January 28th-29th weekend was the 1st Tour stop for the OB Cues Ladies Tour and 51 ladies were anxious to start the New Year with some high spirited competition, fun and as some players call it, OBCLT therapy. It was great to see many, many new faces as well as familiar OBCLT family faces. A special welcome to Shar Vanderstyne who came to play on our tour all the way from San Diego, California. Thank You Ladies for keeping our tour #1 in the country.

Rusty’s in Arlington, Texas was our host site for this weekend and it was indeed a welcome to have their fantastic staff and management host us once again. Special thanks to Hutch, Jeff, Tracie, and all the other Rusty’s staff and organization for a job well done.

Special Thanks to our main tour sponsor OB Cues and new co-sponsor Pool300. The tour is now starting our 18th year in existence and we are proud to claim the status as the largest women’s amateur regional tour in the world. Thank you OB Cues and Pool300 for all that you do for us. Thank you for allowing us to continue to pursue our pool dreams and seeing our tour friends, fans, supporters and sharing in our journey along the way. Be sure to check out our sponsors at www.obcues.com and www.pool300.com

Many top ranked players from 2011 were part of the action. Some marquee names included Lisa Marr, Amanda Lampert, Tara Williams, Ming Ng and Orietta Strickland, to name a few. And by the end of play on Saturday, only one of these marquee players was still on the winner’s side of the bracket. Top 12 players continuing in the Main Event on Sunday were winner side matches featuring Kim Pierce vs. Melinda Bailey and Ming Ng vs. Terry Petrosino. On the one loss side, it was Lisa Marr vs. Jennifer Kraber, Amanda Lampert vs. Angie Payne, Michelle Cortez vs. Julie Stephenson, and Monica Anderson vs. Orietta Strickland.

Finishing 9th/12th was Jennifer, Angie, Michelle and Monica. In 7th/8th it was Amanda and Orietta, and 5th/6th was Julie and Melinda. Great shooting and awesome tournament, ladies!

4-time OBCLT Regional Tour Champion Lisa Marr finished 4th. The semi-finals matchup was between Terry Petrosino and Kim Pierce. Terry always a contender with her playing consistency and strong shooting skills finished 3rd giving Kim a rematch with Ming who won the hot seat match between herself and Kim earlier in the day. Kim, having an awesome tournament, had some extra special motivation as she was celebrating her birthday weekend, as well as achieving her highest tour stop finish ever. Although Kim was shooting strong in the finals match, Ming, always a tough opponent and champion through and through, emerged as the victor in the one-set finals match with a score of 7-5. Fantastic finish to both ladies!

Main Event Tournament Payouts – $2000 added monies

1st – Ming Ng – $750
2nd – Kim Pierce – $570
3rd – Terry Petrosino – $410
4th – Lisa Marr – $275
5th/6th – Julie Stephenson, Melinda Bailey – $160
7th/8th – Amanda Lampert, Orietta Strickland – $105
9th/12th – Monica Anderson, Jennifer Kraber, Angie Payne, Michelle Cortez – $85
13th/16th – Teresa Garland, Deedra Trammell, Shar Vanderstyne, Diana Cardona – $50
17th/24th – Tara Williams, Janea Taylor, Kim Nguyen, Mindy Williams, Snowy Belt, Belinda Lee, Yvette Reyes, Tera Saunders – $25

Second Chance Event – 19 players – $200 added monies – $390 total

1st – Shar Vanderstyne – $130
2nd – Teresa Garland – $90
3rd – Janea Taylor – $60
4th – Yvette Reyes – $40
5th/6th – Tracie Voelkering, Robyn Petrosino – $25
7th/8th – Kathy Knuth, Snowy Belt – $10

Other tournament winners:
The Monk DVD – (courtesy of OBCLT long-time supporter Samiel) – Teresa Garland
(2) Free tournament entry – $30 refund (1 courtesy of the OBCLT & the other courtesy of long-time supporter Samiel – Deedra Trammell & Terry Petrosino
(3) Mobile Gas Cards – (courtesy of OBCLT long-time supporter Carter) – Tracie Voelkering, Kim Nguyen, Kim Pierce
(3) Starbucks Gift Cards – (courtesy of OBCLT long-time supporter Carter) – Rebecca Arcangeli, Veronica Perez, Snowy Belt
Magic Rack – (courtesy of long-time OBCLT supporter Samiel) – Julie Enzensperger
Stroke – Novel by OBCLT long-time supporter Carl Miller – Monica Anderson
PoolDawg 9-ball Key Chain – Yvette Reyes
Reindeer Games Pool Rack Christmas Ornament – Tina Koester

OB Cues Raffle Winners – Rusty’s customer Buddy Beggs & Mike Voelkering

Next Tour Stop: St. Patrick’s Day Weekend – March 17th/18th – The Billiard Den, Richardson, Texas