The Texas Open Kicks Off

The Texas Open Kicks OffThe 29th Annual Texas Open 9-Ball Championships has kicked off in a grand style. There are 16 years of past champions represented in this year's event. Bob Vanover, Gabe Owen, Jeremy Jones, Gilbert Martinez, and Javier Franco all have alumni status on the Vanover Cup. The field is smaller than in past years, at 84 players, but where it lacks in numbers, it makes up in strength. Besides the obvious caliber of the the list above, add Charlie Bryant, James Davis, James Davis Jr., Kenny Greer, David Henson, Leroy Mathis, and Robert Almarez to the list of notables. The Texas Open 9-Ball Championships is the longest consecutively running 9-ball tournament in the United States. Since its inception in 1974, it has hosted some of the world's best pool players. In the first 22 years of this event, there had never been a professional pool player win until CJ Wiley did it in 1996. The event has always boasted a large and strong field from all over the world. Jeremy Jones is the defending champion from the 2002 event. He received a first-round bye and is playing his first match of the tournament against Eduardo Roldan at 4:00 pm.
Several local radio and television stations have been covering this year's event, with special interest going to David Krolick. David was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis) in 2000. This has not stopped him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional pool player. Krolick hopes that by competing in pool tournaments across the country, he will send a positive message to others facing his chronic disease. “I feel it is important for people to understand you can achieve your dreams after being diagnosed with MS even if that dream stems from when you were a young boy,” he said.The man that has won the most times is an amateur player, an executive with a furniture company in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Bob Vanover. Mr. Vanover has won the State Championship a record eight times, including six of them in a row. For that feat and his remarkable sportsmanship, a sterling silver championship trophy standing almost three feet in height now bears his name. The Vanover Cup has engraved the name of every man to ever win the 9-ball championship of the state of Texas. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest updates from the sport of billiards and pool.

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