Mike DeLawder, Trenton White and Ricardo Joel Rodriguez
Barnes goes undefeated to claim concurrently-run Ladies event
One did it the hard way, while the other opted for the shorter, arguably more difficult easy way. Ricardo Rodriguez, looking for his first win on the Sunshine State ProAm Tour in three years, lost his third winners’ side match at this past weekend’s (Oct. 8-9) tour stop He then won seven straight on the loss side before downing Trenton White in the finals to claim the event title. Jessica Barnes took the shorter route in the concurrently-run Ladies event, winning five in a row and downing Nicole Cuellar twice to claim the ladies’ title.
The $1,500 added main event drew 60 entrants to Brewlands Bar & Billiards North in Lakeland, FL. The $500-added Ladies event drew 16 entrants to the same location.
Rodriguez’ path took him past Marcos Bielostozky and George Saunders, both 7-5, before he ran into a double hill match versus Desi Derado that he lost. Mike DeLawder and Trenton White, in the meantime, worked their way forward toward their hot seat match; White advancing through Mike Xiarhos, Jr., Leon Micco, Dale Stanley and Konnor McFayden to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Robert Noon, while DeLawder sent Anthony Cruz, co-tour-director Bobby Garza, and both Manuel Montas and John Souders (both double hill) to the loss side to draw Ameet Kukadia in the other winners’ side semifinal.
DeLawder came within a game of being forced into his third straight double hill fight, but just did edge out in front near the end to defeat Kukadia 7-5. White joined him in the hot seat match after surviving his double hill struggle against Noon. White shut Delawder out to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, it was Kukadia who drew the finals-bound Rodriguez, who’d just eliminated junior competitors Kaylee McIntosh 7-2 and Konnor McFayden 7-4. Noon picked up David Singleton, who’d defeated John Souders 7-3 and survived a double hill match versus Garza to reach him.
Rodriguez defeated Kukadia 7-5 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Noon, who’d put Singleton on the wrong side of his second straight double-hill match. Rodriguez took the quarterfinal match 7-5 over Noon and then, by the same score, denied DeLawder his second chance against White.
Rodriguez waste little time. He took the finals against White 9-5 to claim the event title
Nicole Cuellar, Sofia Mast and Jessica Barnes
Barnes gets into a 7-3 groove to the hot seat match
Jessica Barnes seemed to decide that since she had gotten herself into a groove of some kind that she should probably stick with it. She defeated her first three opponents on her way to the Ladies win by the same 7-3 score, defeating co-tour-director Janene Phillips, Erica Pennington and, in a winners’ side semifinal, the Pink Dagger (aka junior competitor Sofia Mast). Nicole Cuellar, in the meantime, got by Sandra Micco, Cami Becker and in her winners’ side semifinal, Margie Soash 7-1.
Cuellar knocked Barnes out of her 7-3 groove in the hot seat match, but it wasn’t enough. Barnes survived Cuellar’s double hill challenge to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Soash picked up and was defeated by Helen Caukin 5-1, as The Pink Dagger drew and eliminated Kaylee McIntosh by the same score. Mast defeated Caukin 5-2 in the quarterfinals, only to have her brief, loss-side run upset by Cuellar’s desire for a rematch against Barnes. Cuellar won that battle 5-1. Barnes downed Cuellar a second time, 9-5, to claim the Ladies title.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Larry Wathall and his staff at Brewlands “for taking great care (them) all weekend,” as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Kamui Brand, Diamond Billiard Products, Jamison Daniels, Stitch It To Me Embroidery, AZBilliards, Dr. V’s Custom Shop and Central Florida Pool League. ‘Shout outs’ were extended to Bobby Garza and Lights Out Streaming for providing great stream and commentary, along with Jimmy Antonietta, Rob McLaren, Mike D and George Saunders for their commentating andAdam Hanas for helping run the boards.
In light of the fact that the tour had a junior competitor among the final three in both of this past weekend’s events (Trenton White and Sofia Mast) and because, like so many others,who enjoy watching these young competitors succeed in their early pool careers, Phillips and Garza thanked Asia Cy for donating an entry fee to a junior lady, Leah Holler and wished to make mention of two local individuals who are “doing great things for the junior competitors’ –Danielle Fee with Shooting for the Stars and Eddie Altman with Junior Billiards Scholarship Fund. If you’d like to help support a junior program, reach out to either of these organizations.
The next and final stop of the year for the Sunshine State ProAm Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 26-27 and hosted by Racks Billiards in Sanford, FL will feature two events; a $1,000-added Open One Pocket event and a $2,500-added Open 9-Ball Bar Box Championship.
Johnny Archer, Rodney Morris, Rocky McElroy and Tony Crosby
Meglino goes undefeated to claim Amateur title
After a double hill battle that left Rodney Morris in the hot seat, Florida Pool Tour director, Tony Crosby kept a semifinal appointment with Johnny Archer, defeated him and came back to down Morris in the finals. The $1,000-added Super 16 event ($500 to winner in the form of paid entry to the Tornado Open), was held on Sunday, April 24, and actually drew 22 entrants to Capone's in Spring Hill, FL.
In a $1,000-added, Amateur event, held on Saturday, April 23 (same location), Anthony Meglino went undefeated through a field of 83 to claim that title.
The first of the Crosby/Morris battles followed two 7-4 wins by them in the winners' side semifinals. Crosby, defeating Mike Delawder, and Morris, sending Tommy Kennedy to the loss side. Morris won the double hill, hot seat fight and waited on Crosby's return.
On the loss side, Kennedy picked up long-time rival/former road partner Johnny Archer, who'd eliminated Richard Broumpton 7-4 and Donnie Mills 7-5 to reach him. Delawder drew Meglino, who'd already won the Amateur event and here, sent Jason Richko (7-4) and Han Berber (7-3) home. Delawder and Meglino locked up in a double hill battle that eventually sent Delawder to the quarterfinals against Archer, who'd defeated Kennedy 7-2. Archer advanced a step further with a 7-4 victory over Delawder, but had his bid for the title ended by Crosby 7-4 in the semifinals.
Things weren't looking too good for Crosby when the finals opened with three straight racks for Morris. But Crosby responded, not only tying it at 3-3, but chalking up three more for a three-rack lead, which he'd never relinquish. At 6-3, they both won two more racks, and Crosby had the title.
In the Amateur event, Meglino advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Raymond Linares, while Kyle Bova and Dan Marchini squared off. Meglino and Bova advanced to the hot seat match, both 7-2, over Linares and Marchini. Meglino then defeated Bova 7-3, and waited on what turned out to be an opponent he'd sent to the loss side in a winners' side quarterfinal, Francisco Diaz.
Diaz had moved to the left bracket and defeated Mike Kohn 5-2 and John Souders 5-3 to draw Marchini. Linares picked up Felix Luna, who'd gotten by Justin Stock and Jason Hunt, both 5-3. Diaz then survived a double hill battle versus Marchini, as Luna eliminated Linares 5-3.
Diaz took the quarterfinal match over Luna 5-2 and then denied Bova a re-match versus Meglino with a double hill win in the semifinals.
Meglino completed his undefeated run with a double hill win in the finals. The victory, combined with his later 5th place finish in the Super 16 event, notched his winnings to just over $1,000 for the weekend.
Tour director Tony Crosby thanked Capone's owner Rocky McElroy and his staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Aramith, Simonis, Stroke-It Wear, Florida Pool Table Movers, and Billiards and Darts Supply. A "super-special" thank you went out to Xtreme Pool Challenge for the work and effort that went into their producing one of the best live streams in the country.
The Florida Pool Tour and Xtreme Pool Challenge will be at Park Avenue Billiards in Orange Park, FL on the weekend of May 14-15. The event – Super 32 – will be an Open 10-Ball Championship with a $5,000 first prize. Call 727-488-0536 or 904-200-5843 for more information or to pay your entry fee. You can also visit the tour Website at www.floridapooltour.com.
On this weekend we were so happy to return to Cue Phoria Billards and Cafe after their short hiatus from the tour scene. With the changes to the formats for each event, we still booked a full field in both events. We even threw in a bonus event for the amateur players. The Amateur 9-Ball event was capped at 64 players and it filled up quickly. The Super 16 Open 10-Ball was a prepaid full field to start. The BONUS Super 16 Amateur event drew 14 players, with 10 players actually making the start.
We also held a raffle in support of the Lepak Fund. We raised $350 almost instantaneously by donating a pool cue for raffle, and Mr. and Mrs. Crosby added $50 to provide the Lepak’s with $400 toward efforts to save their home. If you would like information regarding helping the Lepak’s please visit www.gofundme.com/thelepaks and support them if you can. We appreciated the support from the Lepak’s toward our tour when they were pool room owners. Thank you!
Amateur Bar Box Breakdown
Che Mrvos put on a clinic all weekend long. He found that grove that everyone else was struggling to get a piece of. Posting wins over Mike Fitzgerald 7-1, Jose Del Rio 7-5, Ed Kiess 7-4, David Uwate 7-3, and Doc Torres before getting to Barry Partridge for the hotseat.
On the west side of the charts, Jose Del Rio picks up Evan Ford and Ford wins the set 5-3. Gary Gilsinan picks up David Uwate and gets by him 5-3. Amine Ouahbi and Marc Coats square off with Amine taking that set 5-3. Richard Murray picks up Francisco Diaz with Diaz pushing through.
Amine blisters Diaz 5-1 and Gary Gilsinan gets by Evan Ford 5-2. Nick Applebee in wait for Gilsinan puts their set away 5-2 to move into the one-loss semifinal. Amine Ouahbi starts to get a taste for the win and puts Doc Torres down 5-3 and moving into the one-loss semifinal.
It’s a showdown between Applebee and Ouahbi on the left side and Partridge vs Mrvos on the winner side hotseat match. Apple just could not stop the Florida based Moroccan Ouahbi with a stinging 5-1 loss.
In the hotseat arena, Che Mrvos would not let anyone deter him from wining. Winning the set 7-2 over Barry Partridge with Partridge going west to take on Amine Ouahbi. Partridge would continue his coming out party as he handed Amine the 3rd place envelope this time.
Che Mrvos and Partridge would square off in the Finals and Che just kept on grinding and claim his first Florida Pool Tour Amateur 9-Ball title.
Super 16 Recap
An explosive set of skills and talent comprised the 16 player field for the Super 16 Open 10-Ball event. Tony Crosby, Anthony Meglino, Tommy Kennedy, and Mike Davis all make quick jumps to the quarterfinal rounds.
Tony Crosby puts a hurt on John Souders 7-2, and then barely escapes a close one with Mike DeLawder. Trading rack for rack all the way to hill/hill and closing the set 7-6. Using the first two sets as a warm up, Crosby squares off with Meglino.
Anthony Meglino gets in the box with Jose Del Rio and starts his warm up 7-2 before taking on Marc Coats. Coats would be formidable and take Meglino to the hill. Anthony would have enough to pull through and face Crosby.
Tommy Kennedy starts out with Dave Bremer, and controls the entire set with some lock tight safety play. Bremer forced to kick out of every turn could not produce and goes down 7-2. Playing super strong still Kennedy puts a stinger on Nathan Rose 7-0 and moves forward to match up with Mike Davis.
Mike Davis survives a close opener with Han Berber and escapes 7-6. Next up was Jerry Calderon, a close set goes down at 7-5 putting Davis forward to match up with Kennedy.
On the west side there was still a lot of heart being shown.
Adam Wheeler being sent west first round by Jerry Calderon, beats Han Berber 7-5 and then Mike DeLawder 7-2. Before facing Marc Coats who was sent over by Meglino. At 7-5 Coats would move forward and wait for an opponent.
Jerry Calderon on the west would match up with Nathan Rose. Rose sent west by TK and Jerry sent over by Wheeler, would square up and play a super intense match. Rose would yield the shot of the event with a full table 5/10 jump shot that pleased the entire room. Using that momentum Rose would eek by Calderon 7-5.
Back on the winner side, Crosby would play Meglino and put the heat on dispatching Meglino swiftly at 7-3 and move into the hotseat match.
Kennedy also has his eyes on the hotseat and storms through Davis 7-2 and prepares to take on Crosby.
In the one-loss quarterfinal, Rose and Meglino would showdown and Coats and Davis would show down. Meglino would review his notes from the loss to Crosby and hope to put it together against Rose. Meglino would hand Rose the 5th place envelope and move forward to play Mike Davis who set Marc Coats in stone at 6th place.
On the West Side semi final we have Meglino vs Davis. Davis holding enough together to get past the moster breaking Meglino would wait on his opponent and the shot at moving back to the east.
In the winner side semi-final Crosby and Kennedy match up and it was close all the way up to 5-5 when a few unforced errors by Crosby would let Kennedy slip into the driver seat and rest while Crosby goes west to play Davis. As the day grew late, Crosby would prove to be worthy of the win and sits Davis down in 3rd place before taking a short break.
Now in the Final, Kennedy is poised to stop the attack from Crosby and on this day it appears fatigue would get the best of Crosby. At 5-2 Kennedy starts to pull away and Crosby just could not catch up, thus allowing Kennedy to capture his second title in a row on the Florida Pool Tour. Who will knock off King Kennedy, find out at our next stop Cunningham’s in Vero Beach, FL.
We would like to say Thank You to Faheem Zia, Kendall Morris and staff at Cue Phoria Billiards and Café in Winter Park. The service was excellent, on point, and the food was pretty good as well. Ask for chicken and rice, you won’t be disappointed. Overall Cue Phoria knows how to have a good time!
110 players show up for the Poison Tour event at Cuephoria in Winter Park Orlando Fl, 2-18-12.
64 players showed up for the Saturdays Amateur event, Jon Wing would be the man to beat as he made his way to the finals with some very strong wins over Walter Blacker 7-4, Jeff Mabry, 7-4, Jarred Schlauch 7-5, Larry Harvey 7-5, Ali Sohali 7-3 and then a bruising win over big money Jason Richko 7-2 to win the hotseat.
The one loss side would see George Saunders make a big push, after taking a 7-4 loss to Jason Bowen he would go onto record wins over Richard Knight 5-2, Kevin Paquette 5-2, Ted Lepak 5-4, Chip Dickerson 5-3, Ali Sohali 5-0 and then a 5-3 win over Jeannie Seaver to set up a semi final match with Jason Richko, Richko would put an end to his run with a hard fought 5-4 win to leave Saunders in 3rd.
The final would see Jon Wing fly out the gates and take the first 5 racks, just when it looked like it was all over Richko took his first rack and then broke and ran the next 3 to close to 5-4 the next 3 racks were traded but this was all Wing needed to take his first Poison Title with a 7-5 win. Congrats to Larry Giles, Richard Murray, Mike Delawder and Kevin Paquette for finishing 13th-16th place they received paid entry into Sundays event also Cassidy Mulligan received $50 for top female finisher.
The 10-Ball open event would draw in 46 players with Corey Deuel proving he is the man to beat at any event. Deuel made his way through to the hotseat swiftly with strong wins over John Filax 6-3, Tony Crosby 6-3, Chris Fields 6-0, Mike Delawder 6-3 and then a hard fought win over George Saunders 6-5 to reach the hotseat to face Tim Parisian. Parisian made his way through with some hard fought wins over Richard Knight 6-3, John Souders 6-2, Rich Schau 6-4 and then Nick Applebee to set up his match with Deuel. The hotseat match was one way Traffic with Deuel running out a 7-1 win. While all this was going on Tony Crosby was making a push on the one loss side with wins over Michael Hopponen 5-3, Charles Valenciana 5-1, Jeff Mabry 5-1, John Souders 5-1, Jeannie Seaver 5-4, Paul Mullins 5-2, Nick Applebee 5-3, Rich Scahu 5-0 and then a 5-1 win over Tim Parisian to set up a rematch with Deuel. Crosby would go onto beat Deuel 7-3 to force a sudden death one rack shootout. Deuel would win the one rack shootout showing his creative side making a clever 2-10 carom to take back to back titles on the poison tour.
The tour would like to thank Faheem Zia and his Cuephoria staff for hosting a great event, the tour and its players enjoyed this new non smoking pool room. Also Predator by poison our title sponsors. Check out www.uspoisontour.com for tour info and dates.
