Delbert Wong and his friendly and helpful staff at Family Billiards in San Francisco welcomed the CPPT this weekend for the fourth stop on the Tour. Delbert has been a staple in the Bay Area for the last 20 years supporting pool players and hosting tournaments in his room, and we are very grateful for his contributions to the sport.
A fairly equal mix of 14 A players and 16 B/C players turned out to compete for a total purse of $2300, Four players from each bracket returned on Sunday for the money round, where the luck of the draw produced all A vs. B/C match-ups.
Congratulations to Amar Kang for going undefeated and claiming first place. Kang started off Saturday with wins over Frank Giardano, Colin Mazaika, and Chris McDonald. After the redraw on Sunday, he defeated top B/C finisher Jimmy Qu to meet Deo Alpajora for the hot seat match. On the one loss side, Billy Palmer was busy trying to find a consistent stoke after losing to Delbert Wong on Saturday. Billy churned out wins over E. Joinca, Teymour Ansari, Paul Bramwell and Jaynard Oraque to make it to the Sunday round.
Deo Alpajora had a tad easier road on Saturday, with wins over E. Joinca , Delbert Wong, and road partner Jaynard Oraque to make it to Sunday, where he got matched up with Bret Baker from Medford OR, who made it to the money round for the first time. Alpajora then got derailed by Amar Kang in the hot seat, where he waited for Billy Palmer. But Palmer was too much and Alpajora claimed his familiar third place spot, the same position he has claimed in every CPPT event he has played in this year.
Jimmy Qu went undefeated in the B/C bracket on Saturday with wins over Mike Leahy, Oscar Lopez, and Irish Paul McCaffrey to advance to the money round, where he matched up against Amar Kang and was promptly sent to the left side of the bracket. Qu got by McCaffrey again before succumbing to the onslaught of Billy Palmer. Qu played very well against Palmer, and later said ”I had my chances man, I just didn't take advantage of them.”
CPPT founders Paul Bramwell and LouAnne Laflamme extend their thanks to all the players, to Delbert Wong of Family Billiards and his staff, to product sponsor Magic Rack, and to Lauren Rutkovitz and Barbara MacDonald for running the tournament and keeping things running smoothly.
Our next event is October 16-17 at Surf City Billiards in Santa Cruz. The CPPT has reduced rates at the Oceana Inn that are much more reasonable now that it is off-season at the beach. Crown Billiards will be hosting a special, one-day, $500 added event on October 23 for B/C players who have not cashed. Advance registration for all CPPT events can be done online via PayPal at our website www.calipoolplayerstour.com or email us if you plan to attend (cali_poolplayers_tour@yahoo.com). We had a great time at Surf City back in August and hope to see many more of you in October.
