24th Annual Allen Hopkins Super Billiards Expo
by Ricky Bryant
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he 24th annual Allen Hopkins Super Billiards Expo, SBX, was held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, which is in the Valley Forge area. This was the third time the event was at this venue, and keeps improving. The four day event was Thursday April 14th through Sunday the 17th. Allen’s team is continuing to make changes to the event to give the best experience for the spectators. The spacing for the vendors was better than ever making it easier to shop and browse. There were two Pro Arenas with 8 tables in each, one open to general admission and one was a paid venue, with all of the other events open to general admission. This year the Expo had over a hundred vendors, American Cuemakers Association Show and the TAP League Rally in the Valley, plus the following Pool and Billiards events: Pro Pool Diamond Events: Open 10-Ball, Women’s Open 9Ball and Open 1-Pocket Professor-Q-Ball 3-Cushion Events: Team Exhibition, Challenge Matches and Clinics Open Pro-Am Bar Box 9-Ball: Amateur Events: Open Amateur, Women’s Division, Seniors Division, and Super Seniors Division JR Events: Juniors 17 & Under and Juniors 12 & Under
tised as Dotted Cue ball which was mis-inturpited by some to mean the Measal ball, but this year there was no change year as the event was played with the Red Dot cue ball. There was one other big topic of discussion and that was the Corey Duel soft break. The requirement was 4 object balls to the rail or make a ball, failing that is a foul with ball in hand to the opoent. It became such an issue the torunment staff was having to video the break to check for the 4 object balls to the rail. I’m not sure why Corey stuck to the break since it didn’t work loosing on Saturday against Shane Van Boening on the no loss side Pro Events then eliminated in the next match Thorsten Hohmann on the The three Pro Championships were directed for the second time by Tournament Directory Doug Ennis and Frank Del Pizzo, one loss side. Sunday, after three days of play the final 8 would play single but both with numerous years running this and other events. The Pro events were played on sixteen, 9 foot Diamond tables elimination races to 13. There was not a re-draw going into this final round of play. The quarter round matches were Alex with Simonis 860 Cloth and Aramith Tournament balls. As with all SBX events a player can enter multiple events but due Pagulayan(13) vs Warren Kiamco(6), Shane Van Boening(13) vs Earl Strickland(5), Tommy Kennedy(12) vs Thoresten to time constraints if there is a conflict the player will select Hohmann(13) and Mike Dechaine(9) vs John Morra(13). the match to forfeit. This setup the semi-finals of Morra vs Hohmann and Van Diamond Open 10 Ball Professional Boening vs Pagulayan. Morra moved to the final with a 13-6 Players Championship win and Van Boening, eliminated Pagulayan 13-11. The matches for the event were scheduled over the full four Shane played determined working for his 6th win in the days. There was a full field of 64 players with a $500 entry fee. event with his last coming in 2014. But John Morra would The format was non-call shot 10 ball, lag for the break then have something to say about that. Shane’s break was not rack your own alternating break. If the 10 is made on the break working as well as usual and this is big in an alternating break it was not a win but spotted. The race was to 10, double elimi- event. Morra would take the title 13-10, which was a nice nation, until the final 8 players. The final 8 would play out break through in a major. Congradulations John Morra the single elemination race to 13. The event was again a Mosconi 2016 SBX Diamond 10-Ball Champion. Points event for the selection of the US Mosconi Team. Diamond Women’s Open 9-Ball Missing from the full field was the 2015 Champion Dennis Orcollo. This event has had it’s discussions of what cue ball to Professional Players Championship The Women’s Open event was scheduled for two days, Saturuse. One year saw a change after day 1. This year it was adver6 PQB June/July
day and Sunday. This was double elimination format race to 10 until the final 8, which would be single elimination race to 13. There was a full field of 32 players with a $300 entry. This was rack your own; alternating break and the 9 on the break was not a win but spotted. The women banded together on Sunday and requested a redraw of the final 8, 4 from the one loss side and 4 from the no loss side. Allen agreed so the one loss drew into the no loss, matching up one from each side. The final 8 in the quarter final matches were Allison Fisher (13) vs April Larson (4), Karen Corr (13) vs Emily Duddy (5), Caroline Pao (13) vs Brittany Bryant (9) and Vivian Villareal (13) vs Jennifer Baretta (8). The Semi-Finals had Villareal coming back from behind to defeat Fisher, 13-11. Corr eliminated Pao 13-3 to move to the final. Karen Corr defeated Villareal in the final 13-8 to go undefeated and win her Second SBX Championship. Congratulations to Karen Corr the 2016 SBX Diamond Women’s 9-Ball Champion.
Diamond Open 1-Pocket Professional Players Championship
The Diamond Open 1-Pocket event was scheduled for three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This was double elimina-
SBX2016 Diamond Open 10-Ball Pro Players Championship $47,000 purse am$10000 1st John Morra $10,000 2nd Shane VanBoening $5,000 3/4th Thorsten Hohmann, Alex Pagulayan $3,200 each 5/8th Michael Dechaine, Tommy Kennedy, Warren Kiamco, Earl Strickland $2,600 each 9/12 Eddie Abraham, Corey Deuel, Vilmos Foldes, Mika Immonen $2,100 each Diamond Women’s Open 9-Ball Professional Players Championship $15,500 Purse Champion Karen Corr $5,000 Runner-Up Vivian Villarreal $2,500 3rd/4th Allison Fisher, Caroline Pao $1,500 ea 5-8th Jennifer Barretta, Brittany Bryant Emily Duddy, April Larson $1,250 ea Diamond Open One-Pocket Pro Players Championship $8500 purse 1st Darren Appleton $2,000 2nd Thomas Zippler $1,500 ea 3rd/4th Martin Ciccia Vincent Cimarelli $1,000 ea 5-8th Justin Jewett,Warren Kiamco Russell Parsons, Joseph Sellecchia $750 ea
tion format race to 4 until the final 8, which would be single elimination race to 5. There was a full field of 32 players with a $225 entry. This was rack you own, alternating break. As with the 10-Ball there was no re-draw with the final 8. The quarter files would see Darren Appleton eliminate Russel Parsons 5-1, Vincent Cimarelli eliminate Bob Jewett 5-3, Tom Zippler eliminating Joseph Sellechia 5-1. In the other match Martin Ciccia got a forfeit when Warren Kiamco had to decide between 1-Pocket and 10-Ball. The semi-final round had Appleton defeating Cimarelli 5-2 and Zippler defeating Ciccia 5-3. Appleton had been in the 10-Ball but lost track of time and missed a match. He then opted to forfeit the next 10-Ball match to focus on 1-Pocket and spend more time with his fans at the Predator booth, one of his sponsors. He now found himself undefeated going into the final against Zippler. Determined Appleton took the Championship over Zippler 5-1. Congratulations to Darren Appleton the 2016 SBX Diamond 1-Pocket Champion. June/July PQB 7
Fundamental Check List
by Mark Finkelstein Pro at Slate and Eastside Billiards, New York City; Instructional Columnist
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’m sitting over here in Japan enjoying my quiet time. Most people come to Japan to enjoy the food, temples, shopping and the sights. I get to deal with the trash every morning, my garden, City Hall paperwork, and the trains! Not much of a vacation. However, having time on my hands to think about pool, I keep going back to the basics. I took some time to watch pool on the internet. Watching good players is instructive. They all have different approaches, but they are consistent. All the good players in one way or another stick to the “truth” of the game of pool. So what is “truth” in pool? Before I give you my list let me explain that how you get to the fundamentals is part of the art of pool. Everyone has a different body, but how you get a level stick is a different question than having a level stick. As Chris Bartram says, “fundamentals get you through the heat!” Let’s take a look at the fundamental truths of the game. How you get your body and mind to get there is up to you.
Equipment:
Bad tip on cue. Properly chalking tip.
Moving cue ball too much. Taking shots for granted. Look at this list closely. I think we can all see a little of ourselves here. Now here is the hard part. How do see if we have any of these fundamental errors and how can we learn to correct our faults and eliminate them from our game? Here are some ways others have used in the past. First you can take lessons. Having someone watch you play and correct your form errors is used in many professional sports. Next is video taping yourself and then analyzing the tape. This can also be done with an instructor, but you can do this yourself as well. Finally is the old fashioned way of paying attention to one fundamental a day and see how you are doing. Where is your stick ending up after the stroke? If it up in the air shooting at ducks (Thanks to Tom Simpson for this great description!), you are doing something wrong! Work at this list, and I’m sure you will be glad you did. To end this article, I want to give you a drill that will challenge you if your fundamentals are not solid. If this drill gives you a lot of trouble, you might go back and revisit the basics.
Form:
Stick not level on cue ball contact. Jumping up. Gripping cue too tight. Jerking the stick back. Eyes jumping all over the place. Loose Bridge. Bridge too far from the cue ball. Tip stopping too far from the cue ball when aiming. Excessive movement. Staying down too long on the shot. Body contorted and tense. Inconsistent shot approach and stance.
Stroke:
Using too much English. Shooting first and then trying to recover. Hitting balls too hard. Duck hunting on the stroke (cue stick pointing way up in the air).
Miscellaneous:
Saying bad things to yourself. Not playing safe enough. Needlessly bumping balls. 10 PQB June/July
The object of this drill is to make all ten balls with a stop shot. You make the one ball and then move the cue ball back to behind the line and make the two etc. If you miss the shot, reset and start again!!! Telling yourself you would have made it in a game and counting it is only cheating yourself. If you are having trouble, keep track of your misses, where your cue stick is ending up, are you staying down etc. Have a friend look at you!! Video yourself doing this drill. This might help you discover a flaw in your fundamentals that will lead to an improvement in your game. See you on the road!
2016 American Cuemakers Association (ACA) Awards
by Ricky Bryant
T
here were four presentations at the annual member’s dinner which is held on Saturday night at the Super Billiards Expo. The ACA has two main sponsors Diamond Pool Tables and Simonis Cloth. The dinner is attended by the members who are some of the best Cuemakers in the United States, and guest. The annual membership meeting follows the dinner. The first presentation was actually two awards presented to Jim Buss of Jim Buss Custom Cues. This was his second ACA Appreciation Award followed by the ACA Life Time Achievement award. It has been said “you didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to be a cue maker” but in Jim’s l-r, Mike Capone - Cue Maker of the Year 2016 Pres. of American Cuemakers Assoication (ACA), Brandon Jacoby - Winner Peoples Choice Cue, Joe case you did, he also worked for NASA. Jim is an original member of Pechauer - 2nd Place Peoples Choice Cue, Pat Diveney - 3rd Place Peoples the association and has served many Choice Cue, Pete Tonkin - Cuemakers Choice Cue Winner positions including President and 44 Snakewood, 287 Malahile, 200 Abalone, 275 Ivory, 48 Secretary Treasurer. Jim has been a highly respected member Ebony and 32 Silver. and has had a great influence on the association’s direction. First place and Cue of the year went to Brandon Jacoby and Josh Treadway of Treadway Custom Cues accepted the award Bill Evans of Jacoby Custom Cues. The cue was “Shaka Zulu” for Jim who was unable to attend. valued at $35,000. It was inspired by Shaka Zulu of the Zulu The Second presentation was Cue Maker of the Year which kingdom. The construction contained 3474 inlays of ebony, was presented to Mike Capone of Capone Custom Cues, ivory, copper, holly, and green box elder burl. Centered ivory Poolesville, Maryland. Mike has been doing cue repairs and and copper inlays highlighted with green box elder burl symbuilding cues since the early 90’s and was accepted into the ACA in 1996 at the age of 24. Mike is the current President of bolizing the growth of the Zulu kingdom comes together to form Isihlangu shields used only by the highest the American Cuemakers Association. The third presentation was the Annual People’s Choice Cue warriors. Assegai spears of copper, ivory and ebony adorn the Award which is actually three awards. This is presented for 1st, cue. Copper revered by the Zulu people is highly polished surrounding black and white veneer spliced together accents the 2nd and 3rd place or as the emcee says Win – Place – Show! cue, bringing some of the artistic culture of the Zulu The cue makers make something special to put on display at people. The cue was complete with a matching butt extension, the Expo each year and visitors to the ACA booth vote for joint extension, matching shaft and matching joint protectors their choices. Every year the competition gets tougher. for the cue and extensions. Third place went to Pat Diveney - Diveney Custom Cues. The forth presentation was Cuemakers Cue Choice Award. The cue was “Copperhead” valued a $7000. It was a wrapless, This was the first time for this award. The voting was done by ebony cue with snakewood points, copper and red veneer ring the members based on the same cues entered in the People’s work and butterfly’s with copper joint, joint pin and butt cap. Choice competition. The award went to Pete Tonkin of It was the first time anyone has done metal butterflies. Tonkin Custom Cues, Willow Creek, California. Second place went to Joe Pechauer of J.Pechauer Custom Congratulations to everyone and to learn more about the Cues. The cue was “Sovereign” valued at $35,000. The cue had 910 Total Inlays, 24 Authentic Diamonds totaling 2 carats, ACA visit the web site www.cuemakers.org 12 PQB June/July
Chico Billiards Academy
by Jacqueline Karol • House Pro at Oais Bar & Grill Chico Ca., League Operator & Tournament Director .
Diamond Drill
Set up an object ball on the left side of the jaws and the place the cue ball as shown in the diagram. Then, place object balls on the rail at every diamond going all the way around the table. Pocket the object ball and make the cue ball run into each of the object balls on the rail going clockwise. Once you hit your target ball on the rail, remove it from the table and go to the next target ball. This drill is very powerful in that it makes you see the very minor differences in stroke, english and cut angle. This drill will also improve your confidence in position play once you can see how accurately you can control the cue ball. A tricky area that many players get stuck on is when they try to get the cue ball farther down the table towards the side pockets and opposite end of the table. You will surprisingly need to use some low english here, which is counterintuitive. If you use high and hit the ball fairly full and with some speed it will try to hug the rail and stall. The low English will turn into high off of the rail and allow the cue ball to smoothly travel a greater distance. Allow yourself to absorb everything you can about the shot even if you missed your target. Notice how your cue stick ended after the shot is over. Did you follow through with a level cue? How much follow through did you use? Did you stay still?
Chris Kelly Wins His First Tri-State at Steinway Billiards
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hris’ went undefeated with wins over Duc Lam 8 - 6; Elvis Rodriquez 7 - 4; Tony Liang 8 - 2; Stewart Warnock 8 - 3 and the Hot seat match with Pascal Dufresne 7 - 3. During this time, Tony Liang went through the loss side to reach Pascal. Their match was a real cliffhanger, with Pacsal the winner at 9 - 8. During the Finals, Chris and Pascal tied at 3 - 3 before Chris took charge with a 7 - 4 victory. Special acknowledgement also belongs to Adrian Daniel for an impressive 6 win/ 2 loss, 4th place finish. Please provide a thank you to Ozone Billiards, SterlingGaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners for their sponsorship leading to this event. The next Tri-State event will be held on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at BQE Billiards & bar, in Jackson Hts., Queens, NY.
Left: 2nd place Pascal Dufresne, 1st place Chris Kelly, and 3rd place Tony Liang
Payouts
1st $710.00 3rd $280.00 5th/6th $110/$110 14 PQB June/July
2nd $450.00 4th $170.00 7th/8th $80/$80
Around the Table
by Robert Byrne From “Byrne’s Complete Book of Pool Shots” with permission
I
n the game on one-pocket, each player is assigned a corner pocket. The first to make eight balls in his or her pocket wins. If yours is at the upper left, the around-the-table sink in shot is a tempting choice, depending on the position of the other balls. With the correct speed, the 1-ball, if it doesn’t go in, will come to rest near your pocket.
Applying Left-Brain Senses and Right-Brain Senses with Clarity by Tom Rossman • drcue@artisticpool.org Contributing Writer
ception of an: act / process / situation / environment (often •“90% of The Game is Half Mental.” Yogi Berra ® with emotional attachment). Five Right-Brain Senses (RBS): •“All of The Game is 100% Engrained Perception.” Dr. Cue Free Flowing (Automatic Release; “Alive Stroke”) Sight Special Note: I had been teaching the mental game for (Mental implant to “mind’s eye” seeing all in its entirely before decades when a close friend of mine named Rob Dickman from Canon City, CO, gave me a small ceramic brain with dis- shot) – then releasing! Sound (Mental implant to audio banks before shot) – then releasing! Feeling (Mental implant to tinct, colorful lines on the outside depicting its two primary sides. The left side and right side were simple in design, which tactile endings which allows feel before shot) – then releasing! Taste (Mental implant of eating flavors before shot) – then rereminded me to present the amazing nature of the overall leasing! Smell (Mental implant of odor factors before shot) – brain functions in an easy to understand manner. I am confithen releasing! Notes: These implanted / engrained senses are dent that you will achieve a thorough understanding of how released automatically after significant programming and/or both sides of the brain are supposed to work in harmony with conditioning of act / process / situation via repetition and each other so that you might achieve a “mental victory” both “perfect” practice. These senses see, hear, feel, taste, and smell, on and off the table. The brain has ten specific and primary but do not “focus” like the left brain, but rather “observe” senses, as follows: Five Left-Brain Senses (LBS): Analytical something happening (from the sidelines, so to speak). These Nature (Point-By-Point; Step-By-Step) Sight (physical sense senses do not care if something is “right or wrong,” but will with eyes) – See aiming / alignment lines, balls, pockets, cue stick, etc. Sound (physical sense with ears) – Hear tip hitting “short circuit” if something is done that is outside the condiball, clicking and dropping of balls, etc. Feeling (physical sense tioned / programmed act / process, situation it has learned from long effort / implant. Moral Of Story: Literal makes and literal with hands, etc) – Feel cue sensation through hands / arms to brain Taste (physical sense with mouth) – Taste food / drink – misses can both be OK to the right brain, if conditioned and programmed by the left brain! When applied to practice rouLuther Lassiter (nicknamed “Wimpy) ate hot dogs like tines, dozens of EASY left-brain exercises will produce consis“Wimpy” in Popeye eating hamburgers – played often better as tent “make” implants to the right brain, which will establish he “tasted” each shot, so to speak, in a flavor – associated comfort zone Smell (physical sense with nose) - Smell odors - higher confidence levels for your game. Special Note: The above content is from my new instructional manual entitled: personally I love the smell of popcorn popping, so if that scenario exists, I “smell” each shot, so to speak, in an odor – asso- Student of the Game and Life To receive a “free” copy of this 70-page manual in a PDF color format document (11.6MB), ciated comfort zone. Note: These senses develop the foundation of our game point-by-point – which create the per- please email me at: drcue@artisticpool.org!
June/July PQB 15
Twenty Player Turnout for Houston Tournament at Bida Goodays
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n Saturday May 14 tournament play roared back to Houston as 20 players met for a handicapped event at Bida Goodays directed by room owner Tim Nguyen. Jorge Gonzalez emerged as the winner out of the C entries. Cong Nguyen (A) was 2nd, Dung Nguyen (A) was 3rd and Lan Vo (B) was 4th to round out the top finishers. Lan Vo also took high run honors and the $100 prize for his run of 8. Houston has more than a dozen carom rooms and more than forty 10-foot heated tables in town. Unfortunately, tournament action has always been pretty sparse. Tim Nguyen, owner of Bida Goodays at 13442 Bellaire Blvd aims to change all that. His two-step plan: First, recover his Gabriels and Chevillotte tables with Simonis 300 Rapide cloth; then hold a handicapped event with multiple cash prizes and serve lunch and drinks to the players “on the house!” The run-up to the tournament generated a huge buzz around Houston with the result: the plan was more than a success. Attracting additional prize sponsors from the likes of Professor-Q-Ball (Paul Jorge Gonzalez,1st Frankel) and two local players Doug Deitel and Jay Karahan, Tim added another $100 Tim Nguyen Owner for high run and the event was quickly over-subscribed. It was $50 entry fee, 20 players and they were grouped as follows: five players entered as A, eleven as B and four as C. With the goal of completing the event in one day. “A” players raced to 18, “B” players to 15 and “C” players to 12. There was a blind draw to divide the group into five round robin flights of four for the preliminary round. Winner of each flight plus the three best second-place finishers moved on to finals. Tie-breakers were based on score, then points for and lastly points against. The final standings and prize money awarded: 1st Jorge Gonzalez $350 2nd Cong Nguyen $250 3rd Dung Nguyen $150 4th Lan Vo $100 5th Joel Rivera $50 6th Huy Nguyen $50 High Run: Lan Vo $100
June/July PQB 25
Youth 3-Cushion Challenge and Clinic
Sponsored by Professor-Q-Ball Promotions and YURA (Nothing But Billiards)
Master of Ceremonies – Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman On April 15, 2016, a very special event took place at the Super Billiards Expo in the 3 – Cushion arena before a standing room only audience. Over a dozen juniors (18 years of age and younger) participated in a unique “lag challenge” on the two beautiful Gabriel billiard (carom) tables. There was no charge to take the challenge and each player was presented with one or more billiard gloves valued from $8.00 to $24.00 each (donated by IBS). After taking the challenge, each player was given a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to receive “free” clinic lessons from two National Champions of the “carom art” – Hugo Patino (current) and Mazin Shooni. Learning the basics of the “no pocket” game and taking the 3 – Cushion Lag Challenge was a hit “combo,” establishing a foundation of enhanced cue sport skills for our youth while providing special moments in billiard history to last a lifetime for all in attendance. On April 16 2016 another “lag challenge” took place for the juniors in a “match play” single elimination format awarding respective “zone points” for the finish position of each lag attempted. Two hours of competitive excitement and close matches with awesome “lagging” executed on the Gabriel table created one of the most fan-friendly events ever held. Each of the 20+ players received a billiard glove (donated by IBS) and a raffle ticket just for entering. In each “head to head” match the player with the highest total “zone points” scored moved on to the next match and so on, until only one player remained in the victory circle. The winner of each match received 3 more raffle tickets and the other player received 2 more raffle tickets. When the final lag had been taken, 16 – year old Darian Deitz from Elizabethtown, PA emerged as the determined lag champion and bragging rights, so to speak in this inaugural event. All of the players remained in the arena as a final point of the evening festivities had to be done. One raffle ticket was drawn by YURA (Nothing But Billiards) to find out which junior would win a beautiful Hanbat carom cue valued at $150.00 (donated by IBS). All of the players participating in the event had multitude chances of winning as a large number of raffle tickets had been collected in the individual matches played. Darian Deitz continued his “victory journey” as his ticket was drawn. A special presentation of the cue to Darian capped off a night that he will never forget. Each junior 30 PQB June/July
“enjoyed the lag challenge” immensely, with a rare opportunity to play on the 3 Cushion table with its professional amenities. Stay tuned for more in the future for our youth (and others) as 3 Cushion moves forward with exciting new promotions, which are both player and fan – friendly.
16 year old Darian Deitz (above left) from Elizabethtown, PA is Lag Champion
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