Paul Jobe, Jude Rosenstock, James Davis Sr. and Ruben Escalera
Joey Bourgeois, Jr., of Baytown, Texas, ran through the 64-player, amateur 9-ball division, in the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour, Texas Open Warm-Up 9-Ball Event, defeating Austin newcomer Jude Rosenstock in the final set, 5-1. This marked Bourgeois’ second, consecutive victory, in his Tour career. In the 64-player, open 9-ball division, local favorite James Davis, Sr. took down Jude Rosenstock in the final, 6-3, securing his fifth win on Tour, of the past nine Tour events held at Skinny Bob’s. Rosenstock came very close to winning both divisions, a feat only one player has accomplished in the Tour’s ten years, while Austin’s Kim Sanders became the highest female finisher in an open or amateur division, in Tour history!
On August 4th-5th, 2018, Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, Texas, along with tour title sponsor Poison by Predator Cues PoisonBilliards.com, and sponsors Cyclop Pool Balls, www.VaporKnightsUSA.com, APA of North Harris County, and OutsvilleBilliards.com, facilitated another successful event for the players of the Poison Lone Star Tour. Skinny Bob’s added a generous $1,000 to the two-day event, which paid out a whopping $8,745. The Tour would like to thank room owners John and Sue Cielo for their continued support, nine years running!
Each 64-player division kicked-off on Saturday afternoon, and brought back the final 32 in each, on Sunday. In the amateur 9-ball division, Joey Bourgeois, Jr. began his journey to the winners’ side final four with wins over Daniel Campos, 5-4, Mike Hoffman, 5-4, Nancy French, 5-1, and Jacob Case, 5-2, as Jose Ybarra tagged San Antonio’s Vance Rodriguez, 5-0, Lazaro Martinez, III, 5-2, Ryan Lane, 5-4, and Michelle Cortez, 5-4. Florida’s Chris Gentile plowed through Joel Acevedo, 5-2, Danny Wyatt, 5-1, J.C. Torres, 5-1, and Kim Sanders, 5-0, while Jude Rosenstock denied Chuck Adams, 5-3, Eddie Palmer, 5-1, Ricardo Espinosa, 5-3, and Shane Hvamstad. On the one loss side, J.C. Torres fell to Matt Wong, 4-2, and Oklahoma’s Micah Ott eliminated Ricardo Espinosa, 5-3. Kim Pierce passed Ryan Lane, and Eddie Palmer sent home Benito Cazares, 4-0. Wong was eliminated by Case, 4-1, and Cortez was shut out by Ott, 4-0, while Pierce caved to Hvamstad, 4-1, and Sanders dusted off Palmer, 4-2. Back on the east side, Rosenstock slid by Gentile, and Bourgeois, Jr. edged out a victory over Ybarra, both by the same score, 5-4. In the hot seat match, Bourgeois, Jr. eased pass Rosenstock, 5-4. On the west side, Case defeated Ott, but fell to Gentile, while Sanders ousted Hvamstad, then derailed Ybarra. Sanders went on to eliminate Gentile, 5-4, but fell to Rosenstock. Sanders settled into third place, becoming the highest female finisher in a Poison Lone Star Tour division. In the finals, Bourgeois, Jr. fought to avoid another hill-hill match. He ended Rosenstock’s run, 5-1, securing his second Tour victory of the 2018 season.
In the open division, James Davis, Sr. overcame Michael Parrott, 6-0, Laz Martinez, III, 6-5, Jacob Watson, 6-2, Laz Martinez, Jr., 6-2, and while Jason Roessler defeated Chris Habgood, John Demmett, 6-3, Justin Wright, 6-1, and Kim Sanders, 6-3. First-timer, Jude Rosenstock cut through Rene Rodriguez, Jose Ybarr, 6-5, Joel Acevedo, 6-4, and Paul Jobe, 6-1, as Jimmy Krone powered past Mike Englund, Vance Rodriguez, 6-2, Ralph Cardona, 6-5, and Benito Cazares, 6-5. On the west side, Eric Aicinena eliminated Joe Heinaman, 5-1, but fell to Jobe, 5-4, while Joey Torres took out Ybarra, and Cazares, 5-3. Upset by Ybarra in the first round, open-only player, Ruben Escalera, struck down Ryan Lane, and Kim Sanders, 5-0, marking up six wins on the one loss side, as Acevedo upset James Davis, Jr., 5-4, and Laz Martinez, Jr. Down to the final eight, winners’ side final four witnessed Davis, Sr. defeat Roessler, 6-1, and Rosenstock roll Krone, 6-0. In the hot seat match, Davis, Sr. wasted little time, overwhelming Rosenstock, 6-1. Back on the west side, Jobe edged out Torres and Roessler by the same score, 5-4, while Escalera ended Acevedo and Krone, both sets, 5-2. Escalera iced Jobe, 5-0, checking off his ninth win on the one loss side, but faltered against Rosenstock, losing 5-3. This was Rosenstock’s first Tour event, and first trip to the finals, where he faced the indomitable, James Davis, Sr. Although Rosenstock gave it his best shot, Davis Sr. took control and maintained the lead, securing his fifth Tour victory, 6-3.
The Tour would like to thank all the new players, some of which traveled from great distances, who competed in this event, and congratulate players who reached milestones. Paul Jobe achieved his highest finish to date, while Jude Rosenstock and Kim Sanders also made great strides, Jude finishing second in both divisions, and Kim, becoming the highest finishing, female player in a Poison Lone Star division. The Tour would also like to thank tournament co-director, Erica Hanlon, for all her assistance in running the boards and ensuring a smooth, seamless event, and photographer Mille Almaraz who captured some memorable, tournament moments. Finally, congratulations to this weekend’s Poison raffle winner, Louis Acosta from Jarrell, Texas. Acosta took home a Poison Arsenic3-2 playing cue.
The next event will be October 13th-14th, 2018, at Bogies Billiards West, located at 9638 Jones Road, in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com. Alongside the next Poison Lone Star event, there will be a Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour 9-Ball Event. For more information, visit www.GulfCoastWomensTour.com.
Manny Chau, Joey Torres, Aaron Springs and Ernsto Bayaua
Joey Bourgeois, Jr., of Baytown, Texas, tore through a field of 75 amateur division players, while Houston’s Ernesto Bayaua blazed through the 64-player, open division, in the epic Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour 10th Anniversary Event, held on July 7th-8th, at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar in Houston, Texas. In the amateur division final, Bourgeois, Jr. beat out number two ranked, Steve Lenz, to claim his first-ever win on the Poison Lone Star Tour, while Bayaua bested number two ranked, Joey Torres, to maintain his number one spot in the open division rankings. Both players went undefeated!
The sixth stop on the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour was the “10th Anniversary 10-Ball Event” which marked ten years of Tour tournaments in the Lone Star State. The Tour gave away cash and products totaling $1,500 to its loyal constituents, while new players at this event were entered into a cash drawing. The Tour provided lunch for all the players, including twenty-nine, Gulf Coast Tour ladies. Thanks to host room, Bogies Billiards, title sponsor, Poison by Predator Cues PoisonBilliards.com, and sponsors Cyclop Pool Balls Facebook@CyclopPoolBalls, APA of North Harris County Facebook@APANorthHarrisCounty, OutsvilleBilliards.com, www.VaporKnightsUSA.com, and Southern Streaming, this event amassed 85 Poison Lone Star players, and a $12,330 payout.
In the amateur division, Joey Bourgeois, Jr. made his way to the final four on the winners’ side with victories over Jose De LaCruz, Joel Acevedo, 5-4, Jance “L.J.” Johnson, 5-1, and Dallas’ Clint Palaci, 5-3, while Steve Lenz made his bid, securing wins over Jamie Cantrel, John Braud, David Williams, 5-3, Chris Young, 5-3, and Aaron Springs, 5-2. Resident player, Chuck Adams, denied Sonny Bosshamer, C.J. Escalera, Adam Cooper, 5-4, Bob Guzik, 5-4, and Chad Reece, 5-4, while Randy Nickerson ousted Todd Hinson, Bob DeTuncq, 5-4, Jack Cavalier, 5-0, Dale Briones, 5-3, and recent event winner, Michael Pickering, 5-1. On the west side, following a first round loss to Dallas’ Shane Hvamstad, Cesar Arechiga racked up seven wins to reach the final sixteen on the one loss side. Bosshamer benched Beaumont’s Carl Honey, 4-0, but fell short to Chris Young, 4-3. Hinson also took a first round hit, but came back to win six matches, positioning himself in the final sixteen, while Bret Harlan reached the final twenty-four, and in the money, but was denied by Marshal Ward, 4-2. Tony Scott squeezed into the first money round, but fell to Hvamstad, 4-3, while Laredo’s David Leal won five, including a win over Guzik, 4-3. Newcomer, Brandon Stewart, booked four wins on the one loss side, including a victory over Briones, 4-3, while Josh Pruiett paved his way to the final twenty-four, but lost to Kevin Frauenberger, 4-1. While the final eight took shape on the west side, on the east side, Nickerson made quick work of Adams, 5-1, while Bourgeois, Jr. powered through Lenz, 5-1. Back on the one loss side, Arechiga bested Young, 4-2, and Reece, 4-3, while Hinson took care of Ward, 4-3, and Pickering, 4-0. Leal slid by Hvamstad and Springs by the same score, 4-3, while Stewart defeated Frauenberger, 4-1, but was ousted by Palaci, 4-1. Hinson overwhelmed Arechiga, 4-0, and Palaci moved past Leal, 4-3. In the hot seat match, Bourgeois, Jr. took down Nickerson, 5-2, securing his first-ever, hot seat win. Seeking redemption, Adams eliminated Palaci, 4-3, and Lenz ended Hinson’s run, 4-2. Lenz overcame Adams, 4-1, and Nickerson, 4-2, to reach a final reckoning with Bourgeois, Jr. Once again, Lenz proved no match for Bourgeois, Jr., who cruised to his first Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour victory, 5-1.
In the open 9-ball division, Ernesto Bayaua was on role, dominating Kelly Kilgore, 6-2, Justin Pena, 6-0, Adam Cooper, 6-0, and Steve Lenz, 6-3, while Manny Chau cut through Mike Wilson, Chase Rudder, 6-0, Chuck Adams, 6-2, and Cesar Arechiga, 6-0. Aaron Springs stopped David Ramos, Sonny Bosshamer, 6-2, Seth Gonzales, 6-2, and upset Alex Calderone, 6-5. Joey Torres , Joey Bourgeois, Jr., 6-2, Carl Honey, 6-3, and Joel Acevedo, 6-3. As the winners’ side final four took shape, the one loss side was winding down. Kevin Frauenberger took out Hvamstad, 5-2, but fell to Calderone, 5-1, while Bob Guzik ended Sonny Bosshamer, 5-3, and Acevedo, 5-2. Chase Rudder ousted Tommy Tokoph, 5-4, but was upset by Steve Lenz, 5-0. Pena edged out Bobby Perez, but fell to Arechiga, 5-3. It was down to the final eight. On the east side, Bayaua bested Chau, 6-4, and Torres tore down Springs, 6-2. The hot seat pitted two, successful Houston players, witnessing Bayaua handily win the hot seat, 6-2. On the west side, Calderone ejected Guzik, 5-0, but lost to Chau, 5-1, while Arechiga slid by Lenz, 5-4, only to be ousted by Springs. While Springs upset Chau, 5-4, Torres took him out, earning himself another shot at Bayaua. In the final match, Torres came on strong, but Bayaua was on point, pulling ahead to win his fourth open division title this year, 6-4.
The Tour would like to thank Monique Ferguson and John Newsome who assisted with running the boards, and recognize Jimmy Weeks of Lufkin, Texas, and Mike Pawloski of Willis, Texas, for being top contributors to the player auctions. Finally, the Tour would like to congratulate all of the free giveaway recipients. Mike Wilson of Corpus Christie won the Poison AR3-2 playing cue, Laredo’s Gerardo Alvarez took home a Poison VX jump cue, and Houston’s Rudy Sanchez won the Poison break/jump cue. Tommy Tokoph and Todd Hinson won Cyclop Pool Ball Sets (Zeus), and Doug Gray, C.J. Escalera, Roy Alonzo, and Richard Stuart snagged Outsville Accu-Racks. Carl Honey collected $50 in Brutal Game Gear, and Thomas Madison took home the Superbowl gear.
The next event will be 9-ball on 9’ tables, to be held August 4th-5th, 2018, at Skinny Bob’s Billiards, located at 300 Hester’s Crossing, in Round Rock, Texas. This same weekend, there will be a Women’s Gulf Coast Tour 9-Ball Event, two days, on open bar tables, beginning Saturday, August 4th, at 11:00am. The women’s event is non-smoking. For more information, visit www.GulfCoastWomensTour.com.
For more information, or sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com.