The opening day of the 23rd Annual US Bar Table Championships began with a field of 74 players at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. And by the time the first day’s matches concluded, just three remained on the winner’s side of the bracket: Sky Woodward, Justin Bergman and Billy Thorpe — all among a growing group of strong, young players.  

 

Woodward and Bergman will face off at Noon Tuesday and the winner of the match will play Thorpe for the hot seat.

Thorpe posted wins Monday over Can Salim, 7-4; Mike Massey, 7-1; Randy Hatten, 7-2; Larry Nevel Jr., 7-5; and Shane Van Boening, 7-4.

Bergman also play strong all day, with sound wins over Miguel Batista, 7-6; Jason Klatt, 7-1; Jesse Piercey, 7-4; Dale Stanley, 7-2; and Vilmos Foldes.

Woodward’s path had victories over Manny Perez, 7-5; Mo Salamah, 7-4; Bret Huth, 7-0; and Chris McDaniel, 7-2.

 

But there are plenty of solid players on the B-side of the bracket hoping to take home the $3,800 first prize, including Manny Perez, who plays Rodrigo Geronimo at 9 a.m. and Mike Massey, who plays Dale Stanley. Others still on the one-loss side include Van Boening, Sal Butera, Bret Huth, James Adams, Jamie Bruce, Salim, Shane McMinn, Foldes, Piercey, Hattan, McDaniel, Belobradie, Nevel and Josh Roberts.

 

In the Women’s Division, Rebecca Wagner will play Jessica Frideres in the hot seat match at Noon Tuesday. Wagner posted wins against Trihn Lu , 5-3; Kimberly Whitman, 5-4 and Mary Coffman, 5-0. Frideres’ path included victories over Grace Nakamura, 5-1; Heather Cortez, 5-3; and Adina Pelletier, 5-0.

 

On the one-loss side, Nakamura takes on Whitney at 9 a.m. and Kimberly Kirk plays Deb Aarens, also at 9 a.m. The winners of those matches play Pelletier and Coffman.

 

The US Bar Table Championships take play through Aug. 28 and offer 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball divisions, as well as a Master of the Table bonus for both the open and women’s divisions.

In addition, players who place in the top 32 of each open division receive Mosconi Cup USA Team points on a sliding scale. The top three American players with the most points at the end of the year will be selected for the USA Mosconi Cup Team.

 

Sponsors include: OB Cues, the Official Cue; Kamui, the Official Tip; Diamond Billiard Products, Cyclop Balls, Simonis Cloth, BadBoys Billiard Productions, FargoRate, Magic Ball Rack and Matchroom Sport.

 

 

 

10-Ball Divisions Aug. 22-24

Open 10-Ball: Race to 7/$5,000 added

Women’s 10-Ball; Race to 5/ $1,000 added

 

9-Ball Divisions: Aug. 24-26

Open 9-Ball: Race to 9/$5,000 added

Women’s 9-Ball; Race to 7/ $1,000 added

 

8-ball Divisions: Aug. 26-28

Open 10-Ball: Race to 5/$5,000 added

Women’s 10-Ball; Race to 4/ $1,000 added

 

Master of the Table Bonuses*

Open Divisions: $1,500/Women’s Divisions: $500  

*Players must compete in all three divisions to be eligible for the bonus.

The last time Liz Lovely and Nicole Keeney squared off in a final match, during the third stop on the Midwest Ladies Regional Tour (MLRT) in April, Keeney came out on top, defeating Lovely twice to claim the title. On Saturday, June 18, they met again, only this time, it was Lovely who came out on top, stopping a loss-side bid by Keeney in their only meeting, in the finals. The $500-added event drew 13 entrants to Miss Cue North in Toledo, OH.

 

With Keeney already at work on the loss side, thanks to a double hill defeat at the hands of Charlotte Ashley, Liz Lovely advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Cathy McDaniel. Adina Pelletier, in the meantime, faced Toni Tucker. Lovely moved into the hot seat match 7-3 over McDaniel, and was joined by Pelletier, who'd sent Tucker to the loss side 7-5. Lovely shut Pelletier out and sat in the hot seat, waiting on Keeney.

 

Keeney opened her loss-side run against Carla Herevia. A 6-1 victory over Herevia was followed by a double hill win over Angela Mears, which set Keeney up to face McDaniel. Tucker picked up Stephanie Goens, who'd completed two straight double hill wins over Charlotte Ashley and Lupe Harpster.

 

Keeney eliminated McDaniel 6-2, and in the quarterfinals, met with Tucker, who'd defeated Goens 6-3. Keeney took the quarterfinal match over Tucker 6-4, and, as Lovely had done in the hot seat match, shut Pelletier out in the semifinals. 

 

Lovely ended Keeney's run in the finals, but not without a double hill fight. As winner, Lovely qualified for the North American Pool Tour's next stop in August. A scheduling conflict led Lovely to pass the qualification prize on to Keeney.

 

The next stop on the MLRT, scheduled for August 13, will be hosted by 8-Ball Sports Bar in Columbus, OH.