by InsidePOOL Staff

The Lone Star Billiards Tour’s bar box 8-ball season opener was claimed by Marco Tschudi, who came out on top of a 59-player field at the $1,000-added January 22-23 event. There were also 14 ladies, 12 juniors, and 11 one-pocket players who converged on Bogies Billiards in Houston, TX.

On the east side, Castillo defeated Tschudi 6-2 and Hickman defeated Herrin 6-5, setting up the hot seat match between these two young guns. Castillo ran away with the set and the hot seat 6-2. Out west, Barry Strickland was ousted by Marco Tschudi 5-3, and Brent Thomas defeated Chris Young 5-3, who was on a role after a first-round upset by Dalton Riley. Thomas plowed through seven opponents, including Davis, Rosenbaum, and Herrin, but he fell short of Tschudi 5-1. Hickman shared the same 5-1 fate and the Swiss player moved on to play the undefeated Castillo in the finals.

Tschudi exacted his revenge on the San Antonio master player who had sent him west earlier 6-2. Castillo was defeated the first set 6-5 and the match went into overtime. In the second set, Castillo proved no match for the focused Tschudi and was laid to rest 5-1.

In the one-pocket event, David Gutierrez defeated Danny Lee for the hot seat, while Jason Brown fought through the one-loss side after he suffered a blow from Gutierrez in an earlier round. Brown defeated John Newsome, Lanny Herrin, and Lee for a rematch with Gutierrez. Brown came on strong from start to finish and scored a two-set win.

Juniors completed their 8-ball event on Saturday with Joey Torres, Robyn Petrosino, J.C. Torres, and Carlos Martinez, who finished first through fourth, respectively.

The ladies’ 8-ball event geared up Sunday. Ming Ng annihilated the 14-player women’s field with wins over 10-year-old Tiffany Abernathy, Terry Petrosino, and Courtney Peters. Peters bested Garland in the semifinals 4-3 but lost to Ng in the final match.

Rick Castillo and Marco Tschudi

Peters, Ng, Garland

Ladies’ Results:
1st Ming Ng $225
2nd Courtney Peters $170
3rd Teresa Garland $110
4th Belinda Lee $55

Juniors’ Results:
1st Joey Torres $75
2nd Robyn Petrosino $50
3rd J.C. Torres $35
4th Carlos Martinez $20

One-Pocket Results:
1st Jason Brown $365
2nd David Gutierrez $210
3rd Danny Lee $140

by InsidePOOL Staff

The $3,000-added Lone Star Billiards Tour Championships were a huge success and wrapped up the 2010 season by crowning multiple winners. The event was hosted by Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar in Houston, TX, December 11-12, and players from all over the south competed for over $13,000 in prize money with a record number of entries totaling 111.

Sylver Ochoa, Andy Jethwa, Raul Escobedo

Jason Brown took the 18-player one-pocket event by storm. He defeated Derek Fontenot, Sonny Bosshamer, Denis Strickland, and won his bid for the hot seat against James Davis Sr., who was on a roll of his own. On the one loss side, Strickland eliminated David Henson but fell to Davis Sr., who in turn lost to Brown in the finals 3-1.

The ladies’ event had a field of 16 and was full of heated competition and a few surprises. Courtney Peters defeated Amanda Hill 7-2, Kim Pierce 7-4, Terry Petrosino 7-3, and Ming Ng 7-6 to secure the winners’ side. Angela Martinez upset Terry Petrosino 5-4 but was eliminated by Ng 5-3. The final match was a nail-biter that saw Ng miss a crucial 8 ball at 6-5 to tie the match. Peters then pocketed the 8 ball but ran into the 9 ball, which forced her into a bank shot. She fired the ball cross-side in to win 7-5.

Ng, Peters

Open Results:
1st Andy Jethwa $1,000
2nd Raul Escobedo $700
3rd T.J. Davis $450
4th Jason Brown $320
5th David Henson $210
Denis Strickland
7th Sylver Ochoa $175
Ernesto Bayaua
9th Sonny Bosshamer $140
Barry Strickland
Victor Rojas
Brian Sanders
13th Brent Thomas $90
Bobby Perez
Roy Payton
Brian Hickman

Jason Brown

One-Pocket Results:
1st Jason Brown $560
2nd James Davis Sr. $420
3rd Denis Strickland $288
4th David Henson $144

Juniors’ Results:
1st Joey Torres $60
2nd James Parvala $40
3rd J.C. Torres $25
4th Johnny Lopez $15
5th Michael Fain $10

by InsidePOOL Staff

The first Lone Star Billiards Tour event held at the brand-new Houston’s Billiard Saloon drew Texas’ cream of the crop, including Charlie Bryant, David Gutierrez, Doug Young, Brian Rosenbaum, Andy Jethwa, Ernesto Bayaua, Marc “Mighty Mouse” Garza and junior champion brothers J.C. and Joey Torres. There were 51 entrants in all, with 11 women, who turned out to play for almost $4,000 in cash. Jethwa ended up in the winner’s circle for the first time on the tour, while Ming Ng continued her dominance over the ladies’ field.

Saturday’s play whittled the field down to 12 for Sunday. Winners’ side final eight match-ups included an all-Louisiana shoot-out between Robert Dorsey and Derrick Cantu, Grady Cooper versus Jethwa, Brent Thomas versus Bryant, and Gutierrez versus Rosenbaum. On the west side, it was Sonny Bosshamer, Yoko Joe, Young, and Garza. The winners’ side yielded Dorsey going on to face Jethwa, and Bryant matching up with Gutierrez. Cantu triumphed on the one-loss side to face Garza, while Thomas went up against Rosenbaum.

Ultimately, east side action saw Jethwa and Bryant face off for the hot seat. Jethwa played perfectly and defeated Bryant 9-3, while Dorsey and Gutierrez bested Rosenbaum and Garza, respectively. Gutierrez then eliminated Dorsey 7-2 and Bryant 7-5 to meet Jethwa in the final. The first set went to Gutierrez 9-6, but the second set was game for game. In the final hill-hill rack, the players traded shots on a 6 ball safety until Gutierrez made a crucial mistake that left Jethwa out.

The ladies’ event drew 11 top Texas women, including Terry Petrosino, Ng, Courtney Peters, Ricki Casper, Teresa Garland, and Austin favorite Jasmine Bartz. It was a mother-daughter hot seat match between Robyn Petrosino and mother Terry, with Terry advancing 7-2. After she suffered an initial final four blow by T. Petrosino 7-4, Ng fought back with wins over Casper, Peters, R. Petrosino, and finally T. Petrosino for the win.

Open Results:
1st Andy Jethwa $700
2nd David Gutierrez $500
3rd Charlie Bryant $300
4th Robert Dorsey $200
5th Brian Rosenbaum $100
Marc Garza
7th Brent Thomas $80
Derrrick Cantu
9th Sonny Bosshamer $45
Doug Young
Yoko Joe
Grady Cooper

Ladies’ Results:
1st Ming Ng $230
2nd Terry Petrosino $135
3rd Robyn Petrosino $90
4th Courtney Peters $50

by InsidePOOL Staff

Louisiana’s own Gary Abood took top honors at the Lone Star Billiards Tour’s June 5-6 stop in the 9-ball division, while Sylver Ochoa winning the one-pocket event and Kyu Yi the ladies’. The tour visited Tony Nguyen’s million-dollar creation, Crazy 8’s Pool Hall, which played host to 44 open players, 8 one-pocket players, and 12 ladies. It was a record event for the brand-new room, which sits on almost four acres of land in the heart of Port Arthur, TX.

In Sunday’s first one-pocket match, Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant bested Abood in the semifinals and moved on to play Ochoa in the final match. It was a hill-hill thriller and anyone’s game until Bryant made an unforced foul and relinquished control of the game—and the victory.

In the open hot seat match, Abood came back from 8-4 down to Bryant and then executed a phenomenal hill-hill run to close it out. Eric Renteria gave Ochoa a run for his money in the quarterfinals, but Ochoa overcame a 6-2 deficit and captured the win. The semis saw yet another hill-hill bout with Ochoa and Bryant that saw Bryant advance to the final match against Abood. From the start, Abood controlled the table and the set. He bested Bryant 9-5 and took home his first Lone Star Tour victory.

The ladies also demanded center stage when Yi and Courtney Peters played on the stream table for the hot seat. It was 6-6 when Peters missed an 8-9 combo and Yi took it home. Meanwhile, Loretta Lindgren made fast work of her opponents on the one-loss side with four consecutive wins until she met up with Peters. Yi faced off with Peters once more and secured a final 7-5 victory.

Louisiana’s own Gary Abood took top honors at the Lone Star Billiards Tour’s June 5-6 stop in the 9-ball division, while Sylver Ochoa winning the one-pocket event and Kyu Yi the ladies’.

Open Results:
1st Gary Abood $700
2nd Charlie Bryant $460
3rd Sylver Ochoa $350
4th Eric Renteria $230
5th James Davis Jr. $116
Aaron Remijio
7th John Newsome $89
Derek Fontenot
9th Troy Woodard $80
Jason Abate
Mike Alonzo
Viet Do

One-Pocket Results:
1st Sylver Ochoa $500
2nd Charlie Bryant $300

Ladies’ Results:
1st Kyu Yi $260
2nd Courtney Peters $150
3rd Loretta Lindgren $80
4th Tasha Salandanan $40

It was a great weekend for pool at Casper’s in San Leon, Texas. The Lone Star event drew 70 players in all, 51 top Texas players in the 9-Ball Open, and 19 in the Ladies Open 9-Ball who played for over $7000 in cash. Tour heavy hitters James Davis, Jr., Sylver Ochoa, and Charlie Bryant were in attendance along with tour newcomers Robert Clark, Bobby Morefield, and Kenny Stewart.

The second day of the 9-Ball Open brought back the final 16 players. The final eight in the Open winner’s side saw Jay Russell v. Raymond Cardenas, Danny Lee v. David Parker, Charlie Bryant v. John Day, and Ernesto Bayaua v. Dennis Strickland. After one round, upsets on the winner’s side included John Day who defeated Charlie Bryant 9-6 and Ernesto Bayaua who ousted Dennis Strickland 9-1. This left Bayaua v. Day, and Lee v. Cardenas. The west side then paired Manuel Ayala v. Bryant, Dennis Strickland v. Ochoa, Ty Few v. Jack Russell, and Barry Strickland v. Parker. When the dust settled, it was Barry Strickland v. Ayala playing for third and Bayaua and Cardenas playing for the hotseat. Bayaua took it down 9-6, and Barry Strickland overcame Ayala 7-4. Strickland made it through Cardenas and back to Bayaua for the final. Barry Strickland bested Bayaua twice for a total of 12 straight match wins after losing his first match of the event to Tony Mendietta.

There were 11 players in the Open who also signed up for our $100 entry fee One Pocket event. The second day brought back our final 6. Congratulations to James Davis Jr. who snapped it off; Sylver Ochoa who finished runner-up; and Charlie Bryant who took third. Well done gentlemen!

The ladies event drew a strong field of 19 including Ming Ng, Deanna Kniola, Kim Pierce, Courtney Peters and Ricky Casper. But top honors on the women’s side went to Kyu Yi and runner up Belinda Lee. Deanna Kniola finished a respectable third and newcomer from Dallas, Texas, Geraldine Guintu, received fourth. Tabetha Lewis of Temple, Texas played a phenomenal event, finishing 5th-6th along with tour favorite Michelle Cortez. Well done ladies!

The Lone Star Tour would like to thank our tour sponsors, Poison Cues, the Delta-13 Rack, Pool Philanthropist James Barnett, and Lone Star Live’s Eugene Lee. Special thanks to Casper’s owners Roy and Kathy Robinson who hosted another beautiful event.

Assistant Tournament Director, Viet Do, did an outstanding job, filling in for the director’s partial absence due to illness. Great job Viet!
Our next two events are May 1st-2nd at Slick Willies in Houston (westheimer @ dairy ashford) and June 5th-6th at Crazy 8’s in Port Arthur, Texas.

The Lone Star event drew 70 players in all, 51 top Texas players in the 9-Ball Open, and 19 in the Ladies Open 9-Ball who played for over $7000 in cash.

9-Ball Ladies Payouts-4 places:
1st Kyu Yi: $300
2nd Belinda Lee:$200
3rd Deanna Kniola:$80
4th Geraldine Guintu: $55
5th -6th Tabetha Lewis, Michelle Cortez
7th-8th Kim Pierce, Courtney Peters
9th-12th Ming Ng, Loretta Lindgren, Roby Petrosino, Ricky Casper
13th-16th Teresa Garland, Michelle Prince, Heather Bryant, Angela Martinez
17th -24th Ashley Orlowski, Amber Stone, Christy Grigsby

One Pocket:
1st James Davis Jr. $550
2nd Sylver Ochoa $350
3rd Charlie Bryant $200

by InsidePOOL Staff

Lisa Marr defeated Jennifer Kraber in the finals of the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s March 6-7 event, winning the title and the lion’s share of the $2,000-added prize purse. The event was hosted by Casper’s Billiards in San Leon, TX.

Marr and Kraber met first in the hot seat match, and it was Kraber who handed Marr her first loss with a 7-4 win. But Marr was not down for the count just yet. Peters, who had just won a hill-hill struggle against Ming Ng, faced Marr in the semifinals. A motivated Marr defeated Peters 7-1 for another chance at Kraber.

As the double-elimination finals began, Marr had to beat Kraber twice. With a first set score of 7-5 and a second set score of 7-3, Marr captured the first-place spot and the guaranteed $750. Kraber finished her highest tour finish to date in second place and earned $550.

A second chance tournament was held with 21 players competing on Sunday for the $310 payout. Belinda Lee went undefeated to take first place, and board member Monica Anderson finished second.

Marr defeated Jennifer Kraber in the finals of the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s March 6-7 event, winning the title and the lion’s share of the $2,000-added prize purse.

Results:
1st Lisa Marr $750
2nd Jennifer Kraber $550
3rd Courtney Peters $400
4th Ming Ng 270
5th Amanda Lampert $155
Helen Laiche
7th Ashley Nandrasy $100
Melinda Bailey
9th Terry Petrosino $70
Kyu Yi
Tara Williams
Julia Rapp

(From left to right: Jennifer Kraber, Courtney Peters, Roy Robinson, Lisa Marr, and Ming Ng)

by InsidePOOL Staff

James Davis Jr., formerly of Bastrop, TX, bested 57 other Texas sharpshooters who converged on Q Stix Billiards and Sports Bar in Houston, TX, to duel for the cash the last weekend in February. With not only a 9-ball but a one-pocket event as well, the Lone Star Billiards Tour yielded a total of 97 players, with 21 entrants in the one-pocket and 18 in the ladies’ 9-ball. The total added money was $1,850, the tour’s largest added money event to date.

The final four on the winners’ side of the 9-ball event paired James Davis against John Newsome and Danny Tam versus Ernesto Bayaua. Newsome and Davis went double-hill, but when Newsome scratched on the 4 ball in the final game, it was all over. After Tam defeated Bayaua, the hot seat match pitted Davis against Tam. Davis staked his claim over Tam and awaited his west side opponent.

On the one-loss Mike Alonzo bested Aaron Springs, and Doug Young finished David Mendiola. In the next round on the one-loss side, Bayaua bested Young in a hill-hill thriller, and Newsome finished Alonzo 7-5. In the end, it was Newsome meeting Bayaua on the west side. Bayaua played impeccably and emerged the victor 7-3 to meet up with Tam, who succumbed to Bayaua’s drive.

Both Davis and Bayaua displayed utter determination and conviction. Davis finished undefeated by a final score of 9-7. Davis also finished second to Doug Young in the one-pocket event, and Joe McNamara finished a respectable third.

On the ladies’ side, 18 entrants competed for over $1,000 in prize money. Courtney Peters, vying for her first win, made it to the hot seat match with tour newcomer Ming Ng, only to be ousted in third place after Terry Petrosino bested her for a chance at first place. It was Petrosino over Ng 7-6 the first set of the final match, but the second went Ng’s way 5-2.

James Davis Jr., formerly of Bastrop, TX, bested 57 other Texas sharpshooters who converged on Q Stix Billiards and Sports Bar in Houston, TX, to duel for the cash the last weekend in February.

Open 9-Ball Results:
1st James Davis Jr. $800
2nd Ernesto Bayaua $550
3rd Danny Tam $350
4th John Newsome $250
5th Mike Alonzo $160
Doug Young
7th Aaron Springs $85
David Mendiola
9th Dalton Riley $60
Andy Jethwa
Jason Abate
Leroy Hawkins
13th Sonny Demetro $40
Dennis Strickland
J.C. Torres
Jacob Pena

Ng and Petrosino

Ladies’ 9-Ball Results:
1st Ming Ng $350
2nd Terry Petrosino $250
3rd Courtney Peters $125
4th Belinda Lee $55
5th Rebecca Riley $20
Kim Pierce
7th Courtney McClure
Robyn Petrosino
9th Teresa Garland
Jillian Valles
Michelle Prince
Laura Hsu

One-Pocket Results:
1st Doug Young $425
2nd James Davis Jr. $225
3rd Joe McNamara $155
4th Aaron Springs
5th Aaron Salinas
Shonn Ballew
7th Coby Rabourn
Danny Lee
9th Ernesto Bayaua
Eugene Epstein
Jerald Jackson
Jimmy Neal
13th Mike Alonzo
Ryan Holley
Dennis Strickland
Jim Walker

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Lone Star Billiards Tour kicked off its first event of the year February 13-14 at Bogies Billiards and Games in Houston, TX. Even though it was Valentine’s Day weekend, 54 players turned out for the open event, which was won by Sylver Ochoa, and 16 women came out on Sunday to compete for their own $1,100 purse, which went to Terry Petrosino.

As the event progressed, the final four came down to Sonny Bosshamer versus Danny Lee and Ochoa against Dalton Riley. After the dust settled, Ochoa found himself, once again, on the “right side” with opponent Lee vying to capture the hot seat for the first time. But Lee was dealt a blow from Ochoa, sending him west.

On the west side, Raul Escobedo emerged victorious, having played ferociously and ousted Lee for second to met up with his best friend and road partner, Ochoa, in the final match. It was a two-set finals. Escobedo barely closed out the first set 9-7 and was ousted 7-1 in this true double-elimination format by Ochoa in the second.

In the ladies’ division, heavy hitters Petrosino, Kyu Yi, Courtney Peters, and Ricky Casper were among the 16 who competed. It came down to Peters and Petrosino on the winners’ side and Casper versus Yi on the left side. Yi finished in a respectable fourth and Peters in third. In the finals, Casper won the first set, but Petrosino came through for her second consecutive tour win.

The Lone Star Billiards Tour kicked off its first event of the year February 13-14 at Bogies Billiards and Games in Houston, TX.

Open Results:
1st Sylver Ochoa $800
2nd Raul Escobedo $550
3rd Danny Lee $350
4th David Mendiola $220
5th Sonny Bosshamer $150
Dalton Riley
7th Tom Mooney $100
Billy Sharp
9th Aaron Sharp $50
John Newsome
Jeremy Byrd
Ernesto Bayaua

Ladies’ Results:
1st Terry Petrosino $300
2nd Ricky Casper $200
3rd Courtney Peters $100
4th Kyu Yi $70

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Lone Star Billiards Tour kicked off their 2010 season with style, breaking their records with 88 players in the open 10-ball event and 21 in the ladies’ 9-ball open event. Q Stix Billiards in Houston, TX, played host the weekend of January 16-17, with Jeremy “Double J” Jones and Terry Petrosino winning their respective divisions.

Jones went undefeated through the event, besting Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant in the final four on the winners’ side with a hill-hill victory. In the other winners’ side match, Rafael Martinez bested David Parker. Martinez then went on to face Jones in the hot seat match, but Jones proved to be too much and sent Martinez west. There he sent Bryant home in third place, but in his rematch with Jones he fell short 7-5, with Jones taking top honors.

In the ladies’ event, Petrosino and Courtney Peters matched up for the hot seat while newcomers Tasha Salandanan and Loretta Lindgren dueled on the one-loss side. Petrosino bested Peters, and Salandanan ousted Lindgren. The seasoned Peters eliminated Lindgren for a rematch with Petrosino. It was a hill-hill finale, with Petrosino finishing undefeated throughout the entire event.

The Lone Star Billiards Tour kicked off their 2010 season with style, breaking their records with 88 players in the open 10-ball event and 21 in the ladies’ 9-ball open event. Pictured (L-R) Martinez, White, Jones

[View with PicLens]

by InsidePOOL Staff

Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant became the first Lone Star Tour’s finale champion when he bested Andy Jethwa in the final match of the December 12-13 stop. The tour’s finale was hosted by Bogies Billiards and Games in Houston, TX, where 75 players came from all over Texas to compete for almost $9,000 in tournament money, along with a free entry into the Derby City Classic 9-ball division and two qualifier spots for next year’s first stop on the Predator World 10-Ball Tour in January.

After a grueling day of match play on Saturday, the players came together again Sunday. Earlier Jethwa had plowed through Bryant 9-4 and then steamrolled Ochoa 9-1 to reach Mike Alonzo, who previous sent James Davis Jr. and Aaron Springs to the one-loss side. It was a nail-biter of a match, but Jethwa pulled through 9-7.

On the west side of the chart, Bryant fought his way through a hill-hill bout with Davis Jr. before facing Sylver Ochoa. In this quarterfinal match, Bryant trounced Ochoa 7-1 and then overcame Alonzo by the same score to make it to the finals.

The final scene became a bit more familiar—Bryant versus Jethwa. It was a great battle of skill, but in the end, Bryant closed out both sets by scores of 9-6 and 7-4.

Twelve women came out to play in the $350-added ladies event, thanks to sponsor James Barnett. Top tour favorites Kyu Yi, Terry Petrosino, Courtney Peters, and Yvette Reyes all finished in the top four, respectively.

For his exceptional play throughout the year and at the final event, Bryant took home top points honors, along with a Delta-13 Rack and a Delta-13 Elite. He also received a $100 bonus, as did the other top three point leaders—Sylver Ochoa, Dennis Strickland, Lanny Herrin. Bryant also received the Derby City 9-ball entry and one qualifier spot to the Predator World Tour Stop in January. Raffle winners include Mike Payne, who won the fabulous AR6 Poison Cue, and Jeff Gardner, who took home a beautiful Delta 13 Rack. Honorable mentions go out to players Blain Barcus, TJ Ortiz, and Jim Henry for their increasingly good finishes throughout the year.

Bogies Billiards & Games played host to the Lone Star Billiards Tour Championships on December 12th-13th, 2009 and wrapped up a very successful first year for the not- so- fledgling Tour.