Barcus and Griffin Gain Ground on Poison Lone Star Tour

Blaine Barcus came from behind to beat Johnny Griffin in the 77-player, open 9-ball division finals, 6-4, 5-2, capturing the second stop on the 2023 Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour. In the finals of the 78-player, amateur 9-ball division, Griffin went undefeated, besting Chad Reece of Lufkin, Texas, in the final match, 5-2.

On February 4^th-5^th, 2023, title sponsor Poison by Predator Cues, sponsors Predator Cues, Alamo Billiards, Outsville Billiards, and Team Straight Pool Eye, facilitated another successful event for players across Texas. Well over 100 competitors, including 20 Gulf Coast Tour women, participated in the second event of the Tour season, held at the popular Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, Texas. Big Tyme provided twenty-four, 7’ bar tables for tournament play, all covered with Predator Arcadia Reserve, tournament blue cloth, in a non-smoking environment. Predator sponsored the Arcos II ball sets used on each table, and Accu-Racks were provided by Outsville Billiards for discussion-free racking.

In the open 9-ball division, winners’ side final eight, Sakura Miramatsu defeated Joe Hudson, 6-1, while Chad Reece ousted Robert Salinas, 6-1. Johnny Griffin bested Joey Torres, 6-5, and Eric Cantrell blew past Daniel Coffman, 6-3. In the next round, it was Miramatsu over Reece, 6-4, and Griffin easing ahead of Cantrell, 6-5. Being one of only two women players competing in the event, Miramatsu geared up for her first-ever hot seat match, against the 2022 Tour Champion. Griffin handily defeated Miramatsu, 6-2, seemingly on his way to another division win. On the west side, in the final eight, Ricky Hughes fell to Blaine Barcus, 5-4, while Daniel Coffman eliminated Joey Torres, 5-4. Barcus defied Reece, 5-2, and Miramatsu, 5-3, compiling seven, straight wins, going into the final. Barcus came on strong, and his unwavering momentum propelled him to a two-set win over Griffin, 6-4, 5-2. Congratulations to Blain Barcus on his first win of the 2023 Tour season.

In the amateur 9-ball division, winners’ side final eight, Joe Hudson defeated Chad Reece, 5-3, and Eric Cantrell bested Pedro Oviol, 5-2. Johnny Griffin denied junior phenom, Kyle Yi, 5-2, and Michael Pickering sent Mille Almaraz to the one-loss side, 5-2. Cantrell was on fire, ousting Hudson, 5-3, while Griffin made quick work of Pickering, 5-1. In the hot seat match, Griffin squeezed by Cantrell, 5-4. On the west side, in the final eight, Reece eliminated Oviol, 4-2, and Pickering, 4-1, while Miramatsu slid by Hughes, 4-3, and shut out Hudson, 4-0. Reece went on to beat Miramatsu, 4-2, and Cantrell, 4-3, to reach the final. Following a five match winning streak, Reece fell to Griffin in the last set, 5-1. Congratulations to Johnny Griffin on his amateur division win!

Open Payouts –

1^st Blain e Barcus $760/$900

2^nd Johnny Griffin $540/$580

3^rd Sakura Miramatsu $345/$400

4^th Chad Reece $200

5^th-6^th Daniel Coffman, Eric Cantrell $80 ea

7^th-8^th Joey Torres, Ricky Hughes $60 ea

9^th-12^th Joe Hudson, Adam Garza, Brandon Stewart, Robert Salinas $40 ea

13^th-16^th Eric Hsu, Jesus Perez, Corey Flud, Kyle Yi $35 ea

Amateur Payouts – $5,460

1^st Johnny Griffin $650/$1,160

2^nd Chad Reece $440/$840

3^rd Eric Cantrell $320/$550

4^th Sakura Miramatsu $170/$330

5^th-6^th Michael Pickering, Joe Hudson $70/$160 ea

7^th-8^th Ricky Hughes, Pedro Oviol $50/$100

9^th-12^th Mille Almaraz, J.C. Torres, Kyle Yi, Jayden Holt $35 ea

13^th-16^th Len Knox, Tyler Miller, Steven Kay, Daniel Coffman $25 ea