by Lea Andrews

Many tried, but no man managed to take down Manny Chau on his way to an undefeated victory at the first Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour stop of 2011. The $1,500-added event was held January 8-9 at Cue Nine in Levittown, NY.

Many tried, but no man managed to take down Manny Chau on his way to an undefeated victory at the first Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour stop of 2011.

Chau rode a strong 9-3 win over Lenny Savata into the hot seat match against Jeremy Sossei, who’d managed to edge out tour director Mike Zuglan 9-8. Sossei came up three games shy against Chau, though, moving over to semifinals 9-6.

On the one-loss side, Angelo Inness got past Holden Chin 9-3 to meet up with Zuglan, while Mike “Fingers” Badsteubner notched his own 9-3 win over Scott Murphy to face Savata. But both Inness and Badsteubner landed in fifth place as Zuglan and Savata advanced to the quarterfinals 9-6 and 9-4, respectively. Looking for the rematch against Sossei in the semifinals, Zuglan notched the final game in his hill-hill match against Savata, but he fell short against Sossei, who advanced to his own rematch in the finals 9-3.

The true double-elimination final match began evenly enough, but when Sossei missed a chance to tie it up at six games apiece, Chau took control, finishing up his undefeated weekend with a strong 9-6 win.

The next $1,500-added event, which will also feature a $500-added non-pro second chance event on Sunday, will be held at Diamond Eight Billiards in Latham, NY, the weekend of January 29-30. The date for the season finale, Turning Stone Classic XVIII, is already cemented, and the field has begun to fill. Those interested in competing at the August 11-14 event should contact Mike Zuglan at 518-356-7163 as soon as possible to secure a spot.

Results:
1st Manny Chau $900
2nd Jeremy Sossei $650
3rd Mike Zuglan $450
4th Lenny Savata $300
5th Angelo Inness $125
Mike Badsteubner

by Lea Andrews

To earn his most recent Great Southern Billiards Tour win, A-ranked Tony Morrison had to get past a string of the best the South has to offer. Not one slowed him down in the slightest, though, and he went undefeated at the $1,500-added event, which drew 60 players to Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, the weekend of December 18-19.

To earn his most recent Great Southern Billiards Tour win, A-ranked Tony Morrison had to get past a string of the best the South has to offer.

To reach the hot seat match, Morrison first had to deal with AA-ranked Michael Fuller, whom he sent west 9-8 to meet up with recent Carolina Open winner Brian White. White, who’d just held the open runner-up, A-ranked Alex Olinger, to six games, could only mark up six of his own against Morrison.

On the other side of the bracket, a couple of White’s earlier victims, B-ranked Vernon Rogers and AA-ranked B.J. Ussery, were making the long trek towards the later rounds. Rogers ousted A players David Brown 7-8 and Delton Howard 7-6 to face Olinger, another A player, while Ussery took care of Shawn Ray 11-6 and AA-ranked Sam Monday 11-8 to face Fuller. Rogers and Ussery each kept their opponents three games shy of their goals, earning themselves spots in the quarterfinals 7-6 and 11-8, respectively. While both men were seeking a rematch with White in the semifinals, it was Ussery who earned it 11-5, leaving Rogers behind in fourth. In the semis, Ussery notched a strong 11-5 revenge win over White to nab the spot in the finals against Morrison.

But in the true double-elimination final match, Ussery’s big-win streak came to halt. Showing once again that he didn’t need the two-game spot he was given, Morrison finished up his undefeated weekend with a strong 9-4 victory.

Daulton, Morrison, Ussery, and Speakeazy Billiards Owner Jimmy Bollis

Results:

1st Tony Morrison $1,000
2nd B.J. Ussery $550
3rd Brian White $350
4th Vernon Rogers $200
5th Alex Olinger $105
Michael Fuller
7th Delton Howard $75
Sam Monday
9th David King $45
David Brown
Shawn Ray
Ryan Stone

Pan Defeats Top Ranked Ga Young Kim in a 7-6 Thriller!

Pan defeated Kim by a score of 7-6 to advance to the finals.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – China’s Xiaoting Pan drew first blood in the second ESPN televised race to 7 semi-finals today, winning the first two games to lead 2-0. But Korea’s Ga Young Kim fought back, and to the delight of the sold-out crowd at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel events center, the match soon stood knotted at six games apiece! Pan missed a one-nine combination; Ga Young Kim followed that up with a miss of her own. Then Pan fired in a 2-9 billiard to pocket the nine and win game and match!

Xiaoting Pan and Karen Corr now compete against each other for the tour’s most prestigious title of WPBA 2010 Tour Champion.

by Lea Andrews

Dennis Hatch, who missed the very Northern season opener of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, dominated the second—which was closer to his neck of the woods—for yet another tour victory. Hatch was among the field of 32 vying for the cash at the $1,500-added main event, which was held October 9-10 at Trick Shot Billiards in Clifton Park, NY.

Hatch, who missed the very Northern season opener of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, dominated the second—which was closer to his neck of the woods—for yet another tour victory.

Hatch stormed into the winners’ side final four, where he blew through Willie Oney 9-1, to reach the hot seat match. There he met Chance Chin, who’d just sent Jeff Smolen west 9-7. Unfortunately for Chin, Hatch marked up another 9-1 win to earn his spot in the finals.

On the left side of the bracket, Bucky Souvanthong made his way past Angelo Hilton 9-5 and Ron Casanzio 9-4 to face Smolen, while Dave Grau took care of Sean Martin 9-4 and tour director Mike Zuglan 9-6 to meet up with Oney. Grau nailed his match 9-5, but Souvanthong came up a little short against Smolen, who advanced to the quarterfinal match against Grau 9-7. Looking for the rematch against Chin in the semifinals, Smolen held Grau to six games, leaving him behind in fourth. The semifinal rematch went Smolen’s way and then some—Chin landed in third 9-4.

Riding the momentum of his vengeance, Smolen pushed the second set of the true double-elimination final match 9-6. But in the second set, Hatch, who’d had some uncharacteristic misses in the first set, left nothing to chance. After opening the set with five straight break and runs, Hatch went on to notch his first win of the season 9-2.

Sunday’s $500-added second chance non-pro event drew 16 players, and Kevin Ketz, who’d gone two-and-out in the main event, came back to take it all. In the true double-elimination final match against Angelo Hilton, Ketz delivered a 3-0 blow in the first set and then secured the victory, which was his second second-chance win on the tour, 3-1. The next tour stop is October 30-31 at Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY. For more information, please visit www.insidepoolmag.com/calendar.

The countdown to December’s $25,000-added Turning Stone Classic XVI has begun and the field is filling fast. Secure your spot by calling tour director Mike Zuglan at 518-356-7163.

Main Event Results:

1st Dennis Hatch $1,000
2nd Jeff Smolen $750
3rd Chance Chin $550
4th Dave Grau $400
5th Bucky Souvanthong $250
Willie Oney
7th Mike Zuglan $100
Ron Casanzio

Second Chance Results:

1st Kevin Ketz $320
2nd Angelo Hilton $220
3rd Bob Cunningham $160
4th Frank Sorriento $100

JACCS (Junior and Amateur Canadian Cue Sports), a new Canadian billiard organization, held its inaugural event for “The Diamond A Tour” October 2. This new tour caters to juniors and amateur players only (eligibility guidelines are on jaccspool.com). As an organization that concentrates on the future of our sport, we also created a tour where junior enthusiasts could participate and enjoy some exposure as well as tournament experience in advance of our Canadian national championships.

The Diamond A Tour is excited to announce that in the women’s division we welcomed 9 new players new to this challenge format. Pictured (L-R) Grace Nakamura and Hanna Kwon.

The Diamond A Tour is excited to announce that in the women’s division we welcomed 9 new players new to this challenge format. In total we had 12 women, 14 men, and 3 juniors. The players were divided into two groups—women had their own event as they had more than eight players, and the juniors were included with the men. (Juniors will have their own event if eight or more players participate.) The format was a round robin with a twist: Each round was re-drawn so that no one knew who else was in their group, and it was guaranteed that no one would play the same player twice. In both divisions, each player played seven rounds of six games. In the women’s division, the top six players advanced to Sunday, and eight out of the men’s division advanced to Sunday. Everyone involved played an equal number of games, and played until 11 p.m. Saturday evening for a $25 entry fee.

On Sunday the players in each event were split into two groups for another round robin to start. The top two scores in each group moved on to play a single race to determine first and second places. The second-place finishers from each group played a single race to determine third and fourth.

In the men’s final, Pod Shognosh defeated Oliver Johnson 7-2, and the match for third and fourth place went to Josh Britton, who defeated Kevin Fenwick 7-0. Finishing out fifth through eighth was Ed Forget, Greg Flowers, Marco Hardy, and Darryn Stephen.

In the women’s final we had current Canadian Amateur 9-Ball champion Hanna Kwon, who defeated Penny Devos 5-2. In the playoff for third and fourth places, Loreen Toutant defeated newcomer Maggie Grace 5-2. Rounding out the final six in the women were newcomers Billy-Jo Monague and Betty MacDonald.

The next event is scheduled for October 23-24 at the new JJ Felts in Waterloo (formerly known as Dooly’s). For detailed information please go to jaccspool.com, e-mail us at jaccs.td@gmail.com, and please join our facebook page.

Prize Payouts for Dakota’s
Men: 1st – $150, 2nd – $75, 3rd – $50, 4th – 25,
5th thru 8th – $20 Pooldawg Gift Certificate

Women: 1st – $125, 2nd – $70, 3rd – $45,
4th – 6th $20 Pooldawg Gift Certificate

Juniors – Kyle Godfrey – Free private lesson with Harold Green
McDermott Cue
Cody Godfrey – Phil Capelle Play Your Best 9-Ball
McDermott Cue

Holland 8–3 Austria

Finland 8-2 Singapore

Top pool action returned to Robinsons Place in Manila as the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool reconvened for Day 3 and it was Holland – Niels Feijen and Huidji See – who negotiated a potentially tricky match up with Austria to run out 8-3 winners.

Austria, represented by Jasmin Ouschan and 17 year-old Mario He, took the opening rack and the first six games were shared as the match gave every indication that it was going all the way to a decider.

Top pool action returned to Robinsons Place in Manila as the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool reconvened for Day 3 and it was Holland – Feijen and See – who negotiated a potentially tricky match up with Austria to run out 8-3 winners.

Following a safety battle, Holland nudged the seventh rack and then a great break from See sets up the next as Holland went to 5-3 to the good. In the next, He missed a relatively easy 9 ball. It is effectively the turning point of the match as the score moves to 6-3 Holland instead of 5-4.

Austria was then fighting a rear-guard action and it was Ouschan’s turn next to blunder as she missed an 8 ball and left Holland on the hill at 7-3.

See, who had been kept out of this Dutch team by Nick Van Den Berg over the past few years, looked a great replacement and he and Feijen wrapped up a comfortable win.

“I was a little nervous but Huidji played well and we both broke well,” said Feijen.

“At the start we were a bit doggish but the break kept us in and we won two in a row to make it 5-3. Then Austria made some mistakes and missed a 9-ball, an 8-ball and another 9-ball so in the end it was easier than I thought it would be. It’s unfortunate for them but I’ve been there myself.

“We have to step up our game but we’re playing good and have got a lot of potential. This was Huidji’s first ever match on television and he handled it very well. I’ve played in Mosconi Cups, World Cup of Pools and World Pool Masters so maybe been in 50 plus TV matches but this was his first.

“Last year we achieved up to our standard when we got to the quarter-final and got knocked out 11-9 by Germany. It was a bit of a relief to do well last year as we had lost 8-7 twice in the last 16 and one year got knocked out by Belgium and that was a poor performance.

“I felt more nervous here than in any other match in the World Cup. I think we have a chance every year to win it and Huidji is not folding under the pressure and his risen to the occasion. We just have to play solid, we’re breaking good and I like that and if you we get more relaxed we could go on a run.”

See added: “It was my first match in the World Cup and I really enjoyed it and the fact that we won. I live in Rotterdam and the event has been there twice so I have seen it but never played in it so it’s great to be able to play in it.

“I love the fact it’s in Manila – it’s crazy but the atmosphere is beautiful. It’s so tough to get in the Holland side as Nick (Van Den Berg) and Niels are always playing well. To get selected you have to be in the top two and they’ve been the two for the last five years.

“As long as we stay playing well it doesn’t matter who we play next.”

In the second match of the session, Finnish pair of Mika Immonen and Markus Juva, making their fifth consecutive appearance in the event, looked all business as they ran through Team Singapore by an 8-2 scoreline.

The Finns came so close to lifting this competition in 2007 when they were beaten by China in a deciding rack, and if they can continue this form then they have every chance of reaching the closing stages of the competition.

Singapore, represented by Toh Lian Han and Chan Keng Kwan, looked a fair side on their rare forays to the table but suffered from the curse of winner breaks pool; being kept in your chair by a side playing well.

At 2-2 there was all to play for but a very weak push out from Chan, that even he laughed at, was critical as the Finns ran out from there to take the lead. There were more break and runs from the Finns and before long they were at 6-2.

At last though, Singapore had a chance after a rare Juva miss but Toh, despite rolling the 3 ball superbly down the rail, scratched in the centre pocket. The Finns cleared to reach the hill at 7-2. They then took what was the last to take the match and now face Holland in Round Two.

“It’s awesome here and the fans are so great. I’ve been coming here for eight years and had some success here,” said Immonen.

“We just have to stay humble. We had a great performance last year in the first round then maybe I thought we would be ok.

“The Dutch are mentally tough, are excellent players and they have the whole team dynamic with all the coaches and everything.

“But we play with heart, work hard and have been around enough to know what to do. We’re the underdogs but deep down I think we will beat them. Maybe they have a false sense of security but we’re going to come and surprise them.”

Juva added, “We lost in the final of the World Cup of Pool in 2007, a hill-hill match, and that’s the biggest disappointment of my career so the only way to get over it is to go all the way here and win it.

“I don’t get seriously hurt but I had a shot at hill-hill (to win the cup) and I’ve played it multiple times afterwards and this year.

“For Mika he has been in similar situations but won other big events but for me winning that would’ve been a big breakthrough so it is a big deal and makes me more determined.”

With 32 teams representing 31 countries – home nation Philippines has two sides in the competition – the World Cup of Pool sees the gathering of some of the most decorated stars of the pool firmament. The event is taking place at Robinsons Place, in Ermita, Manila.

With a total purse of $250,000, the winning pair split $60,000 between them while first round losers are guaranteed $1,500 each. All the action will be carried live on Solar Sports in

Finland is playing incredible.

The Philippines and other broadcasters across the region.

First Round Scores

Russia 8–4 Canada

Indonesia 8-7 India

China 8–2 Belgium

Italy 8-6 Korea

Germany 8–4 Hong Kong

Philippines A 8-3 Thailand

England 8–7 Qatar

France 8-5 Australia

Japan 8–7 Slovenia

Poland 8-6 Malta

Taiwan 8–2 Malaysia

Philippines B 8-4 Croatia

Holland 8–3 Austria

Finland 8-2 Singapore

Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,100 hours of original programming across a range of sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the World Cup of Pool is one of a stable of pool events that include the Mosconi Cup and the World Pool Masters.

The 2010 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by PartyPoker.net, the world’s leading online poker room. Tables are supplied by Brunswick Billiards, cloth by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc and the Official Cue is Predator.

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

Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Raleigh, NC

by Lea Andrews

After a couple of disappointing showings on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour earlier this season, Earl Strickland is back in top form. “The Pearl” showed off his stuff by plowing undefeated through a strong field of 15 at the $1,000-added June 26-27 stop, which was held at Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC.

To reach the hot seat match, Strickland first had to get past BJ Ussery, who was looking for his fourth Jacoby win in a row — fifth total this season — but Strickland managed to mark up the last game in their hill-hill match to meet up with Keith Bennett, who’d just sent Delton Howard west 7-4. No strangers, the hot seat match, the finals, or each other, Bennett and Strickland both fought hard to become the last man standing on the winners’ side, but it was Strickland who earned it 7-5.

On the one-loss side, Sam Monday, who was there thanks to a second-round 7-4 loss to Howard, swept past WPBA pro Belinda Calhoun 7-2 and Brian Simpson 7-2 to meet up with Ussery. Meanwhile, Tony Morrison notched his own 7-2 victory over Jeff Pruitt and a strong 7-1 win over Chris Vollmar to face Howard, but a 7-4 loss planted him in fifth. Howard moved on to the quarterfinals against Monday, who’d ended Ussery’s hopes of four in a row 7-2, but Howard’s second go at Monday didn’t end as well for him as the first — Monday exacted his revenge 7-4 to advance to the semifinals against Bennett. Bennett was ready to get back to Strickland, though, and he blew past Monday 7-1 to get there.

But Strickland was ready for him, and the first six games of the single race-to-11 final match were over in 18 minutes — Strickland was up 6-0. His scratch on the break in the next rack, though, gave control to Bennett, who ran to a 4-9 combination to mark up his first game, and he marked up his second after Strickland hung the 2 ball. Strickland took the next two to make it 8-2, and though Bennett rebounded a bit to get it to 8-5 and 9-7, that was as close as he got. Strickland took the last two racks to close out his first win this season 11-7.

After a couple of disappointing showings on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour earlier this season, Strickland is back in top form.

Results:

1st Earl Strickland $1,000
2nd Keith Bennett $475
3rd Sam Monday $200
4th Delton Howard $75

by Lea Andrews

Zion Zvi may have entered Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY, on May 22 without a Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour win on the record, but it was there when he left undefeated on May 23. As the last man standing out of the original field of 31, Zvi pocketed the biggest chunk of the $1,500-added purse.

Zvi took care of tour regular Kevin Guimond 9-7 to reach the hot seat match against Mhet Vergara, who’d just notched a strong 9-4 win over George “Ginky” Sansouci. Zvi earned the hot seat with a breezy 9-2 victory over Vergara, who moved into the semifinals for another chance at the finals.

On the left side of the bracket, Brian Veska squeezed past Mike Wong 9-8 before marking up a 9-2 win over George Rodriguez, who’d just ousted Jarrod Clowery 9-4. Meanwhile, Scott Tollefson held Stu Warnock to six games to face Chance Chin, who’d blown past Ray Romanski 9-3. Chin found himself at the wrong end of another 9-3 match against Tollefson, though, to finish in seventh, and Tollefson followed him soon after running into Guimond, who advanced to the quarterfinals 9-6. There Guimond met up with Veska, who’d continued his winning streak 9-4 over San Souci, and while Veska fought hard to keep it going even further, he came up one game shy, landing in fourth 9-8. In the semifinals, Zvi’s two most recent victims went head to head to try to face him again, and Guimond rose well above 9-5 for one last shot at Zvi.

Zion Zvi may have entered Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY, on May 22 without a Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour win on the record, but it was there when he left undefeated on May 23.

by Lea Andrews

Paul Mullins is no stranger to the Great Southern Billiard Tour, but he found himself in uncharted territory when he reached the finals, and he staked his claim when he sunk the final 9 ball. “The Cheetah” sprinted through the strong field of 52 that gathered at Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, on May 1-2 for the $1,500-added event.

Mullins edged out fellow B player Glen Smith to reach the hot seat match against AA-ranked Jeff Abernathy, who’d breezed by Mike Hagood 11-2. A strong 7-6 victory earned Mullins the ticket to the finals, while Abernathy moved over to the other side of the bracket to try for a rematch.

On the one-loss side, another of Mullins’ victims was already on his own quest for a rematch. A-ranked Glenn Russell, who’d fallen to Mullins 7-5, ousted B-ranked Steve Jenkins 9-3 and A-ranked Brad Shearer 9-7 to meet up with Hagood. Meanwhile, B-ranked Shawn Ray took care of A players Larry Faulk 7-2 and Greg Taylor 7-7 to face Smith, whom he put in fifth 7-6 to reach the quarterfinal match. There he faced Russell, who’d had a smooth 9-3 win over Hagood. A 9-6 victory over Ray put Russell one step closer to a rematch with Mullins, but Abernathy had other ideas, and holding Russell to six games, Abernathy claimed the rematch for himself.

Both Mullins and Abernathy were in the finals of the Great Southern Billiard Tour for the first time, and they fought back and forth for the victory that had so far eluded them. But Mullins, overcoming a tendency toward late-tournament timidity, snatched the win in one set 7-9.

Paul Mullins is no stranger to the Great Southern Billiard Tour, but he found himself in uncharted territory when he reached the finals, and he staked his claim when he sunk the final 9 ball.