As fellow Filipino pool players competed in tournaments from Raleigh, NC (at the Doug Beasley Custom Cues 9-Ball Open) and Dallas/Ft. Worth (at the DFW 9-Ball Tour), Roberto Gomez landed in Midlothian, VA for the sixth stop on the Action Pool Tour. Gomez went undefeated through a field of 38 at the June 16-17 event, hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian.

 

Gomez is on track to have his best recorded earnings year, ever. To date, according to our records, his best earnings year was 11 years ago, in which, though he didn’t win an event, he did finish as runner-up in the WPA World Championships in the Philippines, sandwiched between winner Daryl Peach and third-place finisher, Vilmos Foldes. The runner-up finish earned him $40,000, $5,700 short of his total that year, and more than any single year’s earnings since he entered the AZBilliards database 13 years ago.

 

In addition to going undefeated, Gomez ended the weekend with a 73% winning game average, just shy of three out of every four games he played. The percentage was bolstered by a shutout against his hot seat opponent; a rarity at almost any level of the sport.

 

Gomez opened with what turned out to be one of his strongest challenges in the event; a 9-5 win over Soo Emmett. He followed that with a 9-2 win over Bethany Sykes, and a 9-4 win against Greg Sabins, which set him up to face Cameron Lawhorne in one of the winners’ side semifinals. In the meantime, Gomez’ separate opponents in the hot seat and finals – Scott Roberts and Chris Bruner – advanced to face each other in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Gomez sent Lawhorne to the loss side 9-3 and was joined in the hot seat match by Roberts, who’d defeated Bruner 9-5. Then came the hot seat shutout, which sent Roberts to the semifinals against Bruner and left Gomez in the hot seat.

 

On the loss side, Bruner started his brief trip to the finals against Sabins, who, following his defeat at the hands of Gomez, had downed Tuan Chau 9-7 and Cary Dunn 9-5. Lawhorne picked up Larry Kressel, who was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals. Kressel had, most recently, eliminated one of the APT’s strongest players, Shaun Wilkie 9-3, and Mat LeMire 9-2.

 

Bruner downed Sabins 9-6, as Kressel was eliminating Lawhorne 9-2. Bruner then ended Kressel’s loss-side run (and weekend) with a 9-3 victory in the quarterfinals. Bruner completed his loss-side run with a 9-4 victory over Roberts in the semifinals.

 

Though Bruner would chalk up seven racks in the race-to-11 finals, making him Gomez’ toughest challenge, Gomez prevailed 11-7 to claim the APT title.

Steve Fleming, the APT’s current points leader, won the Second Chance event, which drew a short field of eight entrants. Fleming lost his opening round, and then, four on the loss side to challenge hot seat occupant Cameron Lawhorne. He defeated Lawhorne 6-2 to claim the Second Chance title.

 

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, as well as sponsors Kamui, Diamond Billiard Products, Viking Cues, Predator Cues, Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards, Aramith Balls, Simonis Cloth and George Hammerbacher Advanced Pool Instructor. The next stop on the Action Pool Tour, scheduled for July 14-15, will be hosted by Champion Billiards Sports Bar in Frederick, MD.

 

Malm wins Ladies event

 

Eric Moore, the 2016 VA State 10-Ball and 8-Ball Champion, finished the 2016 Action Pool Tour (APT) as its top player, capping that feat with an undefeated run at the Tour Championships last December. Until this past weekend (June 17-18), he'd appeared in only two APT stops this year, finishing 7th in March, and, in February, finishing 13th in defense of his VA State 10-Ball title, which was claimed by Dennis Orcollo. Moore also finished fourth in the inaugural Barry Behrman Memorial Spring Open. At this most recent 10-Ball event, the sixth stop on the APT, he went undefeated through a field of 48 at Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA.

 

In a concurrently-run Ladies event, Tina Malm worked her way, undefeated, through a short field of eight to claim that title. It was Malm's second win on this year's inaugural series of Ladies tournaments, having won the season opener in January. Malm also appeared in the Open event, finishing in the tie for 33rd. In a ranking system that rewards a combination of performance and participation, Judie Wilson, who's appeared in all six of the Ladies tournaments, remains atop the APT's list of female competitors.

 

Moore's run in the Open event began with back-to-back shutouts versus Tina Malm and Toby McGovern, before Chris Futrell, his eventual opponent in the finals, gave him a double-hill run for his money in the third round. Moore survived, advancing to defeat Shaun Wilkie (currently at #3 in the tour rankings) 7-3, which set him up in a winners' side semifinal against Mike Davis. Chuck Sampson, in the meantime, met up with Nilbert Lim in the other winners' side semifinal.

 

Moore survived his second double hill fight, downing Davis, and advanced to the hot seat match versus Sampson, who'd sent Lim to the loss side 7-3. Moore claimed his first hot seat since the Tour Championships and waited there for Futrell to finish his seven-match, loss-side winning streak.

 

Over on the loss side, it was Davis who ran into Futrell, four matches into his loss-side streak, which began with a 6-4 win over the APT's top-ranked player, Christopher Wilburn, and was followed by a shutout over Steve Freeman, and 6-3 wins over TJ Moore and Steve Fleming. Lim picked up Greg Sabins, who'd defeated Mat LeMire 6-2 and (significantly) eliminated Shaun Wilkie 6-3.

 

Futrell defeated Davis 6-3, while Sabins and Lim locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Sabins. Futrell took the quarterfinal match that followed 6-4, and completed his loss-side run by giving up only a single rack to Sampson.

 

The 'finals' re-match was on. The result would do little to change the relative tour rankings of the two opponents (Moore, entering the tournament at #29 and Futrell a few spots above him at #23), but in keeping with their first, double hill meeting, the two played 15 of a possible 17 games. Moore completed his undefeated run 9-6 to claim the title.

 

Malm downs Duggan twice to claim Ladies title

 

Tina Malm's four-match, undefeated run in the Ladies event went through Jacki Duggan twice. They met first in the second round (which was the winners' side semifinal) and fought to double hill, before Malm prevailed. Cheryl Pritchard, in the meantime, having shut out Nicole King, faced Gwen Townsend in the other winners' side semifinal and defeated her 6-4. Malm claimed the hot seat with a 6-2 win over Pritchard and waited on Duggan's return.

 

On the loss side, Duggan picked up Nicole King, who'd just survived a double hill battle against Wilson. Townsend drew Meredith Lynch, who'd defeated Cabatit 6-4 to reach her. By identical 6-4 scores, Duggan and Townsend advanced to the quarterfinals over King and Lynch.

 

Over the next 15 games, encompassing the quarter and semifinals, Duggan gave up only three racks; two to Townsend in the quarterfinals, and one to Pritchard in the semifinals. Malm ended Duggan's short, three-match, loss-side run with an 8-3 win in the finals.