by InsidePOOL Staff

In the featured match of the winners’ bracket in the evening rounds of the Turning Stone Classic XVIII, Dennis Hatch defeated Darren Appleton in a double-hill match to send the Brit to the one-loss side of the chart.

Hatch, who despite dominating the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour is still chasing the elusive Turning Stone title, was tied with the reigning U.S. Open champion at 4-all and then at 8-all when things went Hatch’s way, and he took the match 9-8. Appleton now must play at noon in the brutal bracket, while Hatch’s next opponent will be Mike “The Fireball” Dechaine, who earlier bested Jennifer Barretta 9-4.

In the featured match of the winners’ bracket in the evening rounds of the Turning Stone Classic XVIII, Hatch defeated Appleton in a double-hill match to send the Brit to the one-loss side of the chart.

Earl Strickland dealt a shocking 9-0 loss to Johnny Archer in the second round of the winners’ side matches and then also sent Mike Davis to the west side 9-4. Archer recovered to hand Jerry Crowe a donut in the following round. Shane Winters, who earlier defeated Dan Heidrich 9-3, will face off with Strickland in the next round.

View the Turning Stone tournament brackets (updated continuously)

The other remaining lady, former world junior champion Brittany Bryant, suffered her first loss against Stevie Moore 9-4. Bryant went west to face off against the winner between Oscar Dominguez and Jim Sinclair, while Moore has to play former Turning Stone champion Ralf Souquet, who just bested Ruben Bautista 9-5.

Elimination rounds begin in earnest Saturday. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

by InsidePOOL Staff

It was a heart-breaking evening for some in the winners’ bracket at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, as the undefeated side was halved from 64 to 32.

Legends of One-Pocket champion Shannon Daulton went up against fellow Kentuckian Nick Varner, a two-time winner of the U.S. Open, and held a 5-3 lead before Varner was able to knot the score at 6-all. Unfazed, Daulton steadily climbed to the hill, but then he scratched on a rail shot on the 2 ball and never made it back to the table—Varner cleared that rack and then put a four-pack on “The Cannon” to escape with the 11-10 win.

Another tough winners’ side match saw Filipino Warren Kiamco, who took fourth place in last year’s event, go up against frequent Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour winner Dennis Hatch. The match seesawed to double-hill with Hatch in control of the table, but he missed the 8 ball, and Kiamco dished up to advance unscathed.

Two more hill-hill matches on the winners’ side occurred: Indiana’s Dennis Haar bested Northeast force Jeremy Sossei 11-10, while Bill Anderson moved past Mike Fuller 11-10. India’s Raj Hundal held an early lead over 2007 champ Shane Van Boening but was passed up as “The North Dakota Kid” surged to an 11-9 victory. Los Angeles’ Oscar Dominguez triumphed over Holland’s Niels Feijen in a close match that saw “The Big O” move on 11-9.

It was a heart-breaking evening for some in the winners’ bracket at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, as the undefeated side was halved from 64 to 32.

Live real time scoring of the entire 2011 U.S.Open 9-Ball Championships is being provided by ProPool.com and can be viewed at Inside POOL TV. The live real time scoring of the event also has chat so that visitors can visit with other fans.

2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Brackets
Day 1 Results
Day 2 Results
Day 3 Results
Day 4 Results

The elimination rounds will continue all throughout Thursday, with the winners’ side rounding out the night at 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m.

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by InsidePOOL Staff

More players have been ousted at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships as the elimination rounds have continued Wednesday, while the 64 undefeated players remaining will be halved to 32 after Wednesday evening’s rounds.

Allen Hopkins, who took this event in 1977 and 1981, suffered a first-round loss to the formidable Lee Vann Corteza but recovered nicely, eliminating Jonathan Demet 11-9 and then former world 9-ball champion Thorsten Hohmann 11-8. Hopkins’ next opponent will be Brian Brekke.

Young gun Shane Jackson took out Jose Parica, a.k.a. “The Leader of the Filipino Invasion,” in the elimination round Wednesday afternoon. The score was close all through the match, but he ultimately pulled ahead to win it 11-9.

Deuel is still alive after his first-round loss to Li Wen Lo. Deuel routed Aradhana Naik 11-1 and then bested Robert Hart 11-5 to face Steve Lillis in the next round.

Another former champion of this event, Corey Deuel is still alive after his first-round loss to Li Wen Lo. Deuel routed Aradhana Naik 11-1 and then bested Robert Hart 11-5 to face Steve Lillis in the next round.

Eric Hjorliefson ousted New York’s Frankie Hernandez in the afternoon round 11-3, as fellow Canadian John Morra, who was bested in the first round by Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie 11-6, went on to send home Mike Davis 11-5 and then Jimmy Garza 11-4.

There are some tough winners’ matches to call coming up. Shane Van Boening, the 2007 champion, will face off against India’s Raj “The Hitman” Hundal, while another exciting match-up will be between five-time champion Earl Strickland and Donny Mills.

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

Ralf Souquet, who narrowly escaped a defeat at the hands of Wilkie in the previous round, will face Bill Duggan, who just eked out an 11-10 win over Jerry Tarantola. Reigning world 9-ball champion Yukio Akagariyama will play England’s Tony Crosby, and fellow Japanese player Kenichi Uchigaki plays Kevin Bailey.

Defending champion Darren Appleton will play Juan Carlos Esposito, while fellow Brits Karl Boyes and Mark Gray will match up. Closer to home, U.S. player Mike Dechaine will play Larry “The Truth” Nevel, as Shawn Putnam and B.J. Ussery will face each other.

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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.

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

by InsidePOOL Staff

The elimination rounds continue at the 35th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships in Chesapeake, VA, and fewer players are left to vie for the title and the $40,000 first-place prize.

Hofstatter is the only female left in the field, with Barretta having been eliminated by Scott Higgins 11-5.

Gerda Hofstatter is the only female left in the field, Jennifer Barretta having been eliminated by Scott Higgins 11-5. On the one-loss side today Hofstatter withstood John Timmermans. She held the lead in their match from the start and reached the hill when Timmermans was at 6. But Timmerman began to climb back into the game, taking four racks to bring it to hill-hill. It was touch and go, but Hofstatter pulled off the 11-10 win.

Local hope Chris Futrell is still alive and kicking, having made it through his double-hill match against Craig McPartlin. Futrell’s next challenge will be making it past Shane Winters, who just eliminated Joshua Newman 11-6.

Scott “The Freezer” Frost was eliminated after a hill-hill loss to Bahram Lotfy, with Lotfy’s next match being against Gregg McAndrews, who bested Shane Norris 11-4. Ohio’s Chris Szuter handed Edwin Montal his walking papers 11-5 and will advance to fight Montal’s countryman Dennis Orcollo in the next round. Orcollo just ousted Jerome Rockwell 11-4.

Former champ Shane Van Boening eliminated Steve Sones 11-3, while Chris Bartram ousted the flamboyant Roberto Gomez in a tight 11-9 match. Also, Hunter Lombardo pulled off a nice victory over Shaun Wilkie 11-6 and will next face Jeff Abernathy, who eked out a hill-hill win over Richard Burns.

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

Live streaming provided by Accu-Stats.

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

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

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Seminole Pro Tour’s Memorial Weekend event is set to begin its second day in Hollywood, CA, having gone through two rounds on the one-loss side Saturday. The three-day event boasts an $8,500-added prize fund and is hosted by the famous Hollywood Billiards.

L.A. pros and the father-and-son team of Ernesto and Oscar Dominguez were set to meet in Saturday’s matches on the one-loss side. Oscar suffered a hill-hill defeat at the hands of Mike Davis in the first round, while Ernesto was sent west by Fach Garcia 7-3 in the second. The fickle finger of fate saw them matched up in the elimination rounds, and as Ernesto declined to play his son, Oscar advanced 7-0.

His next match will be against Jose “Amang” Parica, who was defeated by Marco Teschudi in the second round 7-5. After his match with Teschudi, Parica went on to face down Jerry Matchin 7-4.

The Seminole Pro Tour’s Memorial Weekend event is set to begin its second day in Hollywood, CA, having gone through two rounds on the one-loss side Saturday.

Players still on the winners’ side of the chart include Gabe Owen, Arturo Rivera, Rodney Morris, Corey Deuel, Eddie Abraham, and Stevie Moore. Local pros Corey Harper and Frank Almanza are also undefeated, though house pro Max Eberle was bested hill-hill in the first round by Moore and is fighting his way through the one-loss side of the chart. So far he has eliminated Greg Niwa 7-2 and Robert Lorry 7-0. Other players who have already lost a match include Charlie Williams, Manny Chau, Hunter Lombardo, and the 18-year-old Brendan Crockett.

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

by InsidePOOL Staff

The First Annual Hard Times Mezz 10-Ball Open kicked off today at Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, CA. The $5,000-added prize purse attracted a 76-player field, with the winner guaranteed $4,000.

Many in the international field stopped in Los Angeles to warm up for the World Pool Masters, which begins next week in Las Vegas, NV. Already some top names are faced with a long, uphill climb through the one-loss side. Player of the Year Mika “Iceman” Immonen was delivered west after a 9-1 trouncing by Efren “Bata” Reyes, while fellow Filipino Lee Van Corteza cooled house player Ismael “Morro” Paez by the same score.

The winners’ bracket is already down to 16 players, and elimination rounds have started on the left side. Most of the players had a first-round bye, but several found themselves facing an opponent early in the day. Former world 9-ball champ Thorsten Hohmann went up against Tina Pawloski and sent her to the one-loss side, where she rebounded with a victory over Lee Harvey. One featured first-round match-up saw Rodney Morris and Marcus Chamat go head to head, with the Swede heading to the left side. Chamat won two matches on the left side and is still alive going into Saturday. Morris’ next challenge will be from the legendary Reyes.

The First Annual Hard Times Mezz 10-Ball Open kicked off today at Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, CA. The $5,000-added prize purse attracted a 76-player field, with the winner guaranteed $4,000.

View the Inaugural Hard Times Mezz Open tournament brackets (updated continuously throughout event)

Steve Moore of Atlanta, GA, will play Corteza Saturday, as he won two tough matches—the first over San Diego’s Victor Castro and the second over Marc “Spain” Vidal. Manny Chau defeated Kevin May and Hunter Lombardo but will have a fight on his hands in his next round as he faces 2007 world 9-ball runner-up Roberto Gomez.

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

by Lea Andrews

Though they chose different routes to get there, George Saunders and Tommy Kennedy both ended up in the same place the weekend of January 9-10: the KF Cue Tour winner’s circle at Capone’s Billiards in Spring Hill, FL. While Saunders went undefeated to top the $1,000-added, 40-entrant amateur event on Saturday, Kennedy rebounded from an early loss to Mike Davis in Sunday’s $1,000-added open event to capture his second KF Cue Tour victory this season.

Saunders got past Josh Lewis to reach the hot seat match, where he faced Dan Dennis, who was coming off a win over Joe Scarborough. A hard-fought 7-6 win left Saunders the sole undefeated competitor, and Dennis moved to the left side to look for the rematch.

To get there, though, he’d have to get past Derek Greenwood, who’d been moving through the west side after taking a hit from Saunders, marking up strong wins over Louis Altes, Bill Dunsmore, Scarborough, and Lewis to reach the semifinals. The finals would be a rematch no matter what, but it was Dennis who earned it, and when he reached the single race-to-9 final match, he made a strong case for himself, pushing the score to 8-8. But it was Saunders who topped the safety battle in the final rack, pocketing the final 9 to notch his first-ever KF Cue Tour win.

Dan Dennis and George Saunders

On Sunday, as Kennedy was moving steadily through the elimination rounds to reach the finals, Justin Hall was making his way through the right side, posting a 7-5 win over Davis to reach the hot seat match against Louis Altes, who’d just shut out Wesley White. Against Hall, though, Altes had no such luck, moving to the other side 7-4.

On the one-loss side, Kennedy, who’d run through Elvis Rodriguez 6-3, Derek Greenwood 6-0, and Lewis 6-2, faced Davis once again, allowing him only one game in a race to 6 and planting Davis in fifth. After a 6-3 quarterfinal win over Richie Richeson, who’d just ousted White, it was semifinal time for Kennedy, who allowed Altes to reach the hill but took the final rack for himself.

In the single race-to-7 final match, Kennedy went ahead and let Hall reach the hill, too, but when Hall broke open the final rack and left all the balls on the table, Kennedy took over, making the 1 and the 2 to set up a 3-9 combination, which he nailed for his second win this season.

Kennedy and Rocky McElroy

Amateur Results:
1st George Saunders $550
2nd Dan Dennis $400
3rd Derek Greenwood $300
4th Josh Lewis $200
5th Joe Scarborough $100
Louie Smith
7th Bill Dunsmore $75
Bill Delisle
9th Coot Highsmith $50
Bill Stoll
Louis Altes
Wesley White $50

Open Results:
1st Tommy Kennedy $500
2nd Justin Hall $400
3rd Louis Altes $300
4th Richie Richeson $200
5th Wesley White $100
Mike Davis

by Lea Andrews

The field of 216 who arrived Sunday for the start of the 34th Annual US Open 9-Ball Championships has just begun to whittle its way down, as day three has seen the first eliminations of the event, though many are still going strong on the winners’ side. Action at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, continues through October 24, when the last man standing will don that green jacket.

CJ Wiley, who moved west after a first round 11-4 loss to Marlin Manalo, is now out of the running after falling 11-8 to Tom D’Alfonso. Upcoming one-loss side matches are Holland’s Niels Feijen versus Curtis Coleman, Pat DiBuono versus Kenichi Uchigaki, bank pool champ Danny Harriman versus Jason Richko, and Thorsten Hohmann versus fellow countryman Oliver Ortmann.

Still moving along on the right side is Ryan McCreesh, who survived a hill-hill battle with Craig Houghton by breaking and running the final rack.

Still moving along on the right side is Ryan McCreesh, who survived a hill-hill battle with Craig Houghton by breaking and running the final rack. “I broke perfect. On a break like that, this guy’s in trouble,” said McCreesh, who has a strategy for his upcoming match with world 10-ball champion Darren Appleton. “Break good, play good safes, and don’t miss,” he said with a laugh. Mike “Fingers” Badsteubner is ready for his winners’ side match versus Manalo after keeping Nick Varner from notching up the final game in their hill-hill match. Badsteubner, who’d gotten up 9-3, found the momentum of the match changing and Varner mounting a comeback, tying it up at 9 and reaching the hill first 10-9. “At that point, I wasn’t having any of that. I gave him seven games—I was determined not to give him the eighth game. If he wants it, he’s got to take it. I’m not going to hand it over.” When Varner’s 2-8 carom slid on him, keeping him from getting a rail, Badsteubner seized his opportunity. “At that point I knew it—it was over. I took a breath, got down on the shot, and ran the rack out.” Now that Badsteubner is in the money rounds, to what he calls ‘the business end of it,’ “I’m ready to knock some people out,” he said with confidence.

View the U.S. Open 9-Ball Double Elimination Tournament Brackets 1 (updated continuously)

View the U.S. Open 9-Ball Double Elimination Tournament Brackets 2 (updated continuously)

View the 2009 U.S. Open image gallery

View the LIVE STREAM from ACCU-STATS

Still to come in the third-round winners’ matches are Keith Bennett versus Charlie Williams, Daryl Peach versus Rafael Martinez, and Earl Strickland versus Zion Zvi.
Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

by Lea Andrews

With the action still going strong on day two of the 34th Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, which is being held October 18-24 at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, many big names remain undefeated after two rounds of play, while others have become early victims. All 216 players remain in the field, though elimination rounds begin Tuesday morning.

Still on the winners’ side is past champion Ralf Souquet, who notched up an 11-1 win over EJ Glode and an 11-4 win over Thomas Giddens. After shutting out Pat DiBuono, Steve Moore rolled over Stefano Ariavakis 11-1. Spain’s David Alcaide was almost as stingy with the 9 balls in his first two matches—he rode an 11-1 win over Scott Hershman to an 11-3 victory over Kaloyan Rusanov.

Bartram handed Immonen his first loss in his title defense.

View the U.S. Open 9-Ball Double Elimination Tournament Brackets 2 (updated continuously)

View the 2009 U.S. Open image gallery

View the LIVE STREAM from ACCU-STATS

Defending champion Mika Immonen, who held Jerry Fitchett to six games in round one, will have to defend his crown from the left side of the bracket after running into a determined Chris Bartram in round two. Bartram got out ahead 2-0, 3-1, and 7-3, but Immonen managed to tie it up at eight games apiece. Talent and luck were both on Bartram’s side in the final racks, and he took racks seventeen and eighteen with a 2-9 combination and a 1-9 combination, respectively, and though Immonen claimed rack nineteen after Bartram left a safety on the 2 ball open, he couldn’t close rack twenty, which turned into a safety battle after Immonen missed position on the 6 ball. It was Bartram who came out on top, making a difficult shot on the 6 to earn the right to face Alcaide 11-9. Another fallen hero is 2004 U.S. Open champion Gabe Owen, who fell 11-9 to Abdullah Alyousef after being up 4-1. Runner-up that year, Thorsten “The Hitman” Hohmann also suffered a second-round loss to Jason Klatt 11-9. After falling 11-6 to Robb Saez, 2006 U.S. Open champion John Schmidt will face Don Steele on Wednesday, while Oliver Ortman , who fell 11-9 to Keith Bennett, will face Thorsten Hohmann, who managed just nine games himself against Jason Klatt.

Second round winners’ matches still to come are Jonathan “Hennessee” Pinegar versus Charlie Bryant, Tony Chohan versus Jose Parica, Darren Appleton versus Zaid Thweib, and Shane Van Boening versus Marvin Davis.

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