Emilyn Callado, Janna Nelson and Gigi Callejas
With a field of twenty-eight contenders from around California, The West Coast Women’s Tour took the stage at Jointed Cue Billiards in Sacramento, CA on September 14 for the tour’s fifth stop. Each of the tour’s first four 9-ball events of 2024 featured a different player as champion, and at Jointed Cue, the trend continued as Emilyn Callado was victorious for the first time this season. Despite some recent struggles with her game, Callado remained undefeated throughout the day-long event.
Following the tournament, Callado reflected on what helped elevate her performance at Jointed Cue. “I’ve been in a slump the past several months and I think a lot of it has to do with many life events, none of it really involving pool. So, when I am playing pool, I’ll be quite tense, often doubting myself. The result of that is missed balls, bad shape, and a jabby stroke. I think I just let go of all expectations and I didn’t beat myself up if I missed. Each time I was allowed back to the table, I hit a reset button and started over again with a clean slate. By game 4 or 5 of my first match, I finally hit a groove. My alignment, aim, and stroke were all in sync. Then I just held on to that calm sense of self, being present and appreciating life,” said Callado.
To make her way to the final, Emilyn Callado scored wins over Ashley Herr (5-4), Becky Simi (5-1), Meadow Klingler (5-4), and stop #2 winner Gigi Callejas (5-0) in the match for the hot seat. Leading up to the hot seat match, Callejas defeated veteran tour player Janna Nelson by a close score of 5-4. However, Nelson made a turnaround on the loss side, knocking out former tour champion Khanh Ngo (3-1) to then match up against Meadow Klingler in the quarterfinal, where she won with a shutout score of 3-0. Notably, this was the second top four finish of the year for Klingler, who was the winner of stop #2.
Moving on to the semifinal, Janna Nelson had yet another close battle against Gigi Callejas, who came away with a 3-2 victory to earn a rematch in the final against Emilyn Callado. In the match for the top honors, Callado put down another strong performance over Callejas, sealing her undefeated record with a score of 5-2. “I knew I was in gear, so I didn’t want to overthink my shots,” Callado explained. “Instinct fully kicked in. If I decided on a shot, I just made sure to look at the ball from all angles, see how far or close it was from the pocket, how steep of a cut it would be, how wide the bank had to be… Nothing was taken for granted. I didn’t want my missed shots to be because I rushed it. Everything was thought through but not prolonged.”
Callado first got her start playing on the tour in 2002, the year after her sister Eleanor joined, and has been a member of the tour on-and-off ever since. In 2012, after tour founder and operator Julie Hunter stepped down, Emilyn took the reins and helped move the tour on to its present-day iteration. “I’d never ran a tournament before that, never spoke to sponsors or room owners asking for money, never executed a contract. It was tough! We were only getting maybe twelve players per stop, but we kept it alive. I’ve been playing since then. I think I took one year off here and there, partly for school or a mental break, but I’ve mostly been playing. My roles have been tournament director, membership coordinator, and board member for public relations. I’ve also gotten apparel made! I think this year, we’ve been getting 24-38 players per stop,” she said. Currently, Emilyn Callado plays out of California Billiards in Fremont, CA, and also acknowledged her sponsors, Red Fin Cues and 3 Seconds Cue Cases.
In the latter half of the day at Jointed Cue, a second-chance tournament was held for the players who were eliminated in the early rounds. Thirteen players competed in this single-elimination event, where Crystal Brown scored the top prize, while Della Murray finished 2nd and the third-place tie went to Linda Miyoshi and Mary Dughi.
The West Coast Women’s Tour would like to thank Jointed Cue owners Shan & Katy Damani for hosting the event and contributing $500 to the prize fund. TWCWT would also like to thank Adam Sickles, Diablo Valley Pool League, and Robbie Lyng Custom Cues & Repair for their ongoing sponsor support. If you’re interested in becoming a tour sponsor, send an email to twcwtour@gmail.com
The next stop on the West Coast Women’s Tour will be held on October 19 at Family Billiards in San Francisco, CA. For more tour details and announcements, visit http://www.facebook.com/twcwtour/
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