by InsidePOOL Staff

Tony Piazza took first place at the January 28 installment of the Lucasi Hybrid Cues All-American Tour, besting Sam Cordova in the finals to remain undefeated. Greenfields Pool and Sports Bar in Lakewood, CO, hosted the $1,000-added 8-ball scratch tournament, which drew 49 players.

(L-R) Roy Yamane (3rd), Sam Cordova (2nd) and Tony Piazza (1st)

On the A-side, Piazza and Roy Yamane met for the hot seat after Piazza dispatched Andrew Pettinger 5-2 and Yamane upended Cordova 5-4 in the semifinals. Piazza then remained the lone undefeated player by outpointing Yamane 5-2.

On the B-side Jim Fraser and Ed Borrego were eliminated at seventh place by Kevin Williams 5-0 and Ron O’Meara 5-2, respectively. But in the next round both Williams and O’Meara were ousted, courtesy of Pettinger 5-4 and Cordova 5-1, respectively. Cordova kept up his momentum in the next round by stopping Pettinger at fourth place by a 5-1 margin. Cordova then avenged his only loss by taking down Yamane in the B-side finals 5-3. Cordova had to defeat Piazza two sets for the title, but Piazza was having nothing of that, and he dispatched Cordova 5-2 for the title.

Results:
1st Tony Piazza $790
2nd Sam Cordova $400
3rd Roy Yamane $200
4th Andrew Pettinger $150
5th Kevin Williams $75
Ron O’Meara
7th Jim Fraser $50
Ed Borrego
9th John Sandifer $35
Fred Vigil
Flats Lujan
Elliott Fields

Hangzhou, China – Team England’s Allison Fisher and Craig Osborne fought their way from death to overcome pre-tournament favorite China en route to a semi-final birth at the Taobao.com World Mixed Doubles. England fell behind at the end of the match, but a crucial miss from China gave a small window of opportunity that led to a final game showdown. The victory from England gave them the momentum to win their next match and reach the semi-finals.

With the score at 7-5 in favor of China’s #1 men’s player Liu Haitao and his partner the 2010 World Champion Fu Xiaofang, England looked in dire straits. A missed ball by Liu gave UK a small chance which they took. At 7-6, Fu was closing the door with only 3 balls on the table and an easy 7Ball straight in. She inexplicably missed to the gasp of the Chinese fans watching. Fisher and Osborne took the rack to make the match goto the deciding game at 7-7. In the final game, there were many dramatic moments with great offenses and defense by both teams. On the 1Ball alone, there were 6 innings. Finally England had ball in hand and took both their time extensions to decide on what to do. After only 2 made balls, Fisher was forced to play safe. Liu made a tremendous 2 rail kick and re-safed England. Osborne played safe again. Fu made an incredible long jump shot flying over 2 balls to play another safe. Eventually Osborne had a shot, but very tough, jacked up cutshot on the 4ball to the side pocket. He made it and the team looked home free. But Osborne went from the hero to villain when he missed position for Fisher on the 7ball with only 4 balls remaining. Fisher was forced to play a safety instead of going for the win. Liu went for a jumpshot and the 7ball went straight to the corner pocket and bobbled at the last moment. Osborne was faced with a table length , long draw shot which would unnerve any player at first. With little time left on the shotclock, he screwed the cueball back successfully across the entire length after potting the 7ball. Allison made the 8ball but Osborne missed position on the final 10ball and left Fisher with an awkward cutshot which she could not reach. With no time out or extensions left, she called for the bridge and lined up the final 10-ball. The referee counted aloud the finals seconds with a “5, 4, 3, …” and Fisher fired off the shot with a second remaining and the 10-ball went straight into the pocket! Osborne and Fisher emotionally embraced after the shot to the cheer and applause of the entire audience.

Osborne says playing with Fisher is one of the biggest honors of his career.

“That was such a huge match, I couldn’t help getting emotional. I was thinking after the match, that was the same shot I missed with the bridge last year at the finals of the World 9-Ball in China. I’m glad I didn’t think about that before the shot”, said Allison. “Playing with Craig has been great. He really is a good partner and we really started to mesh well together. He doesn’t have a big ego where he won’t listen to me, and he also had some really good mental things he passed onto me. Our first match was shaky, but it’s been a good partnership since then.”

Team England's Fisher and Osborne fought their way from death to overcome pre-tournament favorite China en route to a semi-final birth at the Taobao.com World Mixed Doubles.

“Playing with Allison is absolutely amazing! I just feel like she is never going to miss. And my faith in her is absolute. But I really felt that I had to prove to her that she can trust me,too. That’s why that match was so crucial. And, I know to ensure my invite next year I need to win this tournament!”, said Craig.

Allison says Craig has been a wonderful partner and great at giving and receiving instructions.

“I know Allison very well and what kind of person she is. And I got a good idea of the level of respect and admiration Craig already had of her before they started their first match. In an interview I predicted them to be one of the teams I thought would make the final four. I knew it was going to be a good partnership”, said Charlie Williams, the event producer.

Both players went onto meet fellow United Kingdom players Kelly Fisher and Tommy Donlon who were undefeated. In a very close match at the start, the two teams stood at 5-5 before Read more ...]]> http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/fisher-and-osborne-thrill-in-china-at-taobao-world-mixed-doubles.html/feed 0 http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiards/krause-kills-competition-in-lucasi-billiards-field.html http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiards/krause-kills-competition-in-lucasi-billiards-field.html#comments Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:23:51 +0000 Pool and Billiards News http://www.insidepoolmag.com/?p=16464 Krause Kills Competition in Lucasi Billiards Field
Lucasi Hybrid Cues All-American tour / Cedar Rapids, IA

by InsidePOOL Staff

The 2011-2012 Lucasi Hybrid Cues All-American Tour took off with its first tour stop of the year at 2nd Avenue Corner Pocket in Cedar Rapids, IA, October 1. The $500-added 8-ball handicapped tourney on 7-foot Valley bar boxes drew 28 players, all of whom were topped by Tim Krause of Clinton, IA.

On the A-side, Krause and Greg Brewer, also from Clinton, completed their journey to the winners’ side finals with respective wins over Sam Fett 4-1 and Joe Villalpando 4-3. Krause then claimed the hot seat by outpointing Brewer 4-2.

(L-R) Will Kohl (3rd), Greg Brewer (2nd) and Tim Krause (1st)

On the one-loss side, Anthony Garcia was ousted at fifth place by Villalpando 5-5, while Fett tied with Garcia via a loss to Will Kohl 5-1. In the quarterfinals, Kohl eliminated Villalpando 5-3 at fourth place. Brewer dropped Kohl into a third-place finish by a 4-3 margin in the next round. The title match only needed one set, as the undefeated Krause kept his momentum in dispatching Brewer 4-2 for the crown.

Results:
1st Tim Krause $400
2nd Greg Brewer $250
3rd Will Kohl $150
4th Joe Villalpando $100
5th Anthony Garcia $70
Sam Fett

by InsidePOOL Staff

Brian Deska dominated the field at the Action Pool Tour’s August 13-14 event, besting Brandon Shuff in the finals for top honors. The tournament drew 40 players to Break Time Sports Pub and Grill in Salisbury, MD.

Brian Deska dominated the field at the Action Pool Tour’s August 13-14 event, besting Brandon Shuff in the finals for top honors.

On the winners’ side, Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie defeated Kevin West 8-4, while Deska took down Josh Brothers 8-5. The hot seat match between Deska and Wilkie lived up to the billing, with Deska narrowly escaping with an 8-7 win and a trip to the finals. Over on the one-loss side, Chip Klein squeaked by APT Director Ozzy Reynolds 8-7 with a terrific long cut shot on the final 10 ball, while Shuff came back from a 6-2 deficit to defeat Butch Weimer 8-6.

After coming back from the dead against Weimer, Shuff picked up momentum and began to steamroll his way through the bracket by eliminating Brothers 8-6, West 8-2, and finally Wilkie 8-2. This set the stage for finals, in which Shuff would have had to best Deska twice. Shuff won the first set easily 8-4; however, Deska came out strong in the second set and took an early 3-0 lead. Shuff fought back, and after racks were traded back and forth, the match was tied 7-7 with Shuff having the final break. Shuff crushed the rack, but nothing found a pocket. Deska came to the table with what looked like a routine run-out. He held his composure and carefully dissected the table for the win.

Results:
1st Brian Deska $850
2nd Brandon Shuff $500
3rd Shaun Wilkie $300
4th Kevin West $200
5th Chip Klein $140
Josh Brothers
7th Ozzy Reynolds $100
Butch Weimer

by InsidePOOL Staff

An undefeated B.J. Ussery cruised to victory at the July 16-17 installment of the Great Southern Billiard Tour, easily handling Ron Park in the final match. The $1,500-added amateur event was hosted by Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, and drew a field of 47 players.

An undefeated B.J. Ussery cruised to victory at the July 16-17 installment of the Great Southern Billiard Tour, easily handling Ron Park in the final match.

Ussery ended up in the winners’ side final four against Sidney Champion, whom he brushed past 11-3 to reach the hot seat match. His opponent, Joey Mastermaker, had just sent Park to the one-loss side of the chart 7-4. Unfazed, Ussery only allowed Mastermaker two racks before sending him in Park’s footsteps with an 11-2 victory.

Once on the west side, Champion was soon eliminated in fifth place by Paul Peterson 7-5. Tying with Champion was Carlos Cruz, who was ousted by Park after an uneven 7-3 match. Park went on to relegate Peterson to fourth place after another lopsided match that saw Park advance 9-2.

Park kept the momentum going to upend Mastermaker in the semifinal match 9-2 and earn a shot against Ussery in the finals. But Ussery had other ideas, and he dominated the match from the start, giving up only two racks before sweeping past Park 11-2 to claim the title.

Next week’s stop will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN. For more information, please call 423-989-7665.

Results:
1st B.J. Ussery $1,000
2nd Ron Park $550
3rd Joey Mastermaker $400
4th Paul Peterson $250
5th Sidney Champion $140
Carlos Cruz
7th Dylan Letchworth $95
Danny Mastermaker

17 YEAR OLD WONDER KIND STEALS SEMIS, SETS UP ALL CHINESE FINAL WITH FU IN CHINA OPEN 9-BALL

Story and Photos by Ted Lerner

(Shanghai, China) -17 year old Chinese pool star and defending champion Chen Siming lived up to all the accolades and adoration when she stunned Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan in the semi-finals of the China Open 9-ball late Saturday night in Shanghai, storming back from an 8-3 deficit to win their semi-final match 9-8 and move into Sunday’s final.

Chen’s improbable comeback means that Sunday’s race to 9 final will be an all Chinese affair. In the first semi-final earlier in the evening on the TV table inside the Shanghai Pudong Yuanshen Stadium, current World 9-ball champion Fu Xiaofang put in a solid performance and outlasted Korea’s Lim Yun Mi 9-7.

17 year old Chinese pool star and defending champion Chen Siming (pictured right) lived up to all the accolades and adoration when she stunned Austria’s Ouschan in the semi-finals of the China Open 9-ball late Saturday night in Shanghai, storming back from an 8-3 deficit to win their semi-final match 9-8 and move into Sunday’s final against current World 9-ball champion Fu Xiaofang, pictured left.

The match-up between Chen and Ouschan had promised to be an explosive clash between east and west as both players had been playing extremely strong pool over the last few days. Ouschan especially seemed to have built up momentum and confidence after losing her first match of the tournament, then winning five straight.

The pair split the first six racks in their final four showdown, then Ouschan showed her class. Playing excellent safeties, and keeping the game simple, the Austrian star grabbed the next five racks to move within one of a finals berth. Chen won the next two racks, but any comeback seemed improbable. Then, up 8-5, the wheels fell off of the Ouschan Express.

After Chen broke dry, Ouschan had a clear path to the finish line, until she ran out of position on the six ball. She played a poor safety that allowed Chen to clear. Chen then won a safety battle in the next rack, and made some incredibly gutsy shots to move within one, as Ouschan began to lose her composure.

Ouschan played another poor safety in the following game, allowing Chen to clear from the 3 ball and to tie the match. The final rack became another tense safety battle, until the unflappable Chen found an opening and coolly potted six straight balls to win the match at close to midnight.

The final match between the two best women players in China will be aired over China Central Television (CCTV) and the viewing audience is expected to be in the tens of millions.

You can follow all the action right here at www.wpa-pool.com through our live scoring platform.

The rivalry between Ralf Souquet of Germany and Dennis Orcullo of the Philippines was rekindled on the third day of the Philippine Open Pool Championships with fans and pool experts anticipating a battle royal between two of the best players in the sport.

It turned out to be an all-Souquet show. Facing the player who defeated him in the 2009 Predator Ten Ball Championship in Las Vegas, the German ace kept Orcullo sitting on his stool for most of the match and hammered out a surprisingly easy 9-2 win on Saturday night at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

The rivalry between Souquet of Germany and Orcullo of the Philippines was rekindled on the third day of the Philippine Open Pool Championships with fans and pool experts anticipating a battle royal between two of the best players in the sport.

Souquet’s domination of the match wasn’t foreseen, especially when the former World 8-Ball and 9-Ball champion made known in public that he was feeling uncomfortable as he was coming off shoulder and back injuries. “There are these games when you feel like you have some sort of a momentum. I ran out four or five straight racks and my thinking from there was to keep Orcullo on his seat,” said Souquet.

So on this day, neither injury nor Orcullo’s presence could stop Souquet, who was able to break the game wide open starting in the sixth rack, as he recorded five straight runouts.vAsked if he had special preparation for the match, the former double-world champion had a simple explanation. “Every time you play Orcullo, you have to bring your A-grade game,” said Souquet. “There’s no special preparation for this match. I just played my best tonight.”

Souquet’s victory sent him to the last 16 of this World Pool-Billiard Association tournament that offers $30,000 to the champion. The loss sent Orcullo to the loser’s bracket. He will face the surprisingly formidable Al Yousuf of Kuwait, who will seek to add the reigning World 8-Ball champion to his growing list of Filipino victims. He has beaten former world 9-ball champion Ronnie Alcano and Jerico Banares, the conqueror of Mika Immonen in this tournament. Souquet will next face an equally dangerous player in former World Ten Ball champion Darren Appleton of Great Britain in their last 16 match in the winner’s bracket.

Filipino players Lee Van Corteza and Antonio Lining also kept themselves in the winner’s side after completing contrasting victories over their rivals. Corteza won over a crack Taiwanese opponent, Chang Jun Lin, 9-6, while Lining scuttled countryman Jundel Mazon, 9-4. It was the first loss of Mazon, a player who earned a spot in the Stage 2 of this event via the qualifying tournament.

Lining and Corteza, however, find themselves in a head-on collision for a quarterfinal seat when they square off Sunday. Mazon was relegated to the loser’s bracket where he plays Chang. Other players in the last 16 of this event are Liu Haitao of China, Takhti Zarekani of Iran, Marcus Chamat of Sweden and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, who are all in the winner’s side. Orcullo and Mazon head the cast in the loser’s side of the last 16 and they will be joined by Hwang Yong of Korea, Fu Che-Wei of Chinese Taipei, Jason Klatt of Canada, Ricky Yang of Indonesia, and Carlo Biado of the Philippines.

by InsidePOOL Staff

The January 15 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour drew a full 32-player field to 2nd Avenue Corner Pocket in Cedar Rapids, IA, where room owner Dennis Wolrab took top honors. The $500-added event featured a double-elimination 9-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.

The January 15 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour drew a full 32-player field to 2nd Avenue Corner Pocket in Cedar Rapids, IA, where room owner Dennis Wolrab took top honors.

Wolrab took down the A-side, which included a win over John Gorsch 5-2 and a hot seat win over Scott Hargens 5-6. Hargens had earlier vanquished Scott Kitto 7-5 in the winners’ side final four match just prior to his loss to Wolrab.

On the B-side Greg Knight and Steve Strasburger dispatched Chad Behnke and Matt Paine by respective 5-4 and 5-6 scores. Knight and Strasburger succeeded in the next round as well, with Knight eliminating Kitto 5-1 and Strasburger ousting Gorsch 5-4. Knight then ended Strasburger’s run at fourth place by a 5-4 margin. Hargens finished Knight’s day at third place by a 7-4 score. Hargens then had to defeat Wolrab two sets for the crown, and Hargens took the first set on the hill 7-4. However, Wolrab regained the momentum in the deciding set to take the title 5-3.

Results:
1st Dennis Wolrab $450
2nd Scott Hargens $300
3rd Greg Knight $195
4th Steve Strasburger $120
5th Scott Kitto $80
John Gorsch
7th Chads Behnke $50
Matt Paine

by InsidePOOL Staff

Jasmin Ouschan swept through the 48-player field at the inaugural WPBA Masters tournament held January 6-9 to defeat the tour’s number-three-ranked player, Karen Corr, in the finals in a close 7-6 victory. The event was hosted by the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, MI.

Ouschan swept through the 48-player field at the inaugural WPBA Masters tournament held January 6-9 to defeat the tour’s number-three-ranked player, Corr, in the finals in a close 7-6 victory.

Corr went undefeated into Sunday’s matches after having dispatched the tour’s former number one, Ga Young Kim, in a delicate hill-hill match the evening before. In her semifinal match against Monica Webb, the score seesawed to 2-all in the short race to 7. Despite the crowd’s hopes of a close battle, it was all Corr as Webb was forced to sit in her chair and watch “The Irish Invader” run out time and again. The final score was 7-2 in Corr’s favor.

View the tournament brackets

The other semifinal match featured Ouschan going up against Kelly Fisher, the other undefeated player among the four. An unexpected scratch by Fisher gave Ouschan the first rack, and the Austrian ran with that momentum until she reached a 4-0 lead. But Fisher dug deep and fought her way back into the match, and soon the score was knotted at the hill 6-all. Despite that, though, it was Ouschan who advanced to the finals against Corr with a 7-6 win.

A cloud of tension surrounded the final match. Corr broke and ran out the first two racks to make her presence known. Ouschan countered by taking the next two—one after a miss by Corr on a 3-9 combo and one after Corr scratched on the 7 ball. They split the next two games, and then Corr took another two-rack lead after a couple of errors by Ouschan, making it 5-3. Another error by both players led to the score moving to 6-4 in Corr’s favor. At that point, though, Ouschan bore down. When Corr scratched on her next break, Ouschan swiftly dished up to draw within a game. She then broke and ran out to make it a hill-hill encounter. In the final rack, Ouschan smashed the rack and pocketed three balls on the break. Coolly she ran the remaining balls in under a minute to win the match 7-6 and take the title. With this victory Ouschan clinched the tour’s number-one spot on the rankings as well.

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

by InsidePOOL Staff

Room owner John Trobiano triumphed at the January 8 stop of the Tri-State Tour to win the title over Gary Murgia in the final match. The $500-added 10-ball event garnered 37 players to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.

Room owner John Trobiano triumphed at the January 8 stop of the Tri-State Tour to win the title over Gary Murgia in the final match.

Trobiano had to come through the one-loss side, eliminating players such as Guy Iannuzzi hill-hill and Ted Lapadula 7-5 to reach the final four on the west side. On the right side of the chart, Murgia bested Ed Culhane in a double-hill match as Ricardo Mejia dealt a 7-5 loss to Jason Egeln. Murgia and Mejia met in the hot seat match, where Murgia emerged victorious with a convincing 7-4 win.

Another close match for Trobiano as he eliminated Egeln 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinal match against Jake Schwartz, who had just ousted Ed Culhane 7-4. He dispatched Schwartz 7-4 to meet up with Mejia and got through that match as well, this time 7-5. Trobiano was able to ride his momentum through the final match as he defeated Murgia in the race-to-9 finals 9-5.

Results:
1st John Trobiano $550
2nd Gary Murgia $350
3rd Ricardo Mejia $220
4th Jake Schwartz $140
5th Jason Egeln $100
Ed Culhane
7th Ted Lapadula $70
Mike Zimny