by InsidePOOL Staff

Half of the undefeated players at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships have gone through two rounds of play, while on the west side of the chart, the elimination rounds have begun. This year’s event brought 250 players to the Chesapeake Conference Center to vie for their piece of the $175,000 prize fund.

InsidePOOL’s 2010 Amateur Player of the Year, Raymond Linares, had a tough draw but bested Jonathan Demet 11-6 in the first round before facing off with Lee Vann Corteza in the second. An 11-1 loss sent him to the one-loss side, where he will play Hayato Hajikata.

Jesse Engel, the 19-year-old who wowed spectators last year with back-to-back victories over Earl Strickland 11-10 and Mike Sigel 11-1, bested S. Suryawanshi 11-3 in the first round but suffered a second-round loss to Jundel Mazon 11-8. His first opponent on the one-loss side will be Mark Horn.

Jesse Engel, the 19-year-old who wowed spectators last year with back-to-back victories over Strickland 11-10 and Sigel 11-1, bested S. Suryawanshi 11-3 in the first round but suffered a second-round loss to Jundel Mazon 11-8. His first opponent on the one-loss side will be Mark Horn.

Famed Los Angeles player Ernesto Dominguez was defeated in the first round by Tim Colvin 11-6 but fought back in the second round by whitewashing Shaun Moylan 11-0. Dominguez’s next challenge will be former junior champion Brittany Bryant.

The live scoring will be provided by ProPool.com and posted at Inside POOL TV Live U.S. Open Scoring and the tournament brackets will be updated continuously and posted at:

U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Bracket 1

Corey Deuel, who won this event in 2001 from the west side, recovered from his first-round loss to Li Wen Lo 11-8 and eliminated Aradhana Naik 11-1 to advance. “The Korean Dragon” was slain in the second round by Robb Saez 11-6 and will have to get past Cleiton Rocha in the next round. Mike Davis was also defeated in the second round by England’s Mark Gray 11-7 and will have to face Canada’s John Morra next. Virginians Chris Bruner and Larry Kressel are both on the west side, having been bested by Niels Feijen 11-4 and Larry Nevel 11-5, respectively.

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by InsidePOOL Staff

The 36th installment of the prestigious U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships kicked off in Chesapeake, VA, October 16 at the Chesapeake Conference Center, where 251 players converged to vie for their share of the $50,000-added prize purse.

Past champions in attendance include Allen Hopkins, Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Ralf Souquet, Shane Van Boening, Mike Lebron, Gabe Owen, Alex Pagulayan, Nick Varner, and Tommy Kennedy.

Champion in 2001, Corey Deuel suffered a surprising first-round loss to Li Wen Lo 11-8, so if he intends to reclaim the title, he will have to do so from the one-loss side as he did in 2001.

Reigning champion Darren Appleton scored a bye in the first round and will play Robert Hart, who went double-hill with Mike Badstuebner and won, in the next round.

Japan is well-represented in this event, with top players such as Toru Kuribayashi, Kengo Matsumoto, Naoyuki Oi, and reigning world 9-ball champion Yukio Akagariyama. Kenichi Uchigaki won his first-round match over Tommy Kennedy 11-9 and will advance to play Harvey Shognosh in the next round.

Appleton is always a major threat to snap off a big event.

The live scoring will be posted at Inside POOL TV Live U.S. Open Scoringand the tournament brackets will be updated continuously and posted at:

U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Bracket 1

U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Bracket 2

England also has a strong contingent at this year’s Open. In addition to Appleton, Chris Melling, the reigning China Open champion is here, as well as former world 9-ball champ Daryl Peach, Karl Boyes, Jason Shaw, and Mark Gray.

The Filipino factor seems to be less this year—former champ Alex Pagulayan is here, as is Antonio Gabica, Antonio Lining, and Lee Vann Corteza.

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The 2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball live real time scoring and tournament brackets will be provided by ProPool.com. The event will be held October 16-22, 2011 at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA and will feature 251 of the world’s greatest billiards players including Earl Strickland, Ralf Souquet, Nick Varner, and Johnny Archer.

The 2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball live scoring and tournament brackets will be provided by ProPool.com.

The live scoring will be posted at Inside POOL TV Live U.S. Open Scoring and the tournament brackets will be updated continuously and posted at:

U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Bracket 1

U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Bracket 2

U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Bracket 3

U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Bracket 4

The action starts at 11am EST on October 16 and will continue through October 22.

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Propool.com has taken almost two decades of accumulating statistics, refined them, and created a system to rating the playing ability of players from all over the world. These ratings can be used to handicap weekly tournaments, leagues and even one-on-one match-ups. See more at Propool.com.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Mika Immonen, winner of two U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, triumphed at the Masters 10-Ball Championship by cruising to an undefeated victory in the finals over Ralf Souquet. The $25,000-added Masters was hosted by the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, March 1-5.

Immonen, winner of two U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, triumphed at the Masters 10-Ball Championship by cruising to an undefeated victory in the finals over Souquet.

Surviving a featured match-up against Earl Strickland that went double-hill put Immonen into the final four on the winners’ side facing Souquet for the first time in the event. Immonen swept the German aside 8-2 by taking the lead from the start to advance to the hot seat match.

His opponent there was Mike Davis, who had been responsible earlier for the 8-4 defeat of Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam. After facing down Putnam Davis went on to play Mike Dechaine, and their match went neck and neck before Davis finally edged ahead to an 8-6 win. Against Immonen, though, Davis was quickly pushed to the west side of the chart 8-2 while the Finn awaited a finals opponent.

Strickland was not down for the count yet and went through the one-loss side, eliminating Dennis Hatch 8-6 and Rodney Morris 8-6 before being stopped by Dechaine 8-2. Dechaine moved on to the quarterfinal match, where he faced Souquet, who had just ousted Putnam at fifth place 8-2. Dechaine met with a similar fate, as Souquet forged ahead and relegated him to fourth place.

Davis put up more of a fight against Souquet, as the two battled back and forth for control in the semifinals. Souquet was the one left standing at the end of it, and he earned his rematch with Immonen 9-7, with Davis taking third. Immonen played excellently in the finals against Souquet, and he was able to secure the title 10-4.

Per the press release dated March 5 on AZBilliards.com, Barry Behrman has paid out the players who came in 9th through 24th in cash and has issued eight post-dated checks for the balance, each dated one week apart, to the remaining eight players.

Results:
1st Mika Immonen $15,000
2nd Ralf Souquet $7,000
3rd Mike Davis $5,000
4th Mike Dechaine $4,000
5th Shawn Putnam $3,000
Earl Strickland
7th Rodney Morris $2,000
Johnny Archer
9th Alex Pagulayan $1,500
Shane Winters
Warren Kiamco
Dennis Hatch
13th Tommy Kennedy $800
Corey Deuel
Charlie Williams
Jundel Mazon
17th Gabe Owen $600
Jesse Engel
Chris Loar
Brian Brekke
Chris Orme
Shane Van Boening
John Morra
Stevie Moore

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by InsidePOOL Staff

The winners’ side of the Masters 10-Ball Championship has come down to its final four players, while eight remain on the one-loss side. The Masters is being hosted by the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, and began with a field of 60 players.

The winners’ side of the Masters 10-Ball Championship has come down to its final four players, while eight remain on the one-loss side.

Mika Immonen, who has experienced much success in that venue, came through his match with former Virginia State champion Chris Loar with an 8-3 win and then went up against Hall of Fame member Earl Strickland, who had just defeated Charlie Williams 8-3. It was a nail-biter, but ultimately Immonen was the one to advance 8-7.

Immonen’s next opponent will be Ralf Souquet, another who has had success in Chesapeake. Souquet delivered to the west side Jundel Mazon, who was responsible for Johnny Archer’s loss in the previous round, and then had another tight match with Rodney Morris that saw the German advance 8-7. Morris had just defeated Alex Pagulayan 8-4.

Two Americans match up in the second bout. Mike “Fireball” Dechaine sent Stevie Moore to the one-loss side 8-6 to advance to meet Shane Winters, whom he bested 8-5. In the previous round Winters had given Dennis Hatch his first defeat 8-4.

Dechaine’s opponent will be Mike Davis, who has been on fire at this event. His most recent conquests include an 8-3 win over Corey Deuel and then an 8-4 victory over Shawn Putnam, who had just sent Shane Van Boening to the west side 8-5.

On the one-loss side, Hatch and Strickland will be the featured match-up. Also playing will be Warren Kiamco versus Morris, Archer versus Winters, and Pagulayan versus Putnam.

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by InsidePOOL Staff

The Masters 10-Ball Championship is in its third day with another two to go at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA. Thirty-two players remain undefeated as yet, while the one-loss side is undergoing serious culling this afternoon.

The Masters 10-Ball Championship is in its third day with another two to go at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA.

On the right side of the chart, Earl Strickland is poised to match up with Charlie Williams, having defeated Eddie Richards 8-1 and Gabe Owen in a close 8-6 match. The winner of their match will face the winner of the Chris Loar versus Mika Immonen match. Loar, a former Virginia state champion, will have his hands full with Immonen, who has won two U.S. Opens in the same venue as the Masters.

Jundel Mazon upset Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer 8-5 and will next play Ralf Souquet, a former U.S. Open winner. Souquet earlier defeated Eddie Abraham 8-6 and Hunter Lombardo 8-3. The winner there faces the winner between Alex Pagulayan and Rodney Morris, two of the game’s most entertaining players. Pagulayan has won three titles already this year and can’t be counted out at the Masters.

Mike “Fireball” Dechaine and Stevie Moore will go head to head in the next winners’ side round. Dechaine whitewashed both Gary Creasy and Sam Monday, while Moore defeated John Mitcheltree 8-4 and Chris Orme 8-6. The winner there will face the winner of the Shane Winters and Dennis Hatch match.

In yet another excellent pairing, Shane Van Boening will play Shawn Putnam in the next round. Van Boening has already defeated Michael Fuller 8-4 and Brandon Shuff 8-0, while Putnam bested So Shaw 8-1 and John Morra in a hill-hill match. The winner of their match will play the winner between Mike Davis and Corey Deuel.

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The Master

The Tournament Directors for the Master’s 10-Ball Championship in Chesapeake, VA, Ken Shuman and Jay Helfert, in conjunction with the promoters of the event, Shannon Behrman Paschall and Barry Behrman, in order to accommodate the many players who are traveling from events in the United Arab Emirates and Reno and who are encountering weather delays along the way, have decided to push back the players meeting and entry deadline by 15 hours to 11AM on Tuesday, March 1. Further, all late fees have been waived.

This will allow the players who might have been prevented from attending the championship the opportunity to participate in this BCA ranking event. Players may now contact Shannon Behrman Paschall at 757-499-8900 or through email at: USOpen9ball@yahoo.com to arrange their entries. Matches will begin at 1PM after all players are feted to a complimentary lunch immediately following the players meeting. We look forward to seeing you at the Chesapeake Conference Center for this Championship.

by InsidePOOL Staff

It was an epic final match between two stars of the game, but in the end, Darren Appleton was the first English player to be crowned U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion. The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships were held this past week at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, and boasted a $50,000-added prize purse.

Appleton went undefeated through the 256-player field.

Appleton went undefeated through the 256-player field, arriving in the hot seat match by virtue of wins over Corey Deuel, David Alcaide, Efren Reyes, fellow countryman Jayson Shaw, Ronnie Alcano, Zion Zvi, and Ronald Tutien. To cap off a challenging road to that point, waiting for him was two-time defending champion Mika Immonen, ready to put a third Open feather in his cap.

A rule change this year was implemented: On the final day, to win a match a player needed to win by two games. This came into effect first during Deuel’s match with Warren Kiamco in the quarterfinals. Their score seesawed to 10-all, then 11-all. Kiamco inched ahead to 12-11 when Deuel scratched on the break, but Deuel won the safety battle in the next rack to knot the score again. Deuel ended up with ball in hand to reach 13-12, and when he broke the following rack, the 1-9 combo lined up perfectly for a 14-12 victory.

The hot seat match started off equally, but Appleton began pulling ahead to go up 7-2. Two errors and then a break and run gave Immonen three racks, but then the Finn scratched on the break, and Appleton made it 8-5. They traded the next couple of racks, and then Immonen moved closer after an empty break by Appleton and then a break and run-out of his own, making it 9-8. A safety battle saw Appleton emerge victorious in the following rack, but Immonen grabbed the next game. Now at 10-9 in Appleton’s favor, Immonen executed a tough cut on the 4 ball but then hung the 7 ball. Unable to believe his luck, Appleton dropped the 7, the 8, let out a “Wooooo!” and Immonen conceded the 9.

After two such close matches, the semifinal match was a bit anticlimactic. Deuel was primed from his narrow victory over Kiamco, and though the first six games were split to make the score 3-all, that was where Immonen’s tournament ended. Deuel charged him for every mistake and also had a few break and run-outs to nudge the score up gradually to win 11-3.

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships 256-player tournament brackets (updated continuously)

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Final 8-player tournament brackets (updated continuously)

No one could describe the final match as anything but a complete nail-biter, though. The score went back and forth to 4-all before a leader emerged. Appleton pulled ahead to 8-4 after a couple of misses by Deuel and a break and run-out. But Deuel got back in the match easily enough, and soon the score was 9-8 Appleton. The finals were meant to be a race to 13, but with the winner needing to win by two racks, it was impossible to predict. The two fought back and forth, with Appleton maintaining a slight edge always. That is, until the score evened at 11 apiece. Then a break and run by Deuel gave him the advantage. But a dry break by Deuel restored parity, and then a break and run-out by Appleton gave him the edge at 13-12. A missed 2-7 combo gave the next rack to Deuel, but Appleton edged back up with a fantastic jump shot on the 4 ball. Up 14-13 and needing one last rack to win the $40,000 first-place prize, Appleton broke, and it looked as though nothing was going to drop at first, but the 8 ball slowly rolled into the side pocket. It was a fairly easy layout for Appleton, who nevertheless took his time sinking each ball. Another “Wooooo!” after the 7 ball, then he sank the 9 ball and fell to the floor, the 2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion.

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2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 1

272 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 2

150 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 3

132 Photos

Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

40 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 4

162 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 5

368 Photos

by InsidePOOL Staff

In the third round of the winners’ bracket at the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, played Wednesday evening at the Chesapeake Conference Center, past champions of the event seemed to have the advantage. Of the 32 players in the first wave of the evening round, 6 were former winners, and all 6 won their match.

Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer, whose amazing comeback against Dennis Orcollo is touted as the best match of the event as yet, whizzed through his match with Cleiton Rocha in record time, besting his opponent 11-2. Archer, the 1999 champ, will move on to meet Stevie Moore, who bested Jeff Crawford 11-4, in the next round.

In the third round of the winners’ bracket at the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, played Wednesday evening at the Chesapeake Conference Center, past champions of the event seemed to have the advantage. Of the 32 players in the first wave of the evening round, 6 were former winners, and all 6 won their match.

Winner in 1996, “Rocket” Rodney Morris finished his match quickly, besting Michael Fuller 11-3. Defending champion Mika Immonen also was one of the first to finish, sending Max Eberle to the one-loss side 11-5. 2002 victor, Germany’s Ralf Souquet won his match swiftly as well when he delivered Brandon Shuff to the west side by a decisive 11-2 score.

Gabe Owen, 2004 champion, had a close match with Brian Parks that seesawed to 8-all before Owen kicked it up a notch and surged ahead to win 11-8.

Hall of Fame member Nick Varner, who won this event in 1989 and 1990 (the only other player to have won back-to-back U.S. Open titles besides Immonen), had a difficult fight in his match with Ernesto Dominguez. In another seesaw battle, Varner finally reached the hill first, and though Dominguez joined him there soon, it was ultimately Varner who moved on undefeated.

In the second wave of winners’ side matches, two of the three past champions won their matches. Corey Deuel, champ in 2001, came back from a two-rack deficit throughout most of his match against Joshua Burbel to triumph 10-8. Mike “The Mouth” Sigel, winner in 1976, 1980, and 1983, was up against Ivaylo Petrov for their entire match and won easily 11-5.

But probably the most closely watched match in the second wave was the one between young gun Jesse Engel and Earl Strickland. From an early lead, Strickland fell behind to Engel and trailed throughout the match. Once Engel reached a 9-6 lead, Strickland made his move, winning the next four racks to reach the hill. Engel joined him there and then won the match 11-10, disappointing pool fans everywhere, for had Strickland won, he would have played Sigel in the next round.

The Filipino players had a rough time of it in the winners’ bracket Wednesday. Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante advanced over Tomoo Takano 11-2 and Oscar Dominguez 11-6, respectively. But their fellow countrymen went west. Jose Parica was defeated by Daryl Peach 11-6, Warren Kiamco lost to Chris Orme 11-7, Lee Van Corteza was bested by Thorsten Hohmann 11-7 in a magnificent come-from-behind victory, Manny Chau won his double-hill match with Ramil Gallego, and Darren Appleton defeated Ronnie Alcano 11-7.

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships 256-player tournament brackets (updated continuously)

Live streaming provided by Accu-Stats.

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2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 1

272 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 2

150 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 3

132 Photos

Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

40 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 4

162 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 5

368 Photos

Monday evening saw the bottom half of the massive 256-player bracket in play, with many of the players moving on hailing from the Philippines. The 35th installment of the U.S. Open began Sunday and will run throughout the week at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA.

BCA Hall of Fame member Efren “Bata” Reyes has won his first two matches over Nick Tafoya 11-3 and Ben Judge 11-7, remaining undefeated as yet.

BCA Hall of Fame member Efren “Bata” Reyes has won his first two matches over Nick Tafoya 11-3 and Ben Judge 11-7, remaining undefeated as yet. Joining him on the winners’ bracker is Francisco Bustamante, who is to be inducted into the Hall of Fame later this week. Bustamante has notched victories over Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam 11-9 and Michael Yednak 11-1.

However, their fellow countrymen haven’t let them down. Warren Kiamco has scored impressive wins over Richard Burns 11-2 and Chris Bartram 11-7, while Ramil Gallego defeated both Belinda Beardon-Calhoun 11-7 and Germany’s Ralf Eckert 11-3.

“The Leader of the Filipino Invasion,” Jose Parica, has won both of his matches so far, sending Jason Johann and Dave Bollman west 11-4 and 11-8, respectively. Lee Van Corteza, who placed fourth in last year’s Open, is also on a roll, having bested Alexander Fitzgerald 11-2 and Amy Chen 11-3. Former world champion Ronnie Alcano also remained unscathed, with his victories over Justin Hall 11-6 and Jason Richko 11-7.

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships tournament bracket 1 (updated continuously)

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships tournament bracket 2 (updated continuously)

Live streaming provided by Accu-Stats.

Mike “The Mouth” Sigel is going strong with two victories as yet over Walter Blacker 11-5 and Ray Reyna 11-4. Right below him, Earl Strickland is also undefeated. If the two of them win their next match, they will meet in Round Four.

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 1

272 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 2

150 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 3

132 Photos

Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

40 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 4

162 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 5

368 Photos

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