Roberto Gomez
Petrosino does likewise in Women’s Open
So far, so good.
Roberto Gomez has opened his 2023 pool table campaign by finishing as winner or runner-up in half of the events in which he’s cashed (six out of 12). He’s got a ways to go before he can match last year’s campaign with its five victories, and a runner-up and third place finish among 17 events in which he left with some cash. His latest win came this past weekend (March 18-19), at what was the inaugural event of the Texas-based DL Billiards Tour. Gomez went undefeated at Stop #1, a $500-added Open event that drew 45 entrants to Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, TX.
Robyn Petrosino chalked up her first event win of 2023 by going undefeated in the $300-added Women’s event which drew seven entrants to the same location. So, ladies first.
Petrosino faced Ariel O’Neal twice. After shutting out Laura Hernandez, Petrosino faced O’Neal for the first time in a winners’ side semifinal. Jackie Forster squared off against Christi Castro in the other one. Petrosino defeated O’Neal 7-2 and was joined in the hot seat match by Forster, who’d sent Castro to the loss side 7-4. Petrosino grabbed the hot seat 7-3.
Castro got shut out in her first loss-side match by Karol Hughes, who advanced to the quarterfinals to meet O’Neal, who’d defeated Verda Jones 7-5 to join her. The quarterfinals were the only match that went double hill in the entire women’s event. O’Neal won it and then defeated Forster 7-1 in the semifinals. Petrosino completed her short run to the winners’ circle with a second victory over O’Neal, 7-2.
After being awarded an opening round bye, Roberto Gomez set out on his six-match journey to the winners’ circle, downing Pedro Olivo and Will Felder, both 7-2, and in a winners’ side quarterfinal, David Owen 7-5 to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Kyle Yi. Joey Bourgeois, Jr., without a bye, almost had his six-match trip to the hot seat sidetracked twice. After downing Carl Mitchell and Daniel Forster, both 7-2, Terry Washington put up a double hill fight, which Bourgeois survived. He moved on to defeat Keil Perry 7-4 and drew Ricky Hughes in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Robyn Petrosino
Two polar-opposite matches sent Gomez and Bourgeois to the hot seat match; Gomez shutting out Yi, while Bourgeois successfully negotiated his second double hill battle, against Hughes. Gomez, in their first of two, defeated Bourgeois 7-3 to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Hughes drew Owen, who’d followed his winners’ side defeat at the hands of Gomez with victories over Tyler Miller 7-1 and Blaine Barcus, double hill. Yi picked up a rematch against Joey Torres, who was working on a six-match, loss-side streak that would take him as far as the semifinals. Torres came within a game of getting knocked out of the event in his first loss-side match against Jim McCrary, who battled him to double hill. Torres moved on to eliminate John Lentini (5), Keil Perry (4), and Darryl Amos (4) to draw Yi.
Perhaps with echoes of the earlier loss, Torres wasted no time shutting Yi down in their second match, handing him his second straight shutout loss. Torres was joined in the quarterfinals by Owens, who’d defeated Hughes 7-5.
In what must have been a (moderately) scary development for Bourgeois, waiting to play the semifinals and Gomez, waiting in the hot seat for an opponent, Torres capped his shutout over the competitor who sent him to the loss side with a shutout over Owens in those quarterfinals. Bourgeois doused Torres’ fiery momentum with a 7-4 semifinal victory.
Gomez didn’t waste a lot of time. He claimed title to the inaugural event of the DL Billiards Tour with a 7-2 win in the finals.
Stop #2 on the DL Billiards Tour, scheduled for the weekend of April 22-23, will be hosted by Bogie’s Billiards in Houston, TX.
0 comments