 Jay Thurman, Jui Lung Chen, Jamie (GM-Odessa) and Dylan Weinheimer |
There was gold in the oil fields of west Texas as the Fast Eddie's Olhausen 9 Ball Tour sponsored by Schuler Legacy Cues moved to the new location in Odessa. The location has been open for four months and what a beauty it is.
The action started early with the eight players in the 10 ball ring game Friday night. Local favorite Eric Aiciena won the event followed by Brian White against a very tough field.
The open division field was packed with plenty of straight shooters. Top picks were Jui Lung Chen, Shane Harvey, Eric Aiciena, Brian White, Champ Massingill, Marc Garza, Sean Black, Mickey Provencio, Jason Dutchover, Jay Thurman, Gordon Van der Veer and Dylan Weinheimer.
The 7-8th positions were Gordon Van der Veer of Dallas and Pat Soto of Lubbock. These gentlemen played hard all weekend. Each earned $190.
The 5-6th spots were filled by Brian White of North Carolina and Jason Dutchover of Lubbock. Brian was a real crowd pleaser and showed us how the boys from the east coast can hold their own. Jason is a leftie that can make a ball from anywhere. $285 was their payday.
Fourth place went to Marc Garza of Houston. Marc is quiet gentleman with a big smile that let's his cue do the talking for him. Great finish for a great guy! Marc earned $680 for the weekend.
Shane Harvey from the Lubbock area is known throughout Texas and the southwest as tough competitor. He proved it again with a solid showing to capture the third place position. Third place paid $1130.
Dylan Weinheimer of Fort Worth is a young man who has been playing on the Tour for a couple of years now. Over that time, he has learned his lessons well and the improvement of his game has been phenomenal. Dylan had victories over Bob Stangry, Mickey Provencio, Marc Garza and Shane Harvey to reach the finals of the winner's bracket.
Coming up the other side of the bracket was Jui Lung Chen, multiple Tour event winner and the current point leader for 2007 Player of the Year. Chen started his run with triumphs over Daniel Cole, Richard Ortega, Eric Aiciena, Brian White and Jason Dutchover to reach the final winner bracket match.
Chen has been dominating all year and this match was no exception. Chen won over Dylan by a score of 9-5. After eliminating Shane in the finals of the one loss side, Dylan had his rematch with Chen. Chen, again, proved dominate and cruised to another Tour victory by the score of 9-3. Chen earned $2540 and Dylan earned $1660 for their fine play over the weekend.
In the Ladies division, the field was small with only eight players but they were full of fight. The ladies duked it out with Yuri Massenrang, Shane Harvey's lady, coming out on top and Michelle Yim of Houston taking the second place honors.
Congratulations to both of these fine ladies!
Thanks to Jack Kompan of Mystick Cues, Jeff Reidel and Robby Tims of Behind the 8 Ball Cue Sales & Service and Paul with S & S Custom Cues of Lubbock for their support of the Tour.
This Tour would not be a tour if it were not for the support and generosity shown by Olhausen Billiards and Schuler Legacy Cues. Both companies are not only cornerstones for the Tour but for the entire billiard industry.
A huge thanks goes out to Fast Eddie's Billiards for simply being the greatest. Thanks to Jaime and her staff at the Fast Eddie's in Odessa for hosting the event.
Next month, the Fast Eddie's in Austin will host the event on July 14-15th. This event always fills up, so get there early and reserve your spot. Until then, keep knocking the backs of those pockets out.
