May

World 10-Ball Championships Underway

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Pool Tour News

World 10-ball Championships Underway

World 10-ball Championships / Jacksonville, FL
by Rick Davis
The World 10-ball Championships got underway May 24 at Bank Shots in Jacksonville, FL, and will continue until Sunday, May 27. The event has a full 96-player field that spans top touring national and international pros, as well as a host of others who were able to throw their hat in the ring.
Starting with double-elimination play the 96-player field will reach the top 16 on Saturday when the players will be randomly shuffled into a single-elimination chart for which the top 8 will return for the event’s final day of play. The long races to 10, paired with the alternating-break format, are helping to hold off any lopsided matches, although it is keeping the event moving at anything but a rapid pace.
Action on the first day saw the field’s two youngest players, Landon Shuffett and John Morra, stay alive on the one-loss side. Morra headed west quickly after a 10-7 defeat by Wayne Catledge, while Shuffett took an early win before heading over. Another young gun is Germany’s Fabian Breuer, who also took a first-round win before getting the axe 10-8 by Niels Feijen.
Not everyone was begging for scraps at the table, though, as Northeast terror Mike Davis defeated Dave Broxson and Raj Hundal bested Steve Moore, both matches going double-hill. In the previous round Moore had cut down top pro Santos Sambajon Jr. 10-5, though now an uphill battle is ahead. Other notables include Shane Van Boening, who crushed Alvaro Valientie 10-2 and Ignacio Chavez, who drilled Russian world-beater Evgeny Stalev 10-4.
Play starts early and runs late in order to thin out the big field, so stay tuned to insidepoolmag.com for the latest news and updates.

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May

Testa Tops in Atlantic City

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Testa Tops at Atlantic City Billiards Club

Blaze 9-ball Tour / Atlantic City, NJ
by Rick Davis
Going undefeated, Joey Testa took the May 20 stop of the Blaze 9-ball Tour, mostly uncontested during his run at Atlantic City Billiards Club in Atlantic City, NJ, where a 32-player field turned out to be put through the grinder.
In the hot seat match Testa faced Shaun Wilkie, a regular on the tour and all-around top player in the Northeast, and blew him out 7-3 in no time. Previously both players iced some of the tour favorites, including Testa’s double-hill win over Al Lapena and Wilkie’s win over Mike Fingers with that same result.
With Testa king of the hill, Wilkie headed west to face Lapena and, after recovering his stroke, eliminated him by virtue of a 7-3 defeat. Testa was waiting for whoever managed to return to the finals, and although Wilkie intended to provide stiffer competition, Testa began to drill him once again. In no time at all Testa once again skipped past Wilkie 7-3 to claim the first-place title of the Blaze 9-ball Tour’s thirteenth stop.
Results:
1st Joey Testa
2nd Shaun Wilkie
3rd Al Lapena
4th Rob Pole
5th Adam Kielar
Bob Maidhof