Chris Woody Smith, Shane McMinn and TJ Davis
Briseno to receive Tour Champion award at season-ending finale next month
Ten down, one to go.
For its last 2023 regular-season stop (#10), held this past weekend (Oct. 21-22), seven of the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour’s top competitors in tour standings showed up at Stixx & Stones in Lewisville, TX to see if they might rearrange the ‘standings’ furniture, so to speak. Gus Briseno was able to retain his top spot in the tour standings, although more by virtue of his 200+-point lead in those standings at the outset than by his finish (17th) in the regular season’s final stop. Briseno’s lead in the standings going into Stop #10 precluded the possibility that any rearrangement of the standings ‘furniture’ would result in the tour’s 2023 champion being anyone but him. His closest threat, in light of this past weekend’s outcome, proved to be the competitor who went undefeated to claim this past weekend’s title, Shane McMinn. Had there been one more event on the tour’s 2023 calendar, there were some statistical probabilities that might have made McMinn the tour champion. The $2,000-added, last event of the season drew 61 entrants to Stixx & Stones.
It was McMinn’s second victory of the 2023 season, having won the previous stop at Jeffro’s in Canton, TX last month (Sept. 23-24). His two wins and a runner-up finish are better than Briseno’s single win and two runner-up finishes, but since March, Briseno has chalked up standings points in three more of the season’s events than McMinn (8 to McMinn’s 5). Before McMinn had recorded his first appearance on the tour back in May, Briseno had finished 4th in March, won his first in April and finished 3rd behind McMinn’s first victory in May. The victory moved McMinn from 4th in the standings to 2nd.
Briseno will receive the Tour Championship award at the tour’s season finale, a $3,000-added event, scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 18-19 at Rusty’s in Arlington, TX. Only players who have competed in a minimum of four events during the 2023 season will be eligible. More on this event later in the report.
McMinn did not meet any of his fellow ‘Top 10 in the standings’ competitors and the only competitor he faced who chalked up more racks against him than four was his first, Clint Palaci. McMinn followed his 10-5 victory over Palaci with wins over Glenn Fichtman (1), George Mirchan (1), and Marc Oler (4) to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Ryan Braselman, who was making his first appearance on the 2023 tour. Chris Woody Smith, in the meantime, was also wending his way toward the hot seat match and after opening with a shutout over Monica Anderson, defeated Rodger Shaffer, Cameron Cunningham and Jim Dixon, all 7-4, to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against TJ Davis, who was destined to be the event’s runner-up.
McMinn defeated Braselman 10-3 and was joined in the hot seat match by Smith, who’d survived a double-hill match that sent Davis off on a three-match, loss-side journey back to the finals. McMinn claimed the hot seat 10-3 over Smith and waited on Davis’ return.
Davis moved west and picked up Greg Sandifer, who’d entered the event at #2 in the standings and would leave as #3. Sandifer had lost his opening match against Cameron Cummings and set out on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to come to end and had recently eliminated Marc Oler 8-2 and shut out Steve Raynes. Braselman drew Tim Larson, who’d come into the event at #3 in the standings and finished as #4. Larson had lost a winners’ side quarterfinal match to Davis and on the loss side, downed Blake Kamiab 9-3 and Jim Dixon 9-2.
Braselman and Larson locked up in a double-hill battle for advancement to the quarterfinals. Braselman won it and in those quarterfinals, faced Davis, who’d eliminated Sandifer 9-6. Davis then finished Braselman’s day 9-3.
Davis completed his loss-side run with a 9-3 victory over Smith in the semifinals. McMinn completed his seven-match, undefeated run with a 10-4 victory over Davis in the finals, setting the stage for a McMinn/Briseno tour standings finale next month.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Stixx and Stones, as well as title sponsor Cuetec, Fort Worth Billiard Superstore and Rasson Billiards. The season finale of the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 18-19, will be a $3,000-added (guaranteed), hosted by Rusty’s in Arlington, TX.
As noted above, Gus Briseno will be receiving a trophy as the 2023 Tour Champion, along with Cuetec equipment and free entry to all 2024 events on the tour. In addition, the tour will present a Sportmanship Award (recipient to be announced) that will afford its recipient Cuetec equipment, as well, along with free entry to one 2024 stop on the tour. All competitors in the season finale will participate in a raffle for a Rasson pool table. The number of allowable entries into the raffle will be based on the number of events in which a given individual has competed during the 2023 season. Last year, an individual who had competed in only one event and thus, had but one entry, won the table.
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