TD Chris Rogers, Maryann McConnell, Liz Cole, Molina Ortíz, room manager Tammy Culbertson and room owner Vic Albertson.
The 2022 Northwest Women’s Pool Association (NWPA) tour headed to Kennewick, Washington for Stop #2 at Player’s Sports Bar & Grill.
35 players traveled to eastern Washington to compete in this venue’s first Tour Stop. The game was alternate break 10-ball on 7 footers with a race of 6/6. Player turnout ranged from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and even drew British Columbians despite the distance. The tour continues to grow as we counted a few more new players at this stop.
Player’s Sports Bar & Grill proved to be an excellent venue. Room owner Vic Albertson graciously added $1,000 to the tour pot while manager Tammy and staff were very accommodating with setup and service. The players competed on 10 beautiful 7 ft diamonds with freshly cleaned Predator Arcos ballsets. John Scudder Diamond Table Sales was the tour’s livestream equipment sponsor.
Molina Ortíz picked up her second NWPA win in a thrilling final against fellow Portlander and multi-time tour champion Liz Cole. Ortíz came out strong on Day One. She went through the A side undefeated with a 6-1 win over Jeanne Christiansen, 6-0 against tour veteran Suzanne Smith and 6-1 over Andy Camping.
Liz Cole also made it through the first day unscathed. She started by winning 6-1 against Tammy Woollet, secured a tight 6-5 match against Regene Lane and ended with a strong 6-0 win over Celia Curry.
Vancouver WA’s Nicole Donisi stayed on the A side with 6-2 wins over both Joyce Robinson and Julie Fraser. Wapato’s Selena Polk proved stiffer competition with some impressive shotmaking, but Donisi moved on with a 6-5 win.
No stranger to tour stop wins, Tacoma’s Cindy Sliva made it to finals day with decisive 6-2 wins over both Elaine Eberly and Sheila Clark. Jessie Blayden of Puyallup, WA put up some resistance but Sliva prevailed 6-5 to join the others for Day 2.
Over on the B Side, Maryann McConnell of B.C. lost her first match to Idaho’s Sheila Clark. She was not deterred though, as she defeated Elaine Eberly 6-1, Donna Totten 6-1, Julie Fraser 6-1 and Celia Curry 6-3 to secure her Day 2 slot. Her fellow Canadian Kathie MacDonald had a similar path, losing 6-3 to Andy Camping in the first round but grinding out wins to make it through. She defeated Melinda Hoffman 6-3, Tammy Culberston 6-4, Regene Lane 6-5 and Selena Polk 6-1.
Andy Camping was knocked to the B side with a 6-1 loss to Ortíz but was able to defeat Sheila Clark 6-5 and move on. Jessie Blayden was downed 6-4 earlier by Cindy Sliva, but ground out a 6-4 win over Suzanne Smith to stay afloat into finals day.
Spectators at Players’ filtered in on Day 2 as the opening matches got started with Ortíz vs Donisi, Cole vs Sliva, Camping vs MacDonald and McConnell vs Blayden.
On the A side, Donisi and Ortíz started by exchanging racks. Ortíz attempted to gain the upper hand with safety play but Donisi hung on, kicking her way out and providing opportunities to secure herself another rack. However, Donisi wasn’t able to capitalize on further opportunities, giving away a few key racks. Ortíz’s composure and experience provided her a strong 6-2 win. Cole and Sliva met on the winners side as well and battled out a close match. Both players uncharacteristically hung a few game balls but it was Cole who prevailed with a 6-2 win.
Blayden had a gritty showing but was not able to stop seasoned player McConnell from a 6-2 win. Camping had beaten strong players the whole event but was eliminated by Kathie MacDonald, who worked her way to a 6-2 win, playing steady the whole way. Camping and Blayden finished 7-8th in the money.
Ortíz met Liz Cole next and was well warmed up on the stream table. Cole was not able to match Ortíz’s racks though she played well, and fell 6-3 to give Ortíz the hot seat. On the B side, Sliva lost to MacDonald in an excellent match with few mistakes. Playing strong the whole time, only one misstep by Sliva cost her two racks that made the difference. Donisi and McConnell matched up next and fought through several messy racks. However, McConnell had been picking up steam the whole tournament and found her groove. Donisi was eliminated in a 6-2 loss and finished 5/6th along with Sliva.
McConnell and MacDonald faced off next, but a few early 10s gave McConnell the advantage she needed to win 6-2 and leave MacDonald with 4th.
McConnell finally found resistance as Cole played an excellent match, leaving her few opportunities. Though she had won at their last WPBA meeting, this time it was Cole who handed her a 6-2 loss. McConnell finished 3rd and Cole moved on for a rematch with Ortíz.
A good crowd had gathered by now and the finalists provided an intense hill-hill battle for the audience. Both players exchanged racks early and were playing excellently. After a close match the whole way, one of Cole’s safeties went awry and Ortíz was able to gain a rack to make it 7-5. Cole was not done however and when Ortíz challenged her with the leave of a difficult cut shot table length down the rail, she nailed it. They exchanged a few more racks, bringing it to 8-8. The finals match was just one race to 9 and Ortíz broke the last rack well, running out the table for the win in an exciting match.
Robin Adams won the 2nd chance tournament, which had $200 additional added by the venue.
A big thank you to Player’s Sports Bar & Grill.
The next stop will be at Sam’s Billiards in Portland, OR on September 17th-18th. Watch a replay of the final on our youtube channel: “Northwest Women’s Pool Association.” Bracket & tour schedule can be found on our website at playnwpa.com.
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