On March 22-23, 2014, the NWPA’s first tour stop of 2014 was hosted by Malarkey’s Pool & Brew in Tacoma, WA. The tournament was ran on 9 9-foot Gold Crowns with Rail2Rail Productions providing a free live stream all weekend. The NWPA tour standings and 2014 schedule are available at www.nwpatour.wordpress.com and is sanctioned by the WPBA. All skill levels are welcome to play and players can accrue points towards their semiprofessional status while gaining experience playing some of the top women players in the northwest.
Twenty-eight ladies came out to compete Saturday morning. There were several new players to the tour including Kathie MacDonald (Victoria BC), Anna Busley (WA), Kristen Cambas (OR), and Lindsay Hays (WA). Ladies returning after a minimum of one year (or more) not playing on the tour included Western BCA Grandmasters Linda Carter, Carissa Biggs, and 2014 US Bar Table 10 Ball Champion Cindy Sliva. Liz Cole also returned for the inaugural event, climbing to 24th in the WPBA rankings after her performance at the WPBA Masters in Mt. Pleasant, MI Feb 6-9, 2014. The format was 9-ball, alternating break, race to 7on the A side and a race to 6 on the B side. There were several first round byes, but play sped right along, without any major upsets going through the early rounds.
Sunday morning, only eight players remained. A side match ups included Kathie MacDonald vs. Jing Liu and Liz Cole vs. Cindy Sliva. Jing and Cindy both advanced through their morning matches, by the same score of 7-4. Jing and Cindy then squared off in the hot seat match. Jing advanced by the score 7-6 to earn her spot in the final. B side match ups included Carissa Biggs vs. Anna Busley and Natalie Seal vs. Suzanne Smith. Anna and Natalie advanced through their first round of play 6-3 and 6-2, only to come up short in their next rounds, Anna and Natalie both fell to their opponents Liz and Kathie by the same score, 6-2. Kathie then squared off against Liz. Kathie seemed to have the edge in their match and advanced by the score 6-4. Kathie then played Cindy and defeated her as well, 6-4.
The final was one race to 9, alternating break. Throughout the entire final, Jing shot with confidence and precision, affording her opponent few and fewer opportunities as the match proceeded. Jing maintained and expanded her lead steadily throughout the match, allowing her opponent only four racks of the 13 games played. Jing was the 2013 NWPA Rookie of the Year and demonstrated how hard work and perseverance in the off season can contribute to growth as a player. Congratulations to Jing for her win and to Kathie MacDonald for such a strong debut performance.
Great tournament ladies! The NWPA’s next event is the 3rd Annual Martha Hartsell Memorial and will be hosted at The Cue Ball in Salem, OR on April 19-20.
Seven ladies returned on Sunday for the $100 added Second Chance tournament. With a $10 entry, nearly all players received at least their entry fee back in the true double elimination tournament, race to 3 on the A side and race to 2 on the B side. Rebecca Slyter ended up winning top prize, defeating Linda Carter 2-1 in the second set of the finals. Linda won the first set 3-2. Good work ladies, nice shooting.
