More than the salsa sauce was hot at the sixth stop of the Fast Eddie's 9 Ball Tour in Austin, Tx. on July 16-18 as 112 players broke a sweat to play with the sticks and stones.
The talent was staggering. Top picks were Gabe Owen, Charlie Bryant, David Guttierez, Sylver Ochoa, James Davis Sr., David Henson, Leroy Mathis, T. J. Davis and Chen Lee.
Filling out the 13-16th positions were Brian Jones of Tulsa, Candy Ramos of San Antonio, James Davis Jr. of Austin and Leroy Mathis of Waco. Finishing in the 9-12th placements were Tony Cuellar of San Antonio, Bill Fuller of Brenham, Charlie Bryant of Houston and Jason Pearce of Houston. . Good shooting to all!
Coming in 7-8th were two very methodical and consistent players, James Davis Sr. and Steve “Lizard” Smith, winner of the Banana's Memorial One Pocket Tournament.
John Weeks, ex-Austinite, now from Lufkin, showed his stuff along with T. J. Davis of Fort Worth to jumped into the 5-6th positions. John has been off the tournament trail for quite awhile and it's good to see him back in action.
David “G” Guttierez of Houston looked like he was on a mission for back to back tournament wins after snapping off the first Legend's Billiards of Brenham tourney last week as he started his run with victories over Mario Juarez, Candy Ramos, James Davis Sr. and Charlie Bryant before being derailed by Gabe Owen, 9-4, in the semis. On the left side, David took out T. J. Davis only to be sent to the stands by back to back Tour event winner, Sylver Ochoa to end up in a 4th place finish.
Sylver “The Lion” Ochoa of McAllen showed again what he is made of inspite of his youth. Sylver started with triumphs over Matt Wilson, Daniel Perez and Kenny Greer before losing to Gabe Owen, 9-7. From the brutal bracket, Sylver rousted Jason Pearce, John Weeks and David “G” to meet Chen Lee in the finals of the one lose side with Chen coming out on top, 7-4. A great 3rd place finish for Sylver!
The Asian invasion has arrived in Texas. Chen Lee of Dallas via China is making a name for himself of late. Not only is his English improving rapidly but so is his game. Having won a major tournament in Dallas last month and coming in with a 4th place finish in the Legends- Brenham tournament last week. Chen was victorious over Don Crow, David Neumann, Steve Smith, Bill Fuller and John Weeks when he met up with Gabe Owen in the finals of the winner's bracket. In a classic duel on the cloth, Gabe came out on top, 9-7. Then, Chen defeated Sylver for the right to meet Gabe in the finals, 7-4.
Having come in second multiple times in previous Tour events, Gabe Owen of Tulsa, Ok. was due to win. Gabe is a fine gentleman on and off the table. Gabe started his run for the gold with victories over Chelo Velasquez, Robert Stewart, Jim Kuykendall, Sylver Ochoa, David “G” and Chen Lee to grab the hot seat. With Chen coming off the one loss side, the finals were set. Gabe only needed one set, 9-5, to claim the victory. Congratulations to both these fine players!
Thanks to Big Lew, Danny, Patrick and their staff for hosting a great event. Thanks to Ron, Jack, Joe, Anne, Tino, Wayne, Martin, Bubba, Shonnie, our newest sponsors, Eric and Justin, representing the Hustlin Clothing line and the Ernest Barberio Music Company. A big thanks to Paul Harris, Charlie Brown, Quentin Anderson, Smiley, Dale Dunlap, Robert Lovelace and Mike Shulz for your support. And thanks to the players and spectators for making this our largest event yet.
Don't forget, next month, the Tour moves to the Fast Eddie's at Embassy Oaks in San Antonio on August 20-22. Get ready to rumble!
Complete Payouts:
1st Gabe Owen $4300
2nd Chin Lee $2900
3rd Sylver Ochoa $1970
4th David Gutierrez $1320
5th/6th John Weeks, T. J. Davis $720
7th/8th James Davis Sr., Steve Smith $370
9th/12th Jason Pearce, Charlie Bryant, Bill Fuller, Tony Cuellar $150
13th/16th Brian Jones, Candy Ramos, James Davis Jr., Leroy Mathis $100
Prize money includes auction.
