It’s been a good year for Krystle Suarez; her best recorded earnings year, her best in terms of the number of events in which she has cashed (4) and in the season finale of the 2022 DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour this past weekend (Saturday, Oct. 15), she came from the loss side to double-dip hot seat occupant, Kendra Britt and claim the event title. It was her first tour victory since she claimed title to the tour’s first event, a trial tournament held back in September 2019 at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX, which led to the creation of the tour and the scheduling of multiple events leading up to this year’s season of six. The $500-added season finale drew 26 entrants to Snookered Billiards & Bar in Frisco, TX.
As Suarez was battling to win her second tournament on the tour, her eventual opponent in both the hot seat match and double elimination finals, Kendra Britt, was looking for her first (recorded) win in a major regional tournament. And almost found it. Bound for the hot seat, Britt worked her way through Francisco Riza Pill, Kathy Knuth and Tina Soto to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Kailye Stevens. Suarez, in the meantime, following an opening round bye, sent April Gonzalez and Jacky Halper to the loss side to draw Desiree Collins in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Suarez and Britt gave up only a single rack to each of their opponents, sending them (Collins and Stevens) to the loss side and advancing to the hot seat match. Britt, who started all three of the matches she would play against Suarez with two beads on the wire in a race to 7, didn’t need them in the hot seat match. She sent Suarez to the semifinals 5-2.
On the loss side, Collins picked up Ginger Abadilla, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal match to Kailye Stevens and then defeated Janna Talmon 3-1 and April Gonzalez 3-4 (Gonzalez racing to 5). Stevens drew Nichole Clark, who’d lost her opening match to Collins and was working on a five-match, loss-side winning streak that would take her to the quarterfinals. She’d chalked up loss-side wins #3 & #4 against Alicia Stanley, double hill (3-6; Stanley racing to 7) and Kailye Stevens 3-2 (Stevens racing to 4).
In a straight-up race to 3, Collins defeated Abadilla. Clark downed Stevens 3-2 (Stevens racing to 4). Collins and Clark battled to double hill in the quarterfinals that followed, with Collins eventually advancing to face Suarez in the semifinals.
Collins started those semifinals with four beads on the wire in a race to 7. She added just one, as Suarez went on to win 7-1 and earn her second and what needed to be a third shot against Britt in the double elimination finals.
With Suarez racing to 7 and Britt to 5, they played twice, with both matches going double hill. Suarez won them both 7-4 to claim the tour’s season finale title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Snookered Billiards and Bar, as well as sponsors Cuetec, Kamui, Fort Worth Billiards Store and Doc’s Billiards Office.
Tara Williams, Ginger Abadilla, Aryana Lynch and Alicia Stanley
Since Tara Williams recorded her first win on the former OB Cues Ladies Tour in 2009, she had gone on to the winners’ circle of that tour numerous times, including, in what turned out to be her best recorded earnings year (2015), victories on six stops of the tour and just for variety that year, added a win on the Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Tour. This past weekend (Saturday, March 12), the multiple BCA and ACS state and national champion chalked up her first recorded 2022 win, going undefeated to claim a DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour title. The $500-added event drew 36 entrants to Snookered Billiards in Frisco, TX.
By the time Williams reached her winners’ side semifinal matchup versus Jamie Tidmore, she’d won 21 of her first 27 games, having sent Anna Billington (1), Monica Anderson (2) and Crystal Jones (3) to the loss side. Ginger Abadilla, in the meantime, one of the lower-rated competitors in the event (at a 3), parlayed her handicap into a successful race to the hot seat match. She got by Kathy Knuth 3-3 (Knuth racing to 4, so double hill), Francisca Riza Pili 3-2 (Pili racing to 4) and Melissa Britt 3-2 (Britt racing to 5), which brought her to a winners’ side semifinal against Alicia Stanley (racing to 7).
Williams downed Tidmore 7-2, as Abadilla punched her ticket to the hot seat match with a 3-3 win over Stanley (once again, racing to 7). Abadilla’s ship of good fortune (and not to downplay her efforts, combined with skill and persistence) ran aground in the hot seat match. No doubt cognizant of Abadilla’s success getting to the hot seat match, Williams shut her out to claim the hot seat.
Meanwhile, back at the Loss-Side Ranch, there was another competitor making her presence known – Aryana Lynch, two-time Billiards Education Foundation Junior National Champion (2018; 16 & Under and 2021; 18 & Under), and twice, winner on the 2021 DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour. Lynch won her opener against Snowy Belt 6-2 and then, ran into Alicia Stanley, who sent her to the loss side 7-2. Lynch proceeded to embark on a four-match run that saw her win 18 of the 20 games she played against three opponents, giving up one each to Rachelle Dytko and Brooklyn Kanady, before recording a forfeit win over Melissa Britt and then, shutting out Orietta Strickland to draw Tidmore, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal.
In the meantime, Stanley, in her first loss-side match, drew Jennifer Kim, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Tidmore and embarked on a similar, albeit shorter, loss-side run. She played eight games and didn’t give up a single rack to either of her two opponents, Francisca Riza Pili and Jennifer Pavlovick.
Lynch extended her loss-side streak to five with a 6-2 win over Tidmore. Stanley joined her in the quarterfinals after putting a stop to Kim’s brief, but illustrious loss-side run 7-3. Loss-side win # 6 for Lynch ended Stanley’s run 6-2, and in the semifinals, loss-side win # 7, 6-1 over Abadilla, put her into the finals.
Williams put a stop to that potential ‘loss waiting to happen.’ She allowed Lynch a single rack and claimed the event title 7-1.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Snookered for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, Cuetec, Doc’s Billiards Office and Kamui. The next stop on DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for Saturday, April 9, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Stixx and Stones Billiards in Lewisville, TX.
The ‘hard way’ to win in a pool tournament is usually thought of as a long trip on the loss side of a double elimination bracket; all those matches spent on the verge of elimination. Bobbie Owen, playing on the 3rd stop of the DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour, may have added a different way to define that ‘hard way’ to win. She was awarded a bye in the opening round of the $500-added event that drew 47 women to Stixx and Stones in Lewisville, TX on Saturday, May 16. She won her opening match versus Jennifer Hooten 4-2. She battled to double hill in the next five matches that concluded with victories in the hot seat and finals to claim the event title. Not only is that worthy of being considered the ‘hard way’ to win an event, but according to our records, Owen just won her first major title in what would have to be considered the hard way, as well.
Her path, after Hooten, went through a second Jennifer (Dooley) and Diana Bodeker to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Emily Sumrall. Kathy Knuth, in the meantime, also the recipient of an opening round bye, shut out Linda Long, downed Amanda Bivens 4-1 and sent Alicia Stanley to the loss side 4-3 (Stanley racing to 7), to draw her winners’ side semifinal opponent, Tara Williams.
Two double hill battles advanced Knuth and Owen into the hot seat match. With Williams racing to 8, Knuth won 4-7. With Sumrall racing to 5, Owen advanced 4-4. In a straight up race to 4, Owen claimed the hot seat in her 4th double hill win and waited on a rematch between her and Sumrall in the finals.
On the loss side, Sumrall drew Alicia Stanley, who followed her winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Knuth with victories over Tera Saunders 7-2 and Ginger Abadilla 7-1. Tara Williams picked up Aryana Lynch, who was working on a modest, four-match loss-side winning streak that had recently eliminated Diana Bodeker, double hill, and Kitty Phoutthavong 6-1.
Lynch advanced one more step into the quarterfinals with a 6-1 victory over Williams. She was joined by Sumrall, who’d ousted Stanley 4-4 (Stanley racing to 7). Sumrall ended Lynch’s loss-side streak at five with a 5-3 win in the quarterfinal match and then stopped Knuth’s loss-side journey immediately, shutting her out in the semifinals and advancing for a second shot at Owen, waiting for her in the hot seat.
Owen came into the finals with ‘one bead on the wire’ in a race to 5. She chalked up the four she needed, as did Sumrall, but Owen hit the mark first to claim her first event title.
Tour representatives thanked their Stixx and Stones’ hosts Anju and John Bergman, as well as sponsors OB Cues, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore and Doc’s Billiard Office. The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour, scheduled for July 10, 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
A stellar field of 48 women came to CK Billiards in Dallas on the weekend of June 25-26 for the OB Cues Ladies Tour 4th stop. This is the first time that the OB Tour has stopped at CK Billiards and the event attracted several players from other regional tours, as well as other states, who came to experience the great fun of the OB Tour and the wonderful hospitality of CK Billiards.
Thank you to Jennifer Sherman, General Manager of CK Billiards, for her hospitality and service to all supporters, fan, players and general public. Also special thanks to event sponsors Starwoodmotors and Barisita Brothers. Starwoodmotors caters to an automobile style which is unique and luxurious for their custom/handcrafted vehicles. Be sure to check them out at Starwoodmotors.com to see all about their specialized services and offerings. Barista Brothers strives to provide the utmost in coffee service like no other. They have a passion for absolute excellence with their coffee products and services. You can read all about their passion and products at baristabrothers.com. Enjoy!
As the tournament day progressed, Saturday was indeed a long day with so many ladies and many interesting upsets. The Freight Train that is Tara “Firecracker” Williams (Ft. Worth) was derailed by Nicole Keeney (Colorado), and former tour stop winners Orietta Strickland, Amanda Lampert (both of Dallas), Terry Petrosino (Houston), Jennifer Kraber and Michelle Cortez (both of Austin) all suffered at least one loss by the end of Saturday’s play.
Sunday brought back 12 ladies. On the winner’s side, Nicole emerged victorious over Ricki Casper (Houston), and Belinda Lee (Pearland) won a hill-hill battle against board member Shayla Neris (Austin). The four B-side matches saw up-and-coming player Yvonne Asher (Houston) defeat Amanda; two-time tour champion Tara beat Jennifer Pavlovick (Irving), new tour member Toby Stogner (Amarillo) won vs. Tera Saunders (Dallas), and Jennifer wound up on the winning side of a hill-hill battle against Terry. Shayla and Ricki both finished in 5/6thplace, which required a race-to-seven battle to determine who would win the qualifier for the next NAPT Tour stop, as they were the last remaining candidates out of 11 qualifier contenders and both finished in the same position. The two NAPT Qualifier winners were Ricki and Belinda. Unfortunately for Belinda, she will not be able to make the Grayslake NAPT Division 1 Pro event, so Shayla will be taking the invite. We wish all OBCLT representatives best of luck at the Shooter’s Sports Bar and Billiards, Grayslake, IL – $21,000 total purse event August 18-21, 2016.
The final four players were Nicole vs. Belinda for the hotseat match, and Tara vs. Jennifer K. on the other side. Nicole, who in recent years has won the OB Tour stops she has attended, won the hotseat, sending Belinda to the B-side. Jennifer managed to capture a hill-hill win against Tara while she then continued to defeat Belinda and meet up with Nicole in the finals.
Right before the finals match was about to commence, the raffle drawing for the two beautiful OB cues donated to support the tour followed an unbelievable trend, sending both cues home to Terry Petrosino and Richard Holstein, who now own an arsenal of OB cues!
As in a true double elimination format, Jennifer would have to beat Nicole two sets to win the tournament and that is exactly what she did. In the first set, Nicole made a couple uncharacteristic errors which Jennifer was able to finish each game all the while giving her confidence and strong momentum with full steam ahead. Jennifer was truly on a roll and playing in near flawless fashion, caught a gear and finished the first set 7-3. They began the second set almost immediately, and while Jennifer still couldn’t miss a ball, Nicole played strong herself, fighting back with absolutely beautiful shotmaking and finesse of her own, with several break and runs during the final set. Jennifer reached the hill first and had a chance at 6-5 to finish out the tournament win with a break and run, but made the nine-ball and then scratched, thus making it a nail-biter and tense game, set and match for the eventual winner. In the final game, Nicole had the same opportunity and shot as Jennifer did in the previous game, but just barely missed pocketing the nine giving Jennifer the win. It was Jennifer’s birthday, so it was probably meant to be. There were a few June birthdays that weekend, including the Tour angel Carter’s birthday, so there was much celebrating all weekend. The ladies presented Carter with an Edible Arrangement, cupcakes and his own personal figurine with our undying love and honor to have Carter as part of this tour family always and forever. We love you Carter!
Thank you to the OB board members, who go out of their way to make the events fantastic even when tournament play lasts past midnight and then they have to be back early the next day. Thank you again to Carter for all the support, chocolate, energy goodies and love of the game and the ladies. Special thank you to all the players who traveled from near and far to participate and make the tour the fun experience that it is! And last of all thanks to OB Cues, our title sponsor since 2008. They have the best products and are the best sponsors ever—bar none. Check them out at obcues.com and be sure to get the Digicue…..one of their newest product offerings……you can’t go wrong with this one.
Main Event Tournament Payouts – ($2000 added) – 48 players
Jennifer Kraber, Amanda Lampert, Sophia Lopez and Tara Williams
Thirty-six players showed up Father’s Day weekend June 20-21st at Legend’s Billiards in League City, TX to play in Stop #4 of OB Cues Ladies Tour 2015 calendar. Top players from throughout the Texas area were competing for the first place prize in this $2000 added monies event. Legend’s Billiards, home of the Houston Open, and many other special tournaments throughout the years, is always a player favorite, with courteous and welcoming staff, fans as well as well-maintained Brunswick/Diamond equipment. We look forward to coming back for years to come. Special thanks to Mindy and Craig Cohen for hosting us on this holiday weekend!
By days end on Saturday, eight ladies would be returning on Sunday morning to continue in the Main Event. The final four remaining in the winner’s bracket were Sophia Lopez (San Antonio) vs Tara Williams (Ft. Worth) and MzTam Trinh (Austin) vs. Jennifer Kraber (Austin). The four ladies on the one loss side were Natalie Esparza (Houston) vs. Terry Petrosino (Houston) and Amanda Lampert (Dallas) vs. Board Member Tracie Voelkering (Ft. Worth).
7th-8th places went to Tracie and Natalie, which is her highest finish in only her second event after a tough first round loss. 5th-6th places went to Terry and MzTam, who also had her highest finish ever and 4th place went to Sophia. Great shooting to everyone. Keep up the great work!
Tara made her way through Saturday with wins over Janna Preston (7-0), Natalie Mans (7-4), and Amanda Lampert (7-5). On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and earned a spot for the hot seat with a win over Sophia Lopez (7-4). On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Jennifer was making her way through her Saturday matches with the strong play that has made her a consistent and formidable player. Her winning matches were as follows: besting Natalie Esparza (7-5), Shayla Neris (7-3), and Terry Petrosino (7-6). On Sunday morning, she continued her run taking down MzTam (7-0) which would secure her spot in the hot seat match. In the hot seat match, it looked like it was going to be over quickly in Jennifer’s favor when she jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Tara regained her focus though and managed to get on the board to bring the score to 4-3 with some strong play. Tara missed a 9-ball to allow Jennifer to pull ahead 5-3, but composed herself and ran the next rack to close it out at 5-4. A late miss by Jennifer then allowed Tara to tie it up at 5 games apiece. Trading run outs the next two games, it came down to a single game to decide the winner. Tara appeared to have the advantage after a solid break, but a tough leave on the 5 ball forced to her to make a few difficult shots in a row. On the 8-ball, Tara slightly overcut the ball and left it hanging in the pocket but Jennifer was left directly behind the 9-ball. She looked over her options and decided to go for a jump shot, but couldn’t quite get over the 9-ball, giving Tara ball in hand on the last two balls to take the hot seat match and wait for her finals opponent.
In the semi-finals match, Amanda and Jennifer traded racks early and it appeared that both players would be grinding it out for the single spot available in the finals. However, when tied at 2-2, Amanda caught a gear and quickly began pulling ahead in the match. She played some great outs and strategic safeties to shut Jennifer down in the match, finishing out the set with a final score of 7-2. Good tournament Jennifer—nice 3rd place finish!
As the finals were now set and both Amanda and Tara being champions in their own right, everyone knew it was going to be a strong and solid fight to the finish. Amanda, seeking to avenge her earlier loss on Saturday to Tara, she quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Tara posted her own solid play to tie it up at 2 games each. After trading games until tied at 4-4, an early miss by Amanda allowed Tara to pull ahead for the first time in the match. Tara won the next game as well and looked ready to finish out the set, but a tough leave on the 8-ball gave Amanda opportunity to stay in the match and bring the score to only a one game deficit at 5-6. On the final game, it looked as if Amanda was going to force a hill-hill set, but a missed six ball allowed Tara to finish the set with a final score of 7-5. Congratulations to both ladies for a fantastic tournament! With this fourth win in 2015 for Tara, she makes tour history by becoming the first player to ever win four consecutive events. She also becomes only the third player to win four stops in a calendar year – Amanda Lampert had four wins in 2013 and Leslie Anne Rogers scored four wins in 2004. Congratulations on the awesome accomplishment Tara! You have made your mark in tour history!
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 #5 – P.O.E.T.S. Billiards in College Station, Texas, August 15-16th weekend. P.O.E.T.S. Billiards is a new stop on the OBCLT calendar; so let’s show them how these tour ladies roll with a large showing in attendance.
Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times – we are the OB Cues Ladies Tour!!!!!
Check us out at www.obcuestour.com or 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
January 28th-29th weekend was the 1st Tour stop for the OB Cues Ladies Tour and 51 ladies were anxious to start the New Year with some high spirited competition, fun and as some players call it, OBCLT therapy. It was great to see many, many new faces as well as familiar OBCLT family faces. A special welcome to Shar Vanderstyne who came to play on our tour all the way from San Diego, California. Thank You Ladies for keeping our tour #1 in the country.
Rusty’s in Arlington, Texas was our host site for this weekend and it was indeed a welcome to have their fantastic staff and management host us once again. Special thanks to Hutch, Jeff, Tracie, and all the other Rusty’s staff and organization for a job well done.
Special Thanks to our main tour sponsor OB Cues and new co-sponsor Pool300. The tour is now starting our 18th year in existence and we are proud to claim the status as the largest women’s amateur regional tour in the world. Thank you OB Cues and Pool300 for all that you do for us. Thank you for allowing us to continue to pursue our pool dreams and seeing our tour friends, fans, supporters and sharing in our journey along the way. Be sure to check out our sponsors at www.obcues.com and www.pool300.com
Finishing 9th/12th was Jennifer, Angie, Michelle and Monica. In 7th/8th it was Amanda and Orietta, and 5th/6th was Julie and Melinda. Great shooting and awesome tournament, ladies!
4-time OBCLT Regional Tour Champion Lisa Marr finished 4th. The semi-finals matchup was between Terry Petrosino and Kim Pierce. Terry always a contender with her playing consistency and strong shooting skills finished 3rd giving Kim a rematch with Ming who won the hot seat match between herself and Kim earlier in the day. Kim, having an awesome tournament, had some extra special motivation as she was celebrating her birthday weekend, as well as achieving her highest tour stop finish ever. Although Kim was shooting strong in the finals match, Ming, always a tough opponent and champion through and through, emerged as the victor in the one-set finals match with a score of 7-5. Fantastic finish to both ladies!
Main Event Tournament Payouts – $2000 added monies
The final stop of the OB Cues Ladies Tour for 2011 was more exciting than ever based on three important factors. For the 1st time in the tour’s history, the last event of the year was $3,000 added monies, $1K more than the normal added dollars. Secondly, the OB Cues Tour Champion spot was up for grabs as several contenders were vying to unseat 3-time Tour Champion Lisa Marr. And finally a new award of Best Sportsman would be voted by the players out of four nominated players.
As this last stop was $3000 added monies, a special player’s eligibility requirement was needed to play in this event at one of our favorite host site, Casper’s in San Leon, Texas. Players had to play in at least 3 events throughout this tour year and 28 ladies ventured down south Texas way to participate in all the year end festivities. First and foremost, we would like to thank Don Owen and Royce Bunnell, as our main tour sponsors. Year after year they have provided customer service, pool products and unwavering support and friendship for both tour players and host site partners. Thank you for all that you do and believing in us and keeping our dreams alive. Be sure to check out our sponsor at www.obcues.com and www.pool300.com
Also special thanks to Kathy and Roy Robinson, who are frequent hosts on the ladies tour. They have one of the most fabulous and unique pool and restaurant establishments on our tour calendar and we greatly appreciate your down home hospitality displayed by your staff, customers and fans everywhere. Casper’s is a must see pool establishment. If you are ever down south Texas, be sure to look them up.
Four players were chosen by the board for the 2011 Sportsmanship Award. Becky Jones from Arkansas, Kathy Knuth from Dallas, Shirley Fields from Arkansas, and Tracie Voelkering from Fort Worth were nominated by players over the course of 2011 and picked by the board members for their exemplary behavior both on and off the table. It was a close race between the nominees as players submitted their votes and it came down to a tie between Shirley and Tracie. The players were asked to re-vote for only these 2 players and it was one vote away from a tie again, with Tracie edging out Shirley for the award. Congratulations Tracie! Your display of sportsmanship both on and off the table makes you very deserving of this award.
The 2011 Most Improved player was voted on by the board based on player performance and ranking for 2011 against prior years. One player really stood out from the pack in the increase in rankings for the past two years, but based on her position on the board, she asked to be removed from contention. After review of her movement from 20th in 2009, to 9th in 2010, and to 6th for the season in 2011, it was no contest to the remaining board members who should take this award. With her left out of the vote, the board selected Julie Stephenson as the most improved player. She credits her participation in Pool 300 league to her overall improvement at the sport.
For the 2011 Tour Champion, it was a tight race with four potential players that had the ability to seize the title. Orietta Strickland was the tour point’s leader going into this last stop with Lisa Marr 110 points behind. Based on the outcome of the tournament, Tara Williams and Ming Ng could also be contenders or spoilers for the tour champion spot. But with all the pressure on Orietta to maintain her position as point’s leader, she would also need help from others to keep Lisa at bay. Unfortunately by the end of tournament play on Saturday, 8 players would return for the Main Event and Orietta was not one of them. Winner side matches would include Lisa Marr vs. Ming Ng and Tara Williams vs. Ricki Lee Casper. One loss side matches would include Belinda Lee vs. Jennifer Kraber and Amanda Lampert vs. Yvette Reyes.
Finishing 7th/8th was Yvette Reyes and Belinda Lee; 5th/6th was Jennifer Kraber and Ming Ng. 4th place would go to Ricki Lee Casper, her highest tour finish ever; always a contender and strong player who we are sure she will continue with her winning ways. 3rd place was Amanda Lampert who sought her revenge win against Ricki who put her on the one loss side.
In the finals match, it was a replay of the hot seat with Lisa Marr and Tara Williams. Both ladies were not only vying for the win, but the tournament winner would also be crowned the tour champion in the close point race. Tara would have to beat Lisa twice for the win, but it would not happen, Lisa bested Tara in one set with a score of 7-5. Tara Williams finished in 2nd place her last 3 tour events, including this stop, for the 2011 year, showing very consistent shooting and strong year end finish to boot. With this 1st place finish, Lisa went on to become tour champion for the 4th time in a row. Lisa went through some challenges this year while enduring shoulder surgery which caused her to not finish as high as she would have wanted. But always the fighter and her ‘never quit’ attitude, she was able to overcome all obstacles and prevail once again as the tour champion. Congratulations to all tour players for an excellent tour year.
