The first Lone Star Event held at the brand new Houston's Billiard Saloon drew Texas' “cream of the crop” players including Charlie Bryant, David Gutierrez, Doug Young, Brian Rosenbaum, Andy Jethwa, Ernesto Bayaua, Marc “Mighty Mouse” Garza and junior champion brothers J.C. and Joey Torres. There were 51 entrants in all, with 11 women, who turned out to play for almost $4,000 in cash.
Saturday's play whittled the field down to 12 for Sunday. Winners' side final 8 match-ups included an “All Louisiana” shoot-out between Robert Dorsey and Derrick Cantu, Grady Cooper v. Jethwa, Brent Thomas v. Bryant, and Gutierrez v. Rosenbaum. On the west side, it was Sonny Bosshamer, Yoko Joe, Young and Garza. Winners' side yielded Dorsey v. Jethwa, and Bryant v. Gutierrez; Cantu v. Garza and Thomas v. Rosenbaum on the one loss side. Ultimately, east side action saw Jethwa and Bryant face-off for the hot seat. Jethwa played perfect and defeated Bryant 9-3 while Dorsey and Gutierrez bested Rosenbaum and Garza respectively. Gutierrez then eliminated Dorsey 7-2, Bryant 7-5, and met Jethwa in the final. The first set went to Gutierrez 9-6, but the second set was game for game. In the final hill hill game, players traded shots on a 6-ball safety until Gutierrez made a crucial mistake that left Jethwa out. It was a thrilling finale that had fans and live stream viewers on the edge of their seats!
On A Special Note: Who says the same players always win? Andy Jethwa has been a Lone Star Tour Player since its early beginnings in 2009. The path he has adhered to, and playing regularly on the Lone Star tour, has helped propel him to his first win on the Lone Star tour which is a significant win in the sport of billiards. He became the 10th title winner this year. We applaud him for his perseverance and dedication to improving his game and becoming a true champion.
The ladies event drew 11 top Texas women that included Terry Petrosino, Ming Ng, Courtney Peters, Ricki Casper, Teresa Garland and Austin favorite Jasmine Bartz. It was a mother-daughter hot seat match between Robyn Petrosino and mother Terry who ultimately bested daughter 7-2. After she suffered an initial final four blow by T. Petrosino 7-4, Ng fought back with wins over Casper, Peters, R. Petrosino, and finally T. Petrosino for the win.
Congratulations to Kerry “The Panther” Ganther and Leroy Hawkins who finished top 16, their highest finishes to date. Ricki Casper won a Poison Strychnine Redline Cue and junior player Michael Fain took home a Poison VX Jumper in the Lone Star raffles which help support the venues.
Finally, many thanks to Bobby and Chris Rone and their Houston's Billiard Saloon staff for providing yet another first rate tournament room in Houston. LSBT thanks its sponsors, Poison Cues, Delta-13 Rack, Leagueshirts.com, and Barnett Ranching for their continued support.
The next tour stop will be October 9th-10th at Slick Willie's in Houston, Westheimer @ Dairy Ashford. There will be 4 events at this stop: Open 10-Ball, Ladies 9-Ball, Open One Pocket, and a Junior Tournament.
