The Fast Eddie's Olhausen 9 Ball Tour Sponsored by Schuler Legacy Cues 2005 kicked off its new year with its first event on January 8-9th at the new showcase Fast Eddie's World Class Billiards location in Houston, Tx. Seventy-three players showed to tear it up on the mean green over the weekend.
Wow, you talk about a talent-laden field. Top picks were Jui Lung Chen, Sylver Ochoa, David Henson, Robert Newkirk, Robert Clark, Denis Strickland, Tommy Milburn, Marc Garza and Javier Franco along with a few new faces, such as, Roye Pelletier and Raul Escobedo.
Filling out the 13-16th spots were David Henson, Marty Farrell, Marc Garza, and Eduardo Castillo. Good shooting by all!
Jumping into the 9-12th placements were Denis Strickland, Richie Somner, Marc Garza and Kenny Greer. Three consistent money dogs and one new pup! A great showing by all.
King Drake of the San Angelo area and Raul Escobedo of Houston took the 7-8th positions. Both gentlemen played very well and showed a lot of heart, earning the respect of many players.
Tommy Milburn of Houston and Robert Newkirk of Dallas occupied the 5-6th slots. Amazingly, both gentlemen don't have a lot of time to devote to their games, being independent businessmen, but are extremely competitive with “no quit” attitudes which always makes them a threat at the table.
Javier Franco of Houston, winner of an event last year, settled for a 4th place finish. Javier started with victories over Ricky Mewis, Quenton Hunnewell, and Eduardo Castillo before being knocked to the left side by Sylver Ochoa. Once there, he continued with victories over Denis Strickland, King Drake and Tommy Milburn when he was blind-sided by Robert Clark, 7-0, to end his run.
Robert Clark of Dallas was on cruise control with triumphs over bye, Chuck Swisher, Marc Garza and King Drake until he was sent to the brutal bracket Sylver Ochoa, 9-6. From there, he vanquished Robert Newkirk and Javier Franco before running into Sylver, once again, and was defeated, 7-3, for a very commendable 3rd place finish.
Sylver Ochoa of McAllen, the only player ever to win two back to back events in the history of the Tour, set about his task with victories over Stan Fry, Troy Johnson, Kenny Greer, Javier Franco, and Robert Clark. In the finals of the winner's bracket, Jui Lung Chen defeated Sylver by the score of 9-6. In the finals of the one loss side, Sylver sent Robert Clark to the gallery to again meet Chen in the finals.
Jui Lung Chen of Dallas, past winner on the Tour, has been working on his English as much as his game and both are improving rapidly. Chen cruised to the hot seat with victories over Ted Dean, Manuel Ayala, Jon Rawlins, Raul Escobedo, Tommy Milburn and Sylver Ochoa. With Sylver coming off the left side, it set up for a great final match.
Both players pulled out all the stops with finesse, power, jump and safety play to be dead even at 7-7. Down to a race to two, Chen took the last two games to come out victorious, 9-7. Both players showed tremendous skill and poise during their match. Congratulations to both fine gentlemen!
In the Second Chance tournament, Bill Fuller of Brenham won with Luke Everett coming in second.
Thanks to Fast Eddie's Billiards, Olhausen Billiards and Schuler Legacy Cues for sponsoring a great event. Tabitha, Curtis, and your staff were unbelievable again in hosting the event. Again, thanks to Bubba and Schonne of Cue Sales and Service, Jack and Elvie of Mystick Cues, Ron Geyer of The Custom Cue Connection, Tino of Teodora's Mini-Tacos, Anne Mayes of AO Custom Cues, Rob of ASP Consultants and www.pooltourneys.com, and The Billiard Factory of San Antonio for supporting the Tour.
We'll be looking for you next month on February 4-6th at the Fast Eddie's Billiards on N. W. Military in San Antonio. We'll have exciting news on the Player of the Year awards. Visit us and stay updated about the Tour at our new website, www.fasteddies9balltour.com.
Complete Results:
1st Jui Lung Chen $2995
2nd Sylver Ochoa $2080
3rd Robert Clark $1320
4th Javier Franco $860
5th/6th Robert Newkirk, Tommy Milburn $480
7th/8th King Drake, Raul Escobedo $320
9th/12th Denis Strickland, Richie Somner, Manuel Ayala, Kenny Greer $120
13th/16th David Henson, Marty Farrell, Marc Garza, Eduardo Castillo $80
