On August 9-10, 2014, the NWPA’s fifth tour stop of 2014 was hosted by The Parlor in Bellevue, Washington. The Parlor added $500 to the event and a Volturi custom case voucher raffle added another $350 to the prize fund ($250 to the main event and $100 to the Second Chance.) Some tickets remain on the raffle, so if you are interested please contact Suzanne Smith (suzos78@gmail.com).
The NWPA would like to thank our sponsor Ozone Billiards and Volturi for their support for the 2014 season. Please check out their websites and show them your appreciation at www.ozonebilliards.com and www.volturicases.com. The NWPA tour standings and 2014 schedule are available at www.nwpatour.wordpress.com and is sanctioned by the WPBA. All skill levels are welcome to play and players can accrue points towards their semiprofessional status while gaining experience playing some of the top women players in the northwest.
Thirty ladies came out to compete Saturday morning. Only one new player joined in for the fun, Kirsten Fery out of Portland, OR. The tournament was run on 11 9-foot Brunswick Gold Crowns with Rail2Rail Productions providing a free live stream all weekend. The format was a race to 7, alternating break, 9 ball, with a race to 6 on the B side. There were only two first round byes, but play moved along. As usual play finished early Saturday evening, many of the ladies were given complimentary comedy club tickets to The Parlor Live. Thanks to Parlor GM, Dave Lauer, for taking care of us!
Sunday morning, eleven players remained. A side match ups included Jing Liu vs. Liz Cole (NWPA #1 and #2) and Shari Ross vs. Kim Benson. Liz and Kim both advanced through their morning matches, by the scores of 7-3 and 7-1, advancing them to the hot seat match. Liz and Kim battled it out for the hot seat, with Kim edging out Liz by the score of 7-4. On the B side, due to the early finish on Saturday, there were 3 matchups that needed to play before the money rounds. These matches include Rebecca Slyter vs. Sheila Clark, Stacy Eilts vs. Elizabeth Jensen, and Natalie Seal vs. Kim Toops. Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Natalie advanced into the money matches with the scores 6-4, 6-3, and 6-5 respectively. Following that round, the 7/8 matches were played, with Rebecca playing Suzanne Smith and Natalie playing Elizabeth. Suzanne and Elizabeth advanced by the scores of 6-1 and 6-3. Fired up from their morning losses Shari and Jing matched up next against Elizabeth and Suzanne. While Shari advanced by the score of 6-3, Jing went hill-hill against Suzanne. In the final game, Suzanne broke dry and Jing attempted to play a safety on the 1. Suzanne proceeded to run out the rack to advance by the slimmest of margins, 6-5. Shari then squared off against Suzanne. Suzanne picked up some steam and won that match 6-2. Suzanne then played Liz (fresh off the hot seat loss), and Suzanne continued with her strong shooting and defeated Liz 6-1 to earn her first final appearance of the 2014 season.
Kim Benson path to the final: Teri K (2), Patricia T (2), Suzanne S (2), Shari R (3), Liz C (4)
Suzanne Smith path to the final: Cassandra B (6), Melissa D (4), loss to Kim B (2), Jenny L (0), Rebecca S (1), Jing L (5), Shari R (2), Liz C (1)
The final was one race to 9, alternating break. Throughout the entire final, Kim’s stellar shot making and Suzanne’s missed safety opportunities would be the theme. Suzanne ended up down 5-2 before she would take her break. Kim expanded her lead steadily throughout the match, making fewer mistakes and maintaining her confidence throughout the set. Kim defeated Suzanne 9-4 to claim her second tour stop win on the NWPA, skyrocketing her to 3rd place in overall standings. Jing and Liz maintained their #1 and #2 spots, while Suzanne moved up to 4th with her finish. Should make for an exciting last two stops. Congratulations all the ladies for an excellent tournament.
The NWPA’s next event is back in Spokane WA at The Black Diamond on September 13-14, 2014.
