by InsidePOOL Staff

Janet Atwell escaped a close call in her double-elimination final match with Ashley Nandrasy to claim the title of Oklahoma State champion at the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s July 24-25 stop. Hosted by Magoo’s Billiards in Tulsa, OK, the $750-added tournament attracted 28 ladies to play, including three current WPBA pros.

Atwell (pictured left) escaped a close call in her double-elimination final match with Ashley Nandrasy (pictured right) to claim the title of Oklahoma State champion at the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s July 24-25 stop. Hosted by Magoo’s Billiards in Tulsa, OK, the $750-added tournament attracted 28 ladies to play, including three current WPBA pros.

But Nandrasy had managed a tough bracket and had come too far to back down. After ousting Williams at third place 7-3, she went up against Atwell in the double-elimination final match. As the first set commenced, Atwell missed critical shots while Nandrasy finished games to win 7-2 and force a second set. The second set was a back-and-forth battle that saw the score ultimately reach hill-hill. It all came down to Atwell’s kick at an 8 ball—with a little nudge off the 9 ball, the 8 went in, leaving a straight-in shot on the 9 for the win.

Results:
1st Janet Atwell $750
2nd Ashley Nandrasy $550
3rd Tara Williams $335
4th Melinda Bailey $235
5th Belinda Calhoun $150
Lisa Marr
7th Jennifer Kraber $100
Tracie Voelkering
9th Lisa Henderson-Major $50
Cindy Parvala
Julie Comitini
Amanda Lampert
13th Michelle McDermott $30
Kathy Knuth
Theresa Wilson
Veronica Perez

by Alison M. Fischer, NYCgrind.com

A field of 67 players visited Amsterdam Billiard Club in New York, NY, July 24-25 to participate in the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour. Offering a wide range of top NYC-area amateur and pro players, the event showcased plenty of competition, but it was John Alicea and tour promoter Tony Robles who won their respective divisions.

Alicea ran to the top of the A-D 9-ball division, rolling through the A/B bracket to meet custom cue case maker Jim Murnak, who won the C/D bracket in the hot seat match. A 7-4 victory left Alicea sitting in the king seat.

Daniel Dagotdot claimed four winners’ side matches before Alicea sent him west after their winners’ side final four match. He returned for a rematch with Alicea by besting Murnak in the semifinals 7-2. Though he rallied in the final match against Alicea and came back from behind, Alicea was able to complete his undefeated run 7-6 to win his first Predator Tour event of the 2010 season.

In the open/pro division, “The Silent Assassin” was handed a first-round loss by Jeremy Sossei 8-4 but then charged through the one-loss side to earn revenge on Sossei 8-2 to advance to the finals. George “Ginky” Sansouci was busy firing through the winners’ bracket to claim the hot seat. In the final match, Sansouci faced Robles in a match that Robles dominated to take the title.

A field of 67 players visited Amsterdam Billiard Club in New York, NY, July 24-25 to participate in the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour.

Open/Pro 10-Ball Results:
1st Tony Robles $700
2nd George Sansouci $400
3rd Jeremy Sossei $150

by InsidePOOL Staff

Samm “Cherry Bomb” Diep came back from a late loss to earn top honors at the Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour’s July 24-25 event, besting Susan Williams in the final match. The tour’s third stop of 2010 was hosted by Pockets in Tucson, AZ, and featured a $300-added prize purse.

Diep came back from a late loss to earn top honors at the Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour’s July 24-25 event, besting Susan Williams in the final match.

The west side saw Diep recover from her loss and eliminate Sunny Griffin, as Wagner ousted Ashea Erdahl. Diep and Wagner then went on to the quarterfinal match to face off, and Diep eked out a hill-hill win, sending Wagner home in fourth place. A rematch saw Diep go up against Lawless for the second time during the event, but this time Diep came out on top and advanced to the finals.

In the single race to 9, the players traded racks until the score was 5-3 in Williams’ favor. Then Diep went on a tear, winning the next five games in a row to tilt the score in her favor 8-5. After a few exchanges and some safety play, Diep came out on top to win the match 9-5.

Results:
1st Samm Diep $200
2nd Susan Williams $140
3rd Kathleen Lawless $90
4th Rebecca Wagner $60
5th Sunny Griffin $30
Ashea Erdahl
7th Jeri Engh $25
Sara Miller

by Lea Andrews

Brian White, who earned his first Great Southern Billiard Tour victory in March, made an undefeated run through the tour’s July 25-26 stop to earn his second. The $1,500-added event, which was sponsored by Nick Varner Cues and Cases, brought 57 competitors to World Cup Billiards in Greenville, SC.

Brian White, who earned his first Great Southern Billiard Tour victory in March, made an undefeated run through the tour’s July 25-26 stop to earn his second.

On the left side of the bracket, recent winner Jordan Grubb, who’d suffered an earlier loss to White, moved past B-ranked John Thompson 9-3 and A-ranked Matt Mancini 9-6 to face Megia. Meanwhile, Josh Newman, a past winner who’d fallen to Megia, ousted B players Justin Price 9-5 and BEF Junior Nationals 14-and-Under Boys’ champion Billy Thorpe 9-5. Newman continued his quest for another first-place finish by planting King in fifth 9-3 to reach the quarterfinals against Grubb, who’d had his own 9-3 win over Megia. The two A players had a close battle, but it was Newman who advanced 9-7 to meet Cairnes in the semifinals. Newman’s smooth shutout earned him a ticket to the finals, while Cairnes settled for third.

The true double-elimination final match was, unfortunately for Newman, a replica of the stellar performances that White had put on the rest of the weekend. White gave it everything he had to earn his first-place finish by a decisive 11-5 margin.

Results:
1st Brian White $1,000
2nd Josh Newman $500
3rd Gary Cairnes $300
4th Jordan Grubb $200
5th Aaron Megia $125
David King
7th Matt Mancini $80
Billy Thorpe
9th John Thompson $45
Tony Morrison
Justin Price
Daniel Rutledge

by Lea Andrews

Keith Bennett, who last won a Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina event in January, found himself back in the winner’s circle after getting past the best in the Carolinas. The $1,000-added twelfth stop of the tour was held at Break Time Billiards in Wilmington, NC, the weekend of July 24-25.

The final four on the winners’ side were a fearsome bunch—all past winners—and Bennett swept past Sam Monday 7-3 to reach the hot seat match against Michael “Bulldawg” Fuller, who’d just sent last month’s winner B.J. Ussery west 7-4. Another 7-3 victory for Bennett secured him the hot seat and sent Fuller to the semifinals to try for another chance.

On the left side of the bracket, two of Bennett’s early victims were fighting for their own second chances. Jared McGee edged out Larry Faulk 7-6 and junior player Jackson “Smokey” Jeffreys 7-2 to face Ussery. Meanwhile, Hindu Williams ousted Rodney Strickland 7-4 and Arnold Hamlett 7-6 to face Monday. That was as far as McGee and Williams got, though, as they landed in fifth 7-6 and 7-5, respectively. In the quarterfinals, Monday notched another 7-5 win to earn his spot against Fuller in the semifinals, where the two battled for the right to fight Bennett once again. It was Monday who reached the goal first, while Fuller stayed behind in third 7-4.

Keith Bennett, who last won a Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina event in January, found himself back in the winner’s circle after getting past the best in the Carolinas.

In Friday’s early bird tournament, Barry Irving took home $140 for his 7-6 win in the finals over Dana Hallett, who took home $85. Hindu Williams earned $50 for third, and Sam Monday earned $25 for fourth. Jackson Jeffreys was a two-time winner this weekend, pocketing $35 for topping the break contest, and $60 for his 7-6 win in the finals of the juniors’ division over Gabe Grissom. Terry Faulk once again took the ladies’ event, and Anton Hall won a $600 limited-edition Jacoby cue in the raffle. The break and run pot went unclaimed at this event, and will move to $105 per ball at the next. In Sunday’s second chance event, Larry Faulk swept past Nolan Leonard 7-2 in the finals, earning $100, while Leonard earned $40.

Results:
1st Keith Bennett $1,000
2nd Sam Monday $500
3rd Michael Fuller $225
4th B.J. Ussery $75

by Suzanne Smith

Jana Montour came out on top of the July 17-18 stop of the Northwest Women’s Pool Association by going undefeated to take the title. A total of 27 ladies attended the event and represented Alberta, Washington, Colorado, and Oregon. Stixx and Stones Billiards in Bremerton, WA, was host to the event.

The weekend’s typically festive atmosphere was overshadowed by the loss of fellow player Martha Hartsell, who succumbed to cancer the previous week. In her memory, the NWPA will be hosting a memorial event every year starting in 2011 at The Cue Ball in Salem, OR.

Montour advanced over Shelby Locati 7-1 to advance to the hot seat match. There she met Kimberly Kirk, who had just bested Sandra Badger 7-5. Montour was able to best Kirk 7-3 and send her to the one-loss side while she waited for her last opponent.

One the west side, June Maiers bested Mary Hopkin 7-2, while Jackie Karol ousted Cindy Sliva 7-3. In turn they were eliminated by Badger 7-4 and Locati 7-5, respectively. Badger and Locati then squared off for a hill-hill bout that saw Badger earn a rematch with Kirk, who sent her to the left side earlier in the event. Badger was ready this time and defeated Kirk 7-2 to head to her first finals appearance in an NWPA event.

The final match was close initially as some uncharacteristic errors by Montour provided Badger with some early opportunities that she took advantage of. Though the score was knotted at 3 apiece, soon some missed chances saw Montour take a three-rack lead. Back and forth misses in the following game saw Badger bring the match within two games. But Montour again took every opportunity afforded in the next three racks to close out the match 9-4 and win her second stop of the year.

Jana Montour came out on top of the July 17-18 stop of the Northwest Women’s Pool Association by going undefeated to take the title.

by InsidePOOL Staff

George Osipovitch went unchallenged through the Tri-State Tour’s July 24 event to take top honors over Mark Alicea in the final match. The tour’s 24-player field was hosted by Edison Billiards in Edison, NJ, who vied for a piece of the $750-added purse.

Osipovitch sent Rick Shellhouse to the one-loss side after their 7-5 match in the winners’ side final four, while Duane Toney delivered Gary Murgia there as well 7-2. In the following hot seat match, it was a close call, but Osipovitch overcame Toney 7-5 and rested while he waited for his finals opponent.

Once on the west side, both Shellhouse and Murgia were eliminated quickly. Ken DeBroske ousted Shellhouse 7-5, and Alicea took care of Murgia 7-4. DeBroske and Alicea then faced each other in the quarterfinal match, which turned into a hill-hill nail-biter before Alicea edged out DeBroske 6-5. Alicea had fewer troubles with Toney, defeating him in third place 7-3. But he could not conquer Osipovitch, who won their final match by a decisive 6-2 score.

George Osipovitch went unchallenged through the Tri-State Tour’s July 24 event to take top honors over Mark Alicea in the final match.

by Lea Andrews

When the Great Southern Billiard Tour sets up camp in the North, one can expect the unexpected, like a Frost in the middle of summer. Robert Frost went undefeated through a tough 48-player field at the $1,500-added July 18-19 stop, which was held at Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH, and sponsored by Nick Varner Cues and Cases.

A smooth 9-5 victory over B-ranked Joe Pierce put A-ranked Frost into the hot seat match against Joe Brown, who’d just sent fellow A player Alex Olinger west 9-7. That score got flipped on him against Frost, though, who sent him to the left side to try to earn his way back.

On the one-loss side, BEF Junior Nationals 14-and-Under Boys champion Billy Thorpe made his way past Bill Farmer 7-2 and last week’s winner Jordan Grubb 7-6 to meet up with Olinger. The 13-year-old Thorpe, who started the weekend as one of the three junior champions competing in the event (Boys 19-and-Under champ Landon Shuffett and Girls 19-and-Under champ Liz Lovely finished out of the money), ended the weekend as the one who went furthest, landing in fifth while Olinger moved on to the quarterfinals 9-5. Meanwhile, Mike Leek, who’d suffered an early loss to Brown 9-6, swept past Chris Collins 9-6 and Eric Hinx 9-5 to face Pierce, who ended Hinx’s chance at another go at Brown 7-6. In the quarterfinals, Olinger took care of Pierce smoothly 9-4 to match back up with Brown in the semifinals, where he earned his revenge and a spot in the finals 9-7.

The two evenly-matched A players battled back and forth to hill-hill in the true double-elimination final match, and in the final rack, after Olinger missed position on the 5 ball and hung up the cross bank, Frost cleaned up what was left to earn his victory in one set 9-8.

When the Great Southern Billiard Tour sets up camp in the North, one can expect the unexpected, like a Frost in the middle of summer.

by Jose Burgos

Manny Chau took down the Second Annual New Jersey State 8-Ball Championships, winning the lion’s share of the $2,000-added prize purse and defeating Josh Brothers in the final match. The event was hosted by Atlantic City Billiard Club in Egg Harbor, NJ, July 17-18, and a field of 33 players participated.

Chau made his way through the top half of the bracket with victories over Ed Robson 7-0, Kevin Guimond 7-5, and Brent Boemmels 7-0. In the winners’ side final four, he met Brothers for the first time in the event and sent him west 7-5. “Forty” worked his way through the bottom half of the bracket and notched wins over Chris Ruggerio 7-4, Bruce Nagle 7-5, Rob Metz 7-3, and Jose Cruz 7-4.

“Forty” and Chau met in the hot seat match, which saw Chau pull away late to win the match 7-5, sending “Forty” to the one-loss side. Brothers, meanwhile, was making his move, eliminating players such as Joey Testa 5-3 and Matt Krah 5-2. In the semifinals Brothers ousted “Forty” at third place 5-3 to earn a rematch with Chau. In the double-elimination finals, Brothers would have had to defeat Chau twice to claim the title. He gave it his best shot, but with the score knotted at 5 apiece, Chau surged ahead to win the final two games and the championship.

Manny Chau (pictured left) took down the Second Annual New Jersey State 8-Ball Championships, winning the lion’s share of the $2,000-added prize purse and defeating Josh Brothers (pictured right) in the final match.