Natalie Rocha, Yvonne Asher, Heather Bryant, Cheyenne Valdez
Yvonne Asher dominated a 16-player field at the fifth stop on the 2026 Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour, held at Damifino in Angleton, Texas. Asher won the hot seat, crossing paths with Natalie Rocha in the finals. Asher lost the first set, 7-3, but secured the win with an overtime victory, 5-2.
On May 16th, 2026, sponsors Poison by Predator Cues, Predator Cues, Rack IQ, Outsville Billiards, and Team Straight Pool Eye, produced another successful event for the women of the Gulf Coast Tour. The two-day event featured a $500 added purse, drew 16 players, and paid out $900 in prize money. Damfino provided twelve, 7’ bar tables for match play, all covered in tournament blue cloth, in a smoke-free environment. Predator provided Arcos II Pool Balls and Outsville Billiards supplied the Accu-Rack template racks, for discussion-free racking.
In the final eight on the winners’ side, Ruth Paine fell to Natalie Rocha, 7-2, while Yvonne Asher made quick work of Brandi Scott, 7-2. Newcomer, Heather Bryant, overwhelmed Tiffany Huvar, 7-1, while newbie, Tany Lauritsen, took down Frances Arechiga, 7-3. Down to the final four on the winners’ side, Asher dominated Rocha, 7-3, and it was Bryant over Lauritsen, by the same score. Bryant found herself in a first-time hot seat match, in her first Tour event, against veteran player, Asher. It was a close set until a seasoned Asher pulled ahead to win, 7-5. On the one-loss side and in the final eight, Valdez was making her way through, with wins over Arechiga, 5-3, and Lauritsen, 5-0, while Paine knocked out Scott, 5-3, falling to Rocha in the next round, 5-4. Rocha eliminated Valdez, 5-1, then Bryant, 5-0, to meet Asher in the true, double elimination finals. In the first set, Rocha was on fire, beating Asher 7-3. In the second set, Asher found her footing, climbing to a 5-3 victory over Rocha to secure her first ever, Gulf Coast Tour win. Congratulations to Yvonne Asher on this impressive victory.
Heather Bryant
The Tour would like to congratulate Heather Bryant on a remarkable third place finish in her first, Gulf Coast Tour event.
Cheyenne Valdez
The Tour would like to thank all the players who came out to support the first event of the year, and officially welcome all the first-time players, and encourage them to return at every opportunity.
The next event is June 13th-14th back at Damifino in Angleton, Texas.
Payouts – $900
1st Yvonne Asher $400
2nd Natalie Rocha $275
3rd Heather Bryant $150
4th Cheyenne Valdez $75