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

George “Ginky” SanSouci went undefeated through the field at the July 11 installment of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour to earn the title, besting tour regular Matt Krah in the finals. A strong 39-player field gathered at Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY, for the $1,000-added tournament.

SanSouci zoomed through the winners’ side of the chart, besting Jay Chiu 7-1, Josh Brothers 7-3, Oscar Bonilla 7-4, and Jeremy Sossei 7-3. On the bottom half of the chart, Brett Stottlemyer was scoring wins over Scott Murphy 7-2, Zion Zvi 7-5, Kevin Guimond 7-4, and Joey Kong 7-6. the hot seat match that followed was completely one-sided, as SanSouci took control from the start and defeated Stottlemyer 7-0.

After a hill-hill defeat at the hands of Sossei, Krah went on a winning streak through the west side, eliminating Mike Miller 7-4, Zvi 7-5, Kong 7-4, Sossei 7-5, and Stottlemyer 7-5 to reach the finals, where he had to best SanSouci twice to take the title. But it only took one set for SanSouci to win the event with a 7-3 victory.

SanSouci (pictured left) went undefeated through the field at the July 11 installment of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour to earn the title, besting tour regular Matt Krah in the finals.

Results:
1st George SanSouci $1050
2nd Matt Krah $620
3rd Brett Stottlemyer $370
4th Jeremy Sossei $225
5th Joey Kong $150
Kevin Guimond
7th Zion Zvi $100
Bruce Nagle

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Lone Star Billiards Tour scored a record turnout the weekend of July 10-11, with 83 open players, 13 one-pocket players, and 16 ladies gathered to play for over $10,000 in cash. The tour was hosted by Bogies Billiards in Houston, TX, and saw three winners crowned—Derek Fontenot, David Gutierrez, and Ming Ng—in their respective divisions.

Open 9-ball matches saw the final 24 return Sunday, where Tommy Tokoph and Fontenot fought their way to the hot seat, while the one-loss side wound down to newcomer Francisco Taylor, Gerald “Top Water” Jackson, James Davis Jr., and Jason Bacon. Fontenot secured his position over Tokoph 9-7, while on the west side Jackson made quick work of Bacon 7-6 and won a rematch with Tokoph. Tokoph topped Jackson again for a rematch with Fontenot, where he played his heart out, but Fontenot swiftly closed the set out 9-4 for his first well-deserved tour title.

In the open one-pocket division, it was Gutierrez over Davis Jr. for the hot seat, while on the west side Charlie Bryant bested Dave Favor, James Christopher, David Parker, and then Davis for a shot at Gutierrez. Bryant came on strong the first set 3-0, but Gutierrez answered back the second set 2-0 and claimed first.

The ladies’ open 9-ball event fired up Sunday, with Ng over Deanna Kniola 7-5 for the hot seat. On the west side, Kyu Yi bested Terry Petrosino and then Kniola for a rematch with Ng, who sent her west earlier that day. Both ladies were focused on the win, but Ng closed out the set 7-3 and captured her second consecutive tour title.

The Lone Star Billiards Tour scored a record turnout the weekend of July 10-11, with 83 open players, 13 one-pocket players, and 16 ladies gathered to play for over $10,000 in cash.

One-Pocket Results:
1st David Guttierez $700
2nd Charlie Bryant $400
3rd James Davis Jr. $200

Ladies’ 9-Ball Results:
1st Ming Ng $260
2nd Kyu Yi $150
3rd Deanna Kniola $100
4th Terry Petrosino $65

by InsidePOOL Staff

Shane Van Boening went undefeated through the 64-player field at the Seminole Pro Tour / Gem City Open to take first place, defeating Charlie Williams in the final set for the title. The event was held at the Marietta Billiard Club in Marietta, GA, July 10-12, and boasted an $11, 500-added prize purse.

After his unchallenged run through the winners’ bracket, including strong victories over James Roberts 9-1, Donny Mills 9-2, and Williams 9-2, Van Boening went up against Maine’s Mike Dechaine in the hot seat match. Dechaine had vanquished tough opponents such as Johnny Archer 9-6 and Adam Smith 9-8 before reaching the hot seat match. However, Van Boening handled Dechaine easily, sending him to the one-loss side 9-4 to await his finals opponent.

Van Boening went undefeated through the 64-player field at the Seminole Pro Tour / Gem City Open to take first place, defeating Charlie Williams in the final set for the title.

Williams was fighting through the west side after his defeat by Van Boening, sending Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie home in fifth with a 9-5 defeat and going on to face Smith in the quarterfinals. Smith had just ousted Corey Deuel 9-4. An epic hill-hill battle saw Williams move on to the semifinals, where Dechaine awaited him. Another double-hill bout ensued, and again it was Williams who moved on, moving back to the right side of the chart to try to revenge his loss to Van Boening.

View the Gem City tournament brackets (updated frequently)

However, in the final match Williams was outmatched in his opponent. Van Boening took an early 4-1 lead and, with his massive break, managed to outplay Williams at every opportunity. It wasn’t too long before Van Boening won his first Seminole Pro Tour title of the season 11-3.

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

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

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

by InsidePOOL Staff

“Rocket” Rodney Morris claimed the Memorial Weekend stop of the Seminole Pro Tour, besting the undefeated Corey Deuel in the finals to take first place. The $8,500-added event was hosted by Hollywood Billiards in Hollywood, CA, and attracted a 59-player, star-studded field.

Morris suffered a late, hill-hill loss in the event to Gabe Owen in the winners’ side final eight and was sent to the west side. Owen continued on to face Deuel, who delivered a sound 8-2 defeat to “The Babe” and then progressed to the hot seat match against Rafael Martinez, who had just bested Stevie Moore 8-5. It was as close as it could be, but Deuel ended up sending Martinez to the one-loss side with an 8-7 victory.

On the west side, Morris faced off against house pro Max Eberle and eliminated him 8-3. Another close call saw him edge past Florida’s Hunter Lombardo 8-7 to drub Moore 8-1. Owen, now on the west side, fought a tight match against local hero Oscar “The Big O” Dominguez and narrowly escape 8-6 to reach the quarterfinals. It was Morris versus Owen again, but this time with different results: Morris took two racks for every one of Owen’s and advanced 8-4.

Morris claimed the Memorial Weekend stop of the Seminole Pro Tour, besting the undefeated Deuel in the finals to take first place.

View the Seminole Hard Times Brackets (updated continuously)

Martinez fought hard against going home in third place, but it was Morris who won the semifinal match 8-6 to reach the finals against Deuel. “The Prince of Pool” took a daunting 5-0 lead in the extended race to 9, but Morris didn’t give up. Soon the Hawaiian was in the lead 7-5. Only a few more games were exchanged, and soon Morris was in the winner’s circle with a 9-7 victory.

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

Great Southern Billiard Tour / Cornelius, NC

by Lea Andrews

Josh Newman’s first win as an A player on the Great Southern Billiards Tour came in March, when his talent and stamina allowed him to come from the west side and stay strong through two sets in the finals, pocketing the final 9 ball just after 6 a.m. Monday morning. On the weekend of May 22-23, Newman did it again, topping the 45-entrant field that gathered at Kylie’s Sports Bar and Grill in Cornelius, NC, for the $1,500-added A/B amateur event.

Newman sailed unscathed into the hot seat match, getting by fellow A player John Sandifer 9-4 to face Glenn Russell, who’d just sent A-ranked Ron Park to the left side 9-7. Russell repeated that margin against Newman to earn a spot in the finals of a GSBT event for the first time, while Newman took a detour to the semifinals.

On the one-loss side, AA-ranked Jeff Abernathy, who’d fallen earlier to Park, edged out B-ranked Marvin Reed 11-6 to meet up with Rick Roper, who’d ousted B-ranked Bob Ruffalo 7-3. Abernathy missed his second shot at Park by two games, falling 7-9 to Roper in the weighted race. Meanwhile, another of Park’s victims, A-ranked Mike Baumgarner, pushed past A players Matt Reed and Riley Myers 9-7 and 9-3, respectively, to welcome Sandifer to the other side by dealing him a 9-6 blow. Baumgaurner advanced to the quarterfinals for a rematch with Park, who’d breezed past Roper 9-3, and though Baumgarner managed several more games than the three he’d managed in their last face-off, he nonetheless came up short, finishing in fourth 9-8 and allowing Park a shot at the finals. But to get there, Park needed to get through Newman, who would have none of that–Newman arrived in the finals with a solid 9-2 victory.

The first set of the true double-elimination finals began at 2:30 a.m., but both Newman and Russell were up to the challenge of a late-night pool duel, and they traded games back and forth. In the end, though, Newman edged ahead, pushing the second set 9-7. In the second set, just as in the first, the two stayed even, but as the end drew closer, Newman once again forged ahead, earning his second win this season 9-7.

Josh Newman’s first win as an A player on the Great Southern Billiards Tour came in March, when his talent and stamina allowed him to come from the west side and stay strong through two sets in the finals, pocketing the final 9 ball just after 6 a.m. Monday morning.

1st Josh Newman $1,000
2nd Glenn Russell $500
3rd Ron Park $300
4th Mike Baumgarner $300
5th John Sandifer $85
Rick Roper
7th Riley Myers $45
Jeff Abernathy