Stroke Pool Magazine January Issue 2015 by Stroke Magazine

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2015

STROKE

Stroke January 2015

2014

Women’s International Championship Photos courtesy of Charles Eames Photography and Eli Ceballos Cryfoto.com

Ga Young Kim

January 2015

NEW YORK CITY- December 16-21, 2014 64 women from all over the world and all over the United States have made the trek to the center of modern civilization for the highly anticipated Andy Cloth Women’s International Pool Championship! The event is the longest women’s billiard event of any kind with 6 days of heavy pool action with a round robin event that evolves into a final single elimination chart. The festivities began with the ANDY CLOTH Battle of the Billiard Beauties which will air on TV networks after the event, and then had a huge banquet with star speakers, players meeting, and Pro-Am event. All activities are taking place at Steinway Billiards Cafe and sponsored by Andy Cloth, J.Pechauer Cues, Viking Cues, Steinway Billiards, Olhausen Balls, Pool & Billiard Magazine, the NAPL & Focused Apparel. Patron sponsors include Dr. Greg Diehl, Tom Gleich, and Dr. Michael Frank. Media partners include PKE Partners, IB Sports, NYC Grind, Gotham City Technologies, Nona Photography, and Charles Eames Photography. DAY 1 saw 3 time World Champion Ga Young Kim dominate her group thus far with 2 match wins and dropping only 1 game taking out South Dakota’s Megan Thornes 6-0 and China’s Jing Liu 6-1. Kim also dominated the special event 2 days earlier over Jeanette Lee, Shanelle Loraine, Akiko Kitayama at the Battle of the Billiard Beauties. On the western front, Texan Vivian Villarreal shutout her group’s top seeded Nathalie Seicter of the Netherlands and also whizzed past Sara Miller of AZ 6-1. NYC’s own Jennifer Barretta also was able to maintain a perfect day with wins over Belinda Lee and Caroline Pao. Taiwan’s resurgent Jennifer Chen looks very strong with wins over New Zealand’s Denise Wilkinson 6-5 and Wisconsin’s Kelly O’Heron 6-0. But the day wasn’t without surprises. In Group 6 unheralded USA Connie O’Heron upset the top seed in the group Li Jia of China 6-5 while #15 seed Canadian Maureen Seto defeated the #2 seed of the event Jeanette Lee 6-5 after being down 5-3. DDD-Day! Today is Do-or Die- Day as half the field will be cut as 32 women face elimination from the Andy Cloth Women’s International Pool Championship. China, Russia, Canada, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Sweden and USA look strong to take top seedings into the final rounds of the event. Who’s looking good: Players looking to take the top seeds in their groups include Ga Young Kim (KOREA) the event’s original #1 seed, she has been storming through her opponents in record time with the exception of local NY pro Erin McManus who gave the 3 times World Champion a tough match who only lost 4-6. McManus looks prime to take one of the top 4 spots in the group, and Florida’s Jessica Barnes could take the 2nd spot. In other groups, Taiwan’s Jennifer Chen, Russia’s Anna Mazhirina, and USA’s Vivian Villarreal remain undefeated. Florida’s top player Jeannie Seaver, a qualifier winner, could steal her Group 5 as she also remains undefeated! Maureen Seto could steal away the top spot in Group 2 from #2 event seed Jeanette Lee today. Seto controls her own destiny after she came from behind to defeat the Black Widow and has remained undefeated. Lee still looks safe to get through. In danger: Some notable players that are in do or die situations today that likely must win all their matches include: WPBA pro Emily Duddy (NY) , WPBA legend Belinda Calhoun (Beardon), Hiroko Makiyama (JAPAN), Suzanne Smith (WA), Jing Liu (CHINA) , Caroline Pao (NY), and Netherland’s top pro Nathalie Seichter. The Canadians survived the DDD-Day. The Do-or Die- Day 3 saw the majority of the Canadians make it through the round robin stage, with a huge feather in the cap as Naomi Williams of Toronto went undefeated in her group to take one of the top 3 seeds.

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Seven ladies that represented Canada in the event included Veronique Menard, Brittany Bryant, Grace Nakamura, Naomi Williams, Corrine Johnson, Denise Belanger, and Nathalie Chabot. Qualifier winners were Williams and Chabot, and they both made most of the free entry they won with both ladies qualifying in their groups to the final cut of 32 players. Chabot has had a fantastic journey which she says “This is a dream come true”. Williams rocketed out of her group with wins over Vicki Paski, New Zealand’s Denise Wilkinson, Denise Reeves, Kelly O’Heron, Grace Nakamura, and Rebecca Wagner with no player passing 3 games on her. Then she defeated the group top seed Jennifer Chen of Taiwan 6-4 to seal her as the group leader and eventual #3 seed of the entire event going into the next and final round. Only Nakamura and Johnson did not make it out of their groups. But they still left their mark with Nakamura winning 3 matches and took Chen to the hill losing 6-5. Johnson made her pro event debut and was able to take home 7 matches of experience including a win over WPBA veteran Dawn Hopkins. As usual, the Canadians have stuck together with boisterous support of one another. Even fellow players who did not qualify for the main event have flown out to NYC just to support their fellow sisters of pool! One player wasn’t worried about the DDD-Day. Vivian Villarreal lived up to her mantle of Texas Tornado on Do-or Die- Day when she defeated her final opponents to keep a perfect 7-0 record with only dropping 10 games total. Vivian took the #1 seed away from Korea’s Ga Young Kim who also went undefeated but had lost a toal of 12 games. Surprise darkhorse Naomi Williams of Canada also went undefeated and tied Ga Young with the exact number of match wins (7) , games won (42) and games lost (12) . So to determine the #2 and #3 seed a sudden death game was scheduled but Ga Young had left the event after her earlier match, so an official coin toss took place where Naomi called tails. The first time the coin went off table by director John Leyman. It landed tails. Next he re-flipped to keep it on the table and it landed heads again. The higher seed went to Ms.Kim. The result was Kim would play #31 seed Samantha Barrett while Naomi played #30 seed Belinda Calhoun. Villarreal continues her marvelous play in the final 32 with a 10-2 landslide over Guam’s Shanelle Loraine, and a 10-3 thrashing of Florida’s top lady Jeannie Seaver, who won a qualifier to get here. Ga Young won a speedy 10-1 over newbie Samantha Barrett while 6x Canadian National Champion Naomi dominated Belinda Calhoun 10-1. Eight players have survived the first day of single knockout. Six countries are left which are Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, USA, and Canada. The pro tournament is the longest women’s billiard event of any kind with 6 days of heavy pool action with a round robin event that evolves into a final single elimination chart where players will start out races to 10 in 10-Ball and eventually rise to races to 11,13, and 17 in the finals. The day was full of upsets with alot of damage coming from the qualifier winners. Arizona’s Bernie Store had played in 2 qualifiers in California and Washington, losing in both. She received a wild card and has made good use of it with easily qualifying in her group with a huge win over top 3 American pro Jennifer Barretta of NY. “She played amazing against me. She made every tough shot”, said Barretta. Bernie then moved on and knocked out Canadian top pro Veronique Menard 10-5 and then faced Hiroko Makiyama of Japan. Ironically, Makiyama defeated Bernie in the Los Angeles qualifier and though Store held an early 4-2 lead in the sweet sixteen, she succumbed to Makiyama 10-6. Still, a very well deserved 9th place at her first major pro event and getting some good cash as well! On that note, Makiyama also was utilizing her free entry from her qualifier win and knocked out #6 seed Li Jia from China 10-7. She faces #1 seed Vivian Villarreal of TX, USA in today’s quarter-finals. By far it’s the biggest accomplishment of her career so far. Another qualifier winner Naomi Williams of Canada continued her outstanding play with a hard fought 10-8 win over Tara Williams of Texas. Williams finishes 9th in the money which included her 10-4 dominant win over local pro Erin McManus of NY. In the biggest marquee match of the day, Jennifer Barretta played her best match of the event so far with a huge win over fellow top ranking American Jeanete Lee. Barretta came out with a 2-0 lead, and though Lee tied it at 2-2, Barretta took over from there and ended with a 10-6 victory to move into the elite 8. “ I couldn’t find my break and kept scratching. You can’t do that against Jen. She played good behind

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Vivian Villarreal my errors and deserves it”, said the Black Widow who ends the event at 9th place. Ga Young Kim of Korea barely broke a sweat with 10-1 and 10-3 wins over USA’s Samantha Barrett and Japan’s Akiko Kitayama. Her roomie Vivian Villareal of Texas dismantled Jeannie Seaver of Florida 10-3 to move to the quarters as well. The most thrilling match of the day came from two players who came the furthest away. New Zealand’s Denise Wilkinson trailed Taiwan’s Jennifer Chen the entire match and at one point was down 3-8. Chen took a bathroom break, and the young Denise sheepishly smiled and admitted good naturedly to some fans she wasn’t playing so well. She got a bit of encouragement back, and before you know it Denise stormed back with 5 straight games to tie the match at 8-8! Chen was visibly rattled and could not take advantage of the open table and hooked herself on the 7-ball. She made a great 2 rail kick but Denise made a nerve racking length of the table 7-ball and ran out to take the 9-8 lead. Chen came back and held steady on a 10-ball combo to tie 9-9. In the final rack both players showed nerves

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Continued

Jennifer Barretta

Stroke January 2015

2014

Jeanette Lee, Ga Young Kim, Executive Producer Charlie Williams, Shanelle Loraine, & Akiko Kitayama

Battle of the Billiard Beauties

Ga Young Kim proved why most experts consider her the greatest female pool player in the world as she put on a clinic against her lovely counterparts yesterday. The ANDY CLOTH Battle of the Billiard Beauties will be a TV network aired program that brought together Kim, #1 American Jeanette Lee, Guam’s Shanelle Loraine & Japan’s Akiko “Leopard Queen” KItayama. as they got it on in a pool beauty slugfest!! The players would start off playing duel matches in 8-Ball and 9-Ball earning points for every game won and set one. The evening finale would be a ring game 10-Ball where the points would determine how much ante each lady had and how long they would last. The first match saw Jeanette win 3-0 against Shanelle in 8-Ball and though Shanelle won the first game in 9-Ball, Lee came back with 3 in a row. Akiko came next and showed off her 8-Ball skills with 3-0 blank of Shanelle, but Shanelle bounced back and shut Akiko down 3-1 in the 9-Ball which equaled them both splitting the sets. Next Ga Young came out, and apparently jetlag proof as she scorched Akiko 3-0, 3-0 in 20 minutes. Then she looked liked she was going to blank out Shanelle but Loraine came back and made a huge runout including a tough backward cut of the 8-Ball into the side. Although she lost the set 3-1, the one game proved significant as it would be Kim’s only blemish the entire day! Kim proceeded to win 3-0 in the 9-Ball. Next Jeanette defeated Akiko 3-1 and 3-0. This set up the finale duel between Kim and Lee, who coincidentally are the #1 and #2 seed in this week’s Andy Cloth Women’s International Pool Championship . The final duel match proved to be anti-climatic as Kim broke and ran the first 2 racks of 8-Ball leading to a 3-0 shutout and then a 3-0 shutout in 9-Ball. Kim was on fire running out shooting balls in an average 4 seconds per shot! A special bank pool match was held with Lee and Kim, and this proved much more closer as Kim and Lee traded games and some great banking. KIm still scored a 3-1 win in the exhibition match. In the final 10-Ball ringgame, Kim came in with the most chips at 3000, Lee had 2000, Shanelle at 700, and Akiko at 600. AKiko was eliminated in the 5th game, and Shanelle won a nice 900 chip game but followed next out the door in the 7th game. Jeanette and Kim traded games back and forth but Kim’s lead was too great and put Lee in sudden death mode 3 times. Finally Kim ended the match and the event with a runout to be crowned the Queen of the Billiard Beauties!

January 2015

Stroke

especially when Chen missed a ball in hand! Safety play engaged with Chen the more experience player winning the exchange but missed a very makeable 4-Ball. A ray of hope for Chen when Denise snookered herself on the 5-Ball , but she made a terrific rail first to make it and completed a difficult and pressure pounding runout to the delight of her aunt and uncle who accompanied her on this long trip! Wilkinson plays in the final quarter finals today against Canadian champ Naomi Williams. An American woman will be in the finals. After their quarter-finals wins, NYC’s Jennifer Barretta and Texan Vivian Villarreal have ensured one USA player in the finals as they will face each other for the right to represent America in tomorrow’s finale of the Andy Cloth Women’s International Pool Championship. For Barretta, a win here would mark her first official pro career major win. For Villarreal, it would be her 20th international title of her career and first major win in over a decade. Barretta would face Canadian #1 and former World Junior Champion Brittany Bryant in the quarters. Barretta kept the control in the match and eventually shut the Canadian down 11-7. “I love this format. Playing the round robin felt like a month of practice was done in 3 days. And the long races now are huge and play to my strengths”, said Barretta. Villarreal had her hands full to the brim when upstart newbie Hiroko Makiyama of Japan managed to keep pace with the fast tootin Texan Tornado until the match reached 6-6. Makiyama, who won a qualifier to get into the event, missed a 10-Ball that would have given her the lead. Instead, the flood gates were opened and Villarreal quickly took over the match from there and won 11-6. “At 6-6 I missed an easy 10 ball and lost 11-6 lol!!! Still loved every minute of it. Thank you everyone!!”, said an elated Makiyama who made her free qualifier entry stretch for miles. There’s good pool, great pool, and Ga Young Kim pool. Ga Young Kim put on an exhibition of masterful shots in last night’s semi-finals in a entertaining and dominating performance that resulted in a 13-3 rout. Texan Vivian Villarreal also played superbly completely controlling her semi-finals by identical 13-3 scores. Young newbie Denise Wilkinson came with her aunt and uncle on 6 days notice to New York City all the way from New Zealand on a 22 hour flight. They didn’t expect alot. But the trip paid out in dividends when Denise came through the round robin and then defeated Amway World Champion Jennifer Chen of Taiwan and then knowcked out 5x Canadian National Champion Naomi Williams in the quarter finals. “We just wanted her to get experience. She doesn’t have many people to play with in New Zealand. But this is far more than we expected with her getting to the semi-finals”, said Wendy Cook, her aunt who also manages Wilkinson. But now she was playing a 3 times World Champion. And Ga Young Kim didn’t fail to deliver on why most believe she is the best on the planet. The match started off a little slow with Kim taking a 2 game lead off some errors. Denise then got her first open shot and made a nice statement on a strong out. But then some nerves showed off a few misses. Ga Young Kim then turned up the notches making some incredible outs. Kim broke so well hitting the 10-Ball rack with power and accuracy stopping the cueball at the center repeatedly and balls flying in. Shane Van Boening would’ve been impressed. Kim also made spectacular jumps shots, kick shots, bank shots, shot with the bridge, behind her back, and almost decided to go for a difficult masse but decided not to. And the balls listened as if they had no choice. Wilkinson likely has never experienced this kind of playing against her, and it visibly rattled her as she was not able to take advantage even with ball in hand once and hooked herself on the 9-Ball. Eventually Kim won 13-3 with a 9 game win streak in a 80 minute match. “She looked like she could do anything she wanted in that match. It’s kind of scary”, said Mike Badsteubner one of the expert commentators for the event. Ga Young moves into the finals with a 11-0 record for the event. If you include the Battle of the Billiards Beauty tournament beforehand, she has won 19 consecutive matches during the past 7 days. Today if she wins in the finals it will make it an even 20. “ I don’t think I’ve played my best game yet this week”, said Kim. All we can say is wow to that. The Villarreal vs Barretta match was highly anticipated as a marquee semi-finals. But it turned out to be a one sided affair with Barretta playing one of her worst matches.

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Women’s International Championship

The top performers of this week along with the organizers: John Leyman, Cindy Lee, Vivian Villarreal, Ga Young Kim, Jennifer Barretta, & Charlie Williams On the otherhand, Vivian looked as good as she ever has 2 stroking balls in left and right. VIllarreal’s high octane game looked amped up compared to Barretta and she dominated to a 13-3 win that took well under 2 hours. “I feel really good. I’m playing as good as I can”, said Villarreal. East vs West. Dynamic vs Dynamic. Hands down the two best performing players this week has been Texan Vivian Villarreal and South Korea’s Ga Young Kim. How well are both players playing? Let’s look at the stats: Villarreal: 24 games lost and 86 games won. 11-0 record with closest match score at 11-6. Ga Young Kim: 24 games lost and 86 games won. 11-0 record with closest match score at 11-5. Look familiar? Villarreal has just come back from a undefeated run last weekend going 7-0 to win the Space City Open in Texas. This puts her at a 18 match win streak coming into today’s finals. Ga Young had won all 8 matches the last event she played before the start of this week making her total 19 match win streak in a row. “I’m really playing the best pool of my life right now. I don’t know why, but I just feel good. Maybe because I’ve been playing with alot of good men players lately”, said Vivian today in an interview. “But I am so happy I’m playing Ga Young today. I love her fast pace style which suits me just fine. Last night my match would’ve been faster but Barretta has a slower pace style which doesn’t really suit me. She is still a very

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good player. Ga Young told me she is going to play real slow against me and I just laughed. We haven’t played a finals since over a decade ago. But I love this format! Someone said the finals between us would take 6 hours. No way! Me and Ga Young would bet the whole $20,000 in the finals purse that we will be done well before that. I predict the finals over in 2 and a half hours tops.” “We always hope that we will play in the finals. Though it has only happened once a long time ago” said Ga Young. “ But Vivian is playing so good, and I love her style. She always plays the same rhythm. She is so full of concentration and confidence. I like that. I love the long races in the final rounds. The race to 17 is great! I haven’t played my best pool yet. Maybe today will be better” When asked outright if she was the best player in the world, Ga Young took a pause to think. “Yes. I think I am the best.” To add to the commonalities, both players have been rooming with each other since the start of the event. Talking about apples to apples! THE FINALS South Korea’s gem Ga Young Kim didn’t play a perfect championship finals, but it was still dominant and amazing. The finale of the 6 day Andy Cloth Women’s International Pool Championship saw a colorful field of 64 women narrow down to the two best performing players in the tournament in Vivian Continued

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Stroke January 2015

2014

Women’s International Championship

The 64 women from all over the world and all over the United States for the Andy Cloth Women’s International Pool Championship Villarreal of Texas,USA and Ga Young Kim. “ I’m really playing the best pool of my life right now. I don’t know why, but I just feel good. Maybe because I’ve been playing with alot of good men players lately”, said Vivian today in an interview. “Vivian is playing so good, and I love her style. She always plays the same rhythm. She is so full of concentration and confidence. I like that” commented Kim on her upcoming foe. The unprecedented race to 17 finals began with Vivian winning the first game quickly off a 2/10 combo but GYK came right back with a runout to tie at 1-1. Vivian came back the next game to take the lead again, and once again GYK tied at 2-2. Then Kim took the lead, but Vivian won the next 2 to take the lead back. The match was going back and forth with both players making great shots but also some errors. It was apparent both players felt the pressure of the finals. Eventually the match stood at 6-6 and Villarreal had a golden chance to re-take the lead again but scratched behind a carom on the 10-Ball. This is where the momentum switched to GYK’s favor. Kim took the next rack and then hooked herself. She studied the shot and kicked the ball in and ran out. Kim would kick in a total of 3 balls in the finals not to mention numerous kicks that maneuvered her out of harm’s way. Villarreal had a golden opportunity to get within one game again at 8-6, but could not take advantage of a rare ball in hand given from Kim to Vivian. Another rack had Villarreal make a routine 9-Ball but overran position and froze the cueball to the 10-ball with no offensive option. She played safe and left GYK a long off angle bank. Kim banked the ball long rails perfectly. Kim would take the next 4 racks including a runout with a beautiful behind the back Bustamante-like shot and end the score at 10-6 her favor at the intermission. Thirty minutes later the match resumed, and the break worked in Villarreal’s favor slowing down Kim’s 5 game win streak. The Texas Tornado would win the next 2 games and brought the score to 10-8. But Kim turned up the notch further with some spectacular jump shots, kicks, and superior breaking power. At one point, she even took her bridge out and her jumpcue, and proceeded to make a jump shot extended with a bridge. The score extended to 13-8 GYK’s favor. Villarreal would continue making errors on shots and position until the score reached 15-8. Vivian would notch another game at 15-9. GYK went to the hill at 16-9. Villarreal made a crucial out off a GYK break to get to the double digits at 16-10. Thus far Villarreal had already surpassed the most games won against GYK in the event (her next closest match was 11-6 over Helena Thornfeldt).

January 2015

Stroke

Villarreal made another great runout and seemed to be coming into a new rhythm when the unthinkable happened. Vivian missed a straight in 10-Ball. Stunned, Vivian paused and stayed at the table after the miss for a few moments before deciding to concede the game. A bitter ending for Villarreal, but well earned victory for Kim. Villarreal then walked off the arena for a few minutes trying to catch her composure in a clearly emotional loss. To give the well deserving runner-up time, event producer Charlie Williams started the closing ceremonies and introduced the Bronze Medalist Jennifer Barretta of NYC. Denise Wilkinson of New Zealand also received the Bronze but had to depart on her 22 hour flight earlier that day. “It felt really great to play in front of my home crowd. I wish I performed better. It was my son Max’s 8 year old birthday yesterday during my semi-finals and I promised if I won the tournament he would have a week long celebration of legos!” said Barretta. Finally Villarreal returned and was awarded the Silver Medal and runner-up plaque. She was greeted by a consoling hug from Williams. Still teary eyed, Villarreal started, “I’m sorry. Nothing to take away from you babe you know I love you (to Ga Young) but I really thought I was going to win this tournament. I played so good this week, and I just didn’t show up.” Choking up a bit more she continued, “I had dreams of that trophy being filled with Coronas!” Then she let out a expletive to the laughter of the fans. “People don’t realize how great a kicker Ga Young is. You can’t three foul her because her 3Cushion skills are so strong. She kept getting out of all my safeties. She’s just a great player”, Villarreal ended her speech on that flattering note to the champion. “I am so happy that I was able to play so well this week. I was busy in Korea and China between events and school, but I really wanted to come here and play this event. And now my dream came true. I’m so happy!”, said Ga Young. When asked how was she able to turn on her competitive spirit against her best friend on tour and roommate at this event all week, she simply said, “I am a professional.” All in all, it was a week full of amazing matches and unforgettable memories and friendship amongst new players and old foes. Ga Young Kim started the event as the #1 seed, won 12 matches in a row and ended it with the crown of champion amongst a field of international stars. She continues to prove to the world that she is the best there is and what she does.

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http://www.cjwiley.com He hustled pool for a while and made a living, then turned pro and made a killing. Clearly, Dallas’ CJ Wiley is on the ball. By Michael P. Geffner DVD LIST:

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On The Road with ... C J Wiley “The Gathering of the Shot” There is a transition time with every player, it’s just a matter of how abbreviated it is. We call this “The Gathering of the Shot”....and players like Buddy Hall do it beautifully - this is one of the reasons he was known to have the best cue ball control in history. It requires energy to take the cue back and it takes more energy to redirect the cue. Mentally (usually subconsciously) there’s a calculation that must take place to equate the forward movement of the cue with the speed and length of the shot. I like to practice exaggerating this technique so that there’s a distinct forward motion of the cue......after all, we never hit the cue ball with our back-swing, it’s just used to coil the cue back before the moment of release - or they say “the moment of highest tension”. There is one school of thought that the follow through doesn’t matter because the cue ball is already gone. This may be true in one respect, especially if you just look at the stroke mechanically. However, from my experience it’s vital to control the after contact movement of the cue ball WITH the length of the follow through. This is what gives the player that high degree of touch and feel for the game that’s essential for top

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notch performance under pressure......when you are in that “do or die” situation. When I want the “after contact” movement of the cue ball to be exaggerated I exaggerate the follow through, when I want the “after contact” movement to be compat, then I compact my follow through.....even if I want the cue ball to jump slightly I’ll use a “staccato type” follow through that creates that movement. If I didn’t have a very good understanding of how the cue moves FORWARD from the top of the back-swing I would not be able to play at the champion’s level of performance. Whether a player is aware of it or not the follow through must connect to the “after contact” reaction of the cue ball....or you’ll always be playing a “guessing game,” and it really shows up under the pressure of a high dollar match or tournament. The cue ball’s reaction, at the highest level is a reflection of what the cue is doing......the more you can calibrate the cue’s motion to coincide with the cue ball’s “after contact” reaction the better off you will be.......this is one of the essential “differences that make a difference” in winning or just coming close. ‘The Inner Game is the Teacher’

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Stroke January 2015

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

Tom Simpson

January 2015

Everyone loves to shoot draw shots (backspin). They are exciting and showy – when they work, that is.

force is any spinning or rolling force in the ball. This can be sidespin, draw, or follow.

In golf, there is an old maxim that says “Drive for show, putt for dough.” We have the same underlying problem, and need a similar piece of advice in pool, so I say “Draw for show, follow for dough.” The problem is, just like in golf, draw shots (and drives) are sexy, but difficult to control. Follow shots (and putts) are much easier to master, and are what wins matches and tournaments.

These two forces act very differently. At impact, the forward force is split between the cueball and the object ball. When you hit an OB full on (0° cut angle), all of the forward force is transferred to the OB. That’s why stop shots happen. While the forward force is split between the balls, according to the cut angle, the rotational force does not split. It remains in the CB. In other words, the spin stays (for our purposes) in the CB.

You can prove this to yourself. Set up an easy straight-in shot. Try shooting it with follow, and follow 1, 2, and 4 diamonds forward. You can probably manage this fairly consistently. Now, try the same challenge with draw. While you may be able to do it, you’ll never be as accurate or as consistent with draw. The main reason is that with draw, you have to break the friction between the cueball and the cloth to make it spin backward, and it takes great precision and touch to do it just right. What really matters is what the cueball is doing at the moment of impact with the object ball. This is so important, I’ll say it again: What really matters is what the cueball is doing at the moment of impact. Draw wears off as the cueball travels. Friction between the cloth and the skidding ball takes the backspin off. Once all the draw wears off, the cueball begins “natural roll.” Natural roll is actually considered follow. Most players think follow has to be overspin, but the truth is, you get very little overspin, and it wears off very quickly. Most follow is merely natural roll, and you get more by hitting harder. Yes, it really looks like overspin is causing all that follow effect, but that’s not generally what’s happening. >Here is a simple way to think about what happens when the cueball (CB) hits an object ball (OB). There are two types of force at work (not the full physics, but a useful way to think about it). The first type is “forward force.” This is what you would feel if the CB hit you in the face. It’s the force the ball has in the direction it’s going. The second force is “rotational force.” Rotational

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So, let’s go back to our easy straight-in shot. If the CB has backspin when it hits the OB, the forward force all goes into the OB, and the CB stops dead. The rotational force still in the CB spins against the cloth, and as it grabs, it pulls the CB back, away from the collision point. This is what makes draw shots work. If the CB arrives at the OB with follow or natural roll (any forward rotational force), the forward force goes into the OB and the forward rotational force grabs the cloth and propels the CB forward, creating a follow shot. On the other hand, if the CB arrives at the OB with no rotational force (a sliding or “stun” shot), on a straight-in shot the CB stops dead. This is how stop shots work. No matter how hard you hit or how much spin you use, what matters is what the CB is doing at the moment of impact. Is it rolling, spinning, or sliding, and which way and how fast? Given that draw wears off and turns into follow (while follow is always follow), you can see why it’s much harder to control how much draw is on the CB at the moment of impact. Look for position opportunities that use follow, and your position play will improve. When you have ball in hand, consider placing it near a ball and shooting that ball to whatever pocket will let you follow for good position. It’s better to take these long follow shots for easy position than to take a short draw shot. Which would you rather do for $1,000 – draw 12” or follow 12”? (Hint: see article title.)

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TABLE TALK

BY: MICHAEL K GLASS

How Without to Run a Tournament Losing Your Sanity or Hair

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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I am sure most of you have participated in a pool tournament or two. Sometimes, the tournaments seem to go off without a hitch, run very smoothly, and finish on time. Other times… well… they don’t go so well. This is usually due to the tournament director not being very prepared, and organized. Hopefully, I can impart some advice here that will help you get the most bang for your buck, and encourage people to attend your next tournament. There are a lot of considerations, and not a lot of space, so let’s get to it! Format What game are we playing? 9-ball? 10-ball? One pocket? It’s best to pick a game that most people want to play, and are familiar with. Some games are inherently quick, while others can take a long time. If you run a One-Pocket tournament, you might run into hour-long games. Then you may have to consider time limits on games and/or shots, which many players do not like. As for the tournament, will it be double or single elimination? Modified Single? Round Robin? Will the final match be a true double elimination, or a longer race? How many games to win a match? Most players like longer matches, do reduce the luck factor. Don’t just pick a game and random format… do some research, and see what people are most interested in. Double elimination tournaments take longer, but give people a bigger incentive to play. When choosing your formats, consider the following variables: How many tables do you have available? How many players will you limit the tournament to? How many days will it run? This, of course, leads us to: Time Management When running a tournament, time can sometimes be your enemy, in many ways. Let’s try to make it work for you. Make sure you advertise your tournament well in advance. If it’s a national tournament, you may want to plan it a year in advance. If it’s local, a month or two might suffice, but you must allow people to plan their day/weekend/ week well ahead of time. If you only allow a week’s notice, many people will already have other plans, and you wont’ get a good turnout. Second, when running the tournament, make sure you start your matches on time. Don’t delay the tournament start, and be sure your players know there will be penalties if they don’t show up for their matches on time. In the Mezz West State Tour, for example, there are no specific match times. Everyone is expected to be at or near the facility, and Desiree and Oscar will put you on the clock after they call you. After a short time (10 minutes, I believe), you will forfeit your match. Put the responsibility on the players. They will respect it. In other tournaments, you will have specific match times. This is nice, because it allows players to leave the venue and return for their match at the appropriate time. The U.S. Amateur Championships are run this way, and they do a fantastic

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job of keeping things moving. Time will continue to march on, and will not stop. Make sure you keep things moving, and encourage your players to respect it as well. One final note on time: if you consider using a shot clock, be aware that some players might be turned off and won’t participate, and it will change the dynamic of the game. Pool is a thoughtful game. The shot clock is best used for televised matches to keep the spectators from being bored. That shouldn’t be a concern for most locally run tournaments, but do encourage your players to keep things moving. Venue You might not have much of a choice about where the tournament is going to be run, especially if it’s a locally run tournament in your pool room. If you do have a choice, however, here are a few things to consider: Is there food available, or accessible close by? How about a bar? Many players like to drink, and if there is no bar, you might be limiting the number of participants. Is there room for spectating? Family members, spouses, and friends may want to watch, and you definitely need some place for players to rest and watch matches when they are not playing. While the U.S. Amateur Championship is run very smoothly, they are fairly limited on space for spectators. A place with stadium seating would be ideal, but unfortunately, is a rare thing. One of my favorite venues with ample spectator seating is Hard Times Billiards in Sacramento, CA. Payouts Be very clear on the payouts for your tournament. Some tournaments spread the winnings over many places, while others give a very large proportion to the winner. Consider how you want to spread the winnings, and be very clear about it. Other considerations include: 1. Putting bounties on previous winners 2. Running a Calcutta Auction before the tournament (make sure you allow for this when considering time management. Get through it quickly and efficiently!) 3. Is the house willing to add money to the price pool? The Mezz West State Tour adds $2000 for each stop in their tour. It’s a great incentive. This is by no means an exhaustive list of considerations for your tournament. If you take anything away from this, it should be that you need to plan ahead. There are many online resources you can use for rules, tips on running tournaments, and even some great tournament bracket apps. Above all, make sure it’s fun! You want people to enjoy themselves, and come back for your next tournament. Good Luck! Do you have any suggestions for future articles? Drop me a line at pool@ billiardsprofessor.com. You can also find me hanging out at various pool rooms in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Be sure to say hello if you see me!

Stroke January 2015

San Francisco Billiard Academy www.sfbilliards.com San Francisco Billiard Academy is a BCA Certified Master Academy.

SOFT SPOT SHOTS

Bob Jewett

January 2015

In a recent straight pool (14.1) league match, my opponent scratched and I had to play a spot shot as shown in Shot 1 of the diagram. It didn’t require anything special -- no side spin or draw, just a rolling cue ball with the right speed to leave it between the side pockets. I found out that I need practice. Maybe you do too. Spot shots used to be far more common than they are today. Back in the day, most illegally pockets balls were spotted and there was never “ball in hand anywhere”. These days you will really need them only at 14.1 and one pocket, but they also make good practice shot.s to help your long cuts at all games. If you place the cue ball as shown in Shot 1 with the cue stick passing over the corner pocket, you will have a visible target for the shot. This is the position for a half-ball shot (30-degree cut) in which the cue stick is pointed at the edge of the object ball. The exact placement depends a little on the size of the table and the balls, but the butt will pass over some part of the corner pocket for a half-ball spot shot. An additional advantage of the half-ball shot is that for a rolling cue ball, the angle the cue ball takes off the object ball is almost constant and very predictable, making position play easier. Try the shot without any side spin and see if the cue ball naturally goes to spot A on the table, which is between the side pockets and a diamond from the pocket to your left. Again, this is slightly affected by the equipment. Put up a marker of some kind, such as a penny, where the cue ball wants to go without side spin. Practice until you have put the cue ball within a few inches (set your own goal) of the marker three times in a row. Next try the shot with outside English, which in this case is left, and see if you can leave the cue ball right in the middle of the table at C. Many players find this the easiest way to play the shot but I like the no-spin option. After you master C, see if you can work the cue ball even farther to the right with serious left side spin. In my practice session after my match I was a little surprised by how far I could get the cue ball to the right with max English. You probably saw this next part coming. Use inside or right English next and leave the cue ball at B. This is the hardest way for me to play the shot. For other variations, start the cue ball at F, where most would place the cue ball for a spot shot, and at E, so you can get a feel for how much the starting spot changes the ending spot for the cue ball with various spins. If the standard spot shot is outside your current comfort zone, start with the shorter Shot 2. The

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Shot 1

Shot 2 REJ

things for you to vary are about the same but you are taking the cue ball off only one cushion and not moving it as far. For the shot shown, E should be the natural ending spot with no side spin, which right English should get you to F and right English should end near D. During your practice sessions you should gradually make the shot harder but not so hard that you have less than 50% success rate. To make the shot harder, move both the cue ball and object ball farther away from the pocket.

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THE DREADED END RAIL

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 pool-playing career Anthony has won over 300 tournaments and has defeated numerous professional players in tournament competition.

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Over the years, I have noticed one thing about the game of 8-Ball; the player that generally has the best layout wins the majority of the time. In recent months, we have already discussed several strategies related to varying circumstances the game sometimes brings about, but the one thing I have neglected to share with you are my thoughts related to balls that are sitting near either of the two end rails. Why is the end cushion a problem? The answer lies with the fact that balls positioned in this location are often difficult to pocket. Many times, it is a necessity to have a key ball just to play position on this area of the table. Unfortunately, this isn’t always an option. In fact, I know several great pool players that don’t understand how big of an obstacle that the end rail is. In reality, the problem is so big that it’s almost like a bunker in golf. Anytime you have one of your object balls lying in that location, it is imperative to remove it as soon as possible. Most players just keep on shooting until they run out of easy shots and when they do they are often left firing at an impossible bank shot. Now, I’m not saying that you should do something rash to remove a ball sitting on the end rail; I’m simply suggesting that the ball should be removed if you can do so without risking any type of severe penalty. In fact, it’s one of the first problems I look for when I play a game of 8-Ball. Balls positioned Figure 1 in this area usually only have one pocket that they can be shot in. On the other hand, balls located near the middle of the table tend to have several pockets. Near the end of the game, your opponent can also leave you up table without ever giving you access to an easy shot (see the relationship between the cue ball and fourteen in Figure 1). If your final ball is on the end rail and your opponent is shooting, you can bet your bottom dollar that you are going to be left somewhere on the opposite end of the table. So what should you do? My advice is to remove the problem and build a better position for yourself. Essentially, you need to play pool as if you were playing chess. Continually work on the table layout until you have a substantial advantage. You can do this by either pocketing the problem ball or by moving it into a position Figure 2 where it will actually help you. Remember you shouldn’t always try to run the balls, just survey the table and do something smart. Another strategy might be to bump your ball over to the side rail and block the path of one of your opponent’s balls (Figure 2). As you do this, you should always remember to leave enough air between the balls to ensure that your ball can be easily pocketed. You don’t want to create another obstacle for yourself. You are only looking to make things more difficult for your opponent. In the words of pro player Mike Sigel, “There is always stuff to work on. You are never really there.” So the next time you decide to play 8-Ball, don’t be left up table with an off angle bank. Remember to think like a winner and try to give yourself a better position by moving balls away from the “dreaded end rail.”

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Stroke January 2015

Efren Reyes Wins Pacquiao Cup Singles Efren Reyes proved that he still has some tricks up his sleeve as he held off a run by Demosthenes Pulpul to win the finals of the 2nd Manny Pacquiao Singles event in General Santos City Philippines Reyes held leads of 5-2 and 10-8, but had problems securing the final rack. Pulpul came back to tie the score at 10-10 and it looked like his event when he made a ball on the break in the final game. Pulpul would only manage to run to the 6-ball though, as he jawed the ball in the pocket and left an out that Reyes took advantage of for the final rack and tournament win. Pulpul had to thank the pool gods that he was even in the final match with Reyes as he led Carlo Biado in their semi-final match 8-5 but watched Biado come back to knot the score at 8-8. Biado navigated the final rack and fired in a hanger of a 10-ball for the 9-8 win, but he failed to call the 10-ball and was not given credit for the shot. It was a repeat of an earlier controversy that saw American Shane Van Boening penalized for failing to call a 10-ball which led him to unscrew his cue and walk off the tournament floor in disgust. The doubles event got started on Saturday with 69 teams looking for their share of the $100,000 prize fund available. Jeffrey De Luna & Jeffrey Ignacio are back, and looking for their second major doubles win in the Philippines this year. They will certainly be challenge by marquee teams including Shane Van Boening & Dennis Orcollo, Efren Reyes & Francisco Bustamante, Pin Yi Ko & Ping Chung Ko, Mika Immonen & Rodney Morris and Thorsten Hohmann & John Morra. 1 2 3 3 5 5 5 5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17

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January 2015

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Gallagher

undefeated

TONY RUDI, OWNER AL TONELLI, BILLY GALLAGHER, RYAN CLARK

SOMERDALE, NJ Fat Albert Billiards to hosted the Mezz ABCD 8 Ball Bar Box Christmas Classic December 13th & 14th. A strong field came out to play players like Billy Gallagher, Pete Calabrese, Tony Rudi, Brian Gould, Ryan Clark, Rick Rosado, Steve Murry and Nicole Naster. Leading the top half of the bracket was Tony Rudi with wins over Brian Gould 7-3, Tony Kanote 7-2, Carl Morgan 7-5 and Ryan Clark 7-4. Leading the bottom half of the bracket was Billy Gallagher with wins over Cliff Nester 7-3, Bob Milane 7-2, Justin Gerber 7-3 and Nick Comstock 7-4. Playing for the hot seat was Tony Rudi vs Billy Gallagher this was a one sided match that had Billy Gallagher coming away with the win 7-3 and sending Tony Rudi to the one lost side. Making his way thru the one lost side was Ryan Clark as he beast Tony Kanote 7-2, Nick Comstock 7-4 and Tony Rudi 7-3 to get to the finals In the Finals it was Ryan Clark Vs Billy Gallagher, This is a true double elimination event Clark would have to beat Gallagher twice in order to win the event. It was All Gallagher as he won the first set 7-4 to win the 1st Annual Christmas Classic Bar Box Event I would like to thank all the players that came out to play!!!! I also would like to thank the following sponsors Mezz Cues, Gamblin Clothing Kumi Chalk, QPOD, JD Custom Cues,Allen Hopkins Super Billiards Expo, John Barton JB Cases, Jab Cues & Thing, Billiard Life USA, and Mike Ricciardella. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

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Billy Gallagher Ryan Clark Tony Rudi Nick Comstock Pete Calabrese, Tony Kanote Carl Morgan, Jerry Dunne Steve Murry, Chuck Attix, Justin Greber, Ben Crocker

Stroke January 2015

Europe Storms to Another ...

Mosconi Cup Victory ... 11-5 DAY ONE Team match â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Europe 5-1 USA Appleton / Boyes 3-5 Duel / Hall Mark Gray 3-5 John Schmidt Feijen / Ekonomopoulos 5-1 Van Boening / Bergman Darren Appleton 5-3 Shane Van Boening DAY TWO Feijen/Gray 2-5 Hall/ Bergman Boyes 5-2 Deuel Appleton/Ekonomopoulos 5-2 Schmidt / Van Boening Feijen 5-3 Bergman Appleton /Gray 4-5 Van Boening/ Deuel

January 2015

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DAY THREE Boyes / Ekonomopoulos 5-3 Schmidt / Hall Nikos Ekonomopoulos 3-5 Justin Hall Gray / Boyes 5-3 Deuel / Schmidt Feijen 5-2 Bergman DAY FOUR Darren Appleton 5-2 Shane Van Boening Nikos Ekonomopoulos 5-2 Shane Van Boening TEAM EUROPE: NIKOS EKONOMOPOULOS, KARL BOYES, NIELS FEIJEN, MARK GRAY, JOHAN RUIJSINK, DARREN APPLETON Photos by: JP Parmentier-Matchroom Sport

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DAY ONE RECAP TEAM EUROPE will take a 3-2 into the second day of the PartyPoker Mosconi Cup after an exciting evening’s play at the Tower Circus, Blackpool. Played out in front of a capacity crowd at the Victorian amphitheatre, it was tense stuff from start to finish as the spectators played their part. Having endured a pounding in Las Vegas last year, the new-look American side got off to a sticky start as they lost the team match but then found their feet to take the lead in the Mosconi Cup for the first time since day two back in 2012. The evening ended disappointingly for them as their star man Shane Van Boeing took a hit in the two remaining matches to allow Europe to win the session. It was a baptism of fire for the young Americans as they went down 5-1 in the opening team match. After Deuel had won the opening rack after a Karl Boyes scratched off the break, they enjoyed little good fortune as the Europeans took advantage. With the 1,100 strong crowd in full voice the Americans looked a little shell-shocked at times as their opponents took the point. The few American fans in the crowd had something to cheer about the second game as Justin Hall and Corey Deuel fell over the line against the English pair of Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes. Seasoned vet John Schmidt silenced any doubters as to his inclusion in the side with a great performance that saw him come from behind against Mark Gray to put his side in the lead at 2-1. In the final doubles match of the evening, Nikos Ekonomopoulos and Niels Feijen took a comfortable win against Justin Bergman and Shane Van Boening as the Americans had no answer as mistakes were capitalised on. That set the scene for the final match of the evening which saw Shane Van Boening take on Darren Appleton for the honour of winning the session. It was a high quality match as each rack went with the break but a dry from Van Boening in the seventh was Appleton’s opening and he took that rack and then the next off his break for the win. DAY TWO RECAP EUROPE INCREASED their lead at the 2014 PartyPoker Mosconi Cup as they won the second session 3-2 to take the overall score to 6-4 with a potential 11 matches to complete. The US though, topped and tailed the session with wins but looked slack in the middle as the Euros asserted themselves with three wins. Trailing 6-3 going into the final match, it took a moment of magic from Shane Van Boening as he executed a hugely difficult shot to perfection to set up the US win and keep their Mosconi Cup hope alive. The Americans took the first point of the session with a great performance from the two Justins – Hall and Bergman. Aside from a dodgy lag from Bergman, the pair looked assured throughout as they got the better of the European pair of Niels Feijen and Mark Gray as well as a hostile crowd. Hometown hero Karl Boyes had the crowd singing ‘Walking in a Boyesie wonderland’ as he swept aside Corey Deuel 5-2 to restore the European’s lead. It was the Englishman’s superior shot-making that carried it whilst Deuel looked a little brittle under the lights. Team Europe then created a two point lead as a lacklustre John Schmidt and Shane Van Boening gave up a two rack lead to lose five straight games to Darren Appleton and Nick Ekonomopoulos. It continued Van Boening’s miserable run in Blackpool so far and took the score to 5-3 in favour of the Europeans. The momentum continued in Europe’s favour as Niels Feijen took down Justin

Bergman to put the Europeans three clear. However, just when he needed to deliver something for his team, Shane Van Boening came with a match winning shot to throw his side a lifeline and turn a 7-3 deficit into 6-4. Partnered by Corey Deuel, they reached the hill at 4-2 but a series of errors allowed Darren Appleton and Mark Gray to level things. With everything on line the US Open champion powered the cue ball table length off the rail to pocket the 4 ball up the table and follow the cue ball through to gain position on the next ball and set up the match winning opportunity. DAY THREE RECAP EUROPE WON three of the four Wednesday night matches to leave themselves four points clear of their American opponents and within two points of their fifth consecutive PartyPoker Mosconi Cup win following a torrid night at the Tower Circus in Blackpool. The Americans needed a big session as they trailed 6-4 from the previous night but bad rolls and some poor performances ensured that didn’t happen as the Euros increased their vice-like grip on the coveted trophy. The opening game was a comedy of errors as John Schmidt and Justin Hall gifted opportunity after opportunity to the European pair of Karl Boyes and Nikos Ekonomopoulos, who ran out 5-3 winners. The Euro pair hardly covered themselves in glory but with the presents they were getting it didn’t really matter. The low spot was when Schmidt impossibly scratched into the middle pocket as he knocked the 9 ball in down the rail, but there were others. John Schmidt’s miserable night continued as he and Corey Deuel relinquished a leading position to allow Karl Boyes and Mark Gray to win the Euros second point of the evening. The final match of the day saw Niels Feijen take advantage of a nervy Justin Bergman to win the third European point of the evening. THE FINAL DAY TEAM EUROPE won the 2014 PartyPoker Mosconi Cup, beating the USA 11-5 in front of a boisterous crowd at the Tower Circus, Blackpool. The score line was their joint second best winning margin and leaves the Americans with some soul-searching to do as they attempt to get back into competitive shape for the annual transatlantic 9 ball showdown. Leading 9-5 going into the final session, the Europeans wanted just two points for the glory and two matches were all that were needed as first Darren Appleton beat Shane Van Boening 5-2 and then Nikos Ekonomopoulos did the same by a similar score to seal a one-sided victory for Europe. For the winning captain, Johan Ruijsink, it was his seventh and last Mosconi Cup in charge and remains undefeated, an astounding record in any sport. The Most Valuable Player Award went to Niels Feijen for having the best win percentage. It was the Dutchman’s third MVP trophy in four years which is a feat that may take some time to better. The 2014 PartyPoker Mosconi Cup was broadcast live throughout on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland and ESPN3 in the United States. For fans outside those territories, it is available on www.livesport.tv The 2014 PARTYPOKER Mosconi Cup is sponsored by PartyPoker, the world’s leading online poker site. The Official Table of the Mosconi Cup is supplied by Diamond Billiards, the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator is the Official Cue of the event.

TEAM USA: JOHN SCHMIDT, JUSTIN HALL, JUSTIN BERGMAN, SHANE VAN BOENING, COREY DEUEL

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Stroke January 2015

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Yomaylin “Smiley” Feliz

with first tour win

Story and photos by: Alison Fischer

For only the second time in the 2014 season, one of the tour’s female players made her way to the top of the Predator Pro/Am Tour. This time, it would be Yomaylin “Smiley” Feliz who walked away with her first tour win at Steinway Billiards. Feliz, who is originally from the Dominican Republic and now lives in Brooklyn, has been playing on the tour since 2009. Her previous best Predator finish was 5th place at Steinway in 2013. In the event held over the course of November 29-30, tour stop #25, Feliz (rated a ‘B’) started off start, working her way through the winner’s bracket of the ‘D’ through ‘B’ side to get into day two. To get there, she made it through a narrow victory over Chris Karp at 7-6 at the end of day one…only to lose her following match, on the second day, to tour veteran Naldo Troncoso (7-2). Troncoso then progressed on to the top of the bracket after a 7-4 win over George Poltorak (B), which set up for his first-ever appearance in the ‘hot seat’ match on the Predator Tour. On the upper half of the bracket, featuring the tour’s ‘B+’ through ‘A++’ players, Steinway manager Manny Stamatakis maintained his stride in the winner’s bracket on day one, only to lose to Christian Smith (7-6) on Day 1. Smith went on to face 2014 Ginky Memorial winner Kapriel Delimelkonoglu (B+), who would rise up for a 7-5 win. Delimelkonoglu would then join Troncoso in the winner’s side final. Troncoso, who was spotted one game on the wire, surged ahead to a 7-3 win to claim his spot in the final. Yomaylin Feliz, meanwhile, was making tracks to meet with Troncoso in the final. Along the way, she defeated Jud Parker (7-0), Dennis Lake (7-3), George Poltorak (7-6), and Koka Davladze (8-6) to move on to the semifinal, where she defeated Kapriel Delimelkonoglu 7-2.

After a run of six wins, Feliz earned her rematch against Troncoso. The match would be an “extended format” race to seven, where Troncoso would win if he got to seven games first, but if Feliz reached seven first, the set would go on to nine. To start out the match, Feliz scored the first two racks for a 2-0 lead, but Troncoso won the following four to lead 4-2. Feliz then began to pick up speed, playing very solid to regain the lead at 5-4. In the following rack, a missed shot from Troncoso proved to be the turning point, and Feliz went on to get to the hill at 8-4. After both players made some errors, Troncoso scored the next rack to make it 5-8. In what would be the final game of the match, there were many twists and turns. After Feliz missed a shot on the four, she would leave it hidden behind the five. Troncoso was able to hit the ball, but ended up lining up a 4/9 combination shot. She made the nine, but fouled, and the nine was spotted. Troncoso then ran out to the nine, before missing a back cut. The ball landed on the end rail, and Feliz attempted a thin cut. She over-cut the ball, and the cue ball was on track for the cross-corner pocket, but hung up. Troncoso had a tough shot, and missed, turning over the long fight to Feliz, who then took the match down at 9-5. In speaking with Feliz about what led to her success, she replied, “Practice made me more consistent. I practiced for two weeks and competed in two tournaments, while focusing on not being afraid to lose.” The Predator Pro/Am Tour would like to give special thanks to its sponsors for their support: Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta 13-Racks, NYC Grind, PoolOnTheNet. com, Gotham City Technologies, and Ozone Billiards. The next Predator Tour stop will be the Mr. Cue Holiday Classic on December 6-7 at Mr. Cue Billiards in Lindenhurst, NY.

L to R: Kapo Delimelkonoglu, Yomaylin Feliz, and Naldo Troncoso Like Us On Facebook

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Results 1st: Yomaylin Feliz $1,200 2nd: Naldo Troncoso $800 3rd: Kapriel Delimelkonoglu $600 4th: Koka Davladze $400 5th/6th: George Poltorak, Christian Smith $250 7th/8th: Dennis Lake, Keith Adamik $180 9th-12th: Tony Ignomirello, Jud Parker, Manny Stamatakis, Steve Wright $130 13th-13th: Ambi Estevez, Carl Yusuf Khan, Max Wantanabe, Andrezej Kaldan $100

Yomaylin Feliz Stroke January 2015

West Virginia 9-Ball Series Carenbauer Distribution and YUENGLING were proud sponsors of the WV Pool Players Association 9-Ball series Final held at Corner Pocket Billiards N Cafe in Wheeling WV on Dec 6th. 30 Players came out from other counties in WV-OH-PA for a shot at the 12 week qualifying Tourney. All local players placed in the Top 6th for the money!

JERRY ENDSLEY

WV 9-Ball Series Final results: 1) Jerry Hager 2) Jerry Endsley 3) Scooter Martin 4) Babe Hanna 5) Mark Conway 6) Curtis Walker $2200 in Payouts!

JERRY HAGER

January 2015

Thanks to Carenbauer Distribution for Sponsorship and WV Pool Players League

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SCOOTER MARTIN

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y k n a p S Takes Down Steinway a b Ka Story and photo by: Alison Fischer - NYCGrind.com Although Shpendi Kaba, better known as “Spanky” had been virtually unseen for the majority of the 2014 Predator Pro/Am Tour season…he has come out of the woodwork to become a back-to-back winner in the tour’s Open 10-Ball division. To follow up his recent win in Stop #24 at Cue Bar, Kaba came back for more, and successfully repeated at Steinway Billiards on Sunday, November 30. After a first-round ‘bye’, Kaba opened with a 7-3 win over Rob Omen, then stepped up in a tight battle against Tony Robles, where he won 7-6. In the winner’s bracket ‘final four’ match, Kaba came with an impressive 7-4 win over Jayson Shaw, which sent him into the winner’s side final. Meeting him there was Steinway-based pro Zion Zvi of Israel, who had previously scored wins against Kevin Guimond, Lee Kang, and Earl Strickland (7-3). Zvi fell short in the ‘hot seat’ match, and was sent to the one-loss bracket to play the semifinal. One of New York’s top veteran names, Frankie Hernandez, would be the player to forge a path to the final through the loss side. Hernandez was struck out early by a loss to Jayson Shaw (7-3), but made his way through with wins over Jonathan “Little Focus” Russell (7-2), Lee Kang (7-5), Rob Omen (7-1), Jayson Shaw (7-3), Earl Strickland in the quarterfinal (7-4), and Zion Zvi in the semifinal (7-6). For the second consecutive Predator stop in a row, it would be Hernandez vs Kaba, Frankie vs Spanky, in the final. In their previous meeting, at Cue Bar, it went to doublehill…and their Steinway match was nearly as close. Kaba held Hernandez to five, closing the match out at 7-5 for an undefeated run at Steinway. The Predator Pro/Am Tour would like to give special thanks to its sponsors for their support: Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta 13-Racks, NYC Grind, PoolOnTheNet.com, Gotham City Technologies, and Ozone Billiards.

L-R Frankie Hernandez, Spanky Koba, and Zion Zvi

1st: 2nd: 3rd:

Results

Spanky Koba Frankie Hernandez Zion Zvi

Lucky

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7 Billiards

4850 South State Road 7

www.lucky7billiards.com

Hollywood, FL 954-239-8254

Home of the Pink Table (pinkie)

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Stroke January 2015

John Ortiz

Scores a Win

Koka Davladze (2nd), John Ortiz (1st), Mr. Cue owner Scott Murphy, Todd Trent (3rd), and Alison Fischer (4th)

December 8, 2014 by Alison Fischer - NYCGrind.com Connecticut top amateur John Ortiz would come out swinging at the Predator Pro/Am Tour’s final stop of the 2014 season, the 1st Annual Mr. Cue Holiday Classic, held on December 6-7, 2014 at Mr. Cue Billiards in Lindenhurst, NY. The ‘A’-rated player would one-up his previous best finish on tour of second place and go undefeated for his first tour win in the Amateur 9-Ball division. Throughout the event’s first day, matches from the amateur side were live streamed via the AZBtv Ustream Channel, in a co-production between NYC Grind and AZBtv hosted by “Upstate Al” Leon. On day two, the stream picked up with the Open/Pro 10-Ball division. To make it through the first day in the winner’s bracket, Ortiz defeated Long Island player Justin Muller (7-2), Pete Cornell (7-6), Jack Smith (7-4), and Omar Alli (7-2). This would leave him among the last two players in the upper division of the winner’s bracket, where he was joined by Lidio “Rasta” Ramirez. While Ortiz would overcome Ramirez by a score of 7-4 on day two, in the lower half of the bracket, Todd Trent make his way to the ‘hot seat’ match to take on Ortiz after a 7-6 win over Alison Fischer. In the winner’s side final, Ortiz would outlast Trent in a match that ended at 8-6. Coming from the loss side of the bracket, one

January 2015

Stroke

of the Tri-State area’s most consistent top finishers, Koka Davladze, would again make his way to the final rounds. After successfully making it through three rounds of matches without a loss, Davladze was narrowly surpassed by Lidio Ramirez, 7-6. He then proceeded to score a comeback win over local player Justin Muller (7-6), followed by another hill-hill win over Thomas Rice (7-6), and a revenge victory over Ramirez (7-2). This set Davladze up for the quarterfinal against Alison Fischer, who had just come off a comeback win over Adrian Daniels (7-6). Davladze made easy work of the quarterfinal, winning 10-6 over Fischer to move on to the semifinal. The semifinal was closely-contended between Davladze and the player who lost the winner’s side final, Todd Trent. Their match went down to the wire at 8-8 before Davladze secured the final game for a 9-8 win. The final match would be a race to seven between Davladze and Ortiz, and in the extended-race format, if Davladze reached seven first, the set would be pushed to nine game. In their match for the title, Ortiz would successfully defend his undefeated position. He took off with an early lead, and close the set with a score of 7-5. The Predator Pro/Am Tour would like to give special thanks to its sponsors for their support: Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13

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Racks, NYC Grind, PoolOnTheNet.com, Gotham City Technologies, and Ozone Billiards. For more information on the Predator Tour and the invitational finale, visit them online at PredatorProAmTour.com.

Results 1st: 2nd: 3rd: 4th: 5th/6th: 7th/8th:

John Ortiz $1,000 Koka Davladze $700 Todd Trent $500 Alison Fischer $370 Adrian Daniel, Lidio Rasta $250 Thomas Rice, Ambi Estebez $170

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Florida State Amateur 9-Ball Zingales in Tallahassee, FL drew 60 players this year in the FL State Amateur 9-Ball Championships. With the absence of Randy Jordon we will most certainly be crowning a new champion this year. Congratulations to the 2014 Florida State Amateur 9-Ball Champion, Jeff Abernathy! Jeff was required to give up 1-rack to every player and he still dominated by going undefeated all the way out. In 2nd place, shooting a great tournament is Justin Gilsinan. Behind Justin in 3rd place with some very impressive play is James Adams. JAMES ADAMS, JUSTIN GILSINAN, TONY CROSBY, JEFF ABERNATHY

Michael’s Billiards

Big Money Rocky Mountain 10 Ball Tournament

$20,000.00 1st place

Based on a field of 12+ players (max 16 players)

February 27 & 28 & March 1, 2015 Calcutta 6:00 pm on Friday, play begins immediately after. All first round matches will be played Friday night. Saturday play will begin at 10:00 am.

Race to 21 (both sides) $2,000 entry fee

10- ball (Express rules) $2,000 added

6 Diamond 7’ tables

Winner Breaks

Batter’s Up Bar & Grill FAIRFIELD, OH Event winners from Michaels-Billiards Pool-Hall in the 8 ball division was Julie Lynn AKA THE PINK PANTHER and in the 9 ball division was Shannon Murphy CONGRATULATIONS on a job well done!!!! I forgot to mention Dwayne Dawayne Pearson on his runner up finish! ! Always a pleasure to have you guys at my events!!

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1717 South Main Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 801-518-9076 801-463-4996 or 801-557-5498

Private lounge available to all players! $500 deposit due to Mike Baucum at Batter’s Up by Feb. 15, 2015. If field is not 12 or more players by 2/15/2015, all deposits and fees paid will be refunded. No refunds after field is established.

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Championship match will be played!! All payouts in cash.

Stroke January 2015

Ed Crespo

wins Tri-State at Clifton Billiards

Photo of the following players, from left to right: left : 2nd Paul Spaanstra; Center 1st place Ed Crespo; Rightmost 3rd place Roberto Castilla

CLIFTON, NJ Ed’s tournament trail included a win over Paul Murphy 7 - 4; before suffering a loss to Shivam Gupta 7 - 5. Ed worked his way through the loss side, while Paul Spaanstra won five matches, including Shivam Gupta 7 - 6, in route to the Hot Seat. Ed’s victories included Brett Fernstermacher 7 - 6; Greg Ackermacher 7 - 4; Arturo Reyes 7 - 4; Stewart Warnock 7 - 3; a rematch with Shivam Gupta 7 - 5 and Roberto Castilla 7 - 6 to reach the Finals. During the Finals, with the match tied at two apiece, Ed asserted himself, and although Paul fought back, Ed maintained control winning 9 - 3 for the tournament victory. Roger Castilla deserves recognition for his impressive 3rd place finish.The next Tri-State event will be held on December 6, 2014 at CCastle Billiards in E. Rutherford, NJ. Thank you to Ozone Billiards, SterlingGaming, Qpod, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Focus Cases by John Bartron, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics , and Focus Apparel for their sponsorship leading to this event.

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

4380 E Main St Columbus, Ohio

1861 W Tennessee St. Tallahassee, Florida

GUARANTEED ADDED MONEY WEEKLY TOURNAMENTS WED: 10-Ball 7:30PM - $15 entry Race to 4/3-$100 added SAT: 8-Ball 2PM - $14 entry Race to 2/2-$150 added SUN: 9-Ball 2PM - $14 entry Race to 4/3-$150 added

January 2015

Stroke

Ed Crespo Paul Spaanstra Roberto Castilla Dennis Quinn Shivam Gupta Jaydev Zaveri Stewart Warnock Allison Honeymar

www.michaelsbilliards.com

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850 224-8644

22 - 9’ pool tables - HD TVs Darts - Liquor - Full Kitchen 10,000 Sq Feet Tournaments weekly and monthly www.facebook.com/onthebreaknews

Mainline Billiards

mezz Mezz ABCD tour made its way to Mainline Billiards on Sunday November 23, 2014. A strong field came out player like Mike Saleh, Jerry Dunne, John Talamini, Billy Gallagher, Michael Praseutsy, Jose Burgos, Bob Burt and Pam Cimarelli. Leading the top half of the bracket was John Talamini with wins over Chad Mullison 7-6. Jerry Dunne 7-2, Michael Praseutsy 7-6,and Billiy Gallagher 7-5. Leading the bottom half of the bracket was Jose Burgos with wins over Jack Lebon 7-4, Aron Gamm 7-2, Brian Gould 7-6 and Cory Rausch 7-3. Playing for the hot seat was Jose Burgos Vs John Talamini This was a good match that went back and forth and when it was all said and done it was John Talamini puling away to win the match 7-4 and sending Jose Burgos to the one lost side. Waiting for Jose Burgos on the one lost side was Billy Gallagher but this match and the finals never place. John Talamini, Jose Burgos and Billiy Gallagher all split and became co-champions. I would like to thank all the players that came out to play!!!! I also would like to thank the following sponsors Mezz Cues, Gamblin Clothing Kumi Chalk, QPOD, JD Custom Cues,Allen Hopkins Super Billiards Expo, John Barton JB Cases, Jab Cues & Thing, Billiard Life USA, and Mike Ricciardella.

1st 1st 1st 4th 5th 5th

John Talamini Jose Burgos Billy Gallagher Cory Rausch Bob Burt Pam Cimarelli Top Female

$450 $450 $450 $150 $100 $200

1st Billy Gallagher, Jock Mainline Owner, 1st John Talamini, 1st Jose Burgos

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Stroke January 2015

in his first win at Cue Bar BAYSIDE, NY Lidio’s tournament trail included wins over Luis Jimenez 7 - 4; Dave Shlemperis 7 - 3; Brian Cap 7 - 3; Liam Tully 7 - 4 and Thomas Schrieber 9 - 8 for the Hot Seat. In the meanwhile, Ramon Feliciano, who suffered a loss to Thomas Schrieber 6 - 0, won 6 matches before lossing a second time to Thomas Schrieber 6 - 5. During the Finals, Thomas took an early lead, but Lidio hung in there to tie the match at 4 apiece. The two players traded a few games but it was Lidio who grabbed the brass ring with a 9 - 7 victory. Thank you to Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Qpod, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Focus Cases by John Bartron, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics , and Focus Apparel for their sponsorship leading to this event.

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

Lidio Ramierez Thomas Schrieber Ramon Feliciano Liam Tully Meshak Daniel Bryan Singh

Ramon Felicia no

$620 $340 $220 $130 $70

Lidio “Rasta” Ramierez

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28 January 2015

Stroke

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Q CITY 9-BALL TOUR JAN 31ST

Entry: 4-8 Handicap $40 / 9 & up $50 Alt Break/Rack your own/Push after Break 3 foul rule/Call the nine/Race to Handicap +1 Doors Open 11:30am - Calcutta at 1pm Sign-ups end at 1pm for more information call Herman 828-593-0559

6004 Landmark Center Blvd - Greensboro, NC

(336)856-8800

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DiToro & Searing

share TFT Senior Open

FL O TO RI UR DA

Left to right: Jim Markowitz, third; Dennis Searing and John DiToro, split first place; Tom Wirth, fourth. Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (Dec. 6, 2014) – The talent was impressive at the first Tiger Florida Tour $250-added Senior Open 8-Ball Tournament. Twentythree players over 50 years of age competed at Palm Beach Billiards in North Palm Beach, Florida on December 6th. The format was a race to five on both sides, call pocket, double elimination. Local favorite and custom cue maker Dennis Searing went to the one loss side early in the day after losing his first match to One Pocket notable Tom Wirth 5-3. Searing made it back to the final match blowing through Kali Boodhoo, Ken Lee, Mike Bligh and Roe Guarnero 5-1, and holding on after knocking out Ft. Meyer’s Jerry Johnson 5-4. Searing ended up in a revenge match against Wirth

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going to the hill and forcing Worth to settle for fourth place. Searing then easily swept by Jim Markowitz 5-1, putting Searing in the final match against another local well-known favorite and professional player John DiToro. DiToro remained on the east side of the bracket all day to get to the hot seat with wins over Ed Kiess 5-3, Mike Bligh 5-0, Tom Wirth 5-3 and Jim Markowitz 5-2. It would have been a great match to watch – DiToro v. Searing. However, both decided to split the pot, each taking home $300. Searing got the trophy and DiToro got the chicken wings! Thank you to Tiger Products and Mike Dolezel, owner of Palm Beach Billiards for their support of this event.

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RESULTS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

John DiToro Dennis Searing Jim Markowitz Tom Wirth Ed Kiess Jerry Johnson

Stroke January 2015

$300 $300 $170 $100 $50 $50

2 Different League Operators

Article by: Janis Sessions Photos by: Janis Sessions

One Open Tournament

On December 7, 2014 the South Florida BCA Pool League (League Operator: Janis Sessions) and NAPA of Broward County (League Operator: Jim DeCesare) wanted to work together and have a “Toys for Tots Tournament”, which would be open to any pool player that wanted to play. Jim and I added $100 each to the prize money and Lucky 7 located at 4850 South State Rd 7, Davie, FL; also wanted to be the host pool room, and added $35 bar credit to each winner. The entry fee was $10.00 and an unwraped toy. The main gold was to fill the larger boxes with toys, which would be given to the Marines Toys for Tots drive. We had 32 players showed up and we were able to put together three different brackets; A, B and C. Game would be 8 ball with NAPA rules, race to 3 and double elimination. We did fill 3 large boxes and toys were delivered to the Marines. A Bracket (8 players) results: Elias Nassif – 1st Place - $100 + $35 bar credit; Justin (Smokey) Jacobs – 2nd Place - $50; Tony Billie – 3rd Place - $20 Nassif stayed on the winner side all day and had to play Jacobs who had already lost once to Nassif. It would come down to a one game playoff for first place which Nassif was able to win. B Bracket (11 players) results: Becky (California Kid) Yelvington – 1st Place - $100 + $35 bar credit; Nick Walden – 2nd Place - $50; Frank Sirico – 3rd Place- $20; David Cypress – 4th Place - $20 Yelvington did not lose all day and was the only women to play in this bracket. Walden who came from Palm Beach County, wanted to play and bring something for the Toys for Tots tournament had lost to Yelvington earlier. They would find themselves playing for 1st Place. Yelvington would keep her game on and take first place. C Bracket (13 players) results: Barbara Spivack – 1st Place - $100 + $35 bar credit; Ken Spivack – 2nd Place - $50; Ebonie Kelly – 3rd Place - $20; Valerie Bowers – 4th Place - $20 Spivack stay on the winner’s side all day and at the end had to play her husband for 1st Place. They both wanted the win and Spivack ran 4 balls in a row to get on the 8 ball and win. Thank you to all the pool players for coming out and supporting the Toys for Tots tournament. Thank you to Lucky 7 owners Charlie and Tiffany for letting us have this tournament.

A special thanks to the Marines for having a Toys for Tots program. They distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks.

January 2015

Stroke

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Sam Hoffman FULL NAME: Samuel Hoffman

JUNIOR PLAYER PROFILE

HOME TOWN: Hillsborough BIRTH DATE: 4/5/2000 GRADE: 9th GPA: 3.3 FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Math WHAT KIND OF CUE(S) DO YOU USE? Pecheaur, Predator and Fury AT WHAT AGE DID YOU START PLAYING POOL? 8 years old LEFT OR RIGHT HANDED? Right TITLES / HIGHEST FINISHES: 1st place tri state tour 2nd place US Junior National 14 and under boys, 3 3rd place finishes on tristate tour events MOST MEMORABLE POOL MOMENT: Wining my first tri star tour event FAVORITE BAND/MUSIC: Florida Georgia line/ country HOBBIES: Playing pool, practicing Karate, Playing baseball, FAVORITE POOL GAME: 9- ball FAVORITE POOL PLAYER: Shane Van Boeing FAVORITE FOOD: Pasta REAL-WORLD HERO: Dad FONDEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: When I first played at junior nationals and got 7/8 place in my first year GOALS (personal and/or career): To be the best pool player I can be. Like Us On Facebook

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Stroke January 2015

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If you have any changes to your weekly pool tournaments EMAIL: us at Pool@OnTheBreakNews.com DATE CITY Mondays Astoria, NY Brookhaven, MS Warren, MI Warren, MI Dayton, OH Hilliard, OH Akron, OH Tuesdays Edison, NJ Fairfield, OH Bowling Green, KY Columbus, OH Wednesdays Tallahassee, FL Astoria, NY Monroe, MI Livonia, MI Livonia, MI Dayton, OH Columbus, OH Thursdays Edison, NJ Williamsville, NY Mooresville, NC Levittown, NY Bowling Green, KY Lansing, MI Warren, MI Vernon, IN Columbus, OH Columbus, OH Springboro, OH Fridays Greensboro, NC Syracuse, NY Grand Rapids, MI Grand Rapids, MI Portland, ME Fairfield, OH Wheeling, WV Saturdays Hollywood, FL Greensboro, NC Mooresville, NC Port Clinton, OH Leitchfield, KY Holland, MI Grand Rapids, MI Grand Rapids, MI Battle Creek, MI Battle Creek, MI Columbus, OH Columbus, OH Reynoldburg, OH Wheeling, WV Sundays Edison, NJ Edison, NJ Mooresville, NC Jackson, MS Jackson, MS Orlando, FL Syracuse, NY Portage, MI Livonia, MI Vernon, IN Columbus, OH Dayton, OH Columbus, OH Fairfield, OH Mansfield, OH Springboro, OH

LOCATION Steinway Billiards Brookhaven Billiards Ultimate Sports Bar Hall of Fame Airway Bankshots Crown Billiards Sandcastle Billiards Michael’s Cue Time Sportsmen’s Zingales Steinway Billiards Cones & Cues Snookers The Rack Airway Player’s Sandcastle Billiards Bison Billiards 150 n Out Billiards Cue Nine Cue Time Coaches Ultimate Sports Bar Phat Guy Birds 8 Ball Sports Bar Sportsmen’s Whiskey Barrel Gate City Billiards Club Premium Billiards The Break Room The Break Room Union Station Billiards Michael’s Corner Pocket Billiards Lucky 7 Billiards Gate City Billiards Club 150 n Out Billiards Rack Attack Billiard Cafe Scooters on Main St Guppies The Break Room The Break Room Brickyard Brickyard Player’s 8 Ball Sports Bar Scotty’s Corner Pocket Billiards Sandcastle Billiards Sandcastle Billiards 150 n Out Billiards Rack Rack Clicks Billiards Premium Billiards Play Time Snookers Phat Guy Birds Player’s Airway Cushions Michael’s Sundown Whiskey Barrel

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EVENT / RULES ENTRY ADDED 9-Ball - Handicapped $25 8 Ball $5 9 Ball $20 $100 w/32 Open 9 Ball $10/$20 Call Open 9 Ball $5 Call 9 Ball $10 Call Open 9 Ball $8 Call Open 9-Ball $30 Calcutta One Pocket Hdcp 9’ Diamonds $15 $100 w/13+ 8 Ball $5 Call Open 9 Ball-Ladies play free $10 Call 9-Ball Handicap $10 Open 9 Ball Am/Pro $20/$40 8 Ball $10 Call 8 Ball $13 Call 8 Ball $10 Call 8 Ball $10 Call 10 Ball-Race 4/3 $15 $100 9-Ball - Handicapped Call 9-Ball Handicap-SE $15 (incl g.f.) Call 9-Ball Handicap-Round Robin $15 $$$ 9-Ball $Call 9 Ball $5 Call 8 Ball $5 Call 9 Ball $20 $100 w/32 Open 9 Ball $5 Call Open 9 Ball $10 Call 3 Cushion $15 Call 9 Ball $15 $200 Scotch Doubles 8 Ball/9 Ball Call Open Bar Box 8 Ball-SE $20 9 Ball $5 Call 8 Ball $5 Call 8 Ball - Race to 2 $8 Call 9-Ball Luck of the Draw Sc Dbls $15 $5/player Pool Tournament $12 Calcutta 8-Ball-Race to 2-DE $5 Match w/20+ 8 Ball/9 Ball (1st Sat) Round robin Call 8-Ball Race to 2-DE $5 $$$ 9 Ball $10 8 Ball 8 Ball $15 9 Ball $5 Call 8 Ball $5 Call 8 Ball $20 Call 9 Ball $20 Call 8 Ball-Race 2/2 $14 $150 Guar 8 Ball $8 5 Chip Elim. 8 Ball Call 200% payout Pool Tournament $12 Call 9-Ball - Ladies (1st Sun) Call 10-Ball (3rd Sun) Call 10-Ball Handicap-Race to 5 $15 $$$ 9 Ball $10 9 Ball $10 Mixed 8 Ball & 9 Ball $7 9 Ball - 10-Ball Break Pot $20 9 Ball $15 Call 8 Ball - bank the 8 $10 Call 8 Ball Call Call 9 Ball-Race 4/3 $14 $150 Guar Alt 8 & 9 Ball Call Call 9 Ball $10 Call Alternating 8/9 Ball $10 $100 w/23+ 8 Ball $7 1/3 pot 8 Ball $10 $3/player

TIME 7PM 7PM 7PM 8PM 7PM 8PM 7:30PM 7PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 7PM 7PM 7PM 8PM 7PM 7:30PM 7PM 7PM 7PM Call 8PM 7:30PM 7PM 7:30PM 7PM 7PM 5PM 8PM 7PM 7PM 7PM 8PM 8PM 7:30PM 8PM 7PM 7:30PM 8PM 7PM 6PM 6PM 6PM 1PM 7PM 2PM 7:30PM 3PM 7PM Noon Noon 2PM 6PM 8:30PM 2PM 7PM 4PM 2PM 7:30PM 2PM 7PM 8PM 7PM 5:30PM 2PM

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Stroke January 2015

Call First - All Tournaments are subject to change without notice

Click on the MAP link online to get directions to each location DATE Jan 2015

CITY LOCATION PHONE EVENT / RULES ENTRY ADDED Two Great Champions Tour - Challenge Matches, Exhibitions, Special Appearances - Call Jay Helfert 310-370-3994 (see ad p22)

Jan 2 Jan 3 Jan 4 Jan 3 Jan 3 Jan 3 Jan 3-4 Jan 4 Jan 7-11 Jan 7-11 Jan 7-11 Jan 9-11 Jan 10 Jan 15 Jan 16 Jan 17 Jan 17 Jan 17 Jan 17-18 Jan 18 Jan 18 Jan 16 Jan 17-18 Jan 17-18 Jan 25 Jan 25 Jan 31 Jan 31 Feb 1 Feb 7 Feb 7 Feb 7 Feb 7 Feb 7-8 Feb 7-8 Feb 14 Feb 15 Feb 21-22 Feb 21-22 Feb 22 Feb 22 Feb 22 Feb 27-Mar1 Feb 28-Mar 1 Mar 1 Mar 7 Mar 21 Apr 11-12

Carlisle, PA Carlisle, PA Carlisle, PA Williamsville, NY Augusta, GA Streetsboro, OH Morganstown, WV Portsmouth, NH Meadville, PA Meadville, PA Meadville, PA Decatur, AL Duncansville, PA Madison, TN Madison, TN Madison, TN Williamsville, NY Latham, NY Tallahassee, FL Portland, ME Nashua, NH Toledo, OH Toledo, OH Toledo, OH Somersworth, NH Flint, MI St Augustine, FL Greensboro, NC Astoria, NY Williamsville, NY Augusta, GA Streetsboro, OH E Rutherford, NJ Providence, RI Amsterdam, NY Raleigh, NC Rockaway, NJ Clifton Park, NY Zanesville, OH Williamsville, NY Bayside, NY Pelham, NH Salt Lake City, UT Providence, RI Portland, ME Williamsville, NY Williamsville, NY Cambridge, MD

January 2015

Eagles #1299 Eagles #1299 Eagles #1299 Bison Billiards Rack and Grill II Chuggers Frank’s Legends Billiards Eagles & Italian Clubs Eagles & Italian Clubs Eagles & Italian Clubs 6 Pocket Billiards Family Billiards JOB Billiards JOB Billiards JOB Billiards Bison Billiards Diamond 8-Ball Zingales Union Station Boston Billiard Club Stevies Pool Room Stevies Pool Room Stevies Pool Room Buster’s Billiards Jester’s Anastasia Billiard Room Gate City Billiards Steinway Billiards Bison Billiards Rack and Grill II Chuggers Castle Billiards Snookers Sharpshooters Billiards Buck’s Billiards Rockaway Billiards Trick Shot Billiards MVP Sports Bar Bison Billiards Cue Bar Shooters Batters Up Snookers Billiards Union Station Bison Billiards Bison Billiards Great Slates

Stroke

717-991-9921 717-991-9921 717-991-9921 716-632-0281 706-814-5673 330-422-0400 304-322-0245 603-433-1154 724-256-3436 724-256-3436 724-256-3436 256-686-3171 814-696-7666 615-868-4270 615-868-4270 615-868-4270 716-632-0281 518-786-8048 850-224-8644 207-899-3693 603-943-5630 419-691-7665 419-691-7665 419-691-7665 603-692-7296 810-965-4835 904-461-9224 336-856-8800 718-472-2124 716-632-0281 706-814-5673 330-422-0400 201-933-6007 401-351-7665 518-627-4634 919-467-5411 973-625-5777 518-383-8771 740-297-8040 716-632-0281 718-631-2646 603-635-4855 801-463-4996 401-351-7665 207-899-3693 716-632-0281 716-632-0281 410-221-7665

Women’s 9-Ball Open 9-Ball Mx Sc Dbls 9-Ball 8-Ball Bar Box 9-Bal 9-Ball One Pocket-16 entries only 9-Ball 8-Ball Teams 9-Ball Teams 8-Ball Singles River City Open-128 Max PA State 10-Ball (incl g.f.) Music City Open 9-ball-Limit 128 9-ball-Ladies Div-Limit 48 Winner Take All 9-ball-Limit 8 9-Ball 9-Ball Modified SE-Max 32 FLA State 10-Ball Champ. USB 9-Ball Series 9-Ball Glass City Blast-9-Ball Glass City Blast-8-Ball Open Sc Dbls 8-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball 8-Ball Bar Box 9-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball 8-Ball Scotch Doubles 9-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball Battle 9-Ball 9-Ball 9-Ball 10-Ball 6th N.E. Hall of Fame 9-Ball 9-Ball 8-Ball Bar Box 9-Ball 9-Ball

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$40 $50 $50/team $35 incl g.f. $20 $40 $60 incl g.f. Varies Call Call Call $75 incl g.f. M$55/W$35 $100 incl g.f. $75 incl g.f. $500 $30 $10 buy in Call Call Varies $50 incl g.f. $50 incl g.f. $60/t incl g.f. Varies $30+$5 g.f. $60 Varies Call $35 incl g.f. $20 $40 Call Varies $120/$70 $50 Varies $120/$70 $20 incl g.f. $30 Varies Varies $2,000 $120/$70 Varies $35 incl g.f. $30 $60

Call Call Call $250 $500 w/32 $$$ Call Call Call Call Call $1,000 w/64 $500 limit 64 $6,000 $1,000 Call Call $$$ Call Call Call Call Call Call Call $$$ Varies Call $1,000 $250 $500 w/32 $$$ $1,000 Call $1500/$500 Call $1,000 $1500/$500 $500 w/64 Call $1,000 Call $2,000 $2500/$500 Call $250 Call $1,000 w/64

TIME

LINK

5PM 9:30AM Call Noon MAP 1PM Noon 10AM 1PM Call Call Call 4PM Noon 6PM Noon 10PM Noon MAP Noon MAP Call MAP Call MAP 1PM 7PM Noon 7PM 1PM Noon 11AM 11:30AM MAP 11:30AM MAP Noon MAP 1PM Noon 11:30AM 1PM Call Noon 11:30PM Call 9AM Noon MAP 11:30PM 1PM 6:00PM MAP Call 1PM MAP Noon MAP Noon MAP Call

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