A showcase of talent was on display at the $1,100 added Lone Star 9-Ball event on 9 foot Gold Crowns, held at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar on April 9th-10th, 2011. Rafael Martinez, Jason “Jay Bird” Brown, Sylver Ochoa, Joey Torres, Yoko Joe, and Nick Hood participated in the 32 player field alongside 15 women and junior participants who played on the 8 foot tables.

Saturday’s play ended around 9pm and whittled the field down to the final 8 for Sunday. Yoko Joe and Joey Torres were the talk of the town as they emerged on Sunday’s winners’ side final four along with veterans Jason Brown and Nick Hood. Joe bested Torres in a 7-6 nail biter while Brown bested Hood. After suffering a 7-2, second round loss to Torres on Saturday, Ochoa escaped Torres this time on the one-loss side, 7-6. Martinez found himself in unfamiliar territory after Hood sent him west on Saturday, 7-5, but Sunday was a different story. Martinez eliminated Hood 7-1 and made quick work of Ochoa and Joe, to reach Brown. All in all, Martinez won 8 consecutive matches which included the first set against Brown, 7-1. Overtime turned the tide as Brown pulled ahead 4-2 then won three consecutive games to close it out 7-4.

Terry Petrosino captured the women’s event and daughter Robyn took home first place in the junior event.

Congratulations to all of our participants who made this an exciting tournament to watch, and to junior player Johnny Lopez who won the Strychnine Poison by Predator cue.

The Lone Star Tour would like to thank Poison by Predator Cues, the Delta-13 Rack, www.poolwebsites.com, and the APA of North Harris County for their continued support.

The next stop is 8-ball, at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar, May 7th-8th. Come warm-up for Vegas!

Open Payouts
1st Jason Brown $680
2nd Rafael Martinez $490
3rd Yoko Joe $290
4th Sylver Ochoa $190
5th-6th Nick Hood, Sylver Ochoa $90
7th-8th Ty Few, James Davis Jr. $65

Ladies
1st Terry Petrosino $125
2nd Robyn Petrosino $75
3rd Courtney Peters $50

Juniors
1st Robyn Petrosino $65
2nd J.C. Torres $45
3rd Joey Torres $25

by Lea Andrews

Tommy Kennedy juggled both tournament director and player duties at the March 6-7 installment of the Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, getting past last stop’s winner John “Mr. 403” Schmidt to top the open division, while Jason Moran topped Sunday’s amateur division. The $1,000-added open event drew 29 players to Skeeters Billiards in Gulfport, MS, while the $500-added amateur event drew 25.

Kennedy edged out Cliff Joyner 9-8 to meet Schmidt for the first time in the hot seat match. Schmidt, who was coming off a 9-4 win over Johnny Armstrong, notched up another one against Kennedy, who went west to fight for a rematch. On the left side of the bracket, Jay Bird took care of Jason Moran and Neil Alexander before coming up on Joyner, whom he held to seven games to reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Greg Hagin notched wins over Josh Charbonnet and Luc Detierne to face Armstrong. Allowing Armstrong just three games, Hagin advanced to the quarterfinals, but the four games he marked up there against Bird put him in fourth.

In the semifinals, Kennedy was ready for his rematch with Schmidt, and he dropped Bird into third 9-6 to earn his chance at revenge. In the single race-to 11 final match, the two veterans stayed close, trading games until Kennedy reached the hill 10-9. Schmidt was on his way to tying it up, but an unlikely miss on the 6 ball brought Kennedy back to the table, and he took care of what was left to earn his victory 11-9. Other open event winners were Neil Alexander, who earned $50 as the highest-finishing senior; Jessica Penick, who pocketed $25 as highest-placing lady; and Johnny Armstrong, who took home an extra $25 as the top junior.

On Sunday, Moran’s 5-2 win over Jim Sterling put him into the hot seat match against Tracy Guernsey, who’d shut out Luc Detierne. Against Moran, though, he managed just one game, and he moved over to the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Steve Kuhnau, who’d suffered an earlier loss to Sterling, was making his way through the field, getting past Steve Neil Alexander and Mike Trawick for another crack at Sterling. Meanwhile, Ken Black pushed his way past Brandon Goudreau and James Faison to reach Detierne, whom he put in fifth 4-1 to reach the quarterfinals. There he faced Kuhnau, who’d exacted his revenge on Sterling 4-3. Another 4-3 victory put Kuhnau up against Guernsey in the semifinals, and a 5-3 win put him into the single race-to-7 final match, but that was where his run ended. Moran took control early and kept it, finishing up his undefeated event 7-2.

Kennedy juggled both tournament director and player duties at the March 6-7 installment of the Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour

Open Results:
1st Tommy Kennedy $700
2nd John Schmidt $475
3rd Jay Bird $350
4th Greg Hagin $250
5th Johnny Armstrong $150
Cliff Joyner

Amateur Results:
1st Jason Moran $470
2nd Steve Kuhnau $300
3rd Tracy Guernsey $200
4th Ken Black $100
5th Luke Detierne $45
Jim Sterling

by InsidePOOL Staff

Bennie Conway Jr. and Jay Bird owned the Southeast J. Pechauer billiard event at Skeeters Billiards in Gulfport, MS.

The J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour rolled through Gulfport, MS, the weekend of August 16-17. Skeeters Billiards hosted both the open 9-ball and the amateur/semi-pro events, won by Benny Conway Jr. and Jay Bird, respectively.

In the open division, tour director Tommy Kennedy fought to the hill with Jay Bird and won 7-6, dropping him into fourth place. From there he went on to the semifinals to challenge Conway, who had just been bested by Cliff Joyner in another double-hill match. Conway prevailed in the semifinals and went on to his rematch with Joyner. There he found success, winning the match by a tight 9-7 score.

Though he ended up in fourth place in the open division, Bird had little trouble taking top honors in the amateur event. He defeated Jim Sterling in the hot seat match 5-4, while David Walters bested Jason Moran in the quarterfinals. Walters then faced off against Sterling but fell short as Sterling advanced to the finals 4-2. In the final single race to 7, it was neck and neck, but Bird pulled off a double-hill win.

Open Results:
1st Benny Conway Jr.
2nd Cliff Joyner
3rd Tommy Kennedy
4th Jay Bird
5th Jason Moran
Joey Aguzin

Amateur Results:
1st Jay Bird
2nd Jim Sterling
3rd David Walters
4th Jason Moran