Last Chance Saloon for a Host of Names

With the 2010 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters just two days away, Tuesday 11th May sees the last opportunity to win a spot in the elite event as up to 64 players slug it out in two qualifying events at Pool Sharks, Las Vegas.

Each event will feature 32 players in single elimination, race to seven, winner breaks competition with the champion of each tournament receiving a spot in the Masters starting line up which commences midday on Wednesday 12th May at the Riviera Hotel on the Vegas Strip.

In addition, the runners up in each of the two events will be offered a spot in the Masters for a $500 entry fee. There are two further spots – six in total – which will go to the next two highest finishers in each of the two events. These will be offered for a $500 entry fee. Should they decline then organisers will go down the list.

Action gets underway at 10am on Tuesday morning and by late evening, the final six players in the Masters starting line up will be determined.

With the 2010 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters just two days away, Tuesday 11th May sees the last opportunity to win a spot in the elite event as up to 64 players slug it out in two qualifying events at Pool Sharks, Las Vegas.

Entered Players

1. Craig Dixon
2. Neil Cummins
3. Roger Haddon
4. Marco Tschudi
5. Cakti Aswan
6. Andy Worthington
7. John Kutcher
8. Joe Cannella
9. Bill Dunsmore
10. Walter Glass
11. Andy Barnett
12. Jason Osborn
13. Brad Huffman
14. Trick Sixty
15. Joey Chin
16. Edgar Jackson
17. Melisa Little
18. Mark Haddad
19. Kevin DeBlanc
20. Will Shiroma
21. Jason Bryan
22. Tyler Fleishman
23. Randy Kukla
24. Sal Butera
25. Stevie Moore
26. Ray Galaviz
27. Manny Chau
28. Jerry Enos
29. Ronnie Wiseman
30. Rick White
31. David Robertson
32. Jun Almoite
33. Mark Vidal
34. Jason Klatt
35. Sara Rousey
36. Christian Johannesen
37. James Carmona
38. Warren Kiamco
39. Frank Tran
40. Larry Nevel
41. Christopher Adams
42. Gus Brieseno
43. Scott Frost
44. Shawn Lane
45. Chris Melling
46. Rafael Martinez
47. Hunter Lombardo
48. Tim Cole
49. Stefan Osnabrug
50. Max Eberle
51. Brendon Crockett
52. Billy Winters
53. Shaun Wilkie
54. Greg Harada
55. Tony Gong
56. Jonny Stojamovic
57. Hector Vicuna
58. Jim Millazzo
59. Brian Miller

Venue: Pool Sharks, 3650 S Decatur Blvd, Ste 12, Las Vegas, NV 89103, (702) 222-1011, www.poolsharks.net

Timing: Registration by 9.00 at the latest; Tournament 1 commences at 10.00 and Tournament 2 when the first round of T1 matches has been completed.

Entry Fee: $30 payable at registration, no exceptions.

Television is produced by Matchroom Sport and will be seen as 15 x one hour programmes in 14 countries around the world with more to be added to the list.

The prize fund is set at a guaranteed $100,000 with $20,000 going to the eventual champion.

Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com, +44 7785 395688

www.matchroompool.com

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 nine sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the World Pool Masters is one of a stable of pool events that include the World Cup of Pool and the Mosconi Cup.

The 2010 World Pool Masters is sponsored by PartyPoker.net. Tables are supplied by Brunswick Billiards, cloth by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc and the Official Cue is Predator.

by Lea Andrews

With the action still going strong on day two of the 34th Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, which is being held October 18-24 at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, many big names remain undefeated after two rounds of play, while others have become early victims. All 216 players remain in the field, though elimination rounds begin Tuesday morning.

Still on the winners’ side is past champion Ralf Souquet, who notched up an 11-1 win over EJ Glode and an 11-4 win over Thomas Giddens. After shutting out Pat DiBuono, Steve Moore rolled over Stefano Ariavakis 11-1. Spain’s David Alcaide was almost as stingy with the 9 balls in his first two matches—he rode an 11-1 win over Scott Hershman to an 11-3 victory over Kaloyan Rusanov.

Bartram handed Immonen his first loss in his title defense.

View the U.S. Open 9-Ball Double Elimination Tournament Brackets 2 (updated continuously)

View the 2009 U.S. Open image gallery

View the LIVE STREAM from ACCU-STATS

Defending champion Mika Immonen, who held Jerry Fitchett to six games in round one, will have to defend his crown from the left side of the bracket after running into a determined Chris Bartram in round two. Bartram got out ahead 2-0, 3-1, and 7-3, but Immonen managed to tie it up at eight games apiece. Talent and luck were both on Bartram’s side in the final racks, and he took racks seventeen and eighteen with a 2-9 combination and a 1-9 combination, respectively, and though Immonen claimed rack nineteen after Bartram left a safety on the 2 ball open, he couldn’t close rack twenty, which turned into a safety battle after Immonen missed position on the 6 ball. It was Bartram who came out on top, making a difficult shot on the 6 to earn the right to face Alcaide 11-9. Another fallen hero is 2004 U.S. Open champion Gabe Owen, who fell 11-9 to Abdullah Alyousef after being up 4-1. Runner-up that year, Thorsten “The Hitman” Hohmann also suffered a second-round loss to Jason Klatt 11-9. After falling 11-6 to Robb Saez, 2006 U.S. Open champion John Schmidt will face Don Steele on Wednesday, while Oliver Ortman , who fell 11-9 to Keith Bennett, will face Thorsten Hohmann, who managed just nine games himself against Jason Klatt.

Second round winners’ matches still to come are Jonathan “Hennessee” Pinegar versus Charlie Bryant, Tony Chohan versus Jose Parica, Darren Appleton versus Zaid Thweib, and Shane Van Boening versus Marvin Davis.

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by Skip Maloney

Shane "The South Dakota Kid" Van Boening had to beat Gabe "The Babe" Owen twice to win the Texas State Open at G Cue Billiards in Round Rock, TX.

Shane Van Boening battled Gabe Owen twice to capture first place in the Texas Open, which concluded in the early hours of Tuesday morning after Labor Day weekend. The $3,250-added event drew 128 competitors to G-Cue Billiards in Round Rock, TX.

Late Monday evening, Van Boening and Owen emerged as the undefeated finalists in their respective 64-player brackets; Owen with a 54-30 record and Van Boening with a slightly better 54- 20 record. Van Boening had only given up 13 total racks in his first five games until he ran into Charlie Bryant among the tournament’s final four on the winners’ side. He sent Bryant west 9-7 and then faced Owen for the first time in the hot seat match.

Owen, in the meantime, had battled past Dave Henson 9-4 and Ismael Paez 9-7 to reach the hot seat match. He was dispatched to the semifinals with a 9-6 win by Van Boening. Paez and Bryant had moved to the one-loss side to face Glenn Atwell and Shawn Putnam. It was Atwell and Putnam advancing to the quarterfinals, won by Putnam 9-3. Owen dropped Putnam into third place with a 9-7 victory and moved back to face Van Boening. The two battled in the finals to a second 9-6 win for Van Boening, which secured the first-place prize.

Results:
1st Shane Van Boening
2nd Gabe Owen
3rd Shawn Putnam
4th Glen Atwell
5th Charlie Bryant
Ismael Paez
7th James Roberts
James Davis, Sr.
9th Cliff Joyner
Raphael Martinez
David Henson
Tracy Sanders