The OB Cues Ladies Tour had the pleasure of being at first time host site Slick Willie’s in Katy, Texas the weekend of May 4-5, 2013. Indeed, the pleasure was all ours as 46 players were ready for some fun, competition and 9-ball action. Trey Reyer, Manager of Slick Willie’s, and his staff members Charity and Jackie were superb and welcoming with their gracious hospitality for this 2-day affair. Thank you Slick Willie’s for all you do. We will be back!!
There were lots of new faces who came out to test their mettle for the 1st time playing in an OBCLT event. Players from all over Texas, Missouri, New Mexico and China participated in this $2000 added monies event. Speaking about China, the story of the tournament was all about one player who came all the way, by herself no less, from Beijing. This was none other than the sharp shooting SiMeng Chen; the young 18-year old phenom who displayed almost flawless pool and aiming skills with precision play. SiMeng put on a performance for all the players, spectators, and pool aficionados that will certainly be talked about for awhile as she won the tournament with a win/loss record of 49-1. Never since the existence of this tour since 1994 has a feat such as this been accomplished by any player. Needless to say, we are certain that this will be an untouched record going into the history books for the lifetime of the tour.
By days end on Saturday, 12 ladies would continue their play on Sunday in the Main Event. Winner Side matches were: Rhea Brooks (Rio Rancho, NM) vs. Belinda Lee (Pearland, TX) and Nicole McDaniel (Austin, TX) vs. SiMeng Chen (Beijing, China). B-side matches were Tara Williams (Ft. Worth, TX) vs. Michelle Yim (Houston, TX); Jennifer Kraber (Austin, TX) vs. Amanda Lampert (Carrollton, TX); Julie Stephenson (Keller, TX) vs. Michelle Cortez (Austin, TX); and Teresa Garland (Houston, TX) vs. Ming Ng (Houston, TX).
Finishing in 9th/12th were Michelle Yim, Jennifer Kraber, Teresa Garland and Julie Stephenson. 7th/8th place went to Michelle Cortez & Amanda Lampert. 5th/6th winners were Nicole McDaniel and Belinda Lee and the 4th place winner was Ming Ng. Rhea Brooks, who lost the hot seat match to SiMeng, played Tara Williams in the semi-finals and finished in 3rd place which is her highest finish to date since playing with the OB Cues Ladies Tour. Awesome job Rhea…..way to go!
The finals match between SiMeng and Tara was exciting on two counts. SiMeng had already won the WPBA qualifier spot for Tunica but her win/loss tally for the 2 day tournament was 42-0. Many fans were vying to get a front row seat to watch the finals match to see if SiMeng would go undefeated or if Tara could break SiMeng’s winning streak. The finals match would also be Tara’s second attempt at trying to beat SiMeng as her 1st loss was 0-7. As the finals match progressed, it appeared that SiMeng was going to go undefeated as the score was 6-0. SiMeng was breaking the 7th game and in her typical perfect fashion was running out. With the 5, 6, 8 & 9 balls left to go for the tournament win, the 5-ball rattled in the left corner pocket leaving an opportunity for Tara to take the game. Lo and behold, as Tara was down to pocket the 9-ball in the right corner, she got back up, gave the crowd a smile, reset and made the 9-ball in the corner pocket for a win. The crowd cheered and clapped and even SiMeng gave a smile as Tara playfully flipped her scorecard from 0 to 1. In the next game, Tara broke dry and the table was wide open as SiMeng ran out for the win with a 7-1 score. SiMeng took 1st place with a ice $750 payday plus the WPBA Qualifier for the Ultimate 10-ball event at Tunica, MS. Congratulations to both SiMeng and Tara for a great tournament.
