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.

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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.

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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.
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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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by InsidePOOL Staff

After a grueling day of elimination and single-elimination rounds, the WPBA’s latest tour stop at the Great Lakes Classic has revealed its final four players. The event is being hosted by the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, IN.

The full 64-player field wound down to its final 16 players Saturday evening before it went into its single-elimination format. There Yu Ram Cha, who had just ousted reigning WPBA points leader Monica Webb 9-6, bested Gerda Hofstatter in a hill-hill bout to advance to play Karen Corr. “The Irish Invader” made a triumphant return from the one-loss side after a third-round loss to Jasmin Ouschan 9-6, since besting Helena Thornfeldt 9-4. Corr managed to keep her momentum going, ousting Cha 9-7 to head off to the semifinals.

Ouschan enjoyed an undefeated run to the semifinals, having gone through opponents such as Cristina De La Garza 9-3, Line Kjorsvik 9-5, Karen Corr 9-6, and Pam Cimarelli 9-8, only to face off against Ga Young Kim in the quarterfinals. Kim had also had an undefeated stretch, going through Ming Ng 9-3, Stacy Novack 9-5, and Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee 9-4 to reach the final 16. There she bested Tracie Hines 9-6, only to be sent packing by Ouschan by a strong 9-3 score in their quarterfinal match.

Ouschan will face off against Corr while Pan and K. Fisher battle to earn their spots in the finals of the WPBA Great Lakes Classic.

Vivian Villareal went undefeated to the quarterfinals, besting Kathleen Moon 9-5, Liz Cole 9-4, Tracie Hines 9-7, and Kim Shaw 9-7. However, she was turned away by Xiaoting Pan with a whopping 9-2 final score in the quarterfinals. Pan also went through unchallenged, besting Liz Taylor 9-6, Jennifer Barretta 9-4, Melissa Herndon 9-2, and Laura Smith 9-1.

The last quarterfinal match on the bracket was a battle between two Fishers as defending champion Allison Fisher ultimately succumbed to Kelly Fisher. Both players went through the bracket undefeated—A. Fisher defeating Candi Rego 9-3, Angelina Paglia 9-2, Gerda Hofstatter 9-4, and Jeanette Lee in a hill-hill match, while K. Fisher bested Michell Monk 9-2, Megan Smith 9-2, My-Hahn Lac 9-5, and Julie Kelly 9-3. When they finally clashed, K. Fisher was able to send 2009 BCA Hall of Fame inductee A. Fisher home with a 9-4 score.

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By Sally Lee

Filipino Roberto Gomez has completely crushed his first opponents to qualify for the Final 32 man elimination rounds. Gomez should be seeded #1 with a 11-0, 11-2, and 11-1 wins. Ozone Billiards presents the 112 top players from around the globe along with top sponsor JBETpoker.net on the Dragon Promotions production at the Riviera Hotel & Casino May 11-16,2009 during the BCAPL’s National 8-Ball Championships. The 9th Annual Predator International 10-Ball Championship features live scoring of the entire event on www.Predator10ball.com .

Gomez was the runner-up at the last World 9-Ball Championship, and has since then won many events in the Philippines. This event is his first in the USA.

“I’m really excited to be here. I’ve been wanting to come to the USA for so long now but never had the opportunity. I hope I can do well”,said the smiling and jovial Gomez.

So far so good. Gomez has lost a total of only 3 games thus far defeating top West Coast pro Max Eberle 10-2 and then crushing USA top five Charlie “HillBilly” Bryant 10-1. This should move Gomez into the #1 seed during the re-draw which should put him against the #32 seed in the first match of the final stage of the Predator Championship.

Roberto Gomez has been a dominant debutante in his first US appearance.

Former World 10-Ball Champion Shane Van Boening had a rough and surprising day when unknown Steve Folan handed him a 10-4 loss. Van Boening must face either Jeanette Lee or Yu Ram Cha to qualify. Dennis Orcullo, the most feared player in the Philippines, led 6-1 against veteran American pro Tony Robles only to see his lead vanquish with Robles running racks to win 10-6.

Players or fans wanting info please email world10ballchampionships@gmail.com or call 1-407-782-4978 www.dragonpromotions.com

For more info on The Predator International 10-Ball Championships goto www.predator10ball.com
Ozone Billiards www.ozonebilliards.com is also joined by www.Jbetpoker.net, Simonis Cloth, Diamond Tables, Aramith Balls, Laser Rack, Uni-Loc, and the event host BCA Pool Leagues in this Dragon Promotions production.

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 the Philippines, USA, Korea, India, and Europe such as ABS-CBN, ESPN, MBC ESPN, XTM, XPORTS, and Euro Sport. Events include The Women’s World 10-Ball Championship, 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, and many more. Dragon also manages some of the world’s best players including Mika Immonen, Shanelle Loraine, Mike Davis, Yu Ram Cha, Raj Hundal, , Rodney Morris, Charlie Williams, and many more.

Visit www.dragonpromotions.com or www.dragonpromotions.co.kr

The elimination rounds rolled relentlessly through the Diamond Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship field Friday afternoon, leaving only 16 players remaining on the one-loss side. The event began Thursday with 46 players and is being hosted by the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, PA.

Shaun Wilkie, who was runner-up at this event last year to Shane Van Boening, had a tough run of luck at this year’s event and has already been ousted. In Thursday night’s round, he met Van Boening in the winners’ bracket. This match went hill-hill, but Van Boening broke and ran the final rack, and Wilkie never had a chance. Then, in the next round, Wilkie found himself playing 2008 InsidePOOL Player of the Year, Mika Immonen, in another epic hill-hill bout. On the final 10-ball, though, Wilkie faltered, and Immonen took the win.

Moore was a surprise early exit at the 10-Ball event at the Super Billiards Expo.

Steve “The Blade” Moore was another surprise early exit from the event. Moore matched up with Matt Krah in the first round and, after a hill-hill battle, was sent to the west side of the chart. There he received a second-round bye only to face off against Kim Davenport in the third. It was another close call, but Davenport prevailed 10-8.

Yet another shocking elimination was that of Darren Appleton, the reigning 10-ball world champ. Appleton has already won one title this year at the U.S. Bar Table Championships and was looking to add another to his resume. However, he lost to Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant Thursday evening 10-8 after making an impressive comeback to 8-all from being down 6-1. On the one-loss side he was faced with “Rocket” Rodney Morris. Morris had been practicing his break for a couple of hours, and it worked for him. Morris hung up a 6 ball at 8-4 in his favor, and Appleton again came back, this time to 8-7, but Morris was able to close it out 10-7.

Spheragon will be streaming the event using Ustream:
FREE LIVE Streaming of Players Championship

The event also will be accessible via Inside POOL Magazine and Spheragon

Diamond Player’s Championship 10-Ball tournament brackets

In other professional player news, Saturday night will see the start of the Women’s Invitational 10-Ball Pro Players Shootout. This single-elimination, eight-player event will pay out six places. Allison Fisher, Jennifer Barretta, Yu Ram Cha, Angel Paglia, Joanne Ashton, Megan Smith (nee Minerich), Caroline Pao, and Kim Shaw will be competing for the $2,000 first-place prize.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Little, one of seven women pool players to play in the Reno Open, and Mary Rakin are still undefeated.

The Reno Open began its elimination rounds Wednesday—having started with 167 they are currently left with 153 players. The $50,000 total prize purse will be divvied up between the top 48 contestants, with $15,000 going to first place and $7,500 to second.

Of the seven ladies in attendance, two are still undefeated: Melissa “The Viper” Little and Mary Rakin. Both had a first-round bye. Little defeated Bill Brown in the second round while Rakin sent Dennis Hostak to the one-loss side.

There have been no major upsets as yet at this long-running event. Of the 64 undefeated players, the favorites remain, including Kim Davenport, Steve Moore, Ronnie Wiseman, Gabe Owen, Mike Davis, Charlie Bryant, Jeff Carter, Tyler Edey, Oscar and Ernesto Dominguez, Corey Deuel, and Stan Tourangeau.

Thursday will see more rounds in the winners’ bracket, and some of the featured match-ups will include Deuel versus Louis Ulrich, Jose Parica versus Leonardo Andam, and Max Eberle versus Oscar Dominguez.

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

Amateurs Choy (L) and Yhong (R) of Korea are quickly making a name for themselves at the Asia 10-Ball Championships.

The contingent of Korean amateurs are overshadowing the successes of the Korean pros as they are holding more than their own on their home turf against the international competitors. Day 2 of the 5th Annual XTM Asia 10-Ball Championships continues with the elimination rounds where half the field will exit out today. The event continues at the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon,Seoul produced by Dragon Promotions.
 
Korean amateur Kyeong Lim Choy faced the toughest match of his life against 2008 World Cup Champion Rodney Morris (USA). The legendary Morris seemed out of sorts still from his long trip from America, and had a hard time grasping the quick speed and tightness of the Min Tables. Choy took full advantage of Morris’s mistakes and made it to the hill first 8-6. Choy seemed to feel the pressure of winning and missed a near straight in 8-ball with an easy 10-ball waiting for him next. Morris would win that game and then again took another win when Choy missed another easy shot to run out the next. In the final game, Morris broke with a chance to run out starting with an easy 1-5 combo but failed to hold the 1-ball for position. Playing safe, Morris came back to the game making a spectacular position shot to land dead perfect for a 3-10 combo for the match win. Unfortunately he missed and left Choy an open table. Choy visibly nervous, held onto his heart to run out for the 9-8 win.
 
“Rodney didn’t play well, but this amateur player played a solid match against him.” commented Mika Immonen. Immonen later easily defeated top Japanese pro Hisataka Kamihashi 9-4 in commanding fashion to advance to the quarter finals.
 
Fellow Korean amateur Hwang Yhong kept his streak alive with another daring win. The day before Yhong turn heads by defeating #5 seed Hayato Hijikata of  Japan. Today Yhong took on Filipino young gun Renemar David of Bugsy Promotions, the same management group of stars Ronnie Alcano and Dennis Orcullo. David took an early lead 3-0, but Yhong came back with great offensive shooting to lead 6-4. David then took advantage of Yhong’s mistakes to make it 6-5 and then made a superb razor thin cut shot on the 9-ball and left a perfect 10-ball shot to tie the match at 6-6. Unfortunately for the young Filipino, Yhong didn’t falter and held on for three straight games to win 9-6. 
 

Kaori Ebe of Japan advances to the semi-finals.

Not all the favorites were fairing too bad as #2 seed Heon Ho Kim (KOR -Charlie Williams) bounced back from two very close matches with a 9-1 drubbing of Hong Kong’s Lee Chenman(#7 seed). #9 seed Jech Limen (PHI) fell to Japan’s Kamihashi 9-7 and then Kamihashi in turn was chanceless against mighty Mika Immonen 8-0 before succumbing 9-4.
 
#4 seed Thorsten Hohmann(GER) and #6 seed Rodrigo Geronimo (PHI) engaged in an intense battle to advance to the quarter finals. The match went back and forth with each taking minor leads. Hohmann caught the last breath of air to reach the hill 8-6 but missed a chance to close out the match and Geronimo took the next two games to make the match 8-8. The final game went like an Olympic marathon with Hohmann winning the strategic battle for an open run. Hohmann unfortunately landed wrong on the 8-ball and missed a difficult cut shot and left Geronimo a early Christmas present for the win.
 
Korean women’s amateur Jung Eun Kim upsetted European Bronze medalist and Turkish Champion Neslihan Gurel 7-4. #4 seed Kaori Ebe afterwards defeated Kim 7-5 in a close battle. Junko Mitsuoka defeated fellow Japanese Chihiro Kawahara to advance to the semi-finals. #1 seed Gui Young Lee (KOR) will re-match with Ebe (JPN) in the televised semi-finals.
 
The XTM Asia 10-Ball Championships is produced by Dragon Promotions and played on Min Tables Professional Edition with Simonis Cloth and Aramith Balls. Official Cue is Poison Cues Poisonbilliards.co.kr and Predator Cues Predatorcues.co.kr . Final day will have six matches airing on XTM and XPORTS.
For more info goto Dragonpromotions.kr  and Dragonpromotions.com