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Naomi Williams Walks Away From ontario on Top By Tori Hilty, InsidePOOL Staff  New on the pool tour scene, the Canadian Women’s Pool Tour just had their second event the weekend of May 14-15, 2004. Held at the Wooden Rack in Mississauga, Ontario, the event was a WPBA qualifier that drew a talented field of 23 players, with Naomi Williams (pictured on left) coming out on top at the end.
The main sponsor for the CWPT is Jeff Bell Custom Cues out of Indiana. Hallmark Billiards, Tiger Products, and Fantastic Memories complete the list of sponsors. Including the $500 added by the room, the total purse was $1,320. With this and a chance to be invited to participate in and have the $500 entry to the 2005 WPBA Classic Event paid for the first place winner, there was definite determination to take top honors among these ladies. The Wooden Rack is owned by Lena West and has hosted many pro events in the past. It is no wonder as all of the tables are kept in excellent condition. The room offers eight 9-foot Dufferin Black Crown tables. West also offers her patrons the benefit and convenience of a cue repair shop and an array of Falcon cues to purchase. The field was narrowed down though out the tournament to bring Angela Mears and Star Williams face to face in the quarters. Although Mears was playing well, she could not get past Williams and stay on the "A" side. The match was close, 7-5, but Mears was forced to the west side of the chart for a rematch with Tracy Koss (pictured on right). Koss was sent to the one-loss side by Mears earlier in the tournament with a 7-2 victory by Mears. It was sister against sister in the hot seat match. Star and Naomi Williams played tough against one another, both wanting to stay on the "A" side and neither giving up a game. It was hill–hill when Naomi played a smart 8 ball shot and got shape for her 9 ball. Nice shot! Then she finished off with a break and run, which gave her the 7–5 win. This pushed Star Williams to the "B" side to meet her opponent, Dorthy Brown. Star Williams was determined to win this time, and with skill and nerve she made a huge leap ahead of Brown to take the win 7-1. Brown settled for fourth place. Star Williams readied herself to meet up with Koss on the "B" side to determine who would advance to the finals. After fighting her way through the one-loss side, Koss was determined to stay in the action. Koss noticed her opponent is a good shot and decided to play safe. She pulled off excellent shape to win her a huge leap of 7–1. Star Williams was not going to face her sister again in this tournament and was forced to settle for third place. Koss traveled to the finals to meet Naomi Williams among a crowd of spectators. Both ladies were playing strong, knotting the score at 5. Koss made a 6 ball shot but landed on a difficult leave where the cue ball was too close to the 7 ball. A referee was called, but Koss played a shot that almost sank the 7 ball. It just wasn’t safe enough, and Naomi Williams takes advantage to run out the rest of the table. Williams breaks and with a 6-5 lead she almost runs out the table. She shot the 7 ball leaving a bad position on the 8. She pulled a perfect hook shot and Koss, who couldn’t see the ball, fouled. Williams took full advantage to finish off the table. This led her to win the first-place title and a paid entry spot for the WPBA event. Results: 1st Naomi Williams $530 2nd Tracy Koss $330 3rd Star Williams $200 4th Dorthy Brown $130 5th Angela Mears, Sharlene Wakerson $65 Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.
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