Kennedy Takes Second Tour Stop

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J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour / Savannah, GA

by InsidePOOL Staff

Tour director Tommy Kennedy took home first place at the September 26-27 installment of his J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, defeating Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam in the finals. The second stop of the season was hosted by Southside Billiard Club in Savannah, GA, and featured a $1,500-added prize fund.

Kennedy went undefeated through the event, meeting with Mike Staubes in the hot seat match and sending him to face the one-loss side with a 9-2 victory. From there Staubes had to face off against a determined Putnam, who was just off a 9-2 win over J.R. Rossman. Putnam had little trouble with Staubes, eliminating him after a lopsided 9-2 match to advance to the finals. Against Kennedy, though, he foundered, and “TK” won the hard-fought match 11-9.

In the amateur/semi-pro event held Sunday, David Crocker defeated Billy Homes in the finals to take first place. John Hill and Larry Lee rounded out the top four.

Results:
1st Tommy Kennedy $855
2nd Shawn Putnam $550
3rd Mike Staubes $450
4th J.R. Rossman $350
5th Jim Rushing $200
Ron Park
7th Brian Sadowski $100
Chad Stokes

Vidal Victorious at Pro-Am 14.1 Tournament

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North Jersey Straight Pool Pro-Am Quarterly / Parsippany, NJ

by Scott Abramowitz

Marc Vidal ran 93 balls from a negative 1 score to easily win the third quarter 2009 North Jersey 14.1 Straight Pool Pro-Am Quarterly tournament, held at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, during the weekend of September 26-27. If not for a brief lapse in concentration, Vidal would have easily hit the century mark and quite possibly a run-out.

Vidal defeated Bill Horne by a score of 121-11 in the finals. At the outset of the match, both players were evenly handicapped at a skill level 3, with each needing 110 points for a victory. The handicap system of this tournament allows each player of this skill level to run 75 balls without obtaining penalty points. Because Vidal had exceeded his handicap ball run limit, he was assessed with an additional 11 points that was added to his match points (10% of starting match points) and therefore needed 121 points for a win. Also, with that run of 93 balls, Vidal was promoted to a skill level 2, which will take effect in the next tournament he plays in.

Runner-up Horne played well throughout the tournament, despite his crushing defeat from Vidal. Horne had a 46-ball run in his semifinal victory against Joey Kong and other notable ball runs in earlier matches of 52 and 38.

Kong came in third place and held the tournament-high run of 71 balls since his first-round victory over Pat Fleming, only to lose the high-run bonus money of $150 to Vidal’s 93-ball run in the last match of the tournament.

BCA Hall of Famer Pat Fleming finished with a respectable fourth place, despite having displayed more consistency than any of the other player, having double and triple runs over 20 balls in every match he played, except his first match against Kong, for a total of thirteen runs in six matches

Results:
1st Marc Vidal $625
2nd Bill Horne $325
3rd Joey Kong $150

Two in a Row for Wilkie

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Team DMIRO 10-Ball Tour / Roanoke, VA

by Michael Zimmerman

Shaun Wilkie took on all comers at the September 26-27 stop of the Team DMIRO 10-Ball Tour, fending off competitors to take first place. The stop was hosted by Guys and Dolls in Roanoke, VA, and featured a $1,500-added prize fund. This was Wilkie’s second win in two consecutive events on the new tour.

Before the event kicked off, over 22 players challenged Wilkie in a single race. If the amateur won, he or she would receive a free tour card from Team DMIRO. Only one amateur was able to defeat Wilkie—Jon Chisom.

Saturday saw three entrants in the open/pro side of the field. Wilkie defeated Larry Price 7-2, and Mike Andrews received a bye. The amateur bracket had strong competition, with Eric Charliton, Chris Stoneman, and Jon Chisom, along with Tilford Epling. The final four to come back Sunday were Charliton and Epling on the winners’ side, and on the one-loss side Stoneman and Steve Connor returned.

In the first match Sunday, Andrews missed a 10 ball to go hill-hill against Epling, and Epling defeated him 7-5 to advance to the hot seat match. There he faced Charliton, whom had just upset Wilkie by a 7-5 victory. Charliton easily wrested the hot seat from Epling 7-2. On the one-loss side now, Epling had to face off against Wilkie, who ousted him 7-3 to advance to the finals.

During the final match, a single race to 9, Wilkie won the lag and took control of the match. After a few missed opportunities, he was able to defeat Charliton 9-3 and take home his second Team DMIRO win in a row.

Results:
1st Shaun Wilkie $780
2nd Eric Charliton $555
3rd Tilford Epling $325
4th Larry Price $225
5th Mike Andrews $110
Chris Stoneman
7th Steve Connor $55
Johnny Nixon

Winters Takes Joss Tour Opener

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Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / Waterville, ME

by Lea Andrews

Shane Winters didn’t let an early loss to Ivaylo Petrov slow him down—instead he rebounded to make his way through the left side of the bracket to take first place at the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour season opener September 26-27. The $2,000-added event, which featured a total purse of $5,120, drew 39 players to TJ’s Classic Billiards in Waterville, ME.

Having come out on top of Winters despite being the underdog, Petrov went on to emerge as one of the final four on the winners’ side. A 9-6 win over Cleiton Rocha landed him in the hot seat match against Dave Grau, who’d just sent Ray McNamara west 9-5. McNamara’s score got flipped on him, though, as he fell to Petrov 9-5 and moved to the other side to try to earn a rematch.

But he’d have to get through Winters, and no man was up to that challenge, though Dave Fernandez came close, managing to get the match to hill-hill before landing in ninth place. Winters moved on to John Clark, who was coming off a 9-3 win over Tim Perry, and held him to two games. Meanwhile, Nelson Oliveira got past tournament director Mike Zuglan 9-7 and Joe Dupuis 9-4 to meet up with Rocha. A 9-5 victory over Rocha put Oliveira into a quarterfinal matchup with Winters, who’d put McNamara in fifth 9-5. Moving past Oliveira 9-7, Winters arrived in the semifinal match against Grau. Though both men were looking for a rematch with Petrov, it was Winters who earned it with a very decisive 9-1 score.

In the first set of the true double-elimination final match, the two stayed fairly even, with Winters coming out on top 9-7 to push the second set, and on equal ground, it was time for him to dominate. With the score at 2-0, Winters gave up ball in hand on the 7 ball to allow Petrov his only game. Taking rack after rack, Winters closed out the win 9-1.

Results:
1st Shane Winters $1,500
2nd Ivaylo Petrov $1,020
3rd Dave Grau $800
4th Nelson Oliveira $600
5th Ray McNamara $400
Cleiton Rocha
7th Joe Dupuis $200
John Clark

Bennett Crowned King in Fayetteville

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Great Southern Billiard Tour / Fayetteville, NC

by Lea Andrews

In a rare Great Southern Billiard Tour appearance, Keith Bennett went undefeated, holding nothing back on his way to the finals. Though smaller than usual, the turnout for the $1,500-added event was still good as 32 players vied for the cash September 26-27 at King Street Billiards in Fayetteville, NC.

Bennett rode a strong 11-2 victory over Vernon Rogers into the hot seat match, where he faced Philip “Skibo” Britt, who was coming off a 9-6 win over Dave Carver. AA-ranked Bennett held A-ranked Britt to seven games to earn the right to sit in the hot seat and await an opponent in the finals.

Over on the left side of the bracket, King Street Billiards owner Danny Odom got past Greg Little 7-6 only to meet a very familiar face on the tour: hard-charging southpaw Sam Monday. Having run past Don Strickland 11-4, Monday put Odom in seventh 11-5 to face Rogers. Meanwhile, Tony Morrison breezed past JR Poste 9-3 and Younger Chapman 9-7 to face Carver. While Monday allowed Rogers just five games, Morrison allowed Carver all nine, setting up a quarterfinal match-up between Monday and Carver, with Monday coming out on top 11-6 to earn his spot in the semifinals against Britt. Managing only five games, Britt landed in third while Monday moved on to the final match against Bennett.

In the true double-elimination final set, the two Carolina hotshots stayed fairly even at first, knotting up at three, four, and five games apiece before Monday pulled ahead 7-5. Though Bennett managed to tie it back up at 7, Monday rallied, pulling ahead 9-7. In the alternate-break format, Bennett’s break and run put the score at 9-8, and after he took rack 18 to tie it at 9, another break and run put him on the hill. Throughout the set, the men’s confidence in each other’s games had been clear, as shots past the 5 or 6 ball were rare and usually raked instead. In the final rack, though, as Monday looked to be in the middle of the break and run that would make it hill-hill, his uncharacteristic miss on the 6 ball brought Bennett back to the table. Making quick work of what was left, Bennett eased into first 11-9.

Results:
1st Keith Bennett $900
2nd Sam Monday $500
3rd Philip Britt $250
4th Dave Carver $150
5th Vernon Rogers $75
Tony Morrison
7th Danny Odom $50
Younger Chapman

Zimmerman Takes Top Honors at Dominiak Opener

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Dominiak Cues Amateur Northeast 10-Ball Tour / Latham, NY

by InsidePOOL Staff

Despite a beautiful sunny fall day in the Northeast, the first stop of the Dominiak Cues Northeast Amateur 10-Ball Tour season kicked off at Diamond Eight Billiards in Latham, NY, September 26. Out of the 25-player field, Jared Zimmerman emerged with first place firmly intact, having wrested top honors from Tom Acciavatti.

The top half of the winners’ side bracket saw tour newcomer Zimmerman from Mayfield, NY, make his way to the hot seat match after getting a bye in the opening round, notching wins over Jackie Ford, Rich Atlre, and Frank Rich. On the bottom half of the winners’ side, tour regular Acciavatti was playing steady and got by Paul Oickard in the first round and continued to the hot seat match with wins over Walter Rogowsi, Chuck Hill, and Frank Majesky. The hot seat match was a closely contested battle, with Zimmerman coming out on top.

Rich was the player who made his way through the one-loss side to meet up with Acciavatti and play for a spot in the race-to-5 finals. This match went hill-hill, with Acciavatti coming out on top after a unforced error by Rich.

The finals kicked off with Zimmerman getting out to an early 3-0 lead. But after an error by Zimmerman, Acciavatti clawed his way back into the match with a win to make it 3-1. Zimmerman again appeared to take control of the match by winning the next game and getting to the hill with a score of 4-1, but again Acciavatti countered with a win, and then he took the next two racks as well, making it a hill-hill bout. The final game went back and forth with a couple balls tied up and both players playing cautiously. Finally an opening came for Zimmerman to run out and take the match with a combo on the 10 ball off the 9 ball. It hit the center of the pocket, and Zimmerman took home the title to the season opener.

Results:
1st Jared Zimmerman $250
2nd- Tom Acciavatti $150
3rd Frank Rich $90
4th Frank Majewski $70
5thChuck Hill $20
Walter Rogowski

Manalo Manhandles Ginky in Queens

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Manalo Manhandles Ginky in Queens
Tri-State Tour / Queens, NY

by InsidePOOL Staff

A small but strong field of 20 hungry players showed up for the September 26 installment of the Tri-State Tour, with Marlon Manalo of the Philippines leading the pack all the way to the winner’s circle. Master Billiards in Queens, NY, hosted the $1,000-added event, which featured an open 9-ball format.

Manalo had little trouble throughout the tournament, walking over Jorge Rodriguez in the winners’ side final four 9-2 to reach the hot seat match. Meeting him there was George “Ginky” Sansouci, who had just come off a similarly uneven victory over Frankie Hernandez 9-3. While the resulting match was a bit closer score-wise, still Manalo advanced with few worries, sending Sansouci to the west side of the chart 9-6.

Advancing to meet Rodriguez in the one-loss side was Danny Cintron, who had just sent Tony Eglesias home in seventh place 9-1. Cintron kept the momentum going with a 9-7 victory, earning a ticket to the quarterfinals. His opponent was John Alicea, who was also fighting his way through the west side with wins over Scott Simonetti 9-3 and Hernandez 9-3. Alicea earned a shot at Sansouci in the semifinals with a 9-6 win over Cintron but couldn’t overcome “Ginky,” who bested him 9-6 and sent him home in third place. In the finals it was all Manalo, though, as he took an early lead and kept it going throughout the match, winning 9-6.

Results:
1st Marlon Manalo $730
2nd George Sansouci $350
3rd John Alicea $200
4th Danny Cintron $120

Mohegan Sun to Host Pro Billiards Extraganza of the Year

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Champions from around the world will go head-to-head in a three-day extravaganza of professional billiards. The International Challenge of Champions, International Tournament of Champions and World Cup of Trick Shots will be held October 27 – 29 at Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT.

The three events are widely considered the toughest tournaments to win in professional billiards. Once each year international champions are brought together in sudden-death shootouts with pressure-cooker formats and the highest prize money in special events. The winners claim one of the most coveted titles in pool – Champion of Champions!
On October 27 the International Challenge of Champions includes top stars in the sport. Jian-Bo Fu, from China, returns to defend his crown as 2008 Champion of Champions. Mika Immonen, 2008 U.S. Open Champion, will represent Finland. Darren Appleton, 2008 World 10-Ball Champion, will represent England. Niels Feijen, 2008 Euro Tour Champion and 2007 Champion of Champions, will represent the Netherlands.

On October 28 the International Tournament of Champions presents the top Women players in the world. Allison Fisher, 2009 Hall of Fame and Five Time Champion of Champions. Kelly Fisher, 2008 Player of the Year and 2008 U.S. Open Classic Tour Champion. Monica Webb, 2008 WPBA Nationals Champion and 2009 San Diego Classic Champion. Xiaoting Pan, 2008 Generation Pool Classic Champion and 2007 WPA World 9-Ball Champion.

On October 29 the World Cup of Trick Shots will present Team USA vs. Team Europe, with eight international stars contending for the Gold Medal. Andy Segal, 2009 Trick Shot Magic Champion, will captain Team USA. Stefano Pelinga, 2009 Euro Trick Shot Champion, will captain Team Europe. Team USA also includes champions Tom Rossman, Bruce Barthelette and Mike Massey. Team Europe includes champions Luke Szywala, Nick Nikolaidis and Ralph Eckert.

The three events are each regarded as the supreme test of skill in billiards. The players are so evenly matched that any one player could beat the others on a given day. The International Challenge of Champions and the International Tournament of Champions are 9-Ball, with a format of two sets and a 1-game sudden death tie-breaker in the event of tied sets. The format for World Cup of Trick Shots requires Team members to execute a challenge shot of their choice, and their opponents must duplicate the shot or lose a point. The sudden death tie-breaker to decide a match requires an incredible eight rail bank shot onto the face of a $100 bill. All in all, the three events are the wildest shootout of the year.

Mohegan Sun, the host site, will make all three events ADMISSION FREE to pool fans. On Tuesday, October 27, the three matches for the International Challenge of Champions will begin at 3PM. On Wednesday, October 28, the three matches for the International Tournament of Champions will begin at 3PM. On Thursday, October 29, the three matches for the World Cup of Trick Shots will begin at 3PM. The events will be held in the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun and those attending must be 21 years of age or older.

The trophies and the checks will be presented by Mohegan Sun and Fusion Billiards Tables. The tournaments are also sponsored by Aramith Tournament Balls, Simonis Cloth, Mueller Recreational Products, Executive Billiards Delta-13 Racks, Silver Cup Chalk and AcCue Shot Training Device.

The 2009 events will be produced by Billiards International, Ltd. Those attending should arrive early for each tournament session. Make plans today to attend International Challenge of Champions, International Tournament of Champions and World Cup of Trick Shots. For information call Mohegan Sun toll free at 1-888-226-7711 or log on to www.mohegansun.com

Billiard Congress of America Announces International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo Date Change

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Expo Will Take Place in Las Vegas on Wednesday, July 14 – Friday, July 16, 2010

Broomfield, Colo. – September 15, 2009 ­ – The Billiard Congress of America today announced that it has changed the date of its 2010 International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo to Wednesday, July 14 through Friday, July 16, 2010 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. There have been no changes to the location, exhibit halls or floor plans of the Expo.

“This unanimous vote of the BCA Board of Directors finally puts the show date issue to rest,” said Ivan Lee, chairman of the BCA Board of Directors. “We believe that by going back to the original trade show timeframe, we will have the best opportunity to attract a larger attendance of buyers. In addition to the date change, we have also adjusted which days the Expo is held, to Wednesday through Friday. This change is designed to enable more buyers to attend the Expo before heading back to their businesses for weekend sales. While we felt confident that we made the changes for the right reasons, it is important to note that we have received overwhelming support for the date change from all of the exhibitors contracted for 2010.”

Established in 1983, The International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo provides industry manufacturers, distributors, retailers, dealers and poolroom operators an annual venue for new business opportunities, including education, new products and networking. The International Billiard & Home Entertainment Expo is sponsored exclusively by the Billiard Congress of America. For more information, please visit www.bcaexpo.com or call 303.243.5070.
BCA logo About Billiard Congress of America

About the BCA

Founded in 1948, the Billiard Congress of America is a non-profit trade organization dedicated to growing a united, prosperous and highly regarded billiard industry through BCA leadership. The BCA seeks to enhance the success of its members and promote the game of billiards through education, marketing and promotional efforts, an annual industry trade show, tournaments and other programs designed to encourage billiards as a lifestyle and make pool everybody’s games. For more information, please visit www.bca-pool.com or call 303.243.5070.

New Champions Crowned in Galveston

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Korean phenom, Yu Ram Cha, certainly had her work cut out for her going into day 5 of the Women’s Pro 9-Ball Tournament at the Galveston World Classic, but would prove to be up for the challenge. Cha had suffered a loss in early rounds to Allison Fisher but would have her chance at revenge. After taking down the former European Champion, Line Kjorsvik, Cha would have to beat Fisher twice in this true double elimination tournament.

Taking an early lead at 4-0 in this race to 9, Cha seemed to be very much in control of the match. However, in the winner break format, you can never count Fisher out. Fisher finally got a good look at the table and closed Cha’s lead to 6-5. It would be all Cha from that point on as she went on to win 10 games in a row, closing out the first set 9-5 and running thru the beginning of the second set 6-0. It looked as if Cha would shut Fisher out in the second race, which was a race to 7, but she had an unfortunate scratch on the 9ball to give Fisher her only game in that set. Yu Ram Cha won her first major title in the U.S. and pocketed $6,000 for her efforts this week as Fisher would take home $3,000 for second.

Although there were only two matches in the One-Pocket division, they were matches that will surely be remembered. Cliff Joyner defeated the aggressive, John Macias in the first match of the day and would wait to see which former one-pocket champion he would face next in the semi finals. On the winners’ side, Shannon Daulton played a near perfect match as he and Efren Reyes executed one magnificent shot after another in their quest for the hot-seat. Shannon was well on his way to a shut out but in game 3 when both players were tied at 7 balls, Daulton missed a bank on the final ball which had a little too much speed which opened up a tough cut shot for Reyes. Reyes made it look effortless as he cut in his final ball to close Daulton’s lead to 2-1. Daulton went on to win the match 3-1 and will face the winner of Efren Reyes and Cliff Joyner on Thursday.

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On the Amateur side, local favorite, Nick Hood, has a great tournament but would have to settle for 4th place as he was eliminated by Josh O’Neal of Tennessee. O’Neal would go on to face another Houston local, Shane Manaole, and was eliminated in 3rd place. Manaole would have his shot at revenge on Justin Hall in the finals as Hall was Manaole’s only loss which happened in the finals of the winners’ bracket. This final match which was worth a $5,000 difference in prize money, would be no different than their first meeting as Justin Hall put Manaole away to earn his first major title and $10,000 for first place. Manaole would have to settle for $5,000.

In preparation for the Open 10-Ball event that will begin on Wednesday, the Open 8-Ball event was a marathon of matches as many players finished up to 6 matches on Tuesday. The final four on the winners side will match up Wednesday morning. Ronnie Alcano will face Larry Nevel and Roberto Gomez will play Goh Takami. Top players who are already eliminated include Stevie Moore, Mika Immonen, Ronnie Wiseman, Shannon Daulton, Raj Hundal, Charlie Williams, Jeremy Jones, Earl Strickland, Oscar Dominguez and Warren Kiamco.

The challenge match for Wednesday is Gabe Owen versus Scott Frost in a race to 6 format in one pocket.