On Saturday July 9 twelve players met at Bida Goodays in Houston Texas for another B & C player handicapped event. First place went to Toan Ton playing out of the C group who defeated another C player Fernando Corrales in the final. Pictured above are the final four (L to R) Vu Nguyen and Minh Nguyen who shared third/fourth place, Toan Ton the winner and second place finisher Fernando Corrales.
Tim Nguyen the room owner and tournament director has brought regular tournament action back to Houston and the local players have really responded. In this fourth installment of the Saturday one-day tournaments the room was not only filled with players, but with spectators as well. The enthusiasm filled the air as everyone cheered both great shots and near misses, and gave a traditional toast for every run of two! As usual Tim offered up free drinks and lunch to the players, making the day a fun event to share good times with good friends.
The intensity of the play at the B & C tournaments is equal to that in the open events, while the quality of the players is clearly improving each week. Saturday's matches had three players at the B level playing to 15. Nhut Nguyen and Jorge Gonzales were both eliminated by C players with a only a 3-point added handicap. In a short game anything can happen, but the C player group was surprisingly consistent as the players fought for every point on the table. Tim has done a great job of adjusting the handicaps from week to week, which has yielded a different group in the winners circle for each subsequent event. If you have never played in a tournament, or thought your play was not strong enough to compete, you have to come to one of these handicapped events. Every player has a fighting chance to win some prize money no matter what their playing ability.
First place this week received $150, second place $100 and third/fourth $50 each. The $50 entry fee got you some great play on the Gabriels and Chevillotte tables, some great food and drink, and a rousing day with some of the nicest players in town. Thanks goes out once again to room owners Tim Nguyen and his brother Nhut for their generous sponsorship of the local tournaments at Bida Goodays in Houston.