Stop #2 on the Tiger Florida Tour this past weekend (Feb. 18-19) edged Stephanie Mitchell up to #2 in the early 2023 season rankings, just below Kaylee McIntosh, whom she defeated in the finals of the event. Once the event moved from its double elimination origin to single elimination, the possibility of a mother/daughter (Debbie versus Kaylee) final loomed in a three-round distance that failed to materialize. The $1,000-added event drew 30 entrants to Stixx Billiards in Oldsmar, FL.
Mitchell’s visit to the loss side of the bracket didn’t last long. After an opening round bye, Mitchell downed Danielle Fee 7-5 and ran into the Pink Dagger, junior competitor Sofia Mast, who sent her to the loss side 7-5 for a single match from which she would return.
Mast, who’d defeated Sharlee Norq and Michell Monk before sending Mitchell to the loss side,was one of four who advanced to the single elimination bracket from the winners’ side. Joining Mast in her wait for the loss side to send its four finalists to single elimination were: Kimberly Housmann, who’d defeated Jeannie Seaver, Tiara Pfeife and another junior competitor, Gianna Fiore to advance; Debbie McIntosh, who’d gotten by Denise Reeve, Margie Soash and Jessica Barnes to move into single elimination and Kaylee McIntosh, who’d defeated Tiffany Culn, Miranda Oran and Kim Caso to join the winners’ side group.
On the loss side, Jessica Barnes played a single match, meeting up with Jeannie Seaver, who’d won two on the loss side, including her sister, Vanessa, to reach her. Barnes eliminated Jeannie 5-3 to join the single elimination bracket, facing Kaylee McIntosh. Monk, who’d given up only two racks in 11 loss-side games downed Gianna Fiore 5-3 to join the eight quarterfinalists and square off against Mast. Kim Caso defeated Deanna Laney, double hill, to join the quarterfinalists, and meet up with Debbie McIntosh. Mitchell became the last one, downing Mimi McAndrews 5-2 and facing Housman in the first single elimination round.
Mother and daughter proceeded to do their part in advancing the possibility of their potential match in the finals. Mom, Debbie, defeated Kim Caso, as daughter Kaylee eliminated Barnes, both 7-4. Mast moved into to the semifinals with a 7-2 victory over Monk, while Mitchell downed Housman 7-2.
Kaylee furthered the cause in the semifinals by eliminating the Pink Dagger 7-5. Mitchell spoiled the family finals festivities by defeating Debbie 7-3 in their semifinal matchup.
Mitchell then assured that mother and daughter would at least end up next to each other in 2nd and the two-way tie for 3rd place by defeating Kaylee in the finals 7-4. McIntosh maintained her position at the top of the tour standings, ahead of Mitchell, Jeannie Seaver, Kimberly Housman and Sofia Mast.
Tour director Mimi McAndrews thanked the ownership and staff at Stixx Billiards for their hospitality, along with title sponsor Tiger Products, Boynton Billiards, AZBilliards.com, Stitch It To Me Embroidery, Brutal Game Gear, Simonis Cloth, The Corner Pocket and Brewlands Billiards. Stop #3 on the Tiger Florida Tour, scheduled for Saturday, March 25, will be hosted by Brewlands North in Lakeland, FL.
Coming off a wildly successful year in which she recorded pool earnings that were three times as much as she’d earned in 2021, Kaylee McIntosh was awarded the Tiger Florida Tour’s 2022 Most Improved Player award at the tour’s season-opening event this past weekend (Sat., Jan. 14). And then, she went undefeated through the $500-added event that drew 24 entrants to Brewlands Billiards South in Lakeland, FL.
“I played confidently and consistently all day,” she wrote on her FB page, modestly not mentioning her Most Improved Player award. “I hope I can carry (the) momentum into the Kamui World Women’s 9-Ball Championship this coming week (Jan. 19-22 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City).”
The event played out with a modified, double-elimination format, with the last two on the loss-side of the bracket drawing back into the final two on the winners’ side. Two, single-elimination semifinal matches were followed by the finals.
McIntosh opened up against Lisa Perez, advancing to defeat Lauren Kowalski and then, surviving a double hill battle versus Shannon Dunn. This moved her into an advancement qualifier against Michell Monk, determining which of them would immediately advance to the event’s final four and which would move to the loss side for an opportunity to draw back in among the final four. From the opposite end of the bracket, Jeannie Seaver, awarded an opening round bye, met and defeated junior competitor Sofia Mast 7-2, downed Stephanie Mitchell 7-1 to face Shanelle Lorraine for the opportunity to advance from the winners’ side.
McIntosh defeated Monk 7-1, advancing to the final four, as Seaver got by Lorraine 7-5, also advancing. Monk moved to the loss side, defeated Stephanie Mitchell 5-3 and came right back to face McIntosh a second time in one of the semifinals.
The last slot in the semifinals, destined to face Seaver, proved to be Kimberly Housman, who’d lost her opening match in a double hill battle against Shannon Dunn. Housman ended up winning five on the loss side, defeating tour director Mimi McAndrews, Lisa Perez, Chris Baumg and in one of the defacto quarterfinals, survived another double hill match, against The Pink Dagger, Sofia Mast. This set her up against Shanelle Lorraine. Housman completed her loss-side with a 5-3 victory over Lorraine and turned to join Seaver in the semifinals.
Michell Monk managed to add a single rack to her earlier score against McIntosh, but it wasn’t enough, as McIntosh moved into the finals. Seaver joined her after a 7-4 win over Housman. McIntosh completed her undefeated run with a 7-5 win over Seaver.
“It’s always a good match when we run into each other,” wrote McIntosh, “and it was certainly entertaining.”
Though Seaver went home as the event’s runner-up, she also walked away with the Tiger Florida Tour’s 2022 Tour Champion award, her fourth in a row, and the qualifying spot for the West Coast Challenge. The event was also a qualifier for entry into the Women’s Pro Event at the Super Billiards Expo later this spring and was won by Kimberly Housman.
Tour representatives thanked Larry Walthal, Mike Dauskart and the Brewlands South staff for their hospitality and continued support for the tour. Thanks were also extended to sponsors Tony Kalamdaryan and Tiger Products, Brutal Game Gear, Stitch It To Me, Boynton Billiards, AZBilliards, Eastern Billiards, Andy Cloth, Josh Arnold “for running the tournament,” Jessica Human “for technical help” and Stephanie Mitchell “for her invaluable assistance in keeping the tour running every year.”
The next stop on the Tiger Florida Tour (#2), scheduled for Saturday, Feb 18, will be hosted by Stix Billiards in Tampa, FL.
Helene Caukin, Kaylee McIntosh, Stephanie Mitchell (room owner), ; Michell Monk and Jeannie Seaver
At the 14th Annual Cues for the Cure breast cancer awareness fundraiser, held under the auspices of the Tiger Florida Tour’s season finale this past weekend (Oct. 15-16), it was important to keep one’s eye on the ball, so to speak. While the event signaled the end of the tour season, with the determination of its Tour Champion and the marquee matchups on the modified double elimination bracket on the line, it was important to remember that the event had other benefits going on. It would provide benefits to the Florida chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation in its ongoing attempt to fund breast cancer research and services to communities all across the country. That was the ‘ball’ that the 36-entrant, all-female field at the event were keeping their eyes on as they spent their time trying to drop real balls into holes to win games, matches, tour rankings and a cash deposit into their Christmas shopping account. The $1,500-added event was hosted by Corner Pocket in Largo, FL, owned by one of the competitors, Stephanie Mitchell.
So before, during and after fund-raising activities that included raffles with themed mystery baskets (among other things) and an opportunity to guess at the number of M & Ms and Hershey’s Kisses in containers (both won by Dixie Sutton, who guessed the closest number of Kisses in a pumpkin jar and the exact number of M & Ms in a vase; 2,741), the ladies played some pool.
There was a possible scenario emerging from this Tiger Florida Tour’s season finale that would have seen Stephanie Mitchell crowned as the tour’s 2022 champion. It could have happened if Jeannie Seaver had not competed and Stephanie did, finishing among the event’s final eight. Neither of those two things happened. With both of them competing, Stephanie had to finish well ahead of Jeannie to pass her in ranking points. That didn’t happen either. What also didn’t happen was a repeat of the 2021 Cues for the Cure event in which a mother and daughter (Debbie and Kaylee McIntosh) competed in the finals. Both mother and daughter competed this year, with daughter defending her title.
What did happen was that Jeannie Seaver went undefeated to claim the 2022 tour champion title, downing Michell Monk in the finals. Stephanie Mitchell, who finished in the tie for 17th/24th at the event, finished second in the tour rankings, with Jeannie Seaver’s older sister, Vanessa (finishing 13th/16th) in third place and junior competitor, Sofia Mast, not in attendance, finishing in 4th place.
The modified double elimination bracket whittled the field of 36 down to four players on each side of the bracket and then, entered a single elimination phase of eight playing a single match to advance as far as they could. The younger Seaver’s path to the winners’ circle went through Jennifer Merritt 5-3 and then ran into big sister, Vanessa. A double hill, live version of sibling rivalry ensued, after which Jeannie moved on to defeat Sonya Chbeeb 5-1, advancing to become one of the winners’ side’s final four.
Michell Monk earned her way to the winners’ side final four as well, winning three matches by an aggregate score of 15-1 against Kimberly Housman (0), Margie Soash (0) and Carrie Vetrono (1). Two of the three winners’ side matches Lisa Perez played to be among the final four went double hill; her opener against Danielle Marie Fee and the match against Helene Caukin that put her in the final four. Autumn French fell 5-3 in the middle. The last to join the winners’ side advancement was defending champion and junior competitor Kaylee McIntosh, who, like Monk, gave up only a single rack to one of her first three opponents; Lyn Remsen (0), Mimi McAndrews (1) and Jessica Barnes (0).
Two of the four people who’d failed to make the winners’ side list in the last deciding match on that side of the bracket came back from the loss side to join the cash-generating single elimination phase and have a second shot at claiming the title. Sonya Chbeeb faced and defeated her one loss-side opponent, Kim Caso, 5-3 and would face Kaylee McIntosh in the first single-elimination round. Helene Caukin moved over, eliminated Jessica Karamia Human 5-3 and came back for a second shot against Lisa Perez. Keeping aspirations for a second straight mother/daughter final alive, Debbie McIntosh, who’d lost her second match to Carrie Vetrono, won two on the loss side before downing Jessica Barnes 5-3 to be among the loss side’s final four.Jeri Bouvette, who’d been shut out by Barnes in the second round, won two on the loss side and then shut out Carrie Vetrono. Moving out of the frying pan into the fire, she faced Jeannie Seaver in the opening, single-elimination round.
Daughter advances to final four against Seaver, Mom falls to eventual runner-up, Michell Monk
Winners in the quarterfinals that followed advanced to the semifinals by an aggregate score of 20-5. Had the McIntosh family advanced together, they would not have faced each other in the semifinals and might have realized the potential for a second straight mother/daughter final. Daughter Kaylee downed Chbeeb 5-1 and advanced to the semifinals against Jeannie Seaver, who’d eliminated Bouvette 5-1. Mom Debbie fell 2-5 to Michell Monk, who advanced to take her spot in the semifinals versus Caukin, who’d won her rematch against Perez 5-2.
One match shy of her second straight appearance in the Cues for Cure final, Kaylee McIntosh was downed by Jeannie Seaver 5-3. Monk joined Seaver in the finals after eliminating Caukin 5-1. Seaver completed her undefeated run (the tour championship title already in her pocket), with a 5-3 victory over Monk in the finals.
With a request to direct your (the reader’s) attention to the ‘ball’ that was the cornerstone of this event, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, tour representatives hope that you’ll take time to read through this list of people who made it all possible. In addition to all of the players and spectators who came out in support of this event, tour representatives thanked Stephanie Mitchell and her Corner Pocket staff for their hospitality and continuing support of the Tiger Florida Tour and the Cues for the Cure event. They also thanked title sponsor Tiger Products and Tony Kalamdaryan, Larry Wood with Boynton Billiards for donations and continued support of the tour, Stitch It To Me (Nicolle Cuellar; for event t-shirts, and raffle gifts), Brutal Game Gear (Michell Monk; gift certificates), Dixie and Rick Sutton and Estates by Dixie (designer basket donation and pizza for all), Rob Charles for tech help, Texas Roadhouse Grill (St. Petersburg; gift buckets), Deanna Laney (raffle help), Josh Arnold (running a smooth tournament), Andy Cloth and AZBilliards.
Michell Monk, Jeannie Seaver and Stephanie Mitchell
When the day started – Saturday, August 27 – Jeannie Seaver was atop the Tiger Florida Tour’s leaderboard, having competed in all four of its 2022 events and winning the tour’s previous stop (#4) in July. The four women immediately behind her in the standings were on hand for stop #5, at Diamond Billiards in Cape Coral, FL, as were 20 other entrants. The top five were separated by 110 points (dependent on attendance, usually around 200 points for a win), with two events to go; the one at hand and the season finale on October 15, the tour’s annual “Cues for the Cure” breast cancer awareness fundraiser, to be hosted by The Corner Pocket in Largo, FL.
The Corner Pocket’s owner, Stephanie Mitchell, was in 2nd place in the standings, only 40 points behind Seaver. The Pink Dagger (14-year-old Sofia Mast) was 20 points behind Mitchell and Jeannie Seaver’s sister, Vanessa, was 10 points behind Mast. Jessica Barnes was in fifth place, 40 points behind Vanessa. In the day ahead, almost anything could have happened. All five of the top five were capable of winning the event and whoever did so would have the proverbial ‘leg up’ on the tour championship title, which would go to the competitor at the top of the heap at the conclusion of the “Cues for the Cure” fundraiser, seven weeks away. The Stop #5 winner would also receive a qualifying spot in the WPBA’s Dr. Pool Classic in December.
Jeannie Seaver went undefeated, maintaining her position at the top of the tour standings. All four of the competitors behind her in those standings stayed right where they were; Mitchell, Mast, Vanessa Seaver and Barnes. ‘Almost anything could have happened’ turned into ‘nothing about the tour’s top five happened at all,’ except. . . the 110-point gap between 1st and 5th place in the standings, which went from 110 points to 250.
“It will be hard for anyone to catch her,” noted tour director Mimi McAndrews, “unless Jeannie doesn’t play in our “Cues for the Cure” event in October.”
Stop #5 began with a standard, double-elimination bracket. It was played down until there were two on each side, at which point, they redrew into a single elimination bracket.
Jeannie Seaver played two of the four women below her in the standings to be one of the two that advanced to single elimination from the winners’ side of the double elimination bracket. She opened with a 7-2 win over Jessica Barnes, shut out Say Xiong and then locked up in a double hill fight with the Pink Dagger; Seaver is likely one of only a handful of competitors who don’t underestimate the 14-year-old Sofia Mast at the tables. Seaver prevailed, though, and then defeated Dawn Logan 7-4 to earn her spot among the final four.
Michell Monk, who’d climb from #20 in the standings to #8 with her eventual runner-up finish, got by Denise Gugliotta 7-3 and then faced another junior competitor, 13-year-old Gianna “Banks” Fiore, who is currently 7th in the Junior International Championships’ 13U Girls division. Monk got by her 7-3 and after defeating Danielle Marie Fee 7-4 began a two-match set against Stephanie Mitchell. Monk’s 7-4 win in the first set earned her the second winners’ side slot in the single elimination phase.
Logan and Mitchell moved to the loss side of the initial bracket. Logan drew a re-match against Crystal McCormick, whom she’d sent to the loss side in what was McCormick’s first match. McCormick advanced through four loss-side matches including wins over Debbie Hake 5-2 and Danielle Marie Fee 5-3 for a second chance against Logan. Mitchell, another member of the Don’t Underestimate the Pink Dagger Club, drew Mast, who’d followed her double-hill loss to Jeannie Seaver with loss-side wins over Vanessa Seaver 5-3 and Kira Brown 5-1.
In what were the event’s quarterfinals, McCormick avenged her earlier loss, eliminating Logan 5-1 and drawing Jeannie Seaver in the semifinals. Not surprisingly, the tour’s #2 and #3 competitors, Mitchell and Mast, battled to double hill in the other quarterfinals. Mitchell eventually moving on to face Monk a second time.
Though on the hill, ahead by four (6-2) in the semifinals, Mitchell saw Monk rally back to knot things at double hill and then win it to advance to the finals. Seaver dropped McCormick into the tie for third place 7-2. Seaver completed her undefeated run with a 7-4 victory over Monk in the finals.
Seaver chose not to play the event for its qualifying spot in the December WPBA event, so that spot went to Monk. In addition to the cash prizes for the final six competitors, the tour awarded a $50 prize to the highest-finishing league player (APA 4-5 or equivalent). Brittany May, who’d had the misfortune of drawing Sofia Mast on the winners’ side of the early bracket, won two on the loss side before being eliminated by Danielle Marie Fee and finished in the tie for 9th/12th, took home that cash prize.
Tour representatives thanked all of the players who attended the event and Lisa Carroll for running the side-by-side Open event, which contributed to a “great day at Diamonds.” They also thanked GM Lisa Cobb and her Diamond Billiards’ staff for their hospitality, along with title sponsor Tony Kalamdaryan and Tiger Products for their continued support of the tour and players. Thanks, as well, went out to sponsors Boynton Billiards, Great Lakes Billiards, AZ Billiards, Stitch It To Me, Brutal Game Gear, Eastern Billiards, Andy Cloth and to Janis Sessions and the Florida Coast Ladies Tour for sponsoring the APA Prize.
TFT veteran Nicolle Cuellar reminded everyone that she is a force to be reckoned with when she won the Tiger Florida Tour Stop #3 at Brewlands Bar & Billiards – North in Lakeland, Florida.Cuellar has consistently finished in the top four, and seemed to be in a dry spell since her last tournament victory.However, this was Cuellar’s night as she went undefeated to take the win over rising star Kaylee McIntosh, and ending Tour Champion Jeannie Seaver’s three-event winning streak along the way.
Both Cuellar and McIntosh made it to the Final Board undefeated.McIntosh sent three players west, Erica Pennington 7-2, Deb Teichert 7-2 and Vanessa Seaver 7-6 to get to the Final Board.Cuellar got past Mimi McAndrews and Jeanie Seaver in two double-hill matches and defeated Michell Monk 7-5.Seaver and Monk made it back to the redraw, with Monk’s win over Teichert 5-2, and Seaver getting past Stephanie Mitchell 5-1, new-comer Leigh-Ann Bove 5-0 and sis’ Vanessa Seaver 5-3.McIntosh made the final match winning over Seaver 7-3 and Cuellar overtook Monk 7-4.Cuellar and McIntosh advanced to the Finals with Cuellar playing almost flawless and winning 7-2.
This event was a Qualifier for the WPBA Sondheim Invitational in Fairfield, Iowa in September. McIntosh won the Qualifier with her second-place finish and great play all day long.We wish her the best as she plays her first WPBA event in September.
Thanks to owner Larry Walthall, owner of Brewlands Bar & Billiards North for hosting this Qualifier and the hospitality of Manager Doug Barriger and staff!As always thanks to Jerry Sotelo and Josh Arnold for running a smooth tournament. Thank you also to Janis Sessions and the Florida Coastal Ladies Tour adding money to the Qualifier spot.Also, continued thanks to title sponsor Tony Kalamdaryan and Tiger Products, and sponsors Boynton Billiards, AZ Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Stitch It To Me and Brutal Game Gear for their support of the TFT!
Once again, Jeannie Seaver went undefeated to win the Tiger Florida Tour’s 12th Annual “Cues for the Cure” breast cancer awareness fundraiser. Thirty-seven women competed at this $1600-added event which benefitted Susan G. Komen, Florida.
In a modified double-elimination format, the women played down to four on each side.Four players from both sides of the bracket redrew onto a final single-elimination board.The eight finalists included Seaver, Chris Fields, Nicolle Cuellar, and Michell Monk from the winners’ side, and Sonya Chbeeb, Vanessa Seaver, Kaylee McIntosh and Deanna Frost from the one-loss side.
Seaver took out Chbeeb 5-3 in the Quarter Finals, Fields lost to Vanessa Seaver 5-2, McIntosh took the win from Cuellar 5-1, and Monk defeated Frost 5-1.In the Semi-Final matches McIntosh stopped Monk 5-2, and the Seaver sisters paired up with Jeannie winning 5-2 over “Ness.” That left Seaver and McIntosh in the final match, with Seaver taking the win 5-3. Seaver has won this event so many times that we have lost count, giving it up only a few times over past years. Room owner Stephanie Mitchell won the event in 2018, and Crystal McCormick took the title back around 2014.
This was the first TFT event since March due to Covid-19. It was great to see everyone again, even if only from the eyes up!Mask restrictions were still in place in Largo and the players were great in complying with the mask requirement.
The players came from around the state. All players received Cues for the Cure T-shirts and pink masks. All monies raised through the raffles and other games benefitted Susan G. Komen, Florida. Shanelle Loraine guessed the number of Hershey Kisses and Elizabeth Tully won the M&Ms!
We cannot thank everyone enough for their support and contributions to this worthy event! Nicolle Rasmussen Cuellar (Stitch It To Me) did a fantastic job with the event T-shirts, the pool towels, pool t-shirts and toilet paper (yes, toilet paper)! Thank you to Michell Monk, Rollie Dixon and Brutal Game Gear for donating shirts for the raffle! Thanks, of course, to good friend, player and supporter Jan Sesh (Florida Ladies Coastal Tour) for adding $100 for highest finishing APA players and running the 4-ball game. A shout out to Dixie Sutton and Relocations by Dixie, Lisa Perez for her help with the raffle, Jessica Human and others for their assistance with the technical issues. A shout out to Alex for his great bingo calling! Of course, we couldn’t run the tournament without Jerry Sotelo. And most importantly, the event would not be the same without Stephanie Mitchell and The Corner Pocket and staff, and Stephanie’s support of the TFT and the Cues for the Cure! And last but not least, thanks to all of the players who came out to participate, posted your photos and contributed to the success of this event!
As ALWAYS we thank and appreciate our title sponsor, Tiger Products and Tony Kalamdaryran, Larry Wood with Boynton Billiards, Great Lakes Billiards, Simonis Cloth and AZ Billiards. Last but not least, thank you to Susan G. Komen, FL for its never-ending work and dedication to women’s health!
Some of the matches can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cch_3RTJfw8&t=85s.Or check our Facebook page for links to the videos.
Jessica Barnes, Doug Barriger (Manager), Nicolle Cuellar and Sherie Hensley
Thirty-two women convened in central Florida at Brewlands Billiards North in Lakeland for the Tiger Florida Tour Stop #2 on Saturday where Jessica Barnes clinched the win, the money, the trophy and the paid entry to the WPBA Sledgehammer event!
Once again, the competition was tough with several new players joining the ranks of the Tiger Florida Tour women’s semi-pro 9-Ball tour for the first time. The women played a modified double-elimination format, where the final four from the one-loss side drew back into the final four from the winners’ side, onto a single-elimination Final Board. The one-loss final four saw Nicolle Cuellar draw Sonya Chbeeb; Michell Monk matched up against Jeannie Seaver; Lisa Cosette drew Jessica Barnes and newcomer Sherie Hensley drew Jeri Bouvette.
Barnes made it to the Final Board undefeated, then played two nail-biting matches edging out Lisa Cossette 7-6 in the quarterfinal and Nicolle Cuellar 7-6 in the semi-final to make it to the final match. Hensley, who played steady all day long, got past two top TFT players, Helene Caukin 7-5 and Michell Monk 7-5, before losing to Seaver 7-2. Hensley defeated Derek Folds 5-2 on the left side to advance to the Final Board. Once there, Hensley made it past Jeri Bouvette 7-4, and then matched up with Seaver again, this time knocking out Seaver in a hill-hill match after Seaver scratched in the side pocket, putting Hensley in the final match against Barnes. After a long day for both players, Barnes took the match 7-2 over Hensley.
Barnes won the paid entry to the Sledgehammer Open, courtesy of Janis Sessions and the Florida Coastal Ladies Tour. Stephanie Mitchell won the paid entry to the Super Billiards Expo Women’s Pro-9-Ball event, and Hensley won the paid entry to the Super Billiards Expo Women’s Amateur 9-Ball event.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the TFT event! A huge thanks to room owner Larry Walthall and Mike Dauskart for hosting our event again this year and their continued support of the TFT! Our appreciation to Manager Doug Barriger and staff, and Randi Allen, Director of Marketing & Events for helping our event go smoothly. Also, thanks to our title sponsor Tiger Products for their continued support of the tour/players; thanks also to Boynton Billiards, Great Lakes Billiards, AZ Billiards and Simonis Cloth for their continued support! And thanks again to Janis Sessions and the Florida Ladies Coastal Tour for sponsoring the entry to the Sledgehammer Open. Some of the matches can been seen on the Tiger Florida Tour Facebook page.
Tour Stop #3 is May 2, 2020 at Stix Billiards in Oldsmar! See you there!
The Tiger Florida Tour is a NAPT-recognized Division II Women’s Regional Tour. Visit www.tigerfloridatour.com for more information.
The Tiger Florida Tour kicked off the 2020 season at Brewlands Billiards South in Lakeland, Florida, with 30 players turning out and where Jeannie Seaver took top honors, in more ways than one!
This event drew tough competition from out of state including US Amateur Champion Lisa Cossette, Marianne Merrill and Kelly Nickl, as well as several strong local players and newcomers. The tournament could have been won by any one of at least a dozen different players – the competition was that tough! In the end, and to no one’s surprise, Seaver won Tour Stop #1, and is four-for-four on the Tiger Florida Tour!
The women played a modified double-elimination format. The final four from the one-loss side drew back into the final four from the winners’ side, onto a single-elimination Final Board, race to seven. Early upsets saw top TFT players Stephanie Mitchell and Michell Monk, also a former US Amateur Champion; Sonya Chbeeb and Debbie Teichert leave the tournament early.
Caukin played flawlessly all day, and showed everyone that she came to win – with a surprise 7-3 win over Seaver early in the day. Caukin, Carrie Vetrono, Jessica Human and Lisa Cossette reached the Final Board undefeated. Nicolle Cuellar, Shanelle Loraine, Seaver and newcomer Christina Moxley reached the Final Board from the one-loss side. In the first round of the Final Board, Cuellar knocked out Vetrono; Moxley lost to Human, Caukin ended the day for Loraine, who shot lights out all day in one of her best events; and Cossette was stopped by Seaver.
In the semi-finals, Caukin defeated Cuellar 7-4; Human lost to Seaver 7-2, leaving Caukin versus Seaver in a rematch that Seaver took in Seaver-style 7-4. In addition to winning Tour Stop #1, Seaver’s top-line play, winning three of five events in 2019, also earned her the 2019 Tiger Florida Tour Champion title once again. Seaver’s win also earned her the paid entry to the Super Billiards Expo Women’s Pro 9-Ball tournament.
Three paid entries to the Super Billiards Expo Women’s Amateur 9-Ball event, courtesy of Janis Sessions and the Florida Coastal Ladies Tour, were won by Cossette, Loraine and Moxley.
Thanks to all 30 players who came out to the TFT event! Thanks to room owners Larry Walthall and Mike Dauskart for hosting our event again this year and their continued support of the TFT – and for going non-smoking!
Thanks to Randi Allen, Director of Marketing & Events and staff for helping with the arrangements and making sure our event went off smoothly. Also, thanks to our title sponsor Tiger Products for their continued support of the tour/players; thanks also to Boynton Billiards, Great Lakes Billiards, AZ Billiards and Simonis Cloth for their continued support! And thanks again to Janis Sessions and the Ladies Coastal Florida Tour for sponsoring the amateur entries at the SBE, and thank you to Nicolle Cuellar, Stitch It To Me, for the embroidery on the TFT Member shirts. Some of the matches can been seen on the Tiger Florida Tour Facebook page.
For the third time in a row this year, Jeannie Seaver went undefeated to win the Tiger Florida Tour’s 11th Annual “Cues for the Cure” breast cancer awareness fundraiser. Thirty-two women played in pink at this $1,150-added event which benefitted Susan G. Komen, Florida.
The event was a modified double elimination format, playing down to four on each side. Four players from the loser’s side drew back into the winners’ side into a final single elimination board. On the winners’ side, Seaver got past Amanda Mungeon, Denise Reeve and edged past Nicolle Cuellar in a double hill match to get to the Final Board. Also making it to the Final Board on the winners’ side – Lisa Cossette, sending Marge Soash west, followed by Sonja Chbeeb and Kelly Cavanaugh; and Michell Monk got past Gianna Fiore, Dawn Logan and Deanna Frost. Vanessa Seaver also made it to the Final Board undefeated, winning over Stephanie Mitchell, Jennifer Berzinski and Deb Teichert.
The final four from one-loss side – Kelly Cavanaugh, Nicolle Cuellar, Jeri Bouvette and Deanna Frost – redrew into a single elimination bracket race to seven. In a blind draw, Cavanaugh drew Monk, Cuellar drew Vanessa Seaver, Bouvette matched up with Jeannie Seaver and Foster played Cossette. Cavanaugh advanced to the semi-finals with a win over Monk 7-5, Vanessa Seaver ended the day for Cuellar 7-4, Foster stopped Cossette 7-4 and Jeannie Seaver said good night to Bouvette 7-2. That left Jeannie Seaver against Deanna Foster in the semi-finals, with Seaver wining 7-3. Kudos to Foster who made the money for the first time! Cavanaugh won the match against Vanessa Seaver 7-4, ending the potential match up of the Seaver sisters as in 2016. In the Final match, Jeannie Seaver cranked it up to win the final match over Cavanaugh 7-4. This win also secured the TFT Tour Champion title for Seaver, back on top again!
It was great to see so many new faces and players from the past, several players from around the state and out of state, and two young 9-Ball future stars, Giana Fiore and Sophia Mast. All players received Cues for the Cure T-shirts. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this a great event – we could not have done it without your support! All monies raised from the raffle and games benefits Susan G. Komen, Florida.
In particular, we thank our title sponsor Tiger Products; Simonis Cloth; Stich It To Me; The Bay Area APA; Relocations & Estate Sales by Dixie; Boynton Billiards; AZ Billiards; Great Lakes Billiards, Bill Dunsmore and Susan G. Komen, Florida. Of course, a huge thanks to Stephanie Mitchell for all her hard work in helping to make this a successful event and for hosting this event again. Thanks to the staff at The Corner Pocket for their great service! Thanks to Nicolle Rasmussen for her hard work on the T-shirts! Thanks to Jerry Sotelo for running another great tournament!
Portions of the matches can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-tdcEQ9Al4.
Results – $1150-added
1stJeannie Seaver$650
2ndKelly Cavanaugh$400
3d/4thVanessa Seaver$225
3d/4thDeanna Foster$225
5th/8thMichell Monk$150
5th/8thNicolle Cuellar$150
5th/8th Lisa Cosette$150
5th-8thJeri Bouvette$150
The top APA players -$50 each:
1 – 3 winner – Dixie Sutton
4 – 5 winner – Erika Pennington
6 – Christina Rodriguez Miller
Winner of the M&Ms – Stephanie Mitchell
Winner of the Hershey Kisses – Giana Fiore
The Tiger Florida Tour is a NAPT-recognized Division II Women’s Regional Tour.
Twenty-six players turned out to compete at the Tiger Florida Tour Stop #2 at Shooters Billiards in Port St. Lucie. After a long day on these tight Diamond tables, Jessica Barnes with the lead but ending up in a hill-hill final match against Asia Cy to take the win! This day saw several surprising early knockouts as top players Michell Monk, Nicolle Cuellar, Jeannie Seaver, Crystal McCormick and Stephanie Mitchell were all out of the money.
The women play a modified double elimination format. The final two from the one-loss side redraw back into the final two on the winners' bracket. The Final Board is a single elimination race to seven. Barnes and Cy made it to the Final Board undefeated. Roe Guarnero and Vanessa Seaver came from the one-loss side. Seaver lost to Barnes and Guarnero lost to Cy, leaving Barnes v. Cy in the Final match. Both women played brilliantly all day, with the lateness of the night starting to show. Finally, however, Barnes won the double-hill match and Tour Stop #2.
Thanks to all the players who turned out for this opening event and all the new players who we hope to see at our next event! A huge shout out to our title sponsor Tiger Products; and sponsors Great Lakes Billiards, Ultimate Chalkers, Boynton Billiards, Simonis Cloth and AZ Billiards. Thank you to room owner Dave Cintron for hosting us again! Videos of the matches can be viewed on our Stream page or at YouTube and YouTube.
