by InsidePOOL Staff

Pro player Mike Davis took off the January 21 stop of the Tiger Classic Tour, double-dipping John Souders in the finals to take the title. The open event drew 32 players to Cue Phoria in Winter Park, FL.

Davis first encountered Souders in the winners’ side final four, where Souders delivered Davis to the one-loss side 7-3.

Davis first encountered Souders in the winners’ side final four, where Souders delivered Davis to the one-loss side 7-3. In the other bracket, Harry Nathan bested George Sanders 7-5 to move on to the hot seat match and face off with Souders, who took that match 7-4.

Nick Applebee eliminated Sanders in fifth place to advance to the quarterfinal match. Meeting him there was Davis, who had just ousted Julio Aquino in a fifth-place tie with Sanders. Davis dominated Applebee 7-2 and continued his trek through the west side.

In the semifinal match, Davis easily handled Nathan 7-4 to reach the double-elimination finals against Souders. Souders struggled to take the title, but Davis notched a narrow 7-5 win in the first set and then whitewashed Souders in the second to claim his victory.

Results:
1st Mike Davis $450
2nd John Souders $200
3rd Harry Nathan $100
4th Nick Applebee $80
5th George Sanders $60
Julio Aquino

by InsidePOOL Staff

Ben Castaneros and Raymond Lee met three times at the Tri-State Tour’s January 7-8 event, with Castaneros double-dipping Lee in the finals to take the title. The $2,000-added stop drew a field of 61 players to Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY, for the A- through D-player, 9-ball event.

Castaneros and Lee first matched up in the winners’ side final four, where Lee dealt Castaneros his first—and only—loss of the tournament 6-1. In the other bracket, Bryan Jeziorski sent Alex Osipov to the west side of the chart 7-5. Jeziorski put up a fight in the hot seat match, but Lee was able to notch a 7-4 win.

Ben Castaneros and Raymond Lee met three times at the Tri-State Tour’s January 7-8 event, with Castaneros double-dipping Lee in the finals to take the title. left to right: 3rd Place Bryan Jeziorski, 2nd Place Raymond Lee ; righ most 1st Place Ben Cataneros

From the left side of the bracket, Castaneros sprang back with a 7-4 victory over Mike Strassberg, while Osipov sent Ron Gabia home in a fifth-place tie with Strassberg after their match ended 7-2. Castaneros and Osipov collided in the quarterfinal match, which saw Castaneros best Osipov 6-4 to stay alive.

It was another victory for Castaneros in the semifinals, where he eliminated Jeziorski in third place 7-4. In the double-elimination final match, Castaneros dominated Lee 6-2 in the first set and 6-1 in the second to take first place.

Results:
1st Ben Castaneros $1,250
2nd Raymond Lee $870
3rd Bryan Jeziorski $590
4th Alex Osipov $420
5th Ron Gabia $270
Mike Strassberg
7th Ed Culhane $190
Andrzej Kaldan
9th Robert Plaut $140
Arturo Reyes
Luis Jimenez
Alan Chan

by InsidePOOL Staff

Norris Brady went undefeated to win the last stop for 2011 on the Great Southern Billiard Tour after escaping a double-dip attempt by Glenn Russell in the final match. The $1,500-added event was hosted by Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, and drew a strong field of 52 players.

Brady delivered a donut to Tommy Cook in the winners’ side final four 9-0 to move on to the hot seat match, as Chris Vollmar only allowed Mike Walker one rack before winning their match 9-1 to meet Brady. In the hot seat match, it was another story, as the players traded rack for rack before Brady ultimately edged out Vollmar to win 9-8.

After Russell whizzed past Shawn Ray 9-2, he went on to send Cook home with a score of 9-5 to advance to the quarterfinal match. Meeting him there was B.J. Hucks, who had gone through Billy Thorpe 9-4 and then Walker 9-4. The quarterfinal match was a closer one, but still Russell managed to best Hucks 9-6 to keep his momentum going.

Norris Brady went undefeated to win the last stop for 2011 on the Great Southern Billiard Tour after escaping a double-dip attempt by Glenn Russell in the final match. The $1,500-added event was hosted by Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, and drew a strong field of 52 players.

In the semifinals against Vollmar, Russell was unimpressed and sent his opponent home in third place with a 9-3 win. On a roll, Russell took Brady to the hill in the first set of the double-elimination finals and triumphed 9-8. In the second set, though, it was Brady who came through with a 9-5 victory to claim the title.

This was the last event of 2011 for the Great Southern Billiard Tour. They would like to thank their sponsors: Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Delta 13 Rack, Tiger Products, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, and Mike Davis Exterminating.

Results:
1st $1,000
2nd $650
3rd Chris Vollmar $425
4th B.J. Hucks $300
5th Tommy Cook $150
Mike Walker
7th Shawn Ray $100
Billy Thorpe

by InsidePOOL Staff

Greg Smith came back from a late loss at the November 26-27 stop of the Great Southern Billiard Tour to double-dip Adam Bryan in the finals to take the title. The $1,500-added amateur 9-ball stop was held at Mickey Milligan’s Billiards and Pub in New Bern, NC, and attracted a field of 32 that Thanksgiving weekend.

A hill-hill defeat in the winners’ side final four at the hands of Smith 9-8 sent Sidney Champion to the one-loss side of the chart, as Smith advanced to the hot seat. His opponent was Bryan, who had just squeaked past Larry Faulk 7-8. Bryan went on to best Smith 7-5 and await a finals opponent, while Smith headed west.

On the left side, Charlie Brinson whitewashed Champion 7-0 and sent him home in fifth place, as Faulk defeated Montez Lloyd 9-6, who tied with Champion. Faulk gave Brinson a taste of his own medicine in the quarterfinals, handing him a donut 7-0.

But Faulk reached the end of his event in the next round as Smith eliminated him 9-7 to advance to the double-elimination final match against Bryan. Smith only allowed Bryan to win a total of 5 racks as he himself claimed 18 by winning the finals 9-2, 9-3 to take first place.

Greg Smith came back from a late loss at the November 26-27 stop of the Great Southern Billiard Tour to double-dip Adam Bryan in the finals to take the title. Daulton, Adam Bryan, Greg Smith, and Gerry Shephard (owner of Mickey Milligan's Billiards & Pub)

Results:
1st Greg Smith $1,000
2nd Adam Bryan $500
3rd Larry Faulk $350
4th Charlie Brinson $205
5th Montez Lloyd $100
Sidney Champion

by InsidePOOL Staff

Tom D’Alfonso bested hometown hero Mike “Fireball” Dechaine in a gritty double-elimination finals at the November 19-20 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour to claim the title. The $5,000-added stop was hosted by Snookers Billiards Bar and Grill in Providence, RI, and drew a field of 64 top players.

It was D’Alfonso who skated through the winners’ bracket, defeating Ivaylo Petrov hill-hill and advancing to the hot seat match. There his opponent was Matt Tetreault, who had just bested Stevie Moore 9-6. The hot seat match was no contest, as D’Alfonso easily handled Tetreault 9-2 and sent his opponent to the west side of the chart.

Dechaine moved speedily through the one-loss side, eliminating Jennifer Barretta 9-5, Bucky Souvanthong 9-2, and then Moore 9-7 to reach the quarterfinal match. “Iron Mike” Davis, having just ousted Petrov 9-5 at a fifth-place tie, was Dechaine’s competitor, and Dechaine slipped past him 9-2.

In the semifinal match, Dechaine also found little resistance from Tetreault, sending his opponent home in third place 9-5. In the double-elimination final match, Dechaine dominated D’Alfonso in the first set 9-3, but D’Alfonso turned the tables in the second and won the title by the score of 9-3.

Tom D’Alfonso bested hometown hero Mike “Fireball” Dechaine in a gritty double-elimination finals at the November 19-20 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour to claim the title.

Results:
1st Tom D’Alfonso $2,500
2nd Mike Dechaine $1,800
3rd Matt Tetreault $1,300
4th Mike Davis $1,000
5th Stevie Moore $750
Ivaylo Petrov
7th Bucky Souvanthong $550
Brittany Bryant
9th Ray McNamara $350
Jennifer Barretta
Greg Antonakos
Ron Casanzio

by InsidePOOL Staff

It was a grind, but ultimately Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton took home the top prize at the October 8-9 installment of the Great Southern Billiard Tour over Keith Bennett. The stop opened up to allow pros as well as amateurs to their U.S. Open warm-up event, hosted by Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, and the $1,500-added prize purse attracted a field of 71 hopefuls.

Ranked as an AAA player, Daulton raced to 13 against double-A-ranked B.J. Ussery in the winners’ side final four, sending him to the one-loss side with a 13-8 win. AA-ranked Bennett and A-ranked Tony Morrison raced to 11 in the other winners’ side match, with Bennett routing Morrison 11-3. In the following round, Daulton and Bennett went head to head for the hot seat, where Bennett eked out an 11-11 win.

Larry “The Truth” Nevel was taking advantage of the opportunity to warm up for the Open, eliminating Carlos Cruz at seventh place 13-8. Tying with Cruz was Sam Monday, who was sent home by Mike Fuller 11-4. Nevel went on to dominate Ussery 11-2, while Morrison ousted Fuller at fifth 9-10. In the quarterfinal match, Morrison held Nevel back from reaching the required 13, winning there 9-11.

It was a grind, but ultimately Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton took home the top prize at the October 8-9 installment of the Great Southern Billiard Tour over Keith Bennett.

Eagerly awaiting an opponent after his hot seat match loss, Daulton devoured Morrison 13-2 in the semifinals to earn a rematch with Bennett in the double-elimination finals. The first set saw Daulton win over twice as many racks as Bennett did to take it 13-6 and force a second set. There Daulton again dominated, winning this time by the score of 13-8.

Results:
1st Shannon Daulton $1,100
2nd Keith Bennett $600
3rd Tony Morrison $425
4th Larry Nevel $325
5th Mike Fuller $160
B.J. Ussery
7th Sam Monday $90
Carlos Cruz
9th Antonio Slaydon $50
Mike Higgins
Steve Page
B.J. Hucks

From the Association of Billiard Professionals

The ABP (Association of Billiard Professionals) is pleased to announce the Official ABP Rules of the men’s pro tour of pool. These rules were created by the top pro players in the world. These rules and guidleines will go into effect in 2012. The following is the established guidelines and rules of the Association of Billiard Professionals.

The ABP would like to take this opportunity to thank both Barry and Shannon for the civility and professionalism that they both showed throughout the process.

Sanctioning guidelines to be a national United States ABP Ranking Points event:

$25,000 minimum added
$300 minimum entry fee *unless the added money is above $25,000
Event must seed at minimum the top 16 ranked ABP players properly from #1-16 (not random seeding)
Seeding will go by ABP rankings
* ABP encourages all promoters to use the ABP Pro Rules
All new promoters must have the added prize money and entries sent in advance before the tournament dates. Contact ABP for details

Format: All of the following applies to 10-Ball & 9-Ball

Winner breaks
9-Ball minimum race to 11
10-Ball minimum race to 9
Double elimination. *if a major network televised event, reasonable exceptions can be made in formats
One race finals

Rules:

Call shot & call safety
Missed shot or accidental pocketing even in safes will be Shoot Again option by the opponent
Break box
10-Ball/9ball does not count on break anywhere
Rack your own balls

(*more rules will be added later, these are the ABP Rule basics)

Benefits for promoters:

ABP will publicize and encourage all pro players to participate including the top 50 ranked
Promoters may use ABP pro players in advertisements to promote the event
ABP will provide pro players to attend pro-am events/charities if applicable to the event
Unification of rules and format helps the sport. Promoters will benefit from using the rules and format that the pro membership desires and avoid confusion of rules

To sanction your event or to join the ABP, please contact us at ABPpropool@gmail.com or visit http://www.abp-players.com/
The Association of Billiard Professionals was formed in March of 2010 with the goal of uniting the world’s greatest players. The ABP is harnessing the power of all professional players for a common goal: to improve the sport of billiards so that associations, promoters, sponsors and players alike may work in conjunction to advance the game.
For more info on ABP go visit www.abp-players.com or email abppropool@gmail.com

Great Southern Billiard Tour / Fairfield, OH

by InsidePOOL Staff

Alex Olinger and Stan Shuffett took two different routes to the winner’s circle at the Great Southern Billiard Tour, but it was the end result that mattered. Olinger went undefeated to take the $1,500-added 9-ball division, and Shuffett went the long way through the $500-added short-rack banks event. Both were held at Michael’s Billiards and Games in Fairfield, OH, September 24-25.

The 9-ball division attracted a field of 50, with Olinger besting Jason Thomas in the winners’ side final four. Also on the winners’ side was Shuffett, who sent Brad Farmer to the west side of the chart 9-4. Olinger and Shuffett met in the hot seat match, in which Olinger routed Shuffett 10-1 to take a break and wait for the finals.

Thomas and Farmer did not fare well on the left side and were ousted by Shannon Murphey 10-4 and Chris Lawson 7-1, respectively. Murphey continued to cruise forward with a 10-1 victory over Lawson in the quarterfinals. He then eliminated Shuffett in third place 10-7 to earn a chance at the title. But Olinger had other plans, and while Murphey put up a good fight, it was Olinger who won the title 10-7.

In the 32-entrant short-rack banks event, it was Mike Medley besting Chris Lawson 3-1 and young gun Billy Thorpe whitewashing TJ Back 3-0 to meet in the hot seat match, where Thorpe triumphed 3-1. Lawson was quickly eliminated in fifth place on the one-loss side by Stan Shuffett 2-1, as was Chris Hutchison by Back 2-1.

Alex Olinger and Stan Shuffett took two different routes to the winner’s circle at the Great Southern Billiard Tour, but it was the end result that mattered.

Shuffett barreled through Hutchison in the quarterfinals 2-0 and then ousted room owner Mike Medley 2-1 at third place. In the double-elimination final match, he showed determination by winning the first set over Thorpe 3-2 and the second 2-1 to earn the victory.

9-Ball Results:
1st Alex Olinger $1,000
2nd Shannon Murphey $600
3rd Stan Shuffett $325
4th Chris Lawson $245
5th Jason Thomas $140
Brad Farmer
7th Brandon Williams $95
Russ Edwards

Banks Results:
1st Stan Shuffett $500
2nd Billy Thorpe $350
3rd Mike Medley $250
4th Chris Hutchison $160
5th TJ Back $100
Chris Lawson
7th Greg Ranson $50
Steve Hancock

by InsidePOOL Staff

It was a narrow escape for Danny Mastermaker as he came close to being double-dipped by Tommy Cook in the finals of the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s August 6-7 event, but he prevailed. Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA, played host to the $1,500-added handicapped amateur event, which drew a field of 53 players.

It was a narrow escape for Danny Mastermaker as he came close to being double-dipped by Tommy Cook in the finals of the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s August 6-7 event, but he prevailed.

Mastermaker remained unchallenged until he reached the finals, besting Thomas Dorsey in the winners’ side final four 9-5 to reach the hot seat match. His opponent there, JR Poste, had just delivered Tommy Cook to the one-loss side 7-2. The hot seat match was a lopsided one, with Mastermaker triumphing 9-2.

Cook rebounded once on the one-loss side, eliminating Alex Olinger at fifth place 7-7, while Charlie Taylor tied with Olinger after a 7-2 loss to Dorsey. Dorsey and Cook advanced to meet each other in the quarterfinal match, and it was Cook who came away with the 7-5 win.

Poste was next on Cook’s hit list, and Cook won the semifinal match 7-5, sending Poste home in third place. In the true double-elimination finals, Cook surpassed Mastermaker 7-7 in the first set, evening the playing field. But Mastermaker regrouped in the second set and took the title 9-5.

Results:
1st Danny Mastermaker $1,000
2nd Tommy Cook $620
3rd JR Poste $450
4th Thomas Dorsey $250
5th Charlie Taylor $150
Alex Olinger
7th DJ Holloway $95
Trent Talbert

by Jose Burgos

Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie wreaked revenge on Matt Krah in the double-elimination finals of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour’s July 31 stop to take the title. A field of 31 players participated in the $1,000-added event, which was hosted by Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA.

Wilkie wreaked revenge on Matt Krah in the double-elimination finals of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour’s July 31 stop to take the title.

Wilkie led the top half of the bracket, scoring wins over Adbellatif Chamseddine 7-2, Brett Stottlemyer 7-5, Dave Grau 7-1, and Bill McCoy 7-2. Krah took charge of the bottom half, besting Shawn Toni 7-4, Ralph Lake 7-1, Josh Brothers 7-3, and Jose “Amang” Parica7-4. When the two collided, it was Krah who came away with the 7-4 victory, sending Wilkie to the one-loss side.

Awaiting Wilkie was Parica, who had just bested Brothers in the quarterfinal match. In this one-sided match, Wilkie took control from the start and relegated Parica to third place with a 6-0 whitewashing. The double-elimination finals gave Wilkie a chance for revenge for his earlier loss to Krah, and he took it. He won the first set 7-3 and the second set 6-1 to take the title.

Results:
1st Shaun Wilkie $900
2nd Matt Krah $530
3rd Jose Parica $300
4th Josh Brothers $250
5th Dave Grau $150
Bill McCoy
7th Lou Patrikios $100
Joe Hong
9th Mike Veasey $50
Tim Murry
Brett Stottlemyer
Al Waldo