Jimmy Bird, David Hairfield and Tiger Baker
The Tiger Pool Tour had itself a busy, season-opening weekend (Jan. 27-28). Fortunately for its tour directors, Tiger Baker and Kris Wylie, Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA hosted the event, which was actually three events; two, defined by Fargo Rates and one, separated by gender. As one of, if not the largest pool hall in the country (70 tables), accommodation of the event’s 100 individual (no crossover) participants would not have been a problem; figuring two per table at any given moment, there’d be 20 tables left over for use by Q Masters’ general-public patrons.
It’s not an unheard-of situation. Tour directors and individual event promoters do multiple events on a single weekend all the time, although generally, for the bigger events, the time frame extends beyond a Saturday and Sunday. Then, too, the professional circuit generally enjoys the luxury of increased staff, including, among other things, the presence of referees. Though technically speaking, the three events of the Tiger Tour’s opening weekend encompassed two calendar days, only two hours of Day Two (Midnight to 2 a.m. on Sunday) were needed. The logistics of a regional tour event at the 100-entrant scale being accomplished in a single day cannot be underestimated, so a ‘tip of the hat’ to Baker and Wylie for pulling it off.
Two of the three, divisional-event winners went undefeated, while two of three finals went double-hill. Shane Sullivan went undefeated in the largest, 52-entrant, Division 2 field for Fargo Rates of 525 and under/APA 7 and under. Jimmy Bird went undefeated in the 31-entrant, Division 1 field (526 and above Fargo Rate/APA 8 & 9). Iris Cabatit came from the loss side (one match, the semifinals) in the 17-entrant Women’s division, like Division 2, for Fargo Rates of 525 and under/APA 7 and under and claimed that event title.
Shane Sullivan and Marlin Foster
Shane Sullivan raced to 6 throughout the Division 2 event, except for his opening match against Ryan Martin, whom he defeated 5-1 (Martin racing to 6). Two 6-3 wins followed (Todd Bady, Chris Purenza). which put him into a double-hill, winners’ side quarterfinal against John Setterfield. He won that match and his winners’ side semifinal over Kenny Marple 6-4, which put him into the hot seat match.
Marlin Foster, in the meantime, got by Greg Lambert, Steve Emory, Charise Mullen and Matthew Pursley before surviving a double-hill battle versus Henry Mundle, which put him (Foster) into the hot seat match against Sullivan. Sullivan claimed the hot seat 6-1 over Foster. Foster moved to the loss side and downed Kenny Marple 6-3. Sullivan then downed Foster a second time, 6-3, to claim the Division 2 title.
In the upper ranks of the Division 1, winner Jimmy Bird and runner-up David Hairfield went through the same hot seat match/final routine. Bird, who raced to different numbers, dependent on his competition, got by Gil Erguiza 9-5, JR Ruggiero 8-5, and Chip Hanbury, double hill (7-6) before meeting and defeating Jerry Jenkins in a winners’ side semifinal 8-4. Hairfield raced to 9 in his first two matches, winning them both; 9-1 over Steve Kang and 9-5 over Moe Mozzanar. He downed Dwight Cherry 7-3 in a winners’ side quarterfinal and shut out Scott Guschel in the winners’ side semifinal that set him up against Bird in the hot seat match. In a straight-up race to 7, Bird claimed the seat 7-5.
Hairfield moved over to the semifinals and ran into Jerry Jenkins, who’d followed his loss to Bird with victories over Mike Tomlich 6-2 and in the quarterfinals, Chip Hanbury 7-5. Hairfield downed Jenkins 8-1 in the semifinals. A spirited battle for the Division 1 title followed in the finals. Bird and Hairfield battled to double hill before Bird prevailed to claim that title.
Cabatit comes back from semifinals to defeat Hairfield and claim Women’s title
Iris Cabatit and Courtney Hairfield
Iris Cabatit’s trip to the winners’ circle in the Women’s Division was sidetracked briefly in the hot seat match versus the soon-to-be 18 year-old (Feb. 10) Courtney Hairfield. Cabatit opened up with a win over Gayle Muth 6-2, before downing both Crystal Gozon and in a winners’ side semifinal, Nancy Harned 6-3. Hairfield, who hadn’t given up more than two racks against any of her first three opponents – Kate Hudson (1), Kaitlyn Giddens (2) and Rebecca Edwards (1) – gave up four in the hot seat battle. Hairfield claimed the seat and waited on Cabatit’s return.
Harned and Edwards moved to the loss side, defeated Stacey Dunn (6-0) and Joyce Murphy 5-3), respectively, and advanced to the quarterfinals. Edwards took the quarterfinal match 5-3, before Cabatit eliminated her in the semifinals 5-1.
The second of the triple-event’s finals went double hill. Cabatit claimed the Women’s Division title 6-5 over Hairfield.
Wylie and Baker thanked the ownership and staff at Q Master Billiards, along with title sponsor Tiger Products.
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