by InsidePOOL Staff

Pro player Mike Davis took off the January 21 stop of the Tiger Classic Tour, double-dipping John Souders in the finals to take the title. The open event drew 32 players to Cue Phoria in Winter Park, FL.

Davis first encountered Souders in the winners’ side final four, where Souders delivered Davis to the one-loss side 7-3.

Davis first encountered Souders in the winners’ side final four, where Souders delivered Davis to the one-loss side 7-3. In the other bracket, Harry Nathan bested George Sanders 7-5 to move on to the hot seat match and face off with Souders, who took that match 7-4.

Nick Applebee eliminated Sanders in fifth place to advance to the quarterfinal match. Meeting him there was Davis, who had just ousted Julio Aquino in a fifth-place tie with Sanders. Davis dominated Applebee 7-2 and continued his trek through the west side.

In the semifinal match, Davis easily handled Nathan 7-4 to reach the double-elimination finals against Souders. Souders struggled to take the title, but Davis notched a narrow 7-5 win in the first set and then whitewashed Souders in the second to claim his victory.

Results:
1st Mike Davis $450
2nd John Souders $200
3rd Harry Nathan $100
4th Nick Applebee $80
5th George Sanders $60
Julio Aquino

by InsidePOOL Staff

An undefeated B. J. Ussery won top honors at the January 14-15 stop of the Great Southern Billiard Tour, as he breezed through the field to best Mike Fuller in the final match. The $1,500-added amateur 9-ball event drew 42 players to Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC.

An undefeated B. J. Ussery won top honors at the January 14-15 stop of the Great Southern Billiard Tour, as he breezed through the field to best Mike Fuller in the final match.

Ussery’s run wasn’t without its challenges, though. After sending Younger Chapman to the one-loss side 11-5, he went on to face Fuller, who had just bested Brad Shearer 11-5, for the first time in the event in the hot seat match. Their first meeting in the tournament went hill-hill, with Ussery eking out the 11-10 win.

Once on the west side of the chart, Chapman and Shearer soon found themselves tied for fifth place courtesy of James Blackburn 7-8 and Brian White 11-6, respectively. White went on to topple Blackburn in the quarterfinal match 11-6 and advance to the semifinals.

In a narrow 11-9 decision, it was Fuller who won and earned a rematch with Ussery in the finals. It was another close call, but Fuller still could not get past Ussery, who took the title 11-9.

Results:
1st B. J. Ussery $1,000
2nd Mike Fuller $500
3rd Brian White $300
4th James Blackburn $200
5th Younger Chapman $155
Brad Shearer
7th Vernon Rogers $90
Larry Kressel

by InsidePOOL Staff

After a hill-hill, fourth-round loss to Shawn Putnam, Shane Van Boening came back through the one-loss side to take the Turning Stone Classic title over Raj Hundal in the finals. The $25,000-added tournament, held twice a year at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY, drew a packed field of 128.

At the start of Sunday’s matches, only four players remained undefeated. Mike “The Fireball” Dechaine suffered his first loss to Rodney Morris, both recently returned from the Mosconi Cup, 9-5, while Ralf Souquet, a Mosconi Cup veteran, was sent to the west side by Raj Hundal 9-5. Hundal went on to best Morris 9-4 and await a finals opponent.

After a hill-hill, fourth-round loss to Shawn Putnam, Van Boening came back through the one-loss side to take the Turning Stone Classic title over Hundal in the finals.

On the left bracket, Darren Appleton, who suffered a third-round, hill-hill loss to Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour threat Dennis Hatch, won six matches in a row to reach Mosconi Cup teammate Souquet and fell 9-3 in fifth place. Tying with him was Dechaine, who came out on the short end of a hill-hill match against Van Boening.

Once on the west side of the chart, Van Boening disposed of top-notch players such as Larry Nevel 9-5, Bucky Souvanthong 9-6, Earl Strickland 9-4, and Dennis Hatch 9-2 to reach the quarterfinals. After disposing of Dechaine, he then had to face the determined Souquet, a past champion of the Turning Stone event. He made quick work of the German, moving on to the semifinals with a 9-3 win.

View the Turning Stone tournament brackets (updated continuously)

Defending champion Morris awaited Van Boening, but there was no repeat performance for the Hawaiian as “The South Dakota Kid” allowed him 5 racks in the race to 9. In the extended race-to-13 final match, Van Boening allowed Hundal a few chances, but when all was said and done, Van Boening took the final match and the title 13-9.

by Suzanne Smith

Liz Cole topped off a stupendous year with a season-ending victory at the Northwest Women’s Pool Association’s November 19-20 stop, taking the title over Kimberly Kirk. The tour’s finale was held at The Parlor in Bellevue, WA, and drew 20 ladies.

Unfortunately, because of snow, a few of the tour’s top players were not in attendance. On the winners’ side, Cole squared off against Michelle Hughes, while Shelby Locati battled against recently crowned 2011 U.S. Amateur champion Suzanne Smith. Cole and Smith won their matches 7-4 and 7-2, respectively. Cole then bested Smith 7-4 to secure her sixth final appearance of the season.

On the west side, Kirk defeated Jessica Orth 7-5, while Deby Welfringer bested Clodagh Lancaster 7-5. Kirk then eliminated Locati in fifth place 7-6, and Welfringer sent Hughes home in the same slot 7-3. In the quarterfinals, Kirk ousted Welfringer 7-2 and, continuing her superb play, eliminated Smith in third place 7-4 to secure her spot in the finals against Cole.

Straight out of the gate, Kirk stroked the ball well to take a 3-0 lead, but a couple of untimely errors by Kirk then allowed Cole to tie up the match. The match seesawed to 6-6, at which a hung 8 ball by Kirk allowed Cole to take an 8-6 lead. Kirk then scratched on the break for the first time of the set in the next rack, and Cole methodically ran out the rack to secure the title.

Liz Cole topped off a stupendous year with a season-ending victory at the Northwest Women’s Pool Association’s November 19-20 stop, taking the title over Kimberly Kirk.

Five ladies returned Sunday for a $100-added second chance tournament. Alisha Rogers won the most games in the round robin competition to claim top prize, while only one game separated second and third places.

Main Event Results:
1st Liz Cole $345
2nd Kimberly Kirk $240
3rd Suzanne Smith $145
4th Deby Welfringer $105
5th Shelby Locati $70
Michelle Hughes
7th Jessica Orth $50
Clodagh Lancaster

Second Chance Results:
1st Alisha Rogers $45
2nd Tamre Rogers $35
3rd Andy Ruth $30
4th Sara Mulleniex $25
5th Talya Makus $15

by InsidePOOL Staff

Tom D’Alfonso bested hometown hero Mike “Fireball” Dechaine in a gritty double-elimination finals at the November 19-20 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour to claim the title. The $5,000-added stop was hosted by Snookers Billiards Bar and Grill in Providence, RI, and drew a field of 64 top players.

It was D’Alfonso who skated through the winners’ bracket, defeating Ivaylo Petrov hill-hill and advancing to the hot seat match. There his opponent was Matt Tetreault, who had just bested Stevie Moore 9-6. The hot seat match was no contest, as D’Alfonso easily handled Tetreault 9-2 and sent his opponent to the west side of the chart.

Dechaine moved speedily through the one-loss side, eliminating Jennifer Barretta 9-5, Bucky Souvanthong 9-2, and then Moore 9-7 to reach the quarterfinal match. “Iron Mike” Davis, having just ousted Petrov 9-5 at a fifth-place tie, was Dechaine’s competitor, and Dechaine slipped past him 9-2.

In the semifinal match, Dechaine also found little resistance from Tetreault, sending his opponent home in third place 9-5. In the double-elimination final match, Dechaine dominated D’Alfonso in the first set 9-3, but D’Alfonso turned the tables in the second and won the title by the score of 9-3.

Tom D’Alfonso bested hometown hero Mike “Fireball” Dechaine in a gritty double-elimination finals at the November 19-20 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour to claim the title.

Results:
1st Tom D’Alfonso $2,500
2nd Mike Dechaine $1,800
3rd Matt Tetreault $1,300
4th Mike Davis $1,000
5th Stevie Moore $750
Ivaylo Petrov
7th Bucky Souvanthong $550
Brittany Bryant
9th Ray McNamara $350
Jennifer Barretta
Greg Antonakos
Ron Casanzio

by InsidePOOL Staff

Many fine players were eliminated from the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Friday, with only the top 6 returning Saturday to collect their piece of the $175,000 prize purse. Defending champion Darren Appleton will face off with former champ Alex Pagulayan in the hot seat at 1 p.m., while Shawn Putnam and Dennis Hatch will go head to head in the quarterfinal match.

Appleton sent Johnny Archer west in a tight 11-9 match and then went on to face down Putnam 11-7 to reach the hot seat match. In the bottom bracket, Pagulayan breezed through reigning 10-ball champion Huidji See of the Netherlands 11-3 to face Larry “The Truth” Nevel, who had just bested Japan’s Kenichi Uchigaki 11-9. Pagulayan held the lead in his match with Nevel, who, down 9-5, missed a bank shot on the 6 ball and stabbed the floor with his cue, smashing the shaft. Pagulayan reached the hill after that rack, and though Nevel put another couple racks under his belt, after a failed attempt at a bank in the last rack, Pagulayan ran out for the 11-7 win.

Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour regular Hatch was taking care of business on the west side of the chart, routing Johnny Archer and sending him home in ninth place. Their score was tied 4-all when Archer allowed Hatch to the table and never saw it again, as Hatch ran the set out to win 11-4. Hatch then turned Filipino champ Warren Kiamco’s lights out in the following round, eliminating him 11-5.

Live real time scoring is being provided by ProPool.com and are being displayed at Inside POOL TV.

Many fine players were eliminated from the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Friday, with only the top 6 returning Saturday to collect their piece of the $175,000 prize purse.

After his winners’ side match loss, Nevel went on to face Hatch, with “The Hatchetman” dominating completely. Up 9-3, Hatch pushed out after his break, and Nevel took a swing at the 1 ball and scratched, handing Hatch the hill and then forfeiting the next rack to hand the match to Hatch 11-3.

2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball Final 8 Player Tournament Brackets
2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Brackets
Day 1 Results
Day 2 Results
Day 3 Results
Day 4 Results
Day 5 Results

Putnam defeated reigning world 9-ball champion Yukio Akagariyama 11-9 only to be sent west by Appleton 11-7. From there he held a 10-4 lead over See, who attempted a comeback and won the next four racks, but Putnam shut him down 11-7 to return Saturday.

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by InsidePOOL Staff

Scott Herbeck bounced back from earlier loss to take down John Gorsch Sr. twice in the finals of the October 8 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid Cues All-American Tour. Held at Cuemasters Billiards in Dubuque, IA, the $500-added 8-ball handicapped tourney on 7-foot Valley bar boxes drew 21 players.

On the A-side, Gorsch Sr. marched to the hot seat, including a 4-1 win over Ron Pluym in the winners’ side final four and a hot seat win over Al Birkett 4-3. Birkett had previously bested Mike Rohner 6-3.

On the west side, Herbeck recovered from a 6-1 loss to Pluym to eliminate David Duggan 6-4 and Rohner 6-2 to meet Pluym again. After ousting Pluym 6-4 and Birkett in the semifinals, Herbeck gained a shot at the undefeated Gorsch Sr. in the final match. The finals went two sets, with both sets ending on the hill 6-3 in favor of Herbeck, the winner.

Scott Herbeck bounced back from earlier loss to take down John Gorsch Sr. twice in the finals of the October 8 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid Cues All-American Tour.

Results:
1st Scott Herbeck $400
2nd John Gorsch Sr. $250
3rd Al Birkett $200
4th Ron Pluym $175

by InsidePOOL Staff

Ed Culhane dominated the field at the October 9 stop on the Tri-State Tour, only to fight to the hill against Mike Ettl—and win—in the finals. The $1,000-added stop hosted a field of 31 A-D players at BQE Billiards in Jackson Heights, NY.

Culhane had an easy time of it, handling Mark Pantovic 7-3 in the winners’ side final four to advance. Meeting him in the winners’ side finals was Ettl, who had just sent to the west side Mike Aro 6-3. Again Culhane had few problems, besting Ettl for the first time 7-3 to await a finals opponent.

Pantovic quickly recovered and eliminated Keith Adamik in a hill-hill match 7-6, while Aro was whitewashed 6-0 by Ron Mason and tied for fifth place with Adamik. Mason went on to face down Pantovic in the quarterfinal match 8-5.

Ed Culhane dominated the field at the October 9 stop on the Tri-State Tour, only to fight to the hill against Mike Ettl—and win—in the finals.

Ettl had a close match with Mason in the semifinals but escaped 6-4 to earn a rematch with Culhane. He took an early lead in the finals and kept it for most of the match, but Culhane finally pulled himself together and made it a hill-hill nail-biter. On the final break, Culhane snapped in the 9 ball for the 9-8 win.

Results:
1st Ed Culhane $600
2nd Mike Ettl $380
3rd Ron Mason $235
4th Mark Pantovic $140
5th Mike Aro $90
Keith Adamik
7th Keith Diaz $65
Geovani Hosang

by InsidePOOL Staff

It was an undefeated run to the finals for Mike “Fireball” Dechaine at the October 1-2 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, where he defeated Ashley Nowlan for the title. The main event boasted a $3,000 prize purse and attracted a field of 27 to TJ’s Classic Billiards in Waterville, ME.

In the winners’ side final four, Dechaine narrowly escaped Ivaylo Petrov to advance to the hot seat match, where he faced Mike Renshaw, who had just sent Bob Lewis 9-3. Known as a fast and aggressive player, Dechaine breezed through Renshaw, only allowing his opponent one rack before winning 9-1.

Once on the west side, Petrov came up against Nowland, who eliminated him in fifth place 9-7. Lewis tied with Petrov after running into Cleiton Rocha, who bested him 9-7. In the quarterfinal match, Nowland kept the momentum going with a 9-5 victory over Rocha.

Renshaw awaited Nowlan in the semifinal match, and Nowlan was the clear winner 9-4, while Renshaw took home third place. A primed Dechaine took control of the final match with Nowlan and was done in record time, taking the victory 9-1.

In the second chance event, Jeff LaFlamme ran unchallenged through the 13-player field to reach the finals. Taking the long way around, Mike Bradford lost his first-round match and then won five in a row to reach LaFlamme. The final match went hill-hill, with LaFlamme triumphing 3-2.

It was an undefeated run to the finals for Mike “Fireball” Dechaine at the October 1-2 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, where he defeated Ashley Nowlan for the title.

Main Event Results:
1st Mike Dechaine $1,000
2nd Ashley Nowlan $725
3rd Mike Renshaw $525
4th Clayton Rocha $350
5th Bob Lewis $200
Ivaylo Petrov

Second Chance Results:
1st Jeff LaFlamme $280
2nd Mike Bradford $180
3rd Kyle Richard $140
4th Cody Francis $80
5th Steve Reynolds $40
Jason Robichaud

Great Southern Billiard Tour / Fairfield, OH

by InsidePOOL Staff

Alex Olinger and Stan Shuffett took two different routes to the winner’s circle at the Great Southern Billiard Tour, but it was the end result that mattered. Olinger went undefeated to take the $1,500-added 9-ball division, and Shuffett went the long way through the $500-added short-rack banks event. Both were held at Michael’s Billiards and Games in Fairfield, OH, September 24-25.

The 9-ball division attracted a field of 50, with Olinger besting Jason Thomas in the winners’ side final four. Also on the winners’ side was Shuffett, who sent Brad Farmer to the west side of the chart 9-4. Olinger and Shuffett met in the hot seat match, in which Olinger routed Shuffett 10-1 to take a break and wait for the finals.

Thomas and Farmer did not fare well on the left side and were ousted by Shannon Murphey 10-4 and Chris Lawson 7-1, respectively. Murphey continued to cruise forward with a 10-1 victory over Lawson in the quarterfinals. He then eliminated Shuffett in third place 10-7 to earn a chance at the title. But Olinger had other plans, and while Murphey put up a good fight, it was Olinger who won the title 10-7.

In the 32-entrant short-rack banks event, it was Mike Medley besting Chris Lawson 3-1 and young gun Billy Thorpe whitewashing TJ Back 3-0 to meet in the hot seat match, where Thorpe triumphed 3-1. Lawson was quickly eliminated in fifth place on the one-loss side by Stan Shuffett 2-1, as was Chris Hutchison by Back 2-1.

Alex Olinger and Stan Shuffett took two different routes to the winner’s circle at the Great Southern Billiard Tour, but it was the end result that mattered.

Shuffett barreled through Hutchison in the quarterfinals 2-0 and then ousted room owner Mike Medley 2-1 at third place. In the double-elimination final match, he showed determination by winning the first set over Thorpe 3-2 and the second 2-1 to earn the victory.

9-Ball Results:
1st Alex Olinger $1,000
2nd Shannon Murphey $600
3rd Stan Shuffett $325
4th Chris Lawson $245
5th Jason Thomas $140
Brad Farmer
7th Brandon Williams $95
Russ Edwards

Banks Results:
1st Stan Shuffett $500
2nd Billy Thorpe $350
3rd Mike Medley $250
4th Chris Hutchison $160
5th TJ Back $100
Chris Lawson
7th Greg Ranson $50
Steve Hancock