Congratulations to Shane Van Boening on his Fifth U.S. Open Title!
Shane Van Boeing 13 Chang, Jung-Lin 9
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hang opened up his quest for his first U.S. Open title with a break and run. Then, after Van Boening missed in rack two, Chang ran out again and he follow this with a long cut on the 1-ball and ran out to take a 3-0 lead. Then it was Van Boening’s turn to show off his firepower, and he did with a run out after Chang missed a tough cut. Van Boening then broke and ran out, broke and ran out, and broke and ran out again to take a 4-3 lead. On the last one he slammed home a long rail bank on the first ball after first considering playing safe. After Chang missed a tough shot, Van 6 PQB December/January
Cover Photo by JP Parementier Story Photos by Tony Fox Boening ran out again to move ahead, 5-3. Chang broke the streak with a win, but then scratched on the break and Van Boening ran out, then broke and ran yet another rack to take a three game lead, 7-4. After he missed a bank, Chang pocketed a 4-9 combo. He scratched on the break and Van Boening ran out again. In game 14 Van Boening played an okay safe, but Change jumped over the blocker, made the ball, and ran out. But he scratched on the break and Van Boening ran out, then broke and ran out for the fifth time to move ahead, 10 games to 6. In the 17th game, Van Boening scratched on the break and Chang ran out to pull to within three games, 10-7. Next came a break and run as Chang closed the gap to two games. At this
point, Van Boening’s TPA was .946 while Chang’s was .937 – which was an indicator of their superlative play. After they traded misses on tough shots Chang made yet another jump shot and ran out to close to within a game. But he failed to make a ball on the break and Van Boening ran out to lead after 20 games, 11 to 9. In game 21 Van Boening separated an 8-9 cluster on the last ball before it, got good shape, and completed his sixth break and run out to reach the hill leading 12-9. Van Boening’s break was illegal (he failed to drive three balls past the side) and Chang had his last shot. But he lost position on the 5-ball on a combination, missed a super thin cut, and Van Boening ran the final five balls to capture his record tying fifth U.S. Open title!
Chang Finishes Second
SEMI-FINALS
WINNER’S SIDE FINALS
Chang, Jung Lin 11 - Jayson Shaw 10 Chang rocketed to a 9-3 lead on the strength of his nearly flawless play and two unforced errors by Shaw. In game 13 Shane Van Boening 11 – Jayson Shaw 9 Shaw slammed in a bank and ran out, then missed a long shot Jayson Shaw opened with three wins in a row, then broke in the next game and Chang ran out to reach the hill with a and ran to take a 4-0 lead. A combo after the break on the 9lead of 10 games to 4. ball and a tough 2-9 combo in the next game staked him to a In the 15th game Chang failed to make a ball on the break, 6-0 lead. and Shaw erupted! He ran out, then broke and ran out to close After he scratched on the break, Van Boening ran out, then the gap to 10-6. At this point Chang’s broke and ran out. The score: 6-2. After TPA (Accu-Stats) was .958 while Shaw’s Shaw missed a bank in game 9, Van rose to .918. Boening ran out, then won two more to In game 17 Shaw missed, got safe, then make it five straight wins. At this point made a long shot with the cue ball in the Shaw’s lead had been cut to a single game. jaws and the object ball near the center of They traded the next two games, then the table (see photo). He ran out, then Shaw won two more, the second coming made a ridiculously tough combo in the with a long rail bank after Van Boening next game and ran out again to close to blew his shape on the 8-ball and missed a within two games at 10-8. Two more tough cut. Shaw now led, 9-6. break and runs followed and the match In game 16 Shaw scratched on the went to double hill! break and Van Boening ran out. He then In the final game Shaw made a couple piled on three more break and run outs of balls on the break but missed a long before capping off his comeback with a thin cut shot. Chang wisely took a break, match winning 9-ball on the break. composed himself, and ran out to advance Shaw finished third in this field of 152 Jayson Shaw to the finals. Shaw will play Shane Van players while Van Boening has earned a Boening in the semi-finals. In a match that rematch with Chang, who had sent him to ended earlier Van Boening cruised to an 11-5 win over Dennis the one-loss side early in the week. Orcullo. Orcullo had won nine matches in a row, and he finished fourth in this super deep field of world beaters. December/January PQB 7
players playing round robin matches to 100 with the top 24 advancing to the Sat-Sun single elimination. The flight winners were rewarded with a first round bye in the knockout session. All 24 who advanced through the round robin are seeded 124 based on W-L and ball differential. A $100 award was given to the No. #1 seed Thorsten Hohmann with four different high run prizes. Top run was Niels Feijen’s 168 who was also the eventual winner, defeating Mika Immonen in the final match. Over the five day tournament there were a dozen runs of more than 120! Championship Straight Pool for all to witness. All five days were covered extensively thanks to Cynthia & Tom Dorsey and Inside Pool with their free live stream. Many of the top players and some locals provided insightful commentary thanks to Shaun Wilkie, Danny Barouty, Andy Lincoln, Michael Frank and others who sat in the live-stream booth for a spell. Peter Burrows believes the old fashioned RR straight pool format is not only fairest to players, allowing them to play a maximum number of matches, but is also ideal for spectators. They can watch their favorite locals and top pros all day long with no fear that they will get quickly eliminated in a one and done tournament. From the players perspective they can get warmed up, become familiar with the equipment and there is no tedious Loser’s Side delay which occurs in drawn out double elimination tournaments. Non-stop action involving everyone from dawn to dusk is a key positive in the round robin format! The Round Robin generally went according to odds with most top pros advancing although great champion and tournament winner for the past two years, Darren Appleton, did not advance this year. The top eight Seeds for the Single elimination each received a 1st round bye and each got to sit out the first round on Saturday as a reward for their top finish. 9-24th players were seeded playing one another in the opening elimination round, 9 vs. 24, 10 vs. 23, etc. Congratulations to our winner, 2008 World 14.1 Champion, Niels Feijen and to our great runner up Mika Immonen. Over five days of play vs. the world’s top players Niels lost no matches and Mika only one, the final game. Just so many terrific matches by many of the world’s greatest modern day 14.1 players. Congratulations and a tip of the old fedora to everyone who helped make this year’s 12th annual American 14.1 Straight Pool Championship a huge success. We wish to again thank our many dedicated sponsors, including Ivan Lee and Simonis Cloth and Aramith Balls, Bob Jewett, San Jose, CA, Peter & Sandy Sears, Madison, WI, and Andy Lincoln, Megan Fort, Michael Frank and our entire tournament committee and all of our many generous sponsors. Our deep thanks and appreciation to gracious room owner Thomas Dorsey and his entire staff at Diamond Billiards. What a beautiful job they did as hosts for the tournament. Superlative in
every way! Thank you! Finally we must give thanks to the dozens of top pros for their continued patronage of our tournament for without them we would not have a chance to witness their magnificent skills in this beautiful and historic game of 14.1. Their time and schedules are valued and each one made a yeoman effort to come to Virginia and play. We hope to see everyone back again next year, October 2017, the week before the fall U.S. Open.
American 14.1 Straight Pool Championship
1 2 3-4 3-4 5-8 5-8 5-8 5-8 9-16 9-16 9-16 9-16 9-16 9-16 9-16 9-16 17-24 17-24 17-24 17-24 17-24 17-24 17-24 17-24 High Run High Run High Run High Run #1 Seed
Entry fees 42 @ $300 Added Total Prize Fund
$ 12,600 $ 28,500 $ 41,100
Niels Feijen, Holland Mika Immonen, Finland Carlo Biado, Philippines Nick van den Berg, Holland David Alcaide, Spain Konstantin Stepanov, Russia Alex Pagulayan, Philippines Jason Shaw, CT Thorsten Hohmann, Germany Brandon Shuff, NC Nikos Oikonomopoulos, Greece Denis Grabe, Estonia Shaun Wilkie, MD Corey Deuel, FL John Schmidt, CA Dennis Orcollo, Canada Daryl Peach, England Abdulla Alyousef, Kuwait Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Spain Radoslaw Babica, Poland Rodney Morris, CA Michael Yednak, NYC Lee vann Corteza, Philippines Warren Kiamco, Philippines Niels Feijen, RR 168 Nick van den Berg elim round 139 Karl Boyes, non-advance 123 Darren Appleton non-advance 82 Thorsten Hohmann #1 seed to elim
$10,000 $ 7,000 $ 3,000 $ 3,000 $ 1,500 $ 1,500 $ 1,500 $ 1,500 $ 900 $ 900 $ 900 $ 900 $ 900 $ 900 $ 900 $ 900 $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ 200 $ 200 $ 200 $ 200 $100
Prize Fund
$ 41,100
December/January PQB 9
A Shot from the Past
by Mark Finkelstein Pro at Slate and Eastside Billiards, New York City; Instructional Columnist
I
was looking over some old pool notes the other day and saw a two way shot from the 80’s from Wade Crane. This is a great two way shot and is a good one to have in your arsenal of shots.
Here is the lay out with the cue ball track. Let’s say it is hill-hill and it is your shot. What would you do? The supermen out there would try to draw back and take a flyer, but that is a low percentage move. Others may roll off the left side of the 8 and play a safe with the object ball going to the short rail and the cue ball going three rails up table. What Wade Crane did though was a fabulous two way shot! He banked the 8 ball cross corner with the cue ball going three rails to shape up on the 9. If he makes the 8, he has position on the 9, but if he doesn’t pocket the 8, he most likely will get safe. Take this shot to your practice table and after a few tries you will get the hang of it. It is a nice shot to have in your tool bag.
2016 World Artistic Pool Championship
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he 2016 World Artistic Pool Championship took place October 21st – 23rd in Oklahoma City at the upscale billiard room Jamaica Joe’s. This prestigious event showcased top professionals and online viral video sensations like Florian “Venom” Kohler from France (now residing in Las Vegas), world famous “trick shot” artist Mike “Tennessee Tarzan” Massey, and William “The Gentleman” DeYonker, ESPN competitor and magnetic Artistic Pool playing artist, along with numerous other WPA world-ranked players. The Artistic Pool competition kicked off on the first day in “Venomette” Kohler by a vote of the players, and Andrew “The grand fashion. In the evening a very entertaining speed pool Enigma” Sozio won the Rising Star Recipient Award. William competition was held with local players as well as artistic pro DeYonker won 3 disciplines – Trick/Fancy, Stroke, and Masse; players participating. This latter challenge was done as a Jamie “The Bayou Bullet” Moody won 2 disciplines – Special charity event for 10 Strong (mothers with children with Arts and Follow; Florian Kohler won 2 disciplines – Draw and cancer in Oklahoma City) and raised over $1100. Jump; Mark “Dr. Popper” Dimick won the Bank/Kick disciWilliam DeYonker did an outstanding job during the Artistic Pool competition with an all-time record-breaking prelimi- pline! The WPA Artistic Pool Division (WPA APD) would like to nary score of 296 points out of 320 possible. Florian Kohler beat the old record as well with 280 points. The playoff rounds thank Delta racks for donating one of their high quality racks for the speed pool champion and McDermott Cues for their presented the top eight scoring players from the preliminary rounds in a head-to-head match play format. Semi-final results donation. Special thanks to the major sponsors: Jamaica Joe’s. The WPA APD would like to remind the players and fans of our revealed William over Jason “The Michigan Kid” Lynch (61sport that we will be holding the next World Artistic Pool Champi44) and Abram “Too Tall” Diaz over Florian (54-47). William onship in China in January 2017. If anyone wants to play in that achieved first place honors by defeating Abram (69-40) in the event or knows someone that is interested, please contact WPA finals. Abram finished second, Florian third, and Jason fourth. APD president Mark Dimick at dimickmark@aol.com. The Sportsmanship Recipient Award was presented to Iana
10 PQB December/January
Juszczyszyn Wins 2nd Annual Gotham City Billiards 9-Ball Pro Classicby AZ staff
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hey literally came from all over the world, many of them in-country to prepare for the 41st Annual US Open 9-Ball Championships in about a week (Oct. 16-22). Some of them arrived not knowing a thing about the $15,000-added, Mosconi Cup ranking event known as the 2nd Annual Gotham City Billiards 9-Ball Pro Classic, held over the weekend of October 8-11. They communicated at the last minute with tour director Tony Robles, who had a few slots left open and was able to accommodate them. The event drew a full field of 64 and in the end, it was won by a Polish competitor, who was among those who knew Hsu, Kai Lun, Konrad Juszczyszyn, Kevin Cheng and nothing about it before they got here. Gotham City Billiards Owner Kevin Buckley To facilitate a reader’s ability to follow his exploits in the words ahead, his last name (Juszczyszyn) is pronounced ally, though, it was Cheng earning rights to a re-match against ‘Yuse-CHIS-chin;’ first name, Konrad and he went undefeated Juszczyszyn in the hot seat. through the field, downing the defending US Open 9-Ball From the opening rack, the race-to-13 final between Champion, Yu-Hsuan (Kevin) Cheng, twice. Juszczyszyn and Cheng set a repeating pattern. Cheng would As the event wound down to its final 16 players, they inwin a single match, and then Juszczyszyn would respond by cluded three former US Open champions (Earl Strickland, winning two. They did this six times, and with Cheng breakRalf Souquet, and Yu-Hsuan Cheng), eight players who fining at the start, it led to the match’s only tie at 2-2. From there, ished among the top 25 in last year’s Open, and the Gotham that pattern spelled doom for Cheng, as it kept widening the City Classic’s defending champion, Mike Dechaine. Oh yeah, gap between them. and the new guy who was on his way to winning it all. The pattern broke in the final rack, with Juszczyszyn on the Juszczyszyn advanced to face Dechaine in a winners’ side hill at 12-6, having completed his turn at the pattern with two semifinal as Cheng squared off against Hsu-Kai Lun (5th in last in a row. At the table, wanting to put the 8-ball in the side year’s Open) in the other. Juszczyszyn and Dechaine locked up pocket to move on to the 9-ball and win his seventh game, in a double hill battle that eventually sent Dechaine packing Cheng watched the cue ball travel a little further than he’d anto the loss side. Cheng and Lun came within a game of double ticipated, leaving him up-table and off to the left a little. It was hill before Cheng finished it 10-8. In something of an epic a thin cut. Cheng stroked firmly and the 8-ball dropped. But so battle, Juszczyszyn and Cheng fought back and forth to double did the cue ball in the far right corner. Juszczyszyn finished it, hill before Juszczyszyn prevailed to sit in the hot seat. chalking up his first ‘three in a row’ to claim the event title. Over on the loss side, where the tie for 13th place went to Tour director Tony Robles, and the staff and commentators Souquet, Warren Kiamco, Jayson Shaw, and Mieszko Fortunski, on AZBTv, which streamed the event all weekend, had high Dechaine picked up Lee Van Corteza, who’d eliminated praise for Kevin and Isabel Buckley, the owners of Gotham Thorsten Hohmann in the 9/12 matches, double hill, and John City Billiards, who, in addition to providing the money-added, Morra in the 7/8 slots, 10-5. Hsu-Kai Lun drew Strickland, stayed ‘on the hop’ all weekend, adjusting room temperatures who’d defeated Roberto Gomez 10-4 and Dennis Orcollo, and responding to any and all issues that might in any way double hill. affect their guests. Robles also thanked sponsors the National Lun defeated Strickland 10-7, and in the quarterfinals, faced Pool League (NAPL), Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, PoolOnDechaine, who’d finished Corteza 10-3. Though he would be TheNet.com, The DeVito Team, Billiards Press.com (Phil down 2-6 in the middle stages of the quarterfinal, Lun fought Capelle), AZBilliards, and Billiards Digest. back to eliminate Dechaine 10-7. 1st $10,000 2nd $6,000 3rd $4,000 Countrymen Lun and Cheng, both from Chinese Tapei, 4th $2,500 5/6th $1,500 7/8th $1,000 battled fiercely in the semifinal that went double hill. Eventu9/12th $550 13/16th $325 12 PQB December/January
Chico Billiards Academy
by Jacqueline Karol • House Pro at Oais Bar & Grill Chico Ca., League Operator & Tournament Director .
Ultimate Banking Angel Drill
Knowing the 4 main variables that affect bank shots such as contact point, force, English, & collision induced throw are one thing, but training your muscle memory is another. This drill provides my excellent practice routine covering virtually every type of common bank shot on the table. There are 135 total reference shots here. Not only do you train your muscle memory for pocketing different bank shots, but you also must get shape on the next ball. Diagram 1 shows each position of the object ball (1-9), cue ball positions (I-V) and the 8-ball positions (No. 1No. 3). Diagram 2 is an example of one of the shots. The most ideal way to bank this ball and get shape on the 8-ball is to use low right. Because the 8-ball is nearby, we must hit the cue ball at a fairly soft speed. We need some backspin on the cue ball when it arrives at the object ball. Since we are hitting it soft, the low will wear off faster, so we need to hit extra low for the spin to stay on the ball. The right English helps reduce collision induced throw and also transfers spin to the object ball through the “gear affect”; the right English on the cue ball will transfer to the object ball as left English. Remember to aim slightly fuller on the ball to compensate. Banking is fairly complicated and, therefore, typically a low percentage shot. Therefore, many times it will make more sense to play safe instead. However, there are definitely times to go for it, and we need to shoot these as best as we can. Improve your game, Live Online Video lessons. One on One Skype and tune in for Weekly Web Broadcast. Go to www.AngelOfBilliards.com to schedule your lesson. The first 5 people who schedule a lesson by entering the promo code “PQB”, get the first hour lesson for $30. 14 PQB December/January
diagram 1
diagram 2 For the latest Event News www.pr ofessor qball.com
Roberts Topples Olinger in Memphis by Mary Kenniston
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hirty players made their way to Tracy Whitney’s High Pockets in Memphis, TN for the latest iteration of Tony Chohan’s Team Tips Ten Ball Tour. After the players meeting and auction, the games began with Jonathan Frey and Alex Olinger claiming the two byes. First round action saw Josh Roberts and Jason Klatt duking it out with Josh prevailing and last week’s Taom Tips Tour finalists Ramil Gallego and Antonio Lining matching up with Antonio again taking it down. Second round action saw Justin Hall unable to prevent Josh from moving on, Jeremy Jones over Shane McMinn and Shane Winters couldn’t keep Antonio back either. Third round highlights saw Josh advancing over Ronnie Wiseman, Antonio beat Derek Garner, Alex defeated Danny Smith and Jeremy Jones took down Billy Thorpe. By the fourth round, play had been whittled down to four players on the winners side. Josh defeated Antonio for one of the berths in the hot seat match while Alex secured the other sending Jeremy over to the west side. Today’s action saw Alex go undefeated and secure his place in the finals sending Josh over to wait for someone to emerge from the pack. Jeremy defeated Shane McMinn while Shane Winters defeated Antonio – leaving them in a tie for 5-6th place. They each received $500 for their efforts. Winters beat Jones 8-6 – leaving him in fourth. Jeremy received $800 in prize money with an additional $1000 from the player auction. That left Roberts and Winters to duke it out for the other seat in the finals. The young guns squared off and saw a determined Josh Roberts claim a rematch with Alex 8-3. Shane finished in third place receiving $1200 in prize money plus $1400 auction cash. Since this was true double elimination, Josh would have to defeat Alex twice. Both players started strong battling to a 3-3 tie. Then, Josh pulled away & never looked back. He claimed the first set 8-5 and forced a final race to 8 for the title. Alex
16 PQB December/January
Josh Roberts, Tony Chohan & Alex Olinger
drew first blood again and play went back and forth for the first few games. Josh jumped out to a 5-2 lead and finally winning 8-3 for all the marbles. Congratulations to “The Beast” for adding another title to his resume and first prize cash of $3000 plus an additional $3000 in auction money. Alex pocketed $2000 prize money plus another $2000 from the auction in a fine runner-up finish. Great job, Alex! Everyone is looking forward to returning to The Carom Room in Beloit, WI for the next stop on the Taom Tips Tour – December 16-18. Mark it on your calendars and try to win some Christmas cash! Again, thanks to Tracy & his entire staff at High Pockets for pulling out all the stops for this event! As always, PoolActionTV.com would like to thank our sponsors – Tony Chohans’ GameTight Apparel and Taom Tips 10 Ball Tour, Lomax Custom Cues, Andy Cloth, EnrivoAssessments.com, Aramith, Diveney Custom Cues, GoPlayPool.com, Durbin Custom Cues, Kamui, Hanshew Custom Cues and Club Billiards of Wichita, KS. And thanks to all the players and fans! For the latest Event News www.pr ofessor qball.com
Jayson Shaw Wins the Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship with a 13-10 win over Taiwan’s Chang Jun Lin by Ted Lerner WPA Press Officer
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laying with an air of expectation, the 28 year old Scotsman fulfilled the promise that so many could see coming for the last year, by winning the Kuwait Open 9-ball championship with a well played 13-10 victory over a relentless Chang Jun Lin of Taiwan. The victory, Shaw’s biggest to date, is the culmination of the Scotsman’s meteoric rise in professional pool over the last 12 months. His American green card in hand, Shaw has traveled the globe in 2016, winning a handful of smaller events, and contending in some of the world’s majors. His 5th place finish in September at the World 9-ball Championship in Doha in August, and his third place finish at the US Open in October were further proof that something special was brewing. Tonight’s win in Kuwait confirmed it. And nobody doubts that this win will propel Shaw to even higher heights in the months and years to come. The fact that this career-defining win came against Chang was surely extra special for Shaw. For it was Chang who stopped Shaw’s charge at the recent US Open, and propelled the Taiwanese into the final where he lost to winner Shane Van Boening.
11-4. This set up a semi-finals showdown with 2015 World 9ball and World 10-ball Champion Ko Pin Yi of Taiwan, who had just taken down the Netherlands Marc Bijsterbosch,11-7. If anyone needed any further proof that this was Shaw’s time, it came in this much anticipated showdown with Ko.
Chang’s second straight runner up finish in a major will no doubt sting for some time to come, especially because for the second straight time, the Taiwanese was playing lights out pool. Nobody, however, doubts that the 31 year old from Taipei will find major success and soon. The super talented Chang is playing his best pool in years and often looks unstoppable.
The pair stayed fairly even in the early part of the match, but Ko soon found a gear and looked to be streaking toward a solid win and a spot in the finals. Up 9-5, then 10-6, it seemed only a matter of time before Ko would close out the fight. But then Shaw began to claw back; in the same way he had come back from a 10-4 deficit to beat Ko in the US Open only weeks before. Tied at 10-10, Shaw took a bit of luck and some crafty safety shots, and won a thriller for a spot in the final.
Shaw’s also looked unstoppable recently and he carried this confident air throughout the week here in Kuwait. This positive vibe was further enhanced yesterday in the moments before Shaw’s round of 16 match when he got word that he had qualified for his first European Mosconi Cup team. Shaw continued his romp through the field today when he crushed the Philippines Warren Kiamco in the quarterfinals,
20 PQB December/January
There he met up with Chang, who had just come off of two hard nose wins over current World 9-ball champion Albin Ouschan, 11-6, and then scrappy Chinese Dang Jin Hu, 11-7. Two of the hottest players on the planet were fittingly about to continue their recently found rivalry for top prize in pool’s newest major event.
The early part of the race to 13 final saw Chang continue with his steady, hard nosed play while Shaw appeared slightly flat. Chang jumped out to a 4-1 lead and except for a golden break in rack 3, Shaw hadn’t sunk a single shot. Jayson Shaw Then Shaw rediscovered his loose, freewheeling style and soon tied up the match at 5-5. The Scotsman took his first lead in the next rack with a break and run. When Chang returned the favor in the next frame, it was clear we
n’t contain his glee at what he had just accomplished. “I’ve played good the last few tournaments and it’s finally good to get the win. 5th at the World 9-ball, 3rd at the US Open and here I’m in the final and I’m thinking ‘come on, just take that extra step.’ For Chang, another bitter loss in another major final was clearly a hard pill to swallow. But, as usual with the Taiwanese players, Chang took the defeat with class. “It’s the same with everybody,” Shaw said, “once you get one big win under your belt, everything opens up. I’ve won many tournaments, but this is a major tournament. To win this is obviously going to open a lot of doors for me. When I’m in this situation again I’ll know how to handle the pressure and finish the job.” For the win, Shaw pocketed $50,000. * The 2016 Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship took place at the Al Ardiya Youth Center in Kuwait City from October 24 to November 5, 2016. The winner of the Kuwait Open 9ball Championship received. $50,000. The runner received $25,000. The total prize fund is $275,000.
Chang Jun Lin
Final Results
Jayson Shaw(GBR) 13 -10 Chang Jun Lin(TPE) were witnessing pool’s equivalent to a heavyweight slugfest. Another mistake by Chang allowed Shaw back in the lead. Chang was about to land one back but he glaringly missed a makeable 9-ball and the score was now 8-6. Suddenly the air seemed to escape from Chang’s balloon, which only seemed to add fuel to the Scotsman’s fire. Two more mistakes by Chang helped further Shaw’s lead. Then Shaw nailed a 2-9 combo for a commanding 11-6 advantage. Chang, however, wasn’t done yet. He found a gear of his own and won the next three racks to close to 11-9. In the subsequent safety battle in the next rack, the tension was palpable, especially coming from Shaw. Would this be another case of Shaw letting a big one slip away? Not this time. Shaw outfoxed Chang and moved to the hill. Chang broke and ran to make it 12-10. But Shaw, visibly nervous, returned the favor and ran the table for the biggest win of his career and the $50,000 first prize. Finally on top of the pool world, the affable Scotsman could-
Semi-Finals
Jayson Shaw(GBR) 11 - 10 Ko Pin Yi(TPE) Chang Jun Lin(TPE) 11 - 7 Dang Jinhu(CHN)
Quarterfinals
Ko Pin Yi(TPE) 11 - 7 Marc Bijsterbosch(NED Jayson Shaw 11 - 4 Warren Kiamco(PHL) Chang Jun Lin(TPE) 11 - 6 Albin Ouschan(AUT) Dang Jinhu(CHN) 11 - 7 Roland Garcia(PHL
For the latest Event News www.pr ofessor qball.com
December/January PQB 21
22 PQB December/January
December/January PQB 25
Tennessee State 8-Ball Open • Chattanooga, Tennessee Johnny Archer Takes Title
by Steve McDonald, Tournament Director
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hil Windham’s Premier Club, Chattanooga Billiard Club East, was the host site for the inaugural Tennessee State 8-Ball Open, October 27 thru 30, 2016. There were numerous sponsors for this event that made it happen. They include Budweiser, Simonis Cloth, Cue Cube, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Horizon Wine and Spirits, Athens Distributing, Carter Distributing, US Foods, Kalua Bay, Aramith Pool Balls, Durbin Custom Cues, Club Billiards, High Pockets, EnviroAssessments, and Rockin’ Ray Hansen’s poolactiontv.com. Rockin’ Ray covered all the action this year via live streaming on pool actiontv.com. Check out his site at poolactiontv.com. Ray and crew always do a great job. This event attracted strong talent from all over. And it was the week following the US Open. We had three Hall of Famers that played…..Johnny Archer (the eventual winner), Nick Varner, and Mike Massey. Even Loree Jon Hasson (formerly Jones) was in attendance to cheer Johnny Archer on. Four Hall of Famers in the club on Sunday… …what a treat for the fans!! Action got kicked-off Thursday night with an 8ball, race-to-3, single elimination mini tournament. A field of 48 players entered this event and Chris Mitchell got off to a good start as he topped the field with a win and Tony Mougey placing second. This event was played on 8 foot Brunswick Gold Crowns and the main event format was 8-Ball, take what you make, race-to-6, winner breaks, double elimination. This tournament was a full double elimination event, and as usual in these type events, it went the full two rounds in the finals. Jason Klatt came from the one loss side and beat Johnny Archer, the hot seat winner, in the first set in a hill to hill match. Then they played the second set and it went hill to hill again with Johnny Archer winning the inaugural Tennessee State 8-Ball Open. Both players played their hearts out in the double final matches. It was nip and tuck all the way. On Saturday night, it was Midnight Madness time. It was a
36 PQB December/January
Steve McDonald and Johnny Archer
9-Ball event, race-to-9, winner breaks, single elimination, $500 entry fee, limited to 8 players, and it filled up quick. These type events are always action packed and a crowd favorite. In great run-out performance style, Josh Roberts topped the strong field with Jeremy Jones taking second. Alongside the pool tournament, in the banquet room, Kenny Carfagno hosted a custom cue maker’s show. A sold out 25 booths consisted of numerous beautiful custom cues and top cue makers. The fans enjoyed looking, shopping, and browsing among the artwork. A beautiful $4000 Durbin Custom Cue was raffled off and given away just before the finals. This is the cue that was on display during the ICCS when Mike Durbin was inducted into the Cue Makers Hall of Fame.
Tournament Results:
Main Event – 58 Players – $5,000 Added 1st Johnny Archer 2nd Jason Klatt 3rd Jeremy Jones 4th Robb Saez 5th/6th Eric Durbin / Ramil Gallego 7th/8th Nick Varner / Antonio Lining 9-12 Shannon Murphy / Joe Pierce Stevie Moore / Greg Antonakos 13-16 Shane McMinn / Mike Massey Jerry Hager / Josh Roberts Mini Tournament – 48 players – $100 Added 1st Chris Mitchell 2nd Tony Mougey 3rd/4th Johnathan Hennessee / Jeremy Jones 5-8 Randy Hanson / Russ Edwards Kendall Frazier / Jerry Hager Midnight Madness – 8 players 1st Josh Roberts 2nd Jeremy Jones
$3750 $2400 $1600 $1150 $800 ea $500 ea $325 ea $225 ea
$550 $350 $150 ea $25 ea
$2400 $1600
Johnny Archer and Runnerup Jason Klatt
Great Southern Cue and Case Show
T
he Great Southern Cue and Case Show was a big success thanks to our very gracious and generous host, Phil Windham, the proprietor of The Chattanooga Billiard Club East and Kenny Carfagno, the promoter of the event. Good jobs guys. CBCE also hosted the Tennessee State 8 Ball, Championships as well as other events over the course of the four days [OCT 27-30, 2016] and was packed to the gills with players and sweaters. CBCE is just not a pool hall it is a destination. Besides the pool tables, the any BIG TVs, the food and the bar area, there are three meeting rooms available for private parties. If you are an aficionado of cigars then you will be a pig in heaven as Burns The Tobacconist has a store there with on of the biggest walk in humidors I have ever been in. If you want to watch sports on a big screen TV and smoke a cigar there is a private room there for you to do so. The intimate room that the cue builders were in for two days brought all the vendors together, a sort of family reunion as it were. All of the 24 tables were taken, by both cue builders and collectors. My guess, based on reports from my CIs, is that there was over 3 MILLION $$$$ worth of cues on display, maybe even as much as $5 M. Two Hall of Fame cue builders were there as well as many
that will be inducted some day in the future. There were also a number of very well respected cue builders who just showed up to meet and greet the huge crowds that were in attendance. I have to thank all of Phil’s fine staff that had to work their butts off to accommodate the demands of all the players, vendors and spectators and managed to do so in a very professional manner. We will be back next year.
December/January PQB 37
Wes Burden
Billiard Table Service & Cue Work Commerical & Residential Tables
Gabriel & Diamond Factory Authorized Mechanic Tampa Florida
Wes Burden Cell • (813) 416-2255
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December/January PQB 39
December/January PQB 41
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