Francisco Bustamante, Scott Frost and Roberto Gomez
The Tenth Annual Midwest Billiards & Cue Expo came to a close this past weekend. Hosted by owners Randy Hanson and James Landrum, Big Dog’s Billiards in Des Moines, IA became action central!
In addition to the Cue Show, this $18,000 added event featured four divisions – one pocket, nine ball, a banks ring game and bar table nine ball.
Presented by Diveney Cues, Big Dog Billiards and PoolActionTV.com, other sponsors included the attorney Joseph J. Long, World Nineball Tour, Smash Billiards, Aramith, Simonis, Jacoby Custom Cues, Nineball World Rankings, Everything Billiards, Kamui, Savage Billiards, Matchroom and Diamond Billiard Products.
Drawing hundreds of exhibitors, players and fans, some well-known faces were spotted around the room. They included BCA Hall of Famer Francisco Bustamante, One Pocket Hall of Famers Jeremy Jones and Scott Frost as well as New England Pool & Billiard Hall of Famer Jeremy Sossei. Other titleists from 2024 included Roberto Gomez (Buffalo Pro One Pocket), Billy Thorpe (Bayou State One Pocket), Tony Chohan (The Rack One Pocket Classic), Lukas Fracasso-Verner (Buffalo’s Pro Classic Open 9 Ball), Sky Woodward (Big Tyme Classic 9 Ball), Jonathan (“Hennessee”) Pinegar (Music City Classic), Vitaliy Patsura Skinny Bob’s 9 Ball, BJ Ussery (North Carolina State 9 Ball) and newly minted Heyball champ, Corey Deuel.
Others included last year’s Midwest Open 9 Ball champ Shane Wolford, Texas Open 9 Ball champ Tyler Styer, multiple European Pool Championships gold medalist Margaret Fefilova Styer and five time US Amateur champ Brian Parks in addition to Oscar Dominguez, Max Eberle, Danny Olson, Sergio Rivas and Sharik Sayed.
The action kicked off on Wednesday evening with the $5,000 added One Pocket Championship. Fourteen players posted their $1,000 entry fees to compete in this double elimination event. The format was alternate break with races to four. After the players auction, meeting and draw, play began.
Gomez and Rivas drew the coveted first round byes. Frost defeated Jones 4-2 and Thorpe beat Seaman and Fracasso-Verner took down Chohan – both 4-0.
Second round action saw Wolford defeat Frost 4-2, Gomez edged out Thorpe 4-3, Whitey Walker beat Sergio Rivas 4-2 and Bustamante smoked Fracasso-Verner 4-0.
Vying for seats in the hot seat match saw Gomez taking down Wolford 4-2 and still on fire, Bustamante blitzed Walker 4-0.
The all-Filipino showdown to lock up a spot in the finals went to Francisco 4-2. Roberto headed west to await an opponent.
After being forced to take the scenic route after a first round loss, Frost was a man on a mission. He tore through Eric Pickar 4-1, Thorpe 4-2 and Walker 4-0. Duking it out in the upper portion of the one loss side were killers Jones, Rivas, Seaman and Wolford. Wolford survived only to be eliminated by Frost 4-2.
Waiting for Scott was Roberto – he also went down 4-2 and Frost was in the finals!
Since this was true double elimination, Scott had to defeat Francisco twice to take the title. Playing nearly perfect one pocket and giving Frost no air, Bustamante won four games in a row to add another title to his long resume!
The $2,000 added Bar Table Nine Ball began on Friday evening. After the players auction, meeting and draw, play began. When the smoke cleared, it was down to four players. Randy Hanson took first place, George Walters finished second, Jon Giles came in third and Marc Phillips was fourth.
The $1,000 added Banks Ring Game was an eight man invitational – each paid a $250 entry fee. Paid by the rail, the last two standing were Jeremy Seaman and Sky Woodward. Jeremy took the cheese!
Tyler Styer
The $10,000 added Big Dog’s Nine Ball & World Nine Ball Tour event also began on Friday evening. Thirty six players paid their $300 entry fees to play in this double elimination event and chase Mosconi Cup points. The format was races to 9/7, winner breaks with the nine racked on the spot. After the players auction and meeting, the draw was completed with seeding according to World Nineball Tour (WNT) rankings.
After a first round bye, Woodward and Sossie began their marches across the top portion of the bracket. Woodward had wins over Philip Howk and Deuel – both scores 9-2. Sossei defeated Benjamin Gonzales 9-1, squeaked past Patsura 9-8 and sent Woodward west 9-3.
Next rung down the chart saw Ussery also receive a first round bye and was then victorious over Trevor Seale and Gomez – both scores 9-6. After his first round bye, Rivas had a tougher road but still defeated Olson and Wolford – both 9-4. He then beat Ussery 9-6 to reach the final four on the winners side where he would face Sossei.
In the bottom portion of the bracket and also the recipient of a first round bye, Tyler Styer took down Marcus Genson 9-3 and Seaman 9-2 before facing De Leon. After De Leon’s first round bye, he posted wins over Eduard Bregu 9-0 and Margaret Fefilova Styer 9-4. Now facing Tyler, it was close but he went down 9-7.
And, the final rung of the chart saw Dominguez receive his first round bye followed by wins over Jody McLaughlin 9-0 and Hennessee 9-4. Bustamante also got a first round bye and was posted wins over Sam Henderson 9-5 and Thorpe 9-6. He then went on to send Dominguez packing 9-5 and meet Styer in the final four on the winners side.
Battling it out for a berth in the hot seat match was Sossei & Rivas. It was all Rivas as he prevailed 9-3. The match for the other seat was a lot closer but it was Styer who finally pulled away from Bustamante 9-6.
Both young guns were in dead stroke but when it was all said and done, it was Styer who locked up his place in the finals. Rivas went west to await an opponent.
The west side was loaded with strong players but when all was said and done, it was Sossei and Olson who emerged from the pack. Jeremy won 7-2 leaving Danny in fourth place. Sossei was then knocked out by Rivas in a nailbiter – 7-6. Leaving Jeremy in third place, Sergio moved on to the finals.
Again, since this was true double elimination, Rivas would have to defeat Styer twice to claim the title.
He shot out to a 5-1 lead but Tyler clawed back to make it 5-3. Sergio maintained his two game lead to make it 6-4 and 7-5. Digging deep, Styer tied it at seven each and then went on to reach the hill first! Rivas fought back and tied the match at eight!
And, as almost always, the final game of the set would be a puzzle rack! Both players took turns at the table but it finally came down to a long straight shot on the orange. Styer made the shot and faced a 6-9 combination. He pocketed the nine for the game and the title. What a match!
Congratulations to Francisco Bustamante, Tyler Styer, Randy Hanson and Jeremy Seaman for becoming the 2024 Big Dog champions!
Looking forward to next year!
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