12/08/2025
KEEGAN BADOUR IS 9-BALL KING OF LA //
Keegan "K9" Badour (654) is our new 9-Ball King of LA! Keegan defeated Jason Wetherald (667) 9-5 in a single, even race final. He pocketed $1,350 and will be getting his blue champion's jacket soon!
Jason found himself down 2-0 quickly to get the match started, but was able to maintain a close match up until 5-5. A few missed critical shots and a few scratches on Jason's part opened the door for Keegan to pull away and soon enough was on the hill. A brutal scratch at 8-5 on a jump shot from Jason gave Keegan ball in hand and an open table to close out the match.
Last season, Keegan was narrowly passed by Jose Centeno in the last few weeks for Top Shooter, and since that point, he hasn't been as active in the series. But in the last few months he decided to step it up and give it everything. Big congrats to Keegan for putting in the time and practice to prove he's not done with the table!
Below is Keegan's record and route to the final. Note that because we had a 54-player field, the top 10 points earners got a bye in round 1. Keegan came into the tournament as a 654, but his Effective Rating was 706!
(W) Bye
(7-4 W) Bob Jocz (576)
(7-5 W) Rhino Lay (622)
(7-1 W) Yen Huynh (568)
(8-7 W) Jose G Centeno (667)
(9-5 W) Jason Wetherald (667)
Jason had a great tournament as well. He pocketed $700 for 2nd place. He came into the event as a 667, but his Effective Rating was 665.
(7-2 W) Garrett Fuerte (413)
(7-2 W) Jack Fisher (366)
(7-1 W) Chaokun Li (589)
(7-3 W) Jonathan Monroy (660)
(8-3 W) Luke Lao (620)
(5-9 L) Keegan Badour (654)
Congrats to the other players that cashed in this event!
3rd/4th - Jose G Centeno ($350)
3rd/4th - Luke Lao ($350)
5th-8th - David Nichols ($160)
5th-8th - Jonathan Monroy ($160)
5th-8th - Yen Huynh ($160)
5th-8th - Michael Hansen ($160)
9th-16th - Luis Garcia ($100)
9th-16th - Joseph Leon ($100)
9th-16th - Chaokun Li ($100)
9th-16th - Al Garcia ($100)
9th-16th - Rhino Lay ($100)
9th-16th - Terrence Lee ($100)
9th-16th - Butch Barba ($100)
9th-16th - Mark Whitehead ($100)
View Bracket:
https://digitalpool.com/tournaments/mezz-la-9-ball-series-season-4-finale/bracket
View Semi Finals & Finals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_PjAZd2_DI
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In closing, I want to say a few things about this series as I put an indefinite pause on it, and give a few special thanks.
It's been an amazing 4 years of 9-ball and I could not have done it without all of you. I got to meet a ton of new players, made some new friends for life, and got to see some incredible pool along the way! I started this series in 2021 with just one goal: get a fully organized and scheduled pool series in place to help solve the scattered tournaments in the LA area. I didn't accomplish all that I wanted, but I do feel I brought some consistency to a very messy and frustrating landscape of events in the area. Scheduling events and rewarding players at the end of the season with a pile of cash is something I'd love to see more of from other promoters.
A lot of people have been asking why the pause on the series? The answer is really about the amount of time and effort that's needed to put this on year after year. I have to shift my focus more to my career and making a living, and because I don't take green fees at the main events, I'm operating at a heavy loss (money & time!). It's really become a very expensive hobby, and so shifting focus to home & family a bit is really important. But as I've mentioned to many, I will still be actively promoting a new series at Good Times - I just won't be as present as with the Mezz Series.
I wasn't able to do this all without the support of all the players - even those that maybe didn't ever cash - because they understood it would improve their game, and I have certainly seen those improvements. Showing up doesn't always mean aiming to win, it's definitely about building your game up through tough competition and seeing what you're capable of!
Special thanks (sorry if I miss anyone!):
Good Times Billiards & Staff
Marcos Hernandez (Owner)
John English (Owner)
Gladi8or Pizza & Billiards & Staff
Rudy Torres (TD)
Ann Fernandez (TD)
Patrick Yacoub (TD)
Joe Hanink (TD)
Lori Jones (TD)
DeeDee Zazueta (TD)
Gigi Callejas (TD)
Beau Runningen (Commentary)
Terrence Lee (Commentary)
Jake Gonzalez (Commentary)
12/08/2025
12/08/2025