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6 Feature Location: Mr Cues II 8 Richard Sweet Memorial 18 Sky Wins WPS3 21 BCA Hall of Fame
Amy’s Billiards Stuart, FL 8 Bison Billiards Williamsville, NY 8 Brown’s Billiards Raleigh, NC 25 Crooked Cue Billiards Clearwater, FL 25 Diamond 8 Latham, NY 21 Gotham City Billiards Brooklyn, NY 21 Gradys Lexington, SC 16 League Room Parkersburg, WV 16 Lucky 7 Billiards Hollywood, FL 17 Markley Billiards Norristown, PA 17 Michael’s Billiards Fairfield, OH 25 Mr Cues II 7 Q-Master Billiards Virginia Beach, VA 16 Sandcastle Billiards Edison, NJ 20 South Florida BCAPL Davie, FL 20 Steinway Billiards Astoria, NY 21 Union Station Billiards Portland, ME 8
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11 Dr Chris Stankovich 14 Bob Jewett 12 Tom Simpson 15 Anthony Beeler 13 Stefano Pelinga
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Anthony Beeler 15 Bob Jewett 14 Psychology of Pool 11 Stefano Pelinga 13 Subscription 32 Tom Simpson 12
Stroke is a monthly publication, dedicated to the advancement of the sport of pool. The opinions expressed are those of the author or advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the views of On The Break News or its staff. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may Publisher be reproduced.
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PLACES PEOPLE PLAY
August 2017
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FEATURE LOCATION
If you have ever been serious about playing competitive pool, chances are good that you have heard of Mr. Cues Billiards (otherwise known as Mr. Cues II) in Atlanta, Georgia. After all, this poolroom has hosted weekly leagues and tournaments, regional events, and even national and professional tournaments. The first Mr. Cues opened in 1988 in the nearby suburb of Norcross with nine pool tables and a lunch counter. Then, in 1997, the second location was opened to include 15,000 square feet, as well as a full bar and kitchen which offer daily food and drink specials. At present, Mr. Cues II has 17 eight-foot tables, 21 nine-foot tables and two 6 x 12 snooker tables. All of the well-maintained pool tables are Brunswick Gold Crowns, with the exception of one triple shimmed Diamond nine-foot. Every day (with the exception of any large weekend events) there is a lunch special. Spend just $5 minimum and you get to play pool for free from 11:30 am to 3 pm on the weekdays and noon to 3 pm on the weekends. Even if you don’t feel like playing pool, you can sit and watch sporting events on one of the 24 TVs around the room, or simply enjoy watching the many highly skilled players that frequent the establishment. Whether you are an absolute amateur or a world-class professional, Mr. Cues is the place to be! It currently hosts
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110 APA League Teams Sunday through Thursday, and 10 BCA league teams Tuesday. There are also weekly events that include a Monday night handicapped 9-ball tournament open to anyone, a Wednesday night handicapped one pocket tournament open to anyone, and a Friday night handicapped 9-ball tournament open to “C” and “D” players. In addition, Mr. Cues holds a monthly Ladies Amateur 9-Ball Classic tournament. If you don’t feel like competing at all, Wednesday night is Ladies’ Night, which means free pool for all women players after 6 pm. Sunday night is Industry Night, offering free pool for anyone who works in the bar and restaurant industry (proof is required). Several times a year, there are regional weekend events, plus the Annual Richard Sweet Memorial Tournament. Over the years, this particular one has included 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball and one pocket divisions. It is dedicated to the original owner who made Mr. Cues what it is today. On top of offering great drinks, food, and fun pool activities, Mr. Cues offers other services. Pool lessons are provided by Alice Rim, a former WPBA professional, and pool cue work is done by LG Cue Repair. There is a pro shop which carries a number of brand name cues, both budget and more elaborate cues such as Richards Vintage Meucci collection that has just been offered for
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MR CUES II Atlanta, GA sale, Schons and High-end Vikings and McDermott’s. There are also many Cases and Accessories offered to help your game. You can even special-order items that we may not stock! Just ask for Amy, she will see to your special order needs and any other requests you have. Mr. Cues Billiards comes with a pedigree as Richards dad was in the poolroom business as well. He owned and operated the Pastime Billiard Parlor in Blytheville Ar. from 1946 to 2000. Richard cut his teeth on the pool business and it shows. He left it all behind in 2009 when he passed and is son currently runs the business saying “ I never take credit for the success of Mr. Cues, the Success lies in the Soul that was put in place by Richard and Susan Sweet, my mother and father. My job is to simply keep that soul alive”. Mom by the way is doing fine at 74 and still as fiery as ever. So, whether you want to chill out and relax with some friends, practice your pool skills by yourself, or even play in a league or tournament, Mr. Cues is where you need to be. Who knows, you might even make some new friends, or become part of the Mr. Cues Billiards family! Check out their Face book page! LUNCH SPECIAL Every day (with the exception of any large weekend events) . Spend just $5 minimum, play pool for free from 11:30 am to 3 pm on the weekdays and noon to 3 pm on the weekends.
ery day Open ev 3 am 11:30 am
WEEKLY TOURNAMENTS • MON NIGHT HDCP 9-BALL • WED NIGHT HDCP ONE POCKET • FRI NIGHT HDCP 9-BALL FREE POOL WED NIGHT IS LADIES’ NIGHT SUN NIGHT IS INDUSTRY NIGHT OnTheBreakNews.com
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15,000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY 17 EIGHT-FOOT TABLES 21 NINE-FOOT TABLES 2 - 6 X 12 SNOOKER TABLES FULL BAR AND KITCHEN DAILY FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS 24 TV’S HOSTS 110 APA LEAGUE TEAMS 10 BCA LEAGUE TEAMS POOL LESSONS WITH ALICE RIM LG CUE REPAIR PRO SHOP SIMONIS CLOTH RETAILER
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August 2017
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RICHARD SWEET MEMORIAL
RAMIL GALLEGO (LEFT) AND ANTONIO LINING JR (RIGHT)
10-Ball Main Event Winners! Mr Cues II Atlanta, Georgia June 29 - July 2
We want to thank our sponsers for this event we appreciate your generosity to help us continue to host this event. Congratulations to all this years winners and thank you to all the players that joined us for this tournament.
272 St John St - Portland, ME
19 Pool Tables (16 - 9’ & 3 coin op) Darts Foosball Ping Pong Arcade Games Pub Style Menu Daily Food Specials Full Bar
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207-899-3693
---- All Day Every Day ---Bud & Bud Light 16 oz Draft - $2
August 2017
Congratulations to each of you and we appreciate you playing in our 8th Annual Richard Sweet Memorial Tournament! 1st Antonio Lining Jr $2200 2nd Ramil Gallego $1150 3rd Jeff Crawford 4th Jeff Jordan
our: py H to 6pm p a H 3 - Fri le) Mon pool/tab r h ($5
Bar Box 8-Ball
Added Money
1st Saturday of the Month
Every Friday Night 8-Ball at 8pm $8 buy-in - Race to 2
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$35 entry includes green fee - Double Elimination - Race to 3 Doors open Noon - Calcutta 2pm - Starts 2:30pm
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THURSDAY 8-BALL
ANDY STEWART, RANDY JORDAN 67 players for tonight’s event! Thank you all for participating in the first of our 5 events for our 8th Annual Richard Sweet Memorial Tournament! We have our winners! 1st Randy Jordan 2nd Andy Stewart congratulations! Tonight’s event was 8-ball tomorrow get ready for 9-ball!
FRIDAY 9-BALL
On November 3th 2009 The billiards community lost a long-time member and supporter of our sport. Mr. Richard “Rich” Sweet, age 68, of Buford, GA. Richard Sweet was born July 1, 1941 in Blytheville, AR. He was a 1958 graduate of Memphis Michigan High School and a veteran of the U. S. Army. Richard owned and operated Mr. Cues Billiards in Atlanta, GA Richard was a true supporter of the sports of Billiards and showed a great love for the sport. Richard is greatly missed by all who knew him. He was always a joy to be around and a friend to all that patroned Mr. Cues II.
CHRIS GENTILE, RAMIL GALLEGO Friday 9Ball winners 1st Ramil Gallego 2nd Chris Gentile congratulations to both of you! Alright tomorrow is our main event 10Ball we open at 9am! We also have the Event for APA players tomorrow!
The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour would like to thank Susan, Rick and Mandy Sweet for carrying on the legacy of Mr. Richard Sweet. Mr. Cues II Billiards in Atlanta, GA has always been the greatest room in the Atlanta area and it is obvious that nothing is going to change as The Sweet family carries on the tradition. Rick Sweet also added he looks forward to carry on the tradition of hosting The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour at Mr. Cues II he added it is one of the most organized and well run events as well as always a pleasurable event for himself, his staff and the players. Thanks to all the players that came out this weekend.
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August 2017
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Monthly 8-Ball Straight Pool
B I S O One Pocket N July 1, 2017 was the Monthly 8-Ball Bar Box tournament. What a great turnout. 31 shooters competed for their share of $2255. Some of the best shooters from the north east competed today at Bison Billiards. Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Canada were all represented.
1st $300/$800 2nd $150/$400 3rd $90/$180 4th $65/$100 5/6th $50 7/8th
$35
Mark Hatch Tom Dimatteo Santo Merlo Nick Brucato Marty Lawson Rob Stanton Chris Stawarski Frank Rodriguez
One pocket results from July 8th, 2017 follow. 1st $150/$400 Santo Merlo 2nd $75/$170 Danny Kolacz
6 AND UNDER RESULTS 1st $130/$395 Mike Giallella 2nd $65/$190 Chauncey Brace 3rd $30 Shane Enderby
Santo came out of the loser’s side to beat Danny Kolacz twice.
Mike Giallella came out of the loser’s bracket to beat Chauncey Brace twice.
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On July 13, 2017, Bison Billiard’s Straight Pool League held its 8th annual tournament. There were 18 shooters competing for their share of $3225 in cash. The final 9 got paid. Congrats to Cory Welfare for having the high run of 56. The final match was a two-point victory for Jay over Santo.
1st $1150 Jay Reed 2nd $750 Santo Merlo 3rd $400 Karl Kasprzak 4th $300 Cory Welfare 5th $200 Mark Hatch 6th $150 Tom Handley 7th $125 Rich Meyer 8th $100 Jim Hofner 9th $50 Cheryl Reed
B Scotch Dbls I L L I A R D S Bison Billiards in Williamsville, NY held a Scotch Doubles 8-Ball Bar Box Tournament on July 15, 2017. Next week there will be a $500 added triple elimination 9-Ball tournament on 9’ tables. Two
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cue sticks valued at $1500 will be raffled. Don’t miss out on this one!! 1st
$170/$410 Mark Hatch & Julie Miszuk 2nd $100/$200 Will Rhodes & Jeff Phillips
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The Psychology of Pool Frustrated with Your Play? Get Away for a Day (or two)
DR. CHRIS STANKOVICH Dr. Chris Stankovich, known as “The Sports Doc,” is a national expert in the field of sport & performance psychology and has been featured on ESPN for his work with elite athletes. His #1 best selling pool video “Mind of Steel: Mental Toughness for Pool Success” has been used by thousands of players to improve focus, increase confidence, and eliminate anxiety. You can learn more about Dr Stankovich and Mind of Steel by visiting drstankovich.com
Sometimes in life we find ourselves in the middle of a terrible slump where we see the quality of our play decline, or we become temporarily bored and disinterested and lose our focus and motivation. Some might call this burnout, and while these slumps are inevitable, they don’t need to be catastrophic. Avoid pool burnout Pool players often put in long hours, and over time there is risk of “going through the motions,” especially if you are not playing better competition or signing up for challenging tournaments. Sadly, it is during these times where our focus widens, our motivation declines, and our level of success decreases as a result. The good news, however, is that these moments of stagnant play can be quickly stopped and actually improved upon by simply taking a short break. Many athletes fear taking time off because they think they will lose all the skills and abilities they have worked hard to develop, but psychology research shows us this really isn’t the case. In fact, the theory of spontaneous recovery is loosely defined as the re-discovery of previously learned responses even though they haven’t been used in awhile. Stay fresh Using a practical example, pool players usually experience a learning curve when first tasked with developing the skills needed to bank balls, make combinations, and finely cut balls. When first learning how to do these things the player must take time to learn where to hit the ball, the amount of speed to use, and other important aspects relating to the table and setting up for the next shot. The good news is that once these skills are learned, they stay with you (even when you seriously question yourself where they went after a missed shot!).
MIND OF STEEL MENTAL TOUGHNESS FOR POOL SUCCESS Eliminate nerves & anxiety, beat pressure, and DOMINATE THE COMPETITION!! Streaming in HD on any device 24/7/365
Dr. Chris Stankovich DRSTANKOVICH.CINEVEE.COM OnTheBreakNews.com
What does this mean to a slumping, bored pool player who needs a break but is afraid of losing all the skills he has learned? It means that you can (and should) take short breaks in order to clear your head, and you shouldn’t worry that your skills will leave you (at worst you will only need a short amount of time to re-find your stroke). Interestingly, if you don’t take breaks from time to time you actually run a greater risk of playing sloppy, adjusting to bad habits, and seeing your game decline over time as a result. Keep your head on straight and win more games by avoiding burnout and catching your breath once in awhile – you’ll be happy you did in the long run. Dr. Chris Stankovich, known as “The Sports Doc,” is a national expert in the field of sport & performance psychology and has been featured on ESPN for his work with elite athletes. His #1 best selling pool video “Mind of Steel: Mental Toughness for Pool Success” has been used by thousands of players to improve focus, increase confidence, and eliminate anxiety. You can learn more about Dr. Stankovich and Mind of Steel by visiting drstankovich.com
I would like to hear from you. If you have a question for me please submit to: information@drstankovich.com
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August 2017
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Sloppy Bridge, Sloppy Results by Tom Simpson © November 2007 – All Rights Reserved – PoolClinics.com
Master Instructor, National Billiard Academy, “Beat People With a Stick!”
Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson
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August 2017
Most players take their bridge for granted. They notice when they have to make an awkward or uncomfortable bridge, but otherwise, they typically don’t give it much thought. However, the bridge is a critical fundamental; one you can improve throughout your life in pool. Here’s why we should care. Pool is about precision. The purpose of the bridge is to provide an absolute rock that will guide your cue tip to the precise spot you intend to hit on the cueball. If we’re not striking the cueball where we intend – or worse, if we’re not touching it where we believe we’re touching it – we have a problem. It’s a problem that results in delivery of the cueball to somewhere other than your target, and probably with spin a little different from what you had in mind. And we all know what that means. Sloppy bridge, sloppy results. Let’s look at some ways we can improve our bridge and make it work for us rather than against us. For open shots, where there is adequate room to place your bridge hand on the table where you want it, there are two general styles of bridge: the Open Bridge and the Closed (or Loop) Bridge. They each have advantages and disadvantages, so players usually develop both types. Most advanced pool players tend to use a closed bridge for the majority of their shots. When they need to spin the cueball, they feel that type of bridge “forces” the tip to hit the cueball where they intend. And yes, it can help, but there is a price: the closed bridge masks your swing flaws. For example, you could be “death gripping” the butt of the cue and pulling it hard upward, but your closed bridge holds it down. You may never realize this is going on. Try an open bridge a little more often. Does your tip end up pointing at the sky? The truth is, an open bridge makes it a little easier to see where your stick is pointed, since you can use most of the shaft as a sighting line to help you aim. The finger looped over the shaft in a closed bridge reduces that sighting aid. In fact, if your stroke fundamentals are good enough, you can accurately hit any english you want, using open bridge only. Consider a few general bridge pointers: 1. Placement – Don’t try to land your bridge perfectly. Most players get better results landing their bridge hand on the table and then sliding it forward into final position. As the bridge is sliding forward, you are making subconscious adjustments so that by the time you
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stop, you’re right on your shooting line. These subconscious adjustments are why we don’t stab ourselves in the face with our fork when we eat. Once your bridge is in position, do not move it to either side. If you have to move it sideways, your feet are most likely not in the right place. Stand up, back away, chalk up and come in again. Once you touch the table, move forward only. 2. Stability – Once your bridge is in place, it must become a rock. Keep your palm down on the cloth when you can, adding stability through friction. Spread your fingers as far as possible, making as large a base on the table as you can. Narrow bridges are weak and unstable. For elevated bridges (shooting over balls), try crossing your forefinger and middle finger to get more strength and stability, as well as a smaller “footprint” when you have to bridge in tight circumstances. 3. Anchoring – When your bridge is in place and stable, exactly where you want it, anchor it there with a little bit of finger pressure into the cloth. Anchor with the forefinger for open bridge, and middle finger for closed bridge. Use just enough pressure that you know the bridge is anchored and cannot move. 4. Snugness – Try to find ways to snug up your closed bridge. Your bridge probably could be tighter, but still work smoothly. If you’re seeing daylight through the hole the shaft slides in, maybe you can make a small change to reduce the opportunities for the shaft to slop around as it goes through the bridge. With an open bridge, check to make sure your thumb is always in contact with the side of your forefinger. 5. Height – Be careful about raising or lowering your tip once the bridge is in position. For many players, the tip will move diagonally as you raise or lower the bridge, yielding a different contact point on the cueball. 6. Glove – A glove can make an amazing difference. If your hands tend to be damp, this could be a wonderful change for you. In addition, the glove will stretch to reduce the slop in your bridge, while improving the smoothness of your stroke. 7. Life – Your bridge should feel alive to you. It’s not a passive lump sitting out there with a cue gliding through. The bridge is an active and vital part of aiming and stroke delivery, much like the gunsight at the end of a rifle barrel. Make it work for you. Examine your bridge from time to time. If it’s not in the right place, not snug enough, or has motion, it’s not helping you. Build a great bridge and eliminate another source of error.
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A Double-Kiss Two-Way Shot We all must admit that some things that happen on the pool table leave us a little puzzled. Obviously, the more I studied the game, the less it has been happening. However, even today, after having played for 40 years, it still, although rarely, happens that I need to carefully examine the consequences of a certain shot, to better understand what happened. Many years ago, it was this month’s shot that had me confused for a short while. It is a fairly easy shot based on an unperceivable double-kiss. Let’s start by placing our first Object Ball (the Blue Ball) at one-ball distance from the long rail and from its 1st diamond. Then we need to place the Cue Ball frozen to the OB still at one-ball distance from the long rail. To be accurate, I suggest using some ghost balls (the dotted shaped balls in my diagram) which you can remove after setting up the shot. Now place the Obstacle Ball (the Green one) in front of the Blue Ball, at oneball distance from the tip of pocket A and at about 2.5” (the diameter of a pool ball + 3/8”) from the long rail. Lastly, place our second Object Ball (the Yellow one) by the side pocket B and freeze another ball to it (the Red one) if you want a bigger margin of error.
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.
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Remembering that it is legal to shoot through an OB that is frozen to the CB, let’s shoot through the Blue Ball using a 6 o’clock, 2-tip, 2-speed stroke, aiming perfectly straight (as shown by the blue line). The CB and the OB will travel together so after the Blue Ball will collide with the Green Ball, forcing it out of its way, it will be almost simultaneously re-hit by the CB and thus pocketed into pocket A. The double hit and the back spin will propel the CB backwards so that also the Yellow Ball can be sunk into pocket B. A fascinating way to win a 9-ball game!
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San Francisco Billiard Academy www.sfbilliards.com
PBIA certified instruction is available for all levels from beginners to instructor training.
Short Kick Systems
Bob Jewett
Bob Jewett
14
August 2017
Last month I asked you to practice some short kicks like in the diagram. I didn’t offer any system for aiming these but instead asked you to play them until you could make a fair percentage and have a feel for how to shoot them. This month let’s look at 1 some systems for aiming them. 2 In Shot 1 the 1 ball is just a little off the cushion, say a half an inch. To aim this, I imagine how far to the left I’d have to shoot to hit the Shot 1 cushion right by where the 1 is. That would be half Shot 2 an inch. Then I aim the edge of the ball that much again to the left as shown by the solid line. This is a mirror system which assumes that the cushion is a perfect reflector, which it’s not. If the ball is very close to the cushion, the reflection idea will work well enough, but if the ball is farther out, some special technique is needed. You can get the shot to work better by playing a little below center as if you were playing a stop shot on the 1 ball. In Shot 2, the same mirror idea is at work but the ball is a lot farther from the cushion. In planning it, the first thing to decide is where you want the cue ball to land on the 2. That’s shown by the shaded ghost ball touching the 2 ball. Note that the cue ball has to be farther from the rail than the 2 at contact in order to make this shot. Some players line up the shot to hit the 2 ball full with the cue ball. That might work for an easier shot like Shot 1, but for the 2 ball it’s a disaster. Shot 3 Also shown are a ball frozen to the cushion and a paper circle marker up on the cushion. The ghost ball, the frozen ball and the marker are in line as shown and have equal separations. The mirror Equal principle says that if you shoot straight at the marker you will land exactly at the ghost ball. distances As for Shot 1, with that much ball-rail 3 between separation, you will need to play the cue ball with something like a stun shot to make the mirror work. balls If you’re going to try this system, you really need the marker and some reinforcement donuts to make the setup repeatable so you can practice the same shot REJ with several strokes. 30%. In Shot 3 is a system that compensates for For Shot 3 the compensation is not perfect, so you will the imperfect reflection of the cushion when the cue ball is need to practice with it and find out which short kicks it will rolling smoothly on the cloth.The setup is almost the same work for. Note that as you increase the speed of the shot the but the middle ball is no longer frozen on the cushion but curve will be wider so that compensation will be too large. rather its center is even with the nose of the rail. The other To make this system work for faster shots, try adding a little way to look at this spacing is that the ghost ball and the paper running English -- in this case right side spin -- which will target on the rail are the same distance from the nose of the also bend the angle forward. cushion. The path of the cue ball is shown curving back While it’s essential to develop feel and intuition for shots to the cushion some after rail contact.This is due to the like these, it is also good to have a system that is a framework follow on the cue ball (when it’s rolling smoothly on for planning the shots. The system will get you close, but be the cloth) and it usually reduces the reflection angle sure to listen to your intuition if the shot doesn’t feel quite (relative to the line of the cushion) by about right just by the system.
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KEYS TO A FIT MIND! Go ahead! Buy books. Do drills and play for hours, but remember: Physical practice can’t make up for a weak mind. Call it mental toughness; it is a soundness of the pool player’s psyche that’s as vital to tournament wins as sound mechanics. There are four keys that a pool player must master in order to attain a sound mental game.
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.
1. Become a Pressure Player: Varner and Sigel are famous for it. Mental toughness: “running out” when it matters most. “It’s having the Mike Sigel, 1980 Florida Open - Photo by Mike Haines & strength to stand up to pressure,” It’s all about Bill Porter. Courtesy of Mary Kenniston being comfortable on the big stage. on the past or pondering the future. Are you still In order to get use to pressure, you must learn smoldering over that shot you missed in the first to embrace it. Put yourself under it. For starters, game? Are you dreading a long distance cut shot? I recommend shooting every shot like it is for Keep track of the number of times your mind $25,000. If you act like every shot matters you’ll drifts out of the present. Your goal should be to be ready to pocket one when it really does.” totally eliminate thoughts of the past or future. 2. Make Adjustments Quickly: Your mind needs to be as limber as your body. The most successful players are quick to adapt to varying table conditions. They think creatively and accept things as they are. When Minnesota Fats was asked if an un-level table bothered him, he replied, “Only if it’s just lop sided for me.” Mental flexibility means keeping your mind open. Just because you’re snookered doesn’t mean the game is over. To avoid mental mistakes, it is important to play every game one ball at a time. Obviously you have to think ahead. But if you don’t pocket the first shot then you can’t continue your run. 3. Manage Your Game: Take your time. Play in the moment. They’re popular cliché’s for a reason: They work! Not getting too excited, not getting upset with yourself. That’s what mental management is about. During your next match, count how many times you find yourself dwelling
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4. Go the Distance: Pool tournaments are often marked by stressful moments and emotional swings. The key is to minimize them as much as possible so that you can conserve your mental energy. Everybody usually reaches a point during a tournament, when you are far enough along to know how you are playing but too far from the finals to slip into autopilot. That’s your TURNING POINT, a perilous stretch where you might feel inspired to make big changes if you’re off your game slightly. The key is for you to stick to your game plan. If you are playing poorly don’t fire at balls in a mad rush. If you’re playing well, it is also important to be aware of playing overly cautious or conservative. Either type of adjustment can lead to trouble. Trouble raises stress levels, and stress burns both physical and mental energy — energy you will need to win the tournament. Be aware that you can over-train and you can overthink — the mental equivalent of a muscle strain. You see it all the time, players fall so in love with their pre-shot routine that they forget to execute the shot.” So where’s the middle ground? Be yourself! If you’re conservative, play conservative on the table. If you’re an up-tempo person, shoot quickly. If you’re not, then don’t. In the words of Marjane Satrapi, “Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself.”
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12 From Broward County Go to NAPA Nationals
Pictured above: the Broward County 12 below: Team “We Got in the Money
Events and cashed in them all) top 24 to 32, Sharon Correa top 17 to 24 (in her 2nd Nationals) and Marta Pedrosa (in her 1st Nationals with Pink accompanying her) top 17 to 24 all took home checks.
Article By: Jim Decesare Photos By: Jim Decesare and Janis Sessions 12 players represented Broward County NAPA at 2017 NAPA Nationals held June 24 through June 30th at the Valley Forge Casino in King of Prussia Pennsylvania.
Jim Decesare (League Owner/Operator) wants everyone that played and represented Broward County NAPA how very proud of all the players for their efforts and support of their league. Congrats to all.
David Smith played 9-Ball and 8-Ball with his cheerleader wife Debbie rooting him on, and Tommy Ross, Keith Ceglarek, Patrick Green, and John Spadone (all 5 were teammates) all went to Nationals all expenses paid via winning a playoff. Jim Decesare, Rob Correa, Tom Errair and his wife Kelly Errair also attended. Sadly, all the above players did not cash, but gave it their best effort. Al Neumann (who has played in 3 National
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This league plays out of Beyond Billiards located at 5706 S University Dr, Davie, FL 33328; Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday Nights. Come Join the Fun and Play Pool.
Host of the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships 25,000 square feet Full retail department Two lavishly stocked bars 70 pool tables covered with Simonis 860
Tournaments and Leagues Corporate functions 5612 Princess Anne Rd Private parties Virginia Beach, VA Smoking and non smoking areas Fun for the whole family (757) 499-8900 Q-Masters.com The largest billiards room in the country
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Triple Elimination 9-Ball Tournament Bison Billiards in Williamsville, NY presents a triple elimination 9-Ball Tournament held on Saturday July 22, 2017. This was a $500 added that drew 26 shooters competing for their share of over $3000 cash in this triple elimination 9 ball tournament. And what a great finish. After losing his 1st two matches, Mark Hatch won 10 straight matches in the 2-loss bracket to take 3rd place. Spenser Auigbelle lost his second match then won 10 in a row including, beating Danny Kolacz three times in a row to win the tournament.
lle igbe u A z nser y Kolac e p S ann &D
Spenser Auigbelle Danny Kolacz Mark Hatch Bob Brewer Randy Fawcett Santo Merlo
Congrats to our cue stick winners - Danny Kolacz ($1000 Schon) and Nick Wenzel ($600 Dominiak).
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lacz y Ko nzel n n Da k We ic &N
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1st $500+$1000 2nd $300+$500 3rd $200+$245 4th $150 5th $90 6th $40
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Skyler Woodward Scores Big Win at World Pool Series RYO Rack Classic (New York City) – When pool fans look back years from now at the career of Skyler Woodward, it will surely be noted that it was precisely in mid-July 2017 in New York City that the friendly and talented Kentucky native finally stepped onto the big stage in the professional ranks. Playing a beautiful game of fast and care free pool, Woodward,24, captured the biggest title of his young career on Saturday night at Steinway Billiards in Queens, winning the third leg of the World Pool Series, the RYO Rack Classic, with a relatively easy two sets to nil finals win over English great Darren Appleton. It was a dizzying finish to an amazing four days of brutally tough 8-ball for the soft-spoken Woodward. He never tasted defeat throughout the event. On Saturday, he first had to endure an over 5-hour marathon semi-final match with 18-year-old Albanian Klenti Kaci, staring down almost certain defeat on several occasions, only to make an amazing comeback in the third set to vault into the finals. Then, with almost no time to catch his breath, Woodward practically free-wheeled it in the final and showed the legend Appleton who was boss for this day. With the win, Woodward has now placed himself among the top young stars of the American pool scene. Already one of America’s top bar table players, the Peducah native has a bag full of tools that foretell big things to come. Personable, loaded with talent, drive, and an infectious and positive attitude, Woodward has the pool world at his feet. He will now surely once again be on the Team USA Mosconi Cup squad in December. And he looks more than ready to be a regular winner and contender both nationally and internationally in all the biggest events.
Skyler Woodward, Referee Michaela Tabb and Darren Appleton with a fine finish. Woodward bounced back nicely in the second race-to-six set, and brushed off several errors to take the match to a one set decider. With his methodical and amazing precision play, Kaci took advantage of several errors by the American in the third set and shot out to a commanding 4-1 lead. Woodward, though, stayed in the moment and didn’t get flustered or fazed. Showing tremendous bottle, the American won five straight racks to book his spot in the championship match.
Appleton came in to the final a slight favorite, if only because he’d been on the big stage countless times in the past. He also had over an hour to catch his breath, while Woodward had only 30 minutes rest after his arduous 5½ hour semi-final against Kaci. Woodward, though, came out loose and self-assured, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. The pair went back and forth early in the first set, but then Woodward stamped his class on the match. With strong confident potting and well thought out patterns, the American took the first set 6-3.
Woodward, though, nearly didn’t get past the semifinals at the RYO Rack Classic. Kaci came to New York as the favorite, having shocked the pool word by winning the second leg of the World Pool Series back in April. The superbly talented young Albanian, who only recently graduated from high school, had spent the three months since touring America and even the Dominican Republic, immersed in pool for over ten hours a day in money games, tournaments and practice. Kaci was clearly in excellent form in New York.
Woodward kept up the relaxed attitude and great shooting in the second set and it was only a few games in that it was clear he had Appleton’s number this day. Appleton actually had a chance to tie the set at 3-3, but as he got down to shoot the 8-ball in the pocket,
Kaci had barely been challenged in the first three days of the event but would get a stiff test from Woodward in the semi-finals. The two dueled for nearly 90 minutes in the first set, but Kaci grabbed the point
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There he would meet a resurgent Appleton, who had been playing some of his best pool in months this week in New York, despite juggling promoting duties at this event, and also having to deal with him mother’s illness back home in Pontefract. Earlier in day Appleton met Polish veteran Radislaw Babica in the semi-finals. The Englishman won the first set, while the Pole took the second. Appleton picked himself up and put together an excellent run in the third set to make his first World Pool Series final.
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From Sky’s FaceBook page: he touched one of Woodward’s solids with his arm, resulting in a foul and run out for the American. The gaff put the wind in Woodward’s sails as he won the next two racks for the crown. Afterward Woodward was mobbed by fans at Steinway who all wanted a photo and an autograph with this new American pool star. As he greeted all the well-wishers, Woodward couldn’t quite wrap his head around what he had just accomplished. Not only had he won the biggest tournament of his career, but he had done it in the Big Apple against a stacked field. He was sure, however, that it was the start of even bigger things to come. “I played good and steady the whole tournament,” Woodward said. “When I finished the match with Klenti I just went and sat down away from the pool table. I didn’t even hit a ball, I didn’t even look at a pool table until we started the final match. I had a clear head, I was ready to play the finals and I was fresh again. I know I played a little quick but I felt real comfortable. “You have to capitalize on every mistake that your opponent makes and stay positive. Even when I was down on myself, even when I showed a few emotions, I was still positive. “It feels crazy. I feel amazing. I still haven’t come down off it all the way. It’s the biggest win I have ever had. I think it’s going to be a big jump for me. I think I’m just going to get better from here.” For winning the RYO Rack Classic Championship Woodward took home $10,000.
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The third event of the World Pool Series, The RYO Rack Classic, is being held at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, Queens, New York City from July 12-15, 2017. The World Pool Series is sponsored by RYO Rack, Aramith, Molinari, Predator, Cheqio, Iwan Simonis, Kamui, Billiards Digest, Cuescore, Ultimate Team Gear, and High Rock Productions. For more information on the World Pool Series, please visit worldpoolseries.com. The World Pool Series is on Facebook at facebook.com/worldpoolseries/ and Twitter at @WorldPoolSeries. By Ted Lerner – WPS Media Officer Photos by JP Parmentier
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“What a great week I had in New York at Steinway Billiards this past week. I pulled off the biggest win of my career at the World Pool Series 8 Ball Championship. I’d like to thank Darren Appleton for hosting such a great event bringing in such amazing players from all over the world and for also giving me a tough finals match, congrats on 2nd place finish. It’s always a pleasure getting to play pool with one of the best. I’d also like to thank my sponsors Meucci Cues - Lights Out Appareland Molinari. I’d also like to thank my family and friends who are always supporting me and cheering me on along with all my fans supporters and followers. Hopefully I can snap off one of the US Open Events here in Vegas this week and grab some more Mosconi Points. After Vegas, I have a couple tournaments coming up in Texas and then onto China, as I have been invited to play in the World 8-Ball Championships in September, which is a huge honor.”
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Team Bab’s Is Going to Vegas Article by Janis Sessions and Kelly Errair Photos by Kelly Errair Team Bab’s will be playing in the APA Ladies 8-Ball Championships on August 10-13. On July 1, 2017, they played other teams and came out victorious. From the loser side, they pulled off the win after playing Angela’s Team. Kerri played first and won 2-1. Then Janet played a 5 and won 2-0 (the 5-Ball early 8 twice…wow), which gave them the automatic win. VEGAS!!!! Here they come. Congrats and play well.
SOUTH FLORIDA BCA POOL LEAGUE League Operator: Janis Sessions - 305-903-4029 - sesh51@hotmail.com BEYOND BILLIARDS K & K BILLIARDS 5705 S University Dr, 1090 NE 79th St. Davie, FL 33328 Miami, FL. 33138 (9 Ball - Mon. Night) (9 Ball - Monday Night) (8 Ball - Thurs. Night) In House BCA Sanctioned (8-Ball BCA - Mon. Night) (8-Ball BCA - Wed Night) All BCA Sanctioned In House
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Appleton, Rossman Elected to BCA Hall of Fame
The Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame welcomes a transplanted English 8-Ball star and one of the sport’s most enthusiastic ambassadors to the class of 2017. The United States Billiard Media Association today announced that three-time World Champion Darren Appleton and “Dr. Cue” Tom Rossman have earned induction as the 69th and 70th members of the sport’s most prestigious hall of fame. Appleton, 41, will enter the Greatest Players wing of the BCA Hall of Fame, while Rossman, 69, will be honored in the Meritorious Service category. Both will be formally DARREN APPLETON inducted during ceremonies later in the year. Born in Yorkshire in northern England, Appleton split his childhood between English 8-Ball, soccer and boxing. He compiled a 12-4 record as an amateur fighter and won the junior national English 8-ball championship in 1996, at 16. Four years later, Appleton decided to devote full time to his cue career, and over the next decade he was the top-ranked player in the world seven times. In 2006, Appleton left the English game and traveled to the United States to participate in the short-lived International Pool Tour. Appleton’s American Pool career took off after his surprising win over Jiaqing Wu in the final of the World 10-Ball Championship in the Philippines. He followed that win with the World Pool Masters title in 2009. Appleton won the first of his two consecutive U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships in 2010, and captured his second WPA world title in 2012 when he beat Hewen Li of China in the final of the World 9-Ball Championship. Showing a propensity for winning in back-to-back years, Appleton won the Challenge of Champions in 2011 and 2012, and the World Tournament of 14.1 in 2013 and 2014. Appleton’s 2013 straight pool win included a run of 200 and out against Francisco Bustamante, the highest recorded run in a major straight pool tournament. He also scored one his great personal triumphs in 2013 when he edged Taiwan’s Jung-Lin Chang, 11-10, to win the gold medal at the World Games in Cali, Colombia. Appleton added the World Cup of Pool title to his resume in 2014, teaming with Karl Boyes. And in 2015, Appleton won his third world crown, this time capturing a world 8-ball title by besting World Snooker Champion Mark Selby in the final of the Chinese Pool World Championship. “It’s really amazing to know I’m in the BCA Hall of Fame,” said Appleton from Yorkshire, where he was visiting his ailing parents. “I can’t really put it into words. To be playing American pool full time for only 11 years and achieve this recognition is incredible. There is no bigger honor for a pool player. This is the pinnacle. It’s been a difficult year for me personally, so this is the kind of news I really needed. I’m very thankful.” Rossman was born in Minonk, Ill., and studied business management at Eastern Illinois University. But pool was always Rossman’s true passion and he has parlayed that love into a 40plus year career as a competitor, promoter, innovator, teacher and ambassador in the sport. Rossman is credited with being the founding father of the modern day “Artistic Pool”
movement. Rossman developed and promoted numerous events through the 1990s and was asked by thenWorld Pool-Billiard Association president Jorgen Sandman to help develop professional artistic pool competitions within the association’s worldwide federation and have the discipline formally recognized by the world organization. Rossman served as president of the WPA Artistic Pool Division for more than a decade. The WPA World Artistic Pool Championship was first staged in 2000, and has been held every year since. Rossman won the title in 2006, and was runner-up on three occasions. TOM ROSSMAN Rossman’s efforts in organizing trick shots as a competitive discipline was also instrumental in the development of the ESPN Trick Shot Magic shows, produced by Billiards International. Trick Shot Magic continues to draw the highest ratings of any televised billiard programming in the U.S. Rossman is a master teacher as well, certified as an Advanced Instructor by the Professional Billiard Instructors Association and the American CueSports Alliance. He continues to travel the country promoting the sport, reaching thousands of junior players and enthusiasts. “I am humbled and honored to be elected into the BCA Hall of Fame,” Rossman said upon hearing the news. “Starting out as a rack boy at the age of 10 provided an initial foundation for my billiard journey. My wife and business partner, Marty, and I share the joy of the roll with players, fans and students of the game around the world. We have been actively involved with all facets of the billiard industry at the junior, amateur and professional levels for a long time. “The Hall of Fame designation is extra special in so many ways. When a person connects with his or her dreams, visions, blessings and passions in a heartfelt manner, he or she may truly rack up a victory in the game and, more importantly, in life.” Voting for the 2017 BCA Hall of Fame was conducted by the USBMA Hall of Fame Board, which consists of USBMA members, elected At-Large members and living members of the Hall of Fame. To be eligible for consideration in the Greatest Players category, a player a) must be 40 years old by Jan. 1 of the year of their inclusion on the ballot; b) must have a professional playing career of at least 10 years; and c) must have recorded significant achievements in U.S.-based and international events. Appleton easily outdistanced Women’s Professional Billiards Association champion Gerda Hofstatter in voting. Appleton was named on 88 percent of the ballots, while Hofstatter was named on 45 percent. Vivian Villarreal, Shannon Daulton and Jeremy Jones were named on less than 20 percent of the ballots. Rossman’s nomination was recommended by the Meritorious Service Committee, which also recommended George and Paul Jansco of Johnston City fame for consideration. USBMA members voted to included Rossman on the final ballot, where he was approved by the Hall of Fame Board.
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Dany Recinos Crowned 2016-2017 Tri-State Tour The twentieth annual Tri-State Tour Invitational Tournament took place June 24 & 25, 2017, at Steinway Café and Billiards in Astoria, NY. The weekend was another huge success for the tour with 14 A & A+ Players, 30 B & B+ Players, 32 C & C+ Players and 16 D & D+ Players who earned their way in to compete in their respective classes and play for their chance to be named the Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion. Steinway Café and Billiards hosted the event for the third year and once again provided a great atmosphere and playing environment for the players. Steinway Café and Billiards owner Manny Stamatakis and the staff including Anna and George were as always very professional, helpful and gracious. Manny donated the room and all the table time. Their generosity and support to the players and the event as always were exemplary. The staff and everyone at the room assured the events success. Steinway Café and Billiards, home of the World Pool Series, is an excellent venue for any event, it has professionally maintained tables, a clean fresh atmosphere and some of the most scrumptious food in NYC. As each day began, organizers John Leyman, Todd Fleitman, Rick Shellhouse & Daniel Cintron congratulated the players on reaching the top of their classes for the season and handed out awards to the top players of the year in each class. The Tri-State Tour added $4000 in cash prizes and the sponsors John Bender Custom Cues, Ozone Billiards, Kamui Tips, Sterling Gaming, Capelle’s Pool Books, OB Cues and the DIGICUE, Pool & Billiards, Professor-Q-Ball’s News, Blue Book Publications, Steinway Café and Billiards, Amsterdam Billiards, and Romer’s Trophies went out of their way to provide the event with excellent equipment and prizes. The sponsors as the Tri-State has always maintained are owed a debt a gratitude for their dedication to the game and the players, their efforts and generosity are what always make the event so special and such a great success and without their continued support of the sport and the players this event could not happen. Awards were presented to the top 3 players in each class, the Most Improved Player of the Year, and Sportsman of the Year. The most improved player went to Max Watanabe. Max has been a good B level player for years but his game leveled out and he appeared to have reached the top of his game but over the last year Max shattered the ceiling on his game making great strides in his consistency and abilities to become a very strong A class player. His game is still improving at an accelerated pace and it would not surprise the tour if he was back again next year as the most improved again. Each year the tour awards one player the “Sportsperson of the Year” award. It is awarded to someone the tour believes exemplifies what a player should be and how they should act and this year’s award went to Mike Strassberg. This is Mikes second time winning the award which goes a long way in proving just how much of a true sportsman he is. His exemplary attitude at events no matter what is happening, from players with bad attitudes, to rooms with AC problems, to whatever comes up, proves time and time again what other players should strive to emulate.
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The top players of the year in their respective classes were Atif Khan in the A+/A class, Carl Yusuf Khan B+ player, last year’s Grand Champion Jaydev Zaveri winning the B class, the last 3 classes the C+, C and D+/D classes were all won by players who won for the second year in a row. Those players were Tony Ignomirello winning the C+, Bob Toomey in the C player and Jim Gutierrez in the D+/D class. This year saw some new ladies rise to the top of the leader board with the Ladies Player of the Year being Allison LaFleur. For a full list of winners for all the classes and events, please see the website at thetristatetour.com. The action in the tournament got going around ten on Saturday morning, June 24 with the B+ and B class players along with the D+/D players kicking off the event. The B+ class was won by some very strong play from Basdeo Sookhai, a former Grand Champion of the event. Basdeo got to the hot seat match against Kirill Safromov and lost to Kirill 7-2. On the one loss side, Basdeo played an exhausted Carl Yusuf Khan who had lost his first match of the day to Basdeo and then fought his way up the one loss side to once again challenge Basdeo. In the semi-final match Carl just could not keep up the pace and Basdeo beat him 7-4. This set up another rematch for Basdeo in the finals against Kirill where Basdeo played above his game and won the match 7-4.
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Invitational Champion In the B-Class Kevin Scalzitti played extremely well all day and bested all comers to win the B-Class undefeated. In the hot seat match, Kevin Scalzitti beat Kevin Shin on the hill to send him to the one loss side where he met up with Thomas Schreiber, whom he had beaten in the first match of the day 7-5. Thomas played 5 matches on the one loss side to get back to the semi-finals and another shot at Kevin Shin. In the semi-finals Thomas won 7-5 and proceeded to the finals but Kevin Scalzitti was on a roll and beat Thomas 7-4 in the finals. Kevin and Basdeo squared off in the B+ - B Class playoff and Basdeo continued to play well and sent Kevin home by beating him 7-5. The D+/D class saw Carlos Serrano play well all day and he cruised to the finals. Carlos played Nancy Chung in the hot seat match and won impressively 6-2. Allison LaFleur, the Ladies player of the year, played her first two matches well but in the third match she came up against Carlos who got a good roll and won the set 5-4. Allison moved to the one loss side and won her next 3 matches to get to the finals and a rematch against Carlos. The rematch was a lot like the first match with each player trading games but ultimately Carlos came out on top for the win. On Sunday, play resumed at 10 AM with the A+/A players and the C+ class and C class arriving to do battle. In the A+/A class, Jimmy Acosta dominated all day never letting his opponents get more than 3 wins against him and he arrived in the finals undefeated. In the hot seat match he crushed his opponent Elvis Rodriquez 7-1. Mike Panzarella who had lost his second match of the day to Atif Khan 7-3 fought his way up the one loss side getting stronger as the day went on. In the semi-final match he faced a tough opponent in Elvis and won a tight battle on the hill. Mike continued to get stronger and faced off against the dominating Jimmy and Mike fought hard and won the match 9-5. In the C+ class Nathaniel Raimondo sent Dany Recinos to the one loss side in the hot seat match with a score of 6-1. Dany then battled back for a rematch with Nathaniel beating Kevin Chong on the hill. In the finals, Dany continued to play well and handed the undefeated Nathanial a loss and second place by beating him 8-6. The C Class was taken over by Qian Chen who kept all opponents to 4 wins or less to win the division undefeated. In the hot seat match Qian beat Pashk Gjini 6-3, Pashk went to the one loss side where he lost to David Grant 6-4. David arrived in the finals with his only loss of to the day to Qian 6-4 but Qian was just as good the second time and won 6-3. This left 2 winners from Saturday and 3 winners from Sunday to do battle for the Grand Champion title. The C+ versus C class final saw Dany Recinos continue to win as he bested Qian Chen 6-3. That set up the 2 overall semi-final matches. The first to be played was the A class versus the B class and both players played very well but Mike Panzarella was not going to be beaten no matter how well Basdeo Soohai was playing and Mike won the match 7-4. The C class versus the D class was almost a mirror image of the other semi-final match with the higher level player, Dany Recinos, playing stronger and the lower level player, Carlos Serrano just not able to keep up and he lost 7-5. This setup the finals of the event between A class Mike Panzarella and C+ Dany Recinos. Both players played well but the long day and tough matches obviously took its toll on both players as they traded games. As the set went on both players made some crucial mistakes by over rolling some positions and not making some game wining shots but then would come back and do exemplary runs to win games. In the end Dany Recinos would be the one to sink the final 9 and win the event to be crowned the 20162017 Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion.
Team USA Standings as of July 30th
The name of the game is to finish inside the top ten of the ranking once the 17th and final event has concluded in early September. Following that, Team USA supremo Johan Ruijsink will be making his picks from the top ten finishing players. To give himself some leeway in this make or break year for Team America, Ruijsink will be selecting four players from the top ten plus another whose final ranking won’t be of significance. RANKING 1 Shane van Boening 2 Dennis Hatch 3 Skyler Woodward 4 Oscar Dominguez 5 Billy Thorpe 6 Rodney Morris 7 Hunter Lombardo 8 Brandon Shuff 9 Johnny Archer 10 Donny Mills
140 119 87 76 61 56 51 45 43 40
DOWNLOAD FULL RANKINGS & SCHEDULE at www.matchroompool.com/mosconi-cup 2017 MOSCONI CUP TEAM USA RANKING – NEXT EVENTS Aug 17-20: Chuck Markulis Memorial Sacramento, CA: Grade 2 August 23: Don Coates Memorial Raleigh, NC: Grade 1 Aug 31-Sept 3: Turning Stone Classic II Verona, New York: Grade 1 Sept 1-5: Texas Open 9-ball Champ. Round Rock, Austin, TX: Grade 2 Sept 9-10 Houston 9-Ball Open Legends Billiards, League City, TX: Grade 2
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Van Boening Scores Second Consecutive US Open 10-Ball Title competing in approximately 40 divisions, on nearly 300 Diamond pool tables. The annual tournament will also include about 50 exhibitors.
Many of the professional players will also participate in the 9-Ball, 10-Ball, and 8-Ball Challenges, which are open to all and are part of the 2017 BCAPL National Championships. Van Boening looks to add another prestigious title to his resume when he plays the 2017 US Open 8-Ball Championship at Griff’s, 3650 South Decatur Blvd. in Las Vegas. It will be followed by the US Open 8-Ball Championships July 29-31. The sponsors for the US Open 10-Ball and 8-Ball Championships are Predator, Omega Billiards, Cyclop, Kamui, the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and Simonis. CueSports International, Henderson, NV (July 19, 2017) — Shane Van Boening once again proved to be an indomitable force as he plowed through a tough international field to capture his second consecutive US Open 10-Ball Title. Van Boening said his hard work in preparing for the tournament, which was a much different format than last year’s. This year, CueSports International, which produces the US Open 10-Ball and US Open 8-Ball Championships, returned the prestigious tournament to 9-foot tables. This year’s field was packed with international stars, including players from Greece, Germany, Qatar, Poland, Austria, Kuwait, and, as always, the Philippines.
The 2017 US Open 10-Ball & 8-Ball Championships are being held in conjunction with the 41th BCAPL National Championships, July 19-29 at The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The event will feature more than 5,000 amateur players representing 47 states, nine Canadian provinces and 11 countries,
CSI is the parent company of the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League. CSI also produces independent events like the US Bar Table Championships, US Open 10-Ball Championship, US Open 8-Ball Championship, and much more. For more information, visitwww.playcsipool.com or call CSI at 702-719-POOL.
“My hard work, my breaks, helped me succeed to win in this very tough field,” Van Boening said. Van Boening was undefeated going into the finals. He posted wins over: Danny Stone, 9-4; Vinnie Calabrese, 9-4; Ralf Souquet, 9-6; Lee Van Corteza, 9-7; and Warren Kiamco, 9-4. He beat Kiamco 11-5 in the finals. Kiamco’s beat Molrudee Kasemchaiyanan, 9-1, Denis Grabe, 9-7, Vilmos Foldes, 9-8, and Alex Pagulayan, 9-3, before losing to Van Boening, 4-9. Then he beat Roberto Gomez 9-7 to gain a spot in the finals.
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TIGER SMART TOUR RESULTS
What a great event! Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC was the host site for the 2017 ECC, the weekend of July 15-16. Gerry Shepherd, owner, welcomed the Ladies of the WPBA Tiger SMART Tour with open arms and wants to have us back twice in 2018! March and July will find Tiger SMART at Mickey Milligan’s and we can’t wait. Nine new members for the 2017 season added to the excitement of the event. In the first round, last event’s winner, Ashely Rice was bested 7-1 by new member Cathy Perry; Debbie Teichert defeated Lisa Cossette 7-2; Heather Lakatos lost a nail biter 7-6 to Tracy Callaghan; Melissa Ipock took Holly Feher 7-5; Miranda Werner beat Christy Miller 7-2; and Marianne Merrill squeaked out a victory, hill-hill, over Erica He. Second round saw Cathy Perry best Maria Finnegan
1st $250 2nd $180 3rd $125 4th $75
Tracy Callaghan Miranda Werner Debbie Teichert Crystal Gent
PAYOUTS
7-1; Tracy Callaghan defeating Debbie Teichert 7-1; Miranda Werner over Holly Feher 7-3; Marianne Merrill winning over Crystal Gent 7-3; Lisa Cossette over Heather Lakatos 7-5; and Melissa Ipock over Christy Miller 7-2. Final four on the winner’s side were Tracy Callaghan in a very exciting hill-hill match over Cathy Perry and Miranda Werner besting Marianne Merrill 7-3. On the one loss side, Crystal Gent beat Lisa Cossette 7-5and Debbie Teichert defeated Erica He 7-3 leaving Lisa and Erica tied for 7th-8th. Gent over Perry 7-5 and Teichert over Merrill 7-3 leaving Perry and Merrill in 5th-6th. That left the final four to return on Sunday to shoot it out. In the one loss bracket Gent got off to a 6-4 lead. Teichert was able to fight back and take the last three games for a 7-6 victory. The winner’s bracket final
(727) 539-7665 11 - 9’ tables (3 - Diamonds) Darts 8 - TV’s
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Round Robin Tournaments 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month $5.00 8-Ball tournament every Wed. at 1:00pm
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saw Tracy Callaghan defeat Miranda Werner 7-3 to take the hot seat. In the semi-final match, Teichert’s run would come to a close with a 4-7 loss to Miranda Werner. This set up a doozy of a finals match between Tracy Callaghan and Miranda Werner. Werner was ahead almost the entire one set, race to 9, match. Callaghan would eventually tie the match at 8 and go on to become the Eastern North Carolina 9-Ball Champion. Too, exciting! Tiger SMART would like to thank its Title sponsor, Tiger Products, Inc. and also other sponsors who help in the success of the tour: Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls, Ozone Billiards, and Quick-Clean. The next event will be the Georgia State 9-Ball Championship at Rack & Grill II in Augusta, GA, on September 16-17.
PREMIER BILLIARD CLUB GREAT DAILY SPECIALS
FREE POOL ALL DAY MONDAY: LADIES SUNDAY: SERVICE INDUSTRY
http://brownsbilliards.com 5500 Atlantic Springs Rd Raleigh, NC (919) 878-9092
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37th Annual VNEA World Pool Championships
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SportsWomen’s Team - Fourgasm
Women’s Intermediate Resurrection Team - Blurred Vision
Women’s Regular Team - Silver Dollar Chalk is Cheap
Women’s Master Team - How Ya Like Me Now?
Women’s Intermediate Team - The Coven
SportsMen’s Team - Dennis’s Menaces
August 2017
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Open Redemption Team - Road Dawgs
Open Intermediate Resurrection Team - The Angel and the Demons
Open Regular Teams - Australia’s Mighty Ducks
Open Master Team - Barry’s Team
Open Intermediate Team - Get Paid
Open Master Resurrection Team - Jake Finland
Bally’s Hotel & Casino hosted VNEA’s 37th Annual World Pool Championships in Las Vegas, NV May 23-June 3, 2017. 5000 excited pool league players from 30 states, 6 Canadian provinces and 7 other countries attended to play in 56 unique divisions, including seven team divisions for every skill level playing in the 6th annual World Team Championships. Matches were played on 250 Valley Pool Tables. Compusport event software included ten 40” monitors and QR code scanners were scattered throughout the venue and made finding matches and viewing results a breeze for our players.
Pool Tables and a AMI Jukebox valued at $6500 and daily drawings for Poolside Cabanas, GW Cues and Aramith Ball Sets w/case. Three amazing professionals – Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman, Jerry Briesath and Dave “Ginger Wizard” Pearson were in attendance to provide education and entertainment and there was an Artistic Pool Competition. Las Vegas Photo was on site to take Team photos and individual action shots. There were a dozen vendors on hand to meet every pool player’s needs.
3000 players had a great time partying at our fabulous Team Opening Ceremonies which featured T-shirt giveaways, free beer and soda and the sounds of “Phoenix”. Other things available to players and spectators were the 37 Year History Wall display, giveaways including Valley Home
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An incredible Awards Banquet, featuring thousands of dollars in random cash drawings, followed the competition. VNEA wishes to thank our Tournament sponsors, Valley, Ozone Billiards, Fury, GW Cues, Aramith and AMI Entertainment.
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27th Annual VNEA Junior Pool Championships
Major Male Singles Winners (l-r) Bryan Montgomery, Josh Franklin, Joseph Tialata, Noah Contreras
Major Female Singles Winners (l-r) Hannah Zeigler, Madison Bond, Serena Black, Taylor Hansen
Minor Male Singles Winners (l-r) Skyler Butterfield, Deon Rawlings, Matt Alecci, Kaizer Kaufman
Minor Female Singles Winners (l-r) Hailey Fullerton, Katlin Schilling, Alex Booth, Ashley Fullerton
Youth Male Singles Winners (l-r) Justin Nichols, Kamron Fuller, Zabian Jeram, Tristan Hansen
Youth Female Singles Winners (l-r) Alexandria Endres, Madison Rudd, Maddie Payne, Alyxandra Jones
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Major Team Champions - Rochester Squad
Major Scotch Doubles Winners - (l-r) Serena Black & Josh Franklin
Minor Team Champions - Southern Stars
Minor Scotch Doubles Winners - (l-r) Jakob Standley & Sam Klinger
Youth Team Champions - MN Cue Kids
Youth Scotch Doubles Winners - (l-r) Tristan Hansen & Grant Tonjum
On June 15-18, 2017, 220 excited Junior pool league players from 7 states, Ontario, Canada and New Zealand converged on the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, PA to compete on 80 Valley Pool Tables in 18 unique divisions including team events with all teams in matching shirts and 3 Scotch Doubles divisions. CompuSport provided tournament software. Opening ceremonies featured a colorful Parade of Flags, Singles awards presentation and many dignitaries. There was a Speed Pool Challenge, an Artistic Pool Competition featuring Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman, Hardluck Team Competition, personal professional instruction by Jerry Briesath,
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the 4th Annual “Top Cat Challenge” and live streaming provided by Billiardnet.tv. There were 26 separate Mini-Tournaments with the winners receiving cues donated by Valley and runner-ups landing cases. Special awards presented were the Jerry Briesath “Sportsmanship Award” and Dick Hawkins “All-Star Teams. There was a fun-filled players reception including Pizza & Pop sponsored by AMI Entertainment. VNEA thanks our wonderful sponsors Valley, Ozone Billiards, GW Cues, Aramith, AMI Entertainment, Fury, Warner Coin and Charters.
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Young Champs Take Center Stage at APA Junior Championships LAKE SAINT LOUIS, MO (July 26, 2017) — A record number of aspiring young APA members from across North America made their way to Davenport, Iowa in early-July for the APA Junior Championships.
Green Tier (Skill Levels 1-2, 121 entries), 1st Kaleb Frazier-Jackson, Miss.
crowned in each tier of the Junior Championships.
After four-days of having fun, making new friends from across the country and playing their hearts out on the pool table, four new champions were
In the finals of the Green Tier (Skill Levels 1-2), Kaleb Frazier of Jackson, Miss., defeated Madison Glenn of Lawton, Okla. Glenn finished Runnerup. Gianluca Hackembruch of Ontario, Canada, and Maile Cook of Sedgewickville, Mo., tied for 3rd Place in the Green Tier which featured the largest number of competitors in this year’s event with 120 participants. In the finals of the newly added Red Tier (Skill Level 3), Kyle Dodd of Cape Girardeau, Mo., defeated Treyton Weber of Mitchellville, Iowa. Weber finished Runner-up. April Czarnecki of Urbandale, Iowa, and Deekin Smith of Lebanon, Ind., tied for 3rd Place in the Red Tier which had 82 participants. In the finals of the White Tier (Skill Levels 4-5), Hayden Hill of Cordova, Ill., defeated Hayden Sheeler of Ankeny, Iowa. Sheeler finished Runner-up. Cameron McBride of Fenton, Mo., and Beck Matthews of Louisville, Ky., tied for 3rd Place in the White Tier which had 58 participants.
In the finals of the Black Tier (Skill Levels 6-9), Matthew Franzke of Melbourne, Fla., defeated Chase Stumfoll of Independence, Mo. Stumfoll finished as Runner-up. The Black Tier, featuring the highest skilled players, included 31 competitors. Tying for 3rd Place in the Black Tier were Kenneth Walters of Matthews, Mo., and Timmy Bly of Decatur, Ill.
Red Tier (Skill Level 3 82 entries), 1st Kyle Dodd-Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Overall, nearly 300 players competed in one of the four 9-Ball skill level tiers July 13 – July 16 at Sharky’s Billiards. Champions and top finishers each took home trophies in addition to Samsung Galaxy Tablets for the champions, JBL Waterproof Bluetooth Speakers for Runners-up and 3rd Place finishers received Quadcopter Drones. The four-day event also included a Junior/Adult Doubles event, recognition for Outstanding Academic Achievements and a special exhibition and autograph signing by Florian “Venom” Kohler. Event sponsors included: Nationwide Insurance, Action Cues, PoolDawg. com, FCI Billiards, GRIND’N Clothing Black Tier (Skill Levels 6-9, 31 entries), Co., Jacoby Custom 1st Matthew Franzke of Melbourne, FL Cues, Kamui Tips, Khamsin Designs Inc., Kingery Printing, Meucci Cues, Digi Cue by OB Cues, Omega Billiards Supplies, PoolAHolic Apparel, Poison by Predator, Promotions Pronto, RT9 Designs Art and Apparel, Shaftmaster Lathes, Sharky’s Billiards, Tiger Products Inc., Venom Trick Shots and Viking Cues.
White Tier (Skill Levels 4-5, 58 entries) 1st Hayden Hill-Cordova, Ill.,
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August 2017
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Q-Master Billiards
REYMART LIM Virginia Beach, VA July 15th 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH
$500 $300 $200 $110
REYMART LIM TIM MONK ERIC MOORE RANDY CANIPE
BISON BILLIARDS
Williamsville, NY July 29, 2017 Loads of talent in this one folks. It’s nice to see all the ladies come out and compete. We’ll have to do the Jack and Jill more often. Especially with these payouts. 1st $300.00 + $800.00 Mark Hatch and Sandy Ferraraccio 2nd $150.00 + $380.00 Jay and Cheryl Reed 3rd $70.00 Cory Welfare, Amanda Eisensmith
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Edwards Takes Chattanooga
Congratulations to Russ Edwards on his win this weekend, July 2223, 2017 at Chattanooga Billiard Club East in Chattanooga, TN on the GSBT!! This handicapped event was for players ranked 4-11 and was played on 8’ Brunswick Tables with $500 guaranteed added. You played really solid and faced some tough competition! We would also like to congratulate Justin Duncan on his runner
up finish you played really well yourself my friend! I would like to thank Phil Windham and his unbelievable staff at CBC, you guys are second to none on knowing how to take care of your players!! We look forward to coming back to Chattanooga later in the year. Thanks to the players for coming and, as always, SAFE TRAVELS MY FRIENDS!!!!!!
McClinton Notches First Win
The G.S.B.T would like to say Congratulations to Stevie McClinton on his 1st win this weekend, July 15-16, 2017, in Mt Sterling, KY at Billy Mack’s Billiards!! This was a $4000 total purse, handicapped tournament for players ranked 7 and under and was played on 7’ Diamond tables. We would also like to say Congratulations to David Jones on his runner up finish!! Both of you outlasted 53 players from 5 different states to battle it out for the finals and a large piece of the $5120 total
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purse!!!! I would like to say thank you to Billy and Pack and the staff for taking such good care of everyone this weekend. We look forward to coming back on August 19-20, 2017 for another $4000 guaranteed total purse event and we think that these will just grow and continue to bigger!! We hope to see everyone there and do it again next month!! I appreciate everyone’s support and as always SAFE TRAVELS MY FRIENDS!!!!
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August 2017
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WEEKLY TOURNAMENTS
If you have any changes to your weekly pool tournaments EMAIL: billiards@OnTheBreakNews.com DATE CITY Mondays Atlanta, GA Astoria, NY Edison, NJ Davie, FL Davie, FL Miami, FL Hilliard, OH Akron, OH Tuesdays Edison, NJ Bowling Green, KY Martins Ferry, OH Wednesdays Atlanta, GA Clearwater, FL Astoria, NY Fairfield, OH Lexington, SC Martins Ferry, OH Virginia Beach, VA Davie, FL Thursdays Edison, NJ Williamsville, NY Davie, FL Lansing, MI Warren, MI Vernon, IN Parkersburg, WV Fridays Atlanta, GA Decatur, AL Hollywood, FL Greensboro, NC Raleigh, NC Lexington, SC Martins Ferry, OH Portland, ME Fairfield, OH Saturdays Decatur, AL Hollywood, FL Greensboro, NC Lexington, SC Parkersburg, WV Rural Hall, NC Leitchfield, KY Martins Ferry, OH Grand Rapids, MI Grand Rapids, MI Battle Creek, MI Battle Creek, MI Reynoldburg, OH Sundays Clearwater, FL Edison, NJ Edison, NJ Virginia Beach, VA Jackson, MS Orlando, FL Syracuse, NY Portage, MI Livonia, MI Dayton, OH Fairfield, OH
LOCATION Mr Cues II Steinway Billiards Sandcastle Billiards Beyond Billiards Beyond Billiards K & K Billiards Bankshots Crown Billiards Sandcastle Billiards Cue Time Corner Pocket Mr Cues II Crooked Cue Billiards Steinway Billiards Michael’s Grady’s Pool Room Corner Pocket Q-Master Billiards Beyond Billiards Sandcastle Billiards Bison Billiards Beyond Billiards Coaches Ultimate Sports Bar Phat Guy Birds League Room Mr Cues II 6 Pockets Billiards Lucky 7 Billiards Gate City Billiards Club Brown’s Billiards Grady’s Pool Room Corner Pocket Union Station Billiards Michael’s 6 Pockets Billiards Lucky 7 Billiards Gate City Billiards Club Grady’s Pool Room League Room Scotty B’s Scooters on Main St Corner Pocket The Break Room The Break Room Brickyard Brickyard Scotty’s Crooked Cue Billiards (1st Sun) Sandcastle Billiards Sandcastle Billiards Q-Master Billiards Rack Clicks Billiards Premium Billiards Play Time Snookers Airway Michael’s (every other Sun)
PHONE 770-454-7665 (718) 472-2124 (732) 632-9277 305-903-4029 305-903-4029 305-903-4029 (614) 777-0022 (330) 644-3985 (732) 632-9277 (270) 782-2740 (740) 738-0357 770-454-7665 (727) 539-7665 (718) 472-2124 (513) 860-0044 (803) 957-7665 (740) 738-0357 757-499-8900 305-903-4029 (732) 632-9277 (716) 632-0281 305-903-4029 (517) 882-2013 (586) 751-2222 (812) 346-0870 304-893-9640 770-454-7665 256-686-3171 (954) 239-8254 (336) 856-8800 (919) 878-9092 (803) 957-7665 (740) 738-0357 (207) 899-3693 (513) 860-0044 256-686-3171 (954) 239-8254 (336) 856-8800 (803) 957-7665 304-893-9640 (336) 377-9358 (270) 230-1879 (740) 738-0357 (616) 454-0899 (616) 454-0899 (269) 968-0692 (269) 968-0692 (614) 755-9407 (727) 539-7665 (732) 632-9277 (732) 632-9277 757-499-8900 (601) 372-6576 (407) 275-6064 (315) 488-4888 (269) 323-2295 (734) 422-9510 (937) 274-1230 (513) 860-0044
EVENT / RULES ENTRY ADDED 9-Ball Handicapped $20 $3/player 9-Ball - Handicapped $25 Wild 9-Ball $25 Call 9-Ball BCA Sanctioned $10 8-Ball BCA Sanctioned $8 9-Ball BCA Sanctioned $10 9 Ball $10 Call Open 9 Ball $8 Call 9-Ball Hdcp/DE/Race to 5/4 $25 Call 8 Ball $5 Call Straight 8-Ball $8 Call One Pocket Call Call 8-Ball $5 Call Open 9 Ball Am/Pro $20/$40 8-Ball Varies $75 w/16+ 8-Ball 7’ Tables race to 5 $15 $100 w/16 9-Ball $10 Call Handicapped 9-Ball-Locals $15 Call 8-Ball BCA Sanctioned $8 9-Ball - Handicapped Call 10-Ball Handicap-SE $15 Call 8-Ball BCA Sanctioned $8 8 Ball $5 Call 9 Ball $20 $100 w/32 Open 9 Ball $5 Call 9-Ball SE $12 incl g.f. Call 9-Ball Handicapped C & D $20 $3/player 9-Ball $13 9-Ball $5 Matching w/20+ Scotch Doubles 8 Ball/9 Ball Call 8-Ball Round Robin $15 $100 w/32 9-Ball Handicap $20 $200 w/16 8-Ball $15 Call 8 Ball - Race to 2 $8 Call 8-Ball $1 $5/player 9-Ball $13 8-Ball-Race to 2-DE $5 Match w/20+ 8 Ball/9 Ball (1st Sat) Round robin Call 9-Ball Handicap $20 $300 w/24 8-Ball (except last Saturday) $7 incl g.f. Call FREE POOL 8 Ball Chip Pool $15 Call 9 Ball $5 Call 8 Ball $5 Call 8 Ball $20 Call 9 Ball $20 Call 8 Ball Call 200% payout 8-Ball ‘B’ Only Mod. Rnd Robin $10 $200 w/32 9-Ball - Ladies (1st Sun) Call 10-Ball (3rd Sun) Call Handicapped 9-Ball-Locals $15 Call 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 Alt 8 & 9 Ball Call Call 8 Ball - Race to 3 $10 Call
TIME 8PM 7PM 7PM 7:30PM 7:30PM 7:30PM 8PM 7:30PM 7PM 8PM Call 8PM 1PM 7PM 8PM 6:30PM 7:30PM Call 7:30PM 7PM 7PM 7:30PM 7:30PM 7PM 7:30PM 7PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 7:30PM 8PM 7:30PM 8PM 8PM 7PM 7PM 7PM 7PM Call 6PM 6PM 1PM 7PM 3PM 6PM Noon Noon Call 8:30PM 2PM 7PM 4PM 2PM 7PM Call
Call to see how to list your weekly pool tournaments 406.285.3099 OnTheBreakNews.com
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Call First - All Tournaments are subject to change without notice DATE Aug 5
CITY Augusta, GA
LOCATION No BS Billiards
PHONE 706-288-4845
EVENT / RULES Augusta 9-Ball open
ENTRY $25
ADDED $500 w/32
TIME Noon
Aug 5
Williamsville, NY
Bison Billiards
716-632-0281
8-Ball Bar Box
$35
$250
Noon
Aug 5
Myrtle Beach, SC
Shore Thing Billiards
803-271-5536
9-Ball Scotch Doubles
$70/t incl g.f.
$1,000 Guar
Noon
Aug 5
Largo, FL
The Corner Pocket
727-330-7822
Amateur 9-Ball
$65M/$40W-Jr
$500w/64
11AM
Aug 5-6
Virginia Beach, VA
Q-Master Billiards
757-499-8900
Action Pool Tour
$40 to $100
$250
10AM
Aug 11
Parkersburg, WV
The League Room
304-893-9640
One Pocket Limit 16
$60 incl g.f.
$250 w/16
6PM
Aug 12
Parkersburg, WV
The League Room
304-893-9640
8-Ball
$70 incl g.f.
$1,000 w/64
Noon
Aug 13
Parkersburg, WV
The League Room
304-893-9640
10-Ball Limit 32
$50 incl g.f.
$250 w/32
1PM
Aug 12
Daytona Beach, FL
Uncle Walldo’s Billiards
386-760-7006
Open 9-Ball
$65 + fees
$1,000+
Call
Aug 13
Westerville, OH
Cushions Billiards
Tag Ball - Egg shaped pool ball
$10
Call
Call
Aug 17-18
Sacramento, CA
Hard Times Billiards
916-332-8793
1 Pocket - 9th Chuck Markulis Mem. $60
$2,500
Call
Aug 19-20
Sacramento, CA
Hard Times Billiards
916-332-8793
9-Ball - 9th Chuck Markulis Mem. $60 Mosconi Cup $5,000
Call
Aug 18-19
Midwest City, OK
Jamaica Joes
405-736-0590
One Pocket
$60
$500
1PM
Aug 19-20
Midwest City, OK
Jamaica Joes
405-736-0590
Bar Table 9-Ball
$65/$50
$2,500
Noon
Aug 19
Williamsville, NY
Bison Billiards
716-632-0281
9-Ball Triple Elimination-Limit 32 $40 incl g.f.
$500
10AM
Aug 23
Decatur, AL
6 Pockets
256-686-3171
9-Ball Mini - Single Elim Max 32
$35 incl g.f.
Call
6:30PM
Aug 24-27
Decatur, AL
6 Pockets
256-686-3171
Southeastern 9-Ball Championship
$100-Max 128 $5,000
6:30PM
Aug 26
Decatur, AL
6 Pockets
256-686-3171
9-Ball Winner Take All- Max 8
$500
Call
8PM
Aug 26
Parkersburg, WV
The League Room
304-893-9640
9-Ball
$30 incl g.f.
$$$$
3PM
Aug 26-27
Tampa, FL
Brewlands Bar & Billiards
Open 9-Ball
$65M/$40W-Jr
$500w/64
11AM
Aug 27
Astoria, NY
$1,000
Call
Steinway Billiards
718-472-2124
Tri State 9-Ball A-B/C-D
Call
Aug 31-Sep4 Round Rock, TX
Skinny Bob’s
512-733-1111
9-Ball Scotch Doubles
$125+$25 g.f. $1,000
11AM
Sep 1
Round Rock, TX
Skinny Bob’s
512-733-1111
9-Ball-Single Elimination
$25
Call
8PM
Sep 1
Round Rock, TX
Skinny Bob’s
512-733-1111
Ring Game
$100+$5 g.f.
Call
3PM
Sep 1
Round Rock, TX
Skinny Bob’s
512-733-1111
Open 9-Ball Division-MC Qual.
$125+$25 g.f. $8,000
8:30PM
Sep 2
Round Rock, TX
Skinny Bob’s
512-733-1111
Ladies 9-Ball Division Limit 32
$75+$15 g.f.
$2,000
6PM
Sep 2
Williamsville, NY
Bison Billiards
716-632-0281
8-Ball Bar Box
$35
$250
Sep 8-10
Holyoke, MA
Ivory Billiards
413-536-1586
U.S. Amateur Qualifier
poolplayers.com Call
Call
Sep 8-10
Southington, CT
Shooters Billiards
860-621-2073
U.S. Amateur Qualifier
poolplayers.com Call
Call
Sep 15-17
Raleigh, NC
Brown’s Billiards
919-878-9092
U.S. Amateur Qualifier
poolplayers.com Call
Call
Sep 16
Williamsville, NY
Bison Billiards
716-632-0281
9-Ball Triple Elimination-Limit 32 $40 incl g.f.
Sep 22-24
Virginia Beach, VA
Q-Master Billiards
757-499-8900
U.S. Amateur Qualifier
poolplayers.com Call
Call
Sep 22-24
Astoria, NY
Steinway Billiards
718-472-2124
U.S. Amateur Qualifier
poolplayers.com Call
Call
Sep 22-24
Ocala, FL
Boulevard Billiards
352-867-8100
U.S. Amateur Qualifier
poolplayers.com Call
Call
Sep 22-24
Adrian, MI
Diamond Jim’s
517-759-4464
U.S. Amateur Qualifier 7’ tables
poolplayers.com Call
Call
Sep 22-24
Fairfax, VA
The Revolution
703-385-7529
U.S. Amateur Qualifier
poolplayers.com Call
Call
Sep 23-24
Orange Park, FL
$500
Noon
10AM
Park Avenue Billiards
8-Ball
$65M/$40W-Jr
$500w/64
11AM
Sep 27-Oct1 Astoria, NY
Steinway Billiards
718-472-2124
Grand Final - Limit 128
$625+$50
$25,000 Guar
Call
Sep 27-Oct1 Astoria, NY
Steinway Billiards
718-472-2124
Highrock Challenge-Limit 112
$250+$50
$4,400 Guar
Call
Sep 30
Parkersburg, WV
The League Room
304-893-9640
9-Ball
$30 incl g.f.
$$$$
3PM
Oct 6
Williamsville, NY
Bison Billiards
716-632-0281
8-Ball Bar Box
$35
$250
Noon
Oct 2-8
Astoria, NY
Steinway Billiards
718-472-2124
77th World 14.1
Call
Call
Call
Oct 21
Williamsville, NY
Bison Billiards
716-632-0281
9-Ball Triple Elimination-Limit 32 $40 incl g.f.
$500
10AM
Oct 22
Astoria, NY
Steinway Billiards
718-472-2124
Tri State 9-Ball A-B/C-D
Call
$1,000
Call
Nov 4
Williamsville, NY
Bison Billiards
716-632-0281
8-Ball Bar Box
$35
$250
Noon
Nov 12
Astoria, NY
Steinway Billiards
718-472-2124
Tri State 9-Ball A-B/C-D
Call
$1,000
Call
Nov 18
Williamsville, NY
Bison Billiards
716-632-0281
9-Ball Triple Elimination-Limit 32 $40 incl g.f.
$500
10AM
Nov 18-19
Portland, ME
Union Station
207-899-3693
Joss 9-Ball Tour
$1500/$500
Call
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August 2017
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PERFORMANCE
MAKES ALL OF THE DIFFERENCE The most important factor in cue ball deflection is cue end mass. Katana shafts use a ferrule that is half the length with thinner walls to reduce the amount of cue ball “squirt” during play.
7 Responsive Top Layers The top 7 layers are medium density boar hide, tanned naturally up to 12 months to achieve maximum control and consistency.
3 Foundation Layers The bottom 3 layers are high density pig skin, selected for its premium durability and legendary feel.
KATXS1
TIP: 12.5mm Katana tip by Tiger FERRULE: 3/8” Long Thin Wall Fiber TAPER: Pro
KATXS2
TIP: 11.5mm Katana tip by Tiger FERRULE: 3/8” Long Thin Wall Fiber TAPER: Conical
KATANA PERFORMANCE SHAFT TECHNOLOGY 10-Piece Spliced Radial Construction The grain in a solid wooden shaft creates a natural spine which affects how the cue ball reacts to impact. Rotating the cue, even a quarter turn, will change how the shaft performs. By splitting the shaft into ten sections and alternating the direction of the grain, Katana removes natural variances and provides lower deflection and more consistent results.
QUALIFIED DEALERS WELCOME WWW.CUESTIX.COM | 800.645.9803 Manufactured by CueStix International