Shane Van Boening Wins Third Straight US Open 9-Ball
Dennis Orcollo Finishes Second AzB Staff
Photos by Paul Smith
T
he final day at the 39th Annual Simonis/Aramith US Open 9Ball Championship began with the quarter-final rounds where Shane Van Boening claimed the hot seat with a firm 11-4 statement over Greek powerhouse Nikos Ekonomopoulos. On the one-loss side Dennis Orcollo hit that absurd high gear that he has and just maintained control of the table throughout the match. It wasn’t that Dechaine didn’t play well, he just didn’t play much and fell 11-2. This created the semi-final match between Dennis Orcollo and Nikos Ekonomopoulos. Orcollo played the same game he played against Dechaine and again just steered the course for most of the racks. He played quickly, as if he were eager to get back to Van Boening. Orcollo does not just snuggle up to losing and he wanted another shot at that last guy. He got it 11-3.
The crowd knew they were in for a great one and they got it. The final is a race to 13 games and certainly a valid test of skills. Van Boening was shooting for his third straight title and Orcollo was out to settle the score from two years ago when Van Boening beat him in the finals. The talk was that Van Boening had already beaten Orcollo just hours earlier but that 6 PQB December/January
Shane wins his third US Open 9-Ball title Orcollo (left) is Runnerup Orcollo had just beaten two great champion players by a total score of 22-5. It’s hard to say that sort of performance is only good enough for second place. The final was a great match. Both men played up to their expectations and Orcollo jumped out to a 4-1 lead before Van Boening began his march. He slowly crept up from behind until the score was tied at 7. When Van Boening took his first lead at 8-7, it seemed to turbo charge his game to an even higher level Van Boening’s sharp play combined with a couple bad breaks from Orcollo was all that was needed to put Van Boening in the history books as the first player ever to win three straight U.S. Open Championships. Final score 1 2 3 4 5 5 7 7 9/12 17/24 33/48
Van Boening 13 - 10 Orcollo USA VAN BOENING Shane 30,000 PHI ORCOLLO Dennis 15,000 GRE EKONOMOPOULOS Nick 10,000 USA DECHAINE Mike 7,500 PHI KIAMCO Warren 6,000 PHI BUSTAMANTE Francisco 6,000 USA HALL Justin 4,500 CAN KLATT Jason 4,500 3,500ea. 13/16 3,000ea. 2,500ea. 25/32 1,900ea. 1,425ea.
Liu Makes it Two!
Liu Shasha Wins her Second WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Championship with a 9-8 win over Chen Siming. by Ted Lerner- WPA Press Officer Photos Courtesy Tai Chengzhe
L
ui Shasha did it again. Not only did the diminutive and feisty 21 year old win her second WPA Women’s World 9-ball Championship tonight, but it was the second time in the last 15 months that she defeated rival and fellow national team member Chen Siming by one rack in a major tournament final in China. In what amounted to a repeat of the China Open final in Shanghai in June of 2013, albeit with much more riding on the line, Liu and Chen battled toe to toe in a classic for the biggest prize in women’s pool. For 90 minutes practically nothing stood between these two greats of the women’s game, until the last 20 minutes of the match when Liu, displaying the heart of a hungry lion, won the last three racks and eked out the win and the world championship, 9-8. Liu’s amazing victory made her only the fourth woman in the 23 year history of the Women’s World 9-ball Championship to win the event twice. She first captured pool glory in 2009 at the age of just 16 years old, stunning legend Karen Corr in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang. Liu’s win this time certainly had to be much more satisfying, however, as five years ago she was a freewheeling teenager who could play without a care in the world. Now, as a Chinese national team member playing under the pressure of high expectation, and the intense glare of the massive Chinese media spotlight, the 21 year old Liu can finally say she has conquered the world and officially arrived at the mountain top of women’s pool. For the massively talented Chen, the loss proved a bitter dis-
Liu wins second title Chen Siming (left) runnerup appointment as she had Liu on the ropes right up until the end. The 20 year old Chen has now lost twice in the World Championship final, the first time in 2011 when, as a 17 year old, she went down in flames against fellow Chinese Bi Zhu Qing. Chen was more than up to the task this time, however, and the fact that she couldn’t close out the match had nothing to do with any poor play. The balls at the end simply didn’t give her anything to look at, and Liu executed some memorable shots right when it counted. The day began with the two semi-finals which were played consecutively at a specially built TV arena inside Guilin’s Dream City development. In the first race to 9 semi-final, Liu squared off with two time world champion Ga Young Kim of Korea. The match was even early before Liu turned up the heat and led 7-4. But just when Liu was ready to move to the hill, she missed a straight in 9-ball. Within minutes Kim had stormed back to tie and was about to move to the hill herself when she missed her own 9-ball. Liu took that rack then broke and ran for the hard nose 9-7 win. In the second semi-final Chen faced Taiwanese veteran Tan Ho Yun. Chen looked like she was going to run away early as she went up 4-0, then 5-1. Tan clawed back to tie the match at See Liu page 9 December/January PQB 7
Kelly Fisher and Thorsten Hohmann Win 2014 International Tournament of Champions Kelly Fisher
In her first tournament since open-heart surgery this summer, Kelly Fisher, the 2013 “Champion of Champions”, repeated to defeat Allison Fisher in the final match. The pressure packed, $18,000 winner-take-all, 17th Annual Tournament of Champions was held at the Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center, CA. On October 8, 2014. “The pressure of this format is nerve-racking”, said Kelly “One lapse in focus can cost you the match!” Indeed, of the four international champions in the event, Kelly Fisher played at the top of her game. Kelly had defeated Karen Corr in the 1st semi-final in the Sudden Death game as they had both won a set each. The semifinal and the final matches require a player to win two sets, race to 4 games, with an alternate break. Tied sets are broken by a Sudden-death one game shootout. The second semifinal matched pitted England’s Allison Fisher against Korea’s Ga Young Kim, the 2012 WPBA Masters Champion. Allison run out abilities sped her to victory in the first set. Ga Young never quite recovered while Fisher’s confidence increased to allow Kim only 2 games in the second set. The Champion of Champions Trophy was presented by Billiards International’s Gregg Hovey. In addition to Harrah’s Resort, the event was sponsored by Simonis Cloth, Aramith Billiard Balls, Diamond Tables, OB Cues, Delta 13 Racks and, Cuetec. The semifinals and finals will air on ESPN2 in December. photos by David Thomson mediumpool.com
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Thorsten Hohmann
One more inning had earned Hohmann $25,000 in the winnertake-all, 23rd Annual Challenge of Champions held at the Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center, CA. on October 8, 2014. In the “Sudden Death” final game, Darren Appleton allowed Thorsten Hohmann one more turn at the table. Darren’s badly played safety attempt left an opening. Thorsten now faced a long and very missable 7. Calm and poised, perfect pocket speed ensured the ball found its pocket as did the 8 and 9. “I thought it was over,” said Toasti– as his friends call him. “I felt that I had nothing to lose. That took the pressure off a bit.” The semifinal and the final matches require a player to win two sets, race to 4 games, with an alternate break. Tied sets are broken by a Sudden-death one game shootout. Earlier, Hohmann had easier time with Filipino Dennis Orcollo to earn that shot at the title. With the 1st set under his belt, and down 2-3 in the 2nd, Hohmann kicked in the 2-ball and Dennis never won another game. Darren had a tougher time with Shane Van Boening in the other semis. With one set apiece, Shane won the lag and was on his way to the finals when he, unexpectedly, missed the 8. “I took it for granted,” he later admitted. Appleton, under normal circumstances, addressed an off angle 8 that, when pocketed, left natural position on the deciding 9. The Challenge of Champions Trophy was presented by Billiards International’s Gregg Hovey. In addition to Harrah’s Resort, the event was sponsored by Simonis Cloth, Aramith Billiard Balls, Diamond Tables, OB Cues, Delta 13 Racks and, Cuetec.
Acceleration
by Mike Roque From “Build Your Game”365 Days of Instruction, Motivation and Insights for Pool Players" www.bebobpublishing.com - 1- 888-33-BEBOB
“The key to a consistent stroke.…is acceleration.” Tony Robles. Timing is Everything when it comes to developing a killer stroke. The cue stick needs to accelerate the instant it starts moving during your forward delivery. You’ll know your timing is perfect when the tip reaches the cue ball with near maximum speed. Stroke acceleration is also linked to the final backswing, including the transition from back to forward motion. Think of it as a three–part process: a slow, yet natural backswing, a transition that includes a slight pause at the back, and a forward stroke with a smooth acceleration through the cue ball. A slow, backswing allows the arm to come to a natural pause. This subtle hesitation contributes to a smooth transition between the backswing motion and the forward stroke. Accelerating through the cue ball is even more important on
the break shot. For this, take the cue back slowly until the ferrule barely touches your bridge fingers. Use this as a trigger to change direction, gradually increasing speed throughout the forward stroke. Unleash your power by reaching top stroke speed as you come through the cue ball. Pull back slowly, make a smooth transition, and accelerate through the cue ball.
For the l atest E vent N ews www. pr ofessor qbal l . com
Jamey Gray’s Speed Jump Shot by Steve Markle, Ranked 8th Contributing Writer • SteveMarklePool.com
H
ere is a very entertaining trick shot that was selected by Jamey Gray during the 2010 ESPN Trick Shot Magic which took place at the Green Valley Ranch Casino in Las Vegas. The object is to jump the cue ball 3 rails. As it makes its way around the table you must jump 9 object balls into pocket “A”. The cue ball will contact the cue butt and be the last ball to be made in that same pocket. Start off by placing 9 object balls and the cue ball along the long rail as shown. Make sure all balls are frozen to the cushion. Next, place a full length cue on the 1st diamond line. Finally, place a cue butt on the opposite long rail. Two key details you must keep in mind while attempting this shot is the speed of the cue ball and accurately pocketing the 9 object balls. Before attempting practice jumping the cue ball to maintain a comfortable speed and also jump all 9 balls. This shot can be very difficult so I suggest that you start with 5 object balls and eventually work your way to 9 as your success rate becomes greater. I suggest
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that you play the cue ball short. This allows you a small amount of more time to jump all the balls. Enjoy this great shot.
For more information on Steve visit: SteveMarklePool.com, Facebook.com: Steve Markle Trick Shots , or contact him at: SteveMarklePool@aol.com Contact: 267-918-1284
USBA 3-Cushion Qualifier
November 14-16th at Illinois Billiard Club (IBC)
T
he three-day billiard extravaganza was hosted at America’s oldest Billiard Club in memory of both the private club’s members and all national billiards players and friends who have competed in the IBC’s national tournaments and who have now passed away since the time of the club’s founding. The IBC was delighted to have this opportunity to support the USBA and what it represents to America’s rich and time honored billiards history. Entry $150 - Race to 20 pts in prelims and 25 pts in finals Format: 10 Player, 2 flights of 5 players, round robin A and B flights, Two from each flight will advance into the final 4. With a 4 man round robin. 1st - $225 plus entry into the 2015 USBA Nationals 2nd - $175 plus entry into the 2015 USBA Nationals 3rd - $200 4th - $150 Hi-Run $75 in each flight in prelims only. Flight A- Brian Haff Hi-Run 5 Flight B- George Theobald Hi-Run 5 Special Attraction - On Saturday ESPN & World Masters Trick Shot Champion Tom (Dr. Cue) Rossman performed on Saturday evening. Tom (Dr. Cue) Rossman held the IBC’s audience of members and friends transfixed with his quick yet charming wit, winning attitude that never quit, and, above all, his warm and friendly style that in the end, left everyone with a smile! Special thanks go out to Jim and Bonnie Parker for allowing us to have this USBA Qualifier at their remarkable and historical IBC venue. Special thanks also to each IBC staff / player member for the joy and warm friendship that they shared with each of us during our visit / event experience at their magnetic “home away from home”!
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4 Finalists left to right Tom Rossman 2nd, Brian Haff 1st, Mr. Jim Stoner,4th, Paul Frankel 3rd.
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