Kendra Britt, Aryana Lynch and Crystal Dunn
It must have been like the old Yogi Berra comment about something being “like déjà vu all over again.” Having claimed the hot seat at Stop #6 on the DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour last October, assuring herself of her first (recorded with us) cash finish in a pool tournament, Kendra Britt was double-dipped in the finals of that event by Krystle Suarez. This past weekend (Sat., May 13) at Stop #3 on the 2023 tour, Britt found herself, once again, in the hot seat, a single match away from recording her first regional tour title. And once again, she lost the opening set of a true double-elimination final. This time, though, she won the second set and did claim that first regional title. The $500-added event drew a small field of eight entrants to a new venue for the tour, The Bearded Monkey in Forney, TX.
Britt opened her five-match trip to the winners’ circle with a double-hill (5-4) victory over Tour Director Monica Anderson. This set Britt up against Tina Soto in the one of the winners’ side semifinals. Crystal Dunn in the meantime, started out with a 4-1 victory over eventual runner-up Aryana Lynch to arrive at her winners’ side semifinal against Jessica Demello.
Britt and Soto battled to double hill before Britt prevailed and advanced to the hot seat match. Dunn joined her after a 4-2 victory over Demello. Britt gave up only a single rack to Dunn and claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Lynch got by Rachelle Dytko 7-4 and then, shut out the just-arrived Soto to advance to the quarterfinals. Julie Collins defeated Anderson 4-3 (Anderson racing to 5) and advanced to join Lynch in the quarterfinals with a 4-3, double hill win over Demello. Lynch downed Collins 7-1 in those quarterfinals and then, eliminated Dunn in the semifinals 7-3.
As noted, Lynch won the opening set of the true double elimination final, so on came the ‘déjà vu all over again.’ At this point, another border-line cliché came into play. The going had gotten tough, so the tough (in the person of one Kendra Britt) got going. Britt took the second set 5-2 to take home that first regional tour title.
Tour director Monica Anderson thanked the ownership and staff at The Bearded Monkey for their hospitality, along with sponsors Doc’s Billiards Office and Fort Worth Billiards Superstore. The next stop on the DFW Ladies 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for Saturday, July 8, will be hosted by Rusty’s in Arlington, TX.
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