April 2011 Inside POOL Magazine by Inside POOL Magazine

The

truest

playing cloth h a s a l w a y s been made

in B e l g i u m . . .

Do you know where your cloth comes from?

速

A u t h e n t i c. A c c u r a t e. A l w a y s.

APRIL 2011

On the Cover: Dennis Orcollo toppled a 114-player field at the Etisalat World 8-Ball Pool Championship in Fujairah, capping off his accomplishment with a dramatic 10-3 defeat of Niels Feijen in the final match. For the full story, please visit Page 18.

Instruction

8 Beat People With a Stick Funny Business 10 Tricknology Classic Trick Shots 12 Pro Pool Workout Keep It Simple 14 Get in Shape Speed Equals Stroke 16 Banking With The Beard What Did Dino Do?

Features

18 Orcollo on Cloud 9 First-Place Finish in Fujairah’s Etisalat World 8-Ball Pool Championship 22 Bar Table Bonanza Pagulayan, Kiamco, Morra, and Villareal Strike Gold in Reno 26 Immonen Cashes in Chesapeake Wins Masters 10-Ball Championship 28 George “Ginky” SanSouci A Life Without Limits

Publisher JR Calvert publisher@insidepoolmag.com

contents 32 28

Editor Sally P. Timko editor@insidepoolmag.com Graphic Artists Laura Luzier art@insidepoolmag.com Allen Hopkins Jr. Editorial Assistant Lea Andrews Advertising Sales Director Bill Perry sales@insidepoolmag.com Technical Consultant Tom Simpson

Staff Videographer Alvin Nelson Feature Photo Credits JR Calvert, NYCgrind.com, Sadik A.

E-mail info@insidepoolmag.com Website www.insidepoolmag.com Instructional Staff Johnny Archer, Freddy Bentivegna, Shannon Daulton, Bob Henning, Jason Lynch, Matt Sherman, Tom Simpson

Volume XI, Issue 4

Departments

4 Pool on TV 6 Advertiser Directory 15 Billiard Community.com Player of the Month 31 Billiard Education Foundation Player of the Month 36 APA Player of the Month Regional Roundup 38 Northeast 42 Southeast 45 Central 47 Western

Columns

30 Stripes WSR in the USA 32 Food on Tour 34 On Board With the BCA Connect. Buy. Learn. 35 Industry News 46 SudoCue Puzzle A Wing Shot 48 Word Puzzle Batter Up

Contributing Writers Fred Agnir, Lea Andrews, Jose Burgos, Alison M. Fischer, Rob Johnson, Ken Shuman Toll Free 888-428-7665 Administrative Offices PO Box 972, Kittanning, PA 16201

InsidePOOL Magazine Volume XI, Issue 4 (ISSN1547-3511) is published monthly except June and August by Spheragon Publishing, PO Box 972, Kittanning, PA 16201. Single copy price: $3.95 in U.S.A., $5.95 in Canada. Subscription prices: $19.99/yr in the U.S.A., $28/yr in Canada, $39/yr international. Periodicals postage at Kittanning, PA, and additional mailing offices. Submissions of manuscripts, illustrations, and/or photographs must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The publisher assumed no responsibility for unsolicited material. Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: InsidePOOL Magazine, PO Box 972, Kittanning, PA 16201. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

POOL on TV

All times are Eastern Time Zone - check local listingstv for changes pool on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN CLASSIC All times are Eastern Standard Time

2000 WPBA Classic Tour 1-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 2-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 3-Sept 10:00 AM 2008 International Challenge of Champions April 13 10:00 AM ESPNCESPNC 20082001 International Speed Pool Challenge April 20 4-Sept 10:00 ESPNCESPNC WPBA Classic Tour 10:00AM AM 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 9-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC Live Streams 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 12-Sept 11:00 AM ESPNC Great Southern Billiard Tour Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar and Grill April 2-3PM www.greatsouthernbilliardtour.com 2009 WPBA U.S. Open 13-Sept 3:00 ESPN Lone Star Billiards Tour Q-Stix Billiards April 9-10 www.lonestarbilliardstour.com 2009 WPBA U.S. Open 13-Sept 4:00 PM ESPN Great Southern Billiard Tour Classic Billiards April 9-10 www.greatsouthernbilliardtour.com 2009 WPBA U.S. Open 13-Sept 5:00 PM ESPN Great Southern Billiard Tour Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar and Grill April 16-17 www.greatsouthernbilliardtour.com 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 14-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC Ultimate 10-Ball Championship Embassy Suites Hotel Dallas-Frisco April 21-24 www.ultimate10ball.com 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 15-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC Seminole Pro Tour California Billiard Club April 29-May 1 www.seminoleprotour.com 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 16-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC Lone Star Billiards Tour Bogie’s Billiards and Games May 7-8 www.lonestarbilliardstour.com Great Southern Billiard Tour Classic Billiards May 15-16AM www.greatsouthernbilliardtour.com 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 17-Sept 10:00 ESPNC Lone StarWPBA BilliardsClassic Tour Tour Crazy 8’s June 11-12AM www.lonestarbilliardstour.com 2001 18-Sept 10:00 ESPNC Lone StarWPBA BilliardsClassic Tour Tour Q-Stix Billiards July11:00 9-10 AM www.lonestarbilliardstour.com 2001 19-Sept ESPNC Lone StarWPBA BilliardsClassic Tour Tour Skinny Bob’s Billiards 21-Sept August 13-14 www.lonestarbilliardstour.com 2001 10:00 AM ESPNC Seminole Pro Tour Capone’s Billiards Lounge July 8-10 www.seminoleprotour.com 2001 WPBA Classic Tour 22-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC Seminole Pro Tour Snookers Billiards August 5-7 www.seminoleprotour.com 2002 WPBA Classic Tour 23-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC Seminole Pro Tour Fiddlestix Billiard Café August 19-21 www.seminoleprotour.com 2002 WPBA Classic Tour 24-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC Steve Mizerak Championship Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino September 16-18 www.seminoleprotour.com 2002 WPBA Classic Tour 25-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC 2007 Texas Hold ‘Em Billiards Championship 26-Sept 11:00 AM ESPNC 2009 WPBA U.S. Open 27-Sept 5:00 PM ESPN Please InsidePOOLmag.com for television schedules. 2002 WPBAvisit Classic Tour 30-Sept 10:00 AM ESPNC

Play Video Play Video

Advertiser Directory

> >>

To contact any of our advertisers, visit their website, send an e-mail, or give them a call. American Poolplayers Association www.PoolPlayers.com

Regional Roundup

Atlas Billiard Supplies www.CueStik.com

Baby’s Pro Shop www.BabysProShop.com

Banks That Don’t Go—But Do! 773-956-6280

Bebob Publishing www.BebobPublishing.com

Billiard Community www.BilliardCommunity.com

Billiard Education Foundation Reanne Evans www.BilliardEducation.org

Evans Zeros in on 100

Billiards Express World Ladies’ Billiards and www.BilliardsExpress.com

Snooker Association /

Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk

Castillo Leather Goods by Tim Dunkley www.CastilloLeatherGoods.com

Reanne Evans said she’s targeting 100 straight wins on the Definitive Synergy 17 women’s snooker circuit after extending her record-breaking run www.DefinitiveSynergy.com

with victory in the British Open. The undisputed world number Fury one, Cues 21 who compiled a massive 140 break in the last four, defeated www.fury-cues.com Portsmouth’s Emma Bonney 3-1 in the final November 27. Pot Black Sports Bar in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, hosted and sponsored the Iwan Simonis, Inc. www.SimonisCloth.com

Inside Front Cover

Jason Lynch third leg of the World Ladies’ Billiards and Snooker Association’s 45 www.MichiganKid.com 2010-2011 tour. Jim Murnak Cue Cases 41 Evans, the six-time women’s world champion, has now won www.JimMurnakCueCases.com

her last 76 WLBSA matches. After successfully defending her Brit-

ish Open title, Billiard the 25Products year old from Dudley, West Midlands, said, 27 London Bridge “It was a bit scrappy and all the balls went a bit awkward. I needed www.LondonBridgeBilliards.com a snooker in the second frame, got it, and then she potted a bril-

McDermott liant pink.” Handcrafted Cues www.McDermottCue.com

But the frame turned out to be a purely a consolation for

Pneu Power Cues 13 five-time world billiards champion Bonney, who was unable to www.PneuPowerCues.com

halt Evans’ march towards a 26th WLBSA ranking title.

Pool Player Excuses Towel 34 www.PoolPlayerExcuses.com Evans matched her highest break with a 140 total clearance

in a 3-0 semi-final victory over Kent’s June Banks. WLBSA chair-

Seminole Pro Tour Inside Back Cover man Mandy Fisher said, “It was a fantastic 140. You don’t get many www.SeminoleProTour.com

like that.”

Sterling Gaming, Inc. Despite being virtually unbeatable on the women’s circuit, www.Sterling-Gaming.com

Evans is still searching for that elusive first victory on the profes-

Super sional Coffee circuit.Café She narrowly lost 4-3 to world champion NeilBack Rob-Cover www.SuperCoffeeCafe.com ertson in the European Players Tour Championship in Prague the

previous week and four days later crashed out of the UK Champi-

Tiger Products onship 9-1 to China’s Xiao Guodong. www.TigerProducts.com

She said,Billiard “No matter what, all it can do is increase my confi-42, 44 Tom Simpson, Instruction www.PoolClinics.com dence for the Ladies’ [tour]. I can only take the positives from it, because that’s all it is this season. I can’t expect much, really, just

Ultimate 10-Ball experience andChampionships enjoying it. She added with a laugh, “I just need www.Ultimate10Ball.com

that win and I’ll be all right.”

ollow F

November 2010 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 47

Instruction

< by Tom Simpson

Funny Business opening minutes of pool school, I often talk some about I nhowthemost of us get to a certain level and just get stuck. No matter how long we play, and despite the occasional great day at the table, we’re stuck around that level. Here’s my general sense of how we get stuck. Three major components of the game are involved: • •

•

In the physical aspect of the game (stance, stroke, grip, bridge, sighting, alignment), we gradually become as accurate and as consistent as our athletic ability—and our form flaws—allow. In the mental dimension of play (clear understanding of ball behavior, smart decision-making, strategic depth), we may be held back by gaps and misconceptions in our knowledge. Some of being stuck is that you don’t know what you don’t know. Maybe those better players know some things you don’t know or they weigh some factors you don’t consider. The emotional component (fear, confidence, doubt, pride, humiliation, winning, losing, competing) can also cripple our play and our progress.

Without training, most of us hit some plateau and that’s about where we stay. Stuck. Well, what about the players who are better? I’d say most of them are just stuck at a higher level. Maybe they have more athletic ability, maybe they had some good lessons, maybe they’ve watched a lot of good play or played a lot of good players. Maybe they have a great practice ethic. Players who really break through to higher levels, who get past whatever holds them back, time after time, put in the work. They pay their dues, often through countless hundreds of hours of striving. Research published in the Harvard Business Review on “The Making of an Expert” reveals that, to become world-class at something typically requires about 10,000 hours of deliberate, engaged practice/play. That’s like working fulltime, seriously, for five years. This is why, in pool, we talk about pros sinking one to two million balls on their way to pro level. In pool school, to cut some years out of your “suffering curve,” we spend the entire first day on the physical aspect. If you can’t deliver the cue ball where you want to send it, it doesn’t matter how much you know. That’s fundamentals of form and alignment. My hypothesis is that you get more accurate and you get more consistent as you simplify your form. Through using fewer muscles and fewer moving body parts and the application of sound principles of effective body use, we help each player approach their optimal form. Using structured video analysis, lasers, and a lot of experience, we identify each player’s “funny business.” Funny business is any extra or counterproductive stuff a player may be doing, physically. For example, we might spot movement in their bridge, their head might be moving, they might be curling their wrist, ping-ponging their eyes, jumping up, or any of the many other clever ways we sabotage our pool playing. Extra stuff is extra. It’s not likely to be helping you. Do less, more.

8 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

Players are usually comfortable doing whatever they do because they’ve done it thousands of times. They’ve taken a stance, formed and landed their bridge, stroked the cue, and so on a zillion times. Feels OK. But once we work through how to arrange our bodies for better simplicity, precision, and consistency, we start examining the player videos we shot before we began changing things. Everyone is astonished to see that they really did have the flaws we identified earlier, and they begin to see how they really were limited by their unconscious form flaws. We keep at it, because everything is connected. If we fix something in your stance, it may break something else or reveal another layer of funny business.

Do less, more.

’

So, without going to pool school, how can you become more aware of the practical issues of form? My suggestion is to watch what players really do. When someone is shooting, we mostly tend to watch what happens on the table. What english was applied, how much speed, how did the shot unfold? But there is much to be learned through careful observation of what players actually do with their bodies to play pool. Not that you’re likely to see many paragons of good form, on any given day. Rather, what you can learn from are players’ form flaws, their quirks, their demeanor as they shoot. Watch how players study the table, how they line up to their shot, take a stance, drop, bridge, grip, use their eyes, how they take warm-up strokes. Look closely at their stick alignment to the shot. What part of the cue ball are they lined up to, and where do they actually hit it? Is their stroke plane vertical? Are they poking, swerving, steering? Do they have body motion anywhere other than their stroke arm? You’ll find as you study players that you will gain insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your own form. See what other players really do. Try to figure out how they do that in their body and what it means in their results. You’ll develop your ability to identify flaws in other players, while getting ideas for tweaking your own form. The pros have long since burned in their funny business. They deliver their tip to the ball exactly as they intend, very reliably. It no longer matters what they did on the way to that impact moment. However, as amateurs—as suffering amateurs—it’s worth the effort to get simple, to become more precise and consistent. Getting rid of your funny business is serious business.

Tom Simpson Tom Simpson is a Master Instructor in both the BCA and ACS Instructor Programs. He delivers his acclaimed 3-Day Weekend Intensive in 12 cities nationwide. As inventor of Elephant Practice Balls®, the Stroke Groover™, and the Ghostball Aim Trainer®, and authorized instructor for Secret Aiming Systems™, Tom’s innovations in training have helped thousands of players. Listen to an audio description of the Intensive, and read 35 instructional articles at www.NationalBilliardAcademy.com. Contact: Tom@PoolClinics.com.

Play Video Play Video Play Video Play Video Play Video Play Video

< by Jason Lynch

you just can’t beat the classics. This s ometimes month’s column features shots from three of the game’s best: Paul Gerni, Allen Hopkins, and Tom Rossman.

The first was a shot chosen and executed by the “Ambassador of Pool,” Paul Gerni, in the 2001 Trick Shot Magic match against Mike Massey. Place the balls as shown. I like to start with the 1 ball two ball-widths away from the slate cut of the side pocket. Hit the cue ball with center low to impart follow on the 1 ball. The tricky thing here is to get the 2 and 3 to bank correctly. Any adjustment must be made on both balls since they bank at the same angle and speed. Once you get this to go, you can add another ball in the opposite side to draw back into.

3 1

The last of the shots is one that my good friend Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman uses to finish some of his shows. I have seen this called “The Fireworks Shot,” but Tom calls it “The Sunburst.” The first time that I ever saw this was from Japanese trick shot artist Kimura. The hardest part of this shot is the set-up. Start with the 1 ball and place it at the pocket cut or one chalk cube out. Freeze the 2 and 3 balls to it, allowing for a little throw (2 to the right center of the opposite side and the 3 almost into the rail). Each cluster of balls gets placed one ball-width out from the last (between the 1, 4, 7, 10, and the 13). The shot is hit in succession with an air bridge starting with the 13. Hit the 13 into the corner and follow through. Then hit the 10 and follow through. Then hit the 7 and … you get the picture. I hope you have fun with these three shots from three of the top pros who make the game more colorful.

Classic Trick Shots

v 5

v v v v

14 15

v v v v

13 12

10 9

8 7

4 3

2 1

8 6

The second shot for this month wasn’t shot in a match on ESPN, but it was a tip that commentator Allen Hopkins gave out in between the action. It is straightforward but nevertheless a good visual shot that shows that racks are good for more then just placing the balls in a triangle. After you master this simple set-up, see what else you can do with the racks. You could set two more racks up and go all the way around the table. 10

10 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011 7

Jason Lynch Jason Lynch grew up playing pool in Michigan. In his early twenties he started playing in the VNEA and placed as high as 16th in 8-ball and 9-ball. In 2005, he won the Michigan VNEA speed pool contest. He has also pocketed 11,100 and 12,011 balls in 24 hours as fundraisers for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. In 2007 he had his best finish to date, placing sixth at the Artistic Pool U.S. Open and winning the stroke category. Jason is ranked 14th in the world by the WPA. His sponsors are Shelti Pool Tables, Seybert’s Billiard Supply, McDermott Cue, and Leisure Elements. Visit his website at www.michigankid.com.

Instruction

Instruction Keep It Simple

< by Bob Henning

mentioned in a recent “Pro Pool Workout,” the A sactual mechanics of shooting pool are quite easy. Although they demand precision, the actions necessary to achieve a specific cue ball and object ball target at any particular time are not that difficult to conceptualize and produce. Almost always, when we get into trouble, we have attempted to over-complicate a relatively simple situation.

In any activity, the key to keeping it simple is to avoid trying to do too much and to make sure you are doing enough. For each endeavor, there are a set number of essential decisions to make and actions to take that will result in success if they are executed correctly. When any of these decisions and actions are either dropped out or taken out of sequence, failure is the likely result. Conversely, when extraneous and unnecessary decisions and actions are added to the mix, the process gets bogged down and handicapped. We are at our best, as performers, when we make the essential decisions and take the necessary actions in the most simple and logical manner possible. Although this concept can be applied to all of the major aspects of pool and billiards, such as the table evaluation and shot selection processes, it is especially valuable when applied to the pre-shot routine. For the purpose of this column, let’s define that as “preparing to get down on the shot.” There are several decisions that must be made before getting down on a chosen shot. The player must decide exactly where the cue tip will contact the cue ball, the speed and manner of the intended stroke, the intended contact of the object ball by the cue ball, and the necessary line of aim to make all of this happen. When these four decisions are made with great precision and in a logical and simple sequence, the resultant actions unfold in a similar manner. The overall intention of the four decisions is to reconstruct the shot that was envisioned when it was first selected. Each decision affects the other three and there is usually some going back and forth in the decision-making process to accommodate and adjust for these influences, especially on more difficult shots. There is, however, a basic and logical sequence to the process. The most important element to determine is exactly where you intend to contact the surface of the cue ball with the tip of the cue stick. This must come first, as it is something over which you have primary control and it, in turn, impacts everything else. Once you have decided exactly where you will contact the cue ball and see a specific mental picture of it,

12 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

it is necessary to decide exactly how you will stroke the shot. This is more of a feeling, rather than of a mental picture. Any mental pictures involved in this step are of the path and travel distance of the cue ball after contact with the object ball, bracketed up from too little and down from too much, until it is confirmed by feeling as just right.

’

Once the cueing and stroke are decided, it is possible to determine the path the cue ball will take after contact with the cue tip. Now, and only now, we can adjust, or aim, the “line” of the cue ball trajectory so that it contacts the object ball where it must to pocket it successfully. It is in the adjustment of this line that the final decision, exactly where to contact the object ball, is finally made. This is your actual sight picture, by the way, not a mental or imaginary one.

We are at our best, as performers, when we make the essential decisions and take the necessary actions in the most simple and logical manner possible.

The more proficient the player, the simpler this preparation process becomes. For a top player, and for most shots, this routine unfolds in a flowing, intuitive and natural manner. For most shots, for advanced players, there are only two conscious decisions to make: exactly where to cue the cue ball and exactly where to aim it to contact the object ball properly. These are the beginning and the final decisions. Everything else happens in the natural flow of the process. Keep it simple.

Good luck and good shootin’!

Bob Henning

Bob Henning is the author of The Pro Book, widely considered to be the most advanced training resource for competitive pool players. It brings the latest techniques of the top coaches and trainers of all sports into pool. It is intended for those who wish to prepare physically, mentally, and psychologically for pool competition. Bob is also the author of “The Pro Book Video Series,” a complete, on-the-table training system, and he also released The Advanced Pro Book and The Stroke Zone: The Pool Player’s Guide to Dead Stroke. In addition, he has authored Cornbread Red, a biography of the colorful Billy Burge.

Play Video Play Video

WARNING:

Xtremely Fun

The Pneu Power Cue may cause addictive behavior due to the sensation of XTREME FUN during use.

www.pneupowercues.com

< by Matt Sherman

Speed Equals Stroke happened, Matt?” W hat

14 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

9 7

B A

“I scratched in the corner [Pocket A in the diagram] after my cue ball rolled badly on this lousy, uneven table.” “No, that’s not it.” “I admit it was partially my fault. In the stance my tip wasn’t aimed precisely so I added a bit of left english with the stroke, but this table still stinks–” “You did it wrong and played for the short rail near the 8 ball [at B in the diagram] then scratched. Why not roll onto the long rail or remain short of it instead [C in the diagram]?” “I did play for that long rail, but the ball rolled funny.” “That’s not your real problem. The problem is the shot was too easy for you and you got lazy, playing general instead of specific shape for the cue ball. You’ve been shooting lazy, and that’s why you scratch a lot.” My friend’s reproof stung as this was only my second scratch of the night. Also, my billiards website has hundreds of instructional articles so I’m sensitive to receiving pool lectures! My buddy took ball in hand, ran the table, and opened another rack of 9-ball as I stewed in silence. Did he just call me lazy in pool? I used to be a banger no teacher wants for a student. Now I’m a grownup who shoots gently. The irony was I’d scratched off extra sidespin from my usual fluid stroke, which appears almost lazy in its motion. Soon I realized my error wasn’t lazy shape but a lazy stroke, so perhaps my insight will become a winning edge for your next APA playoff or for bragging rights at your favorite pool hall. Forgetting to commit to speed beforehand, I had felt for cue ball distance mid-stroke, swiped at the ball and scratched. I should have instead concentrated on stroke pace and what is known as a balanced follow-through about equal to the backstroke in length. Monitoring stick speed—without a lurching stroke but with a balanced length stroke—works wonders in landing the cue ball on target for the next shot. After all, you can pick an exact spot but it’s incredibly difficult to land there by stroke feel while calculating ball and cushion collisions. Whether in the zone operating on unconscious skills or on left-brain orders with conscious planning, I play best using preset personal stroke speeds like medium or soft. I teach and emphasize adjusting tip height and aim but not speed to plan cue ball shape. It’s almost always easier to aim

above or below center ball to adjust a medium stroke, however fast or slow your personal “medium,” than attempt some subtle shade of speed played at center ball. You can likewise hit a hanger ball thick or more thinly (or kick at it) for shape at the same medium speed. Runs increase in length by adjusting aim rather than speed and using the exact same stroke again and again.

Instruction

Imagine your pocketing perfected as you shoot 100 medium and soft strokes each session, using shot geometry instead of poked strokes. As an added benefit, medium and soft strokes create topspin, draw, and english for most shots taken within a tip width or two from center so you can forget unusual spin stroke maneuvers. In other words, the longer the playing session, the better you get at practicing the same strokes. While I didn’t thank my friend for his critique that night, I do now with this article. There was no need to apologize then, however, as he enjoyed better competition as I changed focus toward preselecting correct stroke speed. Two tips to Get in Shape this month: 1. Copy my delicious pool recipe for one measure of speed blended with one measure of aim. I know what a medium stroke can do but don’t know what a last second lunge or sway might do. 2. How many times have you heard “Shoot against stronger players to get stronger skills?” You should add, “Shoot with stronger players who bring you meaningful critique.” 6

Matt Sherman Get in shape for pool with Matt "Quick Draw" Sherman, who appears frequently in print and on television promoting billiards and entertainment. His popular site is billiards.about.com, and his Picture Yourself Shooting Pool book and DVD is available at Amazon and other outlets worldwide.

Billiard EducationJunior Foundation Player Profile Hometown: Bakersfield, CA Birthdate: May 7, 1992 Nickname: J School you currently attend: Community Silect Grade: 12 Favorite subject in school: English Started playing pool: I started playing for fun around 12 but got interested in it and took it seriously at the age of 15. Titles: BEF Junior National 9-Ball Championships – runner-up 2009 and 2010 2010 WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championships – 5th place 2008 WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championships – 9th place What kind of cue do you use? Predator playing cue and Poison jump/break cue Are you right- or left-handed? Right-handed

Favorite band/music: I love all genres of music. Hobbies: Pool and listening to music Memorable pool moment: In the 2009 Junior Nationals it was only my second tournament and I was just happy to be there. I had never really expected to get as far as I did, but I fought my way through the one-loss side and beat Chelsea Hardwick hill-hill and moved on to the finals! At that point I knew I had the potential to beat anyone. Favorite food: I used to have a lot of favorite foods before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, and now it’s limited to gummy bears. Real world hero: The soldiers who fight for my freedom and the doctors who have saved my life Fictional hero: Buzz Lightyear! Fondest childhood memory: My first time going to Disneyland! It’s still my favorite place to go. Goals: To win a title and be on the women’s pro tour and pursue a degree in business

Support Junior Programs ...

Join now! www.BilliardEducation.org

Instruction

< by Freddy Bentivegna

What Did Dino Do?

Option 2 1

he inspiration for this strategy lesson came from my son, Dino, who had replied to a bank pool question on one of the pool forums. He is an excellent banker himself, and these solutions are representative of his ideas (with all of which I agree completely) that he set forth in the forum bank thread.

The score is tied 7-7 with one ball left on the table, and it is hanging in the back corner pocket at the head of the table. Your opponent pockets the ball, the ball spots up, and the cue ball is left dangling in the mouth of the corner pocket. Whattaya do? If you miss but execute it carefully, your opponent will then be nine feet away from the only ball on the table, and it will hopefully be hanging in the pocket or, better yet, close to the head rail at an angle that would only allow a four-railer. Your opponent will be forced to shoot at a difficult bank or have to play a delicate safety—with which many things could go wrong. Don’t forget: Even the best players in the world have a hard time playing safe when they are nine feet away. This strategy is recommended for any meaningful situation if you have confidence in your ability to execute it. This is what you probably want to do for the big cheese. 2

The situation

There is a third option for when you are “dogging it” and your confidence is at a low level (there is no point in trying to be a hero when your execution skills are low on ammunition). This is an even simpler variation of the second option. You still cross over the left face of the object ball with plenty of left center-axis english, but you completely forego any attempt to make the bank. There are several factors involved in what shot to shoot. Firing at the straight back to the left and trying to win immediately is one option. I would only recommend firing at the straight back under certain circumstances.* Even a player of top caliber, against an opponent with the same skill set, would lose the game about half the time on the next shot. For a top banker, that degree of shot difficulty would make him about a 2-to-1 favorite to miss, and missing would leave things wide open for the other guy. If you miss going all out like that you would then become at least a 2-to-1 favorite to leave a good shot for your opponent. 2

Option 3

Fuller hit, maximum left center

Option 1, straight back

Your main goal instead is to ensure that the cue ball goes off the object ball and into the long rail where it is “killed” from the left-hand english and then drifts down to the middle of the foot rail, hopefully stopping at or near the cushion. The object ball travels down to the head rail and probably bounces a diamond or so out off of the rail. Because your opponent is so close to the cushion, with the object ball so far off the cushion, it will be very difficult for him to control the cue ball, and he should be unable to leave you close to the head rail no matter what he chooses to shoot. So your next shot, if he misses should be a big improvement over your previous when you were hanging in the back corner. 2

No english, hard speed

In my opinion, this aggressive strategy is only recommended if you have the confidence and the accuracy of a top banker—along with a weak opponent, or a small bet, or a game of little consequence. What I am trying to say, if you haven’t picked it up already, is that shooting this shot is a low-percentage option—if you are playing in a meaningful game. Whenever I recommend a shot option, I always frame it in the scenario that I would lose a part of my body if I chose wrongly. That’s just the way I look at it. 2

A second, safer option—percentage-wise—that might not win the game but at the very least figures to not lose it, is to bank it with soft speed back under you, to the right. If you feel you have a decent amount of accuracy and cue ball control, by banking it straight back to the right with loads of centerleft english, and of course pocket speed, you can hang it or come close while killing the cue ball on the foot rail. If you happen to make it, then all the better. 16 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

* For cheap money, or if you’re ten games winner, Option One is the fun way to go.

Freddy Bentivegna

Chicago-born Freddy “The Beard” Bentivegna has been in the mainstream and the underbelly of pool for over 50 years. In 2005 Freddy was elected on the first ballot into the Bank Pool Hall of Fame. He has written two books and two popular DVDs on his specialty, bank pool. He is widely regarded as one of the premier experts on the game and science of banks.

Niels Feijen

ennis Orcollo earned the Etisalat World 8-Ball Pool Championship title with his dramatic 10-3 defeat of Holland’s Niels Feijen in the final match. The Filipino player known as “Surigao” was the best of the best that week, coming out on top of a 112-player field to claim the $40,000 firstplace prize. This win comes on the heels of a tough victory in the 293-player 9-ball division of this year’s Derby City Classic that saw Orcollo best former Player of the Year Mika Immonen 7-1 in the semifinals and then Shane Van Boening 7-1 in the finals. The event was sponsored by title sponsor Etisalat Telecommunications, Fujairah International Airport, Arjaan by Rotana, Le Meridien Beach Resort, Knight Shot Billiards,

David Alcaide

Dubai Sport, Al Diar Siji Hotel, Pepsi-Cola, and the Emirate of Fujairah. Ahmed Abloshi and his entire tournament staff, led by head referee Mr. Arafat, exercised diligence and, with their hard work, ensured that the tournament was a success. One big change for this event was the use of the Magic Rack, a thin sheet of polyester that racks the balls tightly without gaps. This is meant to remove the luck factor, and the players seemed happy to have their skills as the only determining factor between a win and a loss. The international event was held February 19-26 at the Fujairah Expo Center and kicked off with 14 groups consisting of 8

players each. With the conclusion of the qualification rounds, some big names had made a surprisingly early exit.

Qualification Round Shockers

World 9-Ball champion Francisco Bustamante was ahead of Daryl Peach 6-4 in the race to 7 and lost that match 7-6. He then had to defeat David Alcaide of Spain to stay alive but failed as Alcaide prevailed 7-3. Another much-feared Filipino, Jeff De Luna, saw his efforts come to naught after he was surprised by Khaled Al Mutairi of Kuwait 7-5 and then lost 7-6 to Takhti Zarekani of Iran 7-6. Corey Deuel lost his first-round match to Jalal Yousef of Jordan and then faced Raj

Orcollo

on�Cloud

First-Place Finish in Fujairah's Etisalat

World 8-Ball Pool Championship by InsidePOOL Staff

photos courtesy of Sadik A.

18 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

Darren Appleton Hundal of India in a match where Hundal seemed never out of control. Deuel fell 7-5 to allow Hundal to advance to the final round. Only eight matches of the final round were played but the first result shocked the many Efren Reyes fans in attendance who sat stunned as Joven Alba controlled him and finally eliminated “Bata” 9-4. Another big upset followed a few minutes later when Alok Kumar of India defeated Kuo Po-Cheng 9-4. Then Takhti Zarekani of Iran knocked Hohmann out 9-8 after Hohmann had opened with an early 5-1 lead.

Single- Elimination Survivors

This was a day of joy and heartbreak for many. In this singleelimination stage any loss means the end of the road. Hundal started off well Thursday, destroying Konstantin Stepanov of Russia 9-0 in a perfect match where he broke and ran the set. Stepanov never had a single chance at the table. But the tables turned on him, and Joven Alba of the Philippines eliminated him from the tournament 9-7.

Nick Van den Berg

U.S. Open 9-Ball champion Darren Appleton survived the day by overcoming See 9-3. Others in his section of the chart to make it into Friday included Bashar Hussein and Ronato Alcano. Alcano had to defeat Oliver Ortmann 9-6, while Hussain ended the run of Salah Al Remway 9-5. The next section found the legendary Ralf Souquet escaping Joven Bustamante 9-7 only to then fall victim to Nick Van Den Berg 9-1. Omaral Shaheene won over Rodolfo Luat 9-5 and then gave similar treatment to Manuel Gama 9-4 to keep his hopes alive. Feijen notched wins over Do Hoang Quan 9-7 and Rodney Morris 9-2. And Oliver Medinilla also continues his quest as he rolled over Vilmos Foldes 9-5. Chang Jun Lin defeated Roberto Gomez 9-6 while Alcaide put down both Naoyuki Oi 9-3 and Lee Van Corteza 9-3. Thomas Engert had to get past two tough players: First he bested Raymund Faron 9-8 and then Earl Strickland 9-7. Mika Immonen also reached his goals of the day by getting past Bruno Muratore 9-4 and then putting defending champion Karl Boyes out of the event 9-1.

Thomas Engert

One strong player who made his entrance onto the world stage is Carlo Dalmatin. He defeated Yukio Akakariyama 9-7 and then bested one of the tournament favorites, Antonio Lining, 9-4. Another former unknown who made his debut is Takhti Zarekari. His strength overcame Hohmann 9-8 and then Kumar 9-6. Van Boening got past Nguyen Phuc Long 9-7 and Jalal Yousef 9-2. The final remaining player, Orcollo, ruined things for Stephan Cohen 9-0 and then eked past Vincent Facquet 9-8.

Former World Champs Say Farewell

Friday’s play started with the final 16 players, and the fans witnessed the surprising 9-1 elimination of Immonen at the hands of Engert, as well as a fantastic hill-hill match between Appleton and Alcano. Appleton led the match 8-4 before coming up dry on the break and being forced to watch Alcano run rack after rack to tie the match at 8-8. Alcano made a ball on the break and looked to be out in the case rack but missed a tricky ball down the rail. That was all the opportunity that Appleton needed to run the rack and win the match.

Takhti Zarekani

The final round of eight saw another strong comeback as Feijen looked to be on his way out the door in his match against fellow countryman Nick Van Den Berg. Van Den Berg held an early lead, but Feijen came back and made it a close match. Van Den Berg was running out a tricky final rack at 8-8 when he got funny on a ball April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 19

early in the rack. The pressure of the situation may have gotten the better of him as he missed a semi-touch cut and conceded the match to Feijen instead of sitting and watching Feijen run his final eight balls. The story of the first quarterfinal match was one of missed opportunities. Orcollo faced off against Spain’s David Alcaide, and the packed house of Filipino fans made it very clear who they were cheering for. The match saw Orcollo take a small lead early on. At 5-3 a miss by Orcollo let Alcaide to the table, but he was unable to take advantage and Orcollo won the rack. Again, at 6-3, Alcaide got to the table but was unable to capitalize. At 7-3 Alcaide had another chance that didn’t pan out, and Orcollo took an 8-3 lead. That was the last chance for Alcaide as Orcollo broke and ran the final rack for the 9-3 win. The second quarterfinal match was between last year’s runner-up, Feijen, and last year’s Player of the Year, Darren Appleton. With the “winner breaks” rule and the forgiving pockets, the lag had been extremely important for the players. That lag went to Appleton, but that would be one of only two trips he made to the table. Appleton broke dry and was forced to sit in the chair as Fiejen ran six straight racks. At 6-0 Feijen made a ball on the break but really had no high-percentage shot to start the run with. Feijen opted for a safety, and Appleton got his second chance at the table. Appleton missed a tricky jump-carom and that was the end, as Feijen ran the final three racks for the 9-0 win.

Orcollo on Top

The final day began with a playoff for third place between Appleton and Alcaide. From the beginning Alcaide dominated the match, only allowing Appleton to the table sparingly before he won 9-2.

Bashar Hussein Abdulmajed

20 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

When it was time for the championship race-to-10 match between Orcollo and Feijen, the Filipino won the lag and broke and ran the first rack. He kept Feijen in his seat as he repeated this feat until the score stood at 5-0 in his favor, halfway to victory already. At that point he broke and scratched in the side pocket, giving Feijen his first opportunity. Feijen polished off that rack to put his first mark on the board at 5-1 down but then suffered a dry break, leaving a tough run for his opponent. Orcollo had to bank the 3 ball cross-corner to get his run begun and then had a tough spread to navigate. He took his time surveying each shot and got through the rack with one tough position after another, but he left himself long on the 8 ball and it rattled in the jaws, returning Feijen to the table. After Feijen locked him up behind the 13 ball with a safety, Orcollo called the 8 in the corner and measured his kick shot. He missed the 8 ball and scratched, again awarding ball in hand to Feijen. Feijen positioned the cue between the 8 and the 12 balls, which he had moved next to the 14 on his safety, made the shot, and finished off the table to make it 5-2. Feijen made two balls on the next snap and had an easy layout, quickly making it 5-3. He was running throughout the next rack with ease when he apparently skidded on the 4 ball, which stayed up between the corner jaws. Orcollo was back at the table and cleared up and also finished the next rack easily to go up 7-3. The outlook began to dim for Feijen when Orcollo made three balls on the next break and faced an open table of wellspread balls. It was soon 8-3 Orcollo. But Orcollo scratched in the side pocket on the

Raj Hundal

break to bring some light to Feijen’s chances. But he missed a long shot to the corner early on, and Orcollo finished off the balls to claim his spot on the hill. Now one rack away from his first world title, Orcollo made two balls on the break, but the table was not an easy one to clear. But he made it look easy and sank the final 8 ball to a celebration of fans in the arena with a final score of 10-3. 1st Dennis Orcollo 2nd Niels Feijen 3rd David Alcaide 4th Darren Appleton 5th Joven Alba Nick Van den Berg Thomas Engert Takhti Zarekani 9th Carlo Dalmatin Shane Van Boening Chang Jung Lin Mika Immonen Omaral Shaheeme Oliver Medinilla Bashar Hussein Abdulmajed Ronato Alcano 17th Huidji See Oliver Ortmann Raj Hundal Satah AlRemwy Vilmos Foldes Rodney Morris Manuel Gama Ralf Souquet Karl Boyes Earl Strickland Lee Van Corteza Roberto Gomez Vincent Facquet Jalal Yousef Alok Kumar Antonio Lining

$40,000 $25,000 $14,000 $10,000 $6,000

$3,500

$2,000

Vincent Facquet

Bar Table

Bonanza Pagulayan, Kiamco, Morra, and Villareal Strike Gold in Reno by InsidePOOL Staff

omprising six events total, the U.S. Bar Table Championships rolled into Reno, NV, for their eighteenth year. Three men—Alex Pagulayan, Warren Kiamco, and John Morra—earned men’s titles, while the women gave way to Vivian Villareal, who swept all three of the ladies’ divisions. The $25,250-added tournament took place February 21-28 at at Terrible’s Sands Regency Hotel and Casino in Reno, NV.

22 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

Villareal Gears Up

Villareal started off her streak by winning the women’s 10-ball division over Brittany Bryant. Bryant went through the 16-player field without a loss, besting Andrea Wilson 5-1, Susan Williams 5-0, and Nicole Keeney 5-4 before defeating Villareal in the hot seat match 7-3. Villareal faced Williams in the semifinal match and came through with flying colors 5-2. In her rematch with Bryant, Villareal dominated, winning both sets of the doubleelimination finals 5-2 and taking the title. As the event conflicted with the World 8-Ball Championships, many of the top male players were elsewhere, including defending champions Shane Van Boening and Earl Strickland. It was easy pickings for Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan to come in and best Canada’s John Morra in the double-elimination finals of the

93-player 10-ball division, winning the $4,400 first-place prize. Pagulayan, who started off 2011 with a bang, winning the banks division at the Derby City Classic and then taking the West Coast’s Jay Swanson Memorial Tournament, cruised undefeated to the hot seat, besting San Diego’s Louis Ulrich

Susan Williams 7-4, and Heather Pulford 7-6. The hot seat match went all the way to double-hill before Keeney triumphed with a 7-6 victory. After her loss to Bryant, Villareal eliminated Williams 7-6 and then Pulford 7-3 in the quarterfinal match before matching up with Bryant again. A determined Villareal sent Bryant home in third place with a 7-0 whitewashing and headed to the finals against Keeney. In the doubleelimination final match, Villareal doggedly defeated Keeney 7-1 in the first set and 7-4 in the second to take her second title of the week. The men’s 9-ball field swelled to 128 players, with Warren Kiamco taking down

there 7-4. On the one-loss side Morra was waiting, and he sprang past Ulrich 7-4 to reach Pagulayan in the finals.

the time as he raced to a 7-0 victory.

Morra played gamely in the first set, besting Pagulayan in the close race 7-5. But in the second set it was all Pagulayan, as he kept Morra in the chair for most of

In the 23-entrant, single-elimination women’s 9-ball division, it came down to Brittany Bryant and Nicole Keeney for the hot seat. Bryant eliminated Bonnie Plowman 7-6, Rebecca Douglas 7-1, Melissa Little 7-3, and Vivian Villareal 7-3, while Keeney took down Betsy Sundholm 7-1,

Larry “The Truth” Nevel in the doubleelimination finals, earning a $4,650 paycheck for his troubles.

Kiamco. But Kiamco was too strong, and the Filipino claimed the hot seat with a 9-1 routing of Fregoso.

After a first-round bye, Kiamco sent to the one-loss side Brad Huffman 9-1, Vernon McGee 9-2, Jason Bacon hill-hill, and Adam Smith 9-5 to reach the winners’ side final four. A narrow 9-7 victory over Stevie Moore put him into the hot seat match against Ross Fregoso.

On the west side of the chart, Nevel, who had suffered a late loss to Beau Runningen 9-6, was cruising through, depositing Stan Tourangeau in seventh place 9-4. Tying with Tourangeau was Jundel Mazon, who had been ousted by Josh O’Neal hill-hill. Emmons then sent O’Neal home in fifth place 9-7, as Nevel eliminated Moore in the same spot 9-5.

Pagulayan Prevails in 10-Ball

Fregoso also enjoyed a bye in the first round and then went on to defeat Jon Ames 9-1, Sal Butera 9-3, Doug Wu 9-4, and Tres Kane III 9-3 in order to reach the winners’ side final four. Robert Emmons was his next opponent, and he easily handled him 9-2 to advance to meet

Now on a roll, Nevel swept through his match with Emmons and relegated him to fourth place with a 9-4 victory. In the semifinals he faced off against Fregoso, who had evidently not recovered from April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 23

being deposed in the hot seat match. Nevel dominated their match and only allowed Fregoso one rack before winning 9-1.

Results:

Kiamco Bests “The Truth”

Men’s 10-Ball Results:

Nevel then faced the daunting task of defeating Kiamco twice to take the 9-ball title. He came close, besting Kiamco 7-2 in the first set and evening the field. The second set saw both players struggle to come out ahead, but ultimately it was Kiamco who edged out Nevel 9-6 in the deciding set. The women’s 8-ball event had a 36-player field, and against it was Vivian Villareal who won, making it three out of three for “The Texas Tornado” that week. She bested Heather Pulford 4-1, Nicole Keeney 4-3, Mary Ann Starkey 4-1, and Bonnie Plowman 4-2 to reach the hot seat match. Her opponent was Shawn Modelo, who had defeated Kristina Haddox 4-1, Millie Miller 4-2, Vicky Rose 4-1, and Melissa Little 4-3.

Three Times is a Charm for Villareal

Villareal whitewashed Modelo 4-0, sending her to the west side. There she faced Little again, who had just deposited Plowman into fourth place 4-3. Their match again went double-hill but with different results—Little went on to face Villareal in the finals. But Villareal was primed and ready to go, and she only allowed Little one game before winning the finals 4-1 and sweeping all three of the women’s divisions. John Morra came back from a late loss in the 8-ball division to take the title from Warren Kiamco in the finals, while Kiamco cemented his standing as the event’s all-around champion, earning a bonus of $2,000. Kiamco enjoyed an unchallenged run through the 157-player field until the finals, with a first-round bye and then wins over Mark Estes 5-3, Jerry Matchin 5-3, Stan Tourangeau 5-4, and Sylver Ochoa 5-2 to make it to the final four on the winners’ side. He whitewashed Brandon Ashcraft 5-0 to face down Amar Kang in a double-hill match for the hot seat that saw Kiamco advance 5-4. After a first-round bye, Morra cruised through John Sandifer 5-3, Octavio Diaz Jr. 5-2, Ray Skenandore 5-1, and Pat Schumacher 5-2. He then ran into Kang, who delivered him to the one-loss side of the chart after a hill-hill nail-biter 5-4.

Morra’s Turn

There Morra was on fire, ousting Josh Smith 5-3 and Ashcraft 5-3 to advance to the quarterfinal match against Josh O’Neal. He and O’Neal fought tooth and nail before Morra edged his opponent out 5-4. That hard-won victory earned him a rematch with Kang in the semifinals, and though it was another double-hill affair, Morra eked out the 5-4 win. Fully charged, Morra went after Kiamco in the double-elimination finals. The first set was a quick match for Morra, who leveled the field for the final players with a 5-2 win. Morra pressed his advantage in the second set, which he ended swiftly with a 5-3 final score. 24 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Alex Pagulayan John Morra Louis Ulrich Mitch Ellerman Brandon Ashcraft Stan Tourangeau Stevie Moore Beau Runningen

Men’s 9-Ball Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Warren Kiamco Larry Nevel Ross Fregoso Robert Emmons Josh O’Neal Stevie Moore Jundel Mazon Stan Tourangeau

Men’s 8-Ball Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

John Morra Warren Kiamco Amar Kang Josh O’Neal Brandon Ashcraft Ivan Doty Josh Smith Stevie Moore

Women’s 10-Ball Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Vivian Villareal Brittany Bryant Susan Williams Nicole Keeney Bonnie Plowman Heather Pulford

Women’s 9-Ball Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Vivian Villareal Nicole Keeney Brittany Bryant Heather Pulford Bonnie Plowman Susan Williams

Women’s 8-Ball Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

Vivian Villareal Melissa Little Shawn Modelo Bonnie Plowman Brittany Bryant Susan Williams Mary Ann Starkey Kimberly Benson Vicky Rose Leslie Bernardi Jacqueline Karol Debby Aarens

$4,400 $2,500 $1,600 $1,100 $750 $500

$4,650 $3,100 $2,000 $1,250 $800 $550

$5,000 $3,000 $2,000 $1,000 $800 $550

$825 $450 $250 $125 $75

$850 $550 $350 $200 $100

$875 $525 $325 $225 $150 $100 $75

Immonen Wins B

ack-to-back U.S. Open winner Mika Immonen came through again at the Chesapeake Conference Center, winning the Masters 10-Ball Championship over Ralf Souquet in the finals. Barry Behrman’s brainchild was held March 1-5 and featured 57 players fighting for their piece of the $25,000-added prize fund. Immonen went unchallenged through the field—after a first-round bye he cruised through Jesse Engel 8-2 and then former Virginia State champion Chris Loar 8-3. His closest match came in the fourth round when he faced off against Earl Strickland, who had just sent Charlie Williams to the one-loss side 8-3. Immonen and Strickland’s match was neck and neck before Immonen edged Strickland aside with an 8-7 victory. Having survived his toughest challenge as yet, Immonen

faced Germany’s Ralf Souquet in the final four on the winners’ side. Souquet is also no stranger to the winner’s circle at that venue, but it wasn’t his day—Immonen dominated the match and sent Souquet to the one-loss side 8-2 to advance to the hot seat match. Mike Davis had worked his way through the bottom of the winners’ bracket to meet Immonen there. A first-round defeat of Randy Whitehead 8-1 and a narrow 8-6 win over Tommy Kennedy put Davis up against another former U.S. Open winner, Corey Deuel. Davis directed that match and triumphed 8-3, going on to face off against Shawn Putnam, who had just bested Shane Van Boening 8-5. Davis won two games for every one of Putnam’s and went on to meet Mike “Fireball” Dechaine in the winners’ side final

26 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

by�InsidePOOL�Staff

four. Dechaine put up a good fight, but the match went Davis’s way 8-6 and Dechaine was sent to the one-loss side. Davis followed him in the next round, though, as Immonen claimed the hot seat over “Iron Mike” 8-2. Strickland wasn’t down for the count on the west side of the chart, eliminating Dennis Hatch 8-6 and then “Rocket” Rodney Morris 8-6. However, the next round saw him make an exit, as Dechaine was fired up and ousted the Hall of Famer 8-3 to move on to the quarterfinal match. After two strong wins on the west side that saw the elimination of Alex Pagulayan 8-6 and Johnny Archer 8-7, Putnam had to face Souquet, who was determined to earn a rematch with Immonen. Souquet swept past Putnam easily 8-2 and went on to meet Dechaine in the quarterfinals.

Dechaine was done for the day, and Souquet was able to move past him with ease 8-2. A tougher opponent awaited Souquet in Davis, who wanted a rematch with Immonen just as much. In the extended race to 9, both players fought hard, but in the end Souquet earned the right to face off with Immonen again 9-7. The final match was a race to 10, with the victor having to win the match by a two-game margin. Immonen leapt to a 4-1 lead before Souquet got a break and run-out to make it 4-2. However, Souquet’s empty breaks played a large part in his demise, and despite another break and run, Immonen claimed the hill 9-4. A scratch on the final break by Souquet was the end, as Immonen dished up to take the title 10-4.

Results:

1st Mika Immonen $15,000 2nd Ralf Souquet $7,000 3rd Mike Davis $5,000 4th Mike Dechaine $4,000 5th Shawn Putnam $3,000 Earl Strickland 7th Rodney Morris $2,000 Johnny Archer 9th Alex Pagulayan $1,500 Shane Winters Warren Kiamco Dennis Hatch 13th Tommy Kennedy $800 Corey Deuel Charlie Williams Jundel Mazon 17th Gabe Owen $600 Jesse Engel Chris Loar Brian Brekke Chris Orme Shane Van Boening John Morra Stevie Moore

Ralf Souquet

Mike Davis

April 2011 â&#x2014;&#x160; InsidePOOLmag.com 27

hen a person who inspired and influenced so many leaves the world, it’s hard for one to find words for how that loss impacts an entire community. That, overwhelmingly, was the sentiment felt by the billiard society with the loss of George SanSouci, known best by his nickname “Ginky,” when he died March 8, 2011, at the age of 39. Upon hearing the shocking news of his passing, of which the cause has not been released, an outpouring of emotions and sharing of fond memories came forth on web forums and social media networks. George Edward SanSouci Jr. was born August 8, 1971, and grew up in the Yorkville section of Manhattan. Legendary New York poolroom Chelsea Billiards was where George got his first taste of the game at the age of 18. He stumbled into Chelsea out of curiosity after a night out with his cousin at a nightclub, and after watching a match that held the attention of a large crowd, George got hooked on the game and never looked back.

In the first few years of a career that spanned two decades, George SanSouci became one of the most notable names in professional pool and an icon to countless young players coming up in the game around New York and beyond. Wherever George played, he was sure to draw a crowd of diehard pool lovers, intently watching a master hone his craft. And while Ginky’s unshakable tenacity at the table was what caught the attention of many pool enthusiasts, it was his genuine kind-hearted nature that made him one of the best-loved players that the pool world has ever known. While people who are in an elite class in their field sometimes have an arrogant demeanor, as Ginky’s close friend and New York pro player Tony Robles recalled, this was one thing that Ginky lacked. “What really, really impressed people the most was that he always took out the time to talk to people, and that’s what he said he learned from me,” said Robles. “There are people out there that are top players that I have known for years that will walk by me without even saying hi. Ginky had that special quality that he would stop and say hi no matter what.”

28 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

toured as a professional player again. In the past few years, however, he was able to return to playing on the regional level, and since 2008 he could be seen on Tony Robles’ Predator Tour and the Mezz Tour, oftentimes in the winner’s circle. Ginky also played regularly at Amsterdam Billiards, along with Master Billiards in Queens, before its closing in 2010. Although Ginky’s professional career was stopped short, the passion and dedication to excellence that he exuded became contagious in the pool community in New York, inspiring many of the young players who are now dedicated competitors on the area’s regional tours. One of these players was Jerry Tarantola, founder of the pool news website NYCgrind.com, who was turned on to the game at a young age.

From the time that George picked up the game at 18, he began dedicating all of his spare time off from his two jobs to playing the game, on top of spending countless hours studying video tapes of professional matches. His game quickly took off, and it did not take long for New York’s pool aficionados to take notice. One of the managers at Chelsea Billiards took an interest in his game and granted him free table time, as did Greg and Ethan Hunt of Amsterdam Billiards. From there, Ginky was all in. For about ten years he put in 10 to 15 hours at the table every day without breaks, and his passion began to pay off. On September 14, 1993, when George SanSouci was yet unknown, he won his first major tournament, defeating Earl Strickland 15-6 in the finals, after besting Allen Hopkins and Howard Vickery on the way to an undefeated victory and a $5,000 first prize. George then went on to have a record year on the Northeast regional All About Pool Tour and the Tri-State Tour, where he won an incredible 27 out of 29 events.

“I started playing pool at the age of twelve in Queens, New York. I didn’t meet Ginky for about six months after getting into the game, but his reputation already preceded him, and I remember watching him in awe,” said Tarantola. “The day I saw Ginky play ... I realized that I was on the right path, and for some reason, his style, demeanor, and presence resonated with me in a deep and spiritual way that is hard for me to explain. I am confident in saying that at that moment ... I had just experienced a major defining moment in my life. I had made the decision to take the long—and sometimes fruitless—journey of trying to make it as a pool player.” Joey Korsiak, who would become one of the strongest players to come out of New York in the last decade, was also one of George’s closest friends. “Ginky played a huge role in my life; he was an idol to me as a young kid. He was the most electrifying player New York has ever seen,” said Korsiak. “At the time that I met him, he was a champion already, and he took me under his wing and helped mold me into the player I am now. He not only taught me about pool, but he became a brother to me.”

In a recent article entitled “Limitless,” Charlie Williams spoke of the sheer domination that Ginky exhibited on the regional level in the mid90s. “He seemed to rule all the regional events. Not just winning them, but demolishing his opponents,” said Williams. “He had just started playing in big time pro events, and was finishing nicely in them, but no wins yet. But on the regional event level, he was a quiet killing beast.” This unstoppable power led him to be named the “Billiards Digest Rookie of the Year” in 1995 at age 24. Achieving this level of mastery in the game in such a short period of time, as George SanSouci did, was unheard of. “When people watched him play, they could not believe that it was a living human being at the table,” said Tony Robles. “Earl Strickland was the only other player I’ve ever seen that could blow away so many top players. People don’t understand, he played so many top players and beat them 9-0, 9-0, 9-0. He had no weaknesses whatsoever.” Ginky had passed up his peers and moved on to the next level. In 1998 he was on top of the world, winning his first major pro event, the Camel Pro Tour’s Charlotte 10-Ball Open. En route to that win, Dennis Hatch held a 5-0 lead over him after running five straight racks—but Ginky returned to run six straight racks and close the match. In his next major win, SanSouci defeated Ralf Souquet in an 11-0 shutout to eventually take the BCA 9-Ball Championships in 1999. At this point, there was nothing that would keep George from attaining greatness, and he went on to win the National Straight Pool Championships in 1999. Having won three of the most prestigious tournaments in the U.S. in a span of nine months, Ginky then took down the Derby City Classic 9-Ball Championship in 2000 before reaching the age of 30. Unfortunately, it was at the height of his career that George SanSouci developed a serious neck condition that halted his journey to pursue his passion for pool in 2002. Because of the ongoing complications, Ginky was never able to make a full recovery to the game and never

And while Ginky certainly inspired the young generation of players coming up in the ‘90s, his belief that you can achieve anything imaginable played a big role for Ginky’s own idol, Tony Robles. “I honestly believe that if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have gotten to the level that I did,” said Robles. “He eventually became my idol. He showed me what was really possible in the game.” While it could be said that George SanSouci never reached his greatest potential in the game, for a time, he was unbeatable. And more than that, he impacted the lives and games and of players who continue on today, and will teach the next generation of pool lovers. Ginky will always live on in the memory of the players who admired him and the friends who loved him. “He taught me that there is no limit to what you can reach on the green felt,” said Robles, “if you are willing to go the extra mile.” April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 29

Stripes

WSR in the USA < by it’s been a few years since I took Geography A lthough 101 and even longer since I looked at a globe, I distinctly remember that the USA was part of the world. I checked again today and we’re still there. I also remember that the only rule book on this planet written exclusively for professional pool and billiards was authored by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), the world governing body of pool. They even named their book World-Standardized Rules (WSR). And it’s still called that today. Let me get this straight. The USA is part of the world. Check. The WPA governs the sport. Check. Their rule book is called WSR. Check. Professional pool is played in the USA. Check. So why isn’t every pro event held in this country played according to WorldStandardized Rules?

’

I can’t answer that question. But with pro pool arguably on an upswing and the prospects for 2011 and beyond looking better than they have in years, we can at least discuss the merits of why all domestic pro events should adopt and abide by the rules that our sport’s governing body provides. The first thing that comes to mind originates from part of the title of the rule book itself: “Standardized.” Applying the same set of standards already being used internationally will reconfirm that our events are conducted on an equal rules basis with other worldwide competitions.

Every professional player can and should carry a copy of the WSR or at least know where to find the rules on the Internet.

With limited exceptions, both domestic and international players attending our events would know what rules to expect in advance. Those exceptions are generally limited to things like breaking formats (winner breaks or alternate break), the number and length of permitted time-outs, racking for yourself or for your opponent if referees are not presiding, and modifying the dress code to meet the level of competition. Because current WSR regulations provide for all of those possible exceptions, no player would be caught off guard. Continuing that thought, every professional player can and should carry a copy of the WSR or at least know where to find the rules on the Internet (www.wpa-pool.com). It is always the individual players’ responsibility to know the rules, and this would make it easier to be prepared. An added benefit would be the shortening or perhaps the eventual elimination of player meetings altogether. If pro events were announced as being played 30 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

Ken Shuman

according to WSR, what else do you need to know? At a minimum, tournament directors and organizers would not have to reinvent the wheel at every meeting because, other than those exceptions we mentioned, players would know everything they needed to prior to arrival. I’ve often heard the argument that we can’t play by WSR because that means playing with fouls on all balls and we need referees at each table. Nothing could be further from the truth. WSR regulations specifically address this issue and permit playing “cue ball fouls only” if a referee is not presiding over the match. The regulations also discuss playing with “area referees,” which means a referee is responsible for several tables rather than just one match. In those situations WSR stipulates that the non-shooting player performs the duties of the referee, but the shooter does have the right to summon an official if they feel their opponent will not be able to properly judge a shot. This approach reinforces the trust and sportsmanship aspects of our game, and I applaud the rule makers for asking players to hold themselves to such a high standard of integrity. Unique events, like the Derby City Classic and the U.S. Bar Table Championships, for example, are open to pros and amateurs have their own rules as they should. However, we have seven BCA points ranking events for 2011 and I expect they will all be governed accordingly by WSR with very few modifications. FYI, those events are The Masters, The Ultimate 10-Ball Championship, The U.S Open 9- and 10-Ball Championships, both Turning Stone events, and the Steve Mizerak Championship. Every one of them is worthy of major event status and deserves to be played by rules of the highest order. I’m sure each of you has your own opinion about what to do. But I can’t help but feel that the public perception of our sport would be immediately elevated by requiring pro events to use WSR in the USA. Spectators would also benefit by knowing the rules of play. The media would too. Event coverage would focus on the players and their play. Who knows, sponsors might even be more inclined to get on board because the game would finally be played to its toughest rules standards, on its most visible stage, with appropriate attire, by the world’s most talented performers.

Ken Shuman Ken Shuman of Sacramento, CA, is one of the country’s premier tournament directors. He is an accomplished professional referee and is considered an expert on the rules of play. Ken has officiated at World Championship events in the USA and the Philippines. He directs some of the major tournaments, including the Derby City Classic, the U.S. Bar Table Championship, CSI’s National Championship Series, the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship, and the U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship. Contact Ken at shucue@yahoo.com.

Featured Member - Juliette Watier Favorite game: 8-ball Cue: Lucasi Hometown: Boca Raton, FL Q: What brought you to the game of pool? A: While living in France my mother would sometimes take me with her to the local pool hall. I was fascinated by the game right away. I started playing at the age of 12 and have not stopped. Q: Funny pool story? A: When I was 17, I competed in a beauty pageant and right afterward I went straight to the pool hall in my gown and heels and played a few racks. Q: What are your thoughts on BilliardCommunity.com? A: BilliardCommunity.com is a great site for the sport! I love that there is a place to go and find people around the world that share the same passion about pool as I do.

Send Sandra a friend request today at BilliardCommunity.com.

Because100,000 your local

friends pool room www.BilliardCommunity.com

Food on Tour

Frisco, Texas

1. Applebee’s $ $ 3141 Preston Road Applebee’s revamped menu not only offers the usual favorites but new items that are less than 550 calories. Start with a shared appetizer and two entrees for only $20 on their “2 for $20” menu. Applebee’s offers something for everyone, including salads, steaks, ribs, chicken, seafood, pasta, burgers, and sandwiches. This location also offers carside to-go service. Hours: Sun-Fri: 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. Sat: 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Phone: 214-618-0550 www.applebees.com

2. International House of Pancakes $ 2480 Preston Road Open 24 hours, the International House of Pancakes offers all of the traditional breakfast foods and more. If you feel like breakfast, try their famous fluffy pancakes, omelettes, crepes, waffles, or French toast. If it’s a late-night visit, IHOP offers a range of burgers, soups, salads, appetizers, and desserts. For a lighter meal, try their Simple and Fit choices. Hours: Open 24 hours Phone: 972-712-8700 www.ihop.com 3. California Pizza Kitchen $ $ 2601 Preston Road As the name of the restaurant suggests, pizza is the specialty of the house. Over 30 different types of designer pizzas are listed on their menu, and you can also make your own. The most popular is the barbecue chicken pizza, but the variety ranges from pear and gorgonzola to California club to basic pepperoni. Additionally, California Pizza Kitchen offers a variety of fresh pastas, salads, soups, and sandwiches, as well as a gluten-free menu. Hours: Mon-Sat: 11:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Sun: 11:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Phone: 972-712-0884 www.cpk.com

4. La Hacienda Ranch $ - $ $ 4110 Preston Road If you’re feeling like food from south of the border, check out La Hacienda Ranch. They offer traditional Mexican food such as enchiladas, tacos, tamales, and burritos, and they also have fajitas, steaks, burgers, soups, and salads. In a rush? Order from the “Lunches Muy Pronto” menu. Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Fri-Sat: 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Phone: 972-335-2232 5. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit $ - $ $ 7070 Preston Road Enjoy the flavors of rich, slow-smoked barbecue at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, which offers nine different varieties of meat. Home-style sides include fried onion tanglers, waffle iron fries, potato salad, spicy jalapeño beans, and mac and cheese. Individual and family-sized portions are available. Hours: Mon-Sun: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Phone: 972-377-7679 www.dickeys.com

Price Range: $

Under $10

$ $

$10-$20

32 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

$ $ $

$20-$30

$ $ $ $

$30 and up

7 6. Buca di Beppo $ $ 8580 State Highway 121 Dine with friends and share traditional Italian food served family style. Enjoy mozzarella garlic bread or stuffed mushrooms for a starter, then move on to their chicken cannelloni, penne arrabbiata, or veal parmigiana for an entrée. Finish off with tiramisu or cannolis. Fresh pizzas, salads, and seafood—such as shrimp scampi—are also available. Hours: Mon-Thurs: 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Fri-Sat: 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Sun: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Phone: 972-668-3287 www.bucadibeppo.com 7. The Cheesecake Factory $ $ - $ $ $ The Cheesecake Factory is famous for its generous portions of over 200 menu items made from scratch daily. Their vast menu offers something for everyone, from soup and sandwiches to fresh fish, steak, and pasta. However, they also offer 50 varieties of cheesecake and other desserts, so make sure to leave room for dessert. Hours: Mon-Thurs: 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Fri-Sat: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. Sun: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Phone: 972-731-7799

Mountain View, CA

8. Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too! $ $ - $ $ $ 939 West El Camino Real Step into the aroma of garlic when you visit Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too. Famous for their large portions and dinner specials, this funky Italian restaurant offers all the classics, including chicken parmigiana, veal scaloppini, scamp, and lamb osso bucco. They also have an open area where customers can watch the cooks hand toss the pizza dough to make their classic pies. The complete menu is also available to go. Phone: 650-967-5384 Hours: Tues-Thurs: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. Fri-Sat: 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. Sun: 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. www.fjlmountainview.com 9. La Fiesta $ $ - $ $ $ 240 Villa Street Voted the best Mexican restaurant for eleven years running, La Fiesta takes pride in their authentic recipes designed to satisfy. They offer a friendly atmosphere and excellent service, as well as fresh, hot food. Nibble on nachos or chow down with chile verde. From traditional burritos to gourmet specialties, La Fiesta has something for everyone. Phone: 650-968-1364 Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Fri-Sat: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. www.lafiestarestaurant.com 10. Clarke’s Charcoal Broiler $ 615 West El Camino Real Design your own burger at Clarke’s, which has been serving fresh hamburgers for over 50 years. Try the Monterey jack or bleu cheese burger for a new twist on the classic sandwich. Though burgers are at the top of the list, Clarke’s also offers sandwiches, sausages, dinners, and a staggering range of sides. Order on their user-friendly website if you are pressed for time. Phone: 650-967-0851 Hours: Mon-Sun: 11 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. www.clarkes.com

10 April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 33

On Board With the BCA

Connect. Buy. Learn

International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo T he is the industry’s gathering place and the one des-

tination each year for manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and room operators to source the latest news, products, and information to enhance their bottom line. With just a few months until the this year’s BCA Expo in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, taking place July 13-15, the vast array of exhibitors, educational sessions, and networking opportunities on hand for 2011 is very encouraging.

’

First and foremost, finding great deals at the 2011 BCA Expo will be easy, as manufacturers and distributors bring their newest products along with their best sellers. From game tables to artwork, POS software and massage chairs, we’ve got a great combination of new and returning exhibitors on the show floor all committed to providing great sales opportunities and product education.

We’ve got a great combination of new and returning exhibitors on the show floor all committed to providing great sales opportunities and product education.

his or her business with ten easy-to-implement small business tactics from a small, independent retailer who walks in your shoes every day. Connect with the BCA Expo and our exhibitors in advance of the Expo through our website, bcaexpo.com. Get an advanced view on products and specials that are going to be on the floor in July. With respect to independent business connections, we’ll have an “Ask the Expert” pavilion on the Expo floor this year. There will be specialists available to discuss marketing, business strategy, financial planning, and more in a relaxed, conversation-based environment. Make plans today to attend the 2011 BCA Expo. To register, please go to www.bcaexpo.com or call 708-226-1300.

I look forward to seeing you in July in Las Vegas.

Pool Player Excuses Towel 95

$7.

We’ve also made great effort this year to provide a slate of seminars that provide direct, tangible strategies for improving your business. Our keynote presentation from the Disney Institute is going to give attendees a rare opportunity to peek behind the curtains and witness “the business behind the magic” of Disney and learn firsthand tactics for how to get staff members to deliver top-notch service all day, every day. And don’t attend this session alone. Bring a co-owner, managers, and staff members. There’s a message in this presentation for everyone! We’re also offering up seminars on how to motivate your younger customers—Generations X and Y and the Millennials—to spend money and how to inexpensively reach the world with your company’s message via electronic marketing to increase traffic through your door. For the poolroom operator, we’ve got a great session to bring in new customers with beginning pool education and instruction. Finally every attendee can learn how to improve 34 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

gives your favorite pool player an easy out with six excuses for why that ball didn’t drop! Made of lint-free flour sack material

(22” x 13” with hanging loop)

10% of all sales go to Helping Every Animal Live Inc. (HEAL)

www.PoolPlayerExcuses.com

Industry

News News

Billiard Education Foundation Scholarship Opportunities for High School Seniors

nity service work, a description of the applicant’s background and career objectives, plus personal and professional (academic) goals. Applicants must also submit an official high school transcript and SAT/ACT scores.

The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) is pleased to announce that they are accepting applications for the 2011 scholarship awards. The objective of the BEF Academic Scholarship Program is to grant scholarships to high school seniors who have benefited from the sport of billiards and are pursuing a college education.

Virtual Pool 4 Now Available

The BEF Academic Scholarship Program is divided into two categories: Excellence in Education scholarship (a single $2,000 award) and Aiming for Higher Education scholarships (three individual scholarships at $1,000 each). Each applicant will be considered in both categories; only one completed application is required and must be postmarked no later than April 18, 2011. Applications can be downloaded by going to the BEF website at www.BilliardEducation.org. Students must adhere to the following scholarship criteria: (1) hold a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale, (2) have an ACT score of at least 23 or SAT combined score (critical reading + math) of 1050 or higher, (3) submit a 500-1000 word essay on how billiards has been an integral part of his or her life, (4) be accepted to an accredited undergraduate academic program by June 1, (5) must attend an accredited undergraduate institution and carry at least 12 hours per semester. The final application must also include a letter from the applicant outlining academic achievements, leadership and/or commu-

C³ Sports (C3SM), a sports marketing entity, and Celeris, a video game developer, present the following promotional opportunity in Virtual Pool 4, which will be released in 2011. Celeris is taking sign-ups for players who want to appear in the Pro Tour Career Mode in Virtual Pool 4. If you are a pool or snooker player who plays in events on a pro tour, this is a way to get some visibility and get your name, picture, and playing information out to millions of pool fans. • • •

To qualify, you must: Be an active player on a pro tour, or Play at least a couple events from one or more pro tours each year, or Play an independent event that is not handicapped and the prize fund is at least $5,000 USD

For more details, please visit celeris.com/celeris_player_signup. html. C³ Sports Marketing (Pasadena, CA) is a leader in billiards sports promotion, production, and marketing. For more information, visit their website at c3sm.net.

BANKS THAT DON’T GO— LEARN THE SECRETS OF LEARN ELITE ONE POCKET SHOTS THAT STRIKE FEAR INTO OPPONENTS HEARTS

SEE SAMPLE CLIPS ON WEB SITE

SWSEEEB SITE

hp://bankingwiththebeard.com/?cat=3

APA Player of the Month Raymond Walters

Walters has been a loyal member of Central Virginia APA R aymond for over 15 years. Many of his friends call him “Rayman.” He’s a skill

level 7 in both 8-ball and 9-ball and has been fortunate enough to participate in the APA National Team Championships several times. He competed in the 8-ball open division in 1999 and 2002 and in the 9-ball open division in 1997, 2004, and 2006. He also participated in the APA 8-Ball Doubles Championship at the National Team Championships in 2002. In 2006 Raymond competed in the National Singles Championships in both the 8-Ball Classic and 9-Ball Shootout. Raymond has been a local referee for years in Central Virginia APA’s higher-level tournaments and was a referee at the National Singles Championships in 2008. He also devotes many weekend hours to running singles qualifier boards in Central Virginia. In addition to having played almost 800 APA 9-ball matches, Raymond will reach a Central Virginia milestone in 2011 when he plays his 1,000th APA 8-ball match. “We thank ‘Rayman’ for his friendship, hard work, and loyalty throughout the years,” said Central Virginia APA league operators Dawn Buchanan and Marguerite Rueger. “He’s a special part of our APA family in Central Virginia!”

Butterfly Style Cases Starting at $299.99

The Original Cue Tattoo Leather wraps also available

Artisan crafted leather products www.CastilloLeatherGoods.com sales@CastilloLeatherGoods.com 773-491-0018

> >>

Regional Roundup Cintron Takes Control Tri-State Tour / Jackson Heights, NY by InsidePOOL Staff

Justin Muller, Dan Cintron, Mike Harrington

Dan Cintron came back from a late loss on the winners’ side to return to the finals and take the title at the February 13 Tri-State Tour. Cintron joined 32 other players at BQE Billiards in Jackson Heights, NY, for the $1,000-added A-D handicapped tournament.

When he came up against Justin Miller in the winners’ side final four, Cintron was sent to the one-loss side of the chart 7-1 while Miller advanced to the hot seat match. Meeting him there was Mike Harrington, who had just defeated Richard Ng 6-5. The hot seat match went double-hill, but it was Harrington who moved on to await a finals opponent. Cintron went on to eliminate Zee Shan Saidar in fifth place 8-6 as Ng ousted Randy Mackin 6-1. The two went on to face each other in the quarterfinals, with Cintron sending Ng home in fourth place 9-7. Cintron also ex- Results: perienced success in the Dan Cintron $645 semifinals over Muller 7-5 1st Mike Harrington $420 to move on to the finals. 2nd 3rd Justin Muller $260 Harrington eked out am 4th Richard Ng $160 8-7 victory in the first set 5th Zee Shan Saidar $100 of the finals, but the secRandy Mackin ond set was all Cintron, 7th Raymond Romanski $80 who won it 11-7. Mike Ettl

Davis Dominates Planet Pool Planet Pool Tour / Frederick, MD by Jose Burgos

Now under new ownership, the Planet Pool Tour sprang back into the pool world with a Febrary 12-13 stop at Champion Billiards Sports Café in Frederick, MD. A field Mike Davis, Mike Ricciardella, of 71 players showed Brett Stottlemyer up for the reunion, with Mike Davis leading the pack to take the title. Davis scored victories over Chris Hansen 9-4, Todd Strickland 9-5, Steve Wiggesworth 9-6, Paul Duty 9-4, Alan Duty 9-1, and Ryan McCreesh 9-6. Leading the bottom half of the bracket was Kevin

38 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

Bailey with wins over Dan Madden 9-5, Ryan Jones 9-6, Matt Krah 9-6, Russ Obaker 9-2, Andy Lincoln 9-5, and Scott Tollefson 9-1. Davis and Bailey met in the hot seat match, which turned out to be a onesided affair with Davis taking control from the beginning and cruising to a 9-4 win. Results: Now on the one-loss 1st Mike Davis $1,000 side, Bailey ran into Brett 2nd Brett Stottlemyer $825 Stottlemyer, who had just 3rd Kevin Bailey $575 ousted Bucky Souvan4th Bucky Souvanthong $450 thong, in the semifinals. 5th Scott Tollefson $200 It was neck and neck, but Ryan McCreesh Stottlemyer pulled away 7th Dominic Noe $150 late for a 7-5 win. Mov Russ Obaker ing on to the final match 9th Andy Lincoln $100 against Davis, Stottlemyer Michael Wong had to defeat him twice. Alan Duty Davis thwarted his plan Sean Morgan from the start, winning 13th Dan Madden $70 the first set 7-4. Josh Brothers

John Newton Edward Nowakowski

Smith Sweeps Planet Pool Event Planet Pool Women’s Tour / Frederick, MD by Jose Burgos

Megan Smith, Mike Ricciardella, Linda Shea, Madison Shea

Megan Smith went unchallenged through the 21-player field February 13 to take first place over Linda Shea in the finals. The Planet Pool Women’s Tour was held at Champion Billiards Sports Café in Frederick, MD.

Smith cruised to the hot seat match with wins over Bethany Kurtz 6-1, Kia Sidbury 6-0, and Shanna Lewis 6-4 before her first meeting with Shea, whom she sent to the one-loss side 6-3. Leading the bottom half of the bracket was Nicole Vincent with wins over Spring Helligrath 7-3, Aubrey James 6-5, and Cheryl Squire 6-5. Smith and Vincent matched up to battle for the Results: hot seat, and Smith took an Megan Smith $600 early advantage and won 1st 2nd Linda Shea $350 the match 6-3. 3rd Nicole Vincent $200 4th Shanna Lewis $150 Shea was primed for Julie Skripac $105 Vincent in the semifinal 5th Cheryl Squire match, having just eliminated Shanna Lewis in fourth place, and she ran over her opponent 5-2 to reach the finals. Shea and Smith went back and forth in the final match, but in the end Smith pulled it off with a 7-4 victory.

Videos Champion Billiards

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Billiards Match Finals Brett Stottlemeyer vs. Mike Davis at Champion Billiards Match Shaun Wilkie vs Mark Stewart at Champion Billiards Scott Tollefson vs. Kevin Bailey at Champion Billiards Ryan McCreesh vs Mike Davis at Champion Billiards Megan Smith vs Linda Shea at Champion Billiards Kevin Bailey vs Mike Davis at Champion Billiards Josh Brothers vs. Brett Stottlemeyer at Champion Billiards Josh Brothers Action vs. Shane Morrow 2 at Champion Billiards Josh Brothers Action vs. Shane Morrow John Scott v Josh Brothers at Champion Billiards Jeremy Perkins vs Alan Doody 2 at Champion Billiards Bucky Souvanthong vs Tim Slavin at Champion Billiards Brett Stottlemeyer vs Mike Sigel part 2 Brett Stottlemeyer vs Mike Sigel part 1 at Champion Billiards Brett Stottlemeyer vs Kevin Bailey Brett Stottlemeyer vs Bucky Souvanthong Alaska vs. Ryan McCreesh at Champion Billiards

Play Play Video Video Play Play Video Video Play Play Video Video

Hatch Holds Back Souvanthong at Joss Event Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / Amsterdam, NY

31-player field to take the title. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.

by Lea Andrews

Two very familiar faces on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour met up in the finals of the February 19-20 stop, and though Dennis “The Hatchetman” Hatch, undefeated at that point, suffered a bit of a setback Dennis Hatch courtesy of Bucky Souvanthong, he overcame it to nab his second tour victory this season. Hatch and Souvanthong were among the field of 48 gathered at Main Street Billiards in Amsterdam, NY, for the $1,500-added main event. Hatch and Souvanthong met for the first time on the winners’ side final four, where Hatch hammered out a 9-5 win to move on to the hot seat match against last stop’s winner, Dan Hewitt. Hewitt had just pushed past Ron Casanzio 9-7, but against powerhouse Hatch, he marked up just three games and moved over to the semifinals. On the left side of the bracket, Spencer Auigbelle, who’d earlier suffered a 9-3 loss to Hewitt, ousted Tom Acciavatti and Mike Zuglan by backto-back 9-5 scores before coming upon Souvanthong. Meanwhile, Bruce Nagle, who’d been on the west side since his first-round loss to Alvin Thomas, took care of both Kevin Ketz and Greg Antonakos 9-7 before facing Casanzio. Neither Auigbelle nor Nagle fared well, though, and they landed in a tie for fifth place 9-6 and 9-3, respectively, while Souvanthong and Casanzio earned their spots in the quarterfinal match, where Souvanthong knocked out a 9-2 win to get a chance at Hewitt. The two most recently met in the finals of the last event, with Hewitt coming out on top in one 9-7 set, but this time, Souvanthong plowed through him 9-3 to reach the finals against Hatch. Souvanthong would need to avenge his earlier loss by winning both sets of the true double-elimination final match, and after Hatch got up 2-0 but then miscued in the third rack, Souvanthong seemed Open Results: well on his way, notching nine 1st Dennis Hatch $1,030 straight racks to take the first 2nd Bucky Souvanthong $760 set 9-2. He was also looking 3rd Dan Hewitt $550 to repeat the results from this 4th Ron Casanzio $450 season’s sixth stop, when he 5th Spencer Auigbelle $300 finished first to Hatch’s second. Bruce Nagle But something changed in the Mike Zuglan $200 second set, as tour director 7th Greg Antonakos Mike Zuglan pointed out with Dave Fernandez $90 a laugh. “In the second set, he 9th Tom Acciavatti didn’t miscue.” Hatch stayed Tim Parisian chalked up to claim the tourna- Kevin Ketz ment as his own 9-2. In Sunday’s $500-added second chance non-pro event, Marco Kam went undefeated to top the 20-player field, ultimately taking down Mark Stewart in the finals 3-2.

Second Chance Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Marco Kam Mark Stewart Bruce Carroll Noah Wells Keith Owen Gary Poulton

$320 $220 $160 $100 $50

Osipovitch Owns Tri-State Stop Tri-State Tour / Brooklyn, NY by InsidePOOL Staff

There were a lot of tight matches for George Osipovitch at the February 19 stop on the Tri-State Tour, but ultimately he went undefeated through the

Osipovitch met up with Nicholas Chan in the winners’ side final four and eked out a 6-5 victory to advance to the hot seat match. Awaiting him was Ralph Panuzzo, who had just delivered Pat Mareno to the one-loss side of the chart 6-3. It was another hill-hill nailbiter, but Osipovitch edged by Panuzzo to claim the hot seat 6-5. George Osipovitch, Richard Ng, Ralph Panuzzo

Once on the west side, Chan’s tournament was quickly ended by Tony Ignomirello, who ousted him 6-1. Tying with Chan for fifth place, Mareno was taken out by Richard Ng 7-4. Ng went on to face off against Ignomirello and send him packing in fourth place 6-3. Still going strong, Ng took on Panuzzo in the semifinals. It was a double-hill situation that saw Ng continue to advance 6-5. However, his event was ended by Osipovitch in the finals in yet another hill-hill match in which Osipovitch walked away the 6-5 victor.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

George Osipovitch Richard Ng Ralph Panuzzo Tony Ignomirello Nicholas Chan Pat Mareno Jason Egeln Michele Li

$565 $370 $230 $140 $90 $70

Ng Nabs First Tri-State Title Tri-State Tour / Edison, NJ by InsidePOOL Staff

Daniel Dogodot, Richard Ng, James DeGiosafatta

Richard Ng went unchallenged to take his first title on the TriState Tour, defeating James DeGiosafatta in the final match. The February 26 event was hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, and drew a field of 30 to

vie for a piece of the $750-added purse. After a close match with Daniel Dogodot in the winners’ side final four 8-6, Ng moved on to the hot seat match. There he faced off against DeGiosafatta for the first time in the tournament, delivering him to the one-loss side of the chart 6-4. Dogodot went on to meet Serrafin Serrano on the west side and advanced 7-4, while Serrano took fifth place. Tying with Serrano was Michele Li, who had been eliminated by Andrew Cleary 6-5. Dogodot then matched up with Cleary in the quarterfinal match and came out on top 10-7, with Cleary taking home fourth place. In the semifinal match Dogodot was turned away 8-5 by DeGiosafatta, who wanted a second chance at Ng in the final match. However, it was a one-sided match, with Ng triumphing 6-2 to earn his first tour title.

Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Richard Ng $540 James DeGiosafatta $310 Daniel Dogodot $200 Andrew Cleary $130 Michele Li $75 Serrafin Serrano

April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 39

< Liang and Hernandez Tops on Predator Tour Predator Tour / West Hempstead, NY

Shlemperis and Korsiak Collect Predator Titles Predator Tour / Long Island, NY

by Alison M. Fischer, NYCgrind.com

Dave Shlemperis and Joey Korsiak earned titles at the Predator Tour’s February 1920 stop, winning the amateur and open divisions, respectively. The $1,000-added stop brought 71 players to Long Island’s newest pool room, Cue Nine.

Joey Korsiak, Jeremy Sossei

In a breakthrough performance in this event, NYC’s Shlemperis went undefeated to earn his first win on the tour. Going through the winners’ bracket, he bested Jimmy Martinez 7-5, Joe Gibbons 7-4, Erin McManus 7-2, and Rene Villalobos 7-3 to reach the hot seat match. There he went up against Phil Davis and sent him to the one-loss side 9-3. Dave Shlemperis, Diana Rojas, Phil Davis

Davis then matched up in the semifinals against Diana “Snooky” Rojas, who had not only fought through nine west-side matches after a first-round loss but was battling walking pneumonia. In the semifinals, Rojas and Davis had a close battle that ended 9-8 in Davis’s favor, earning a rematch in the final against Dave Shlemperis. In the finals, both players continued their standout play, but when the dust had settled, Shlemperis walked away with a hill-hill 9-8 win. In the open/pro 10-ball division, top Long Island player Korsiak persevered to snap off the one-day event. However, he had to get through Jeremy Sossei first. Sossei went through the winners’ bracket undefeated with wins over Mike Badstuebner 8-6, Charles Eames 8-1, Oscar Bonilla 8-3, and then took out Korsiak in the match for the hot seat 8-2. But Korsiak bounced back to defeat Oscar Bonilla 8-7 in the semifinals to have a second chance against Sossei. In the finals, Korsiak took control of the match from the start and ended with a dominant 8-3 win, which locked down his position to number one in the tour standings.

Amateur Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th

Dave Shlemperis Phil Davis Diana Rojas Mark Pantovic Pat Dugan Rene Villalobos Ron Mason Billy Santiago Erin McManus Luis Novas Ed Hugh Jack Smith

$1,000 $650 $425 $300 $225 $175 $100

Pro Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

40 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

Joey Korsiak Jeremy Sossei Oscar Bonilla Tony Robles

$800 $500 $250 $140

Tony Liang recovered from a late loss to win the Second Annual Predator Naldo Troncosco, Tony Liang, Clive Davis Tour Empire State Amateur Championships, while Frankie Hernandez took down the open diviOscar Bonilla, Frankie Hernandez, Tony Robles sion. The event was held February 26-27 at Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY, where 108 amateur players came out to compete for the coveted Empire State title, as well as a full field of 16 players for the open event Sunday. Clive Rose dominated the winners’ bracket, winning five matches to reach the hot seat match, where he defeated Liang 8-4. Liang then bounced back to defeat Naldo Troncoso in the semifinals 8-6. This event marked a strong performance for Troncoso, taking his highest finish on the tour to date. Naldo put on a display of heart to come back Amateur Results: after an early loss to Gail Tony Liang $2,000 Glazebrook. Stewart War- 1st 2nd Clive Davis $1,400 nock also had a great run, 3rd Naldo Troncoso $900 placing fourth after los4th Stewart Warnock $600 ing a tight hill-hill match 5th Gail Glazebrook $375 to Troncoso. Amit Umadas Andrew Kane $250 After Liang elimi- 7th Mio Celaj nated Troncoso, he Frank Ramos $150 earned a rematch in the 9th Omar Alli finals against Rose, where Scott Bannon the tables were turned in Frank Cutrone his favor, as he won 10-6. 13th Rene Villalobos $100 Wilfredo Albay In the open/pro 10Brian Hunter ball event, Hernandez had Jack Smith a spectacular day, playing nearly flawless pool. His road to the finals included wins over Tony Robles 8-3, Chris Laz 8-3, and Oscar Bonilla 8-5 in the hot seat match.

Open Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Frankie Hernandez Tony Robles Oscar Bonilla George Rodriguez

$750 $500 $230 $140

After Robles’s early loss to Hernandez, he came back on the one-loss side to defeat Keith Larsen 8-5, George SanSouci 8-3, Mike Badstuebner 8-6, Joey Korsiak 8-6, George Rodriguez 8-5, and Oscar Bonilla 8-5. In the finals it was a match-up between two NY greats, and while Hernandez looked to run away with the set, Robles put up a good fight and battled back to keep it close. In the end it was Hernandez who came out on top 9-6.

> >>

Regional Roundup

Moore Earns Mezz Title Silva Slams Lucasi Field Mezz Pro-Am Tour / Vineland, NJ Lucasi Hybrid by InsidePOOL StaffAll-American Tour / Lakewood, CO

Silva recovered from an A-side loss to Skinner 5-3 to eliminate Nick Smith at fifth place 5-4 and Frank Urbaniak at fourth place 5-3. He wreaked his revenge on Skinner in the semifinal match, sending him home in third place 5-4 to claim a spot in the finals versus the undefeated Piazza. Silva successfully dispatched Piazza in two sets, concluding with a 5-4 victory to claim the title.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Stevie Moore took Ruben Silva doutop honors at the March ble-dipped Tony Pi6 stop on the Mezz Proazza in the finals of the Am Tour, which was Stevie Moore, Jose Garcia, Joey Testa January 22 installment hosted at Q-Ball Billiards of the Lucasi Hybrid in Vineland NJ. A strong field of 42 players came to play, with Moore deAll-American Tour tofinals. feating Joey Testa in the take top honors and the prize of through the top half of the bracket, scoring first-place Moore blazed a trail $500. The $500-added wins over John Greshock 7-5, Tim Dlugosz 7-3, and Paul Cooney 7-0. Skinner, Frank Urbaniak, Rubin Silva, event was hosted by Bill Then Moore ran in to Shane Van Boening in a match that saw the latter Tony Piazza Greenfields holding a 6-1Pool lead atand the start only for Moore to grind it out to make it Bar the in cue Lakewood, hill-hill. Van Boening had an easy 9 ball for Sports the win but ball skidResults: CO, and featured 31 playded and he missed, giving Moore the win 7-6. 1st Ruben Silva $500 ers in a double-elimination 2nd Tonywho Piazza $300 City,8-ball Testa, plays out of Atlantic led the bottom half of bar the format on 7-foot 3rd $225 7-1, Bob bracketBill withSkinner wins over Mike Winover Miane 7-1, Jim Walder 7-2, boxes. 4th Frank Urbaniak $125up to Moore in the hot seat match, and Josh Brothers 7-3. Testa caught 5th Nick Smithwere neck and $75 where the players neck until Moore pulled away late to Piazza swept through Lou Valdez win 7-5, sending Testa to the Results: the winners’ bracket un7th $50 one-lossDarian side. Trujillo defeated. Once he moved 1st Stevie Moore $1,000 Dave Hughes past Lou Valdez 5-4 on the 2nd Joey Testa $625 9th Bill Meacham $35 After eliminating Van winners’ side final four, 3rd Eddie Abraham $400 Andrew Pettinger Boening at fourth place, Edhe sent Bill to the Brothers Skinner$200 Dave Merrill die Abraham moved on to 4th Josh west side of the chart Krah $150 as Dave face Testa. HeHubbard gave Testa a 5th Matt well 5-3. 13th Sandifer run for John his money but Testa $20 Shane Van Boening $100 Ron prevailed toLincoln take the match 7th Derek Schwager Mike LizzioOn the one-loss brackBates with 7-5 andMatthew earn a rematch et side of the board, Ruben Moore. Ray But Padilla in the finals the 9th Abdellatif Chamseddine $50 Jim Walder day belonged to Moore, Paul Cooney who easily handled Testa 7-3 Mark Nanshee to win the title.

>Upcoming Western Tournaments 3/7-13 Western BCANortheast Regional 8-Ball Chinook Winds Casino Resort >Upcoming Tournaments

Lincoln City, OR

702-719-7665

$26,000

Members

4/2 3/26

Tri-State Billiards Pool and SportsEast NJ CO 201-933-6007 $500 $1,000 A-D players Lucasi Tour Hybrid All-American Tour CastleGreenfield’s BarRutherford, Lakewood, 303-989-9820 Open

4/2-3 4/2

Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour Qualifier Raxx Pool U.S. Open One-Pocket HardRoom Times Billiards

West Hempstead, NY $1,500/$500 Open/Amateurs Sacramento, CA516-538-9896 916-205-1144 $300 Open

4/3 4/8-10 Mezz Pro-Am Tour Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour Main Line Nite Billiards Hawk Club

Frazer, PA $1,000 $1,500 OpenOpen Portland, OR 610-647-8805 503-285-7177

4/9 4/9-10 Tri-State Tour 10-Ball Qualifier U.S. Open

Gotham City Billiards Pool Sharks

Brooklyn, $1,250 $500 LasNY Vegas, NV 718-714-1002 702-222-1011

4/10 Tour Qualifier 4/9-10 Mezz U.S.Pro-Am Open 10-Ball

Society Billiards Brewing and Bar Company New York, NY CO Wynkoop Denver,

212-420-1000 $1,000 TBA 303-297-2700

B-D players Open OpenOpen

4/16-17 Northeast 9-Ball Tour Qualifier Golden Cue Billiards 4/16-17Joss U.S. Open One-Pocket The Golden Fleece

Albany,Kenmore, NY $1,500/$500 Open/Amateurs WA 518-459-9442 425-908-7332 $500 Open

4/16-17 9-Ball Tour Qualifier 4/16-17Predator U.S. Open 10-Ball

Mr. Cue Billiards Butera’s

Lindenhurst, NY CA 631-226-9486 $1,000 $500 Moorpark, 805-523-3088

4/23 Tour 10-Ball Qualifier 4/30-5/1Tri-State U.S. Open

Sandcastle Billiards The Golden Fleece

Edison,Kenmore, NJ $1,000 $1,000 A-D players WA 732-632-9277 425-908-7332 Open

4/30 5/13-21Tri-State BCAPLTour National 8-Ball Champs

Eastside Billiards Riviera Hotel and Casino

New York, $1,000 TBA LasNY Vegas, NV 212-831-7665 702-719-7665

OpenOpen B-D players Members

4/30-5/1 Open 10-Ball Qualifier Drexeline Billiards 5/12-15U.S. U.S. Open One-Pocket Championship Riviera Hotel and Casino

Drexel Hill, PA NV 215-385-6114 $500 $10,000 OpenOpen Las Vegas, 702-719-7665

5/7 5/16-21Tri-State Tour 10-Ball Championship Sandcastle U.S. Open RivieraBilliards Hotel and Casino

Edison,Las NJ Vegas, NV 732-632-9277 $750 $25,000 B-D players 702-719-7665 Open

5/14

Tri-State Tour

Castle Billiards

East Rutherford, NJ 201-933-6007 $500

A-D players

5/21

Tri-State Tour

BQE Billiards and Bar

Jackson Heights, NY 718-779-4348 $1,000

B-D players

5/21-22 New England 9-Ball Series Finale Boston Billiard Club

Nashua, NH

603-943-5630 TBA

Open

5/28-29 Tri-State Tour

New York, NY

212-496-8180 $1,000

B-D players

Amsterdam Billiards and Bar

March 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 61 April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 41 Marchmock.indd 63

2/22/2011 9:04:25 AM

> >>

Trobiano Takes Tri-State Win Tri-State Tour / East Rutherford, NJ by InsidePOOL Staff

Regional Room owner John TrobianoRoundup triumphed at the January 8 stop

of the Tri-State Tour to win the title over Gary Murgia in the final match. 10-ball eventWins garnered 37 players to Castle Song The and$500-added Joiner Post Maxim Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.

Maxim Billiards Amateur Tour / Atlanta, GA by InsidePOOL Staff

Trobiano had to come through the one-loss side, eliminating players such as Guy Iannuzzi hill-hill and Ted Lapadula 7-5 to reach the final four on the west side. On the right side Murgia of the Paulchart, Song and bested Ed Culhane in a double-hill match as Kaci Ricardo Mejia dealt a Joiner took the 7-5 loss to Jason Egeln. Murgia and Mejia met in the hot seat match, 9-ball and 8-ball diwhere Murgia emerged victorious with a convincing 7-4 win.

visions, respectively, of the Maxim BilAnother close match for Trobiano as he eliminated Egeln 7-5 Amateur Tour to advance to the quarterfinal match againstliards Jake Schwartz, who held February had just ousted Ed Culhane 7-4. He dispatched Schwartz 19-20. 7-4 to The $1,500-aded meet up with Mejia and Results: event was hosted by got through that match Mr. Cues II in Atlanta, John Trobiano $550 as well, this time 7-5. Tro- 1st Paul Song GA, and drew$350 in 112 2nd Gary Murgia biano was able to ride his 3rd Ricardo Mejia $220 entries, paying out $4,400 for the weekend. momentum through the

Jake Schwartz $140 final match as he defeat- 4th 5th 9-ball Jasonevent Egeln kicked off$100 Murgia The two-day, $1,000-added Satured in the race-to-9 Ed80 Culhane day and participants battled for finals 9-5.finished on Sunday night as 7thfor grabs Ted Lapadula $70Song their share of the $3,900 up in the prize fund. Mike made his way through the bottom of theZimny 128-player bracket un-

defeated until the match for the hot seat, where he faced off against Horace “Groundhog” Godwin, who bested Song 7-2. In the semifinals Song matched up against Jeff Crawford and oustChau Undefeated at Joss Event ed him at second place Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour9-Ball / Levittown, Results: NY 7-3. by LeaHaving Andrewsearned his Paul Song $1,200 rematch with Godwin in 1st Many tried, but 2nd Horace Godwin $850 the final match, Song no man managed to 3rd Jeff Crawford $550 defeated his opponent take down Manny Chau 4th Billy Tyler $300 on his way to an unde7-1 in the first set and 5th Chuck Dorsett $200 feated victory at the first 7-2 in the second to Jason Caldwell Joss Northeast 9-Ball claim first place. 7th JR Rossman $100 Tour stop of 2011. The Wes Davis $1,500-added event was Sunday saw 32 9th Darin Brewer $60 held January 8-9 at Cue players enter the Maxim David Cantrell Nine in Levittown, NY. Billiards Amateur Tour’s Manny Chau Dustin Byrd $500Chau guaranteed 8-ball over Lenny Jeff Jordan rode a strong 9-3 win Savata into the hot seat event. Joiner began his who’ 13th AarontoFrady $40 match against Jeremy Sossei, d managed edge out tour director Leon Whatley trek to first in the botMike Zuglan 9-8. Sossei came up three games shy against Chau, though, Andrew Savasuk tom of bracket, moving overthe to semifinals 9-6. Pat Cooper besting Dustin Byrd 5-3,

On the one-loss side, Angelo Inness got past Holden Chin 9-3 to meet Hadinotched Lee 5-3, Duane DaResults: up8-Ball with Zuglan, while Mike “Fingers” Badstuebner his own 9-3 win vis 5-4, and Norris Likens over Murphy to face both Inness and Badstuebner landed 1stScott Kaci Joiner Savata. But $250 before a loss to9-6 Randy in 2nd fifth placeRandy as Zuglan and Savata$125 advanced5-0 to the quarterfinals and Jordan Jordan in the match for 9-4, respectively. Looking for the rematch against Sossei in the semifinals, 3rd Duane Davis $75 the hot seat 5-3. Joiner Zuglan notched the final game in his hill-hill match against Savata, but he 4th Norris Likens $50 mounted a in comeback, fell short against Sossei, who advanced to his own rematch the finals 9-3. again defeating Duane Davis 5-4 to advance to the finals, where

he won over Jordan 5-4, 5-3Results: to take the title.

The true double-elimManny Chau $900 ination final match began 1st Parnell Outstrokes Tiger2nd Competition Jeremy Sossei $650 evenly enough, but when Tigermissed Bay Area Amateur FL 3rd / Tampa, Mike Zuglan $450 Sossei a chance to Tour byitInsidePOOL Staff apiece, 4th Lenny Savata $300 tie up at six games Angelo Inness $125 Chau took control, finishing 5th Mike Alice Parnell went undeBadstuebner up his undefeated weekend feated to become a new chamwith a strong 9-6 win.

Alice Parnell, Stephanie Mitchell, Tracey Mullen

pion on the Tiger Bay Area Amateur Tour February 19. The $420-added stop drew 21 players to Strokers Billiards in Tampa, FL.

The quarterfinals were a rematch between Kelly Cavanaugh and Jamie Toennies, who had met earlier in the third round of the tournament. In the first match-up, Toennies sent Cavanaugh west 5-1. Now Cavanaugh was looking for revenge, but with the match tied at 2-all, Toennies kicked into gear, winning the next three games and the match. Toennies went on to face Tracey Mullen in the semifinals. The match was tight, with both players fighting hard to advance to the finals. The race to 5 went hill-hill with Mullen outlasting Toennies in the final game. In the final round, Mullen had to defeat Parnell twice in the true double-elimination format. During their previous meeting in the hot seat match, Parnell prevailed with a score of 4-4 in the 4-6 handicapped race. The race was the same in the final round, and Parnell came out of the gate swinging, winning the first game of 8-ball. Mullen replied by securing the second. The third game went to Parnell, Results: and the game changed Alice Parnell $275 to 9-ball. Mullen fought 1st Tracey Mullen $210 hard, but Parnell tri- 2nd 3rd Jamie Toennies $160 umphed, winning two 4th Kelly Cavanaugh $100 games and the champi5th Lisa McElroy $75 onship with a final score Stephanie McFarlin $75 of 4-1.

Play Video Play Video February 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 39 42 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011 Februarymock.indd 41

1/19/2011 2:31:28 PM

Cavalier and Biggart Big Maxim Winners Maxim Billiards Amateur Tour / Jackson, MS by InsidePOOL Staff

Mark Cavalier and Chris Biggart were the big winners at the February 26-27 installment of the Maxim Billiards Amateur Tour, which moved to Jackson, MS, to The Green Room for the weekend. The event welcomed 79 entries and paid out $4,460 in prize monies. In the $1,000- added 9-ball division, Cavalier began his trek to first in the top half of the bracket by defeating Benny Conway Jr. in his first match 9-5. Cavalier remained undefeated throughout the event, besting Shaun McKibben 9-5, Dewayne Haley 9-6, Jeff Strong 9-6, and Daniel McKenney 9-5. McKenney moved to the west side and bested Conway 9-6 in the semifinals to stay alive. In a rematch with McKenney in the finals, Cavalier defeated his opponent in the first set 9-1 to take home the first-place prize monies. Mark Cavalier

The $500 guaranteed 8-ball event kicked off Sunday with a full bracket of 32 players. The 9-Ball Results: finals ended up as a battle Mark Cavalier $1,350 between cousins Chris 1st 2nd Daniel McKenney $850 Biggart and Daryl Biggart. Benny Conway JR $600 Both had worked their 3rd CK Brown $350 way through the bottom 4th 5th Patrick Boykin $175 half of the bracket before Jeff Strong facing off in the finals. Jerry Blackstock $60 Chris Biggart began his 7th Kenny Loftis bid for first place by de- Dewayne Haley $30 feating Shad Bilbrew 5-0, 9th Daryl Biggart Johnathon Long 5-3, Brent Boyd Johnny Sparks 5-3, Daryl Kevin Blacktock Biggart 5-4, and Clarence Moore 5-0. In the finals, Chris then faced off once 8-Ball Results: again against cousin Da- 1st Chris Biggart $310 ryl, taking the win in the 2nd Daryl Biggart $185 first set of the double3rd Clarence Moore $75 elimination format 5-3. 4th Danny Key $50

O’Neal On Top of Great Southern Field Great Southern Billiard Tour / Murfreesboro, TN by Lea Andrews

Josh O’Neal, who first won a Great Southern Billiards Tour event in June, topped a 35-player field to put the second notch in his belt at the tour’s March 5-6 stop. The $1,500-added event was held at Murfreesboro Billiard Club in Murfreesboro, TN, and was sponsored by Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Mike Davis Extermination, and Delta-13. AA-ranked O’Neal blasted past B-ranked Steve Legacy 11-4 to reach the hot seat match against David Cross, who’d edged out fellow

Shannon Daulton, Josh O’Neal, Dave Cross, April Dobbins

B player David Lawlor 7-6. Cross took the weighted match 7-7, sending O’Neal over to the semifinals to earn his way back.

On the other side of the bracket, A-ranked Mike Jones, who’d fallen in the second round to Lawlor 7-4, made his way past AA-ranked Billy Young 9-9 and B-ranked Chris Perhealth 9-4 before once again coming upon Lawlor. Meanwhile, James Eberhart, who’d moved west following his first-round loss to C-ranked Amanda Townsend, plowed his way through the left side, ultimately ousting A-ranked DJ Holloway 9-7, AA-ranked Chuck Raulston 9-4, and Legacy 9-3 to reach the quarterfinal match. There he faced Lawlor, who’d once again held Jones to four games, leaving him behind in fifth. That was the final victory for Lawlor, though—he managed just two games against Eberhart, landing in fourth while Eberhart moved on to the semifinal match aginst O’Neal. Unfortunately for Eberhart, O’Neal had his eye set on a rematch with Cross in the finals, and he earned the spot 11-5. Undefeated Cross could win either the first or the second set to claim the victory as his own, but O’Neal had other ideas. In the first set of the true double-elimination final match, he allowed Cross to hit the string just once, and Results: though he was slightly Josh O’Neal $1,000 more generous in the sec- 1st David Cross $500 ond set, he still kept the ul- 2nd James Eberhart $350 timate prize for himself, 3rd David Lawlor $205 earning his second tour win 4th 5th Mike Jones $100 11-3. Steve Legacy

BEBOB PUBLISHING proudly presents:

FRENCH QUARTER DANNY

A gripping new pool novel by Carlos Ledson Miller A fantastic book that promises to be an even better movie!

Order yours today!

1-888-33-BEBOB

BebobPublishing.com Pool & billiard books, DVDs, training supplies & more.

April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 43

Trobiano Takes Tri-State Win Tri-State Tour / East Rutherford, NJ White and Williams Score Poison Wins by InsidePOOL Staff Poison Tour / Jacksonville, FL

by InsidePOOL StaffJohn Trobiano triumphed at the January 8 stop Room owner

of the Tri-State Tour to win the title over Gary Murgia in the final match. The $500-added 10-ball event garnered players to Castle 37 Wesley White Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. and Charlie Williams won the amateur and openside, divisions, reTrobiano had to come through the one-loss eliminating spectively,7-5 at to thereach Febplayers such as Guy Iannuzzi hill-hill and Ted Lapadula ruary of the final four on the west side. On the right side of the26-27 chart, stop Murgia Poison Tour. The bested Ed Culhane in a double-hill match as the Ricardo Mejia dealt a $2,000-added event 7-5 loss Williams, to Jason Egeln. Charlie WesleyMurgia White and Mejia met in the hot seat match, was hosted by Park where Murgia emerged victorious with a convincing 7-4 win. Avenue Billiards in Jacksonville, FL, and over 100 players came out to showAnother their support the tour and the new room. close of match for Trobiano as he eliminated Egeln 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinal match against Jake Schwartz, who Open Results: had The amateurEd event just ousted Culhane 7-4. He dispatched Schwartz 7-4 to kicked off with 52 players, 1st Charlie Williams $700 meet up with Mejia and and White, a tour regular, Results: got through that match 2nd Stoney Stone $400 proved to be the man to 1st Trobiano $550 3rd TonyJohn Crosby $300 as well, beat onthis thetime day7-5. as Trohe 2nd Gary Murgia $350 4th Mike Davis $200 biano was ableplayers to ride his bested five to 3rd Mejia $220 5th Elvis Ricardo Rodriguez $130 momentum through the reach the hot seat match, 4th Jake Schwartz $140 Julio Aquino final match he defeatwhere he as met Daniel 5th Jason Egeln $100 7th Dave Grossman $90 ed MurgiaThe in the race-to-9 Plumber. match went Ed Culhane Joey Ryan finals 9-5. back and forth, with White 7th TedMclanahan Lapadula $65 $70 9th George eventually coming out a EJ Park Mike Zimny 7-5 winner to guarantee Ramsey Barrett him his highest finish on Josh Lewis tour.

On the one-loss side, Angelo Inness got past Holden Chin 9-3 to meet up with Zuglan, while Mike “Fingers” Badstuebner notched his own 9-3 win Scott JoeyMurphy Ryan had been Results: over to face Savata.Amateur But both Inness and Badstuebner landed sent to the one-loss sideSavata advanced to the quarterfinals 9-6 and in fifth place as Zuglan and Wesley White $600 earlier in the Looking event for by the1st 9-4, respectively. rematch againstPlumber Sossei in the semifinals, 2nd Daniel $400 Plumber 7-5 but made his Zuglan notched the final game in his hill-hill match Savata, but he 3rd Joey Ryanagainst $300 way back to the semififell short against Sossei, who advanced to his own rematch in the finals Mike Delawder $200 nals, only to take a second 4th 9-3. Chris Lulek $140 loss to Plumber and go 5th Chris Sepulveda home place. Results: Thewith true third double-elim7th GeorgeChau Saunders $900 $100 The finals went right down Manny ination final match began 1st 2nd Tom Mittinight to the wire with Plumber Jeremy Sossei $650 evenly enough, but when 9th BruceZuglan Barrington $450 $70 takingmissed the firsta set 8-7 to Mike Sossei chance to 3rd 4th Walter Blacker force a one-rack shoot Lenny Savata $300 tie it up at six games apiece, Denny Singletary out. White didn’t panic, 5th Angelo Inness $125 Chau took control, finishing Nick Applebee and he held his nerve to Mike Badstuebner up his undefeated weekend run out the rack to record 13th Bobby Garza $50 with a strong 9-6 win. his first win on tour. Kevin Cox Jason Richko Sunday saw 49 play- Josh Lewis ers show up for the open event, with Williams going through a tough bracket to reach the winners’ side finals, where Stoney Stone awaited him. Their match went right down to the wire, with both players trading racks and playing some precision pool. Williams eventually took the match with a tight 7-6 win. On the one-loss side Stone had to face Tony Crosby, who had taken an earlier hill-hill loss to George Mclanahan. A hill-hill match ensued, with Crosby going home in third. The final match was oneway traffic as Williams made Stone pay for every mistake to take a convincing 7-2 win and the Poison title.

Chau Undefeated at Joss Event Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / Levittown, NY by Lea Andrews

Many tried, but >Upcoming Southeast Tournaments 4/2-3

Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour

4/2-3

Maxim Billiards Amateur Tour

4/2-3

Great Southern Billiard Tour

4/9

Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour

4/9-10

Great Southern Billiard Tour

4/16-17 Great Southern Billiard Tour 4/23 Tiger Classic Tour Manny Chau

no man managed to Starcade Billiards take down Manny Chau Randolph’s Billiards on his way to an undefeated victory at the first Diamond Billiards Joss Northeast Q’s Sports Bar and9-Ball Girl Tour stop of 2011. The Classic Billiards $1,500-added event was Fast January Eddie’s Sports held 8-9 at Bar Cue Nine in Levittown, NY. Lounge Hammer Heads Billiard

5/15 ChauTiger Tour Side-Pocket Billiards rode Classic a strong 9-3 win over Lenny Savata into the hot seat 5/15-16 GreatJeremy Southern Billiard Billiards match against Sossei, who’Tour d managed toClassic edge out tour director Mike Zuglan 9-8. Sossei came up three games shyMr. against Chau, though, 6/30-7/3 Richard Sweet Memorial Event Cues II moving over to semifinals 9-6.

Ft. Walton Beach, FL 850-244-2349 $1,000

Open

Hickory, NC

828-326-7005 $1,500

Amateurs

Midlothian, VA

804-794-8787 $1,500

Amateurs

Port Charlotte, FL

941-585-9600 $500

Open

Conyers, GA

770-679-5278 $1,500

Amateurs

Goldsboro, NC

919-759-0071 $1,500

Amateurs

Holiday, FL

727-939-9494 $500

Amateurs

Seminole, FL

727-399-0890 $500

Amateurs

Conyers, GA

770-679-5278 $1,500

Amateurs

Atlanta, GA

770-454-7665 TBA

Open

Play Video Play Video 44 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

February 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 39

> >>

Regional Roundup McGrath Gathers Lucasi Win Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Decatur, IL by InsidePOOL Staff

Bobby McGrath eked out a victory at the February 19 installment of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour over Tom Gallagher in the final match. Starship Billiards in Decatur, IL, hosted the $500-added event, which featured a 49-player field in a doubleelimination 8-ball format on 7-foot Valley bar boxes. The A-side was completed with McGrath defeating Donnie Thompson 5-2 and Gallagher turning back Bob Nodine 5-3 in the semifinals. In the A-side finals for the hot seat, McGrath dominated Gallagher 5-1. In the B-side round of eight, Mike Schultz and David Miller II fell at seventh place at the hands respectively of Mike Dunklin 5-4 and Chris Austin 5-3. Thompson and Dunklin were then Results: $385 dropped into fifth place 1st Bobby McGrath $270 by Austin 5-3 and Nodine 2nd Tom Gallagher $185 5-4, respectively. Nodine 3rd Bob Nodine $131 stopped Austin’s progress 4th Chris Austin $100 at fourth place by a 5-3 5th Donnie Thompson Mike Dunklin margin, but then Nodine $77 was halted in the B-side fi- 7th Mike Schultz David Miller II nals by Tom Gallagher 5-1. $58 The finals proved exciting, 9th Mike Wilder Dean Foster as the once-defeated Gal- Larry Parke lagher forced a second set Eric Narette by dominating McGrath $42 5-0 in Set 1. However, Mc- 13th Dustin Wilgus Eric Harris Grath recovered enough Chad Hurd to take the title in Set 2 on Donnie Neckel the hill 5-4.

Holloway ousted Mike Cantrell 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinal match against Richeson, who had just eliminated Frank Ruby 10-7. Richeson was able to move past Holloway 10-6 and next match up with Hawkins. This was a close contest, but Richeson advanced 10-8 to rematch with Raulston 9-Ball Results: in the finals. However, Raulston still proved the stronger player and took the final match 10-6. In the banks event, young gun Williams advanced to the hot seat match with a win over George Rothrock 3-1 to face Louis Demarco, who had just sent Sam Kirby west 3-0. Williams triumphed over Demarco 3-1 to await a finals opponent, while Demarco went to the west side. Rothrock bested Greg Randall hill-hill to face Demarco but came up short 3-1 and took home third place. In the finals, Demarco won the first set 3-1, but Williams recovered and won the second and deciding set 2-1.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th 13th

Chuck Raulston Richie Richeson Lucas Hawkins DJ Holloway Mike Cantrell Frank Ruby Josh James Steve Hancock Billy Pinion James Rowland Brandon Williams Sam Kirby Harry Eidenier Rich Gyarmati Michael Burdette Chad Whitmore

$1,200 $700 $500 $300 $175 $125 $75

$50

Banks Results: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th

Brandon Williams Louis Demarco George Rothrock Greg Randall Sam Kirby Vincent Vaughn Chuck Raulston Gerald Reichley

$900 $500 $300 $200 $150 $110

Raulston and Williams Earn Great Southern Wins Great Southern Billiard Tour / Fairfield, OH by InsidePOOL Staff

The Great Southern Billiard Tour had a monumental event the weekend of Febru- Brandon Williams, Richie Richeson, ary 26-27, garner- Chuck Raulston ing 99 entries in their 9-ball event and 64 in the banks. The $2,350-added tournament was hosted by Michael’s Billiards and Games in Fairfield, OH, with Chuck Raulston and Brandon Williams taking top honors in the 9-ball and banks, respectively.

Play Video Play Video

Despite a power outage that ceased play Saturday evening for a time, the event carried on. In the 9-ball, Raulston cruised undefeated to the hot seat match, notching wins over Jeff Knifely 10-7, Joey Koontz 10-4, John Meyers 10-1, Chad Whitmore 104, James Rowland 10-6, and Richie Richeson 10-4. Lucas Hawkins had just defeated DJ Holloway 9-6 and awaited Raulston in the hot seat match, which went Raulston’s way 10-7. April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 45

Kohl Captures Lucasi Event Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Dubuque, IA by InsidePOOL Staff

Will Kohl came through a field of 39 players to take top honors at the February 26 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour. Showcased at Bulldog Billiards in Dubuque, IA, the $500-added event featured a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes. Kohl captured the A-side with wins over Darryl Ostwinkle in the winners’ side final four 4-0 and Will Thompson in the hot seat match 4-3. Thompson had earlier dispatched Eric Behnke 4-3 in the semifinals just prior to his loss to Kohl. On the B-side Ron Pluym and Craig Hintgen were eliminated at seventh place at the hands of Bob McDonald 5-4 and Kent Zirtzman 4-3, respectively. McDonResults: ald and Zirtzman continued $684 their winning ways in the 1st Will Kohl $246 next round, dispatching Os- 2nd Will Thompson twinkle 4-0 and Behnke 4-0, 3rd Kent Zirtzman $109 respectively, at fifth place. 4th Bobby McDonald $68 Zirtzman then marked Mc- 5th Eric Behnke $41 Donald at fourth place by a Darryl Ostwinkle 4-3 margin, but in turn Zirtz- 7th Craig Hintgen $34 man lost in the semifinals to Ron Pluym Thompson 4-3. The finals 9th Brian Houselog $27 only required one set, as Shane Kelly the undefeated Kohl came Steve Morris through by a 4-3 score over Dave Noel Thompson for the title. Will Kohl, Will Thompson

Ike Runnels, Bill Peterson, Sergio Perez

feated by Ken Lee. On the B-side, he caught a gear to eliminate Joseph Gonzales, Dexter Gondo, Tom Karabatsos, Billy Jones, Mike McGovern 5-1, Jon Ola 5-4, Tommy Hernandez 5-4, Gahala 5-4, and Runnels 5-2 in the B-side finals. Peterson then met the undefeated Perez in the title match. Perez made short work of Peterson to claim a 7-2 decision for the crown.

Perez’s opponent in the tournament finals proved to be Bill Peterson, who won his first match in the A-side over Cam Waltmire but then was de-

Results: 1st Sergio Perez 2nd Bill Peterson 3rd Ike Runnels 4th Tony Gahala 5th Tommy Hernandez Marlon Angeles 7th Scott Cohen Jon Ola 9th Mike McGovern Ken Lee Eric Hincks Jeff Patel

$775 $385 $250 $155 $77 $48 $30

SudoCue Puzzle When this SudoCue is solved, the letters in “A WING SHOT” will appear in each row, column, and box—but only once, and not in any particular order. Answer available online at www.InsidePOOLmag.com.

Perez Sweeps Lucasi Event Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Addison, IL by InsidePOOL Staff

Sergio Perez cruised undefeated to first-place title at the February 26-27 stop on the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour. The Pyramid Club in Addison, IL, hosted the $500-added event, which featured a 41-player field in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 9-foot Gold Crowns. Perez mowed down the field to take the hot seat with wins over Tony Gong, Gil Hernandez 7-1, Jeff Patel 7-0, Mike McGovern 7-3, Tony Gahala 7-3 and Ike Runnels 7-3.

Courtesy of Sandy Brown

>Upcoming Central Tournaments 4/2

U.S. Open 10-Ball Qualifier

Red Shoes Billiards

Alsip, IL

708-388-3700 $250

Open

e-Center

Harker Heights, TX

317-440-1143 $7,000

Members

4/9-10 Lone Star Billiards Tour

Q-Stix Billiards

Houston, TX

713-825-1411 $1,350

Open

4/16

The Varsity Club

Oshkosh, WI

920-651-0806 $1,000

Open

4/16-17 OB Cues Ladies’ 9-Ball Tour

Casper’s Billiards

San Leon, TX

281-559-1400 $2,000

Ladies

4/20-23 MI BCAPL State Tournament

Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort

Mount Pleasant, MI

920-988-0493 $5,000

Members

4/6-10 Texas State BCAPL 8-Ball Champs Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour

4/21-24 Ultimate 10-Ball Championships

Embassy Suites Hotel Dallas-Frisco Frisco, TX

972-712-7200 $50,000 Open

4/30

Red Shoes Billiards

708-388-3700 $250

U.S. Open One-Pocket Qualifier

46 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

Alsip, IL

Open

> >>

Regional Roundup Pagulayan Roars into First Place at Swannee Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament / Bellflower, CA by InsidePOOL Staff

Hot on the heels of his stellar performance at the 13th Annual Derby City Classic, Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan continued his winning streak by taking first place at the 15th Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament. Alex Pagulayan The event was held at the legendary Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, CA, February 12-13. The event celebrates the much-loved Southern California player Jay Swanson, who passed away June 1996 and was known as “The Gentle Giant.” The largest two-day 9-foot table event in the United States, the $4,000-added tournament drew 192 players.

The Swannee event Results: has a history of a full field. $3,000 However with CSI’s recent- 1st Alex Pagulayan $1,500 ly launched online registra- 2nd Mitch Ellerman 3rd Max Eberle $1,000 tion function on its CueS4th Tommy Tokoph $750 ports Tournament System $535 (CTS), it was sold out for the 5th Oscar Dominguez Amar Kang first time the week before 7th Josh Ulrich $400 the tournament. Santos Sambajon Jr. $300 In addition to Pagu- 9th Brian Parks Chris Fangre layan, the Swannee field Deo Alpajora was a literal who’s who of Fach Garcia western U.S. players. “Mad Max” Eberle was shuttled 13th Johnny Kang $200 to the one-loss side by Ernesto Dominguez Pagulayan in a nail-biter Yuutaro Yamaguchi semifinal match. With the Lori Deleon score hill-hill, Eberle dead hooked Pagulayan on the 5 ball. It seemed Eberle pretty much had the match in the bag, but Pagulayan is not a player to be ruled out. Imparting a little right spin, Pagulayan one-rail kicked in the 5, getting perfect on the 6 and calling it game, set and match. In the finals, Pagulayan matched up against Arizona monster Mitch Ellerman, who won the event in 2009. The match was neck and neck, but the narrow hill-hill win ultimately went to Pagulayan.

>Upcoming Western Tournaments 4/2

U.S. Open One-Pocket Qualifier

Hard Times Billiards

Sacramento, CA

916-205-1144 $300

Open

4/8-10

Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour

Nite Hawk

Portland, OR

503-285-7177 $1,500

Open

4/9-10

U.S. Open 10-Ball Qualifier

Pool Sharks

Las Vegas, NV

702-222-1011 $500

Open

4/9-10

U.S. Open 10-Ball Qualifier

Wynkoop Brewing Company

Denver, CO

303-297-2700 TBA

Open

4/16-17 U.S. Open One-Pocket Qualifier

The Golden Fleece

Kenmore, WA

425-908-7332 $500

Open

4/16-17 U.S. Open 10-Ball Qualifier

Butera’s

Moorpark, CA

805-523-3088 $500

Open

4/27-29 U.S. Open One-Pocket Qualifier

California Billiard Club

Mountain View, CA 650-965-3100 $4,000

Open

4/29-5/1 Seminole Pro Tour

California Billiard Club

Mountain View, CA 954-985-5701 $12,000

Open

4/30-5/1 U.S. Open 10-Ball Qualifier

The Golden Fleece

Kenmore, WA

Open

International Cuemakers Association “A commitment to excellence”

www.internationalcuemakers.com

Original designs by K. F. Cues www.poolcues.com.tw TRUE HEART BILLIARD CUES

Have your event live streamed call 888-428-7665 visit www.InsidePOOLmag.com

PRATHER CUE PARTS

“As Always” ALL components for complete cue building. Visa, M/C, Amex, Discover, and PayPal 800-364-6913 200 South Main Street Mooreland, OK 73852 www.prathercue.com, sales@prathercue.com Call for our free component and cue catalogue

NITTI CUES www.nitticues.com SHURTZ CUSTOM CUES 316-269-3844 www.shurtzcue.com

519-220-0298

24 oz. Cannon Break Cues 24 oz. By Dick Gahm 513-484-8651 Break Shafts Available Balanced Weight Power Break Games Co.

Games, Inc. 55 Millville Avenue Hamilton, OH 45013

Dick Gahm (513) 484-8651

425-908-7332 $1,000

CUE LATHES & INLAY MACHINES Starting at $850. Also sold separately: 2 HR cue repair and building video - $50. Point and inlay video - $50. Cue building book $69.95. Lathe pins, concaved live centers, chucks, wrap motors, and other parts to convert your lathe for cue-making or repair. Tapered shaft and butt blanks. WWW.CUESMITH.COM Phone: 770-684-7004 Ask for Chris, or write “Cue Man Billiards” 444 Flint Hill Road, Aragon, GA 30104

CUE LATHES Starting at $895 NEW ONLINE STORE NOW OPEN!

FACTORY DIRECT PRICING Repair Lathes - Tapering Machines Pantograph Inlay Machines CNC Machines – Lathe Accessories Leather Wrap Machines – UV Curing Booth UNIQUE PRODUCTS, INC. 3129 25th St. #215 Columbus, IN 47203 812-376-8887 www.uniqueinc.com

April 2011 ◊ InsidePOOLmag.com 47

by John J. Timko

Think you know baseball? Welcome the opening of the season with this challenging puzzle.

Across

2. Any specific act, event, or maneuver in a baseball game. 6. Willie Mays made his famous “catch” in 1954 while playing this position. 8. To hit with great power. (Hint: Some truly great homers include this.) 9. Another name for a base. 11. A knuckleball, e.g., a “hippity-hopping” pitch. 12. The name of the pitcher in “Who’s on First?” 13. A strong throwing arm. 16. A ____ ____ pitcher commonly works himself into a three-ball-and-two-strike count. 18. A high-arcing pitch that will always be associated with Truett “Rip” Sewell. 21. A baseball bat. 22. “There are two types of bunts: the sacrifice bunt and the ____ bunt.” 24. A control pitcher; one who “paints the corners.” 30. A pitcher with a repetoire of trick pitches and deceptive deliveries. 32. A ball doctored by rubbing ____ into its seams will behave unnaturally. 33. Hoyd Wilhelm was best known for his ____ pitch, which enabled him to have great longevity in the Major Leagues. 34. ____ Paige became the first Negro pitcher in the American League in 1948. 36. The term “____ Blast” was made popular by Mel Allen to describe a home run. 37. A batting average below .200, so called in reference to the U.S. Highway system. 40. Any throw or deflection of the ball by one fielder to another that results in a put-out. 43. A term that will always be associated with Fred Snodgrass. 46. For a batter to distract or disorient the pitcher. 48. A smooth infield. 49. To strike out a batter; to swing and miss.

48 InsidePOOL Magazine ◊ April 2011

Down

1. A batted ball that bounces on the ground. 2. A pre-game bunting and field drill. 3. Umpires often make a gesture of ejection using this appendage. 4. A term for a home run. (5) 5 A ball thrown by a fastball pitcher thought to be a cure for a manager’s headache. 7. A British bat-and-ball game from which baseball is in part derived. 10. A player of poor ability, especially one of whom much was expected. 14. The ____ League was formed in 1937 under the leadership of H.G Hall, with teams located in the Midwest and South. 15. Any illegal act or motion by a pitcher in an attempt to deceive a baserunner. 17. An easy victory. (4) 19 Dave Winfield killed one of these when he tossed a warm-up ball toward the bullpen. 20. Another name for third base. 22. A game characterized by heavy and repeated hitting by one or both teams. 23. The ____ spot is on the barrel of the baseball bat where the ball most likely can be hit solidly. 25. A losing or hitless streak. (4) 26 A sinking line drive. (Hint: A sinking “liner.”) 27. A pitch with nothing on it. 28. You can expect to find three of these on every diamond. 29. A.K.A. “Guesser.” 31. Material used to make major league baseballs in 1943 during rubber rationing. 34. A grand slam home run. 35. To hit a baseball hard. 38. Burleigh Grimes was the last pitcher to use this illegal pitch today “legally.” 39. The New York Mets are in this National League division. 41. A nickname for the South Atlantic League, founded in 1904. 42. The name of the shortstop in the famous double-play combination of the Cubs from 1902 to 1912. 44. The area of the ballpark where you’re most likely to find “the closer.” 45. A trick pitch named by Yankees pitcher Dave LaRoche. 47. A measure of a pitcher’s effectiveness.

Visit www.InsidePOOLmag.com for the answers to this puzzle.

Meanwhile back at Headquarters...

ComIng soon!

rd! I b a s ’ t I ne! a l p a s ’ It . no,It’s..

the

e l o e l n i o m n i e S m e 1 1 S 220011

! R u o T PRo Follow us on:

Make sure to check out our new website coming soon!!!