by InsidePOOL Staff

Joe Palone enjoyed an undefeated run through the field at the Tri-State Tour’s January 28 stop to take the title over Randy Mackin in the finals. The $750-added stop attracted 41 A-D players to Port Richmond Billiards in Staten Island, NY.

Palone and Mackin first met in the hot seat match after wins over Rhio Anne Flores 7-2 and Tony Ignomirello 6-3, respectively. The winners’ side final match went double-hill, with Palone eking out a 7-6 victory and sending Mackin to the left side of the bracket.

left to right: 2nd Place - Randy Mackin; 1st Place - Joe Palone , 3rd Place - Rick Shellhouse

Flores foundered on the one-loss side and was sent home in fifth place by Rajesh Vannala 7-4. Tying with her was Ignomirello, who was eliminated by Rick Shellhouse in a lopsided 6-1 match. Shellhouse went on to play Vannala in the quarterfinal match, narrowly winning 8-6.

Eager to earn revenge over Palone in the finals, Mackin soundly defeated Shellhouse in the semis 6-2. In his second meeting with Palone, though, Mackin found it difficult to keep up, and Palone soon skated to the winner’s circle 7-3.

Results:
1st Joe Palone $650
2nd Randy Mackin $440
3rd Rick Shellhouse $270
4th Rajesh Vannala $160
5th Rhio Anne Flores $105
Tony Ignomirello
7th Gary Murgia $80
Ben Castaneros

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Lone Star Billiards Tour held its annual championship event December 10-11 at Bogies Billiards in Houston, TX, and crowned five winners. The five-division 9-ball event boasted a $2,000-added purse and was live-streamed for all the fans unable to attend. The amateur and open divisions saw 77 entries, with the one-pocket, ladies’, and juniors’ divisions totaling 28 entries.

Open action saw upsets that included junior phenom Joey Torres over Lanny Herrin and twice over Ernesto Bayaua. Tommy Tokoph fell to Bayaua in the second round 9-6 but came back with five straight wins over Bill Fuller, Sonny Bosshamer, Kenneth Price, Sylver Ochoa, and Herrin until he met a vengeful Bayaua. The hot seat match featured Torres and the indomitable James Baraks, who had earlier eliminated Tim Heath, Ochoa, and Bernard Walker during his trek. Torres lost the set when he missed a crucial 9 ball at 8-7. After Torres passed Bayaua 7-6, Baraks made quick work of Torres in the final, settling the question 9-4 and taking his second consecutive open division title win.

Brand new to the winners’ circle and the talk of the tournament was Kenneth Price. He conquered the amateur field undefeated with wins over Allen Baker 7-4, Tim Heath 7-3, and Ty Few 7-1. Will Felder was on roll of his own with wins over Bobby Perez 7-6, Charlie Mora 7-6, and Mitchell Lang 7-6. It was Price versus Felder for the hot seat match with Price moving forward 7-4. This loss earned Felder another round with Mora, but this time Mora took it down 5-2. Grady Cooper and Brian Rosenbaum made incredible bids after losing in the first round. Cooper fell to Bill Fuller after four consecutive wins, while Rosenbaum secured five straight wins before falling to Heath5-4. When the smoke cleared on the one-loss side, it was Mora who eliminated Heath 5-4 and earned himself a rematch with Felder. This time Mora took down Felder 5-2 but was brought down by Price in the final 7-5.

Joey Torres, James Baraks

In the juniors’ division, Nick Calderaro captured his second Lone Star Tour event, this time from the one-loss side. He bested the undefeated Joey Torres 7-5 and then 5-1 to win the final juniors’ event of 2011.

Mike Calderaro, Nick Calderaro, Joey Torres

Amateur Results:
1st Kenneth Price $600
2nd Charlie Mora $475
3rd Will Felder $290
4th Tim Heath $125
5th Ty Few $75
Mitchell Lang
7th Jason Pearce $50
Brian Rosenbaum
9th Jason Smiser $25
Bill Fuller
Jeff Fox
Joey Torres

Sylver Ochoa, Courtney Peters

One-Pocket Results:
1st Sylver Ochoa $300
2nd Charlie Mora $180
3rd Ernesto Bayaua $100

Juniors’ Results:
1st Nick Calderaro $90
2nd Joey Torres $60
3rd Mike Calderaro $40

Lucasi Hybrid Cues All-American Tour

by Mimi McAndrews

What started out to be a miserable day had a happy ending as Jeannie Seaver won the Flamingo Billiards Tour 3^rd Annual “Cues for the Cure” event, which was combined with the Lucasi Hybrid Cues All-American Tour’s October 8 tournament, hosted by Amy’s Billiards in Stuart, FL.

Seaver almost didn’t make it to the event. Both she and sister, Vanessa Seaver, ended up in a car accident when the weather and road conditions became unmanageable. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, at least not enough to stop either from making it to the event, making it to the money, and winning the tournament.

Seaver had a tough first match, but despite the mishap on the way to the event, she managed to pull off a tough hill-hill win against room owner Amy Poulter. After that it was smooth sailing with a 7-2 win over Kelly Cavanaugh and a 7-2 score over Marina Souza to make it to the single-elimination redraw. There Seaver knocked out top player Helene Caukin 7-4 and sister Vanessa 7-3 to make it to the final match.

Meeting her there was Jennifer Page, who had just eliminated Cassidy Mulligan in third place. The match went back and forth all the way to double-hill. Just when it looked like Seaver would run out and take the win, with two balls to go she left herself with a tough shot to get shape on the 9. She gave it her all but missed, leaving a tricky but makeable cut shot in the side pocket for Page. But just when it looked like it was over for Seaver, a little too much inside english saw Page fail to make the cut in the side and miss the ball entirely, giving ball in hand to Seaver, who easily ran out the last two balls and won the event.

Seaver almost didn’t make it to the event. Both she and sister, Vanessa Seaver, ended up in a car accident when the weather and road conditions became unmanageable.

Results:

1^st Jeannie Seaver $400

2^nd Jennifer Page $250

3^rd Cassidy Mulligan $100

Vanessa Seaver

5^th Helene Caukin $50

Chris Ann Fields

Robin Boggs

Lauren Pickard

by InsidePOOL Staff

Greg Antonakos escaped defeat until he reached the finals of the October 8-9 Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, where he was bested by Chance Chin in the first set. He redeemed himself in the second set, though, to take the title over the 36-player field that gathered at Trick Shot Billiards and Sports Bar in Clifton Park, NY.

With a total prize fund $3,450, the competition was fierce. Antonakos, who has won at the Joss Tour once before, sent Jeff Smolen packing in the winners’ side final four 9-4, while tour promoter Mike Zuglan eked out a nail-biting 9-8 victory over Bucky Souvanthong. But Zuglan soon followed, as Antonakos claimed the hot seat with a decisive 9-4 win.

After whitewashing Angelo Hilton 9-0, Dwight Dixon sent Souvanthong home in fifth place 9-5. Joining Souvanthong was Smolen, ousted by Chin in a close 9-7 match. Chin went on to face down Dixon and advance to the semifinal match 9-5.

Zuglan was waiting for Chin, who was determined to reach the unscathed Antonakos and relegated Zuglan to third place 9-4. Chin was geared up for the first set of the finals and dominated the match to win it 9-4. But the second set was another story, as Antonakos turned the tables and took the match and title 9-3.

There were 14 players in the second chance event, which had a $780 prize fund. Spencer Auigbelle went undefeated and bested Kevin Ketz 3-1 in the finals.

Greg Antonakos escaped defeat until he reached the finals of the October 8-9 Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, where he was bested by Chance Chin in the first set.

Main Event Results:
1st Greg Antonakos $1,000
2nd Chance Chin $750
3rd Mike Zuglan $550
4th Dwight Dixon $400
5th Bucky Souvanthong $250
Jeff Smolen
7th Angelo Hilton $125
Geoff Montgomery

Second Chance Results:
1st Spencer Auigbelle $300
2nd Kevin Ketz $200
3rd John Babravich $120
4th Bruce Carroll $80
5th Paul Pickard $40
Pete Mitchell

by Jerry Tarantola and Alison Fischer, NYCgrind.com

The Predator Pro-Am Tour’s twelfth stop of the season rolled through Cue Nine in Levittown, NY, October 1-2. The event drew top amateurs and pros for their respective events, and while there was stand-out play by several people in the two events, the big buzz was all about one person in particular: Jennifer “9MM” Barretta.

Barretta came out to compete against the best and ended up proving that her “9MM” firepower was enough to battle against the big guns. She started out with a win over Jerry Tarantola 8-4 and then defeated her first teacher and the tour’s number-one-ranked player, Tony Robles, for the first time.

However, she was sent to the one-loss side after an impressive performance by Jeremy Sossei. Barretta then bounced back with an 8-7 hill-hill win over Gregg McAndrews in the semifinal, earning her a spot in the finals.

There Barretta played a spectacular set en route to an 11-4 final scoreline over her rematch with Sossei, putting an exclamation on making history. With this win, Barretta became the first female pool player to ever win an open/pro event on the Predator Tour.

In the Predator Tour’s amateur 9-ball event, 45 players came out to compete at Cue Nine. Daniel Dagotdot came into this event as one of hottest amateur players in the Tri-State area right now and was looking to prove he could hang at his newly appointed A+ rating.

However, he had a rough start to the event, taking a first-round loss on the hill 7-6 to Jamie Gremmo. But he won the next nine consecutive matches to earn a spot in the finals.

Meanwhile, Luis Novas took control in the winners’ bracket, running through to the finals undefeated. At the end of the day, Novas and Dagotdot decided to split the victory and be co-champions of the event.

L-R Daniel Dagotdot, Luis Novas (Co-Champions) & 3rd Place finisher: Wellington Reyes

by InsidePOOL Staff

There were 92 players who entered the August 13-14 $1,000-added Lone Star 9-Ball event at Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, TX. With 4 divisions, 92 players, and 139 entries, this event was another chart-topper for the Lone Star Billiards Tour. James Davis Sr., Casey Crews, David Henson, and Gail Eaton were the players who rose to the top of their respective divisions to take the titles.

There were 92 players who entered the August 13-14 $1,000-added Lone Star 9-Ball event at Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, TX. With 4 divisions, 92 players, and 139 entries, this event was another chart-topper for the Lone Star Billiards Tour.

Fifty players participated in the open division. On the final four on the winners’ side, James Davis Sr. moved past Kevin Guimond 9-2, while Al Mason finished Frank Ferrer 9-3. It was Davis Sr. over Mason 9-7 for the hot seat, while David Henson added James Davis Jr. and Mason to his list of ten consecutive victims after losing his first-round match to Mason. The final match between Henson and Davis Sr. wowed the crowd as both players fought tooth and nail for every ball. Davis Sr. ended Henson’s run in the first set by a score of 9-7.

On the east side for the hot seat in the 50-player amateur event, Mauricio Chairez inched by Tom Mooney 3-2, while on the west, Casey Crews and Jacob Jones made their way into the final four. Crews came alive after grueling wins over Cliff Johnson, Jones, and Mooney. The first set of the finals saw Crews breeze by Chairez 3-1. In overtime Crews kept pace as Chairez watched from his chair. At 2-0, Crews broke the balls and the 9 ball rolled in clean for a 3-0 shutout.

In the 20-player one-pocket division, Henson blew through the bracket undefeated with wins over Mason, Rocky Esquival, and Davis Sr. Making a bid of his own, Davis Jr. defeated Crews and Rod Gustafson before Henson took the hot seat from him 3-2. After a first-round loss to Henson, Davis Sr. blew through the one-loss side, winning eight consecutive matches, which included wins over Eaton, Mason, Gustafson, Esquival, Davis Jr., and finally two sets over Henson 3-2, 2-1.

The ladies’ open 9-ball event saw 19 contestants compete for almost $1,000 in prize money. On the final four winners’ side it was Cristina De La Garza over Nancy French 7-4, while Gail Eaton bested Jennifer Kraber 7-2. Eaton captured the hot seat 7-4 over De La Garza to await a finals opponent. Sanders plowed through the one-loss side with five consecutive wins and Mary Gros with four, but both were eliminated by Kraber 5-3, 5-4, respectively. Kraber left De La Garza in her wake as well, earning herself a shot at Eaton. Kraber captured the first set with ease 7-2, but her victory was short-lived. After a break between sets, Eaton was more determined than ever and shut out Kraber in the second set 5-0.

In the 20-player one-pocket division, Henson blew through the bracket undefeated with wins over Mason, Rocky Esquival, and Davis Sr. Making a bid of his own, Davis Jr. defeated Crews and Rod Gustafson before Henson took the hot seat from him 3-2.

Open Results:
1st James Davis Sr. $600
2nd David Henson $400
3rd Al Mason $270
4th James Davis Jr. $150
5th Kevin Guimond $90
Frank Ferrer
7th Tracy Sanders $75
Brian Sanders
9th Chris Haussman $50
Drew McCoy
Ray Tull
Mauricio Chairez

Amateur Results:
1st Casey Crews $350
2nd Mauricio Chairez $225
3rd Tom Mooney $165
4th Jacob Jones $120
5th Cliff Johnson $70
Fidel Gonzalez
7th Cindy Parvala $50
Kim Sanders
9th Berto Gonzalez $25
T.J Ortiz
Ian Leyendecker
Matt Jarolik

One-Pocket Results:
1st James Davis Read more ...]]> http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiards/four-score-lone-star-billiard-wins.html/feed 0 http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/ochoa-and-poon-win-biggest-lone-star-billiards-event-ever.html http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/ochoa-and-poon-win-biggest-lone-star-billiards-event-ever.html#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 01:14:10 +0000 Pool and Billiards News http://www.insidepoolmag.com/?p=16105 Ochoa and Poon Win Biggest Lone Star Billiards Event Ever
Lone Star Billiards Tour / Spring, TX

by InsidePOOL Staff

During the July 23-24 weekend the Lone Star Billiards Tour event held a 9-ball extravaganza in Spring, TX, that broke its all-time player attendance record of 98 players in 2009. Billy Sharp, Sylver Ochoa, Ernesto Bayaua

During the July 23-24 weekend the Lone Star Billiards Tour event held a 9-ball extravaganza in Spring, TX, that broke its all-time player attendance record of 98 players in 2009. This weekend at Big Tyme Billiards there were 99 individual players and 124 total entries that spanned five divisions, with Sylver Ochoa, Jonathan Poon, Terry Petrosino, and Joey Torres earning top finishes.

Saturday’s 9-ball action yielded 37 participants and a few surprises on the way to the final 12 for Sunday. During Sunday’s final four undefeated match-ups, Chuck Coignard caved to Ernesto Bayaua 9-5, and Ochoa bested Jason Pearce 9-4. On the west side, Grady Cooper, Mark Avery, Will Felder, and Jim Walker made Sunday’s cut, but it was Billy Sharp and Jason Bacon who both won six consecutive matches after early losses to meet one another in the quarterfinals, with Sharp edging out Bacon hill-hill. Vying for his first LSBT victory, Bayaua bested Sharp 7-5 but fell to multi-event winner Ochoa in the final match 9-5.

Shane Thompson, Joey Torres, Jonathan Poon

In the six-player one-pocket division, Ochoa captured the winners’ bracket over Mike Alonzo, while Carl Miranda bested Ernesto Bayaua 2-1 and Dan Barton 2-0. Miranda was eliminated by Alonzo 2-0, and in turn, Alonzo was eliminated by Ochoa in the final match.

The ladies’ 9-ball division yielded 13 competitors who played for over $600 in prize money. It was a mother and daughter shoot-out for the hot seat with Terry and Robyn Petrosino, while Angela Martinez blazed through the one-loss side after her first round loss to Belinda Lee. Rebecca Riley and Mercedes Perez lost their bids for the hot seat match. On the west side Riley defeated Belinda Lee 5-3 and advanced to the final four on the one-loss side, while Martinez eliminated Perez 5-1 and then Riley 5-4. Robyn Petrosino captured the hot seat, while the elder Petrosino plowed through Martinez 5-1 to meet her daughter once again. This time it was a different story as Terry Petrosino bested the junior to win this weekend’s ladies amateur event.

Three pairs of siblings competed in the ten-player junior 9-ball division. On the final four winners’ side, Joey Torres bested brother J.C. and Mike Calderaro beat Ron Esman. On the west side, Kody Thompson eliminated sister Nicole, and Michael Fain ousted Nick Calderaro. Meanwhile, Torres captured the hot seat 7-1 over Nick Calderaro. Big brother then took care of Fain and Calderaro, only to lose at the hands of his younger brother 7-5.

Read more ...

Matthews, NC – July 22, 2011

Fury Cues has teamed up with leading online billiards retailer CueSight.com to present an opportunity to win a free Fury pool cue in the Fury Seminole Pro Tour Challenge. The first challenge was so much fun, Fury Cues and CueSight.com have decided to extend the Seminole Pro Tour Challenge to every event on the Seminole Pro Tour this season. The next event is at Snooker’s in Providence, RI, August 5th – 7th.

The Seminole Pro Tour Challenge is open to all US residents. Contestants will select the winner, runner-up, and a final score tiebreaker of the next Seminole Pro Tour stop. The winner will be selected based on those entries that have correctly chosen both the winner and runner-up. In the event of a tie, the final score tiebreaker will be used to determine the winner. If you are the lucky one to pick the winner and runner-up of the event correctly, you will win a FREE Fury pool cue. For complete rules and to enter, visit http://www.cuesight.com/. Entries must be complete by midnight August 5, 2011.

In just a few short years, the Seminole Pro Tour has established itself as the premier professional billiards tour in the US. Starting in Florida 5 years ago, the tour has now expanded and includes stops from coast to coast, all leading up to its season finale, the $50,000 added Mizerak Championship. This season the tour has added more money than ever before, and many of the events allow players to accumulate ranking points for international tournaments and the Mosconi Cup. The tour is open to men and women, and attracts the top billiards players from all over the country. Live stream pay-per-view is available for each and every event.

For more information about Fury Cues visit http://www.fury-cues.com/.

For more information about the Seminole Pro Tour visit, http://www.seminoleprotour.com/.

Boynton Beach, Fla. (July 16, 2011) – The day paid off for some players who came out to the first men and women’s $500-added Open 9-Ball event hosted by the Flamingo Billiards Tour on Saturday at Slate Billiards in Boynton Beach, FL. Anthony Meglino of Tamarac, Florida, took the honors and $750 at the July Jam event which drew a variety of players from all around South Florida. Included in the special guest list was Mike Dechaine, in town to support friend and room owner Mike Bradford.

Mike Bradford, room owner; Curtis Kelley, 2nd, Anthony Meglino, winner, and John Foster, 3rd.

Meglino’s day was a breeze until he met up with veteran player John Foster, who quickly sent Meglino west 7-1. Not to be deterred, Meglino made it back to the semi-finals stopping FBT member Sue Roberts, 5-0, with a record four 9-ball combos. Meglino followed up by knocking out room owner Mike Bradford, 5-0, and Stan Ketchum, 5-1, to get to the semi-final match.
On the winner’s side of the bracket, Curtis Kelley made it to the hot seat ending John Foster’s winning day in a tight match that went to the hill. Foster, who earlier sent Meglino west, came back to the semi-final through the one-loss side only to have the favor returned by Meglino. Meglino also stopped David Broxson, 5-1, who earlier ended Mike Dechaine’s guest appearance at the event. Jerry Calderon was out early as well.

In the final race to 11, it just wasn’t the day for Kelley, who’s back in tournament mode after being on paternity leave for nine months. Meglino quickly took the lead, 8-3. Just as it looked like Kelley was going to make a come-back wining the next two matches to make it 8-5, Meglino took over and won the next three games and the event.

Some of the event’s matches can be viewed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/billiardcommunity-com.

The FBT, a WPBA-Recognized Regional Tour, is the stepping stone to the WPBA for women in Florida who want to qualify for Women’s Professional Billiard
Association events. This is the first FBT-non-points 9-Ball event open to both women and men.

Many thanks again to room owners Mike Bradford and Joe Sistarelli, (www.billiardcommuntiy.com), for being great hosts and to Boynton Billiards (www.boyntonbilliards.com) for their support of the Flamingo Billiards Tour.

1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 5th 5th 7th 7th 9th
9th 9th
9th
RESULTS
($500-added, modified double-elimination)
Anthony Meglino ($750) Curtis Kelley ($450) John Foster ($250) David Broxson ($150)
Mike Dechaine ($100) Stan Ketcham ($100)
Mike Bradford ($75) Steve Giedratis ($75) Al Cashwell ($50) Debbie Barkley ($50)
Eric Barkley ($50) Sue Roberts ($50)
Emily Wilmoth Broxson won the paid entry for the FBT event.

by InsidePOOL Staff

A field of 57 billiards players gathered at Houston’s Sports Bar in Houston, TX, the weekend of July 9-10 for the $1,200-added Lone Star 9-Ball Open/Amateur billiard event. Local champions Mike Alonzo, Andy Jethwa, Sylver Ochoa, Waco’s own Doug Young, and amateur division players J.J. Manley, Chuck Coignard, Steve Lindgren, Damion Manning, Steve Braswell and numerous others competed in the one-day amateur, two-day open, and ladies’ divisions.

In the open division, Eric Renteria, William “Yoko” Joe, Leroy “Bull” Hawkins, and Jason Pearce all lost their bid for the winners’ side final four, which yielded Jethwa versus Alonzo and Ochoa against Young. Both Jethwa and Young defeated their opponents by the score of 9-4. As ferocious as Young played to get there, Jethwa stole his thunder and stopped him cold 9-2. On the west side, Ochoa made quick work of Joe 7-1 and Pearce fell to Alonzo 7-2. Ochoa went on to eliminate Alonzo 7-5 and dealt Young some payback 7-6. In the true double-elimination format, Ochoa came on strong the first set 9-1. In overtime, it was a different story. Jethwa was determined not to let this one get away, and he didn’t. By a score of 7-4, he captured his third Lone Star title win.

A field of 57 billiards players gathered at Houston’s Sports Bar in Houston, TX, the weekend of July 9-10 for the $1,200-added Lone Star 9-Ball Open/Amateur billiard event.

The amateurs’ side final four pitted Steve Lindgren versus Steve Braswell and J.J. Manley against Darryl Amos, while the one-loss side matched Ron Robleski versus Robert Hitchcock and Mike Moody against Abel Lara. When the smoke cleared on the east side, it was Lindgren over Braswell 4-1 and Manley over Amos 4-3, which paired Lindgren and Manley for the hot seat. On the one-loss side, Lara advanced past Braswell, Amos, and Manley but was stopped short by Lindgren in the second set of the true double-elimination final.

The $200-added ladies division drew 10 players and included Bastrop’s Kim Pierce and locals Robyn Petrosino, Tiffany Boysen, and Angela Martinez. East side action in the ladies’ event saw Petrosino defeat Pierce 7-2 and Angela Martinez best Natalie Smith. It was Martinez over Petrosino for the hot seat, while Pierce fought her way back with wins over Diana Cardona 5-2, Natalie Smith 5-2, and finally Petrosino 5-1 to meet Martinez. The first set went to Pierce 7-5. The second set was tied at 4-4 when Martinez missed the 4 ball in the side, costing her the set.

Open Results:
1st Andy Jethwa $530
2nd Sylver Ochoa $330
3rd Doug Young $200
4th Mike Alonzo $100
5th William Joe $70
Jason Pearce

Amateur Results:
1st Steve Lindgren $250
2nd Abel Lara $165
3rd J.J. Manley $100
4th Steve Braswell $50

Ladies’ Results:
1st Kim Pierce $200
2nd Angela Martinez $120
3rd Robyn Petrosino $80