Kraber goes undefeated to win her second Texas Women’s 10-Ball Championship
(l to r): John Palmore, Dennis Orcollo & James Davis, Sr.
Being Texas, it’s never enough to just hold an Open and Ladies 10-Ball tournament every year. Instead, Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, TX hosts a six-day extravaganza (this year, from Feb. 12-17) that has a way of feeling like a month-long extravaganza, headlined by the annual Texas 10-Ball Open and Ladies 10-Ball Championships.
Things got underway on Wednesday, Feb. 12 with a 10-Ball mini-tournament, as more or less of a warm-up for events to come. On Thursday, the activity was a Scotch Doubles tournament that was eventually won by the team of Warren Kiamco and Ellen Robinson, who downed John Gabriel and Ellen Jones in the finals. Later in the day, a Banks/Rails game was won Sergio Rivas, who defeated John Demet in the finals. On Friday, an Open Ring game was won by Jeffrey DeLuna, with Sky Woodward as runner-up and John Gabriel in third place.
In the absence of a defending champion (Alex Pagulayan), a few relatively well-known Filipino competitors stepped in to fill the gap at the $4,000-added 6th Annual Texas Open 10-Ball, which got underway on Friday evening. Dennis Orcollo ended up going undefeated through the field. He downed Warren Kiamco twice (hot seat and finals) and waited patiently as Kiamco eliminated Francisco Bustamante in the semifinals. We’ll get back to them in a while, but first. . . the ladies.
The $1,000-added Ladies 10-Ball Championship, which drew 20 entrants, got underway on Saturday. Unlike the Open Championship, the Ladies event featured its defending champion, Gail Eaton. It was won by its 2018 champion, Jennifer Kraber, who went undefeated through the field, downing Courtney Peters twice, hot seat and finals.
Following victories over Kim Pierce, Kelly Jones and Rachel Hurst, Kraber moved into a winners’ side semifinal against Ming Ng. After being awarded an opening round bye, Peters downed Latonia Taylor and Michelle Yim, to draw Nicole McDaniel in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Kraber and Ng locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Kraber to the hot seat match. She was joined by Peters, who’d defeated McDaniel 7-1. Kraber won the first of two versus Peters 7-3 and waited in the hot seat for her return.
On the loss side, Nicole McDaniel drew Kim Sanders, who’d recently eliminated defending champion Gail Eaton and Rachel Hurst, both 5-3. Ming Ng picked up Michelle Yim, who’d defeated Ellen Robinson 5-3 and Kelly Jones 5-2 to reach her.
Yim and Sanders handed Ng and McDaniel their second straight loss; Yim, 5-3 over Ng and Sanders shut McDaniel out to join Yim in the quarterfinals. Yim then did unto Sanders that which Sanders had most recently done to McDaniel; shut her out to advance.
In the semifinals that followed, Yim became the third shutout victim in a row and gave Peters a second shot at Kraber in the hot seat. Peters chalked up two more racks in the finals than she’d chalked up against Kraber in the hot seat match, but they weren’t enough, as Kraber completed her undefeated run 7-5 to claim the Ladies 10-Ball title.
Orcollo backs up Derby City Master of the Table title with undefeated run at Texas Open 10-Ball
It’s only February and Dennis Orcollo has pocketed money that would be the envy of most pool players to earn in an entire year. He finished 16th in the Derby City’s One Pocket Division, 3rd in the 9-Ball Division and won the 9-Ball Banks, all of which earned him the coveted Master of the Table title. All of this followed his victory at the Music City’s Midnight Madness Tournament and his runner-up finish (to Skyler Woodward) in the Music City’s Open Division. He didn’t get a chance to meet Woodward in this event, although Warren Kiamco did.
Robocop (as they call him) got by Kenny Loftis, John Gabriel, Justin Hall, Kevin Guimond and Junior Jueco by an aggregate score of 35-12, giving up just over two racks per match (on average). Orcollo drew Naoyuki Oi in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Warren Kiamco, in the meantime, started his campaign out with back-to-back shutouts of Thomas Smith and Pat Castro. He then defeated Josh Roberts 7-1, Robert Gomez 7-3 and won a knock-down, drag-out, double hill match versus Sky Woodward (this event’s 2016 champion) to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal matchup with a 35-10 aggregate score and having given up an exact average of two racks per match. Kiamco squared off in his winners’ side semifinal against a very familiar opponent, Francisco Bustamante, who’d sent this event’s 2015 and 2017 champion, Manny Chau to the loss side.
Orcollo sent Oi to the loss side 7-2 and was joined in the hot seat match by Kiamco, who’d defeated Bustamante 7-4. Orcollo and Kiamco played an entertaining double hill hot seat match that eventually sent Kiamco to the semifinals and left Robocop in the hot seat.
On the loss side, Naoyuki Oi drew James Davis, Sr. (known as Strop, because he’s originally from Bastrop, TX), who’d recently defeated two strong opponents in a row to reach him; first Josh Roberts 7-4 and then, Sky Woodward 7-5. Bustamante picked up Roberto Gomez, who’d defeated Junior Jueco 7-1 and Sergio Rivas 7-3 to reach him.
Strop and Oi locked up in a double hill fight, eventually won by Strop. Bustamante joined Strop in the quarterfinals after eliminating Gomez 7-4. Bustamante then sent Davis, Sr. home 7-3 in those quarterfinals.
Those who thought that Bustamante and Kiamco would get into a double hill fight for a shot at Orcollo in the hot seat were disappointed. Kiamco gave up just a single rack and advanced to the finals 7-1 over Bustamante.
One might have been forgiven for believing that with that 7-1 momentum, the final rematch between Kiamco and Orcollo would have been something of an epic struggle. It wasn’t, really. Orcollo shut Kiamco out 7-0 to claim the event title.
Tour directors John Palmore and James Davis, Sr. thanked John and Sue Cielo and their Skinny Bob’s staff for their continued support of this event, to include their hands-on assistance with varied aspects of running the tournament; entries, money management, etc. In addition, noted Palmore, “Kaye Watson is the glue that holds everything together for (Davis) and I. She helps with bracket management and most importantly, that all the the money is correct coming in and going out.” They also thanked event sponsors Simonis, Hanshew Jump Cues and Sleep Inn.
There’s nothing that’ll let the air out of a competitive pool balloon faster than an early loss in a tournament with a lot of entrants. In a 128-entrant bracket, for example, a loss in the second round will almost double the number of matches you have to play to claim the event’s title. The winner and runner-up in such an event will have been there the same amount of time, but one of them will have played a lot more pool.
At the $4,000-added, Open 9-Ball Division of the 46th Annual Texas Open, held over Labor Day weekend (Aug. 28-Sept 2) that drew 128 entrants to Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, TX, Josh Roberts played seven matches to claim the hot seat. He did not win the eighth match he needed to claim the title. Sky Woodward, though, patched up the ‘balloon’ that had burst in the second round, and ended up playing 15 matches; two on the winners’ side, 11 on the loss side and two in the true double elimination final that earned him the event title.
It was a very busy weekend in Round Rock. In addition to the Open 9-Ball Tournament, there was a 9-ball mini tournament (Wednesday night), a Jack ‘N Jill Scotch Doubles tournament that drew 16 teams (Thursday night), a Banks Ring Game (Friday night, in conjunction with the start of the Open 9-Ball), and a Women’s Open event (started Saturday night; separate story) that drew 32. It should be noted that the Jack N’ Jill Scotch Doubles title was shared by two teams; Co-tournament director James Davis, Sr. and long-time doubles partner Jennifer Kraber and a team made up of the Open winner (Woodward) and the Women’s event winner (Ming Ng).
Woodward’s winning campaign in the Open event opened on a promising note with a shutout over Donald Rock, but ran right into a double hill match against Alex Calderon, which shifted Woodward’s work to the loss side of the bracket. Roberts, in the meantime, worked his way through his first four opponents (Steven Butler, Jeremy Diggs, Tommy Vega and Ryan Hsu) by an aggregate score of 36-6. And then, like Woodward, Roberts ran into Alex Calderon, who battled Roberts to a deciding 17th game. Roberts dropped the final ball and advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Justin Espinosa.
Roberts got into the hot seat match with a 9-3 win over Espinosa. Gabriel joined him after sending Guimond to the loss side 9-6. Roberts chalked up what proved to be his last match win with a 9-3 victory over Gabriel and waited in the hot seat for Woodward to finish his 11-match, loss-side winning streak.
It was Justin Espinosa who drew Woodward on the loss side. At that point, Woodward had already won eight of his 11 loss-side matches, including, most recently, victories over Bayaua and Hsu, both 9-3. Kevin Guimond drew Sean Black, who was on a loss-side run comparable to Woodward’s. Black had lost his opening round match and embarked on a nine-match winning streak that eventually earned him the second-most wins in the event. He’d most recently eliminated Steve Sheppard 9-5 and spoiled any hopes Woodward was entertaining about a rematch against Calderon, by defeating Calderon, double hill.
Black’s loss-side streak came to an end when Guimond eliminated him 9-6. Woodward’s continued with his third straight 9-3 win, this one over Espinosa to advance to the quarterfinals.
Woodward chalked up two more 9-3 wins to earn a shot at Roberts in the hot seat. He downed Guimond in the quarterfinals and Gabriel in the semifinals. He chalked up his 6th 9-3 win in the opening set of the true double elimination final. He broke the pattern and won the second set 9=7 to claim the event title.
Co-tour directors James Davis, Sr. and John Palmore thanked Sue and John Cielo and their Skinny Bob’s Billiards staff, as well as Sleep Inn, Mints Amusement, and James Hanshew. They also acknowledged Ray Hansen and his PoolActionTV crew for the live stream of the event throughout the long weekend.
The two finalists at the $1,000-added Women’s Open Division of the 46th Annual Texas Open were coming off recent victories. Ming Ng had chalked up a win on the Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Tour in June, while her finals opponent, Taylor Hansen had won a Division I Pro event on the North American Pool Tour (NAPT) in mid-August. It was the second time in a little over two weeks that 20-year-old Taylor Hansen squared off against an opponent who’d been competing as long as she’d been alive. In August, Hansen defeated Eleanor Callado in the finals of the NAPT’s 4th Summer Classic. This time, though, the veteran prevailed. Ming Ng went undefeated through the field of 32, meeting and defeating Hansen in the finals to claim the event title.
Though Ng had a pair of relatively easy opening matches in this event, downing Nicole McDaniel and Tracie Voelkering, both 7-1, things tightened up pretty quickly. Robyn Petrosino managed more racks against her than Ng’s first two opponents combined (three), as Ng advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Chris Fields. Ellen Robinson, in the meantime, who’d been challenged, double hill, by Courtney Peters in the opening round, shut out Michelle Abernathy in the second and sent Teresa Garland to the loss side 7-3 in the third, faced Taylor Hansen in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Both matches for advancement to the hot seat match went double hill, as did the hot seat match. It was Ng and Robinson who advanced as Hansen and Fields moved to the loss side. Ng claimed the hot seat, double hill, over Robinson and waited on Hansen’s return.
On the loss side, Chris Fields picked up Liz Galvan, who’d been defeated by Julia Rapp in the event’s opening round of play and was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end, and had most recently included victories over Teresa Garland, double hill, and Kim Pierce 7-5. Taylor Hansen drew Jennifer Kraber, whom she’d faced at the end of the Texas Open’s Women's 10-Ball ring game. Kraber and Hansen ended up splitting 1st and 2nd in that event. In the Women’s event, Kraber had been sent to the loss side by Chris Fields, double hill, in a winners’ side quarterfinal and then eliminated Nicole McDaniel 7-3 and Robyn Petrosino, double hill, to draw Hansen.
Fields advanced to the quarterfinals 7-2 over Galvan and was joined by Hansen, who’d defeated Kraber 7-5. Hansen then shut Fields out, advancing to a rematch against Robinson in the semifinals.
Hansen defeated Robinson 7-3 and came within a game of forcing a deciding match in the finals against Ng. Ng, though, edged out in front and won it 7-5 to claim the 46th Annual Texas Open Women’s title.
Co-tour directors James Davis, Sr. and John Palmore thanked Sue and John Cielo and their Skinny Bob’s Billiards staff, as well as Sleep Inn, Mints Amusement, and James Hanshew. They also acknowledged Ray Hansen and his PoolActionTV crew for the live stream of the event throughout the long weekend.
James Davis Sr., Ernesto Bayaua and Hanni Al Howri
Hanni Al-Howri, originally from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, now resides in Houston, Texas, and came close to achieving something only one amateur division pool player in the history of the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour has ever achieved; winning both divisions at the same event. After several attempts, Al-Howri finally broke the ice in Round Rock, Texas, with his first-ever tournament win, going undefeated in the 71-player, amateur 9-ball division, and finishing second in the open 9-ball division. Resident tour player Ernesto Bayaua went unscathed in the 64-player, open 9-ball division, defeating Al-Howri in the final, at an event which drew a total of 123 players, and paid out over $9,000 in prize money.
This year marks the 7th year that the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour has hosted the annual “Texas Open Warm-Up” event at the famed Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, Texas, amassing the highest attendance in the event’s history, besting its own record of 120 players in 2012. Home of the prestigious and longest-running billiard event in Texas, the “Texas Open”, Skinny Bob’s Billiards, along with title sponsor Poison by Predator Cues www.poisonbilliards.com, and sponsors Delta-13 Rack www.delta-13.com, Ozone Billiards www.ozonebilliards.com, APA of North Harris County www.facebook.com/apanorthharriscounty, and Cyclop Billiard Balls, facilitated another monster event for players across Texas and beyond. Room owners John and Sue Cielo added a very generous $1,000 to the Poison Lone Star Event, and $485 to the Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Tour 9-Ball Event. The tour would like to thank Skinny Bob’s Billiards and their wonderful staff for hosting another first-rate, tournament.
In an effort to better accommodate the large number of players competing in the annual Poison Lone Star Texas Open Warm-Up Event, beginning in 2017, the ladies’ event will be staged at “Skinny Bob's II”, a smoke-free pool room, adjoining the main room, which houses eight new Diamond bar tables. “This event has presented some challenges over the years, with well over 100 players competing, and only two days in which to finish, on a limited number of tables. I’m confident that utilizing this additional space will provide a smoother tournament experience for all of the players,” says Tour Director, Kim Newsome.
In the amateur 9-ball division, due to the overwhelming number of participants, Saturday’s races were set at 5 and 4, and on Sunday, 4 and 3. Hanni Al-Howri logged wins over Tony Thompson, David Castillo, Brandon Tang, 5-1, John Demet, 5-1, and John Wright, 4-1. Also vying for the winners’ side final four, Daniel Herring overcame Gabriel Romo, Casey Crews, Elijah Hughes, 5-1, Rudy Sanchez, 5-4, and Ryan Lane, 4-2. Jose Ybarra took down Paul Jobe, John Eagle, David Ray, and Joe Garza, 4-1, while Justin Pena took out Paul Alderete, Jacob Watson, 5-3, Mark Wicker, 5-2, and Jimmy Krone, 4-3. On the one-loss side, David Escobedo took out Chad Henson, 3-1, Daniel Baker eliminated John Eagle, 3-1, Felder overcome Ray, 3-2, and Robert Stewart ousted Robert Smith, 3-1. After losing his second round match to Lane, Escobedo came alive on the one loss side, securing his sixth, match win over Joe Garza, 3-2. Baker went on to eliminate Jimmy Krone, 3-2, Wright ended Felder, 3-2, and Stewart eliminated Lane, 3-2. Down to the final eight, players were tightening up their games, and grinding it out. Back on the winners’ side, Pena slid by Ybarra, 4-3, and Al-Howri defeated Herring, 4-2. On the west side, Herring ended Escobedo’s run, 3-2, and Wright sent Stewart packing, 3-1. While Herring and Ybarra faced off on the one-loss side, the hot seat match teed off with Pena and Al-Howri. Determined to win his first event, Al-Howri was steadfast, and played with pocket-speed-precision. Although equally determined, and vying for his first tour win, Pena came up short, 4-2. On the one-loss side, Herring wasted no time making his way back to Al-Howri, dusting off Pena, 3-0, earning himself another shot at the title. In the final, Al-Howri came out of the gate, and never broke stride. Proving too much for Herring this day and time, Al-Howri took him out in the first set, 4-0, to win his first-ever, Poison Lone Star Tour amateur title.
In the open 9-ball division, Saturday’s races were set at 6 and 5, and on Sunday, 5 and 4. Ernesto Bayaua made his way through the 64-player field, unscathed, securing wins over Michelle Abernathy, 6-1, David Neumann, 6-5, John Demet, 6-5, and Rudy Sanchez, 5-4, while Junior Jueco decimated John Palmore, Keith Keithley, 6-1, and Jason Roessler, 5-1. David Henson also made his way to the final four winners’ side, with wins over David Escobedo, Matt Bickers, Matt Wong, 6-0, and Hanni Al-Howri, 5-0, while James Davis, Sr., took down Paul Jobe, Kim Sanders, 6-1, Robert Stewart, 6-5, and Jim Miller, 5-2. On the one-loss side, Stewart ousted Sanchez, 4-1, and it was Massingill over Roessler, 4-2. Al-Howri eliminated powerhouse Tommy Tokoph, 4-2, who had sustained an early hit from Robert Stewart, 6-0, and former junior phenom, Jacob Watson, took out Jim Miller, 4-2. Back on the east side, Henson overcame Davis, Sr., 4-3, and Bayaua bested Jueco, 4-3. Bayaua went on to secure the hot seat over Davis, Sr., 4-2. Action on the one loss witnessed Massingill defeat Stewart, 4-2, and Al-Howri eliminate Watson, 4-3. Henson made quick work of Massingill, 4-1, but fell to Al-Howri 4-2. Al-Howri went on to eliminate Davis, Sr., 4-3, for a total of 5 straight, match wins to meet Bayau in the final. Bayaua ended Al-Howri’s winning streak, taking the first and final set, 5-4, earning his second Poison Lone Star Tour tournament win of 2016.
The Tour would like to encourage everyone who loves to play pool and compete in a friendly atmosphere, to attend a Poison Lone Star Tour event. The final stop of this year is October 8th-9th, at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar (3040 FM 1960 E.) in Houston, Texas, and hosts a Gulf Coast Tour ladies’ 9-ball event on Saturday, October 8th. On November 12th-13th, the Gulf Coast Tour will host a $1,000 added, stand-alone women’s 9-ball event and WPBA Masters Qualifier, at Fat Racks Sports Bar and Billiards and Lounge, in San Antonio Texas. The famed Space City Open V will be held December 1st-4th, 2016, at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar (3040 FM 1960 E.) in Houston, Texas. For more information on these events, and how to become a tour or event sponsor, please email Kim Newsome at lonestartour@gmail.com. Find out more about the Poison Lone Star Tour at LoneStarBilliardsTour.com.
Over Labor Day weekend, and more precisely, at about 4 a.m., Eastern time, on Tuesday morning, Skyler Woodward snatched the 42nd Annual Texas Open title out of its defending champion, Charlie "Hillbilly" Bryant's hands. But not, as was expected, without a fight. The $7,000-added event drew a full field of 128 entrants to Skinny Bob's Billiards in Round Rock, TX. In a concurrently-run, $2,000-added Ladies event that drew 32 (see separate story), the Texas Tornado (Vivian Villareal) chalked up her third straight Texas Open title.
For the male event, early weekend talk at Skinny Bob's and in the chat rooms of PoolAction TV, which live-streamed the event throughout the weekend, centered on Mexico's Ruben Bautista. Bautista, who got by (among others) Richie Richeson, John Gabriel and Alex Olinger, was fulfilling some of those expectations, all the way through until early afternoon on Labor Day, when he ran into the Hillbilly in a winners' side semifinal. In the other semifinal, Woodward, in the meantime, met up with Robb Saez, who, on his way, had sent three-time Texas Open champion ('94, '02, '03) Jeremy Jones to the loss side and was showing some grit. It's safe to say, if not meticulously researched and proven, that a good percentage of figurative and literal money invested into predicting the winner of this event, had just these four squaring off as they did in the winners' side semifinals.
Woodward dispatched Saez to the loss side 9-5, as Bryant took care of Bautista 9-3. In a surprisingly good-natured hot seat match (Woodward and Bryant can each be feisty at times), Woodward dominated 9-2.
Lurking on the loss side, as Saez and Bautista slid over, were (among others) Jones, Olinger, Joey Gray, Jonathan Pinegar and Justin Bergman, who, after being sent to the loss side by Woodward in the third round, was working on what turned out to be a seven-match, loss-side run. Wins #5 and #6 came at the expense of Jundel Mazon 9-2 and Pinegar 9-5, which set Bergman up against Bautista. Saez drew Gray, who'd eliminated Olinger 9-4 and Brian Sanders 9-5.
In two polar-opposite matches battling for advancement to the quarterfinals, Saez drew the 'double hill' card that finished Gray's weekend. In a somewhat surprising turn of events (though not to everyone), Bergman shut Bautista out. Following that victory, very few would have predicted the double hill quarterfinal that followed, and at a guess, it would have been even money for the result, that was 9-8, Saez.
The semifinal between Bryant and Saez (who won this event, four years ago) was a re-match from last year's final, at which, on the hill and shooting at the 9-ball, Saez scratched, giving Bryant, in the hot seat, the opportunity to tie and then, break and run, to capture the 2014 title. In the steady, and not overly dramatic re-match, Bryant defeated Saez 9-5 for a second, and potentially necessary third shot at Woodward.
It looked, in the early going of the opening set, as if Bryant was going to cruise to a second set. Woodward, who won the lag, was looking at a separate, private payout of $500 if he could break and run the set; a bargain that fell apart on his opening break, when he sunk a single ball, but couldn't see the 1-ball. He rolled out, launching a series of back and forth safety shots that made it look as though it were going to be a longer night than it actually was. Woodward untangled the safety mess by sinking the 4-ball, but he scratched, turning the table over to Bryant, who promptly ran out, and then (winner breaks), chalked up four more in a row, the last of which saw Woodward scratch again, shooting at the 5-ball.
Skyler regrouped to win the sixth rack, but it looked to be a temporary reprieve, when, in the seventh rack, Woodward completely missed a shot that gave Bryant ball in hand. Bryant, though, joined the 'scratch' parade and gave the table back to Woodward, who finished that rack and chalked up three break and runs to tie things at 5-5.
Skyler took his first lead at 6-5. Bryant promptly tied it up and added three more to force a second set.
Things started a little slower in the second set, with the two trading racks to a 2-2 tie. It was at this point, that in the words of assistant tournament director, and competitor (17th) John Palmore, Woodward "caught a gear," chalking up six straight to reach the hill ahead, way ahead of Bryant. And then, it was Bryant's turn. With the sword of defeat hanging over his head, Bryant chalked up four in a row, which, but for a single shot at the 9-ball, could have been five in a row.
It was, as they say, too little, too late. Woodward closed it out by the same score he'd been defeated by in the first set – 9-6 – to become the second youngest player to win the 42-year-old tournament (by a matter of months, the youngest was Sylver Ochoa; 2007).
A final note: Many of the details in this report would not have been possible, had it not been for the as-always professional live stream, offered by Ray "Big Truck" Hansen and his PoolActionTV crew, along with continually-updated, online brackets and regular, graciously-offered conversations with assistant TD and competitor John Palmore.
Mike Alonzo and Manny Chau (Photo courtesy of poolactiontv)
Peru's Manny Chau added another major victory to a list that's been growing for over a decade by going undefeated to claim the inaugural Texas Open 10-Ball Tournament, held on the weekend of February 28-March 1. The $2,938-added event drew 110 entrants to Skinny Bob's Billiards in Austin, Texas and was streamed live by Ray "Big Truck" Hansen's PoolActionTV.
The field featured an expected list of both Southwest and nationwide competitors, including Chau, the Davises (James, Sr. and Jr.), Charlie Bryant, Jeremy Jones, Shane McMinn, Robb Saez, Dave Henson, and Mike Alonzo, to name just a few of the 110 entrants who cashed in the event. The winners' side semifinals featured Jones versus Alonzo and Chau versus McMinn. Jones sent Alonzo west 7-5, as Chau was busy defeating McMinn 7-4. Chau claimed the hot seat 7-5 over Jones and waited on what turned out to be the return of Alonzo.
On the loss side, David Henson, following a double hill victory over Brian Sanders and a 7-2 win over Robb Saez, faced McMinn. Alonzo drew James Davis, Sr., who'd defeated Drew McCoy and Frank Ferrer, Jr., both 7-4, to reach him. James Davis, Jr. had bowed out in the matches that decided the six-way tie for 13th ($170). Henson eliminated McMinn 7-4 and in the quarterfinals, faced Alonzo, who'd ended Davis, Sr.'s tournament bid 7-5.
Alonzo and Henson battled to double hill in the quarterfinals before Alonzo finished it and advanced to the semifinals against Jones. Alonzo completed his three-match, loss-side winning streak with a 7-5 win over Jones. Chau, though, finished Alonzo 7-3 in the finals to claim the first-ever Texas Open 10-Ball Championship title.
Tour Director John Palmore thanked John Cielo and the staff at Skinny Bob's for their hospitality, as well as sponsors James Hanshew Custom Cues, Joe Salazar, Ray Hanson and PoolActionTV, and Ron Guyer. He also noted volunteer contributions by Kaye Watson and Emma Davis, without which, he said, the event could not have been done.
What does a pistol dream? To be Smoking HOT! I know some pool players that are looking for their chance to prove how hot they can be at this year’s Texas Open 9-ball championship. It is going to be fun and there are some changes this year I think I am going to like.
I am heading out to Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock to watch my friends in great 9-ball pool action Saturday August 30th thru Monday September the 1st, 128 elite players from around the US and Texas will be competing for over $10,000 in Open Division prizes at the longest running 9-ball tournament in US history. This year, they have added a $25 9-ball race-to-three tournament on Thursday 8PM that is open to anyone. Saturday night, the ladies’ 9-ball event begins. Expanded to a 48-player field for the first time this year so more hot players likeAmanda Lampert and Jennifer Kraber will compete against other marquee ladies. More on that later.
Returning 2013 finals match players are champion Warren Kiamco(Phillipines) and runner-up Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant (Houston, TX). Kiamco had knocked Bryant to the one-loss side. Bryant defeated Chip Compton in an elimination match to get his re-match as the crowd goes wild. Compton had to come-from behind facing Sylver Ochoa in their elimination match to face Bryant, but Ochoa lost ball-in-hand and the match after Chip broke and got a successful safe on a fortunate 9-ball kiss after a tough 3-ball kick shot in the hill-hill game.
In 2012, some of the most exciting moments included 80 year old Bob Vanover (8-time winner of Texas Open) thrilled the crowd with terrific ball control to put his opponent Gerald Jimenez in the loser’s bracket. Vanover played some astounding safety’s which induced about 6 Ball-in-Hand run-outs to win 9-7.
And I will never forget when 59-year old Gene Albrecht playing with broken ribs came up to me after winning his big day-2 2012 match against Chris Sharier 9-1 to make the final-32 players. Re-cap: Gene breaks up 8-1. GA makes the 1 on the break and has no shot on the 2 on the other side of the table. He pushes out by kissing the 9 ball closer to the corner pocket as he is looking for the 3-9 combo later. CS makes him shoot the push-out shot and he plays a successful safety on the 2, gets ball-in-hand and makes the 3-9 combo to win and be part of the final 32 players. I was the only one who applauded and Gene came by and looks at me and right out of the “Color of Money” movie, he says “I’m Back!” Yes, you were Gene, he got tied for 9th.
The format is double-elimination, winner-breaks and every seat is a great seat. SkinnyBob says the secret is to sit on the top of the bleachers so that you can watch both sides and place bar orders easily. I like being up-close and personal to the early round action on the Gold-Crown III 9’ tables with new blue Simonis 860 HR tournament cloth.
IMHO, the Texas Open is a better bargain than X-games, Formula1, and ACL fest for the thrill of being up-close to the extreme action and I don’t want to miss any of it. They have a new web-site this year that will allow keep track of the scheduled matches.
People from all over the Texas come to get out of the heat. Bob installs extra cooling, stadium seats inside for spectators and hire extra wait staff. Don’t forget the snack bar. AZBilliards publishes the tournament brackets during play and has daily news about the world billiards scene. AZ also has columns by professional writers and publishes their own world rankings and money list.
The Open players’ meeting is Friday night. The ladies player’s meeting is planned for 6PM Saturday evening. This year, they are planning to do the draw early Friday night and announce the 9am and 10:30am Saturday matches so that players who have those 1st set of matches don’t have to hang around until 1am to find out their match is just a few hours away. Another great change for this year is a Friday 3PM $100 9-ball Ring-game, a game with lots of fast action.
I will take my wooden cue-stick shafts in to be conditioned by Ron Geyer of The Custom Cue Connection. It is always nice to play with a like-new shaft and Ron is known for his craft of using a lathe to hone the shaft perfectly smooth; There is usually a long line at his booth in the back.
The Skinny Bob’s Open T-shirt looks great this year and comes in 4 colors in Men’s and Women’s sizes with all the Open winner’s names on the back. They ran out last year so I will be getting mine early this year.
Again this year they are providing players with the Magic Ball Rackwhich is a diamond-shaped, thin vinyl template that has holes where you place the Aramith Belgium tournament billiard balls and get a perfect rack every time. The table has 2 spots marked on the felt where you align the top and the bottom hole, then just place the ball on a hole, and it self-centers itself to perfect spot. In 2010, they used a metal triangle rack called the Delta-13. Players have always complained about the racking process – it takes too much time and players can tilt the rack for an advantage. On TV, they have a surrogate racking specialist, but here the loser racks for the winner. It is important to have the head ball (one) touching the two balls directly behind it to get a good solid break. It is required to drive 4 balls to a rail on the break, else it is a foul. We always play Texas Express Rules where the winner breaks, so I had to do a lot of racking. No more splinters.
There is a strategy to racking the balls called the 2-ball strategy. You want to place the 2-ball on the opposite side of the diamond from where the player breaks to increase the probability that the 2 will be far from the 1 after the break and make it harder for a run out. My daddy always told me, “Son, never run out of balls to shoot at too early”. But I think that only applies to 8-ball.
Bob is raffling a handmade “41st Annual Texas Open Championship” cue from James Hanshew of Hanshew Custom Cues. The lucky winner will be announced during the weekend. This cue will be part of the Open history, so I will buy my share of the raffle tickets this year. I have my lucky rock in my pocket, it could bring me luck this year. I wish I had one of those Hanshew jump-cues, they are sweet!
Trivia question: Who made the Texas Open famous by breaking and running out 11 racks in a row in the championship bracket without missing a shot? The Texas Open trophy is named after him: The Bob Vanover trophy. It would be fun to see if he can win a record 9th time!
The 2013 Women’s Classic finals was a re-match of the 2012 finals; Vivian “Texas Tornado” Villareal (San Antonio, TX), WPBA Touring Professional for over 10-years (19+ career titles) versus veteran WPBA Touring Professional Melissa “The Viper” Little (Westminister, Co). Watching Little come back from the one-loss side last year in the 1st final’s match looked like she was going to over-take 2012 champion Villareal, but it is so hard to beat “The Texas Tornado” two times in a row with both players making masterful shots was amazing. I can see why Villareal got her nickname, she was shooting so fast I could hardly keep up. San Antonio is hot right now, just look at their pro-basketball team.
Kraber has been hot lately – She is ranked 1st in the ladies OBCUEs Pool Tour rankings and won the Legends tour stop June 24th in League City over Lambert in a hill-hill match.
In 2007, I bought Professional pool player and blogger Melinda Bailey“Mel” in the Calcutta and she won 3rd place in the ladies division. That was fun winning on her. Bailey is the director of the Omega Billards Tour in D/FW area.
Austin favorite James “Bastrop” Davis Sr. was cool, calm, and collected, as he made his way through a field of 32 top competitors to capture the Open 9-Ball Division of the Lone Star Billiards Tour Texas Open Warm-Up III held this past weekend, August 10th-11th, 2013 at Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round, Rock, Texas. In the final, Davis Sr. overcame European player Patrick Werren, 9-3, securing an undefeated, third tour victory. Amidst a field of 48 Amateur Division players, last year’s runner-up Chelo Velasquez captured his first tour victory over Raymond Cardenas, 7-1. Velasquez went undefeated as well without a single opponent surpassing 3 games. The event drew 80 players and paid out over $6,000 in prize money in addition to a free 9-ball division entry for each winner into the Space City Open II slated for December 6th-9th, at Bogies Billiards & Sports Bar, Houston, Texas.
In the Open Division, Bastrop’s path to victory included wins over David “Little David” Henson, 7-1, and Ed “Big Ed” Ambrose, 7-1, while Garett Sitz of College Station, Texas entered his bid for the hot seat ousting Pittsburg native Bob Guzik, 7-5, and upsetting Patrick Werren, 7-6. Steve Pennington upset Waco’s Doug Young, 7-6 and bested Cesar Garcia, 7-1, while local player Brian Sanders disappointed a wave of talent including Erik Renteria and Kevin Guimond. On the west side, Ambros eliminated Renteria, 6-5, and Henson sent Guimond packing, 6-2. Comeback players John Palmore and Brian Anderson were stopped in 9th-12th positions by Werren and Coffman, respectively. On the second day, races increased to 9 on the winners’ side and 7 on the one loss side. Winners’ side action saw Sitz fall to Davis Sr., 9-7, and Sanders steamroll Pennington, 9-3. Davis Sr. and Sanders teed off for a nail biter of a hot seat match. It was 8-6 Davis’ favor when Sanders answered back tying the match at 8. The shot of the match came when Davis Sr. kicked at a triple combination, the 1-ball to the 9-ball to the 8-ball, lined up towards the side pocket. As the shot was executed, long rail with deliberation and proper speed, the cue ball struck the 1-ball, hitting the 9-ball, in turn pocketing the 8-ball. Concluding the shot, the cue ball died, settling in front of a difficult 1-ball/9-ball combination, headed for the same pocket. With cue in hand, he pinpointed his aim, addressed the cue ball, and successfully pocketed the 9-ball. The crowd had little time to catch their breath as Werren forged ahead on the one-loss side eliminating Ambros, 7-1, Pennington, 7-1, and finally Sanders 7-5, to meet Davis Sr. in the finals. A young Werren shot out of the gate, taking a 2-0 lead. In the third game, Werren missed a routine 7-ball hooking the veteran player behind the 8-ball. Davis Sr. kicked one rail, long, and pocketed the 7-ball in the corner. The crowd gasped, followed by an explosion of clapping. Davis Sr. capitalized that game, consequently breaking and running the next rack. Werren answered back with an eight ball run, racking up his third game, but it would be his last as Davis Sr. replied with a 7 game shutout, besting Werren, 9-3.
Amateur Division action saw 36 players eliminated the first day, bringing back the final 12 for Sunday. It appeared as if last year’s Amateur Division Champion Frank Ferrer Jr. might repeat while last year’s runner-up Chelo Velasquez threatened a first-time win. After an impressive run by Victoria’s Alex Cardenas, he was sent west by contender and cousin, Raymond Cardenas. Flip Edwards fell to Ferrer, 7-6, Velasquez dominated David Neumann, 7-3, and David Escobedo struck down Colt Jackson, 7-5. On the west side, A. Cardenas bested Justin Wyly, 5-2, and Cesar Garcia eliminated Edwards, 5-3. It was Neumann over Brian Anderson, 5-1, and Jackson over Paul Jobe, 5-2. The level field played down with little or no upsets as R. Cardenas fell to Ferrer Jr. on the east side, 7-6, and Velasquez pounded on Escobedo, 7-3. Duking it out on the one loss side, A. Cardenas eliminated Edwards, 5-1, and Neumann thrashed Jackson, 5-1. Escobedo squeezed by A. Cardenas, 5-4, and R. Cardenas sent Neumann packing, 5-2. Hot seat action saw Velasquez torture Ferrer Jr., 7-1, while R. Cardenas left Escobedo in 4th place. R. Cardenas executed revenge on Ferrer Jr., staging his first Amateur Division final. Even though Velasquez underwent recent shoulder surgery on his stroking arm, it didn’t seem to hinder him as he slaughtered R. Cardenas in the final, 7-1, grasping what was denied him in 2012.
The Lone Star Tour would like to thank Skinny Bob’s Billiards and staff for hosting another first rate event.
The Lone Star Billiards Tour is sponsored by Poison by Predator Cues www.poisonbilliards.com, Delta-13 Rack www.delta-13.com, APA of North Harris County www.facebook.com/apanorthharriscounty, www.ImproveYourShot.com, and Ozone Billiards www.OzoneBilliards.com. Live streamed, recorded matches from this event may be viewed at www.ustream.tv/channel/lonestarbilliardstour. The complete event photo album can be found at www.facebook.com/lonestartour.
The Tour Championships will be held October 12th-13th, 2013 at Bogies Billiards in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com.
