Krystle Suarez, Bailey Barber, Monica Anderson and Tiffany Pryor
Two days after going undefeated on the DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, Monica Anderson, part of a committee of tour members who run the tour, was still riding high on the joy-trip of winning her first regional tour event. The $500-added event drew 35 entrants to Stixx & Stones in Lewisville, TX.
“Finally snapped one off,” she wrote in an e-mail sent to us here at AZBilliards, primarily to provide us with links to the event’s brackets, photos and payouts for use in preparing a report.
“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then,” adding by phone, two days later, “and, it only took me 5,858 games to do it.”
Though Anderson dates her pool career back as far as 1999, when she got started playing on a BCAPL team, her first appearance in our database came when she won $10 finishing 25th at a stop on the Hunter Classics Tour in 2002. Not only did she go undefeated to claim $615 more than that 2002 payout, she (rated as a ‘4’) defeated a ‘7’ (Krystle Suarez) in the finals. Suarez, who’d lost her second match, won seven on the loss side to face her, the last few of which were witnessed with increasing concern by Anderson.
“I hope it’s Krystle,” she told someone during the wait, “because she should be tired.”
And she was. When they finally met, Suarez asked, probably rhetorically, “I have to double-dip you, don’t I?”
She did. And then, she didn’t. Though as a long-time player, well aware of the game’s ups and downs, Anderson was cognizant that when those finals started, all that was important was the table in front of her and take it, as the sports cliché indicates, one ball, one game at a time. Nevertheless, the win surprised her.
“Oh, hell yes!” she said. “I felt I was playing well, but the biggest thing was, that given the opportunities, I closed it out and finished like I was supposed to.”
Anderson’s journey to the winners’ circle, following an opening round bye, went through Jannon Talmon, Nichole Clark and Bailey Barber, which set her up in a winners’ side semifinal against Tera Saunders, who’d been responsible for sending Suarez to the loss side in the second round. Tiffany Pryor, in the meantime, opened with a double hill win over Julie Stephenson and followed up with wins over Chouie Almora, Sisyne Bolajoko and April Gonzales to arrive at her winners’ side semifinal against Francisca Riza Pili.
Both matches, battling for the right to play in the hot seat match, went double hill. Anderson over Saunders, Pryor over Pili. Anderson, in a straight-up race to 4, claimed the hot seat 4-2 and waited, somewhat anxious and confident simultaneously, for Suarez to complete her loss-side run.
Pili and Saunders moved to the loss side and walked right into their second straight loss. Saunders drew a rematch versus Suarez, who had already chalked up four, loss-side wins and was looking for more with a little redemption to boot. She’d given up only four racks in those four matches, and only one over the last two of them; one to April Gonzalez and none at all to Desiree Collins. Pili picked up Bailey Barber, who reached her by defeating Kailye Stevens and Janna Talmon by an aggregate score of 10-1.
Suarez chalked up a successful rematch against Saunders 7-2, as Barber was busy making her loss-side aggregate score 15-2, eliminating Pili 5-1. Suarez then defeated Barber 7-3 in the quarterfinals and, for a shot at Anderson, waiting for her in the hot seat, Tiffany Pryor 7-2 in the semifinals.
Anderson began the finals with three ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 7, but would need to win only once. Suarez took a quick, early lead in the opening set.
“I broke, she ran,” said Anderson, “and then she broke and ran.”
“I had to change something,” she added, noting that at 0-2, she “started playing safeties and defense a bit more.”
The strategy worked. Anderson won three of the next four and it was knotted at ‘3’ with Anderson on the hill.
“She missed a crucial shot at the 8-ball,” said Anderson. “I made that 8-ball, but left myself with a long bank on the 9-ball.”
“I nailed it,” she added, finishing claiming her first regional tour title.
Tour representatives, including Anderson, thanked the ownership and staff at Stixx & Stones for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Cuetec, Fort Worth Billiards Store, Kamui and Doc’s Billiards Office. The next stop on the DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for Saturday, October 15, will be hosted by Snookered in Frisco, TX.
Since the pandemic landed on our collective heads two or three years ago and curtailed a lot of competitive activity, there has been a slow, but steady return of players, who either stopped playing altogether or in the absence of venue opportunities and availability of personal equipment, brought their game home. In addition to this return, there has also been an emergence on the part of players who for one reason or another have never been heard from before (or at least, very little) and are currently not only coming to the tables, but winning events for the first time.
Case(s) in point: Jennifer Hooten of Garland, TX, who, prior to this past weekend (Sat., April 9), had only cashed once at a regional tour event, finishing 13th at a stop on the mixed-gender DFW 9-Ball Tour, two years ago; a finish that made her the top female finisher at the event. She also won the 2019 Texas State BCA Women’s Fair Match Singles event in 2019, which went unrecorded by us here at AZBilliards. She came from the loss side at this most recent event to record her highest event finish on the tour, claiming her first regional tour title on the $500-added, Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour that drew 21 entrants to Stixx and Stones Billiards in Lewisville, TX.
Nancy Rios, from Dallas, came into the event with no recorded cash payouts whatsoever and advanced to the hot seat for the first time. As a result, her first recorded cash payout anywhere was the distinction of being an event’s runner-up. However one might assess the nature of the 21-entrant competition, anyone who’s ever stepped up to a pool table with cash on the line will tell you: You never forget your first win and/or first cash payout and the benefit of increased confidence in your efforts pays dividends the very next time you step to the table.
Hooten opened her winning campaign with a double hill win over Judy Frank and followed it with a 4-1 victory over Julie Stephenson, who was racing to 6, and has been recording cash payouts on the Hunter Tour, the OB Cues Ladies Tour and now, the DFW tour for over 20 years. Hooten advanced to face Ginger Abadilla in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Rios started with a victory over co-tour director Monica Anderson 3-1 (Anderson racing to 4), and downed Deliza Baumbach, double hill to Krystle Suarez in the other winners’ side semifinal.
With Suarez racing to 7, Rios advanced to the hot seat match with a double hill 3-6 win over Suarez. Abadilla joined her after sending Hooten to the loss side 3-1. In a straight-up race to 3, Rios claimed her first hot seat 3-1.
On the loss side, Hooten picked up Baumbach, who’d followed her winners’ side quarterfinal loss against Rios with victories over Ileana Sullivan 3-2 (Sullivan racing to 5) and Melissa Smith 3-1. Suarez drew Jennifer Pavlovick, who’d lost her opening match to Smith and was in the midst of a five-match winning streak that included the elimination of Julie Stephenson, double hill, and Tina Soto 5-2.
Pavlovick chalked up her fifth loss-side win, downing Suarez 5-4 (Suarez racing to 7). Hooten joined her in the quarterfinals with a shutout over Baumbach. Hooten put a stop to Pavlovick’s run in those quarterfinals 4-3 (Pavlovick racing to 5) and turned to a rematch against Abadilla in the semifinals.
Hooten allowed Abadilla only a single rack in the semifinals and moved on to what was the first (recorded) finals match for both her and her opponent. Hooten would need to win twice, and befitting a match, no doubt characterized by the mutual anticipation and eagerness, not to mention anxiety, of both competitors to claim their first regional tour title, the first set went double hill. With Rios racing to 3, Hooten won it 4-2. With emotions running in two separate directions (confidence and concern), Hooten chalked up all of the racks in the second set and claimed the title.
“Both of these ladies took advantage of the tour’s mission,” noted Co-Tour Director Monica Anderson, “designed to provide a fun, challenging, and rewarding tournament environment for both low, mid and high-level skilled players.”
“Our hot seat match (between Rios and Abadilla),” she added, “was a battle of two, skill level 3’s, who got there by taking advantage of missed opportunities by their higher-skill-level opponents.”
Anderson (along with co-tour directors Hooten and Abadilla) thanked the ownership and staff at Stixx and Stones Billiards, as well as title sponsor Cuetec, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore and Kamui. The next stop on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour, scheduled for July 9, will be hosted by Rusty’s in Arlington, TX.
(left to right: Orietta Strickland, Kim Pierce, Chris Fields, Jennifer Pavlovick)
The OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball Tour, the largest and longest running regional tour in the country, also a member of NAPT (North American Pool Tour), hosted 64 players at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX the weekend of February 4-5. OB Cues has been the title sponsor for this tour since 2008 and we continue to give thanks to them and all they do not only for this ladies tour but for all players, fans, and billiards aficionados worldwide. OB Cues, a leader in the industry with shafts, cues, outstanding customer service plus an offering of billiard accessories and to top it all off, they are located in Plano, TX, with all shafts and cues made in the USA. Be sure to check them out at obcues.com. Thank you OB Cues for all you do.
With 64 players vying for the top prizes in this $2000 added monies event, just as the day was long, sharp shooting, stamina and endurance would become major factors for everyone participating in this two-day event. The tour greeted players from all over DFW Metroplex, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Longview, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana—just to name a few areas.
The tour also enjoyed welcoming many first time players to test their mettle and take a venture into the OBCLT experience and the wonderful hospitality of Rusty’s Billiards. The tour would like to thank Rusty’s owners and staff for their gracious hospitality and years of continued support!
Saturday was an eventful day as sixty-four players were dwindled down to sixteen players who would return on Sunday morning to battle for the $750 1st place prize money. Saturday’s play saw first time OB tour stop player Janet Ybarra, ACS Texas board member, go undefeated as she made her way through the winner’s bracket posting wins over Kathy Knuth (7-1), Brooklyn Kanady (7-3), and Kelly Jones (7-6). On the one-loss side, Aryana Lynch – a relative newcomer to the OB tour and its youngest player at 14 years old – also had a great run in her bid for the final 16. After suffering a first round loss to Shaunte Starley (3-7), Aryana grinded her way through the B side, posting wins over Kienchay Phoutthavong (Kitty) (7-5), Jessica DeMello (7-4), and Hopey Carter (7-5). Although the final round of play on Saturday night saw Rachel Petersen emerge victorious over Aryana (7-4) to move on to Sunday, Aryana posted her best OB tour stop finish to date (tied 17-24th place) and proved that she is definitely a contender!
On Sunday morning, winner side matches were Janet Ybarra (Grand Prairie) vs. Jennifer Pavlovick (Irving); Orietta Strickland (Dallas) vs. Natalie Rocha (Houston); Kim Pierce (Austin) vs. Deedra Trammell (Waxahachie) and Chris Fields (Arlington) vs. Julie Stephenson (Keller).
On the other side of the bracket and still giving it their all were Natalie Mans (League City) vs. Angie Payne (Austin); Tina Soto (Ft. Worth) vs. Corina Campbell (Carrollton); Rachel Petersen (Midwest City, OK) vs. Teresa Garland (Houston) and Gail Roles (College Station) vs. Terry Petrosino (Houston).
In the four winner’s side matches Sunday morning, Kim Pierce emerged victorious over Deedra Trammell (7-0), Orietta Strickland posted a win over Natalie Rocha (7-3), Jennifer Pavlovick won vs. Janet Ybarra (7-3), and Chris Fields defeated Julie Stephenson (7-1). The four B-side matches saw Tina Soto defeat Corina Campbell (7-4); Angie Payne won over Natalie Mans (7-5), Terry Petrosino posted a win over Gail Roles (7-4), and Rachel Petersen wound up on the winning side of her match vs. Teresa Garland (7-4).
Kim Pierce continued her winning streak, sending Chris Fields to the B-side with a score of (7-5) and Orietta Strickland also posted a win against Jennifer Pavlovick (7-1). This set the stage for Kim and Orietta, two undefeated players vying for the hot seat match but Orietta was solid in her play and shooting and secured her spot in the finals with a win of 7-3.
Chris defeated Tina Soto (7-2). Tina, only playing in a couple of OB Cues Ladies Tour events, scored her highest finish to date 5th/6th which was pretty sporty for just her 2nd time at bat. Nice work Tina.
Chris then knocked out Jennifer Pavlovick with a score of (7-3). This 4th place spot was the highest finish ever for Jennifer. She has been playing on the tour for a bit but has been coming on with a surge during these last two years. She is a top shooter and staying consistently strong throughout her tournament play. She will continue to be a force to be reckoned with. Superb finish Jennifer! You go girl!
Next was a rematch between Chris and Kim but Chris ran out of steam playing Kim as the Texas Heat came on strong with a win (7-3), thus securing her spot in the finals to avenge her hot seat loss to Orietta.
In true double elimination format, Kim would need to defeat Orietta twice and that’s exactly what she did. In the first set, it looked to be all Orietta who was up in the match 5-2, but due to some unfortunate rolls and uncharacteristic misses by Orietta, she forgot to shut the front door and Kim came back to score the first set win 7-5.
The second set was a lot like the first. It looked like Orietta was going to take it away as she reached the hill first. However, Kim continued to fight the fight and keep on battling. She was able to finish out some games by capitalizing on some problem position play by Orietta, and making it a hill-hill match. The final game saw Orietta almost running out but she had a tough finish with the 8 and 9 on opposite ends of the table and both near the short rails. A straight in shot on the 8 would be a challenge draw to get position for the 9 ball and it came up short. Orietta then opted to take a long rail kick on the 9 but it rattled out of the corner pocket leaving Kim an easy shot with the 9 ball inches away from the pocket. This was Kim’s very first OB Cues Ladies Tour stop win since playing on the tour. Congratulations Kim and Orietta for a great, great tournament.
Our next stop will be at Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, TX the weekend of March 25-26. Big Tyme is hosting their first OB Cues Ladies Tour event. Thank you to the management and staff for having us. We are anxious and looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Main Event Tournament Payouts – ($2000 added) – 64 players
Amos Bush, Tony Sulsar, Rick Stanley and Doug Winnett
Rick Stanley cashed in two events on the Texas-based Omega Billiards Tour in 2016, finishing third in August and runner-up to Danny Williams in September. On the weekend of February 11-12, he completed this somewhat modest climb up the 'finish' ladder with an undefeated win on the tour. The $1,700-added event drew 87 entrants to Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
With victories over Steven Thorne, Bob Youngblood, Denny Steed, Albert Nieto, and Jay Murillo, allowing them each an average of just over three racks per match, Stanley moved into a winners' side semifinal against Doug Winnett. Tony Sulsar, in the meantime, who'd allowed an average of just over 2.4 racks per match against Crispian Ng, Brandon Thrasher, Terrance Cockman, Douglas Pitts, and Hector Guerrero, faced Shan Iyer in the other winners' side semifinal.
Stanley and Sulsar moved into the hot seat match; Stanley 9-4 over Winnett and Sulsar 8-2 over Iyer. Stanley claimed the hot seat 9-4 over Sulsar and waited on what turned out to be the return of Amos Bush, who launched a nine-match, loss-side winning streak to challenge him in the finals.
Bush, who'd been sent to the loss side by Julie Stephenson, double hill, in his second round of play, got by Mike Voelkering, Juan Batista, Rob Lovelace, Douglas Pitts, and Jay Murillo to earn himself a re-match against Stephenson in a battle for 7th place. He downed her 7-1 to draw Iyer. Winnett, in the meantime, picked up Robert Kempf, who'd defeated Barry Emerson 6-6 (Emerson racing to 8) and, in a straight-up race to 6, Hector Guerrero 6-4.
In a straight-up race to 7, Bush picked up loss-side win #7, double hill over Iyer. He was joined in the quarterfinals by Winnett, who'd eliminated Kempf 7-4. Bush then defeated Winnett 7-3.
Bush completed his loss-side run with a 7-5 semifinal victory over Sulsar, earning himself a shot against Stanley in the finals. Stanley, though, was not in the mood to allow Bush a well-earned event victory. He defeated Bush 9-3 (Bush racing to 7) to claim the event title.
Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at the Billiard Den for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Omega Billiards, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. The next stop on the Omega Billiard Tour, scheduled for March 25-26, will be another $1,700-added event, hosted by Pockets Billiards in Euless, TX.
OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball Tour held their 7th and final tour stop November 7th – 8th at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas. 34 players from as far away as California were ready for the opportunity to earn a Qualifier spot at the 2016 WPBA Masters event in February. The owner and manager, Jeff Pitts and Tim Gildon and all the bar and wait staff did a wonderful job taking care of all the ladies! We greatly appreciate Rusty’s hosting yet another superb event.
Every year, the OB Cues Ladies Tour has 3 major awards given during the final tour event. The awards are Regional Tour Champion, Most Improved Player and Best Sportsmanship. Our worthy and deserving recipients are:
The Best Sportsmanship award, voted on by the tour players, selected Jennifer Yo of Austin for this year’s award. She always has a cheerful and positive attitude that persists throughout every match she plays. Whether winning or losing, you can always count on support, cheering and a big smile from Jennifer.
The Most Improved Player award, voted on by the tour’s board of directors, is Gail Roles of College Station. Gail has shown perseverance and dedication to the game as well as to the ladies tour, that she stood out amongst the rest of the candidates. In the past few years, she has improved her rank consistently year over year to unanimously be voted as the Most Improved Player for 2015.
Unlike the previous year, this year there was no contest as to who this year’s tour champion would be. Tara Williams of Fort Worth secured her first place ranking starting with the first event of 2015 and never looked back. With her four back-to-back tour stop wins to start 2015, no other player would be able to secure enough points to be able to threaten her second tour championship.
On Saturday, thirty -four players were reduced to eight ladies returning on Sunday morning. The final four remaining in the winner’s bracket were Michelle Cortez (Austin) vs. Tara Williams (Ft. Worth) and Melinda Bailey (Ft. Worth) vs Julie Stephenson (Keller). The four ladies returning on the one loss side were Terry Petrosino (Houston) vs. Chris Fields (Ft. Worth) and Corina Campbell (Dallas) vs. Kawania Watson (San Antonio). Of the 9 players who were vying for the Qualifier event at Soaring Eagle, only three players remained standing – Michelle, Kawania, and Terry.
Eliminated first round Sunday morning at the 7th-8th position were Terry Petrosino and Corina Campbell. In the winner’s side matches, Omega Tour Founder and Tournament Director Melinda Bailey defeated Julie Stephenson and Michelle Cortez defeated Tara Williams to set the hot seat match. Moving over to the one-loss side, for the 5/6th place matches Julie fell to Chris and Tara came out the victor against Kawania. With Kawania’s elimination, Michelle Cortez of Austin secured the $500 qualifier for the WPBA Masters event. For the fourth place match, Tara once again persevered, leaving Chris to settle for the 4th place spot.
Melinda made her way through Saturday with wins over Merry Viau (7-2), Chris Fields (7-1), and Snowy Belt (7-5). On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Michelle was making her way through her Saturday matches with her steady and consistent play. She posted wins over Shayla Neris (7-4), Corina Campbell (7-0), and Sophia Lopez (7-1). In the hot seat match, it was a steady race to the finish line for both players. Michelle won the match 7-4 against Melinda and waited to see who would be coming through the one-loss side to meet her in the finals.
For the 3rd place match, it appeared that Tara was determined to continue her winning streak. She made quick work of the match against Melinda, winning with a final score of 7-0. Congratulations to Melinda for a great, great tournament!
With Michelle and Tara in the finals, it was a repeat of last year’s finals match for the championship stop. Just like the previous year, Tara would need to double-dip Michelle to secure the tour stop win and $775 in first place prize money. However, unlike last year, where the two players went back and forth, this year, Tara came on strong and never let up. Michelle put forth her best effort to try and stop the tour champion’s effort, but came up short in the first set losing 7-4. In the second set, Tara once again turned it on, but this time, Michelle was unable to fight off the effort and succumbed to Tara in the final set 7-1. Congratulations to both ladies for another exciting finals match and great tournament finish! With this sixth tour stop win of 2015, Tara Williams breaks her own OB Ladies Tour record by becoming the only player to win six stops within a calendar year. Congratulations to Tara for an incredible season!
Thanks again to Rusty’s for our first and last tournament this year, and to all our board members who do a fantastic job all year around. A special year-end thank you to the man behind the tour, always supporting the ladies and feeding us bananas, Godiva chocolates, and all kinds of snacks, a great friend and wonderful person, Carter. We love you so much Carter!
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. It was a pleasure to see Royce Bunnell on Sunday. You do us proud and we can thank you enough for all that you do. We love OB Cues. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com
Additional thanks to our sponsor MzTam.com. Tam Trinh of Austin, TX, is one of our tour regular players and also supports our tour with her many creative billiard products and accessories. You can see all of her products as mztam.com. Thank you Tam for your awesomeness.
Also many thanks and love to all our families, fans, supporters—we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Also to the many, many ladies/players/friends who traveled from near and far; we loved seeing you all again and greatly appreciate you making the journey to play on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone once again in 2016. Our first stop of the 2016 season will at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas, February 6-7th weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Top 3 Finishers: (L-R) Terry Petrosino, Tara Williams, and Ricki Casper
Fifty-two players set a season high attendance the weekend September 19-20th at Slick Willie’s Family Pool Hall in Austin, TX to support the OB Cues Ladies Tour and remember the loss of a local Austin OB player, Emma Stewart-Davis. This was the second year for Slick Willie’s to host the ladies event and we were very happy to be back at their excellent establishment. A very big thanks goes out to Rob Mercado for accommodating the OB Ladies again on this weekend of pool and remembrance.
Sunday rounds were scheduled to start late to allow players time to attend the memorial celebration for Emma Stewart-Davis in Elgin that morning. Emma began playing on the OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball in 2013 and quickly became a positive force on the women’s tour. Her kind words of encouragement and laid back attitude helped players feel at ease. Though she played just a few short years on the tour, she was so open and warm, that she made a mark that will last for years. Her mother said it best about Emma, “She was beautiful when she opened her mouth” – her beauty was both external and internal in the loving way she treated everyone she met. She will be deeply missed by all the players and spectators of the events. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her husband, James Davis, Jr, her son, James Davis III, her family, and all of those whose life she touched during this difficult time.
After a late run on Saturday night, fifty-two players were reduced to eight ladies returning on Sunday afternoon. The final two remaining in the winner’s bracket were Ricki Casper and Tara Williams. The six ladies returning on the one loss side were Amanda Lampert vs Terry Petrosino, with Sheri Palma-Jones awaiting the winner and Kim Sanders vs. Kawania Watson, with Jennifer Kraber awaiting the winner. Placing in the money, but not returning to Sunday, were the 9-12th finishers: Marilina Nieves (San Antonio), Tam Trinh (Austin), Kari Grant (Austin), and Natalie Mans (League City).
Eliminated first round Sunday morning at the 7/8th positions were Kawania Watson of San Antonio and Amanda Lampert of Frisco. Kim Sanders of Leander and Sheri Palma-Jones of San Antonio finished in the respective 5/6th positons. Jennifer Kraber of Austin took the 4th place position.
Ricki Casper of Houston made her way through Saturday with wins over Rachel Hurst (7-3), Kim Sanders (7-4), Amanda Lampert (7-4), Kari Grant (7-2), and Sheri Palma-Jones (7-4). On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Tara Williams of Fort Worth was making her way through her Saturday matches. She posted wins over Michelle Cortez (7-4), Darcy Durham (7-3), Barbara Wisdom (7-3), Tam Trinh (7-6) and Jennifer Kraber (7-3). In the hot seat match on Sunday, Tara got ahead early in the match against Ricki and didn’t look back. Tara showed solid play in the match with several run-outs, finishing the match with a score of 7-1.
For the 3rd place match, Terry made her way through six matches in the one-loss side before facing Ricki, to see who would come out ahead to face Tara in the finals. Just like in the last tour event for this round, Terry was an unstoppable force in this match. She kept control of the match the entire time and was able to secure her spot in the finals with a 7-2 win over Ricki. Congratulations to Ricki for her great play all weekend and for her highest finish to date on the tour!
Terry Petrosino of Houston secured her second spot in the finals in two events and was poised to take on Tara Williams. Just like the last event, she was coming through the one-loss side and needed to win two sets against the current tour champion to win the event and the $770 first place prize. She once again jumped in the lead to get ahead 4-1, but Tara worked to close the gap at 4-3. A few missed opportunities allowed Terry to once again pull ahead again in the match. Tara continued to fight her way to keep it close, but Terry was determined to close the first set out and managed to grab the first set with a final score of 7-5. Both players regrouped and came back to the table ready to have one set determine the winner. This time, Tara controlled the match, getting ahead quickly, but this time it was Terry clawing her way back into the match. Tara once again dug deep to gain a firm lead and was able to close out the final set with a score of 7-4 and take the win. Congratulations to both ladies for another great tournament! With this fifth tour stop win of 2015, Tara Williams breaks another OB Ladies Tour record by becoming the only player to win five stops within a calendar year. She also secured her 2015 Tour Championship with this event, becoming the fourth player in tour history to win the Tour Champion award in consecutive years.
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com
Also many thanks and love to all our families, fans, supporters—we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Also to the many, many ladies/ players/friends who traveled from near and far; we loved seeing you all again and greatly appreciate you making the journey to play on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone once again at Stop #7 and the tour championship stop at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas, November 7-8th weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or stay up to date with instant news by adding us on Facebook/obcuestour
Tournament Results & Payouts: $2000 monies added – 52 players
1st – Tara Williams – $770
2nd – Terry Petrosino – $600
3rd – Ricki Casper – $465
4th – Jennifer Kraber – $345
5th/6th – Kim Sanders, Sheri Palma-Jones – $205
7th/8th – Kawania Watson, Amanda Lampert – $125
9-12th – Marilina Nieves, Tam Trinh, Kari Grant, and Natalie Mans – $90
Best of the Rest Tournament Results & Payouts: $100 monies added – 18 players
1st – Michelle Cortez – $120
2nd – Angie Payne – $85
3rd – Monica Anderson – $50
4th – Helen Hayes – $25
Goody-Giveaway Winners:
$50 Shell Gift Cards (5) – Erin Mickle, Helen Hayes, Julie Stephenson, Darcy Durham, Amanda Lampert
WPBA T-Shirt – Annette Saunders
$30 Tough Luck Draw for drawing the reigning Tour Champ first round – Michelle Cortez
Sophia Lopez, Terry Petrosino, Tara Williams and Michelle Cortez
Twenty-eight players showed up ready for pool action August 15-16th weekend at P.O.E.T.S. Billiards in College Station, TX. This was the first time the tour was at P.O.E.T.S Billiards. Special thanks to John Wine and his staff for taking care of all the ladies, fan and supporters. They were gracious in their service and hospitality. The equipment was great and lots of room to feel at ease for this two day event. Extra special thanks to longtime tour player Gail Roles for all her assistance in securing this site and making us all feel welcome in her hometown. P.O.E.T.S. added $2K to this event and everyone was certainly appreciative of the warm welcome!
By day’s end on Saturday, six ladies would be returning to continue their winning ways in the Main Event on Sunday morning. The two undefeated players in the winner’s bracket were Michelle Cortez (Austin) and Terry Petrosino (Houston). The four ladies returning on the one loss side were Sophia Lopez (San Antonio) vs. Julie Stephenson (Keller) and Jennifer Kraber (Austin) vs. Tara Williams (Ft. Worth). Placing in the money, but not returning to Sunday, were the 7/8th finishers Angie Payne (Austin) and Kawania Watson (San Antonio).
Eliminated in the first round Sunday morning at the 5th-6th position was Julie Stephenson (Keller) and Jennifer Kraber (Austin). For the second tournament in a row, Sophia Lopez (San Antonio) took 4th place and showed she will be a consistent top finisher on the tour. Good tournament to one and all!
Terry made her way through Saturday with wins over Shayla Neris (7-5), Michelle Yim (7-6), Amanda Lampert (7-4), and Tara Williams (7-6), besting the tour champion in her first match loss since the first match of the first tour event of 2015. On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Michelle was making her way through her Saturday matches with her steadily consistent play. She posted wins over Helen Hayes (7-6), Julie Stephenson (7-5), Leslie Anne Rogers (7-6), and Sophia Lopez (7-5). In the hot seat match, it was a slow and steady race to the finish line. Both players displayed their superior skills at the table, but a few missed opportunities by both ladies, kept the match close throughout. Michelle ended up on top in the match 7-4 and got to wait to see who would be coming through the one-loss side to meet her in the finals.
For the 3rd place match, Terry once again met up with Tara. Just like when they met in the winner’s side on Saturday, Terry jumped ahead quickly in the match and never looked back. With solid play and some great kick-shots, she shut down the tour champion’s winning streak, leaving Tara to settle for a 3rd place finish by a final score of 7-4.
At this event, Terry showed us why she was so successful on the tour in the past. Her last event to win on the OB Cues Ladies Tour was in 2011. In early 2012, she decided to take a break and did not participate on the tour in the last two years, but she decided that this was the year to come back and try her hand again at being competitive in women’s events. We are glad she did as it was a pleasure to watch the finals match between Michelle and Terry. In this true double elimination format, Terry would need to beat Michelle twice to take the win and she intended on just doing that. She quickly got up early 4-0 in the match during the first set, but Michelle was down, but not out. Michelle focused on getting control in the match and came back to close the gap 4-3. On the next game, it looked like Michelle would tie the score up, but a missed opportunity on an 8-ball allowed Terry to gain another game. After that, they traded racks back and forth, with Terry coming out ahead in the first set 7-5 and forcing one final set for the title. In the second set, Terry once again dominated the match early with her solid play and run-outs. This time, she did not allow Michelle to come back in the match and finished out the final set with a score of 7-4. Congratulations to both ladies for a great tournament!
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. Don Owen, Royce Bunnell, we couldn’t have all our fun and excitement without you. OB Cues makes the best low defection shaft in the market. They also have a fine line of cues with special Infinity inlay features. Corporate office and factory based in Plano, TX and all products made in the USA. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com.
Thanks again to P.O.E.T.S. Billiards. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, be sure to check them out. Also grateful to our other sponsors: Ozone Billiards, Mz Tam Trinh at mztam.com for all your personalized and custom pool cases, chalkers, many more goodies. And the one and only Carter Nakashima, our mentor, our photographer, our #1 fan and mainly our forever friend! We love you, Carter. We love you one and all.
Also many thanks and love to all our families, fans, supporters—we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Also to the many, many ladies/ players/friends who traveled from near and far; we loved seeing you all again and greatly appreciate you making the journey to play on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone once again at Stop #6 – Slick Willie’s Billiards in Austin, Texas, September 19-20th weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or stay up to date with instant news by adding us on Facebook/obcuestour
Tara Williams, Amanda Lampert, Jennifer Kraber and Belinda Lee
Slick Willie’s in Katy, TX was the host site for Stop #2 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour 2015 schedule. Special thanks to Trey and his staff for welcoming 51 ladies who showed up the weekend of March 14th-15th to play in this 2-day, true double elimination, 9-ball tournament. Players from all over Texas and one player from Oklahoma were gunning for the $775 first place prize in this event and lots of laughs, camaraderie and action was had by all.
9th-12th finishers were Natalie Mans, Jennifer Yo, Lorna McEwan, and Celeste Espinosa. This was Jennifer, Celeste and Lorna’s highest finish to date. Great job ladies! 7th-8th went to Kim Pierce and Natalie Esparza (in her first OB event!); 5th-6th places went to Terry Petrosino and Kawania Watson. 4th place was Belinda Lee and 3rd place went to Amanda Lampert.
Tara Williams made her way through Saturday with wins over Toni Esteves (7-0), Ricki Lee Casper (7-5), Karren Sui (7-2), and Natalie Mans (7-0). On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and took the hot seat with wins over Belinda Lee (7-3) and Amanda Lampert (7-4).
Jennifer Kraber decided to repeat Tara’s feat from the first event – losing her first round match 7-6 to Julie Stephenson, she then won nine straight matches on the one loss side to meet Tara Williams in the finals. She had four hill-hill matches in her road to finals with wins on Saturday over Janna Preston (7-6), Tracie Voelkering (7-0), Monica Anderson (7-6), and Rebecca Arcangeli (7-6). On Sunday morning, she continued to take down players winning out over Natalie Mans (7-2), Natalie Esparza (7-5), Terry Petrosino (7-3), Belinda Lee (7-3), and finally Amanda Lampert (7-2) to secure her spot in the finals.
With Tara and Jennifer in the finals again, it setup a rematch from the first event of 2015. Tara quickly got ahead in the match 3-0, but Jennifer started her climb back with a break and run in the 4th rack, then scraped out the next two games with strong play to tie the match at 3-3. Tara quickly turned the match momentum back around with a few key safes and managed to finish out the finals in one set with a final score of 7-3. Congratulations to both ladies for another great tournament!
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com
Also many thanks and love to all our families, fans, supporters—we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Also to the many, many ladies/players/friends who traveled from near and far; we loved seeing you all again and greatly appreciate you making the journey to play on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone once again at Stop #3 – Click’s Billiards in San Antonio, Texas, May 2-3rd weekend.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or Facebook/obcuestour
OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball Tour held their 8th and final tour stop December 6th – 7th at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas. The owner and manager, Jeff Pitts and Tim Gildon and all the bar and wait staff did a wonderful job taking care of all the ladies, a full field of 32 players ready to rack and roll!
At the players meeting, board member Monica Anderson announced yearly awards and a special celebration of the birthday of a beloved and long-time tour member who passed last year, Becky Jones. Becky’s daughter was in attendance and a cake was prepared in Becky’s honor. On the awards side, the sportswomanship award went to Jackie Forster, with a special mention to her travel buddies – four ladies who add a lot of good company and good play to the tour. The most improved player was the “tiny giant killer” Angie Payne, who was last year’s sportswoman of the year. The tour champion was undecided at the outset, but all Tara McCracken Williams needed to do was finish better than 5th/6th and she accomplished more than that, getting second this tournament. Tara also won the qualifier for the WPBA event at Soaring Eagle and will go represent in February!
With exactly 32 players, no one got a bye, and there were some tough matches early on, including past tour stop winners Orietta Strickland and Lisa Marr. Lisa won the match 7-6 but then had to contend with Jennifer Kraber, who’s had a great year, and put Lisa on the loser’s side with a resounding 7-2 win. But Jennifer’s winning ways were short-lived, when she ran into Amanda Lampert, past champion many times over and this year’s outgoing tour champion. The loser’s side quickly became littered with great players, and at the end of Saturday, only four women were left standing on the winner’s side: Amanda Lampert, who would play Julie Stephenson on Sunday, and Michelle Cortez, who would be up against Chris Fields, who came all the way from Florida.
Sunday’s B-side matches were Jennifer Kraber vs. Jennifer Pavlovick and Tara McCracken Williams vs. Angie Payne. Pavlovick and Payne came in 7th/8th. Amanda Lampert and Michelle Cortez won their Sunday winner’s side matches to compete for the hot seat. Michelle, a long time player and always a threat, has had a fantastic year, finishing third in Austin, which was her highest finish to date. She overcame that finish with this tournament’s hill-hill match with Amanda, securing herself the hotseat and a guaranteed second place. It was eventually Tara who attempted to double-dip her, but without success. In another hill-hill battle, Michelle Cortez didn’t let Tara to the table in the final game, breaking and running her way to first place and $750! Congratulations to her for a fantastic tournament and to all the ladies for some awesome shooting.
Thanks again to Rusty’s for our first and last tournament this year, and to all our board members who do a fantastic job all year around. A special year-end thank you to the man behind the tour, always supporting the ladies and feeding us Godiva chocolate, a great friend and wonderful person, Carter, we love you.
It may have been Super Bowl Weekend February 1st-2nd but that didn’t stop the 52 ladies who showed up at Rusty’s in Arlington, TX to play in the first stop of 2014 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. There were lots of new faces, lot of veterans, travelers from afar, as well as players who took off for a while but glad to see they are starting back up again. It was an awesome event to say the least and many, many strong match lineups all weekend long from champions all around. Additionally since it was Super Bowl Weekend, players were allowed to wear their favorite professional sports jerseys and here’s a snapshot of some of the ladies all dressed up:
Several marquee players in the running for the $750 first place prize money were the OBCLT Regional Champion from 2007-2011 Lisa Marr; 2012 OBCLT Regional Tour Champion Kim Pierce, 2013 OBCLT Regional Tour Champion Amanda Lampert and 2013 Flamingo Billiards Tour Regional Champion Jeannie Seaver. With all these champions in the house, many folks were saying it was a toss-up who would win this event. Needless to say, it was going to be a slugfest with plenty of tough and strong action to reach the top.
Finishing 13th-16th were Corina Campbell, Jeannie Kim, Melinda Bailey & Rhea Brooks. 9th-12th winners were Mindy Williams, Sara Bork, Tracie Voelkering and Emma Stewart (highest finish to date for Emma). Great job ladies! 7th-8th went to Julie Stephenson and Chris Fields; 5th-6th places went to Tara Williams and Jennifer Kraber. 4th place was Jeannie Seaver and 3rd place went to Lisa Marr. Both Jeannie and Lisa have been gone from this tour circuit for a while. It was great to see them back in action and needless to say, they still have it! Once a champion, always a champion and fun to watch and learn from both of these ladies!
Amanda and Orietta matched up against one another for the hot seat match and it was pretty much uncontested as Orietta won 7-2, giving little chance for Amanda to even get into the match. This semi- finals match between Lisa and Amanda was yet another strong showing between these two players. Having matched up against one another on many other previous occasions throughout the years, Amanda proved too much for Lisa with a win of 7-3.
The finals match between Amanda and Orietta is always a grind and Amanda would have to double-dip Orietta twice to take the crown. The first set was a back and forth battle of shots and safeties and Amanda prevailed the winner of set #1 with a score of 7-3. The second set was a repeat of the first with Amanda scoring the tournament win 7-4. Awesome work Champ!
Special recognition and thanks to OB Cues our main tournament sponsor. If you want to get serious about your game, check out OB Cues at www.obcues.com
Also many thanks and love to all our families, fans, supporters—we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Also to the many, many ladies/ player/friends who traveled from near and far; we loved seeing you all again and greatly appreciate you making the journey to play on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone once again at Stop #2 – Slick Willie’s at Katy, Texas, March 15th-16th weekend. Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
