(l to r): Juan Parra, Jr., Tim Larson & Jay Murillo
A regular competitor on the Omega Tour and once, according to our records, (six years ago, cashing) on the Lone Star Billiard Tour, Jay "Ryda" Murillo had yet to chalk up a major regional tour win until the weekend of June 22-23. He broke through at Stop #6 on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, going undefeated at the $1,500-added event that drew 82 entrants to Click’s Billiards in Arlington, TX and in the finals, downing the tour’s current #1 player, Tim Larson, who won Stop #5 in May.
Murillo’s path to the winners’ circle went through John Washington, Chase Wheeler, Daniel Herring and Mike Nagaki to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against Yousif Ahmed. Juan Parra, in the meantime, got by Tommy Ulbik, Randy Darville, Jason Dutchover (a double hill win) and was responsible for sending Larson to the loss side in a winners’ side quarterfinal that also went double hill. Parra’s 7-8 victory over Larson (racing to 9) set Parra up to meet Amos Bush in the other winners’ side semifinal.
In a straight up race to 7, Parra got into the hot seat match over Bush 7-5. He was joined by “Ryda,” who’d sent Ahmed to the loss side 6-3. Parra ended up on the wrong side of this third straight double hill match, falling to Murillo 6-6 (Parra racing to 7).
On the loss side, Bush met up with Mike Nagaki, who, following his defeat at the hands of Murillo, shut out Alberto Nieto Garcia and eliminated Billy Pinion 7-6 (Pinion racing to 9). Ahmed drew Larson, who, sent over by Parra, defeated TJ Davis 9-5 and Sajal Ghimire 9-2.
Larson moved on to the quarterfinals with a 9-3 victory over Ahmed and was joined by Bush, who eliminated Nagaki 7-4. Larson then survived two straight double hill matches for a shot at Murillo in the hot seat. He won a double hill quarterfinal match against Bush 9-6 (Bush racing to 7), and downed Parra in the semifinals by the same score, with Parra, as well, racing to 7.
Larson’s campaign to wrest the title from Murillo in the potential double elimination final never quite got off the ground. Murillo had chalked up his required six racks, with Larson four racks away from his handicap goal of 9.
A Second Chance event drew 10 entrants and was won by Billy Guy. The runner-up was Marc Gonzales with Casey Dawson finishing third.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Click’s, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, Fort Worth Billiards, Granite Guyz, Dallas 8-Ball, FargoRate, BCA Pool League, Internet Marketing Solutions (IMS), CSI, Accu-Rack and JB Custom Cue Cases. The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for July 13-14, will be hosted by The Hideaway in Dallas, TX.
(l to r): Paul Guernsey, Tony Sulsar & Mike Rountree
On the weekend of December 15-16, at a $5,400-added event, which drew 75 entrants to Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX, Paul Guernsey ended a three-match trip on the loss side to defeat Tony Sulsar twice in a double elimination final, and capture the event title. In another interpretation of ‘double elimination final,’ it was not only the last event of the Omega Billiard Tour’s sixth season, it was also the final event of the Omega Billiard Tour itself.
Taking a cue from tour director Melinda Bailey about this occasion, we’ll defer comments on the end of the tour to the end of this report and highlight the players and the event that closed out its 2017 season.
For a while, at the start of Paul Guernsey’s pool career (or at least as much of it as was recorded here at AZBilliards), the only event at which he regularly earned any money was the annual Texas Open. The first time he appeared in our database, he finished second behind David Gutierrez in the 27th Annual Texas Open in 2000. It was the only entry for him that year. The following year, the only entry was his 4th place finish in the 28th Annual Texas Open. Two years later, he finished in the tie for 13th place at the 30th Annual Texas Open, and the following year, he finished 4th again. All single entries in his site profile. Just over a decade later, he started showing up on the payout lists of the Omega Billiard Tour; twice in 2015, once in 2016, and this year, four times, including another second-place finish, behind Justin Whitehead at an Omega stop in April (he competed in five of the tour’s 12 events in 2017).
This past weekend, Guernsey broke through and won his first major event, doing it in what most players would describe as ‘the hard way;’ coming from the loss side to challenge and twice defeat a hot seat occupant. He played a preliminary round (one of 12 matches to gain entry into the larger winners’ side bracket), and advanced through four other matches, allowing his opponents an average of between three and four racks per match (3.6) in races to 8; against Steve Raynes (4), Bobby Diggs (2), Dario Gomez (5), Aram Hasan (6) and a measly single rack to Doug Winnett. This gave Guernsey a shot at Mike Rountree in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Tony Sulsar, in the meantime, bypassed the preliminary round and faced four opponents, with whom he was stingier than Guernsey, giving up an average of between two and three racks per match (2.75) against Shan Iyer (3), Steve Sheppard (4), Chris Rickman (1) and Mike Nagaki (3). This set Sulsar up in the other winners’ side semifinal against Roman Bayda, who had just sent the tour’s #1-ranked player, Rick Stanley, to the loss side.
In a straight-up race to 8, Sulsar advanced to the hot seat match over Bayda 8-4. He was joined by Rountree, who’d sent Guernsey to the loss side 7-7 (Guernsey racing to 8). Sulsar claimed the hot seat 8-5 over Rountree, chalking up what would prove to be his last match win.
On the loss side, Guernsey picked up Stanley, who, following his loss to Bayda, had eliminated Phillip Palmer 9-5 and Mike Nagaki 9-3. Bayda drew Luis Lopez, who was working on a six-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently included wins over Doug Winnett 7-4 and Gerardo Perez, double hill, in a straight-up race to 7.
Guernsey ended Stanley’s short, loss-side bid for a fifth win on this year’s tour with an 8-5 win, as Bayda ended Lopez’ loss-side streak at six with a double hill win (8-6). Guernsey and Bayda battled to double hill in the quarterfinals that followed, with Guernsey advancing for a second shot against Rountree in the semifinals.
Guernsey got by Rountree 8-4 in those semifinals and with, at minimum, another runner-up finish in his pocket, he turned his attention to Sulsar in the hot seat; the tour’s #8-ranked player (Sulsar) versus its #23-ranked player (Guernsey). Guernsey took the two-set opener in convincing fashion 8-3, and though Sulsar would chalk up two more racks in the second set, it wasn’t enough to keep Guernsey from capturing his first title on the tour’s last stop.
Regarding this last event on the tour she’s directed for the past six years, tour director Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards (where the tour began six years ago, and ended on this weekend), as well as sponsors Michael Hoang of OMEGA Billiards Supply, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. Regarding the past six years, she had a few more expressions of gratitude to pass along.
The announcement came in September. It stated that “due to increased responsibilities at (Bailey’s full-time job), and future career opportunities,” along with the need for the tour’s main sponsor, OMEGA Billiards Supply, “to make sound business and financial decisions” that, by mutual agreement, they “could no longer move forward with the Omega Billiards Tour after this year.” The statement expressed thanks “to all, for helping put the DFW (Dallas/Ft. Worth) pool scene back on the map for the past five and a half years.”
“We loved the players, the pool rooms, and the fans,” the statement went on to say, “and we wish you all nothing but the best in your pool journeys.”
“I want to sincerely thank you for always being so supportive, responsive and a great friend to (me) and the tour,” she wrote.
She expanded on this theme in one of her regular-as-clockwork e-mails to us here at AZBilliards, which provided us, at the conclusion of every tour stop, all of the information necessary to write a coherent report on each event. It should be noted, in that regard, that we here at AZBilliards extend our thanks to her, as well.
“It had always been a dream of mine to start a tour in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for the players and businesses,” she wrote to us. “I am so honored to have received such great support the last six years from the players, the sponsors and pool rooms that helped make the tour successful.”
“We grew from six stops a year with 64 players at each stop, and $1,200-added, to 12 stops a year with nearly 100 players and $1,700-added,” she wrote. “THANK YOU! Going to miss you all.”
She also took the time to explain that a new tour will debut in the DFW area soon, with, she explained, “11 stops next year.”
“So,” she wrote, “players will still have a tour to play on, which is really awesome.”
At the conclusion of her September blog entry, she inserted a quote from Lessons Learned in Life, which summed up the joy of the tour, the friends she’d made, and ultimately, the turmoil of the decision to move on.
“You will know you made the right decision,” it said, “when you pick the hardest and most painful choice, but your heart is at peace.”
Rick Stanley cemented his hold on the top spot in the Omega Billiards Tour rankings with an undefeated win on the weekend of October 14-15. It was his fourth overall win on the tour since February, and his third undefeated trip. The $1,700-added event drew 64 entrants to The Hideaway in Dallas, TX.
Stanley had to face a relatively unexpected opponent in both the hot seat match and finals. Tony Top, who made his first appearance on the 2017 tour in September, finishing well out of the money, successfully navigated his way through six opponents – five on the winners’ side and one on the loss side – to challenge Stanley and in finishing second, rocketed from #170 on the rankings list to somewhere among the tour’s top 40 players.
Stanley sent Davis to the loss side 9-3, as Top was busy sending Guerrero over 7-3. In their first of two, Stanley claimed the hot seat over Top with a 9-4 win.
On the loss side, Davis picked up Robert Clark, who, following a defeat at the hands of Top in one of the winners’ side quarterfinals, had defeated Mike Voelkering (#2 in the tour rankings) 8-3 and Alberto Nieto 8-1. Guerrero drew Gerardo Perez, who’d dropped a winners’ side quarterfinal match against Stanley and then, over the next two matches, gave up only two racks; none at all to Michael Thomas and two to Curtis Cardwell.
Davis downed Clark 8-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Perez, who’d eliminated Guerrero 7-4. Davis ended Perez’ three-match, loss-side streak 8-6 in those quarterfinals, and then had his two-match, loss-side streak ended in a double hill battle against Top.
The wait did nothing to slow Stanley down. He’d given up four racks to Top in the hot seat match, and reduced that number to one in the finals, claiming the event title.
Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at The Hideaway, as well as sponsors Michael Hoang of OMEGA Billiards Supply, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. The next stop on the Omega Billiard Tour, scheduled for November 11-12, will be a $1,700-added event, hosted by The Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
A frequent competitor over the years in the annual US Bar Table Championships, Oklahoma's Justin Whitehead brought his small-table skills to the fourth stop on the Omega Billiards Tour on the weekend of April 29-30. Played on 8-foot tables, the $1,700-added event drew 95 entrants to JR Pockets in Denton, TX. Whitehead, who chalked up what proved to be his first major tour win four years ago, downing Sylver Ochoa in the finals of a Poison by Predator Tour stop in Houston, and this past February, was runner-up to Manny Chau in a stop on the Lone Star Billiards Tour, came within a single match of going undefeated in this most recent event. The single loss came in the opening set of a true double elimination final at the hands of Paul Geurnsey, who, following a defeat at the hands of Donnie Gregory in the opening round, won 11 matches on the loss side to challenge Whitehead in the finals. Whitehead came back from the first set loss to give up only a single game in the second set and claim the event title.
Whitehead's journey to the winners' circle was almost re-routed in the second round, when Jeremy Jones battled him to double hill. Whitehead prevailed, though, and arrived at a winners' side semifinal against Chuck Dement, having given up, on average, only 3.5 racks per match (the figure would have been less than 2, had it not been for Jones chalking up eight against him). Roman Bayda, in the meantime, who, like Whitehead, had been challenged in a double hill match in the second round by the tour's ranking leader, Rick Stanley, advanced for a winners' side semifinal match against Crispian Ng.
As is often the case, the challenges increased for Whitehead as the winners' side matches narrowed. He downed Dement 8-5, as Bayda was busy sending Ng to the loss side by the same score. Whitehead faced his second double hill challenge, battling Bayda for the hot seat . He won it and waited on Guernsey.
Moving to the loss side, it was Dement who had the misfortune of picking up Guernsey, who was eight matches in to his 11-match, loss-side streak, which had included the elimination of Stanley, and more recent victories over Cody Wright 8-4 and Robin Barbour 8-3. Guernsey's hopes for a re-match against Gregory fell short by a single match, spoiled by Barbour, who'd defeated Gregory 7-2 in the 9/12 matches. Ng drew Mike Nagaki, who'd just eliminated Brandon Thrasher and Albert Nieto, both 7-4.
Guernsey, apparently on something of a mission, shut out Dement, as Ng downed Nagaki 8-4. In a straight-up race to 8, Guernsey defeated Ng 8-4 in the quarterfinals, and in another straight-up race to 8, gave up only a single rack to Bayda in the semifinals.
Whitehead managed to slow Guernsey down a bit in the opening set of the true double elimination final, though not by enough, as Guernsey took that opening set 8-5. Whitehead dominated the deciding set, allowing Guernsey only a single rack on his way to claiming the event title.
Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff of JR Pockets, as well as sponsors Michael Hoang of OMEGA Billiards Supply, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. The next stop on the Omega Billiards Tour, scheduled for May 27-28, will be a $1,700-added event, hosted by Puckett's in Fort Worth, TX.
On the weekend of September 17-18, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by Speed’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas. The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere. Fourteen tables allowed us to open the field up to 89 players!
Rick Stanley, a tough player with a great attitude, made his way to the hotseat match with wins over Larry Land 8-1, Stephen Hansen 8-3, Mike Rountree 8-2, Robert Kempf 8-2, and Walt Anderson 8-2. Local pro CJ Wiley had wins over Vincent Tovar 9-3, Crispian Ng 9-6, Phillip Palmer 9-1 , JD Wordlaw 9-1 and Joey Barnes hill-hill to meet Rick Stanley in the hotseat match.
The always-tough Danny Williams had wins over Gale Gladden 7-0, Viet My 7-6, and Mike Nagaki 7-6 before losing to Robbie Cleland 6-7. Danny then made his way through the one-loss side with wins over Vincent Tovar 7-1, Cory Anderson 7-2, Brandon Sizemore 7-4, Doug Winnett 7-3, Joey Barnes 7-6 and Walt Anderson 7-3.
In the hostseat match it was anyone’s game between top players Rick Stanley and CJ Wiley, and Rick Stanley came out on top with a close score of 8-7.
Then CJ Wiley played Danny Williams in the semi-final match and it was another close score with great play for the fans and Danny edged the win 6-7.
The finals match was then set between Rick Stanley and Danny Williams. The fans were really enjoying the great runs and safeties by the players. Danny Williams would win the first set in this true-double elimination tournament 7-5 which forced a second set. The second set went hill-hill! And then Danny Williams would win the last game of the tournament to capture first place and the Omega Tour title!
Big congrats to Danny Williams for his 1st place finish! Congrats to Rick Stanley for a hard-fought 2nd place and also to CJ Wiley for his great 3rd place finish. Shout-out to 78-year-old Walt Anderson for placing 4th! Wow!
5th/6th places were filled by Joey Barnes and Steve Sheppard, and 7th/8th places were filled by Paul Guernsey and Doug Winnett.
Congrats to ALL the players and fans and sponsors for another great event!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, OB Cues, and BCAPL/CSI. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Irving Ink and Thread, AZBilliards.com, Pool School, and BilliardsPress.com.
This year OB Cues is our Ranking sponsor and will be donating OB Cues to the top ranked 3 players at the end of the year! BCAPL/CSI has joined again and will be giving away 5 BCAPL free entry fees the 2017 BCAPL Nationals. After 8 stops, Tony Sulsar leads the Rankings with 665 points, CJ Wiley moved up to second place with 635 points, and Crispian Ng is third with 560 points. Only one more stop to go for ranking points before the Finale!
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank Speeds owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend! She would also like to thank co-Director Heather Farr – couldn’t have done this without you!
A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many large tournaments across the country.
The next stop will be held October 15-16 at Clicks in Arlington, Texas. $1,500 added and already full with 85 players. We have ten stops total in 2016. Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!
Check out the website for more details: http://www.omegabilliardstour.com/
And follow the brackets live online at: http://omegatour.challonge.com/8speeds17
On the weekend of October 10-11, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by Speeds Billiards in Arlington, Texas. The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere, and they took care of all us all weekend long covering very long hours and we very much appreciate each and every one of them.
The field of 75 players and $1,500 added was full again of top players and by Sunday there was no front-runner as too many great players were still left competing!
Mike Nagaki would have wins over Robin Barbour, 7-4, Mike Arebalo 7-2, Alberto Nieto 7-6, Steve Game 7-4, Cory Anderson 7-5 and then Nick Conner 7-4 in the hotseat to find himself in the finals! Nick Conner had wins over Jay Diaz 8-2, Mike Rountree 8-6, Mike Stankiewics 8-3, Jordan Gartenberg 8-2 and then Greg Sandifer 8-2 before he was sent to the one-loss side by Mike Nagaki.
After losing to Nick Conner in the second round, Mike Rountree started his tear and defeated Chris Smith 7-4, Juan Parra 7-6, Friday Abismo 7-4, Anthony Shea 7-5, Phillip Palmer 7-1, Alberto Nieto 7-1, Cory Anderson hill-hill, and then Crispian Ng 7-3. He was finally defeated by Nick Conner (again) but Mike finished an impressive 3rd place and his highest yet!
This left only Mike Nagaki and Nick Conner remaining in the tourney. Nick would win the first set 8-5 to force a second set. Then the next set went to a tough hill-hill with great play, and Nick came out on top to win his first stop of the year!
Congrat’s to Daniel Gilmore and Aberto for placing 7th/8th, Greg Sandifer and Cory Anderson for placing 5th/6th, Crispian for 4th, Mike Rountree for 3rd, and Mike Nagaki for HIS highest finish of 2nd place! And to Nick Conner for nabbing first place!
Congrats to ALL the players and fans for a great event!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, Poison Break Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and Lucasi and Players Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Hulsey Custom Cues, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Pro Billiard Service, AZBilliards.com, Billiards Digest, and BilliardsPress.com.
After nine stops this year, Greg Sandifer has grabbed first place in the Predator Player Points Rankings by only FIVE points over Nick Conner. Nick Conner was Tour Champion last year and Greg Sandifer is the Omega Billiards Tour Champion now this year! Nick is ranked 2nd this year, Daniel Herring finished an impressive 3rd place in the rankings, Cory Anderson finished the season ranked 4th, with Crispian Ng finishing in 5th place. The top three players will all receive Predator Prizes! Places 4th through 8th will receive a FREE entry into BCAPL Nationals in 2016! 6th place was filled by Steve Raynes, 7th was Tommy Ulbik and 8th place was Philip Palmer. What a fantastic season for these guys!
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank Speed’s Billiards owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend!
A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many large tournaments across the country.
The next stop is the SEASON FINALE Nov 14-15 at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas. AT LEAST $4,500 added and players who played in three events this season are eligible to play. Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!
On the weekend of December 14-15th, young gun Anthony Shea claimed the top prize on the newly inaugurated Omega Billiards Tour's Season Finale of 2013 at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX. Anthony went undefeated to capture the first place prize, making him the youngest winner yet, at a mere 20 years old!
Over $9,500 was given out in monies and prizes this weekend! (Tourney payouts + prizes + player’s auction.) Here is how it all went down….
Anthony started off his tournament run with an upset by defeating last month’s tourney winner, Coy Lee Nicholson, 7-7. Then he defeated Jay Murillo 7-1, TJ Klein 7-2, squeaked by Juan Parra 7-6 to last until Sunday. Steve Raynes was also on a tear and won his first match against the always formidable Crispian Ng 6-5, then William Howard 6-4, Danny Williams 6-3 and Jeff Georges 6-3 to last til Sunday. The always tough Tony Sulsar (after a bye) defeated his next three opponents 8-3 to meet Anthony on Sunday morning. Sky Massingill defeated his 4 opponents 7-4 to meet up with Steve Raynes Sunday morning.
On the winner’s side on Sunday morning, Anthony Shea would defeat Tony Sulsar 7-4, while Steve Raynes sent Sky Massingill left with a score of 6-4. Steve and Anthony would battle it out for the hotseat with Anthony coming out on top 7-2. Sky then defeated David Josephson 7-5 but was stopped by Tour Champion tough Tony Sulsar 8-5. Tony kept on his winning style by then defeating Steve Raynes hill-hill. Steve had a fantastic tourney placing his highest finish to date at 3rd place!!
In the finals, it looked like it would be pushed to two sets, as Tony Sulsar was ahead 7-2. But Anthony kept his composure and kept fighting back until the score was hill-hill. Anthony broke, and then ran out for the win! Hill-hill thriller and his FIRST Omega Billiards Tour title!!
Congratulations to ALL the players for their fine play and great finishes!
Anthony earned $725 plus a beautiful Lucasi Cue for First Place and Tony earned $525 for Second place. Steve Raynes earned $400 for 3rd place (payouts do not reflect the Player Auction).
This event was the Omega Billiards Tour’s Season Finale with $2,000 added! At this event, Predator prizes were given out to the top 3 ranked players and Tony Sulsar claimed 1st place and is now the VERY first Omega Billiards Tour Champion! Tony will get free entry fees into the 2014 Season AND a Predator Sport 4×8 Case, BK Break Cue, and Sport Playing Cue with 314-2 Shaft! Second place rankings went to Coy Lee who finished this last event in First to propel him to 2nd place! Coy Lee will get a Predator Sport 4×8 Case and BK Break Cue. Third place goes to Mike Voelkering who had a stellar year! He will get a Predator Sport 4×8 Case and 314-2 Shaft!
Fourth through eighth places will each receive a free entry into the 2014 BCAPL Nationals! Congratulations to 4th place ranked Crispian Ng, 5th/6th ranked Amos Bush and Jesse Hernandez, and 7th/8th ranked players Steve Raynes and Alberto Nieto!
A HUGE thank you to Predator Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and Lucasi and Players Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, OB Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, Pro Billiard Service, APA of Tarrant County, AZBilliards.com, and BilliardsPress.com.
Tour Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank Rusty’s Billiards and their awesome staff for their great hospitality all weekend! A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many of the large tournaments across the country.
The 2014 Omega Billiards Tour calendar is already set with 7 stops and a Season Finale. The first stop will be held at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas January, 11-12, 2014! Each stop is limited to 80 players (an increase from 64) and the monies guaranteed added has increased to $1,500 for each stop!! Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!!
The 2014 Schedule is online and payments can be received via the Omega Tour website.
Thank you to all the players, fans, sponsors and pool rooms!!!
