Anthony Meglino has already made about half of what he made at the tables all of last year and it’s barely March. He cashed (according to our records) in six events last year; three of them at Derby City, one on the Predator Sunshine State Pro Am Tour and two at the Meucci Classics. He’s already cashed in five (that we know of) this year; two on the Predator Sunshine State Pro Am, one on the first of a Bi-Annual pair of events, held under the auspices of AH tournaments and two, at Beyond Billiards in Davie, FL. The most recent Beyond Billiards event – the Beyond 10-Ball Open Tournament – was held this past weekend (Mar. 6-7) and saw Meglino go undefeated to chalk up his first recorded win since he captured an event title on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour almost exactly two years ago (March 11-12, 2019).
To win it, though, Meglino had to win his final three matches against the competitor who’d won the Beyond Billiards’ Super 9-Ball Open last month (Randy Epperson), the competitor who was that event’s runner-up (Tony Robles) and a seasoned Florida veteran, who’d won seven on the loss side for the right to meet him in the finals (Raymond Linares). The $200-added event drew 32 entrants to Beyond Billiards.
Meglino’s path to the winners’ circle actually went through Linares twice. Meglino opened his campaign with a 7-1 win over Steve Goulding before meeting and defeating Linares 7-4 in the second round. Meglino went on to defeat Cristian Vanegas 7-3, which set him (Meglino) up for a winners’ side semifinal match against Randy Epperson. Tony Robles, in the meantime, got by Raul Alvarez and Rick Sanchez, both 7-5, before defeating Howie Salstein 7-1 and drawing Sam Kantar in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Meglino dispatched Epperson to the loss side 7-3 as Robles, doing what he’d done in the previous Super 9-Ball Open, sent his winners’ side semifinal opponent over; in this case, Kantar 7-1. Also, as he had done in the previous event, Robles followed his winners’ side semifinal opponent over to the loss side, when his hot seat match opponent defeated him; in this case, Meglino, 7-3.
Linares had opened his loss-side campaign with a 6-2 win over Erick Poveda and then survived the first of two double hill matches he’d face, against Chris Filippelli. He went on to defeat Jhay Powell 6-3 and get through another double hill fight, against Bishop Ramcharan, to draw Epperson. Kantar, in the meantime, drew Rick Sanchez, who was also working on a four-match, loss-side winning streak, which had started when he’d been defeated in the second round by Robles. Sanchez had most recently eliminated Dror Ami 6-2 and Yusan Alvarez 6-4.
Kantar stopped Sanchez’ run with a double hill win that sent him to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Linares, who chalked up his 5th loss-side win 6-3 over Epperson. Linares defeated Kantar 6-4 in those quarterfinals.
Robles was, of course, looking to get back into the finals as he had done in the 9-Ball tournament last month. This time, though, he’d have been hoping that he wouldn’t have to share the victory as he’d done with Epperson, when they’d opted out of a final. He never got the chance. In an almost predictable double hill fight between the two veteran competitors, Linares prevailed and got a second shot against Meglino in the hot seat.
While Meglino came into the event looking to claim his first victory in two years, Linares came into it looking for his first victory in three months. Linares had yet to cash in 2021, but had cashed three times on the Predator Sunshine State Pro Am Tour last year, including a bar box victory at the tour’s stop in November. Meglino completed his undefeated run with a 9-3 win over Linares in the finals.
According to Beyond Billiards’ owner Eduardo Gomez, Tony Robles will conduct a Straight Pool Clinic at the Davie, FL location on Sunday, March 21. The event will touch upon the sport’s history, fundamentals, techniques and patterns. RSVP to secure your spot at 954-434-3487. The venue will hold another Beyond 9-Ball Open Tournament on Sunday, April 11.
(l to r): Bobby Garza, Mike Griffin, Kyle Bova and Raymond Linares
Event donates goods and money to Hurricane Relief effort for Bahamas
It was a previously scheduled event on the Sunshine State Pro Am calendar, which became an opportunity for the Del Rios, owners of Strokers Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL to contribute to the relief efforts organized for the victims of Hurricane Dorian’s wrath in the Bahamas. The $500-added Big Dawg Battle of the Billiards Scotch Doubles event, held on the weekend of September 7-8 drew 29 teams of two to Strokers.
“We had players from all over the state attend,” said co-tour director Janene Phillips. “From Miami to Jacksonville.”
Represented at the event were Stroker’s Bar & Grill, Boulevard Billiards, Uncle Waldo’s, Fat Cats, Rack’s Billiards and Sports Bar, Brewlands and Park Ave Billiards, among others. All responded to a campaign organized by Lyshia Westbrook-Del Rio. A flyer was produced that announced a “Hurricane Dorian Bahamas Disaster Relief” effort, soliciting a variety of non-perishable items, like canned goods, pre-packaged dry goods, toiletries, batteries and flashlights to name just a few. Donations were accepted for a week, and all those who donated were offered a free drink.
“We just happened to have a stop during her crusade,” Phillips explained, “so we wanted to be a part of it.”
“Between the 50/50 and player auction, we were able to donate $321,” she added, “plus all the donations that everyone brought in.”
There was, of course, a pool tournament that went along with all of this activity and it was won by the team of Kyle Bova and Raymond Linares, who went undefeated through the field. They advanced to the hot seat match, defeating Justin McNulty and Rolando Aravena 7 -3.
McNulty and Aravena had sent Bobby Garza and “Iron” Mike Griffin to the loss side in the third round of this event. Garza and Griffin won five on the loss side, that included wins over Sam Kantar and Dave Kennedy, as well as Trey Jankowski and Steve Knoll, both 5-1. They also had a successful 5-3 rematch against McNulty and Aravena in the semifinals that gave them a shot at Bova and Linares in the hot seat.
Bova and Linares, though, completed their undefeated run. They downed Garza and Griffin 7-2 to claim the Big Dawg Battle of the Billiards Scotch Doubles event and contributed to relief efforts for the Bahamas.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked the Del Rios “for their continuous support and generosity, not only for the pool scene, but for the community, as well.” They also thanked sponsors Predator Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Kamui, Stitch it to Me Embroidery and Cyclop Pool Balls. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for October 5-6, will be a $1,000-added Amateur event, hosted by Brewlands North in Lakeland, FL.
(l to r): Joe Zinkhan, Tim Baron, Joselito Martinez & Marcos Burgos
Martinez and Burgos down Baron and Zinkhan to claim inaugural title
Looking to create a little friendly competition among the multiplicity of pool rooms in Florida, Sunshine State Pro Am Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza launched an inaugural event called Battle of the Billiards Big Dawg Scotch Doubles on the weekend of Oct. 27-28 at Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL. While 19 two-player teams participated in the $500-added, Scotch Doubles event, not all were sponsored by pool rooms. It is Phillips’ and Garza’s hope that as the event progresses in its annual schedule, more and more rooms will opt to send players to compete.
This first year’s winners (Joselito Martinez and Marcos Burgos) and runner-ups (Tim Baron and Joe Zinkhan) were independent teams. The two teams played three times, vying for the title. Baron and Zinkhan got into the hot seat, but Martinez and Burgos came back from the semifinals to defeat them in a true double elimination final.
Their first match, battling for the hot seat, followEd Martinez and Burgos’ 7-4 victory over the team of Les Duffy and Anthony Fisher, sponsored by Don Kreischer’s Boulevard Billiards. Baron and Zinkhan, meanwhile, faced off against Larry Wathal’s team from Brewlands (Dale Stanley and Mubarak Suleiman) and defeated them 7-5. Baron and Zinkhan claimed the hot seat 7-5 over Martinez and Burgos and waited on their return from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Duffy and Fisher picked up Sam Kantar and David Jacobs from Boynton Billiards, as Stanley and Mubarak drew the team of Trey Jankowski and Mitch Nelson. Both matches finished at 5-3, advancing Kantar/Jacobs and Jankowski/Nelson to the quarterfinals.
Kantar and Jacobs won the quarterfinal match by the same 5-3 score and then, in the semifinals, were defeated by that same score by Martinez and Burgos, who earned themselves a second, and as it turned out, third shot at Baron and Zinkhan in the hot seat.
Martinez and Burgos took the opening set of the true double elimination final 7-4. In a shortened race to 5 in the second set, Martinez and Burgos won again 5-3 to claim the inaugural Battle of the Billiards Big Dawg Scotch Doubles title.
Tour directors Phillips and Garza thanked Jose Del Rio and his staff at Stroker’s Billiards for hosting the event, as well as the owners of all of the venues who sponsored teams, including Stroker’s (which sponsored two teams), Capone’s, Trick Shots (Orlando, FL), Park Avenue Billiards, and the rest of the teams mentioned in the narrative above. They also thanked sponsors Cyclops Balls, Diamond, and AZBilliards.
The next regular stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 17-18, will be the amateur-only, $1,000-added Sunshine State Pro Am 10-Ball Bar Box Championships, to be hosted by Rack’s Billiards in Sanford, FL.
In spite of working to win 10 loss-side matches for the right to face hot seat occupant Nathan Rose at Stop # 8 on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, Jason Sheerman (and Rose) opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes, leaving Rose, as the event’s official winner. The $1,000-added event, held on Saturday, July 14, drew 64 entrants to Strokers Sports Bar & Grill in Palm Harbor, FL.
Nathan Rose navigated his way through the full field, downing Jack Remsen 7-3, and everybody else – Jason Richko, Angel Martinez, and Matt Menes – 7-2, to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Bobby Garza (ranked #2 on the tour). Chris Gentile, in the meantime, got by Chris Piper-Wang, Will Smith, Mike Delawder (double hill), and the event’s top female finisher, Stephanie Mitchell, to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal to face Sam Kantar.
Rose got by Garza 7-2, and in the hot seat match, faced Chris Gentile, who’d sent Kantar to the loss side 7-3. Rose played what proved to be his last match and claimed the hot seat 7-5 over Gentile.
On the loss side, it was Kantar who picked up Sheerman, seven matches in to his loss-side streak; a streak that began when he faced and shut out his wife, Julia. Sheerman had most recently eliminated Kim Dyer 7-4 and Matt Menes 7-5. Garza drew Dale Stanley, who’d been sent to the loss side, double hill, by Kantar in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Stanley defeated Alec Saputo 7-3 and shut out Stephanie Mitchell to reach Garza. Sheerman chalked up loss-side win #8, defeating Kantar 7-3, as the tour’s #3 player (Stanley) downed #2 (Garza) 7-3.
Sheerman, who, to date, has not been ranked on the 2018 tour, downed Stanley 7-4 in the quarterfinals, and then gave up only a single rack in defeating Gentile in the semifinals. Sheerman and Rose opted out of the final match, allowing Rose, as the official winner, to chalk up 150 tour ranking points and move up from 9th place to a 4th place tie with Tommy Kennedy. Sheerman jumped from tour obscurity to join 16 other players with 100 points and settle into the 56th through 71st slot on the tour rankings.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jose Del Rio and his staff at Stroker’s for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Play The Game Clothing Co., Jacksonville Roofing, USA Kamui Tips, AZBilliards and Alvin Nelson with Inside Pool TV. Stop #9 on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for August 4-5, will be a double event, featuring a $175-added Amateur event and a $1,000-added Pro event. Both will be hosted by Park Avenue Billiards in Orange Park, FL.
When you think of top-notch players in various regions all across the country, the name Julio Burgos just doesn’t jump to the front of anyone’s list. According to Peter Ghostine, tour director of the AllOutPool Tour, that is likely to change. And soon. Burgos’ skills have been recognized, most recently on Saturday, June 16 at the 5th stop on the AllOutPool Tour, when he won nine on the loss side to defeat John Ditoro in the semifinals, and Anthony Meglino, double hill, in the finals to win his first-ever major tournament. The event drew 46 players to Beyond Billiards in Davie, FL.
“He’s new,” said Ghostine. “He’s very young, in his 20s, and he’s just coming out of his shell.”
Even in that metaphoric shell, Burgos’ skills have been noted. Though the only recorded instances of his appearance on anyone’s payout list occurred this year, when he finished 65th at the Derby City Classic’s One Pocket event in January and 17th at the 4th Texas 10-Ball Championships a month later, he entered Saturday’s handicapped tournament bearing the same handicap as the much more readily-recognized Anthony Meglino. The finals between them was a straight-up race to 11.
“We’ve been tracking his (progress) on the road, so we pretty much know his potential,” said Ghostine. “The data’s not there yet, but we’ve seen enough to know that he’s ranked that high.
“He’s capable,” he added, “of beating anybody.”
And he did, on Saturday. He beat 11 ‘anybodys;’ one in his opening round (Jason Sheerman, 8-6) and after a loss to Cristobal DeBarros (9-7), nine more on the loss side, and then, the final.
As Burgos toiled away on the loss side, his final two opponents advanced to the winners’ side semifinals. Meglino faced John Foster, as DiToro squared off against Tony Kolbe. Identical 8-4 victories sent Meglino and DiToro to the hot seat match, and eventually, in that hot seat match, DiToro to the semifinals.
With four loss-side wins to his credit (over Chad Scarborough, Michelle Ceglarek, Sandy Cheng, and TD Peter Ghostine), Burgos defeated Scott Franck 9-1, and Erick Poveda 9-3 to draw Kolbe, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. John Foster picked up Sam Kantar, who’d been shut out by DiToro in a winners’ side quarterfinal and then defeated Laz Figueroa 7-3, and William Rubin 7-4.
Burgos advanced to the quarterfinals, 9-2 over Kolbe (all scores are indicated with appropriate on-the-wire figures already added). Foster joined him by eliminating Kantar 8-2. Burgos then defeated Foster, double hill (8-7), in those quarterfinals and completed his loss-side run with a victory over (not just anybody, but wily veteran) John DiToro 8-5 in the semifinals.
At 9-9 in the race-to-11 finals, Meglino was on the verge of reaching the hill first, but miscued, affording Burgos the opportunity, which he took. Meglino did tie it up to force the deciding game, but the final rack went to Burgos, who chalked up his first victory on the AllOutPool Tour, or anywhere else, for that matter. It will likely not be his last.
In addition to the regular payouts, Janis Sessions picked up $50 as the event’s top female finisher. Tony Vierra won the event’s Made-in-USA RYO Rack raffle, valued at $200. Tour director Peter Ghostine thanked the ownership and staff at Beyond Billiards, as well as sponsors Dennis Searing, Billiard Engineering and RYO Racks. The next stop on the AllOutPool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of July 21-22, will be hosted by Shooter’s Billiards in Port St. Lucie, FL.
Sam Kantar and Pat Regan opted out of a final match at the end of Stop #4 on the AllOut Pool Tour, on Saturday, May 12. Kantar, in the hot seat at the time, was the event’s official winner and split the top two cash prizes with Regan. The event drew 30 players to Premier Billiards in Coral Springs, FL.
Following an opening round 7-3 win over Danny Ramirez and two 7-2 wins over Josh Carmusin and Randy Eperson, Kantar advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against David Jacobs. Regan, in the meantime, following victories over Julio Burgos 7-4, Jeremy Brooks 7-5 and Ed Acosta 7-4, faced Joe Beyer in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Kantar got into the hot seat match with a 7-3 win over Jacobs, but Regan fell to Beyer 7-2 and embarked on a loss-side campaign to get back to the finals. Kantar played what proved to be his final match and claimed the hot seat 7-5 over Beyer.
On the loss side, Regan opened his three-match trip back to the finals with a re-match against Jeremy Brooks, whom he’d sent to the loss side in the event’s second round. Brooks had won four on the loss side already, including a 6-4 win over Peter Ghostine and a shutout over Carlton Johnson to earn the re-match. Jacobs picked up Raul Alvarez, who, like Brooks, had lost in an early round (the first, in Alvarez’ case) and was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side run that would take him as far as the quarterfinals, and almost to the semifinals. He’d most recently eliminaTed Elias Nassif 6-1 and Andrew Yoder, double hill, to draw Jacobs.
Regan advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3 win over Brooks. Alvarez advanced to join him with a 6-1 win over Jacobs. Regan and Alvarez fought to double hill in those quarterfinals, but Regan ended Alvarez’ loss-side streak and moved on to a re-match against Beyer.
Regan won the semifinal re-match 6-4 for the right to face Kantar in the finals. They opted out of the final match, and, undefeated in the hot seat, Kantar claimed the event title.
The next stop on the AllOut Pool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of June 16-17, will be hosted by Beyond Billiards in Davie, FL.
Stop # 9 on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour featured separate tournaments held on the weekend of November 18-19. A $1,000-added Open 10-Ball event drew 57 entrants, and saw Benji Buckley win seven on the loss side to meet and defeat hot seat occupant Donny Branson in the finals. On the Amateur side, in a $500-added, 9-ball event, James Adams went undefeated through a field of 43. Both events were hosted by Capone’s in Spring Hill, FL.
Buckley’s trip to the finals was moving along on the winners’ side of the bracket, commencing with a victory over the Amateur event winner, James Adams, and then, through James Sandaler, before coming up against Rodney Morris. Morris sent Buckley to the loss side 7-3, before following him over on the heels of a 6-4 win by Jason Sheerman in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Sheerman moved on to a winners’ side semifinal against Jerry Sullivan, while Branson faced Murbarak Sulaiman.
Sheerman and Branson advanced to the hot seat match without giving up a single rack to either Sullivan or Sulaiman. Branson then defeated Sheerman 7-3 and sat in the hot seat, waiting for Buckley to complete his loss-side campaign.
Buckley began his loss-side work battling in one of the matches that determined the eight-way tie for 17th place. He got by Travis Croft, Mark Wathen, Nathan Rose, and Donny Mills to draw Sullivan. Sulaiman drew Anthony Meglino, who’d been defeated in the second winners’ side round by Sheerman (double hill) and set out on his own seven-match, loss-side winning streak that included wins over Joseph Remos, Jason Richko, Bill Bloom, Tommy Kennedy, Jessica Human and Rodney Morris, before drawing Sulaiman.
Buckley advanced to the quarterfinals 7-3 over Sullivan, as Sulaiman ended Meglino’s loss-side streak the way his winners’ side streak had been ended by Sheerman, in a double hill match. Buckley then defeated Sulaiman 7-2 in the quarterfinals, and got his shot at Branson in the hot seat with a 7-4 win over Sheerman in the semifinals.
Buckley and Branson battled back and forth through the finals. Buckley edged ahead at the end to claim the event title 11-9.
Adams goes undefeated in Amateur event
James Adams faced separate opponents in the hot seat and finals of the Amateur event. He advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Moe Fattah, as Estel Walton faced Ricardo Rodriguez in the other one. Adams downed Fattah 7-5, and in the hot seat match, faced Walton, who’d sent Rodriguez west 7-4. Adams claimed the hot seat 7-5 over Walton and waited on what turned out to be the return of Adams.
On the loss side, Rodriguez and Fattah got right back to winning. Rodriguez defeated Sam Kantar 5-1, as Fattah advanced to meet him in the quarterfinals with a double hill win over Jeremy Bell.
Rodriguez defeated Fattah in the quarterfinals 5-2, and then shut out Walton in the semifinals. Adams put an end to Rodriguez’ short, loss-side winning streak 9-7 in the finals to claim the event title.
In addition to the prize money awarded to the finishers in each tournament, the Amateur event awarded $20 each to the top Junior finisher – Kodi Allen – and top female finisher – Kelly Cavanaugh. The Open event awarded $40 to the top female finisher, Jessica Human.
Tour director Janene Phillips offered special thanks to Rocky McElroy, owner of Capone’s, and his staff, as well as McDermott Cues for donating a cue for an event raffle. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for December 16-17, will be the tour’s Season Finale, which will be hosted by Park Avenue Billiards in Orange Park, FL.
In the absence of the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour's winner from its third stop on the tour last month (Donny Mills), and the somewhat quick exit of that stop's runner-up (Steve Richmond), Anthony Meglino and Mike Delawder, who finished third and fourth on that stop, stepped into the void and battled in the finals of Stop #4; a $750-added event held on the weekend of July 15-16 that drew 57 entrants to Uncle Waldo's Billiards in Daytona Beach, FL. Delawder had to win nine on the loss side to get into the finals, but it was Meglino who hung on to go undefeated.
Meglino opened his winners' side campaign against Richmond, whom he'd missed in the latter stages of Stop #3 (Richmond was in the hot seat for that one, and Mills downed Meglino in the semifinals). Meglino defeated Richmond and then went on to victories over Dreama McMahon, co-tour director Bobby Garza, and Bill Mallen, to draw a winners' side semifinal match against Jesus Borjas. In the other winners' side semifinal, Kenny Willis (aka Jimmy Neutron) faced Brian McBride, who'd won three straight double hill matches to get there.
Both of the battles to get into the hot seat match went double hill. For the first time, McBride ended up on the wrong side of a double hill fight, sending Willis to the hot seat match. Meglino, in the meantime, downed Borjas double hill to join him. Meglino claimed the hot seat over Willis 7-3 and waited for Delawder to finish his loss-side run.
Sent to the loss side by Jeannie Seaver in the second round, Delawder moved west and went to work. He got by Jay Stock, Mark Swisher, Smokey Jacobs, and Chris Gentile, before eliminating the top female finisher, Michell Monk 6-2 and shutting out Bill Mallen, to draw McBride (six down, three to go). Borjas picked up Garza, who'd recently eliminated Jason Lancaster 5-1 and Sam Kantar 5-3.
Delawder chalked up win #7, 6-3 over McBride (McBride's first, non-double hill match all weekend), as Borjas eliminated Garza, double hill. Delawder then defeated Borjas 6-4 in the quarterfinals, and Willis 6-3 in the semifinals.
Meglino and Delawder came within a game of forcing a single deciding game in their final matchup. Meglino pulled ahead to win it by two at 11-9 and claim the event title.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked the ownership (AJ and Tony Condercuri) and staff at Uncle Waldo's Billiards, as well as sponsors AZBilliards, Billiardbuzz, JQ Image Cues, Jacksonville Roofing, Bill Katchusky (photography) and McDermott Cues.
(l to r): David Grossman, Anthony Meglino, Jimmy Neutron, Nathan Rose
Anthony Meglino, Nathan Rose and David Grossman, the last three players standing (literally and figuratively) at the June 10 stop on the J. Pechauer Northeast 9-Ball Tour, opted out of both a semifinal and final match. Meglino, undefeated and sitting in the hot seat at the time, became the official event winner, while Grossman and Rose wrestled (figuratively) over who was the runner-up and who finished in third place. The $1,000-added event drew 50 entrants to Uncle Waldo's in Daytona Beach, FL.
Meglino and Grossman advanced to the winners' side semifinals, with Meglino facing the fictitiously-named Jimmy Neutron and Grossman squaring off against Nathan Rose. Meglino sent Neutron to the loss side 9-3, and in the hot seat match, faced Grossman, who'd defeated Rose 9-4. Meglino claimed the hot seat and his last match victory 9-5 over Grossman.
On the loss side, Neutron picked up Sam Kantar, who'd defeated Josh Lewis and the incompletely-named Gilbert O 7-4. Rose drew Les Duffy, who'd gotten by Mike Delawder 7-5 and picked up a forfeit win over Francisco Diaz. Had Diaz, who offered no reason for his forfeiture, had chosen to leave a match earlier, tour director Tommy Kennedy would have advanced to play Duffy, and results from that point on may have gone a little differently. As it was, Rose ended Duffy's run 7-1 and, in the quarterfinals, faced Neutron, who'd eliminated Kantar 7-5.
Neutron was eliminated in those quarterfinals 7-3 by Rose, and with dawn just minutes away, the tournament came to its abrupt end. Meglino, Grossman and Rose opted out of the final match and split the top three prizes.
Tour Director Kennedy thanked Tony, A.J, and Patti Condercuri, owners of Uncle Waldo's for their hospitality, as well as sponsors J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Simonis Cloth and Mueller Recreational Products.
Note from Administrator: Fictitious and/or incomplete names were not added to the tournament results. It is encumbent on tournament directors to get complete identification information on players.
Alicia DeAbreu, Chris Gordon, Ethan Epstein, Bill Giffen, room co-owner; Brad Hughes & Tom McLoud
Forty-six players filled three division boards Saturday night to compete in the 2013 Flamingo Billiards Tour Open Winter 8-Ball Jam at Slate Billiards in Boynton Beach, Florida. Sponsored in part by Ozone Billiards and Budweiser Black Crown, this $500-added event drew lots of new faces. At the end of the night, Brad Hughes sank the last eight ball for the win.
Hughes had an uphill fight, after sending Jaran Hilton west then losing to local favorite Sam Kantar. Not to be stopped, Hughes came back on the one-loss side sending home Billy Burke, Joe Beyer and Johnny Aguilar to make it to the final single elimination board.
This modified double elimination format, race to four, with three divisions allows players in all levels to make the money. Players initially compete within their own skill level. The highest finishers in each level redraw into a final single elimination board of eight. At that point, the matches are handicapped.
Thanks to everyone who came out to play, to room owners Mike Bradford and Bill Giffen, (www.slatebilliards.com), Ozone Billiards and Budweiser Black Crown.
Renee Vassallo won the Ozone cue case. Alicia DeAbreu, Lauren Pickard, and Janis Sessions won a paid spot to the Women’s Flamingo Billiards Regional Tour 2014 Kick off Event.
