January 2010 Inside POOL Magazine by Inside POOL Magazine

January 2010 Volume X, Issue 1 USA $3.95 Can. $5.95

Archer Secures Seminole Title

16-Year-Old Shasha Scores World Title U.S. Amateur Champions Crowned

Immonen a Force at

World 10-Ball Championship

Jasmine Ouschan Scores Seminole Hard Rock Title

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January 2010 Contents Instructions 10

Beat People With a Stick

Tricknology

Becoming the Player You Want to Be

Lights, Camera … Action!

Pro Pool Workout

The Year of Pro Secrets

You Know the Drill

Kicking Strategy

Two Wrong Stances Don’t Make One Right

It’s a New Year—Get in Shape

On the Cover: Austria’s Jasmine Ouschan hoists the trophy from her latest triumph at the WPBA Tour Championship event, hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL, where she bested Xiaoting Pan in the final match. For the full story, please visit page 24.

Features 20

Two New World Champions Crowned

The Scorpion Scores at Mizerak Championship

Ouschan Aces WPBA Championship

Shasha Named Women’s World 9-Ball Champion

Immonen an Unstoppable Force

Top Amateurs Crowned U.S. Amateur Champions

Chinakov and Lin Take Junior Titles

Archer Wins First Seminole Pro Title

Takes Home Season’s Third Title

Page 26

16-Year-Old Bests Top-Caliber Field

The Finn Collects the World 10-Ball Championship

Winner of Men’s and Women’s Divisions Advance to 2010 Pro Event

2 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

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Pool on TV Advertiser Directory League Player of the Month

Regional Roundup 36 42 49 54

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Northeast Southeast Central Western

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Page 31 Publisher JR Calvert publisher@insidepoolmag.com

Advertising Sales Director Instructional Staff Bill Perry Johnny Archer, Shannon Daulton, sales@insidepoolmag.com Bob Henning, Jason Lynch, Donny Lutz, Grady Mathews, Technical Consultant Editor Matt Sherman, Tom Simpson Tom Simpson Sally P. Timko Feature Photo Credits editor@insidepoolmag.com Contributing Writers Jason Bowman, JR Calvert, Anne Craig, Graphic Artists Fred Agnir, Lea Andrews, Fran Crimi, Roberto Guerrero, Dana Keith, Laura Luzier, Maria Mike Andrews, Jose Burgos, Michael Neumann, Fred Stoll Ogilvie-Lawrence, Chris Pesce Jonathan Demet, Tim Dunkley, art@insidepoolmag.com Alison M. Fischer, Tom Fryer, Email Rob Johnson, Raymond Linares, Editorial Assistant info@insidepoolmag.com Kelly Senior, Ken Shuman, Lea Andrews Website Jerry Tarantola, Kevin Vidal www.insidepoolmag.com Vice President of Promotions Rodney Andrews Toll Free Administrative Office randrews@insidepoolmag.com 888-428-7665 PO Box 972, Kittanning, PA 16201 4 InsidePOOL Magazine â&#x2014;&#x160; January 2010

InsidePOOL Magazine Volume X, Issue 1 (ISSN1547-3511) is published monthly except June and August by Spheragon Publishing, PO Box 972, Kittanning, PA 16201. Single copy price: $3.95 in U.S.A., $5.95 in Canada. Subscription prices: $19.99/ yr in the U.S.A., $28/yr in Canada, $39/ yr international. Periodicals postage at Kittanning, PA, and additional mailing offices. Submissions of manuscripts, illustrations, and/or photographs must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The publisher assumed no responsibility for unsolicited material. Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: InsidePOOL Magazine, PO Box 972, Kittanning, PA 16201.

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8 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

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Play Video Play Video Beat People with a Stick Becoming the Player You Want to Be

BEAT PEOPLE WITH A STICK want to play with dignity. Accordingly, we’ll have to get clear on

by Tom Simpson

by Tom Simpson What kind of player do you really want to be? Be honest with yourself. Not everyone wants to be a pro. Not everyone wants to gamble. Not everyone wants the pressure of being the best in their poolroom or their league or their town. Not everyone could anyway.

Non-Trivial Pursuits What matters to you as a player? How do you get pleasure or satisfaction or notoriety from the game? What’s rewarding about the game, for you? Some players enjoy the social aspects of playing a fun game with friends. Others like competition, measuring themselves against the fierce yardstick of winning and losing. Some love the endless challenge of the physical precision and intense focus required to play well. For certain players, it’s Sometimes the smallest of things can make the biggest of differabout performance under pressure, about the sweet satisfaction ences. This is especially true in pool, perhaps our most precise game. that comes with excellence. We all have some underlying needs The players who are beating you are somehow performing more prewe’remore trying meet through pool. cisely, efﬁtociently, more consistently. What little things are they

doing—or not doing—that might help you? Many players train or come to pool school with a goal. They want skill level in their league, they want Are anyto ofraise thesetheir common habitsrating or tendencies smacking you? to beat their thinks-he-knows-everything buddy, or they hope to somehow break through to a newtilt level. to down feel better Head bobbing—Some players theirThey headwant up and durabout their game. ing aiming and sometimes during the hit stroke. Try to get your head positioned where you can see the shot and believe it, but only move eyes—and In pool leagues, in tournaments, poolrooms everyyour don’t move them during the hitin stroke. where, the player pecking order becomes established and is constantly contested and Where you currently arecue in ball that Focusing on the cueadjusted. ball—Many players stare at the while they drop into their stance and then try to acquire the target line pecking order is often a highly important component of your self after they are alreadyplayers down. Too late. Align yourself to the by distant esteem. Countless are continually embarrassed their target and stay sharp on that as you drop. Trust that your body will belief that they are not playing at the level they “deserve.” Shakline up well to what you see and intend. ing their heads in disgust, they mumble something like “I used to play a lot better than this …” Some become so humiliated, they chalking—Whenever you’re going to they do something quitPoor playing. The disparity between the player think theyexare treme, carefully chalk the edges of your tip. This is where (or want to be) and the player who keeps showing upweis miscue, just too and this And is when we miscue. Chalklevel! your edges! A good chalk job great. this goes on at every contributes to your conﬁdence and your calmness. We assume we are good Trywe chalking with one color of chalk, and chalkers. Mostly tend tothoroughly view our pool-playing abilities as they then chalk your normal way with another color. Take a look. You’ll were on our very best day. Unfortunately, our best day is not going be surprised. to happen every day. Struggling with this difficult game, maybe it’s the joy of our best day—those moments of confidence, of Shooting before ready—Have as complete a plan as you can clarity, of greatness—that keeps us coming back. before you bend over. If doubt or a new idea arrives, stand up and start over. Move and shoot at your own speed. Don’t rush. Don’t While each individual player may have their own mix of shoot until your body has settled into the shot and your conﬁdence is underlying needs, as good as it can be. I think it’s safe to say we all want to play with less pain and humiliation and more pleasure and gratification. We 10 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

the player we want to be and take real steps toward that.

What you want out of billiards? How well do you Try thesedo enormous little things: “need” to play to be okay with yourself? What’s gratifying, and what makes you happy to be in pool?ofWhat could you achieve, Confirming tip position—You, course, have a very specific, given the reality of your current level, experience, knowledge, precise intention for exactly where you will strike the cue ball. Be sure athletic tenacity? Vividly imagine that looks to confiability, rm thatand your stroke will deliver the tipwhat as planned. Thislike sounds and feels like, to betothat player, starting right now. on obvious, but and you decide really have be conscious about tip placement every shot. If your stroke system allows, come to a full stop with your CB, andwhatever visually confi rmbeen your doing tip placement before taking tip at the Obviously you’ve until now has not the hit stroke. quite done it. You’ll have to do something different, something more. To get what you’ve never had, you must do things you’ve Finding best bridge angle—The purposeyour of the bridge is to never done. Foryour example: Practice more, practice weakest provide an absolute rock that guides your tip to the precise spot where skills, actually study some books, take a lesson, compete against you intend to touch the cue ball. Any bridge that achieves this is okay, better players, give every shot your best shot, whatever it takes. but let’s go past that and work to fi nd a bridge that helps. If you use an What’s holding you back? Change! Do whatever you require of open bridge, notice the skin line formed by your thumb resting against yourself, so you know you “deserve” that level. Give yourself the side ofto the Try adjusting yourdignity—that bridge so that player line points permission beforefi thatnger. player who plays with down your intended stick line and becomes part of the “vee” of your you want to be. bridge. You might have to pivot your bridge hand slightly in your wrist to find this alignment. You may find this gives you a better groove for your stroke and helps you line up more accurately and consistently. If One out to meet destiny, you use either a closedrides (finger loop) bridge,their try pivoting yourorbridge hand slightly holding the firmly in touch they outward, are consumed byshaft the stampede of with fate.the webbing between your thumb and forefinger. The feeling will be that you are stroking through a tube, against slight resistance. Try these bridge angles and see whether they improve your confidence or accuracy.

“

We eachfor have to aim—We take responsibility for ourofpersonal Dowsing final all have habits how we desee our velopment as players. We can get only so far with our athletic final aim, how we “know” we are on it. Yet, we miss. Often we miss ability and aangle, haphazard or non-existent to getting better. the same the same way. Or, at approach a higher level, we might not be The players who rise to higher levels of play are not “naturals” hitting the part of the pocket we expected. Try this: Once you’veorcome “lucky. ” It fireally mattered to them. They took responsibility and to your nal aim, stop moving and see it clearly. Now, make the smalldid work.adjustment They paidyou whatever theYou price was for them. Theyor try estthe aiming can make. pick which direction, took conscious and persevered. both. Make thataction, tiny aiming adjustment, settle, and see it. Does it look “more perfect” than your earlier final aim? Shoot straight and see what This players is a results-based way the to train yourself correctly happens. Some rise through ranks, whiletomost get see the shots you to see imperfectly. Your brain to light and say stuck. Some aretend motivated to take action, whilehas others areup comyes when the shot on.“One You either may have show the correct picture fortable where theyisare. ridestoout to it meet their desa few times. tiny, or they are consumed by the stampede of fate.” Welcome to pool. Some of these little things are really big things. Try a little. Tom Simpson is a Master Instructor in both the BCA and ACS In-

structor Programs. He delivers his acclaimed 3-Day Weekend Intensive in Columbus, Ohio, and in selected cities nationwide. As inventor of Elephant Practice Balls®, the Stroke Groover™, and the Ghostball Aim Trainer®, and authorized instructor for Secret Aiming Systems™, Tom’s helpedin thousands players. Listen Tominnovations Simpson isinatraining Masterhave Instructor both the of BCA & ACS Instructotor an audio description the Intensive, and read 353-Day instructional articles at Programs. He of delivers his acclaimed Weekend Intensive www.NationalBilliardAcademy.com. Contact: Tom@PoolClinics.com. in Columbus, Ohio, and in selected cities nationwide. As inventor of

Elephant Practice Balls®, the Stroke Groover™, and the Ghostball Aim Trainer®, and authorized instructor for Secret Aiming Systems™,

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Play Video Play Video Tricknology Lights, Camera ...Action! TRICKNOLOGY by Jason Jason Lynch by Lynch

Diagram 3

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “No bar, no pinball machines, no bowling alleys, just pool ... nothing else. This is Ames, mister.”? Do you hear the contempt that a stupid question was even asked in Ames, the holy grail of pool halls? How about, “On the snap Vincent!”? Can you see and hear in your mind’s eye Tom Cruise blistering a break shot? My new personal favorite is, “Whoa. What are you doing?” “I’m taking my shot.” “No. It, dollars Don’t Poke It it’s my shot.” See, I just Stroke paid five thousand for your shot. Now

I speak of The Hustler, The Color of Money, and Pool Hall Junkusing extreme top english. The cue ball will compress the 8 ball to ies. This month I dedicate my column to one shot from each movie that the and snap of the way, theand 8 will splitcombined. the pocketWe’ll on the Therail second of theout draw shots is aand draw a kick put was recently at the Michigan State V.N.E.A. Championship, and one stands out in my mind. bank. some running english on the cue so it will kick long enough to pocket the questions that I was asked by a good player was: “How do you hit ball that is resting in the jaws of Pocket A. Cue ball placement, believe it r drawDiagram shot?” Randy, 1 this month is for you. First I will explain the or not, The second shot actually has two parts and was shown in the is dead straight. The english does all the work for the kick. You will ue involved to juice a ball up with low english, and then I will explain Color of Money. wasasshot by Paul Newman, who revisto put The bottom right on this Itshot is diagrammed. This becomes top s involved in three different shots. All three require a strong stroke wantmovie ited his role as Fast Eddie Felson. The object of this shot is to pocket right english off the rail, which in this case is running english. ﬂuid follow-through. the 8 and hold the cue ball for a shot on the 9. Place the balls as shown with the cue ball and the 8 ball lined up to the corner. Hit the cue ball s in any pool shot, the stance, body position, and follow-through into the rail with the same elevation and stroke as our first shot this he biggest impact on the outcome of the shot. A ball hit with two of month. The cue ball will compress the rail enough to snap back the 8 ee will not power-draw. For myself, I start with a comfortable stance ball into the bottom corner pocket, while the top english will keep the y bridge hand about 4 inches away from the cue ball. This allows me cue ball in place for the shot on the 9. w through and hit my mark more easily, since the cue is resting on a that is closer than most of my shots. The third shot is the newest movie shot, but it has been a favorite

ou can never hit low enough on a power-draw shot. I usually drag my the cloth when I am stroking well. Your back hand should be loose ght before the point of contact. You will want the cue to slap your s you snap your wrist Diagram 2 to get maximum zip on the cue ball.

he ﬁrst example is a cross-corner draw shot. The angle is what deterhe path of the cue ball after contact. If the cue ball hits the head rail, he cue ball into more of a straight draw (away from Point X). I line shot to hit Ball F into the right center of the pocket and hit the cue ead bottom and a smooth snap of my wrist. Any side english will be ental to the overall draw.

of many trick shot artists for many years. It was in the movie Pool Hall Junkies and was made one-handed on the first take by Mars Callahan. Freeze the 8 ball and cue ball on the side rail at the third diamond. Aim at the side pocket with top right. The 8 will push to the side pocket and the cue ball will kick it in.

What is the next phrase and shot that will captivate us and forever have a place in our minds? Will it be a scene from the new movie, Now it is time to get serious. The last of the shots for this month will 9-Ball? Will it come from Trick Shot Magic? I don’t know, but I hope test any player (myself included). This will shotcontinue takes a snap of the and these defining moments in cinema to inspire uswrist as well as a reallymake goodus follow-through. I shoot this with bottom right draw. I have seen watch a movie about 1,000 times like these three have. Until somenext players hitthat’s this with low left, so do what works for you. The balls are time, a wrap. set as diagrammed; Ball 1 does not have to be made and Balls D and E are adjustable. Hint: Place Ball E approximately one ball’s width away from Jason Lynch grew up playing pool in Michigan. In his early twenties he the cut of the slate of the side pocket.

started playing in the VNEA and placed as high as 16th in 8-ball and 9-ball. In 2005, he won the Michigan VNEA speed pool contest. He has also pocketed 11,100 and 12,011 balls in 24 hours as fundraisers for the American Good luck, and Relay remember: poke it!finish to date, placCancer Society’s for Life.Stroke In 2007it,hedon’t had his best ing sixth at the Artistic Pool U.S. Open and winning the stroke category. The first shot was made by the late great Paul Newman in theJasonJason is ranked 14th in the world WPA. His sponsors are Shelti Poolhe Lynch grew up playing pool by in the Michigan. In his early twenties Tables, Seybert’s Billiardand Supply, Pechauer Dieckman OB-1 opening scene of the movie The Hustler. It’s no surprise that it is com-started playing in the VNEA placed as highCues, as 16th in 8-ballCues, and 9-ball. Shafts, Elements. Visit his website www.michigankid.com. monly called “The Hustler Bank Shot.” Place the balls as shown in theIn 2005, he and wonLeisure the Michigan VNEA speed pool at contest. He has also pock-

diagram. The object is to make the 8 ball in the opposite corner pocket.eted 11,100 and 12,011 balls in 24 hours as fundraisers for the American The secret is to hit the cue ball with a cue elevated about 30 degrees,Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. In 2007 he had his best ﬁnish to date, placing sixth at the Artistic Pool U.S. Open and winning the stroke category. 12 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

Pro Pool Workout Kicking Strategy

PRO POOL WORKOUT

by Bob Henning

by Bob Henning As I addressed in the last two issues, mapping out specific kicks and training to kick with consistent cueing and speed are the keys to advanced kicking. Substantial effort and practice in these areas can only result in an increase of ability. But ability to execute is not the only component of successful kicking. There is also the employment of correct strategy and tactics.

it will teach you how they generally turn out. Here are a few pointers that can help you learn effective kicking tactics. They are taken from The Advanced Pro Book:

Make Sure to Miss the Blocker. Don’t foul because you tried to sneak through a small opening. Keep your confidence up by avoiding situations where you end up putting pressure on A goodtotraining aid for yourself. It’s better use an extra rail ifpracticing necessaryrolling to stay ball clearcaro Stroke balls. Trainer, endorsed of the blocker Look before by youNick kick.Varner and available from ing.com. The heart of this aid is a vinyl circle with a sma Don’t Decide you arethegoing to do the Guess. object ball and aexactly circle what to represent cue ball at con before you get down. Decide on any and all adjustments while an black line showing the sliding ball 90-degree reference you are lines still standing, just paths like you for30, any20, regular shot. De- It for cue ball fordo 60, and 10 degrees. There are normal patterns that result from specific kicks, termineof cueing, hit,ball andtospeed before you getthe down. the cue the object ball and path of the cue ba and knowing these patterns, or common outcomes, helps to deAlthough designed primarily to show aim and cue ball pat termine when and how to kick. It’s all a matter of using the this aid can be used very effectively for caroms. percentages to your advantage. A good example of this is when Game strategy is mostly learned from The carom is a standard tool in the advanced player’s tool box the active ball is close to a rail and you have to kick two rails to andit.is Ifoften used to make balls and get of congested being in competition, but the outcomes that hit you’re a long way early away9you could aimout to hit the ball situations in 8-ball, one-pocket, and straight pool. The carom most players strategy is built upon can easily be learned square with enough speed to move it to the far end of the table, are familiar is the sliding ball carom.But if you The hit on the object ball is which wouldwith, be a however, great move if executed perfectly.

Rolling Ball Caroms

“

“ ” on the practice table.

“

go a little long, you’ll miss the ball and give your opponent ball single variable that determ ThisA carom is based in onsome the predictable 90-degree in hand. better strategy, cases, is to aim slightly path long that the the path, but even a very s cuethat ball, without or ball backward after contacting so if you miss forward the object comingspin, fromtakes the second rail, an Keep it Natural. Avoid using inside english and multiple objecthit ball. Once aoff player hasthird learned to shootthis a stop shot from you’ll it coming of the rail. how In essence, gives difference hitbetter can rails unless necessary. The simpler in it is the off change you will different distances, the sliding ball—or stop shot carom—is de-in the long run. Even if you miss a kick, it is possible to keep you two chances of hitting the ball and as long as you use enoughverybe cue ball path by several deg pendable. is especially theyou’re cue ball the confidence intact if you know you took the right shot. speed to getItsomething to aeffective rail afterwhen contact, stillis in close the toyour object ball and the object ball is close to the carom target. It is a lot game. harder to use when the object ball is a long distance from the cue ball Look for an Offensive Kick. If your opponent forgot to and Another example kicking to carom protect the 9 ball, see if you can kick in a way that might make harder yet when of the objectstrategy ball isisarecognizing long way when from the pointingitthe line of best centers arrow a move balls and when to kick to hold balls in position. In other close toof a pocket, is usually to use thetowards cue target. In these situations, a rolling ball carom is often the shotit. ofIf the 9 is Instead would for teaching a student to aim, point the departure lin words, some kicks will produce the best results if you barely ball to go after it and keep the active ball downtable. choice. change the relationship of balls on the table, only bumping the cue ball paths toward a 9 ball sitting in the jaws of a corn activeThe ballrolling to a rail. is often thetocase when youa have toball car- Take anYour object ball inA the positionshot. the cue ball to Time. kicksmall is a hole very and important Take ballThis carom is easier control than sliding give the table back to your opponent and want to leave existing your time. Plan it out. Consider the options. Be fully commitrespective cue ball line to the circle representing the cue om because it is not dependent on the cue ball contacting the object clusters intact. It’s also great when the active ball is close to a ted to your action. The cue ball will hit the object ball and head straight for th ball during the short interval when any applied backspin has worn off cushion and there’s not really a better place to put it to leave your and no forward spin has been picked up. A rolling ball, on the other opponent kicking situation, however,it travels, Good luck and good Setting theseshootin’! shots up over and over will train your ey hand, staysa tough rollingshot. until Ait different stops. Regardless of the distance may not present any opportunities for a guaranteed return safety the cue ball always contacts the object ball with the same rotation. The be able to visualize the path of a rolling cue ball during com Bob Henning is the author of The Pro Book, widely considered to but offer several possibilities of pocketing a ball if you move tice all of the different cue ball paths, especially the 30-deg only thing that varies is the hit on the object ball and the departure path be the most advanced training resource for competitive pool players. them with a stronger stroke. It is usually worthwhile to move a half-ballofhit the most predictable of the cue ball. It bringsessentially the latest techniques theand topiscoaches and trainers of one all to the balls if there are three of four distinct possibilities and you’re these carom shots offforboth thewho right andtoleft sidesphysiof the ob sports into pool. It is intended those wish prepare sure you can control the cue ball. You’re taking a chance, but cally, mentally, and psychologically for pool competition. Bob is also The reason the rolling ball carom is not used as often as the slidyou’re playing the percentages correctly. the author of “The Book ” a complete, on-the-table GoodPro luck andVideo goodSeries, shootin’! ing ball carom is that most players are not familiar with the different training system, and he also released The Advanced Pro Book and The the cue ball is will takelearned after contact. Theinhit on the object ball pathsGame strategy mostly from being competition, Stroke Zone: The Pool Player’s Guide to Dead Stroke. In addition, he is the variable that determines the can path, but be even a very small but thesingle outcomes that strategy is built upon easily learned has authored Cornbread Red, a biography of the colorful Billy Burge. difference in hit can change the cue ball path by several degrees. This on the practice table. If you set up and practice specific kicks, complexity keeps many players ﬁrmly restricted to the sliding ball Bob Henning is the author of The Pro Book, widely cons carom. 14 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010 most advanced training resource for competitive pool pl

The Year of Pro Secrets Two Wrong Stances Don’t Make One Right by Matt Sherman

Q. My stance is in a funk, and my shots are erratic. Help!

Q. My stance is in a funk, and my shots are erratic. Help! A. Have you seen TV’s www. amazon.com/Magics-Biggest-Secrets-Finally-Revealed revealing professional magic tricks? You can practice thousands of hours to (maybe) learn pro pool secrets. Or you can read secrets I’m divulging monthly in InsidePOOL during 2010. My first pool year’s resolution is to reveal the secret of stance. Pool is 80% shot selection, 20% shot execution. Most of the 20% is stance and a pro secret because while watching balls, rather than a pro’s movement, we lose detail. And only a rare look is taken directly along the shot line. How do pros stand differently than amateurs? A beginner sights over the cue ball like it’s a rifle. An intermediate sights over the cue stick like it’s a rifle. But the secret is “arm on the shot line, head and body off the shot line.” A beginner (shooting center ball straight ahead) places their head and trunk directly behind the cue ball and then bends down. But our stroking arm is to one side of our body, so right-handers point incorrectly to their left (Illustration A) and vice versa for lefthanders. The stroke must twist to pocket balls (shudder). Other amateurs place the cue stick and stroking arm behind the cue ball instead. Bingo! A bat, not your trunk, goes on the baseball line. A club head, not your head, goes on the golf ball line. A stick and arm, not your head and trunk, goes on the cue ball/shot line. The problem comes after twisting neck and back to force the head above the stick (Illustration B). The body is unbalanced, the stroke is constricted. To form a stance for great pool, pros settle more downward into the floor than sideways towards the stick while blending three moves into one. Here’s a deconstructed pro stance: Step 1. Stand upright, stick, and stroking arm on the shot 16 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

line, leaving the head and trunk on the side. Step 2. As the other arm comes in, lower the trunk down, not sideways. Step 3. Bring the head over only if needed (more on this next month). To learn the pro stance, do only Steps 1 and 2 above for every shot for a month (shoot with your eyes sideways to the line like most pros). You’ll resemble Illustration C. Your stroking arm will feel out of direct control, divorced from the rest of your body. Guess what? You are playing pool for the first time and must get used to the motion. Enjoy your rock solid balance. Enjoy freer stroke arm movement. Without a month’s practice, most players relapse to Illustration B, so wait on Step 3 for now. With Steps 1 and 2 only, you’ll shoot the best pool of your life, so bear with me. Afraid to change your stance? Change it or fear missed shots and future neck and back pain from standing incorrectly. I realize some pros carve new chin clefts with their sticks. They also own binocular vision, strong back muscles, and 10,000 hours of practice drills. But even the “chin pros” chin off the stick when needed, as I’ll explain next issue, after you’ve practiced for a month. So practice Diagram C (1 and 2 only of 3) for now. Next issue—the secret of pro head placement and a secret about dominant eye aiming—why the dominant eye does not go above the cue stick!

Matt “Quick Draw” Sherman has appeared dozens of times in major print media and popular TV channels promoting billiards and entertainment. He has taught hundreds of students and has directed pool leagues, pool tournaments, pool fundraisers, and pool adult ed courses. Sherman directs the University of Florida’s leagues, which have produced six national champions, and is the Guide to Pool & Billiards at About.com, one of the world’s most popular websites. He is the author of Picture Yourself Shooting Pool, available at Amazon.com as a book/DVD combo and also as an electronic book.

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HAVE A QUESTION? FEEL FREE TO USE OUR LIVE ONLINE HELP DESK. www.tapleague.com Total Statistics: Total Matches:

Matches W-L:

43 - 31

Ball Count Ratio:

2.58

Success Rates: Shot:

Games W-L:

188 - 165

70%

Ball:

83%

LOT / Game: Self:

0.03

Opponent:

0.03

Match Closeness:

Player Aggressiveness:

83%

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Break and Run:

Games W-L:

4-2

Detailed Performance Against Handicap 2 Total Matches:

Matches W-L:

0-1

Ball Count Ratio:

1.65

Success Rates: Shot:

63%

Ball:

8p%

LOT / Game: Self:

1.00

Opponent:

3.50

Match Closeness:

-20%

Player Aggressiveness:

79%

Eight on Break:

Break and Run:

You Know the Drill It’s a New Year—Get in Shape by Rod Gustafson

Sometimes practice gets boring when you are just shooting racks of 9-ball or following your old practice routines. It’s a good idea to shake things up from time to time. What follows are a couple of drills to help you with your shot-making and position play. As you go through these exercises, make note of things you have trouble completing. These drills will expose weaknesses that shooting racks of 9-ball racks never will. Armed with this new information, you will have much more productive and focused practice sessions.

Diagram 1 B

Drill 1 - Find the Center of the Table Set up the object balls as shown in diagram 1. It is often said that if you “get in trouble” with your cue ball position, just try and leave the cue ball in the center of the table. If you do this you are likely to have a fairly short and manageable shot. This drill will teach you the value of that bit of wisdom. Begin with the cue ball anywhere in the shaded area. Make any of the three object balls in corner pockets A or B and move the cue ball back into the shaded area. Wherever the cue ball stops in the shaded area is where you shoot from next. Continue to shoot the remaining object balls and bring the cue ball back into the center, shaded area (even on the third and final shot). If you miss an object ball or do not get the cue ball back to the center, reset all the balls and start over from the beginning.

18 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

Drill 2 – Find the Center of the Table (Variation II) Refer to Diagram 1 again. Move the 1 ball to Position Y and the 3 ball to Position Z. The 2 ball remains on the foot spot. All of the instructions for this drill are the same as for the drill above. So … is this easier? Is it harder? Why? Drill 3 – Avoid the Blockers and Play Shape Through the Windows In a game of 8-ball your Evil Opponent has left you with a simple shot on your last object ball, the 9 ball. However, there are a bunch of blockers in the way of your position to the 8 ball. Set up the balls as shown and practice moving the cue ball through the different“windows”in the diagram to get position on the 8 ball (vary the thickness of the object ball hit and use follow, draw, and english). Try to leave the cue ball at Positions A through C. To reach Position D, hit the short rail first. They will fear you. In summary, it is easy to get in a rut when you practice. Too often I find that what people call “practice” is really just playing pool. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, except that when you just play pool, you can’t reset shots and try them again or easily identify patterns of mistakes or weakE nesses or control the shots that you are going to be confronted with. You are at the mercy of where the balls happen to stop X rolling or what your opponents leave you. So what have you got to lose? Break out of your practice rut. Get in shape. I think you’ll enjoy these drills.

Diagram 2 9

B D A

Rod Gustafson is the house pro at the Warehouse Saloon and Billiards in Austin, TX, where he has been teaching since 1984. He is currently a BCA Master Instructor, an ACS Level 4 instructor, and a PAT III certified examiner.

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Two New World Champions

Chinakhov and Lin Take Junior Titles by InsidePOOL staff

photos courtesy of Fran Crimi

uslan Chinakhov of Russia and Keng-Chun Lin of Taipei became the new WPA World Junior champions after their stellar play at the WPA World Juniors Championship. The event was held at the Crowne Plaza Convention Center in Managua, Nicaragua, November 5-7 and saw 17 girls and 32 boys compete for top honors. The Confederation Panamerica of Billiards prepared well for this event and kicked it off with an opening ceremony. The players entered the arena by country, and the Nicaraguan Military Band struck up the national anthem. After the players, coaches, and officials took an oath of sportsmanship, the Honorable Taiwan Ambassador to Nicaragua shot the opening break, and the matches commenced. During the second day of play, defending champ Brittany Bryant (CAN) suffered her first loss to eventual

Boy’s Results:

1st Rusian Chinakhov (RUS) 2nd Phil Burford (GBR) 3rd Stefan Nölle (GER) 4th Kuei-Min Lin (TPE) 5th Ivar Saris (NLD) Maximilian Lechner (AUS) 7th Landon Shuffett (USA) Nick Tafoya (USA)

20 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

winner Lin (TPE). Once there, Bryant was unable to right herself in time, and she was eliminated by Konishi Samia (JPN) 7-2. This left only Lin and Liz Lovely (USA) undefeated up to that point in the event. Lin had delivered Bryant, Kamlia Khdjeva (BEL), and Brianna Miller (USA) to the oneloss side, while Lovely defeated Anja Wagner (GER), Samia (JPN), and Ana F. Guevara (NIC). Remaining on the left side of the chart were Samia and Wagner. The final day of play began with Wagner ending Samia’s event 9-7, sending her home in fourth place. Then Lin put an end to the winning streak of Lovely by the same 9-7 margin to earn the hot seat. Now Lovely was sent to the west side of the chart to do battle with Wagner. Wagner seemed to find her footing first in the semifinal match against Lovely, and she ended up the 9-5 victor, advancing to the finals as Lovely ended up in third place. But Wagner’s momentum was not strong enough to carry over into the final match against Lin. The Taipei representative bested Wagner 9-6, earning first place and the gold medal.

In the young menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s division, Chinakhov was untouchable, besting Phil Burford (GBR), Marcos Garcia (NIC), Cristopher Tevez (PER), and Ryner Monje (CRC). For the hot seat he had to face Stefan Nolle (GER). Nolle had to that point been responsible for disappointing Kuei-Min Lin (TPE), Maximillian Lechner (AUT), Jorge Rivera (NIC), and Luis Arias (PER). Still alive on the one-loss side were Burford and Lin, who had to play each other in the quarterfinal match. In a stunningly one-sided match, Chinakhov decimated Stefan 11-1, sending him to face the winner of the quarterfinal match. This was a much tighter contest, as Burford eked out an 11-9 victory over Lin to advance. The semifinal match offered another close call, as Burford and Nolle traded racks back and forth until the end, with Burford edging past Nolle to an 11-10 triumph. In the finals, though, Chinakhov was

still superior. Burford kept it close for much of the match, but it was Chinakhov who walked away with the gold medal after his 11-8 win.

G irlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Results:

1st Keng Chun Lin (TPE) 2nd Anja Wagner (GER) 3rd Liz Lovely (USA) 4th Konishi Samia (JPN)

5th Kamila Khodjeva (BEL) Brittany Bryant (CAN) 7th Karen Garcia (NIC) Briana Miller (USA)

22 InsidePOOL Magazine â&#x2014;&#x160; January 2010

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Ouschan

ACES WPBA Tour Championship

Takes Home Season’s Third Title by InsidePOOL staff photos courtesy of Anne Craig and Michael Neuman

hen Jasmin Ouschan won the WPBA Championship event, she pulled off a coup for the tour’s 2009 season, having won three of t tour’s six major stops for the year. The 23-year-old Austrian utterly dominated the field at the championship event, culminating in a 7-2 victory over Xiaoting Pan in the finals. The WPBA Championship was hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL, and the four-day event was the culmination of the tour’s 2009 season. Held November 12-15, the tournament saw a full field of 64 players come out to compete for top honors and bragging rights. Early Favorites Crushed First among them was defending champion Monica Webb, but she did not get far in the goal to retain her title. She escaped a hill-hill match in the first round against New Mexico’s Anna Kostanian, but after a 9-5 victory over Nicole Keeney, she fell to Pan 9-7. Once on the one-loss side, she fell to Michell Monk 9-6, ending her tournament in a seventeenth-place tie. Another upset came with the result of the secondround match between Ga Young Kim and Kyone Sone of Japan. Kim, the WPBA’s number-one player, was sent west after their grueling hill-hill battle and had to fight every inch of the way back to the final 16 draw, besting Kostanian, Iris Ranola, and Liz Ford. But she fell to Karen Corr the final 16 round after another hill-hill nail-biter, going home in ninth place. One player who has yet to visit the winner’s circle in some years is Jeanette Lee, who has had several high finishes this season. She ended up besting

24 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

Sone in the final 16 round to advance to play Vivian “The Texas Tornado” Villareal in the quarterfinals. These two have played each other a few times this year, with the usual results: Lee advanced, this time with a 9-5 victory.

The Road to Victory Ouschan met Lee in the semifinals, having gone undefeated through the event. A first-round whitewashing of Supadra Geronimo (née Boonpasook) led to a second-round victory over Janet Atwell 9-7. These matches were followed up by a 9-1 routing of Tamara Rademakers and a 9-5 win over Line Kjorsvik, leading to her clash with recent Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame inductee Jasmine Ouschan and runner-up Xiaoting Pan Allison Fisher. In a recieve their trophies in a short ceremony.

match where little seemed to go right for Fisher, Ouschan was able to reach a 5-1 lead. Fisher clawed her way back into the match, but it was too late, for Ouschan broke and ran the last rack to win 9-5.

Results:

1st Jasmin Ouschan 2nd Xiaoting Pan 3rd Jeanette Lee Kelly Fisher 5th Vivian Villareal Allison Fisher Karen Corr Tracie Hines 9th Kyoko Sone Melissa Mittle Michell Monk Line Kjorsvik Ga Young Kim Tamara Rademakers Angelina Paglia Laura Smith

Having dispatched of Kim in the final round of 16, Corr moved on to face Kelly “KwikFire” Fisher in the quarterfinals. But Corr was never given a chance in this match, as Fisher avoided giving Corr open shots. At that rate, it wasn’t long before Fisher was up 6-0 in the race to 9. Corr managed to post two games before Fisher reached the hill 8-2, and even though she added another three racks to her total, Fisher finished off the match 9-5. Tracie Hines made a surprise showing in the final 16, going unscathed to face off against Angelina Paglia, whom she eliminated 9-5. In turn, Hines’ event was ended in the next round as she went up against Pan in the last quarterfinal match. This bout went all the way to double-hill, as neither player wished to admit defeat. Pan had the break in the final rack and broke and ran out to advance 9-8. Ouschan’s Wave of Success The only player to reach the semifinals via the oneloss side, Lee established a two-game lead 3-1 early on in her match against Ouschan. However, this did not last long, as Ouschan turned the tables and brought the score to 4-3 in her favor. From there it was a dogfight, with the players trading racks until the score seesawed to hill-hill in the shortened race to 7. Ouschan had the break in the final game and played a safety afterward. Forced to kick at the object ball, Lee missed entirely, giving Ouschan ball in hand. A fist pump and a whoop of victory later, Ouschan had cleared the table and moved on to her third WPBA final match of the season 7-6.

Jeanette Lee made several strong showings in the WPBA’s 2009 season.

Kelly “KwikFire” Fisher had a strong 2009 season, finishing third at the WPBA championship.

Both winless this season, Fisher and Pan met in the second semifinal to see who would move on to challenge Ouschan. But Pan simply outplayed Fisher in this match. She took a two-game lead from the start, always a step or two ahead throughout. Fisher drew within a rack a couple of times, but soon Pan was up 5-2. A deliberate 6-9 combination put Fisher up another game, but Pan reached the hill after Fisher left her an open shot on the 1 ball in the next game. Without making a ball on the break in the last rack, Pan sat down, but she was up again when Fisher badly missed shape on the 4 ball and flubbed a two-rail kick attempt. With ball in hand, Pan ran out easily to reach her first final match of the season. Looking for her first win since the 2008 BCA GenerationPool.com Championships, Pan entered the ring to face Ouschan, who was hoping to add her third title of the season to her resumé. From the start Pan was faced with few opportunities—after having two kick shots in two racks, the score was 2-0 Ouschan. The Austrian took the next with a break and run, but Pan got on the board when Ouschan missed the 3 ball, making it 3-1. Both players broke and ran out the following two racks, at which point Ouschan surged ahead to reach the hill after winning two safety battles. She broke in the last rack but missed the 1 ball, and a lengthy defensive battle ensued, with Pan leaving Ouschan hooked behind the 7 and 6 balls for the 2. Unfazed, Ouschan jumped the 7 and 6 balls and struck the 2 perfectly to huge cheers from the audience. She was easily able to pocket the remaining balls on the table to win her third title of the year 7-2. January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 25

26 InsidePOOL Magazine â&#x2014;&#x160; January 2010

January 2010 â&#x2014;&#x160; InsidePOOLmag.com 27

28 InsidePOOL Magazine â&#x2014;&#x160; January 2010

January 2010 â&#x2014;&#x160; InsidePOOLmag.com 29

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Amateurs Crowned U.S. Amateur Champions Winner of Men’s and Women’s Divisions Advance to 2010 Pro Event by InsidePOOL staff photos courtesy of Jason Bowman

he top amateur pool players in the country came to Strokers in Tampa, FL, in early November to compete for the coveted U.S. Amateur Champion title. Betty Sessions of Conyers, GA, became the 2009 U.S. Amateur Betty Sessions Women’s Champion after defeating Mary Rakin of Daly City, CA, while Brian Parks of Bakersfield, CA, earned the 2009 U.S. Amateur Champion title in the Men’s Division after besting young gun Joseph Cole of Pelham, AL. In the finals, Sessions came out strong in the 9-ball set, jumping out to an early 3-1 lead before Rakin could win her first game. The players traded victories in the next two games before Sessions rattled off four straight wins. Rakin closed out the 9-ball set with a win but trailed 8-3. On the hill to begin the 8-ball set, Sessions won the first game and closed out the match 9-3 to take home her first U.S. Amateur Championship title. She moved on to compete in the WPBA’s U.S. Open next year. Rakin finished as the runner-up after an impressive performance in her first U.S. Amateur Championship competition. Former champion Michell Monk of Orlando, FL, finished in third place.

32 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

The hill-hill battle between Parks and Cole was a nail-biter, much to the delight of a large audience of spectators. The players split the 8-ball set 4-4. In 9-ball, they continued to trade wins through the first eight games. Parks gained a narrow edge with consecutive wins in the ninth and tenth games of 9-ball. The 20-year-old Cole responded well under pressure, coming back to win the next two games and sending the match to the hill. In the final game of 9-ball, it was Parks, the seasoned West Coast shooter, winning his first U.S. Amateur Championship title and earning entry into the 2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Cole finished as runner-up, while defending champion Travis Gunn of Hewitt, TX, finished in third place, losing only to Parks and Cole. Dean Vince of Wesley Chapel, FL, finished in fourth place. Daniel Gambill of Hickory, NC, and 2008 runner-up Chris Walls of High Springs, FL, tied for fifth place. The 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship, produced and conducted by the American Pool-

Brian Parks

Mary Rakin

players Association (APA), was held at Strokers in Tampa, FL, November 6-8. Preliminary qualifying rounds were held throughout the country in mid-September, with more than 1,500 players attempting to qualify.

Sessions and Parks competed with the nation’s most highly skilled amateur poolplayers who were all vying for the U.S. Amateur title. The men’s division consisted of 128 players, while the women’s division featured 30 players. As champions, Sessions and Parks will return next year to defend their coveted titles.

Michelle Monk, Betty Sessions, Mary Rakin

The U.S. Amateur Championship is a double-elimination tournament that offers the nation’s top amateur players the opportunity to showcase their skills through a combination of 8-ball and 9-ball matches, in the only APA event that does not use The Equalizer® handicap system. The APA and its championships are sponsored by Cuetec Cues.

Joseph Cole Chris Walls, Daniel Gambill, Travis Gun, Brian Parks, Joseph Cole, Dean Vance

January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 33

location,” said Jefferson County league operator Jason Bowman.

APA Player of the Month January Player of theWorld Month

The APA Player of the Month is Doris Knox of Gaston, OR. Pictured above, Doris is standing front row, far left, and her daughter, Results: Carol Pauli, is standing right behind her. Doris 1st Naomi Williams $270 + qualiﬁer started APA in2nd the fallBrittany of 2008 at the$490 age of 71 and just reBryant cently turned 72. had never picked 3rd SheBonnie Plowman $290up a cue stick before 4th She Grace Nakamura $170 1 in 9-ball. joining the APA. is rated a skill level 8 at Shooters Billiards in

5th Denise Belanger $90 the ladies’ tour by holdVeronique Menard ng up in October. A total With the encouragement of her teammates, she has conith the top prize.

tinued to play despite only having won just one 9-ball match the bells pastwent twooff.sessions. the spring session of 2009 in he ﬁre alarm Luckily theDuring alarm stopped and the playliams went up against Bonnie Plowman, sending her packing 7-1. the 9-Ball Tri-Cup tournament, Doris proved her worth by clinching a spot in the regional and first-place honors for her be watched. Grace Nakamura won over Belanger 7-4, and Bryant the sudden Her Nakamura team will be playing for kamura. team In this in match, Bryant wasdeath on ﬁrematch. and defeated ms, as sheone was the last remaining player eligible forAPA the WPBA spot. Team Champiof the coveted spots to the National 5 d off with Plowman. Bryant won in a dominating fashion, posting a onships in June. 44 InsidePOOL Magazine September 2009

Bryant Doris plays for the host location that her daughter and ams twice. bested Williams in the ﬁrst set 7-5, and in the next up and fought for every shot, making combination after combination son-in-law own, KC’s Midway Bar and Grill in Oregon City. but she missed a slight cut of the 8 ball into the side pocket. With a “She is a joy to be around and has a great attitude towards Qualiﬁer. the game and the APA,” said league operator Boomer Humphreys.

Naomi Williams

34 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

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Regional Roundup

Northeast

Albay Undefeated in the Big Apple Tri-State Tour / New York, NY

Regional Roundup

Northeast

by InsidePOOL Staff

Wilfredo Albay went undefeated through the field of 30 B-D players who gathAcesNovember Tour Finale ered forAcciavatti the Tri-State Tour’s 7 stop. Hosted by EastsideDeGiosafatto Billiards in New Shoots Down York, NY, this eventCues boasted a $750-added purse. Dominiak Northeast Amateurprize 10-Ball Tour / Tri-State Tour / Parsippany, NJ

Comet Billiards Field

Windsor Locks, CT

After a sound defeat of Yomaylin Feliz 6-1, Albay went on tobyescape a hill-hill Lea Andrews bout forbythe hot seat against Kyle Ferris, who had just bested Gary Murgia 7-5. Now InsidePOOL Staff on the one-loss side, Feliz faced Geoffrey Bauer and ended up going home with fifth Geoffrey Bauer, Wilfredo Albay, Kyle Ferris James DeGiosafatto Jr. came through the one-loss side to claim first in the Triplace after The Bauer advanced Murgia tied him for fifth after Robert Kight 2009 season of 7-4. the Dominiak Cueswith Northeast AmaState Tour’s second stop of the new season. The $500-added C-D event drew 25 defeated 7-5. Tour concluded with its finale July 18, with Tom Results: teurhim 10-Ball players to Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ. Acciavatti coming out on top to take first place. The 40-play1st Wilfredo Albay $670 Onerafield roll, Bauer surged Kight in the quarterfinals to the 2nd early was hosted by through Pool Table Magic in Windsor Locks, 7-5 and headed C+-ranked DeGiosafatto’s loss took him out of the spotlight, Geoffrey Bauer $340 and as the fisemifinals Ferris. Though Ferrisalso had a chance to earn CT, against where owner Mark Kulungian hosted his annual cue a rematch nal fourwith on theAlbay A-side emerged, Ryan McCarthy seemed the likely winner. 3rd C+-ranked Kyle Ferris $190 in the finals, their show. he barely missed it, as Bauer was on the winning end Hisof6-4 win hill-hill over C+-ranked Dave Shlemperis placed him in the hot seat 4th Robert Kight $110 match against battle. The finals were also close, as they were tied at 5-apiece, butDuane it wasDaily, Albaywho who was 5th coming off a 6-5 win over C-ranked Michael Yomaylin Feliz $65Rodrigues. Daily pulled awayAcciavatti to end up the 7-5 victor. steadily made his way through the top half of was treated to another 6-5 match but came out on the wrong end this time and moved Gary Murgia the winners’ side with wins over Mike Wheeler, Josh Lerner, over to the left side of the bracket. 7th Teddy Lubis $50 Kevin Blackstock, then 13-year-old junior sensation Kevin Sun to reach the hot seat match. On the bottom half of the winners’ side, DeGiosafatto Trevor Healwas making his move. A 6-3 win over Over on the one-loss side Chris Grader made his way to the hot seat match accumulating wins Scott Winchell, Eric Tang, Roger Lakotko, The Hatchet Man over Strikes Again and lastly Richard Barrett. The hotNY seat match went hill-hill, Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / Yorkville, with Acciavatti coming out on top to take a seat in the finals.

by Lea Andrews

C-ranked Antonio Navarro, a 7-4 win against D+-ranked Rick Shellhouse, and a 6-1 Results: win over Shlemperis landed him in the quarterﬁnals against C+-ranked T.J. Smithers, 1stjust hadDennis Hatch himself: 6-3 $1,260 who’d some strong wins, over Ed Miller (C), 6-3 over Duane 2nd andRon The two$900 Toney (C+), 6-2 Casanzio over Rodrigues. went back and forth, with DeGiosafatto 3rdout on Chris $700 coming top 6-5Orme to face Dailey in the semiﬁnals.

On the one-loss side there were several close battles. The 4th Chance Chin $500 top half saw Ryan Bijur battling his way through after an early It was Dailey who had earlier sent DeGiosafatto west 6-4, and in this match, 5th Dan Heidrich $350 Shane Winters and Dennis Hatch are politely taking turns toploss, taking down wins in five matches until he ran into Roger DeGiosafatto his revenge, moving on to the finals with a convincing 6-3 win. The got Bucky Souvanthong ping the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour fields, and since Winters was Lakotko. Bijur came out on top and then quickly got called to modified final set featured player coming$200 straight out of a match and one player 7th Dave Grauone the previous stop’s winner, the fourth went to his next match with Shen. Bijur’sstop day ended in Hatch, seventhwho placewent coming out of aVictor chair, as McCarthy had had to wait a couple of hours for an opponent Conte Jr. undefeated forpulled the win. as Shen this The one $1,500-added out to move on event, to Sun.held WithNovember steady to come McCarthy finals, but not as well as the way he’d 9ththrough. Mark Hatch played well in the$100 7-8, drew 42 players to Hippo’s House of Billiards shot-making and brilliant safeties Sun kept this matchininYorkville, conplayed getting there, and DeGiosafatto, taking advantage of the rolls coming his way, Angelo Hilton NY. trol and ended Shen’s day in fifth place. closed out the win Tim8-6. Parisian

Shane Winters After getting past Chance Chin 9-8, faced Ron CasaThe bottom half of the one-loss sideHatch saw Drew Smith rollResults: nzio in ing thealong hot seat where just loss advanced with match, seven wins in aCasanzio, row after awho’d first-round to James DeGiosafatto Jr. 9-7 over Chris managed to notch one game. On the 1st meet up Orme, with Sun. Both players playedjust brilliantly, but Smith Ryan McCarthy left sidewas of able the bracket, Dan Heidrich got by Angelo 9-6 to 2nd to send Sun home in fourth place. Waiting Hilton for Smith Duane Dailey face Dave Grau, who’d held another uncleenMark, 3rd in the semifinal match was Grader. Hatch, Another Dennis’ hill-hill battle 4th T.J. Smithers to two sued games. Meanwhile, held between Grader andBucky Smith, Souvanthong with Smith coming outWinters— on top Michael Rodrigues for a clean sweep of the one-loss side. who’d fallen in the fourth round to Casanzio 9-6—to seven games 5th Dave Shlemperis to face Victor Conte Jr., who’d survived a hill-hill battle with Tim The finals between Acciavatti and Smith were a single Parisian. Though Heidrich and Souvanthong both fared well, ad5. Both players had been playing strong day, and vancingrace 9-4toand 9-7, respectively, neither fared wellallagainst Orme both carried itmanaged into the finals. Thegames match stayed close until or Chin.they Souvanthong seven against Chin, while a couple smalljust errors Smith opened thequarterfinal door for AcciaHeidrich managed fivefrom against Orme. The match vatti toand takeOrme advantage thetop match. Acciavatti onface went hill-hill, camelate outinon of Chin to oncewent again to win 5-3 in the finals and takes home the title of tour finale Casanzio. Unfortunately for Orme, it was a replay of their earlier champion. match—he landed in third with an identical score of 9-7, allowing Casanzio a rematch with Hatch. Results: 1st evident Tomfrom Acciavatti $240 +that cue the true double-elimi It was the beginning 2nd match Drew Smith + cue of the hot seat match, nation final wasn’t going to$140 be a replay 3rd opened Chris Grader $100 as Casanzio up with a four-game lead. Hatch answered Kevin Sunstreak, though, $70 with his4th own seven-game and the two traded games 5th wasShen $45the rack that followed, Hatch until Hatch on the hill 8-6. In was on his way Richard out, butBarrett his missed 8 ball gave Casanzio another RogerDown Latotkowent $25 chance7th at the table. the 8, but the 9 missed its mark, Kevin Blackstock and Hatch was at the table once again, though he was looking at a table-length bank shot. But it was no problem for “The Hatchet Man,” and the 9 split the pocket for the win.

36 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

$500 $230 $150 $100 $55

Dennis Hatch

Regional Roundup

Northeast

Krah Capitalizes on Blaze Tour Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Boothwyn, PA by Jose Burgos Matt Krah escaped a double-elimination final match to win the Blaze 9-Ball Tour’s November 8 stop. Hosted by Riley’s Billiards in Boothwyn, PA, this stop featured players such as Mike Miller, Joey Testa, Shaun Wilkie, and Josh Brothers. Krah led the top half of the bracket, notching victories over Wilkie 7-3, Randy Jaragoske 7-2, and Brothers 7-4. On a path to meet him in the hot seat match, Miller scored wins over Bob Madara 7-4, Carl Khan 7-2, and Joey Testa 7-3. The ensuing hot seat match between Krah and Miller went hillhill. After facing a 6-2 deficit, Krah came back to win the match 7-6 and send Miller to the one-loss side. Waiting for him there was Testa, but it was all Miller this time, as he skated past Testa 7-2 to earn a rematch with Krah in the finals. In the true double-elimination finals, Miller had to defeat Krah twice to win the event. It looked as though he was going to pull it off, with his strong 7-1 victory in the first set. But in the second set it was all Krah, who won 7-5 to take the title. Results: 1st Matt Krah $750 2nd Mike Miller $360 3rd Joey Testa $290 4th Shaun Wilkie $100 5th Josh Brothers $50 Mike Danato

Mike Miller, Chris Riley, Matt Krah

Davis Takes Scenic Route to Win Dominiak Tour Dominiak Cues Northeast Amateur 10-Ball Tour / Manchester, CT by InsidePOOL Staff The 70+ degrees with beautiful sunshine November 8 in New England kept a lot of players out of the poolroom. But the Dominiak Cues Northeast Amateur 10-Ball Tour headed to World Championship Billiards in Manchester, CT, with 19 players showing up to try and capture the title to the tour’s fourth stop. Phil Davis was the ultimate winner, defeating Steve Parise in the final match. The top half of the winners’ side brackets saw tour regular Chuck Hill get a bye in the opening round and score wins over Ken DeBroske and Bart Rivezzi. But then he ran into a red hot Parise for a chance to make it to the hot seat match. In a close match Parise overcame Hill and sent him to the one-loss side. The bottom half of the winners’ side bracket saw regular Mike Wheeler make his way to the hot seat match to play Parise with wins over David Walsh, Glen Towle, and Brandon Charin. This match went to Parise after a few unforced errors by Wheeler opening the door. On the one-loss side Davis was mowing them down one by one after a second-round loss to Parise. Davis scored wins over Gene Hunt, Towle, DeBroske, Hill, Charin, and finally Wheeler to make the finals and a rematch with Parise. Davis remained red hot and took an early lead, as Parise looked a bit cold from sitting. It wasn’t long before Davis notched up a 5-2 victory.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Phil Davis Steve Parise Mike Wheeler Brandon Charin Chuck Hill Bart Rivezzi

$175 $100 $75 $50 $25

Steve Parise, Phil Davis January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 37

Regional Roundup Tarantola Storms Castle Billiards for First Predator Tour Win Predator 9-Ball Tour / East Rutherford, NJ by Alison M. Fischer The Predator 9-Ball Tour held its first ever stop at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, November 7-8, where nearly a full field of 61 players came out to compete in this A-D event. Some of the top names who came out for this event include Lionel Rivera, John Alicea, WPBA pro Megan Smith, and top NJ player Scott Simonetti, but it was Jerry Tarantola who walked away with the ultimate prize. On Sunday at noon, eight players returned on the one-loss side. Borana “Queen B” Andoni continued her fight, but her run was ended by Shawn Sookhai 7-3, and she took home fifth place. After his win there, Sookhai moved on to face Scott Simonetti in the quarterfinals. However, Simonetti didn’t give Sookhai a chance and easily won the match 7-2. In the semifinal match, Jonathan Castillo was spotted one game on the wire in a race to seven against Simonetti. The two battled back and forth, with Simonetti reaching the hill first. But up 6-5, he couldn't retain position on the 9 ball, and he missed and left a long shot for Castillo, which he duly fired in to go hill-hill. After trading a couple of innings in the final rack, Castillo missed a risky bank on the 8, and Simonetti took the win to move on to the finals. In the final match with Tarantola, Simonetti got one game on the wire going to 9. Tarantola jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but Simonetti came back with the next two racks to tie at 3 apiece. From there, Jerry kept an edge over Simonetti until the match reached hill-hill. All eyes were on the final table when Tarantola broke in the last rack. A ball dropped on the break, and a cluster was narrowly avoided, and Tarantola ran out the rack to win. On Sunday, the Predator Tour held their second day B-D tournament, which drew 14 players. Once again, B-class player Ariel Rivera landed in the finals, this time on the winners’ side. However, Dave Ascolese did not give up easily after his secondround loss. He came back on the one-loss side to win three more matches, besting Romeo Singh to meet Rivera in the finals, where he defeated Rivera 7-4 to win the event. Wilkie Wins Big on Joss Tour Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / West Hempstead, NY by Lea Andrews Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie’s first win on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour came in the form of a strong, undefeated run through the hard-hitting field of this season’s fifth stop. The $2,000-added event, held November 14-15, drew 35 players to Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY. Wilkie blew by Marc Vidal 9-2 to face in the hot seat match Bucky Souvanthong, who’d held Sean Morgan to three games. Wilkie claimed the hot seat 9-6, while Souvanthong moved west to try for the rematch. On the one-loss side, Joey Korsiak was making a move, getting by Zion Zvi 9-6 to face Nelson Oliveira, who’d had a 9-3 win over Oscar Bonilla. But Olveira managed only one game against Korsiak, who moved on to Morgan. Meanwhile, Al Lapena notched 38 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

Northeast Open Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th 13th

Jerry Tarantola $1,000 Scott Simonetti $600 Jonathan Castillo $400 Shawn Sookhai $300 Borana Andoni $200 Antonio Guerrero Justin Muller $175 Rafael DaBreo Redgie Cutler $125 Derek Schwager Brian Russell Teddy Cook Jeff Firester $100 Guy Iannuzzi Junior Sanchez Taron Gunness

Second Day Results: 1st 2nd 3rd

Dave Ascolese Ariel Rivera Romeo Singh

$140 $90 $50

Scott Simonetti, Minnie & John Trobiano, Jerry Tarantola wins over Mike Wong 9-6 and Lenny Savata 9-2 to face Vidal. Lapena’s bid for the quarterfinals was unsuccessful, planting him in fifth 9-5, and Vidal met up with Korsiak, who’d advanced 9-6 over Morgan. Another 9-6 victory put Korsiak up against Souvanthong in the semifinals, and Korsiak’s 9-7 win earned him his spot in the finals. For the first several games of the true double-elimination final match, a second set seemed inevitable. Korsiak broke and ran the first rack, then the next four after that. When Wilkie finally got his chance at the table, the two traded games to get the score to 7-2, but then Wilkie made his move, taking six racks in a row to reach the hill first 8-7. Korsiak managed to tie it up, and in the final rack, a safety battle determined the winner. Korsiak had a length-of-thetable makeable kick on the 5 ball, which was near the side pocket. The cue ball hit its mark—or at least, it seemed to. The 5 ball hit both points of the side pocket before bouncing out, leaving Wilkie a run to the final 9 of his first top finish on the Joss Tour.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Shaun Wilkie Joey Korsiak Bucky Souvanthong Marc Vidal Sean Morgan Al Lapena Nelson Oliveira Lenny Savata

$1,400 $950 $700 $550 $400 $200

Regional Roundup

Northeast

Everton Repeats on Tri-State Tour Tri-State Tour / Edison, NJ

Testa Takes Top Honors Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Drexel Hill, PA

by InsidePOOL Staff

by Jose Burgos

Paul Everton scored a repeat victory when he won the Thanksgiving weekend stop on the Tri-State Tour, winning two tournaments in a row. The B-D handicapped event was hosted by Sand Castle Billiards in Edison, NJ, and featured a plummy $750 prize purse that attracted 36 contestants.

The Blaze 9-Ball Tour made its way to Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, November 29, for a $1,000-added stop. A strong field of 49 players came out to compete, including Eddie Abraham, Brett Stottlemyer, Dave Grau, Josh Brothers, and Matt Krah, but it was Joey Testa who took home the gold. Abraham took con- Joey Testa trol of the top half of the bracket, notching wins over Denise Reeves 7-6, Mike Miller 7-4, Joe Hong 7-2, and Grau 7-5. Striving to meet Abraham in the hot seat match, Testa tore through the bottom half of the bracket, winning over Pat Burket 7-1, Eric Perry 7-5, Kenny Rutman 7-2, and Stottlemyer 7-2. In the one-sided hot seat match, Testa easily defeated Abraham 7-3, sending him to the one-loss side. Stottlemyer awaited him, but he was left in the dust when Abraham steamrolled him 7-0 to return to the final match. In the double-elimination finals, Abraham had to defeat Testa twice for the win. But Testa edged Abraham out 7-5 in the first set to take the title.

Everton went unscathed to the final match, defeating Christian Smith 7-5 to reach the hot seat match. There he was faced with Eric Tang, who was just off a strong hill-hill win over Rajesh Vannala. The hot seat match was little contest, as Everton was able to send Tang packing to the one-loss side with a 7-3 win. Smith exhibited more than a little determination in working his way through the west side of the chart. He survived a hill-hill bout against Tom McCloud, depositing McCloud in fifth place, and then went on to play Vannala in the quarterfinal match. A smooth 7-3 victory later, Smith advanced to the semifinals to face Tang, over from the hot seat match. Smith eliminated Tang 7-4 to earn his rematch with Everton in the finals. But Everton, though he had just undergone surgery four weeks prior, was unstoppable, surging ahead to win the final match 7-4.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Paul Everton Christian Smith Eric Tang Rajesh Vannala Tom McCloud Robert Hanna Dave Fitzpatrick Scott Abramowitz

$790 $430 $250 $140 $85 $65

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

Joey Testa $1,370 Eddie Abraham $750 Brett Stottlemyer $450 Dave Grau $225 Joe Hong $150 Josh Brothers Matt Krah $100 Kenny Rutman Tim Anderson $70 Danny Basavich Abdllatif Chamseddine Lou Patrikios

Christian Smith, Paul Everton

January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 39

Regional Roundup

Northeast

Rozonewski Skates to First Place Dominiak Cues Northeast Amateur 10-Ball Tour / Amsterdam, NY by Kevin Vidal The November 22 stop of the Dominiak Cues Northeast Amateur 10-Ball Tour attracted a strong field of 29 players to Main Street Billiards in Amsterdam, NY. Many tour regulars such as Tom Acciavatti, Mike Wheeler, and Chuck Hill were present, but it was tour newcomer Paul Rozonewski who walked away with top honors.

Hatch Crowned Ocean State Champion Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / Providence, RI by Lea Andrews Newest 2009 Mosconi Cup USA Team member Dennis Hatch didn’t let a late loss to Dave Grau slow him down on the way to his third Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour win this season—“The Hatchet Man”had plowed through the field up to then, and he kept on until he was crowned Ocean State 9-Ball Champion. The $5,000-added Ocean State 9-Ball Championships drew a contender-studded 108-player field to Snooker’s Billiards and Café in Providence, RI, on November 21-22.

APA Player of the Month

Rozonewski made his way to the hot seat match with wins over Jared Zimmerman, Gene Hunt, Tom Hebert, and Chris Smith. On the bottom half of the winners’ bracket, local player Keith Lauer was playing steady and got by Acciavatti in the first round and Hatch’s only loss came in the winners’ side final four, where continued to the hot seat match with scores over Hill, Edy Pazillo, Grau got past him 9-6 to face Nelson Oliveira in the hot seat match. and Tim Blancha. The hot seat match went to Lauer after a couple The APA Player of the Month for September is Kenny Vaughn of Ste, Oliveira had held Shane Winters to four games. Grau eased into of miscues by Rozonewski led to ball isinone hand forinaugural Lauer. members of the JefferGenevieve, Mo. Vaughn of the hisinspot in the hot seat 9-1, sending Oliveira to the semifinals. son County APA and is a skill level 7 shooter in 8-ball. In addition to playing Hill was the one who made the long trek through the one-loss the APA, Vaughn also runs Kenny’s Bar & Grill in Barnhart, MO, with his mother side after an early-round lossatonumber meetofuptournaments with Rozonewski and play Dorthia. Vaughn hosts and leagues in his location. On the one-loss side, Ray McNamara got by Justin Muller 9-3 for a spot in the single race-to-5 sent the to to Vaughn has been playing finals. Hill pool since hehad was 5been years old andto is excited haveface Dan Heidrich, who’d notched his own 9-3 win over Scott west side earlier wanted a rematch. the APAby Lauer and in his location and in Jefferson County. Rozonewski took “We have a lot of pool players Tollefson. Another 9-3 match ended in McNamara’s favor, and he here in Jefferson County,his so way it’s great that we the now match have a chance to compete in the early lead, but Hill clawed back into to make moved on to Winters. Meanwhile, Kevin Guimond won 9-3 over world’s largest pool league,” saidshot, Vaughn. poolroom a stable it hill-hill. the Faced with a long 10 ball HillHiscould nothasget it of loyal Chin to meet Tom McGonagle, who’d held Bucky Souvancustomers who love the sport and are excited about the opportunity to win aChance trip done. to four games. After edging out Guimond 9-8, McGonagle to Las Vegas to compete in the APA National Team Championships. “Kennythong has moved on to Hatch. Hatch and Winters, who also went into the beencouple instrumental in gettingofthe APA going in his location. Anyone The first of games the final match between Lauerwho knows pool in Jefferson County knows Kenny’s,with and we’re proud to host leagues inevent his with two Joss wins under his belt so far this season, advanced and Rozonewski went back and forth, but the score knotted location,” said Jefferson County league operator Jason Bowman. to the quarterfinals 9-7 and 9-6, respectively, and Hatch moved on at 2-2, Rozonewski put it in gear after a couple unforced errors by to the semifinals 9-2, leaving Winters in fourth, and after a shutout Lauer and went on to victory, taking home the title by the score of win over Oliveira, Hatch faced Grau once again. 5-3.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Paul Rozonewski $300 Keith Lauer Chuck Hill Chris Smith Tim Blancha Walter Rogowski

$150 $100 $75 $35

Hatch forced the second set of the true double-elimination final match easily, allowing Grau just one game in the first set. It seemed the second set would go the same way as Hatch got out to a 5-0 lead, and though Grau had other plans, they didn’t quite pan out. He managed to tie the score at 5-5, but he couldn’t get any further. “The Hatchet Man” had his eye on another win and he kept it there, winning four straight games to earn first 9-5.

Results:

Play Video Play Video

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th 13th 17th

Dennis Hatch Dave Grau Nelson Oliveira Shane Winters Ray McNamara Tom McGonagle Dan Heidrich Kevin Guimond Justin Muller Scott Tollefson Chance Chin Bucky Souvanthong Joe Tucker Rick Sleeper Al Lapena John Ricciardelli Ivaylo Petrov Pete Bowman Cleiton Rocha Sean Morgan Tom Sciminaro Jeremy Sossei Chris Leal Chris Orme

888-245-7665 40 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

$3,200 $2,200 $1,600 $1,200 $900 $700 $500

$300

$150

Regional Roundup

Northeast

Simonetti Undefeated on Tri-State Tour Tri-State Tour / East Rutherford, NJ

Everton Excels Through Adversity Tri-State Tour / Queens, NY

by InsidePOOL Staff

Scott Simonetti bested the field of 53 players who came out for the November 15 stop on the Tri-State Tour. This A-D event was hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, and featured a $500-added prize fund.

Though he had undergone surgery only three weeks prior, Paul Everton couldn’t resist the urge to get out November 21 and play some pool. He went to the Tri-State Tour’s Justice Eagan, Paul Everton stop at Master Billiards in Queens, NY, joining 27 other players at the B-D tournament, and took home the winner’s share of the $750-added prize purse with his finals victory over Justice Eagan.

Going undefeated through to the finals, Simonetti matched up with Christian Smith and triumphed 7-4 in order to reach the hot seat match. His opponent there, Roger Hanos, had just come off a close 6-5 victory over Sandie Paterino to meet him. Hanos tried to keep up but fell short, and Simonetti won the hot seat 7-4 while Hanos went to the left side of the chart. Now on the one-loss side, Paterino began picking up her stride, eliminating Jonathan Castillo in fifth place 6-3, while Smith ousted Stu Warnock 7-2 to tie with Castillo. Smith and Paterino collided in the quarterfinal match. It was a close call, but Paterino escaped 8-6, advancing to the semifinals. Waiting for her was Hanos, and though he put up a good fight, it was Paterino again who advanced, this time with a 6-4 victory. Her run was cut off when she came up against Simonetti in the finals, though, as Simonetti squeaked by with a hill-hill, 8-7 win.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

Scott Simonetti Sandie Paterino Roger Hanos Christian Smith Stu Warnock Jonathan Castillo Jason Hunt Duane Toney Brian Hunter Diana Rojas Antonio Navarro Wali Muhammed

$825 $510 $320 $245 $100

Eagan was responsible for sending Everton to the one-loss side of the chart in his quest for the hot seat. After a 7-4 defeat of Everton, Eagan moved on to face Rene Villalobos, who had just bested Romeo Singh hill-hill, in the hot seat match. Another double-hill bout ensued, with Eagan moving onto easy street while Villalobos was sent west. Tour regular Emily Duddy was working her way through the one-loss side, notching wins over Ronny Cochachi 7-6 and Masatoshi Ebihara 7-4 before meeting Singh, fresh off his winners’ side match with Villalobos. After she trounced Singh 7-2, she moved on to the quarterfinal match against Everton, who had survived a hill-hill nail-biter against Ron Mason. There Duddy’s tournament ended, as Everton advanced with a 7-3 win. A 7-4 victory over Villalobos propelled Everton to the final match against Eagan. This rematch was a long, drawn-out battle, in which only ball in hand at hill-hill determined the victor—Everton had a dead combination on the 9 ball and made it to win the final match 9-8.

$80

Results:

$75

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Paul Everton Justice Eagan Rene Villalobos Emily Duddy Ron Mason Romeo Singh

$650 $345 $220 $100 $55

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January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 41

Regional Roundup

Southeast

Monday Sweeps Great Southern Tour Great Southern Billiard Tour / Sanford, NC by Lea Andrews Sam Monday, an extremely familiar face in the late rounds of the Great Southern Billiard Tour, went undefeated November 7-8 through a talented field to earn his first win on the tour this season. Monday and 71 other players gathered at Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, for the $1,500-added event.

Shannon Daulton, Sam Monday, Jenny Bullis, Jimmy Bullis, Chuck Cuneo

AA-ranked Monday breezed past A-ranked Larry Faulk 11-2 to arrive in the hot seat match versus B-ranked Scott Johnson, who’d gone hill-hill 7-8 against A-ranked Eric Charlton, who was racing to 9. Cruising to victory once again, Monday allowed Johnson just two games to claim the hot seat. On the left side of the bracket, Chuck Cuneo eased by James Blackburn 7-2 to face Michael Fuller, who’d ousted room owner Jimmy Bullis 11-6. Getting past Fuller 7-7, Cuneo moved on to Faulk and moved on 7-7 once again to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, B-ranked Kevin Boggs edged out last stop’s winner Adam Pendley 7-10 to face another previous winner, B-ranked Brad Shearer, whom he held to 2 games. Boggs didn’t fare as well against the next former winner he faced, Charlton, who advanced hill-hill 9-6 to meet Cuneo, who’d been on a west-side mission to the finals since falling to Boggs in the first match he played. Cuneo wasn’t about to stop, and he moved decisively past Charlton 7-4 to face Johnson, managing to hold him at bay 7-6 to face Monday. On the way to the finals, Monday had given up, on average, not even two games per match. Cuneo, therefore, did very well to manage four games in the only set of the true double-elimination finals. Cuneo’s valiant effort earned him second place, while Monday’s stellar play all weekend earned him first. Another winner, Terri Faulk, earned $50 as the highest-finishing lady. Delawder and Davis Earn Second KF Cues Tour Wins KF Cues Tour / Palm Harbor, FL

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

by Lea Andrews Mike Delawder and Mike Davis each arrived at Strokers in Palm Harbor, FL, the weekend of November 7-8 with one KF Cues Tour win under his belt this season, and each left with one more. Delawder topped the $1,000-added amateur event, which drew 52 players Saturday and Sunday, while Davis made a move through the left side of Sunday’s $1,000-added open event, which drew 43. On Saturday evening, the final four winners of the amateur event battled it out for the right to play the hot seat match Sunday morning. Eddie Wheat earned his spot with a 7-4 win over Bill Stoll, while Delawder earned his by easing past Jason Bowen 7-1. On the one-loss side, Mark Wathen got by Dennis Long 5-4 and Wesley White 5-3 to meet Stoll, while Marc Shenandoah moved through Justin McNulty 5-4 and Mike Champagne 5-1 to face Bowen. In the final matches of the evening, Wathen and Bowen got their tickets to play on Sunday with a 5-2 win and a 5-3 win, respectively. When Sunday’s play began, three of the final four players were present, and Delawder’s forfeit gave Wheat the hot seat. Better late than never, Delawder was there to play the semifinal match against Wathen, who’d held McNulty to three games. But Wathen managed only three games himself against Delawder, who went on to the single race-to-8 final match against Wheat. Delawder took control early and kept it, earning his second win 8-2. In the open event, tournament director Tony Crosby faced John Morra, who’d sent Davis west earlier, and got by him 7-4 to play the hot seat match. Having spent Sunday afternoon playing the finals of one event, Wheat spent the rest of the day fighting to get to the finals of the other. After holding Richie Richeson to four games, Wheat held Crosby to five to claim his spot. Meanwhile, Davis was making his move to claim the other, backing up a shutout win over Richard Broumpton with a 7-3 win over Justin Hall to face Richeson, who managed four games. In the quarterfinals, Davis met up with Dan Lavoie, who’d gotten by Bobby Livrago 7-5, Mike Fieldhammer 7-6, and Morra 42 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

Sam Monday Chuck Cuneo Scott Johnson Eric Charlton Kevin Boggs Larry Faulk Brad Shearer Michael Fuller Jack Miller Adam Pendley Jimmy Bullis James Blackburn

$1,000 $500 $400 $200 $125 $75 $50

7-5. Davis’ 7-4 victory over Lavoie led to a 7-4 victory over Crosby to face Wheat in the finals in the early Monday hours. Because of the time, the normal race-to-9 final set was abbreviated to 7, and though Wheat didn’t fare any better in his second final set of the weekend, he’d done very well to get there. Davis cruised to his second KF Cues Tour win this season 7-1.

Amateur Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

Mike Delawder Eddie Wheat Mark Wathen Marc Shenandoah Jason Bowen Bill Stoll Wesley White Mike Champagne Justin McNulty Dennis Long Louie Smith Trey Jankowski

$650 $450 $350 $240 $140 $85 $65

Open Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Mike Davis $700 Eddie Wheat $500 Tony Crosby $350 Dan Lavoie $250 Richie Richeson John Morra $130 Justin Hall $90 Mike Fieldhammer

Regional Roundup

Southeast

Dechaine and Meglino Score Ultimate Wins J. Pechauer Southeast 9-Ball Open Tour / Fort Pierce, FL

Shuffett Shoots to Win Great Southern Billiard Tour / Fairfield, OH

by Lea Andrews

The J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour made its way November 7-8 to Ultimate Billiards in Fort Pierce, FL, where Mike Dechaine topped the open event and Anthony Meglino dominated the amateur/semi-pro division. The $1,000-added open event drew 16 players, while the$500-added amateur drew 17.

Fifteen-year-old Junior Nationals champion Landon Shuffett came up one set shy of undefeated on the way to his second win this year on the Great Southern Billiard Tour, which traveled farther north than usual for its November 21-22 stop. The $1,500-added, A-B amateur event drew 40 players to Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH.

After suffering an early loss, Dechaine moved through the left side of the bracket while the final four on the winners’ side emerged. Tour director Tommy Kennedy got past Mike Hutchison 7-5 to reach the hot seat match, where he faced Jerry Calderon, who’d edged out Hunter Lombardo 7-6. Kennedy claimed the hot seat with a decisive 9-4 win, sending Calderon to the semifinals to try to fight his way back. On the one-loss side, Curtis Kelley faced Lombardo after putting Meglino in seventh 7-4, but that score got flipped on him against Lombardo and he landed in fifth. Dechaine, meanwhile, was making his way through Randy Epperson 7-2 and Hutchison 7-5 to face Lombardo in the quarterfinals, where he prevailed 9-7. Holding Calderon to six games, Dechaine faced Kennedy in the single race-to-11 final set. Dechaine got to a 3-0 lead, but Kennedy rallied, managing to get within one at 9-8. Seeing the out that would tie the score, Kennedy went for four-rail position for the 3 ball, managing to pocket a tough 2, but the cue ball found a pocket instead of the fourth rail, leaving Dechaine out and on the hill. Dechaine earned his win in the next rack, taking ball in hand to make an unlikely, thin-cut 1-9 combination. In the amateur event, Meglino breezed pastTony Odonnell 7-1 to face in the hot seat match Prescott Buckwold, who’d squeaked by Bill Mallen 7-6. On the left side of the bracket, Johnny Aguilar moved past Mel Rowe 5-3 and Odonnell 5-3 to face in the quarterfinals Matt Holland, who’d notched wins over David Pencar 5-4 and Mallen 5-2. Their hill-hill battle ended in Aguilar’s favor, and he moved on to Buckwold, who’d fallen 7-5 in the hot seat match. Buckwold earned his rematch with Meglino by holding Aguilar to three games, but there wasn’t much he could do in the single raceto-9 final set to earn his revenge. Meglino offered few chances and didn’t allow Buckwold to hit the string even once, earning his win decisively 9-0.

Open Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Mike Dechaine Tommy Kennedy Jerry Calderon Hunter Lombardo

Amateur/Semi-Pro Results 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Anthony Meglino Prescott Buckwold Johnny Aguilar Matt Holland

A-ranked Shuffett faced fellow A-player Alex Olinger in the winners’ side final four, but it was Olinger who reached 9 first, sending Shuffett west 9-8. Joining Olinger in the hot seat match was Craig McParthlin, who’d had his own hill-hill victory over Robert Frost, but McParthlin came up short 9-7 against Olinger. On the left side of the bracket, B-ranked Stephen Dillon won hill-hill 7-8 over A-ranked Jordan Grubb to face John Lynch, who’d gotten past B-ranked Chris Hutcheson 7-5. But that score got flipped on him against Dillon, who moved on to Shuffett 7-5. Meanwhile, Mike Cantrell notched a strong 9-3 win over fellow A-player Ed Hancock, moving on to Mitch Scearce, who’d won 7-6 over AA-ranked Danny Barnes, who was racing to 11. Cantrell held Scearce to six games to meet up with Frost, keeping him at two games to advance to the quarterfinals against Shuffett, who’d rebounded from his loss by shutting out Dillon. Cantrell fared better than Dillon, but his six games were only enough to earn him fourth place and send Shuffett to the semifinals. There, McParthlin’s seven games earned him third place, and Shuffett moved on to the true double-elimination final match. In the first set, Shuffett and Olinger stayed locked up until a pivotal shot gave Shuffett the advantage. With the score tied at 7-7, Olinger played safe, leaving Shuffett a three-rail kick. Though Shuffett’s kick didn’t hide Olinger, it left him tough enough to keep him from getting out, and Shuffett took that rack and the next to push the second set 9-7. In the final set, Shuffett seemed to have the edge, getting in front and staying there to earn first with a decisive 9-4 win.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Landon Shuffett Alex Olinger Craig McParthlin $250 Mike Cantrell Stephen Dillon Robert Frost John Lynch Mitch Scearce

$1,000 $500 $150 $80 $50

$700 $400 $300 $200

$405 $275 $300 $200

Landon Shuffett, Mike Medley, Alex Olinger

January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 43

Regional Roundup

Southeast

Morra Defeats Davis at DMIRO Stop Team DMIRO 10-Ball Tour / Spring Hill, FL

Birthday Win for Morrison Great Southern Billiard Tour / Inman, SC

by Mike Andrews

by Lea Andrews

A star-studded field piled in to Capone’s Billiards in Spring Hill, FL, Thanksgiving weekend, with players like Donnie Mills, Mike Davis, John Morra, and Rafael Martinez showing up to compete in the Team DMIRO 10-Ball Tour stop. Since there were not enough open/pro players to fill two brackets, the field played in one bracket by random draw, with Canada’s John Morra taking home the first-place prize.

Tony Morrison had more to be thankful for on the weekend after Thanksgiving than leftover turkey and stuffing—a win on the Great Southern Billiard Tour is the perfect birthday gift for any player, and that’s exactly what Morrison got. Morrison, who celebrated his birthday November 29, joined 54 other players at GJay’s in Inman, SC, for the $1,500-added A/B amateur event November 28-29.

Sunday afternoon saw the final four players return to battle it out for the nearly $3,000 prize pool. Davis and Richeson collided on the winners’ side playing for the hot seat, while Morra and Mills met on the west side in the quarterfinal match. Morra had suffered a loss to Davis 7-4 earlier, while Mills was on the one-loss side courtesy of Tony Crosby. After being tied at 4 apiece with Richeson for the hot seat, Davis was able to pull ahead 7-4 and finally won the set 9-7. On the left side of the chart, Morra was working his way back, first eliminating Mills 9-6 and then ousting Richeson 9-7.

John Morra

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

John Morra Mike Davis Richie Richeson Donnie Mills Tony Crosby Bobby Livargo Rafael Martinez Shawn Miller

The final match between Morra and Davis was a single race to 13. Davis grabbed an early lead of 3-0, but Morra came back to tie it 3-3. The two traded the next six racks to bring the score to 6 apiece. At that point Morra jumped ahead by running two racks in a row. A missed jump shot by Davis put Morra ahead even more, and soon Morra crossed the finish line with a 13-8 victory. $1,035 $740 $445 $245 $145 $145 $75

Mike Davis, Mike Andrews, Rocky McElroy, John Morra 44 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

Joel Cain, Justin Price, Tony Morrison, Shannon Daulton

A-ranked Morrison got into the hot seat match following a shutout win over Jeff Baumgarner, and it was there that Morrison was dealt his only loss. Having just won 7-6 over AA-ranked Brian White, who was racing to 10, Justin Price sent Morrison west hillhill 7-8. On the left side of the bracket, Josh Newman got by Mike Basha 9-4 to face Zack Robbins, who’d won hill-hill 7-6 over Chase Smith. Holding Robbins to three games, Newman moved on to Baumgarner. Meanwhile, Eddie Adams edged out fellow A-player Harold McAbee 9-8 to face Brian Davis, who’d gotten past Ken Hitchcock 7-3. After breezing past Davis 9-1, Adams met up with a challenge: White. White advanced 10-5 into the quarterfinals against Baumgarner, who’d reached his goal of seven games while Newman was one game shy of his goal of 9. A strong 7-5 victory pitted Baumgarner against Morrison once again, but unfortunately for Baumgarner, the result was nearly the same as the earlier shutout. Managing to hit the string just once in the semifinal match, Baumgarner landed in third while Morrison got his rematch with Price. Morrison pushed the second set of the true double-elimination final match by winning the first set hill-hill 9-6. Accustomed to the pressures of higher-level competition, seasoned player Morrison handled the stress of the final set a bit better than the less-experienced Price, who made it to the hill but couldn’t mark up the final game—Morrison clinched his birthday victory hill-hill 9-6. Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

Tony Morrison Justin Price Jeff Baumgarner Brian White Eddie Adams Josh Newman Brian Davis Zack Robbins Harold McAbee Ken Hitchcock Chase Smith Mike Basha

$1,000 $500 $300 $150 $100 $60 $30

Regional Roundup TAP Nationals a Success TAP Nationals / North Charleston, SC by Kelly Senior TAP players, licensees and corporate returned home in midNovember after enjoying another successful National event. The event was hosted by the Embassy Suites and Charleston Convention Center in North Charleston, SC. From all across the United States and Canada, the best of the best arrived to compete for the right to say, “We are TAP’s 2009 national champions!”

Southeast Also, congratulations to our Singles Winners 8-Ball – 2/3 Winner Kordi Williams; 4 Winner Nick Eischlager; 5 Winner Nick Comstock, 6 Winner Carl Johnson, and 7 Winner Kevin Clark. Singles Winners 9-Ball – 2/3 Penny McHenry, 4/5 Colin Pyne, and 6/7 Rob Brandenburg. In 2010 and 2011 the TAP League will be returning to Las Vegas, NV, for Nationals. They will also be adding a new event, Rally at Bally’s, which will be like the Rally in the Valley event held in March in Valley Forge, PA, held each year Allen Hopkins’ Super Billiards Expo.

Tables, provided by Ed Hagan/Diamond Sports Marketing, were available to practice on throughout the entire day. The fun started Sunday evening with an elaborate party, which included gift boxes for each TAP player in attendance that were provided by TAP’s owner, CEO, and president, Loyd Schonter. Team events for 8-ball started November 9, with 9-ball team events starting Tuesday morning. Singles events for both formats were played each evening, and mini tournaments went on throughout the night into the early morning hours. Players enjoyed 100% payback in the singles event, as well as open tables and great competition, with players throughout the USA and Canadian leagues representing each of their TAP territories.

Once again, the Predator Group was an event sponsor, providing hand towels from their Predator and Poison lines to all TAP players, Predator Air Jump cues with joint protectors to each player on the National Championship 8-ball and 9-ball teams, and various cues and cases for the player prize giveaways. Congratulations to the 2009 TAP 8-Ball National Team Champions, “Time Out” from Washington, with players Brad Rickey, Jason Curtis, Turk Flicking, Christa Curtis, Brian Englund, Tommy Silva, Kerry Brush, and Robert Campbell. Congratulations to the 2009 TAP 9-Ball National Team Champions, “Mulligan’s Larry” from Ohio, with players Larry Holschuh, Greg Kencson, Dave Smith, Bryan Kasper, Patrick Mahoney, Ron Kencson, Miranda Newcomer, and Elaine Ramos.

January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 45

Regional Roundup

Seaver Sweeps Flamingo Tour Finale Flamingo Billiards Tour / Orlando, FL

Southeast

Compton Chips Away at the Midwest Competition

by InsidePOOL Staff A missed ball-in-hand shot had Jeannie Seaver steaming at herself, and it was this that led to her dominating victory over Michell Monk at the November 21 stop on the Flamingo Billiards Tour stop. This end-of-theyear, $250-added event was hosted by Corner Pocket Billiards in Orlando, FL.

Midwest 9-Ball Tour / Olathe, KS by Lea Andrews

Out of the full ﬁeld of the 128 players who gathered July 17-19 for the Midwest 9-Ball Tour ers Billiards in Olathe, KS, only one man, Chip Compton, made it through unscathed. The $4,00 event, run by Evelyn and Danny Dysart, was run alongside a $1,000-added one-pocket event, as w event.

Both Seaver and Monk came out of the Compton’s 9-4 win over Nick Hickerson landed him in the final four on the winners’ side, wh one-loss side to make the final eight in the by Dustin Gunia, who was coming off of a hill-hill win over Steve Rector. With a 9-5 win over Joh of the Flamingo Billiards Tour at the Orlando stop. modified double-elimination format. Monk, The women emy “Double J” Jones met up in the final four with James Davis, Jr., who’d edged out Chad Vilmo fresh off her top-16 finish at the WPBA Na9-3 win over Jones pitted him against Compton, who’d sent Gunia west 9-4. tionals, defeated new Flamingo Billiards Tour members Sandy Hamor 7-4 and Rachel Delaney 7-2 but came up short against Stephanie Mitchell's strong play 7-5. On the one-loss side, Gabe “The Babe” Owen was making a run for the finals, moving throug

Gabriel 9-8, and Gunia 9-6 before running into James Baraks in the quarterﬁnals. Baraks had be

Seaver’s day started with a loss to Mary Kenniston 7-3, another member. being9-2, sentand to Jones the left side, defeated run, posting winsnew overtour Hickerson 9-6, After Joe Johnson 9-4, andSeaver he didn’t stop there. Hi Niki Rasmussen 7-5 and Janis Sessions 7-0. Owen put him in the semifinal match against Davis, who’d fallen 9-6 to Compton in the hot seat m Following the redraw, Kenniston rematched with Seaver, time prevailed On thethough, other tables, Mitchell defeated Davisbut wasthis ready to Seaver take another shot at7-1. Compton, and he put Baracks in third with Sandy Hamor 7-4, and Sabra MacArthur-Beahn defeated impressive Cavanaugh 7-4.in the true double-elimination finals, Davis punching his ticketnewcomer to the finals.Kelly Taking an early lead sibility of a second set appear likely. After getting up 3-0, though, he soon found himself tied at

The quarterfinals also featured a match-up of the tour’s two ranked players, Helene Caukin and clinching but thattop win turned out to be his with last. Monk In truedefeating champion fashion, Compton7-3 took ﬁve games straigh the title of 2009 Flamingo Billiards Tour Champion. a tournament-winning break and run.

In the semifinals, Monk bested MacArthur-Beahn 7-1,On while Seaver struggled toevent fightwas hergoing way back fromthe a 6-3 deficit MitchSaturday, while the 9-ball full-force, finals of theagainst one-pocket event, wh Thursday with that 52 entrants, playing outwith with aGabe Owen coming one-loss side to ell, eventually taking the set to double-hill. It was in the final game Seaverwere found herself gift—ball in handthrough with antheeasy threetwo Harriman, 3-0 leave, and 3-1. On Sunday, in the of theand 15-entrant ladies’ e ball out—but then she inexplicably missed a chip shot onsets theagainst 7-ball.Danny Thanks to a nasty Seaver got back to finals the table took the Colbert took first with a 7-6 win over Michelle McDermott. match. In the first game of the finals, Seaver took out her frustrations on the break by jumping the cue off the table. But she quickly settled into dead stroke with beautiful position play and precision shots. Monk had chances in the second and seventh games but came up short on the 8 ball each time. Seaver’s long run-outs and total control led to a quick 7-0 victory and her first Flamingo Billiards Tour win.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 5th 9th

Jeannie Seaver Michell Monk Sabra MacArthur-Beahn Stephanie Mitchell Helene Caukin Kelly Cavanaugh Sandy Hamor Mary Kenniston Janis Sessions Mimi McAndrews Shanelle Loraine Rachel Delaney

Jeannie Seaver, Michell Monk 46 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

$370 $240 $130 $75

EllenDysart, Shriner, Stephanie Mitchell, Chip Compton, Evelyn Dysart, Mike Durbin Brittany Colbert, Evelyn Michelle McDermott Sabra MacArthur-Beahn, Mimi McAndrews

Regional Roundup

Southeast

Regional Roundup

Monday Unstoppable at Jacoby Event Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Goldsboro, NC

Russell Rules Viking’s Rocky Mount Stop Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour / Rocky Mount, NC

by Lea Andrews

Tiger Bay Area by InsidePOOL StaffAmateur Tour

Sam Monday, who earned his first Great Southern Billiard Tour win this season earlier in November, made an undefeated run through a tough field to earn his first Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour win this season the weekend of November 21-22. The $1,000-added open event drew 14 competitors to Greentop Billiards in Rocky Mount, NC.

Mitchell Mows Down Strokers Field

/ Palm Harbor, FL

weekend on July 18. Balancing her tour director and playing duties

Sam Monday and B.J. Ussery came out on top of hill-hill matches over Delton Howard and Michael “Bulldog” Fuller, respectively, to meet up in the hot seat match. There Ussery managed just two games in the race to 7 and moved west to try for a rematch. On the one-loss side, Steven Page notched a 7-1 win over Jason Rader to face Mike Turner, who’d had his own 7-1 win over Nigel Francis. Holding Turner to four games, Page moved on to Fuller. Meanwhile, Charles “Boots” Patrick marked up 7-2 victories over Chad Pike and Chris Turner to face Howard. Howard kept Patrick to five games, advancing to the quarterfinals against Fuller, who’d breezed by Page 7-3. After another 7-5 victory, Howard faced Ussery in the semifinals, where both men were vying for the rematch with Monday. It was Howard who earned it, marking up game after game to earn his spot 7-1.

to take home third place after a loss in the semifinals to Younger On thewho one-loss top west three leaders in this season’s Chapman, hadside, beenthesent by Russell after their tour hot seat standings were ﬁghting to stay through to the end. Points match. Chapman earned his rematch with Russell, but itleader was Rusand two-time event winner Michell Monk moved past third-ranked sell who took home the win in the first set 9-1.

In the early bird tournament Friday, Mike Turner took home $100 for his 7-6 win in the finals over Tommy Briscoe, who took home $55. Willie Odom earned $25 for third. On Sunday, Angela Delcorpo topped the ladies’ division, while Dylan Letchworth topped the juniors’. In the winner-takes-all second chance event, Ira Jenkins won $80 for his 7-4 victory over Odom. Michael Fuller earned $105 for first in the break contest, and in the break-and-run contest, the balls lined up just right for B.J. Ussery, who pocketed them all to pocket the $504 jackpot, which will reset at $50 per ball at the next event. This event’s raffle winner was Leo Kearney, whose ticket won him an $850 limited-edition Jacoby cue.

The Viking Cue Amateur 9-Ball Tour took center stage at by by Lea Andrews Dot’s Cue Club in Rocky Mount, NC, as amateur players from around the region filled the room for a weekend packed with action Stephanie Mitchell, who had a good showingforatthe theweekend WPBA’s and November 21-22. The tour attracted 63 entries inaugural Satellite Tour event,monies. had an even better showing the the las paid out over $4,500 in prize Glenn Russell tookathome Ins $400-added Tiger Bay Area Amateur Tour event the following lion’s share when he won over Younger Chapman in the finals. perfectly, The kicked on Friday night with athe mini Mitchelloffwent undefeated through ﬁeldtournament. of 20 ladies Jeff Tabet made his way Harbor, north from defeated local player who arrived at Palm FL’s,Atlanta Strokersand Billiards for the sevDJ Outlaw take home first place. Sundayby saw more Gaming, action at the enth stop oftothe tour, which is also sponsored Sterling second mini tournament. The event was won by Vernon Stroke-Itchance Wear, and Lucasi Hybrid Cues. Rogers, who made his way to the hot seat undefeated and claimed first place by defeating JanisChen, 5-4. Mitchell arrived in the Following a 5-2 winMike over Amy

In the single race-to-11 final match, Howard got on board first after topping a safety battle on the 1 ball, but when the cue ball landed on the floor on his next break, Monday ran out to make it 1-1. The two traded racks until it was 3-3, but it was then that Monday made his move, taking the next seven racks to reach the hill 10-3. Although Howard managed one more game after his safety on the 5 ball gave him ball in hand, it was his last. In the final rack, Howard played safe on the 1, and Monday chose an intentional foul to tie up the 4 and the 5. His plan was successful— Howard made the 1 through 4 but missed the 5, leaving Monday a short run to the 9 and the win.

along withamateur Stacey Lantz, was off coming off a 5-3 hot seat Thematch $1,500-added eventwho kicked Saturday and pitwinsome over Samantha Huber. players Mitchell,inwho to thatagainst point had wonother. ted of the toughest theup region each every Little matchfound 5-2 except for one was one-loss 5-1, continued thethe trend, Eddie himself sentthat to the side of chart in sending Lantz west 5-2. the second round by Linwood Whitehead. He fought his way back

Sabra MacArthur Beahn 6-3 to meet up with a fellow two-time win-

Results: ner, number-two-ranked Melissa Morlan, who’d gotten by Sheilla

1st Glenn who prevailed, $1,250moving on to a 6-1 Coleman 4-2. ItRussell was Monk 2nd ChapmanNiki Rasmussen $750 backed up a 6-2 win win overYounger Chen. Meanwhile, 3rd Eddie Little over Barbara Ellis with a shut-out win $500 over Lisa Parsons, who was 4th coming DJ Outlaw $250 herself off a very strong 4-1 win over sharpshooter Jeannie Seaver. though, couldn’t get past Huber, and she 5th RayRasmussen, Vines $120 landed inMike ﬁfth with a score of 4-3. Yingling 7th Mike Frowein $70 a roll, Huber didn’t let Monk stand in her way, moving On Linwood Whitehead

past her 4-3 to greet Lantz in the one-loss semifinal match, where she earned her spot in the finals with a 4-1 win. Mitchell, who’d played very strongly all day long, wasn’t quite up to her par in the final set, but by tak- Results: Stephanie Mitchell $300 ing advantage of any unlikely 1st 2nd Samantha Huber $225 ball in hand that came her Stacey Lantz $150 way, she continued her 5-2 3rd 4th Michell Monk $100 trend once more, closing out 5th Amy Chen $50 her first win of 2009 in just Niki Rasmussen one set.

Younger Chapman, John Haefka, Glenn Russell

ow bu 19 ﬁg

up ou Vir

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bu pai sol pla spo

gra ﬁrs ano bal Ne wh bu gra 1-9

ent Oc nam $6

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Sam Monday Delton Howard B. J. Ussery Michael Fuller

$1,000 $425 $200 $75

“More For The Player” Coming To Your Area Soon

www.amateurpoolleague.com January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 47

Regional Roundup

Southeast

UPCOMING SOUTHEAST TOURNAMENTS 1/2 1/7-10 1/9-10 1/9-10 1/16-17 1/30-31 2/6 2/13-14 2/20-21 2/27-28 3/14-15 3/27-28 3/27-28 4/10-11

Lucasi ACS All-American Tour BCA Ohio Valley Regional KF Cues 9-Ball Tour Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour KF Cues 9-Ball Tour NGB Amateur Billiards Tour KF Cues 9-Ball Tour J. Pechauer Southeast 9-Ball Tour KF Cues 9-Ball Tour KF Cues 9-Ball Tour KF Cues 9-Ball Tour Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour

Smokies Drawbridge Conference Center Capone’s Billiards King Street Billiards Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar and Grill Corner Pockets Mr. Cues II Strokers Billiards Pockets Billiards Fast Break Billiards Strokers 2 Island Breakers Sports Bar Blue Fox Billiards Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar and Grill

Rod Gustafson Master Pool Instructor BCA Certified/ACS Level 4 Over 20 Years Of Teaching Experience Level III PAT Examiner Phone 512-835-2042, e-mail gustofrod@yahoo.com 12231 Forsythe Drive Austin Texas 78759 Rodfather Enterprises 48 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

Virginia Beach, VA Fort Mitchell, KY Spring Hill, FL Fayetteville, NC Goldsboro, NC Orlando, FL Atlanta, GA Palm Harbor, FL Dothan, AL Longwood, FL Tampa, FL Merritt Island, FL Winchester, VA Goldsboro, NC

757-855-2114 702-719-7665 352-688-9965 910-425-7665 919-759-0071 352-867-8100 770-380-6290 727-786-6683 334-793-9644 407-830-1036 813-814-2277 321-459-9100 540-665-2114 919-759-0071

$1,000 $7,000 $2,000 $1,500 $1,500 $2,000 $1,000 $2,000 $1,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,500 $1,500

Amateurs Members Open/Amateurs Amateurs Amateurs Open/Amateurs Amateurs Open/Amateurs Open Open/Amateurs Open/Amateurs Open/Amateurs Open/Amateurs Amateurs

Regional Roundup

Central

Carter Crashes Oshkosh Event Billiard Congress of Wisconsin Open 9-Ball Tour / Oshkosh, WI

Ochoa Takes Down Heavy Hitters Lone Star Billiards Tour / San Leon, TX

by InsidePOOL Staff

Fourteen talented pool players made their way to Varsity Club in Oshkosh, WI, to compete in the November 8 installment of the Billiard Congress of Wisconsin’s Open 9-Ball Tour. Jeff Carter took top honors and the lion’s share of the $400-added prize purse.

It was a star-studded weekend for pool—or perhaps a “Sylver Star” weekend—for pool on the Lone Star Billiards Tour at Casper’s Billiards in San Leon, TX, November 7-8. This event drew 69 top Texas players, including tour regulars Sylver Ochoa, Jui Lung Chen, Charlie Bryant, Dennis Strickland, and Bobby Pacheco.

On the top half of the winners’ side Carter played tough, notching wins over Oshkosh player Tylor Westhuis 8-2, Scott Kugel 8-4, and Willie Munson 8-7. On the bottom half, Tim Volkman of Oshkosh competing tenaciously, scoring victories over junior player Zack Marquardt 8-3, John Ribbich 8-4, and Bob Treffeisen 8-4. The two competitors finally meet in a showdown, and seasoned vet Carter took the hot seat 8-6. Jonathan “Jonny Rocket” Demet lost his first match to John “Ribeye” Ribbich 8-3, but he fought back hard on the one-loss side, earning wins over Marquardt 6-1, Jerry Follis 6-4, Maurice Letourneau 6-4, Munson 6-5, Treffeisen 6-3, and Volkman 6-0 to reach the finals against Carter. In the double-elimination finals, Demet had to best Carter twice for the win. Carter went up to an early 3-0 lead in the first set, but it wasn’t long before Demet fought back to knot the score at 4-all. However, Carter again surged ahead, winning the next three racks in a row. He broke dry but didn’t leave Demet a shot on the 1. However, Demet jumped and pocketed the 1 ball, but after making the 2 ball, he missed. With this opportunity, Carter ran out to become the champion.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Jeff Carter Jonathan Demet Tim Volkman Bob Treffeisen

Jeff Carter

$330 $220 $150 $100

The final four on the winners’ side saw Strickland versus Bryant and Ochoa against Pacheco. By scores of 9-5, 9-3, respectively, Bryant and Ochoa emerged victorious. It was a tense winners’ bracket match, but Ochoa took it home 9-8. From the one-loss side emerged matches Andy Jethwa against Derek Fontenot and Chen versus Sonny Bosshamer. Fontenot and Chen reached fifth place, and that was the end of their trail ride. They succumbed to Pacheco and Strickland, two of the final four defeated on the winners’ side Sunday morning. Pacheco took Strickland out with ease and met up with Bryant to fight for second place. Pacheco defeated Bryant 7-2 and earned a rematch with Ochoa, who sent him west earlier that day. In the double-elimination final match, Pacheco and Ochoa traded game for game, with Pacheco ultimately edging out Ochoa 9-7. The second set produced a score of 6-6 racing to 7 with Pacheco breaking the balls. He made two balls on the break and proceeded to execute a tough side pocket cut on the 2 ball. But he scratched, and at that point it was over. Ochoa cleared the table and took home the 7-6 victory.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th 13th

Sylver Ochoa Bobby Pacheco Charlie Bryant Dennis Strickland Jui Lung Chen Derek Fontenot Sonny Bosshamer Andy Jethwa Jeremy Byrd Manuel Ayala Zaid Thweib Jason Bacon Yoko Joe Blaine Barcus Jeffory Roy Eric Aicinena

$920 $550 $375 $275 $150 $125 $60

$40

Sylver Ochoa, Roy Robinson, Bobby Pacheco

January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 49

Regional Roundup

Central

Kitto Comes in First on Lucasi Tour Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Dubuque, IA by InsidePOOL Staff The Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour traveled to Dubuque, IA, November 14 to at Bulldog Billiards, where Scott Kitto was crowned the winner. The $500-added event featured 22 players in a doubleelimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes. Kitto, rated an 8 on a regional handicap system, displayed some old flashes of brilliance in taking the undefeated march to the hot seat. His wins included edging both Shane Kelly 8-6 in the A-side semifinals and Tony Garcia 8-4 in the A-side finals. In his A-side semifinals match, Garcia upset Josh Johnson 5-2. On the B-side Tony Sundstrom and Brian Hearl eliminated Kelly and Johnson at fifth place by 5-4 and 4-3 margins, respectively. Hearl then ousted Sundstrom at fourth place 4-4. Hearl continued his momentum by winning the B-side finals 4-3. The tournament finals were all Kitto, as he fully controlled the action to claim an 8-1 victory over Hearl for the title.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Scott Kitto Brian Hearl Tony Garcia Tony Sundstrom Josh Johnson Shane Kelly

$500 $300 $150 $90 $60

Scott Kitto, Brian Hearl

Jicks Jumps Ahead of the Competition Billiard Congress of Wisconsin Tour / Kenosha, WI by Jonathan Demet Eighteen of Wisconsin’s top amateurs came out for the $300-added Billiard Congress of Wisconsin 9-Ball Amateur Tour stop November 15. Hosted by Claws Billiards in Kenosha, WI, the stop was won by Jason Jicks, who defeated Tom Radowski in the finals. On the top half of the winners’ bracket, Paul Scott, a topranked amateur, was playing well. Wins over Ken Steinley 8-2, Chris Gitzlaff 8-5, and Terry Nixon 8-6 put Scott in position to play for the hot seat. On the bottom half, A-player Jicks shows his skills by defeating junior player Kevin Ruiz 7-2, A-player Marko Stanosevic 7-5, and A-player Radowitz 7-1. The hot seat match went hill-hill, but Jicks was the ultimate winner and sent Scott to the one-loss side. Radowitz made his way through the west side of the chart by defeating Dan Hau 6-3 and Stanosevic 6-1 and had to face Scott for a chance at the finals. Radowitz took an early 3-1 lead, and both players needed two games, but Radowitz had control and made it to the hill. A failed safe gave Scott a chance, and he made a strong safety. Radowitz made a good hit on the 1 with a two-rail kick, but Scott maintained control of the game. A failed attempt at the 4-9 combo left Radowitz an open shot on the 4 ball, and he cleared the table to send Scott home in third place.

Jason Jicks, Tom Radowitz

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Jason Jicks Toom Radowitz Paul Scott Marko Stanosevic Dan Hau Terry Nixon

50 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

$240 $140 $85 $25

After trading the first two racks in the final match, Jicks pulled ahead of Radowitz to take a 4-2 lead. Radowitz fought to stay within two games of Jicks, executing a nice combination on the 9 ball to do so, but still Jicks reached the hill first 6-3. Jicks had ball in hand on the 3 ball in the next rack and attempted to break out a cluster but left no shot on the 5 ball for himself. A failed kick shot left Radowitz with ball in hand on the 6 ball, and he ran out to make it 6-4 Jicks. Radowitz put another game under his belt after Jicks missed the 7 ball, but Jicks countered and took the next rack to win the title 7-5.

Regional Roundup

Central

Carter Wins Again on BCW Tour Billiard Congress of Wisconsin Tour / Sturtevant, WI

Albrecht Aces Lucasi Tour Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Coon Rapids, MN

by Jonathan Demet

by InsidePOOL Staff

Nineteen players showed up for the Billiard Congress of Wisconsin Tour’s November 22 event, with Jeff Carter becoming a repeat champion on the tour. The event was hosted by Boomers Billiards in Sturtevant, WI, and boasted a $600-added prize purse.

Gene Albrecht went undefeated at the November 21 stop on the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour, defeating Randy Matthiesen in the finals. The $500-added event was hosted by CR’s Sports Bar in Coon Rapids, MN, and featured 31 players in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.

In the top bracket Claudio “The Claw” Parrone of Kenosha made it to the hot seat match with wins over Jon Giles 8-2, Marlon Angeles 8-5, and Gil Hernandez 8-6. In the bottom half of the winners’ side Carter was playing well, and he also made it to the hot seat match with victories over Willie Munson 8-4, Jonathan Demet 8-5, and Tommy Pawloske 8-1. Carter was the winner in that match, going on to an 8-3 victory. On the one-loss side Craig Powers steamrolled through the bottom bracket as Mark Berry was fighting all the way through the top half after a loss to Powers in the first round. Berry earned his revenge and took down Powers in a hill-hill victory. A nice crowd stuck around to watch the semifinals between Berry and Parrone, which made for great entertainment. Berry ended up in the finals with a victory over Parrone 6-3. Unfortunately for the crowd, Berry withdrew because of a time constraint for a third-shift job, and Carter took home another purse and another title.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Jeff Carter Mark Berry Claudio Parrone Craig Powers Tommy Pawloske Gil Hernandez

$370 $160 $115 $45 $45

The Big Tuna Surfaces in Louisville Bank Pool Tournament / Louisville, KY by Tom Fryer Frank Wilson, widely known as “The Big Tuna,” dominated a field of 64 players at Louisville, KY’s, Bank Shot Billiards November 28-29. Once again promoter Truman Hogue filled the field for this event a week in advance. The players were anxious to pay the $30 entry fee for the event, which featured a race to 3 on the winners’ side, a race to 2 on the one-loss side, and a $300-added pot. Nine-foot Diamond tables were used in the 9-ball banks event. An optional $5 entry to the high-run pool gathered another $240 in this side pot. Entries were limited to players that Hogue ranks as "B" skill. Most of the players who cashed were undefeated Saturday, but Gary Dewitt went to the left side early and still managed to battle back to a fifth-place tie with Campbellsville's Eric Elliott, who had played strong Saturday before two losses Sunday. Fourth place went to Jerry Sauer Jr., who took Wilson to a fifth rack in the quarterfinals only to see Tuna run five and out to advance. The Tuna went on to run his first three shots in his next match, totaling eight straight banks to win the $240 high-run pot. Paul Arnold took third place and $300 by winning his first five matches before being derailed. The crafty veteran of 69, who once took a 20-year sabbatical from the game, was not even the oldest player to cash: 76-year-old Glen Greenwell not only took an early loss but scrapped all the way to final and forced a true doubleelimination decider with a 3-1 victory over Tuna. 52 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

The event was handicapped with Master players giving AA players a one-game spot, AA players spotting one game to A players, etc. ACS National Masters champion Albrecht and A-player Matthiesen made it to the A-side finals, but Albrecht was not fazed by giving a two-game spot to vanquish Matthiesen 5-1 to gain the hot seat. On the B-side AA-player Allen Reich took a onegame spot from Master player Max Krause to eliminate Krause at seventh place 4-1. Joining Krause was Master-player Kim Stigall, Randy Matthiesen, Gene Albrecht who fell to fellow Master-player Dan Voeller 5-1. The next round was not as kind to Voeller and Reich, as both were whitewashed at fifth place by respective opponents AA-player Ryan Wenger and AA-player Brad Vollmers. In the Bside semifinals Vollmers continued his hot hand to dispatch fellow AA-player Ryan Wenger to fourth place by another 5-0 margin. In the B-side finals A-player Matthiesen took a one-game spot from Vollmers and ended Vollmers’ day at third place by a 4-2 score. In the finals, Matthiesen had to race to 3, while undefeated Albrecht raced to 5, and at 2-4 Matthiesen had the opportunity to force a second set, but he hooked himself on his set 8 ball and Albrecht finished off the layout to score a 5-2 win for the title.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Gene Albrecht Randy Matthiesen Brad Vollmers Ryan Wenger Dan Voeller Allen Reich Max Krause Kim Stigall

$340 $200 $135 $100 $60 $40

The Big Tuna took Greenwell out by a 3-0 count in the decider for the $850 first prize. He was solid all weekend and was death on the straight backs—the perfect formula to win in banks.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Frank Wilson Glen Greenwell Paul Arnold Jerry Sauer Jr. Gary Dewitt Eric Elliott Dan Gregoire Traynor Frate

$850 $450 $300 $150 $100 $75

Regional Roundup

Central

Two in a Row for Ochoa Lone Star Tour / Houston, TX by InsidePOOL Staff It was a small but strong field that turned out at Parker’s Billiards in Houston, TX, the weekend of November 21-22 for the Lone Star Tour stop. Battling it out for a $2,080 purse were 36 players, including tour regulars Blaine Barcus, Bobby Pacheco, Andy Jethwa, Javier Franco, and Louisiana’s own Derek Fontenot found themselves in the final 16 on Saturday night, with Sylver Ochoa taking home the ultimate prize Sunday. Barcus, Brian Rosenbaum, and Marc “Mighty Mouse” Garza traveling fast through the one-loss side, earning top finishes for their excellent match play. However, after the smoke cleared, it was only Fontenot and Jethwa on the winners’side and Ochoa and Franco dueling on the one-loss side. One the east side Fontenot knocked down his last road block, Jethwa, 9-7, while on the west side Ochoa took out Franco 7-6. Ochoa continued his streak by eliminating Jethwa 7-4, leaving him in third. The final match brought back Fontenot to defend his territory against Ochoa, who was fighting for his second consecutive tour victory. Ochoa took charge, winning the first set 9-8 to send the match into overtime. In the second race to 7 Ochoa pulled ahead and closed it out 7-5.

Results:

1st Sylver Ochoa $550 2nd Derek Fontenot $350 3rd Andy Jethwa $250 4th Javier Franco $150 5th Blaine Barcus $100 Bobby Pacheco 7th Ernesto Bayaua $80 Marc Garza 9th Rodney Stewart $60 Lanny Herrin Brian Rosenbaum Eugene Evans 13th Will Felder $45 Don Bullard Tom Welch Blaine Barcus, Sylver Ochoa, Bobby Parker, Andy Jethwa David Coates A Win for Wilder on Lucasi Tour Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Davenport, IA by InsidePOOL Staff Chris Wilder took down the November 21 installment of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour, besting Mason Parks in the finals. The $500-added event was hosted by Miller Time Billiards in Davenport, IA, and featured 27 non-master players in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

Chris Wilder Mason Parks Christ Aiardo Craig McLaren Don Boll Jason Totten Terry Anderson Jr. Roger Garnsey Robert Huskey Adan Faupl John Gorsch Sr. Ken Haynie

$300 $200 $120 $90 $60

$45 Wilder took down the A-side, completing his undefeated trek via wins over Craig McLaren in the semifinals 5-2 and Parks in the finals 5-2. Parks had earlier $30 vanquished Christ Aiardo 5-1 in the semifinals just prior to his loss to Wilder. On the B-side Don Boll and Jason Totten eliminated Terry Anderson Jr. 5-1 and Roger Garnsey 5-2, respectively, at seventh place, In turn in the next round both Boll and Totten were resigned to fifth place at the Mason Parks, Chris Wilder hands of Aiardo and McLaren, respectively, 5-3 and 5-1. Aiardo then knocked out McLaren at fourth place by a 5-4 margin, but Aiardo’s run was ended at third place by Parks 4-5. Parks made the tournament finals interesting by eclipsing Wilder 5-4 in the first set, requiring a second set to settle the results. But Wilder was not to be denied the title, and he dominated Parks in the deciding set 5-1 to win the day.

January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 51

Regional Roundup

Central

Strickland in the House on OB Cues Tour OB Cues Ladies’ 9-Ball Tour / League City, TX by InsidePOOL Staff The OB Cues Ladies’ 9-Ball Tour held their championship stop November 21-22 at Legend’s Billiards in League City, TX. Of the 49 players who came out for the event, it was Orietta Strickland who ended up in the winner’s circle, taking her first tour title. Before the tournament started, the year-end awards were given out. The 2009 OB Cues Ladies’ Tour Champion was awarded to Lisa Marr, while the Most Improved Player award was given to Lisa Henderson-Major. As the main event commenced, there were many strong matches right out of the chute, and there were some early favorites who found themselves on the left side of the bracket sooner than expected. On Sunday, Strickland was on a winning mission and was taking no prisoners. For the hot seat match, it was Amanda “The Natural” Lampert versus Strickland, and at first it was looking like Lampert, who was ahead 5-3, was going take the hot seat. But Strickland knotted the score at 5-all and won the next two for a 7-5 victory to wait for her finals contender. Lampert was not done yet and wanted a rematch. After soundly defeating Tara Williams 7-1, she beckoned for Strickland to bring it on again. But Lampert sat out most of the finals match, as Strickland kept control of the match with some superb play, finishing off the set at 7-1.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th 13th

Orietta Strickland Amanda Lampert Tara Williams Julie Comitini Lisa Henderson-Major Leslie Anne Rogers Jennifer Kraber Terry Petrosino Jennifer Pavlovick Michelle Cortez Deanna Henson Courtney Peters Lisa Marr Ming Ng Kim Pierce Rebecca Riley

$750 $560 $405 $270 $155 $105 $80

$50

Orietta Strickland, Mindy Cohen, Amanda Lampert

UPCOMING CENTRAL TOURNAMENTS 1/2-3 1/3 1/9 1/10 1/16 1/17

Lucasi ACS All-American Tour BCW 9-Ball Tour Lucasi ACS All-American Tour BCW 9-Ball Tour Rockford Billiard 10-Ball Series BCW 9-Ball Tour

Pockets Billiards Boomers Billiards Legends Sports Bar Brass Ring Rockford Billiard Café Outbreak Billiards

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708-371-7665 262-884-7721 563-243-4266 608-256-9359 815-962-0957 262-638-0821

$500 $400 $500 $600 $250 $400

Amateurs Amateurs Amateurs Open Open Amateurs

1/21-24 1/22-30

ACS Midwest 8-Ball Champs Derby City Classic

Riverside Resort and Casino Riverside, IA Horseshoe Casino and Hotel Elizabeth, IN

920-662-1705 $10,000 Members 866-766-2671 $100,000 Open

1/23

Lucasi ACS All-American Tour

Bulldog Billiards

Dubuque, IA

563-663-6600 $500

Amateurs

1/24

BCW 9-Ball Tour

Varsity Club

Oshkosh, WI

902-651-0806 $600

Open

1/31

BCW 9-Ball Tour

Boomers Billiards

Sturtevart, WI

262-884-7721 $400

Amateurs

2/4-7

T-Town Classic One-Pocket Champ Magoo’s Billiards

Tulsa, OK

918-663-3364 $10,000

Open

January 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 53

Regional Roundup

Western

Lucasi Tour Crowns Three Winners in AZ Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Tempe, AZ by InsidePOOL Staff The Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour traveled to Tempe, AZ, November 8 with three events as part of the Southwest Pocket Billiards Championships at Skip & Jan’s Sports Bar. The $900-added events featured 35 players over three divisions: men’s bar table 8-ball, women’s bar table 8-ball, and open big-table 8-ball. Larry Eans In the men’s bar table 8-ball division, Larry Eans and Charles Peten clipped Bob Soto and Vic Tyynismaa 4-3, respectively, in the A-side semifinals. In the A-side finals, Eans took down Peten 4-2. On the B-side Stephen Henderson stopped Mike Hamman at fourth place by a 3-1 margin, but in turn Henderson’s run finished at third place at the hands of Charles Peten 3-1. Peten met up with undefeated Larry Eans in the finals but was no match, as Eans captured the title by a 4-1 margin. The women’s bar table 8-ball division featured Patience West and Lynda Niichel taking A-side semifinals matches over MaryHelen Mondragen and Teresa Eibner 4-0, 4-2, respectively. West then edged Niichel 4-3 to take the tourney hot seat. In the B-side finals, Mondragen eliminated Niichel at third place by a 3-1 margin. The tourney finals crowned West with the title, as she prevailed by a 4-2 score over Mondragen. In the men’s big table 8-ball division Travis Choate defeated Mike Boyer in the A-side finals 4-2. Boyer later fell to the stroke of Don Thompson 4-2 in the B-side finals. Choate then captured the tournament finals with a 4-2 win over Thompson 4-2 for the title.

Men’s Bar Table 8-Ball Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Larry Eans Charles Peten Stephen Henderson Mike Hamman

$225 $125 $100 $75

Women’s Bar Table 8-Ball Results: 1st 2nd 3rd

Patience West $200 MaryHelen Mondragon $100 Lynda Niichel $75

Men’s Big Table 8-Ball Results: 1st 2nd

Travis Choate $200 Don Thompson $100

Piazza Captures Turkey Shootout

Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Fort Collins, CO by InsidePOOL Staff The Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour brought the “Annual Turkey Shootout” to Fort Collins, CO, where Tony Piazza took home top honors over the 64-player field. The Thanksgiving weekend event featured a $1,000-added prize fund and was hosted by Match-Ups. Top Colorado gun Piazza pulled out all the stops over the weekend and captured the hot seat with an unblemished record, completing his run in the A-side semifinals and finals with respective wins over Mike Hogan 5-4 and Shane Wertz 5-3. Wertz had earlier knocked off Jesus Rivera to make the A-side finals. On the B-side Nick Smith vanquished Dan Gonzales 5-2, while Mark Haddad dispatched Frank Urbaniak by the same score to eliminate Gonzales and Urbaniak at seventh place. Both Smith and Haddad won their next B-side round over Mike Hogan and Jesus Rivera by respective 5-2, 5-1 scores to tie Hogan and Rivera for fifth place. In the final four, Smith ended Haddad’s run at fourth place by a 5-3 margin, but Smith’s weekend was ended in the B-side finals courtesy of a 5-3 loss to Wertz. In the finals, Piazza continued to dominate, as he turned back Wertz in the first set by a 5-2 score for the title.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

Tony Piazza Shane Wertz Nick Smith Mark Haddad Mike Hogan Jesus Rivera Dan Gonzales Frank Urbaniak Dave Gomez Mark Morgan Blaine Plantz Johnny Vasquez

$600 $440 $300 $150 $100 $80 $50 Shane Wertz, Tony Piazza, Mark Haddad, Mike Hogan, Nick Smith

UPCOMING WESTERN TOURNAMENTS 1/23 3/20 4/9-11

Lucasi ACS All-American Tour Lucasi ACS All-American Tour Lucasi ACS All-American Tour

54 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ January 2010

Greenfields Pool and Sports Bar Lakewood, CO Greenfields Pool and Sports Bar Lakewood, CO Nite Hawk Portland, OR

303-989-9820 $500 303-989-9820 $500 503-285-7177 $1,500

Amateurs Amateurs Amateurs

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