Karen Corr, the Irish Invader, chalked up her second North American Pool Tour (NAPT) Division I Pro event victory on the weekend of September 30-October 1. Following her victory at the NAPT Summer 10-Ball Classic at Shooter’s Sports Bar & Billiards in Grayslake, IL in August, Corr went undefeated at this past weekend’s $6,400-added NAPT Freedom Classic, that drew 53 entrants to Eagle Billiards in Dickson City, PA.
Corr had to get by Briana Miller twice in this event; a chore rendered more significant by an earlier meeting between the two, which took place in June, during the fourth stop on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour in Frederick, MD. Looking to secure a second straight win on the 2107 JPNEWT, Miller defeated Corr, double hill, in the third winners’ side round of that event. Corr came back through the loss side to defeat Miller in the finals to win her first 2017 JPNEWT title. It was a match Corr remembered when Meredith Lynch interviewed her for the NAPT, following the Summer Classic and asked her about the influx of young female guns.
“There’s a lot of great talent out there,” Corr said at the time. “Briana (Miller) – I played her there in Frederick. She beat me in the one side and we had a close match in the final. It’s challenging for me, too, you know?”
They had two close matches in this Freedom Classic. The first one came in the battle for the hot seat. Victories over Denise Belanger, Krista Walsh, Brittany Bryant (5th in the NAPT Summer 10-Ball Classic) and Naomi Williams set Corr up to face April Larson (7th in NAPT Summer 10-Ball Classic) in a winners’ side semifinal. Miller, in the meantime, having worked her way through Alex Calabrese, Teruko Cucculelli, Nathalie Chabot, Jenna Blahoff, faced veteran LoreeJon Hasson in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Corr downed Larson 7-3, whiLe Miller sent Hasson to the loss side 7-4. As might have been expected, Miller and Corr locked up in a double hill fight that eventually sent Miller to the semifinals and put Corr in an NAPT Division I hot seat for the second straight time.
On the loss side, Larson picked up Bryant, who, after her defeat by Corr, was in the midst of a four-match loss-side streak that included recent victories over Jenna Blahoff 7-3 and Stacie Bourbeau 7-4, and was about to come to an end. Hasson drew Naomi Williams, who’d gotten by Janet Atwell 7-4 and Veronique Menard 7-5 to reach her.
Larson defeated Bryant 7-4, and was joined in the quarterfinal match by Williams, who’d eliminated Hasson 7-4. Larson and Williams locked up in a double hill quarterfinal that eventually sent Williams to the semifinals against Miller.
Miller got her second shot at Corr with a 7-4 win over Williams in the semifinals. The true double elimination final amounted to one set. As they had done battling for the hot seat, Corr and Miller fought to a deciding game, before Corr closed it out to claim her second straight NAPT title.
The next NAPT Division I Pro event – The Desert Shootout – scheduled for November 2-5, will be hosted by Griff’s Pool & Billiards Hall in Las Vegas, NV.
Jia Li picked up her second straight and third overall win on the 2014 J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour with an undefeated run on the weekend of November 1-2. For the second time in a row, Li faced tour director Linda Shea in the finals. In October, Li lost her opening match and won eight on the loss side (one by forfeit) before meeting and defeating Shea in the finals. At the most recent $1,000-added event that drew 18 entrants to Proshot Billiards (formerly Cosmo's) in Dickson City, PA, it was Shea who lost her opening match (to Li), and then defeated seven on the loss side to face Li in the finals.
There were only two matches in the event's opening round of play – Li vs. Shea and Ji-Hyun Park against Judie Wilson (who'd defeated Li in the opening round of play in October). Li downed Shea 7-2 and Wilson sent Park to the one loss side 7-3. Li advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Alex Calabrese, while Dawn Fox and Colleen Shoop squared off in the other. Li sent Calabrese to the loss side 7-2, and in the hot seat match, faced Fox, who'd defeated Shoop 7-3. Li sent Fox to the semifinals 7-5, and waited in the hot seat for her second straight finals matchup versus Shea.
Shea opened her loss-side campaign with victories over Kia Sidbury and Kayla Maciejewski, and then downed Denise Reeve and Melissa Jenkins, both 7-4, to pick up Shoop. Calabrese drew Meredith Lynch, who'd gotten by Sharon O'Hanlon 7-1 and Judie Wilson 7-3. Shoop forfeited, advancing Shea to the quarterfinals against Calabrese, who'd eliminated Lynch 7-4.
Over the next 16 games, Shea gave up only two racks; one each, to Calabrese in the quarterfinals, and Fox in the semifinals. Jia Li failed to get the momentum memo, and completed her undefeated run with a 7-5 victory over Shea in the finals.
Shea's second place finish, her fifth of the season, allowed her to stay atop the tour's rankings, because she's appeared in three more events than Karen Corr (# 2 in the rankings) and two more than Jia Li (# 3). Corr has the tour's top winning percentage (97%), with Li in second place (83%) and Shea in third (72%). Dawn Fox, who's missed only a single stop on the tour is in fourth place with a 59% win percentage. The top three are way ahead in the tour winnings department, as well, ranked the same as their percentages.
The J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT) headed north to Cosmo’s Billiards in Dickson City, PA. Nineteen players competed in this $1000 added event.
After her victory at the Top Hat event, Ji (Zhao) Li returned to another event and dominated the field. This event drew newcomers Jia (Zhao) Li, Amanda Reinken, and Teresa Thomas. Of these three, Li intercepted Linda Shea’s winning streak. Linda is currently the top ranked JPNEWTer. Jia Li is ranked within the top 40 ladies in the world. I recall first seeing her while practicing at the 2013 Ultimate 10-Ball Championships in which she finished 9th place. Prior to that, she fell to Allison Fisher at the 2013 Super Billiards Expo Women’s Pro event in the finals.
Jia’s went through Borana Andoni 7-4, Kia Sidbury 7-1, and in-laws Nicole Nester 7-3 and Colleen Shoop 7-2 to claim the hot seat. Meanwhile, Dawn Fox defeated Alex Calabrese 7-4 but was sent west by Nicole Nester 7-4. Fox was able to hold strong on the 1-loss side which took her straight to the finals. Fox put down Amanda Reinken, Linda Shea 7-5, Sharon O'Hanlon 7-4, Borana Andoni 7-4, and Colleen Shoop 7-4. In spite of her strong previous wins, Fox couldn’t get past Li deeming Li undefeated and Fox taking second.
The JPNEWT acknowledges J. Pechauer Custom Cues for their continued support. A hearty thank you goes out to Cosmo’s Billiards for sponsoring and hosting this event. The JPNEWT takes its season finale to Triple Nines Bar and Billiards in Elkridge, Maryland on November 30-December 1, 2013.
The J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT) tour returned to Maryland and held a17-player field event at Top Hat Cue Club in Parkville, Maryland. This was a $500 added event. However, since this event was held in Maryland, Coins of the Realm added an additional $500 to the pot ($300 toward first and $100 towards second and third places).
This event drew newcomers Jia (Zhao) Li, Amanda Reinken, and Teresa Thomas. Of these three, Li intercepted Linda Shea’s winning streak. Linda is currently the top ranked JPNEWTer. Jia Li is ranked within the top 40 ladies in the world. I recall first seeing her while practicing at the 2013 Ultimate 10-Ball Championships in which she finished 9th place. Prior to that, she fell to Allison Fisher at the 2013 Super Billiards Expo Women’s Pro event in the finals.
Jia’s path went through Borana Andoni 7-4, Kia Sidbury 7-1, and in-laws Nicole Nester 7-3 and Colleen Shoop 7-2 to claim the hot seat. Meanwhile, Dawn Fox defeated Alex Calabrese 7-4 but was sent west by Nicole Nester 7-4. Fox was able to hold strong on the 1-loss side which took her straight to the finals. Fox put down Amanda Reinken, Linda Shea 7-5, Sharon O'Hanlon 7-4, Borana Andoni 7-4, and Colleen Shoop 7-4. In spite of her strong previous wins, Fox couldn’t get past Li and took second.
The JPNEWT continues to thank its sponsors: J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Coins of the Realm (Maryland events). JPNEWT appreciates Top Hat Cue Club and its staff for it support.
Edison, New Jersey- Some of New Jersey’s top female players along with others from surrounding states came out to Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ to compete for an incredible opportunity of an invitation and paid entry into Yalin Billiards prestigious event, the Women’s World 10 Ball Championships being held in Manila, Philippines . Dragon Promotions is pleased to announce the fifth installment of the greatest women's tournament in the world, the 2013 Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship. This year's edition will take place October 28th – November 4th,2013 to luxurious Resorts World Manila, an upscale hotel and casino adding onto the dynamic atmosphere of the coveted championship. Final Stage 1 Qualifiers will be held at Star Billiards Manila on October 28-29th and the pre-event press conference on October 30th. An elite 48 world class lady pros, the best of the best from 20 countries, will attend the event to decide who is the World Champion. This year's event is again title sponsored by Yalin Tables, one of the premier billiard table manufacturers of the world with #1 all American made OB Cues joining as the Official Cue of the World Championship.
Amongst the first round victories were Dawn Fox over Pam Ogarek with a score of 6-1, Sandra Stevens 6-4 over Alex Calabrese, and Jenn Bogan 3 games over Judie Wilson. Denise Reeve also advanced to round two on the winners’ side and went on to send Jenn Bogan over with a loss after a tight battle that ended 6-4.On the west wing of the charts, Pam Ogarek had two very commanding wins over Alex and Jenn, only giving up a single rack in each set against those two worthy competitors.
Back on the winners’ side, Sandra Stevens made a fierce showing in her first competition in over 7 years, tearing through the field with a 6-2 win over Dawn Fox sending her over to the one-loss side, and an intense hill-hill victory over Denise Reeve for the hot seat! Denise went west to await her next match as it was Dawn Fox who showed great tenacity and focus on the table as she ripped through the one-loss brackets defeating Judie Wilson 5-1, Pam Ogarek 5-2 and then the ever ready, Denise Reeve hill-hill to make it back over to the finals.
The “Hot Seat” proved to be more like “The Chiller” as a cold, Sandra Stevens fell victim to a dead punch, Dawn Fox, 6 to 1. The second set in this true double-elimination format was a see-saw battle at first as Sandra was just starting to get back in stroke and exchanged racks with Dawn who was still on fire and reached the hill first. The inferno continued to burn in the final rack of this qualifier ending the set 5-3, Dawn Fox taking the scenic route and victorious over Sandra Stevens twice in the finals.
This qualifier wound up being the break of a new Dawn, granting her the opportunity of a lifetime to compete in one of the most prestigious and publicized women’s pool events in the world! Look for Dawn Fox as she represents the USA in the 2013 Yalin Women’s World 10 Ball Tournament this October 31st – November 4th in Manila, Philippines!
"OB Cues is excited to be the Official Cue of the Women's World Championship. The coverage of this tournament is incredible and we know that the anticipation of this event with the fans and players is tremendous, so we look forward to adding to the excitement. Having the hands down best female players in the world at the most elite women's title in pool is exactly the kind of fit for OB Cues", says Shane Sinnott, Director of Sales and Marketing for OB Cues.
The Yalin World Championships will be live streamed on www.insidepool.tv and sponsored by www.JBET.com , Official Table YALIN, Official Cue OB Cues, Official Balls by Aramith, Official Cloth Championship, Official Chalk Master by Tweeten Fibre, Official Magazine Pool & Billiard Magazine, Star Paper Corporation, www.SabongKing.com, and www.BaseGameph.com .
The Women's World Championship is produced by Dragon Promotions and filmed by ABS-CBN Sports airing on BALLS, Studio 23, and a dozen other networks in countries worldwide. With massive media and global networks covering the Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship, it will continue as still the biggest and most watched women's billiard event in the world.
Players from around the world will join the event. The reigning World Champion Ga Young Kim of South Korea will be defending her title against all comers. The comers will be hailing from countries such as Russia, Iran, China, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Korea, Belgium, Australia, Taiwan, France, Philippines, Singapore, Poland, the United States and many more.
OB Cues first introduced the revolutionary Low Deflection OB-1 Shaft in 2005. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, OB Cues now has a High Performance shaft line that consists of four different Playing Shafts and a Break Shaft to fit all styles of Players. In 2008 they introduced the J-Line Cues and then in March of 2012 launched the New 2012 OB Cue Line manufactured exclusively in the OB factory in Texas. With an ongoing effort to constantly improve the performance and feel of their products, OB Cues is now recognized as an industry leader in High Performance Billiard products. OB Cues encourages Pool Players to Get serious about their game by experiencing the OB Technology that will help Pool Players to be more consistent and more accurate when using OB products. For more information on OB Cues and OB Shafts, visit obcues.com or contact your local billiard retailer. Follow OB Cues at https://www.facebook.com/obcues
