Sylver Ochoa and Charlie Bryant
On June 16th-17th, Houston's Sports Bar held its first $1,000 added Lone Star event of 2012, drawing 57 entries over Open and Amateur divisions. Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant, Manny Chau, David Gutierrez, Al Mason, and Sylver Ochoa helped make up the 25 player, star-studded Open division. New faces in the 32 player Amateur division included Bobby Pacheco, Ray Porter, Derrick Ray, Henry Rocha, Robert Garcia, Isai Rodriguez, and David Rodriguez.
Saturday's Open play narrowed the field to 12 finalists for Sunday. Grady Cooper and Henry Rocha were two unusual suspects who played their way into the final four winners' side for Sunday. Cooper defeated Al Mason 9-5 and Henry Rocha bested Sonny Bosshamer 9-6 to get there, but were both defeated in their hot seat bids by Sylver Ochoa and Charlie Bryant respectively. Cooper and Rocha secured 7th-8th place finishes. David Gutierrez suffered a first round loss to Mason and won 5 consecutive matches until he was upset by Bosshamer, 7-2. It seemed like old times as Ochoa and Bryant hammered it out for the cat bird's seat. They traded racks, executing dead-lock safes and kicking in balls, until Ochoa pulled ahead and closed it out, 9-7. The “Hillbilly” made quick work of Bosshamer then exacted dual-set revenge on Ochoa to win his first Lone Star Open division title in 2 years!
There were several big stories on the “B” side. Pasadena, Texas newcomer, Ray Porter, stormed the Amateur division escaping 3 hill-hill matches to reach the hot seat. Surprise player Bill Fain reached his bid for the final four winners' side with wins over Steve Williams, Carlos Martinez, and Henry Rocha. Fain lost to Bosshamer, 7-4, and was then eliminated by Brent Thomas, 5-3. Demetro depleted Thomas in the first round, but after 6 rounds of wins, Thomas exacted revenge on Demetro in the quarter finals. After a 7-4 loss to Porter for the hot seat, Bosshamer faced off with Thomas', ending his 7 match winning streak. Victory was short-lived for Bosshamer as the indomitable Porter swiftly secured the final set to win his first Lone Star Amateur division event.
Congratulations to Tiffany Boysen who finished “top lady” in the Amateur division. There were 2 juniors who participated in the Amateurs, Mike Calderaro and Michael Fain. Junior Nick Calderaro competed in the Open, drawing Sylver Ochoa his first round and losing by a score of only 9-6. Many Lone Star tour players continue to reach for, and accomplish their goals, with each and every event in which they compete. Keep your momentum going!
The Lone Star Billiards Tour would like to thank its exclusive cue sponsor, Poison by Predator cues, www.poisonbilliards.com, its exclusive rack Delta-13, www.delta-13rack.com, www.PoolWebsites.com, APA of North Harris County, and Gulf Coast Billiards. The tour would also like to acknowledge and give special thanks to Carlos Ledson Miller, who generates the tour standings. Many thanks to BCA referee, Derrell Montgomery, and Jerald “Topwater” Jackson for their tournament assistance.
Paul Holleman from Baytown, Texas won a Poison VX Jump Cue and Cleveland, Texas' Mike Terry won a VX2.9 Break/Jump in the Poison by Predator cue raffles. Enjoy your new cues gentlemen!
The Tour would like to thank Houston's owner Eric Hill and his wonderful staff for making this a first rate event. The Olhausen tournament tables were recovered in brand new 860 Simonis cloth for the players to enjoy. Tour Director Kim White says, “Houston's was so accommodating to the Tour and its players. We look forward to coming back.”
The next event is July 7th-8th at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar. We hope you'll join us.
Open Payouts
1st Charlie Bryant $500/$500
2nd Sylver Ochoa $300/$300
3rd Sonny Bosshamer $150/$140
4th David Gutierrez $80
5th-6th Henry Rocha, Grady Cooper $35
Amateur Payouts
1st Ray Porter $420/$300
2nd Sonny Bosshamer $280/$175
3rd Brent Thomas $150/$85
4th Sonny Demetro $100
5th-6th Bill Fain, Bobby Pacheco $55
7th-8th Grady Cooper, Henry Rocha $25
