Andy Jethwa and Blaine Barcus
Tour newcomer Peter Charles was the big story at the first official Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour Spring 9-Ball Event, held on February 27-28, 2016, at Bogies Billiards West. This event drew a staggering 73 entries in the amateur 9-ball division, and 53 in the open 9-ball division. After losing in the fourth round to J.C. Torres, 7-6, Pete Charles went on to decimate the amateur division, besting Anthony Gepayo in the finals, 7-3, 5-1, to capture his first amateur 9-ball division title. Former tour champion, Andy Jethwa, went undefeated in the open 9-ball division, overcoming Blaine Barcus in the final match, 9-8, adding yet another title to his Poison Lone Star Tour resume.
Bogies Billiards West, along with tour sponsors www.OzoneBilliards.com, Delta-13 Rack www.Delta-13.com, and the APA of North Harris County www.facebook.com/apanorthharriscounty, aided the tour in facilitating another successful event, with a 126 player turnout, and providing an additional $1,500 for the prize fund.
On the winners’ side of the amateur 9-ball division, newcomer Eduardo Hernandez made his bid for the final four with wins over Fernando Lopez, Chuck Adams, 7-6, Michael Pickering, and Tyler Partin, 7-3, while Dickinson’s Josh White ousted Charlie Jenkins, 7-2, Matt Peters, 7-0, Masahiro “Hiro” Nakahara, 7-6, and Viet Do, 7-3. Anthony Gepayo took down J.J. Manley, Barry Titus, 7-6, David Massie, 7-0, Jacob Watson, 7-2, and Will Felder, 7-6, while J.C. Torres logged wins over Marty Walker, Daniel Wise, 7-2, Lester Foy, Pete Charles, 7-6, and David Leal, 7-3. White shut down Hernandez, 7-6, and Torres fell to Gepayo, 7-3. While the winners’ side was playing out, the one loss side was heating up. After losing his first match to Kevin Nguyen, Bobby Perez won 6 consecutive matches, including wins over Chris Collette, 5-2, and Jesse Langston, 5-3. Notching his belt once more with a victory over Jacob Watson , Perez advanced to the final 12, along with Pete Charles who defeated Joshua Pangilinan, 5-2, Abel Lara who ousted Michael Pickering by the same score, and Nakahara who ended Nguyen’s run, 5-3. It was Perez over Partin, Charles defeating Do, 5-3, Lara ousting Felder, 5-4, and Nakahara over Leal, 5-4, to round out the final four survivors on the one loss side. Back on the east side, White and Gepayo teed off for the hot seat. Gepayo proved too much for White, sending him west, 7-2. On the one loss side, Charles eliminated Perez, 5-2, while Felder ended Nakahara, 5-3. Charles went on to shut out Torres, 5-0, and Felder fell to Hernandez, 5-4. Charles was on a role and on his way to the finals as he made quick work of Hernandez and White, by the same score, 5-2. After two days of grueling play, Gepayo and Charles faced off in Sunday’s finals. Charles maintained his consistent play, and although Gepayo put up a good fight, he succumbed to Charles two sets, 7-3, 5-1.
In the open 9-ball division, resident player and former tour champion Andy Jethwa began his quest for the hot seat, defeating Jesse Langston, J.C. Torres, 9-3, and Phillip Tieu, 9-4. Bobby Perez played his way out, with wins over Charlie Jenkins, Blaine Barcus, Chuck Adams, 9-4, and Chase Wheeler, 9-2. Chase Rudder made an impressive run for the final four on the winners’ side, besting Rick Johnson, Greg Deyo, and Jacob Cantu, 9-1, while Sonny Bosshamer overcame Gerardo Alvarez, 9-5, J.J. Manle y, 9-4, and Anthony Gepayo, 9-3. Jethwa made quick work of Perez, and Rudder sent Bosshamer west, by the same score, 9-2. True to form, Jethwa defeated Rudder for the hot seat, 9-3. On the one loss side, Tieu won 4 straight matches, including victories over Aldo Rosso, 7-5, Michael Pickering, 7-4, and Tom Welch, 7-1. Nguyen took down 6 consecutive matches, eliminating David Leal, 7-6, Jesse Langston, 7-1, and Anthony Gepayo, 7-5. Nakahara was blazing his own trail on the west side, with wins over Steve Williams, 7-4, J.C. Torres, 7-3, and Mike Wheeler, 7-8. Perhaps the biggest comeback on the one loss side came from Barcus, who won an impressive 5 consecutive matches to meet Nakahara in the final four on the one loss side. Tieu eliminated Nguyen, 7-5, but fell to Perez, 7-2, while Barcus took down Nakahara, and Bosshamer, 7-5. Barcus went on to defeat Perez and Rudder, by the same score, 7-2, amassing 9 consecutive match wins to meet Jethwa in the finals. The first set was a real crowd-pleaser, as Jethwa and Barcus took it to the hill. Jethwa’s intense focus and determination served him well, as he secured the final game, and became the first open 9-ball title holder on the new Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour.
The Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour would like to thank all the players throughout Texas who attended this event. Tyler, Laredo, Dickinson, Austin, and many other cities were well represented! Congratulations to all the raffle winners who took home Poison by Predator products, and many thanks to the wonderful, attentive staff at Bogies West.
The next PLSBT event will be held at Ariana’s, located at 13802 Homestead Rd., Houston, Texas, on May 14-15, 2016. The Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour encourages everyone who loves to play pool and compete in a friendly atmosphere, to attend an event.
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