Choy Captures Hunter Title in Denver

Choy Captures Hunter Title in Denver To most people, Colorado is truly paradise. But on June 21st-22nd, 40 women were inside (not outside), where they were playing pool at Paradise Billiards in Denver, Colorado. Owner Terry McFadden welcomed us for the fifth year in a row to his wonderful pool room! This tournament was a WPBA Qualifier, and the highest lady to pay the qualifying fee of $50 would get an entry to the WPBA stop at the Cuetec Cues Canadian Classic in ontario, Canada in October. Eighteen of the ladies paid the qualifier. When there were only six ladies left, they were all eligible, and it was a bitter fight until the very end. Many of the ladies were from Colorado and Texas, but some were also from Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and even Hawaii. This field of 40 was filled with exceptional talent and a who's who of great players. In the past six weeks, several of the ladies had either placed extremely well at the BCA Nationals and/or recent WPBA events. Just to mention a few: Pam Bell, who is one point away from being a WPBA touring pro, joined the Hunter Classics Tour for the first time; BCA Women's Open Champion Jackie Broadhurst was on hand, along with Master's player (taking third place in May) Terri Kelley, who is the points leader going into this stop; Leslie Anne Rogers, who has played in many (if not all) of the WPBA stops this year; Julia Gabriel, coming off a fifth place finish in the Women's Master's in Vegas and an impressive showing in the WPBA just last weekend; Phoebe Choy, who placed very well in her last two WPBA events; and young sensation Anna Kostanian from Albuquerque who played in the WPBA Pro event in Vegas in May. With all of the talent, it was tough to figure out who would come out on top. In the end, it was Phoebe Choy all the way from Hawaii winning the tournament, the first place prize of $750, and the WPBA Qualifier.
For hosting this event, owner Terry was given a beautiful Hunter Classics Custom Cue, valued at $1,900. It is yet another beautiful example of Wes Hunter's work. Play commenced at 10am on Saturday but dwindled down to only 12 players left in the main event on Sunday. It was a fierce battle for the top prize - with many of the local Colorado girls playing well, hanging tough and pulling through some difficult matches. Including Katrina Games who placed a deserving 7th/8th, Caela Henley, who defeated many good players for a very respectable ninth place, and from Fort Collins with an equally impressive run and placing ninth was newcomer Nicole Hellmer.Phoebe Choy defeated Terri Kelley 7-5 on Sunday morning for a chance to play for the winner's bracket against Board Member Julie Stephenson. Phoebe won that match 7-3 and waited for her spot in the finals. Leslie Anne Rogers, on the one-loss side on Sunday (at the hands of Anna from Saturday) had a long road ahead of her to reach the finals, but did so by dispatching Stacy Jackman, Rachel Hurst, Terri Kelley, Pam Bell and Julie Stephenson.In the end, it would be Phoebe Choy defeating Leslie 7-3 for the tournament win , $750 and the Qualifier. Leslie won $550 for her second place finish, Julie Stephenson from Texas placed third and won $375, and Pam Bell placed fourth and won $225. Terri Kelley came in fifth, barely losing her first place in the point standings by 35 points to Phoebe Choy. Anna Kostanian also placed fifth with Rachel Hurst from Texas placing seventh. Congratulations to all of the ladies! On Sunday on the other side of Paradise Billiards, 10 ladies came to play in the $100 added second-chance event, with Julia Gabriel taking first place. Hunter Tour veteran Julie Ekman came in second, with Monica Anderson forfeiting for third place to catch a plane back to Texas. And all the way from North Dakota was Shelly Johnson who came in fourth place.A huge thank you to our gracious host Terry McFadden, Bob Winter for being our wonderful referee, and all the wait staff at Paradise Billiards. And once again, thanks to Wes Hunter for his much appreciated support of the Hunter Classics tour! The next Hunter Classics Tour Stop (and WPBA Qualifier) will be in Arlington, TX - July 12th/13th. Visit us at www.hunterclassics.com.Visit InsidePOOL for more updates on the Hunter Classic Tour.1st Phoebe Choy $750 + Qualifier 2nd Leslie Anne Rogers $550 3rd Julie Stephenson $375 4th Pam Bell $225 5-6th Terri Kelly and Anna Kostanian $145 7-8th Katrina Games and Rachel Hurst $105 9-12th Melinda Bailey, Caela Henley, Stacy Jackman and Nicole Hellmer $70 13-16th Julia Gabriel, Deb Winter, Heather Hoyer and June Smith $40 17-24th Kristin Haney, Julie Ekman, Stephanie Croft, Kathryn Long, Chris Honeman, Shelly Johnson, Julie Schultz and Kathy Crump $20 2nd Chance Tournament Results: 1st Julia Gabriel2nd Julie Ekman3rd Monica Anderson 4th Shelly Johnson

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