Frauenberger, Torres, Cantrell, Changezi, Hughes, Rodriguez, Braud, Galindo
Shahram Changezi earned his first division title at the final stop on the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour, held at Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, Texas. Changezi powered through an elite, 64-player, amateur 9-ball division, coming from behind to defeat Ricky Hughes in the finals, 5-3, 4-1. Following a short hiatus, Ernesto Bayaua found himself back in the winners’ circle. Bayaua went undefeated in the 60-player, open 9-ball division, besting Leon Contreras in the final, 6-1.
On October 12th-13th, 2024, title sponsor, Poison by Predator Cues, Predator Cues, Team StraightPool Eye, Alamo Billiards, Outsville Billiards, and Brutal Game Gear, facilitated another successful event, paying out nearly $10,000 in prize money. Close to 100 competitors, including 15 Gulf Coast Tour women, participated in the final 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.
Felder, Hughes, Changezi, Hays (Top Amateur Finishers with Buyers) In the amateur 9-ball division, winners’ side final eight, Ricky Hughes defeated Darryl Amos, 5-1, while John Braud slid by Cesar Arechiga, 5-4. J.C. Torres crept by Robert Dorsey, 5-4, while Felix Galindo ousted Ray Porter, 5-1. In the following round, Hughes denied Braud, 5-3, and Torres fell to Galindo, 5-3. In the hot seat match, Hughes wasted little time, shutting out Galindo, 5-0. On the west side, also in the final eight, after suffering a first-round loss to Kevin Frauenberger, Shahram Changezi took revenge, eliminating Frauenberger, 4-2, followed by Braud, 4-2. Cantrell took out Andrew Rodriguez, 4-0, and Torres, 4-2.Changezi powered through Cantrell, 4-1, and Galindo, 4-2, marking ten straight wins on the one-loss side. In the finals, Hughes struggled the first set, losing to Changezi, 5-3. In overtime, Hughes failed to recover, and Changezi secured the second set, 4-1. Congratulations to Shahram Changezi on his first-ever, Tour victory.
Torres, Bosshamer, Arechiga, Changezi, Contreras, Hughes, Bayaua, Kibaroglu
In the open 9-ball division, winners’ side final eight, Ernesto Bayaua defeated Johnny Griffin, and J.C. Torres bested Sharram Changezi. Ricky Hughes dusted off Eylul Kibaroglu, and Sonny Bosshamer bested Joe Mancillas. In the following round, Bayaua made quick work of Torres, 6-1, while Hughes derailed Bosshamer, 6-3. Hot seat action witnessed Bayaua deny Hughes, 6-3. On the west side, and in the final eight, Contreras eliminated Eylul, 5-3, and Torres, 5-2, while Changez sent home Arechiga, 5-3, and Bosshamer, 5-4. Contreras was on fire, ending Bosshamer, 5-2, then Hughes, 5-1, logging nine straight wins, reaching Bayaua in the finals. In the final set, Bayaua played near flawless, and Contreras was defenseless. Bayaua closed out the final set, 6-1, capturing his first, open victory in recent years.
Contreras, Bayaua
The Tour would like to congratulate Victor “Champion” Rojas on becoming the 2024 Tour Champion, of both the amateur and open 9-ball divisions. Victor took home 2022 Tour Champion in the amateur 9-ball division, and took a break from the Tour in 2023. This year, Rojas came back to win it all.
Next year will mark the Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour’s 15th Year Anniversary. The Tour would like to extend its deepest appreciation to all the players for their continued support, along with title sponsor, Poison by Predator Cues, sponsors Predator Cues, Team StraightPool Eye, Alamo Billiards, Outsville Billiards, and Brutal Game Gear.
The season opener will take place at Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, Texas, January 4th-5th, 2025.
Amateur Payouts – $4,680
1st Shahram Changezi $585 / $1,100
2nd Ricky Hughes $350 / $650
3rd Felix Galindo $225 / $400
4th Eric Cantrell $140 / $300
5th-6th J.C. Torres, John Braud $70 / $150 ea
7th-8th Andrew Rodriguez, Kevin Frauenberger $50 / $75 ea
9th-12th Darryl Amos, Cesar Arechiga, Robert Dorsey, Ray Porter $35 ea
13th-16th Will Felder, Sonny Bosshamer, Joe Mancillas, Josh Charbonnet $25 ea
Open Division – $5,200
1st Ernesto Bayaua $600 / $1,200
2nd Leon Contreras $400 / $800
3rd Ricky Hughes $240 / $500
4th Sonny Bosshamer $180 / $300
5th-6th J.C. Torres, Shahram Changezi $80 / $150 ea
7th-8th Cesar Arechiga, Eylul Kibaroglu
9th-12th Eric Cantrell, Joe Mancillas, Colton Hays, Johnny Griffin $40 ea
13th-16th James Twitty, Victor Rojas, Robert Dorsey, Bobby Stubbs $35 ea