Dimitrov goes undefeated in Amateur (600 and under) 9-Ball tourney
All things being equal, it seems likely that Anthony Meglino did not regret the absence of Jeffrey De Luna at the most recent stop on the Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour this past weekend (April 24-25). Meglino was on-hand for the Open/Pro portion of that tour stop (#4), looking for his first win on the 2021 tour. He’d been frustrated competing in stops #2 & #3 by De Luna, who defeated him in the finals, both times. De Luna was busy this past weekend, finishing in the tie for 7th place at the 5th Annual Barry Behrman Memorial Tournament in Virginia Beach. In the vacuum he left behind, Meglino stepped in, and though he’d lose the battle for the hot seat to Arizona’s Bobby Emmons, he’d return from the semifinals to down him in a double hill fight and claim the title. The $450-added event drew 64 entrants to Rack’s Billiards & Sports Bar in Sanford, FL.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza apparently decided that they didn’t have enough to do on the weekend, so they set up a $410-added Amateur event for Fargo rates 600 and below to their normal, single-tournament agenda. The Amateur event drew 64 entrants, as well. Kristian Dimitrov went undefeated in the Amateur event, downing Ronald Machado twice to claim the title.
Meglino’s path to the hot seat went through a bye, Sean Knowles, Randall McLuckie and Lee Heuwagen to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal matchup versus Ricardo Joel Rodriguez. Meanwhile, Emmons got by Marco Bielostozky, Kerry Beland, Jerry Arvelaez and Justin Gilsinan to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal match versus Bobby Garza.
Emmons got into the hot seat match 7-5 over Garza, while Meglino was busy sending Rodriguez to the loss side 7-3. Emmons made short work of Meglino, downing him 7-2 to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Garza picked up Tommy Kennedy, who’d lost his opening match to McLuckie and was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side streak that would end in the semifinals. He downed Garza 7-3 to move into the quarterfinals. Rodriguez picked up Gilsinan, who defeated him 7-1 to join Kennedy.
Kennedy advanced one more step, defeating Gilsinan 7-4 in those quarterfinals. Meglino, though, anxious for a second shot at Emmons in the hot seat, ended TK’s loss-side run 7-4 in the semifinals.
They’ll tell you as often as you’ll listen, that distractions in a pool game are ruinous; that you focus on the table and the situation at hand and that nothing about matches you’ve lost in the distant past or games you lost 10 minutes ago, should matter a damn. But it’s likely that Meglino had a lot on his mind when he went into the finals against Emmons. Two losses in the finals of back-to-back tournaments and losing in the hot seat match doesn’t just fade into the background, no matter how meticulously you try to put thoughts about them aside. Meglino and Emmons battled to double hill before Meglino dropped the final 10-ball to claim his first 2021 title on the tour.
Andrew Cleary, Kristian Dimitrov and Ronald Machado
Dimitrov gets by Cleary and Machado to go undefeated in the Amateur 9-ball event
Prior to this past weekend, Kristian Dimitrov’s only two (recorded) cash finishes in pool tournaments came on the Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour in 2020 and the 2018 Florida State Open 10-Ball Championships. He finished 9th in both. He broke through to chalk up an undefeated run through a field of 64, battling Ronald Machado twice and separate opponents in the hot seat match (Andrew Cleary) and finals (Machado).
Dimitrov’s path to the winners’ circle threw up a couple of challenging obstacles. After opening with victories over Vershred Lasthrasho and Jordan Belleville, Dimitrov ran into two straight double hill challenges against Oscar Mora and Joel Vetrono. He survived them both to face Machado and defeat him for the first time 7-5 in a winners’ side semifinal match.
Andrew Cleary, in the meantime, who is apparently playing ‘under the radar’ to avoid the endless headhunting by representatives of the USA Mosconi Cup team, apparently anxious to have him commit to the team as soon as possible (See YouTube video of a year ago). In this event, Cleary clearly attempted to come across as a vulnerable competitor by allowing himself, like Dimitrov, to be caught up in two double hill matches, though in Cleary’s case, unlike Dimitrov, he cleverly broke them up, so as not to arouse suspicion that he was capable of winning two double hill matches in a row. He had no qualms about shutting out his first opponent, Kerry Beland, but slowed things down with his first double hill win, over Brian Sudney. He got by Shane Unger and Dominick Dunn, both 7-3, before getting cleverly caught up in his second double hill match, versus Gary Gilsinan in a winners’ side semifinal. He prevailed to face Dimitrov in the hot seat match and then let the man claim his first hot seat by only scoring a single rack against him.
On the loss side, Machado met and defeated Manuel Montas 7-3. Gilsinan survived a double hill fight against Tim Moss to join Machado in the quarterfinals. Machado won that quarterfinal match 7-3 and then faced an exhausted Andrew Cleary, who allowed himself to win two of the nine racks that they played against each other, so that Machado could get a second shot at Dimitrov in the hot seat. Dimitrov claimed his first event title with a 9-6 victory in his second match versus Machado.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked the ownership and staff at Rack’s Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator, Kamui, Stitch It To Me Embroidery, Diamond Products and Central Florida USA Pool League. They also thanked Leah Nusbaum and Rob McLaren for their assistance in running the dual event, and all the players who travel and follow the tour from stop to stop. The next stop to stop at (#5), scheduled for May 1-2, will be a $1,000-added event, hosted by Stroker’s Bar & Grill in Palm Harbor, FL.
There was, at the end of it all, a celebratory feel to the thing. There are times when the end of a pool tournament can feel like a funeral, as the winner and runner-up in a given tournament try their best to set aside the exhaustion and lingering sense of the grim-faced competition they’ve been a part of, and smile (sort of) for a camera. At the very end of the West State Billiards/POVPool’s 2018 West Coast Swing (WCS), which came to its conclusion at Freezer’s Ice House in Tempe, AZ on Sunday, July 15, Scott Frost, gripping two microphones, tried to conduct a post-finals interview with the winner (Warren Kiamco) and runner-up (Omar Al-Shaheen) in the $10,000-added 10-Ball Challenge, which had drawn 96 entrants to the closing event of the 2018 WCS.
Frost tried. He really did. But his interview efforts were stymied by the unexpected appearance of Dennis Orcollo, carrying his over-sized check for $3,000 (earned by winning the One Pocket event the day before) into the camera shot, and hugging Frost like a teddy bear he’d decided he wanted to take home with him. Orcollo had finished 4th in the 10-Ball Challenge (defeated in the quarterfinals by Kiamco) and had apparently spent a good deal of time between the quarterfinals and end of the finals match, at the bar. Beyond its humor value, the attempted interview and its interruption were emblematic of one aspect of the 2018 West Coast Swing that had nothing to do with the pool games that were played or the money they’d all earned.
It was, according to POVPool’s Daniel Busch, “the overwhelming response from professional players” which stood out in his mind as the most memorable thing about the 2018 West Coast Swing that had begun with the 6th Annual Cole Dickson Memorial, as June turned into July, and culminated with a goofy interview, two weeks later, at the conclusion of the last WCS event. Busch and his broadcast crew at POVPool streamed free, selected matches at all of the venues.
“They really appreciated the string of events,” said Busch. “There was an amazing amount of friendship, a feeling of family, and an overwhelming display of camaraderie.”
This, he went on to say, was the result of what he called the ‘theme’ of the West Coast Swing; to “awaken the road player within.”
“The West Coast Swing has set the stage for these guys,” said Busch. “(Given them) the opportunity to travel the West Coast for a couple of weeks and make appearances at some of the country’s best venues.”
The one thing that Scott Frost did manage to get out of Warren Kiamco, when he asked him for comment on his victory (prior to Orcollo’s good-natured interruption), was a glowing endorsement from Kiamco about Freezer’s Ice House, which Kiamco called “the best pool room in the country.”
Kiamco had won last year’s WCS 9-Ball Challenge, losing to Thorsten Hohmann in the hot seat match, but returning to double-dip him in the finals. He opted for the loss-side route in this year’s 10-Ball Challenge, as well. Following an 8-2 victory over John Hall to launch what would prove to be his winning campaign, Kiamco shut Aaron Morgan out, and then, in order, downed Alex Pagulayan 8-3, Corey Deuel 8-6, and Orcollo 8-4 to draw Al-Shaheen in one of the winners’ side semifinals. With a slightly less problematic series of draws, Shane McMinn got by Chris Baginski, George Teyechea, Abie Padilla, Tim Daniel and Bobby Emmons to reach Ruslan Chinakhov in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Al-Shaheen sent Kiamco to the loss side 8-3 and in the hot seat match, faced the somewhat improbable McMinn, who’d dispatched Chinakhov to the loss side 8-5. McMinn and Al-Shaheen fought a double hill hot seat match, which eventually sent McMinn to the semifinals and left Al-Shaheen in the hot seat.
On the loss side, this (and other) country’s best players still lurked going into the money rounds (17th through 24th), including (among others) Orcollo, Jeffrey De Luna, Eklent Kaci, Tony Chohan, Hohmann, Chip Compton, Brandon Shuff, Josh Roberts, Corey Deuel, and Zoren James Aranas, representing an average Fargo rating of 777 (Orcollo at the top with 805, and Shuff at the bottom, with 735). Joining this crowd at a point in time when only one of them (Orcollo) had advanced to the 5th/6th matchups, Kiamco (791) drew Max Eberle (739), who was on a six-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently eliminated T-Rex (Chohan) 8-5 and Bobby Emmons 8-4. It was Chinakhov drawing Orcollo, who, following his defeat at the hands of Kiamco in a winners’ side quarterfinal, had defeated Compton (who’d just eliminated Josh Roberts) and De Luna, both 8-5.
Ranking high in the probability department, Kiamco and Orcollo advanced to a quarterfinal re-match; Kiamco 8-5 over Eberle and Orcollo 8-3 over Chinakhov. Kiamco and Orcollo came within a game of double hill in those quarterfinals, but Kiamco just did edge out in front to win it 8-6. He then finished a terrific run by McMinn, defeating him in the semifinals 8-5.
Kiamco took command of the final, single race to 13, early and often. He completed his run with a 13-5 victory over Al-Shaheen (who, as yet, has failed to secure a Fargo rating) that secured the West Coast Swing’s 10-Ball Challenge title.
This final event of the 2018 West Coast Swing featured nine of the 14 US players who have been named to the initial Mosconi Cup team. Five of them (Josh Roberts, Corey Deuel, Chris Robinson, Brandon Shuff and Chip Compton) made it into the money rounds (Billy Thorpe, Tyler Styer, Oscar Dominguez and Mitch Ellerman did not). Chip Compton finished in the tie for 9th place. The 2018 West Coast Swing clearly attracted the best (minus five, and a few more) US talents to the tables over the past two weeks; a circumstance that POVPool’s Busch hopes to duplicate as plans begin to coalesce around the 2019 West Coast Swing.
“It’s two weeks of brutal hard work, with 11 months of planning and promotion behind it,” said Busch, adding that this year’s event might not have been as successful as it was, were it not for the cooperation of the rooms that hosted the events – Family Billiards in San Francisco, California Billiards in Fremont, CA, and Freezer’s Ice House in Tempe, AZ.
“You don’t normally get that kind of cooperation between rooms,” Busch noted, “but (in this case) they all worked at helping to promote each other’s events in the Swing.”
Busch thanked the ownership and staff at all of the venues, in addition to title sponsor West State Billiards, Cohen Cues, Big Time Threads, KD Cues, Ariel Carmeli (AC) Cues, Tiger Products and JB Cases. The four cue representatives were all a part of the West Coast Swing's Cuemakers’ Showcase, held at two of the venues (California Billiards and Freezer’s Ice House), which garnered a “better than expected” interest and response from the players. Busch expects to announce plans for the 2019 West Coast, sometime in January.
The G Cue Billiard Store Diamond Pool Tour held their second stop of the season at Skip & Jan’s in Gilbert on June 17th – 18th, where they once again crowned a new winner in the amateur division, and a returning champion in the open division.
The amateur division kicked off on Saturday with 36 players and a new group of favorites at the top of the list. With tour stop one winner Max Maurer over the 625 Fargo limit, early favorites in this event included Rick Armbrust (619), Lee Brown (619), Ken Laney (618) and Mike Hamman (616). As a testament to the handicapped format of the event, only Armbrust would finish in the money.
Saturday play whittled the field down to the final eight players in the money, with Bob Mizer set to face Scott Vogelsburg (looking for his second big win in as many weeks) and Rick Armbrust set to face Nick Cipiti. The one loss side came down to Steve Stowers vs Wes Sowers and Randy Reid vs Jesse Johnson.
As play began on Sunday, Vogelsberg beat Mizer 8-2 in an even 8-8 race, and Armbrust beat Cipiti 9-6 in a 9-8 race.
On the left side of the board, Steve Stowers eliminated Wes Sowers 8-5 in an 8-7 race, while Randy Reid upset Jesse Johnson 6-2 in a 6-8 race. Stowers would then eliminate Mizer in a hill-hill match 8-6, and Cipiti bounced back from his earlier loss to send Reid to the seats with an 8-2 scoreline. Cipiti would soon be joining Reid in the seats, as Stowers scored a hill-hill win to eliminate Cipiti in 4th place. Due to the Father’s Day holiday, Vogelsberg forfeited his semi-final match against Stowers and the race to 9 final match was underway.
The final match came down to hill-hill, before Armbrust dropped the final 9-ball for the 9-8 win and first place.
On one side of the winner’s bracket, Foldes was on a tear. He defeated Carl Stewart, Ben Hrabina and Brian Long by a combined score of 30-2. On the other side of the winner’s bracket, it was Bobby Emmons making noise. Emmons defeated Tracie Hamman, Eric Young and then Mitch Ellerman in a hill-hill match.
Ellerman took the trip to the one loss side, where he then dropped a hill-hill match to Eric Young to finish in 4th place.
Back on the winner’s side, Emmons was playing like he didn’t have a care in the world and sent Foldes to the one loss side 7-3 (in a 7-10 match).
Foldes was ready for round two with Emmons though, as he then eliminated Young in a hill-hill 10-4 match.
Just to prove that the first time was no fluke, Emmons defeated Foldes in the first set of the finals by the same 7-3 scoreline.
The tour will next head out to Tucson on the 15th and 16th of July for two events on the 9’ tables at Pockets.
The G Cue Billiard Store Diamond Pool Tour is proudly sponsored by…
The first stop on the 2017 G Cue Billiard Diamond Pool Tour introduced a new player to the tour’s winners circle, and welcomed a long time member back.
The new season introduced a new format to the tour stops, which are now divided into a Fargo 625 and below “amateur” event starting on Saturday, and an “open” event for anyone that starts on Sunday. The amateur event drew a field of 45 players to Bullshooters on May 27th, ranging from two players rated 401, all the way to a 621 rated player. With higher rated players giving up one game for every 25 points difference in ratings, the top players struggled in early matches against the lower rated players. Eight of thirteen first round matches were won by the lower rated player.
Sunday play saw Maurer beat Duarte 8-2, and Pelton beat Johnson 8-6. Maurer then went on to take the hot-seat with a 7-3 win over Pelton.
On the one loss side, Hillen eliminated Hamman and then went on to send Duarte back home in 5th place. The other half of the one loss side saw Ampongan defeat Avila 8-3, but then drop his next match to Johnson 8-7. Hillen then ended Johnson’s tourney in 4th place with a 4-3 scoreline. Hillen then joined Johnson in the seats, after Pelton handed him an 8-2 loss.
The finals were a rematch of the hot-seat match, but this one was pretty lopsided as Maurer ran away with a 7-0 win for first place.
As the field narrowed, the winner’s side came down to one top player and three amateurs with Gus Briseno joining Jeremy Vicente, Fernando Prats and Nick Kline as the only undefeated players. Where other players had struggled with giving up games to the weaker players, Briseno had no problems at all, as he went on to take the hot seat after a 9-0 win over Vicente and a 9-1 win over Prats.
The one loss side came down to Prats and Pete Lhotka. Lhotka had found himself on the one loss side after one match, but put together an impressive winning streak that included wins over Joey Barrera, Chad Barber, Chris Adams, Martin Romero (revenge for his earlier loss), Vicente and Kline. Lhotka looked to be adding Prats to his list of victims when the late hour and back to back matches appeared to get the better of him. Lhotka faded and lost the match to Prats 5-6.
The rematch offered Prats another shot at Briseno, and while he bettered his earlier score against Briseno, it was still to no avail. Briseno came out on fire and took an 8-0 lead before dropping two games to Prats. Briseno then regathered himself and put the match away 9-2 for first place.
The G Cue Diamond Pool Tour will hold their second stop of the season at Skip & Jan’s in Gilbert, Az on June 17th – 18th.
The Diamond Pool Tour concluded their 2016 regular season on October 22nd – 23rd with a field of 39 players playing 8-ball on the 7’ Diamond Smart Tables at Skip & Jan’s Sports Bar in Gilbert.
This stop was unique in that it featured more “A” players than “B” players. The “A” player bracket held 22 top players with 21 of them looking to keep Mitch Ellerman from winning a record fourth consecutive tour stop. If he was going to win it, it would have to be from the one loss side, after a third round hill-hill loss to New Mexico’s Mickey Provencio. The winner’s side came down to Scott Frost scoring a 7-5 win over Bobby Emmons. On the one loss side, Ellerman showed that he was going to give up on win #4 without a fight. Ellerman scored wins over Brian Reich, Eric Young, Ben Hrabina, Chuck Evans and Emmons to earn his spot on the final bracket.
The 17 player “B” bracket came down to two new players, as Brian Poore took on Steve Stowers for the “B” bracket hot-seat. Poore had scored tough hill-hill wins over both JR Ascension and Evan Brinkman, sandwiched around a 7-1 win over Adam Kroll, in his run to the hot-seat match, while Stowers had scored lopsided wins over Victor Garcia, Rick Schmitz and Susan Williams on his run. The match for the hot-seat was another lopsided win for Stowers, has he defeated Poore 7-1. Poore took the loss in stride and eliminated Tucson’s John Schramm 7-3 to earn his spot on the final board.
Scott Frost took the overall hot-seat with a 7-2 win over Stowers on Sunday. Ellerman was still busy trying to notch win #4, and quickly eliminated Brian Poore 7-3 in a very deserving 4th place finish. Ellerman then defeated Stowers 7-3 and it was Frost vs Ellerman for the tournament win. While the tournament win would have given Ellerman his 4th straight, it was only fitting that the tour’s other player with three consecutive wins, Scott Frost, was the one to keep him from win #4. Frost won the finals in one round with a 7-6 victory.
Ellerman can still take solace in winning the “A” player points list, and even though he was not in attendance at this event, Oscar Avila took the “B” player points list win. Both players will win a prize package including a custom QB cue, Volturi case and Hanshew jump cue. Those prize packages will be presented to the players at the tour’s finale on November 17th – 20th at Casino Del Sol in Tucson.
Tour staff thanked Natalie and her staff for hosting another great event, as well as “Fast” Lenny Marshall for streaming matches all weekend and Rick Schmitz for the best photos in Arizona.
The Diamond Pool Tour held their 6th stop of the year – and first stop at Metro Sportz Bar – on September 10th – 11th, with a field of 56 players playing 9-ball on the 7’ Diamond Smart Tables. While the event held it’s fair share of surprises, it was Mitch Ellerman notching his second straight tour stop win.
The “A” bracket’s field of fifteen players saw Mitch Ellerman ride the top of the bracket with wins over Bret Huth, Jason Sweet and Scott Frost. Meanwhile on the bottom half of the bracket, it was last year’s “A” player points list winner Brian Reich making his mark. Reich had wins over Chuck Evans, Mike Sandoval and Bobby Emmons to earn his place against Ellerman for the hot-seat. While Ellerman’s win over Reich was not a real surprise, what was surprising was the 9-0 scoreline. On the one loss side, Frost was looking for another shot at Ellerman. Frost eliminated Sandoval, Emmons and Reich to earn that shot.
One nice addition to the “A” bracket was another appearance by Arizona pool veteran Tommy Dilorenzo. Tommy came out of retirement at the August stop at Kolby’s with mixed results. This month saw more of the player that Arizona is familiar with, as Dilorenzo had wins over Bryan Bach and Aaron Purdy. Dilorenzo’s two losses, to Ray Robles and Chuck Evans, were both hill-hill matches that could have gone either way. It’s good to see Tommy back in action and we expect pool fans will see his “A” game in full force very soon.
In contrast to the “A” bracket, the “B” bracket’s 41 players saw an early surprise with points leader Karloz Chavez going “two and out” in the event. Chavez lost a hill-hill decision to Susan Williams and was then eliminated by Manny Luevano 9-7. The top half of the bracket was won by Oscar Avila, while the bottom half was won by Metro regular Eric Osburn. Both players fought their way through more than their share of close matches to get to the hot-seat match, and then that match was another close one with Avila earning a hill-hill win over Osburn. The one loss side saw George Bell on a roll. Bell had lost to Rick Schmitz in his first match of the day, but he was still alive eight matches later. After eliminated Mike McGovern 9-6, Bell went on to send Osburn to the cheap seats 9-5.
While the tournament saw a number of Metro regulars come out to support the tour, two players that earned attention were Susan Williams and junior player Nathan McGovern. Williams, the sole female in the field kept up her winning ways after the first round match with Chavez. Williams went on to beat Dana Moore and Tim Rachu, before falling to Osburn in round four. Williams came back on Sunday, but was eliminated early Sunday by George Bell. While McGovern, the only junior player in the field, didn’t win any matches, the pool gods were not kind in the draw they gave him. After a second round loss to Seth Johnson, McGovern had to then take on Luevano. McGovern gave it his all, and we hope to see him at a future event to give it another try.
Before Sunday player could get underway, tournament director Chuck Parrill and Metro Sportz Bar owner John Upshaw had to reconfigure the room to make room for a larger than originally expected football crowd. John and Chuck didn’t miss a beat as they roped off six tables and gave the tournament players as much space as they could manage for day two of the event.
When the brackets came together, it was a rematch from a month ago with Ellerman facing Avila for the overall hot-seat once again. This match went to Ellerman 9-4. On the one loss side, Frost was eliminating Bell in 4th place 9-3. Seeing his rematch with Ellerman only a match away, Frost then made quick work of Avila in a 9-0 match. The overall final match went one set, with Ellerman scoring a hill-hill win for his second straight Diamond Pool Tour win.
Ellerman’s win gives him a 200 point lead on the “A” players points list, with two events left to play. Barring Ellerman missing an event, Frost will have a tough time catching him. The “B” players points list, on the other hand, is much closer. Chavez’s “two and out” was the opening that Avila needed to catch him, and Avila now enjoys a 40 point lead over Chavez. Rick Schmitz is in a distant third place, 135 points back.
As always, “Fast” Lenny Marshall provided excellent streaming coverage of the event, and Rick Schmitz took great pictures of all of the tour competitors. John Upshaw and his staff did a great job of taking care of the players and fans all weekend long.
The tour will finish up it’s regular season in October with two stops. Pockets in Tucson will host big table 9-ball on October 1st – 2nd, and then Skip and Jan’s will be the location for Barbox 8-ball. These two stops will be the last chance that players have to play in the requisite two events in order to qualify for the season finale at Casino Del Sol in Tucson on November 17th – 20th.
The Diamond Pool Tour returned to Kolby’s Corner Pocket in Tempe, Az on August 6th – 7th with a field of 46 players playing 8-Ball on the 9 foot tables. It may have taken a little longer than some fans had expected, but this event saw Mitch Ellerman’s first trip to the winner’s circle this season.
The first big surprise in the 15 player “A” bracket was seeing Scott Frost sent to the one loss side in the first round by 8-ball specialist Brian Begay 6-1. Begay then dropped his next match to Emilio Maestes, who then dropped his next match to Bobby Emmons. Emmons’ next match was for the “A” bracket hot-seat against Mitch Ellerman, and you guessed it, he dropped the match. Ellerman’s path to the hot-seat was paved with wins over Ben Hrabina, Brian Reich, George Teyechea and then Emmons. Frost would bounce back from the opening round loss to make day two, but his second match on Sunday was a rematch with Begay, that he dropped hill-hill. Emmons then defeated Begay hill-hill to earn his spot on the final bracket.
The 31 player “B” bracket was led by Junior Flores and Oscar Avila. Avila had wins over Bill McKnight, Todd Dilley, Karloz Chavez and Jack Ritonya on his way to the hot-seat match. Half of those wins were tough hill-hill victories. Flores had wins over Brady Williams, Ryan Franklin, Kurt Siebels and JR Ascension. Flores’ biggest win was 6-4, with three matches going hill-hill. The “B” bracket hot-seat would go to Avila, with a 6-3 scoreline over Flores. The loss to Avila may have lit a fire under Chavez, as he won five straight matches on the left side including a 6-2 win over Flores, to earn his spot on the final bracket.
When the brackets came together, it was Ellerman taking the final hot-seat with a 6-1 win over Avila. On the left side, Emmons made quick work of Chavez 6-2 and then eliminated Avila 6-1. The finals would go one set, with Emmons scoring a 6-3 win for first place.
The tournament win adds distance between Ellerman and Frost on the “A” players points list. Ellerman has now built a 155 point lead over Frost, who leads Bret Huth by 45 points for second place. Avila’s 3rd place finish tightens up the “B” player points list. Chavez’s lead over Avila is now 85 points, with Schmitz trailing by 25 points in third place.
Tour organizers thanked Kong Xian Gru and Brian Desantis (and their staff) for hosting another successful event. The wait staff always takes great care of the tour. “Fast” Lenny Marshall shared the event with everyone online and Rick Schmitz once again provided the tour with a batch of great pics.
The tour will be at Metro Sportz Bar on September 10th – 11th, playing barbox on the 7’ Diamond tables.
Scott Frost celebrates his birthday (Photo courtesy of Rick Schmitz)
The Diamond Pool Tour bought their first event to Main Street Billiards in Mesa, Az for their fourth event of the 2016 season with 47 players playing 8-ball on the 16 beautiful Diamond 7’ tables. This stop saw the return of Scott Frost to the winner’s circle, as he won his second event of the season.
The “A” player bracket came down to Frost and Bret Huth. Frost had wins over Navin Talreja, Art St. Germaine and Tim Daniel on his way to the hot-seat match, while Huth had wins over Jason Sweet, Mike Sandoval and Bobby Emmons. Huth was looking for his second “A” bracket hot-seat of the season, but Frost had other plans as he froze Huth out with a 7-1 victory. Huth would make quick work of Ben Sutherland on the one loss side 7-1, to earn his place in the final four.
The “B” player bracket saw 8-Ball specialist Ed Scott using his soft break to full advantage as he raced to the hot-seat match. His opponent would be the tour’s official photographer Rick Schmitz, who was showed his bar table prowess all weekend. Schmitz had problems dealing with Scott’s break though, and Scott took the hot-seat with a 7-0 win. On the one loss side, Schmitz would have his hands full with Karloz Chavez. Chavez had lost to Junior Flores late on Saturday, but won hill-hill matches over Brian Poore and Joey Barrera to qualify for Sunday play. Chavez eliminated Heather Cortez and Flores on Sunday, before sending Schmitz back behind the camera with a 7-2 win.
The final bracket saw Frost show that Scott’s soft break was not a problem, as he won the final hot-seat 7-3. On the one loss side, Chavez fought to hill-hill before losing to Huth in fourth place. Huth then won another close match, as he eliminated Scott in third 7-5. The rematch between Frost and Huth was a quick one, with Frost scoring a 7-2 win in one set for his second tournament win of the season.
The win moves Frost into 3rd place on the “A” player points list, just 20 points behind Huth and Mitch Ellerman. The “B” player points list sees Chavez in first place, with a 25 point lead over Schmitz. Joey Barrera (the top “B” player from last season) is waiting in the weeds in third place on the list, waiting for his opportunity to make a move on the players above him.
Tour organizers thanked Thor Skogan for bringing the tour to Main Street this season. He and his staff took great care of the players all weekend long, and the tour can’t wait to come back in the future. As usual, “Fast” Lenny Marshall kept the online stream going all weekend, and Rick Schmitz defended his title as the best pool photographer in the state, providing the tour with more great shots.
The Diamond Pool Tour will move back to the big tables at their next event, as they play 9’ 8-Ball at Kolbys Corner Pocket in Tempe, on August 6th-7th.
The Diamond Pool Tour’s second event of the season crowned a new champion, Gus Briseno, on May 14th – 15th. The event was 9-ball on the 7’ tables at Stingers. Briseno successfully came back from the one loss side to double dip Bret Huth in the finals.
The “A” division drew 26 players, and at first glance, the brackets looked to be set up for a Bobby Emmons/Mitch Ellerman hot-seat battle. The other 24 players had something to say about that though, and neither player made it to the hot-seat match. Ellerman fell to Bret Huth in a hill-hill second round match, while Emmons would only make it to the final four before falling to Briseno hill-hill. The “A” bracket hot-seat match came down to Huth vs Briseno, with Huth scoring the hill-hill win. On the one loss side, Briseno bounced back with a 7-4 win over Emmons to earn his place on the final bracket.
The “B” division drew 39 players, including tour newcomer Kurt Siebels. Siebels cut a path through the “B” bracket, with notable wins over Joe Chyzy, Brian Long and Michael Dale on his way to the hot-seat match, where he dispatched another tour newcomer, Tenadore Lee, 7-4. Tenadore would spend a short time on the left side of the board, as he eliminated Tucson’s Tonee Allin 7-4 to earn his place on the final board. Special note should be made of the performance from two former Junior players in this event. Both Michael Dale and Nick Kline are now too old to take advantage of the tour’s policy of allowing juniors to play for free, but that didn’t stop either of them from turning in great performances. Dale finished in 4th on the “B” bracket (7th overall) and Kline finished in 7th on the “B” bracket, 13th overall.
When the two brackets came together, Kurt Siebels came within one game of securing the hot-seat as a “B” player. Siebels fought to hill-hill before Huth was able to win the match 7-6. On the one loss side, Briseno had a slightly easier match as he defeated Lee 7-4. After seeing how close the Siebels/Huth match was, Briseno took no chances and beat Siebels 7-2 to earn his place in the finals against Huth. The first set of the finals saw Briseno score a 7-4 victory, which seemed to take the wind out of Huth’s sails, as Briseno then went on to score a 7-1 victory for his first Diamond Pool Tour victory.
As always, tour organizers gave their thanks to Dale and his staff for taking care of a room of pool players, Rick Schmitz for the best photos that any tour gets to enjoy, and “Fast” Lenny Marshall for tirelessly streaming another great two day event.
The Diamond Pool Tour will travel to Tucson for stop 3 on June 18th, where the players will be playing 10-ball on the 9’ tables at Pockets Billiards.
Pockets Pool & Pub in Tucson, Arizona was the site of the Diamond Pool Tour’s first “B” player hot-seat winner back in May. The September 10-ball event at Pockets was the site of the tour’s first “B” player forcing an “A” player to a second set in the finals. It was also one rack away from a second “B” player in the hot-seat.
The event, held on September 19th – 20th, drew a field of 45 players with 16 “A” players and 29 “B” players.
The “A” bracket saw Bernie Pettipiece grinding out one close win after another. Pettipiece started out with a 7-4 win over Gus Briseno and the matches just got tighter after that. Pettipiece’s last three matches – Nick De Leon, Bret Huth and Brian Reich – were won by a total margin of four games. Another player who stepped up in the “A” bracket at this event was Tres Kane. Kane had wins over Rudy Alameda and Jerry Stuckart, before dropping a hill-hill match to Reich. Kane would bounce right back with one loss side wins over Alameda, Bret Huth and Reich to earn his spot on the final bracket.
Tournament staff were warned ahead of time that the “B” players in Tucson played very strong. Those were not empty warnings. Tucson’s Ronnie Kidd III and Rick Galloway cruised through the winner’s side with only Kidd allowing one opponent more than four games against either of them. Kidd would take the hot-seat with a 7-2 win over Galloway, but Galloway would also qualify for the final bracket after a 7-2 win over Tonee Allin (Tuley).
The field of players boasted four female competitors, with Bernie Store quickly distancing herself from the others. Store’s 9th place finish earned her the Greenmail.com Top Lady Bonus of $100.
The two brackets came together on Sunday with Ronnie Kidd III taking Pettipiece to hill-hill in a tough match. Kidd stayed with Pettipiece til the end, before Pettipiece won the case game. On the one loss side, Rick Galloway showed that he had no fear of any of the “A” players as he dispatched Kane in 4th place 7-5. Galloway would ride the momentum from that win to a hill-hill win over Kidd in the semi-finals.
The final match was an intriguing one with both players more known for their one pocket games than their rotation games. As the match went on, both players were noticeably tired and opted for safeties instead of run-outs when faced with decisions at the table. Galloway would score a hill-hill win over Pettipiece in the first set of the finals, but Pettipiece would take control late in the second match and score a 7-4 win for his first Diamond Pool Tour win.
The Neil’s Garage Cabinets Second Chance Tournament on Sunday came down to two Tucson players as Mike Hamman defeated Aaron Purdy 3-1 for the hot-seat and 3-1 again in the finals.
Presenting Sponsor, Casino Del Sol Resort, provided vouchers for a two-for-one buffet to all players at the event.
With his fifth place finish, Brian Reich moves within 10 points of Bobby Emmons on the “A” player points list. Joey Barrera remains on top of the “B” players points list, but he can certainly hear the sounds of Nick Kline and Oscar Avila gaining ground on him. Nick Kline is having no such problems on the Junior Points List, as he is far in front of the rest of the competition.
Tour organizers thanked Curtis and his great staff for putting up with us for the weekend. Lenny Marshall put together another great stream and was assisted by “The Voice of the Diamond Pool Tour” George Teyechea on commentary. Rick Schmitz was also in attendance and provided the tour and players with more great pictures.
Due to delays in Skip & Jan’s reopening, the tour has postponed the stop that was scheduled for Skip & Jan’s until November. The Bullshooters stop that was scheduled for November has been moved up to October and will take place on Oct 3rd and 4th. The event will be 9-ball on the 9 foot tables.
