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

by Jose Burgos

Brothers easily cut through the field at the December 5 installment of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, besting Eddie Abraham in the finals for the title.

Josh Brothers easily cut through the field at the December 5 installment of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, besting Eddie Abraham in the finals for the title. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA.

Abraham led the top half of the bracket with wins over Dan McGinnis 7-3, Chris Riley 7-3, Tony Long 7-2, and Clint Clayton 7-3. Brothers mowed through the bottom half, notching wins over John Marabito 7-5, Lou Patrikios 7-2, John Greshock 7-3, and Danny Basavich 7-2.

Brothers and Abraham met up in the match for the hot seat, and Brothers took control with ease, taking an early lead and never relinquishing it to win 7-2. Waiting for Abraham on the one-loss side was Long, who he had sent west earlier. This grudge match went double-hill, but Abraham edged out Long 7-6 to earn his own revenge match against Brothers. But again, it was Brothers winning, this time by the score of 7-2 to take the title.

Results:
1st Josh Brothers $835
2nd Eddie Abraham $620
3rd Tony Long $255
4th Clint Clayton $150
5th Bruce Nagle $120
Danny Basavich
7th Ryan McCreesh $80
Lou Patrikios

by Jose Burgos

Bruce Nagle double-dipped Josh Brothers at the October 3 installment of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour to become the champion. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, where a strong field came out to play.

Bruce Nagle double-dipped Josh Brothers at the October 3 installment of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour to become the champion.

Brothers led the top half of the bracket, scoring victories over Tony Long 7-5, Lou Patrikios 7-2, and Steve Shaw 7-6. He then dealt Nagle his only loss of the event 7-5 to reach the hot seat match. There his opponent was Matt Krah, who won over Michael Praseutsy 7-3, Bill Smith Jr. 7-2, and Shaun Dobson 7-4.

The hot seat match was all Brothers, who won the match easily to the tune of 7-1. Sent to the one-loss side, Krah was faced with Nagle, who had just eliminated Smith 7-3 and Tony Long 7-5. It was a close match, but Nagle edged out Krah 7-5 to reach the finals against Brothers.

In this grudge match, Nagle had to best Krah twice to take the title. The first set saw Nagle take the lead early on and cruise to an easy 7-4 victory. The second set was a repeat of the first, with Nagle again pulling away and handily winning the event 7-4.

Results:
1st Bruce Nagle $750
2nd Josh Brothers $400
3rd Matt Krah $150
4th Tony Long $100
5th Bill Smith Jr. $70
Shaun Dobson

Players from Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and many more cities came to qualify for the Dragon Promotions production of the 70th Annual Predator World Tournament of Straight Pool presented by KnightShot.com.

The first qualifier was held in Chicago at legendary Red Shoe Billiards owned by John Lavin. Tom Karabotsos, who learned the game from Dallas West, took first place in the qualifier. He previously qualified in 2006 and 2007 but did not play in the next years. Jeffrey Mohl, for the second year in a row, qualified by beating everyone he faced except Tom. Mohl coincidentally is also one of the event’s pat ron sponsors.

The Philadelphia qualifier was held for the 5th consecutive year at Drexeline Billiards owned by top East Coast player Bob Maidhof. Results as follows: 1st Shawn Wilkie- 2nd Andy Lincoln- 3rd Rick Molineiro- 4th Alan Duty- 5/6 Joey Hong & Ed Moody- 7/8 Steve Shaw & Frank Wojciechowski- 9/12 James Heller & Mike Frank & Nataan Sulinski & Lou Johnston- 13/16 Peter Burrows & Coby Atkins . Paid entries went to 1st & 2nd place entry into the World Championship and Maidhof generously kicked in an extra $150.00 for 3rd and $100.00 for 4th place finishers.

The Cue Nine qualifier in NY saw Bob Madenjian qualify undefeated which will be his 2nd year playing in the Predator World Tournament and Chris Lynch taking a loss to Bob, but coming back with a win on the one loss side to win the 2nd spot.

There is one final qualifier left at Champion Billiards in MD Oct 2. Contact 301- 846-0089. Results of the NYC qualifier at Amsterdam Billiards will be posted soon.

This year marks the 70th World Tournament , and stars such as Thorsten Hohmann, John Schmidt, Oliver Ortmann, Niels Feijen, Allen Hopkins, Jasmin Ouschan, Johnny Archer, Mika Immonen and defending champion Stephan Cohen of France are just a few of the powerful list of world beaters who will come to play in the greatest straight pool tournament in the world. Players may also join qualifiers to get a chance to compete in the World Tournament with all the legendary greats. Qualifier info can be found at www.DragonPromotions.com To host a qualifier or play, contact worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com

The format for the event will be the same as the past four years. 64 players divided into 8 groups of 8 players in a round robin format playing races to 100. The top 32 players will advance to a double elimination tournament races to 150. The top 16 players will then advance to a single elimination race to 200 points. Half of the field will earn prize money with the champion winning $11,000.

Congratulations to Shawn Wilkie, Andy Lincoln, Bob Madenjian, Chris Lynch, Tom Karabotsos, and Jeff Mohl for their victories and earned spot against the best 14.1 players in the World. Good luck at The World Tournament!

The 2010 Predator World Tournament is proudly sponsored by straight pool afficianados Dr.Louis Pannullo of NYC, Bill Austin of UT, Harold Siegel of NYC, Stu Mattana of NYC, and Badi Nazhat of Curacao. Other significant patrons include Dr.Michael Frank, and Ralph Rubin. Co-Contributors we like to recognize include Dennis Walsh, Bill Marapolus, Peter Burrows, Richard Klein, and Jeff Mohl. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.
Full event info is at www.dragonpromotions.com

Predator Group, an international billiards industry leader, is focused on bringing constant innovation and game-improving equipment to billiards players worldwide. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, Predator Group’s core brands include Predator Cues – high-end (professional level) cues with revolutionary technology to enhance performance, Poison Billiards – recreational cues with cutting-edge designs and Predator engineering for best-in-class playability, and Uni-Loc® – precision billiards equipment manufacturer. For more information regarding Predator Group’s products, visit www.predatorgroup.com.

Dragon Promotions is one of the leading producers of billiard programming in the world today. Dragon produces over 40 events a year airing on networks in USA, Korea, and Europe such as ESPN, MBC ESPN, XTM, XPORTS, and Euro Sport. Events include The World 14.1 Championship, The Predator International 10-Ball Championship, King & Queen of Carom, Empress Cup, Pro Pool Schools, Women’s Trickshot Challenge, World Junior 10-Ball Championships, Korea vs USA, Mezz Classic and many more. Dragon also manages some of the world’s best players including Shanelle Loraine, Rodney Morris, Charlie Williams, Mika Immonen, Mike Davis, and many more.

by Jose Burgos

Josh Brothers took out a strong field of 58 at the April 25 stop of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, besting Adam Kielar in the finals to take the title. The stop was hosted by Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, and featured a $1,000-added prize fund.

Kielar led the top half of the bracket, notching victories over Lou Johnson 7-3, Dominic Noe 7-5, Brandon Slualis 7-6, Eddie Abraham 7-5, and Shaun Wilkie 7-5. Joe Hong took charge of the top half, winning over Sharon O’Hanlon 7-1, Ed Matushonek 7-4, Wes Dobson 7-3, Scott Freeman 7-5, and Raphael Saldana 7-4. Kielar and Hong collided in the hot seat match, which turned out to be a one-sided affair that saw Kielar taking an early lead and ultimately winning 7-1.

Having suffered an early loss to Abraham 7-5, Brothers went on a tear on the one-loss side, eliminating Joey Testa 7-3, Slualis 7-3, Freeman 7-5, Danny Muhollem 7-6, Wilkie 7-5, Noe 7-0, and Hong 7-6 to reach the finals. Brothers had to best Kielar twice to take the title. The first set went back and forth, with Brothers pulling away late to win 7-4. In the second set Brothers took charge from the start, winning easily 7-1.

Josh Brothers took out a strong field of 58 at the April 25 stop of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, besting Adam Kielar in the finals to take the title. Pictured L-R: Josh Brothers, Bob Maidoff, Adam Kielar

WPBA Pro and Mezz USA President, Caroline Pao, along with Tournament Director, Jose Burgos, will be overseeing the Women’s tour.

“With so many great female players in the Northeast region, this is a great opportunity to provide a competitive tour for them to participate in. We will feature great prizes at each stop as well as hold a Grand Finale tournament with added monies. Prizes will also be awarded for the Top 3 players of the year with the Top Player receiving paid entry to the prestigious Turning Stone Classic Tournament in Verona, NY. I am very excited be able to provide an opportunity for our local female players to sharpen their competitive edge. Once we complete the 8 event schedule, it will be on our official Mezz Tour website, www.mezztour.com,” says Caroline.

Mezz USA is proud to announce the first stop of the Mezz Women’s Pool Tour, a $1,000 added event, will be held on Saturday, May 8, 2010, at Drexeline Billiards.

Stop #1 – May 8th – $1,000 Added*
Mezz Womens Pool Tour
Drexeline Billiards
5100 State Street
Drexel Hill, PA 19026

*$1,000 added is based on a full field of 50 players.

Visit the official Mezz Pro-Am Tour website, www.mezztour.com, for more information.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@mezztour.com.

Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour. The Mezz Tour is a 1-day Open Tournament with staggered entry fees and additional cash prizes for the top 2 finishers in the A/B and C/D division. Events will take place in the North East region.

“We are happy to work with Jose Burgos, who runs the best 1-day tournaments in this region. We hope to offer a highly competitive tournament and great prizes for pros and amateurs alike. We will also give each player a free raffle ticket for a Mezz Cue and Mezz Case at the Grand Finale Tournament along with prizes for the Top 10 point leaders of the year,” says Mika.
Jose describes, “I am honored to join forces with Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues. I believe having the best player in the world along with one of the leading cue companies in the industry as sponsors will make the Mezz Pro-Am Tour one of the premier tours in the region.”

Along with the Mezz Open Tour, we are also proud to announce a Mezz Women’s Tour overseen by WPBA Pro and Mezz USA President, Caroline Pao.

“With so many great female players in the Northeast region, this is a great opportunity to provide a competitive tour for them to participate in. We will feature great prizes at each stop as well as hold a Grand Finale tournament with added monies. Prizes will also be awarded for the Top 3 female players of the year with the Top Female receiving paid entry to the prestigious Turning Stone Tournament in Syracuse, NY. I am very excited be able to provide an opportunity for our local female players to sharpen their competitive edge. Once we complete the 8 event schedule, it will be on our official Mezz Tour website, www.mezztour.com,” explains Caroline.

Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour.

As a prelude to our official launch of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, we had a great event at Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA on January 31st with an attendance of 53 players. Joey Testa and Ignacio Chavez were co-champions of this event with Victor Nau in 3rd and Josh Brothers in 4th place.

The next stop will be at on February 21st at :
Atlantic City Billiards
6701 Blackhorse Pike
Egg Habor, NJ 08234
(609) 645-7576

Visit the official Mezz Pro-Am Tour website, www.mezztour.com, for more information.
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@mezztour.com.

by Jose Burgos

The Mezz Pro-Am Tour’s first stop went off with a bang, hosted by Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, January 31. A strong field of 53 players came out, including Eddie Abraham, Shaun Wilkie, and Matt Krah, but Ignacio Chavez and Joey Testa took home top honors.

Chavez led the top half of the bracket with wins over Caroline Pao 7-2, Abraham 7-3, Josh Brothers 7-4, Wilkie 7-1, and Adam Kielar 7-4. Leading the bottom half of the bracket was Testa, with wins over Sharon O’Hanlon 7-1, John Graziano 7-0, Gregg McAndrews 7-2, and Victor Nau 7-3.

Testa and Chavez matched up in the hot seat match, with Testa pulling away late to win 7-4. Waiting for Chavez on the one-loss side was Nau, coming fresh from a win over Brothers. But Nau’s momentum wasn’t enough to carry him through to the finals, as it was all Chavez, who easily won 7-2.

In the true double-elimination finals, it was Testa versus Chavez. In order for Chavez to win the event, he would have to best Testa twice. However, both players decided to be co-champions and split first place.

The Mezz Pro-Am Tour’s first stop went off with a bang, hosted by Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, January 31.

Results:
1st Joey Testa $1,200
Ignacio Chavez
3rd Victor Nau $600
4th Josh Brothers $330
5th Matt Krah $250
Adam Kielar
7th Shaun Wilkie $150
Joe Hong
9th Keith Christman $75
Gregg McAndrews
Bill Wilson
John Graziano

by Jose Burgos

The Blaze 9-Ball Tour made its way to Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, November 29, for a $1,000-added stop. A strong field of 49 players came out to compete, including Eddie Abraham, Brett Stottlemyer, Dave Grau, Josh Brothers, and Matt Krah, but it was Joey Testa who took home the gold.

Abraham took control of the top half of the bracket, notching wins over Denise Reeves 7-6, Mike Miller 7-4, Joe Hong 7-2, and Grau 7-5. Striving to meet Abraham in the hot seat match, Testa tore through the bottom half of the bracket, winning over Pat Burket 7-1, Eric Perry 7-5, Kenny Rutman 7-2, and Stottlemyer 7-2.

In the one-sided hot seat match, Testa easily defeated Abraham 7-3, sending him to the one-loss side. Stottlemyer awaited him, but he was left in the dust when Abraham steamrolled him 7-0 to return to the final match. In the double-elimination finals, Abraham had to defeat Testa twice for the win. But Testa edged Abraham out 7-5 in the first set to take the title.

The Blaze 9-Ball Tour made its way to Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, November 29, for a $1,000-added stop.

Results:
1st Joey Testa $1,370
2nd Eddie Abraham $750
3rd Brett Stottlemyer $450
4th Dave Grau $225
5th Joe Hong $150
Josh Brothers
7th Matt Krah $100
Kenny Rutman
9th Tim Anderson $70
Danny Basavich
Abdllatif Chamseddine
Lou Patrikios

The World Straight Pool Championship is the oldest tournament still existing today. Invented by Jerome Keough and shortly after recognized as the official game of billiards , the first World 14.1 Championship was held in 1911 and won by Alfredo DeOro. In its history due to war and economics, the World 14.1 Championship had 29 tournaments that did not take place including a 15 year gap between 1990-2005 until Dragon Promotions revived the game and the World Tournament in 2006, which also marked the first time a non-American won the discipline in a World Championship. That distinction went to Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann.

This year marks the 69th World Tournament for 14.1, and stars such as Thorsten Hohmann, John Schmidt, Ralf Souquet, Danny Harriman, Tony Robles, and Mika Immonen are just a few of the powerful list of world beaters who will come to play in the greatest straight pool tournament in the world. Players may also join qualifiers to get a chance to compete in the World Tournament with all the legendary greats. Qualifiers thus far will be held at Drexeline Billiards in PA, Amsterdam Billiards in NY, and Comet Billiards in NJ. To host a qualifier or play, contact worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com

The format for the event will be the same as the past three years. 64 players divided into 8 groups of 8 players in a round robin format playing races to 100. The top 32 players will advance to a double elimination tournament races to 150. The top 16 players will then advance to a single elimination race to 200 points. Half of the field will earn prize money with the champion winning $11,500.

The champion will also have his/her name inscribed on the World 14.1 Champion’s Cup alongside the names of previous winners such as Mizerak, Sigel, Mosconi, Hohmann, Ortmann, and Feijen.

The champion will also have his/her name inscribed on the World 14.1 Champion's Cup alongside the names of previous winners such as Mizerak, Sigel, Mosconi, Hohmann, Ortmann, and Feijen.

August 23, the night before the event kicks off, Comet Billiards will host a special sponsor / pro team match tournament for the patron sponsors of the event. Billiard aficionado Stu Mattana of NYC and long time billiard supporter Harold Siegel of NYC are two of this year’s generous patrons of the Predator World 14.1 Championship. Their contributions are helping keeping the event going. Dragon Promotions encourages others to come on board to join as a sponsor and can be reached at worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or call 1-407-782-4978.

“The World Straight Pool Championship has become a very important event for the players, fans, and billiard community. It is a very tough time in the economy now, but based on the outpouring support of players and fans we felt it was our responsibility to try to put on the event. We hope others in the billiard community feel the same and work towards keeping the World Straight Pool Championship alive” said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions.

The 2009 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Predator Cues, Comet Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Ozone Billiards, Laser Rack, Master Chalk and patron sponsors Stu Mattana and Harold Siegel of Excelsior Graphics. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.

Predator Group, an international billiards industry leader, is focused on bringing constant innovation and game-improving equipment to billiards players worldwide. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, Predator Group’s core brands include Predator Cues – high-end (professional level) cues with revolutionary technology to enhance performance, Poison Billiards – recreational cues with cutting-edge designs and Predator engineering for best-in-class playability, and Uni-Loc® – precision billiards equipment manufacturer. For more information regarding Predator Group’s products, visit www.predatorgroup.com.

Dragon Promotions is one of the leading producers of billiard programming in the world today. Dragon produces over 40 events a year airing on networks in USA, Korea, and Europe such as ESPN, MBC ESPN, XTM, XPORTS, and Euro Sport. Events include The World 14.1 Championship, The Predator International 10-Ball Championship, King & Queen of Carom, Empress Cup, Pro Pool Schools, Women’s Trickshot Challenge, World Junior 10-Ball Championships, Korea vs USA, Mezz Classic and many more. Dragon also manages some of the world’s best players including Thorsten Hohmann, Shanelle Loraine, Rodney Morris, Charlie Williams, Jeanette Lee, Mika Immonen, Mike Davis, Yu Ram Cha and many more.
Visit www.dragonpromotions.com or www.dragonpromotions.co.kr