The last time Max Eberle recorded a victory at a major tournament, it was in his home town of Las Vegas, NV, almost exactly three years ago at the 24th Annual “Swanee” Memorial. He came from the loss side to defeat at-the-time ‘young gun,’ 23-year-old Chris Robinson-Reinhold, now better known as Mosconi Cup veteran, Chris Reinhold. Though he hasn’t been idle since that time, Eberle does appear to have taken some time off in 2021 and came back last year to cash in seven events; three of them associated with the Derby City Classic (Banks, One Pocket and 9-Ball), three memorial tournaments – The “Swanee” Memorial (3rd), the Brendan Crockett Memorial (5th), and the Andy Mercer Memorial (7th) – and he finished 17th at the American 14:1 Straight Pool Championships in late October.
This past weekend (Jan. 14-15), Eberle and former US Open 9-Ball Champion Tommy Kennedy squared off in the hot seat match of the Bankshots 10-Ball Open, a $140-added 10-ball event that drew 32 entrants to Bankshots in Dunedin, FL. They might have eventually met again in the finals, but before that happened, they, along with Scott Tollefson, agreed to a three-way split that left Eberle, the hot seat occupant at the time, as the official winner, Kennedy as the runner-up and Tollefson in third place.
Eberle’s path to what amounted to the title-defining hot seat match went through Trenton White, Jason Schlauch and Dave Stem to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal versus Florida veteran Anthony Meglino. Kennedy, in the meantime, had to contend with two double hill matches against his first two opponents, Jarred Schlauch and Lee Heuwagen. Kennedy survived them both, and downed Penera Mota to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against Tollefson.
Eberle sent Meglino loss-side packing 7-5 and was joined in the hot seat match by Kennedy, who’d defeated Tollefson 7-1. Three times proved not to be the charm for Kennedy, as he and Eberle battled back and forth to double hill in that hot seat match. Eberle dropped the last 10-ball and in effect, became the event winner when he claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Tollefson picked up Stem, who’d followed his loss to Eberle with victories over Jamison Daniels 5-1 and Heuwagen 5-2. Meglino drew a rematch against Chris Daly, whom he’d defeated in the second winners’ side round. Daly moved west to begin a four-match loss-side streak that had included the recent elimination of Mota 5-3 and Jason Schlauch 5-2.
Meglino ended Daly’s modest loss-side streak with a punctuation mark, shutting him out and advancing to the quarterfinals. Tollefson joined him after defeating Stem 5-2.
In what proved to be the last match of the event, upon which rode $140 in cash (the difference between 3rd and 4th place money), Tollefson defeated Meglino 5-2. Negotiations for the three-way split of the top three prizes got underway and Eberle earned his first (recorded) event win in three years.
It wasn’t actually the first and isn’t likely to be the last.
This past weekend (May 14-15), Eastern Billiards, Andy Cloth, Stephanie Mitchell’s The Corner Pocket pool room in Largo, FL and Jamison Daniels presented something of an official start to a series of Premier 9-Ball Tour events. Back in April, the first three of those sponsors held what they called a Shootout, that drew 32 entrants to The Corner Pocket. Won by Kyle Bova, the Shootout acted as something of a ‘proof of concept’ demonstration that led to the scheduling and eventual $2,000-added event that drew 53 entrants to the Corner Pocket this past weekend.
According to Mitchell, the endeavor is being designed as a series of independent events and though it bears the moniker of a traditional ‘tour,’ it will not be subject to traditional tour fees or any overall player-specific format; neither specifically handicapped (although the most recent event was handicapped) or Pro or Ladies events, as examples. The next planned stop on the tour, scheduled for July, at a to-be-determined specific date is being planned as a Ladies event.
Trenton White and Chris Daly, who was looking for his first recorded victory since winning a stop on the Poison Tour eight years ago, split the event’s top two prizes after the event semifinal between Daly and Kyle Bova. As occupant of the hot seat at the time, White became the event’s official winner.
White opened his trip to the hot seat with two straight shutouts, against Wanda Crews and Cory Wilcox, before giving up his first rack (two of them, actually) to Nathan Rose and four more of them to Mike Lear. He drew Joseph Dyer in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Daly, in the meantime, went through Tom Mittnight, John Cohmer, Frank Costantino and Carlos Gomes before running into Kyle Bova in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Bova diverted Daly’s ‘trip to the finals’ train to the loss-side tracks 6-2 and advanced to the hot seat match. White joined him after sending Dyer west 6-4. White began the race-to-6 hot seat match with a single ‘bead on the wire’ that he didn’t need. He chalked up the five racks he needed before Bova had dropped a single 9-ball.
On the loss side, Daly picked up Mike Lear, who’d followed his loss to White with victories over Costantino and Penera Mota, both 5-1. Dyer drew Rose, who’d been another victim to White’s winners’ side exploits and then, got by Scott Tollefson, before winning back-to-back matches against Carlos Gomes and Raymond Linares, both double hill.
Daly and Lear battled to double hill, before Daly advanced to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Dyer, who’d eliminated Rose 5-3. Daly earned his rematch against Bova with a 5-3 victory over Dyer in those quarterfinals.
Though Daly began what would prove to be the last match of the event, the semifinal race-to-5, with one ‘bead on the wire,’ Bova’s chances of winning the match (as calculated by Fargo Rate)were just over 50%; 52.5 to Daly’s 47.5. So, statistically, almost even. Daly gave up just a single rack as he chalked up the five he needed for a shot against White, waiting for him in the hot seat. A shot, as it happened, that did not materialize, as White and Daly negotiated a split of the top two prizes.
Tour director Chad Kosier thanked Eastern Billiards’ Gary and Ruth Lucchesi for their “opportunity to keep great tournaments alive,” along with Andy Cloth, Jamison Daniels,Stephanie Mitchell and her Corner Pocket staff for their hospitality and Rob Charles for “priceless help.” He also extended thanks to Allen Ellison of Billiard Livestream for his effort at bringing the event to members of its remote audience.
As noted above, the next event on the Eastern Billiards/Andy Cloth/The Corner Pocket Premier 9-Ball Tour is likely to be a Ladies event, scheduled for a date-to-be-determined in July. For further information, you can keep an eye on Stephanie Mitchell’s (The Corner Pocket) Facebook page and initiate a Friend request, along with any specific inquiries.
Donnie Mills and Tommy Kennedy renewed their long-standing rivalry during the Open event of the June 8-9 stop on the Poison Tour down in Florida. They met in the hot seat match, won by Mills, who went on to defeat Justin Hall in the finals, completing an undefeated run through a field of 45 entrants. The $1,000-added Open event was hosted by Stroker's in Palm Harbor, FL.
Chris Daly, in the $1,000-added Amateur event that drew 69 entrants, took the other route to the winners' circle. He won five on the loss side, took the opening set of a modified double elimination final, and won the single, 'sudden death' game to claim the top prize.
Mills and Kennedy won 14 of the 17 games played in the two winners' side semifinals in the Open event. Kennedy gave up only a single rack to James Roberts, while Mills allowed Travis Croft to move two beads on the wire. Mills, who has the overall better record in his rivalry with Kennedy, chalked up another against him 7-5, and sat in the hot seat, awaiting what turned out to be the return of Justin Hall.
Roberts and Frost moved to the loss side and faced Hall and Mike Delawder, who had both just survived double hill matches; Hall, 5-4 over Rich Schau, and Delawder, 5-4 against Chris Daly (who had already won the Amateur event). Hall and Delawder capitalized on their close calls by giving up one rack each to Roberts and Craft, and turning to face each other in the quarterfinals.
Hall gave up only two to Delawder in those quarterfinals and turned to face Kennedy, with a 20-8 record over his last four games. He made it 25-9 in five games with a 5-1 victory over Kennedy and got a shot at Mills in the hot seat. Mills, though, stopped Hall's loss-side run with a 7-4 win to claim the event title.
In the Amateur event, Chris Daly chalked up an equally impressive loss-side run, and finished it off with an overall 8-3 win in the two-set final, including the 'sudden death' single game at the end. He'd been sent to the loss side by Justin Gilsinan 7-5 in a winners' side quarterfinal matchup.
Gilsinan moved on to face Jim Sandaler, while Jose Del Rio and Angel Rivera met in the other winners' side semifinal. Sandaler sent Gilsinan to an eventual quarterfinal rematch against Daly with a 7-5 win, and in the hot seat match, faced Del Rio, who'd sent Rivera to the losers' bracket 7-3. Sandaler won his final game, defeating Del Rio 7-3 and waited in the hot seat for Daly.
On the loss side, Daly would play 25 games over five matches, and lose only five of those games. He gave up three in his opening loss-side match against Rick Hefelfinger, and none at all to Bob Gonnelly, which set him up to face Rivera. Gilsinan, in the meantime, met up with Derek Santos, who'd survived a double hill match versus Mike Delawder and eliminated Mark Whatan 5-2.
Daly did his part to earn a rematch against Gilsinan by chalking up a second straight shutout, this one over Rivera. Gilsinan played his part, as well, downing Santos 5-1. Daly gave up only two games – one to Gilsinan in the quarterfinal rematch and one to Del Rio in the semifinals – to earn a shot against Sandaler in the hot seat.
Daly took the opening set 7-4, forcing the single, 'sudden death' game to determine the event victory. Daly won that last game to claim the event title.
Tour Director Tony Crosby thanked the ownership and staff at Stroker's for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Poison Cues, Stroke-It Wear, Aramis, Diamond Billiard Products, and Simonis Cloth. The next stop on the Poison Tour, to be hosted by Capone's in Spring Hill, FL, is set for June 21-22.
It was 3:30 in the morning when Tommy Kennedy, sitting in the hot seat, and Anthony Meglino opted out of a final match during the $500-added, November 30 stop on Kennedy's Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, which drew 41 entrants to Cunningham's in Vero Beach, FL. As far as Kennedy was concerned, the default event title worked out just as well for him, because Meglino, he noted, coming off a nine-match, loss-side winning streak was shooting lights out as he got closer.
"He was shooting really well," said Kennedy, "so it did kind of work out for the best for me."
Kennedy had sent Meglino west in the second round, and Kennedy moved on, advancing, eventually to the winners' side final four, where he met up with Carlos Torres. Jim Sandaler, in the meantime, locked cues with Chris Gentile. A 7-4 win for Kennedy and a double hill win for Sandaler, put them into the hot seat match, where Kennedy prevailed 7-2.
With four matches behind him, Meglino defeated Devin Brown 6-1 and shut out Prescott Buckwold to draw Gentile, coming over from the winners' side semifinals. Torres drew Chris Daly, who'd gotten by Justin Hall 6-3 and Billy Burke 6-2.
Torres got successfully back on the winning track with a 6-4 victory over Daly, but Meglino handed Gentile his second straight loss, defeating him 6-1. Meglino advanced to the semifinals without lifting his cue, as Torres forfeited the quarterfinal match.
Meglino then eliminated Sandaler in the semifinals 6-3, which gave Kennedy, looking on, a glimpse of what he might be facing. They opted out of the final match, declaring Kennedy, in the hot seat, the event winner.
Kennedy thanked Chris Devila, owner of Cunningham's and his staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Tiger Products, J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Mueller Recreational Products, Chris Nitti Custom Cues, Chris Hightower of Cue Man Billiards, Daivd Adams of Byron, GA and Simonis Cloth.
