Defending champ vs. the world’s best woman player in the history of pool. Who would win? That was the big question and it got answered in a big way as Allison Fisher took the title from 2-time U.S. Open Champion Ga Young Kim in a heated battle that Allison won 7-4.

Fisher won the opening break, but couldn’t capitalize, giving the first game win to Kim. But Allison quickly tied things up after Ga Young missed a jump shot, then broke and ran the next two racks to lead 3-1 in the race to seven.

In game five, players traded safes for a few shots until Kim got the first clear look at a shot and ran out to trail 2-3. In game six, a missed bank on the two by Kim again put Allison in the driver’s seat. She ran the rack… to the nine… and uncharacteristically missed, leaving Ga Young Kim an easy nine to tie the match 3-3. She broke and ran to the five, nearly missing it but slopping it in the other corner (with apologies to her opponent), then made a 6-9 combination to pull ahead 4-3.

Fisher won the opening break, but couldn't capitalize, giving the first game win to Kim. But Allison quickly tied things up after Ga Young missed a jump shot, then broke and ran the next two racks to lead 3-1 in the race to seven.

Breaking in game eight, Kim ran to the three, played safe, but the cue ball slow rolled its way into the corner pocket. Fisher played safe and Kim kicked and made a ball, but missed a bank. Allison played a long six ball and caromed in the nine to tie it up 4-4!

A scratch on a safety attempt in the next game might have resulted in a runout for Kim, but missed position on the five ball caused a miss on a tough five. Allison ran out to again lead the match, 5-4. Fisher broke in game ten and played safe on the one. Ga Young made the hit with her jump cue, but left Allison a clear shot on the one. She executed a perfect runout to get to the hill 6-4!

Allison broke, pocketed the five on the break, made the one ball and then… made a 2-9 combination for the WIN! Visit wpba.com/2011usopen.pdf for a blow by blow of the final match!

About the Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA)

The WPBA was established in 1976 as the Women’s Professional Billiard Alliance, and celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2011 as the oldest pro player organization in the sport. The WPBA sanctions and produces the Women’s Pro Billiard Tour, which features ESPN-televised events with the world’s greatest women players. Visit www.wpba.com for more. The WPBA Classic Tour is sponsored by the American Poolplayers Association, Diamond Billiards, Iwan Simonis, Cuetec Cues, Delta 13, Pooldawg, Mueller Recreational Products and Aramith.

About River Spirit Casino
River Spirit Casino, Tulsa’s $195 million casino project at 81st & Riverside, showcases 300,000 square feet of gaming space and is one of the largest gaming floors in Oklahoma. With over 2,600 high-tech electronic machines, 24 table games and 15 poker tables, River Spirit Casino offers the most current technology and latest games available. The facility features four world-class dining and beverage venues including the largest casino buffet in Oklahoma, a fine dining establishment, a 24-hour café, lounge and sports bar. For more information on River Spirit Casino please visit the website. www.riverspirittulsa.com
As an active community partner, River Spirit Casino provides a positive economic impact for Tulsa and surrounding towns, adding 450 new jobs to the city. Proceeds from gaming operations help to fund a variety of Muscogee (Creek) Nation service programs such as housing, education, elderly assistance and healthcare. For more on the tribe’s history and government, visit the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s site at www.muscogeenation-nsn.gov

About River Spirit Event Center
The newly renovated River Spirit Event Center is located at the site of the former Creek Nation Casino – Tulsa at 81st and Riverside Drive. The venue has nearly 20,000 sq. ft of useable space for sporting events, entertainment, conventions and meetings and all amenities.

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Action Pool Tour (APT) held its inaugural event at Top Hat Cue Club in Parkville, MD, June 11-12 and attracted an exceptional field of 58 participants. Matt Krah went undefeated through the field to take the title, fending off a charge from Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie in the finals.

Day 1 provided some great match-ups and a few surprises. Kevin West suffered an 8-7 first-round loss to Lay Thammavong, while Wilkie came dangerously close to a second-round loss to Greg Sabins. By the end of the first day, four players—Brett Stottlemyer, Wilkie, Rick Moliniero, and Krah—remained in the winners’ bracket and eight players—Alvin Thomas, Ozzy Reynolds, Mark Ford, Sean Morgan, Kevin West, Rob Metz, Alan Duty, and Michael Wong—remained on the one-loss side.

Pictured left to right: Ozzy Reynolds, Matt Krah, Shaun Wilkie, Rick Moliniero

The second day of the event began with Wilkie handing Stottlemyer his first loss 8-3, while Krah dominated Moliniero 8-2. This set up the hot seat match between Wilkie and Krah. The match was close throughout, but with the score tied 7-7, Krah came through in the end to win the final game and secure his spot in the finals.

On the west side, Moliniero displayed some terrific shooting and stunned Stottlemyer 8-3 to advance to the semifinals against Wilkie, which Wilkie won convincingly 8-2. In the finals, a rematch of the hot seat match, Wilkie had to best Krah twice to take the win in the true double-elimination format. But Krah would have no part of it. He seemed to work the cue ball around the table effortlessly and took the final match by a score of 8-2.

Results:
1st Matt Krah $1,000
2nd Shaun Wilkie $600
3rd Rick Moliniero $350
4th Brett Stottlemyer $250
5th Alan Duty $150
Alvin Thomas
7th Kevin West $100
Mark Ford
9th Michael Wong $60
Ozzy Reynolds
Sean Morgan
Rob Metz

ENGLAND’S CHRIS MELLING STEAMROLLS CHINESE-TAIPEI’S HSU KAI LUN TO WIN THE CHINA OPEN 9-BALL

Story and Photos
by Ted Lerner

(Shanghai, China)–Give Chris Melling an inch, and he takes a mile.

That’s just how Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Kai Lun must feel right now, as the burly Englishman put on one of the most powerful displays of 9-ball pool seen in the professional game in some time, capturing the China Open in an all out rout, 11-3.

Melling won $40,000 and, in the process, declared loud and clear that he will be a force to be reckoned with among an already strong heap of English and European pool players for the foreseeable future.

Melling won $40,000 and, in the process, declared loud and clear that he will be a force to be reckoned with among an already strong heap of English and European pool players for the foreseeable future.

“That’s the best I’ve ever played,” an ecstatic Melling said moments after lifting the trophy. “I knew I would win the match when I was up 6-2. I knew then it would be tough for him to come back. I was just playing too good.”

Anyone who happened to catch one of Melling’s matches inside the Shanghai Pudong Yuanshen Stadium yesterday and in the semi-final today could see he was the clear favorite to take the crown. The Englishman, who was twice a world champion in English 8-ball and has only been playing competitive 9-ball for two years, was literally oozing with confidence. Everything about him—the way he walked around the table, his extremely fast play, the way he stared down layouts and especially the audacious way he potted difficult balls and moved the cue ball around—spoke of a man with a winning attitude. He never gave his opponents any breathing room, pounced on the smallest of mistakes and quickly put racks on the board.

Hsu must have not had time to realize what hit him. The 22 year old Taiwanese had literally come out of nowhere to reach the finals of the China Open. He’s ranked number ten in Taiwan but he had never before played in an international men’s event. Still he showed some of the same powerhouse skills that Melling had exhibited when he blew out the Philippines Ronnie Alcano earlier in the day, 11-3.

It didn’t take long into the final race to 11, alternate break match to realize, though, that Hsu was in over his head on this day against the white hot Englishman. The two were all square after four racks but from there Melling got on his motorcycle and ran away with the match.

In rack five, Melling made a very difficult pot on the one that opened up the rack and got him the lead. In the next frame he played a world class snooker off of Hsu’s safety that quickly led to another point. A minute later he was up 5-2 after a break and run out.

From there, the fast playing Brit piled on the points, all the while taking on and converting daring shots that most players would be afraid to pull out of their bags. Hsu simply had no answer. Melling raced right to the finish line and the championship with a resounding 11-3 win.

In rack five, Melling made a very difficult pot on the one that opened up the rack and got him the lead. In the next frame he played a world class snooker off of Hsu’s safety that quickly led to another point.

Coming on the heels of his quarter final finish in May’s World 10-ball championship in Manila, Melling is sure to crack the World Pool Association’s Top Ten rankings. The European number two is also looking very seriously at a spot on the coveted European Mosconi Cup team.

With this extremely impressive performance in Shanghai this week, the 32 year old Brit appears to have a very bright future in pool. Listen to his attitude when he talks about playing in the pressure cooker that is the world of professional pool.

“I didn’t feel nervous at all out there,” Melling said. “I love playing under pressure. I love the crowd and playing on TV.

� Read more ...]]> http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/melling-cruises-to-china-billiards-victory.html/feed 0 http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/final-18-players-return-to-frisco-billiards-event.html http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/final-18-players-return-to-frisco-billiards-event.html#comments Sun, 24 Apr 2011 08:01:57 +0000 Pool and Billiards News http://www.insidepoolmag.com/?p=15654 Final 18 Players Return to Frisco Billiards Event
Ultimate 10-Ball Championships / Frisco, TX

by InsidePOOL Staff

Easter Sunday will see the return of the top 18 players at the Ultimate 10-Ball Championships, held this week at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Frisco, TX. The $50,000-added tournament had both a women’s and a men’s division and hosted many of the top pros in pool.

In the one-loss side of the men’s division, two Southerners went head to head in Johnny Archer and Brandon Shuff. Archer fought hard, but it was Shuff who reached the hill first. After a brief exchange of safeties on the 2 ball, Shuff was able to find a window and run out to win 8-5.

Mike Davis went up against Raj “Hitman” Hundal, and Hundal took a quick 5-1 lead. The players traded the next couple of racks, but Hundal kept the momentum going and reached the hill 7-4. He played a clever safety on the 2 ball in the next, parking the cue ball behind the 2 when Davis was shooting the 2. Davis jumped and hit the 2 but left a fairly easy out for Hundal to win 8-4.

Mike Dechaine was the first to make it into the final 18 with his easy handling of Jesse Engel 8-3. Darren Appleton was the next with his 8-3 victory over Dennis Hatch. Jeremy Jones, continuing his hometown dominance, bested Brian Brekke 8-4 and will play Dechaine in the winners’ side final four. Playing Appleton in the other winners’ side match will be Jason Klatt, who bested Oscar Dominguez 8-5.

View the Ultimate 10-Ball Men’s tournament brackets (updated continuously)

View the Ultimate 10-Ball Women’s tournament brackets (updated continuously)

Angel Paglia unseated Vivian “The Texas Tornado” Villareal on her home turf in their winners’ side match, reaching the hill first 6-4. She turned the table over to Villareal, who came a game closer after an error by Paglia. A miscue by Paglia in the next gave the table to Villareal again, who had a long shot on the 7 ball that she fired at and missed. Paglia played safe behind the 8-10, and Villareal brought out her jump cue, but it turned out that she opened up the table for Paglia, who dished up to win 7-5.

Watch the Free Live Stream

Allison Fisher came back from a huge 5-1 deficit to Kelly Fisher in the other winners’ side match to win it 7-6. A. Fisher will play Paglia in the hot seat match. In the one-loss side, Monica Webb will play K. Fisher, while Villareal will face Line Kjorsvik.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

by InsidePOOL Staff

The afternoon rounds kept going in fine form at the second annual Ultimate 10-Ball Championships. In the men’s division, Thorsten Hohmann started off his day with a strong victory over Stevie Moore in the one-loss side. Hohmann took an early lead in the match from the start, going up 5-0. Moore took the next two racks, but Hohmann was an unstoppable force and crossed the finish line with Moore only gaining one more game to make the final score 8-3.

CJ Wiley made it through to the Saturday evening matches, but fell short in his match with Williams.

Raj “The Hitman” Hundal and Dennis Hatch had a closer match in a following round, with Hundal taking the lead from the gate 3-0. “The Hatchetman” countered by knotting the score at 3. It was déjà vu the next six racks as Hundal took three and then Hatch tied the score at 6. The players traded the next two racks until it was hill-hill, at which point Hatch forged ahead to win the match 8-7.

View the Ultimate 10-Ball Men’s tournament brackets (updated continuously)

View the Ultimate 10-Ball Women’s tournament brackets (updated continuously)

Jesse “The Giant Killer” Engel struck again in the winners’ round when his match with Ralf Souquet went hill-hill. Engel had a tricky shot on the 3 ball in the final rack and opted to play some clever defense by parking the cue ball behind the 10, making a clear shot on the 3 impossible. Souquet analyzed the shot from every angle and fouled in his attempt. With ball in hand, Engel slowly picked through the rack to win 8-7.

Watch the Free Live Stream

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

Day Three: World champs, top players get door in Philippine Open
by Frederico Makabenta

Down to its last two days, the Philippine Open Pool Championships is turning out to be one of the most unpredictable, surprising opens and most competitive tournaments ever staged. As the tournament approaches its penultimate day this Sunday (April 10}, there is still no clear frontrunner. Matches are not being decided according to seedings, rankings and reputation. World champions have fallen by the wayside. And players coming from the qualifiers look just as formidable as the ranking players.

At the end of the day, reigning World Ten Ball champion Mika Immonen of Finland, double world champion Ronnie Alcano of the Philippines, world’s No.1 woman player Ga Young Kim of Korea, and reigning World Women’s 9-Ball champion Fu Xiao-Fang of China had all been shown the exit door, while those who looked invincible in the first two days of the tournament suffered stinging setbacks.

Down to its last two days, the Philippine Open Pool Championships is turning out to be one of the most unpredictable, surprising opens and most competitive tournaments ever staged.

Only 16 men are still left standing, and only 12 remain in the women’s division, as the battles continue to heat up this Sunday.

Immonen, the reigning world 10-ball champion, ran into a wall called Jerico Banares. He fell by the score of 7-9, in a thrilling afternoon match. Breaks did not go Immonen’s way. Until the 16th rack, the player known as The Iceman continued to struggle. Worst, he scratched the cue ball that could have given him a chance to force a hill-hill showdown. Banares wasted no time as he ran out the remaining balls to post the win and oust the man who only two years ago conquered Manila to become the world 10-ball champion. “I got lucky in the breaks. He had good breaks as well, but he could not get a clear shot at the balls,” said Banares, a former national junior champion of the Philippines.

But Banares’ luck ran out just a few hours later when he lost to Abdulah Al Yousuf of Kuwait, 6-9. Al Yousuf was also responsible for eliminating Alcano, 9-4. The Filipino champion who once owned the World 9-Ball and World 8-Ball championships, has complained about the mandatory timeout rule. Under the new rule, players can only take a five-minute break during the halfway mark of the match.

Al Yousuf went off to a blazing start. He raced to a 5-0 lead and was poised to put the game away when Alcano made the match more exciting, winning the next three racks. The Kuwaiti bet bounced back and grabbed the next rack for a 6-3 lead before both players were given a short break. But Al Yousuf, who showed his breaking prowess, got three of the next four racks.

In the 12th rack, Alcano got the better of the safety exchanges. His ploy worked well when he managed to get a clear shot on ball No.1 and eventually cleaned up the table. But a scratch off the break in the next rack ended Alcano’s hopes of a rally, and Al Yousuf calmly disposed of the remaining balls one by one, to take the match and move on in the tournament.. “Allan (Cuartero) has been helpful in giving information on how Filipino players play,” said Al Yousuf. “Also, this campaign is dedicated to my ailing father, who has a serious heart condition,” said Yousuf.

In the women’s division, Ga-Young Kim and Xiao-Fang Fu also got the boot earlier than expected. Kim was close to wrapping up the match until Lin Yuan Chun of Chinese Taipei made a last-minute spirited charge and came away with a come-from-behind win. Lin, a former Amway World Women’s Champion, refused to quit. Playing with her back against the wall, Lin rallied from 6-8 down before edging Kim in a hill-hill encounter. Her triumph had the makings of a classic encounter.

Forced to exchange safety shots with Kim, Lin was able to pocket a spectacular bank shot on the No. 9 in the corner. She nailed the final ball and managed to come to within one, 7-8. In the next rack, Lin kept her composure. She ran out the balls and looked destined to complete a remarkable come-from-behind win. In the 17th and final rack, there was no stopping the Taiwanese lass from booting out Kim while keeping her own hopes alive in the tournament.

Fu, the Chinese pool sensation, and European Tour veteran Read more ...]]> http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/upsets-continue-at-philippine-open-pool-championships.html/feed 0 http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiards/moore-earns-mezz-billiards-title.html http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiards/moore-earns-mezz-billiards-title.html#comments Fri, 18 Mar 2011 08:51:39 +0000 Pool and Billiards News http://www.insidepoolmag.com/?p=15393 Moore Earns Mezz Billiards Title
Mezz Pro-Am Tour / Vineland, NJ

by InsidePOOL Staff

Stevie Moore took top honors at the March 6 stop on the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, which was hosted at Q-Ball Billiards in Vineland NJ. A strong field of 42 players came to play, with Moore defeating Joey Testa in the finals.

Moore took top honors at the March 6 stop on the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, which was hosted at Q-Ball Billiards in Vineland NJ.

Moore blazed a trail through the top half of the bracket, scoring wins over John Greshock 7-5, Tim Dlugosz 7-3, and Paul Cooney 7-0. Then Moore ran in to Shane Van Boening in a match that saw the latter holding a 6-1 lead at the start only for Moore to grind it out to make it hill-hill. Van Boening had an easy 9 ball for the win but the cue ball skidded and he missed, giving Moore the win 7-6.

Testa, who plays out of Atlantic City, led the bottom half of the bracket with wins over Mike Winover 7-1, Bob Miane 7-1, Jim Walder 7-2, and Josh Brothers 7-3. Testa caught up to Moore in the hot seat match, where the players were neck and neck until Moore pulled away late to win 7-5, sending Testa to the one-loss side.

After eliminating Van Boening at fourth place, Eddie Abraham moved on to face Testa. He gave Testa a run for his money but Testa prevailed to take the match 7-5 and earn a rematch with Moore. But in the finals the day belonged to Moore, who easily handled Testa 7-3 to win the title.

Results:
1st Stevie Moore $1,000
2nd Joey Testa $625
3rd Eddie Abraham $400
4th Josh Brothers $200
5th Matt Krah $150
Shane Van Boening
7th Derek Schwager $100
Mike Lizzio
9th Abdellatif Chamseddine $50
Jim Walder
Paul Cooney
Mark Nanshee

by InsidePOOL Staff

In the much-anticipated final division of the Derby City Classic, Dennis Orcollo walked away with the 9-ball title, routing Shane Van Boening in the final match. Van Boening didn’t look too sad, though, as he had just cinched the all-around title.

In the much-anticipated final division of the Derby City Classic, Orcollo walked away with the 9-ball title, routing Van Boening in the final match.

It was new father Niels Feijen of Holland who stepped up to challenge Van Boening in one of two semifinal matches going on, and it looked good for him at the start as he took a 3-1 lead in the short race to 7. But Van Boening won a couple of safety battles and soon the score was knotted at 4. Though out of line for the 2 in the next rack, Van Boening coolly made a 2-7 combo and ran out, and then he broke and ran the following to take the hill 6-4. With no good shot on the 1 ball, Van Boening went for a safety but sold out, and Feijen grabbed that game and broke and ran the next to tie the score on the hill. After sorting out a tricky 2 ball in the final rack, Feijen opted to play safe on the 4. Van Boening took out his jump cue and played it perfectly with low right so that the cue ball came back around for the 5. Now with an easy table, Van Boening quickly cleared up and won the match 7-6.

Orcollo, who had just crushed Mika Immonen 7-1 in the other semifinal, was ready for the final and Van Boening. An overcut 3 ball by Van Boening deposited him in his chair for that game and the four following, as Orcollo calmly and deliberately picked his way through rack after rack. Up 5-0, Orcollo came up empty on the break, and after exchanging a couple of innings each, Van Boening won that rack to get on the board. But when he missed an easy 5 ball in the next, it was all over. Orcollo cleared the table and broke and ran the final rack to win 7-1 on his 32nd birthday.

View Derby City Classic match results (continuous)

Derby City Image Gallery

By winning the semifinal over Feijen, Van Boening cemented his all-around status, winning $20,000.

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