After several top finishes in tournaments and his most recent 1st place finish in the Pechauer Tour stop at the Billiard Palacade in San Francisco, CA, Tony Chohan announced that he is “The Best in the West.” Not only is he “The Best in the West,” he is willing to stand behind the assertion by accepting challenges from anyone under the age of 50 who lives west of Oklahoma. The monetary specifics were a little vague with numbers like five and ten thousand thrown around, but Chohan claims to be able to beat anyone in the west in a ‘five’ ahead format in one pocket or a ‘10’ ahead format in 9-ball.

If you feel you might be interested in putting Tony’s money where his mouth is you are welcome to contact On The Wire for his cell phone number to arrange a date. Oh, and by the way, he’ll meet you on table 4 at Hard Times!
Longview, WA – Mike “The Kid” Vidas made quick work of the “Red Rocket” Tim Tweedell at the Cadillac Ranch Casino stop of the West Coast Pechauer Tour February 25-27. The single race finals looked to favor Tweedell as he jumped to a 5-0 lead, but it was all downhill from there. To say that Vidas shut him down is an understatement; the crowd was in awe as he went on to dominate the match in an astounding 13-6 final score.

Tour followers might wonder how Glenn Atwell fared, but Stan Tourangeau and Don Wirtaman could have cared less as they sent him packing in a disappointing 9th place finish. And what happened to Raul Abenojar? He was a no show even though he was tied for second place in points.

Promoters predict that Tinsley Johnson will be the dark horse player this year. After traveling all the way from California with his road partners Gilbert Arellano and Josh Palmer, Johnson used the Northwest players to sharpen his edges and tune up on his road to the BCA Open this May.

He showed the Oregon and Washington players what it means to have heart, storming through a field of incredible talent like a man on fire! His buddy Gilbert sent him over to the one loss side in the 3rd round and it was all Tinsley after that! He disposed of Dan Rodriguez of Aloha, OR, Tom Seymour of San Francisco, CA, Chuck Mileur of Troutdale, OR, Tony Balzer of Salem, OR, John Doherty of Seattle, WA, Paul Potier of Vancouver, BC, Stan Tourangeau also of Vancouver, BC before falling to Steve Lingelbach of Troutdale, OR to end his reign of terror in 4th place. Johnson seemed to get more and more pumped after each match, outwardly displaying his excitement and enthusiasm at winning.

Mary Hopkin of Tri Cities, WA ended up battling against “Wonder Woman” Linda Carter for the top woman; and it was “Wonder Woman” who got lassoed to her chair as Hopkin dominated the match 7-2.

We would like to thank the Cadillac Ranch Casino for their incredible hospitality. Paul Potier was especially appreciative of his good fortune at the card table! The Cadillac has an awesome menu, lots of action and non stop pool and cards!

The next stops are scheduled for March 12th and 13th in Cypress, CA at Hot Shots Billiard Café, and then March 19th and 20th in Portland, OR at the Amazon Sports Bar & Grill. We hope to see you there.

For a complete schedule or information about the tour and participating in stops visit www.azbilliards.com or www.onthewirebilliards.com.
San Francisco, CA – In a demonstration of tremendous spirit and heart, an exhausted second place finisher stepped up to avenge his loss in the finals and make right for his fans what he wasn’t able to accomplish in two previous matches that day. The primarily Hispanic clientele at the Billiard Palacade rallied behind Ernesto as their champion, playing for much more than a few thousand dollars in side bets, or the tension of sweating some tremendously played games of pool. The otherwise beat Dominguez found it in himself to play just one more set. It is a mystery where the strength actually came from, but if you believe in super human powers or cosmic energy, I was there and that is what I would attribute it to. Ernesto willed in himself strength that would otherwise not be there, he drew from the strength within his spirit.

I was busy cleaning up the tournament supplies for the majority of the match. I found a seat when the score was 10-9 in favor of Chohan. They jockeyed back and forth until Chohan was on the hill and Dominguez needed 2 games. I don’t remember exactly which game it was when a couple of the most memorable shots of pool I have ever seen took place. Dominguez was hooked and played a beautiful billiard off the object ball, off a second ball to run the cue ball straight up behind the 9-ball. The speed and execution – it all was brilliant and couldn’t have turned out better if he had placed the cue ball with his hand!

In turn, Chohan made a Z-bank hit from nowhere to put the pressure back on Dominguez as he was able to kick Dominguez back in to a tough spot. Dominguez ended up with the game he needed to get to the hill, and consequently would break the final game. After the break, things looked pretty good for Dominguez, but his nerves and the pressure were clearly visible, each ensuing shot more unnerving than the last. Every ball pocketed equaled one ball closer to the final victory of the day,

a redemption and closing of the final chapter in a small book. Dominguez ran down to the 9-ball and after catching his breath making double sure to pocket the final ball, he bent into his stance and smoothly stroked the winning shot into the hole.

What a match! What a true champion!