Carlo Cabarlo (Photo courtesy of Ashi Fachler)
The CPPT took to the road once again, traveling to On Cue Billiards in La Mesa the weekend of November 6-7 for the second Southern California stop of Tour. It was a great way to celebrate On Cue's new owner, Clyde Nooris, who along with his family graciously welcomed us all to his spacious room by providing a delicious banquet -- it was most generous and much appreciated by all in attendance on Saturday.
Even though our event was up against the Hard Times Bellflower first of the month tournament, thanks to the tireless efforts of our good friend Fran Smith, a fairly even mix of 49 players came to On Cue instead. Entry fees totaled $3025, which combined with $500 added by On Cue and $500 from Fran Smith's Metro BCA League, made for a total prize fund of $4025 to distribute among the top 25% of the field.
After the draws, the contestants got down to business and battled all day Saturday. When the smoke cleared 12 very excited players returned to the money round on Sunday. The format was very well received, and many players commented about how fair they thought it was. Even the usual “complainers” expressed approval, saying it was "fair and awesome." The popularity of the Magic Rack continues to grow as more players are introduced to it at CPPT events and experience first-hand its ease of use and superior performance.
The 12 returning players vying for the prize money gave a hearty round of applause when they saw the payouts, then got down to the business of determining who would collect how much. Josh Ulrich and Bruce Choyce were the two finalists on the winners side of the Pro/A bracket, and Bobby Bosita and Carlo Cabarlo went undefeated in the B/C bracket. Advancing from the one-loss side were B/C players Josh Silva, Joseph Dino, Franco Bressanutti , and Levi Lustado, and from the Pro/A bracket Jesse Garcia, Zeke Morrison, Dan Boone, and Paul Bramwell. Many of the players who did not make it to the second day were still happy to have participated and came back on Sunday to watch the finals.
The money bracket was redrawn, the match-ups were made and the action began. On the winners' side, Carlo Cabarlo defeated Josh Ulrich 7-6 and Bruce Choyce defeated Bobby Bosita 7-4, resulting in a hot seat match between Carlo and Bruce. Carlo got the better of Bruce and won the match 7-4.
On the one-loss side, Paul Bramwell finished in fourth place with wins over Levi Lustado (who unfortunately had to forfeit his match due to family commitments), Joseph Dino 7-5 and Bobby Bosita 7-3 before losing to Dan Boone. Dan Boone defeated Jesse Garcia 7-6, Franco Bresanutti 7-3, Josh Ulrich 7-4 and Paul Bramwell 7-5 before he got to Bruce Choyce. Dan played well but couldn't overcome Bruce's hunger for a rematch with Carlo Cabarlo, losing 7-4 and finishing in 3rd place.
In the final single race to 9, Bruce jumped out to an early 6-1 lead before Carlo came roaring back to life and took a 7-6 lead, which he never relinquished. Every roll seemed to go in Carlo's favor during the second half of the match, and Bruce managed one more game before Carlo was able to close it out for a 9-7 victory. Carlo played some excellent pool all weekend against some top-notch competitors to come out victorious, improving upon his 4th place finish at the College Billiards stop in September. Bruce displayed his talent and drive with his superior play in his first CPPT appearance, and will surely see him at future events.
We were very fortunate to have live streaming provided by Chris Rose and Kevin Brock on both days of the tournament, which went off without a hitch and reached over 385 dynamic viewers during the broadcast. Several others took turns in the booth so that Chris and Kevin could also play in the tournament. (They were given reduced entry fees in exchange for their services.) The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with viewers complimenting the quality and content of the live streaming.
A custom Dave Whitsell cue valued at $800 was donated to the CPPT and raffled before the final match was played on Sunday. Congratulations to Dave Warner on winning this beautiful cue! Many thanks to Dave Whitsell for his generous donation.
"The CPPT tournament's format was very popular,” said Clyde. “It was a pleasure having them visit my establishment, and I look forward to hosting a stop next year.” Thanks again to everyone who came out to compete, watch and celebrate Clyde's ownership of On Cue Billiards. We greatly appreciate all the support, and look forward to a full schedule of tournaments in Southern California next year.
