Belanger Brings Billiard Storm to Ontario

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Tiger Canadian Women's Pool Tour kicked off the season’s first stop at Dunlop Billiards in Barrie, ON. Despite the harsh winter storm that March 8-9 weekend, 17 players still traveled to Barrie with their eyes on the $1,000-added money, and after two days of solid playing, Denise “Da Bomb” Belanger swept the field undefeated, claiming the top position.
 
Belanger, just back in the pool scene, breezed through her first three opponents and then drilled Tina Meraglio 7-2 in the hot seat match. In the one-loss bracket, the field grew smaller as Naomi Williams defeated Leanne Amable 7-2 and Darlene Gardiner 7-2, who had defeated Maureen Seto 7-2 in the quarterfinals.
 
In the B-side final, Meraglio matched up against Williams. On fire, Meraglio quickly jumped to a 4-1 lead. Williams didn’t back down and knotted the score at 4 apiece, but Meraglio retaliated, employing patience and strategy to take the next three racks to win 7-4.
 
In the finals, Meraglio led 4-1 over Belanger, who struggled through some key shots that cost her. She got back in the game, though, with run-outs and safety play, bringing the score to 6-4 in her favor. In the last rack, Meraglio played an excellent safety, but Belanger went big with the shot and cut the 8 ball in the corner pocket, leaving her perfect shape for an easy 9 ball.

Results:
1st Denise Belanger
2nd Tina Meraglio
3rd Naomi Williams
4th Darlene Gardiner
5th Leanne Amable
Maureen Seto