Lampert Double-Dips Marr on OB Cues Ladies Tour

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Pool Tour News

The OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball Tour stopped in to Fast Eddie’s in Waco, TX the weekend of August 29-30th. Forty-five players arrived on Saturday morning to compete in the $2000 added event. In addition to the ladies, James Hanshew was on site both days to perform any repair work needed and Ray “Bigtruck” Hansen was providing complimentary streaming all weekend during the event. In fact, Ray recorded the matches that were streamed and they are still available for viewing at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bigtruck if anyone missed the action the first time around.

On Sunday morning, the field had been reduced to 16 players. On the winner’s side matches, Lisa Marr defeated Michelle Cortez , while Amanda Lampert defeated Jennifer Kraber to set-up the match for the hot seat. Finishing in the 13-16th positions were Kyu Yi, Robbie Daugherty, Julie Stephenson, and Sherrie Palma; in 9-12th positions were Becky Jones, Jennifer Pavlovick, Michelle Abernathy, and Lisa Henderson-Major. Former regular tour members Rachel Hurst and Jillian Martinez showed that they still have their games faces, even if they haven’t been showing them to us, by grabbing the 7-8th spots. Michelle Cortez and Tara Williams settled for a 5-6th finish. Orietta Strickland finished 4th, while another face that has been missing, Jennifer Kraber captured 3rd.

For the hot seat match, Lisa managed to come out as the winner 7-4 against Amanda after being tied at 4 games apiece. The finals saw these great players match up once again, with each set going the distance. Amanda managed to grab the first set 7-6 and set up the second set in the true double elimination format. Both players grinded out the set to another hill-hill battle and Amanda came out on top to take 1st place and the $750 payday. Lisa continued her points lead for 2009 with her second place finish.

From left to right: Jennifer Kraber, Lisa Marr, and Amanda Lampert

In the second chance event, 14 players competed on Sunday morning. In addition to the $100 added by the OB Cues Tour, James Hanshew also contributed $100, for a total purse of $340.

Thanks to Fast Eddie’s for hosting this event and for the hospitality shown to the players by your staff. A big thanks to OB Cues for the donation of the raffle cues that made our event possible, as well as our additional sponsors Tiger Products and Ozone Billiards.

Tournament Payouts – 45 Players – $2000 Added – $3125 Total Purse:
1st – Amanda Lampert – $750
2nd – Lisa Marr – $550
3rd – Jennifer Kraber – $400
4th – Orietta Strickland -$265
5th – Michelle Cortez, Tara Williams – $150
7th – Rachel Hurst, Jillian Martinez – $100
9th – Becky Jones, Jennifer Pavlovick, Michelle Abernathy, Lisa Henderson-Major – $75
13th – Kyu Yi, Robbie Daugherty, Julie Stephenson, Sherrie Palma – $50
17th – Shayla Neris, Shirley Fields, Melinda Bailey, Tina Lehrman, Nancy French, Robyn Petrosino, Tracie Voelkering, Connie Gallego – $20

Other Tournament Winners:
$30 Free Entry – Barbara Kimbrell
$25 Starbucks Gift Card (2) – Shirley Fields, Amanda Lampert
Ozone Billiards Winner:
Cue Case – Jillian Martinez
Tiger Products Winners:
Cue Smoother – Becky Jones
Tiger Hat – Jennifer Kraber
Towel – Shayla Neris
Leather Bridge – Terry Petrosino
OB Cue Winners:
Rachel Hurst, OB Cues Ladies Tour Player
Andy, local Fast Eddie’s customer

Second Chance Event – 14 players – $200 Added – $340 Total Purse:
1st – Terry Petrosino – $120
2nd – Tracie Voelkering – $90
3rd – Shayla Neris – $60
4th – De Ann Bray-Warner – $40
5th – Monica Anderson, Robyn Petrosino – $15

Our next stop will be at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX the weekend of October 24-25th. Hope to see you there for Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times!!!

Challenge Match with Orcollo and Van Boening Announced for Galveston World Classic

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Taylor Road Productions is pleased to announce a $5,000 challenge match between Shane Van Boening and Dennis Orcollo to be held on Monday, September 14, 2009 at 8pm CST. The match is just one of the matches scheduled in a series of challenges matches to be staged in conjunction with the Galveston World Classic.

Shane Van Boening and Dennis Orcollo are two of the best players in the world. Both players have been heralded as the heir to the throne as the best player in their respective countries. This challenge match will pit these two straight-shooting, hard playing, all-around champions with one representing the Philippines and the other representing the U.S., in an all-out war to get the cash. The format will be ten-ball, race to 15, with the winner breaking.

The challenge matches will feature some of the world’s top professionals competing during the evening hours of the Galveston World Classic. Currently, two other challenge matches have been announced. Saturday, September 12, 2009 Francisco Bustamante will face off against Charlie Bryant and on Sunday September 13, 2009, Earl Strickland will lock horns with Efren Reyes in what proves to be an epic battle. More matches will be announced shortly.

Taylor Road Productions is pleased to announce a $5,000 challenge match between Van Boening and Orcollo to be held on Monday, September 14, 2009 at 8pm CST.

Bobby Rone of Taylor Road Productions said, “I think that this is going to be a great match. I admire both players’ skills and we’re thrilled to bring this match to eveyrbody. I have no idea who is going to win, but I know it’s going to be one heck of a match and a great one to watch.”

The entire Galveston World Classic event will be STREAMED LIVE FOR FREE at the event web site, http://www.theworldclassic.com and will be aired throughout Asia with 11 hours of programming on ESPN Star and 5 hours of programming on the VERSUS network.

See the odds on the Galveston World Classic

About Taylor Road Productions
Taylor Road Productions is the producer and promoter of the Galveston World Classic from September 11-20, 2009 at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. The Galveston World Classic features over $1,000,000 in prize money, will be streamed live online for free, and will be televised in dozens of countries.

The vision of the company is to produce pool and billiard events that promote the sport to a new level by large cash prizes, televised events and high profile events for all to experience. The company web site is http://www.theworldclassic.com

Shearer Brings His A-Game to Great Southern Billiard Tour Finale

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Pool Tour News

Great Southern Billiard Tour / LaGrange, GA

by Lea Andrews

Brad Shearer, who has cashed in more than a couple Great Southern Billiard Tour events this season and placed as high as second, chose the season finale to make his biggest splash yet. The scene of his victory was Chalk It Up Billiards in La Grange, GA, where 74 players gathered August 28-30 to grab their share of the $6,500-guaranteed purse.

B-ranked Shearer ran past A-ranked Adam Pendley 7-2 to reach the hot seat match, where he met AA-ranked Benny Conway, who was coming off a 10-6 win over Steve Wiggins. Conway, himself no stranger to the GSBT cash, fell 7-7 to Shearer in the weighted race.

On the one-loss side, Justin Ledford ousted Mitch Yarborough 9-3 only to fall 9-2 to Daniel “Lil’ D” McKinney. McKinney then faced Arlo Walsman, who’d eased by Mike Laney 10-4 and Nick Vita 10-6, but Walsman managed only six games against McKinney, who dropped him in seventh. Meanwhile, Denny Singletary notched up a 7-5 win over Danny Smith but fell 10-4 to John Macias. Macias went on to Stoney Stone, who’s just blown through Ed Pope 10-3. Against Macias, though, Stone couldn’t quite get there, landing in seventh 10-9 while Macias greeted Wiggins from the A-side. After brushing past Wiggins 10-5, Macias met up in the quarterfinals with Pendley, who’d just taken down McKinney 9-6. Macias, who needed one more game than Pendley, couldn’t mark it up, finishing in fourth 9-9. The semis, though, were a different story for Pendley, who found himself down 8-0 to Conway before getting on the board. But once he got there, he couldn’t get anywhere else, and Conway moved back over to Shearer 10-1.

In the true double-elimination finals, Shearer, who has the rank of a B-player but the natural talent of an A, started off a little shaky against fast and sharp-shooting Conway, who got up 2-1 after Shearer missed a 7 ball and 3-1 after a 9 on the break. In the alternate-break format, Shearer made it 3-2 with a break and run, but Conway returned it with a four-game streak that was nearly five until he got out of line on the 9 in the tenth rack. Shearer took that rack to make it 7-3, but it was his last that set, as Conway took three straight to push the second set 10-3.

In the second set, Conway took advantage of a few of Shearer’s errors to jump out 3-0, but when he missed a 3-9 combo in the fourth rack, it was Shearer’s turn to take advantage, and he got on the board with a 5-9 combination. The next game went to Conway, but after Conway’s scratch on the break in the game after, Shearer gathered himself and ran to a 7-9 combo. After breaking open the next rack, Shearer carefully and deliberately cleared the balls to make it 4-3, and though Conway took the next one after Shearer left a safety open and reaped the benefits of Shearer’s dry break in the rack after, Shearer had his eyes on the goal and didn’t let up. He took two games in a row with early combinations, then tied it at 6 after nothing fell for Conway on the break in rack 12. And that dry break was Conway’s last shot at the table, as Shearer earned his first GSBT win with a break and run.

Brad Shearer, who has cashed in more than a couple Great Southern Billiard Tour events this season and placed as high as second, chose the season finale to make his biggest splash yet.

Results:
1st Brad Shearer $2,300
2nd Benny Conway $1,200
3rd Adam Pendley $750
4th John Macias $500
5th Daniel McKinney $300
Steve Wiggins
7th Arlo Walsman $175
Stoney Stone
9th Justin Ledford $125
Nick Vita
Denny Singletary
Ed Pope
13th Mitch Yarborough $75
Mike Laney
Danny Smith
Adam Towery

USA Break Off in Manila Spectacle

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Morris Confident of World Cup of Pool Glory

Rodney Morris is confident Team America can successfully defend their World Cup of Pool title this week.

Morris and team-mate Shane Van Boening triumphed in 2008 and will be reunited in Manila, Philippines for this year’s competition, which will be sponsored by PartyCasino.net and staged at the SM North City Mall EDSA.

However, Morris believes the strongest threat will come from the two host sides, the Philippines A pairing of Ronnie Alcano and Dennis Orcollo and the Philippines B duo of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante.

“Home advantage will be massive for both of them,” said Morris. “Everytime you make a mistake you have to be prepared that the crowd will be cheering but we’re prepared for that.

“Reyes and Bustamante is the toughest of the two Filipino teams because they have already won the competition before (in 2006) and showed they can do it in this format. They could both be 100 years old and would still be the toughest opponents.

Morris is confident Team America can successfully defend their World Cup of Pool title this week.

“But anyone can win it and Germany and Holland also look good. You just have to deal with whoever you play and treat them as the toughest match.”

America begin their defence of the trophy on Tuesday evening with a match against the Maltese pairing of Tony Drago and Alex Borg.

The two nations met in 2007 and USA scraped an 8-7 victory after a thrilling encounter and Morris is expecting another tough clash.

“Tony is a very dangerous player so we will have to concentrate fully,” added Morris. “It’s only a short race to eight so it’s about a matter of getting yourself prepared mentally.

“Shane and I were the first US team to win the competition and it’s a big deal – a world title. It showed we can still perform at that level and get the job done, especially in the first year I was in the US team that finished second.

“If we win it this year, in the Philippines, then it would be unbelievable but we’re really confident and I’m definitely playing better than I was last year.

“Shane is a fearless machine and has ice in his veins so we don’t have anything to worry about.”

Reyes and Bustamante will also be in action on the opening day against outsiders Qatar, while China, who won the World Cup in 2007, meet Korea.

The other matches see France play Canada, Australia enterain Spain and Indonesia meet India.

2009 PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool

SM North City Mall EDSA, Manila, Philippines

Day One – first round (all matches are race to eight, winner breaks)

(All times are local time, seven hours ahead of British Summer Time)

12pm – France v Canada then Korea v China

3pm – Australia v Spain then Indonesia v India

6pm – Malta v USA then Qatar v Philippines B

For more information visit the official website www.matchroompool.com

Hopkins Brings It to Inaugural Event

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Team DMIRO 10-Ball Tour / New York City, NY

by Jerry Tarantola

At the first stop of the Tiger Products and Team DMIRO Nationwide 10-Ball Tour, presented by Allen Hopkins, a tough group of pros and amateur from around the area as well as other parts of the world turned out to play August 29-30 at host room Eastside Billiards in New York City, NY. Top players who attended the event included Mike Davis, “Alaska” Sean Morgan, Mike Yednak, Jonni Fulcher, Zion Zvi, and Zaid Thweib, with 24 players total, but it was Hopkins who walked away with the lion’s share and the title.

Team DMIRO, which stands for “Don’t Miss … I’ll Run Out” will feature over 20 stops across the country and culminate in a final event to be held at the Super Billiards Expo in March 2010. With the preliminary round of the event completed, the four amateurs to move on were Mike Yednak, Ron Gabia, house player Basdeo “Sean” Sookhai, and Andrew Kane. Along with them, the four pros to advance were Davis, Morgan, Thweib, and Hopkins. The final eight were re-drawn into a double-elimination bracket.

In the final eight, Yednak defeated Sookhai and then Morgan 7-0 to take the hot seat. In the preliminary pro bracket, Hopkins was a dominant force in his first two matches, with 7-5 wins over Davis and Thweib. However, Morgan knocked the Hall of Famer into the one-loss side in the final eight by a score of 7-4. Hopkins went on to play a nearly flawless set against Thweib to win 7-0, defeat Davis 7-5, and knock out Morgan by a score of 7-0 to land in the hot seat against Yednak.

The final match was one race to 9 between Yednak and Hopkins. The score was even in the first half of the match, where it was tied at 4-all. Yednak dominated the next rack, but the 9 ball skidded and the lead went to Hopkins. From there, Yednak could not seem to get back into the groove. Hopkins took full advantage of this and bore down to win the match 9-4.

At the first stop of the Tiger Products and Team DMIRO Nationwide 10-Ball Tour, presented by Allen Hopkins, a tough group of pros and amateur from around the area as well as other parts of the world turned out to play August 29-30 at host room Eastside Billiards in New York City, NY.

Results:
1st Allen Hopkins $1198
2nd Mike Yednak $856
3rd Sean Morgan $513
4th Mike Davis $342
5th Zaid Thweib $171
Baseo Sookhai
7th Ron Gabia $85
Andrew Kane

Uwate Wipes Out KF Cues Amateur Field

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KF Cues Tour / Tampa, FL

by Lea Andrews

It was the amateurs’ turn to shine on the KF Cues Tour as their season of one-day tournaments culminated in a two-day finale August 29-30, but it was David Uwate who rebounded from an early loss to outshine the rest. Uwate was among the field of 70 that gathered for the $2,500-added event, which was held at Strokers II in Tampa, FL, and also boasted for the winner, courtesy of the Seminole Tribe, $500-entry into the $40,000-added Steve Mizerak Championship event to be held in November at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL.

Floyd Milsap, the person responsible for Uwate’s third-round 7-6 loss, arrived in the winners’ side final four following a 7-4 win over Mike Delawder. Milsap’s next obstacle was Bobby Moore, who’d just edged out Walter Blacker 7-6. After taking care of Moore 7-4, Milsap fought for the hot seat against Trey Jankowski, who’d squeaked past Jeff Mabry 7-6.

Meanwhile, Uwate was storming through the left side of the bracket. After blowing past John Souders 6-1, he took care of Chip Dickerson 6-4 to meet up with Todd Anderson, who was coming off a 6-3 win over Richard Fox. Anderson’s score got reversed on him as he fell 6-3 to Uwate, who welcomed Moore to the B-side by handing him a 6-2 loss, which put Uwate into the quarterfinals against Delawder. Delawder, having steadily made his way past Dan Whitten 6-4, George Saunders 6-1, and Jeff Mabry 6-1, couldn’t mark up that final game against Uwate, and he landed in fourth with a score of 6-5, as Uwate went on to the semifinals against Jankowski, who’d managed only 3 games against Milsap in the hot seat match.

Both men had a score to settle with Milsap, but it was Uwate who’d spent all day and most of the day before in the precarious left side of the bracket because of Milsap, and it was Uwate who closed out the win 6-4 to earn his revenge.

In the finals, a single race to 9, Uwate got the first taste of victory, but Milsap tied it at one apiece. Uwate came back with 3 in a row to make it 4-1. The two then went back and forth a bit, and the score went to 4-2, 6-2, 6-4, and 8-4. Needing just one more 9 ball, Uwate was so close to the big win, but Milsap held it out of reach twice, getting the score to 8-6. But when Milsap broke dry in the fifteenth rack, Uwate’s opportunity was there and he took it, negotiating a tricky table layout to run out for the victory.

Results:
1st David Uwate $1,100 + $500 entry
2nd Floyd Milsap $800
3rd Trey Jankowski $600
4th Mike Delawder $450
5th Jeff Mabry $325
Bobby Moore
7th George Saunders $200
Todd Anderson
9th Walter Blacker $150
Chip Dickerson
Dan Whitten
Richard Fox
13th Jarred Schlauch $100
Bill Delisle
John Souders
Taz Naravane

Rademakers Rakes in WPBA Qualifier

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Pool Tour News

Northwest Women’s Pool Association / Bellevue, WA

by Suzanne Smith

The weekend of August 15-16 was a great one for competition at the Northwest Women’s Pool Association’s fifth tour stop of the season, hosted by The Parlor in Bellevue, WA. Twenty-six women came out to fight for the title and the tour’s last WPBA qualifier of 2009, with Tamara Rademakers edging out the victory.

In the winners’ side final four, the top two players on the tour, Liz Cole and Cindy Sliva, matched up, while Mary Olson went head to head with Suwanna Kroll. Cole prevailed 7-2, while Kroll won 7-1 to advance to the hot seat match to play each other, where Cole continued her streak with a 7-3 win to rest in the hot seat.

Now on the one-loss side, Kroll went up against Rademakers, who had been working her way through the chart, in the semifinals. A decisive 7-1 win gave Rademakers a chance at the final match, with Kroll taking home third place, her best finish yet on the tour.

Cole had already dealt Rademakers one loss already and was prepared to do so again in the single race-to-9 finals. But after the score was knotted at 3, Rademakers surged ahead to take a 7-3 lead. The players split the next two racks, and then Cole caught her second wind and managed to make it a hill-hill final battle. When Cole missed a 7-9 carom, Rademakers was ready to go, and she pocketed the final three balls to earn the title and the qualifier.

The weekend of August 15-16 was a great one for competition at the Northwest Women’s Pool Association’s fifth tour stop of the season, hosted by The Parlor in Bellevue, WA.

Results:
1st Tamara Rademakers $405 + qualifier
2nd Liz Cole $265
3rd Suwanna Kroll $170
4th Cindy Sliva $130
5th Elizabeth Jensen $80
Mary Olson
7th Mikki Small $60
Julie Valdez

Cohen Shocks World as the New Predator World 14.1 Champion

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Cohen made history as France’s first World Pool Champion

Parsippany, New Jersey- There’s a new sheriff in straight pool town, Stephan Cohen. In an event where names like Ortmann, Hohmann, Immonen dominated headlines all week, relatively unknown Stephan Cohen of France surprised everyone, including himself. Cohen’s win capped off the 6 days of the Predator 69th World 14.1 Championship presented by Ozone Billiards. The Dragon Promotions revived event is in its 4th consecutive year alive with help of industry giants such as Predator, Ozone Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Master Chalk, Aramith Balls, Accu-Stats and the Laser Rack. Comet Billiards will host this year’s event which will start play on August 24, 2009 and end August 29. The greatest straight pool players from around the world will arrive on USA’s east coast again to New Jersey, and attend this prestigious event to play for the coveted title of World Straight Pool Champion.

Ortmann looked the man to beat all week with his record four 100 + ball runs. But Mika Immonen had been Germany’s Achilles heel. Immonen knocked out pre-event favorite Thorsten Hohmann and then in a dramatic match full of reversal of leads, he upsetted Oliver Ortmann. Mika took an early 60 ball lead against Ortmann, the first time Ortmann had trailed in any of his matches the previous 5 days. Ortmann came back though to take the lead. Mika then came back and re-took the lead, but relinquisehed the table again and it looked all over as Ortmann needed a 70 ball run to win, a mere formality it seemed compared to his other matches. At 181, Prtmann missed a combination a few inches from the hole, and Mika knew it would be his last chance. HE ran 55 and out to keep Ortmann at 3rd place and away from a second world title in 14.1.

“When Oliver was on his last inning, I knew if I ever got another chance that would be it. I decided to not try to be too cute, just play,”Immonen said after his match win.

In a lackluster and long 4 hour battle with USA’s Johnny Archer, Cohen defeated Archer 200-104 . This was Archer’s highest finish at the World 14.1, and he was USA’s highest finisher this year. So far since 1990, a USA player has not made it to the finals.

The final match would be a first, Finland vs France. To date, neither country had ever won a World 14.1 billiards title, and no Frenchman or woman, had ever claimed a world title in pool. The match started with the heavy favorite Immonen with a 97 ball run. He eventually held Cohen to a devastating 145-15, all in a matter of less than an hour. But you can’t keep a good Frenchman down.

Cohen went undefeated throughout the entire event, and pocketed 1300 balls.

Cohen clawed his way back with a couple small but helpful runs, and Immonen made two more errors. Eventually both players were very close, with Immonen leading 160-145. Immonen had another turn at the table and it seemed he would close out the match still as expected, but at 181 he left himself no good shot. A jacked up cutshot on the 4ball, or a kick shot on the 12ball. He opted for the kickshot but only managed to hit the ball and not threaten the pocket. Cohen came back and ran out. Cohen left himself a very tough backwards cut shot on the 4ball as the breakshot, but hit it beautifully. THis started his final run and he closed the match out 200-181 with a jubilant shout and fist in the air.

“I really thought I was going to finally win one of these Dragon Promotions 14.1 events. It’s hard to get so close again,” said a dejected Immonen. Immonen, to his credit, made it to his 6th consecutive finals match in just 7 weeks. He won 4 out of the 7 finals matches.

An emotional Cohen squeaked out a few tears and went to Danny Diliberto,expert Accu-Stats commentator and former billiards champion, and embraced him.

“I owe this World title and everything I know of straight pool to this man. He gave me all his knowledge, and I wouldn’t have won without him,” said Cohen in his victory speech to the fans.

“Cohen came to me after his semi-finals win, and told me he had a problem. He booked his flight to leave tonight before the finals!”,explained Charlie Williams, the co-producer of the event. “He laughed and told me he never thought he’d make it this far.”

The awards ceremony re-introduced the final 4 players, and Oliver Ortmann gave an embrace and genuine congratulations to Cohen on his well deserved win. Cohen’s name will be inscribed on the World Straight Pool Championship trophy alongside Niels Feijen, Oliver Ortmann, Thorsten Hohmann, and legends Mosconi, Mizerak, Greenleaf, Crane and many more.

View the Predator World Straight Pool Championship Round Robin Schedule

View the Predator World Straight Pool Championship Round Robin Scores

View the Predator World Straight Pool Championship Double Elimination Round Brackets

View the Predator World Straight Pool Championship Single Elimination Round Brackets

Stephan’s Cohen name will be inscribed as the 69th Champion of the World 14.1 Tournament

The Mosconi High Run Award paid $500 bonus to Oliver Ortmann who’s 150 and out stood as the top run. Hohmann’s world record of 174 still stands. The high run prizes were sponsored by Jay Helfert of Los Angeles CA, and Louis Pannullo of Queens, NY. Mattana and Siegel are added an additional $1000 to any player that broke the world record of 174.

The 2009 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Predator Cues, Comet Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Ozone Billiards, Laser Rack, Master Chalk and patron sponsors Stu Mattana and Harold Siegel of Excelsior Graphics. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.

Ozone Billiards has been providing pool players with top quality billiard products for more than eight years. Its commitment to customer service has helped Ozone Billiards grow to be one of the largest retailers of billiard supplies in the United States. For more information about Ozone Billiards and its product lines, visit www.ozonebilliards.com

Predator Group, an international billiards industry leader, is focused on bringing constant innovation and game-improving equipment to billiards players worldwide. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, Predator Group’s core brands include Predator Cues – high-end (professional level) cues with revolutionary technology to enhance performance, Poison Billiards – recreational cues with cutting-edge designs and Predator engineering for best-in-class playability, and Uni-Loc® – precision billiards equipment manufacturer. For more information regarding Predator Group’s products, visit www.predatorgroup.com

photo courtesy Jerry Tarantola, NYCGrind.com

Private: Dailey Takes the Day in Parsippany

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Pool Tour News

Tri-State Tour / Parsippany, NJ

by InsidePOOL Staff

The August 29 installment of the Tri-State Tour rolled into Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, for their $500-added stop. Of the 34 participants, it was relative newcomer Duane Dailey who walked away with the $700 first-place prize.

Dailey found himself in the final four undefeated and then bested Teddy Lubis 8-6 to reach the hot seat match against Mike Watson, who had turned away Emily Duddy 7-6 to make it there himself. But Dailey was sent to the left side of the chart by Watson, who earned the hot seat with a strong 6-3 victory.

Duddy wasn’t done yet, though, and she battled her way through Pete Brennan 7-4 to reach the quarterfinals against Lubis, who had just eliminated T.J. Smithers by the score of 7-3. There Duddy’s run ended, as Lubis triumphed 7-5 to advance to the semifinals. A close match ensued between Lubis and Dailey, with Dailey earning a rematch against Watson 8-7. Errors plagued both Dailey and Watson in the final match, but eventually Dailey prevailed to take the title 8-7.

The August 29 installment of the Tri-State Tour rolled into Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, for their $500-added stop.

Results:
1st Duane Dailey $700
2nd Mike Watson $400
3rd Teddy Lubis $255
4th Emily Duddy $140
5th Pete Brennan $65
T.J. Smithers
7th Jason Egeln
Guy Iannuzzi
9th Gary Murgia
Annie Flores
Joe Fego
Antonio Navarro

Showdown at Predator World 14.1 Championship

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Pool Tour News

Immonen and Ortmann Face Off Saturday

It took the likes of a player such as Mika Immonen to take out former World 14.1 Champ Thorsten Hohmann. Immonen controlled the match till the end, despite a late rally from the German. Oliver Ortmann easily dispatched USA’s Earl Herring and Scotland’s Jonni Fulcher to advance to the semi-finals of the Predator 69th World 14.1 Championship presented by Ozone Billiards. The Dragon Promotions revived event is in its 4th consecutive year alive with help of industry giants such as Predator, Ozone Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Master Chalk, Aramith Balls, Accu-Stats and the Laser Rack. Comet Billiards will host this year’s event which will start play on August 24, 2009 and end August 29. The greatest straight pool players from around the world will arrive on USA’s east coast again to New Jersey, and attend this prestigious event to play for the coveted title of World Straight Pool Champion.

Ortmann continues his reign of terror in NJ, again with another 100 ball run, today 124. This is his fourth consecutive 100+ ball run for the event. But he will face his toughest challenge yet, the formidable Mika Immonen. Immonen, a former European 14.1 Champ, has been on a hot streak including a recent 2nd place at The Mezz Classic 14.1 which included a win over Hohmann in Orlando a few weeks ago. This win may have given him additional psychological edge as he handed Hohmann a second consecutive defeat by his hands, eliminating this year’s hope of Hohmann regaining the coveted World 14.1 crown.

Immonen had faltered last year in the final 16, but this year had earlier predicted he would try much harder and bear down in the later stages. He seems to be holding true to his word. Many fans were hoping for a Oliver versus Thorsten showdown, but Mika seems to be the better man in 14.1 as of late. If Immonen wins, this would mark his second World title since his iconic win in Cardiff at the World 9-Ball back in 2001.

“This is an important title for me. To be the World Straight Pool Champion will prove to the world I am not a one trick pony,” said Immonen.

On the other side of the charts, Charlie Williams continued his run with a 200-40 crushing of Jim Gottier. After Johnny Archer dispatched Corey Deuel for the second time, Archer and Williams faced each other for the right to represent the USA in the semi-finals. Williams struck first blood with a 57 ball run off Archer’s break, but later Archer cameback and eventually came with a 109 ball run to reach 191-80. Williams made a short rally to 126, but missed the breakball and gave Archer the chance for the win.

Archer is the 3rd American to reach the semi-finals in the four years of the revived event

Tony Robles also lost a tough 200-149 match against France’s Stefan Cohen. Robles finished 5th, his best ever finish at the World 14.1 and first ever top 16 appearance. Cohen and Archer will face off tomorrow in the other semi-finals. If Archer wins, he will be the first American to ever reach the finals of the World 14.1 since its revival four years ago. The winner will get Ortmann or Immonen, neither being a very appetizing prospect.

On the lighter side, The Pro Am World 14.1 event featured sponsors Harold Siegel, Stu Mattana, Bill Haley, Cindy Lee, and VIP guest Joel Schapiro alongwith pros Max Eberle, Earl Herring, Jonni Fulcher, Tony Robles, and Zaid Thweib. Cindy Lee/Max Eberle defeated Schapior/Herring 25-2 in their 14.1 scotch doubles race and then won 25-24 against Haley/Thweib. But Mattana/Fulcher were unstoppable and easily won 25-5 in the finals.

It took the likes of a player such as Immonen to take out former World 14.1 Champ Hohmann.

Fans can watch live online at Accu-Stats for 8 matches per day.
Per day tickets can be bought at the door during the event.

View the Predator World Straight Pool Championship Round Robin Schedule

View the Predator World Straight Pool Championship Round Robin Scores

View the Predator World Straight Pool Championship Double Elimination Round Brackets

View the Predator World Straight Pool Championship Single Elimination Round Brackets

The Mosconi High Run Award will pay $500 to the players with overall high run of the event plus $100 to the highest run each day.
The high run prizes are sponsored by Jay Helfert of Los Angeles CA, and Louis Pannullo of Queens, NY. Mattana and Siegel are adding additional $1000 to any player that breaks the world record of 174.

The 2009 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Predator Cues, Comet Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Ozone Billiards, Laser Rack, Master Chalk and patron sponsors Stu Mattana and Harold Siegel of Excelsior Graphics. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.

Ozone Billiards has been providing pool players with top quality billiard products for more than eight years. Its commitment to customer service has helped Ozone Billiards grow to be one of the largest retailers of billiard supplies in the United States. For more information about Ozone Billiards and its product lines, visit www.ozonebilliards.com

Predator Group, an international billiards industry leader, is focused on bringing constant innovation and game-improving equipment to billiards players worldwide. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, Predator Group’s core brands include Predator Cues – high-end (professional level) cues with revolutionary technology to enhance performance, Poison Billiards – recreational cues with cutting-edge designs and Predator engineering for best-in-class playability, and Uni-Loc® – precision billiards equipment manufacturer. For more information regarding Predator Group’s products, visit www.predatorgroup.com.