by InsidePOOL Staff

It was an epic battle between two Southern super powers at the August 13-14 stop of the Great Southern Billiard Tour when B.J. Ussery and Sam Monday went head to head in the finals, with Ussery taking the win 11-8. The $1,500-added, 9-ball event was held at Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC, where a field of 58 amateurs came out to play.

Monday and Ussery first collided in the winners’ side final, after Monday had sent Norris Brady to the one-loss side 11-6 and Ussery had routed Mike Fuller 11-1. Monday and Ussery struggled to hill-hill before Ussery claimed the final game and the hot seat 11-10.

It was an epic battle between two Southern super powers at the August 13-14 stop of the Great Southern Billiard Tour when Ussery and Monday went head to head in the finals, with Ussery taking the win 11-8.

Mike Fuller and George Crawford, meanwhile, were making their move on the west side of the chart. Fuller eliminated Tommy Cook at fifth place 11-4, while Crawford ended Brady’s event in the same spot with a 9-8 win. In the quarterfinal match, Crawford was the one to advance by virtue of a 9-10 victory over Fuller in the handicapped match.

Monday awaited Crawford in the semifinals, and it was a hill-hill battle, with Monday eking out an 11-8 score to try for revenge in the finals against Ussery. But Ussery was determined to take home the title, and he did so by besting Monday 11-8.

Results:
1st B.J. Ussery $1,000
2nd Sam Monday $650
3rd George Crawford $450
4th Mike Fuller $275
5th Tommy Cook $145
Norris Brady
7th Ian Holt $95
Dylan Letchworth

by Suzanne Smith

Liz Cole took control of the field at the July 9-10 stop of the Northwest Women’s Pool Association, dominating Mona Remedios in the finals to take the title. The tour’s fourth stop of the season was hosted by Black Diamond Billiards and Eatery in Spokane, WA, where a field of 23 ladies came out to play.

Liz Cole took control of the field at the July 9-10 stop of the Northwest Women’s Pool Association, dominating Mona Remedios in the finals to take the title.

Six ladies returned for Sunday’s matches, and right off the bat Jane Montour sent Kimberly Kirk home in fifth place 7-4, while Sheila Moss eliminated Deby Welfringer 7-6 in the same place. Montour and Moss matched up in the quarterfinal match, and Montour ousted Moss 7-4 to earn her spot in the semifinals.

In the battle for the hot seat, Remedios and Cole matched up for the first time, and Remedios defeated Cole 7-5 and delivered her to the one-loss side of the chart. There Cole faced off against Montour and bested her 7-4, sending her home in third place and earning a second shot at Remedios.

The single race-to-9 finals saw Cole jump out to a 3-0 lead before Remedios got on board. They exchanged racks to bring the score to 4-2 Cole, and then Cole turned things up a notch and won the next four racks to reach the hill first. Remedios rallied to win the next couple of games to bring the score to 8-4, but Cole won the final game to resume position on top of the NWPA standings, leaving Remedios in a close second.

Seven ladies came to play in a $100-added second chance tournament Sunday. After a first-round bye, Jessica Orth lost a hill-hill match up against NWPA tour president Tamre Rogers. Rogers then defeated bested Makus for the hot seat. Orth battled through three hill-hill matches to earn her spot in the final against Rogers, which was one race to 4. Orth defeated Rogers 4-2 to earn the top prize of $52.

Results:
1st Liz Cole $365
2nd Mona Remedios $250
3rd Jana Montour $155
4th Sheila Moss $115
5 Deby Welfringer $74
Kimberly Kirk
7 Phyllis Fernandez $54
Adrianne Beach

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Action Pool Tour (APT) held its inaugural event at Top Hat Cue Club in Parkville, MD, June 11-12 and attracted an exceptional field of 58 participants. Matt Krah went undefeated through the field to take the title, fending off a charge from Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie in the finals.

Day 1 provided some great match-ups and a few surprises. Kevin West suffered an 8-7 first-round loss to Lay Thammavong, while Wilkie came dangerously close to a second-round loss to Greg Sabins. By the end of the first day, four players—Brett Stottlemyer, Wilkie, Rick Moliniero, and Krah—remained in the winners’ bracket and eight players—Alvin Thomas, Ozzy Reynolds, Mark Ford, Sean Morgan, Kevin West, Rob Metz, Alan Duty, and Michael Wong—remained on the one-loss side.

Pictured left to right: Ozzy Reynolds, Matt Krah, Shaun Wilkie, Rick Moliniero

The second day of the event began with Wilkie handing Stottlemyer his first loss 8-3, while Krah dominated Moliniero 8-2. This set up the hot seat match between Wilkie and Krah. The match was close throughout, but with the score tied 7-7, Krah came through in the end to win the final game and secure his spot in the finals.

On the west side, Moliniero displayed some terrific shooting and stunned Stottlemyer 8-3 to advance to the semifinals against Wilkie, which Wilkie won convincingly 8-2. In the finals, a rematch of the hot seat match, Wilkie had to best Krah twice to take the win in the true double-elimination format. But Krah would have no part of it. He seemed to work the cue ball around the table effortlessly and took the final match by a score of 8-2.

Results:
1st Matt Krah $1,000
2nd Shaun Wilkie $600
3rd Rick Moliniero $350
4th Brett Stottlemyer $250
5th Alan Duty $150
Alvin Thomas
7th Kevin West $100
Mark Ford
9th Michael Wong $60
Ozzy Reynolds
Sean Morgan
Rob Metz

by Lea Andrews

Brad Sullivan’s first tournament win was the best kind—the local player went undefeated, getting past Robert Frost twice in the later rounds to become the last man standing out of a 44-player field. The $1,500-added Great Southern Billiard Tour’s May 28-29 event was hosted by Murfreesboro Billiard club in Murfreesboro, TN.

Brad Sullivan’s first tournament win was the best kind—the local player went undefeated, getting past Robert Frost twice in the later rounds to become the last man standing out of a 44-player field.

B-ranked Sullivan sent A-ranked Frost to the west side 7-6 to reach the final four on the winners’ side, where he faced fellow B player Corey Morphew. A 7-4 victory pushed Sullivan into the hot seat match against AA-ranked Billy Young, who’d just slipped past Josh O’Neal 11-9. Another 7-4 victory for Sullivan ensued, and Young moved over to the semifinals.

On the left side of the bracket, Frost bounced back from his loss, ousting B-ranked Joe Pierce 9-1 and AA-ranked Justin Bergman 9-9 to meet up with O’Neal. Meanwhile, B-ranked JJ Mayfield, who was well-rested after sleeping through his first match Sunday, powered through B-player Todd Crosby 7-4 and A-ranked Tim Miller 7-3 to face Morphew. Another lopsided 7-3 win put him into the quarterfinal match against Frost, who’d kept O’Neal three games shy of his goal of 11. The Frost/Mayfield match-up was lopsided as well, but unfortunately for Mayfield, he was on the wrong end of it and he finished in fourth 9-2, sending Frost on to the semifinal match against Young. Frost’s streak continued, and he marked up the final game in the hill-hill match, advancing to the finals 9-10.

While both Frost and Sullivan were on a winning streak, Sullivan’s had been going uninterrupted for two days, and he wasn’t about to let it end in the wee hours of Monday morning. The true double-elimination final match went just one set, and Sullivan notched his first tournament win ever 7-6.

Results:
1st Brad Sullivan $1,000
2nd Robert Frost $600
3rd Billy Young $450
4th JJ Mayfield $250
5th Josh O’Neal $125
Corey Morphew
7th Justin Bergman $90
Tim Miller

by InsidePOOL Staff

Nicole Keeney bested a 44-player field at the April 16-17 stop of the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour to be crowned the WPBA Texas State champion. The event was hosted by Casper’s Billiards, San Leon, TX, and drew some of the top women players in pool vying for the WPPA U.S. Open qualifier spot.

Jennifer Kraber grabbed the qualifier over Orietta Strickland in the one-loss side, while on the winners’ side, it came down to Keeney versus Amanda Lampert and Ming Ng against Ricki Casper. Keeney won her match hill-hill, while Ng bested Casper 7-4. In the hot seat match, Keeney kept the streak going with a 7-4 win over Ng.

Nicole Keeney bested a 44-player field at the April 16-17 stop of the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour to be crowned the WPBA Texas State champion.

On the one-loss side, Terry Petrosino, winner of the November 2010 tour stop at Casper’s, was hanging tough as she won a hill-hill match against Lampert. Lisa Marr was able to get another chance against Casper, who, on Saturday, bested Marr 7-0. Marr avenged this loss Sunday 7-4.

Petrosino continued her strong play by scoring another hill-hill win against Marr, leaving Marr with a fourth-place finish. However, it was over for Petrosino when Ng bested her 7-4 in the semifinals.

In the double-elimination final match, Ng looked like she would force a second set, as she reached the hill in the first set 6-1. Keeney had to refresh and dig deep to make the score hill-hill. A safety battle ensued in the final game, and ultimately Keeney finished the match with a 6-7-8-9 run to win 7-6.

Results:
1st Nicole Keeney $750
2nd Ming Ng $550
3rd Terry Petrosino $400
4th Lisa Marr $260
5th Amanda Lampert $160
Ricki Casper
7th Orietta Strickland $100
Jennifer Kraber
9th Chris Fields $75
Cristina De La Garza
Belinda Lee
Amber Stone

by Lea Andrews

Bobby Blackmore made it to the finals of the April 2-3 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour undefeated, and though, thanks to Joe Korsiak, he didn’t finish that way, he won when it counted to clinch the ultimate prize. Blackmore and Korsiak were among the field of 39 gathered at Raxx Pool Room and Grill in West Hempstead, NY, for the $1,500-added main event.

Blackmore rode a decisive 9-5 victory over Sean Morgan into the hot seat match against Chris Lynch, who’d just edged out Korsiak 9-8. Another solid 9-5 win for Blackmore earned him the hot seat, while Lynch moved over to the semifinals.

Bobby Blackmore made it to the finals of the April 2-3 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour undefeated, and though, thanks to Joe Korsiak, he didn’t finish that way, he won when it counted to clinch the ultimate prize.

On the other side of the bracket, Jeremy Sossei, who’d moved west after an early 9-2 loss to Korsiak, ousted Phil Davis 9-4 and Brian Hunter 9-5 to meet up with Morgan. Meanwhile, Jorge Rodriguez took care of Pete Ziemak 9-8 and Joey Kong 9-5 to face Korsiak. Rodriguez fell a couple games short, though, finishing in fifth 9-7 and setting up a quarterfinal rematch between Korsiak and Sossei, who’d gotten past Morgan 9-6. Sossei fared slightly better this time around, but his five games merely netted him fourth place, while Korsiak moved on to his own rematch against Lynch in the semifinals. Korsiak and Lynch once again went hill-hill, but it was Korsiak who marked up the final game and earned the spot in the finals against Blackmore.

In the first set of the true double-elimination final match, Korsiak led the way, pushing the second set convincingly 9-4. In the second set, though, Blackmore regained control, nabbing his first win this season 9-5.

In Sunday’s $500-added, second chance, non-pro event, Oscar Bonilla claimed the hot seat over Phil Davis 3-0. Davis faced Yesid Garibello in the semifinals, narrowly missing a chance at a finals rematch 3-2 and finishing in third. Garibello managed to shut out Bonilla 3-0 in the first set of the finals, but Bonilla came back in the second set to close out his victory 3-2. The final winner of the weekend was under-the-radar top player Bob Talbot, who went home with a custom, engraved, collectible Joss Cue valued at $1,200 after his ticket was drawn in the raffle.

The next $1,500/$500-added event will be held April 16-17 at Golden Cue Billiards in Albany, NY. Those interested in competing in the tour’s season finale, Turning Stone Classic XVIII, should contact tour director Mike Zuglan at 518-356-7163 as soon as possible. Please note that the Turning Stone date has been changed from August 11-14 to September 8-11.

Open Results:
1st Bobby Blackmore $1,000
2nd Joe Korsiak $750
3rd Chris Lynch $600
4th Jeremy Sossei $450
5th Jorge Rodriguez $300
Sean Morgan
7th Joey Kong $125
Brian Hunter

Second Chance Results:
1st Oscar Bonilla $280
2nd Yesid Garibello $180
3rd Phil Davis $120
4th Dave Shlemperis $80
5th Scott Murphy $40
Chris Lazarovitch

by Lea Andrews

Josh Newman, who’s notched Great Southern Billiard Tour wins first as a B player and then as an A player, earned his first win as an AA player the weekend of March 26-27. Undefeated Newman topped a strong 74-player field at the $1,500-added event, which was held at Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.

Newman, who’s notched Great Southern Billiard Tour wins first as a B player and then as an A player, earned his first win as an AA player the weekend of March 26-27. Pic: from l to r: Jimmie and Jenny Bullis (owners of Speak Eazy Billiards), Josh Newman, BJ Ussery, and Shannon "The Cannon" Daulton

Following back-to-back, hill-hill wins over past winners Tony Morrison and Sidney Champion, both A players, Newman faced yet another past winner, AA-ranked B.J. Ussery. Edging out Ussery 11-10, Newman went on to the hot seat match against A-ranked Glenn Russell, who’d sent C player Jack Miller west 9-4. It was Newman earned the hot seat 11-7, sending Russell over to the semifinals to try to fight his way back.

On the left side of the bracket, Morrison and Champion were making their own efforts to get back to Newman. Morrison ousted A-ranked Mike Basha 9-1 and B-ranked Vernon Rogers 9-2 to face Ussery, while Champion took care of B player Walter Newsome and C player Mike Walker to reach Jack Miller. Champion easily handled Miller 9-2 to earn his spot in the quarterfinal match, but Morrison managed just two games against Ussery to land in fifth. Both Ussery and Champion were determined to be the one to move on, fighting their way to hill-hill 10-8, but it was Ussery who marked up the final game to move on to the semifinal match against Russell, and it was Ussery who played his way into the finals 11-5, leaving Russell behind in third.

View the Great Southern Billiard Tour Speak Eazy Billiards tournament brackets

In the true double-elimination final match, Newman and Ussery stayed fairly even until they’d reached seven games apiece, but a few bad rolls and errors on Ussery’s part allowed Newman to pull ahead 9-7, and an accidental 9 ball in the next rack allowed him to reach the hill 10-7. Ussery took the next game, but when he snookered himself on the 6 and missed the kick, Newman went back to the table to clean up what was left and put another GSBT victory under his belt.

Results:
1st Josh Newman $1,000
2nd B.J. Ussery $600
3rd Glenn Russell $420
4th Sidney Champion $320
5th Tony Morrison $160
Jack Miller
7th Vernon Rogers $90
Mike Walker
9th Taz Holliday $50
Mike Basha
Mike McMillian
Walter Newsome