The inaugural event of the 2012 Felt Pool Tournament Series was a successful one. On January 21-22, Felt Billiards of Englewood, Colorado hosted the 9-Ball Knock Out, a big table 9-ball tournament with two events, an open two-day main event that started Saturday morning and an A’s & Down event that began Sunday morning. As a fun format, players received the option to “BUY A BYE.” At the time of sign up, the first 16 open players and the first 8 amateur players could purchase a guaranteed bye in the second round which also guaranteed they would not play their first match before noon.

The main event kicked off Saturday morning with a 32-player field and the A’s & Down filled with a full 24-player field with 8 byes.  A handful of A players opted to also try their luck on Saturday. For Mike Ellis of Aurora, that extra table time on Saturday paid off as he cruised through the field on Sunday.

Saturday drew an elite field of players, spanning three different states. Top player Mike Dudack from Casper, Wyoming came to try his luck, along with women’s professional player Anna Kostanian and husband Peter Sucre of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Players flocked from the North and South. Jim Calderon came from Pueblo, as well as Colorado Springs road partners Ruben Silva and Frank Ubaniak. Fans were also treated to appearances by touring professionals Melissa Little “The Viper” and Laura Smith.

The rail was jam packed all weekend with savvy spectators who demanded a good show and were not disappointed. Along with the top-notch live pool, fans and players were entertained between matches with the broadcast of the live streaming from the 14th Annual Derby City Classic that was shown on the big screen in the dining area. This professional event kept away local top players, Mark Haddad and recent transplant Marc Vidal.

Both main event and Sunday event went smoothly, even accommodating for the regular Sunday afternoon 10-ball tournament which started a couple hours late. All three finals wrapped up by Sunday evening. In the main event, it was a race-to-seven, winner-break format, using the Magic Ball Racks. After escaping a couple close calls from James Winter and Matt Driste, Andrew Pettenger “ATM” went undefeated for all the marbles. Driste, the dark horse who’s been out of the scene until recently, came out like gang-busters, defeating Kostanian 7-0, as well as victories over Jay Hlavachek and Greg Romero before facing “ATM” for the a-side finals.

In the end, Hlavachek came back through the b-side but was no match for Piazza who would claim that match 7-0 and advance to the semi-finals. Piazza also escaped a close call earlier against Urbaniak. After defeating Hlavachek, he also took out Driste but would find himself no match for Pettenger. In the final rack, Pettenger was ahead 6-5 and opted to play a safety on the 8 ball which left Piazza a safety in return. Pettenger was now faced with a long, touchy 8 ball. After much deliberation, he fired at it, missing the pocket but banking it two rails into the opposite pocket leaving himself straight in on the 9 ball and that was all she wrote.

As the main event brought many close matches, the A’s & Down saw quite a few lop-sided ones. Ellis bought himself a first round head start but didn’t really need it. Of his three rounds after that, he only gave up three games and went undefeated until Joe Conway came along. When they first met, Ellis took that match 4-0. Conway would make his way back for a rematch. In the first round of the finals, Conway returned the favor with 4-0 of his own. Keeping with the theme, Ellis prevailed in the second set 3-0 for the title.

Dustin Yeager of Aurora and Winfield Hong of Centennial both also made a splash on Sunday with their third and fourth place finishes. Yeager was a last minute wild card when a player dropped out the day before. The A’s & Down field was filled by Thursday night. 

Felt proudly added $700 between the two events and will continue to add even more money to upcoming events. For more information about the 2012 Tournament Series, visit feltbar.com/2012series. Felt Billiards is located at 101 West Floyd Avenue in Englewood, Colorado and is home to the best weekly tournaments, nightly food and drink specials, and a home away from home for players and spectators alike. Check out feltbar.com for more information and a complete calendar of events.

Special thanks go to our sponsors for this event: Rocky Mountain USA Pool League (RockyMountainPool.com), Access Printing in Englewood (AccessPrint.biz), and the Magic Ball Rack courtesy of CueSports International (playbca.com/magicballrack.aspx). Special recognition also goes to Don Posri and Sean Thamrongpradith for their thankless hard work all weekend. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available for the tournament series. Contact Felt for more information.

WPBA Touring Pro – Ramona Biddle wins first Hunter Classics Amateur event Of 2001 – Melanie Koger wins qualifier spot.

 

The 1st stop of the year was an exciting event. 42 ladies from across the USA and world competed for the top spot at Corner Pockets in Albuquerque, NM. The tour was happy to host Sarah Ellerby from England and Noriyo Yurino from Taiwan/Japan.

 

Wes and Cindy Hunter were in attendance all weekend at this event. This gave the players a chance to thank them in person for sponsoring the tour. The Hunter Classics tour is very appreciative for the many years of support from Wes and Cindy. The quality and beauty of the Hunter Classics Custom cues make winning one of them a coveted event.

 

As usual, it was a fierce battle for the top prize and qualifier spot. Anna Kostanian, a local player and only 13 years old was the talk of the tournament. This young lady showed stamina and the talent of a veteran player. Her hometown support was very visible and audible during all her matches – a tough distraction for her opponents in addition to Anna’s level of play.

 

Play commenced at 10am on Saturday. Play went on until only 12 players were Left for Sunday. On the winners side was: Ramona Biddle, Anna Kostanian, Sarah Ellerby, and Melanie Koger. On the one loss side – Julie Stephenson, Leslie Rogers, Noriyo Yurino, Miriam Martinez, Gail Lave, Susan Mello and Judi Wickelgren

 

Ramona made her way to the winner’s bracket match starting off with a bye, then by winning matches against Melinda Luerco (7-3), Cynthia Ferrer (7-4), Susan Mello (7-5), Anna Kostanian (7-6), and the win for the hot seat by defeating Sarah Ellerby (7-6).

 

Sarah Ellerby made her way via a first round bye and wins over Lucille Donahue (7-0), Noriyo Yurino (7-4), Gail Lave, and Melanie Koger (7-2).

 

Melanie determined to win the qualifier spot eliminated Leslie Rogers after her loss to Sarah. A special congratulations to Leslie Rogers for an outstanding tournament. She held her own through several tough matches with hometown favorites on Sunday to finish 4th.

 

The match for 3rd place was a fierce one. Both players were in contention for the qualifier spot. It was a see-saw match with Melanie reaching the hill with a 8-7 lead. Melanie left Sarah with an incredibly tough cut shot on the 9 which would bring the match hill-hill. After studying the shot, Sarah calmly fired in the 9 and then dropped her shoulders in disappointment as the cue ball promptly scratched in the corner pocket. Congratulations for Sarah for a 3rd place finish in her first Hunter Classics Tour event.

 

The finals was a marathon match that lasted almost 3 hours. Ramona prevailed with a win over Melanie.

 

Due to a technicality Ramona Biddle was able to play in the Albuquerque, NM Event. Newly enforced rules from the WPBA stipulate “no touring pros”; however Due to the “lateness” of the information from the WPBA – the Hunter Classics Tour held to the “old” rules – disallowing the top 32 for this tournament only. Ramona is currently ranked 34 on the WPBA tour.

 

On Sunday a smaller field then usual played for in the 2nd chance event. Sherri Hudson came on strong to defeat Melinda Bailey for the win. Brenda Plantz finished 3rd and Mindy Williams finished 4th. Congratulations to Melinda, Brenda and Mindy for consistently strong showings in recent 2nd chance events.

 

Congratulations to local player Evelyn Hampton for winning the Hunter Classics Cue in the raffle. This beautiful Hunter Classics Custom cue is valued at over $1900. Thanks again to Wes Hunter for his continued support! Many thanks to Corner Pockets, owners and staff. Local players Rachel Rumschlag and Evelyn Hampton ran the boards. Many thanks for a job well done.