The Pechauer Cues Diamond Pool Tour was back at Bullshooters in Phoenix on August 11th and 12th, with 51 competitors playing 10-Ball on the 9’ tables.
Az Fans were excited to see Arizona’s Mosconi Cup hopeful Mitch Ellerman in attendance in this one and he looked unstoppable early in the event, until a tough 5-7 loss to Fernando Diaz late on Saturday,
With the top two points list players (Tim Daniel and Joey Barrera) unable to get out of the second round of the winner’s side, fans in attendance were looking forward to some new faces in the final rounds of the event. Those fans would not be disappointed as the final four undefeated players including two players in their first events of the season (Junior Flores and New Mexico’s Mickey Provencio). Those two players were joined by 59th ranked Peter Horton and 81st ranked Diaz.
Horton had been crushing opponents for the entire event, with wins over Vincent Sbelgio, Rob James and James Stacy. He would continue player at that pace with a 7-2 win over Diaz on Sunday. On the other half of the winner’s side, Provencio sent a hot shooting Junior Flores to the one loss side 8-2. Horton would then go on to take the hot-seat with a 6-5 win over Provencio.
On the one loss side, Adam Kroll and Mitch Ellerman were heading for a showdown. Kroll had wins over Brad Johnson, Rick Schmitz and Diaz, while Ellerman eliminated Brian Long, Manny Luevano and Flores. With Ellerman giving up 10-3 against Kroll, he knew he couldn’t afford a let down of any kind and he turned his play up a notch for a 10-0 win. Unfortunately for Ellerman, Provencio was ready for him in the semi-final match and sent Ellerman back to Las Vegas with a 6-4 loss.
The finals then got underway between Horton and Provencio and it looked like the wait in the hot-seat teamed up with the tight table in the pit to get the better of Horton. Where he was running racks earlier in the event, the pockets just seemed to close up on him in the finals. Before he knew what hit him, Provencio had won the first set 8-3. Things went from bad to worse for Horton, as the first set loss did away with any confidence he had built up and Provencio cruised to another 8-3 win for first place. Provencio was understandably elated with the win, his first on the Diamond Pool Tour.
The Diamond Pool Tour will take it’s annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas in September, playing it’s 5th stop of the season at Griffs on September 8th and 9th.
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.
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.
Scott Frost celebrates his birthday (Photo courtesy of Rick Schmitz)
The Diamond Pool Tour bought their first event to Main Street Billiards in Mesa, Az for their fourth event of the 2016 season with 47 players playing 8-ball on the 16 beautiful Diamond 7’ tables. This stop saw the return of Scott Frost to the winner’s circle, as he won his second event of the season.
The “A” player bracket came down to Frost and Bret Huth. Frost had wins over Navin Talreja, Art St. Germaine and Tim Daniel on his way to the hot-seat match, while Huth had wins over Jason Sweet, Mike Sandoval and Bobby Emmons. Huth was looking for his second “A” bracket hot-seat of the season, but Frost had other plans as he froze Huth out with a 7-1 victory. Huth would make quick work of Ben Sutherland on the one loss side 7-1, to earn his place in the final four.
The “B” player bracket saw 8-Ball specialist Ed Scott using his soft break to full advantage as he raced to the hot-seat match. His opponent would be the tour’s official photographer Rick Schmitz, who was showed his bar table prowess all weekend. Schmitz had problems dealing with Scott’s break though, and Scott took the hot-seat with a 7-0 win. On the one loss side, Schmitz would have his hands full with Karloz Chavez. Chavez had lost to Junior Flores late on Saturday, but won hill-hill matches over Brian Poore and Joey Barrera to qualify for Sunday play. Chavez eliminated Heather Cortez and Flores on Sunday, before sending Schmitz back behind the camera with a 7-2 win.
The final bracket saw Frost show that Scott’s soft break was not a problem, as he won the final hot-seat 7-3. On the one loss side, Chavez fought to hill-hill before losing to Huth in fourth place. Huth then won another close match, as he eliminated Scott in third 7-5. The rematch between Frost and Huth was a quick one, with Frost scoring a 7-2 win in one set for his second tournament win of the season.
The win moves Frost into 3rd place on the “A” player points list, just 20 points behind Huth and Mitch Ellerman. The “B” player points list sees Chavez in first place, with a 25 point lead over Schmitz. Joey Barrera (the top “B” player from last season) is waiting in the weeds in third place on the list, waiting for his opportunity to make a move on the players above him.
Tour organizers thanked Thor Skogan for bringing the tour to Main Street this season. He and his staff took great care of the players all weekend long, and the tour can’t wait to come back in the future. As usual, “Fast” Lenny Marshall kept the online stream going all weekend, and Rick Schmitz defended his title as the best pool photographer in the state, providing the tour with more great shots.
The Diamond Pool Tour will move back to the big tables at their next event, as they play 9’ 8-Ball at Kolbys Corner Pocket in Tempe, on August 6th-7th.
The Diamond Pool Tour returned to Tucson for their third stop of the season where 46 players played 10-ball on the 9’ tables at Pockets Pool & Pub on June 18th – 19th. This stop crowned its third different winner in as many stops, as “The Rocket” Rodney Morris ended his “2016 Arizona Tour” with a dominating tournament win.
The “A” player bracket only drew 13 players with Rodney Morris and George Teyechea the last two left standing on the right side of the board. Teyechea obviously picked up some pointers while hosting Rodney Morris all week, as he displayed his “A” game all day Saturday. Teyechea had wins over Bret Huth, Mike Hamman and Mitch Ellerman on Saturday, while Morris beat Eric Young, Gus Briseno and Brian Reich.
Sunday play in the “A” bracket saw Morris send Teyechea to the one loss side, and Ellerman get his revenge by defeating Briseno, Young and Teyechea.
The “B” bracket had 33 players and was dominated by Joe Guerra and Tonee Allin. Both players remained undefeated all day Saturday, never allowing an opponent to the hill against them. While Guerra and Allin were undefeated, special note has to be made about the play of two six rated players in the event. Chuck Bower won three matches on the winner’s side and was one win away from making it to Sunday undefeated. With Sunday being Father’s Day, Bower opted to bow out of his Sunday match to spend time with his family instead. Another six rated player, Jeff Lenschow, claimed he only played in the event for something to do while his son Sam played. The elder Lenschow would win two matches on the right side before being eliminated two spots out of the money. Both players showed a lot of heart and class all day on Saturday.
The “B” bracket saw Allin defeat Guerra on the winner’s side 7-3, while Jack Murray took advantage of the forfeit from Bower and then defeated Rick Schmitz 7-4. Guerra would bounce back from his loss to Allin and defeat Murray hill-hill to make the final four players.
When the brackets came together, it was Morris defeating Allin 7-1 and Ellerman handing Guerra a loss by the same 7-1 score. Allin fared better against Ellerman than he did against Morris, but still lost the match 7-3. The finals only went one set with Morris scoring a 7-2 win to cap off a week that included a win over Scott Frost in Bullshooter’s first Battle of the Bullpen and then an undefeated victory on the Diamond Tour.
After three events, Mitch Ellerman holds a slim lead over Gus Briseno on the “A” player points list, while Tonee Allin holds a dominating lead over Karloz Chavez on the “B” player points list. With Allin’s impending raise at the July 3rd ratings committee meeting, Chavez will ascend to the top spot of the list with Guerra close on his heels.
Tour organizers thanked Curtis and his amazing staff at Pockets for dealing with pool players all weekend, as well as Rick Schmitz for the great photos and “Fast” Lenny Marshall for another tireless weekend of streaming pool.
The Diamond Pool Tour will be back in action on July 16th – 17th for their first stop at Main Street Billiards in Mesa, Arizona. Sixteen beautiful 7’ Diamond pool tables at Main Street should bring out a great field of players for this BCA 8-Ball warm up event.
The Diamond Pool Tour’s second event of the season crowned a new champion, Gus Briseno, on May 14th – 15th. The event was 9-ball on the 7’ tables at Stingers. Briseno successfully came back from the one loss side to double dip Bret Huth in the finals.
The “A” division drew 26 players, and at first glance, the brackets looked to be set up for a Bobby Emmons/Mitch Ellerman hot-seat battle. The other 24 players had something to say about that though, and neither player made it to the hot-seat match. Ellerman fell to Bret Huth in a hill-hill second round match, while Emmons would only make it to the final four before falling to Briseno hill-hill. The “A” bracket hot-seat match came down to Huth vs Briseno, with Huth scoring the hill-hill win. On the one loss side, Briseno bounced back with a 7-4 win over Emmons to earn his place on the final bracket.
The “B” division drew 39 players, including tour newcomer Kurt Siebels. Siebels cut a path through the “B” bracket, with notable wins over Joe Chyzy, Brian Long and Michael Dale on his way to the hot-seat match, where he dispatched another tour newcomer, Tenadore Lee, 7-4. Tenadore would spend a short time on the left side of the board, as he eliminated Tucson’s Tonee Allin 7-4 to earn his place on the final board. Special note should be made of the performance from two former Junior players in this event. Both Michael Dale and Nick Kline are now too old to take advantage of the tour’s policy of allowing juniors to play for free, but that didn’t stop either of them from turning in great performances. Dale finished in 4th on the “B” bracket (7th overall) and Kline finished in 7th on the “B” bracket, 13th overall.
When the two brackets came together, Kurt Siebels came within one game of securing the hot-seat as a “B” player. Siebels fought to hill-hill before Huth was able to win the match 7-6. On the one loss side, Briseno had a slightly easier match as he defeated Lee 7-4. After seeing how close the Siebels/Huth match was, Briseno took no chances and beat Siebels 7-2 to earn his place in the finals against Huth. The first set of the finals saw Briseno score a 7-4 victory, which seemed to take the wind out of Huth’s sails, as Briseno then went on to score a 7-1 victory for his first Diamond Pool Tour victory.
As always, tour organizers gave their thanks to Dale and his staff for taking care of a room of pool players, Rick Schmitz for the best photos that any tour gets to enjoy, and “Fast” Lenny Marshall for tirelessly streaming another great two day event.
The Diamond Pool Tour will travel to Tucson for stop 3 on June 18th, where the players will be playing 10-ball on the 9’ tables at Pockets Billiards.
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.
