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 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 InsidePOOL Staff

Brandon Shuff successfully defended his Virginia State Championships title, going undefeated through the 64-player field undefeated. The event was hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA, the weekend of July 17-18.

The quarterfinal match was a lopsided one between Larry Kressel and John “Jordan” Newton. Kressel took a quick 3-0 lead before Newton got on the board, which he did after Kressel scratched on his next break. Newton won the following rack as well, but then Kressel stepped forward again, reaching the hill 8-3 with a couple of break and runs. Newton was on his way out in the next rack but was forced to play safe on the 9 ball, and Kressel hit it but left a shot for Newton, who pocketed it to make the score 8-4. One more rack went to Newton after Kressel missed the 9 ball and then scratched. But Kressel capitalized on a safety in the final game, and when Newton left him a shot on the 3 ball, he cleared the remaining balls to win 9-5.

Another one-sided match ensued when Kressel moved on to face David Hunt in the semifinals. Though it began evenly enough, with each player taking a game at the start, Hunt took a two-game lead by winning the next two racks thanks to a missed 6 ball by Kressel and a break and run of his own. Kressel evened the score at 3 apiece, and from there he dominated the match completely. In every rack Hunt had at least a chance to take control of the match but never capitalized. Hunt miscued on the 8 ball to allow Kressel to make it 7-3, and then he scratched on the 8 ball in the next rack to hand Kressel the hill. Each player had a couple of innings in the final rack, but when Hunt missed the 8 ball, Kressel was there to sink it and then the 9 ball to win the match 9-3 and move on to the finals against Shuff.

View the 2010 VA State 9-Ball Championship tournament brackets

Shuff successfully defended his Virginia State Championships title, going undefeated through the 64-player field undefeated.

Shuff started off strong in the finals, which was an extended single race to 11, reaching a 3-0 lead before Kressel got on the board. The constant play and lateness of the hour may have taken its toll on both players, but they fought down to the finish. Kressel drew within a game at 5-4 when Shuff missed a 5 ball, but Shuff pulled away to a 7-4 lead after that. However, Kressel brought the score even when Shuff scratched in two successive racks and then miscued in the next. An empty break by Kressel saw Shuff pull ahead by a game, and then two more errors in the next two games put Shuff on the hill. Kressel opted to play safe on the 2 ball, and Shuff jumped it in. A couple of shots later and he was looking at a 6-9 combo, which he made with ease to defend his title and win the championship event 11-7. Both Shuff and Kressel earned paid entries into the 2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships.

Congratulations go to Ticket #7 holder, Amy at Buffalo Billiards in Washington DC, the Winner of the McDermott Cue M72A in the Inside Pool Magazine and Propool.com promotion held at the Virginia State 9-Ball Championships. See for more special promos at ProPool.com.

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

by Lea Andrews

Jordan Grubb battled first-time finals jitters and a persistent Mark Patterson to end his weekend with a first-place finish at the July 10-11 Great Southern Billiard Tour Stop. Grubb and Patterson were among the field of 39 that arrived at Corner Pocket Sports Bar in Albemarle, NC, for the $1,500-added event, which was sponsored by Nick Varner Cues and Cases.

A-ranked Grubb breezed past B-ranked Jeff Bean 9-2 to meet up with Patterson for the first time in the hot seat match. B-ranked Patterson, who’d just edged out A-ranked Younger Chapman hill-hill 7-8, came out on the other side of a hill-hill match against Grubb, who earned the hot seat 9-6.

On the left side of the bracket, AA-ranked Sam Monday blew through B-ranked Brian Simpson 10-1 to face fellow AA-player Brian White, who was coming off a shutout win over B-ranked Bobby Farmer. Against Monday, though, White managed just three games, landing in seventh. Meanwhile, an early victim of Patterson’s, A-ranked Jeff Pruitt, was making his way through B-ranked Kent Lacy 9-3 and A-ranked Tony Morrison 9-7 to meet up with Chapman. Pruitt’s 9-5 victory over Chapman pushed him into the quarterfinal match against Bean, who’d held Monday to 7 games, and a 9-4 victory over Bean gave him another crack at Patterson in the semifinals. But he came up one rack shy of revenge, finishing in third 7-8 and allowing Patterson his own chance at revenge against Grubb.

Patterson got off to a good start in the true double-elimination final match, claiming the first set 7-5 to put the two on equal footing. In the second set, though, Grubb got his nerves under control to allow his game to reach its potential, and he closed out his first GSBT victory very decisively 9-2.

Jordan Grubb battled first-time finals jitters and a persistent Mark Patterson to end his weekend with a first-place finish at the July 10-11 Great Southern Billiard Tour Stop.

Results:
1st Jordan Grubb $1,000
2nd Mark Patterson $500
3rd Jeff Pruitt $250
4th Jeff Bean $150
5th Younger Chapman $90
Sam Monday
7th Tony Morrison $40
Brian White

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Billiard Congress of Wisconsin’s State Championships wrapped up June 26, crowning numerous victors in their respective divisions. The event was hosted by Ho Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells in Baraboo, WI.

The $2,500-added amateur 9-ball championships attracted 37 players, with Varun Raheja taking first place. In the winners’ side final four, Tyler Styer defeated Raheja 6-4 and went on to the hot seat match to face John Barton, who had just bested Jason Jick 7-6. Styer triumphed in the hot seat match 6-5, and Barton was sent west. In the semifinals he faced off against Raheja, who eked by with a 6-5 win to earn a rematch with Styer. In the double-elimination final match, Raheja double-dipped Styer, winning the sets 6-4 and 6-5 to earn $1,600 for first place.

The open 9-ball division saw 36 players vying for their shares of the $4,000-added prize purse, and it was Jeff Carter who took home $2,300 for first place. Like Raheja in the amateur division, Carter was defeated in the winners’ side final four and came back to double-dip his finals opponent. Carter was sent west by Jesse Engal 7-3, while Gene Albrecht defeated Tony Hilla 7-3. In the hot seat match, Albrecht came out the winner 7-3. After Carter eliminated Hilla in fourth place 7-5, he went on to the semifinal match against Engal, whom he ousted 7-5. In the finals against Albrecht, Carter won both sets with double-hill margins 7-6.

There were 108 players in the $1,500-added singles 8-ball barbox championship event, with Jack Wu taking first place. Wu went undefeated through the event, defeating Jeff Potts in the winners’ side final four 5-4 to reach the hot seat match against Matt Berg, who had just bested Shane Minihan 5-4. Another hill-hill match saw Wu take the king seat 5-4. Ryan Behnke took on Potts in the quarterfinal match and eliminated him 5-4, and he kept his momentum going by ousting Berg 5-4 in the semifinals. But he was stopped in the finals by Wu, who won the single-set finals 5-3.

The open one-pocket division boasted a $2,500-added purse and drew 23 players, with Beau Runningen taking the undefeated route to the winner’s circle. Runningen bested Jeff Carter 3-2 to reach the hot seat match against Ike Runnels, who had just whitewashed Tony Hilla 3-0. In the king seat match, Runningen eked out a 3-2 victory, while Runnels went west. Sylver Ochoa was working his way through the one-loss side and met up with Mike Perron Jr. in the quarterfinals, eliminating him 3-1. Ochoa also defeated Runnels 3-2 to reach the final match against Runningen. It was a close battle, but Runningen slid by with a 3-2 victory.

The Billiard Congress of Wisconsin’s State Championships wrapped up June 26, crowning numerous victors in their respective divisions.

9-Ball Open Results:
1st Jeff Carter $2,300
2nd Gene Albrecht $1,275
3rd Jesse Engal $875
4th Tony Hilla $575
5th Manuel Chau $300
Ramesha Gokhul
7th Sylver Ochoa $150
Billy Lasee
9th Beau Runningen $75
Jason Barnhall
Jon Giles
Randy Lamar

8-Ball Barbox Results:
1st Jack Wu $1,251
2nd Ryan Behnke $625
3rd Matt Berg $417
4th Jeff Potts $295
5th Ray Skinadore $208
Shane Minihan
7th Chad Cunningham $125
Chad Behnke
9th Jared Anderson $90
David Wilbelhouse
Reggie Runnels
John Pfeffer

One-Pocket Results:
1st Beau Runningen $1,296
2nd Sylver Ochoa $720
3rd Ike Runnels $504
4th Mike Perron Jr. $360
5th Jeff Carter $216
Tony Hilla
7th Billy Lasee $144
Bill Fowler

by InsidePOOL Staff

Michael Yednak went through the Tri-State Tour’s June 26-27 event undefeated to take first place over Javier Colayco in the finals. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Amsterdam Billiards in New York, NY, and brought 35 players out to compete in the handicapped format.

On the winners’ side final four, Yednak faced down Michael Wong and moved past him to the hot seat match with a 7-5 victory. Meeting him was Andrew Cleary, who dispatched Sandie Patarino to the one-loss side after their hill-hill encounter. The hot seat match saw Yednak advance to the finals 11-7, while Cleary faced the west side of the chart.

Wong and Patarino foundered after their first losses and were eliminated in fifth place by Jacob Schwartz 7-5 and Colayco 6-4, respectively. The quarterfinal match was a hill-hill nail-biter that saw Colayco edge out Schwartz 7-6. Another close match in the semifinals followed, with Colayco sending Cleary home in third place 7-5. But Colayco was stopped in his tracks in the final match with Yednak, who won 10-5 to take the title.

Michael Yednak went through the Tri-State Tour’s June 26-27 event undefeated to take first place over Javier Colayco in the finals.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Rikki Ragoonanan went undefeated through field at the Tri-State Tour’s June 19 stop, defeating Raphael DaBreo to take the title. Hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, this $750-added stop attracted 26 players.

Pat DiBuono made it through the winners’ side final four without a scratch, defeating George Osipovitch 7-2 to reach the hot seat match. Meeting him there was Ragoonanan, who had just bested Troy Deocharran 8-6. The hill-hill battle saw Ragoonanan take the hot seat 7-6, while DiBuono went west.

On the left side, Raphael DaBreo, a recent winner on the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour, ousted Osipovitch 7-6 at fifth place, while Allen Wong tied with Osipovitch after a 6-4 loss to Deocharran. The quarterfinal match was a close one, with DaBreo the one to advance after a 7-5 victory over Deocharran. DaBreo kept the momentum going with a hill-hill victory over DiBuono in the semifinals 7-6. But in the finals, another nail-biter, it was Ragoonanan who took the last rack and the victory 7-6.

Rikki Ragoonanan went undefeated through field at the Tri-State Tour’s June 19 stop, defeating Raphael DaBreo to take the title.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Sam Monday went undefeated through the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s June 12-13 event, besting Keith Bennett in the finals to take the title. A 48-player field showed up at Fast Eddie’s in Goldsboro, NC, to vie for their share of the $1,500-added prize fund.

Monday matched up with Dana Hallet in the winners’ side final four and dealt him a decisive 11-2 victory, while TJ Moore bested Delton Howard by the score of 9-3. Monday went on to meet Howard in the hot seat match, and it was another clear 11-2 win for Monday, while Howard went to the one-loss side of the chart.

Bennett was fighting his way through the brutal bracket, eliminating Jeff Abernathy 11-9 and going on to meet Mike Fuller, who had just ousted Matt Wilson 11-5. At the same time, Mike Frowein played Younger Chapman and defeated him 7-7, going on to face Chris Adams, who had just eliminated Greg Smith 9-7.

Still on a roll, Bennett sent Fuller home in a seventh-place tie with Adams, who was ousted by Frowein 7-8. Bennett went on to defeat Moore 11-6, but Frowein ended up falling to Hallet 9-6. In the quarterfinal match, Bennett continued to gather momentum, only allowing Hallet one rack in their race to 11. Howard fell victim to Bennett as well, going home in third place after Bennett eliminated him 11-2. In the final match, though, Monday was too much for Bennett and won the title 11-7.

Sam Monday went undefeated through the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s June 12-13 event, besting Keith Bennett in the finals to take the title.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Donny Mills went through the 49-field that gathered at for the June 12-13 stop of the Seminole Pro Tour unscathed to take the title over Hall of Fame member Johnny Archer in an epic hill-hill battle. Capone’s Billiards in Spring Hill, FL, played host to the event, which boasted a $7,000-added prize fund.

Mills started off his day with an 8-2 win over Atlanta’s Stevie Moore in the winners’ side final eight. Then he met Archer for the first time in the tournament, besting “The Scorpion” 8-6 and sending him to the one-loss side. On the bottom half of the bracket, Robb Saez fought through “Iron Mike” Davis 8-5 and then Shawn Putnam 8-2 to reach Mills. A quick 8-2 win over Robb Saez saw Mills claim the hot seat for his own.

After his loss to Mills on the right side of the chart, Moore went hill-hill with Anthony Meglino and won 8-7, then went on to obliterate Javier Chirino 8-1. Another easy victory, this time over Putnam 8-2, saw Moore reach the quarterfinal match against Archer. Tying with Putnam for fifth place was Justin Hall, who was eliminated by Archer 8-2.

Donny Mills went through the 49-field that gathered at for the June 12-13 stop of the Seminole Pro Tour unscathed to take the title.

Archer was determined to earn a rematch against Mills and proved it with his decisive 8-2 victory over Moore. He gave Saez more leeway in their semifinal match, allowing Saez five games before crossing the finish line and heading to the finals. The final match between Mills and Archer was a back-and-forth affair, with neither player allowing the other more than a one-rack lead. Finally Mills reached the hill, and then Archer joined him, but Mills was the first player to reach the magic number—nine—first to win the title and the $3,000 first-place prize.

View the Capone’s Seminole Tour brackets (updated continuously)

The Seminole Pro Tour’s next stop will take place July 9-11 at the Marietta Billiard Club in Atlanta, GA. For more information, please call 770-971-9436.

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

by InsidePOOL Staff

Scott Simonetti took home his second Tri-State Tour title in less than a month’s time, defeating Scott Bannon in the finals. The June 5 event brought out 38 players to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, for the $1,000-added, B-D tournament.

Simonetti went unchallenged through the field, besting Duane Toney 7-5 in the winners’ side final four to make it to the hot seat match. There he faced Pat DiBuono, who had just sent Bannon to the one-loss side of the chart 7-4, and defeated him 7-4 to wait for a finals opponent.

From the west side, Bannon fought his way back, eliminating Tony Eglesias 7-4 in fifth place. Tying with Eglesias was Kevin Kemp, who was ousted by Toney 7-2. In the quarterfinal match, Bannon triumphed over Toney 7-4, who went home with fourth place.

Bannon faced a tough opponent in DiBuono in the semifinals, and eked out a tight 7-5 victory to advance to the finals. But Simonetti was primed for another tour victory, which he accomplished with a 7-2 win.

Scott Simonetti took home his second Tri-State Tour title in less than a month’s time, defeating Scott Bannon in the finals. Pictured (L-R) Scott Simonetti, tournament director Bill Focaccia and Scott Bannon