The action was just like the salsa they serve in ol" San Antonio - Hot and Spicy - when the sixth stop of the 2003 Fast Eddie's 9 Ball Tour came to the Embassy Oaks location on July 18-20th. A big thanks go out to Summer, Sean and their staff, and, of course, Big Lew and Daren Pickering for taking care of the ninety five hot and sweaty souls who braved the South Texas heat to come showcase their talents with the white rock on the green cloth last weekend. When the dust cleared, the boys and girls from Austin left town with most of the honors!
This was the strongest field yet. The top picks were the likes of Jeremy Jones, Cliff Joyner, David Guttierrez, John Hager, Robert Almaraz, Sparky Ferrell, David Henson, Gilbert Martinez, James Davis Sr., T. J. Davis, Steve "Lizard" Smith... well, as you can see, the talent was endless. This set the stage for many exciting and strategic battles with the sticks and stones.
Seventy two open division players vied for the top dog position. Destry Ensley, Neil Kahn, Sparky Ferrell and Javier Franco finished well in the 13 - 16th positions.
There were many upsets throughout the tournament with T. J. Davis, Jeremy Jones, Steve Smith and Slyver Ochoa finishing in the 9 - 12th placements.
Cliff Joyner, considered by many to be the best one pocket player in the world, and Robert Almaraz, former Tour Champion from San Antonio, were handed their final losses of the tournament by the "gaint killers" Ted Dean of Brenham and Tito Fernandez of San Antonio, respectively. Both Cliff and Robert finished in the 7 -8th positions. One winner's side match of note was between Robert A. and Jeremy Jones. With Robert on the hill, 8-5, Jeremy showed great heart and tied it at 8-8, only to have Robert "make it on the snap" in the final game.
Both Ted Dean and Tito Fernandez raised many eyebrows with their fine performances. Ted had wins over Chris Gunn, Belinda Campos Calhoun, and David Christal before losing to John Hager. On the one loss side, Ted defeated Jeremy Jones and Robert Almaraz before his final loss to Gilbert Martinez. Tito defeated Justin Vogel and Candy Ramos before being defeated by David Henson. Tito, then, defeated Bobby Brown, Steve Smith and Cliff Joyner bsfore his second loss to John Hager. With the long business hours and family commitments these gentlemen manage, it's hard to believe they even have time to practice, much less, achieve this level of play. Both earned hard fought 5-6th placements.
John Hager hasn't had the time this year to play since he has started his own business but the fundamentals learned over his youth did not let him down. John handed losses to Jesse Mata, Mel Herrera, Angel Park, Javier Franco and Ted Dean before being sent to the brutal bracket by David Henson. John defeated Tito Fernandez to face Gilbert Martinez who defeated John, 9-3, for John to seize the respectable 4th place finish.
Gilbert Martinez of Austin showed his great laid back style in defeating Tommy Castillo, Bobby Brown, Sparky Ferrell and T. J. Davis before his first loss to James Davis Sr. Once on the one loss side, Gilbert beat Ted Dean and John Hager, only to be handed his final loss by his lifelong friend, David Henson. Great showing, Gilbert, with a 3rd place finish.
David Henson keeps improving with each event. David fought his way through the winner's side with triumphs over Pat "Chicago" Castro, Beto Vasquez, Tony Hinojosa, Robert Almaraz and John Hager to advance into the finals of the winner's bracket against James Davis Sr., where he received his first loss. After defeating Gilbert in the finals of the one loss side, this gave David the chance to face James Davis Sr. once again.
James "Bastrop" Davis Sr., a quiet and unassuming man, defeated David "G" Guttierrez, Rick Castillo, Destry Ensley, Steve Smith, Gilbert Martinez and David Henson with quiet efficiency to jump into the hot seat.
An all Austin area finals, James overcame David, 9-6, for his first victory on the Fast Eddie's 9 Ball Tour. It was a great show and we'll see you next month in Houston!
Complete Payouts:
1st James Davis Sr. $3520
2nd David Henson $2475
3rd Gilbert Martinez $1680
4th John Hager $1045
5th/6th Tito Fernandez, Ted Dean $550
7th/8th Cliff Joyner, Robert Almaraz $315
9th/12th T. J. Davis, Sylver Ochoa, Jeremy Jones, Steve Smith $125
13th/16th Destry Ensley, Sparky Ferrell, Neil Kahn, Javier Franco $75
