Courtney Peters, Ming Ng, Michelle Cortez and Jennifer Kraber
Previously, on Kraber and Ng . . .
In March, at Stop #2 of the Infinity Ladies Tour (formerly On the Ball Ladies Tour), Ming Ng defeated Jennifer Kraber in the second set of a true double-elimination final to win the event. This past weekend (May 20-21), at Stop #3, Kraber, once again, won the opening set of the finals, but took the second set, sending Ng home with the runner-up cash and trophy. The $2,000-added event, which played out on 9’ Diamonds, drew 21 entrants to Skinny Bob’s in Round Rock, TX.
In the earlier event, Ng had sent Kraber to the loss side in the third round. This time, it was Kim Pierce who sent her over, in the opening round 7-5, launching a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would culminate in the two final victories and her first 2023 win on the tour.
With Kraber at work on the loss side, it was Ng and Michelle Cortez who wended their way from opposite ends of the bracket towards a meeting in the hot seat match. Ng started out on a strong, positive note, shutting out Holly Maloney. She followed that with victories over Molly McWhorter (3) and Kim Sanders (5) to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal matchup versus Angie Payne. Cortez started out on the same positive note, shutting out Darlene Montgomery and then, defeating Hopey Lawrence (2) to arrive at her winners’ side semifinal against Crystal Jones.
Ng downed Payne 7-4. Cortez joined her in the hot seat match after surviving a double-hill challenge from Jones. For the second time, in as many stops on the tour, Ng claimed the hot seat, sending Cortez off to the unenviable task of facing Kraber in the semifinals.
Kraber’s trip was almost derailed when Payne hopped on to the loss-side ‘train.’ Kraber had been picking up speed through her four previous matches, giving up four racks to Stephanie Reyes, two each to McWhorter and Lisa Bailey and only one to TD Teresa Garland when Payne showed up. Crystal Jones, in the meantime, picked up Courtney Peters, who’d not survived a winners’ side, double-hill match against Angie Payne and opened her loss-side campaign doing Kraber something of a favor, by knocking out Kim Pierce 7-2. Peters then eliminated a second Kim (Sanders) by the same score and said ‘hello’ to Jones.
In advancing to the quarterfinals, Peters made short work of Jones, giving up only a single rack, as Kraber got tied up trying to keep her loss-side ‘train’ on the tracks in a double-hill match against Payne. Kraber spoiled the possible Peters/Payne rematch party by dropping the final 9-ball against Payne and joining Peters in the quarterfinal.
Kraber and Peters came within a game of double hill in those quarterfinals, but Kraber prevailed 7-5. She then eliminated Cortez in the semifinals 7-3.
So Kraber and Ng meet and greet for their second straight final on the tour and up pops another déjà vu moment from their previous match in the March finals, described in our report then (and now) this way: “That well-known ‘third player’ in a lot of finals, ‘momentum,’ stopped by for a visit in the opening set and helped Kraber chalk up a somewhat surprising 7-1 victory to tie Ng at one loss each.” In the earlier match, what followed (as described in the earlier report) was “a nail-biting, double-hill match that was anticipated.” This time, they came within a game of a second nail-biting, double-hill battle, but Kraber edged out in front at the end and claimed the title with a 7-5 win.
Stay tuned for scenes from the next episode of Kraber and Ng.
Tour director Teresa Garland thanked the ownership and staff at Skinny Bob’s for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Brutal Game Gear, Marc McClure and Jaime Leigh Campos. She also thanked Backwards Billiards for the LiveStream they provided. The next stop on the Infinity Ladies Tour, scheduled for the weekend of July 22-23, will be hosted by Betsy’s Billiards in Austin, TX.
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