Alex Pagulayan (Photo courtesy of Dave Thomson Mediumpool.com)
The Canadian Championships continues at Shooters Snooker and Sports Club in Toronto. The Open 9-ball event had 34 players competing for the title with the winner guaranteed a spot in the World Championships. With many of the previous 9-ball champions not in attendance, the event was wide open.
Moving through the top half of the bracket was Jason Klatt with wins over Bruce Lilly (11-1), Andy Aupin (11-10), Brad Poorman (11-4) and Jason Thomas (11-7). In the lower bracket, Alex Pagulayan was in fine form after just winning the 8-Ball event. Alex had wins over Dwayne Thompson (11-4), John Morra (11-7), Rob Phillips (11-10), and Dave Martin (11-3).
In the “hot seat” match, Pagulayan made quick work of Klatt with a convincing 11-4 win. Klatt then faced Rob Phillips from Alberta in the b-bracket finals. Phillips would have to settle for 3rd place after losing to Klatt 11-6.
In the finals, Klatt then faced Pagulayan once again for a shot at the national title. With the match tied 1-1, Alex won 8 of the next 9 games leading the match 9-2. Jason managed to swing the momentum into his direction winning the next five racks to bring the score within two at 9-7. The players traded the next few racks before Alex closed out the match with a break and run in the last game. Pagulayan wins his third Canadian 9-Ball title with a 15-9 score.
Alex Pagulayan (Photo courtesy of Dave Thomson Mediumpool.com)
The Men’s Open 8-Ball Event took place this past weekend with 27 players looking to take the Canadian title. With last years champion Alain Martel not in attendance, we were guaranteed a new champion this year. After Mario Morra sent tournament favourite Alex Pagulayan to the b-side, it looked like the Morra father son duo would monopolize the event.
Mario then faced his son John Morra in the “hot seat” match. John Morra took the 9-3 win securing his spot in the finals. In the b-side bracket final, Mario faced Alex Pagulayan once again. As the tournament progressed, Pagulayan’s game got stronger. Alex took care of business beating Mario 9-5 to set up the finals against the young John Morra. Once again, it was Alex who came out on top to take his first ever Canadian 8-Ball title with a 11-7 win.
Scotch Doubles is a unique pool event. A successful team in the scotch doubles division takes two players who understand each other’s games almost as well as their own. Each must trust the other’s abilities and communicate as one mind. The best scotch doubles players learn to play in one rhythm. Where one player ends the other takes over.
The finals of the 36th BCAPL National Championships Scotch Doubles events saw the best of the best, Tuesday, May 15th at the Riviera Hotel & Casino. This year there were three BCAPL Scotch Doubles divisions with the addition of the Advanced Scotch Doubles.
In the Open Scotch Doubles, Lisa McNab and Brad Poorman (league #1120) from Saskatchewan, Canada outlasted the other 321 teams to win the coveted top spot winning $3,200. McNab also finished 33rd in the Women’s Open Singles 8-Ball division and 5th in the Women’s Open 9-Ball division.
48 teams formed the new Advanced Scotch Doubles division. The winners of this division’s inaugural year were the husband and wife team of Larry and Andrea Wilson (league #186) from British Columbia, Canada who took home $2,000. In addition to the win in the Advanced Scotch Doubles, Larry Wilson took 5th in the BCAPL 9-Ball Challenge.
The Wilsons overcame another Canadian team in the finals, Russ Whittle and Bev Ashton (league #624). Whittle had a particularly strong day. In addition to placing second with Ashton in the scotch event, he took second in the Men’s Advanced Singles.
The BCAPL Master Scotch Doubles is a favorite among the spectators. The top two teams this year again consisted of some well known names. From New York was the team of Tony Robles Jr. and partner Gail Glazebrook (league #1355) versus Janet Atwell and Wes Largen Jr. (league #1151) from Virginia. A total of 25 teams represented this division. Halfway through the brackets Atwell and Largen Jr. blitzed team Robles Jr. and Glazebrook 7-0. In the finals Robles Jr. and Glazebrook got revenge on that previous loss by taking the first set 7-3. Atwell and Largen Jr. redeemed themselves taking set two 7-3 for the division win and $1,800.
Following the Scotch Doubles event, the team competitions began, with 6 divisions and a total of 875 entries. The halls of the Riviera Hotel & Casino swarmed with colorful matching team shirts representing pool rooms and bars from around the world. Additionally, the CSI US Open 10-Ball Championship marked the halfway point of the 6 day pro level event. The Action Report live streams the US Open action at www.theactionreport.com.
To view online all of the brackets for the 36th BCAPL National Championships, the 2nd USAPL National Championships, the 13th US Open One Pocket Championship and the 4th US Open 10-Ball Championship, visit the CueSports Tournament System at www.ctsondemand.com. You may search by player or team name or can view by division or tournament.
For more information about the BCAPL visit www.playbca.com.
CueSports International (CSI) is dedicated to creating more choices for all players. In the past seven years CSI has directly paid out approximately Seven Million Dollars to players. CSI is the parent company of the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League. CSI also produces independent events such as the US Bar Table Championships, the Jay Swanson Memorial, the US Open One Pocket Championship and the US Open 10-Ball Championship. Visit www.playcsipool.com, www.playbca.com and www.playusapool.com for more information about CSI and its divisions.
CSI leads the billiard industry in the development of technology. For more information on the state-of-the-art software systems for league and tournament management visit www.leaguesys.net and www.ctsondemand.com.
