Pqb preview oct:nov 2015

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Professor-Q-Ball’s

Publisher/Editor Graphic Design Photographers

Rack for October/November 2015 Issue 5 • Vol XVI

☜2015 PartyPoker World Pool Masters

6/7

Shane Retains title

BEF Annual Junior National 9-Ball

8/9

22nd BEF National Jr Artistic Pool Shootout

12

WPA World Artistic Pool Championship 16/17 ☜42nd Annual Texas Open

20/21

Texas Tornado Chalks third straight Title

Carom Room Fall Classic

23

Big Dog Billiards

36

9-Ball and One Pocket Championships

Turning Stone Classic

42

Shaw Wins third straight Title

☜Golf Coast Tour 10 Ball Championship

Pool Instructional… Taking a Walk…Mark Finkelstein Chico Billiard Academy…Jacqueline Karol An Easy One…Robert Byrne The Heart of a Champion…Tom Rossman The Push Out…Mike Roque Rocket and Hail Mary Masse…Tim Chin A Stunning Bank Idea…Tom Simpson Bar Box 8-Ball…Marty Kaczmarowski DPM Universal Pocket and Carom Billiard Systems 81…Darrel Martineau Departments …

Places to Play National Tournament Directory

USBA Newsletter • 3-Cushion Verhoeven Open President’s Desk Tacoma Elk Lodge 174 Shot Selection to Score…Phil Panzera Upcoming USBA Tournaments Amazin Billiards Tournaments

4 PQB October/November

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10 14 15 15 16 17 22 23 40 33-35 45

26/27 27 28 29 29 30

Paul Frankel Gary Tate Ricky Bryant Joseph Ratke Josh Gilmore

Contributing Writers Samm Diep • Tom Simpson • Darrel Martineau • Robert Byrne • Tom Rossman • Marty Kaczmarowski • Jacqueline Karol • Ricky Bryant• Tim Chin • Mike Roque • Mark Finkelstein • Phil Panzera SPECIAL AFFILIATIONS

APA, BCA, WPBA, USBA, AZBilliards.com, ACS, TAP PQB News is a bi-monthly publication dedicated to providing pool & 3-cushion news. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. Professor-Q-Ball is not responsible for claims made by it’s advertisers. All dates, times and added tournament money is subject to change without notice. All persons interested in submitting articles for publishing consideration, are welcomed.Material submitted becomes the property of Professor-Q-Ball. Submissions may be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All advertising, articles, and photos must be submitted by the 15th prior to the issue date to be considered for the following issue.

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2015 PartyPoker World Pool Masters

by Luke Riches Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com

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outh Dakota’s Shane Van Boening became the first player in the 23 year history of the PartyPoker World Pool Masters to retain the title as he beat Darren Appleton (England) 8-2 at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester. Alex Lely and Dennis Orcollo had reached the final in their defence of the title but Van Boening went one better with a blistering display of breaking to take the title and the $20,000 winner’s cheque. Van Boening also joins Ralf Souquet, Francisco Bustamante and Thomas Engert as multiple winners of the Masters. Commented Van Boening; “It feels awesome to win. Before I came here I practiced for almost a week and that work has paid off, it is amazing. The more you practice the better you get and that has really built up my confidence. “I don’t know what happened with the golden breaks. The ball came around and hit the 9 ball and it went in. I hit the break hard so it can happen. “It is very hard to win the Masters. You have all the best players in the world, 16 top players and especially playing against Darren Appleton in the final, who is one of the very best pool players. “I got a lot of fortunate rolls, I made three golden breaks tonight with the one in the semi-final. It is very exciting for me to be the first player to win the Masters in consecutive years,” he added. Van Boening flew into a 3-0 lead, albeit with the help of a couple of errors by Appleton. A dry break in the third game from Van Boening left a tough run out for his opponent but he composed himself to get on the scoreboard. Appleton pushed out in the next but Van Boening’s attempt at a snooker left Darren with a look at the 2 ball and he rolled it in up table. From there he cleared up to get to 2-3. He missed another ball in the next, a routine 4 ball at a slight angle, and that gave Van Boening the chance to increase his lead at 4-2. Appleton was looking increasingly agitated by his errors and could only look on as Van Boening kicked the 9 ball in off the break – his second golden of the evening session – to move to 5-2. It soon became 6-2 with a tidy 6/9 combo as things looked 6 PQB October/November

Shane is Two-Time Master bleak for Appleton. And even bleaker in the next as another crunching Van Boening break saw the 9 ball kicked in off the side rail as he reached the hill at 7-2. It ended with a 2/9 combination as Van Boening crowned a fabulous evening. “He broke unbelievably in the semi-finals so I knew I had to break well in the final,” said Appleton. “I didn’t really come down from the semifinal and never really felt comfortable. I had chances at the start of the game and he wasn’t breaking well but I didn’t capitalise. I went 3-0 down but could have been 3-0 up. “I started to feel good and had ball in hand at 3-2. It wasn’t an easy finish but I played a bad positional shot and missed the 4 ball. From there at 4-2 he broke and got a 9 on the break and he ran the next rack, got another golden break for 7-2 and in the last rack he smashed the balls and fluked the 6 ball to come out perfect for the 2/9 combo. When things like that happen it is his tournament. “Looking back on the tournament I am really happy to have got to the final. I would have liked to have got more involved in the final but he is a great player and hopefully in the next five or so years we will play in more finals. “Going into the match I felt I just wasn’t ready because I had just finished my semi-final and didn’t have time to get focussed for the match. I missed a couple of balls I should make just because of a lapse of concentration.” Earlier Van Boening had recorded the fastest 8-0 win in


Masters history as he beat Liu Haitao in less than 30 minutes. After taking the first two racks, Van Boening then broke and ran six on the spin to record a whitewash in 27 mins and 40 secs. Appleton had enjoyed a tussle with countryman Mark Gray which looked to be anyone’s at 4-4 before Appleton ran away with, ending the match with a golden break.

Results

Shane Van Boening (USA) Niels Feijen (HOL) Liu Haitao (CHN) Waleed Majid (QAT) Ko Pin Yi (TPE) Darren Appleton (ENG) Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) Johnny Archer (USA)

8-6 John Morra (CAN) 8-6 Marcus Chamat (SWE) 8-7 Karl Boyes (ENG) 8-4 Daryl Peach (ENG) 5-8 Mark Gray (ENG)] 8-4 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 3-8 Ralf Souquet (GER) 8-2 James Georgiadis (AUS)

Niels Feijen (HOL) Shane Van Boening (USA) Darren Appleton (ENG) Ralf Souquet (GER)

6-8 8-5 8-5 6-8

Liu Haitao (CHN) Waleed Majid (QAT) Johnny Archer (USA) Mark Gray (ENG)

Shane Van Boening (USA) Darren Appleton (ENG)

8-0 8-4

Liu Haitao (CHN) Mark Gray (ENG)

Shane Van Boening (USA)

8-2 Darren Appleton (ENG)

Quarter Finals

Semi-Finals The Final

Follow the PartyPoker World Pool Masters on Facebook, Twitter @mosconicup and Instagram @matchroompool

Liu Haitao loses to Shane in Semi Final 8-0

The 2015 PARTYPOKER WORLD POOL MASTERS is sponsored by PartyPoker, the world’s leading online poker site. The Official Table of the Masters is supplied by Diamond Billiards, the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis, the Official Clothing Supplier is Ultimate Team Gear, Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc and the Official Cue, Chalk and Bridge are Predator. Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,000 hours of original programming across a range of sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the World Pool Masters is one of a stable of pool events that include the World Cup of Pool and the Mosconi Cup.

Darren Appleton loses to Shane in final 8-2 October/November PQB 7


BEF Annual Junior National 9-Ball Championships

T

he Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) presented its 27th Annual Junior National 9-Ball Championships August 4-7, 2015. 130 billiard student-athletes represented 31 states at the South Point Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada for this year’s event which took place in conjunction with the 2015 BCA Billiard & Home Leisure Expo. Of the 54 competitors, this year’s title of 18 & Under Boys Champion went to California Jr. State 9-Ball Champion Chris Robinson of Ventura, CA. The arena exploded as he pocketed the winning 9 ball in the finals against Atlantic Challenge Cup U.S. team member Josh Franklin from Creve Coeur, IL. Robinson came from the one-loss side after losing his third match against former World Junior U.S. team member, Manny Perez from Kansas. Newcomers Nick Kline from Prescott Valley, AZ and Zach Gurganus of Marietta, GA both made a huge splash

16 Finalists and all four boys will be representing the U.S. at the upcoming WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championships. In the 18 & Under Girls division, 15-year-old April Larson went undefeated to continue her reign as girls champion. Minnesota’s star won 9-6 in a single-set finals against 15-year-old Emily Herpel from Freehold, NY. Third and fourth place went to junior nationals first-timers Amber Jackson of South Carolina and Hannah Hohn of South Dakota. All four ladies will be invited to represent the U.S. at the world championships. From the field of 46 14 & Under Boys, 12-year-old Nathan Childress of North Chesterfield, VA returned with his sights set 8 PQB October/November

South Point Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas high after last year’s third place finish. With proud mom and coach present, the VA junior state champion played a near perfect set against IL & PA junior state champion, 13-year-old Kaiden Hunkins of Waukesha, WI. Both boys will also be invited to be a part of team U.S. at the upcoming world championships. Connecticut’s Lukas Fracasso-Verner and Daniel Sardoncillo of Washington both had notable third and fourth place finishes. The 14 & Under Girls division went to 12-year-old Ashley Fullerton of Lake Park, MN but not without a fight. 12-year-old Tatum Cutting from Diamond, OH was down 8-1 in the finals ultimately losing the set 9-6 but she never gave up. Massachusetts’ players Vivian Liu (first-timer) and Keila Perez finished third and fourth respectively. Fullerton will be representing the U.S. at the upcoming world junior championships. Interestingly, all the finals finished with a score of 9-6.

18 & Under Boys Division

1st Place,* Chris Robinson, 17 (Ventura, CA) Engraved Metal Cup Trophy-$1,000 Academic Scholarship 2nd Place* Josh Franklin, 17 (Creve Coeur, IL) Engraved Metal Cup Trophy 3rd Place* Nick Kline, 17 (Prescott Valley, AZ) Engraved Metal Cup Trophy


Taking a Walk

by Mark Finkelstein Pro at Slate and Eastside Billiards, New York City; Instructional Columnist

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just watched a great match on U-stream during the Hammatsu Open in Japan. A young lady strongly out played a journeyman pro. She really played a great game. What I want to share with you is a mistake that she made, and I’m sure we all have made the same mistake at one time or another costing us a game or two.

Here is the situation on the table…

Our player played a stop shot on the 6, leaving herself straight on the 7. She could only go forward or back and drew straight back at the 8. She got straight again and had to draw back off the 8 to get near the 9. She won the game and all was well. However, that approach is not the high percentage one. There is a lot that can go wrong with two long, strong draw shots. A miscue, an over draw, or an under draw all could lead to disaster. But if she had walked around to look down the line from the 6 to the 7, she would have seen that if she went forward off the 6, she would have a perfect one rail stun shot going toward the 8. Following this she would have had another one rail stun shot to get shape on the 9. I think you will all agree that a stun shot is easier than a draw shot!

Here is how I saw that pattern…

As you can see, going forward on the 6 gives us a nice, reliable one-rail stun shot from the 7 to the 8. Repeating this and you fall perfectly on the 9 for the win. For you skeptics out there let’s take a moment and see why a stun shot is more reliable than a longish draw shot. First is that by hitting the cue ball low, we risk miscueing. I’m sure we all have miscued once or twice on a draw shot. Next is that the lower hit gives us less margin of error in hitting the cue ball. With a stun shot we have more cue ball meat behind the cue stick than with a draw shot, making for a better cue ball hit. And finally, with a stun shot we can hit the cue ball softer, moving the cue ball less, keeping our fundamentals solid, and allowing the pocket to play a little bigger. The lesson here is not whether you can shoot yourself out of trouble, but rather play better patterns so you don’t have to demonstrate your pocketing skills. The way to do this is walk around the table and make sure you take the easiest path possible to clear the balls off the table.

Good luck and see you on the road. 10 PQB October/November


22nd BEF National Junior Artistic Pool Shootout Rack Up A Victory In Your Game and Life!

T

he Billiard Education Foundation hosted the BEF National Junior Artistic Pool Shootout from August 4 - 6, 2015 at the South Point Hotel, Casino, & Spa in Las Vegas, NV. This was the 22nd year for this magnetic challenge, which has become a test of speed control and disciplined focus. Congratulations to each of the divisional champions and runner-ups. Special note should be made that April Lawson and Ashley Fullerton also won their respective divisions in the 9-ball competition. The BEF provided special Artistic Pool awards to the top 2 places in each division. Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman directed the event in a continuing effort to showcase the ‚artistic‚ talent of each player participating. For a documented and historical legacy listing‚ of ALL junior champions / runner-ups for Artis-

12 PQB October/November

tic Pool under the BEF / BCA domain since 1993, please click on the ‚ past, present, and future‚ menu tab at: drcuepromotions.com.

18 & Under (Boys) Place 1st 2nd

Player Joshua Franklin Mitchell Terrasi

City Finish/Prize Creve Couer, ILChampion Title Monroe, MI Runner-up + Award

1st 2nd

Hunter White Eric Roberts

Greenville, SC Crossville, TN

Award Award

1st 2nd

April Lawson Serena Black

Bloomington, MN Warrensburg, IL

Award Award

1st 2nd

Ashley Fullerton April Czarnecki

Lake Park, MN Urbandale, IA

14 & Under (Boys) 18 & Under (Girls)

14 & Under (Girls):

l-r, Joshua Franklin, April Lawson, April Czarnecki, Ashley Fullerton, Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman , Eric Roberts, Mitchell Terrasi, Serena Black , Hunter White

C Award Award



The Push Out

by Mike Roque From “Build Your Game”365 Days of Instruction, Motivation and Insights for Pool Players" www.bebobpublishing.com - 1- 888-33-BEBOB

“I’m not afraid to play anyone, any time. I love competition… I get high on it.” Danny Medina. he Thrill of competing is what drives us to play our best. An easy match is boring. There is no adrenaline. The truth is, no one wants to play a guy they can beat blindfolded, but matching up tough gets us pumped. It’s exciting!

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Whenever you have the chance to play the best, take it. Enter major tournaments like The Derby City Classic, where the entry fee is modest and you have a chance to draw a world champion. Don’t worry about losing, just feed off the energy, play your best and enjoy the experience.

Players who are fiercely competitive love going head– to– head with the best. They may not be showoffs, but they thrive on making a spectacular runout to win a big match. If it’s when playing a world class champion, even better!

With this attitude, you’ll come out a winner because you’ll learn something about your inner strength. Enjoy the tough matches. Playing the best forces you to play your best; and what could be better than that? Enjoy the ride!

A player like Buddy Hall personifies this attitude. While other players were moaning about drawing Luther Lassiter, he thought, “Fantastic, I get to play Wimpy!”

Ozone Billiards / WPA World Artistic Pool Championship Gabi Visoiu clutches the world title after Florian Kohler misses crucial masse by a hair.

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hirty of the best Trick Shot Artists in the world met at Ozone Billiards in Kennesaw, GA to compete in the Ozone Billiards / WPA World Artistic Pool Championship. Players included American Andy Segal, Nick Nikolaidis from Canada defending his world title from 2014 and YouTube superstar Florian Kohler from France. The four day tournament began at noon on Thursday August 27 and ended in a nail biting finale on Sunday afternoon. Gabi Visoiu lead in points for most of the tournament. He also scored a perfect 40 on the stroke discipline round, but only after Florian Kohler did the same forcing them into a tie breaker. Gabi won the tie breaker to win the discipline but Florian remained just behind him in points all the way to the final round. In the final round Gabi, Florian and Andy Segal faced off for the title. Gabi lead the pack for the entire round but

16 PQB October/November

Enjoy the competition and let it drive your game higher!

missed all three attempts at the 10 degree difficulty shot which was the highest level difficulty in the masse category. To take the top spot and the world title Florian Kohler needed to make the shot within the first two tries. The third attempt would force another tie breaker. His first attempt could not have been any closer, just missing by a hair. The second and third attempts were also misses. Andy Segal had an opportunity to tie Gabi with a completion on the first attempt but in the end none of the three players completed the shot. Meanwhile Jamey Gray grabbed the number 4 spot on table two defeating Tim Chin and Sebastian Giumelli with a near perfect score in the final round. In addition to the overall champion title, eight world championship “discipline” titles were awarded, along with two special awards – Sportsmanship and Rising Star. WPA World Champion Discipline titles went to Sebastian Giumelli (Trick / Fancy), Gabi Visoiu (Special Arts and Stroke), Florian Kohler (Draw), Jamey Gray (Follow and Jump), Jamie Moody (Bank / Kick), and Tim Chin (Masse). The Sportsmanship award was presented to Nkoyoyo Edirisa from Africa, and Adam Nickels from England won the Rising Star award. Ozone Billiards opened the event free to the public and filled the house on Saturday and Sunday. Ozone also produced


Rocket and Hail Mary Masse by Tim Chin – www.trickshottim.com Ranked 6th by WPA-APD

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e’re going to cover two related masse shots this month. I chose the Hail Mary Masse for my last shot at the 2015 WPA World Artistic Pool Championships held from Aug 27-30 and hit it on my first attempt to win the masse discipline medal! First though, we’ll start with the Rocket Masse, the top shot in the diagram. The objective is to pocket ball ‘C,’ which is about one chalk width from the cue ball, and have the cue ball spin back up the rail and pocket ball ‘A’. If you’re masochistic, you can try this one-handed! As you get better with the Rocket Masse, you can progressively move the cue ball and object ball further apart, just like any progressive skill drill. The Hail Mary Masse is as diagrammed in the shot program we use for tournaments with the cue ball behind the 3rd diamond and the object ball even with the pocket point. We use a helper ball combination to make it slightly easier. What you’ll see as you need more distance you use less elevation. I actually don’t think in terms of degrees any more though when shooting. I pick the spot on the cue ball I want to contact and I envision a spot on the cloth I want to follow through to and that sets my elevation and aim line. For the

Hail Mary Masse, I aim at the outer edge of ball ‘D’. For both shots, I aim at about 6:30 on the cue ball. The inside spin should keep the cue ball hugging the rail. For the Rocket Masse, my point is almost directly underneath my contact point. For the Hail Mary Masse, my follow through point is under the center of the cue ball. Think of this masse as a vertical draw stroke at first. All of the same principles apply: loose wrist, miscue circle, follow through. With more practice, you can refine your own masse stroke. If the cue ball heads towards the center of the table, your cue may not be parallel with the rail. Have a friend check this from behind.

a free live stream of the entire event on their website and Special Arts Gabi Visoiu - 39 out of 40 pts. YouTube page. Highlights from the event will be posted on Draw Shots Florian Kohler - 38 out of 40 pts. their YouTube page over the next few weeks. Between the Follow Shots Jamey Gray - 37 out of 40 pts. website and YouTube broadcasts Ozone says they are happy Bank / Kick Shots Jamie Moody - 36 out of 40 pts. with the viewership and plan on streaming more events in Stroke Shots Gabi Visoiu - 40 out of 40 pts. the future. Jump Shots Jamey Gray Balabushka Cues was also 40 out of 40 pts. present at the event hosting Masse Shots Tim Chin their own 3-ball competition 36 out of 40 pts. and Balabushka cue raffle. In Note: Each discipline addition to Balabushka, Iwan champion received a Simonis, Aramith, Dr. Cue special medal award! Promotions, and the WPA Artistic Pool Division sponSportsmanship sored the event. The WPA Medal/Ribbon Award: (World Pool Billiard AssociBy Player Vote: Nkoyoyo ation) sanctioned this official “Trickshot Eddy” Edirisa world championship under their international umbrella. Special Rising Star Front row, L to R Sebastian Giumelli USA, Medal/Ribbon Award: Florian Kohler-Eur, Jamie Moody-USA, Discipline Champions: By Player Scores: Adam Gabi Visoiu-Eur, Jamey Gray-USA Trick / Fancy Shots Sebastian “Carnage” Nickels Back row, L to R Adam Nickels-Eur, Tim Chin-USA, Giumelli - 37 out of 40 pts. Nkoyoyo Edirisa-Africa

October/November PQB 17


42nd Annual Texas Open by AzB Staff

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ver Labor Day weekend, Skyler Woodward (right) snatched the 42nd Annual Texas Open title out of its defending champion, Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant’s hands. But not, as was expected, without a fight. The $7,000-added event drew a full field of 128 entrants to Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, TX. In a concurrently-run, $2,000-added Ladies event that drew 32 (see separate story), the Texas Tornado (Vivian Villareal) chalked up her third straight Texas Open title. For the male event, early weekend talk at Skinny Bob’s and in the chat rooms of PoolAction TV, which live-streamed the event throughout the weekend, centered on Mexico’s Ruben Bautista. Bautista, who got by (among others) Richie Richeson, John Gabriel and Alex Olinger, was fulfilling some of those expectations, all the way through until early afternoon on Labor Day, when he ran into the Hillbilly in a winners’ side semifinal. In the other semifinal, Woodward, in the meantime, met up with Robb Saez, who, on his way, had sent three-time Texas Open champion (‘94, ‘02, ‘03) Jeremy Jones to the loss side and was showing some grit. It’s safe to say, if not meticulously researched and proven, that a good percentage of figurative and literal money invested into predicting the winner of this event, had just these four squaring off as they did in the winners’ side semifinals. Woodward dispatched Saez to the loss side 9-5, as Bryant took care of Bautista 9-3. In a surprisingly good-natured hot seat match (Woodward and Bryant can each be feisty at times), Woodward dominated 9-2. Lurking on the loss side, as Saez and Bautista slid over, were (among others) Jones, Olinger, Joey Gray, Jonathan Pinegar and Justin Bergman, who, after being sent to the loss side by Woodward in the third round, was working on what turned out to be a seven-match, loss-side run. Wins #5 and #6 came at

20 PQB October/November

the expense of Jundel Mazon 9-2 and Pinegar 9-5, which set Bergman up against Bautista. Saez drew Gray, who’d eliminated Olinger 9-4 and Brian Sanders 9-5. In two polar-opposite matches battling for advancement to the quarterfinals, Saez drew the ‘double hill’ card that finished Gray’s weekend. In a somewhat surprising turn of events (though not to everyone), Bergman shut Bautista out. Following that victory, very few would have predicted the double hill quarterfinal that followed, and at a guess, it would have been even money for the result, that was 9-8, Saez. The semifinal between Bryant and Saez (who won this event, four years ago) was a re-match from last year’s final, at which, on the hill and shooting at the 9-ball, Saez scratched, giving Bryant, in the hot seat, the opportunity to tie and then, break and run, to capture the 2014 title. In the steady, and not overly dramatic re-match, Bryant defeated Saez 9-5 for a second, and potentially necessary third shot at Woodward. It looked, in the early going of the opening set, as if Bryant was going to cruise to a second set. Woodward, who won the lag, was looking at a separate, private payout of $500 if he could break and run the set; a bargain that fell apart on his opening break, when he sunk a single ball, but couldn’t see the 1-ball. He rolled out, launching a series of back and forth safety shots that made it look as though it were going to be a longer night than it actually was. Woodward untangled the


24 PQB October/November


Amazin Billiards The scheduled USBA 3 cushion handicap event was held at Amazin Billiards in Malden, Massachusetts on Saturday, September 26th despite many last minute no-shows. A seven man round robin was in order and the tournament ran for 10 hours with no break in the action. Three players gave the ultimate Champion all he could handle. Manny Cuhna lost in the 1 hole while John Johnson and Kevin Perry scored 27 and 26 points respectively in losses to the victor Mazin Shooni. Joe DeAmato was 5 & 0 when he faced Mazin who stood at 4 & 0 and the game meant everything. Mazin emerged victorious 30 to 24. At 26-24, Mazin ran a slick 4 and out. The very last match to be played was between Richard and Mazin and all 4 top spots hung in the balance. Mazin seemed to kick in, played a strong game and won decisively 30 to 18. Manny, who fought hard the entire way finished 3rd and Richard took down the final spot. Despite the disappointing small turnout, the day was filled with good, hard fought play and having the top 4 spots being determined in the final game made for drama that might not have been anticipated. Congratulations to Mazin Shooni on his win. Being the top dog is never easy as everyone seems to be gunning for you. Congrats to runner-up Joe D, to Manny C and Richard F for finishing in the money.

30 PQB October/November

Left to Right, Joe DeAmato, Manny Cuhna, Mazin Shooni, Rich Falanga, Kevin Perry

A sincere thanks to Amazin Billiards, owner Mazin Shooni and his staff who so attentively saw to it that the balls and tables were cleaned after every game. What’s better than 10 hours of 3 cushion billiards amongst passionate players??? 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

$425 Mazin $ 275 Joe $150 Manny $100 Richard


October/November PQB 31


Big Dog Billiards’ $2,000-added 9-Ball Open and $5,000-added One Pocket Championships

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hile daytime temperatures in Des Moines, Iowa were still in the 80s, with overnight lows dipping into the upper 50s, Scott Frost (right) and Shane Winters came to town. On the weekend of September 10-13, the two of them, separately, won Big Dog Billiards’ $2,000-added 9-Ball Open and the $5,000-added One Pocket Championships. They both went undefeated; Winters, through a 9-ball field of 150 and Frost, through a One Pocket, ‘pro’ mine field of 11 entrants. Almost, but not quite, trumping Winters’ undefeated run through the 9-ball tournament, was Bobby McGrath, who lost his opening match, and proceeded to win 14 on the loss side before meeting up with Winters in the finals. Winters advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Steve Boutcher. Jody McLaughlin faced Bob Andrews in the other. Winters and McLaughlin chalked up 7-3 wins over Boutcher and Andrews, before Winters chalked up a third 7-3 score to claim the hot seat over McLaughlin. With nine loss-side wins to his credit already, Bobby McGrath got by Ron Govafenski 7-2 and Randy Hanson 7-4 to meet Boutcher. Andrews drew Chris Siefkan, who’d eliminated Mike Bennett and Mitch Ellerman, both 7-5. Among the 144 already vanquished at this stage of the game were Mike Massey, Lee Brett, Gene Albrecht, and a not-seen-lately, presumably-out-of-retirement Sarah Rousey. McGrath chalked up win #12, 7-3, over Boutcher. Andrews defeated Siefkan 7-4. And then there were four. McGrath defeated Andrews 7-3 in the quarterfinals, McLaughlin 7-4 in the semifinals, and it was down to two. The final match was Winters’ eighth. It was McGrath’s 15th. Winters took advantage of a ‘gas tank’ that had to be running on fumes, and completed his undefeated run 7-2 to claim the 9-ball title. The short field of 11 that signed up for the One Pocket Championships included all of the usual suspects, headlined by

36 PQB October/November

Alex Pagulayan, Corey Deuel, Frost, Josh Roberts, and Jeremy Jones. The other six were Danny Smith, Jesse Bowman, Justin Hall, Tony Chohan, Chris Bartram and Jason Chance. Frost and Roberts squared off in one of the winners’ side semifinals, while Jones and Bowman met up in the other. Frost ended up getting by Roberts twice; the first time, double hill. Bowman defeated Jones 5-2. Frost claimed the hot seat 5-3 over Bowman. On the loss side, Chance, Hall, Chohan, Smith and Bartram were gone by the time Jones picked up Deuel, who’d eliminated Chance and Smith, both 5-2. Roberts picked up Pagalayun, who’d eliminated Bartram 5-2. Deuel and Roberts got by Jones and Pagalayun 5-2, as well, and met up in the quarterfinals. Roberts defeated Deuel 5-3, and then, downed Bowman 5-2 for a second shot at Frost, now in the hot seat. Based on their earlier, double-hill meeting, spectators and commentators on PoolActionTV’s live stream (Jeremy Jones, among them) were expecting a similar struggle in the finals. Frost was not. He got out in front and stayed there to claim the One Pocket title 5-2.



Turning Stone Classic

by Mike Zuglan

J

ayson Shaw has won the Turning Stone Classic for the third consecutive time and he did so in fine style. He went through the field without a defeat and had to get past some very tough competitors to do so.

Along the way to his victory Shaw sent Scott Frost to the B side 9-3, Richard Young was deposited there 9-1 and Tommy D’Alfonso failed 9-5. Mosconi Cup hopeful Justin Hall put up a great fight but succumbed 9-7 and even the great Shane Van Boening could not hold up under Shaw’s hot cue as he fell on the hill 9-8.

That loss pitted SVB against Mike Dechaine. Dechaine had been on the long road since the first day and was determined to get to the finals. He had been playing extremely well, destroying one opponent after another, and he was ready for Van Boening. He kept control of the table, broke and shot as well as anyone, and won the right to face Shaw in the finals 9-5. Van Boening settled for third place in the event. Dechaine kept it close until the end of the match. It was then that Shaw caught yet another gear and mastered the table to win the event 13-10. Here are the official results for the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour’s “Turning Stone Classic XXIV 9-Ball Open, August 2023, 2015. Please publish and/or post. 1st $8,000 Jayson Shaw (Scotland) 2nd $5,000 Mike Dechaine 3rd $3,600 Shane Van Boening 4th $2,600 Tom D’Alfonso 5/6th $2,000 each Justin Hall, Roberto Gomez (Phil) 7/8th $1,600 each Corey Deuel, Brandon Shuff 9/12th $1,200 each Johnny Archer, Thorsten Hohmann, Darren Appleton (UK) Dennis Orcollo (Phil) 13/16th $850 each Oscar Dominguez, Skyler Woodward, Sylvain Grenier (Can) & Shaun Wilkie 17/24th $550 each Mika Immonen (FIN), Dan Louie, Dave Fernandez, Dennis Hatch, Justin Bergman, Mario Morra (CAN), Richard Young (CAN)Luc Salvas (CAN) 25/32nd $300 each Scott Frost, Rob Hart, Danny Hewitt (CAN), Jorge Rodriguez, Joey Dupuis, Ron Casanzio, Alain Parent (CAN) Sean Morgan 42 PQB October/November

Jayson Shaw

Dechaine, Tournament Director, Mike Zuglan and Shaw

2nd chance event 1st 2nd 3/4th 5/8th

$500 $300 $200 each $60 each

Josh Ulrich Clyde Matta Travis Salvetti, Mike Toohig Paul Pensgen, Greg Bombard, Holden Chin & John Vitale


Ming Rebounds on Gulf Coast Tour

I

t was a slow start for Houston’s Ming Ng who lost a fourth round match to Gail Eaton, 7-6, and although Eaton went on to face 2014 Gulf Coast Tour Champion Belinda Lee for the hot seat, Ng reentered the scene to stake her claim, winning an impressive 7 straight matches to take home the title, 2015 Gulf Coast Tour 10-Ball Champion. It was a choice weekend to win on the Gulf Coast Tour which hosted its first 2-day event on September 12th-13th, 2015, drawing a record 48 women, paying out close to $2,000 in prize money, and offering a qualifier spot for the 2016 WPBA Masters event. Thanks to an anonymous sponsor, room owner David Richardson, and tour sponsors Delta-13 Rack and the APA of North Harris County, the Gulf Coast women enjoyed their most successful event since the tour’s 2013 inception. “This tour is growing by leaps and bounds, and we look forward to building on this event, and our 52-player, WPBA membership”, says tour director, Kimberly Newsome. “This tour offers experience; it’s competitive, mixed with a little fun and craziness. It’s a perfect balance that allows players to take their game to the next level, and create friendships along the way.” Although most of the competitors had never played a single game of 10-ball, everyone caught on very quickly, and had a great time doing it. On the battle field, veteran player Ming Ng fought her way through a distinguished field of 48 women with wins over Kim “Texas Heat” Pierce, Yvonne Garcia, and newcomer Sophie Salinas, 7-4, before losing to Gail Eaton, 7-6. Belinda Lee took down Cindy Cole, 7-1, Terry Petrosino, 7-3, and Liz Mitchel, 7-0. Daughter, Robyn Petrosino, made her own bid for the hot seat with wins over Karen Reilly, 7-3, Shannon Collins, 7-1, and newlywed Natalie (Esparza) Rocha, 7-2, until falling to Eaton, 7-5. Loretta Lindgren came out firing as well, ousting Bonnie Mason, 7-2, and Mandy Hood, 7-3, until losing

46 PQB October/November

a nail-biter to Lee, 7-6. On the one loss side, after losing her first round match to newby Theresa Mireles, 7-3, Ricki Casper won 6 consecutive matches, eliminating Darcy Whatley, 7-2, Mindy Williams, 7-5, Austin’s Erica Hanlon, 7-0, Mitchel, 7-5, Pierce, 7-2, and R. Petrosino, 7-3. Contender Tara Williams was taken down in the first round by Teresa Garland, 7-2, but went on to eliminate Toni Esteves, 7-3, Terry Petrosino, 7-3, and Tina Allen, 7-4, before being ousted by Ng, 7-3. Ng went on to defeat Rocha, 7-6, Lindgren, and finally Casper, 7-6, while Eaton made quick work of securing the hot seat match over Lee, 7-3. Ng overcame Lee, 7-4, the final obstacle standing between her, and Eaton. In the first set of the true, double elimination final, Eaton jumped to a 5-0 lead. Directly off a five-game winning streak, momentum unwavering, Ng came back to win the first set, 7-6. In overtime, Ng came on strong, closing out the final set, 7-5. Congratulations to Ming Ng on her 2015 Gulf Coast Tour 10-Ball title and to Gail Eaton who secured the WPBA qualifier spot. Derrell Montgomery, official tour referee, tour supporter, and pool philanthropist, awarded the 10-ball champ with a handcrafted and engraved, trophy pen. Each one of Mr. Montgomery’s pens is one-of-a-kind, and it’s a tradition to award a “Montgomery Trophy Pen” to each year’s tour champion. Finishes 1st Ming Ng $600 2nd Gail Eaton $420 3rd Belinda Lee $310 4th Ricki Casper $200 5th-6th Robyn Petrosino, Loretta Lindgren $90 ea


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