If attendance at a premiere tour stop is any indication, the newly-established DFW 9-Ball Tour is off to a good start. Formed after the retirement of Melinda Bailey’s Omega Billiards Tour, and losing very little time in transition, the DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) 9-Ball Tour opened its already-solidified schedule of 12 events with a $1,700-added stop at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX, on the weekend of January 13-14. The venue played host to an opening field of 93 players, out of which emerged CJ Wiley, who was defeated in the hot seat battle by Paul Guernsey, and returned from the semifinals to win both sets of a true double elimination final and claim the tour’s first title.

 

Wiley, racing to 9, and Guernsey, racing to 8, advanced to the winners’ side semifinals having given up an identical average of racks per opponent (3), earned in different ways. Wiley opened his campaign with two 9-3 wins over Juan Batista and a 9-1 victory over Steve Raynes. He then gave up two racks to Jessie Wilcoxson before Tony Sulsar chalked up six against him in a winners’ side quarterfinal that advanced Wiley to a winners’ side semifinal against Jersey Jack Lynch.

 

Guernsey’s track to the winners’ side semifinals would see him give up three racks to Garrett Dalton and one to Monica Anderson before he shut out Scott Forgason. An 8-4, winners’ side quarterfinal win over Steve Horne was followed by a narrow, double hill win over TJ Davis, which set Guernsey up to face Isaac Leyendecker in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Guernsey sent Leyendecker to the loss side 8-2, as Wiley was busy sending Lynch west 9-1. Guernsey claimed the hot seat (and his last match win of the event) 8-6 over Wiley, and waited on his return.

 

On the loss side, Leyendecker drew Sulsar, who, following his loss to Wiley, had shutout Peter Villatoro and eliminated Curtis Caldwell 8-5. Lynch picked up Robin Barbour, who’d gotten by Wilcoxson and Daniel Herring, both 7-3.

 

With Leyendecker racing to 6, and Sulsar racing to 8, the two locked up in a double hill battle that eventually (6-7) sent Leyendecker to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Lynch, who’d defeated Barbour 7-2. Leyendecker advanced one more step, defeating Lynch 6-4, before having his run stopped by Wiley 9-2 in the semifinals.

 

Wiley and Guernsey pretty much left it all out on the table in the opening set of the true double elimination final. They battled to double hill (Wiley ahead 8-7), before Wiley finished it to force the second set. Wiley edged out ahead in that second set and stayed there, completing his single-loss run with a 9-5 win that earned him the DFW 9-Ball Tour’s first event title.

 

Tour representatives awarded $50 to the event’s top finishing female, Ricki Casper. They also thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, JB Cases, Dallas Eightball League, Outsville (AccuRack), Fargo Rate, BCAPL/CSI, and Internet Marketing Solutions. The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for February 17-18, will be hosted by Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.

 

Douglas Pitts chalked up his second victory (his first in a couple of years) on the Omega Billiard Tour with an undefeated run on the weekend of May 27-28. He had to get by David Faver twice to do it; once, in a winners' side semifinal and again, in the finals. The $1,700-added, 5th stop on the tour drew 87 entrants to Puckett's in Fort Worth, TX.

 

For a while there, about three matches, it looked as though Pitts was just going to breeze through the field. He shut out his first opponent (Eric Solomon), gave up three racks to his second (Travis Landsdowne), and surrendered a single rack to Robert Reighter before running into three straight double hill matches that eventually put him in the hot seat.

 

He survived his first double hill match in a winners' side quarterfinal against Tony Barrington, and then, in one of the two winners' side semifinals met up with Dave Faver, who'd arrived on the scene with a 'back story' that had a way of focusing a lot of attention on what he eventually accomplished as the event's runner-up. Last July, Faver was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and after a tough fall and winter, characterized by chemotherapy, radiation and a bout of pneumonia, had his esophagus (and the cancer) removed in April. Exhausted and weak all weekend, according to tour director Melinda Bailey, Faver literally battled through to his winners' side, double hill semifinal against Pitts, and then won three on the loss side to challenge Pitts a second time in the finals. 

 

As Pitts and Faver struggled through their double hill ordeal, Juan Batista and Phillip Palmer battled in the other winners' side semifinal, won by Bautista 6-5 (Palmer racing to 7). Pitts claimed the hot seat 7-5 over Bautista and waited on Faver's return.

 

On the loss side, Faver picked up TJ Davis, who'd gotten by Oscar Araujo 9-4 (double hill), and Crispian Ng 9-5. Palmer drew Barrington, who, after his defeat at the hands of Pitts, had defeated Denny Snead 8-3 and Greg Sandifer 8-6. Barrington then downed Palmer 8-6 (double hill), and in the quarterfinals, met up with Faver, who'd eliminated Davis 7-7 (double hill).

 

As tired and exhausted as he was, Faver locked up in his third straight double hill fight (against Barrington) and won it (7-7). His second (possibly third or fourth) wind kicked in during the semifinals, in which he defeated Batista 7-3. Pitts, in the finals, ended Faver's extraordinary run. He defeated Faver 7-3 to claim the event title.

 

Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at Puckett's as well as sponsors Michael Hoang of OMEGA Billiards Supply, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. The sixth stop on the Omega Billiards Tour, a $1,700-added event, scheduled for June 24-25, will be hosted by Clicks in Arlington, TX. Further information about the Omega Billiard Tour can be found by visiting their Web site at Omegabilliardstour.com