by Lea Andrews

A late loss at the March 6-7 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina tour did nothing to slow down Larry Nevel. “The Truth” rebounded to top the tough field that gathered at Break Time Billiards in Wilmington, NC, for the $1,000-added event.

After handing Nevel his 7-4 loss, Keith Bennett moved into the hot seat match against Johnny Archer, who’d just shut out Trey Greene. Archer claimed the hot seat 7-3, while Bennett moved over to semifinals. On the west side, an early victim of Nevel’s, Michael “Bulldawg” Fuller, notched a 7-4 win over Zach Wilson and a shut-out win over Greene to reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, another one of Nevel’s victims, Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam, who’d reached the finals in each of his three Jacoby appearances so far, found his streak come to an end at his fourth event as he faced Nevel once again. Nevel dropped Putnam into fifth 7-2 to meet back up with Fuller, and another 7-2 win put him into the semifinals against Bennett. Earning his revenge 7-3, Nevel advanced to the single race-to-11 final match.

Though Archer got out to a 3-0 and 5-1 lead, Nevel was able to take advantage of a scratch on the break and a dry break to gain momentum and tie it up at six games apiece, but when he made nothing on the break in the next rack, Archer regained the lead 7-6. It was his last lead, though. Another scratch on the break allowed Nevel to tie it up, and two more racks in a row put him on the hill 10-7. Archer marked up the next rack, but after pocketing three balls on the break in the final rack, he found himself without a shot on the 2 ball. Archer’s well-played safety left Nevel hooked, but Nevel’s unbelievable kick shot put the 2 ball in the pocket and left the path to the 9 ball open. Nevel pocketed the rest of the balls to earn his victory 11-8.

Nevel also took first in Friday’s 16-entrant early bird tournament, earning $150 for his 7-1 win in the finals over Zach Wilson, who took home $95. Hindu Williams earned $50 for third, while Kenny Chin earned $25 for fourth. Patty Sutherland won the ladies’ division on Saturday, while Caleb Grissom topped the juniors’. In Sunday’s second chance event, Kenny Chin earned $80 for edging out Barry Irving 7-6, while Irving earned $20. Karl Deweese took home $80 for beating out five others in the break contest, and CJ Genta became the owner of a new Jacoby Custom Cue after her name was drawn in the raffle.

A late loss at the March 6-7 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina tour did nothing to slow down Nevel.

Results:
1st Larry Nevel $1,000
2nd Johnny Archer $400
3rd Keith Bennett $100

Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Burlington, NC

by Lea Andrews

Is there a better way to spend an icy, snowy, wintry weekend than in the heat of competition? The four men who braved conditions hazardous enough to push North Carolina into a state of emergency didn’t think so, and BJ Ussery went undefeated at Family Billiards in Burlington, NC, the weekend of January 30-31 to get a huge chunk of the guaranteed $1,000-added prize fund: the guaranteed $1,000 for first place.

After getting past recent winner Tony Morrison 7-4, Ussery was in the hot seat match against Derek Davis, who’d breezed past Jason Carter 7-2. But Davis came out on the wrong end of his 7-2 match against Ussery, and he moved west. On the other side of the bracket, Morrison shut out Carter to reach the semifinals against Davis, whom he held to three games to get his rematch with Ussery.

In the single race-to-11 finals, Ussery got out to a 2-0 lead, and a break and run put him at 3-0. Morrison rallied a bit, taking the next rack and breaking and running the one after to make it 3-2, but Ussery took five straight to make it 7-2. The two went back and forth a bit to get the score to 9-6, but from there, Ussery took charge, finishing up his weekend of undefeated play with a break and run and earning his first Jacoby win this season 11-6.

After getting past recent winner Tony Morrison 7-4, Ussery was in the hot seat match against Derek Davis, who’d breezed past Jason Carter 7-2.

In the early bird tournament Friday night, Morrison took care of Chris Turner 7-5 in the finals, and on Saturday, Devon Gibson topped the juniors’ division, while Gladys Ratliff topped the ladies’, and as a bonus, had her ticket drawn in the raffle for the Jacoby cue. The second chance event on Sunday went to Derek Davis, and the break and run contest will be at $75 per ball at the next event.

Results:

1st BJ Ussery $1,000
2nd Tony Morrison $200

PHOENIX, AZ (June 23, 2009) – The United States Professional Poolplayers Association (the “UPA”) has come into the final phases of testing its newest collaboration and the organization is finally ready to launch its amateur league nationwide to be known as the League of Champions.

The handicapped league offers players access to professional pool on many levels using an official U.S. ranking computed by a newly developed cutting edge program called a Systematic Speed Ratio (SSR). The SSR is utilized to help determine both an individual’s speed and rank against their peers nationwide. To top it off, cash and prizes are added to the package. Eventually, prizes will include entries into professional events, official products, professional instruction, tickets, and tour stop entries for your entire team, both men and women.

Whether you are a beginner wanting to become skilled at the game or already have a strong background in the billiards community, this is one occasion that you can test your knowledge using a handicapped system that will allow you to compete with the best of the best, from beginners up to professional players.

The professionals behind the league system have completely eliminated any possibility of common challenges (such as “sand bagging”) which have become common place in many league settings by offering players and operators alike a technologically advanced program to maintain data on its players.

This specialized league system offers its operators an opportunity to create an entrepreneurial avenue in their backyard, while having a computerized online system that does all of the work for each operator. At this time, early bird franchise opportunities are available for those interested in turning their passions for the sport into a profitable business model.

As noted by Wyoming’s Franchise Owner, E.J. Glode, “our players completely love it – the SSR provides information that coincides with your actual skill level on the pool table removing any and all guess work by league operators. In the end, it makes for great competition between our beginner and advanced players.”

UPA Touring Professional Rodney "Rocket" Morris has thrown his name into the mix to help jump-start this new venture with a move to the west coast - Phoenix more specifically, for league promotion and further development.

“The idea to develop an amatuer league program was presented by our first president, Charlie Williams. Almost a year ago, we were approached by several parties requesting to use the UPA brand and its ideas in an amateur league and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. It’s very exciting to see the players challenged by our system. We have worked very hard to develop the system from a professional perspective and we expect great things to come of it.” – Rodney Morris, UPA Touring Professional

Already taking a step in the right direction by partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Phoenix, the UPA has made a substantial commitment to the youth by offering a portion of all league membership and player dues to assist the billiard fund to ultimately provide kids with an alternative to taking negative directions in life by providing a fun venue showing nothing but positive support from the community.

“In keeping with the traditions of previous presidents, we believe that our league should benefit the Boys and Girls Club. It is a direct investment in the future of our sport and most importantly the youth of our community.” – Frank Alvarez III, President and Touring Professional

Instroke Cases, Magique Golf, Delta-13, and Inside Pool Magazine all jump behind the launch, while other sponsors are still being determined and will be announced soon. Interested parties need only contact the UPA.

If you would like to learn more about the UPA organization as a whole or are interested in starting your League of Champions, visit our website at www.upatour.com or to contact us directly with questions, please call (877) 788-7227 or email info@upatour.com

UPA leagues are now active in Arizona, Minnesota, and Wyoming with more in development. For franchise opportunities, contact (877) 788-7227 (ext. 2) or email playupa@upatour.com

by Skip Maloney

Steve Moore came back to take the top prize away from B.J. Ussery in the finals of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour stop the weekend of March 28-29. The $1,000-added open event drew 37 entrants to Gate City Billiards in Greensboro, NC.

Moore moved into the hot seat match of the tour’s open event after a 7-3 victory over Jeff Abernathy. Ussery, in the meantime, battled to hill-hill versus Scott Lewis before advancing to face Moore for the hot seat. Ussery made short work of Moore, dispatching him to the semifinals 7-1 to gain the hot seat.

For a while, the one-loss side was playing host to Earl Strickland and Mike Davis before Davis shut out Strickland and then went home himself on the heels of a hill-hill battle versus Jeff Bean. Bean advanced among the tournament’s final 12 but fell to Keith Bennett, who went on to face Lewis. Lay Thammavong, who faced Abernathy, dropped into the tie for fifth when Abernathy shut him out. Bennett advanced to the quarterfinals against Abernathy with a 7-5 win over Lewis. Bennett and Abernathy then battled to hill-hill before Bennett prevailed to take on Moore in the semifinals.

Bennett took an early lead, but Moore fought back to tie it. At hill-hill, Bennett missed a shot on the 3 ball and conceded the win to Moore, who turned back for a rematch versus Ussery in the finals. Moore opened the proceedings with a 2-9 combo, but Ussery came back right away to tie it. Moore ran two racks and so did Ussery, knotting them at 3-3, then traded single racks to tie it at 4. Moore won the next two to go up 6-4. Ussery made it 6-5, and Moore closed it out by winning the next three to capture the first-place prize.

The break contest, with a $150 first prize, was won by James Blackburn. Derek Leonard defeated Mike Maurer in the hot seat match 5-4 and finals 7-1 of the early bird tournament to bring home the first-place, $140 prize there. It was Bob Strandberg winning the last chance tournament, bringing home $110 with a 7-4 win in the finals over Ira Leonard. Jason Prevo won the four-entrant juniors’ event over Palmer Richardson. Prevo and Zach Leonard qualified for the Junior Nationals during the event. The five-entrant ladies’ tournament saw Becca Felds take home the $40 first prize, with a double-hill win over Shannon Forrester in the finals.

Steve Moore came back to take the top prize away from B.J. Ussery in the finals of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour stop the weekend of March 28-29.

Open Results:
1st Steve Moore $1,000
2nd B.J. Usssery $500
3rd Keith Bennett $325
4th Jeff Abernathy $225
5th Scott Lewis $150
Lay Thammavong
7th Jeff Bean $100
Chris Turner
9th Todd Nelson
Mike Davis
Bob Strandberg
Chris Vollmar

by Rock City Promotions
Sharks-N-Shooter in Rocky Mount, NC, hosted the February 9-10 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour, drawing a field of 23 players for the $1,000 guaranteed added main event. Sam Monday defeated Michael Fuller in the final match, earning $1,000 for first place plus entry into the 2008 Carolina Open, courtesy of Fast Eddie’s in Goldsboro, NC.
To kick things off, an early bird tournament was held Friday night. Montez Lloyd held off Younger Chapman 7-6 in the final match. In the junior tournament Sunday, Mac Harrell defeated Trey Sprye 9-5 in the final match. Also on Sunday, a second-chance tournament was won by Phillip Richardson, who defeated Steven Page 7-6 in the final match.
In the main event, Monday began his quest for the title down 2-0 to junior player Andrew Coley. Monday quickly righted the ship and defeated Coley 7-2 and two other junior players, Mac Harrell 7-2 and Trey Sprye 7-1. Monday then faced Sidney Champion, having to come from behind to take the hill-hill match. This set up the hot seat match in which Monday sent Fuller to the one-loss side 7-3.
Fuller’s tournament began with victories over Scott Crandall 7-4, Jim Faircloth 7-1, Jeff Pruitt 7-3, and Eddie Little 7-1. After Fuller’s loss to Monday in the hot seat match, he defeated Little for a second time 7-4 to set up a rematch with Monday.
In the final match, both players stumbled coming out of the gate. Missed shots and bad position led to an eventual 4-2 lead for Monday. Fuller broke the seventh rack, and from there it was all Monday. It took exactly eight minutes for Monday to run the table, break and run twice, make the 9 ball on the break, and break and run a third time for the win 9-2.
Results:
1st Sam Monday
2nd Michael Fuller
3rd Eddie Little
4th Sidney Champion
5th Jeff Pruitt
Cary Dunn

The BCA Pool League invites you to Three Weeks of Pool Bliss when the Qlympics come to the Clarion Hotel Louisville, KY, November 1-18. The Qlympics is a guaranteed $10,000-added event and may be as much as $30,000 added, based on full fields.
All you need to play is one weekend – although the total Qlympics experience is 3 weeks of pool bliss. The BCA Pool League invites you to compete in any, or all, of the following events. You can participate in any or all of the following events:
November 1: Mini tournaments start
November 2-3: Scotch Doubles
November 3-4: 8-Ball Singles
November 10-11: 8-Ball Teams
November 17-18: Juniors 8- and 9-Ball
November 17-18: Qlympics Regional 8-Ball Teams and Singles (double-elimination format on 7-foot Diamond tables)
As this the first year for Qlympics, we expect smaller fields. Any good 9-foot player should want to enter—smaller fields means that your odds are greater to win money and titles.
The deadline for early bird entries is October 6. All entries must be postmarked or faxed by that date. Late fees begin October 7.
For more information and for entry forms, visit playbca.com.
You can also see the pros as they compete in Qlympics U.S. Open events during the same Three Weeks of Pool Bliss. There are 24/7 action rooms with late-night food and drink. What more enticement do you need?
Get Your Butt There