Kristina Tkach has been a busy young woman. Since March, she’s chalked up three major titles, commencing with her win at the 2019 Super Billiards Expo’s Women’s 9-Ball Championship, followed by a May victory in a European tour event and just last week (Aug. 8-11), a WPBA victory at the Sondheim Diamond Invitational in Iowa. She had no sooner made it back home to Virginia (Roy’s Basement), when she signed on to the August 17-18 stop on the Action Pool Tour, where she went undefeated to claim that event title. The event drew 41 entrants to Champion Billiards Sports Bar in Frederick, MD.
Not only did Tkach work through a field dominated by men (36 of the 41), she defeated the top-ranked player in the Action Pool Tour’s standings and winner of the last two stops on the tour, Chris Bruner. Twice.
Tkach embarked on her trip to the winners’ circle with an 8-1 victory over Skylar Hess and then, defeated the 2018 runner-up in the tour’s rankings, Jason Trigo 8-3 (this was only Trigo’s third appearance on the 2019 tour). Tkach then defeated Elva Abernathy 8-4 to draw Brian Bryant in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Bruner got into the hot seat match with an 8-2 victory over Wilkie. Tkach joined him after defeating Bryant 8-4. Tkach then claimed her first of two over Bruner 8-6 and waited in the hot seat for him to get back from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Wilkie picked up Scott Roberts, who’d been sent to the loss side by Brian Bryant (8-5) and then defeated Scott Haas, double hill, and then, Thomas Haas 7-1. Bryant drew Matt Krah, who’d been sent to the loss side by Wilkie, shut out Chuck Sampson and defeated Chris Funk 7-5.
Wilkie and Krah advanced to the quarterfinals, both 7-4, over Roberts and Bryant. Wilkie gave up only a single rack to Krah in those quarterfinals to earn his rematch against Bruner.
Bruner and Wilkie battled to within a game of double hill, but Bruner edged out in front near the end to win it 7-5. With the intangible of momentum presumably on his side, Bruner turned his attention to the young woman waiting for him in the hot seat (and how many times, one wonders, has that happened?)
Tkach and Bruner did battle it out to a 19th and deciding game in the finals. Tkach, though, had the last ‘word,’ as it were, and dropped the final 9-Ball to claim the event title.
A Second Chance event drew eight entrants. Don Steele and Alavaro Valle battled twice (hot seat and finals) for it. Steele took them both, taking home $100 after a 5-2 win in the hot seat and shutting Valle out in the finals. Valle took home the $75 second-place prize.
Tour directors Kris Wylie and Tiger Baker thanked the ownership and staff at Champion Billiards Sports Bar, as well as sponsors CSI, Viking Cues, Predator Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Ozone Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls, Kamui, Chix Cabinets, and George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor). The next stop on the Action Pool Tour (#9), scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 14-15, will be a Double Points event, hosted by Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA.
Harshit Kedia with Christopher Wilburn (NVAT Director)
SPRINGFIELD VA – The inaugural event for the Northern Virginia Amateur Tour (NVAT) is in the books. 56 players from the Mid-Atlantic region competed in BCA regulation, true double-elimination 10 Ball. The event completed in two days (January 19-20) as planned.
Sweet 16 results (Day 2) were as follows: 13th-16th Place: Alex Espinal (Fargo500), Larry Peterman (Fargo530), Richard Thompson (Fargo530), Eric Townsend (Fargo515); 9th-12 Place: Bob Landsman (Fargo530), Zach Sykes (Fargo450), Jamie Brogdon (Fargo585), RJ Davis (Fargo275); 7th-8th Place: James Hendershot (Fargo550, $60 prize), Robert Nijkamp (Fargo575, $60 prize); 5th-6th Place: Giulietta Dahl (Fargo335, $95 prize), Dennis Ryan (Fargo530, $95 prize); 4th Place: Tuan Chau (Fargo639, $160 prize); 3rd Place: Chris Funk (Fargo588, $270 prize); 2nd Place: Andrew Tu (Fargo575, $445 prize); 1st Place: Harshit Kedia (Fargo 503, $740 prize).
All players were welcomed and competed in “weighted” races based on Fargo rating. If a player was unknown to Fargo, s/he was given a starter rating by the tournament organizers based on available data (BCA average, TAP or APA handicap, or historic tournament results).
Fargo’s app (fargorate.com) was then used to create “hot” races that aided the lower-rated player in a matchup. No race exceeded 10-2. The majority of races were even to 5. As expected, the results brought into question a few player ratings. These cases will be evaluated closely and adjusted as necessary.
NVAT results are converted to points. Players on the tour are ranked according to performance only, with no current reward for participation. Scores are reported to Fargo.
The event continuously streamed a match from the featured table via Twitch, a platform new to billiard tournament directors. The broadcast experienced minimal interruption.
Prior to the first breaks, NOVA BCA’s Donnie Rogan was honored for his efforts in promoting billiards in Northern Virginia. The calcutta (player auction) produced $990 for 1st Place, $420 for 2nd Place, $170 for 3rd Place, and $70 for 4th Place.
The next event will be held March 23-24 from Hard Times Café at 6362 Springfield Plaza in Springfield VA. Players will compete in BCA regulation, true double-elimination 8 Ball.
NOVA BCA Representatives: Brian Cheung, Eric Townsend
Sponsors: Baltimore City Cues, S & T Billiards, Ransome Cue Repair, Inky Shirts, Phoenix Chimney, House of Vape, Printing Productions, Hard Times Café.
It was, in a way, the final that might have happened at the 2017 VA State 10-Ball Championships in February, had it not been for Dennis Orcollo. At that event, the second stop on the 2017 Action Pool Tour (APT), Orcollo was sent to the loss side by Shaun Wilkie in a winners' side semifinal, and immediately picked up Mike Davis, who was in the middle of a six-match, loss-side winning streak. Orcollo shut Davis out, advanced to the finals and claimed the title with a victory over Wilkie.
On the weekend of April 15-16, at the fourth stop on the APT, Wilkie and Davis got the chance they never had to face each other in the earlier tournament. They met twice in this one; once in the hot seat and again, in the finals. Davis took the first one, but Wilkie came back to chalk up a 'deuces wild' victory in the finals. Wilkie claimed his second match against Davis (who was playing in his second APT event of the year), and, following his victory on the tour's second stop, picked up his second APT title of the year. The event drew 70 entrants to Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA.
In a concurrently-run Ladies event, which drew a short field of 11 entrants, Nicole King and Tina Malm played twice as well, each looking for their second title on the APT Tour. Malm had taken the season opener in February, and King claimed Stop #3 last month. Like Davis in the Open, Malm claimed the hot seat, but like Wilkie, King came back from the semifinals to defeat Malm in the finals and claim the title. It was the second time in a row on this young APT season that Wilkie and King had won the Open and Ladies titles.
Wilkie got off to a flying start in the Open. After an opening round bye, he played four matches to get into a winners' side semifinal match against Larry Kressel (runner-up to Chris Byers in the Amateur event of the Super Billiards Expo earlier in the month). He'd given up only five racks total in those opening four matches, which included a shutout over Jenny Acot, a single rack each to Steve Ball and Aldrin Manreal, and three against Greg Sabins in a winners' side quarterfinal. Davis, too, opened with a shutout (over Jon Crider) and gave up only six racks in his four-match run to a winners' side semifinal against Alex Parker. Davis gave up three to Jamey Mellott, two to Justin Powers and (obviously picking up some speed) one to Chris Funk.
Wilkie sent Kressel to the loss side 7-3, as Davis was sending Parker over 7-1. In what proved to be their only double hill match, individually or together, Davis claimed the hot seat, and waited for Wilkie to get back.
On the loss side, Kressel drew Matt Krah, who, following a defeat at the hands of Parker, downed Jamey Mellott 6-3, and Jimmy Varia 6-4. Parker picked up Brian Dietzenbach, who'd lost to Kressel, and then defeated Tom Zippler 6-3, before surviving a double hill battle versus Greg Sabins. Kressel eliminated Krah 6-2, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Dietzenbach, who'd ended Parker's weekend 6-4.
Kressel appeared to be a man on a mission in those quarterfinals, and shut Dietzenbach out for a crack at Shaun Wilkie in the semifinals. It turned out to be something of a 'mission impossible' as Wilkie allowed Dietzenbach only two racks in those semifinals for his own second shot against Davis in the hot seat. Now, it was Wilkie who was on a mission. Mission accomplished with a 9-3 win over Davis in the finals.
King wins her second Ladies APT event of the year
Nicole King's second straight Ladies APT victory took five matches to claim, two of them in matches against Tina Malm. King opened with a shutout over Giulletta Dahl, and a 5-2 win over Kristin Horgen, before coming up against Judie Wilson in a winners' side semifinal. Malm played only four matches total. An opening round bye was followed by a 5-1 victory over Deeqa Nur, which set Malm up in a winners' side semifinal against Sharita Green.
King downed Wilson 5-3, while Malm was chalking up a shutout over Green. Malm claimed the hot seat 5-3.
On the loss side, Wilson picked up Nur, who, following her defeat at the hands of Malm, had (after an opening round, loss-side bye) Lai Li 4-1. Green drew Sierra Reams, who'd defeated Tina Scott 4-1 and Melissa Mason, double hill, to reach her.
Nur survived a double hill fight against Wilson, and in the quarterfinals met up with Reams, who'd shut out Green. Nur took the quarterfinals 4-2 over Reams, but was shut out by King in the semifinals. King downed Malm 7-2 in the finals, denying Malm her second APT title to claim it for herself.
