Yep, Yapp won ‘em both. And his girlfriend, Silviana Lu won the other one.
The 3rd Annual Meucci Classic at Racks Billiards Sports Bar & Grill in Sanford, FL this past weekend (Nov. 10-13) gave Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp his third and fourth 2022 event victory, which added to his already-best (recorded with us) earnings year since we recorded his first two cash winnings in September of 2012, a week apart; a 17th place finish at the Party Poker World Cup of Pool in Quezon City in the Philippines (won by Mika Immonen) and a week+ later, a 33rd place finish at the China Open in Shanghai (won by Dennis Orcollo).
So, the Meucci Classic was nowhere near his first rodeo. By the same token, Yapp’s presence outside of a fairly consistent group of world-travelling pool professionals had him flying under a lot of the US pool-playing radar until he showed up in the finals of the 2021 US Open 9-Ball Championships in Atlantic City and battled in the finals (unsuccessfully) against Carlo Biado. He became a much more consistently-present figure for the rest of the year, with appearances in (among others) the American 14:1 Straight Pool Championships (9th), the International 9-Ball Open (17th), the International Open’s Big Foot 10-Ball (3rd behind Joshua Filler and Mika Immonen) and a win on the Predator US Pro Billiard Series in Battle Creek, Michigan.
He’s cashed in 19 events this year, winning four of them, runner-up in two and 3rd in three. He won this year’s Michigan Open and the Sandcastle Open before heading to the eastern shores of Virginia where he finished 9th at this year’s International Open 9-Ball tournament and was 3rd for the second time at the Big Foot 10-Ball event; this time, behind the juggernaut known as Fedor Gorst and Joshua Filler. He shuffled off to Sanford, FL last weekend, where he went undefeated through seven opponents, downing Austria’s Max Lechner twice; double hill in the hot seat match and 9-5 in the finals of the $4,000-added, 121-entrant 9-Ball tournament.
Left in the good-company dust (among others) were Austria’s Wiktor Zielinski, Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski, Germany’s Moritz Neuhausen, Finland’s Mika Immonen, Austria’s Mario He, Greece’s Alex Kazakis and Estonia’s Denis Grabe. Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis finished the tournament with the distinction of having won the most consecutive matches, 10 of them on the loss side, before he was stopped by Lechner in the semifinals. Leading the American charge for the title was BJ Ussery, Jr., who finished 4th; an outstanding finish for the South/mid-Atlantic competitor. Also in the US lineup were local stalwarts Anthony Meglino, Donny Mills, Mike Delawder, Raymond Linares, Bobby Garza and 1992’s US Open 9-Ball Champion, Tommy Kennedy.
The 3rd Annual Meucci Classic’s $5,000-added, 63-entrant 10-Ball Tournament was a different story. Same ending, just a different story. The 10-Ball battles preceded and overlapped the 9-Ball battles, so Yapp availed himself of the six-opponent practice opportunity, with an extra ball in the game, and went undefeated. He got by Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn and two Americans, George Saunders and Alan Rolon Rosado, to advance to the 16-player, single-elimination phase of the event. Yapp was joined in the winners’ side advancement by Wiktor Zielinski, Bosnia/Herzegovina’s Sanjin Pehlivanovich, Dmitri Loukatos, Taipei’s Jung Lin Chan and Jeffrey DeLuna. BJ Ussery, Jr., who’d go on to finish fourth in the 9-Ball competition, advanced, as did Donny Mills. Joining them from the loss side were Adam Wheeler, Max Lechner, Pijus Labutis (who would not get the most consecutive win prize in this event), Jani Uski, Mika Immonen, Mario He, David Singleton and Denis Grabe.
Ussery would engage in the only double hill battle of the single-elimination’s first round, against Jani Uski, and it would knock him out of the 10-Ball competition. Three of the four quarterfinal matches went double hill; Immonen over Uski, Yapp over Labutis, and Grabe over Lechner. Zielinski downed Pehlivanovic 11-5.
Zielinski ‘iced’ the Iceman, allowing him only a single rack in one of the semifinal matches, while Yapp was a little busier, eliminating Grabe 11-7. Yapp claimed the 10-Ball title with a stingy 11-3 victory over Zielinski.
Indonesia’s Silviana Lu goes undefeated, winning 81% of her 37 games to claim Ladies title
In this, her first year as a cash-winning player in our AZBilliards database, Indonesia’s Silviana Lu has cashed in only two events. She finished in a tie for 5th place at the Asian Pool Federation’s 9-Ball Open, Women’s Division in August. A month later, she finished in the tie for 9th place at the WPBA’s Michigan Open. Her boyfriend, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp finished in the tie for 17th in the former event and won the latter.
She has recorded her first event victory with us as a result of going undefeated through a field of 27 entrants in the $1,000-added Ladies 9-Ball event. And she did so by defeating her six opponents with an 81% game-winning average (30-7), shutting out half of them and not allowing any of them to chalk up more than three against her; Nicolle Cuellar, who has Florida-area tour victories and cash finishes going back 10 years to the former Flamingo Tour.
Note to competitors looking to take advantage of the increased amount of money being offered at Scotch Doubles events across the country: In addition to the Fillers (Joshua and Pia) and the Fedor Gorst/Kristina Tkach pairing, you might want to watch out for the Yapp/Lu partnership.
Lu’s trip to the winners’ circle went through Marge Soash (0), Cuellar (3), Palmoa Santana (1) and Jessica Human (1) to arrive at the hot seat match versus Jennifer Berzinski to whom she gave up two racks to claim the seat. Adriana Villar, who lost her opening match to Cuellar and won eight on the loss side (shutting out three and surviving a double hill match against Helene Caukin), challenged Lu in the finals. Lu shut her out to claim the event title.
In addition to the 218 participants in the three events (with some duplication), tour representatives thanked title sponsor Meucci Cues, the ownership and staff at Rack’s for their hospitality, Outsville, JB Cases, Carlos Sanchez productions, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore and Clutch Shot Billiards Apparel.
(l to r): Mike Davis, Mike Delawder, Anthony Meglino & Pedro Botta
Fresh off his fourth victory at the 7th Annual NC State Open 9-Ball Championships (March 1-2) in Hickory, NC, Mike Davis, Jr. traveled about 555 miles southwest, to sign on to the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour’s second 2020 stop; the $500-added One Pocket part of it, that drew 16 entrants to Racks Billiards in Sanford, FL. Sent to the loss side in a winners’ side semifinal, Davis returned to meet the man who’d sent him over (Mike Delawder) and defeat him in an exciting, double hill final match.
In a concurrently-run, $1,000-added ($500 from Racks Billiards & $500 from Predator Cues) event for Fargo Rates of 600 and below that drew 56 entrants, Manuel Montas went undefeated to claim that title.
It was a four-match march to the One Pocket hot seat for Delawder and a seven-match march to the title for Davis. Delawder got by Justin Gilsinan and Pedro Botta, before sending Davis to the loss side 3-1 in a winners’ side semifinal. Anthony Meglino, in the meantime, downed George Saunders and Adam Wheeler to face Kyle Bova in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Delawder beat Davis 3-1 and in the hot seat match, faced Meglino, who’d shut Bova out. Delawder claimed the hot seat by shutout and waited for Davis to finish his three-match, loss-side trip.
Davis began his trip back to the finals with a shutout over James Sandaler, who’d eliminated Bobby Garza and Adam Wheeler to reach him. Bova was defeated double hill by Pedro Botta, who’d previously eliminated George Saunders and Nathan Rose.
Davis dropped Botta into 4th place with a 3-1 quarterfinal victory and got his second shot at Delawder, following a shutout over Meglino in the semifinals.
The race was extended to 4 in the finals and early on, things weren’t looking to good for Davis, Jr. Delawder reached the hill at 3-0 before Davis was able to respond, but when he did, he came back strong, winning four in a row to claim game, set and match.
Montas and Kukadia split top prizes, with undefeated Montas claiming 9-ball title
Ameet Kukadia, Manuel Montas and Cody Ingle
With a Fargo Rate differential of two points, Manuel Montas (596) and Ameet Kukadia (598) played against each other once in a straight-up race to 7 in the 9-ball tournament. Montas won that single matchup and as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat claimed the event title, when he and Kukudia agreed to a split of the top two prizes.
Montas’ path to the hot seat went through Muhammand Ali, Jeffrey McDonald, Francisco Gika and Brent Mireles to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal versus Guy Skehan Jackson; a 596 (Montas)/531 (Jackson) matchup. Three of the four matches that Kukudia (598) played to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against Cody Ingle (546) went double hill and the fourth one was an ‘almost.’ He won his second round match against Lenny Reid 7-5, but he had to play a 13th deciding match against Evan Huynh, Katie Bowse and Kristian Dimitrov to reach Ingle.
Montas and Jackson battled to double hill before Montas advanced to the hot seat match. Kukadia gave up only a single rack to Ingle and joined Montas in what would prove to be the title match, battling for the hot seat. Montas won it 7-3.
On the loss side, Jackson picked up Stan Delonjay, who was working on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end and had included recent wins over Kristian Dimitrov 5-1 and Vernet Lasrado 5-3. Ingle drew Evan Huynh, who, after his double hill defeat at the hands of Kukadia, was working on a six-match, loss-side streak that was also about to end and had recently included victories over Larry English 5-2 and Brent Mireles 5-1.
Jackson and Ingle ended the loss-side streaks of their respective opponents by the same 5-2 score; Jackson over Delonjay and Ingle over Huynh. Jackson and Ingle then battled to double hill in the quarterfinals. Ingle prevailed and had his modest, loss-side streak ended by Kukadia 5-2 in the semifinals.
The decision to split the cash involved with the top two prizes was negotiated and reached. As the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, Montas became the official winner.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked the ownership and staff at Racks Billiards, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Diamond Products, Kamui, Central Florida USA Pool League, Stitch it To Me Embroidery, AZBilliards, and the live streaming of the events by Xtreme Pool. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for April 25-26, will be hosted by Brewlands in Tampa, FL.
Jayson Shaw picked up his third win on the 2015 Predator Tour, with an undefeated run on the weekend of July 11-12. The $500-added Open/Pro event drew 16 entrants to Amsterdam Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY. Kapriel Delimelkonoglu went undefeated, as well, to win the concurrently-run, $500-added Amateur event that drew 57 entrants.
Shaw had to get by Roberto Gomez twice to complete his undefeated run. They met first in a winners' side semifinal, as Zion Zvi and Sean "Alaska" Morgan squared off in the other one. Shaw downed Gomez the first time 7-3, and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Zvi, who'd sent Morgan to the loss side 7-4. Shaw claimed the hot seat and waited on Gomez' return.
On the loss side, Gomez ran into Tony Robles, who'd defeated Jennifer Baretta 7-3 and Jorge Rodriguez 7-2. Morgan drew Warren Kiamco, who'd gotten by Adam Wheeler 7-5 and given up a single rack to Hunter Lombardo. Robles battled Gomez to a double hill final game, but Gomez advanced to face Kiamco, who'd defeated Morgan 7-5.
Gomez took the quarterfinal match 7-2 over Kiamco, and then denied Zvi a second shot against Shaw with a 7-4 win in the semifinals. Gomez battled Shaw to within a game of double hill, before Shaw closed it out to claim the event title.
In the Amateur event, Delimelkonoglu had to put a stop to a five-match, loss-side winning streak by Carlos Luna to complete his undefeated run. As Luna was working on that loss-side streak, Delimelkonoglu advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Greg McAndrews. Pavam Bhargara, in the meantime, squared off against Dave Faraguna. Delimelkonoglu advanced to the hot seat match 8-2 over McAndrews, and was joined by Bhargara, who defeated Faraguna 8-7. Delimelkonoglu claimed the hot seat 8-6 and waited for Luna to finish his loss-side run.
Luna, who'd been sent to the loss side by McAndrews, defeated Dmitry Rosenfeld 7-4 and Amir Uddin 7-3 to earn a rematch against McAndrews. Faraguna picked up Abel Rosario, who'd defeated Jose Quillan 7-5 and Chris Karp, double hill. Faraguna and McAndrews picked up their second consecutive loss, immediately; Faraguna being eliminated Rosario 7-4, and Luna downed McAndrews 7-2.
Luna took the quarterfinal match over Rosario 8-6 and then sent Bhargara home 8-5. Delimelkonoglu ended Luna's loss-side streak with a 7-5 win to claim the Amateur event title.
On this weekend we were so happy to return to Cue Phoria Billards and Cafe after their short hiatus from the tour scene. With the changes to the formats for each event, we still booked a full field in both events. We even threw in a bonus event for the amateur players. The Amateur 9-Ball event was capped at 64 players and it filled up quickly. The Super 16 Open 10-Ball was a prepaid full field to start. The BONUS Super 16 Amateur event drew 14 players, with 10 players actually making the start.
We also held a raffle in support of the Lepak Fund. We raised $350 almost instantaneously by donating a pool cue for raffle, and Mr. and Mrs. Crosby added $50 to provide the Lepak’s with $400 toward efforts to save their home. If you would like information regarding helping the Lepak’s please visit www.gofundme.com/thelepaks and support them if you can. We appreciated the support from the Lepak’s toward our tour when they were pool room owners. Thank you!
Amateur Bar Box Breakdown
Che Mrvos put on a clinic all weekend long. He found that grove that everyone else was struggling to get a piece of. Posting wins over Mike Fitzgerald 7-1, Jose Del Rio 7-5, Ed Kiess 7-4, David Uwate 7-3, and Doc Torres before getting to Barry Partridge for the hotseat.
On the west side of the charts, Jose Del Rio picks up Evan Ford and Ford wins the set 5-3. Gary Gilsinan picks up David Uwate and gets by him 5-3. Amine Ouahbi and Marc Coats square off with Amine taking that set 5-3. Richard Murray picks up Francisco Diaz with Diaz pushing through.
Amine blisters Diaz 5-1 and Gary Gilsinan gets by Evan Ford 5-2. Nick Applebee in wait for Gilsinan puts their set away 5-2 to move into the one-loss semifinal. Amine Ouahbi starts to get a taste for the win and puts Doc Torres down 5-3 and moving into the one-loss semifinal.
It’s a showdown between Applebee and Ouahbi on the left side and Partridge vs Mrvos on the winner side hotseat match. Apple just could not stop the Florida based Moroccan Ouahbi with a stinging 5-1 loss.
In the hotseat arena, Che Mrvos would not let anyone deter him from wining. Winning the set 7-2 over Barry Partridge with Partridge going west to take on Amine Ouahbi. Partridge would continue his coming out party as he handed Amine the 3rd place envelope this time.
Che Mrvos and Partridge would square off in the Finals and Che just kept on grinding and claim his first Florida Pool Tour Amateur 9-Ball title.
Super 16 Recap
An explosive set of skills and talent comprised the 16 player field for the Super 16 Open 10-Ball event. Tony Crosby, Anthony Meglino, Tommy Kennedy, and Mike Davis all make quick jumps to the quarterfinal rounds.
Tony Crosby puts a hurt on John Souders 7-2, and then barely escapes a close one with Mike DeLawder. Trading rack for rack all the way to hill/hill and closing the set 7-6. Using the first two sets as a warm up, Crosby squares off with Meglino.
Anthony Meglino gets in the box with Jose Del Rio and starts his warm up 7-2 before taking on Marc Coats. Coats would be formidable and take Meglino to the hill. Anthony would have enough to pull through and face Crosby.
Tommy Kennedy starts out with Dave Bremer, and controls the entire set with some lock tight safety play. Bremer forced to kick out of every turn could not produce and goes down 7-2. Playing super strong still Kennedy puts a stinger on Nathan Rose 7-0 and moves forward to match up with Mike Davis.
Mike Davis survives a close opener with Han Berber and escapes 7-6. Next up was Jerry Calderon, a close set goes down at 7-5 putting Davis forward to match up with Kennedy.
On the west side there was still a lot of heart being shown.
Adam Wheeler being sent west first round by Jerry Calderon, beats Han Berber 7-5 and then Mike DeLawder 7-2. Before facing Marc Coats who was sent over by Meglino. At 7-5 Coats would move forward and wait for an opponent.
Jerry Calderon on the west would match up with Nathan Rose. Rose sent west by TK and Jerry sent over by Wheeler, would square up and play a super intense match. Rose would yield the shot of the event with a full table 5/10 jump shot that pleased the entire room. Using that momentum Rose would eek by Calderon 7-5.
Back on the winner side, Crosby would play Meglino and put the heat on dispatching Meglino swiftly at 7-3 and move into the hotseat match.
Kennedy also has his eyes on the hotseat and storms through Davis 7-2 and prepares to take on Crosby.
In the one-loss quarterfinal, Rose and Meglino would showdown and Coats and Davis would show down. Meglino would review his notes from the loss to Crosby and hope to put it together against Rose. Meglino would hand Rose the 5th place envelope and move forward to play Mike Davis who set Marc Coats in stone at 6th place.
On the West Side semi final we have Meglino vs Davis. Davis holding enough together to get past the moster breaking Meglino would wait on his opponent and the shot at moving back to the east.
In the winner side semi-final Crosby and Kennedy match up and it was close all the way up to 5-5 when a few unforced errors by Crosby would let Kennedy slip into the driver seat and rest while Crosby goes west to play Davis. As the day grew late, Crosby would prove to be worthy of the win and sits Davis down in 3rd place before taking a short break.
Now in the Final, Kennedy is poised to stop the attack from Crosby and on this day it appears fatigue would get the best of Crosby. At 5-2 Kennedy starts to pull away and Crosby just could not catch up, thus allowing Kennedy to capture his second title in a row on the Florida Pool Tour. Who will knock off King Kennedy, find out at our next stop Cunningham’s in Vero Beach, FL.
We would like to say Thank You to Faheem Zia, Kendall Morris and staff at Cue Phoria Billiards and Café in Winter Park. The service was excellent, on point, and the food was pretty good as well. Ask for chicken and rice, you won’t be disappointed. Overall Cue Phoria knows how to have a good time!
Stroker’s Billiards and Sports Bar welcomed the Florida Pool Tour on it’s first stop of the season this weekend. Saturday’s Amateur 9-Ball event drew 71 entrants while Sunday’s Super 16 10-Ball event was pre-booked with a full field.
The Amateur 9-Ball event was stacked with talented pool players and lots of auction action. A recipe for excellent pool all weekend long. Quite a few new faces had breakout results during this event. Naples player Francisco Diaz, Top FL Lady Player Chris Fields, and Tampa local Mitchell Keiser.
In it’s new format, the Super 16 10-Ball Event would host a complete field to some of the best talent in the country. After placing 2nd in the Amateur, James Adams would look strong and hungry to snap off this event.
Top 8 Breakdown
James Adams after recently taking 3rd place in the Florida State Amateur 9-Ball Championships showed up to play this weekend. Posting wins over Amine Ouahbi 7-2, Javier Chirino “The Trophy Maker” 7-4, local player Dave Stem 7-4, a hill-hill thriller with Dan Marchini, and finally 7-4 over Rich Johnson would find himself battling Mitchell Keiser for the hotseat. Showing up to that match primed and hungry, Adams would put the set away at 7-3.
Mitchell Keiser would find a way to grind out wins over Mark Wathen 7-4, Michael Stack 7-2, before capturing a $25 bounty on Mike DeLawder besting him 7-5, survived a hill-hill thriller with Miami area player Felix Luna and find a groove against Naples, FL native Francisco Diaz all before falling to James Adams 7-3 allowing James to have the hotseat and awaiting Jason Sheerman on the westside of the chart.
Rich Johnson would have an impressive 5 rounds deep into the winner side. Winning over Jason Richko 7-3, David Uwate 7-5, Daniel Grider 7-4, and Jim Sandaler, all before falling to James Adams. Johnson would not complete another match as the winnder. Jason Sheerman would beat him in a hill-hill match and complete Rich’s weekend.
Upstart player from Naples, FL Francisco Diaz would show some promise and post wins over Lisa McElroy 7-2, Justin Gilsinan 7-4, Finnish player Antti Mattilla 7-4 before falling to Lady Player Chris Fields in a hill/hill thriller. Then falling to Mitchell Keiser7-5. Diaz would then choose to forfeit out of the tournament for unknown reasons.
Dan Marchini would win against Tony Rowells 7-2, Lee Holland 7-4, Allen Ellison 7-3, Dave Ross 7-3, before falling to James Adams in a hill/hill thriller. On the westside he would pick up George Saunders, but would not take the set, letting Saunders pass with a 5-0, securing 8th place.
George Saunders would put a string of wins together after losing to Dave Stem 7-1. On the one-loss side he would beat Luke Sutliffe 5-4, Mike Lear 5-2, Jim Sandaler 5-3, Dan Marchini 5-0, Francisco Diaz 5-0, before falling to Jason Sheerman 5-2, securing 4th place.
Felix Luna would risk a loss with a hill/hill thriller against Junior Player Trenton White, Jason Bowen 7-5, falling to Nathan Rose 7-4. On the one-loss side Luna would pick up Gary Gilsinan and squeak that one out, only to fall next to Jason Sheerman again hill/hill.
Jason Sheerman had a design that was all his own this weekend. He would lose to Nathan Rose in the second round and then went on to grind out 10 matches in a row to reach the one-loss side final against Mitchell Keiser. Sheerman would go on to beat Keiser and secure his first Amateur 9-Ball title in 5 years, and it just so happens it was at Stroker’s Palm Harbor that he claimed his first victory. Sweet homecoming for Sheerman indeed.
Super 16 Recap
James Adams had one thing on his mind this weekend and it showed, it was winning. James had a great run into the finals of the Amateur 9-Ball event and then proceeded to build a charge in the first Super 16 event.
For starters we have Adam Wheeler winning against Donny Mills in a hill/hill thriller. Then he would meet up with Raymond Linares who dispatched Mitch Breedlove 8-3. James Adams would have a hill/hill thriller with Mike DeLawder and wait for Han Berber who had just finished a winning set over Tony Crosby 8-6, an upset since Tony was on a 5-1 deficit. Would not have enough to complete the charge. Jason Richko would best Eddie Sharp 8-4 and wait for Tommy Kennedy to steamed rolled Tim Parisian 8-1. James Roberts would send room owner Jose Del Rio down the hard path 8-4 and wait for Nathan Rose who bested Jason Sheerman 8-6.
Now on the westside, we have Mills and Breedlove, with Donny winning 7-5. DeLawder would then win the set against Crosby 7-4. Tim Parisian would best Sharp 7-2 and Jose Del Rio would march on past Sheerman in a hill/hill thriller.
Back on the eastside, James Adams and Raymond Linares would square off for a chance at the hotseat. Linares would take his first loss in a hill/hill thriller. Adams would be in the second hotseat match in 2 days. On the lower half, Tommy Kennedy and James Roberts would battle for the hotseat, if you call it a battle. Kennedy runs away with the set 8-2.
Back on the one-loss side, DeLawder picks up Linares and Linares pushes through 7-5. Jose Del Rio picks up James Roberts and this time puts him away. Del Rio and Linares would fight for a chance to play and jump back over to the eastside.
Back on the winners side, Kennedy and Adams would square off in a close one. Adams wouldnt have enought to stop TK and would go west to meet up with the winner of the one-loss side hotseat. That would be Raymond Linares.
After some super slow play, Linares and Adams actually get put on the shot clock and turns would trade. With the pressure of the shot clock, uncharacteristic misses and nerve controlling runouts would put Linares and Adams hill/hill. In the middle of what would seem a routine runout, the sound of a miscue coming from Linares’ cue would resonate throughout the pool room as he left a 4 ball runout to Adams with ball in hand. Adams would finish the set and prepare to take on Kennedy in the final. This would be 2 tournaments in 2 days and 2 finals for Adams.
Now in the finals, Kennedy and Adams trade a couple of racks, with Kennedy expressing his creative side of the game. Creating angles and playing combos, this would put Kennedy up 4-1. Adams would fight back with pressured safeties and consistent shot making. At 6-6 Kennedy would pull away. In the early hours of Monday morning, 2 days of super solid play would seem to weigh heavy on Adams shoulders. Taking advantage of one too many mistakes by Adams, Kennedy would secure his first Super 16 Title of 2015 just before daybreak on the horizon.
The Florida Pool Tour would like to thank Jose Del Rio and the staff at Stroker’s Palm Harbor for the wonderful hospitality all weekend long. Combined with amazing restaurant quality food, you cannot find a place that can beat that. Stroker’s Palm Harbor has been an anchor stop on the Florida Pool Tour for years as well as the host location for the US Amateur Championships for the last 5 years. Give Jose and the family there a visit and see for yourself why this is perhaps one of the best pool rooms in the country.
Xtreme Pool Challenge came through with another amazing weekend of LIVE HD quality streaming. We want to thank Gary Patrick and crew for producing one of the best streams available and the best prices around. $5 for an entire weekend of fantastic HD coverage is by far a steal in this industry. By supporting Gary and XPC you are supporting the future of pool and the future of this pool tour.
By looking at him, you wouldn’t think Dave Ross could mix it up with the young guns here in the south, but Dave had some ideas of his own this weekend. At 79 years old (just might be a Guinness World Record) Ross put on a clinic for everyone to see. Brilliant shots, perfect execution and the steel of a hardened road player made up the formula that worked for Ross. All the while he was as classy and nice as can be. Florida Pool Tour hosted it’s 5th stop this season at Boulevard Billiards in Ocala, FL drawing 42 entrants this weekend in the Amateur 9-Ball event and 32 players in the Open 10-ball event. On Saturday players present were some of the best talent in the region. Jim Sandaler, Raymond Linares, Nathan Rose, George Saunders, Stephen Richmond were just a few of the names to watch for as the event progressed. In the Open Event, heavy hitters Tommy Kennedy, Tony Crosby, Anthony Meglino, Adam Wheeler and company were motivated to play.
Saunders would make a charge through Dave Ross and secure an early win against Mike Delawder 7-2. Quiet, strong shooter Mitch Breedlove would fall to Saunders as well 7-4, setting up a match with local player John Wayne (no not the cowboy). Again Saunders would put together a solid set 7-3. Next Saunders would put a stop to Daniel Plumber’s campaign hill-hill. If one hill/hill match wasn’t enough to please the railbirds, Saunders plays Jim Sandaler for the hotseat, down to the wire and then snaps a 9-ball off the break in the top left corner pocket to put a stamp on it and call the hotseat his.
Sandaler working out an attack on the field would start with a bye first round and rest up to play Robert Batson, dispatching him 7-4. Next would be a hill/hill thriller with Moe Fattah, Sandaler escaping to press on. Local player Darrin Wasiewicz would have a nice showing for 3 rounds and tough action losing to Jim in the 4th round 7-1. Jim would go on to play against Nathan Rose with him (Rose) giving up 1 rack for this event. A well matched battled settles at 7-5 in Sandaler’s favor. Sandaler back on the east side would square up with Saunders. The two would trade racks leaveing it all on the table going 6-4. Then Sandaler found a groove to put the set away, forcing the Sudden Death 1 Rack Shootout. A couple of early misses by both would setup a formidable runout pattern for Saunders, ultimately cleaning up the rack to claim his title as Amateur 9-ball Champion.
On to the Open 10-ball event with quite a few great match ups to start the first round. A couple of notable matches were, Mike Lear sneaking by James Adams 6-5 with a set of tough safety play. Nathan Rose would fall to Anthony Meglino and Tony Crosby took Adam Wheeler to the cleaners 6-1. The Final Four on the winners side would be Meglino, Sandaler, Ross, and DeLawder. Anthony Meglino put up back to back wins at 6-1 over John Hucheson and Mike Lear. Sandaler sent Tommy Kennedy out west to look for movitation. Boulevard room owner Don Kreischer would look to make a name for himself putting up wins over Jessica Barnes and Robert Batson. Dave Ross let everyone know he came to play this time. At 79 years old he marches right over Marcie Wheeler, Bill Stroup, Don Kreischer, before reeling in a comeback set against Mike DeLawder. DeLawder up 5-2 just couldnt stop Ross. Ross would pick up Sandaler and play for the hotseat, Sandaler pulling out a 6-3 win over Ross would capture the hotseat here this time.
On the one-loss side Meglino who lost prior to Sandaler, would post a win over Don Kreischer, setting up a shot at Tommy Kennedy, taking the match down to the wire, Kennedy misses a tight safe to let Meglino out with a chance at the one-loss side final. Tommy Kennedy marched on a winning streak of 6 in a row. Dispatching Chris Lucas 5-0, Robert Batson 5-3, Travis Croft 5-0, Mike Lear 5-0, Nathan Rose 5-3, Mike DeLawder 5-3 and finally losing to Meglino hill/hill.
Meglino would get to Dave Ross and take that to a hill/hill thriller with Ross capitalizing on mistakes by Meglino, who appeared to have gotten inside of his own head.
Jumping back over to the winner side, it was Ross vs Sandaler. If Ross could win the first set he would force a Sudden Death 1 Rack Shootout. Ross did just that, taking advantage yet again of mistakes by his opponent. Winning the lag, Sandaler broke strong and got hooked on the 1-ball. Attemped a thin cut to play safe and missed. Ross stepped up to a pretty tough 1/10 combo into the side pocket and put it away. Cheers abound and nothing but happiness over took the entire room. 79 years old, besting some of the best talent in the country. Who does that? Dave Ross does, with class.
Our next event is the Florida State Amateur 9-Ball Championship hosted by Zingales in Tallahassee, FL. With 100+ players in the draw year over year, this is bound to be a fantastic event. Click HERE for more information.
Florida Pool Tour would like to thank XPC: Xtreme Pool Challenge www.xtremepoolchallenge.com for the amazing effort and superb quality stream for the entire event. Boulevard Billiards for stepping up to give these players a chance and for being excellent hosts. The staff and food service was impeccable. Most of all we thank you the players, for without your support we wouldn’t be the best regional tour around.
Tony Robles started the year off with a victory over Mike Dechaine in the first stop on his Predator Tour. Dechaine had downed him in the battle for the hot seat on the weekend of January 11-12, but Robles came back to defeat him 11-5 in the finals. Seven months later, on the weekend of July 12-13, after finishing second or third in four subsequent stops on the tour, the Silent Assassin returned to the winners' circle with an undefeated run that saw him best Zion Zvi twice (Robles had defeated Zvi in the semifinals of the January stop). The $500-added Open/Pro side of the tour stop drew 12 entrants to the Amsterdam Billiard Club in Manhattan.
In the concurrently-run Amateur event, Phil Davis came from the loss side to defeat Thomas Rice in the finals. The $500-added Amateur event drew 57 entrants.
Robles and Zion Zvi met in the hot seat match, after Robles had defeated Hunter Lombardo 8-5 and Zvi had dispatched Frankie Hernandez to the loss side 8-4. Robles took the first of his two against Zvi 8-6.
Lombardo and Hernandez moved to the loss side and were immediately eliminated. Adam Wheeler, who'd gotten by Shawn Sookhai 8-1 and Craig McAndrews 8-3, took out Hernandez in a double hill match. Jeremy Sossei, who'd picked up a forfeit against Jerry Tarantola and defeated Sean Morgan 8-3, ended Lombardo's day 8-4.
Sossei gave up only a single rack in the quarterfinals against Wheeler, and then had his short, loss-side run ended by Zvi, who allowed him only a single rack in the semifinals. In their second meeting, Robles and Zvi battled to double hill, before Robles prevailed to capture his second Predator Open title of the year.
In the Amateur event, it was teenager Thomas Rice advancing to the hot seat, only to be bested in the finals by Phil Davis. Davis had been sent to the loss side by Chris Derewonski 7-1 in a winners' side semifinal, while Rice was busy defeating Akbar Karmoddien 7-2. Rice got into the hot seat with a 9-1 victory over Derewonski, and waited on the fateful return of Davis.
On the loss side, Davis picked up Raphael Dabreo, who'd defeated Marco Dy 7-3 and Miguel Laboy 7-4, to reach him. Karmoddien, in the meantime, faced Ron Mason, who'd survived a double hill match against Wanlop Chan and downed Dax Linden 7-3. Mason and Davis advanced to the quarterfinals; Mason, 7-5 over Karmoddien and Davis, 7-2 over DaBreo.
Davis survived a double hill battle against Mason in those quarterfinals, and then took out Derewonski 7-5 for a shot against Rice in the hot seat. Rice took an early and lengthy lead over Davis in the finals. Ahead 8-2, however, Rice faltered and saw Davis chalk up nine in a row to snatch the Amateur title away from the teenager.
Sponsored by Diamond SMART TABLE, True Blue Simonis 860 Cloth, and Cyclop Pool Balls.
Day 3 is always the busiest as the 10-Ball and Banks divisions continue while, this year, the 1-Pocket division summoned 298 fresh combatants.
The Diamond crew is at its craziest as they scramble schedules so that all players get a chance, at least, to eat. Sleep is out of the question.
Competitors have to switch gears quickly from one discipline to the other. Niels Feijen, immediately after his Banks match finished, was slamming the BIG Foot shuffle with Efren. That's when you need the ability to slip it into overdrive.
But, wait, we're getting ahead of ourselves.
In the opening quarter final, 10-Ball match, early morning jitters had Ralf Souquet and Jayson Shaw jawing balls that they would normally make in their sleep.
Ralf woke up a little quicker than Jayson and jumped ahead 6-1.
Succumbing to that comfortable lead, Ralf fell into BIG Foot's trap, jawed another one, and left the 5 dangling in the hole.
After sitting in the "electric chair" for so long, Jayson, wisely, took that so important time-out.
Returning to the table, it seemed that he had quieted the voices as he ran out with elegant ease. And, it's 2-6. Breaking and running through the 9th rack he got out of line and the elusive object ball rode around the lip of the pocket. It was then that Jayson began to unravel, never to recover.
With a hefty .874 Total Performance Average Ralf, quietly, with surgeon-like skill, sliced and diced until Jayson conceded the set at 11-3.
Quarter finals #2 had Efren, patiently, await Niels Feijen who was effectively negotiating racks in that Banks match in the outer arena.
Feijen grabbed a bite, recomposed his focus, and without further ado, began firing them in, from all distances, on the BIG Foot.
Efren, playing really well, wasn't phased.
Neither player got ahead as they nipped and ducked until tied at 8. Then, it was truly cat and mouse until Niels got to the hill, found that overdrive, stayed calm and collected, and ran the last rack.
His TPA of .889 was 1/10 of a point behind Shane's .899 captured earlier in the event. Efren's .854 wasn't too shabby either.
In Q3, Shane sat on a comfortable cushion as he had bounced ahead 6-1 against young John Morra. The Van Boening effortless break is so formidable that–even on the BIG Foot–for the average player, it's hard to fade.
John is no average player. Showing so much heart and, that never-give-up initiative, Morra grabbed at every opportunity. It seemed in the blink of a Cyclop, he had tied it at 7.
Back and forth they battled until Shane got atop the hill first. John, eyes on the prize, clambered up behind him. With so much power, he slammed at the last rack. BIG Foot is cruel. He broke dry.
Shane, ever so cautious, crept to the table. It wasn't going to be easy: There was a cluster and a ball had to be banked. His breathing stayed steady, his poise never wandered, and every ball found its destination.
Shane, when straight in on the 10, John graciously climbed out of his chair, offered his hand, and his congratulations.
Morra had come ever so close; Watch for him throughout the rest of the series. He'a driven; Shane, too.
Q4: Earl meets Bustey.
Maybe, I'm drinking the Earl Kool-Aid but, I am starting to believe him when he states, " I'm the unluckiest player in the world."
All weekend long, as entertaining as ever, he counseled the crowd that he can't believe his luck–or, lack of it.
Today, even Bustey had to agree. "I did get lucky." He flashed his smile, "We both missed some balls and, I got lucky"
Luck does enter into it but, harnessing a .881, against Earl's .856, showed that they both shot lights-out, BIG Foot 10-Ball.
The good news is that they are both in the last 6 of the banks division. That's not luck, that's skill.
Maybe, they'll meet again, there, too. It's all in the luck of the draw.
The Diamond BIG Foot Challenge, semi's:
Ralf vs. Niels, Monday, JAN. 27, 3pm. EDT.
Bustey vs. Shane, 6pm.
The final is at 9.
Bank Pool Division: Speaking of the last 6 in Banks, Dennis Orcollo is the only player with a buy-back. That means that he is undefeated.
The aforementioned Earl and Bustey, will play tomorrow as do Southern Classic 1-Pocket winner Justin Bergman; 3rd in 2013 DCC Banks, Shannon Murphy, and Floridian David Grossman.
The semi's and finals are scheduled for Tuesday in the Accu-Stats' TV arena.
One Pocket Division: 298 movers and shakers are cued for action. Highlights included Corey Deuel drawing first blood with Adam Wheeler and Tyler Woodward ousting Charle Morra. They'll be back.
Dennis Walsh's 14.1 Straight Pool Challenge got underway with Nick Van Den Berg posting a 99 ball, high run in the chase to the last 8 to compete in the $7,000 added event.
John is back playing again and happy to mention that it's all thanks to a new sponsor, Str8-Shots. "These guys are really good for pool and have developed a great junior's program. They are in it for the long haul," said John.
Speaking of Johnnies, Mr. Archer is anticipated to make a high run for it, tomorrow as will Bobby Hunter.
Bobby has another commitment lined up: This summer, he will marry the sweet, and gracious, Debbie, his long time girlfriend. Debbie's got game: She's competing in the DCC 9-Ball division.
American Rotation: And, last but not least, congratulations to Jerry Calderon's 150-120 win over Joe Dupuis to win the first American Rotation event.
Developed by Joe Tucker, you know him from the well selling "Racking Secrets" DVD, American Rotation is based on regular Rotation only with more interaction between players.
Sponsored by Mark Griffin and CSI, Accu-Stats is hoping to showcase a challenge game between two high profile pros before the BIG Foot semi's, around noon, on Monday.
To see this and the BIG Foot 10-Ball semi's and finals, LIVE, visit accu-stats.com.
The American Billiard Club Association is off the ground and looking good, especially good for the 8 players that qualified for what undoubtedly could be a special piece of pocket billiard history – the first ever American Rotation National Championship.
64 players across the country laid the groundwork by playing 7 matches at their own local billiard rooms over a 7 week period. Week 8 of this national event was a 1 day regional event where players in each region attempted to earn a spot in their National Championship. All players who qualified were guaranteed a minimum of $1,000 each upon arrival, which ensured they would not lose money while traveling to their National Championship.
This first championship was hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA and had players from:
Alabama – Robert Hall, Bumpers, Huntsville & David Rowell, Bumpers, Hoover.
The 8 player championship called for two groups of 4 players competing in a round robin format. The top 2 players from each group were then seeded into single elimination brackets where matches would be increased from 125 points to 150 points. The final 4 turned out to be a New England vs Florida battle (Think Sox, Rays) #1 seed James Roberts vs. the #4 seed Joe Tucker and #3 seed Adam Wheeler playing the #2 seed Joe Dupuis. James Roberts who appeared by general consensus to be playing the best pool of the day had at least two 15 ball break and run outs while defeating Tucker 150-118, moving one Floridian into the finals. On the streaming table were Adam Wheeler and Joe Dupuis in a fast and well played match that kept the regional battle alive with Dupuis prevailing by a score of 150-115.
Most American Rotation matches to 150 points take about 2 hours on average. Here with everything on the line and a chance to become the first ever National Champion you might expect the pace to slow just a bit, but NOT the case with Joe Dupuis in the finals. As he did all day, he came out with his usual fast and loose style that entertained the crowd and occasionally brings some additional heat. The final match took 1hour and 15 minutes, one of the fastest of the day, with Joe Dupuis becoming the game’s first National Champion by the score of 150-95.
Joe Dupuis won the title of first ever American Rotation National Champion, a commemorative custom case by John Barton Cases and a nice check for $3,000. Our Runner up, James Roberts, received a check for $2,000. Adam Wheeler and Joe Tucker won $1,500 each for 3rd and 4th (Joe is donating a portion of his winnings to session II fees for 8 last place players of session 1 as a reward for these players stepping up and showing some heart in an effort to improve their own game and support our sport). Gordy Vanderveer, Scott Johnson, Robert Hall & David Rowell won $1,000 each.
The American Billiard Club Association (ABCA) must be doing something right, because all who competed in the first national event have nothing but good things to say. Even the players that didn’t qualify for the nationals are praising the format, which aims to solve the problem of player expenses, and the game, which aims to improve American players.
ABCA Championship Series II will begin the week of October 28th. Week 8 regional events will be held across the nation in December, and National Championship II will be held in conjunction with the 2014 Derby City Classic in January. The ABCA plans to hold their national championships close in time and proximity to other national events. This helps players save on expenses, if they choose to attend such events, and helps promoters get more entrants to their events.
As this article is being written, Joe Dupuis is at the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship also in VA, something that might not have happened, had he not qualified for the ABCA national event.
American players and club owners are encouraged to contact Joe Tucker at 508-840-6133 or jttenball@gmail.com ASAP. It just takes 8 players with a little desire to make your club one of 64 nationwide that will help our sport present one legitimate and self sustaining format that we can all be proud of!
For more information about the American Billiard Club Association, please visit:
The American Billiard Club Association is proud to present the finals of our first ever;
American Rotation Championship Series, Oct 12th at Diamond Billiards Midlothian VA; one day before the US Open 9 Ball Championship begins.
Eight players have qualified and each is guaranteed a minimum of $1,000 for this one day Championship. One of the main goals of the American Billiard Club Association is to make it sensible and affordable for players to compete on a national level with one-two day expense paid events.
We will run as many of our Championships as close in time and location to professional events in an effort to help players cover their expenses to both and to help promoters gain more entries.
For the first American Rotation national Championship, eight finalists will be divided into two round robin groups of four. The top two from each group will move on to a single elimination bracket.
The finalists are: Florida Adam Wheeler, Cue-Phoria Billiards & Café, Winter Park, FL James Roberts, Stroker’s Sports Bar & Grill, Palm Harbor, FL New England Joe Dupuis, Snookers Sports Billiards Bar & Grill, Providence, RI Joe Tucker, Amazin Billiards, Malden, MA Alabama
Robert Hall, Bumpers Billiards, Huntsville, AL David Rowell, Bumpers Billiards, Hoover, AL Oklahoma Gordy Vanderveer, Jamaica Joe’s, Midwest City, OK North Carolina Scott Johnson, Gate City Billiards Club, Greensboro, NC
To get to this point, each player has played seven local matches of American Rotation, finished in the top 4 of their 8 local players and then qualified at a one day regional event. These eight players will be sharing a purse of $12,000:
$3,000 & Title of First Ever American Rotation National Champion
$2,000 Runner-up
$1,500 3rd & 4th and $1,000 5th-8th
Custom Case being made by John Barton to commemorate our Champion.
This prize fund, along with regional payouts, totals more than 100% of what the association actually brought in through player fees. We are building a flagship product for our players and our industry.
Please tune in to watch the live stream of our finals Oct 12th to get more details and to see which player name will go down in history. www.DiamondBilliardsVA.com provides a direct link to the stream.
Session 2 of the American Rotation Championship Series II will begin the week of October 28th and run to Dec 9th. Championship finals will be held in conjunction with the 2014 Derby City Classic dates and location. The American Billiard Club Association is open to ALL players and any billiard club that can host eight high level or aspiring players for a seven week session.
Contact Joe Tucker as soon as possible at JTtenball@gmail.com or (508) 840-6133 to get your 8 players and your Billiard Club on board. Make a difference!
