Round Rock, Texas Jeremy Jones is the first person to win the Texas Open title in consecutive years since CJ Wiley did it in 1996 and 1997. He also becomes only the third person in Texas Open history to engrave his name more than twice on the Vanover Cup. He did so in convincing fashion in front of a packed house at G Cue Billiards in Round Rock, Texas.
More than 100 people were on hand to witness what may be regarded as one of the most dominating exhibitions in Texas Open history. There is the nine and out that Bob Vanover put on Steve “Lizard” Smith in his World Record match to claim the title in 1984. If that is the best ever, then Jeremy didn't miss the mark by much. Mark Garza was his opponent. Mark, from Houston, Texas, literally had three shots at the table. He pocketed a nine ball missed by Jones, he broke, and he massed at a ball, ultimately scratching on the shot. Those were his three big chances. Jeremy later admitted the reason he missed the somewhat simple nine ball was he thought he had a chance to run 9 and out like the man who trophy he coveted. He settled instead for a group of 2, then a group of 5. That is seven racks in a race to nine where Garza could do nothing but sit and wait his turn. It was an unbelievable display.
Jeremy becomes only the third man to ever place his name on the trophy more than twice. Obviously, Bob Vanover is on it a record eight times, and throw in Texas billiards legend, Gilbert Martinez, Jr. Outside of those two, no one had, before now, won this prestigious event more than twice. He had his work cut out for him with the strong field that showed for this year's running. Included in that list are David Henson, Marc Garza, Robert Almarez, Bob Vanover, Charlie Bryant, James Davis, James Davis, jr. and more.
In the ladies division, Vivian Villereal outlasted Terri Kelly in the finals. Terri is from Dallas, Texas. While both players played exceptional at times throughout the tournament, each player seemed to be effected by the crowd, giving each other multiple opportunities during the match. Each couldn't seem to get anything started.
In the intermission of the tournament on Saturday, Kevin Welling, tournament director of the Texas Open, announced a partnership between Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Texas Open 9-Ball Championships. “We hope to increase the recognition of our sport in the community and are setting a goal of $100,000.00 to raise in the next calendar year. Big Brothers Big Sisters is one of the best charitable organizations in the world that has incredible recognition. We are very excited to have the opportunity to grow our sport and help such a worthwhile cause,” Kevin said. The mission of Big Brothers Big Sister is to help boys and girls in difficult situations achieve their potential, through caring, one-to-one mentoring relationships. The BBBS One to One; mentoring model combines the goals of putting supportive adults in the lives of youth and engaging youth with meaningful community service with the goal of high school graduation. BBBS volunteer mentors come from all walks of life, but they share the goal of being a caring adult who can make a difference in the life of a child. Together the volunteer and the case manager seek to provide support for all aspects of the young person's life. The volunteer mentor and the youth make a substantial time commitment, meeting for about 1 hour, three times a month, for at least one school year. “This is an exceptional charity that we are very excited to be involved with,” Kevin concluded.
Photo and article courtesy of Kevin Welling
