 Terri – Fast Eddie's, Tommy Sanders, Charlie Bryant and Lewis Jones |
A Tour record of one hundred and fifty six players in two divisions arrived in Austin to compete on the Fast Eddie's Olhausen 9 Ball Tour sponsored by Ray Schuler Legacy Cues for the August event.
The Open division had a total of one hundred and twenty three players which, to say the least, was packed with talent. Top picks were James Davis Sr., Jui Lung Chen, David Henson, Scott Tollefson, Tommy Sanders, Sylver Ochoa, Robert Stewart, Robert Clark, Shane Harvey and Leroy Mathis.
Finishing in a very tough field in the 17-24th placements were Corey Dordek, Donny Ottoberry, Bernard Walker, Rick Stanley, Chelo Velasquez, Scott Tollefson, Leroy Mathis and Mike Alvarez. Each earned $110 for their efforts.
Coming in 13-16th place, were Shane Harvey, Adam Jones, Fred Mendoza and Eric Aiciena. Each cashed $170 for their good play.
The 9-12th placements were filled by James Davis Sr., Frank Cherry, Jui Lung Chen and Adrian Lloyd. $420 was rewarded to each for their performances.
Sylver Ochoa and Tom Giddens received $580 for the 7-8th positions. Each played very well.
Newcomer Antonio Mendieta and Robert Clark shared the 5-6th honors with their fine play. They were rewarded $930 for their efforts.
Robert “The Snake” Stewart of Waco had to settle for a respectable 4th place finish in a hard fought match against David Henson. Robert earned $1570 for his great play over the weekend.
“Little” David Henson has been a feared competitor over the years and this weekend was no exception. David played Tommy Sanders in the finals of the one loss side for the third place finish. Both of these warriors went into battle with the hill-hill match teetering on one final game to decide who went on to the final match. Tommy snapped in the nine on the break , sending David to the bleachers along with a $2370 paycheck.
Tommy Sanders, yes, the Tommy Sanders from East Texas, one of the nicest gentlemen to ever pick up a pool cue, is now splitting his business time between East Texas and the Austin area. Tommy said he hasn't been playing pool with his time being occupied with the expansion of his business into the Austin area and his family commitments. You couldn't see any rust on his stroke this weekend though. Tommy made his run through the winner's bracket to the hot seat match without being threatened.
On the other end of the winner's bracket, Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant had a few scares on the way to the hot seat match as he had close victories over Jui Lung Chen, 9-7 and Sylver Ochoa, 9-8. Inspiring him and cheering Charlie on through all his matches was his sister who was visiting from his hometown Hickory, North Carolina.
The hot seat match started out very close but through great safety play, awesome kicking and consistent play, Charlie was victorious by a score of 9-5.
With Tommy vanquishing Little David on the one loss side, he set up a rematch with Charlie for the final match. Because of time constraints, the final match was reduced to a race to seven. The match was close with both players again fighting for every ball. Tommy tied the match at 5-5 but Charlie won the final two games and another Tour victory along with a $4830 payday for the Hillbilly and Tommy garnishing $3175 for his fine effort.
Thanks to Ron Geyer of The Custom Cue Connection, Jack Kompan of Mystick Cues, Jeff Reidel and Robby Tims of Behind the 8 Ball Cue Sales & Service and Paul with S & S Custom Cues of Lubbock for their support of the Tour.
This Tour would not be a tour if it were not for the support and generosity shown by Olhausen Billiards and Schuler Legacy Cues. Both companies are not only cornerstones for the Tour but for the entire billiard industry.
A huge thanks goes out to Fast Eddie's Billiards for simply being the greatest. Thanks to Danny and his staff at the Fast Eddie's in Austin for hosting the event.
See y'all next month at the Fast Eddie's in Amarillo on August 11-12th. Come on out and join us!
