Fresh off her undefeated win two weeks ago at the WPBA’s Northern Lights Classic in Minnesota, where she faced Allison Fisher for the first time in a final match since 2016, Kelly Fisher came to the CSI/Predator US Pro Billiard Series’ Alfa Women’s Las Vegas Open, held this past weekend (March 31-April 3) and went undefeated a second time to capture her second straight WPBA title. Though Allison Fisher was, once again, ‘in the house,’ the two did not meet up at this latest event. Allison was eliminated in the opening round of the single-elimination final phase to which they’d both advanced. The event drew 64 entrants to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The event was divided into two phases; an opening, 64-entrant, double-elimination Phase 1, followed by a 16-entrant, single-elimination Phase 2 that eventually crowned Kelly as the champion. The format was best-two-out-of-three races to 4. If the competitors were tied after two matches, a “spot shootout’ followed to determine the winner.
Kelly, who was in a 16-player, Phase 1 bracket that included eventual runner-up, Brittany Bryant, advanced to be among the eight winners’ side entrants in Phase 2 without having to play a third match. She played a total of 27 games against three opponents in Phase 1 and gave up only three of them, downing Sarah Kapeller (4-0, 4-1), Ashley Burrows (4-0, 4-0) and Cathy Metzinger (4-1, 4-1). To join Kelly in advancement to Phase 2, Bryant, in the meantime, had to play 44 games and lost 18 of them. She got by Anna Riegler and junior competitor Savannah Easton, both 4-2, 4-2, before facing Jennifer Baretta, who won the opening set 2-4. Bryant came back to win the second set and the “spot shootout,” both double hill.
Angela Ticoalu got by Jeannie Seaver, Nicole Keeney and Woojin Lee with an aggregate score of 24-15 to qualify for Phase 2, as did Susan Williams from the same 16-entrant section of the opening bracket. Williams sent June Maiers, Vang Bui Xuan and Joanne Ashton to the loss side to join Ticoalu in the winners’ side advancement to Phase 2.
Allison Fisher chalked up an even more impressive Phase 1 than Kelly had. She, too, advanced to Phase 2 without having to play a third match against any of her three opponents, downing Susan Wilbur, Veronique Menard and Naomi Williams and giving up only two racks (to Menard, in their second race-to-4). Kyoko Sone joined Allison in advancement to Phase 2 from the same 16-entrant section of the opening bracket, downing Sandy Badger, 13-year-old junior competitor Sofia Mast and Amalia Matas Heredia.
Rounding out the field of eight winners’ side competitors to advance to Phase 2 were Jasmin Ouschan and Line Kjorsvik. Ouschan got by two of her opponents without having to play a “spot shootout” third match, downing Tamami Okuda 4-2, 4-1 and Beth Fondell 4-1, 4-2, before splitting her first two against Mary Tam 1-4, 4-3. Ouschan won the shootout 3-2 to advance. Kjorsvik did not play a third, tie-breaking “spot shootout” against any of her first three opponents either, joining Ouschan in advancement after defeating Gigi Callejas (4-1, 4-2), Camille Campbell (4-2, 4-0) and Melissa Helland (4-0, 4-1).
After five losers’ side rounds, Kaylee McIntosh, Woojin Lee, Angela Janic, Heather Cortez, Melissa Helland, Mary Tam, Amalia Matas Heredia and Ashley Burrows joined the eight winners’ side competitors in advancement to Phase 2, which in some ways, was notable for those left behind as much as for those who advanced. Among those who failed to make the cut were long-time WPBA veterans (in no particular order) Stephanie Mitchell, Teruko Cucculelli, Monica Webb, Jeannie Seaver, Liz Cole, Kim Newsome, Emily Duddy, Dawn Hopkins, Loree Jon Brown, Janet Atwell and Caroline Pao. It should also be noted that while both 13-year-old junior competitors, Sofia Mast and Skylar Hess, failed to advance, one (Mast) fell to an opponent (Angela Janic) who was among the final 16 and the other (Hess) was eliminated by someone (Cucculelli) who arguably should have been. It was the first appearance for these two extraordinarily talented and professionally-composed young women and WPBA competitors should be on notice that these two will be back and barring any unforeseen life changes, for many years to come.
The Final Four in this event competed in plenty of time for those so inclined to turn their attention to the NCAA Final Four, which got started well after the four ladies in Vegas got underway at about 2 p.m. on Saturday. It was an International Final Four, which was absent representation from the United States.Kelly Fisher, representing the UK was matched up against Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan. Spain’s Amalia Matas Heredia, who, in February, chalked up her first win on the European Ladies’ Tour, faced Canada’s Brittany Bryant.
Kelly Fisher had kept her no-third-match streak going through the opening round against Heather Cortez, whom she defeated 4-1, 4-0 before drawing Angeline Ticoalu, who took the opening set against Fisher 4-2. Fisher came back to win the second set 4-1 and then, in something of a nail-biter, the “spot shootout” 6-5. Ouschan, who got by Kaylee McIntosh 4-0, 4-1 in the opening round of Phase 2 had her own nail-biter in the second round, where she won two straight double hill fights against Kyoko Sone to draw Kelly.
Advancing to the other semifinal, Bryant had played 24 games against two opponents, eliminating Woojin Lee 4-2, 4-1 and then Ashley Burrows 4-2, 4-3 to advance. Heredia proved to be Allison Fisher’s downfall in the opening round of Phase 2. Fisher took the opening set, double hill, but Heredia came back to win the second set and the “shootout,” double hill. Heredia went on to down Mary Tam 4-1, 4-3 to pick up Bryant.
Kelly Fisher downed Ouschan 4-2, 4-1 in their semifinal matchup. She was joined in the finals by Bryant, who’d defeated Heredia 4-2, 2-4 and 4-2 in the “shootout.”
It’s not hard to imagine Fisher’s “I’ve got this,” and Bryant’s “Uh, oh, trouble right here in Sin City” when Fisher shut Bryant out in the opening set of the final. It’s also not hard to imagine the spectator’s rooting for Bryant in the second set when she and Kelly finished the 6th game, tied at 3 apiece. Fisher, though, completed her undefeated run by winning the second set to claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, as well as sponsors and partners the WPBA, Alfa Coin, CueSports International, Predator Group, Kamui, Seybert’s, Medalla Light, Rums of Puerto Rico, BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League.
Crowning achievements for (l to r) Kyoko Sone & Brittany Bryant with Janet Atwell
It began on Thursday, May 30 with a preliminary tournament made up of 30 lower-ranked players from the Women’s Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) and ended on Sunday night, June 2 with the crowning of defending champion Brittany Bryant, who had to come from the loss side (five matches) to meet Kyoko Sone in the finals of the WPBA’s Signature Tour Stop, the Blue-Emu Southern Open. The $10,000-added event drew a total of 62 entrants, including Janet Atwell to her venue, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
The event was not exactly a proverbial ‘walk in the park’ for the WPBA’s #4-ranked player. Bryant won the event, having won less than 60% of the games she played in it (70-49; 58.8%). The seven opponents she faced in races-to-8 chalked up an average of five racks against her. She got by Kelly Cavanaugh, Jessica Barnes and Mary Rakin by an aggregate score of 24-7, but against her other four race-to-8 opponents (LoreeJon Hasson, Allison Fisher, Melissa Little & Jennifer Baretta) she chalked up an aggregate of 32-26, or 55%. Not surprising necessarily, given the upgrade in the competition over those four matches. And then, of course, there was the third-round, 4-8 loss to Gail Eaton, which really did a job on the ‘numbers.’ Without that loss, Bryant would have finished with an overall game-winning average of just over 60% (62.8), rather than less.
“I go to every event to win it,” said Bryant, “but I didn’t go with any expectations this year. “There were actually a few more players who were higher up (in rankings) than there were last year when I won it.”
The ‘First Stage’ double elimination bracket yielded 16 players who advanced to the Final Stage; eight from the winners’ side and eight from the loss side of that bracket. Among those who emerged from that bracket was runner-up Kyoko Sone, who lost her opening round match, double hill to Mary Rakin. Rakin advanced to defeat Kelly Isaac 7-5 and become one of the eight winners’ side competitors to advance to the Final Stage. Sone moved to the loss side, where she defeated Toni Esteves and Janet Ritcey, both 7-2, to become one of the eight loss-side competitors to advance to the final stage.
Moving into the Final Stage, beginning on Friday, May 31, the 16 arrivals from the preliminary bracket faced 16 players more or less in the middle of the WPBA rankings (approximately #17-#32). The winners in this opening round of Final Stage play advanced to meet the WPBA’s top 16 players, who had been awarded opening round byes.
Of the WPBA’s top 16 players who waited until Friday evening to begin competing, only three failed to advance on the winners’ side past their opening match; Jessica Barnes (WPBA-ranked #16) was defeated 8-2 by Kyoko Sone, Gerda Gregerson (#8) lost to Mary Rakin 8-6 and Emily Duddy (#10) joined them on the loss side following an 8-3 defeat at the hands of Naomi Williams. Among the more notable matches in this round of play, and the only one to go double hill was the battle between Allison Fisher and Russian teenager Kristina Tkach, who, a week earlier, had been the only female to compete in the Open/Pro event of the 9th Annual George “Ginky” Sansouci Memorial in New York City (she finished in the tie for 5th place). She was defeated by Fisher here and went on to win two loss-side matches before being eliminated by Line Kjorsvik.
A final round on Friday night brought the field down to the winners’ side quarterfinals. Kyoko Sone had sent Line Kjorsvik to the loss side and on Saturday night, faced Mary Rakin, who, after her victory over Gregerson, had sent hostess and WPBA-ranked #9 Janet Atwell over. Brittany Bryant, who’d defeated Loree Jon Hasson was to meet up with Gail Eaton, who’d gotten by Melissa Little. Fisher followed up her win over Tkach with a victory over Jia Li and on Saturday night, faced Naomi Williams, who had just survived a double hill battle against Helena Thornfeldt. The last of the winners’ side quarterfinals pitted Jennifer Baretta against Monica Webb.
These matches elicited the winners’ side semifinals, which began immediately afterwards. Sone, who’d downed Rakin 8-5 met Eaton, who’d sent Bryant to the loss side 8-4, as Fisher, who’d defeated Williams 8-3 met Baretta, who’d gotten by Webb 8-5.
“I have to give Gail so much credit,” said Bryant of her only loss in the tournament. “I have never seen her play that well. I was down 7-1, took a break, composed myself and got it to 7-4.”
“I wasn’t disappointed,” she added. “I didn’t play poorly and Gail took control when she needed to.”
Sone advanced to the hot seat match 8-3 over Eaton. Fisher and Baretta, almost predictably, fought to double hill before Baretta prevailed to join Sone in the hot seat match. Sone downed Baretta 8-4 to claim the hot seat and waited on what turned out to be Bryant’s fateful return.
Meanwhile, back at the loss-side ranch, Bryant and Melissa Little were laying in wait for Fisher and Eaton, respectively. Bryant had defeated Jessica Barnes 8-2 and Mary Rakin 8-3 to draw Fisher. Little had won four loss-side matches, including a double hill win over Naomi Williams and an 8-4 victory over Kjorsvik to draw Eaton. Little made it five in a row with an 8-5 win over Eaton and advanced to the quarterfinals. Bryant joined her after surviving a double hill fight against Fisher.
“I expected to go back and forth with Allison,” she said. “It was actually the first time I had ever beaten her. I ended up breaking and running at double hill to win it.”
Bryant followed her double hill win over Fisher with a double hill win over Little in the quarterfinals and for the second time, she finished with a break and run. In the semifinals, Jennifer Baretta came within a game of giving Bryant a third straight, double hill challenge, but Bryant edged out in front at the end to win it 8-6.
“I was up 6-2 in that match and she came back (to almost tie it),” Bryant said. “And then, there was a big game swinger, when she could have tied it at 6-6, but I won to go up 7-5. She won a game and I won the next game to win the match.”
The finals between defending champion Bryant and Sone came within a game of going double hill, as well, but for the second time in a row, Bryant edged out in front at the end to win it 10-8 and claim the 2019 Blu-Emu Southern Open.
“We didn’t make a lot of mistakes,” said Bryant of the final match. “She broke and ran the opening game and we had a few safety battles. I was up 6-2 and she started to make a comeback.”
As with the semifinal match against Baretta, Sone had the opportunity to tie things up at 6-6.
“She missed a key 8-ball to tie it up (at 6-6),” she said, “so it was 7-5 and I won the next three.”
WPBA representatives thanked Janet Atwell and her Borderline Billiards staff for hosting the event, as well as sponsors Simonis Cloth, Aramith, Diamond Billiard Products and Outsville.com. The next WPBA event, scheduled for August 8-11, will be a $10,000-added Signature Event, to be held in Fairfield, IL. Further details will be available soon. Bryant said that she plans to be in attendance.
Ga Young Kim and Allison Fisher (Photo courtesy of the WPBA)
Fresh off her August 16-19 victory at the NAPT Summer 10-Ball Classic, Allison Fisher proved once again that age is just a number, and a fairly insignificant one at that. On the long weekend of September 13-16, Fisher joined what turned out to be 63 WPBA entrants in a multi-stage/bracket format at the Ho-Chunk Casino in Wisconsin Dells, WI and went undefeated through that field to capture her second title in a month. Fisher had to get by Korea’s Ga-Young Kim twice to claim that title.
The multi-stage format of this event created preliminary, 32-entrant rounds of play for 64 invited and seeded players, based on current WPBA standings going into the event. The lower-ranked invitees faced off against each other on Thursday, Sept. 13, in a standard 32-player bracket. Sixteen players, eight on each side of the bracket, emerged and advanced to play against a group of 16 players already selected to compete on Friday. When that Friday bracket came down to a final 16, those 16 advanced to compete against the WPBA’s top 16 players on Saturday (chosen from among the invitees who were able to attend). It was in this third, Saturday bracket that Fisher began her quest for the title.
On Thursday in races to 7, Kaylin Wikoff, Caroline Pao, Tonya Wiser, Naomi Williams, Kristie Bacon, Cathy Metzinger, Jia Li, and Jenna Bishoff won two matches each to advance to Friday’s bracket. In her second match, Jia Li downed LoreeJon Hasson 7-5 to get into that winners’ side final eight. Metzinger was among the final eight as the result (in part) of a forfeit by Jeannette Lee in her opening round of play. Lee came back through two rounds of loss-side play to become one of the 16 that advanced to Friday. Hasson won her only match on the loss side of the Thursday bracket and advanced, as well, along with Maria Juana, Lisa Cossette, Susan Wilbur, Sonya Chbeeb, Bonnie Arnold and Stephanie Mitchell.
On Friday in races to 8, Pao, Metzinger, and Arnold made it through their second day, winning two matches each to become one of the winners’ side final eight advancing to Saturday. Joining the event for the first time and winning their first two were Maureen Seto, Siming Chen, We Tzu Chien, April Larson and Kia Sidbury. Sidbury was originally scheduled to start on Thursday but a no-show for the tournament led to the 63-entrant field and an opening on Friday, into which she slipped. On the loss side of Friday’s bracket, Juana, Bishoff, Williams, Li, and Jeannette Lee advanced to their third day of competition. Lee had been defeated by April Larson, double hill, in Friday’s opening round and won two to join everybody on Saturday. Also winning two on the loss side and advancing to Saturday were Janet Atwell (defeated by Pao, double hill, in Friday’s opening round), Sara Miller and Robin Parker.
On Saturday in races to 8, Fisher said ‘hello’ to everybody and opened with an 8-1 victory over Juana, before running into Jeannette Lee (first of a series of classic women matchups during the day). Lee had defeated Kim Newsome 8-5 to start her day. Fisher defeated Lee 8-4 and then picked up the Texas Tornado, Vivian Villareal, who’d defeated Jennifer Barretta 8-2 in the previous round. An 8-2 win over Villareal sent Fisher to a winners’ side semifinal against Siming Chen, who’d defeated Line Kjorsivik 8-4 and Caroline Pao 8-3 to reach her. Melissa Little and Ga Young Kim squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Fisher defeated Chen 8-2 and arrived at the hot seat match with an aggregate score of 32-9 (78%). Kim sent Little to the loss side 8-2, as well, and she came to the hot seat with an aggregate score of 32-14 (69%). Allison claimed the hot seat 8-3 over Kim and waited on her return from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Chen picked up Barretta, who was in the midst of a four-match, loss-side winning streak that had included victories over Jeannette Lee (8-5), Jia Li (8-4) and Brittany Bryant 8-5. Little drew The Grinder, teenager April Larson, who’d been defeated by Jia Li on the winners’ side of the final bracket, and was in the midst of a six-match winning streak that would take her as far as the semifinals. Larson had most recently eliminated Vivian Villareal and Caroline Pao, both 8-3.
Larson advanced to the quarterfinals with an 8-5 win over Little, and was joined by Chen, who’d defeated Barretta 8-2. Larson took the quarterfinal match over Siming Chen 8-5.
Larson’s remarkable run ended in the semifinals, when Kim defeated her 8-5. Kim’s second shot against Fisher, waiting for her in the hot seat, was a tightly contested, double hill battle. Fisher closed it out to claim the WPBA’s 2018 Ho-Chunk Classic.
The AWBT’s yearly trip to Tucson on October 25th and 26th saw Bernie Store get her first win of the year, and regain her spot at the top of the AWBT points list with just one event to go. The event also saw the emergence of a player, Tina Hess, who looks fully capable of winning events on tour.
The extra distance to Tucson may have dissuaded the Nevada players, but Tucson and Southern California were both well represented along with most of the top ladies from the Phoenix area in the field of 25 players.
It took no time at all for the upsets to start piling up as both Barbara Lee – Runner up from last month – and Susan Wilbur dropped first round matches. Lee would still make it to Sunday play, but Wilbur would not get past Sonia Flores on the one loss side.
Tour veteran Susan Williams came up just short of Sunday main event play as she won her first two matches and then lost to last month’s winner (and World traveller) Sara Miller 7-5. Things went from bad to worse for Williams as she lost to Alicia Streenz 7-5 in her next match and was eliminated out of the money.
The final four on the winners side on Sunday morning were Bernie Store, Sara Miller, Tucson’s Michelle Trevino and Tina Hess. Hess recently moved to Phoenix from Indiana, but she has been playing on regional tours across the country for many years and was expected to make a splash on the tour in a short period of time.
The final four on the one loss side were Alicia Streenz, Anne Gray, Barbara Lee and Sonia Flores.
Sunday matches got underway and the winners side saw Store send Sara Miller to the one loss side 7-3 and Hess defeat Trevino 7-2. Bernie would capture the hot-seat with a hard fought 7-5 win over Hess.
On the one loss side, Streenz and Flores settled for 7th place after losses to Gray and Lee. Gray had lost her second match of the event, but had put together an impressive run of four wins on the left side of the board and Michelle Trevino became win #5 for Gray. Trevino was joined in 5th place by Barbara Lee as Sara Miller handed Lee loss #2 by the score of 7-3.
Sara Miller kept her hopes for a repeat win on tour alive with a decisive 7-3 win over Anne Gray, but those hopes would be dashed in the semi-final match as Miller lost to Hess 7-2.
Store came out on fire in the final match and raced to what looked like an insurmountable 8-1 lead. Hess mounted a comeback and took advantage of a couple missed shots by Store to get back within two racks at 8-6 before missing a six ball that left Store four balls for the tournament win. Store would run out for the final 9-6 win.
Store was complimentary of her finals opponent when it was all over. She commented, “(Tina) plays a very good game, I think she’ll be able to compete with the top contenders in the AWBT.”
Store also commented on her lack of time in the winners circle so far this year. She said “(I) can’t believe this was my first win this season. I’m excited that I won an event before the season was over. Hopefully winning more than one event next season, but placing high in most of the events has kept me in the top. It’s been fun, only my 2nd year playing and I won the tour last year, trying to win this season too.”
Hess had great things to say about her fellow competitors and the tour itself after the event finished. “The pool hall we played at in Tucson was one of the nicest rooms I have ever played in. (They had) great tables, food etc. The women who play on this tour are awesome. I learned … just by watching some of the talented players play. Tres and Kristie do a great job running the tour as well. I felt welcomed from the very beginning here.” said Hess.
Although she failed to cash in the main event, Susan Williams cruised through the second chance event on Sunday and took first place with a 5-2 win over Rayna Gainey.
Tour director Tres Kane passed on the tour’s thanks to Pockets Owner Lenny and his son Curtis Johnson for hosting and adding $300 to the main event and $50 to the second chance. He also thanks the friends of the AWBT for adding $100. Tres and fellow tour director Kristie Ortega also added $70 to the second chance event.
The Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour kicked off their 2014 season with a field of thirty one players at Skip & Jan’s in Tempe, Az. The tournament drew players from as far away as New Mexico, California and Nevada. In the end, it was the players from Nevada that dominated the weekend.
Saturday saw it’s fair share of upsets and marquee match ups. Susan Wilbur dropped back-to-back matches to Marcy Thomas and Cathy Kelley to finish in a surprising 25th place. Sara Miller and Amanda Pulley were also victims of first round losses and found themselves on the left side of the board much sooner than they had hoped. Miller would score four left side wins on Saturday, but Pulley would fall to Tina Feliciano and finish in a disappointing 17th place.
Sunday play brought back eight players to fight it out for the tournament win.
Winner’s side matches saw Las Vegas’ Rebecca Wagner score a 7-0 win over Becky Onnembo. In the other winners side match, Bernie Store defeated Vegas’ Tina Larson 7-2. The hot-seat match saw Wagner grind out a 7-3 win over Store.
The one loss side saw Sara Miller send Tracie Hamman back to Tucson with a 7-5 scoreline, and Stacy Allsup eliminate Susan Williams 7-5. Miller and Allsup would continue their winning ways and defeat Tina Larson and Becky Onnembo in the next round.
The final four players would feature two of Arizona’s best along with two of Nevada’s best. Bernie Store would soon become the final hope for Arizona, after Stacy Allsup’s 7-1 win over Sara Miller. Bernie would avenge that loss for Arizona though, with a 7-5 win over Allsup to earn a rematch with Wagner in the finals.
The extended final match saw Wagner come out of the gate strong and take a quick 3-0 lead. Store would stop the bleeding at 3-1, but Wagner continued to cruise and soon held a 7-1 lead. Store is not one to just give up though, and she fought back with three wins to get back within three games at 7-4, before Wagner won the final two games for the 9-4 win and first place.
The second chance tournament on Sunday saw Las Vegas’ Katy Moore complete the Vegas sweep with a win over Donna Taylor in the finals.
Main event winner Rebecca Wagner commented after the event, “Las Vegas came as a team and represented well. We had a blast. Our goal was to have lots of fun and for one of us to win. So, mission accomplished!”
AWBT Staff send their thanks to all of the ladies who travelled from out of town to make this a great event.
They also sent thanks to Natalie Poyner and the staff at Skip & Jan’s for hosting the event and adding $300 to the main event and $50 to the second chance tournament.
Thanks to Jose Gonzales of Las Glorias Grille for adding $100, and the friends of the AWBT for adding another $100.
Thanks for Kristie and Scott for running another great tournament.
Rodney Morris, Lenny Marshall, Larry Chiborak, Ed Gonzalez, Scott Frost
The World Professional Billiard League held their first amateur tournament in Phoenix, AZ on January 11, 2014. The tournament which featured the game of Bonus Ball, had a division for both men and women.
Michael Bates owner of Bull Shooters hosted the event with the assistance of Tres Kane and Phoenix Fire captain Scott Frost. The facility which boasts 44 tables under 20,000 sq. ft. of space, drew 30 participants and numerous spectators. Fans and players gathered at noon for a two hour exhibition instructed by Frost, Chicago Rockets captain Rodney Morris and WPBL President Larry Chiborak. The exhibition consisted of teaching the six pocket amateur version of Bonus Ball. The rules for this version only require the use of one specialty shot, all six pockets and is handicapped for all amateurs to play.
The double elimination tournament was won by Ed Gonzalez in the Men’s Division with Lenny Marshall as runner-up. Susan Wilbur took the top spot in the Women’s Division and Sara Miller came in second; in addition, Abie Padilla took home a new set of Bonus Ball as the raffle prize winner. Gonzalez, who frequently watches the pro matches on the WPBL website was so impressed with the event he had this to say about the WPBL and Bonus Ball “first class….I see this game going places”. Miller stated she was skeptical at first, although “after playing a couple of games…it was awesome…I have fallen in love with playing”.
The WPBL has plans of hosting exhibitions and amateur tournaments in the US after the conclusion of the league championship in February. Larry Chiborak was pleased with the response from those in attendance saying “we know this is a new game and some may think it is only for the pros….we want everyone to know that players of all levels can play the game of Bonus Ball…and will continue to bring the game directly to our fans through similar events in 2014”.
Please follow the WPBL as the playoffs draw near, additional announcements and updates will be made frequently. For a complete listing of broadcast matches, standings, merchandise and more visit the www.wpbltv.com.
The Arizona Women’s Billiards Tour crowned it’s fifth different event winner, and a rookie event winner, at the final stop of the 2013 season at Bull Shooters on November 16th and 17th.
Saturday play saw it’s fair share of early favorites taking losses much sooner than they had hoped. April winner (and current points leader) Bernie Store handed Stacy Allsup a loss early on Saturday, but Store would soon join Allsup on the left side of the board after a loss to tour veteran Susan Mello.
Miller ended her streak of cashes after a loss to Nancy Ann Kennedy was followed up with a loss to Bernie Store late on Saturday.
Sunday morning brought eight players back with two time winner Susan Wililams facing Susan Wilbur and Susan Mello taking on Amanda Pulley. Both of these matches would be true battles with Pulley falling to Mello and Williams losing to Wilbur.
Meanwhile, Bernie Store was sending Jodie Villegas back to the one pocket table 7-5, and Nina Tagley was eliminating Stacey Allsup 7-6.
Next up on the one loss side was a battle between first and second place on the points list as points leader Bernie Store eliminated #2 ranked Susan Williams 7-5 to end Williams’ hopes for a tour points win for the year. The other one loss side match saw Pulley eliminate Nina Tagley in 5th place.
Back on the winners side, Susan Mello and Susan Wilbur were facing off in another battle. Mello looked to be running away with things at 5-1, but Wilbur won back to back games to get back within two at 5-3 before Mello win the final two games to the take her first hot-seat of the season.
On the one loss side, Bernie Store was taking on Amanda Pulley in a back and forth match. Pulley raced to a 4-1 lead, but Bernie soon righted her ship and clawed back to tie things up at 6-6. The comeback would prove to be for naught as Pulley dispatched Store 7-6 to end Store’s day in 4th place.
Next up was the match of the day as Amanda Pulley took on Susan Wilbur. This match started out firmly in Wilbur’s control as Pulley couldn’t seem to get anything together. Wilbur held a commanding 6-1 lead when Pulley started her comeback. The roles suddenly reversed and it was Wilbur who couldn’t close out a game and Pulley would took the reins of the match. Pulley won six straight games to earn a 7-6 victory and a spot in her first final match of the season.
The final extended race to nine match saw Susan Mello take an early 2-0 lead, but Amanda quickly erased that lead and tied the score at 2-2. Mello seemed to struggle closing out games in this match and Pulley was more than happy taking full advantage of those mistakes. Pulley won four more games to lead 6-2 before Mello would move another bead for herself. There would be no comeback for Mello as Pulley finished off the last two games for the lopsided 9-3 win and her first AWBT event win.
Sunday’s second chance tournament saw Terri Johnson-McCauley beat Beth Orth in the finals for first place.
Assistant Tour Director Tres Kane commented after the tournament, “The 2013 season was a great year for the AWBT with a lot of new faces winning and cashing. We celebrated not only the great competition but also a wonderful fellowship that will carry us into a very robust and successful 2014 season.”
The AWBT wants to thank BullShooters owners Mike and Julie Bates for hosting and adding a total of $400 to both tournaments. We want to thank Jose Gonzalez of Las Glorias Grille for adding $100 and the Friends of the AWBT for adding $200. Thanks to Kristie Ortega and her man Scooter for running another smooth tournament.
Don’t forget to come out and support the WPBA’s Regional Tour Championships at Bullshooters January 16-19.
On October 19th and 20th, Pockets of Tucson played host to 21 ladies of the AWBT. Susan Williams came away with her second championship in a row by beating Bernie Store 9-7 in the one set final. The win left Susan10 points behind Bernie in the race for the Tour Championship with one event still to play.
Susan eased her way into the tournament with a first round bye and then had wins over Jaye Succo (7-4) and Sara Miller (7-6) to make Sunday’s final 4 winners. Williams dispatched Amanda Pulley (7-0) but then lost to Store (7-4) for the Hot seat. Bernie’s path to the finals also started with a bye and then wins over Renay Justus (7-5), Jodi Hirning (7-4), Rebecca Wagner (7-5), and then Williams to win the hot seat. Bernie had to wait while Susan took on Rebecca Wagner. Rebecca was sent to the Loser’s side by Bernie but then won a close (7-6) match over Sara Miller and then bested her Las Vegas road partner Stacy Allsup (7-3). This set up a match between the two Tour Champions. In a very close set that went down to the last 9-ball Susan eked out a 7-6 win.
In the one race to nine final Susan jumped out to a big early lead and it appeared that the final was going to be a walkover. With Susan needing only 2 games, Bernie dug in and crawled her way back into the match to get to 7-8. Not wanting it to get to hill hill, Susan won game 16 and the match 9-7 for her second tournament in a row. These ladies put on a great show for the many fans who came out from the Tucson pool scene.
The other Sunday finalists were Stacy Allsup who came all the way from Las Vegas in 4th place. Sara Miller finished in 5th, stopped only by two heartbreaking 6-7 losses. Amanda Pulley, one of the AWBT’s young guns, also took home 5th money. Always in the cash, Susan Wilbur was 7th, along with Jodi Hirning making her second consecutive final 8.
The AWBT welcomed several new ladies from the local bar table leagues. While no Tucson woman made the final 8, these ladies exhibited plenty of skills and we look forward to having them compete and cash in our future events. A big thanks goes out to Tracie Hamman for her work in getting these girls out to play.
Sunday’s Second Chance had an additional $50 added to it by Pockets owners Lenny and son
Curtis Johnson (thanks). Lois Schnitt, who only played the Sunday event, beat Jaye Succo to win the 13 player redemption event. Lois’ fine play left us wondering about where she would have placed in the main event. Great Job Lois and thanks to all the ladies who came back to play on Sunday.
Thanks to Lenny Johnson and son Curtis for hosting and adding a total of $350 to our event.Thanks to the always friendly and capable staff of Pockets who make this a favorite stop each year.Thanks to the Tucson pool fans who came out in large numbers to root our ladies on.Thanks to The Friends of the AWBT for adding $200.Thanks to my co-director Kristie Ortega and Scott for putting on another fine event.
Our next event will be November 16th at Bullshooters.
The Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour held their June event at Skip & Jan’s Sports Bar in Tempe, Az on June 8th – 9th – and Jaye Succo showed the field of twenty players why matches aren’t decided on paper.
The field included the usual selection of top talent from Arizona, Las Vegas, New Mexico and Wisconsin; with top seeds that included Bernie Store, Susan Williams, Sara Miller and Vegas’ Stacy Allsup.
Bernie Store looked like the player to beat early on this weekend as she scored day one wins over Tracie Hamman, Susan Wilbur and Sara Miller. On the opposite side of the board, Jaye Succo had day one wins over Lynor Johnson, Beth Orth and Amanda Pulley to remain undefeated going into Sunday play.
Two favorites that didn’t escape day one were Susan Williams and Stacy Allsup. After a first round bye, Williams dropped a hill-hill decision to Susan Wilbur and was eliminated two matches later by Tracie Hamman. Allsup’s day was even worse with a “two and out” performance.
Play got underway on Sunday with Bernie & Jaye being joined by six players on the one loss side. That number would be cut to four players on the one loss side with Orth defeating Hamman 7-6 and Wilbur defeating Justine Bishop 7-4.
Sara Miller would then end Orth’s day with a 7-1 scoreline, and Wilbur kept her tournament hopes alive with a 7-2 win over Amanda Pulley.
The final four players would then be in action with Sara Miller snuffing out Susan Wilbur’s tournament hopes 7-3, while Bernie faced off against Jaye for the hot-seat.
On paper, the hot-seat match should have been a no-brainer. Bernie hasn’t finished lower than 2nd place all season and this would be Succo’s first time playing for an AWBT hot-seat. The race to seven match saw Bernie making her way to the hill first with a 6-3 lead. Neither player looked to be enjoying fighting with the tough pockets at Skip & Jan’s, and Bernie appeared to tighten up a little when she got to the hill. Jaye showed that she was more than capable of taking advantage of Bernie’s uncharacteristic careful play as she won the next four games to take the hot-seat 7-6.
On the one loss side, Bernie looked like the player we are all used to watching as she broke open a close 2-2 match to quickly dispatch Sara Miller 7-3 and earn the chance to redeem herself against Succo in the finals.
The final match was a race to nine and it would go all the way to the 17th game to determine a final winner. A 2-0 Store lead was tied up at 2-2. Bernie would then surge ahead 5-2, but Jaye clawed back to 5-4. It was then that Bernie took control of the match and raced to the hill at 8-5. Jaye would need to win four games before Bernie won one more. Jaye took the next rack, and then the next. Before the fans knew what had happened, Succo had erased another three rack deficit and tied the match at 8-8. The final game would be decided quickly when Store hung the 9-ball in the corner pocket and left an unmissable 1-9 combo. Succo did not miss the combo as she celebrated her first AWBT tour victory.
While fans who were not in attendance might have been surprised by these results, tour director Tres Kane showed no surprise at all. “Jaye is playing up to her ability today”, he said. “I have watched her playing Sunday night league against some of the top players in Phoenix and she has learned a lot over these last few months” he commented.
Succo definitely looked at the tournament as an accomplishment. After the event, she said “I’m ready for any challenge thrown my way. I knew I had to work my way up, as far as the standings and actually winning a stop, but I didn’t think it would happen this fast – especially against someone who shoots as well as Bernie.”
