Carlos Jinez, Jon Rawlins, Dan Bowman and Scott Emory
Dependent on how any number of other players will have their winning points slotted into the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour’s standings, Daniel Bowman’s victory this past weekend (Aug. 20-21) could elevate him from his previous spot at #84 to among the tour’s top 10 competitors. Bowman, the “long-time player, first-time winner,” (noted tour representatives), accomplished this by going undefeated at the $1,750-added event that drew 93 entrants to Snookered Billiards in Frisco, TX.
The 554-Fargo-rated Bowman opened up with a win over the 678-rated Roman Bayda and followed up with wins over Don Bullard, Greg Hogue and TJ Thetford to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against the “17-year-old phenom, making a name for himself,” Carlos Jinez. Jonathan Rawlins in the meantime, survived a first-round double hill fight against Mike Ledford, advanced to meet and defeat Burke Garfias, shut out Jesus Sorto and got by Ray Hinton to meet up with Tina Malm in the other winners’ side semifinal. Malm, one of 10 tour-record number of women who competed, had downed the tour’s #1-ranked competitor, Daniel Herring in a third-round, double-hill battle and would finish as the ‘last woman standing,” adding $200 to her cash prize.
Bowman downed the youngster Jinez 6-2. He was joined in the hot seat by Rawlins, who’d sent Malm to the loss side 7-2. Bowman claimed the hot seat with a bit of a flourish, shutting Rawlins out and waiting on Scott Emory, who’d been sent to the loss side by Malm in the fourth round and was working his way back to the finals.
Four matches into his seven-match, loss-side winning streak that had included recent wins over Donald Weathersby 4-5 (Weathersby racing to 9) and Steve Smith, double hill (4-9; Smith racing to 10), Emory picked up a re-match against Tina Malm. Jinez, in the meantime, drew Ruben Adame, who was working on an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end and had recently included the elimination of Max Sun 6-3 and Monica Anderson, who put up a double hill fight that would leave her in the tie for 7th place and second-highest finishing lady in the event.
Jinez ended Adame’s loss-side streak 6-3 and in the quarterfinals, faced Emory, who’d restricted Malm’s loss-side effort to a single match, but not before Malm had battled to double hill and forced a deciding game. Emory then stopped Jinez 5-1 in the quarterfinal match.
Emory completed his loss-side trip with a 5-1, semifinal victory over Rawlins, who was racing to 9. Emory battled Bowman to within a game of double hill in the first set of a true double elimination final, but Bowman edged out in front at the end and won the only set he needed 6-3 to claim his first Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Snookered for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Cuetec and Fort Worth Billiard Superstore. The next stop on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 17-18, will be hosted by Jeffro’s Billiards in Canton, TX.
He shot up from the ‘cellar’ of the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour’s standings, where he’d landed after the first tour stop back in January. He then finished in the tie for 5th/6th twice, in February and March; his highest (recorded) finish in any event, anywhere. This past weekend (April 23-24), Matt Wilson made a quantum leap, closer to the top of the tour standings, reaching the hot seat for the first (known) time and then, downing the tour’s current standings leader, Daniel Herring, twice in a true double elimination final. The $1,750-added event drew 93 entrants to Rusty’s Billiards in Fort Worth, TX.
In all three of his matches against Herring, Wilson started out with six ‘beads on the wire’ in races to 10. Even with that six-rack head start, FargoRate calculated his chances of victory at 35.8%. It’s likely that before very long, Wilson will be looking in the rearview at his current FargoRate of 517.
His FargoRate advantage came into play in almost every match Wilson played. He faced only one opponent with a lower rate, tour director Monica Anderson (454), giving her one ‘bead on the wire’ in a race to six and sending her to the loss side 6-3. He advanced through the field to face Paul Villanueva (606) in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Herring (689), in the meantime, was handing out racks to his opponents all day long. The closest FargoRate he faced was in his winners’ side quarterfinal against Robbie Cleland, to whom he gave a single rack in a race to 7. That match went double hill and advanced Herring to a winners’ side semifinal match against Jimmy Davis.
Wilson downed Villanueva 6-5 (Villanueva racing to 8) as Herring sent Davis to the loss side 8-1. In their first of three, Herring allowed Wilson only two of the four he needed, claiming the hot seat 10-2.
On the loss side, Villanueva picked up Cleland, who, after his double hill defeat at the hands of Herring, downed Roman Bayda 7-5 and Clint Palaci 7-1. Davis drew Jessie Moore, who’d lost his opening match to Steven Thorne and then won eight on the loss side, including recent victories over Nico Arriola and TJ Thetford, both 7-4.
Moore made it nine in a loss-side row, downing Davis 7-1. In a straight-up race to 7, Villanueva joined him in the quarterfinals after handing Cleland his second straight loss 7-5. In another straight-up race to 7, Villanueva stopped Moore’s loss side streak 7-4 in the quarterfinals, before having his two-match, loss-side run stopped by Wilson, who allowed him two less racks in the event semifinals than he’d given up in their winners’ side semifinal.
Herring was looking for his third straight tour victory, having won stops #2 & #3 in February and March. Given his 64.2% chance of winning just a single match, even if he hadn’t known that specifically, one would assume that going into the finals, his confidence level would have been high. But so, apparently, was Wilson’s. Both of the true double elimination sets in the final went exactly the same way. With six on the wire, racing to 10, Wilson won each set, having given up only two racks to Herring, claiming the title 4-2, 4-2.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards, as well as title sponsor Cuetec and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore. The next stop on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for May 21-22, will be a $1,750-added event, hosted by Snookered in Frisco, TX.
Roman Bayda, Jason Dutchover, Robert Clark and Gus Briseno
Jason Dutchover’s victory on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour this past weekend (April 17-18), only his second appearance on the 2021 tour, rocketed him from tour-ranking obscurity among the 18 tour competitors who share #116 on the points list to #5 on the tour’s list (a three-way tie with Erik Smith and Jeff Sullivan). Had it not been for the 20 points Dutchover chalked up for his appearance in the season opener, this most recent victory would have tied him with the late Jalil Al Sarisi, who won the tour’s season opener back in January, before losing his battle to COVID on April 12. Al Sarisi was awarded a moment of silence at this event and an impromptu collection was taken up for his family.
Dutchover and Roman Bayda, who won seven on the loss side to meet him, fought to double hill twice in the finals of this event. Dutchover won the second set to claim the event title. The $1,500-added event drew 96 entrants to Snookered Billiards, Bar & Restaurant in Frisco, TX.
Dutchover’s path went through Jason Dixon, Calaia Jackson, Charlie Smith, Darrell Smith and Robin Barbour to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match versus Chris Gaither. Dutchover had chalked up an aggregate score over those five matches of 45-14, or, having won three out of every four games he played. In the meantime, Gus Briseno had gotten by Jordan Gartenberg, Casey Dawson and Don Baker before sending eventual-finalist Roman Bayda to the loss side. Briseno advanced to defeat James Davis, Jr. in a winners’ side quarterfinal (aggregate score now at 45-17; 73%) to draw Harold “Woody” Paine in their winners’ side semifinal match .
Dutchover downed Gaither 9-6, while Briseno was busy shutting out Paine. Dutchover claimed the hot seat 9-5 over Briseno and waited on the return of Bayda.
On the loss side, Gaither picked up Robert Clark, who’d lost to Bayda in the opening round and was working on a nine-match, loss-side winning streak that had recently eliminated Clint Palaci 8-6 and, double hill, James Davis, Jr. “Woody” Paine drew Bayda, who was four matches into his loss-side run and had recently defeated Crispian Ng 8-6 and Tony Loeper 8-1.
Bayda got into the quarterfinals with an 8-2 win over Paine. Clark eliminated Gaither 8-6 to earn himself a rematch against Bayda. Bayda, though, stopped Clark’s run and defeated him a second time, this time 8-6.
He’d come a long way and Bayda’s final hurdle had to leap over the competitor who’d increased the number of matches he’d had to win, considerably. The Bayda/Briseno rematch went Bayda’s way 8-3, as did the opening set of the true double-elimination final versus Dutchover, which went double hill (8-8). Now both with a single loss, they went into a second double hill match, won by Dutchover to claim the event title.
In addition to the ‘finish’ payouts, $60 went to the last player standing at Skill Levels 4 (Phoebe Simon), 5 (Matt Wilson, Dennis Hall), 6 (Carson Jeffrey, Darrell Smith) and Last Lady (Phoebe Simon, Tina Soto). A $100-added Second Chance tournament drew 20 entrants and was won by Sean King ($200). Jerry Yang was runner-up ($140), with Nayan Tamrakar in 3rd place ($80), Blake Kamiab in 4th ($40) and Phoebe Simon and Ruben Flores in the tie for 5th ($20).
Tour representatives thanked Craig and Jana Lucas and the Snookered Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Cuetec and Associate Title sponsor Fort Worth Billiards Superstore. The next stop on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for May 22-23, will be hosted by Rusty’s in Arlington, TX.
CJ Wiley should be the ‘poster child’ for some form of additional prize awarded to competitors in pool tournaments who lose an opening round match and win 10 or more on the loss side to meet and ultimately either defeat or lose to the occupant of a given tournament’s hot seat. Perhaps extra tour ranking points, a little bonus cash? Something, for while runner-up money is all well and good, a 10-match or more winning streak on the loss side of a double elimination bracket is a significant accomplishment, worthy of some official kind of recognition.
Though Rick Stanley went undefeated on the February 17-18 stop (#2) on the Dallas/Fort Worth 9-Ball Tour and deserves all of the accolades that go along with that, he did so by chalking up eight match victories, all with the double elimination bracket’s built-in margin for error, allowing a single loss without elimination. The handicap format saw Stanley (racing to 9) face six 7s, one 6, and one 9 (Wiley), and chalk up an average score against opponents of 9-2.7. CJ Wiley won 12 on the loss side of that double elimination bracket, with an average match score of 9-3, and faced five 6s, six 7s, and one 8, before his straight-up race to 9 in the finals against Stanley. The tour-ranking end result allowed Wiley to maintain his #1 spot on the tour rankings, while Stanley, competing in his first stop on the 2018 tour, moved from nowhere into second place. The $1,700-added event drew 108 competitors to The Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
Stanley downed Bush 9-1, as Flud (in a straight-up race to 7) defeated Hunter 7-3. Stanley claimed the hot seat 9-4 over Flud and waited for Wiley to complete his epic loss-side run.
Over on the loss side, Wiley got by five opponents just to advance to the first money round (the tie for 25th place). He got by four more, including a 9-5 win over Donny Gregory and a 9-4 win over Steve Collins, before running into Bush, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Hunter drew TJ Davis, who’d eliminated Cody Wright 8-4 and Marcelino Santiago 8-1 to reach him.
Wiley downed Bush 9-4, and was joined in the quarterfinal match by Davis, who’d eliminated Hunter 8-2. Wiley took the quarterfinal match over Davis 9-3 and completed his long trek back to the finals with a 9-5 win over Flud in the semifinals.
And there it was. The final match between two of the DFW 9-Ball Tour’s top-ranked competitors, although one (Stanley) had yet to compete on the tour’s 2018 schedule. Stanley completed his undefeated run with a 9-5 victory over Wiley and settled into the second spot on the tour rankings.
The weekend also included a new, but soon-to-be-repeated preliminary event, held on Friday night, pitting two area teams (Dallas & Fort Worth) against each other. Called the DFW 2018 Tour Cup, and modeled after the Mosconi Cup, the first event saw Dallas take the Cup 5-2.
“It was very well-received,” noted tour representatives, “and we will more than likely be having more events of this type in the future.”
A Second Chance event that drew 17 entrants saw Tony Sulsar take the top spot, with Shan Iyer as runner-up. The “Last Lady” award of the main event ($50) was split between Kiengchay (Kitty) Phoutthavong and Tera Saunders.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of the Billiard Den, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, JB Cases, Dallas Eightball League, Outsville (AccuRack), Fargo Rate, BCAPL/CSI, Internet Marketing Solutions, and Granite Guyz. The next stop on the DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 24-25, will be hosted by Rusty's Billiards in Arlington, TX.
(l to r): Paul Guernsey, Tony Sulsar & Mike Rountree
On the weekend of December 15-16, at a $5,400-added event, which drew 75 entrants to Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX, Paul Guernsey ended a three-match trip on the loss side to defeat Tony Sulsar twice in a double elimination final, and capture the event title. In another interpretation of ‘double elimination final,’ it was not only the last event of the Omega Billiard Tour’s sixth season, it was also the final event of the Omega Billiard Tour itself.
Taking a cue from tour director Melinda Bailey about this occasion, we’ll defer comments on the end of the tour to the end of this report and highlight the players and the event that closed out its 2017 season.
For a while, at the start of Paul Guernsey’s pool career (or at least as much of it as was recorded here at AZBilliards), the only event at which he regularly earned any money was the annual Texas Open. The first time he appeared in our database, he finished second behind David Gutierrez in the 27th Annual Texas Open in 2000. It was the only entry for him that year. The following year, the only entry was his 4th place finish in the 28th Annual Texas Open. Two years later, he finished in the tie for 13th place at the 30th Annual Texas Open, and the following year, he finished 4th again. All single entries in his site profile. Just over a decade later, he started showing up on the payout lists of the Omega Billiard Tour; twice in 2015, once in 2016, and this year, four times, including another second-place finish, behind Justin Whitehead at an Omega stop in April (he competed in five of the tour’s 12 events in 2017).
This past weekend, Guernsey broke through and won his first major event, doing it in what most players would describe as ‘the hard way;’ coming from the loss side to challenge and twice defeat a hot seat occupant. He played a preliminary round (one of 12 matches to gain entry into the larger winners’ side bracket), and advanced through four other matches, allowing his opponents an average of between three and four racks per match (3.6) in races to 8; against Steve Raynes (4), Bobby Diggs (2), Dario Gomez (5), Aram Hasan (6) and a measly single rack to Doug Winnett. This gave Guernsey a shot at Mike Rountree in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Tony Sulsar, in the meantime, bypassed the preliminary round and faced four opponents, with whom he was stingier than Guernsey, giving up an average of between two and three racks per match (2.75) against Shan Iyer (3), Steve Sheppard (4), Chris Rickman (1) and Mike Nagaki (3). This set Sulsar up in the other winners’ side semifinal against Roman Bayda, who had just sent the tour’s #1-ranked player, Rick Stanley, to the loss side.
In a straight-up race to 8, Sulsar advanced to the hot seat match over Bayda 8-4. He was joined by Rountree, who’d sent Guernsey to the loss side 7-7 (Guernsey racing to 8). Sulsar claimed the hot seat 8-5 over Rountree, chalking up what would prove to be his last match win.
On the loss side, Guernsey picked up Stanley, who, following his loss to Bayda, had eliminated Phillip Palmer 9-5 and Mike Nagaki 9-3. Bayda drew Luis Lopez, who was working on a six-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently included wins over Doug Winnett 7-4 and Gerardo Perez, double hill, in a straight-up race to 7.
Guernsey ended Stanley’s short, loss-side bid for a fifth win on this year’s tour with an 8-5 win, as Bayda ended Lopez’ loss-side streak at six with a double hill win (8-6). Guernsey and Bayda battled to double hill in the quarterfinals that followed, with Guernsey advancing for a second shot against Rountree in the semifinals.
Guernsey got by Rountree 8-4 in those semifinals and with, at minimum, another runner-up finish in his pocket, he turned his attention to Sulsar in the hot seat; the tour’s #8-ranked player (Sulsar) versus its #23-ranked player (Guernsey). Guernsey took the two-set opener in convincing fashion 8-3, and though Sulsar would chalk up two more racks in the second set, it wasn’t enough to keep Guernsey from capturing his first title on the tour’s last stop.
Regarding this last event on the tour she’s directed for the past six years, tour director Bailey thanked the ownership and staff at Rusty’s Billiards (where the tour began six years ago, and ended on this weekend), as well as sponsors Michael Hoang of OMEGA Billiards Supply, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. Regarding the past six years, she had a few more expressions of gratitude to pass along.
The announcement came in September. It stated that “due to increased responsibilities at (Bailey’s full-time job), and future career opportunities,” along with the need for the tour’s main sponsor, OMEGA Billiards Supply, “to make sound business and financial decisions” that, by mutual agreement, they “could no longer move forward with the Omega Billiards Tour after this year.” The statement expressed thanks “to all, for helping put the DFW (Dallas/Ft. Worth) pool scene back on the map for the past five and a half years.”
“We loved the players, the pool rooms, and the fans,” the statement went on to say, “and we wish you all nothing but the best in your pool journeys.”
“I want to sincerely thank you for always being so supportive, responsive and a great friend to (me) and the tour,” she wrote.
She expanded on this theme in one of her regular-as-clockwork e-mails to us here at AZBilliards, which provided us, at the conclusion of every tour stop, all of the information necessary to write a coherent report on each event. It should be noted, in that regard, that we here at AZBilliards extend our thanks to her, as well.
“It had always been a dream of mine to start a tour in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for the players and businesses,” she wrote to us. “I am so honored to have received such great support the last six years from the players, the sponsors and pool rooms that helped make the tour successful.”
“We grew from six stops a year with 64 players at each stop, and $1,200-added, to 12 stops a year with nearly 100 players and $1,700-added,” she wrote. “THANK YOU! Going to miss you all.”
She also took the time to explain that a new tour will debut in the DFW area soon, with, she explained, “11 stops next year.”
“So,” she wrote, “players will still have a tour to play on, which is really awesome.”
At the conclusion of her September blog entry, she inserted a quote from Lessons Learned in Life, which summed up the joy of the tour, the friends she’d made, and ultimately, the turmoil of the decision to move on.
“You will know you made the right decision,” it said, “when you pick the hardest and most painful choice, but your heart is at peace.”
On Saturday, September 23, in the midst of his best recorded earnings year to date at the pool table, Corey Sykes chalked up an official win on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. He completed the tournament undefeated, though he would split the top two prizes with his finals’ opponent, J.T. Ringgold, because by mutual agreement, they opted out of playing a final match. The event drew 27 entrants to Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
Their shared victory was almost overshadowed by a preponderance of young talent that appeared in this event. Three of the event’s final 12 competitors (25%) had yet to complete high school. One of them, Joey Tate, who was playing on his home turf (he lives in Raleigh, NC), has yet to enter high school. Tate, who won the Boys 14 & Under division of this past August’s BEF Junior Nationals, is 12 years old, and came within a single match of being the person with whom Sykes negotiated to split the event’s top two prizes. It was his third appearance on the tour, having previously gone two and out, and finished in fourth place.
Tate advanced through the field to a winners’ side semifinal against Ringgold, while Sykes was squaring off against Jason Rogers in the other one. Ringgold (racing to 10) downed Tate (racing to 5) 10-3. Sykes, in the meantime, defeated Rogers (racing to 9) 10-6. In a straight-up race to 10, Sykes claimed the hot seat over Ringgold, double hill.
On the loss side, Tate picked up Justin Martin, who’d defeated Roman Bayda 10-5, and shut out Ben Spivey, to reach him. Rogers drew Travis Guerra, who’d eliminated the other two teenagers among the final 12 players; 15-year-olds Joshua Shultz 7-3, and Peter Abatangelo 7-1.
Tate and Rogers advanced to the quarterfinals; Tate, 5-2 over Martin (with Martin racing to 10), and Rogers, double hill over Guerra. The Tate/Rogers quarterfinal was a re-match, Tate having downed Rogers earlier in the event. With Rogers racing to 9, Tate defeated him a second time 5-3, and earned himself the right to a legitimate shot at entering the finals facing Ringgold in the semifinals.
It’s hard to imagine that anyone watching the semifinals would have been rooting for the elder Ringgold. Possibly Tate’s parents, who, though certainly supporting their son’s efforts, had to be figuring it was getting pretty close to being past Joey’s normal bed time. Other than that though, who wouldn’t be cheering for the underdog 12-year-old?
As he had done in the winners’ side semifinal match, the kid chalked up three of the five racks he needed to win that event semifinal match. But Ringgold, as he had done before, reached his requisite 10 to end the match, and in light of the subsequent decision not to play a final match, the event itself. As the only official undefeated competitor, Sykes claimed the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked owner Dave Huffman and his staff at Brown’s Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for September 30-October 1, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Peninsula Billiards in Newport News, VA.
A frequent competitor over the years in the annual US Bar Table Championships, Oklahoma's Justin Whitehead brought his small-table skills to the fourth stop on the Omega Billiards Tour on the weekend of April 29-30. Played on 8-foot tables, the $1,700-added event drew 95 entrants to JR Pockets in Denton, TX. Whitehead, who chalked up what proved to be his first major tour win four years ago, downing Sylver Ochoa in the finals of a Poison by Predator Tour stop in Houston, and this past February, was runner-up to Manny Chau in a stop on the Lone Star Billiards Tour, came within a single match of going undefeated in this most recent event. The single loss came in the opening set of a true double elimination final at the hands of Paul Geurnsey, who, following a defeat at the hands of Donnie Gregory in the opening round, won 11 matches on the loss side to challenge Whitehead in the finals. Whitehead came back from the first set loss to give up only a single game in the second set and claim the event title.
Whitehead's journey to the winners' circle was almost re-routed in the second round, when Jeremy Jones battled him to double hill. Whitehead prevailed, though, and arrived at a winners' side semifinal against Chuck Dement, having given up, on average, only 3.5 racks per match (the figure would have been less than 2, had it not been for Jones chalking up eight against him). Roman Bayda, in the meantime, who, like Whitehead, had been challenged in a double hill match in the second round by the tour's ranking leader, Rick Stanley, advanced for a winners' side semifinal match against Crispian Ng.
As is often the case, the challenges increased for Whitehead as the winners' side matches narrowed. He downed Dement 8-5, as Bayda was busy sending Ng to the loss side by the same score. Whitehead faced his second double hill challenge, battling Bayda for the hot seat . He won it and waited on Guernsey.
Moving to the loss side, it was Dement who had the misfortune of picking up Guernsey, who was eight matches in to his 11-match, loss-side streak, which had included the elimination of Stanley, and more recent victories over Cody Wright 8-4 and Robin Barbour 8-3. Guernsey's hopes for a re-match against Gregory fell short by a single match, spoiled by Barbour, who'd defeated Gregory 7-2 in the 9/12 matches. Ng drew Mike Nagaki, who'd just eliminated Brandon Thrasher and Albert Nieto, both 7-4.
Guernsey, apparently on something of a mission, shut out Dement, as Ng downed Nagaki 8-4. In a straight-up race to 8, Guernsey defeated Ng 8-4 in the quarterfinals, and in another straight-up race to 8, gave up only a single rack to Bayda in the semifinals.
Whitehead managed to slow Guernsey down a bit in the opening set of the true double elimination final, though not by enough, as Guernsey took that opening set 8-5. Whitehead dominated the deciding set, allowing Guernsey only a single rack on his way to claiming the event title.
Tour director Melinda Bailey thanked the ownership and staff of JR Pockets, as well as sponsors Michael Hoang of OMEGA Billiards Supply, FargoRate.com and OB Cues. The next stop on the Omega Billiards Tour, scheduled for May 27-28, will be a $1,700-added event, hosted by Puckett's in Fort Worth, TX.
On the weekend of July 9-10, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by Pucketts in Fort Worth, Texas. The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere. The tables were re-felted in preparation and the players really appreciated the care.
We were able to extend the field to 83 players for this sixth stop of the 2016 season with guaranteed $1,500-added!
Norman and Crispian were fighting hard in that match for the hotseat and while tied at 4-4, Crispian pulled away and won 7-4 for a guaranteed spot in the finals.
After Chris (Woody) Smith lost to Crispian earlier, he then went on to defeat Jake Hulsey 7-1, CJ Wiley 7-3, Mike Voelkering 7-4, and Alberto Nieto 7-2. Woody then met up with Norman Small in the semi-finals and it was a great hill-hill thriller! Norman would come out on top and find himself in the finals! Woody would finish his highest finish to date (3rd) and played great all weekend!
The finals was another great match for the fans and it would be yet another hill-hill nail biter! It was Crispian’s break and he made a ball on the break and then ran out the hill-hill case game and captured his first Omega title for 2016! Big congrats to Crispian going undefeated! Norman would have his highest finish yet with 2nd place and we’ll see him soon back in the finals. Congrats to both Norman and Woody for their fantastic finishes!
4th place was filled by Alberto Nieto, 5th/6th places were filled by Roman Bayda and Mike Voelkering, and 7th/8th places were filled by CJ Wiley and Omar Bengochea.
Congrats to ALL the players and fans and sponsors for another great event!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, OB Cues, and BCAPL/CSI. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Irving Ink and Thread, AZBilliards.com, Pool School, and BilliardsPress.com.
This year OB Cues is our Ranking sponsor and will be donating three OB Cues to the top ranked 3 players at the end of the year! BCAPL/CSI has joined again and will be giving away 5 BCAPL free entry fees the 2017 BCAPL Nationals.
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank Pucketts owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend! She would also like to thank her fabulous team: Heather Farr and Ginger Abadilla.
A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many large tournaments across the country.
The next stop will be held August 6-7 at Wizards in Richardson, Texas. $1,500 added and already full with 100 players. We have ten stops total in 2016. Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!
On the weekend of April 30-May 1, the Omega Billiards Tour was hosted by JR Pockets in Denton, Texas. The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere, and we very much appreciate each and every one of them!
We were able to extend the field to 85 players for this fourth stop of the 2016 season with guaranteed $1,500-added.
There were several players who were the “talk of the tournament” this weekend. One was Jay Murillo who has been working on his game and found himself placing an impressive 3rd place! He fought hard all weekend and although wished he would have placed even higher, he had a fantastic tournament. Another player talked about was local sharp-shooter Robert Clark. He lost his first match on Saturday morning and never gave up and fought his way back through the one-loss side and won 11 straight matches to find himself in the finals! This leads to the third talk of the tournament: Eventual winner Warren Kaimco. He flew in all the way from the Philippines to play (just kidding, he happened to be in Texas for another tournament the weekend before and was able to fit in this Omega Tour stop). Warren has such a gentle composure and the players loved to have such a champion play among them. Warren was gracious and posed for many photos and also gave advice when players asked, at the same time he was killing it on the pool table.
Warren made his way to the finals over J Brotherton 9-3, Jeff Georges 9-4 (and Jeff said he had him scared, but we aren’t sure based on the score), Jordan Gartenberg 9-2, Hector Guerrero 9-2, Cory Anderson 9-5, and Jay Murillo 9-3. Jay Murillo made his way to third place with great wins over Phillip Kirk 6-0, Trent Stith 6-5, Roman Bayda 6-6, Tony Sulsar 6-6, Mike Rountree 6-5 before being sent to the one-loss side by Warren 9-3. Robert Clark lost to his first match to Gerardo Perez 7-7, and then won against Lorena Garcia 8-3, Tracie Voelkering 8-3, George Merchan 8-0, Larry Land 8-6, Willie Speed 8-4, Barry Emerson 8-7, Jamie Whelch 8-3, Hector Guerrero 8-3, Mike Rountree 8-4, Cory Anderson 8-5 and then Jay Murillo 8-3.
Warren and Robert squared off in the finals and the fans were in for a treat with GREAT shots and safeties between the two players to lead to a hill-hill first set! After several safes back and forth, Warren eventually had a shot and ran out the match hill-hill to not force a second set, and secure an Omega Billiards Tour title!
4th place was filled by Cory Anderson, 5th/6th places were filled by the “mikes,” Mike Rountree and Mike Voelkering who both had a great tournament, and 7th/8th places were filled by Hector Guerrero and Alberto Nieto.
Congrats to ALL the players and fans for a great event!
A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, BCAPL/CSI, and OB Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Irving Ink and Thread, AZBilliards.com, Pool School, and BilliardsPress.com.
This year OB Cues is our Ranking sponsor and will be donating three OB Cues to the top ranked 3 players at the end of the year! BCAPL/CSI has joined again and will be giving away 5 BCAPL free entry fees the 2017 BCAPL Nationals.
Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like to thank JR Pockets owners and staff for their awesome hospitality all weekend! She would also like to thank her fabulous team: Heather Farr, Dana Speed, and Jeffrey Georges.
A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many large tournaments across the country.
The next stop will be held June 4-5 at Fox and Hound in Dallas, Texas. $1,500 added and already full with 80 players. We have ten stops total again in 2016. Pool is alive and thriving in Texas!
It was “all in the family” this past weekend, August 23rd-24th, 2014 at the Lone Star Billiards Tour event held at Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, Texas. James Davis, Jr. “Bastrop, Jr.” and James Davis, Sr. “Bastrop, Sr.” captured first and second, respectively, in the open 9-ball division while Frank Ferrer, Jr. captured the amateur 9-ball division, upgrading his status to “open” division player. The tour would like to thank Skinny Bob’s owners John and Sue Cielo for hosting another first-rate event, their 5th year as Lone Star Tour hosts. The Tour is proudly sponsored by Poison by Predator Cues, Delta-13 Rack, Ozone Billiards, ImproveYourShot.com, and APA of North Harris County.
First round action started Saturday at 3pm. James Davis, Jr. steadily worked his way through the winners’ side with wins over Jason Bagby, 7-4, Rudy Esteves, 7-5, David Henson, 7-6, and Manny Chau, 7-5. Another local favorite, Brian Sanders, made his stand as well, defeating Cesar Garcia, 7-5, Chuck Adams, 7-4, James Davis, Sr., 7-3, and finally Blaine Barcus to reach Bastrop, Jr. for the hot seat. New to the tour, Dallas player Roman Bayda suffered a second round loss to Barcus, 7-1, but made his way through the one-loss to finish in the money. Junior Jueco, Bagby, and Chris Smith also finished 9th-12th. John Eagle lost his bid for the final four winners’ side to Barcus, 7-3, and was subsequently eliminated by James Davis, Sr., 6-4. Frank Ferrer, Jr., suffered a loss in the same round to Chau, 7-5, and was eliminated by Henson, 6-4. These turn of events staged an all-too familiar shoot-out with veteran champions, Henson and Davis, Sr., playing for third place. On the east side, Davis, Jr. squeezed by Sanders to secure the hot seat, 6-5. Davis, Sr. squeezed by Henson and Sanders by the same score, 6-5. Father and son decided not to play the final match and instead split the winnings. It was agreed that Junior retain the title, perhaps a belated wedding gift after tying the knot with Emma Davis (formerly Stewart) at BCA Nationals this past July. They are expecting their first child, a boy, later this year.
In the amateur division, Frank Ferrer, Jr. faced off with Cesar Garcia for the hot seat. Ferrer’s victims included Aaron Isbell, 6-2, Cielo Velasquez, 6-0, Chris Salinas, 6-2, and John Eagle, 6-1. Garcia ousted David Escobedo, 6-4, Roger Senn, 6-4, Jason Bagby and Chad Hensen, 6-5. James Dugger suffered a first round loss and won 6 consecutive matches while Bagby made his way into the final four on the losers’ side as well. Dugger fell to Jacob Warriner, 5-4, while Bagby advanced over Rudy Sanchez. It was Hensen over Warriner and Bagby over Eagle. Hensen eliminated Bagby, 5-3, while Ferrer dominated Garcia for the hot seat. Hensen took down Garcia, but fell to Ferrer in the first set of the finals.
Congratulations to all the Poison VX Cue raffle winners; Jimmy Krone, Jerry Riley, James Smiser, and Chris James.
The Lone Star Finale is October 4th-5th at Bogies Billiards & Games, Houston, Texas. The ladies’ Gulf Coast Tour Finale will be on Saturday, October 4th, at the same venue. For more information, visit www.LoneStarBilliardsTour.com.
