Jalen May and Renee Marple
It is hard to underestimate the influence that Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA brings to bear on the VA-based Tiger Tour’s season of triple events on a single day. Most regional tours struggle with advancing players in fields of 40+ competitors in two days, normally a Saturday and Sunday. This past weekend (Sat., June 29), the Tiger Tour, once again, settled into Q Master Billiards and in a little over 12 hours, held three tournaments for a total of 85 players. Q Master Billiards and its 70 pool tables (7-ft., 9-ft. and one 10-ft.) make it all possible, while tour directors Tiger Baker and Kris Wylie make it all happen.
As usual, this past weekend’s events comprised three separate, $500-added divisions; a Division 1 tournament for 526 and above Fargo Rates that drew 22 entrants, a Division 2 tournament for Fargo Rates 525 and below that drew the largest number of entrants (47) and a Ladies division that drew 16. The winners of two of those divisions went undefeated to claim their titles, while the third winner came back from a loss in the hot seat match to defeat its occupant in the finals.
The back-from-the-hot-seat-loss winner was Jalen May in Division 2. Runner-up Renee Marple not only advanced to her first hot seat match, but was, as a result, guaranteed her highest finish on the Tiger Tour, or anywhere else for that matter. May began the tournament racing to 7 and as a result of the ratings used to define his opponents, from that point, he was racing to 6. He downed Terry Bonilla in his opener 7-3, and then, racing to 6, got by Antonio Javaluyas (2), Mike Jernola (4), Joey Winkles (double hill), and in a winners’ side semifinal, Jadyn Bird (2).
Ms. Marple, in the meantime, racing to 6, opened with a bye and sent Chris Hott (1), Scott Harmon (double hill), Charisse Mullen (4) and in her winners’ side semifinal, Michael Weatherly (3). For reasons related to the algorithms of digitalpool, Marple was racing to 5 in her hot seat match against Jay (racing to 6) and claimed the seat 5-2.
Weatherly showed up on the loss side and defeated his first opponent, Pete Marcelo 6-4, and advanced to the quarterfinals. Bird fell to Mike Jernola 6-1. With two ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 6, Weatherly battled Jernola to double hill before winning the quarterfinal 4-5.
Both of the semifinalists were looking to secure a rematch against Ms. Marple, waiting for one of them in the hot seat. May got the chance by giving up just a single rack to Weatherly in those semifinals and then, in an almost double-hill final (6-3, Marple racing to 5), claimed the Division 2 title.
Moe Mozannar and Jerry Jenkins
Matching Fargo Rates define hot seat and finals in Division 1
Jerry Jenkins and Moe Mazannar came into the 22-entrant Division 1 event for the higher Fargo Rates with exactly the same rating (559) and battled twice for the title; hot seat and finals. They raced primarily to 7, with a few exceptions in which they raced to 6.
Jenkins went undefeated, opening with a 6-2 win over Thomas Spivey and then, racing to 7, got by Samuel Holloway (1) and in a winners’ side semifinal, Robert James Carter (3). Mazannar got by David Gerald and Scott Guschel, both 7-5 and in his winners’ side semifinal, downed Reno Villanueva 6-3 to join Jenkins in the hot seat match. Jenkins took the first of their two 7-4 to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Carter advanced to the quarterfinals 6-1 over Brent Worth. Villanueva fell to Jimmy Bird 7-3, setting up a rematch between Bird and Carter, who’d battled in the winners’ side quarterfinals. Carter prevailed this time, 6-2. Mozannar earned his second shot versus Jenkins with a 6-4 victory over Carter.
The French call it de rigueur when something is either customary, standard or conventional, like a double-hill match in a final when its opponents have battled previously in the hot seat match. It’s what happened. Jenkins and Mozannar ‘duked it out’ to a final, 13th game, won by Jenkins to claim the Division 1 title.
Linda Pape and Kaley Sullivan
Sullivan opens with and survives two straight, double-hill matches to claim Ladies title
Opening a tournament with two straight double-hill matches is either going to motivate someone for what lies ahead or exhaust him/her to the point where progress is impeded. Kaley Sullivan, who, like Renee Marple in Division 2, was looking to better her finishes (5th) in two, previously-recorded events on the Tiger Tour, got motivated, advancing to go undefeated and claim her first regional tour title.
Following her first two, double-hill wins, against Soo Emmett and Iris Cabatit, Sullivan downed Sandy Breen-Bonilla 5-3 and advanced to the hot seat match. Racing to 4 in her opening match, Sydney Cunningham got by Courtney Hairfield 4-5 (Hairfield racing to 8), Mary Hartley 5-1 and Linda Pape 5-3, to join Sullivan. Sullivan shut Cunningham out to claim the hot seat.
Pape and Breen-Bonilla showed up on the loss side and downed their first opponents (Cabatit and Emmett, respectively) and advanced to meet in the quarterfinals. Pape downed Breen-Bonilla 4-1 in those quarterfinals and then, fought and won a double-hill match against Cunningham in the semifinals.
Still apparently motivated, Sullivan allowed Pape only a single rack in the finals that followed. Sullivan claimed her first regional tour title with the 6-1 victory.
Tour directors Tiger Baker and Kris Wylie thanked the ownership and staff of Q Master Billiards for their hospitality (and numerous tables), along with title sponsor Tiger Products. The next stop on the Tiger Tour, scheduled for July 27th, will again be hosted by Q Master Billiards.
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