Rackem Pool Magazine January Issue 2016 by Rackem Magazine

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RACKEM 2016 P ool Magazine January On The Cover

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COVER ARTICLE

6 Mosconi Cup

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

22 Space City Open 24 Kato Results 25 Chinook Winds Press Release 26 Omega Tour 27 Top 100 Money List 28 Big Dod’s Holiday 29 Handicap 9-Ball 30 High Pockets 31 Scoreboard 33 Back Alley Sweeps

COLUMNISTS

12 Tom Simpson 13 Michael Glass 14 Bob Jewett 15 Anthony Beeler 16 Stefano Pelinga

WEEKLY TOURNAMENTS 32 Central U.S. Weekly Tournaments 34 Central U.S. Tournaments OnTheBreakNews.com

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Anthony Beeler 15 Bob Jewett 14 Michael Glass 13 National Billiard Academy 12 OnTheBreakNews.com 33 Stefano Pelinga 16

POOL TOURNAMENTS Tournament Trail Weekly Tournaments

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34 32

Don “Cheese” Akerlow

Rackem January 2016

Publisher

Team USA

Photos by: JP Parmentier-Matchroom Sport

Justin Bergman

Corey Deuel

Mike Dechaine

Skylar Woodward

Europe Takes Early Lead

The US were three balls from going two ahead in the next but Dechaine, partnered by Corey Deuel, missed the brown 7, trying to do too much with it. That Day 1 - December 7, 2015 allowed Karl Boyes and Nick van den Berg to close out the rack and level the match. THE 22nd ANNUAL PARTYPOKER MOSCONI Boyes commented, “It is a massive crowd, it is very loud, very CUP got underway on Monday at the Tropicana in exciting, so you are pumped up and your adrenaline is very Las Vegas as Europe got the better of an entertaining high. We threw the team point away in the end and Mike session in their defense of pool’s ultimate trophy. 3-2 Dechaine got a bit lucky in the last rack but you get punished was the final account but it was tense stuff as both Shane Van Boening for making mistakes. Nick played some great shots in our teams worked to settle in the intimidating atmosphere. doubles match and it was a big point for the team.” There will be no respite tomorrow when five more matches complete Team Europe took a 2-1 lead in the third game as Niels Feijen enjoyed some good and Europe’s Captain Marcus Chamat was pleased with the first day; fortune to defeat Justin Bergman playing in his second Mosconi Cup. Feijen had a “Emotions were up and down today. Every match felt like it was a couple of flukes which set him on the road and when Bergman missed an elementary tough game. It is a new situation for me as the captain but I gained a lot 7 ball late in the game, it sealed his fate. of confidence today. I got really nervous when the table was open but “This is the only time of the year we play with the five guys and you really live up then I would think, this is the greatest team in the world why should I to it, especially last get worried? But when the balls are lying there your heart is so in it. week as it is like a “Every match is big; every rack is big. We have a 3-2 lead but we know rollercoaster as you that tomorrow will be very tough again. We know we have to be really get closer and closer good to beat this team. The American team showed today that they are to the entrance,” said a very good team, stronger than they have been in the last five or six Feijen. “Every time years. We have to come out strong tomorrow. you know what to With around 1,000 people packed into the arena both teams strode expect but every time in to tumultuous applause. That died down for the respective national you get here the noise anthems – a first for the Mosconi Cup – before the team game got is unreal and it is underway. It was a win for the USA as Mike Dechaine enjoyed a huge really good fun.” fluke in the deciding rack as he missed the three ball but saw it creep The USA, egged on into the top right pocket. From there he just about hung on to clear the by an enthusiastic table for the early lead. Sky Woodward & Justin Bergman crowd, weren’t

January 2016

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T EUROPE E A M Darren Appleton

Nels Feijen finished and it was 22-year-old rookie Skyler Woodward who was the star of the show. Partnered by Shane Van Boening, he gave the impression of a man having a knock at his local room as he showed no signs of nerves in the pressure-packed environment. They enjoyed a 5-1 win against Darren Appleton and Albin Ouschan as they kept their opponents away from the table and killed off the racks. American Captain Mark Wilson was reflective on the day’s events; “Naturally 3-2 or 2-3 was the most likely scenario and we had talked about it beforehand. The unforced errors made the difference when we didn’t win a match. “In doubles with Corey and Mike we had ball Albin Ouschan in hand but with an open table we didn’t get out. Then they broke and ran a few more times than we did today and they were the better team today. “We thought that Skyler would be fine out there but now we know for sure. He

OnTheBreakNews.com

Karl Boyes

Nick van den Berg

Recap - end of Day One - Euruope leads 3-2 Team Europe 4/5 Team USA Karl Boyes/Nick Van den Berg 5-4 Corey Deuel/Mike Dechaine Niels Feijen 5-2 Justin Bergman Albin Ouschan/Darren Appleton 1-5 Shane Van Boening/Skylar Woodward Darren Appleton 5-1 Shane Van Boening

validated his presence on the team, he is loose and he is really going to be the intangible thing which maybe Europe isn’t aware of. “Corey is so creative; he gets out from places that other players don’t. He brings a heck of a plus to us there and Justin, even though he lost his match, looked terrific out there. He was so calm and at home that he is going to have a big Mosconi Cup. “We want to minimize the unforced errors, we will talk about some of our safeties and we want to be really positive tomorrow.”

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Karl Boyes & Nick van den Berg Rackem January 2016

Europe Increases Lead But Photos by: JP Parmentier-Matchroom Sport

Day 2 - December 8, 2015

Recap - end of Day Two - Euruope leads 6-4 Nels Feijen/Nick van den Berg 3-5 Justin Bergman/Skylar Woodward Albin Ouschan 5-3 Mike Dechaine Darren Appleton/Karl Boyes 5-2 Shane Van Boening/Corey Deuel Karl Boyes 5-3 Skylar Woodward Darren Appleton/Nick van den Berg 4-5 Mike Dechaine/Shane Van Boening

out with a win. “I had a lot of confidence in us because we have played probably five big money matches together as doubles and we haven’t lost yet,” said Justin Bergman. “I wasn’t planning on losing but we knew they were a great team and we would have to play good. Shane was coming down and pumping us up, being really positive.” Woodward added, “I shoot my shots and he shoots his, we just focus on pocketing the balls. I felt no pressure. I am one person and I have four great players behind me. I do what I can do and the four great people behind me are going to back me up no matter what.”

Karl Boyes THERE WAS more drama at the 22nd annual PartyPoker Mosconi Cup at the Tropicana as the Europeans increased their lead as they won the session 3-2 to move their overall lead to 6-4 with two more days to play. It could have been so much worse for the USA but they won a thrilling hill hill final match when a defeat would have left them three points adrift and the Europeans needing just four more wins to retain the trophy. The venue was once again packed to the rafters and the US duo of Skyler Woodward and Justin Bergman got off to the perfect start with 5-3 over Holland’s Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg. Coming into the session at 2-3 down, it was essential to start

Niels Feijen

January 2016

Darren Appleton That parity didn’t last long though as Albin Ouschan, making his Mosconi Cup singles debut got the better of Mike Dechaine. It got to 3-3 but the Austrian edged it in what was a scrappy encounter. Dechaine had a great chance to go 4-4 but missed the 8 ball up the rail and although it left between the 9 ball between the white and the 8 ball, Ouschan jumped perfectly to pot the 8 ball and seal the match. The lead became two in the next as Karl Boyes and Darren Appleton won another gritty match, beating Shane Van Boening and an out-of-sorts Corey Deuel. The English pair led 3-0 and it was a lead the Americans could not recover. With the score 5-3 in the European’s favor it fell to young Skyler Woodward to stop the rot but he was taken down by Karl Boyes in an entertaining match up that saw the match referee Ken Shuman mired in controversy. Initially he called for a re-lag and then later in the match called a foul on Karl Boyes for measuring with the cue ball. Boyes insisted he was just trying place the cue ball in the narrow space available between the 2 and 3 balls. Shuman reversed his initial decision but the match then seemed to take an eternity to resume as the referee explained his decision to both captains, before Boyes seemed reluctant to continue. The crowd became increasingly impatient before things eventually resumed. Both players weren’t at their best but the pressure was immense and in the end it was Boyes who had enough to secure the point. Commented Boyes, “We lost the first point of the day and then Albin won, which was a very good win for him because it is his first time playing singles, which is when

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America Still in the Race SVB after a carom shot on the 2 ball that hit the 9 ball in the corner pocket for the victory in a hill-hill final match on Day 2 Click to watch Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eh4jRcSgL0

Mike Dechaine & you really feel the heat. His win was good for Darren and I as we went on and there was a little bit of pressure taken of us, and when we got the win it took a little bit of pressure off me going out against Skyler. “The singles game was crazy. It was hostile in there; the atmosphere was brutal but I managed to get the win. “Ken has made a decision where I am trying to put the cue ball between the balls so that I can pocket the two in the only pocket it goes in, it was obvious what I was trying to do. But when he said foul I thought I must have touched a ball. “I asked him and he said no, I was marking and I didn’t understand what he was on about. The crowd started going crazy saying he called foul so it should stand so I said, whatever. But he said he was the referee and he can change his mind. After that everybody was against me, which I sort of like and I managed to come through.” The last match was a must-win for the USA and so it proved as Shane Van Boening and Mike Dechaine won a thrilling hill-hill match against Darren Appleton and Nick van den Berg. It was nip and tuck all the way and Europe reached the hill first at 4-3. Some great shot making from Dechaine ensured the match went to a decider. Europe broke off and despite getting a ball down, they elected to push out. After some discussion, the Americans gave it back to them. The side of the two ball was visible and van den Berg moved it slightly and sent the cue ball up table. There was a difficult 2/9 carom on show and Van Boening delivered an explosive shot Sky Woodward which clipped

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the 2 ball and crashed in the 9 as it flew into the corner pocket. It sparked scenes of bedlam as the Americans reduced arrears and ended the day on a high. “Me and Mike discussed the shot and I figured that we needed to go for it because the rolls weren’t going our way in the match so we figured we should take a fire shot at it, and it came out great,” said Shane. “I was feeling good today. I was working on my stroke last night and I have everything figured out. We need to avoid a couple of mistakes that we had in the beginning and if we focus on potting the balls better we can have a better outcome tomorrow.” Dechaine added, “That point means everything, it is a little momentum swing. If we had have lost that match I don’t know how we would have handled it as a team Shane Van Boening but I know everybody right now is excited and we are looking forward to tomorrow.” American skipper Mark Wilson summed up the day from the USA’s perspective; “Magnificent end to the day. Shane hadn’t had much good fortune so far so to make one big shot like that and give us that burst of momentum and maybe surge us forward is huge. “When you go down 7-3 spirits go down but when you make a shot down that it is almost like we are back to even. We have not played our best pool so far throughout.

Justin Bergman “We know how we will line-up tomorrow, we had a plan from day one based on what we think will give us the best chance to win. “To the European’s credit, they have played tremendous pool. They have had very few unforced errors and we have made more than they have. Maybe on the tactical exchanges we might have come out a little bit ahead but on the couple of times they have missed a ball we didn’t really get the opportunity we needed. “They have great players and you saw today Albin Ouschan made a tremendous run out and Karl made a huge run out from a super-tough layout. They are playing well and we will have to see what tomorrow brings but I know we are going to be on a big high now.”

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January 2016

Europe Two Away from Day 3 - December 9, 2015

Photos by: JP Parmentier-Matchroom Sport Recap - end of Day Three - Euruope leads 9-6 Albin Ouschan/Niels Feijen 5-1 Justin Bergman/Corey Deuel Nick van den Berg 4-5 Corey Deuel Albin Ouschan/Karl Boyes 5-2 Skylar Woodward/Mike Dechaine Neils Feijen 5-4 Shane Van Boening Darren Appleton 2-5 Justin Bergman

can happen. I wanted to be on the hill tonight just so I could sleep well but 9-6 is good, it is a three-game cushion and it means a lot. We will have a team meeting tonight and try and relax and do the same thing we have been doing. “At the moment it doesn’t matter if we play singles or doubles, the guys are geared up and playing well. Today the way they played, if they keep that up tomorrow it will be really hard for any team to come back.” With their backs against the wall, the USA got off to a poor start when they really needed to hit their stride as Niels Feijen and Albin Ouschan enjoyed a comfortable win over Justin Bergman and Corey Deuel. 5-1 was the score and it increased the European lead to three.

Albin Ouschan EUROPE NEED just two more points to retain the PartyPoker Mosconi Cup as they once again won the session 3-2 to increase their lead to 9-6 with a potential six games to play on Thursday. The USA need to win five matches for victory but they will need to up their speed if they are to achieve that.

Deuel, who had looked shaky in the opener, came straight back out to face Nick van den Berg and it was a match that neither player was at their best. There were plenty of safety exchanges as neither of them seemed to have the confidence to take the pocketing shots on. The match went to hill hill and both players made glaring errors trying to close it out, but it was van den Berg who made the final mistake to give Deuel the opportunity which he took.

Taking place at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, the PartyPoker Mosconi Cup is the annual 9 ball shoot-out between two five-man teams representing Europe and the USA and is now in its 22nd year. After another winning day, European captain Marcus Chamat said, “The guys played really well, the best they have played all week. The doubles matches were great for us. Corey got a little lucky against Nick but Nick battled great and unfortunately he didn’t win. We got some luck with Niels when he broke the 9 against Shane and in the last match Bergman played well. “If everybody plays well it is very hard to beat our team. The USA have a really good team but when we play like we do then it is very hard for them to play us; like trying to play against Roger Federer when he was at his prime; if he plays good the other player will be second. We have this level of play and we can play even better and if we do it will be really hard for them, I don’t think they can play with us. “We know as professional players that it is never over until it is over and anything

January 2016

Mike Dechaine Rackem OnTheBreakNews.com

Corey Deuel Europe restored the three point margin in the next match as Karl Boyes and Albin Ouschan looked composed as they took care of Skyler Woodward and a sub-par Mike Dechaine to make it 8-5 to Europe. The momentum was really in Europe’s favour and the USA were on the wrong end of a real gutter in the next as Niels Feijen’s golden break in the deciding rack sealed another win for Europe. Shane Van Boening had fought hard to get the match back to level terms but could only watch as Feijen

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Sealing Another Victory

celebrated wildly. Justin Bergman offered his country a glimmer of hope in the final match of the session as he put in a strong performance to defeat Darren Appleton and salvage something for the USA. It was the best display of the day from an American player and it gave them a fighting chance for the final day.

Shane Van Boening Commented American captain Mark Wilson, “Justin expressed, in the most nonegotistical way, how confident he was, he just quietly said to me, ‘I have got this Mark’. “I was really proud of my team, they showed no quit in the face of a bit of adversity with Europe playing great again, but we didn’t come here expecting them to not play well and we knew we had to rise to the occasion. “We had to win a day and tomorrow will have to be that day. The guys have their backs against the wall and know what it is all about. The mood in our camp is hungry and positive.”

Nick Van Den Berg OnTheBreakNews.com

Continued p18

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GOING STRAIGHT

Tom Simpson © June 2002 – All Rights Reserved – PoolClinics.com Some shots are harder than they look. One shot that embarrasses all of us is the “straight-in shot.” When the cueball and object ball are lined up straight into the pocket, it sure looks easy. It’s not.

Tom Simpson

Master Instructor, National Billiard Academy, “Beat People With a Stick!”

Tom Simpson

January 2016

Of course, you have to consider the normal, obvious difficulty factors: how far is the object ball from the pocket, how far is the cueball from the object ball, does the table roll straight, how straight-in is it, and so on. But there are a couple of factors that are not so obvious, when it comes to straight-ins. The biggest one is the fact that straight in is the angle at which you get the greatest effect from Spin-Induced Throw. Any time you strike the cueball the slightest amount to either side of the vertical axis, you get sidespin (english). OK, OK, we all know this. When a spinning cueball hits another ball, some of that rotational force in the cueball goes into “throwing” the object ball a little off the course it would have taken if there were no sidespin. This is called Spin-Induced Throw, and it’s an angle change that takes place at the moment of impact. The throw is in the direction of the spin, so for example, if you cut an object ball with a cueball that’s spinning clockwise (left english), SpinInduced Throw will cause the object ball to be cut as much as a few degrees further to the right than what you’d see if there were no sidespin. A few degrees can make you miss, and the further the object ball is from the pocket, the more that few degrees will matter. As you shoot thinner and thinner cut shots, the effect of Spin-Induced Throw falls off. Think about how sidespin works when you hit a cushion. If you hit straight into the rail with sidespin, the spin

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has a large effect on the angle out of the cushion. If you hit the cushion at a thin angle, the sidespin doesn’t do much to alter the angle out. By the same token, the closer you get to straight in, the more effect that sidespin will have on the object ball. What can we do with this knowledge? The most important thing to focus on when shooting a straight-in shot is hitting the vertical axis of the cueball. Get off that vertical axis even a little bit, and you’d better be making aim adjustments for SpinInduced Throw, Squirt, and Swerve. They’re all going to happen. Of course, there are lots of times when you have to use english. I’m just saying, on straight-ins, if you use any sidespin, it’s going to have more effect than you might expect. There’s another factor that makes these shots difficult, and it is not obvious at all. We talked about left & right spin above. The other factor is associated with forward & backward spin (follow & draw). This is not nearly as big a factor, but it’s still a factor. What matters is what the cueball is doing when it hits the object ball – it’s going to be rolling (follow), skidding (stun), or spinning backwards (draw). Whenever possible, try to shoot straight-ins such that the cueball has either follow or draw when it hits the object ball. Here’s the reason: if there is any sidespin, a stunned cueball will cause even more Spin-Induced Throw than a rolling or drawing cueball. Here’s the summary: Straight-in shots are not easy. To maximize your chances of making the shot, you should aim carefully, take care to avoid unintentional sidespin, and shoot such that the cueball has a little draw or follow when it hits the object ball. Let’s straighten up!

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TABLE TALK ZOMBIE POOL Stop Thinking and Play!

Michael K Glass

Michael Glass has been teaching pool for close to 10 years. He is a Recognized PBIA Billiards Instructor, taught by none other than Bob Jewett of the San Francisco Billiard Academy. Michael has been playing pool almost all of his life (except when he was in the Navy — it’s hard to install a pool table on a rocking ship!). He managed to stay away from the hustler life; he doesn’t believe in being dishonest in order to win money. He will, however, occasionally play for a beer or two at the local watering hole. Michael teaches all levels of pool players, from beginner to pro, and works on all aspects of the game, from fundamentals, to pattern play, to trick shots. He can be found playing in his home town of San Ramon, CA at Crown Billiards. Visit his website at billiardsprofessor.com for pool tips or to schedule a lesson!

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Last month, we talked about how to play from your chair. Of course, since you’re just sitting there, this entails thinking about strategy, observing your opponent, and attempting to discover what they might be struggling with at the table. This month, we are going to focus on being at the table, and I’m going to tell you to stop thinking. We have all done it: “Wow, this guy is pretty good. I better not make any mistakes. He left me a tough cut into the corner on this ball; I can make it fairly often, but I’m gonna have to go around three rails to get on the next ball. If I miss, he’ll probably run out on me. Damn… I hope I don’t overcut this. If I do, it will leave him an easy shot, and he’ll probably win the game. I’m already down by 2 games, I don’t want to be down by 3. Maybe I should play safe…” and on and on it goes. Sound familiar? Stop it. You have been playing this game for a long time. After a while, over hundreds, even thousands of shots, hours upon hours of practice, your body has developed a muscle memory. Your brain knows what to do. Don’t think about what you have to do to make the ball. Don’t think about how to make the cueball end up in the perfect position. The only thinking you should do, as you approach your shot, is where am I pocketing this ball, and where does the cueball need to be. Does it sound like I contradicted myself? Read the last paragraph again. Do not think about HOW. Just decide WHAT to do, and let your subconscious brain figure out how. When you practice, you are not learning how to make a cut shot, or how to make a bank shot. You know how. You’ve done it before. When you practice, you are teaching your body and your subconscious

mind what it feels like to make the shot, and what it feels like to miss. You do it over and over, training it through Pavlovian response. When you train a dog to roll over, you do it over and over, rewarding her with a treat whenever she does it right. After a while, she’ll know exactly what to do. Your body is the same way. The euphoria you feel when you hear the thunk of the ball finding the bottom of the pocket is your treat. When you miss, you don’t get a treat. When you practice, don’t be too frustrated by misses. They are just as valuable as the successful shots in helping your subconscious mind learn. Think of the tournament you are in as the Westminster Dog Show. All of the practice is behind you. Your dog has learned how to navigate the course, and now all you have to do is show the judges what she has learned. When you step up to the table, try to leave your conscious mind in the chair. Become a zombie. Chalk your tip. Assess the table. Determine where you are going to pot the next ball, and where you want the cueball to stop. Approach your shot, take your prestrokes, and deliver. Gather up your chalk, and repeat. If you are successful in leaving your brain behind, and simply performing this “boring” routine of making ball after ball in a zombie-like rhythm, congratulations! You have just found the Zone. Hmm. The Zombie Zone. I may have to trademark that! Either it’s an awesome billiards technique, or I could open up a new amusement park. What do you think? If you would like to share some of your success stories (or even the failures), or have suggestions for future articles, please feel free to drop me a line at pool@billiardsprofessor. com. I can also be found hanging out with fellow billiards enthusiasts at reddit.com/r/billiards. Come on by and join the discussion!

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Rackem January 2016

San Francisco Billiard Academy www.sfbilliards.com PBIA certified instruction is available for all levels from beginners to instructor training.

TWO MORE SHOTS FROM WILLIE

Bob Jewett

January 2016

In previous columns I’ve mentioned Willie Jopling -- that’s the pen name of Bill Marshall. He published several collections of trick and fancy shots and P interesting shots that are generally useful at various games. Here are two of the gems from his collection. I remember learning these shots when I was just starting to play. I didn’t have his booklets so someone in my pool room must have had them or known someone who did. In Shot 1 the goal is to make the 1 ball in pocket P shooting the cue ball from the spot. One possible Shot 1 way is to bank the object ball around the table hitting cushions at A and B before going to pocket Make the P. Possible but unlikely. A second way is to kick the 1 ball. ball in by playing the cue ball to about R on the end cushion. This is probably even less likely. Willie’s solution is to play the cue ball off the point of pocket X back into the 1 ball. If you’ve never played around with using the pocket points and 1 facings this might seem nearly impossible but with a little practice -- and a consistent set-up -- it may be Z X the most likely of the three methods to pocket the 1 ball. Be careful how you place the 1 ball and the cue ball. Try to put the 1 so its edge is exactly even with the upper pocket facing, as shown. Next, the cue ball goes exactly on the spot. From there, experiment to find the best location on the pocket facing to hit to 4 get a rebound into the 1 ball. This will vary from 3 table to table, so if you are going to offer this as a 2 challenge to a friend, you will need to practice a little. A good goal is to make the shot in three tries. Shot 2 Another example of the use of pocket points is in the B other direction. Move the 1 ball to pocket Y. Now Make the 4 ball. play the cue ball off the side pocket point where the 1 ball was. With the right contact the cue ball will hug the cushion after hitting the point and go straight to pocket Y. Use follow and don’t shoot too hard. I find it helps to think about cutting the point Y to the left, if that makes sense. REJ R A Shot 2 is an old, old shot but most players haven’t seen it yet. The goal is to make the 4 ball straight notice, you’re on your own. into the obvious pocket. No matter how you hit the shot, The fact that wetness removes friction between the balls is a the 3 ball will rub on the 4 ball and throw it slightly into little contrary to the usual observation that humidity makes the cushion. It then rebounds out enough to miss the the balls stickier and generally increases how much throw pocket. People who don’t know about throw will think the you see. I suspect that humidity -- but not total wetness shot’s a hanger when in fact it is impossible. -- makes the balls pick up more chalk dust to give more rub Well, it is possible but you have to get rid of the friction. when the balls collide. Simply wet the contact point between the 3 and 4 when you Do you have a favorite proposition shot? That is, a shot that set up the balls. Most people will not notice that you have requires some clever solution or technique to solve. If so, just stuck your finger in your mouth or run it down send it to me at jewett@sfbilliards.com and you may see it in the side of your cold beverage container. If they do a future column along with your name.

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MIND OVER CUE

Anthony Beeler is a 2013 BCA National 9-Ball team champion. He also finished 9th out of 1086 players in the 2013 BCA National 8-Ball Championships. He is a certified Level 3 instructor for the American CueSports Alliance and is the founder of Maximize Your Potential Billiards Academy located in Bradfordsville, Kentucky. Beeler is also a fully licensed Kentucky Educator having, received his bachelor’s degree at Campbellsville University and his master’s degree in Education Leadership at Eastern Kentucky University. Throughout his poolplaying career Anthony has won over 300 tournaments and has defeated numerous professional players in tournament competition.

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Kevin Clem, Jerald Clem, and Anthony Beeler Photo Courtesy of Kendra Peek & The Advocate Messenger A pool player’s mind is the most daunting opponent that they face on a regular basis. Developing a powerful mental game is an important part of being able to excel in the game’s upper levels. The mind can be a pool player’s best friend, helping him or her to deliver the mechanics of a smooth, reliable stroke over and over again. A player’s mind also helps him devise clever strategies that he can use to “outwit” his opponent. But all too often, the mind produces negative thoughts, which can tighten muscles and hinder concentration. Suddenly a fundamentally sound player is miscuing or missing a simple straight-in shot. Sometimes trying harder only seems to make matters wors At that point, our mind is a nemesis, and the only way to overcome its negativity is through applying the principles of a positive attitude. You might ask, “How can we turn the tables?” Let’s find out… How to Reap the Benefits of a Sound Mental Game: The best way to break the cycle of negativity is to change the way that you talk to yourself. Negativity comes from bad experiences we have had from past performances. Instead of focusing on the negative— what went wrong in the past—you should concentrate on what went right. When pool players miss a shot, they’re going to tell you all the bad things they did as they stroked the cue ball. The message they often send themselves is, “I’m a banger.” On the contrary, a good pool player knows that they should say something positive to themself first. Maybe they slightly missed position on their last shot, but pocketed the object ball with a nice smooth stroke. Instead of thinking about the

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shot as being 95 percent negative, they see the shot as 95 percent positive. It’s all about perspective. Deep breathing can also help players reduce excess tension that develops during a match. The only significant tension you want is that which is required to maintain your stance, grip, and bridge. The most important part of the positive mental game is awareness, and you achieve that by paying close attention to your body, your breathing, and your thoughts.

Fear: A pool player’s greatest enemy is fear. This is a challenging obstacle for most players to overcome. Fear, even in the smallest doses, can undermine your ability to pocket balls or perform well under “Fear” pressure. Most pool players are motivated by their desire to be a great player. As a result, they fear being embarrassed. When a player is preparing to shoot an important shot, their mind is often divided. One side is trying to focus on executing the shot, but the other side is busy worrying about what other people will think if they miss it. Great players focus fully on their preshot routine and play in the present moment. They understand that anxiety does not exist in the present. Fear of Success: Fear of success can also be a problem. People may say they’re afraid of failing, but all too often they’re really afraid of winning. They may feel they don’t deserve to win, or they’re afraid they’ll hurt someone else by beating them too bad. To overcome this type of anxiety, you must first become aware that you have this type of a problem. You need to tell yourself that it’s okay to succeed. Tell yourself that the purpose of playing a game is to win, and that is exactly what you plan to do. Also, think about the attitude that you have toward your competition. Do you sometimes feel sorry for your opponents? Do you “let up” because you are playing a child or member of the opposite sex? Be mindful that your attitude toward other players may subconsciously hold you back. Your mind is the most daunting opponent you face on a daily basis. Developing a powerful mental game free from fear an essential part of performing at the game’s highest levels.

Rackem January 2016

THE GREAT ESCAPE

STEFANO PELINGA stefanopelinga.com Stefano Pelinga (born 1964) hails from Rome, Italy, where he has served since 1985 as a police officer for the Italian government (Polizia di Stato), until his retirement in 2011. He began to play pool at the age of 12, drawing inspiration from his favorite singer and actor, Dean Martin. Stefano, currently a 5-time World Champion in Pool Trick Shots, won several titles in Italy in straight pool and nine-ball throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1990, he devoted himself entirely to “Artistic Pool,” commonly referred to in its practice as “Trick Shots.” Due to his outstanding achievements, Stefano is recognized worldwide as one of the greatest Trick Shot champions in the history of the sport, and has earned a spot in ESPN’s Trick Shot Magic Hall of Fame. Most importantly, on November 17, 2012, Stefano was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. In the presence of approximately 500 VIP guests and many sports stars such as Tommy Lasorda, Mike Piazza, Tony Esposito and Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Stefano was awarded this honor, becoming a member of this group of legendary Italian Americans.

January 2016

This month’s trick shot is indeed another greatly useful shot to know and master as it may often come in very handy during a game, especially when your opponent is good at playing “safety”. The set up is extremely easy but keep in mind that it is the principle that matters by far. Place 5-6 balls roughly in the shape of a semicircle between the first two diamonds closer to the top left corner pocket. Place the Cue Ball within that area, possibly not too close to the short rail and centered with one of the gaps between balls. Place your Object Ball (the Yellow Ball according to my diagram) hanging by the far left corner pocket. Place your hand outside of the circle of balls using an elevated open bridge and jack up your cue over them at approximately a 20⁰ angle. Now if you hit the Cue Ball just one tip above its equator using a 2-speed stroke (in this case it is okay to poke the ball), it will likely jump over the Obstacle Balls and travel towards the Object Ball. At this point, in order to pocket the OB, we need to make sure to aim towards the short rail at a very slight angle, as for a regular bank shot. Then we need to keep in mind the following considerations: if the Cue Ball will jump too high or even over the short rail and out of the table, you either hit it too high up (1.5 tips and higher) or your cue was too elevated in the back. If the Cue Ball does not jump enough, then you likely hit it too close to its center or your cue was not elevated enough. To adjust, work on one feature only to avoid confusion: so either change the contact point on the Cue Ball or the elevation of your cue. From now on, when playing a game of pool, if your opponent will snooker you behind a ball, you may consider using this technique provided your Cue Ball is within a foot distance from the rail you intend to use to hop over the Obstacle Ball(s). If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

May you all have a very Happy New Year!

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Europe Seals Hard Fought Victory at the Trop Photos by: JP Parmentier-Matchroom Sport

Day 4 - December 10, 2015

EUROPE HAS retained the PartyPoker Mosconi Cup as they won the required two points to record their sixth consecutive victory and leave a disappointed American team once again on the receiving end. It was Austrian rookie Albin Ouschan who had the honour of downing the winning 9 ball as he clinched a hill hill battle of the rookies against Skyler Woodward. That sparked jubilant scenes in arena as his joyous team-mates piled on top of the young Austrian and the banks of European fans went wild. “I won the China Open this year but that was like kindergarten compared to this. On the winning 9 ball I was thinking, just make this,” said Ouschan. For European captain Chamat, who was a Mosconi Cup winner as a player in 2002, it was a sweet moment as he struggled to control his emotions in victory. “It is an amazing feeling to be holding the trophy again, it has been a few years for me. I am so happy personally and for the guys, it means so much. When it comes to pool the Mosconi Cup is something I have had so much passion for through the years. I bet Albin and Skyler, for the rest of their lives they will have a passion to want to play in the Mosconi Cup again. That was the same that happened to me when I first played in 2000. “It has been like watching a movie with a happy ending. Albin, the rookie, has played well all week and he got to finish the match. Everybody pulled their weight and did something for the team. I wouldn’t trade any player this week. Nick didn’t have his best week, he lost some close games, but the spirit he brought was great and that is what makes a team. I am so happy that the team were together and stood behind me. If you have the team spirit you can come with the shots that they did; they battled out there.

January 2016

Recap - end of Day Four - Euruope wins 11-7 Niels Feijen 5-4 Justin Bergman Karl Boyes 4-5 Shane Van Boening Albin Ouschan 5-4 Skylar Woodward

“I didn’t want to say anything before because I knew they had a really great team but of course I felt a lot of pressure because Johan Ruijsink had won the trophy six times in a row and I came as the rookie captain, so there was a lot of pressure. I knew they had a great team and they showed it, especially today, but the European team this year was really hard to beat.” It could have been so different in the opening match of the session. With the USA trailing 6-9, the first game went to 4-4 as Niels Feijen and Justin Bergman matched each other in a high quality match. Bergman was running out a tough final layout when he just came up short going from 7 to 8 and left himself blocked behind the 9 ball. He tried the bank shot but missed it and Feijen dished up to take the point. Instead of 9-7 it went to 10-6 and all seemed lost for Team USA. Shane Van Boening though wasn’t quite finished as he came back against Karl Boyes to steal the point in a decider. That made it 10-7 but it was to be the American’s last contribution to the score board. The presentation saw the losing side receive silver medals and the champions their gold medals and it was Holland’s Niels Feijen who won the Most Valuable Player Award, his fourth in five years. Darren Appleton, who has been on the winning side for the past six years, said, “There is more and more pressure every year. I started in 2009 in Vegas with 350 people and now it is over 1,000. It is getting tougher and tougher but the good thing is that the Americans have really come to play. They are on the right road so it is

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Europe Takes Home 6th Straight Mosconi Cup opportunities. We played much better and today was by far our best day; it started last night with Bergman’s match. Justin played his heart out in the first match but didn’t get the break, and Skyler too – hats off to them both because they came through big time for us. They displayed leadership and an example of how a warrior loses. “We are getting some momentum and we certainly got greater fan support. It motivates me and inspires me to see the fans get behind it like this. Europe kept the pressure on us and made it difficult for us to really assert ourselves. Europe had a super strong line-up from top to bottom, their worst player is fantastic, but we stood toe-to-toe with them for four days. We made a few too many unforced errors, we just can’t do that. “We showed relentless positivity throughout, not just my players but the spirit of the American pool public, who have really shown a lot of support. All the work my players did behind the scenes, not just practicing but doing things which help to grow the sport, I commend them for that.” The 2016 Mosconi Cup will take place from Tuesday to Friday 6th to 9th December at the Alexandra Palace, London with tickets available in January 2016.

MOSCONI CUP HISTORY

MVP Niels Feijen

going to get tougher and tougher for the future. “We couldn’t have got a better replacement than Marcus. He has done a fantastic job and is really passionate, even more passionate than the players. He did an amazing job and we are very proud of him. “Niels is Mr Reliable. He is rock solid, his cue action is amazing, he has an amazing break and he is so consistent. He is the guy I want on my side when you go to war. Karl’s record in the Mosconi Cup is amazing and Albin, for a rookie, wow - what a future star. “The big thing USA showed was a lot of heart but the young players really impressed me. Bergman played awesome, Skyler for a rookie was amazing and Shane played pretty strong. Mark is doing a really good job as the captain. Their fans have been amazing getting behind the team and this is definitely the best Mosconi Cup we have had in America.” For Mark Wilson, despite the defeat, it was a step in the right direction for a team that was on its knees two years ago. “The guys showed the spirit that we needed to win but we didn’t have enough

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YEAR VENUE 2015 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2014 Tower Circus, Blackpool, England 2013 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2012 Bethnal Green, London, England 2011 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2010 Bethnal Green, London, England 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2008 St. Julian's, Malta 2007 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2006 Rotterdam, Netherlands 2005 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2004 Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands 2003 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2002 Bethnal Green, London, England 2001 Bethnal Green, London, England 2000 Bethnal Green, London, England 1999 Bethnal Green, London, England 1998 Bethnal Green, London, England 1997 Bethnal Green, London, England 1996 Dagenham, London, England 1995 Basildon, Essex, England 1994 Romford, London, England

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SCORES MVP Europe11-7USA Niels Feijen Europe11-5USA Niels Feijen Europe11-2USA Niels Feijen Europe11-9USA Chris Melling Europe11-7USA Niels Feijen Europe11-8USA Darren Appleton USA11-7Europe Dennis Hatch Europe11-5USA Mika Immonen Europe11-8USA Tony Drago Tied12-12Tied Corey Deuel USA11-6Europe Earl Strickland USA12-9Europe Rodney Morris USA11-9Europe Mika Immonen Europe12-9USA USA12-1Europe USA12-9Europe USA12-7Europe USA13-9Europe USA13-8Europe USA15-13Europe Europe16-15USA USA16-12Europe

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r a t S wer at Space City Open IV o P

HOUSTON, TX World champion Dennis Orcullo went undefeated to capture his first Space City Open 9-Ball title, besting Ohio’s Shane Winters in the final set, 9-4. In the one pocket division, Chip Compton overcame Jeremy Jones, 3-1, 3-1, taking home his first title, and Jones captured his second, consecutive, 9-ball banks title, outlasting Orcullo in overtime, 3-2, 3-0. Wrapping up the event, Gail Eaton overcame Kia Sidbury in the ladies 9-ball finals, 7-4, 5-2. The 4-day, 4-division, Space City Open IV (SCO) was held at Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar in Houston, Texas, December 3rd-6th, 2016. In its fourth year, SCO continues to increase in talent and value, and professional players from across the U.S. flew in to take advantage of a payout exceeding $56,000. New blood included Dennis Orcullo, Shane Winters (OH), Shane McMinn (TN), Jerry Calderon (FL), Mike Massey, and Tony Chohan (MI), who along with more than 120 players, entertained a packed house and hundreds of at-home viewers tuned in to the HD live stream provided by OnSitePoolNetwork.com. Everyone in Texas knows the place to be during the first week of December is the Space City Open. The annual event has showcased some of the greatest billiard talent in the U.S., including U.S Open

champion, Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant, 7-3. Winters ended Tokoph, 7-3, and made quick work of Ochoa, 7-1. After a fourth round loss to Winters, 9-8, Robb Saez ousted defending 9-ball champion James Davis, Jr. with a quick 7 pack, Baraks, 7-5, and McMinn, 7-2. Chip Compton, who suffered an earlier 9-5 loss at the hands of Ochoa, eliminated Jamie Farrell, 7-3, but fell to Saez, 7-6. Saez bested Mooney, 7-2, for a rematch with Winters. Once again, Winters advanced, 7-3. Back on the east side, the hot seat match commenced with Orcullo and Calderon. Orcullo played near flawless, and unforced errors on Calderon’s part sealed his fate. Orcullo closed the set out, 9-4. Winters anticipated a shot at redemption, and now it was here. This time, Calderon stepped up to the plate, only to be struck out by Winters, 7-5. In the final, both players came out of the gate running, but Orcullo proved too much for Winters, ending the race, 9-4. Congratulations to Dennis Orcullo on his first SCO 9-Ball title. The 40-player one pocket field (limited to 40) featured an all-star cast with phenomenal talent going head to head in a test of wills and stamina. Oklahoma’s Chip Compton made his way through the winners’ side with wins over Joe Pelayo, 3-0, Jon Demet, 3-0, Shane McMinn, 3-0, and James Davis, Jr., 3-1, while Jeremy Jones bested Tony Chohan, 3-1, Robb Saez, 3-2, Denis Strickland, 3-0, and Joey Gray, 3-1. On 1st Dennis Orcullo 2,350/6,680 the one-loss side, Chau took 2nd Shane Winters 1,390/4,460 out Saez, 3-1, but fell to Joey Gray, 3-1. Again, Chohan was 3rd Jerry Calderon 920/3,340 th on a roll with 6 consecutive 4 Robb Saez 720/2,230 th th wins, including victories over 5 -6 Sylver Ochoa, Tom Mooney Tommy Tokoph, 3-1, Ernesto 520/1,120 Bayaua, 3-1, Chase Rudder, 7th-8th Tony Chohan, Chip Compton 3-2, Gabe Owen, 3-0, and 420/790 James Davis, Jr., 3-0. On the 9th-12th Abel Lara, Tommy Tokoph, J amie east side, Compton defeated Farrell, Shane McMinn 275/440 Jones for the hot seat, 3-1, 13th-16th Gabe Owen, Charlie Bryant, while Gray ended Chohan’s Jamie Baraks, Clint Freeman 180 run, 3-0. Gray fell to Jones, 3-1, pitting a rematch between 17th-24th Bobby Perez, Jeremy Jones, Erik Jones and Compton. A focused Renteria, John Lassek, Mike Jones stepped up to the Massey, Richie Richeson, final table with the intent of James Davis, Jr., Joey Gray 60 taking back what he had lost.

Champions, World Champions, and Mosconi Cup team players. The SCO is a serious competition and players mean business, which makes for an intense, competitive environment, and great entertainment for the fans. Without a doubt, this was the toughest SCO 9-ball division to date, and simply losing the flip could cost a player the set, in this winner break, rack your own format. In the 101-player 9-ball field, the famed Dennis Orcullo won 8 consecutive matches on his way to the hot seat, defeating Robert Cruz, 9-1, Jonathon Romero, 9-0, Vu Pham, 9-3, Charlie Bryant, 9-4, Shane McMinn, 9-8, and Sylver Ochoa, 9-5. Jerry Calderon won his bid for the hot seat with wins over Cliff Joyner, 9-6, Alex Cardenas, 9-1, Richard Hughes, 9-1, Joey Gray, 9-1, Shane Winters, 9-3, and Tom Mooney, 9-5. After a 9-7 upset by Tom Mooney in the first round, Tony Chohan won an incredible 7 consecutive matches with wins over Ernesto Bayaua, 7-3, Jeremy Jones, 7-4, Gabe Owen, 7-6, and Abel Lara, 7-5. Other upsets included John Lassek over Jamie Baraks, 9-6, and Abel Lara over Mike Massey, 9-6. New Mexico’s Tommy Tokoph lost his first round to Winters, 9-6, but came back strong with 6 wins, along the way, eliminating two-time 9-ball

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January 2016

Open 9-Ball

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Compton knew he couldn’t let this one get away, but as the first set came to a close, it was Jones who came out ahead, 3-1. In the second set, Compton remained composed, his mind on the task at hand. Compton defeated Jones in the final set, 3-1, to capture his first SCO One Pocket title. Kicking off Space City Open IV was Thursday’s 29-player, 9-ball banks division. Again, it was Orcullo, attempting to go undefeated with wins over Richie Richeson, 3-0, Luke Sutliffe, 3-0, Tommy Tokoph, 3-1, and Shane Winters, 3-1. Gabe Owen took down Chase Rudder, 3-1, Sylver Ochoa, 3-0, Shane McMinn, 3-2, and Manny Chau, 3-2. Following a loss to Winters, 3-1, Cliff Joyner eliminated Tom Mooney, 3-0, James Davis, Jr., 3-2, and McMinn, 3-1. After suffering a loss to Winters, 3-0, Robb Saez eliminated Jamie Farrell, 3-1, but fell to Jeremy Jones, 3-1. Jones eliminated Chau, 3-1, earning himself another shot at Chohan, the player who had sent him to the one-loss side by a score of 3-1. Jones wasted little time exacting his revenge, taking out Chohan, 3-1. On the east side, Orcullo and Owen teed off for the hot seat, Owen coming up short, 3-1, and again with Jones, 3-1. Jones captured the first set of the true double elimination final, 3-1, finishing Orcullo off the second set, 3-0, earning his second, consecutive banks title. Due to a hand injury, it was uncertain if Jones would compete in this year’s SCO. However, Jones competed in all three divisions, with a very swollen hand to show for it. Congratulations to Jeremy Jones on successfully defending his banks title! Rounding out the event, 22 women battled it out on Sunday for almost $2,300 in cash in the ladies 9-ball division. WPBA player Kia “Primetime” Sidbury (MD) made her way to the hot seat, defeating Veronica “Pistol” Perez, 7-0, Terry Petrosino, 7-1, and Robyn Petrosino, 7-4. Natalie Rocha made 1st Chip Compton 1 ,500/3,520 an impressive run, ousting nd 2 Jeremy Jones 1,040/2,580 Erica Nicole Walker, 7-1, Gail “Virginia Slim” 3rd Joey Gray 620/1,640 th Eaton, 7-5, Linda Garza, 4 Tony Chohan 4 20/700 7-1, and Marie Rodriguez, th th 5 -6 James Davis, Jr., Manny Chau 210/470 7-0. On the one-loss 7th-8th Gabe Owen, Robb Saez 100 side, Eaton ran through D’Andrea McQuirter, 5-1, Ginger Abadilla, 5-2, Terry Petrosino, 5-1, Belinda Lee,

l i a G n o t Ea

Ladies 9-Ball

1st Gail Eaton 520/410 2nd Kia Sidbury 360/280 3rd Natalie Rocha 240/180 4th Ricki Casper 140 th th 5 -6 Robyn Petrosino, Marie Rodriguez 75

p i h C n o t p m Co

One Pocket

All Photos: RE Visual Concepts OnTheBreakNews.com

Continued p24

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y m e r e J s e n Jo

9-Ball Banks

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th-6th 7th-8th

Jeremy Jones 1,100/2,160 Dennis Orcullo 770/1,580 Gabe Owen 460/1,010 Tony Chohan 300/430 Shane Winters, Manny Chau 150/290 Cliff Joyner, Robb Saez 70

Rackem January 2016

Space City Open IV Continued from page 23

5-0, and Rodriguez, 5-3. After a second round loss to R. Petrosino, 7-4, 2015 Gulf Coast Tour Champion, Ricki Casper, made an impressive run on the oneloss side with wins over Yvonne Asher, 5-3, Teresa Garland, 5-1, Garza, 5-2, and R. Petrosino, 5-3. On the east side, Sidbury overcame Rocha for the hot seat win, 7-5, while Eaton ended Casper’s run, 5-3. Former WPBA pro Eaton made quick work of Rocha, 5-2, and moved on to the finals. The two seasoned players dug in, and fought to the finish. Eaton captured the first set, 7-4, and although Sidbury attempted to recover in overtime, lost the final set, 5-2. Congratulations to Gail Eaton on her first SCO Ladies 9-Ball title! “Once again, this event has shown a significant increase in numbers and visibility, across the board. Growth is our primary focus, and it takes the support and dedication of the players, fans, sponsors, and pool room, to make an event like this work, and thrive. That’s what gets the job done”, says Kim Newsome, SCO founder and tournament director. Support staff for this event included a number of dedicated individuals including John Newsome, Teresa Garland and Chuck Adams. The Space City Open extends a heartfelt “thank you” to sponsors, vendors, and supporters; Bogies Billiards and Games’ owners David and Shannon Richardson, and their entire staff, Simplified Electronics, APA of North Harris County, Vapor Knights, Ozone Billiards, Zach Goldsmith and “Lucky Luke” Sutliffe with OnSitePoolNetwork.com, Bobby Garcia with RE Visual Concepts, and vendors, Mike McDonald with Vapor Knights, Ron Geyer Cue Repair, Joe Salazar Connoisseur of Custom Cues, and Sean King with King Billiards. Special supporters of this event included Charlie Brown, Mark Stubbs, Chase Rudder, Maurice LeBlanc, Kelly Plunkett, Tom Welch, Doug Stone, Jason Watson, David Taylor, Carlos Sanchez, Willie Duran, Dave Ford, David Hardee, Dennis Perry, Adam Cooper, Fabian Gardin, and Erica Nicole Walker. Space City Open V will take place December 1st-4th, 2016. For more information about the Space City Open, visit www.SpaceCityOpen.com or email spacecityevent@gmail.com. -Space City Staff

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Chinook Winds Open 8-Ball Championships $17,000 Added March 11th-13th, 2016 MOSCONI CUP POINTS Chinook Winds Casino Resort is adding $17,000 to the 8-Ball Open Event March 11-13, 2016. $12,000 will be added to the Men’s division with guaranteed $10,000 for 1st place based on 96 entries. $5,000 will be added to the Women’s division based on 32 entries. Entry fee $150 and $25 green fee. It will be a race to 7 for Men’s division and race to 5 for Women’s division, double elimination, CSI/BCAPL rules. Tournament will start after Calcutta (cash only) on Friday at 4 PM and a brief player’s meeting. Finals will be on Sunday evening. The Chinook Winds Open Is Partnered with Mosconi Cup and players will be earning points towards that event. A WarmUp 8-ball tournament will commence on Thursday, March 10th at 6 PM, $25 entry $5 green fee, race to 4, double elimination, Women’s division 32 max and Men’s Division 64 max. This tournament will be open to all players. Ring games may be of-

fered if there is enough interest. As always, sportsmanship is mandatory. Tournaments will be played on 7-foot Diamond bar tables with Cyclop balls provided by Bad Boys Billiards Production. “Fast” Lenny Marshall of “On The Rail TV.com” will provide the high definition, quality streaming with many videos to view. Co-tournament directors are Andrew Monstis and Mike Jensen with WBCA staff helping out. Certified referees will be in attendance. They say it’s better at the beach and they are right! Chinook Winds Casino Resort is a full service facility. It is an exceptional place for a tournament venue. Having this event tucked in at the beach in Lincoln City, Oregon creates an atmosphere you can’t find anywhere else. The Chinooks Winds Open 8-Ball Tournament precedes Western BCA’s 21st annual

regional 8-Ball Championships. Western BCA (WBCA) and Chinook Winds are jointly producing this event The 8-Ball Tournament is sponsored by Chinook Winds Casino Resort, a grant from the Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau (www.oregoncoast. org) and Anheuser-Busch. Bud Light is the official beer of the event and sponsor of Warm-up Tournament. Special thanks to Mike Howerton, AzBilliards; Lenny Marshall, On The Rail TV; Ozzie Reynolds, Cuesports International; Ric and Bonnie Jones - Bad Boys Productions; Jay Helfert Author of “Pool Wars” Entry Forms and more entry information can be obtained at westernbca.org.

Iowa’s Diamond Dealer! 4510 East 14th St - Des Moines, IA 50313

PH: 515-266-6100 FAX: 515-266-6166 www.bigdogbilliards.com

http://www.facebook.com/bigdogbilliardsdsm Contact Randy Hanson 218-234-6166

Visit our Diamond Billiard Products Showroom! Factory Direct Pricing

Arkansas Table

Dymondwood Professional Table

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• Dymondwood • Oak • Walnut • Cherry • Maple Diamondwood Smart • Black • PRC Table & MiniLight • Finishes available

The New Paragon Table

Pro-Am Table

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Cyclops Ball Sets

DEALER FOR: • Gameroom Furnishings CUES: • Big Dog • Jacoby • McDermott • Viking • Diveney Custom Cues • Purex • Action • Elite • and more .... • Kamui tips

Rackem January 2016

Curtis Cardwell Scores at the Omega Billiards Tour Season Finale for 2015

CURTIS CARDWELL On the weekend of November 14-15, the Omega Billiards Tour Season Finale was hosted by Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas. The staff and owners treated the players well with great service and an amazing atmosphere, and they took care of all us all weekend long covering very long hours and we very much appreciate each and every one of them! The field was 90 players strong and we had $6,350 added! Jake Hulsey donated a beautiful Hulsey Custom Cue and so an extra $1,850 was raised, including the $4,500 Season Finale added money. It was a great Season Finale with lots of give-aways, raffles, and awards. Mike Rountree who placed 3rd in the previous Omega Stop (his highest finish at the time) had wins over Philip Palmer 7-3, John Henry Torres 7-2, Richard Parrilla 7-5, Joe Pelayo 7-5, Jersey Jack Lynch 7-5 and Stephen Hanson 7-4 before meeting up with Curtis Cardwell for the hotseat. Curtis Cardwell had

Results

1 2 3 4 5/6 7/8 9-12 13-16 17-24 25-32

Curtis Cardwell $2,200 Philip Palmer $1,200 Mike Rountree $1,000 Stephen Hanson $600 Cory Anderson and Steve Raynes $460 Greg Sandifer and Robin Barbour $300 Bobby Diggs, Jack Lynch, Jim Colling, Alberto Nieto $200 Scott Willoughby, Doug Winnett, Jesse Hernandez, Denny Sneed $150 David Josephson, Daniel Herring, Joe Pelayo, Steve Horne, Crispian Ng, Mike Nagaki, Kirit Patel, Marc Brown $85 Brandon Thrasher, Paul Guernsey, Jim Talman, Carl Bodeker, Robert Clark, Juan Parra, Blas Andrade, Keith Aikens $50 Last Lady – Tracie Voelkering $75

January 2016

a bye then had wins over David Bell 7-4, Jim Colling was Tour Champion last year and Greg Sandifer 7-5, Robin Barbour 7-4, Cory Anderson 7-6, and is the Omega Billiards Tour Champion now this Steve Raynes 7-3. Then he sent Mike Rountree to the year! Nick is ranked 2nd this year, Daniel Herring one-loss side for the hotseat with a close score of 7-5. finished an impressive 3rd place in the rankings, Cory Philip Palmer lost his very first match to Mike Anderson finished the season ranked 4th, with Crispian Roundtree and then went on a tear! He defeated Ng finishing in 5th place. The top three players will Marshall Storey 6-5, Robert Reighter 6-1, Amos all receive Predator Prizes! Places 4th through 8th Bush 6-4, Robert Clark 6-3, Mike Nagaki 6-6, Scott will receive a FREE entry into BCAPL Nationals in Willoughby 6-4, Jersey Jack Lynch 6-5, Robin Barbour 2016! 6th place was filled by Steve Raynes, 7th was 6-1, Steve Raynes 6-3, Stephen Hanson 6-2, and then Tommy Ulbik and 8th place was Philip Palmer. What a ended Mike’s run 6-5. Mike would place an impressive fantastic season for these guys! 3rd place again! Tournament Director Melinda Bailey would like Philip then found himself for the first time in the to thank Rusty’s Billiards owners and staff for their finals of the Omega tour, BUT it also was Curtis’ first awesome hospitality all weekend! She would also like time in the finals as well. The large crowd cheering to thank her fabulous team: Heather Farr and Dana for their favorite player was in for a treat as the finals Speed. would go two sets, both close. Philip would win the A big thank you also goes out to Michael Hoang, first set 6-5, and Curtis would win the second set 7-4, main sponsor of the Tour and owner of Omega securing his FIRST Omega Billiards Tour title! Both Billiards Supply in Hurst, TX. Michael and Omega players played SO good all weekend long! Billiards Supply are well known for the huge booths at many large tournaments across the country. Congrats to Curtis for his fabulous 1st place in Check out the website for more details: http:// the Omega Tour Season Finale, and Philip Palmer for his awesome 2nd place! Mike Rountree placed 3rd and www.omegabilliardstour.com/ And follow the Stephen Hanson had his highest finish to date with brackets live online at: http://omegatour.challonge. 4th place! Congrats also to Cory Anderson and Steve com/ Raynes for their consistent 5th/6th place, and Robin Barbour and Greg Sandifer for 7th/8th places. Congrats to ALL the players and fans for a great event! A HUGE thank you goes out to our sponsors Omega Billiards Supply, Predator Cues, BCAPL/ CSI, and OB Cues. We would also like to give a big thanks to our additional sponsors, Hulsey Custom Cues, Irving Ink and Thread, AZBilliards.com, Billiards Digest, and BilliardsPress.com. After nine stops this year, Greg Sandifer has grabbed FIRST place in the Predator Player Points Rankings by only FIVE points MIKE ROUNTREE, (3RD) PHILIP PALMER (2ND), over Nick Conner. Nick Conner CURTIS CARDWELL (1ST)

Rackem OnTheBreakNews.com

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Pool Players Money List 2015

TOP 100

from: AZBilliards.com

6149 E 31st St Tulsa, OK

918-779-6204 Hours: Sun 2-10 pm Mon-Thurs 12-2am Fri-Sat 12-1am

FAMILY BILLIARDS ROOM

PRO SHOP - CUE REPAIR - CUES - CASES - SUPPLIES

1 GBR APPLETON Darren 149,778 2 USA VAN BOENING Shane 136,376 3 USA BERGMAN Justin 103,990 4 TPE KO Pin-Yi 102,700 5 CAN PAGULAYAN Alex 88,278 6 PHI ORCOLLO Dennis 85,358 7 KOR KIM Ga-Young 74,289 8 CAN MORRA John 67,340 9 CHN BAI Ge 66,950 10 CHN YANG Fan 58,507 11 USA DEUEL Corey 58,370 12 AUT OUSCHAN Albin 57,799 13 PHI KIAMCO Warren 54,705 14 USA WOODWARD Skyler 53,400 15 USA DECHAINE Mike 53,330 16 GBR SHAW Jayson 53,185 17 CHN LIU Haitao 50,916 18 TPE CHENG Yu-Hsuan 50,643 19 GBR SELBY Mark 49,000 20 CHN LIU Sha Sha 47,900 21 GER HOHMANN Thorsten 44,468 22 TPE CHANG Yu-Lung 43,000 23 FIN IMMONEN Mika 42,465 24 USA FROST Scott 40,195 25 TPE LIN Yuan-Chun 40,000 26 USA MORRIS Rodney 36,905 27 USA DOMINGUEZ Oscar 36,825 28 GBR BOYES Karl 35,612 29 USA ROBERTS Josh 34,217 30 PHI BIADO Carlo 34,060 31 CHN ZHANG Xiao Tong 32,000 32 GBR GRAY Mark 31,669 33 CHN YU Han 31,300 34 AUT OUSCHAN Jasmin 30,500 35 PHI IGNACIO Jeffrey 28,775 36 CHN FU Xiao-Fang 28,200 37 CHN ZHENG Yu-Bo 28,013 38 USA HALL Justin 27,300 39 GBR PEACH Daryl 25,771 40 NED VAN DEN BERG Nick 24,158 41 TPE KO Ping-Chung 23,300 42 USA ARCHER Johnny 23,200 43 PHI CHUA Johann 23,105 44 CHN CHU Bing Jie 22,740 45 PHI CORTEZA Lee Vann 21,500 46 USA JONES Jeremy 21,015 47 RUS CHINAHOV Ruslan 20,989 48 CAN KLATT Jason 19,900 49 USA SOSSEI Jeremy 19,275 50 GER SOUQUET Ralf 19,063

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 98 100

NED PHI CHN GBR PHI GBR JPN USA ESP GRE IRL USA USA USA GRE TPE EST USA JPN CAN QAT USA CHN CHN PER SWE POL CHN PHI FIN ROU CHN PHI AUT USA POL SIN JPN NED USA USA PHI ESP ESP USA INA CAN TPE CHN USA

FEIJEN Niels AMIT Rubilen CHEN Siming FISHER Allison REYES Efren FISHER Kelly KAWAHARA Chihiro SHUFF Brandon ALCAIDE David EKONOMOPOULOS Nick CORR Karen WILKIE Shaun DAVIS Mike DAULTON Shannon KAZAKIS Alexandros CHOU Chieh-Yu GRABE Denis SMITH Danny OI Naoyuki HEWITT Danny MAJID Waleed WINTERS Shane WU Jia-Qing PAN Xiao-Ting CHAU Manny CHAMAT Marcus SNIEGOCKI Mateusz LIU Yi Chen GERONIMO Rodrigo MAKKONEN Petri ROMANIA WCOP Team WANG Can GOMEZ Roberto HE Mario MCMINN Shane SZEWCZYK Wojciech YAPP Aloysius KURIBAYASHI Toru TEUTSCHER Marco RODRIGUEZ Jorge BRUMBACK John MAZON Jundel SANCHEZ-RUIZ Francisco DIAZ-PIZARRO Francisco BRYANT Charlie TICOALU Angeline BRYANT Brittany YANG Chin-Shung LI He Wen THORPE Billy

19,028 19,000 16,950 16,820 16,415 16,200 15,368 15,225 14,905 14,873 14,225 13,700 13,355 13,150 13,042 13,000 12,602 12,340 12,103 11,855 11,720 11,579 11,416 11,000 10,709 10,687 10,647 10,500 10,370 10,073 10,000 9,970 9,805 9,770 9,755 9,687 9,600 9,500 9,350 9,175 9,150 9,065 9,060 8,868 8,715 8,712 8,710 8,500 8,500 8,296

309-517-1572 Jan 2nd: No Master/Elites/Adv 8-Ball Jan 23rd: Pool 4 Paws 9-Ball

ded 0 ad ayers 0 5 $ l 2+ p w/3 $30 incl $10 g.f. Calcutta at 1PM Rack Your Own Alternate Break

3810 27th St ~ Moline, IL ~ Tourn. Dir: Colin Brandt

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POOL TOURNAMENTS Every Fri 933 8th St (Hwy 3 & 50) - Farmington, MN 651-463-2636 www.farmingtonbilliardsmn.com

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8525 Cottonwood St NW Coon Rapids, MN 763-780-1585

Watch for Upcoming Tournamnts

Rackem January 2016

t n e m a n r ou

s d r illia

t y a d i l o H s a m t

B g o d g i b

s i r h C

Joe eeley,

n McN

ria ker, B l a W ey , Whit

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Jon B

The Big Dog Billiards Christmas Holiday Tournament was a huge success!! Thank you so much to all 69 players for coming out and playing in this FREE ENTRY, $1000 ADDED event!! It really was a fun had by all kind of weekend!! A big thank you to our sponsors for the event, including Diveney Custom Cues and Pat Diveney, and Randy Hanson and Jim Landrum from Big Dog’s!! The partnership with Pat Diveney looks like it’s the perfect fit for our events! He does a lot more for pool in the state of Iowa than just build beautiful pool cues! Results are as follows... 1st Whitey Walker $250/$700 2nd Brian McNeeley $150/$510 3rd Joe Jones(JJ) $100/$325 4th Tony Ehlers $80/$140 5/6 Jim Case/Victor Grandstaff $60/$95 7/8 Jon Brown/Mike Walden $50 9/12 Matt Robe/Jake VW/Ron Graham/Ryan Carter $30 Highest Finishing Female, no surprise here, Anna Tuluaun. $100. The event was handicapped 6/5/4/3, with 3 6’s, 6 5’s, 53 4’s, and 7 3’s. Very happy with the turnout considering we only had a little over a week to promote this event. This will obviously be a great annual holiday event for many years to come! Quite a few new faces here this weekend also, with players from several states making the trip to Des Moines, IA.

Jones

High Woman: ANNA TULUAUN

Women’s 8-Ball Challenge

AMY HEINEN First things first, congratulations to Des Moines’ own Amy Heinen, the champion of the 1st ever Women’s 8-Ball Challenge here at Big Dog Billiards!! So happy for her!!

BIG DOG BILLIARDS...FROM BEGINNERS TO PROFESSIONALS, THIS IS WHERE YOU WANT PLAY!! Hours: M-F: 2pm-2am Sat: 11am-2am Closed Sunday

Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11AM-Midnight Fri-Sat: 11am-1am

122 1/2 E Carl Albert Pkwy - McAlester, OK Open 7 days a week opens at 2pm M-F Noon Sat-Sun

8 Valley Pool Tables - (1) 9’ Brunswick - 1 Snooker Jukebox - Video Games - Sports on the Big Screen

28 January 2016

121 E Cherry St Mankato, MN

507-388-7665

Weekly & Monthly Tournaments

14 Diamond Pool Tables - Leagues Full Menu - Gourmet Burgers - Beer

All Ages Welcome

Rackem OnTheBreakNews.com

2013 Nelson St Shreveport, LA 318-425-8112

• • • • • •

21 Bar Boxes 2-9’ Diamonds 4 Reg. Dart Boards 2 Electronic Darts 2 Golden Tee 2 Full Bars

Best Bar Food in town www.facebook.com/onthebreaknews

ELL

BETH FOND

Thank you to all you wonderful ladies that participated!! We had 46 players, which is great!! As far as the handicaps go, we had 2 Elite players(7’s) in the event, 13 Master players(5’s), and 31 Open players(3’s). As you can see, the handicaps for this tourney were 7/5/3, which seemed to level the playing field. The results are as follows...

1st $875/$830 Amy Heinen(3) 2nd $585/$620 Beth Fondell(7) 3rd $440/$405 Jessica Frideres(7) 4th $300/$200 Trista Ingham(3) 5/6 $150 Kelly Spangenberg(5) Anna Tulauan(5) 7/8 $100 Suzzee Meusel(5) Sharon Judson(3) 9/12 $55 Jeanne Collins(3) Michelle Nicholson(3) Stacey Pick(5) Nicki Hughs(3) We are already looking ahead to plan the next Women’s 8-Ball Challenge sometime this Spring! I know I will see all of you again, and a bunch of new faces as well!! Thank you again!!

R acki n R o un d The Christmas Tree

Handicapped 9-Ball Tournament Congratulations 1st $520 / $555 Rob James Davenport IA 2nd $320 / $350 Ryan Short Cedar Rapids, IA 3rd $200 / $200 Jesse Bowman Moline IL 4th $125 / $100 Greg Sheffert Cedar Rapids IA 5/6th $ 75 Rich Brooks Cedar Rapids IA Abe Palmer Maquoketa IA 7/8th $ 50 Trent Lamar Davenport IA Josh Lortz Cedar Rapids IA Thank you to all players and spectators!

DAVENPORT, IA

Chris’ Billiards AC C hicago

lassic

Weekly Pool Tournaments @ 7pm Wed: 8-Ball & Sun: 10-Ball

JESSICA FR

IDERES

41 Pool Tables - APA Leagues 4637 N Milwaukee Ave - Chicago, IL

773-286-4714

(256) 686-3171

First Sat at 7pm Monthly 9 ball $35 entry Players Auction $500 added.

9 Ball Fri & Sat 8pm-$13 entry

22 Diamonds (16-7ft and 6-9ft) 1819 Bassett Ave SE, Decatur, AL 1-5x10 Snooker

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417-315-8340

Weekly Pool Tournaments

Rackem

525 S Glenstone Ave Springfield, MO

January 2016

High Pockets Christmas Classic

ONE POCKET

8-BALL

SCOTT FROST, TRACY WHITNEY - OWNER, JEREMY JONES

JASON KLATT, TRACY WHITNEY - OWNER, COREY DEUEL

FROM SCOTT FROST Well... Congratulations to Jeremy Jones for winning the tournament. We both played well the entire event and then both played a little poor in the finals. I needed 3 balls to make it hill hill he needed 6 and I missed a ball I make 45 out of 50 times. He deserved to win. I feel I do just fine playing this game and will continue to win for many many years to come. HUGE THANKS to my great friend and BEST pool room owner in the country Tracy Whitney!!! Man I had it and missed that ball or its my break hill hill. But 2nd is better than 3rd... Thanks to ALL my sponsors! FROM JEREMY JONES Well it’s Saturday morning here in Memphis and was fortunate enough yesterday to snap off The Christmas Classic one pocket division!! A huge thanks to Tracy Whitney and his staff here at HighPockets!! No one does more than all of them. Congrats to runner up Scott Frost and another thanks to Bob Owen at Shurtz Cues...my cue is awesome!! Everyone enjoy your weekend and happy holidays!! FROM: TONY CHOHAN December 15 at 5:03pm · Gotta give a big shout out to Tracy Whitney your truly the best in the whole world as far as owners go red carpet. Shame on the poolplayers who do not have a valid reason for supporting his events thats all i want to say i wish pool had promoters such as yourself and pool room owners were more like you. You make me feel like i am at home and that means alot kudos now i have to try to win need this Christmas money. Thanks alot for having me. Memphis, Tennessee High Pockets. 1st $6,000 / $2,800 Jeremy Jones 2nd $3,000 / $1500 Scott Frost 3rd $1,500 Tony Chohan

Congratulations to Corey Deuel for winning the Memphis Christmas Classic 8-Ball... Fantastic 2nd place finish for Jason Klatt, was a nail biter right to the end and almost went to the hill first set. Great finish for Robb Saez scoring 3rd and Sky Woodward got 4th and played really well. Special shout out to Tracy Whitney for putting on an amazing event at his incredible establishment! like emoticon Thanks for joining us and we will see you at our next event and have a Happy Holidays!

MEMPHIS, TN

January 2016

9-BALL

We had some tough action! $40 entry no green fees no quarters $500 added! Congrats to Kenny Loftis for winning the bar table 9 ball event and to runner up Sean King! 1st $960 Kenny Loftis 2nd $730 Sean King 3rd $480 Brad Sullivan 4th $250 Devin Poteet 5/6 $100 Mark Cavalier, Josh Woods 7/8 $60 Jake Waymire, Zach Sanderson I want to thank my staff for working there butts off this week. Thanks to Ray Hansen for helping me all weekend make KENNY LOFTIS this a wonderful event. Thanks to all the players that came out and supported me and to all the fans! Thank you to everyone who played in the 9 ball event and to the vendors and sponsors ! Special thank you to all the kind words from the players and fans who posted on Facebook ! Scott Frost and Tony Chohan! Special Thanks to Jake Waymire and Brandie Greenwood Waymire for running the 9ball event! Thanks to all the sponsors who put players in the events!

Rackem OnTheBreakNews.com

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Scoreboard

T’s Billiards Gunslinger Pool

• • • • •

Hours: Mon-Sat: 10am-2am Sun: 6pm-Close

15 Pool Tables Tournaments Coldest Beer Sandwiches Pizza

8155 East 21st St - Tulsa, OK - 918-622-7747 Many thanks to the 57 players who showed up for the No Master 9-ball Tournament yesterday at Deep Pockets Billiards in Moline, IL on December 5, 2015!! 1st $650 $800 Jason Welker (Dixon, IL) 2nd $400 $500 Travis Frazelle (Moline, IL) 3rd $300 $300 Tommy Fuller (Davenport, IA) 4th $200 $200 Dave Martin (Burlington, IA) 5/6 $100 $150 Josh Ray (Davenport, IA) Jayson Ledford (East Moline, IL) 7/8 $ 75 $100 Shaun Williams (Moline, IL) Dave Parkins (Davenport, IA) 9-12 $ 35 Harold Gruhlke (Japan lol) Joe Villapando (Davenport, IA) Drew Soland (Joliet, IL) Mike Ragan (Peoria, IL)

920-651-0806

570 N. Main St - Oshkosh, WI 54901

Full Bar and Grill

Pool Table Sales Installation, Moving Service and Repair

SIX POCKETS

DECATUR, AL December 5, 2015 1st 2nd

$645 $350

PRO SHOP CUES & ACCESSORIES

We build Custom Cues

Harrold M David S

4510 East 14th St - Des Moines, IA RESULTS from the Red Shoes Billiards - Alsip, IL BANK POOL TOURNAMENT held on 12/19/2015 1st-2nd SPLIT Glen “Piggybanks” Rogers & Neal Jacobs.... 3rd Mark Jarvis.... 4th Keith Brownlow.... 5th-6th “Marshall” & John Phillips

SHARKY’S BAR & BILLIARDS

Weekly Tournaments: Sun-Mon-Tues-Fri 1st & 3rd Saturday Tournaments http://www.facebook.com/bigdogbilliardsdsm

Full Service Bar - Great Food!! LIKE US

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563-359-7225

Daily Food Specials - Happy Hour: 4-6pm M-F

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See the Tournament Trail for Upcoming Tournament Dates OnTheBreakNews.com

40 POOL TABLES - FOOSBALL DARTS - LARGE SCREEN TV

515-266-6100 www.bigdogbilliards.com

2902 E Kimberly Rd - Davenport, IA

26 Pool Tables - 6 Flat Screen TVs Weekly Tournament at 7PM Sun-Mon-Thurs-Fri $100 added for every 16 players

(9) 9' Diamond Tables (12) 7' Diamond Tables

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www.onthebreaknews.com 8 Years of Archived Issues

Rackem January 2016

WEEKLY TOURNAMENTS If you have any changes to your weekly pool tournaments EMAIL: billiards@OnTheBreakNews.com DATE CITY Mondays Davenport, IA Houston, TX Des Moines, IA Appleton, WI Green Bay, WI

LOCATION Sharky’s Bar & Billiards Bogies Billiards Big Dog Billiards KK Billiards KK Billiards

PHONE (563) 359-7225 (281) 821-4544 (515) 266-6100 (920) 830-0083 (920) 432-0059

EVENT / RULES 9-Ball 9 Ball on 8’ tables-Race 4/3 Open 8-Ball 9-Ball-Race to 4-Alt Break-DE 9-Ball-Race to 4-Alt Break-DE

ENTRY $12 $7 $10 no g.f. $10 $10

ADDED $100 every 16 $100 w/20 $/player 16+ $50 w/16 $50 w/16

TIME 7PM 8PM 6PM 7PM 7PM

Tuesdays Spring, TX Des Moines, IA Houston, TX Wednesdays McAlester, OK Davenport, IA Midwest City, OK St Peters, MO Houston, TX Alsip, IL Oshkosh, WI Thursdays Oshkosh, WI Davenport, IA Des Moines, IA Spring, TX Fridays McAlester, OK Houston, TX Coon Rapids, MN Des Moines, IA Farmington, MN Spring, TX Spring, TX Tulsa, OK Poplar Bluff, MO Midwest City, OK Davenport, IA Appleton, WI Round Rock, TX Oshkosh, WI Mankato, MN St Peters, MO

Big Tyme Billiards Big Dog Billiards Bogie’s West Back Alley Billiards Sharky’s Bar & Billiards Jamaica Joe’s Teachers Billiards Bogies Billiards Red Shoes Varsity Club Varsity Club Sharky’s Bar & Billiards Big Dog Billiards Big Tyme Billiards Back Alley Billiards Bogies Billiards CR’s Sports Bar Big Dog Billiards Farmington Billiards Big Tyme Billiards Big Tyme Billiards Q-Spot Billiards Smokin’ Aces Jamaica Joe’s Sharky’s Bar & Billiards KK Billiards Skinny Bob’s Billiards Varsity Club Kato Cue Club Teachers Billiards

(281) 288-0800 (515) 266-6100 (832) 912-4432 (918) 916-2837 (563) 359-RACK (405) 736-0590 (636) 441-9964 (281) 821-4544 (708) 388-3700 (920) 651-0806 (920) 651-0806 (563) 359-7225 (515) 266-6100 (281) 288-0800 (918) 916-2837 (281) 821-4544 (763) 780-1585 (515) 266-6100 (651) 463-2636 (281) 288-0800 (281) 288-0800 (918) 779-6204 (573) 712-2900 (405) 736-0590 (563) 359-7225 (920) 830-0083 (512) 733-1111 (920) 651-0806 (507) 388-7665 (636) 441-9964

8 Ball Handicap 8-Ball-DE 9 Ball-Limit 32 9 Ball Open - Race to 3 8-9-10 Ball Coin Toss 9 Ball - 10 & under 5,6,7 9-Ball - Race to 3+ 8 Ball on 8’ tables-Race 2/1 10 Ball 9-Ball Beginners 9-Ball Intermediate 8-Ball Short Rack 8-Ball-Race to 3 9 Ball 8 Ball Open - Race to 3 8-Ball-on Bar Tables 8-Ball on 7’ Diamonds Open 10-Ball 8 or 9-ball rotation One Pocket 8 Ball - APA 5 & under 8-Ball 7 & under 9 Ball Open 8-Ball - Rated 9-Ball on 7’ Valleys 8-Ball-Race to 2-Alt Break-DE 9-Ball Race 3/3-Last Woman $ 9-Ball 8-Ball Progressive - Hdcp 3,4,5 8-Ball - Race to 2+

$10 Call $10 Call $12 $5 $$$ $10 (incl g.f.) $100 every 16 $15 $5/player $13 $5 side pot $7 $100 w/20 $15 Call $8 Call $10 Call $5+$3 g,f, $100 every 16 $10 Call $10 50% $10 $$$ $10 Call $16 Break Pot $10 $3/player $15+$5 g.f. $50 w/16 $10 Call $6 50% $5 Call $10 $200 Call Call $10 $100 every 16 $5 $50 w/16 $12 Call $15 $50 $16 Call $13 $5 side pot

9:30PM 7PM 8PM 7:30PM 6:30PM 7:30PM 7:30PM 8PM 8PM Call Call 7PM 11PM 8PM 7:30PM 7PM 7PM 7PM 6:30PM 8PM 8PM 9 PM 7PM Call 7PM 7PM 8PM 7PM 6:30PM 7:30PM

Saturdays Houston, TX Tulsa, OK Round Rock, TX Houston, TX Tulsa, OK St Peters, MO Springfield, MO Sundays McAlester, OK Des Moines, IA Davenport, IA Green Bay, WI Spring, TX Round Rock, TX Oshkosh, WI Springfield, MO

Bogies Billiards T’s Billiards Skinny Bob’s Billiards Bogie’s West Q-Spot Billiards Teachers Billiards Shooters Billiards Back Alley Billiards Big Dog Billiards Sharky’s Bar & Billiards KK Billiards Big Tyme Billiards Skinny Bob’s Billiards Varsity Club Shooters Billiards

(281) 821-4544 (918) 622-7747 (512) 733-1111 (832) 912-4432 (918) 779-6204 (636) 441-9964 (417) 315-8340 (918) 916-2837 (515) 266-6100 (563) 359-7225 (920) 432-0059 (281) 288-0800 (512) 733-1111 (920) 651-0806 (417) 315-8340

8-Ball on Bar Tables $10 Alt 8/9 Ball - Vegas Style $25 9-Ball Race 4/3 9-Ball Break Pot $12 8 Ball-Limit 32 $11 9-Ball 7 & under $10 (incl. g.f.) 9-Ball - Race to Hcp - DE $15 8-Ball $5 Scotch Doubles - Race to 3 $10 Open Short Rack 8/9 $10 no g.f. 10-Ball $12 8-Ball Race to 3 $10 10 Ball $12 10-Ball Race 5/3 9-Ball Break Pot $12 10-Ball on 9’ tables-Race to 5 $15 Majority Rules $5

Want your pool tournaments listed, then call 406.285.3099

Call 7PM $100 every 8 1PM Call 8PM $100 w/20 4PM Call 9PM $5 side pot 1PM $100 7:30PM $$$ 5:30PM $5/player 16+ 6PM $100 every 16 7PM $50 w/16 1PM 50% 6PM Break&Run Pot 2PM Call Call $100 6PM

Call First - All Tournaments are subject to change without notice

January 2016

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Back Alley Billiards Sweeps

ACS Oklahoma State

MEN’S ADVANCED 9-BALL SINGLES Back Alley Billiards, in McAlester, hosts the Oklahoma State ACS 9-ball singles Championships in October and McAlester players finished high in the men’s advanced division. Marlan Isbell won $500 and a national entry with his first-place finish. Darryl Cowan won $260 for second place. Clint Hines, of Langley, won $100 for third. And Cheddy Brown got fourth place. Rachel Petersen earned top woman. Pictured, from left, are Darryl Cowan, Cheddy Brown, Marlan Isbell, Rachel Petersen and Clint Hines.

MEN’S STANDARD 9-BALL SINGLES Back Alley Billiards, in McAlester, hosts the Oklahoma State ACS 9-ball singles Championships in October and McAlester players sweep the men’s standard division. Steve Watson, pictured third from left, won $185 and a national entry with his first-place finish. John Riley, pictured at far right, won $115 for second place. Troy Franks, pictured at left, won $45 for third. And Shane Austin, pictured second from left, won $25 for fourth.

MEN’S OPEN 9-BALL SINGLES Back Alley Billiards, in McAlester, hosts the Oklahoma State ACS 9-ball singles Championships in October and McAlester players sweep the men’s open division. Doug Kirby, pictured at far right, won $250 and a national entry with his first-place finish. Jerry McCurry, pictured second from left, won $145 for second place. Pete Manschreck, pictured third from left, won $60 for third. And Ryan Holmes, pictured second from left, got 4th place.

WOMEN’S STANDARD 9-BALL SINGLES Back Alley Billiards, in McAlester, hosts the Oklahoma State ACS 9-ball singles Championships in October and McAlester players sweep the women’s standard division. Shawta Davis, pictured second from left, won $145 and a national entry with her first-place finish. Stacy Chappell, pictured at left, won $85 for second place. Mandy Lay, pictured third from left, won $35 for third. And Sharon Stanton, pictured at far right, took fourth place in the tournament.

STANDARD LADIES The “BACK ALLEY GALS” from McAlester finished in second place in the Oklahoma State ACS women’s standard 8-Ball team division in November. Pictured, from left, are Tammy Mendenhall, Amy Isbell, Mandy Lay, Shawta Davis and Peggy Marshall.

OPEN LADIES The “LADY BULL SHOOTERS” from McAlester finished in second place in the Oklahoma State ACS women’s open 8-Ball team division in November. Pictured, from left, are Jessica Westbrook, Shannon Cowan, Rachel Petersen, Stacy Chappell and Sharon Stanton.

BULL SHOOTERS

THE KEIFS

BACK ALLEY BOYS

After two full days of team play, McAlester men swept the Oklahoma State ACS team 8-Ball Championships. Playing out of Back Alley Billiards, in McAlester, “The Keifs” won the men’s standard team division and the “Bull Shooters” won the men’s open team division. They won over $1,000 cash as well as their entry into the National ACS Championships at the Tropicana in Las Vegas in May 2016. Pictured, from left, are team members David

Westbrook (of Vinita), Dale Motley (of Crowder), Todd Barrier (of Hartshorne) and Marlan Isbell (of McAlester). Both teams went undefeated and won their entries into the ACS National Championships at the Tropicana in Las Vegas in May 2016. They faced competitors from all across the state of Oklahoma. “The Keifs” included Keith and Trevor Ouellette, Pete Manschreck, Doug Kirby and Don Mendenhall.

“Back Alley Boys” finished in 2nd place in the standard division include Troy Franks, T.J. Marshall, John Riley and Shane Austin. Back Alley Billiards, in McAlester, hosts numerous BCA and ACS leagues all year long. Playing in the leagues qualifies players for both State and National Championships, as well as many other BCA and ACS sanctioned events. Call the pool hall at 918-916-CUES (2837) to join a league today.

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Rackem January 2016

Call First - All Tournaments are subject to change without notice DATE CITY LOCATION PHONE Jan 1-2 Des Moines, IA Big Dog Billiards 515-266-6100 Jan 2 Green Bay, WI KK Billiards 920-432-0059 Jan 2 Moline, IL Deep Pockets 309-517-1572 Jan 2 Alsip, IL Red Shoes 708-388-3700 Jan 2 McAlester, OK Back Alley 918-916-2837 Jan 2 Houston, TX Bogies Billiards 281-821-4544 Jan 2-3 Houston, TX Bogies Billiards 281-821-4544 Jan 8 Decatur, AL 6 Pockets 256-686-3171 Jan 8 Decatur, AL 6 Pockets 256-686-3171 Jan 9-10 Decatur, AL 6 Pockets 256-686-3171 Jan 9-10 Tyler, TX Brass Star 903-597-5777 Jan 9 McAlester, OK Back Alley 918-916-2837 Jan 16 Mankato, MN Kato Cue Club 507-388-POOL Jan 16 McAlester, OK Back Alley 918-916-2837 Jan 16 Davenport, IA Sharky’s 563-359-RACK Jan 16-17 Round Rock, TX Skinny Bob’s 512-721-8229 Jan 23 Moline, IL Deep Pockets 309-517-1572 Jan 23 McAlester, OK Back Alley 918-916-2837 Jan 23 Appleton, WI KK Billiards 920-830-0083 Jan 23 Oshkosh, WI Varsity 920-651-0806 Jan 23-24 Mankato, MN Kato Cue Club 507-388-POOL Jan 22 Elizabeth, IN Derby City Classic 812-288-POOL Jan 22-30 Elizabeth, IN Derby City Classic 812-288-POOL Jan 22-25 Elizabeth, IN Derby City Classic 812-288-POOL Jan 24 Elizabeth, IN Derby City Classic 812-288-POOL Jan 24 Elizabeth, IN Derby City Classic 812-288-POOL Jan 27 Elizabeth, IN Derby City Classic 812-288-POOL Jan 29 Elizabeth, IN Derby City Classic 502-345-7775 Jan 30 McAlester, OK Back Alley 918-916-2837 Jan 30 Davenport, IA Sharky’s 563-359-RACK Feb 6 Decatur, AL 6 Pockets 256-686-3171 Feb 6 McAlester, OK Back Alley 918-916-2837 Feb 6 Green Bay, WI KK Billiards 920-432-0059 Feb 5-7 St Peters, MO Teachers Billiards 314-614-9920 Feb 5-7 Tulsa, OK T’s Billiards 918-622-7747 Feb 12-14 Round Rock, TX Skinny Bob’s 512-733-1111 Feb 13 Mankato, MN Kato Cue Club 507-388-POOL Feb 13 McAlester, OK Back Alley 918-916-2837 Feb 13-14 Topeka, KS Breakers 785-272-1513 Feb 19-21 Coon Rapids, MN CR Billiards 763-780-1585 Feb 20-21 Coon Rapids, MN CR Billiards 763-780-1585 Feb 20 Appleton, WI KK Billiards 920-830-0083 Feb 27 McAlester, OK Back Alley 918-916-2837 Feb 27-28 Midwest City, OK Jamaica Joes 405-736-0590 Feb 27-28 Midwest City, OK Jamaica Joes 405-736-0590 Mar 5 Decatur, AL 6 Pockets 256-686-3171 Mar 5 Green Bay, WI KK Billiards 920-432-0059 Mar 10 Lincoln City, OR Chinook Winds Open 360-703-4081 Mar 11-13 Lincoln City, OR Chinook Winds Open 360-703-4081 Mar 11-13 Lincoln City, OR Chinook Winds Open 360-703-4081 Mar 12 Houston, TX Bogies West 832-912-4432 Mar 12-13 Houston, TX Bogies West 832-912-4432 Mar 19 Mankato, MN Kato Cue Club 507-388-POOL Mar 19 Appleton, WI KK Billiards 920-830-0083 Apr 2 Mankato, MN Kato Cue Club 507-388-POOL

January 2016

EVENT / RULES ENTRY ADDED TIME 8-Ball Sc Dbls $40 $500 10AM 8-Ball No Master $40 incl g.f. $750 w/64 10AM 8-Ball - No elites/masters/adv $30 (incl g.f.) $500 Noon One Pocket $50 incl g.f. $500 w/f.f. Noon Progressive 8-Ball Open $20 Call 2PM Gulf Coast Tour $25 $$$ 10AM 9-Ball $35/$25 $1,000 11AM 10-Ball Single Elim-Max 32 $30 (incl g.f.) Call 8PM 10-Ball Ring Game-Max 16 $60 (incl g.f.) Call 10PM 10-Ball - Max 128 $100 (incl g.f.) $1,000 w/64 Noon 9-Ball $40-Limit 64 $1,500 w/64 Noon 8-Ball 7 Speed & under $20 Call 2PM 10-Ball Ring Game Series $50-Limit 16 Call 3PM 9-Ball Rated $20 Call 2PM 9-Ball Banks $30 (incl g.f.) $500 10AM Pistol Perez 9-Ball $40/$60 $1,600 10AM 9-Ball Pool 4 Paws $30 Call Call 8-Ball 6 Speed & under $20 Call 2PM Open 8-Ball - Limit 128 $40+$10 g.f. $4,000 7PM Open 8-Ball - Limit 128 $40+$10 g.f. $4,000 10AM 8-Ball Handicap - Limit 64 $20 no g.f. Call 11AM 9-Ball Banks-Single Elim w/1 buy back $110-$50w/bb $10,000 Guar Noon Mini Tournaments throughout DCC Call Call Call Diamond Bigfoot 10-Ball Challenge Call $16,000 Call 1 Pocket-Single Elim w/1 buy back $135-$75w/bb $15,000 Guar Noon Straight Pool $1,000 High Run $100 $7,000 Guar Call 9-Ball-Single Elim w/1 buy back $160-$100w/bb $25,000 Guar Noon Mosconi Cup Points for 2016 Bank Ring Game Call $3,000 Call Jack & Jill Scotch $30 Call 2PM 10-Ball $40 incl g.f. $1,000 10AM 9-Ball $35 $500 7PM Progressive 8-Ball Open $20 Call 2PM 9-Ball No Master $40 incl g.f. $750 w/64 10AM Big Table 10-Ball -Limit 16 $2,000 $5,000 6PM One Pocket $500+$20 g.f. Call 10AM 10-Ball Texas Open $125 (incl g.f.) $4,000 w/128 7PM 10-Ball Ring Game Series $50-Limit 16 Call 3PM 8-Ball 7 Speed & under $20 Call 2PM 9-Ball $50 incl g.f. $1,500 Guar Noon 8-Ball Midwest Bar Table-Sngls 5 Div. Varies Call 10AM 8-Ball-Team 5 person $250 Call 10AM Open 9-Ball $40 incl g.f. $750 w/64 10AM 8-Ball 6 Speed & under $20 Call 2PM 8-Ball Open $55 $1,000 Noon 8-Ball Women $45 $500 Noon 9-Ball $35 $500 7PM 8-Ball Bonde Under 600 $40 incl g.f. $750 w/64 10AM Chinook Winds Open Warm up Call Call Call Chinook Winds Open Men’s 8-Ball $175 incl g.f. $12,000 3PM Mosconi Cup Points for 2016 Chinook Winds Open Women’s 8-Ball $175 incl g.f. $5,000 3PM Gulf Coast Tour $25 $$$ 10AM Lone Star Tour $35/$25 $1,000 11AM 10-Ball Ring Game Series $50-Limit 16 Call 3PM 9-Ball Bonde Under 600 $40 incl g.f. $750 w/64 10AM 4 Qualifiers from previous 4 Call Call Call

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