The twenty-sixth and final stop of the 2005/2006 McDermott All American Tour (produced by the American CueSports Alliance – ACS) – “The Houston Billiard Open” featured a $500-added purse and fifty-six players hosted by the Independent Billiard League of Houston (IBL) at Slick Willie's – Montrose in Houston, TX, on the weekend of Saturday-Sunday, June 3-4. The event featured double-elimination 8-ball on bar boxes, and Ramone Cardenas of Rosenberg, TX, took the undefeated trip to the tourney finals by virtue of upending Ronnie Rhodes (Houston, TX) 3-0 in the winner's bracket semifinals and Jim Traweek (Houston, TX) 3-1 in the winner's bracket finals. His finals opponent proved to be Ronnie Rhodes, who recovered to eliminate Greg Barlow (Tombull, TX) 3-1, Michael Liang (Sugarland, TX) 3-0 and Traweek 3-0. But the title match was all Ramone Cardenas, who again whitewashed Rhodes 3-0 for the championship.
By virtue of being the highest-finishing ACS member, Greg Barlow qualified for a free entry into the 2006 ACS National 8-Ball Championships – courtesy of the ACS. The ACS wishes to thank sponsors McDermott Handcrafted Cues, Silver Cup Chalk, PJ's Billiard Supply Co. and Samm's Side Pocket Productions for their support in donating “Value-In-Kind” product for this and all stops on the McDermott All American Tour. Sponsorship opportunities for the 2006/2007 All American Tour are available by contacting the ACS.
The Houston Billiard Open also served as a charity fundraiser for Thomas Street Health Center, with over $3,000 raised for the cause over the weekend. Further results from the event may be viewed at http://houstonbilliardopen.thirdcoastpool.com. The ACS is a non-profit, national organization dedicated to heightening the interest and awareness of cue sports through the support and sanctioning of organized competition throughout the United States and North America.
Final Results:
1st Ramone Cardenas (Rosenberg, TX) $340
2nd Ronnie Rhodes (Houston, TX) $225
3rd Jim Traweek (Houston, TX) $125
4th Michael Liang (Houston, TX) $90
5-6th Greg Barlow (Omaha, NE) $50 + free ACS Nationals entry
Nicholas Ngo (E. Moline, IL)
7-8th Jack Williams (Alvin, TX) $40
Leo Gonzalez (Houston, TX)
9-12th Louis Murphy (Houston, TX) $20
Eric Brockway (Houston, TX)
Perry Van Orden (Houston, TX)
Ben Araneori (Houston, TX)
13-14th Joe Long (Richmond, TX) $10
Corey Collins (Sugarland, TX)
