Stroker’s Billiards and Sports Bar welcomed the Florida Pool Tour on it’s first stop of the season this weekend. Saturday’s Amateur 9-Ball event drew 71 entrants while Sunday’s Super 16 10-Ball event was pre-booked with a full field.
The Amateur 9-Ball event was stacked with talented pool players and lots of auction action. A recipe for excellent pool all weekend long. Quite a few new faces had breakout results during this event. Naples player Francisco Diaz, Top FL Lady Player Chris Fields, and Tampa local Mitchell Keiser.
In it’s new format, the Super 16 10-Ball Event would host a complete field to some of the best talent in the country. After placing 2nd in the Amateur, James Adams would look strong and hungry to snap off this event.
Top 8 Breakdown
James Adams after recently taking 3rd place in the Florida State Amateur 9-Ball Championships showed up to play this weekend. Posting wins over Amine Ouahbi 7-2, Javier Chirino “The Trophy Maker” 7-4, local player Dave Stem 7-4, a hill-hill thriller with Dan Marchini, and finally 7-4 over Rich Johnson would find himself battling Mitchell Keiser for the hotseat. Showing up to that match primed and hungry, Adams would put the set away at 7-3.
Mitchell Keiser would find a way to grind out wins over Mark Wathen 7-4, Michael Stack 7-2, before capturing a $25 bounty on Mike DeLawder besting him 7-5, survived a hill-hill thriller with Miami area player Felix Luna and find a groove against Naples, FL native Francisco Diaz all before falling to James Adams 7-3 allowing James to have the hotseat and awaiting Jason Sheerman on the westside of the chart.
Rich Johnson would have an impressive 5 rounds deep into the winner side. Winning over Jason Richko 7-3, David Uwate 7-5, Daniel Grider 7-4, and Jim Sandaler, all before falling to James Adams. Johnson would not complete another match as the winnder. Jason Sheerman would beat him in a hill-hill match and complete Rich’s weekend.
Upstart player from Naples, FL Francisco Diaz would show some promise and post wins over Lisa McElroy 7-2, Justin Gilsinan 7-4, Finnish player Antti Mattilla 7-4 before falling to Lady Player Chris Fields in a hill/hill thriller. Then falling to Mitchell Keiser7-5. Diaz would then choose to forfeit out of the tournament for unknown reasons.
Dan Marchini would win against Tony Rowells 7-2, Lee Holland 7-4, Allen Ellison 7-3, Dave Ross 7-3, before falling to James Adams in a hill/hill thriller. On the westside he would pick up George Saunders, but would not take the set, letting Saunders pass with a 5-0, securing 8th place.
George Saunders would put a string of wins together after losing to Dave Stem 7-1. On the one-loss side he would beat Luke Sutliffe 5-4, Mike Lear 5-2, Jim Sandaler 5-3, Dan Marchini 5-0, Francisco Diaz 5-0, before falling to Jason Sheerman 5-2, securing 4th place.
Felix Luna would risk a loss with a hill/hill thriller against Junior Player Trenton White, Jason Bowen 7-5, falling to Nathan Rose 7-4. On the one-loss side Luna would pick up Gary Gilsinan and squeak that one out, only to fall next to Jason Sheerman again hill/hill.
Jason Sheerman had a design that was all his own this weekend. He would lose to Nathan Rose in the second round and then went on to grind out 10 matches in a row to reach the one-loss side final against Mitchell Keiser. Sheerman would go on to beat Keiser and secure his first Amateur 9-Ball title in 5 years, and it just so happens it was at Stroker’s Palm Harbor that he claimed his first victory. Sweet homecoming for Sheerman indeed.
Super 16 Recap
James Adams had one thing on his mind this weekend and it showed, it was winning. James had a great run into the finals of the Amateur 9-Ball event and then proceeded to build a charge in the first Super 16 event.
For starters we have Adam Wheeler winning against Donny Mills in a hill/hill thriller. Then he would meet up with Raymond Linares who dispatched Mitch Breedlove 8-3. James Adams would have a hill/hill thriller with Mike DeLawder and wait for Han Berber who had just finished a winning set over Tony Crosby 8-6, an upset since Tony was on a 5-1 deficit. Would not have enough to complete the charge. Jason Richko would best Eddie Sharp 8-4 and wait for Tommy Kennedy to steamed rolled Tim Parisian 8-1. James Roberts would send room owner Jose Del Rio down the hard path 8-4 and wait for Nathan Rose who bested Jason Sheerman 8-6.
Now on the westside, we have Mills and Breedlove, with Donny winning 7-5. DeLawder would then win the set against Crosby 7-4. Tim Parisian would best Sharp 7-2 and Jose Del Rio would march on past Sheerman in a hill/hill thriller.
Back on the eastside, James Adams and Raymond Linares would square off for a chance at the hotseat. Linares would take his first loss in a hill/hill thriller. Adams would be in the second hotseat match in 2 days. On the lower half, Tommy Kennedy and James Roberts would battle for the hotseat, if you call it a battle. Kennedy runs away with the set 8-2.
Back on the one-loss side, DeLawder picks up Linares and Linares pushes through 7-5. Jose Del Rio picks up James Roberts and this time puts him away. Del Rio and Linares would fight for a chance to play and jump back over to the eastside.
Back on the winners side, Kennedy and Adams would square off in a close one. Adams wouldnt have enought to stop TK and would go west to meet up with the winner of the one-loss side hotseat. That would be Raymond Linares.
After some super slow play, Linares and Adams actually get put on the shot clock and turns would trade. With the pressure of the shot clock, uncharacteristic misses and nerve controlling runouts would put Linares and Adams hill/hill. In the middle of what would seem a routine runout, the sound of a miscue coming from Linares’ cue would resonate throughout the pool room as he left a 4 ball runout to Adams with ball in hand. Adams would finish the set and prepare to take on Kennedy in the final. This would be 2 tournaments in 2 days and 2 finals for Adams.
Now in the finals, Kennedy and Adams trade a couple of racks, with Kennedy expressing his creative side of the game. Creating angles and playing combos, this would put Kennedy up 4-1. Adams would fight back with pressured safeties and consistent shot making. At 6-6 Kennedy would pull away. In the early hours of Monday morning, 2 days of super solid play would seem to weigh heavy on Adams shoulders. Taking advantage of one too many mistakes by Adams, Kennedy would secure his first Super 16 Title of 2015 just before daybreak on the horizon.
The Florida Pool Tour would like to thank Jose Del Rio and the staff at Stroker’s Palm Harbor for the wonderful hospitality all weekend long. Combined with amazing restaurant quality food, you cannot find a place that can beat that. Stroker’s Palm Harbor has been an anchor stop on the Florida Pool Tour for years as well as the host location for the US Amateur Championships for the last 5 years. Give Jose and the family there a visit and see for yourself why this is perhaps one of the best pool rooms in the country.
Xtreme Pool Challenge came through with another amazing weekend of LIVE HD quality streaming. We want to thank Gary Patrick and crew for producing one of the best streams available and the best prices around. $5 for an entire weekend of fantastic HD coverage is by far a steal in this industry. By supporting Gary and XPC you are supporting the future of pool and the future of this pool tour.
Strokers in Palm Harbor, FL welcomed the Poison Pool Tour on June 30-July 2, along with a whole lot of lightning and rain. The amateur event drew 34 players and the Open even drew 19. Patrick Werren posed a threat to both tournaments by winning the Amateur event and taking 2nd in the Open event. Steve Knoll, Florida’s hard courier, decided to put his bricks down for one day and pick up his cue, just to let the young guys like Werren know that he still has what it takes. He won the Open event, defeating Werren in the finals.
In the Amateur event, Werren breezed through the winners' side like it was his job. Taking a first round bye, he posted wins over Rich Johnson 7-4, Chris Gentile (2011 FL State Amateur 9 Ball Champ) 7-4, Gary Gilsinan 7-4, and Marcus Shenandoah 7-2, before meeting Mark Wathen in the hot seat match. Wathen, looking like his usual, strong-playing self, started with a first round bye and then posted wins over Jason Bowen 7-6, Kyle Bova 7-5, Jose Del Rio 7-0, and JD 7-1. The two fought a double hill, hot seat thriller, in which Wathen prevailed
The battle for the west side hot seat was waged between Brett Lykins and Jarred Schlauch. Schlauch, losing to Tim Baron in the 3rd round, took that as motivation to post wins over Bowen 6-5, Jason Richko 6-3, Justin Gilsinian 6-1, Jose Del Rio 6-3, and Rich Johnson 6-4. Lykins took a loss to Johnson in the 2nd round and then fired off wins over Zoran Vidic 6-0, Dave Stem 6-4, Kyle Bova 6-4, Chris Gentile 6-4, Tim Baron 6-4, and JD 6-2.
Schlauch bested Brett Lykins in the quarterfinals 6-4, but had his five-match, loss-side streak snapped by Werren in the semifinals. Werren then took the opening set of the finals, forcing a single rack shootout to determine the Amateur event champion. Werren completed the double dip over Wathen to claim his first Poison Pool Tour Amateur 9-Ball title.
On Sunday, Werren's fortunes were reversed as he advanced to the hot seat, only to be taken down by Steve Knoll in the single-set/single rack finals. Following wins over Jose Del Rio 7-3 and Jon Wing 7-4, Werren met Knoll among the winners' side final eight, and sent him to the loss side, 7-5. In the battle for the hot seat, Werren faced Jason Richko, who arrived having defeated Donny Mills, double hill, Kyle Bova 7-5 and Tim Baron 7-3. Werren gained the hot seat with a 7-3 win over Richko and waited for the return of and rematch against Knoll.
On the west side, Knoll would pick up Kyle Bova who'd put up wins over Tony Crosby 6-5 and Chris Gentile 6-0. Knoll prevailed 6-1 over Bova to meet Paul Mullins in the quarterfinals. Mullins, who took a third round loss to Knoll, had put up wins over Michael Lear 6-2, Jarred Schlauch 6-3 and Tim Baron 6-3 to earn the quarterfinal re-match.
Knoll took that re-match 6-2 for a shot at the waiting Richko in the semifinals. As if trying to say that he doesn't mind not carrying bricks for a day. Knoll took Richko down 6-1 for a chance to deny Werren two straight event wins on the same tour stop.
Werren and Knoll fought to double hill in the opening set of the finals, but Knoll prevailed to force the second set, single-rack shootout. Knoll took a look at an early, but irresistible 2/10 combination, won the rack and claimed his first Poison Pool Tour Open 10-Ball title.
We would like to thank Strokers' room owner, Jose Del Rio, for the great venue and even better hospitality. The staff at the room were exceptional and the food. . . well, it is always something to talk about. Strokers in Palm Harbor will be the feature room for the U.S. Amateur Championship qualifiers and championship rounds.Thank you to Poison Billiards, for whom without this would not be possible. They work hard at improving billiards through technology and style.
Our next event will be held on the weekend of July 27-28 at Hammerheads in Holiday, FL, featuring Diamond tables. To keep in tune with our events go here – http://uspoisontour.com/ – to join our mailing list and 'Like' us on Facebook to get first-hand updates on the tour.
Ft. Pierce, FL (July 29, 2012) – Thursday evening 16 Scotch Double teams kicked off the 2012 Sunshine State ACS 8-Ball Championship events held at Ultimate Billiards in Ft. Pierce, FL. Jennifer Page and Zeno Rawley of Stuart, Florida, made it to the hot seat. The team of Colleen Russell & Steve Rolls of Port St. Lucie, Florida, played the Miami team of Kelly Coyle & Jaran Hilton. Although it was a battle, the Miami team bested the Port St. Lucie team to make it to the finals. However, Page and Rawley proved to be too much for team Miami to handle. Page and Rawley finished with an undefeated series to capture the Scotch Doubles Division Title.
As the finals of the Scotch Doubles finished, the Men’s and Women’s Singles got underway. With a field of 29 men and 15 women the draw was completed and play began. Throughout the day many a hill-hill match was played. There would be no clear victor to these two tournaments until the last eight ball was pocketed. Cue maker Danny Green not only knows how to make cues but he knows how to use one as well. Green settled for fourth place after knocking out Jerry Sotelo who finished 5th and 6th along with Rich Johnson. On Saturday morning in the men’s division three players returned to battle it out for the title of Men’s Sunshine State ACS 8-Ball Champion. Randy Epperson of Miami held the hot seat. Justin Gilsinan of Port St. Lucie finished third as Johnny Aguillera moved on to meet Epperson in the finals. This being a true double elimination tournament Aguillera needed two sets for the win. The first set went much the course of the entire tournament with Johnny getting by with a hill-hill victory to set the scene for the final match. The final game and final eight ball came down to yet another hill-hill game. The deciding eight ball went to Johnny Aguillera along with the title Sunshine State ACS 8-Ball Champion Men’s Singles Division.
Jeannie Seaver won the Women’s Sunshine State ACS 8-Ball Champion Division. Cheryl Perez finished second, third place went to Jamie Toennies, with Cassidy Mulligan fourth, and fifth/sixth went to Janice Sessions and Janet Smith.
On the Women’s team side Power Pak, including Jeannie Seaver along with, sister Vanessa Seaver, Cassidy Mulligan, Tracy McCreary, and Kira Brown, took home the Women’s Sunshine State ACS 8-Ball Team Championship title. After Eight finished second, and the St. Pete Girls finished third.
The Men’s final three teams returned Sunday with a Palm Beach County ACS League in the hot seat and another in the semi-finals. Chalk’s Cheap held the hot seat from Saturday night while Smoke Signals and No Butts squared off to decide who would go home in third place. When the smoke cleared, No Butts got theirs handed to them settling for third.
As a spectator of these tournaments I have to say that when speaking to No Butts, the third place team finishers, they told me they expected to go two and out. I believe because these guys not only came as a team they ARE a team all year long and with that, their game was up by a good 30 percent above the individual’s ability. No Butts proved that with the right support group great things are accomplished.
Although Smoke Signals moved forward to face Chalk’s Cheap in the finals, Smoke Signals couldn’t get the fire lit and Chalk’s Cheap was crowned the 2012 Florida Sunshine State ACS 8-Ball Team Champion.
Special thanks to Robbie Morito, President of the Sunshine State ACS Association, ACS Executive Director John Lewis, who flew in from Green Bay, Wisconsin to referee the matches. Also our thanks to Ted Harris and Danny Green of Ted Harris Custom Cues, who were on hand for re-tipping and conditioning the cues. Visit www.tedharris.com e-mail poolcues@tedharris.com or call 754-246-6366.
Our next event is the women’s Flamingo Billiards Tour Stop #4. August 25, 2012. For more information visit www.flamingobilliardstour.com. Also, look for END OF SUMMER SIZZLER with $1000-added 9-Ball event Labor Day Weekend sponsored by www.layeredcuetips.com
