The annual Bob Stocks Memorial Tournament, held under the auspices of the Action Pool Tour, has developed something of a reputation for crowning new winners every year. Until this most recent, 13th annual tournament, only one competitor, Shaun Wilkie, had ever won it twice. On the weekend of April 13-14, Kevin West became the second. Having won this event in 2017, and after skipping the following year, which saw Zoren James Aranas and Dennis Orcollo battle in the finals, West returned to give it another shot. He was sent to the loss side by Brian Bryant in a winners’ side semifinal and came back after winning three to challenge and defeat Bryant in the finals. The event drew 31 entrants to First Break Café in Sterling, VA.
West was challenged early in this one; his first match, a double hill affair that eventually sent Paul Helms to the loss side. West moved on to defeat former Bob Stock Memorial Champion Brandon Shuff and Scott Roberts, both 9-5, to draw Bryant in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Bryant had defeated Alvin Thomas 9-6, Alex Parker, 9-3 and Paul Swinson 9-4 to meet West. Scott Haas, in the meantime, defeated Ali Gee 9-1, Andrew Manning 9-7 and Graham Swinson 9-3 to draw Chris Bruner in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Bryant sent West west 9-7 and in the hot seat match, faced Haas, who’d defeated Bruner 9-7. Bryant claimed the hot seat 9-5 Haas, and waited on the return of West.
On the loss side, West drew Steve Fleming, the tour’s #4-ranked player on the tour coming into the event, who, after being defeated by Chris Bruner 9-6 in a winners’ side quarterfinal, had defeated Bruce Choyce 7-1 and Brandon Shuff 7-5 to meet West. Bruner picked up Scott Roberts, who’d survived a double hill battle versus Mark Nanashee and eliminated Kirill Rutman to face Bruner.
West and Roberts advanced to the quarterfinals; West, 7-3 over Fleming and Roberts, 7-4 over Bruner, denying West a second shot at him. West took the quarterfinal match 7-5 over Roberts and then, downed Haas 7-4 in the semifinals.
The tightly contested final match between West and Bryant featured the maximum number of games possible in a race-to-11; 21, also known as double hill, but recognized, as well, as a lot of games to play to decide a winner. West dropped the final 9-Ball to claim his second Bob Stocks Memorial title.
Tour directors Kris Wylie and Tiger Baker thanked the ownership and staff at First Break Café, as well as sponsors East Coast Landscaping, Inc., Cue Sports International (CSI), Chix Cabinets Direct, Grant Wylie (professional photographer), Brown’s Mechanical, LLC, and George Hammerbacher Advanced Pool Instructor. The next stop on the APT, will take players “Back to the Beach,” at an event scheduled for the weekend of May 18-19 at Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA.
(l to r): Assistant TD Raymond Walters & Zoren James Aranas
On the weekend of April 7-8, the Philippines’ Zoren James Aranas went undefeated to become the 12th different champion of the annual Bob Stocks Memorial Tournament held under the auspices of the Action Pool Tour. In the event’s 13-year history since 2006, only APT veteran Shaun Wilkie has won the event twice.
Wilkie was the only one of the event’s previous champions to compete in this year’s event, and though he was fresh from his win on the last APT stop (a “Bar Box Bash,” 8-Ball event in March), he would end up being sent to the loss side by the eventual runner-up (Dennis Orcollo) and be eliminated by the APT’s current #1-ranked player, Steve Fleming.
This 12th Annual Bob Stocks Memorial, the fourth stop on the APT, drew 49 entrants to First Break Café in Sterling, VA, and like some other Northeast tours that occurred on the same weekend (the Predator Pro Am Tour, as one example), it benefited from an influx of top players, warming up for the Super Billiards Expo, scheduled to begin on Thursday (April 12). Aranas and Orcollo, of course, were among them, and though they would advance to the hot seat match, and ultimately, the finals, their paths to those last two matches could not be characterized as the proverbial ‘walks in the park.’
Aranas opened what would prove to be his winning campaign with three straight 7-2 wins, against Tuan Chau, Mitch Deike and Bruce Choyce. Thomas Haas then chalked up four against him in a winners’ side quarterfinal that would advance Aranas to a winners’ side semifinal against the APT’s #1-ranked player, Steve Fleming. Nobody gave Orcollo a harder time than his first opponent, Coen Bell, who chalked up five against him in the opening round. That proved to be more racks than Orcollo’s next three opponents combined – Paul Helms (1), Shaun Wilkie (2), and Tom Zippler (1). This set Orcollo up in a winners’ side semifinal against Rick Glasscock.
Aranas and Orcollo defeated Fleming and Glasscock, both 7-3, to face each other in the hot seat match. Aranas won it 7-3 and waited on Orcollo’s return from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Fleming picked up Tom Zippler, who, following his defeat at the hands of Orcollo in a winners’ side quarterfinal, shut out Jason Trigo, and eliminated Doug Whiting 6-3. Glasscock drew Wilkie, four matches into his loss-side streak that, like Zipple’s, had begun with a loss to Orcollo. Wilkie had moved into the money rounds, with a 6-4 win over Rob Cord, and a shutout over Thomas Haas.
With a 6-2 win by Wilkie over Glasscock and a 6-3 win by Fleming over Zippler, the top two-ranked players on the APT squared off in this event’s quarterfinals. The #1-player (Fleming) downed #2 (Wilkie) 6-2. Fleming then fell to Orcollo in the semifinals 6-4.
Aranas’ final match proved to be his easiest of the tournament. He punctuated his undefeated run with a shutout over Orcollo in the finals.
A Second Chance tournament drew 13 entrants, and saw Scott Haas come from the loss side to avenge an earlier loss to Paul Oh by defeating him, double hill, in the finals. Dan Maruschak finished third and John Cianflone finished in fourth place.
Tour director Ozzy Reynolds thanked the ownership and staff at First Break Café, as well as tour sponsors Kamui, Diamond Billiard Products, Viking Cues, Predator Cues, Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards, Aramith, and George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor). Stop # 5 on the Action Pool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of May 12-13, will be the Bash at the Beach, hosted by Q-Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA.
(l to r): Shawn Jackson, Briana Miller, Rick Miller
In the first of a series of events, in preparation for the official launching of a tour in August, former Junior Nationals champion and frequent WPBA/J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour competitor Briana Miller went undefeated through a short field of 15 entrants to win the first Definition of a Player (DOP) Tour stop. She got by Rick Miller (no relation) twice – hot seat and finals – in the mixed-gender field that was hosted by the Royal Billiards' Players Club in Wilmington, DE.
The two Millers advanced to a winners' side semifinal, with Briana facing Scott Haas and Rick squaring off against Shawn Jackson. Briana gave up only a single rack to Haas (7-1), advancing to the hot seat match against Rick, who'd survived a double hill battle versus Jackson. Briana gave up only a single rack to Rick, as well, claiming the hot seat and waiting on his return from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Haas picked up Jeremy Mason, recent winner over Roger Gilpatrick 7-4 and another JPNEWT veteran, Kia Sidbury 7-5. Jackson drew Paul Troop, who'd picked up a forfeit win over Bruce Choyce and survived a double hill fight versus Tom McDonald to reach him. Haas and Jackson advanced to the quarterfinals; Haas 7-2 over Mason and Jackson 7-4 over Troop.
Jackson and Haas then locked up in a double hill match that eventually advanced Jackson to the semifinals against Rick Miller. Miller ended Jackson's two-match, loss-side run 7-5 in the semifinals, advancing to a re-match against Briana in the hot seat. Briana completed her undefeated run with an 11-8 victory in the finals to claim the event title.
Tour director Andre Smith thanked the ownership and staff of Royal Billiards Players' Club, as well as sponsors McDermott Cues and Monarch Billiards. The first official stop on the DOP McDermott Cues Tour, scheduled for the weekend of August 26-27, will again be hosted by the Royal Billiards Players' Club in Wilmington, DE.
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.
