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Aravena goes undefeated at season opener of the Sunshine State Predator ProAm Tour

Rolando Aravena, Raymond Linares and Kodi Allen

Pool being the kind of game that it is, it’s not uncommon to learn that a relative ‘unknown’ has won a regional tour event. Happens all the time, because an ‘unknown’ may be a ‘known’ in a given area, honing his or her skills at local tournaments and league play. Until this past weekend, the first and only time that Rolando Aravena had his name appear in our AZBilliards database was in September 2019, when he and Justin McNulty split a third-place prize in a Scotch Doubles event on the Sunshine State ProAm Tour. This past weekend (Feb. 4-5), Aravena signed on to the Sunshine State Predator ProAm Tour’s 2023 season opener in a field that included (among others) his Scotch Doubles partner McNulty, Raymond Linares, Anthony Meglino, Donny Mills, Mike Delawder, Jason Richko, Bobby Garza and former US Open 9-Ball Champion, Tommy Kennedy. Aravena went undefeated at the $1,500-added event that drew 50 entrants to Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL.

Brackets being what they are, Aravena didn’t have to play all of the ‘knowns’ that signed on, but he did face a few of them along the way. He got by Justin Logan, Casey Grove and Jimmy Garza before running into Anthony Meglino in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Designated for tour purposes as a ‘pro,’ Meglino had to give Aravena two games in a race to 8. They battled to double hill before Aravena prevailed to face his former Scotch Doubles partner, McNulty, in one of the winners’ side semifinals. McNulty forfeited the match and Aravena leapfrogged into the hot seat match. In the meantime, former junior competitor Kodi Allen (now 20) had his own list of well-known competitors to contend with. He sent Dan Marchini, William Shafer and Bobby Garza to the loss side, before facing the eventual runner-up, Raymond Linares in the other winners’ side semifinal and defeating him 7-3 to meet Aravena. Aravena claimed the hot seat 8-4 over Allen and waited for what turned out to be the return of Linares.

On the loss side, Linares ran into Meglino, who’d followed his loss to Aravena with victories over Derrick Santos 8-3 and Casey Grove 8-2. Lee Heuwagen, who’d lost his opening-round match to Tommy Kennedy 8-3 (who was then downed by Donny Mills 8-5), was working on a six-match, loss-side winning streak. Along the way, he’d eliminated Jason Richko 8-4, Bobby Garza 8-5 and Donny Mills 6-3 before benefiting from Jason McNulty’s earlier forfeit and leapfrogging into the quarterfinals. He was joined by Linares, who’d survived a somewhat predictable double hill battle versus Meglino. 

Linares ended Heuwagen’s loss-side streak 6-5 (Heuwagen racing to 7) and then defeated Allen in the semifinal 7-2. With a single “bead on the wire” that he didn’t need, Aravena downed Linares 10-5 to claim title to the Sunshine State Predator ProAm Tour’s season opener. 

Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jose Del Rio and his Stroker’s staff for their ongoing hospitality and support of the tour, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Kamui, Central Florida USA Pool League, Stitch It To Me Embroidery, AZ Billiards, Jamison Daniels, Dr. Billiards and Dr. V’s Custom Shop. The next stop on the Sunshine State Predator ProAm Tour is to be announced.

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Lee Vann Corteza Into Big Foot Semifinals at Derby City Day Three

Lee Vann Corteza (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

There are 29 more competitors than was considered feasible to complete the One Pocket division; 429 – A new DCC record!

Wait-listed 9-Ball players are hoping for a similar increase. They’ll know by Wednesday.

Diamond BIG Foot Challenge

$32k prize fund. 1st: $16,000. 2nd; $8k, 3rd/4th; $4k each

LIVE from the Accu-Stats TV Arena.

Format: Race to 11, single elimination, alternate break, foul on all balls, no jump cues. 10-Ball does not win on the break tho’ beware, caroms and combos do.

Mosconi Cup captains Jeremy Jones and Mark Wilson are mostly in the Accu-Stats’ commentary booth. Occasionally they have guests. 

Reminder: when you see the balls bobbling or bursting out of the jaws, remember that BIG Foot’s biting, pro-cut pockets are now tighter – 4 1/8” tight!

Quarter Finals

4 past BIG Foot winners, all shooting well, began Sunday’s action. Now there are two. Read on for more details.

Jayson Shaw vs. Shane Van Boening

Even Eagle Eye had trouble with BIG Foot’s brutal pocket dimension. The damage it did to his TPA was unprecedented. When have you ever seen his average nosedive from near .900 to .770…within 2 racks!

Shane wasn’t happy either. Altho,’ the match commenced with his break-and-run to a 3-0 lead. Jayson quickly tied it up. Then, he couldn’t get much action on the break.

Shane sped ahead again and, to cut to the chase, had Jayson 10-6 when Van Boening’s cue ball wasn’t on a string, it was haywire: 10-7. 

Jayson’s dry break plague continued.

Shane, again, lost the cue ball and had to resort to a safety that froze the cue ball to the top rail.

Far, far away, about a foot off the bottom rail, lay the 8. Whammo! Shaw drove it home. Sadly, his cue ball rested straight in on the 9…which was nowhere near the 10.

Then came his most miraculous shot of the tournament.

There was only one solution. He had to cheat the 4 1/8” pocket and draw whitey about 8 feet to the bottom rail then another four feet to the long rail where the 10-ball inconveniently lay.

Whammo! Part 2! His cue-ball screams back to land about 4” away tho,’ it’s an awkward angle demanding running back and forth to swap out which cue extension would work best.

The shot clock was about to explode. “Extension!”

So was his heart, pumping like an oil rig:

He pounded it into the back of the pocket: 10-8.

It was SVB’s turn at bat. It looked dry…until the last ball rolling trickled in. And snookered!

Now it was Shane’s shot of the tournament.

He had a kick-shot off the top rail on the dangling one ball with the trickiest 3-rail shape: long rail, short rail, long rail, through a minefield to the two.

Perfect! And he finished the match as he began it – break-and-run.

Shaw, gracious as always, approached Shane and commenced a post-mortem to dissect the action.

Roberto Gomez vs. Fedor Gorst

Fedor was not off to his ferocious formula of forging ahead to leave his opponents in his wake. In fact, it was nip-and-tuck until, at 4-3, Gomez reversed the score with back-to-back wins.

Gorst’s struggle continued as Gomez at 7-4 with every opportunity for a 4-game lead, fumbled and allowed Fedor to gain one back to 7-5.

Gorst, usually, when sensing weakness, his killer instinct would come alive: Not today. 

Down 9-10, his break got him again.

There is a reason they call Roberto Superman. The out wasn’t a walk in the park. He made shots that would have been kryptonite to normal men.

He didn’t rush. He knew his cue ball had to be finite.

He also knew the punishment that Fedor was capable of administering.

Not today. The robot was in need of a reboot. Gorst’s loss, a replay of their 2018 BIG Foot final, is probably the motivation Fedor needs to keep moving forward.

He still has 2 lives in the Banks.

Gomez now faces the other surviving BIG Foot Champ, SVB.

Mieszko Fortunski vs. Lee Vann Corteza

10 years ago, Lee Vann Corteza, by defeating Orcollo, won the DCC 9-Ball Championship.

In 2017, he had a higher TPA than Jayson yet, dangled a 7-Ball that would have surely changed BIG Foot history.

Mieszko Fortunski suffered at the safety play of Joshua Filler one memorable year.

They keep coming back. The Derby’s bewitching charm is like no other event, anywhere.

Today, they faced each other. Fortunski has improved greatly since then yet, the edge was given  to Corteza.

Off to 4-2 lead, and moving to 5-2, Corteza erred and lo-and-behold they were soon tied at 4. 

There wasn’t much movement either way until 10-9 Fortunski. Lee Vann, showing true heart, and awesome shot-making, ball by ball, crawled to the hill.

Fortunski had the rack in his grasp tho.’ the last two balls were tricky. He attempted an acute cut to the opposite corner pocket. It ran awry.

Corteza, pressure building now, you could see him exhale and let his shoulders drop.

He had a blind, dog-leg, back-cut into the corner…from 6 feet away.  The awkward orb was then 2 feet from the intimidating 4 1/8” pocket!

And the cue ball had to be set loose to find the 10.

Perfection; And straight in in the 10!

The crowd erupted, He was in semis!

Joshua Filler vs. Konrad Juszczyszyn

Behind 4-6, Konrad began to miss makeable balls. A lucky kiss coming out of a snooker kicked in the 10. 

He then put his mettle to the pedal and, with 5 in a row, got to 9-6 ahead. With Joshua’s break-and-run, he retrieved one and it’s 9-7.

At 9-8, it’s snooker time. Josh, after a multi-shot kick-safe exchange, rattled the 3 to leave it deep in the jaws.

Konrad, more focused than ever, is on the hill…and breaking!

His one hung in the hole, and it’s 10-9.

Joshua’s break is a carbon copy of Konrad’s; it’s dry, with his one-ball resting on the lip of the pocket!

More good news, nothing is tied up. All that is needed is some sweet negotiation to keep on the correct side of the object balls.

Cool, calm, and deliberate he plotted his way through the rack: Flawless execution…of Filler.

This surely is one of the most memorable matches in Konrad’s career. He raised ho cue in jubilation like he’d just won the tournament. Perhaps he will.

He’s in the semis facing Corteza.

Jayson Shaw vs, Shane Van Boening, 8-11

Roberto Gomez vs. Fedor Gorst, 11-9

Mieszko Fortunski vs. Lee Vann Corteza, 10-11

Konrad Juszczyszyn vs. Joshua Filler, 11-9

BIG Foot Schedule for Monday, Jan 23: Semis, 2.00 & 4:30 PM.  Finals, 9:00 PM

Shane Van Boening vs. Roberto Gomez.

Lee Vann Cortez vs. Konrad Juszczyszyn

The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service has all of the above entertainment available for your viewing pleasure. 

Diamond BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP

Short Rack. Race to 3, Round 6.

497 entrants stormed the Derby City battlements. In this territory, Bank Pool’s popularity knows no bounds.

With the DCC one-time Buy-Back formula, after every round, entrant’s names are reshuffled then redrawn. As DCC events are not seeded means that you could run into anyone.

Since Saturday, Jesus Atencio is on the one loss side as are Mike DeLauwder, Scott Frost, Mieszko Fortunski, and David Matlock.

Skyler Woodward was sent homeward by an unbeaten Mickey Krause who then sent Lee Vann Corteza to buy-back.

Billy Thorpe, still unbeaten, dispatched Shane Wolford to hone up on his One-Pocket as did Ike Runnels to John Gabriel.

Jayson Shaw, Shane Van Boening, Mitch Ellerman, Brandon Shuff, Joshua Filler, Roland Garcia, Glenn “Piggy Bank” Rogers, Richie Richeson, Anthony Meglino, Tony Chohan, Alex Pagulayan, Billy Thorpe, Shannon Daulton, Justin Hall, Mika Immonen are still undefeated.

Visit results.derbycityclassic.com for more updates.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET 

The event entries were increased to 429 entries. Stay tuned!

The action-packed week continues:

DIAMOND BIG FOOT 10-BALL CHALLENGE: Semis and FINALS on MONDAY the 24th at 2 pm.

Diamond Derby City Classic BANK POOL Championship: Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Tuesday evening, Jan 25.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET Championship: Sun Jan. 22 -Wed. Jan. 25. Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena, Thursday evening, Jan 26.

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: Wed. Jan 25 – Sat. 28.

Friday Night Ring Game: Jan 27.

The captured match-ups are available via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production. Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool are projected, PLUS reruns. After each match concludes, it is uploaded and available for your viewing pleasure. With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you watch, no matter what you’re timezone.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

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Juszczyszyn Leads the Way on Big Foot Challenge Day Two

Konrad Juszczyszyn (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

It’s official, DCC’s registration has broken all past records: 497 in Banks, 500 in 9-Ball, and 400 in One-Pocket. Did someone say shot-clock?

A plethora of wait listed players is begging to compete. The logistics of increasing the entries are a nightmare. Ask “Bad girl” tourney coordinator Bonnie Jones. When Diamonds’ Julie Creamer (you know, the curly blonde at the registration desk) called her to see if it was feasible, Bonnie responded, “Maybe, if you bring a gun to the tournament room, point it my head, and threaten to shoot me!”

You know what, when the impossible needs to get done, you want these ladies on the team.

Diamond BIG Foot Challenge

$32k prize fund. 1st: $16,000. 2nd $8k, 3rd/4th; $4k each

LIVE from the Accu-Stats TV Arena.

Format: Race to 11, single elimination, alternate break, foul on all balls, no jump cues. 10-Ball does not win on the break tho’ beware, caroms and combos do.

Mosconi Cup captains Jeremy Jones and Mark Wilson are mostly in the Accu-Stats’ commentary booth. Occasionally they have guests. Shannon Daulton has shared his expertise and a some favorite road stores.

Reminder: when you see the balls bobbling or bursting out of the jaws, remember that BIG Foot’s biting, pro-cut pockets are now tighter – 4 1/8” tight!

Day 2. 1st round cont’d

Mika Immonen vs. Mieszko Fortunski

The match was progressing favorably for both players until Mika missed a simple 6-ball. Then things sped sideways for him. Now down 6-9, Mika found his feisty side and seized the next 2 games. He really looked like he’d overcome his earlier misstep.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know as Fortunski, constructing a fearless .883 TPA, respectably advanced to the semi’s.

Roland Garcia vs. Lee Vann Corteza.

As fellow Filipinos, these guys have grown up conferring, competing, even practicing together. Pool is in their DNA. The challenge now is to forget all that camaraderie stuff and deliver the death blow. There are 16 thousand on the line. Plus, bragging rights.

I guess Garcia didn’t get the memo. Lee Vann did: He was off and running…out! His TPA approached 900. Roland’s – in the low 7s.

Their friendship was more than apparent when, after delivering the death blow, Roland hit the floor and bowed at Corteza’s feet. Now that’s bragging rights!

John Morra vs. Konrad Juszczyszyn

Konrad and John have been BIG Foot contenders for around 5 years now. Their tenacity keeps them coming back. There is also nowhere on the planet to experience the BIG Foot “Challenge.” 

John wasn’t on form today. His challenge was to find that Mr. Smooth moniker he had so righteously earned. And Konrad more confident than ever, capitalized on most slips presented to him.

Previously, John had the better performance average of the two.

Today, their roles were reversed. Konrad was the smooth one and needed two games. John’s “heart” has never been in question. His come-from-behind record compares with the best.

Summoning his firepower, he drove a distant long shot into BIG Foot’s jaws, then drew the cue ball back to leave perfect position on the far, far away short rail:  Mr. Smooth was back. They were soon tied at 9 and looking for 2.

Konrad was not impressed. He was first on the hill. When John had the opportunity to join him, he uncharacteristically fumbled shape.

The Pole’s .851 had overpowered John’s .828.

Elated, Konrad finally had a toehold in BIG Foot.

Joshua Filler vs. Jesus Atencio

The 24-year-old Venezuelan was not at ease. The tight pro-cut pockets were not accepting his forced stroke-shots when he applied extra power to achieve prime position. The result was Jesus Atencio was leaving German Joshua Filler easy finishes.

The result, Joshua soon had an insurmountable lead. The cause, Jesus wasn’t getting out when he should have.

Joshua’s comfort zone on BIG Foot certainly can be intimidating: His poise, his superb ball-pocketing prowess, his mature shot choices. No more firing at fantasies. Patience was now part of his arsenal.

At one point a safety battle ensued. And Atencio was on the wrong end of it.

Yet, under fire, he could make some courageous decisions.

He summoned the gusto to just go for it. The object ball found its pocket. Buoyed, for an instant, he soon ran into trouble on the run-out.

Jesus later confessed that, in his eight years as a professional, he had never felt such fear; His hands were shaking and so wet with sweat that his cue actually fell from his slippery grip.

Joshua, to his credit, felt no sympathy. He wasn’t pussyfooting around, he wanted BIG Foot on his cv.

Mika Immonen vs Mieszko Fortunski; 11-8

Roland Garcia vs Lee Van Corteza; 11-2

John Morra vs  Konrad Juszcyszyn; 9-11

Joshua Filler vs Jesus Atencio; 11-5

BIG Foot Schedule for Sunday, Jan 22: 1, 3:30, 7, and 9:30PM

Jayson Shaw vs. Shane Van Boening

Roberto Gomez vs. Fedor Gorst

Mieszko Fortunski vs. Lee Vann Corteza

Konrad Juszcyszyn vs. Joshua Filler

The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service has all of the above entertainment available for your viewing pleasure. 

Diamond BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP

Short Rack. Race to 3, Round 4.

497 entrants stormed the Derby City battlements. In this territory, Bank Pool’s popularity knows no bounds.

With the DCC one-time Buy-Back formula, after every round, entrant’s names are reshuffled then redrawn. As DCC events are not seeded means that you could run into anyone.

Konrad Juszczyszyn was served his second defeat by Mosconi Cup star Tyler Styer who since has lost a life.

Roland Garcia put Efren’s Bank title in jeopardy, 2022 titlist Fedor Gorst handed Dee Adkins his first loss. Corey Deuel, Ike Runnels, Tyler Styer, also have been sent to the buy-back booth. 

Jesus Atencio, Mitch Ellerman, Brandon Shuff, Joshua Filler, Mieszko Fortunski, Roland Garcia, Glenn “Piggy Bank” Rogers, Lee Vann Corteza, Richie Richeson, Anthony Meglino, Tony Chohan, Alex Pagulayan, Tyler Styer, Shane Wolford, Billy Thorpe, Shannon Daulton, Justin Hall, Mika Immonen, Muqaddim Abdulhaqq, and Skyler Woodward are still undefeated.

Visit results.derbycityclassic.com for more updates.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET 

The event, being capped at 400 entries, gets underway today!

Here’s how the action-packed week will continue.

DIAMOND BIG FOOT 10-BALL CHALLENGE: Fri. Jan. 20 – Sun. Jan 22. 2023.

Diamond Derby City Classic BANK POOL Championship: Fri. Jan. 20 – Sun. Jan. 22. 2023. Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Tuesday evening, Jan 25.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET Championship: Sun Jan. 22 -Wed. Jan. 25. Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena, Thursday evening, Jan 26.

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: Wed. Jan 25 – Sat. 28.

Friday Night Ring Game: Jan 27.

The captured match-ups are available via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production. Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool are projected, PLUS reruns. After each match concludes, it is uploaded and available for your viewing pleasure. With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you watch, no matter what you’re timezone.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

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Eberle Goes Undefeated, Chalks Up First Recorded Win In Three Years At Bankshots 10-Ball Open

Scott Tollefson, Tommy Kennedy and Max Eberle

The last time Max Eberle recorded a victory at a major tournament, it was in his home town of Las Vegas, NV, almost exactly three years ago at the 24th Annual “Swanee” Memorial. He came from the loss side to defeat at-the-time ‘young gun,’ 23-year-old Chris Robinson-Reinhold, now better known as Mosconi Cup veteran, Chris Reinhold. Though he hasn’t been idle since that time, Eberle does appear to have taken some time off in 2021 and came back last year to cash in seven events; three of them associated with the Derby City Classic (Banks, One Pocket and 9-Ball), three memorial tournaments – The “Swanee” Memorial (3rd), the Brendan Crockett Memorial (5th), and the Andy Mercer Memorial (7th) – and he finished 17th at the American 14:1 Straight Pool Championships in late October.

This past weekend (Jan. 14-15), Eberle and former US Open 9-Ball Champion Tommy Kennedy squared off in the hot seat match of the Bankshots 10-Ball Open, a $140-added 10-ball event that drew 32 entrants to Bankshots in Dunedin, FL. They might have eventually met again in the finals, but before that happened, they, along with Scott Tollefson, agreed to a three-way split that left Eberle, the hot seat occupant at the time, as the official winner, Kennedy as the runner-up and Tollefson in third place.

Eberle’s path to what amounted to the title-defining hot seat match went through Trenton White, Jason Schlauch and Dave Stem to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal versus Florida veteran Anthony Meglino. Kennedy, in the meantime, had to contend with two double hill matches against his first two opponents, Jarred Schlauch and Lee Heuwagen. Kennedy survived them both, and downed Penera Mota to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against Tollefson.

Eberle sent Meglino loss-side packing 7-5 and was joined in the hot seat match by Kennedy, who’d defeated Tollefson 7-1. Three times proved not to be the charm for Kennedy, as he and Eberle battled back and forth to double hill in that hot seat match. Eberle dropped the last 10-ball and in effect, became the event winner when he claimed the hot seat.

On the loss side, Tollefson picked up Stem, who’d followed his loss to Eberle with victories over Jamison Daniels 5-1 and Heuwagen 5-2. Meglino drew a rematch against Chris Daly, whom he’d defeated in the second winners’ side round. Daly moved west to begin a four-match loss-side streak that had included the recent elimination of Mota 5-3 and Jason Schlauch 5-2.

Meglino ended Daly’s modest loss-side streak with a punctuation mark, shutting him out and advancing to the quarterfinals. Tollefson joined him after defeating Stem 5-2.

In what proved to be the last match of the event, upon which rode $140 in cash (the difference between 3rd and 4th place money), Tollefson defeated Meglino 5-2. Negotiations for the three-way split of the top three prizes got underway and Eberle earned his first (recorded) event win in three years.

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DeLawder goes undefeated to win Sunshine State Predator ProAm Tour season finale

Anthony Meglino, Romeo Brown and Mike DeLawder

Hall and Meglino split top prizes on added One Pocket event

In only his second cash finish on the 2022 Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour this past weekend (Nov. 26-29), Mike DeLawder went undefeated through a field of 70 entrants to claim the tour’s season finale, its $2,500-added 9-Ball Championships, hosted by Racks Billiards in Sanford, FL. This year’s tour finale added a $1,000-added One Pocket event which drew 21 entrants to the same location and saw Justin Hall and Anthony Meglino split the top two prizes.

The One Pocket tournament started a couple of hours before the 9-Ball Championships on Saturday, and finished after them, at around 3 a.m. on Monday morning, when, after a 4-hour, 46-minute semifinal, Meglino and Hall opted out of a final match and chose to split the money. 

Justin Hall made it to his One Pocket winners’ side semifinal match without giving up a rack, shutting out Raymond Linares, George Saunders and Ricardo (Joel) Rodriguez to pick up Can Salim. From the other end of the bracket, Meglino got by his first two opponents the same way (shutout), before Shannon Fitch put up a double hill fight in their winners’ side quarterfinal. Meglino advanced to draw Manuel Montas.

Meglino shut Montas out, as Hall was giving up his first rack of the tournament to Salim. In what would prove to be the defining match of the One Pocket event, Hall downed Meglino 3-1 and claimed the hot seat. 

On the loss side, Salim picked up Fitch, who’d followed his loss to Meglino with a shutout win over Saunders and a double hill win over Mike DeLawder. Montas drew Kyle Bova, who’d lost his opening round match to Meglino and went on a five-match, loss-side streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals. He’d recently eliminated Rodriguez, double hill, and shut out Greg Pugh.

Bova shut out Montas and in the quarterfinals, faced Salim, who’d defeated Fitch 3-1. Salim ended Bova’s winning streak by shutting him out in the quarterfinals, before he and Meglino embarked on their epic, double-hill, semifinal struggle for a spot in the finals. Meglino finally closed it out. He and Hall, who would, as occupant of the hot seat at the time, become the event’s official winner, agreed to split the top two cash prizes, as the Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour concluded its Thanksgiving Day weekend season finale a few hours before dawn.

Anthony Meglino and Justin Hall

DeLawder faces Meglino in hot seat match of 9-Ball Championships

The dual events occurred more or less simultaneously over the weekend and the much-larger 9-Ball Championships featured many of the 21 entrants competing in One Pocket, among them the top three finishers from that event; Justin Hall, Anthony Meglino and Can Salim. Meglino would battle Mike DeLawder for the hot seat and finish in 3rd place, while Hall and Salim finished 13th and 9th, respectively.

DeLawder’s path to the winners’ circle, after an opening round bye, went through Mike Deere, Manuel Montas, Monthep (Bee) Hongsyok and David Grossman before running into Tommy Kennedy in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Meglino, in the meantime (also following a bye), advanced through Ross Webster, Vincent Cardonia, Jesse Link, and (blissfully unaware of the four+ hour match they’d be playing later), Can Salim to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against Serafin Serrano. Ramel (Romeo) Brown, who would challenge DeLawder in the finals, would win his first three matches before being sent to the loss side by Kennedy 9-2 in one of the winners’ side quarterfinals.

With a single “bead on the wire” in a race to 9, DeLawder defeated Kennedy 8-8. Meglino joined him in the hot seat match after defeating Serrano 9-5. With that same single “bead on the wire,” DeLawder claimed the hot seat over Meglino 8-3.

On the loss side, Brown, en route to the finals, was in the midst of his five-match, loss-side winning streak and had followed his loss to Kennedy with wins over Lee Heuwagen 5-4 (Heuwagen racing to 7) and David Singleton 7-5, before picking up Serrano. Kennedy drew George Saunders, who was working on his own modest, four-match, loss-side streak having recently eliminated Ricardo (Joel) Rodriguez, shutting him out, and Greg Pugh, Jr. 6-2.

Brown finished Serrano’s 9-ball campaign 7-3, while Saunders was busy doing likewise to Kennedy 5-3. Brown and Saunders battled to double hill in the quarterfinals that followed, Brown advancing to the semifinals against Meglino, who, at the time, was looking to get his first shot in the finals of both events. Brown spoiled that party 7-3 and turned to face DeLawder.

In the final, it was Brown who carried the single “bead on the wire” in a race to 11 against DeLawder. They battled to double hill before DeLawder completed his undefeated run 11-9 to claim the event title.

Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked all who attended, watching and/or playing/supporting the event, along with Jana Dixon and Rob McLaren for their assistance. They also thanked the ownership and staff at Rack’s for their hospitality, along with title sponsor Predator Cues, Jamison Daniels, Kamui, Stitch It To Me Embroidery, Dr. V’s Custom Shop, Central Florida USA Pool League and AZBilliards. Added thanks were extended to Garza with Lights Out Streaming and Jacksonville Roofing, USA. 

“We’d like to thank everyone for their continued support,” wrote Phillips and Garza in their tour information e-mail. “We will see you all in February for our season opener at Stroker’s in Palm Harbor, FL.”

When it becomes available, further information about the Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour’s 2023 schedule can be found on the tour’s listing, here on the AzBilliards website.

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Yapp wins 9-ball and 10-ball events at $10K-added, 3rd Annual Meucci Classic

Silviana Lu and Aloysius Yapp

Silviana Lu wins Ladies 9-ball

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.

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Wolford Upsets Gomez at International Open One Pocket Event

Shane Wolford

Day one is complete at the International Open’s One Pocket Division at the Sheraton Waterside in Norfolk, Virginia, and returning champion Roberto Gomez is going to have his hands full as he tries to defend his One Pocket title from last year from the one loss side. Gomez ran into young gun Shane Wolford in both of their first matches for the day on Friday and Wolford showed why he is in just about every Mosconi Cup prognosticator’s mind. 

Wolford took a 2-0 lead with steady intelligent One Pocket play, and Gomez found himself on his heels looking for a new approach. Possibly thinking he had a bigger advantage in a tactical moving game, Gomez slowed things down and dared the youngster from nearby Roanoke to take on shots. Gomez won rack three but was not able to control a late game wedge up-table and Wolford won game four to send last year’s winner to the left side of the board. 

Wolford will take on Gomez’s countryman Carlo Biado Saturday at 2pm, while Gomez will start his day with German youngster Moritz Neuhausen at noon. 

Other top seeds who emerged from Friday undefeated include such notables as Alex Pagulayan, Tony Chohan, Josh Roberts, Sky Woodward, Omar Al-Shaheen, Fedor Gorst, Lee Van Corteza, Corey Deuel and Roland Garcia. Notables on the one loss side include Dee Adkins, Brandon Shuff, Lukas Fracasso-Verner, Anthony Meglino and  fan favorite Mike Sigel. 

Fans can watch not only the featured table with full commentary, but also any other table at the event with the Accu-Stats PPV coverage. They can also follow all of the action online with real-time scoring and online brackets all week long. 

PPV Coverage
Online Brackets
Real Time Scoring

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Meglino and Kennedy split top prizes on Stroker’s Masters Classic

Tommy Kennedy, Anthony Meglino and Raymond Linares

It was all of that.

Labeled as a “Masters Classic,” the August 20-21 stop on the Florida Pool Tour featured (among others) Anthony Meglino, Tommy Kennedy, Ray Linares, Mike Delawder and 28 other pool Masters. It concluded with Meglino, Kennedy and Linares finishing 1, 2 & 3, although when the hour hand on the clock was in the vicinity of 5 a.m. on Sunday morning, Meglino and Kennedy opted out of a final and split the top two prizes. As the undefeated occupant of the hot seat at the time, Meglino claimed the $1,500-added event title, which had drawn its (capped-at) 32 entrants to Stroker’s in Palm Harbor, FL.

In effect, the hot seat match between Meglino and Kennedy became the championship match. As it turned out, Meglino’s ‘toughest’ opponent (based on racks against him) was Kim Dyer, who faced him in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Meglino had opened with a 7-2 win over Dave Stern and followed that up with a victory over Tim Barron 7-4, before meeting up with Dyer, who scored five racks against him. Meglino advanced to draw the 14-year-old ‘phenom’ Konnor McFadyen in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Kennedy, in the meantime, downed Stroker’s owner, Jose Del Rio 7-4 and Linares 7-2 to draw Jimmy Garza in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Meglino downed McFadyen 7-3 and was joined in what turned out to be that championship hot seat match by Kennedy, who’d sent Garza to the loss side 7-5. Meglino claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Kennedy.

The ‘kid’ McFadyen drew Linares, who’d followed his loss to Kennedy with wins over Mike Delawder 7-3 and Jamison Daniels 7-2. Garza picked up Lee Heuwagen, who’d lost to McFadyen 7-5 in the other winners’ side quarterfinal and then eliminated Del Rio and Michael Xiarhos, both 7-5.

Saturday was slipping into Sunday as Linares finished McFayden’s day+ with a shutout. Garza joined him in the quarterfinals after ending Heuwagen’s day+ 7-4. Linares and Garza locked up in a double-hill semifinal fight that did eventually give Kennedy the chance for a rematch against Meglino, waiting for him in the hot seat.

Didn’t happen. Dawn was coming at the time and the two Florida vets were done, literally and figuratively. They split the top cash and headed home.

Tour representatives thanked Del Rio and his Stroker’s staff as well as sponsors Aramith Balls, Outsville, Simonis Cloth, Salotto Pro, DigitalPool, FargoRate, Crosby’s Billiards and Darts Supply, Straight Shooter Gear, propatchlab.com and XLPress Co. The next stop on the Florida Pool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 5-6, will be the $A1,500-added Capone’s Winter Classic Championship, hosted by Capone’s in Spring Hill, FL.

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Meglino/Mills at it again in Florida; Meglino, undefeated, wins Capone’s Firecracker Open

Anthony Meglino (Photo courtesy 1801 Photography)

Hale takes two out of three over Black (4th in Open event) to win concurrent Amateur event

The last time Anthony Meglino and Donny Mills met in the finals of an event, they did it twice. At the Stroker’s Spring Classic in March, Mills went undefeated, downing Meglino in the hot seat and final of a 9-Ball event on a Saturday, while Meglino came back from a hot seat loss to defeat Mills in the final of a 10-Ball event on Sunday. They almost met in the finals of the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour’s dual tournaments during the tour’s 5th anniversary just ahead of the 4th of July in 2021. They met in the hot seat match, which Meglino won, but Kyle Bova (who’d already won the concurrent 9-ball event) defeated Mills in the semifinals to spoil the rematch. This past July 4th weekend, under the auspices of the Florida Pool Tour, they did it again, meeting in the hot seat and finals of Capone’s Firecracker Open. Going undefeated, Meglino won the $1,000-added 10-Ball event that drew 40 entrants to Capone’s in Spring Hill, FL.

In a concurrently-run, 650-and-under Fargo Amateur event, Gary Hale took two out of three over Ken Black (4th in the Open event) to claim that event title. The $500-added 9-ball event drew 64 entrants to the same location.

After an opening round bye in the Open event, Meglino faced what, score-wise, was his toughest opponent, Ross Webster, who put up a double hill fight to start the event balls rolling, so to speak. Meglino survived to down Nathan Rose and Raymond Linares, drawing Pedro Botta in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Mills, on the other hand, started his weekend off with a shutout over Matt Wooten and followed up by sending Will Smith and Lee Heuwagen to the loss side, drawing Trapper Croft in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Mills downed Croft 7-2 as Meglino was sending Botta west 7-5. Meglino claimed the hot seat 7-5, as well.

On the loss side, Croft drew a rematch against Ken Black, whom he’d defeated in the opening round of play and was on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would end in the quarterfinals. He’d recently eliminated Dale Stanley, double hill and Linares 5-1. Botta picked up Heuwagen, who’d followed his winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Mills with victories over Justin Hall, double hill, and Frankie Bourgeois.

Heuwagen defeated Botta 5-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Black, who’d sent Croft home 5-2. Heuwagen ended Black’s loss-side journey with a shutout in those quarterfinals, but in spite of putting up a double hill fight, had his loss-side journey terminated at three by Mills in the semifinals. Meglino put an end to Mills’ even-shorter loss-side run with a 9-2 victory in the finals.

Finalists in Amateur event battle for second (recorded) cash finish anywhere

For the winner, Gary Hale, it was his first (recorded with us at AZ) win anywhere and only his second recorded cash finish since placing 13th at a stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour in March of last year. Runner-up Ken Black was looking for his best (again, recorded with us) finish anywhere, since he’d finished 5th at a stop on the Planet Pool Tour in Virginia, 16 years ago. 

Beyond the standard courtesy of a ‘Welcome Back’ from fellow members of the Florida pool community, the 62 other entrants in the field were likely not too thrilled with their results on this particular weekend. They played against each other three times; hot seat and double elimination final. Hale won the first and third to claim the Amateur title.

Hale downed four opponents to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal match versus Aay Kay, while Black chalked up four on his end of the bracket, including two, double hill wins (versus Louie Black in the opening round and Anthony Fisher in a winners’ side quarterfinal) to meet up with Adam Fear in the other one. Kay put up a double hill fight, but it was Hale who advanced to the hot seat match to meet Black, who’d defeated Fear 7-4. Hale sent Kay to the loss side 7-5 to claim the hot seat.

On the loss side, Fear picked up Charles Marable, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Hale and then, defeated Ryan Kuhlman 6-3 and Joel Vetrono, double hill. Kay drew Casey Grove, who was working on a four-match, loss-side streak that had recently eliminated Joe Gnapp 6-1 and Anthony Fisher by shutout.

Kay and Grove locked up in a double hill battle that did eventually send Kay to the quarterfinals, where he was joined by Marable, who’d defeated Fear 6-1. Kay downed Mirable 6-3 in those quarterfinals. Kay and Black were both fighting for a second chance versus Hale, waiting for one of them in the hot seat. Black took the semifinal 6-4.

Black went on to take the opening set of the finals 7-3. In an entertaining last match for all the proverbial marbles, they battled to double hill in the second set before Hale claimed his first (recorded) event title.

Florida Pool Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Capone’s for hosting the Firecracker Open and Amateur events on the 4th of July weekend, as well as all of the competitors who participated. The Florida Pool Tour will hold the Stroker’s Master’s Open Championship, to be hosted by Stroker’s in Palm Harbor, FL on the weekend of August 20-21.

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Accu-Stats Announces May Premier Schedule

Accu-Stats Video Productions has released their MAY schedule of YouTube Premiere matches. They focus on the 2022 Derby City Classic and the 2015 US Open 9-Ball Championships. Fans can enjoy the world’s greatest players including Shane Van Boening, Fedor Gorst, Jayson Shaw, Joshua Filler, Ko Ping Chung, Earl Strickland, Mike Dechaine, and many, many more.

Accu-Stats premieres a new match from their immense archive of New and Historic content three times a week: Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights at 8pm EST. There is a lively chat during each premiere. Pat Fleming will host most nights in May. Viewers can find the Accu-Stats YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/AccuStatsVideoProductionsTV

May Premiere Schedule:
May 1st – 2022 Derby City Classic One Pocket – John Gabriel vs Alex Pagulayan
May 3rd – 2015 US Open 9-Ball Championship – Earl Strickland vs Scott Frost
May 5th – 2022 Derby City Classic Big Foot Challenge – Jayson Shaw vs Omar Al-Shaheen
May 8th – 2022 Derby City Classic One Pocket – Josh Roberts vs Darren Appleton
May 10th – 2015 US Open 9-Ball Championship – Shane Van Boening vs Roberto Gomez
May 12th – 2022 Derby City Classic Big Foot Challenge – Joshua Filler vs Alex Kazakis
May 15th – 2022 Derby City Classic One Pocket – Jayson Shaw vs Anthony Meglino
May 17th – 2015 US Open 9-Ball Championship – Ivica Putnik vs Ko Ping Chung
May 19th – 2022 Derby City Classic Big Foot Challenge – Shane Van Boening vs Lee Vann Corteza
May 22nd – 2022 Derby City Classic One Pocket – Fedor Gorst vs Darren Appleton
May 24th – 2015 US Open 9-Ball Championship – Kai-Lun Hsu vs Mike Dechaine
May 26th – 2022 Derby City Classic Big Foot Challenge – Roberto Gomez vs John Morra
May 29th – 2022 Derby City Classic One Pocket Finals – Fedor Gorst vs Joshua Roberts
May 31st – 2015 US Open 9-Ball Championship – Karl Boyes vs Liu Hai-Tao

For over 30 years, Accu-Stats has been the leader in Professional Tournament Match Videos. The entire collection is available on DVD at http://www.accu-stats.com.

You can also watch more than 400 Accu-Stats matches from the 2018 and 2019 INTL 9-BALL OPEN; 2016-2020 Derby City Classic; 2015-2017 US Open 9-Ball Championships, as well as the Accu-Stats “Make It Happen” Invitationals via the Accu-Stats’ Vimeo Subscription service: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/asvod/

Website: http://www.accu-stats.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accustats/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/accustatspool
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accu_stats_pool
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/asvod/
International Open Website: https://www.intlopen.com

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