Robert Clark, Jeff Franklin and Gus Briseno
It’s been a while since Jeff Franklin has made an appearance in our AZBilliards database that records all cash payouts for listed players; a little over five years ago, to be precise, when he finished in the tie for 13th place at the 1st Texas 10-Ball Championships at Skinny Bob’s in Austin, TX. His record in our database dates back 15 years to his first entry, finishing third at the 2005 Houston Open. He updated that database resume last weekend (Sept. 19-20) when he went undefeated to win a stop on the CueTec DFW 9-Ball Tour. The $1,000-added event drew 68 entrants to Snookered Billiards & Bar in Frisco, TX.
According to tour director, Monica Anderson, the event drew a lot of Texan ‘heavy hitters,’ which, in spite of his protracted absence, Franklin took down with relative ease; “slaying the masses,” as Anderson described it. He advanced through the double elimination bracket to down Daniel Herring 8-6 in a winners’ side quarterfinal to pick up Alex Acosta in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Gus Briseno, in the meantime, sent Juan Parra to the loss side 9-2 in his winners’ side quarterfinal to draw Robert Clark in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Franklin defeated Acosta 8-1, as Briseno sent Clark west 9-4. On a bit of a ‘roll,’ Franklin gave up only a single rack to Briseno in the hot seat match, to claim the seat and wait for Briseno’s eventual return.
On the loss side, Acosta drew Greg Sandifer, who’d recently defeated Jesus Sorto and Alberto Nieto Garcia by an aggregate score of 16-3; giving up two to Sorto and only one to Garcia. Clark picked up Herring, who, following his defeat at the hands of Franklin, had eliminated Curtis Cardwell 8-3 and Mohammed Alrawi 8-2.
Sandifer leapfrogged into the quarterfinals, when Acosta forfeited. He was joined by Clark, who’d sent Herring home 8-5. By the same score, Clark then sent Sandifer home in those quarterfinals.
Briseno put a stop to Clark’s brief sojourn on the loss side, downing him 9-5 for a second shot at Franklin in the hot seat. It was the second time in a row that Clark finished in 3rd place, having done so at the last stop in August.
The ‘second verse’ of the Franklin/Briseno competitive ‘song’ was nothing like the first. With Briseno racing to 9, Clark forced a deciding final game at 7-8, to win it 8-8 and claim his first-time-in-a-long-time event title.
In addition to the cash winnings they earned for their finish positions in the event, Mohammed Alrawi, who finished 7th, and Jennifer Hooten, who finished in the tie for 13th place, picked up some extra cash. Alrawi added $60 for being the last-standing Skill Level 6 in the event. Hooten picked up $60 cash twice, for finishing as the event’s last-standing lady and its last-standing Skill Level 4.
Tour director Monica Anderson thanked Craig and Jana Lucas and their Snookered staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor CueTec and Fort Worth Billiards Store. The next stop on the CueTec DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of October 17-18, will be hosted by The Billiard Den in Richardson, TX.
