Shram Chander, the champion of the Snooker division, goes undefeated to win the DL Baldwins 2024 Season Opener.

Pakistan’s Shahram Changezi, who placed 65th at the US Open 9-Ball Championships in 2021, is a relative newbie to our AZBilliards database.

This past weekend (Sat., Jan. 20), he joined the Texas-based DL Billiards Tour for its first event. In a double-hill hot seat battle, Changezi prevailed over Jantzen Miller, another recent database addition. Then, in an even more unexpected turn of events, he defeated Tommy Tokoph in the finals. Tommy had been adding entries to his AZBilliards profile for 17 years, but just two of those entries included earnings of less than four figures, or more than $1,000—a lot “over” in his case. The two outliers, totaling three figures, happened in 2007—the year he joined our database—and seven years later.

This kind of thing can occur because there’s no way to determine the general or precise skill level of an apparent newcomer like Changezi without knowing what he’s done at the tables prior to arriving to compete on the DL Billiards Tour (as defined by his presence in our AZBilliards database). Of course, the fact that he participated in and placed 65th at the US Open, earning $1,000 in prize money, even if it was three years ago, is a giveaway. It is easier to comprehend how an initially unknown competitor may perform so well among more well-known and established local (regional or national) talent when it is later revealed, via several sources, that he is a “accomplished snooker and pool player.” 21 players attended the $210-added DL Billiards season opener at Big.

Nothing about Changezi’s perfect record on the DL Billiards Tour would have given away his skill level to anybody who weren’t familiar with his history in pool and snooker. He defeated Alex Mojica (3) and Darryl Amos (5) in straight-up races to 7 to go to a winners’ side semifinal matchup with Bill Fuller. Jantzen Miller, who would ultimately meet him in a hot seat match, defeated Lanard Lane (4) and Andrew Rodriguez (3) to get to the opposite winners’ side quarterfinal to take on Shane Petrick. Petrick had defeated Tommy Tokoph in a double hill battle before taking first place in the winners’ side quarterfinal.

Miller prevailed in Petrick’s second double-hill encounter, sending him to the hot seat match. Changezi came to join him following Fuller’s 7-3 loss. Over Miller, Changezi asserted the hot seat, double hill.

In terms of defeats, Tokoph defeated Eric Cantrell 7-5 and Andrew Rodriguez 7-4 to draw Fuller after losing to Petrick. Felix Rivera, who had fallen short against Javier Allenes Naranjo in the first round of play, was taken on by Petrick, who then started a four-match winning run that had already ousted Juan Longoria 7-5 and Alex Mojica 7-2.

Changezi won the DL Billiards Tour season-opening championship in just one set of the possible double-elimination final. A game of double hill was all Tokoph could manage, but Changezi won 7–5.

The McDermott Pool Cue Official Fan Page sponsored the tour in 2024, and tour director D’Andrea Leassear expressed gratitude to them, as well as to Shannon Gallo Petrick (photographer), Jason Brodman, and her “always loving and supportive, wonderful husband, Dennis Leassear.” The weekend of February 10–11, Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, Texas, will host the return of the DL Billiards Tour.