The first stop on the 2017 G Cue Billiard Diamond Pool Tour introduced a new player to the tour’s winners circle, and welcomed a long time member back.
The new season introduced a new format to the tour stops, which are now divided into a Fargo 625 and below “amateur” event starting on Saturday, and an “open” event for anyone that starts on Sunday. The amateur event drew a field of 45 players to Bullshooters on May 27th, ranging from two players rated 401, all the way to a 621 rated player. With higher rated players giving up one game for every 25 points difference in ratings, the top players struggled in early matches against the lower rated players. Eight of thirteen first round matches were won by the lower rated player.
Sunday play saw Maurer beat Duarte 8-2, and Pelton beat Johnson 8-6. Maurer then went on to take the hot-seat with a 7-3 win over Pelton.
On the one loss side, Hillen eliminated Hamman and then went on to send Duarte back home in 5th place. The other half of the one loss side saw Ampongan defeat Avila 8-3, but then drop his next match to Johnson 8-7. Hillen then ended Johnson’s tourney in 4th place with a 4-3 scoreline. Hillen then joined Johnson in the seats, after Pelton handed him an 8-2 loss.
The finals were a rematch of the hot-seat match, but this one was pretty lopsided as Maurer ran away with a 7-0 win for first place.
As the field narrowed, the winner’s side came down to one top player and three amateurs with Gus Briseno joining Jeremy Vicente, Fernando Prats and Nick Kline as the only undefeated players. Where other players had struggled with giving up games to the weaker players, Briseno had no problems at all, as he went on to take the hot seat after a 9-0 win over Vicente and a 9-1 win over Prats.
The one loss side came down to Prats and Pete Lhotka. Lhotka had found himself on the one loss side after one match, but put together an impressive winning streak that included wins over Joey Barrera, Chad Barber, Chris Adams, Martin Romero (revenge for his earlier loss), Vicente and Kline. Lhotka looked to be adding Prats to his list of victims when the late hour and back to back matches appeared to get the better of him. Lhotka faded and lost the match to Prats 5-6.
The rematch offered Prats another shot at Briseno, and while he bettered his earlier score against Briseno, it was still to no avail. Briseno came out on fire and took an 8-0 lead before dropping two games to Prats. Briseno then regathered himself and put the match away 9-2 for first place.
The G Cue Diamond Pool Tour will hold their second stop of the season at Skip & Jan’s in Gilbert, Az on June 17th – 18th.
The Diamond Pool Tour wrapped up their 2016 with a four-day season finale at Casino Del Sol Resort and Casino in Tucson on November 17th – 20th.
Day one of the event was about tour prizes and the “Big Dog” 9-Ball event. Casino Del Sol provided a great dinner for all of the players in attendance as Mitch Ellerman and Oscar Avila Sr. were presented with their tour point list prizes from tour sponsors Volturi Cases and Hanshew Custom Cues. Both players will also receive custom cues from tour sponsor QB Custom Cues. The drawing was also held for the pool table from tour sponsor Diamond Billiard Products. Players had earned entries in the drawing by playing in each event during the season. Proving that maybe he should be buying lottery tickets, Tucson’s Mike Hamman won the table drawing for the second straight year. Congrats to Mike, and good luck finding room for those tables.
Thursday night also saw eight players toss $100 into the ring to compete in a single elimination 10-ball mini tourney. Proving they had no fears about stepping up against the big boys, last year’s top junior Nick Kline and up and coming young gun Sam Lenschow both competed in this event. While neither won a match, it would be far from the last that the players would see of Lenschow at this event. The tourney came down to New Mexico’s Brian Begay and Gus Briseno. Briseno held an 8-6 lead in the final match, but Begay came back to score a 9-8 win for first place. Begay earned $800 for first, while Briseno settled for $400.
The main event kicked off early Friday evening with 48 players all playing at least one match across both “A” and “B” divisions.
Nineteen players made up the “A” bracket with the biggest Friday upset Mitch Ellerman’s early trip to the one loss side, courtesy of Brian Begay.
The “B” bracket saw twenty-nine players in action. The biggest surprise on day one wasn’t a result, as much as a score as JR Ascension scored a dominating 9-2 win over Junior Flores.
Saturday play saw each bracket whittled down to eight players each. The “A” bracket saw Scott Frost, Gus Briseno and Bret Huth joined by Tucson’s Kevin Peterson on the right side of the board. The one loss side was a dogfight all day, with Ellerman scoring wins over George Teyechea and Tom Dilorenzo to keep his tournament hopes alive. Begay bounced back from a 9-2 beatdown from Frost to eliminate Tonee Allin and qualify for the final day. Ellerman and Begay were joined by Mickey Provencio and Steve Peterman on the one loss side.
The “B” bracket saw Casino Del Sol’s own Paul Feltman Jr. cruise through the winner's side to stay undefeated. Feltman was joined on the winner’s side by Oscar Avila Sr., Todd Rowitz and Al Terpstra. The one loss side saw Sam Lenschow put on a show. Lenschow eked by Kent Bybee 9-8, but then defeated Mike Howerton 9-5 and Eric Beeler 9-6. Lenschow would be joined by JR Ascension, Adam Kroll and Steve Stowers.
Sunday play saw tournament favorite Scott Frost shown to the one loss side, courtesy of Brian Begay, 9-6. Peterson sent Bret Huth to the left side of the board by the same 9-6 score. Briseno would then go on to take the “A” bracket hot-seat with a 9-4 win over Peterson. Ellerman would be unstoppable on the left side with wins over Provencio, Frost, Huth and Peterson.
The “B” bracket hot-seat was taken by Feltman Jr. with wins over Avila and Rowitz. Lenschow would keep knocking down players on the left side of the board with wins over Terpstra and Stowers. He would finally fall to Todd Rowitz 9-5 and settle for a very impressive 5th place finish.
When the brackets came together, the “A” players did their jobs with Briseno sending Feltman to the left side 9-6, and Ellerman eliminating Rowitz 9-3. With the finish line in sight, Ellerman then sent Feltman Jr. back to his office with a 9-1 scoreline.
The final match would only go one set, with Briseno displaying his “A” game and grinding out a hill-hill win over Ellerman in the first set.
With the second season in the books, plans are underway for season three with changes already being planned. Stay tuned in early 2017 for announcements regarding those changes.
The Diamond Pool Tour concluded their 2016 regular season on October 22nd – 23rd with a field of 39 players playing 8-ball on the 7’ Diamond Smart Tables at Skip & Jan’s Sports Bar in Gilbert.
This stop was unique in that it featured more “A” players than “B” players. The “A” player bracket held 22 top players with 21 of them looking to keep Mitch Ellerman from winning a record fourth consecutive tour stop. If he was going to win it, it would have to be from the one loss side, after a third round hill-hill loss to New Mexico’s Mickey Provencio. The winner’s side came down to Scott Frost scoring a 7-5 win over Bobby Emmons. On the one loss side, Ellerman showed that he was going to give up on win #4 without a fight. Ellerman scored wins over Brian Reich, Eric Young, Ben Hrabina, Chuck Evans and Emmons to earn his spot on the final bracket.
The 17 player “B” bracket came down to two new players, as Brian Poore took on Steve Stowers for the “B” bracket hot-seat. Poore had scored tough hill-hill wins over both JR Ascension and Evan Brinkman, sandwiched around a 7-1 win over Adam Kroll, in his run to the hot-seat match, while Stowers had scored lopsided wins over Victor Garcia, Rick Schmitz and Susan Williams on his run. The match for the hot-seat was another lopsided win for Stowers, has he defeated Poore 7-1. Poore took the loss in stride and eliminated Tucson’s John Schramm 7-3 to earn his spot on the final board.
Scott Frost took the overall hot-seat with a 7-2 win over Stowers on Sunday. Ellerman was still busy trying to notch win #4, and quickly eliminated Brian Poore 7-3 in a very deserving 4th place finish. Ellerman then defeated Stowers 7-3 and it was Frost vs Ellerman for the tournament win. While the tournament win would have given Ellerman his 4th straight, it was only fitting that the tour’s other player with three consecutive wins, Scott Frost, was the one to keep him from win #4. Frost won the finals in one round with a 7-6 victory.
Ellerman can still take solace in winning the “A” player points list, and even though he was not in attendance at this event, Oscar Avila took the “B” player points list win. Both players will win a prize package including a custom QB cue, Volturi case and Hanshew jump cue. Those prize packages will be presented to the players at the tour’s finale on November 17th – 20th at Casino Del Sol in Tucson.
Tour staff thanked Natalie and her staff for hosting another great event, as well as “Fast” Lenny Marshall for streaming matches all weekend and Rick Schmitz for the best photos in Arizona.
The Diamond Pool Tour returned to Pockets Billiards in Tucson on October 1st – 2nd, for stop #7, with a field of 43 players playing 9-Ball on the 9’ tables. Although the top Tucson players put up a fight, it was Mitch Ellerman turning in his third straight tour stop win.
The “A” bracket only held 14 players, and it was Ellerman and Tucson’s Chris Paradowski making their way through the winner’s bracket to meet up for the “A” bracket hot-seat. That match would go to Ellerman 9-6. Tim Daniel had lost his first match of the event, but scored an impressive run through the one loss side with dominating wins over AJ Jones, Tonee Allin, Jeff Webb and George Teyechea to face off with Paradowski in the semi-final match. Paradowski did the Tucson fans proud though, with a 9-6 win over Daniel.
The “B” bracket consisted of 29 players with the Tucson players showing that they were more than ready to take on Phoenix’s best. The “B” bracket hot-seat came down to two Tucsonians with Eric Beeler defeating John Polaski in a hard fought 9-7 match. On the one loss side, Manny Luevano was proving that his 9-2 loss to Jack Murray in the first round was just a fluke. Luevano then went on a seven match winning streak that included notable wins over Rick Schmitz, 2015 “B” player of the year Joey Barrera, 2016 “B” Player of the year candidate Oscar Avila Sr. and Polaski in the semi final match.
The 7th place finish by Avila was made possible by the come-back match of the weekend on Saturday night. Trailing Tim Christopher 8-2, Avila then proceeded to win seven straight games for the 9-8 win to earn him his spot in the Sunday bracket.
When the brackets came together, Ellerman made quick work of Beeler for the overall hot-seat 9-3. On the one loss side though, Luevano was having fun defeating Tucson players and he kept the string going with a 9-7 win over Paradowski. Luevano wasn’t even done then, as he went on to eliminate Beeler in third place 9-4. That left Luevano with the unenviable task of having to beat Ellerman twice in the finals. He put up a fight, but it was Ellerman winning the first set 9-5 for first place and his third straight win.
With the tournament win, Ellerman locked down the “A” player points list, with an insurmountable lead over Scott Frost. The “B” player points list sees Avila at the top, with a 115 point lead over Karloz Chavez. It would take a very high finish in the final stop of the year for Chavez to catch Avila on the list.
Tour staff expressed their thanks to Curtis Johnson and his staff for taking care of the players all weekend. Rick Schmitz once again proved why he is the best billiards photographer in Arizona, with a selection of great player shots.
The Diamond Pool Tour wasn’t done for the month though, as they held their final regular tour stop of the season three weeks later at Skip and Jan’s in Gilbert.
The Diamond Pool Tour held their 6th stop of the year – and first stop at Metro Sportz Bar – on September 10th – 11th, with a field of 56 players playing 9-ball on the 7’ Diamond Smart Tables. While the event held it’s fair share of surprises, it was Mitch Ellerman notching his second straight tour stop win.
The “A” bracket’s field of fifteen players saw Mitch Ellerman ride the top of the bracket with wins over Bret Huth, Jason Sweet and Scott Frost. Meanwhile on the bottom half of the bracket, it was last year’s “A” player points list winner Brian Reich making his mark. Reich had wins over Chuck Evans, Mike Sandoval and Bobby Emmons to earn his place against Ellerman for the hot-seat. While Ellerman’s win over Reich was not a real surprise, what was surprising was the 9-0 scoreline. On the one loss side, Frost was looking for another shot at Ellerman. Frost eliminated Sandoval, Emmons and Reich to earn that shot.
One nice addition to the “A” bracket was another appearance by Arizona pool veteran Tommy Dilorenzo. Tommy came out of retirement at the August stop at Kolby’s with mixed results. This month saw more of the player that Arizona is familiar with, as Dilorenzo had wins over Bryan Bach and Aaron Purdy. Dilorenzo’s two losses, to Ray Robles and Chuck Evans, were both hill-hill matches that could have gone either way. It’s good to see Tommy back in action and we expect pool fans will see his “A” game in full force very soon.
In contrast to the “A” bracket, the “B” bracket’s 41 players saw an early surprise with points leader Karloz Chavez going “two and out” in the event. Chavez lost a hill-hill decision to Susan Williams and was then eliminated by Manny Luevano 9-7. The top half of the bracket was won by Oscar Avila, while the bottom half was won by Metro regular Eric Osburn. Both players fought their way through more than their share of close matches to get to the hot-seat match, and then that match was another close one with Avila earning a hill-hill win over Osburn. The one loss side saw George Bell on a roll. Bell had lost to Rick Schmitz in his first match of the day, but he was still alive eight matches later. After eliminated Mike McGovern 9-6, Bell went on to send Osburn to the cheap seats 9-5.
While the tournament saw a number of Metro regulars come out to support the tour, two players that earned attention were Susan Williams and junior player Nathan McGovern. Williams, the sole female in the field kept up her winning ways after the first round match with Chavez. Williams went on to beat Dana Moore and Tim Rachu, before falling to Osburn in round four. Williams came back on Sunday, but was eliminated early Sunday by George Bell. While McGovern, the only junior player in the field, didn’t win any matches, the pool gods were not kind in the draw they gave him. After a second round loss to Seth Johnson, McGovern had to then take on Luevano. McGovern gave it his all, and we hope to see him at a future event to give it another try.
Before Sunday player could get underway, tournament director Chuck Parrill and Metro Sportz Bar owner John Upshaw had to reconfigure the room to make room for a larger than originally expected football crowd. John and Chuck didn’t miss a beat as they roped off six tables and gave the tournament players as much space as they could manage for day two of the event.
When the brackets came together, it was a rematch from a month ago with Ellerman facing Avila for the overall hot-seat once again. This match went to Ellerman 9-4. On the one loss side, Frost was eliminating Bell in 4th place 9-3. Seeing his rematch with Ellerman only a match away, Frost then made quick work of Avila in a 9-0 match. The overall final match went one set, with Ellerman scoring a hill-hill win for his second straight Diamond Pool Tour win.
Ellerman’s win gives him a 200 point lead on the “A” players points list, with two events left to play. Barring Ellerman missing an event, Frost will have a tough time catching him. The “B” players points list, on the other hand, is much closer. Chavez’s “two and out” was the opening that Avila needed to catch him, and Avila now enjoys a 40 point lead over Chavez. Rick Schmitz is in a distant third place, 135 points back.
As always, “Fast” Lenny Marshall provided excellent streaming coverage of the event, and Rick Schmitz took great pictures of all of the tour competitors. John Upshaw and his staff did a great job of taking care of the players and fans all weekend long.
The tour will finish up it’s regular season in October with two stops. Pockets in Tucson will host big table 9-ball on October 1st – 2nd, and then Skip and Jan’s will be the location for Barbox 8-ball. These two stops will be the last chance that players have to play in the requisite two events in order to qualify for the season finale at Casino Del Sol in Tucson on November 17th – 20th.
Brian Begay of Shiprock, N.M. won the Mixed Gold Division and Joe Avila of Avondale, Ariz. finished first in the Mixed Silver Division at the 2016 Southwest Regional 8-Ball Tournament at We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference near Scottsdale, Ariz. on Friday.
The Gold Division had 54 players, with Fargo ratings spanning from 519 to 697 and the Silver Division also had 54 players, with Fargo ratings ranging from 367 to 510. The races were handicapped with the lower-rated player receiving game spots based on the difference between the player’s Fargo ratings.
Begay’s path to the finals against Michael Allen of Salt Lake City, Utah, included wins over Tres Kane III, 6-4; Pete Barnes, 6-2; James Main, 6-2; Tim Daniel, 6-4; Ricardo Ritchie, 6-3 and Allen, 6-1.
Allen had a long string of wins before buckling to Begay. He beat Bill Truitt, 5-2; Tenadore Lee, 5-2; Wayne Cagle, 5-4; Bryan Wilson, 5-1; and Navin Talreja, 5-4, before losing to Begay. In the loser’s bracket, Allen beat LeRoy Banks, 5-1, giving him the opportunity to play Begay again in the finals.
Allen jumped out of the gate determined not to let Begay get the best of him, and beat Begay to force a second set in the true double-elimination formant.
But Begay was able to ward Allen off for the second set, beating the Salt Lake City-basEd Allen by a score of 6-3 in the finals to win the division, earning $1,000 and a plaque.
[photo id=45235|align=left]In the Silver division, Joe Avila started his day with a forfeit and then went undefeated to the finals, with wins over Lee Schnieders, 5-0; Mike Sauer, 5-4; Bryson Hunter Sr., 5-4; Anthony Laudadio, 5-4; and Todd Rodgers, 5-2, to take the hot seat.
Adam Payan, who would meet Avila in the finals, beat Guy Martinez Sr., 5-4; John Hardy, 5-0; and Willie Horton, 5-2, before falling to Todd Rodgers. Then Payan moved through the loser’s side of the bracket, with wins over Vince Villalva, 5-1 and Anthony Laudadio, 5-1, before getting revenge against Rodgers, 5-1.
But Payan couldn’t stop Avila’s winning streak and lost in the finals by a score of 5-2. Avila collected $800 for the win.
The women’s divisions, scotch doubles divisions, and the team divisions are still underway.
The 2016 Southwest Regional tournament is sponsored by CueSports International, Diamond Billiard Products Inc., Cyclop, and Simonis.
The 2016 Southwest Regional Tournament is produced by CueSports International, the parent company of the BCAPL and USAPL. CSI also produces independent events, such as the US Open 10-Ball Championship, the US Open 8-Ball Championship and much more. For more information, visit www.playcsipool.com or call 702-719-POOL.
The Diamond Pool Tour returned to Kolby’s Corner Pocket in Tempe, Az on August 6th – 7th with a field of 46 players playing 8-Ball on the 9 foot tables. It may have taken a little longer than some fans had expected, but this event saw Mitch Ellerman’s first trip to the winner’s circle this season.
The first big surprise in the 15 player “A” bracket was seeing Scott Frost sent to the one loss side in the first round by 8-ball specialist Brian Begay 6-1. Begay then dropped his next match to Emilio Maestes, who then dropped his next match to Bobby Emmons. Emmons’ next match was for the “A” bracket hot-seat against Mitch Ellerman, and you guessed it, he dropped the match. Ellerman’s path to the hot-seat was paved with wins over Ben Hrabina, Brian Reich, George Teyechea and then Emmons. Frost would bounce back from the opening round loss to make day two, but his second match on Sunday was a rematch with Begay, that he dropped hill-hill. Emmons then defeated Begay hill-hill to earn his spot on the final bracket.
The 31 player “B” bracket was led by Junior Flores and Oscar Avila. Avila had wins over Bill McKnight, Todd Dilley, Karloz Chavez and Jack Ritonya on his way to the hot-seat match. Half of those wins were tough hill-hill victories. Flores had wins over Brady Williams, Ryan Franklin, Kurt Siebels and JR Ascension. Flores’ biggest win was 6-4, with three matches going hill-hill. The “B” bracket hot-seat would go to Avila, with a 6-3 scoreline over Flores. The loss to Avila may have lit a fire under Chavez, as he won five straight matches on the left side including a 6-2 win over Flores, to earn his spot on the final bracket.
When the brackets came together, it was Ellerman taking the final hot-seat with a 6-1 win over Avila. On the left side, Emmons made quick work of Chavez 6-2 and then eliminated Avila 6-1. The finals would go one set, with Emmons scoring a 6-3 win for first place.
The tournament win adds distance between Ellerman and Frost on the “A” players points list. Ellerman has now built a 155 point lead over Frost, who leads Bret Huth by 45 points for second place. Avila’s 3rd place finish tightens up the “B” player points list. Chavez’s lead over Avila is now 85 points, with Schmitz trailing by 25 points in third place.
Tour organizers thanked Kong Xian Gru and Brian Desantis (and their staff) for hosting another successful event. The wait staff always takes great care of the tour. “Fast” Lenny Marshall shared the event with everyone online and Rick Schmitz once again provided the tour with a batch of great pics.
The tour will be at Metro Sportz Bar on September 10th – 11th, playing barbox on the 7’ Diamond tables.
28 players from around the Valley showed up for Sophia Morquecho's novel new 6Pocket tournament at Stingers Saturday, April 30. It was match play format with each player shooting seven alternating racks. Players rack their own, break wide open, and run the table until they miss. One point per ball and highest point total wins. It was also handicapped with lower rated players getting 5 extra points per rating level. Interestingly, the cross-level matches were much tighter with the spot than same-level matches with no spot.
Tournament highlights included Aaron Purdys near perfect 104. Aaron rattled his 15th ball in the first rack and then went on to run six perfect racks. Chuck Parrill had the second highest string with five perfect racks in a close match with Oscar Avila Sr. that he actually lost by one point. Joe Nicita and several other players strung 4 perfect racks. Eight rated Mike McGovern went straight to the hill undefeated. Ed Scott lost his second match to Aaron Purdy after starting his first two racks with a total of two points, but went on to win seven matches on the losers side and then win the first set in the finals. Ed and Mike called it quits at that point and decided to share the Arizona State 6Pocket title as co champions.
Payouts were:
1/2 Mike McGovern $355
1/2 Ed Scott $555 (w sides)
3 Aaron Purdy $240
4 Oscar Avila Jr $170 (great tournament by 6 rated player)
5/6 Pete Barrios $65
5/6 Matt Koskella $65
Many thanks to Mark Griffin and Dick Clark from the National 6Pocket organization who sponsored the event and Dale at Stingers Sports Bar who sponsored and hosted this new event.
The Diamond Pool Tour kicked off their 2016 season the same way they kicked off their 2015 season, with Scott Frost topping a huge field of “A” and “B” players. The season opener this season was 9-ball on the freshly reclothed 9’ tables at Bull Shooters in Phoenix. Not only did noted table mechanic (and legendary player) Ernesto Dominguez redo the vast majority of the tables at Bull Shooters before the event, but he also stuck around to compete in the event.
A record tying field of 94 players was split between 36 “A” players, and 58 “B” players. Frost started his trek to win the “A” bracket with wins over Emilio Maestas, Eric Young and Navin Talreja. A 9-3 win over top Arizona talent Chuck Evans, was followed up by a nail biting 9-8 win over Dominguez. Frost then cruised to the “A” bracket hot-seat with a 9-5 win over Mitch Ellerman. Ellerman would then defeat Paul Grande 9-3 on the one loss side.
The “B” bracket saw Tucson’s Tonee Allin display top level play all weekend, as he defeated Chris Carpenter, Chan Phan, Joe Guerra, Evan Brinkmann, Manny Luevano and then Oscar Avila Sr. for the hot-seat. On the one loss side. it was Karloz Chavez bouncing back from a 2nd round loss to win nine straight matches, including a 9-4 victory over Avila.
When the two brackets came together, Frost made quick work of Allin 9-2, to take the overall hot-seat. On the one loss side, Ellerman made even quicker work of Chavez, with a 9-0 win. Ellerman then sent Allin back to Tucson with a 9-5 loss, and got ready to take on Frost again in the finals. The finals saw Ellerman hand Frost his first loss with a 9-7 scoreline in the first set of the finals. Ellerman looked to be on his way to the double-dip in the second set, as he led the match early 3-1. A couple untimely mistakes by Ellerman were all that it took though, as Frost came back and won the second set 9-5.
Tour organizers expressed their thanks to Mike and Julie Bates at Bull Shooters, for hosting another great event, Rick Schmitz for the great photos, and “Fast” Lenny Marshall for two days of non-stop streaming coverage of the event.
The tour’s next stop is scheduled for May 14th at Stingers Sports Bar in Phoenix. The event will be bar table 9-ball.
Pockets Pool & Pub in Tucson, Arizona was the site of the Diamond Pool Tour’s first “B” player hot-seat winner back in May. The September 10-ball event at Pockets was the site of the tour’s first “B” player forcing an “A” player to a second set in the finals. It was also one rack away from a second “B” player in the hot-seat.
The event, held on September 19th – 20th, drew a field of 45 players with 16 “A” players and 29 “B” players.
The “A” bracket saw Bernie Pettipiece grinding out one close win after another. Pettipiece started out with a 7-4 win over Gus Briseno and the matches just got tighter after that. Pettipiece’s last three matches – Nick De Leon, Bret Huth and Brian Reich – were won by a total margin of four games. Another player who stepped up in the “A” bracket at this event was Tres Kane. Kane had wins over Rudy Alameda and Jerry Stuckart, before dropping a hill-hill match to Reich. Kane would bounce right back with one loss side wins over Alameda, Bret Huth and Reich to earn his spot on the final bracket.
Tournament staff were warned ahead of time that the “B” players in Tucson played very strong. Those were not empty warnings. Tucson’s Ronnie Kidd III and Rick Galloway cruised through the winner’s side with only Kidd allowing one opponent more than four games against either of them. Kidd would take the hot-seat with a 7-2 win over Galloway, but Galloway would also qualify for the final bracket after a 7-2 win over Tonee Allin (Tuley).
The field of players boasted four female competitors, with Bernie Store quickly distancing herself from the others. Store’s 9th place finish earned her the Greenmail.com Top Lady Bonus of $100.
The two brackets came together on Sunday with Ronnie Kidd III taking Pettipiece to hill-hill in a tough match. Kidd stayed with Pettipiece til the end, before Pettipiece won the case game. On the one loss side, Rick Galloway showed that he had no fear of any of the “A” players as he dispatched Kane in 4th place 7-5. Galloway would ride the momentum from that win to a hill-hill win over Kidd in the semi-finals.
The final match was an intriguing one with both players more known for their one pocket games than their rotation games. As the match went on, both players were noticeably tired and opted for safeties instead of run-outs when faced with decisions at the table. Galloway would score a hill-hill win over Pettipiece in the first set of the finals, but Pettipiece would take control late in the second match and score a 7-4 win for his first Diamond Pool Tour win.
The Neil’s Garage Cabinets Second Chance Tournament on Sunday came down to two Tucson players as Mike Hamman defeated Aaron Purdy 3-1 for the hot-seat and 3-1 again in the finals.
Presenting Sponsor, Casino Del Sol Resort, provided vouchers for a two-for-one buffet to all players at the event.
With his fifth place finish, Brian Reich moves within 10 points of Bobby Emmons on the “A” player points list. Joey Barrera remains on top of the “B” players points list, but he can certainly hear the sounds of Nick Kline and Oscar Avila gaining ground on him. Nick Kline is having no such problems on the Junior Points List, as he is far in front of the rest of the competition.
Tour organizers thanked Curtis and his great staff for putting up with us for the weekend. Lenny Marshall put together another great stream and was assisted by “The Voice of the Diamond Pool Tour” George Teyechea on commentary. Rick Schmitz was also in attendance and provided the tour and players with more great pictures.
Due to delays in Skip & Jan’s reopening, the tour has postponed the stop that was scheduled for Skip & Jan’s until November. The Bullshooters stop that was scheduled for November has been moved up to October and will take place on Oct 3rd and 4th. The event will be 9-ball on the 9 foot tables.
