up wins in both the One Pocket and Banks divisions of the Southern Classic in Tunica, MS; defeating Ryan Stone in the One Pocket final and Alex Pagulayan in the Banks final. The two wins earned him Master of the Table honors at the event, ahead of both Pagulayan and Warren Kiamco. It was, according to our records, Hall's best earnings year of his (to date) 12-year career at the tables. Five years later, he dropped in on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour on Saturday, August 26 and demonstrated that he's still a force to be reckoned with. He went undefeated through a field of 34, on hand for the $600-added event, hosted by Brewlands Bar & Billiards in Tampa, FL. Also on-hand for the event was Jeannette Lee, operator of an area APA franchise, who stopped by to say hello and pose for a picture with the two finalists, Hall and Bobby Garza, and Tour Director Janene Phillips.
Hall had to contend with Garza twice in this event; the first time, in a winners' side quarterfinal, and again, in the finals. Following his win over Garza, Hall moved into a winners' side semifinal match against Gary Hale, while Kyle Bova squared off against Dale Stanley. Hall was picking up speed and downed Hale 7-2, while Bova sent Stanley west 7-5. Hall claimed the hot seat 7-2 over Bova, and waited for Garza to complete his five-match, loss-side run back to the finals.
Garza opened his loss-side campaign with a 7-3 win over Tony Vicari, and then eliminated Carrie Vetrono 7-1 (Vetrono was the highest female finisher, which earned her an extra $50). Garza advanced to pick up Stanley. Hale drew Anthony Meglino, who'd defeated Joe Scarborough 7-5 and Justin McNulty 7-4 to reach him.
The loss-side competitors in the two matches that determined the tie for 5th place advanced; Garza 7-2 over Stanley and Meglino with a shutout over Hale. Garza took the quarterfinal match over Meglino 7-4, and then allowed Bova only a single rack in the semifinals, to earn himself a second shot against Hall.
Though Garza put up a fight in those finals, he couldn't stop Hall from chalking up the win. They came within a game of double hill, but Hall closed it out at 9-7 to claim the event title.
Tour director Janene Phillips thanked the ownership and staff at Brewlands Bar & Billiards, and Jeannette Lee for her unexpected visit. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for September 23-24, will be an Open 8-Ball event, hosted by Park Ave. Billiards in Orange Park, FL.
At the last stop on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, back in June, Anthony Meglino claimed the title as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, though neither a final nor a semifinal match was played. Tour director Tommy Kennedy had to settle for 9th place in that event, when a loss-side forfeiture left him out of the running (had the player who forfeited done so a round earlier, Kennedy would have advanced and potentially altered what happened afterwards). On the weekend of July 29-30, once again on the J. Pechauer tour, Kennedy and Meglino battled twice; in the hot seat and finals, with Kennedy winning them both to complete an undefeated run and claim the title. The $800-added event drew 38 entrants to Capone's in Spring Hill, FL.
Their first meeting, in the battle for the hot seat, occurred after Kennedy had survived a double hill struggle against Jason Richko in one of the winners' side semifinals. Kennedy was on the hill in the match and saw Richko chalk up two to force a deciding game. Meglino, in the meantime, had sent Stephen Richmond to the loss side 9-6. In something of a reversal of fortunes in the hot seat match, Meglino reached the hill first, with Kennedy two games behind. Kennedy chalked up two to force a deciding game and then won that to sit in the hot seat.
On the loss side, Richko picked up another perennial Sunshine State veteran, Tony Crosby, who'd gotten by Joe Scarborough 7-3, and Chris Gentile 7-4 to reach him. Richmond drew yet another Florida veteran in Mike Delawder, who'd defeated Ed Peterson 7-4 and Bobby Garza 7-2.
Crosby and Delawder advanced to the quarterfinals; Crosby in a double hill win over Richko, and Delawder 7-2 over Garza. Crosby downed Delawder in the quarterfinal 9-5, only to be shut down 9-6 by Meglino in the semifinal match.
In the finals, Kennedy and Meglino played the same number of games that they'd played in the hot seat match, only this time, the race was to 11. Instead of winning just 53% of the games, as he had in the hot seat match, Kennedy chalked up 65% of them, resulting in an 11-6 win that allowed him to claim the event title.
As tour director, Kennedy thanked the ownership and staff at Capone's, as well as sponsors J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Simonis Cloth, Mueller Recreational Products, and Chris and Israel Hightower of Cue Man Billiard Products. The next stop on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for Saturday, August 12, will be a $1,000-added event hosted by Uncle Waldo's in Daytona Beach, FL.
Barry & Mr. Tiger Baker in conjunction with this year’s U.S. Open will conduct two amateur events during the week. First we will conduct a regional event at Q-Master Billiards and a regional Moose Club event held at the Marriot. This will surely bring more participants, fans, and our sponsors, vendors, and more people having a very good time. Details for both amateur events will be available very soon. The old saying “nothing ventured nothing gained” is so very true.
This year’s event, as most know, is a W.P.A. sanctioned Tier II points event with over $70,000.00 added to the 39th annual U.S. Open. This year for the first time the field will max out at 128 players and by doing so we will be able to conduct the Open in one ballroom using only 9 tables and a floor plan for all to enjoy. Also this cuts the event from 7 full days to 6 days beginning on Monday October 13th and the final day, Saturday October 18th down to the final 4 players remaining.
Over the years I’ve tried many new ideas which have been from very good to not so good but at least, regardless, I’ve never quit since having a full field of 16 players in 1976. We will just have to wait and see how everything goes this year and determine afterwards the plans for next year’s 40th anniversary. What’s most important to us all is to continue having our wonderful sponsors, our loyal fans, our loyal vendors, and players around the globe playing as usual. The players meeting, deadline, and draw will be Sunday October 12th at 4 pm and by 9 pm everyone will know when they play beginning on Monday October 13th at 11 am. By having over two empty ballrooms we will utilize both and Q-Masters open 24/7 from Friday October 10th through Saturday October 18th, 9 days total.
The pro event will fill at 128 players and by saving 64 spots for the W.P.A. ranked players, 32 spots for billiard rooms across the land and 32 additional for anyone who wishes to play as usual. A word to the wise, don’t wait until the last minute to get in or you will be shut out. Again, 128 players will be the max for the year’s event. Players, send in a $250.00 deposit right away to secure your spot and send in the balance of $500.00 by October 6th to avoid a $50.00 late fee or send in the full amount.
Again, title sponsorship is up for the highest bidder as well as our arena sponsor, 2×3 feet advertising panels in the T.V. arena are only $1,000.00 made by Accu-Stats Video Production. There are 4 VIP seating sections, Capone and Jacoby have two. The other two, Q-Masters and the U.S. Open sections, can be changed to your company name by merely giving us one nice cue to raffle off for $1,000.00 all week long with the drawing just before the finals.
I’ve been working very hard at Q-Masters and now, finally, I have the time it takes to get very busy for the Open with two months to go. I’ll be calling many of my sponsors, vendors, and a few new potential industry leaders or feel free to contact me through www.usopen9ballchampionships.com. Roberta has been hard at work on things as well and don’t hesitate on getting VIP tickets, they’ve been selling very well.
P.S. This list of players is not complete thus far as many invitations have been sent to foreign players and billiard room qualifiers are to be determined.
