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Foldes goes undefeated at 10th Annual Bob Stocks Memorial

Vilmos Foldes

On the weekend of October 8-9, Hungarian-born, California resident Vilmos Foldes appeared in his first Action Pool Tour (APT) stop at the First Break Cafe, in Sterling, VA – the 10th Annual Bob Stocks Memorial Tournament. He went undefeated through the field of 58, defeating the tour’s (at the time) #2-ranked player, Eric Moore, twice, to claim the event title. Foldes’ first victory on the tour doesn’t move him among the tour’s top-ranked players, because the ranking system is derived from accumulated points. Moore, on the other hand, who has appeared in six of the tour’s eight stops to date, earned enough points as this most recent event’s runner-up to move past the tour’s #1-ranked player, Brandon Shuff, who did not compete.

It was an impressive performance by Foldes, who arrived to compete in a winners’ side semifinal against Brian Deska, having given up only one rack in 29 games played. Foldes shut out his first three opponents, before giving up the single rack to Brian Dietzenbach in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Moore, in the meantime, arrived at his winners’ side semifinal matchup versus Bruce Choyce, having given up 10 racks in 38 games (4, 3, 2 and 1, though not in that order).

Deska, who, back in March, won nine on the loss side to meet and defeat Shuff and claim his first APT title of the year, and then, a month later, won his second APT title, was defeated by Foldes 7-2. Moore, meanwhile, downed Choyce 7-2 to meet Foldes in the hot seat match.  Foldes claimed the hot seat 7-3 over Moore, and waited in the hot seat, with his 89% win total, for Moore to return.

On the loss side, Deska picked up Bobby Stovall, who’d fallen to Choyce in a winners’ side quarterfinal and then defeated Christopher Wilburn 6-2 and Kenny Miller 6-1. Choyce drew Dietzenbach, who, following his defeat at the hands of Foldes, shut out Pat Carosi and downed Brett Stottlemyer 6-1.

Almost predictably, two double hill battles ensued, for the right to advance to the quarterfinals. The winners’ side semifinalists (Deska and Choyce) were eliminated by the winners’ side quarterfinalists, Stovall and Dietzenbach. Dietzenbach then stopped Stovall’s run with a shutout in the quarterfinals.

Moore, though, stopped Dietzenbach’s four-match, loss-side streak, which had included two shutouts. Moore earned himself a second shot at Foldes with a 6-3 win over Dietzenbach in the semifinals.

Moore put up a fight in the finals that saw him chalk up as many racks, as all of Foldes’ previous opponents’ combined. Foldes claimed his first APT title with a 9-6 win.

With three events to go, including next month’s VA State 8-Ball Championships (Nov. 12-13 at Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA), and airfare to the US Bar Table Championships in Las Vegas at stake (both the top and second-ranked player receive entry to all three divisions of that event, and hotel accommodations), Moore is currently in the top-ranked driver’s seat, with Brandon Shuff right there beside him.

Deska comes back from semifinals to win second straight Action Pool Tour stop

With a couple of significant 'cats' away, a few fairly formidable 'mice' came out to play at the Action Pool Tour's fourth stop of the year. One of the 'cats' who stayed behind for the April 9-10 stop was Brian Deska, who came back from a hot seat defeat to challenge Jimmy Varias and win his second straight Action Pool Tour stop. The event, missing regular APT 'cats' Brandon Shuff and Shaun Wilkie, who were competing in the Don Coates Memorial in Raleigh, NC, drew 41 entrants to First Break Cafe in Sterling, VA.
 
Sporting remarkably similar won/loss records, featuring only three kinds of scores (8-5, 8-2 and each recording a shutout), Deska (32-9) and Varias (32-12) advanced to a winners' side semifinal against an opponent named Paul; Deska versus Paul Helms and Varias against Paul Cogle. Deska chalked up his second 8-5 score, defeating Helms, while Varias won his first 8-3 match, sending Cogle to the loss side. Varias won his second 8-3 match, defeating Deska to claim the hot seat.
 
On the loss side, Helms picked up Alan Duty, who was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals. He won his third and fourth loss-side matches against Derek Crothers 7-2 and Chris Hansen 7-3. Cogle drew Will Moon, who'd been sent to the loss side by Deska in a winners' side quarterfinal and was on his own, somewhat shorter loss-side streak that would advance him to the semifinals. Moon had defeated Trevor Dentz 7-1 and Paul Oh 7-4 to draw Cogle.
 
Duty downed Helms 7-4 and in the quarterfinals, met up with Moon, who'd eliminated Cogle 7-5. Moon ended Duty's loss-side run with a 7-5 victory in those quarterfinals, to earn himself a re-match against Deska. Deska, though, obviously determined, defeated Moon a second time, but not before Moon had forced a final, deciding 15th game. 
 
Deska's second shot at Varias came within a game of coming to double hill. In the end, though, Deska pulled out in front to win it 10-8 and claim his second straight APT title of the year. The victory movEd Deska up on the tour's ranking list, from outside of the top 10 to within three of the leader, the absent-for-this-stop Shuff and the VA State 10-Ball Champion, Eric Moore.

Deska comes from deep on the loss side to down Shuff in APT stop #3

Brian Deska, Shanna Lewis, Raymond Walters and Brandon Shuff

Brandon Shuff, looking to capitalize on his position as the 2015 Action Pool Tour champion, opened the tour's season with a victory in January, though not before being shuttled to the loss side in a winners' side semifinal, winning three and then defeating Rafael Reyes, twice, double hill in the finals. A month later, looking to win the VA State 10-Ball Championships, Shuff had to win four double hill matches to reach a winners' side semifinal, where once again, this time by Eric Moore, double hill, he moved to the loss side. He played his sixth double hill match on that side, and then faced Moore in the finals. Moore defeated him in his seventh double hill match (of eight played) to claim that title.
 
On the weekend of March 19-20, Shuff was back at it, looking for his second tour win, at APT's stop #3. This time, for the first time this season, he advanced to the hot seat. Trouble, though, was brewing on the horizon. In his opening round, Shuff had sent long-time rival, Brian Deska to the loss side, 7-4, in the opening round of play. Deska embarked on a nine-match, loss-side winning streak that included two shutouts, a 6-4 win over Shaun Wilkie, and a double hill win over the VA State 10-Ball Champion Eric Moore, who battled him to double hill in the quarterfinals. He went on to defeat Matt Krah in the semifinals, and then deny Shuff his second APT win, 9-7 in the finals. The event drew 56 entrants Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA.
 
Shuff's path to the hot seat went (after the opener over Deska) through Brad Moore, Thomas Park, and Greg Sabins, prior to a winners' side semifinal match against Wilkie. At this point, Shuff was shooting almost dead even with Deska's work on the loss side at about 71%. In the other winners' side semifinal, Matt Krah was facing Alan Duty. Shuff got into the hot seat match 7-5 over Wilkie, as Krah was busy downing Duty 7-3. Shuff then claimed his first APT hot seat 7-3 over Krah, and watched the Deska storm cloud gathering.
 
It was Wilkie who drew Deska on the loss side. Deska had picked up loss-side wins # 5 and # 6 against Tom Zippler (6-3) and Loye Bolyard (double hill) to reach him. Duty picked up Eric Moore, fresh off two straight double hill wins over Joey Mastermaker and Eric Varias. Deska advanced to the quarterfinals, downing Wilkie 6-4. Moore joined him, eliminating Duty 6-1.
 
Moore put up a fight in those quarterfinals, looking for his second APT win, but Deska prevailed, double hill for a shot at Krah in the semifinals. He gave up only a single rack to Krah and after nine long matches on the loss side, got a shot at his first 2016 APT title, against the man who'd sent him there, Shuff. When it was over, the two of them had played a combined total of 153 games; Shuff, 61 and Deska, 92. Shuff had finished with a slight winning edge, percentage-wise (.6885 % –  .6847%). They came within a game of double hill, but in the end, Deska pulled out in front to claim the title, 9-7.

Shuff goes undefeated to capture APT’s Bob Stocks Memorial Tournament

Brandon Shuff

While a list of the 'usual suspects' competed for the 9th Bob Stocks Memorial Tournament title on the weekend of October 10-11, the meta-game of tour rankings on the Action Pool Tour continued. Brandon Shuff went undefeated through a field of 52 , on-hand at the First Break Cafe in Sterling, VA to claim the 2015 title,  defeating defending champion Shaun Wilkie on the way. The tour rankings remained the same, with Wilkie on top and Shuff in second place. The Bob Stocks Memorial Tournament was instituted by First Break Cafe in 2006, and since 2011, has been held under the auspices of the Action Pool Tour.
 
Following an opening round bye and victories over Steve Ball, Wilkie, and Rick Glasscock, Shuff moved into a winners' side semifinal versus another perennial Action Pool Tour competitor, Brian Deska, currently at #17 on the tour rankings. Dannys Green and Mastermaker competed in the other winners' side semifinal. Shuff and Mastermaker sent Deska and Green to the loss side, both by 8-4 scores, and met in the hot seat match, won by Shuff  8-5.
 
On the loss side, Wilkie loomed; loss-side campaigns not being unheard of in his itinerary. After a double hill win over Paul Oh, a 7-4 victory over Steve Fleming, another double hill win over Rafael Reyes, and another 7-4 win over Joey Mastermaker, Wilkie met up with Deska, coming over from the winners' side semifinal. Green, also coming over, met up with Jimmy Varias, who'd defeated Kenny Miller 7-3 and shut out Glasscock.
 
Green won a double hill battle versus Varias to advance to the quarterfinals. Deska joined him after completing a double hill win over Wilkie. Deska then downed Green 7-2, before being eliminated by Mastermaker in the semifinals 7-3.
 
While Wilkie's finish in the tie for 5th place assured him that his top spot in the rankings would remain, Shuff was looking to edge closer. He did so with a 10-5 victory in the finals over Mastermaker, securing the Bob Stocks Memorial title, and a firm grip on the tour's # 2 position.
 

Deska wins second straight, downing APT points leader Wilkie twice

First it was Brandon Shuff, and now, it's Brian Deska. Action Pool Tour ranking leader, Shaun Wilkie can't get a break. After winning the final four stops on the 2014 tour schedule, Wilkie won the opening two stops in 2015. His seven-peat was stopped by Brandon Shuff, who won two straight, and then, joining the tour for the first time in 2015, Brian Deska defeated both Shuff and Wilkie, back to back, in May. He went on to defeat Shuff a second time in the finals. On the weekend of June 13-14, at Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, Virginia, Deska (again) went undefeated through a field of 44, this time defeating Wilkie twice.
 
In the opening four rounds of play, each of Deska's opponents did just a little better than his predecessor. Deska defeated Joshua Watson 8-2, Mike Davis (third place in the tour rankings) 8-3, Kenny Miller 8-5, and had to survive a double hill fight against Steve Fleming to advance to a winners' side semifinal against John Wright. Wilkie, in the meantime, gave up only five racks, total, in his four rounds against Luther Pickeral, Cheryl Pritchard, Cary Dunn (2), and Trevor Dentz, advancing to the other winners' side semifinal against Shuff. Deska made short work of Wright, dispatching him to the loss side 8-1, while Wilkie and Shuff battled to double hill, before Wilkie prevailed to join Deska in the hot seat match. Deska claimed his second straight APT hot seat 8-5, and waited for one of the tour's two top-ranked players to return from the semifinals.
 
On the loss side, Mike Davis, following his defeat at the hands of Deska in the second winners' side round, was on a six-match winning streak, that included two shutouts. He defeated Garrett Waechter 6-1 and Cary Dunn 6-3, to draw Shuff. Wright picked up Joey Mastermaker, who'd gotten by Randy Thomas 6-4, and survived a double hill battle versus Kenny Miller to reach him.
The match between the tour's second and third-ranked player (Shuff and Davis) went Shuff's way 6-3, while Mastermaker eliminated Wright 6-4.
 
Shuff defeated Mastermaker 6-3 in the quarterfinals, creating a second matchup between the tour's first- and second-ranked player, Wilkie and Shuff. They'd had to compete in a 15th game to decide their winners' side match. They only played seven in the semifinals, with Wilkie giving up just a single rack to earn a second shot against Deska.
 
Deska, though, proved to be just as stingy. He gave up only three racks to Wilkie in the finals, completing his undefeated run 10-3 to claim his second straight APT title. Having only participated, so far, in two of the tour's six stops to date, Deska is currently at #19 on the tour's rankings, well behind Wilkie, Shuff and Davis. Wilkie has competed in all six stops, while Shuff and Davis have each competed four times. 

Shaw goes undefeated to take 5th Annual Ginky Memorial

Jayson Shaw

Jayson Shaw started the year with a bang, defeating John Morra in the finals of Turning Stone XXIII in January. A week or two later, he was runner-up to Ruslan Chinahov in the Derby City Classic's Straight Pool Challenge. In April, he ran through a loss-side gauntlet of players (Jeremy Sossei, Hunter Lombardo, Darren Appleton, Johnny Archer, Warren Kiamco, Mike Dechaine and Shane Van Boening) before being the runner-up to Dennis Orcollo in the finals of the SBE's Players Championship. 
 
On Memorial Day weekend, Shaw cut through a field of 64 entrants and went undefeated to claim the $2,000-added, 5th Annual George "Ginky" Sansouci Memorial Open/Pro title, realized, as it is each year, by the combined efforts of the Tri-State, Predator and Mezz Tours, and hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), New York. Shaw was challenged in the hot seat and finals by Brian Deska, fresh from his recent victory over Brandon Shuff in the last (May 9-10) stop on the Action Pool Tour.  Shaw had finished fourth in last year's Ginky Memorial while Deska finished in the tie for ninth place. This year, they both advanced to a winners' side semifinal; Shaw squaring off against Chris Derewonski, as Deska battled Mike Dechaine. Deska and Dechaine came within a game of double hill (9-7), in a match that sent Dechaine to the loss side. Shaw downed Derewonski 9-2 and then claimed the hot seat 9-6 from Deska.
 
As there always seems to be at this annual event, there were a lot of potential loss-side challengers, capable and anxious to knock Shaw out of that hot seat.  Dechaine and Derewonski discovered this immediately, when they picked up Jeremy Sossei, and Earl Strickland. Sossei had eliminated a pair of Shaun/Sean(s) to reach Dechaine; Shaun Wilkie and Sean "Alaska" Morgan, both 9-6. It was Chris Derewonski who had the misfortune of running into Strickland, who, already in the money, was picking up the finish line on his radar. He got by Kevin Clark 9-5 and eliminated Mike Wong 9-6 to draw Derewonski. Dechaine and Derewonski went down; Dechaine 9-4 to Sossei and Derewonski, in a strong showing, to Strickland 9-7.
 
Strickland advanced one more time, defeating Sossei in the quarterfinals 9-5. Deska then defeated him 9-6 in the semifinals. 
 
It looked in the early going of the extended race-to-11 finals as if it were going to be a long night, as Shaw and Deska traded racks back and forth to a 3-3 tie; some, but not a lot of safety play going on, the two just stepping to the table and dropping balls when given the chance. At 3-3, Shaw started to step up the pace. He won two in a row before Deska chalked up what would prove to be his final game. At 5-4, Shaw increased the tempo even more; at one point in the six-pack he chalked up to win, he was playing at a pace of just over a minute per rack. All Deska could do was hope for the occasional opportunity to play, and he didn't get many of them. Shaw became the fourth winner in the five years of the Ginky Memorial, which was won by Mike Dechaine twice (2011, 2014), along with Earl Strickland (2012) and Mike Davis (2013).
 
For Predator Tour Director Tony Robles, this 5th Annual Ginky Memorial was particularly significant because the event accomplished a goal he had set for himself when he launched the Predator Tour in 2008; to hold a tournament in the Tri-State New York area that drew more than 200 entrants. With the Open/Pro enrollment of 64 entrants and the concurrently-run Amateur event (separate story) drawing 176, that goal was reached with an excess of 30 players. Still on his 'goal' list (and seeking sponsors, he says) is an International Straight Pool event. Tour representatives from each of the three sponsoring tours thanked each other for their mutual cooperation, along with the ownership and staff of Steinway Billiards. Thanks were also extended to sponsors Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, Poison Billiards, PlayNAPL.com, The DeVito Team, PoolontheNet.com, and Delta-13 racks.

Deska goes undefeated to spoil eight-game winning streak of Shuff and Wilkie

In his first appearance on the 2015 Action Pool Tour, Brian Deska went undefeated through a field of 51 entrants. In so doing, he defeated the tour's top-ranked player, Shaun Wilkie, once, and the second-ranked player, Brandon Shuff, twice. Between them, Wilkie and Shuff had won the last eight stops on the tour. Wilkie had won the final four events in 2014 and the first two in 2015. Shuff had won the last two stops on the tour, defeating Wilkie twice to do it. The May 9-10 event was hosted by First Break Cafe in Sterling, VA.
 
Deska beat Shuff and Wilkie, one right after the other, on the winners' side of the bracket and then, in the finals, defeated Shuff a second time. Deska had something of an up and down path through the winners' bracket, opening with a shutout over Bill Woods, and following that with an 8-6 win over Paul Helms. He gave up just a single rack to Trevor Dentz before he ran into Shuff for the first time and survived a double hill fight. This put him into a winners' side semifinal against Wilkie, while Jimmy Varias and Steve Fleming squared off in the other.
 
Deska and Varias chalked up 8-4 victories over Wilkie and Fleming and faced each other in the hot seat. Deska prevailed in another 8-4 win, and waited on the return of Shuff.
 
Shuff, who'd gotten by Chris Pyle, Garrett Waechter and Will Moon on the winners' side, before running into Deska, opened his loss-side run with a shutout over Pat Carosi, and followed that with a 6-4 win over Marlone Alcaraz. This put him up against Fleming in the matches that would determine 5th/6th place. Wilkie picked up Mike Davis (sitting in the #4 spot on the tour's rankings), who, after being sent to the loss side by Varias, had shut out Trevor Dentz, and defeated Nilbert Lim 6-2.
 
Shuff gave up just a single rack to Fleming, while Wilkie and Davis locked up in a double hill match that eventually sent Wilkie to the quarterfinals. Wilkie and Shuff, hot seat and finals opponents in the last two stops on the tour, were at it again, and once again, Shuff eliminated Wilkie; this time, 6-3.
 
Shuff dropped Varias 6-4 in the semifinals, and got a second shot at Deska. In somewhat less dramatic fashion, Deska won their second meeting 10-4 to claim his first APT title of the year, and advance to #48 in the tour's rankings.
 
The event left Wilkie at the top of the tour rankings, about 1,000 points ahead of Brandon Shuff. Matt Krah, who didn't compete in this latest stop, remained in third place, with Mike Davis and Jimmy Varias a few hundred points away in fourth and fifth. Steve Fleming sits in the sixth spot, in a virtual tie with Varias.
 
 
Tour director Ozzy Reynolds thanked Andy Luong and his staff at First Break Cafe, along with sponsors Cue Sports International, George Hammerbacher, Ozone Billiards, and AZBilliards.com.

2015 PartyPoker Mosconi Cup – Shane and Bergman maintain top spots

Following The Super Billiards Expo 10 Ball Championship which concluded at the weekend, Shane Van Boening maintained his lead at the top of the 2015 PartyPoker USA Mosconi Cup ranking.
 
Van Boening was the highest placed American, finishing in fourth spot and has now opened up a 23 point lead over his nearest rival, Justin Bergman who kept his second spot with a 17th place finish. Scott Frost, who has yet to compete in a Mosconi Cup, edged his way into the shake-up as he leap-frogged both Jeremy Sossei and Skyler Woodward to claim a tie for second.
 
The event was won by Dennis Orcollo who beat Scotland's Jayson Shaw in a close run final. Shaw's high finish is another result which boosts his chances of a Team EUROPE wild card when both teams are finalised in October.
 
With five events now completed, there are four more to be played – the US Open 8 Ball and 10 Ball in Las Vegas in July; Turning Stone in August and the 40th annual US Open in October.
 
Players who finish in the top 32 in the qualifying events will receive ranking points and there are three categories of tournaments with differing amounts of points awarded accordingly. 
 
The PartyPoker Mosconi Cup takes place from 7th to 10th December this year at the New Tropicana Las Vegas. Ranking lists will be published on www.matchroompool.com as well as the Facebook and Instagram pages as well as the Twitter feed of the Mosconi Cup.
 
Tickets for the PartyPoker Mosconi Cup are available exclusively through The New Tropicana Las Vegas. Visit http://trop.lv/MosconiCup2015 , call 800.829.9034 or purchase in person at the Show Tickets desk.
 
There is a single session on each day's play and tickets are priced at $43.45 per session plus commission. The popular season tickets covering all four sessions are available for $154 plus commission. All prices include LET.
 
The Ranking
 
1 –       Shane Van Boening (SD) – 53
T2 –     Justin Bergman (IL) – 30
T2 –     Scott Frost (AZ) – 30
4 –      Jeremy Sossei (CT) – 29
5 –      Skyler Woodward (KY) – 25
6 –       Corey Deuel (CA) – 24
7 –       Oscar Dominguez (CA) – 19
8 –       Brian Deska (WA) – 15
T9 –     Danny Olson (SD) – 14
T9 –     Steve Knoll (FL) – 14

Wilkie wins record-setting fourth straight on Action Pool Tour to finish at top of tour rankings

Shaun Wilkie

In the Action Pool Tour's (APT) season finale, held on the weekend of December 6-7, Shaun Wilkie completed what tour director Ozzy Reynolds described as "a record that may very well never be broken," by winning his fourth straight stop on the tour. Wilkie's undefeated run through the field of 30 entrants at Long Shot Billiards in Chesapeake, VA left him at the top of the year-end APT rankings, which, in turn, earned him entry into all three divisions of the US Bar Table Championships in February, the airfare to get there, and hotel accommodations during his stay.
 
According to Reynolds, Wilkie started the year determined to win that first place prize. Then, he broke his foot.
 
"What would have sidelined most players, only made Wilkie more determined," said Reynolds, in announcing the victory and first place ranking prize. "For several events, he showed up and competed while hopping around the table on one foot."
 
Wilkie didn't win any of the events he spent hopping around on a broken foot, but he placed relatively high enough in all of them to stay competitive in the rankings with last year's tour champion, Brian Deska. Going into the season finale, the two were only separated by about 300 points, but Deska didn't compete, leaving the door open for Wilkie to march into the top spot on the tour, which he did.
 
Following victories over Chris Futrell, Kenny Miller, and Reymart Lim, during which he steadily reduced the number of racks being chalked up against him – from six to four to three – Wilkie moved into a winners' side semifinal against Joey Mastermaker. Joey's brother, Danny, in the meantime, squared off against Mike Davis in the other. Wilkie and Davis spoiled any hopes for a sibling hot seat match; Wilkie downing Joey 9-3, while Davis sent Danny loss-side packing 9-5. Wilkie completed his march to the hot seat with a 9-6 win over Davis and waited on his return.
 
On the loss side, things were shaping their way toward a sibling quarterfinal match. Joey drew Greg Sabins, who'd defeated Nick Turner 7-5 and survived a double hill fight against Kenny Miller. Danny picked up Reymart Lim, who, following his defeat at the hands of Wilkie in the third round, went on to victories over Shawn Carlson 7-3 and Chris Futrell 7-6.
 
The Mastermakers advanced. Joey survived a double hill struggle against Sabins, while Danny was busy eliminating Futrell 7-4. In a quarterfinal matchup that isn't likely to be the subject of a family conversation any time soon, or too often thereafter, Danny shut his brother out and turned to face Davis in the semifinal match. Davis gave up only two in the match and got his second shot at Wilkie in the hot seat. The two duplicated their hot seat scores 9-6, giving Wilkie his fourth straight, the tour ranking title, and tickets to Reno in February.

Wilkie comes from the loss side to become first-ever, two-time winner of Bob Stocks Memorial

Shaun Wilkie

Currently held under the auspices of the Action Pool Tour (APT), the Bob Stocks Memorial was originally an independent event, run by Sterling, VA's First Break Cafe. In the years since it began in 2006, it's crowned Adam Smith, Dennis Hatch, Ryan McCreesh, Mike Sigel, Mike Davis and Brian Deska as champions (the event was not held in 2013). On the weekend of October 4-5, the event crowned its first-ever, two-time champion, Shaun Wilkie, who won it in its independent days in 2008, three years before the APT took over in 2011. This year's event drew 65 entrants to First Break Cafe.
 
Wilkie's victory moved him to the top of APT's current rankings, ahead of Brian Deska, who finished in the two-way tie for fifth place. They're separated by a mere 127 points, with two events to go in the APT season. 
 
Wilkie had to win five on the loss side to chalk this one up. He was defeated by Dan Madden 7-3 in a winners' side quarterfinal. Madden moved on to face Danny Mastermaker in one winners' side semifinal, as Deska and Brandon Shuff met up in the other (of note at this juncture was Deska's just-completed, 7-2 victory over Karen Corr). Shuff sent Deska to the loss side 7-4, and in the hot seat match, met up with Mastermaker, who'd given up only a single rack to Madden. Shuff just did get by Mastermaker 7-6 to claim the hot seat, and, unbeknowst to him, chalk up his last victory.
 
Deska moved over and picked up Wilkie, who'd started his march back to the finals with a double hill win over Jimmy Varias and a subsequent victory over Steve Fleming 7-4. Madden drew Karen Corr, who'd gotten by Jason Kochenour 6-2 and Will Moon 6-1. Madden dropped Corr into the tie for fifth place 6-2. No one could have predicted that the battle between the tour's top two ranked players would end up in a shutout, but it did; Wilkie advanced, leaving Deska in the tie for fifth with Corr.
 
Wilkie now had his second shot against Madden, and took advantage of the opportunity, defeating him 6-2 to draw Mastermaker in the semifinals. Another double hill match ensued, which eventually advanced Wilkie to a finals showdown against Shuff. With the final match extended to nine games, Wilkie and Shuff battled it back and forth to within a game of double hill. Wilkie, though, surged ahead by two at the end to take it 9-7.