Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour. The Mezz Tour is a 1-day Open Tournament with staggered entry fees and additional cash prizes for the top 2 finishers in the A/B and C/D division. Events will take place in the North East region.

“We are happy to work with Jose Burgos, who runs the best 1-day tournaments in this region. We hope to offer a highly competitive tournament and great prizes for pros and amateurs alike. We will also give each player a free raffle ticket for a Mezz Cue and Mezz Case at the Grand Finale Tournament along with prizes for the Top 10 point leaders of the year,” says Mika.
Jose describes, “I am honored to join forces with Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues. I believe having the best player in the world along with one of the leading cue companies in the industry as sponsors will make the Mezz Pro-Am Tour one of the premier tours in the region.”

Along with the Mezz Open Tour, we are also proud to announce a Mezz Women’s Tour overseen by WPBA Pro and Mezz USA President, Caroline Pao.

“With so many great female players in the Northeast region, this is a great opportunity to provide a competitive tour for them to participate in. We will feature great prizes at each stop as well as hold a Grand Finale tournament with added monies. Prizes will also be awarded for the Top 3 female players of the year with the Top Female receiving paid entry to the prestigious Turning Stone Tournament in Syracuse, NY. I am very excited be able to provide an opportunity for our local female players to sharpen their competitive edge. Once we complete the 8 event schedule, it will be on our official Mezz Tour website, www.mezztour.com,” explains Caroline.

Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour.

As a prelude to our official launch of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, we had a great event at Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA on January 31st with an attendance of 53 players. Joey Testa and Ignacio Chavez were co-champions of this event with Victor Nau in 3rd and Josh Brothers in 4th place.

The next stop will be at on February 21st at :
Atlantic City Billiards
6701 Blackhorse Pike
Egg Habor, NJ 08234
(609) 645-7576

Visit the official Mezz Pro-Am Tour website, www.mezztour.com, for more information.
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@mezztour.com.

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.