K F Cues 9-Ball Tour / New Port Richey, FL
The KF Cues 9-Ball Tour inaugural event, held at TJ's Billiards in New Port Richey, FL, was won by John Pinegar.
Tony Crosby’s inaugural tour, the K F Cues 9-Ball Tour, kicked off the weekend of September 27-28, with Jonathan “Hennessee From Tennessee” Pinegar taking it down in prime fashion. The host room was the brand-new TJ’s Billiards in New Port Richey, FL, and the 25-player field enjoyed the Brunswick Metro pool tables and plenty of room for spectators.
The $1,000-added event saw some top talent come out, including Donnie Mills, Adam Wheeler, and Trevor Braymore. The two top lady finishers were Tracie Hines and Stephanie Mitchell, with Bryce Lepak and Tav Naravane earned nods as the top two junior players.
Pinegar went through the field unchallenged until the end, defeating Louis Smith 9-3 to reach the hot seat match. He went on to meet Julio Aquino, fresh off a strong 9-1 thumping of James Roberts. Aquino put up a fight, but it was still Pinegar who advanced to the finals 9-6.
On the one-loss side, Justin Hall sent Smith home early 9-5, while Roberts joined him after Tony Ruberto ousted him 9-7. Hall and Ruberto clashed in the quarterfinal match that ensued, with Hall going on 9-7. Hall’s number was up, though, as he faced Aquino, who was determined to meet Pinegar once more and bested Hall 9-6.
Pinegar ran away with the single race-to-11 final match from the beginning. His perfect play soon placed him as the 8-3 leader. However, just in time, Aquino got in gear and tied the match at 8 apiece. Pinegar quickly took the next rack, but Aquino reached the hill first, making it 10-9 in his favor. A dry break by Aquino led to a hill-hill match. Pinegar also followed with an empty break, but hooked behind the 7 for the 1 ball, Aquino had few options and chose to try to jump to hit the 1 ball. He fouled, and Pinegar took ball in hand, easily pocketing the hanging 2-9 combo for the title.
Results:
1st Jonathan Pinegar
2nd Julio Aquino
3rd Justin Hall
4th Tony Ruberto
5th Louis Smith
5th James Roberts
7th Jason Richko
7th Billy Moses