Vilmos Foldes
Vilmos Foldes added the second stop of the Diamond Pool Tour (presented by Casino Del Sol Resort) to his resume with an absolute clinic on top level big table 9-ball at Bullshooters on March 14th - 15th.
With the field of 93 players split between “A” and “B” players, Foldes found himself in a bracket with 25 other “A” players. Foldes started out with tough wins over Ben Sutherland, George Teyechea and Bret Huth, before Bobby Emmons sent him to the left side of the board with a 9-7 scoreline. Emmons would go on to compete for the “A bracket” hot-seat, where he lost to Brian Reich in a tough 9-6 match.
The “B Bracket” was filled with 67 players, with a number of surprise results. Players, who might not have been known for their big table games, showed the fans that they can run out with the best of them, no matter what size the table is. Oscar Avila, Brian McGee and Timber Bridgewater all turned in terrific performances, which surprised a number of opponents along the way.
Avila would face off against Tucson’s Rick Schmitz (who was working double duty as tour photographer and competitor) for the “B Bracket” hot-seat. Avila would win with a hard earned 9-7 scoreline.
The Junior players were well represented at this event with ten players taking advantage of the tour’s “free entry for juniors” policy. Current junior points leader Nick Kline was once again the top junior finisher, with notable wins over Trevor Long and Chris Carpenter before falling to Paul Feltman Sr.
The Greenmail top lady bonus money was split between former Junior standout Heather Cortez and Tina Hess.
The Greenmail bounty on last month’s winner Scott Frost, was collected by Ben Sutherland, who ended Frost’s tournament in 17th place.
When the “A” and “B” brackets finally met on Sunday, Reich scored a 9-4 win over Avila, to take the event hot-seat.
Foldes started Sunday play with a very tough 7-6 win over Tres Kane, which must have forced the Hungarian champion to find his “A game”, as he defined the word “domination” for the rest of the day.
Next up for Foldes was Bret Huth, with that match going to Foldes 7-0. A rematch with Bobby Emmons would end with Foldes scoring a 7-1 win. Tucson’s Mike Hamman was the next victim of a 7-1 scoreline and Foldes has turned in a 21-2 record over three straight alternating break matches. Foldes stretched that record to 28-2 with a 7-0 win over Avila in the semifinal match.
The final match would go two sets with Foldes continuing to show the fans in attendance what top level 9-ball looks like. Reich was able to notch two games in the first set, but ultimately fell 9-2. Foldes would see the finish line in the second set and he pushed on for a convincing 7-0 victory and a combined 44-4 record over his last seven matches.
The Neil’s Garage Cabinets second chance tournament on Sunday drew 20 players, with last month’s runner up Steve Blackburn going undefeated for first place. Blackburn scored back to back wins over Paul Feltman Jr, first for the hot-seat and then in the finals, for the win.
With his 5th place finish combined with second place in February, Bobby Emmons has taken a 40 point lead on the “A” player points list. Oscar Avila’s 3rd place finish in this event helped him take a slim 20 point lead over Guyle Fielder on the “B” player points list.
The next event on the Diamond Pool Tour is 9-ball on the 7 foot Diamond Smart Tables at Stingers in Phoenix on April 11th - 12th.
Event organizers expressed their thanks to Mike & Julie Bates, as well as all of the great staff at Bullshooters, for hosting this crowd of players. Thanks also go out to Rick Schmitz for another batch of excellent photos and a great 5th place performance.
The Diamond Pool Tour is proudly sponsored by:
Diamond Billiard Products – http://diamondbilliards.com/
Casino Del Sol Resort – http://www.casinodelsolresort.com/
Neil’s Garage Cabinets – http://www.neilsgaragecabinets.com/
Greenmail Internet Marketing – http://www.greenmailinc.com/
QB Custom Cues – http://qbcustomcues.com/
Volturi Custom Cases – http://volturicases.com/
Cue Sport International – http://www.playcsipool.com/
The Arizona BCA, TAP and APA league systems.
