Bauer Bashes Tri-State Billiards Competition

Bauer Bashes Tri-State Billiards Competition
Tri-State Tour / New York City, NY

by InsidePOOL Staff

Geoffrey Bauer took down the competition at the March 6 installment of the Tri-State Tour, defeating Sam Li in the final match. The $500-added B-D event was hosted by Eastside Billiards in New York City, NY.

Bauer went undefeated through the event, besting Tony Eglesias 7-5 in the winners’ side final four to advance to the hot seat match. Meeting him there was Alan Chan, who squeaked past Li in a hill-hill match 6-5. The hot seat match also went double-hill, with Bauer moving on to the finals while Chan was sent to try his luck on the west side of the chart.

From the west side, Li went on to face Teddy Lubis down, going forward after their hill-hill bout 7-6. Kapriel Delimelkonoglu tied with Lubis in fifth place after Eglesias dealt him a 7-3 loss. Eglesias and Li then met in the quarterfinal match, and Li was the one who progressed 7-3. Li then steamrolled Chan 6-1 to move on to the final match against Bauer, but Bauer was the one who ended up the winner there, taking the finals and the title 7-5.

Results:
1st Geoffrey Bauer $440
2nd Sam Li $220
3rd Alan Chan $105

Moran and Kennedy Crush Southeast Open Fields

Moran and Kennedy Crush Southeast Open Fields
Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour / Gulfport, MS

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.

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

Nevel Tells Archer “The Truth”

Nevel Tells Archer “The Truth”
Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Wilmington, NC

by Lea Andrews

A late loss at the March 6-7 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina tour did nothing to slow down Larry Nevel. “The Truth” rebounded to top the tough field that gathered at Break Time Billiards in Wilmington, NC, for the $1,000-added event.

After handing Nevel his 7-4 loss, Keith Bennett moved into the hot seat match against Johnny Archer, who’d just shut out Trey Greene. Archer claimed the hot seat 7-3, while Bennett moved over to semifinals. On the west side, an early victim of Nevel’s, Michael “Bulldawg” Fuller, notched a 7-4 win over Zach Wilson and a shut-out win over Greene to reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, another one of Nevel’s victims, Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam, who’d reached the finals in each of his three Jacoby appearances so far, found his streak come to an end at his fourth event as he faced Nevel once again. Nevel dropped Putnam into fifth 7-2 to meet back up with Fuller, and another 7-2 win put him into the semifinals against Bennett. Earning his revenge 7-3, Nevel advanced to the single race-to-11 final match.

Though Archer got out to a 3-0 and 5-1 lead, Nevel was able to take advantage of a scratch on the break and a dry break to gain momentum and tie it up at six games apiece, but when he made nothing on the break in the next rack, Archer regained the lead 7-6. It was his last lead, though. Another scratch on the break allowed Nevel to tie it up, and two more racks in a row put him on the hill 10-7. Archer marked up the next rack, but after pocketing three balls on the break in the final rack, he found himself without a shot on the 2 ball. Archer’s well-played safety left Nevel hooked, but Nevel’s unbelievable kick shot put the 2 ball in the pocket and left the path to the 9 ball open. Nevel pocketed the rest of the balls to earn his victory 11-8.

Nevel also took first in Friday’s 16-entrant early bird tournament, earning $150 for his 7-1 win in the finals over Zach Wilson, who took home $95. Hindu Williams earned $50 for third, while Kenny Chin earned $25 for fourth. Patty Sutherland won the ladies’ division on Saturday, while Caleb Grissom topped the juniors’. In Sunday’s second chance event, Kenny Chin earned $80 for edging out Barry Irving 7-6, while Irving earned $20. Karl Deweese took home $80 for beating out five others in the break contest, and CJ Genta became the owner of a new Jacoby Custom Cue after her name was drawn in the raffle.

Results:
1st Larry Nevel $1,000
2nd Johnny Archer $400
3rd Keith Bennett $100

Moore Mows Down Joss Field

Moore Mows Down Joss Field
Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / Syracuse, NY

by Lea Andrews

Making a rare appearance on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, Steve Moore went undefeated through the 25-player field, taking down reigning champ Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch in the finals. The $1,500-added Mary Capotto Memorial event was held March 6-7 at Cap’s Cue Club in Syracuse, NY.

Moore blew by Chance Chin 9-3 to reach the hot seat match against Dave Grau, who’d just edged out Hatch 9-8. Grau managed just five games against Moore, though, and he moved over to the semifinals to try to fight his way back.

On the left side of the bracket, tour bigwig Bucky Souvanthong was plowing through the field, ousting Lyn Wechsler 9-4 to meet up with Dwight Dixon, who’d eased past Brian Holmes 9-8. Taking care of Dixon 9-7, Souvanthong moved on to Chin. Meanwhile, Bruce Carroll got past Geoff Montgomery 9-6 to face tour director Mike Zuglan, who’d just knocked out Mike Renshaw 9-5. Holding Zuglan to four games, Carroll moved on to Hatch, who dropped him into fifth 9-3. In the quarterfinals, Hatch went up against Souvanthong, who’d advanced over Chin 9-7. Against Hatch, though, he managed just four games, landing in fourth. Hatch moved on to a rematch with Grau, which ended in his favor 9-7, putting him into very familiar territory: the finals. The true double-elimination final match didn’t go the usual way for Hatch, though. Taking control from the beginning, Moore earned his decisive victory 9-4.

Results:
1st Steve Moore $1,000
2nd Dennis Hatch $800
3rd Dave Grau $600
4th Bucky Souvanthong $400
5th Chance Chin $250
Bruce Carroll
7th Dwight Dixon
Mike Zuglan

Davis Jr. Scores First Lone Star Billiards Win

Davis Jr. Scores First Lone Star Billiards Win
Lone Star Billiards Tour / Houston, TX

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.

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

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