Lizarraga Victorious in USBA Endorsed B Tournament
Jose Lizarraga bested a field of 17 at the USBA Endorsed B Tournament held at Edgie’s in Milpitas, California, on October 13 and 14, 2012.
As usual Susie Bangoy provided a wonderful venue and breakfast for the players each day. Only one player came from outside the area, Soon Hong, from Los Angeles. All games in the prelims and finals were played to 30 points. The top two from each group made it to the Finals, playing a 6 man full round robin.
The competitors began preliminaries Saturday morning in three flights, with the top two finishers advancing to a 6-player round robin. Soon Hong, from Los Angeles, won Flight A with a 4-1 record. Vicente Lopez finished second with a 3-2 record and two close losses (30-26 and 30-29). Flight B had only five players. Jesus Corona finished first with a 3-2 record. Antonio Rivera finished second with a 2-2 record and two close losses by the identical score (30-28). Cesar Cardoza finished third with a 2-2 record, but his 111 total points were five short of Rivera’s 116 total. Jose Lizarraga and Rigoberto Cuevas both finished with 4-1 records in Flight C to advance to the finals.
The final round robin was played on Sunday and proved to be a wild affair. In the last round there were still 4 players mathematically in the running for first place! Who won in the last round, and by how many points, would determine the final standings. It couldn't have been much closer as it came down to the wire with four players finishing tied for the best record at 3-2. It was Soon Hong who beat Jose Lizarraga in the last round that the tiebreaker. Points scored was the primary measure and if tied, then head-to-head. But points it would be as there were no ties. And so, with a total of 143 Jose Lizarraga was awarded first place. Jesus Corona took second with 140 points. Antonio Rivera totaled 136 points to finish third, and Soon Hong placed fourth with a 134 points. Trailing the field were Lalo Avila, with 104 for 5th, and Rigo Cuevas, with 97 for 6th.
For his efforts, Lizarraga took home $600. Corona pocketed $400, Rivera received $300, Hong was awarded $200. Avila and Cuevas earned $100 each. The high run prize ($85.00) was divided between Vinh Nguyen and Enrique Madrigal, each with a run of seven in the preliminaries.
Special recognition goes to Raye Raskin, USBA board member, for his efforts in running the tournament and reporting the results.
Final payouts and standings
1st $600 Jose Lizarraga
2nd $400 Jesus Corona
3rd $300 Antonio Rivera
4th $200 Soon Hong
5th $100 Lalo Avila
6th $100 Rigoberto Cuevas
High run out of the money was shared by:
$42.50 (7) Vinh Nguyen
$42.50 (7) Engrique Madrigal
More Pictures from Edgies and Results!
