Gabe Owen Double-Dips Leroy Mathis at the Corpus Christi Classic

 
Gabe Owen of Tulsa, OK, defeated Leroy Mathis twice in the final match of the Corpus Christi Classic Open 9-Ball event for top honors in 2003.  Owen, the defending champion, was undefeated last year but suffered an early loss to Mathis, who hails from Waco, TX, and worked his way back through the o­ne-loss side to take the title.
Paradise Pool & Billiards added $6,000, and 83 players paid $100 entry fees.  Most matches were o­n the 9-foot Lemacher flush pocket tables with 860 Simonis cloth.  Matches were races to 9 o­n both sides, and the room was packed with spectators enjoying the fine level of play.  The final three matches were filmed using four camera angles and had crowd noise and expert commentary from Bill Mykleby.
Mathis had a great tournament and proved to be a giant killer.  He defeated David Trevino, Robert Newkirk, and Daniel Perez before pushing Owen to the left side of the charts.  He then went o­n to tackle reigning U.S. Open Champion Jeremy Jones and also sent him sideways.  Mathis was in a great gear as he continued o­n his roll, defeating both James Davis Jr. from Austin, TX, and Sylver Ochoa from McAllen, TX, to become the o­nly undefeated player in this star-studded event.
Jones started the event with a double-hill win over former World Champion Bob Hunter from Carson City, NV.  It looked like Hunter had control of the last rack, but following a tricky shot o­n the 6, he pushed the 7 into a side pocket point, and Jones then cleaned up.  Jones then moved through Javier Franco and Charlie Bryant o­n the o­ne-loss side, o­nly to finally be defeated by Tony Chohan from Sacramento, CA, who was the runner-up in last year’s event.
Chohan had previously defeated Bryant and David Henson from Austin, TX, but lost to Ochoa.  At that point, Chohan came back to life and sent Jones packing but lost his next match to Owen.
Ochoa defeated Mike Bernardi, Tony Oliva, Joe Fritcher, Doug Young, and Tony Chohan.  In the winners’ bracket, Ochoa lost to Mathis and then suffered his next loss to Owen.  Ochoa is o­nly 18 years old and is o­ne of the nation’s top junior players.  He played a great tournament and finished in third place.
Once Owen was o­n the west side of the chart, he defeated Dempsey Bailey, James Davis, Sr., and then young friends Doug Young and James Davis, Jr.  He had a rematch of last year’s finals with Chohan and then beat young superstar Ochoa to reach the finals.  The true double-elimination event went to two sets in the finals, with Owen winning 9-5 and 9-6.  Owen played two late matches o­n Saturday night and in every time slot o­n Sunday as he went through the o­ne-loss side of the chart.  He was very tired but held o­n to defend his title.
Room owner and tournament director Harrison Todd and his dedicated staff provided a great experience for all.  Denis Strickland, who also helped promote the event, conducted the player auction that netted over $12,000. The room was open 24 hours for three days, with the kitchen opening at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast.
Event tee-shirts with Owen listed as the 2002 Defending Champion were sold, and Owen has promised to return next year for a chance at winning three times in a row.

Results:
1st Place Gabe Owen  $4,000
2nd Place Leroy Mathis $2,500
3rd Place Sylver Ochoa $1,500
4th Place Tony Chohan  $1,000
5th Place Jeremy Jones  $700
 James Davis Jr. $700
7th Place  Charlie Bryant $500
 David Henson $500
9th Place Al Mason $300
 Doug Young $300
 Javier Franco $300
 David Grossman $300
13th Place Bob Hunter $120
 Shane McMinn $120
 James Davis, Sr. $120
 Tom Mooney $120

Trisha Strickland and Bill Fuller ran a ladies’ division with $500 added to the $40 entry fees.  However, many top ladies played in the last Hunter Classic Tour Event in Alvin, TX, and as a result, there were o­nly five entries.  The ladies were very happy, relaxed, and had a fun event.  They were thankful to Bill Fuller, who created the round robin chart and scored the event. After a round robin in which Kim Pierce won all of her matches, the payout was as follows:

Results:
1st Place Kim Pierce  $320
2nd Place Teresa Bordelon $190
3rd Place Trisha Strickland $120
4th Place Sophavy Gunterman $40

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