Paul Jobe, Jude Rosenstock, James Davis Sr. and Ruben Escalera
Joey Bourgeois, Jr., of Baytown, Texas, ran through the 64-player, amateur 9-ball division, in the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour, Texas Open Warm-Up 9-Ball Event, defeating Austin newcomer Jude Rosenstock in the final set, 5-1. This marked Bourgeois’ second, consecutive victory, in his Tour career. In the 64-player, open 9-ball division, local favorite James Davis, Sr. took down Jude Rosenstock in the final, 6-3, securing his fifth win on Tour, of the past nine Tour events held at Skinny Bob’s. Rosenstock came very close to winning both divisions, a feat only one player has accomplished in the Tour’s ten years, while Austin’s Kim Sanders became the highest female finisher in an open or amateur division, in Tour history!
On August 4th-5th, 2018, Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, Texas, along with tour title sponsor Poison by Predator Cues PoisonBilliards.com, and sponsors Cyclop Pool Balls, www.VaporKnightsUSA.com, APA of North Harris County, and OutsvilleBilliards.com, facilitated another successful event for the players of the Poison Lone Star Tour. Skinny Bob’s added a generous $1,000 to the two-day event, which paid out a whopping $8,745. The Tour would like to thank room owners John and Sue Cielo for their continued support, nine years running!
Each 64-player division kicked-off on Saturday afternoon, and brought back the final 32 in each, on Sunday. In the amateur 9-ball division, Joey Bourgeois, Jr. began his journey to the winners’ side final four with wins over Daniel Campos, 5-4, Mike Hoffman, 5-4, Nancy French, 5-1, and Jacob Case, 5-2, as Jose Ybarra tagged San Antonio’s Vance Rodriguez, 5-0, Lazaro Martinez, III, 5-2, Ryan Lane, 5-4, and Michelle Cortez, 5-4. Florida’s Chris Gentile plowed through Joel Acevedo, 5-2, Danny Wyatt, 5-1, J.C. Torres, 5-1, and Kim Sanders, 5-0, while Jude Rosenstock denied Chuck Adams, 5-3, Eddie Palmer, 5-1, Ricardo Espinosa, 5-3, and Shane Hvamstad. On the one loss side, J.C. Torres fell to Matt Wong, 4-2, and Oklahoma’s Micah Ott eliminated Ricardo Espinosa, 5-3. Kim Pierce passed Ryan Lane, and Eddie Palmer sent home Benito Cazares, 4-0. Wong was eliminated by Case, 4-1, and Cortez was shut out by Ott, 4-0, while Pierce caved to Hvamstad, 4-1, and Sanders dusted off Palmer, 4-2. Back on the east side, Rosenstock slid by Gentile, and Bourgeois, Jr. edged out a victory over Ybarra, both by the same score, 5-4. In the hot seat match, Bourgeois, Jr. eased pass Rosenstock, 5-4. On the west side, Case defeated Ott, but fell to Gentile, while Sanders ousted Hvamstad, then derailed Ybarra. Sanders went on to eliminate Gentile, 5-4, but fell to Rosenstock. Sanders settled into third place, becoming the highest female finisher in a Poison Lone Star Tour division. In the finals, Bourgeois, Jr. fought to avoid another hill-hill match. He ended Rosenstock’s run, 5-1, securing his second Tour victory of the 2018 season.
In the open division, James Davis, Sr. overcame Michael Parrott, 6-0, Laz Martinez, III, 6-5, Jacob Watson, 6-2, Laz Martinez, Jr., 6-2, and while Jason Roessler defeated Chris Habgood, John Demmett, 6-3, Justin Wright, 6-1, and Kim Sanders, 6-3. First-timer, Jude Rosenstock cut through Rene Rodriguez, Jose Ybarr, 6-5, Joel Acevedo, 6-4, and Paul Jobe, 6-1, as Jimmy Krone powered past Mike Englund, Vance Rodriguez, 6-2, Ralph Cardona, 6-5, and Benito Cazares, 6-5. On the west side, Eric Aicinena eliminated Joe Heinaman, 5-1, but fell to Jobe, 5-4, while Joey Torres took out Ybarra, and Cazares, 5-3. Upset by Ybarra in the first round, open-only player, Ruben Escalera, struck down Ryan Lane, and Kim Sanders, 5-0, marking up six wins on the one loss side, as Acevedo upset James Davis, Jr., 5-4, and Laz Martinez, Jr. Down to the final eight, winners’ side final four witnessed Davis, Sr. defeat Roessler, 6-1, and Rosenstock roll Krone, 6-0. In the hot seat match, Davis, Sr. wasted little time, overwhelming Rosenstock, 6-1. Back on the west side, Jobe edged out Torres and Roessler by the same score, 5-4, while Escalera ended Acevedo and Krone, both sets, 5-2. Escalera iced Jobe, 5-0, checking off his ninth win on the one loss side, but faltered against Rosenstock, losing 5-3. This was Rosenstock’s first Tour event, and first trip to the finals, where he faced the indomitable, James Davis, Sr. Although Rosenstock gave it his best shot, Davis Sr. took control and maintained the lead, securing his fifth Tour victory, 6-3.
The Tour would like to thank all the new players, some of which traveled from great distances, who competed in this event, and congratulate players who reached milestones. Paul Jobe achieved his highest finish to date, while Jude Rosenstock and Kim Sanders also made great strides, Jude finishing second in both divisions, and Kim, becoming the highest finishing, female player in a Poison Lone Star division. The Tour would also like to thank tournament co-director, Erica Hanlon, for all her assistance in running the boards and ensuring a smooth, seamless event, and photographer Mille Almaraz who captured some memorable, tournament moments. Finally, congratulations to this weekend’s Poison raffle winner, Louis Acosta from Jarrell, Texas. Acosta took home a Poison Arsenic3-2 playing cue.
The next event will be October 13th-14th, 2018, at Bogies Billiards West, located at 9638 Jones Road, in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com. Alongside the next Poison Lone Star event, there will be a Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour 9-Ball Event. For more information, visit www.GulfCoastWomensTour.com.
The American CueSports Alliance (ACS) conducted its most successful national championships to date with a record $36,500 in added prize monies drawing players from throughout North America to twenty-three divisions of competition at the 2012 Lucasi Hybrid ACS National Championships in Las Vegas. Over 90% of attendees chose the host hotel, the Tropicana Las Vegas, for lodging – primarily attracted by early-bird hotel rates and discounted entry fees. The Tropicana Las Vegas is near the center of the action on the Las Vegas strip, and the dates – May 5-11 – and the gorgeous setting of this renovated property have quickly won over the players as a great site for pool action! The biggest highlight of these Championships was San Antonio TX capturing four of the nine team titles up for grabs!
Singles action began at the first of the week with handicapped 9-ball. Dustin Gunia of Omaha, NE, improved on his 4th place performance in 2011 by outperforming fellow Nebraskan – Chris Siefken (Lincoln, NE) – in the finals for the title by a 10-4 margin. On the distaff side, Susan Orr (Las Vegas, NV) took two sets in the final against Richmond, Kentucky’s Samantha Patton (2-5, 5-2) to earn her crown! Results from the many divisions of 8-ball singles included: Dustin Gunia performing a rare double by outpointing Glenn Atwell (Clay Center, KS) 7-4 in the finals of Men’s Advanced Singles 8-Ball; Jessica Frideres (Fort Dodge, IA) adding to her growing list of ACS Nationals titles with a come-from-behind, two-set finals decision over undefeated Kawania Watson (San Antonio, TX) in the Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Singles – 7-3/7-4; Richard Louapre (Jersey City, NJ) double-dipping undefeated Robert Nelson (Sycamore, IL) 5-4/5-3 for the Men’s Open 8-Ball Singles championship; Susan Orr scoring another title with a 4-2 finals defeat of Mandy Schneider-Hood (Houston, TX) for the Women’s Open 8-Ball Singles laurels; undefeated Joey Glover (Virginia Beach, VA) outdistancing David Field (Calgary, AB) in the first set of the finals – 5-3 – for the Men’s Standard 8-Ball Singles division success; and Bernadine Crowchild (Calgary, AB) besting Arlene David (Virginia Beach, VA) by a 4-1 margin for the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Singles glory.
In the senior-aged 8-ball singles divisions, Dennis Brown (Creston, BC) took down Claude Gragg III (Arlington, TX) in the deciding set of the finals, 5-3, for the Men’s Senior (55+) 8-Ball Singles crown; Shawn Modelo (Antioch, CA) captured her third straight Women’s Senior (50+) 8-Ball Singles title by clipping Susan Kornerly (Two Rivers, WI) 4-3 in the finals; and Keith Parker (Henderson, NV) needed only one finals set to take the Super Senior (65+) Singles 8-Ball Singles title from Charles Smith (Whitesboro, TX) by a 5-2 margin!
The two Scotch Doubles 8-Ball divisions included the powerhouse duo of Dustin Gunia and Jessica Frideres (each winners of their respective Advanced Singles 8-Ball divisions) defending their 2011 title in the Advanced Scotch Doubles division with a narrow 7-6 finals win over Susan Orr/Ricky White (Las Vegas, NV); while the Canadian team of Anne Sinclair/ Michael Therrien (ON) needed just one set as well to claim 4-2 victory over Grand Junction, Colorado’s Sandra Walsh and David Miles in the Open Scotch Doubles category.
With the ACS schedule in the latter portion of the week allowing non-conflicting accommodation of entry into both 9-ball and 8-ball team competitions, there was still plenty of competition to keep every player involved – especially those out of the money who automatically qualified for free second-chance team divisions! In the Men’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division, Dick’s Pick [Greg Kuhl, Donnie Branson, Rocky Phipps, Fred Boggs, Lyn Wechsler and Jimmy Moore] (Las Vegas, NV) defended its 2011 title by eclipsing Virginia’s Brass Bell 13-8 in the title match. The Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division showcased Knaw Kaw Min [Becky Mowdy, Brandy Phillips, Judy Griffith, Sherry Griffin and Jan Aust] (WA) battling to a final’s win over Ontario’s Eenie Meenie Miney Moe. At this point, Team Mireles from San Antonio, TX started collecting titles. In the Men’s Open 8-Ball Team competition, undefeated Team Mireles [Frank Ferrer, Shane Manaole, Pat Powers, Jacob Jimenez, Rick Robles, Gerard Jimenez, Lupe Sanchez and Eric Aicinena] outdistanced New York’s Foreign Policy 13-9 in the title match. The Women’s Open 8-Ball Team division showcased the Virginia team of Footers Femme Fatale [Alena Joyce, Tiffiny Ebner, Diana Wirt and Marcia Schomburg] recovering from big deficits in two sets of the finals (2-7/4-7) to claim the top prize by 10-8/10-7 scores over Iowa’s No Balls Just Racks.
The Men’s Standard 8-Ball Team division witnessed a similar rebound for eventual winner, The Tribe (BC) [Tyler Chan, Doug Narcisse, Charles Narcisse, Adam Beeds and Bill Armstrong]. In the first match of the tournament, The Tribe faced Las Vegas’s Dick’ Pick and trailed 8-12 before recovering for a 13-12 win. Dick’s Pick was not deterred and marched through the B-side of the bracket for another shot at The Tribe in the finals. Again, The Tribe was down again at 9-12, but won the last four games for the Championship by another 13-12 margin! In the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Team division, Virginia’s Inland Reef 1 [Michelle Carawan, Tavonia Millender, Beverly Michelle Carawan, Teresa Price, Jennifer O’Brien and Ashley Hoover] took the undefeated route to the finals and repelled El Paso’s Twinz by a 10-7 margin for the crown.
The 3-person 9-ball team divisions were swept by San Antonio TX! Once-defeated Team Mireles Too [Rick Robles, Shane Manaole, Pat Powers and Gerard Jimenez] took down Las Vegas’s Ray’s Babys in two sets by 19-17/19-11 margins for the Men’s Advanced 9-Ball Team title. Another San Antonio team, Vito’s Ladies [Mary Ida Gamez, Elizabeth Blancas, Kawania Watson and Sophie Lopez], captured the Women’s Open 9-Ball Team laurels with a 10-8 victory over Eenie Meenie Miney Moe [ON]. In the Men’s Open 9-Ball Team category, Team Mireles [Frank Ferrer Jr., Jacob Jimenez, Lupe Sanchez and Eric Aicinena] struck again with a 19-13 finals decision over New York’s Foreign Policy (victims in the MOT8 finals as well!).
In the 8th Annual ACS National Artistic Pool Championships, Connie Eddins of Santee CA. edged out the boys for the title. ACS would like to especially thank our title sponsor – Lucasi Hybrid Cues, as well as Gary Benson and his tournament direction staff at High Country Promotions, as well as the exhibiting vendors and the host site – the Tropicana Las Vegas! The ACS Nationals is already looking to returning to the Tropicana May 11-17, 2013! The ACS is a national non-profit, member-governed association which will sanction any local pool league (whether player-run or owner-operated) via a $10 annual sanction fee. Contact the ACS at 1-888-662-1705 or www.americancuesports.org for complete information on sanctioning your league!
The ACS currently sanctions leagues in 38 states and enjoys reciprocal relations with its sister organization in Canada (Canadian Cue Sport Association – CCS). Twelve state associations are affiliated to ACS; and the ACS offers a Lucasi Hybrid Midwest ACS Championships each January at the Riverside Resort & Casino in Iowa. The ACS produces a national amateur Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour each Fall thru Spring and offers certification for both instructors and referees dedicated to the sport.