Molson Cup qualifier underway

Corey Deuel, Jeff White and Johnny Archer

102 players descended on Le Skratch Billiards this weekend for the Molson Cup qualifier.

A number of top players are doing battle for the chance to play in the Molson Cup event next month. In a unique twist, the top eight players in this qualifier will make into the Molson Cup field. This means that the qualifier will play down to eight players and then end. The official draw for the Molson Cup will take place immediately following the qualifier.

With a number of top US pros already in Canada for the Western Canadian Open 9-Ball Championships next week, it was perfect timing to compete in this event to keep their games sharp.

The winners side is down to sixteen players, including Claude Bernatchez, Alex Pagulayan, Ronnie Wiseman, Johnny Archer, Eddie Galati, Danny Hewitt, Jeff White and Luc Salvas. Alain Martel and Corey Deuel are among the players competing on the one loss side.

Bernatchez bulldozed Deuel 11-2 on Saturday, but Deuel has remained unbeaten on the one-loss side. Pagulayan will face Wiseman Sunday morning in one of the marquee matches.

Check out our photo gallery from the event for a number of shots of the players from Chantal Vezina.