CueSports International, Henderson, NV (Aug. 26, 2016) — With cool determination, Justin Bergman iced his opponents to win the 9-Ball Division of the US Bar Table Championship (USBTC) Friday at the Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, beating Shane McMinn in the finals by a score of 9-7.
It was a perfect follow up to his victory Wednesday when he won the 10-Ball. Bergman, aka, “Iceberg” pocketed $4,100 for the win and locked up the $1,500 All-Around Bonus, making it a $9,400 week for the 29-year-old from Fairview Heights, Ill.
Bergman faced a touch field in the 9-Ball Division, posting wins over Billy Thorpe, 9-6; Donny Branson, 9-6; Chris Stanfield, 9-8; Max Eberle 9-3; Ryan DeBerg, 9-2; and Edwin Garcia, 9-1, before sending Shane McMinn to the loser’s bracket after a 9-7 win to take the hot seat.
McMinn, a former Oklahoma State champion, beat Roberto Gomez Jr., 9-6; Josh Roberts, 9-5; Julio Burgos Torres, 9-5; and Mike DeWitt, 9-6, before losing to Bergman, 7-9. Then McMinn beat Jason Klatt to meet Bergman in the finals.
The finals of the 9-Ball Division, which had an alternating break format, started with each of the players breaking and running a rack. In the third rack, McMinn, who had won the lag, jawed the seven ball, giving Bergman the rack and an advantage that McMinn was unable to overcome.
Bergman is also still undefeated in the 8-Ball Division, which began Friday, so he has the opportunity to win the USBTC’s Triple Crown, a feat that has never been accomplished by any player.
In addition, he’ll receive Mosconi Cup points for his wins — a fact that is very important to him. Before the start of the USBTC, Bergman was 14th on the Mosconi Cup rankings.
“I want to make the Mosconi Cup (team) so bad,” said Bergman, who represented the USA as part of the Mosconi Cup team in 2015 and 2014. “So that’s my main goal this year.”
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Rebecca Wagner of Las Vegas (photo at right), who placed second in the Women’s 10-Ball Division, found her way to another finals and was able to capture the 2016 USBTC Women’s 9-Ball Champion title early Friday, beating Susan Williams of Chandler, Ariz. in the finals posted wins against Mary Coffman, 7-4; Debra Aarens, 7-1; and Tina Larsen, 7-1. She beat Williams in the hot seat match, 7-4 on Thursday and repeated that feat in the finals.
Williams tournament included wins over Sierra Reams, 7-5; Grace Nakamura, 7-6; Anne Carmona, 7-5; and 10-Ball Champion Jessica Frideres, 7-5, before being sent to the B side of the bracket by Wagner. Then Williams beat Frideres again, 7-3, to secure her spot in the finals.
The US Bar Table Championships continues through Sunday with the 8-Ball divisions in full swing. The Open 8-Ball Division has 101 players and there are 26 players in the Women’s Division.
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 of the $20,000-added tournament 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.
The 2016 US Bar Table Championships are produced by CueSports International, the parent company of the BCAPL and USAPL. CSI also produces independent events, such as the US Open 10-Ball Championship, the US Open 8-Ball Championship and much more. For more information, visit www.playcsipool.com or call 702-719-POOL.
CueSports International, Henderson, NV (Aug. 25, 2016) — The 93-player field in the Open 9-Ball division at the 23rd Annual US Bar Table Championships was trimmed to just six players Thursday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. On the winner’s side of the bracket, Shane McMinn of Ponca, Okla. faces Justin “Iceberg” Bergman of Fairview, Ill. in the hot seat match at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
On the B-Side of the bracket, Billy “Thorpedo” Thorpe will play Jason Klatt at 4 p.m.The winner of that match will play the loser of the hot seat match in the semi-finals. The finals are scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be live-streamed. For live-streaming information, go to http://www.playcsipool.com/live-streaming.html.
To get to the hot seat match, McMinn (photo below right), a former Oklahoma State champion, beat Roberto Gomez Jr., 9-6; Josh Roberts, 9-5; Julio Burgos Torres, 9-5; and Mike DeWitt, 9-6.
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Bergman, who won the 10-Ball division on Wednesday, posted wins over Billy Thorpe, 9-6; Donny Branson, 9-6; Chris Stanfield, 9-8; Max Eberly, 9-3; Ryan DeBerg, 9-2; and Edwin Garcia, 9-1.
In the Women’s Division, Rebecca Wagner of Las Vegas, who placed second in the Women’s 10-Ball Division will play Susan Williams of Chandler, Az. in the finals match at 11:30 a.m. Friday. Wagner posted wins against Mary Coffman, 7-4; Debra Aarens, 7-1; and Tina Larsen, 7-1. She beat Williams in the hot seat match, 7-4 on Thursday.
Williams (photo below right) tournament included wins over Sierra Reams, 7-5; Grace Nakamura, 7-6; Anne Carmona, 7-5; and 10-Ball Champion Jessica Frideres, 7-5, before being sent to the B side of the bracket by Wagner. Then Williams beat Frideres again, 7-3, to secure her spot in the finals.
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The US Bar Table Championships continue through Aug. 28, with the 9-Ball Division concluding Friday, as the 8-Ball Division begins. The 8-Ball Open Division has 100 players and 20 players in the Women’s Division.
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 of the $20,000-added tournament 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.
The 2016 US Bar Table Championships are produced by CueSports International, the parent company of the BCAPL and USAPL. CSI also produces independent events, such as the US Open 10-Ball Championship, the US Open 8-Ball Championship and much more. For more information, visit www.playcsipool.com or call 702-719-POOL.
They've gathered every year since 2010 to play 9-ball for The Shade Tree, a Las Vegas shelter for women, children and their pets. This year, 36 women came together on the weekend of March 26-27 at the Rum Runner Tropicana in Las Vegas, and between $10 entry-fee donations and raffles, they raised about $6,800 to benefit The Shade Tree. The Western Women's 9-Ball Charity, a handicapped event, is generally the third tournament, every year, hosted by The Rum Runner in March, and is preceded by the Doc Hill Memorial Tournament for B players and the Andy Mercer Memorial for A players.
At this 7th annual women's charity challenge, Bernie Store, a regular on the Arizona Women's Tour and Gina Quinones battled three times to claim the event title. Store took two out of three in a double elimination final to win it.
They met first in the hot seat match. Store had sent Shirell Ivey to the loss side in a double hill match, as Quinones was busy sending Robin Verner west 5-2. In a double hill hot seat match, Quinones survived, sending Store to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Ivey picked up Anne Carmona, who'd defeated Gina Valerio, double hill, and Trinh Lu 4-4 to reach her (Lu, racing to 6). Verner drew Katy Moore, who'd gotten by Amy Kane 5-2 and Debra Aarens 5-3. Verner eliminated Moore 5-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Carmona, who'd handed Ivey her second straight loss 4-1.
Verner took the quarterfinal match 5-1 for a shot at Store in the semifinals. An apparently determined Bernie Store shut Verner out 6-0 for her own second shot against Quinones in the hot seat. Store took that shutout momentum into the opening set of the true double elimination final, allowing Quinones only a single rack and forcing a second set. Quinones chalked up two more racks in the second set, but Store got her six to claim the event title.
Tournament representatives thanked Gino and Gordie Hill, owners of the Rum Runner Tropicana and their staff for their hospitality, as well as thanking sponsors the Vegas TAP Pool League, APA Las Vegas, BCA Pool League, USAPL, Pool Tools, Vegas Billiards Buzz, CSI, Fargo Rate, Long Horn Casino, the All City BCAPL, and Southern Nevada 9-Ball Tavern Owners' Association.
