Raymond Linares recorded his best earnings year at the tables in 2021. His second-best occurred 10 years ago, one year before he won the American College Unions International Collegiate Men’s Championship in 2013. He’s started 2022 by chalking up his first tour victory this past weekend (Feb. 5-6) on the Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour’s season opener. Opposing him in both the hot seat and finals was Donnie Mills, who also had a good 2021 at the tables, although not even close to his best earnings year, which happened in the same year (2009) that Linares first started showing up on payout lists of Florida tournaments like the Seminole Tour. They’re familiar combatants on the Florida felt (to others and each other) and graced spectators at their most recent battles for a regional tour title with a good show. The $2,300-added event drew 63 entrants to Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL.
Linares opened his bid for the title by giving up only seven racks to his first four opponents;Ronnie Mercer (1), Manuel Montas (0), Rich Schau (4) and Michael McGuire (2). He advanced to a winners’ side semifinal versus Konner McFayden. Mills, in the meantime, gave up just a single rack to three of his first four opponents; one each to James Green, Nathan Rose and Marcus Murillo. In the second round, though, Mike Delawder had given him the proverbial ‘run for his money,’ chalking up six racks against him and forcing a deciding game that did eventually advance Mills to a winners’ side semifinal against Jerry Arvelaez.
Linares advanced to the hot seat match 7-3 over McFayden and was joined by Mills, who sent Arvelaez to the loss side 7-4. Mills claimed the hot seat with a surprising (to a few) 7-3 win over Linares and waited for him to come back from the semifinals.
On the loss side, McFayden picked up Rich Schau, who’d followed his third-round loss to Linares with three loss-side wins that had recently eliminated Marcus Murillo 7-2 and Robert Batson 7-1. Arvelaez drew a rematch versus Trenton White, whom he’d sent to the loss side in the third round 7-4 and who’d just chalked up loss-side wins #3 and #4 against Bobby Garza and Han Berber, both 7-3, to earn the rematch.
Schau downed McFayen 7-1, as White was wreaking his vengeance on Arvelaez with his sixth in a row, 7-2. Schau stopped White’s loss-side streak at that sixth win, defeating him 7-5 in the quarterfinals. Schau and Linares battled to double hill in the semifinals before Linares prevailed for a second shot at Mills.
In the finals that followed, Linares jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, which, after watching Mills chalk up the rack that made it 5-2, prompted stream commentator and event competitor, Bobby Garza to note that Mills seems to have a preference to starting out slow.
“I think (Mills) likes to start out from behind,” Garza said. “He finds his stroke midway, catches up and then destroys his opponent.”
Just after the midway mark of the two-hour match, Mills chalked up his first two-in-a-row and seemed to be making Garza’s point, as he pulled within two at 6-4. Mills made it three-in-a-row to draw within one at 6-5, they traded racks to 7-6 and then began a wild rack #14 that featured Mills’ attempt at a 5-9 combination, resting near a corner pocket. The 9-ball didn’t drop, but the 5-ball went three rails and did. Shortly afterwards, Mills shot at the 7-ball and watched it rattle in the hole. He then watched Linares step to the table and take aim at the same 7-ball and a clear opportunity to finish the rack and reach the hill first. The 7-ball didn’t drop, but the cue ball took a ‘cross country’ trip to the opposite end of the table and did. Mills didn’t miss the three balls left and it was tied at 7-7.
Mills took his first lead in the match, winning rack #15, but Linares roared back to chalk up rack #16 with a 5-9 combination. Linares had the break and took full advantage of the opportunity. He dropped three balls on the break and ran the table to claim his first 2022 title on the Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour.
In the event that featured three junior competitors, seven ladies, and six USAPL players that attended at a reduced entry fee, the top junior finisher, Trenton White and the top lady finisher, Jeannie Seaver, took home $50 each.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jose and Lyshia Westbrook-Del Rio and their Stroker’s Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Kamui Brand, Stitch It To Me Embroidery, AZBilliards, Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, Central Florida USA Pool League, Jamison Daniels, and Eastern Billiards. Janene thanked Bobby for providing the Lights Out Streaming, sponsored by Jacksonville Roofing USA and Andrew Cleary for his graphics. The next stop on the Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 5-6, will be the $1,500-added Open 9-Ball Bar Box Classic, hosted by Cue-Phoria Billiards and Café in Winter Park, FL.
Bill Bloom, Shannon Fitch and Ricardo Joel Rodriguez
Looking to better his 2018 earnings, the year in which he tallied a win on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour in March and won the Florida 10-Ball Bar Box Championships in November, Ricardo Joel Rodriguez went undefeated through a field of 64 entrants to win the October 5-6 stop (#8) on the 2019 Sunshine State Pro Am Tour’s $1,500-added event ($1,000 by Brewlands and $500 from Predator Cues) at Brewlands Bar & Billiards in North Lakeland, FL . He stopped a seven-match, loss-side winning streak by Bill Bloom, defeating him in the finals to claim the title. Rodriguez’ $1,000 first-place prize doesn’t put his 2019 earnings over his 2018 threshold, but does put him a step closer with a full two months-plus to go.
In addition to the event itself, the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour held a mystery auction to raise money for junior competitors Kodi Allen and Trenton White (who was the main event’s top-finishing (9th place) junior) to help offset their expenses for an upcoming trip to Cypress in November, when they will represent the USA in the Jr. World Championships. In addition to the money raised by the auction ($600), the tour donated 5% of the player’s auction to the junior players ($215). An additional $215 was raised by a $50 challenge donation from Jen Radkte, bringing the total to $1,030. Each of the junior competitors will receive half of that total. In addition to the support provided by the tour itself, tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza gave a ‘shout out’ to the sponsors of this mystery auction event – Michael Zingale of Zingale’s Billiards, Carl Watt of Park Ave. Billiards, Pedro Botta of Racks Billiards, Larry Walthal of the host Brewlands, The Central Florida USA Pool League, Don and Jennifer Berzinski of the People’s Tournament, Stitch it to Me Embroidery, Cyclop Balls, Predator Products and Jeannette Lee with the Tampa APA.
Congratulations were extended to the Scarberry family as winners of the mystery auction. Some of the items in the bags included a Sneaky Pete rage cue, a signed-by-Jeanette Lee cue and cue ball, free entries to an event at Zingales and on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, gift cards (including Dunkin’), scratch-off lottery tickets, Predator glove and chalk, Cyclops cue ball, Tip tool, T-Shirts, Polos, UFC backpack with ‘extras,’ Tiger Chalk, and if that weren’t enough, two bottles of tequila.
The main event tournament saw Ricardo Joel Rodriguez start out with a ‘shutout’ bang over Michael McGuire and then settle into victories over Nataniel Acosta, George McLanahan and Jeremy Bell to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match versus Jordan Burden. Shannon Fitch, in the meantime, downed Anthony Fisher, Thomas White, Francisco Diaz and Justin McNulty (who’d just sent Bill Bloom to the loss side) to face Robert Batson in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Rodriguez’ trip to the winners’ circle was almost rerouted as he and Burden went double hill before Rodriguez prevailed. Fitch joined him in the hot seat match with a 7-4 win over Batson. Rodriguez gave up only a single rack to Fitch and sat in the hot seat, waiting for Bloom to conclude his loss-side run.
It was Batson who picked up Bloom, four matches into his loss-side streak, that had included recent wins over Jeremy Bell, double hill and, Anthony Cruz. Burden drew Justin McNulty, who’d defeated Trenton White 5-3 and Jeff Brown 5-1 to reach him.
Bloom survived a double hill fight against Batson to advance to the quarterfinals, where he was joined by Burden, who’d spoiled any hopes of a Bloom/McNulty rematch by eliminating McNulty 5-1. Bloom and Burden battled to double hill in those quarterfinals, before Bloom advanced.
Bloom downed Shannon Fitch in the subsequent semifinals and got a shot at Rodriguez in the finals. With Bloom racing to 8 and Rodriguez to 9, the two battled to a double hill final game, won by Rodriguez, who claimed the title.
Tour directors Phillips and Garza thanked Larry Walthal of Brewlands for hosting the event as well as sponsors Predator Cues, Central Florida USA Pool League, Stitch it to me Embroidery, Cyclops, Kamui and AZBilliards. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16, will be a $1,500-added event, hosted by Rack’s Billiards in Sanford, FL.
(l to r): Anthony Meglino, Jeremy Bell, Justin Hall & Brewlands’ owner, Larry Walthall
It seemed like such an unlikely scenario, to the point of being almost of unheard of, that we had to double check.
In the brackets detailing the results of Stop #4 on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour on the weekend of May 11-12, there was reportedly a shutout in the final match. Such designations, when they show up on a posted bracket, are often ‘code’ for a circumstance in which the two finalists agree to split the top prizes, and since there is no way to indicate this on a tournament bracket, tour representatives will often write in a shutout score or a double hill score.
Not this time.
According to tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza, Justin Hall ‘caught a gear’ during his first loss-side match and went, like the proverbial ‘hot knife through butter,’ through three loss-side matches and then shut out hot seat occupant, Jeremy Bell to capture the event title. The $1,350-added event drew 64 entrants to Brewlands in North Lakeland (Tampa), FL.
It was also reported in the same posted bracket that the top finishing female in the event was Jeanette Lee and as that, too, seemed a little unlikely, we double-checked, assuming we would discover that another woman who happened to have the same name as the well-known female pool champion had finished in the four-way tie for 13th place. But no, it was THE Jeanette Lee, who was sent to the loss side in the second round of play by Faheem Zia and after a single win on the loss side, ran into Tommy Kennedy, who defeated her in a double hill battle.
Though Hall may have ‘caught the gear’ that propelled him into the finals when he arrived on the loss side, he was showing evidence of a solid performance early. He won his first two matches, against Marvin Limas and Will Smith (not the actor) 7-1. Stephanie Mitchell gave him a run for his money, but fell 7-5. Hall then defeated Robert Batson 7-2 to draw Bell for the first time in a winners’ side semifinal. He arrived at the winners’ side semifinal with a 75.67% game-winning percentage (28-9); a touch better than winning three out of every four games he’d played.
Bell, in the meantime, arrived at that winners’ side semifinal with a 66% winning percentage (28-14). At the other end of the bracket, Anthony Meglino was making his way to the hot seat and arrived at his winners’ side semifinal with a 65% winning percentage (28-15). He got by Angel Alvardo and Bobby Garza, both 7-4 before running into Tommy Kennedy, who battled him to double hill, before giving way. A 7-1 victory over Faheem Zia put Meglino in the other winners’ side semifinal against Shannon Fitch.
Bell sent Hall to the loss side 7-3, as Meglino and Fitch locked up in a double hill fight that eventually put Meglino in the hot seat match against Bell. Meglino ended up on the wrong side of this third double hill match and headed for the semifinals.
On the loss side, Fitch picked up Serrano Serafin, who’d defeated Robert Batson, double hill, and Mike Xiarhos, Sr. 5-1 to reach him. Xiarhos had previously eliminated Kennedy in a double hill match. Hall drew Faheem Zia, who’d survived a double hill fight against Nathan Rose and eliminated Che Mrvos 5-3.
Fitch shut Serafin out and advanced to the quarterfinals. Hall, in the meantime, was digging himself a hole with Zia on the hill at 4-0. Hall stopped digging and ‘caught the gear’ at that point. Over the next 27 games, Hall would give up only three racks. He chalked up five against Zia and moved into the quarterfinals against Fitch.
Hall gave up a single rack to Fitch in those quarterfinals and then downed Meglino 5-2 in the semifinals. In the interim between meeting Bell for the first time and his eventual victory over him in the finals, Hall’s winning percentage had dropped by about five points to 70% (55-23), but it was more than enough to claim the event title.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked the owner, Larry Walthall and his Brewlands staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, Cyclops Balls, Stitch It To Me Embroidery, USA Pool League and AZBilliards. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for June 22-23, will be hosted by Strokers in Palm Harbor, FL.
(l to r): Marvin Llamas, Anthony Meglino & Anthony Fisher
Anthony Meglino appears to be on-target to match and likely exceed his 2018 earnings at the table, which, according to our records, was his best earnings year since he began showing up in our database 12 years ago. He started 2019 out at the Derby City Classic where he cashed in five events; the One Pocket Mini (3rd), the 9-Ball Banks Mini (9th), One Pocket (10th), Banks (59th) and 9-Ball (65th). At a March 9-10 stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (#3), he went undefeated to claim his first 2019 event title. The $750-added event drew 64 entrants to Boulevard Billiards in Ocala, FL.
Meglino had to get by another Anthony, Fisher, twice to claim the title; once, in the hot seat and again, in the finals. Meglino’s route to the winners’ circle went through Robert Batson, David Singleton, and Kyle Bova, before running into Tommy Kennedy in a winners’ side quarterfinal. A double hill match eventually sent Kennedy to the loss side and Meglino on to face Marvin Llamas in a winners’ side semifinal. Fisher, in the meantime, who was looking for his first major event victory, got by Rich Rushton, Gary Hale, James Adams and Dan Waskom, to arrive at the other winners’ side semifinal match against Che Mrvos.
Identical 7-4 victories over Llamas and Mrvos moved Meglino and Fisher on to the hot seat match. Meglino claimed the hot seat 7-3 over Fisher and waited on his return.
On the loss side, Llamas picked up David Grossman, who’d been defeated in the opening round of play by Justin McNulty and was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to come to an end. He’d most recently eliminated Dan Waskom and Steve Foster, both 5-3 to face Llamas. Mrvos drew Kennedy, who, following his defeat at the hands of Meglino, had defeated Les Duffy 5-2 and shut out Justin McNulty.
Mrvos ended Kennedy’s short, loss-side trip 5-2. Llamas joined him in the quarterfinals after a 5-1 victory over Grossman. Llamas took the quarterfinal match 5-3, but had his own modest loss-side streak ended by Fisher in the semifinals 5-2.
In their second of two, Meglino picked up the pace against Fisher, just a bit. He’d given up three in the hot seat match and reduced that to two in the finals. He claimed the event title 5-2 in a shortened-by-approaching-dawn (and clocks that moved forward an hour) final match at approximately 4:30 a.m.
The top junior finisher in the event was Trenton White (25th). The top lady finisher in the event was Michel Monk (17th).
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Don Kreischer and his Boulevard Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, Cyclop Balls, Kamui, Diamond Products, USAPL, AZBilliards and Stitch It To Me Embroidery, as well as the Live Stream provided by Cue Sports Studios. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (#4), scheduled for the weekend of May 11-2, will be a $1,000-added event, hosted by Brewlands Bar and Billiards in North Lakeland, FL.
(l to r): Justin Hall, Anthony Meglino & Donny Mills
Rose comes from the loss side to down Adams and capture Amateur title
It’s impossible to know how many times Donny Mills and Anthony Meglino have faced each other on Florida-based and other regional tours, but having spent over a decade as part of a ‘Florida Gang’ of top-tier competitors (along with, among many others, Tommy Kennedy, Mike Delawder and Tony Crosby), we can safely call it ‘a lot.’ This past June, they met in the semifinals of a stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (Meglino 5-3 over Mills). On the weekend of Oct. 6-7, they would have met twice during Stop #11 on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, had they not opted out of a final match. Mills, as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat at the time, claimed the $1,000-added 10-Ball Open event title, which drew 40 entrants to Capone’s in Spring Hill, FL.
In a concurrently-run, $300-added, 9-Ball Amateur event, Nathan Rose won five on the loss side to eventually meet and defeat hot seat occupant James Adams to claim that title. The Amateur event drew 45 entrants to the same location.
Following an opening round bye in the Open event, Donny Mills downed Anthony Fisher, Robert Batson (both 7-2), and Tommy Kennedy 7-4 to draw Justin Hall in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Meglino, with an opening round bye as well, got by Ed Peterson 7-3, Bill Stroup 7-1 and Marcus Murillo 7-2 to face Nathan Rose (winner of the Amateur event) in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Mills defeated Hall 7-5, as Meglino was busy downing Rose 7-4. Mills claimed the hot seat, and, as it turned out, the event title with a 7-4 win over Meglino.
On the loss side, Rose picked up Kennedy, who, following his defeat by Mills, downed Trenton White (the event’s top junior player in both events) 6-4, and shut out Stroup. Hall drew Justin Gilsinan, who’d shut out Joe Vetrono and eliminated Joselito Martinez 5-2. Kennedy and Rose locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Kennedy to the quarterfinals against Hall, who’d defeated Gilsinan 5-2.
Hall ended Kennedy’s modest, three-match, loss-side winning streak 5-2 in those quarterfinals, and then fell to Meglino 5-3 in the semifinals. Meglino and Mills opted out of the final and the event title went to Mills.
Rose wins five on the loss side to meet and defeat Adams
Nathan Rose, who was the official winner of Stop #8 on the tour back in July (he split with Jason Sheerman), got sent to the loss side in a winners’ side quarterfinal match of the Amateur event and won five on the loss side before meeting and defeating hot seat occupant James Adams in the finals. Rose had downed Derek Laprairie, Trenton White (top junior in this event, as well), and Justin Gilsinan before running into Ameet Kukadia in a winners’ side quarterfinal.
Kukadia sent Rose to the loss side, double hill, and advanced to face Alec Saputo in one of the winners’ side semifinals. James Adams, in the meantime, following victories over Lisa Perez, Rhyan Hunter, and Dale Stanley met up with Justin McNulty in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Saputo chalked up a double hill win over Kukadia and in the hot seat match, faced Adams, who’d shut out McNulty. Adams claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Saputo and waited on the return of Rose.
Rose opened his loss-side trip to the finals with a 6-3 win over Hunter and eliminated Trenton White 6-4 to draw McNulty. Kukadia picked up Stanley, who’d defeated Gilsinan and Jai Smith, both 6-2. By identical scores of 6-3, Stanley (over Kukadia) and Rose (over McNulty) advanced to the quarterfinals, where Rose prevailed, double hill, over Stanley.
Rose downed Saputo 6-4 in the semifinals, and then defeated Adams 9-5 in the finals to claim the Amateur event title.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked the ownership and staff at Capone’s, as well as sponsors Cyclop Balls, Diamond, Kamui Tips, Play the Game Clothing Co., Jacksonville Roofing USA, Inc., and AZ Billiards. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (due to cancellation of a stop in November) will be the tour’s Season Finale, scheduled for December 1-2 at Park Ave. Billiards in Orange Park, FL.
Nick Applebee chalked up six wins to get into the hot seat of the April 28-29 stop on the Sunshine ProAm Tour. Qi Liu, his opponent in the finals, lost his opening match, and then won 10 on the loss side to meet and defeat him in those finals to claim the event title. The $500-added event drew a full field of 64 entrants to Corner Pocket Billiards in Largo, FL.
In races to 7, Applebee’s opponents in his six-match trip to the hot seat recorded an average of three racks against him. He got by Dominick Dunn (4), Sameer Mohamad (2), Bill Stroup (5), and the man who’d sent Liu to the loss side in the opening round, Thomas White (1), to draw Angel Martinez in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Robert Batson, in the meantime, defeated John Dandurand (5), Ed Peterson (3), George Saunders (5), and shut out Randy Ervin to draw Mitchell Keiser in the other winners’ side semifinal.
By identical 7-1 scores, Applebee and Batson advanced to the hot seat match over Martinez and Keiser. For only the second time, in what would prove to be his last match win of the weekend, Applebee allowed an opponent to score five racks against him and claimed the hot seat over Batson.
On the loss side, Liu had put five match wins behind him, before downing Randy Ervin 5-1 and surviving a double hill fight against Che Mrvos, to draw Martinez, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Keiser picked up George Saunders, who’d defeated co-tour director Bobby Garza, double hill, and then spoiled any thoughts Liu might have been entertaining about a re-match against White, by shutting White out.
Liu downEd Martinez 5-3 and in the quarterfinals, faced Keiser, who’d ended Saunders’ four-match, loss-side winning streak, double hill. Liu then ended Keiser’s weekend 5-3 in those quarterfinals, and punctuated his long, loss-side journey with a shutout over Batson in the semifinals.
If Applebee had any doubts that he was going to face a strong challenge in the finals, they were probably put to rest watching Liu down Batson, who’d put up an almost-double hill fight against him in the hot seat match. They were definitely put to rest when Liu ended his long, loss-side trip with a 9-6 win in the finals that gave him the event title.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Stephanie Mitchell (owner of Corner Pocket Billiards, who competed and finished in the tie for 25th place) and her staff, as well as sponsors Play the Game Clothing Co., Kamui Tips, AZBilliards, and Jacksonville Roofing USA. The next stop on the Sunshine State ProAm Tour, scheduled for the weekend of June 2-3, will be hosted by CM’s Place in Seminole, FL.
Ricardo Joel Rodriguez played seven matches, and went undefeated through all of them to capture the March 10-11 title on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour. Of those seven matches, three of them went double hill, including two, back to back in the second and third round of play. The third double hill win put Rodriguez in the hot seat. The $1,000-added event drew 60 entrants to Brewlands Bar & Billiards in Tampa, FL.
Following an almost-double hill win (7-5) in his opening round, Rodriguez went back to back (7-6) against Jack Cartlidge and Mike Burke. He got a bit of a break in the following round, giving up only a single rack to Michael Barr, which set him (Rodriguez) up in a winners’ side semifinal against Che Mvros. Dale Stanley and Robert Batson, in the meantime, squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Rodriguez sent Mvros to the loss side 7-4, and in the hot seat match, faced Batson, who’d defeated Stanley 7-4. Rodriguez claimed the hot seat over Batson, in what would prove to be his last double hill match, and waited on the return of Stanley.
On the loss side, Stanley began his trek back to the finals against Casey Spahr, who’d been defeated in the event’s opening round and was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end. Spahr had survived one double hill match and won three straight 7-5 matches on the loss side, most recently against Michael Barr and Matt Menes. Mvros picked up Kyle Bova, who, after falling to Stanley, in a winners’ side quarterfinal, had given up only one rack through 15 games; shutting out Tom Roche, and giving up the one to Bobby Garza.
Stanley got by Spahr 7-3, and advanced to the quarterfinals. Mvros spoiled Bova’s hopes for a rematch against Stanley, with a double hill win that let him join Stanley in the quarterfinals. Stanley then downed Mvros 7-5 in those quarterfinals, and got a shot against Rodriguez in the hot seat with a 7-4 victory over Batson in the semifinals. Stanley’s victory in those semifinals raised his position in the tour standings to a single slot below Batson.
Rodriguez, though, will enter the tour standings for the first time. He defeated Stanley in the finals 9-7 to complete his undefeated run.
The top junior player, Trenton White, finished in the tie for 13th place.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza gave a “big shout out” to Larry Wathal, owner of Brewlands and his staff for their hospitality, noting that “the large, smoke-free room with its 25 tables” was a great location, and they can’t wait to go back. They also thanked sponsors Play the Game Clothing Co., Kamui, Jacksonville Roofing USA, AZBilliards and Insidepool.TV.
Tommy Kennedy and Obbie Cirilo claimed respective titles in a two-event weekend – January 13-14 – on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour. Kennedy won five matches on the loss side to meet and defeat host location owner, Jose Del Rio in Sunday’s 10-Ball Invitational, while Cirilo, who went undefeated, and Mubarak Sulaiman split the top two prizes in Saturday’s 9-Ball Open to avoid a final match that would have commenced in the vicinity of 3 a.m., Sunday morning. The $1,000-added 9-Ball Open event drew 57 entrants, while the $300-added 10-Ball Invitational drew 17 entrants to Stroker’s Bar and Grill in Palm Harbor, FL.
Cirilo and Sulaiman would have met twice in the 9-Ball Open, had they both not opted out of playing a second, final match. Cirilo opened his undefeated run by giving up only two racks over his first two matches; one each to Bill Bloom and Kyle Bova, before Tommy Kennedy put up a fight in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Cirilo won that match 7-5 and drew Bobby Garza in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Sulaiman won his first three matches by an average score of 7-5, which included a double hill win over Donny Mills in the third round, and advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Steve Knoll.
Sulaiman downed Knoll 7-5, and in the hot seat match, faced Cirilo, who’d sent Garza to the loss side 7-4. Cirilo chalked up what proved to be his last win (7-5) over Sulaiman, and sat in the hot seat, essentially waiting for the decision to opt out of a final match.
On the loss side, Knoll picked up Kennedy, while Garza drew Robert Batson, who’d lost a double hill fight against Knoll in the second round, and was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to come to an end.
Knoll eliminated Kennedy 5-3, as Garza ended Batson’s loss-side streak 5-2. Knoll downed Garza 5-3 in the quarterfinals, and then, by the same score, was eliminated by Sulaiman in the semifinals. That, as the saying goes, was all she wrote, as Cirilo and Sulaiman agreed to a split of the top two prizes.
Trenton White and Kodi Allen split $40 as the top two junior finishers in the 9-Ball Open event.
[photo id=48644|align=right]Kennedy wins five on the loss side to meet and defeat DelRio in 10-Ball Invitational finals
Tommy Kennedy played two more matches on the loss side of the 10-Ball Invitational than he had in the previous day’s 9-Ball Open. Those extra two matches put him into the finals, where he downed Jose Del Rio to claim the event title.
Kennedy was defeated 7-2 by Stephen Richmond in the second round of the 10-Ball event, which advanced Richmond to a winners’ side semifinal against Jason Richko. Del Rio drew Dale Stanley in the other winners’ side semifinal. Del Rio survived a double hill battle against Stanley to advance to the hot seat match. He was joined by Richko, who’d sent Richmond west 7-4. Del Rio and Richko battled to a 13th deciding game before Del Rio claimed the hot seat, and waited on the return of Kennedy.
On the loss side, Kennedy opened his trek back to the finals with victories over Tim Parisian and Onur Berber, which set him up to face Stanley. Richmond drew 9-Ball Open winner, Mubarak Sulaiman, who’d gotten by one of the event’s three top-finishing juniors/women (who split $90), Kodi Allen and Donny Mills to reach him.
Kennedy shut Stanley out and in the quarterfinals, faced Sulaiman, who’d eliminated Richmond 6-2. Kennedy then spoiled Sulaiman’s bid for a second runner-up (and possibly more) finish with a 6-4 win in those quarterfinals.
Kennedy gave up only a single rack to Richko in the semifinals and then, with momentum wind at his back, had the audacity to down his host – Stroker’s owner Del Rio – 9-2 in the finals to claim the 10-Ball event title.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza awarded $90 (total) to the two junior and single female top finisher in the 10-Ball Invitational (Carrie Vetrono, the female, and for the second time, Kodi Allen and Trenton White as the juniors). They thanked Del Rio and his Stroker’s staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Kamui, Jacksonville Roofing USA, InsidePool.tv, AZBilliards and Play the Game Clothing Co. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the February 10, will be hosted by Waldo’s Billiards in Daytona Beach, FL.
It's an occupational hazard of many pool tour scenarios; a single day tournament signs up more players than it can reasonably handle in that single day, and finds itself moving into the tournament finals as dawn approaches. In addition, players who may have traveled any distance and have decided to stay at a nearby hotel may find that the prize money offered for all but the top four cash prizes (as an example) puts them in either a 'break even' or 'losing money' situation. This can lead to the absence of a final match with the two opponents splitting the top two prizes.
Derek Fowler and Anthony Meglino, in a specific example, opted out of a final match at the Shark Billiard Tour's sixth stop, held on Saturday, May 9. The $500-added event drew 68 entrants to Diamond Billiards in Ocala, FL. Meglino and Fowler moved on to Orange Park, FL the next day to play in Tommy Kennedy's Tiger SE Open 9-Ball Tour (finishing fourth and fifth), where the final three competitors (for reasons unrelated to the number of entrants or hotel considerations) opted out the semifinals and finals, splitting the top three prizes.
Fowler and Meglino did not meet up in the tournament. Fowler had sent Steven Richmond to the loss side 8-5 in a winners' side semifinal, as Meglino was being sent over by Jimmy Milazzo 8-6 in the other one. Fowler played his final match, defeating Milazzo for the hot seat 8-5.
On the loss side, Meglino picked up Sean Mitchell, who'd survived a double hill match versus Citi Reddick and defeated James Roberts 6-3 to reach him. Richmond drew Jim Udischas, who'd also had to survive a double hill match – versus Robert Batson – and defeated Mitchell Keiser 6-4. Meglino downed Mitchell 6-4, and in the quarterfinals, faced Udischas, who'd eliminate Richmond 6-2.
Meglino completed his loss-side run with a 6-4 victory over Udischas and a double hill win over Milazzo in the semifinals, before agreeing to split the top two prizes with Fowler. As the undefeated hot seat occupant, Fowler laid claim to the event title.
By looking at him, you wouldn’t think Dave Ross could mix it up with the young guns here in the south, but Dave had some ideas of his own this weekend. At 79 years old (just might be a Guinness World Record) Ross put on a clinic for everyone to see. Brilliant shots, perfect execution and the steel of a hardened road player made up the formula that worked for Ross. All the while he was as classy and nice as can be. Florida Pool Tour hosted it’s 5th stop this season at Boulevard Billiards in Ocala, FL drawing 42 entrants this weekend in the Amateur 9-Ball event and 32 players in the Open 10-ball event. On Saturday players present were some of the best talent in the region. Jim Sandaler, Raymond Linares, Nathan Rose, George Saunders, Stephen Richmond were just a few of the names to watch for as the event progressed. In the Open Event, heavy hitters Tommy Kennedy, Tony Crosby, Anthony Meglino, Adam Wheeler and company were motivated to play.
Saunders would make a charge through Dave Ross and secure an early win against Mike Delawder 7-2. Quiet, strong shooter Mitch Breedlove would fall to Saunders as well 7-4, setting up a match with local player John Wayne (no not the cowboy). Again Saunders would put together a solid set 7-3. Next Saunders would put a stop to Daniel Plumber’s campaign hill-hill. If one hill/hill match wasn’t enough to please the railbirds, Saunders plays Jim Sandaler for the hotseat, down to the wire and then snaps a 9-ball off the break in the top left corner pocket to put a stamp on it and call the hotseat his.
Sandaler working out an attack on the field would start with a bye first round and rest up to play Robert Batson, dispatching him 7-4. Next would be a hill/hill thriller with Moe Fattah, Sandaler escaping to press on. Local player Darrin Wasiewicz would have a nice showing for 3 rounds and tough action losing to Jim in the 4th round 7-1. Jim would go on to play against Nathan Rose with him (Rose) giving up 1 rack for this event. A well matched battled settles at 7-5 in Sandaler’s favor. Sandaler back on the east side would square up with Saunders. The two would trade racks leaveing it all on the table going 6-4. Then Sandaler found a groove to put the set away, forcing the Sudden Death 1 Rack Shootout. A couple of early misses by both would setup a formidable runout pattern for Saunders, ultimately cleaning up the rack to claim his title as Amateur 9-ball Champion.
On to the Open 10-ball event with quite a few great match ups to start the first round. A couple of notable matches were, Mike Lear sneaking by James Adams 6-5 with a set of tough safety play. Nathan Rose would fall to Anthony Meglino and Tony Crosby took Adam Wheeler to the cleaners 6-1. The Final Four on the winners side would be Meglino, Sandaler, Ross, and DeLawder. Anthony Meglino put up back to back wins at 6-1 over John Hucheson and Mike Lear. Sandaler sent Tommy Kennedy out west to look for movitation. Boulevard room owner Don Kreischer would look to make a name for himself putting up wins over Jessica Barnes and Robert Batson. Dave Ross let everyone know he came to play this time. At 79 years old he marches right over Marcie Wheeler, Bill Stroup, Don Kreischer, before reeling in a comeback set against Mike DeLawder. DeLawder up 5-2 just couldnt stop Ross. Ross would pick up Sandaler and play for the hotseat, Sandaler pulling out a 6-3 win over Ross would capture the hotseat here this time.
On the one-loss side Meglino who lost prior to Sandaler, would post a win over Don Kreischer, setting up a shot at Tommy Kennedy, taking the match down to the wire, Kennedy misses a tight safe to let Meglino out with a chance at the one-loss side final. Tommy Kennedy marched on a winning streak of 6 in a row. Dispatching Chris Lucas 5-0, Robert Batson 5-3, Travis Croft 5-0, Mike Lear 5-0, Nathan Rose 5-3, Mike DeLawder 5-3 and finally losing to Meglino hill/hill.
Meglino would get to Dave Ross and take that to a hill/hill thriller with Ross capitalizing on mistakes by Meglino, who appeared to have gotten inside of his own head.
Jumping back over to the winner side, it was Ross vs Sandaler. If Ross could win the first set he would force a Sudden Death 1 Rack Shootout. Ross did just that, taking advantage yet again of mistakes by his opponent. Winning the lag, Sandaler broke strong and got hooked on the 1-ball. Attemped a thin cut to play safe and missed. Ross stepped up to a pretty tough 1/10 combo into the side pocket and put it away. Cheers abound and nothing but happiness over took the entire room. 79 years old, besting some of the best talent in the country. Who does that? Dave Ross does, with class.
Our next event is the Florida State Amateur 9-Ball Championship hosted by Zingales in Tallahassee, FL. With 100+ players in the draw year over year, this is bound to be a fantastic event. Click HERE for more information.
Florida Pool Tour would like to thank XPC: Xtreme Pool Challenge www.xtremepoolchallenge.com for the amazing effort and superb quality stream for the entire event. Boulevard Billiards for stepping up to give these players a chance and for being excellent hosts. The staff and food service was impeccable. Most of all we thank you the players, for without your support we wouldn’t be the best regional tour around.
