Tommy Tokoph
Though 2022 proved to be Tommy Tokoph’s best recorded earnings year at the tables, the last time he won a tournament (that we know about) was back in the heart of the pandemic; August of 2020, when he won (appropriately enough) a COVID 9-Ball Classic which drew 64 more-than-likely, cabin-fevered entrants to Damifino Billiards in Angleton, TX. This past weekend (Dec. 9) at the last event of the DL Billiards Tour’s season, its Grand Finale, Tokoph went undefeated, thereby updating his last-known victory status on his AZBilliards profile. He was challenged in the hot seat and finals by Raed Shabib, who updated his AZB profile by adding to his already-best recorded earnings year that had included a win at stop #5 on the DL Billiards Tour in August and his second-best finish of the year; runner-up at the Grand Finale. The $500-added event drew 26 entrants to Bogies West Billiards in Houston, TX.
Were it not for Jonathan “Hennessee from Tennessee” Pinegar, Tokoph’s trip to the hot seat match would have been concluded with an aggregate game score of 21-1. He opened up with a shutout over Shane Petrick and gave up just the single rack to Elmore Shannon, before running into Pinegar, who chalked up five against him in a winners’ side quarterfinal. A shutout over Aldo Rosso in one of the winners’ side semifinals put Tokoph into the hot seat match with a 28-6 aggregate game score.
Shabib’s trip to the same place wasn’t significantly far off that mark, just a little more spread out. He didn’t record any shutouts, but no one chalked up more than three against him in any one match; in order, Nick Hood (1), Abdul Waheed (2), Donivan Pedroncelli (2) and in the other winners’ side semifinal, Ernesto Bayaua (3).
The hot seat match must have landed on Tokoph and Shabib as a bit of a surprise. Maybe less so for Tokoph, who’d been challenged by Pinegar in a match that came within a game of double hill, but beyond that, no one had recorded more than three racks against either of them when they faced each other in the hot seat match. It went double hill with Tokoph dropping the last 9-ball.
On the loss side, Rosso picked up Javier Alienes Naranjo, who had been defeated in a winners’ side quarterfinal by Bayaua and then defeated Keil Perry and Pedroncelli, both 7-4. Bayaua drew Eric Aicinena, who’d lost his opening match to Pinegar and downed five on the loss side, including the recent elimination of Kenny Price 7-1 and Chad Hart 7-3.
Bayaua snapped Aicinena’s loss-side winning streak 7-4 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Naranjo, who’d defeated Rosso 7-1. Bayaua advanced a step further and defeated Naranjo in those quarterfinals 7-4.
Bayaua and Shabib renewed acquaintances from their former liaison in the winners’ side semifinal, which didn’t go well for Bayaua in the event semifinal. Shabib shut him out and got a second shot at Tokoph, awaiting his arrival in the hot seat.
The after-hot-seat rest suited Tokoph just fine. He did better, much better in the opening set of the potential true double-elimination final than he had in the hot seat match and shut Shabib out to claim DL Billiards’ Grand Finale title.
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