Shane McMinn, Gus Briseno and Pasini Taloa
Prior to this year, both Shane McMinn and Gus Briseno had their best (recorded) earnings year at the tables in 2008. It still stands as McMinn’s best, although this year is already Briseno’s best, with three+ months to go. Briseno came into and out of this past weekend’s (Sept. 23-24) event (#9) on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour at the top of the tour’s standings. But it was McMinn who took home the event title, going undefeated and in the final match, putting a stop to Briseno’s determined, nine-match, loss-side winning streak. The weekend’s $2,000-added event drew 38 entrants to Jeffro’s in Canton, TX.
McMinn and Briseno had the event’s highest Fargo rates, three of the two among 38 with a rate above 700; McMinn at 756 and Briseno at 721. TJ Davis, who finished 4th, was the other at 705. Briseno would start the final match with a single ‘bead on the wire’ in a race to 10 against McMinn. When it was over, each had given up, on average, five racks per opponent (Briseno, a fraction less).
With Briseno, already on the loss side, having lost his opening match, double hill, to Roman Bayda, McMinn advanced through the field with victories over Tim Beggs (4), Muhammad Gohar (6) and Juan Parra (6) to arrive at a winner’ side semifinal against Blake Kamiab. Pasino Taloa, in the meantime, racing to 7, sent Joe Pelayo (3), Joshua Paredes (4), and in a winners’ side quarterfinal, Jonathan Rawlins (double hill). He drew Max Sun in the other winners’ side semifinal.
McMinn shut down Blake Kamiab quickly 10-3, as Taloa got by Sun, double hill (7-5, Sun racing to 6). Taloa, racing to 7, almost got the hot seat match to a double-hill, deciding game, but McMinn claimed the seat 10-5.
Seven wins into his nine-match, loss-side winning streak that had included the recent elimination of Juan Parra 9-4 and Daniel Herring 9-6, Gus Briseno drew Max Sun. Kamiab picked up TJ Davis, who’d been sent to the loss side, double hill, by Sun in a winners’ side quarterfinal, and then defeated Bayda, double hill, and Michael Pickering 9-6.
Briseno chalked up a little ‘weather’ victory, sending Sun to the ‘showers’ 9-3 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Davis defeated Kamiab, double hill, and joined him.
Briseno took the quarterfinal match against Davis 9-4 and eliminated Taloa 9-5 in the semifinals. Nine down, one big one to go.
There are standard thoughts about seriously long days on the loss side of a bracket leading to a showdown in the finals. Along about nine matches in, players can either be exhausted or so jazzed-up on adrenaline that they think they can beat anybody, and sometimes do. The ‘exhausted’ guys tend to lose the final by a lot. The ‘jazzed-up’ guys will often put up a double-hill fight and a lot of times, win the match. Briseno’s effort in this final (racing to 9) fell somewhere in the middle, as though exhaustion and adrenaline were fighting back and forth the way he did. He wasn’t blown out and while near the end, he was likely still optimistic, he fell two games short of forcing a single, deciding game and three short of the win.
McMinn completed his undefeated run 10-6 to claim the event title. Two stops left until the season finale in November, the win moved McMinn up seven slots on the tour standings from 11th to 4th, behind Briseno, Greg Sandifer and Tim Larson.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Jeffro’s for their hospitality, along with sponsors Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, Rasson Billiards and the folks at DFW Pool TV. The next stop on the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 21-22, will be hosted by Stixx & Stones Billiards in Lewisville, TX. The week prior (Sat., Oct. 14), the Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Ladies Tour will compete at Jeffro’s, as well.
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