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.
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.
Scott Frost knew he would have to defeat the best that Arizona pool has to offer in order to win his second Diamond Pool Tour of the season at Stingers on June 6th – 7th; what he wasn’t expecting was that he would also have to beat a couple of the best players that France and Spain have to offer.
The field of seventy one players was split with twenty six “A” players and forty five “B” players in attendance. Fans were treated by the play of French National Champion Nicolas Kalb and top Spanish player Daniel Jimenez, who took a break from visiting friends in Las Vegas to come out to Arizona and see how they fared against the players on the Diamond Tour. Kalb would score wins over JR Burhart and Gus Briseno before dropping a 5-3 match to Frost. Jimenez would score wins over JR Jiron and Nick De Leon before falling to James Lester 5-4. Frost would go on to take the “A bracket” hot-seat with a 5-2 win over Lester.
Play was extremely competitive in the “B bracket” with Ed Scott and Joey Barrera distancing themselves from the pack. Barrera had notable wins over Brian Poore, Oscar Avila and Sara Miller before beating Scott for the “B Bracket” hot-seat.
With a 7th place finish in the event, Sara Miller easily won the Greenmail top lady bonus, as well as the ladies side pot.
While Bobby Emmons finished out of the money, he did earn the $50 Greenmail bounty on last month’s winner Spike Aiardo. Aiardo turned in an uncharacteristic “2 and out” performance, with losses to Mike Sandoval and Emmons.
When the two brackets came together on Sunday, it was Frost scoring a 5-2 win over Barrera on the winner’s side, and Spain’s Jimenez defeating Tony Page 5-3 on the one loss side. Jimenez went on to defeat Barrera by the same 5-3 score, but could only manage two racks in the lone set of the finals as Frost won 5-2.
The Neil’s Garage Cabinets Second Chance tournament saw JR Burkhart defeat a field of seventeen players for first place. Burkhart defeated Jamie Cole 3-2 for the hot-seat and then blanked Todd Rowitz 3-0 in the first set of the finals.
Presenting Sponsor, Casino Del Sol Resort, provided vouchers for all of the players in attendance. Each voucher was good for a $60 credit at the Casino’s amphitheater.
There was no movement at the top of either points list with Frost and Nick Kline leading their respective lists. Aiardo still clings to second place on the “A Player” list, while Barrera and Rick Schmitz are tied for second place on the “B Player” list.
Tour organizers expressed their thanks to Dale and his staff for putting up with us pool players for two long days. Lenny Marshall put in overtime at this event as he manned the streaming camera and commentary all weekend. Rick Schmitz was also on hand, providing the tour with more great photos. The tour just wouldn’t be the same without the help of everyone involved.
The Diamond Pool Tour will take July off, for a well deserved summer break, but will be back in action on August 15th and 16th for the Arizona State One Pocket Championship at Kolby’s Corner Pocket in Tempe.
Enjoying a large increase in participation this year (with some divisions up 50-100%), the 2013 Pure X Cues ACS National Championships capped off a banner year of growth for the nine-year old American CueSports Alliance (ACS). The New Tropicana Las Vegas proved to again be an attractive venue for the event, as scores of entertainment venues are conveniently located in this section of The Strip! And most attendees stayed at The Trop. Players enjoyed online coverage in all divisions throughout the event via onsite monitors and their smart phones. A record $36,500 in added prize monies drew players from throughout North America to twenty-three divisions of competition. Despite the large turn-out, players such as Mike Singleton, Beth Fondell, Dustin Gunia, Jessica Frideres and the team Wrecking Crew (LA) still earned top honors in multi-events. All flow charts are still viewable by accessing www.compusport.us; then “Tournaments”; then “ACS Nationals.” With the jump in attendees, ideal dates in mid-May and the attractive location, many participants projected that these Championships on its 10th anniversary “will be even bigger next year!”
Singles action began at the first of the week with handicapped 9-ball. Mike Singleton of Sulphur, LA, improved on his past mediocre performances in the Nationals to outlast 69-year old Lyn Wechsler (Rochester, NY) for the Men’s 9-Ball Singles honors. On the distaff side, past 8-Ball champion Beth Fondell (Owatonna, MN) remained undefeated throughout, including her one final’s set against Phoenix, Arizona’s Bernie Store to earn her Women’s 9-Ball Singles crown! Results from the many divisions of 8-ball singles included: Dustin Gunia (Omaha, NE) displaying dominating form to defend his Men’s Advanced Singles 8-Ball crown over Lyn Wechsler (Rochester, NY) ; Beth Fondell (Owatonna, MN) obtaining a rare double by outlasting defending champion Jessica Frideres (Fort Dodge, IA) on the last ball of the deciding set to claim the Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Singles title – 7-6; Ben Sutherland (Peoria, AZ) losing to Julian Russell (Fort McMurray, ON/CAN) in the first set of the finals, only to recover to gain the deciding set for the Men’s Open 8-Ball Singles championship; Toni Barnes (Shawboro, NC) scoring a title with a one-set finals defeat over Sophia Morquecho (Glendale, AZ) for the Women’s Open 8-Ball Singles laurels; once-defeated Dennis Coolen (Bridgewater, NS/CAN) outdistancing Joe Herne (Hogansburg, NY) in two sets for the Men’s Standard 8-Ball Singles division success; and Melanie Jacobs (Hogansburg, NY) besting Frances Jensen (Calgary, AB/CAN)in one set for the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Singles glory.
In the senior-aged 8-ball singles divisions, Carl Coffee (Pueblo, CO) took down Claude Gragg III (Arlington, TX) in the first set of the finals for the Men’s Senior (55+) 8-Ball Singles crown – leaving Gragg to take the runner-up position for the second straight year; Debbie Snook (Boone, CO) stopped three-time defending champ, Shawn Modelo (Antioch, CA), in the winner’s bracket finals and then took the Women’s Senior (50+) 8-Ball Singles title by upending Linda Asleson (Billings, MT) in two sets in the tourney finals; and Richard Foley (Ketchikan, AK) delegated undefeated Charles Smith (Whitesboro, TX) to the runner-up position for a second straight year in taking the Super Senior (65+) Singles 8-Ball Singles title in two sets!
The two Scotch Doubles 8-Ball divisions showcased perhaps the most dominant amateur scotch doubles team in the country, with defending champions Dustin Gunia and Jessica Frideres (NE/IA) capturing the Advanced Scotch Doubles division with a comfortable one-set win over Labernaline Store/ Steve Stowers (AZ); and the team of Arlene David/ Bill Mason (VA) needing just one set as well to claim victory over Sophia Morquecho/ Burt Balancad (AZ) in the Open Scotch Doubles category.
With the ACS schedule in the latter portion of the week allowing non-conflicting accommodation of entry into both 9-ball and 8-ball team competitions, there was still plenty of competition to keep every player involved – especially those out of the money who automatically qualified for free second-chance team divisions! In the Men’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division, defending champion Dick’s Pick [Ronnie Allen, Jimmy Moore, Greg Kuhl, George Huffman, Chris Akey and James Carmona] (Las Vegas, NV) reloaded but with the same results to take down Jitnot (NS/CAN) in the title match in two sets – after Jitnot had originally claimed the hot seat. The Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division showcased Victoria’s Secret [Susie Miller, Linda Asleson, Jonella Staus and Teresa Keller] (MT) outpointing Colorado’s T’s Bar in the round-robin format. In the Men’s Open 8-Ball Team competition, once-defeated Wrecking Crew [Mike Singleton, Blaine Stanford, Jamie Spivey, Rodney Browne III and Luke Coffey] took two sets from No Flash (AZ) in the title match. The Women’s Open 8-Ball Team division’s San Antonio’s Fuhgettaboutit [Barbara Wisdom, Kenyon Juo Young, Sophie Lopez, Kawania Watson and Maria Lopez] survived a deciding set over After Eight (FL) for the title.
Harbor Hills (WI) [Al Carmody, Mark Schmidt, Tim Gamerdinger, Tom Decker and John Schlapman] needed only one set in the Men’s Standard 8-Ball Team division final’s clash to make Comrades (GA) the bride’s maid. In the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Team division, British Columbia’s Venus Envy [Theresa Warren, Susan Johnston, Susan Kottke and Roxanna Alton] took off the deciding set of the finals to repel New York’s Mohawk Chicks for the crown.
The 3-person 9-ball team divisions featured some of the top 8-ball team placers as well. Undefeated Gotta Have It [NE/IA] [Jerrod Frideres, Jessica Frideres and Dustin Gunia] turned back Las Vegas’s Dick’s Pick in the first set of the finals for the Men’s Advanced 9-Ball Team title. Open 8-Ball Team runner-ups – After Eight (FL) [Flori LeHart, Michelle Jarrell, Janet Smith and Jamie Toennies], succeeded in ousting Miller Time (FL) for the Women’s Open 9-Ball Team laurels. In the Men’s Open 9-Ball Team category, Wrecking Crew (LA) [Jamie Spivey, Mike Singleton and Luke Coffey] doubled up on its Open 8-Ball Team win to capture this title as well with a two-set finals sweep over 9 Ball Shockers (AZ).
In the 9th Annual ACS National Artistic Pool Championships, Dennis Brown of Creston, BC claimed another title for Canada, edging out hundreds of entries. ACS would like to especially thank our title sponsor – Pure X Cues, as well as Gary Benson and his tournament direction staff at High Country Promotions, as well as the exhibiting vendors and the host site – the Tropicana Las Vegas! The ACS Nationals is already looking to returning to the Tropicana May 10-17, 2014! The ACS is a national non-profit, member-governed association which will sanction any local pool league (whether player-run or owner-operated) via a $10 annual sanction fee. Contact the ACS at 1-888-662-1705 or www.americancuesports.org for complete information on sanctioning your league!
The ACS currently sanctions leagues in 38 states and enjoys reciprocal relations with its sister organization in Canada (Canadian Cue Sport Association – CCS). Twelve state associations are affiliated to ACS; and the ACS offers the Midwest ACS Championships each January at the Riverside Resort & Casino in Iowa. The ACS produces a national amateur Pure X All American Tour each Fall thru Spring and offers certification for both instructors and referees dedicated to the sport.