Queens, New York- The first timers in the Predator World Tournament of 14.1 are making the most of their initiation. Efren Reyes, Earl Strickland, and Darren Appleton have yet to taste defeat in the round robin stage of the event. All three players have won their matches soundly and look like the favorites to win their respective groups.
Earl Strickland won his first three matches with landslide victories. He finished each match in an impressive 2 innings, taking down Danny Barouty 100 to 18, Jeff Molh 100 to 11, and last year World 14.1 Bronze Medalist Charlie Williams 100 to 38 in a 3 inning match.
"This is a great game. This is how all tournaments should be played. I love the equipment and just like to see longer races. Straight pool is the way to go and I'd love to see more events like this", said Strickland. "Honestly, even if I lose, I won't take back what I said. We need to play more straight pool."
On the TV stream table, Reyes and Deuel played a see saw match which saw Reyes lead, Deuel lead, and Reyes lead and with a final comeback charge from Deuel. Deuel put together a 50 ball run but gave the table upto Efren, who in turn came back and took the lead needing only 11 balls, but came on a tough breakout shot and played safe. Corey gave a safety back and a defensive battle ensured. Corey would win the defensive battle against Reyes when he opted for a 4 ball combination in the stack. Deuel judged it right and went onto catch up to Reyes 89-79 before missing and giving Efren the win.
Defending champion Thorsten Hohmann looks smooth sailing with 3 wins so far. Huidji See of NED also is coasting undefeated.
But notable names that are in danger of not qualifying include last year's finalist Mike Davis who is now winless in three matches. Bronze medalist and host Charlie Williams is 1 win and 2 losses and is facing do or die matches tomorrow.
The 2012 Predator World Tournament takes place July 29th – August 3rd. The event is produced by Dragon Promotions & Dr.Michael Fedak and proudly co-sponsored by Championship Cloth, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Aramith Balls, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Championship Tour Edition Chalk, and straight pool aficionados Dr.Louis Pannullo of NYC, Stu Mattana of NYC, Ralph Rubin of MD, and Tom Gleich of NC. Co-contributors Dr.James Heller, Drew Thomas, and Charles Eames.
July 31st Day 3 TV stream schedule is: http://worldstraightpool.com/livestream.html
The 2nd Annual Straight Pool Hall of Fame Dinner will be inducting Danny Diliberto and Jack Colavita. Fans can buy tickets in advance by going to http://worldstraightpool.com/tickets.html
Collectors can purchase the main TV table where the finals and all streamed matches will be played on. The beautiful new Olhausen Grand Champion Pro II is valued at $6500 but will have an incredible $5000 price tag which includes souvenir Aramith Balls used in the event, Championship Tour Edition Cloth, and free installation! The table will also be signed by the champion along with an autographed poster of all the World Tournament players. For more information on buying the table, player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.
Get the latest news by following http://www.facebook.com/Worldstraightpool and www.twitter.com/Dragonpromoter
Reserve your tickets for the main events and the exhibitions at: caromcafe.qrickets.com
Pay per view streaming available (14.1 and 3c): www.worldstraightpool.com
Johnny Archer (Photo courtesy of charleseamesphotography.com)
Queens, New York- Excitement is building on Day 2 of the preliminary races to 100 rounds of the Predator World 14.1 as the day culminated into two big highlights for the USA. While Europe still looks strong, and Efren Reyes still goes undefeated, it was the Americans that came with the tournament’s first perfect scores.
John Schmidt lived up to his moniker of Mr.400 tonight. He had his hands seemingly full against former World 14.1 Champion Stephan Cohen of France. Under the live stream and in front of a packed audience, Schmidt delivered a flawless performance. After winning the lag, John opted for Cohen to break. Schmidt took his first offensive shot and never looked back. A perfect 100 ball run.
Minutes after the ovation from the highly appreciative audience, Johnny Archer finished off his 100 ball run over NYC qualifier Bob Madenjian. Needless to say, USA is making their mark.
“Hey, I know most people are counting us out with the Europeans being so dominant in 14.1. But believe me, the Americans can play some good straight pool and I feel we can hang right there with anyone in the world”, said Schmidt after the match.
The 2012 Predator World Tournament takes place July 29th – August 3rd. The event is produced by Dragon Promotions & Dr.Michael Fedak and proudly co-sponsored by Championship Cloth, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Aramith Balls, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Championship Tour Edition Chalk, and straight pool aficionados Dr.Louis Pannullo of NYC, Stu Mattana of NYC, Ralph Rubin of MD, and Tom Gleich of NC. Co-contributors Dr.James Heller, Drew Thomas, and Charles Eames.
July 31st Day 3 TV stream schedule is: http://worldstraightpool.com/livestream.html
The 2nd Annual Straight Pool Hall of Fame Dinner will be inducting Danny Diliberto and Jack Colavita. Fans can buy tickets in advance by going to http://worldstraightpool.com/tickets.html
Get the latest news by following http://www.facebook.com/Worldstraightpool and www.twitter.com/Dragonpromoter
Reserve your tickets for the main events and the exhibitions at: caromcafe.qrickets.com
Pay per view streaming available (14.1 and 3c): www.worldstraightpool.com
Queens, New York- The anticipation is over. Day 1 of the Predator World Tournament of 14.1 kicked off with a jam packed full house of straight pool fans trying to catch the action with the world class international field. And they weren’t disappointed. Some big runs and surprising upsets in round 1.
Dr.Louis Pannullo put up in extra $500 bonus for the highest run of the 5pm round. Brazil’s Cleiton Rocha had it for a moment with a 59 ball run. Then he was overshadowed by Efren Reyes 60+ ball run over Dr.Pannullo. But Efren was hard luck when Thorsten Hohmann ran 74 and out on Zaid Thweib of Jordan on the TV Stream table. But it was Max Eberle who had the last laugh with a 79 ball run agains Dr.James Heller.
The 2012 Predator World Tournament takes place July 29th – August 3rd. The event is produced by Dragon Promotions & Dr.Michael Fedak and proudly co-sponsored by Championship Cloth, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Aramith Balls, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Championship Tour Edition Chalk, and straight pool aficionados Dr.Louis Pannullo of NYC, Stu Mattana of NYC, Ralph Rubin of MD, and Tom Gleich of NC. Co-contributors Dr.James Heller, Drew Thomas, and Charles Eames.
Some dramatic moments came as well with Chicago’s World 14.1 Qualifier winner Tom Karabotsos surprising last year’s World Tournament finalist Mike Davis running 50& out when Davis only needed a rack. NJ qualifier Dennis Spears destroyed NYC 14.1 pro Danny Barouty 100-26. Charlie Williams dodged a bullet when he won 100-89 against Chicago’s Bob Cozzolino when Bob missed a ball in the final rack.
Two other big runs came from Corey Deuel and Darren Appleton. Deuel ran 80+ to win 100 – 1 against Joey Kong of Korea. World 9-Ball Champion Appleton delivered a near flawless 99&out against Jerry Tarantola.
“The atmosphere is exciting and perfect for the World Tournament. This is the first time I’ve been to Carom Cafe, and it is a really great fit for this event”, said Ed Liddawi, owner of Sandcastle Billiards which hosted the NJ Qualifier for the World 14.1 where Spears and Kong qualified.
“The crowd was awesome for Day 1. It wasn’t just a handful of polite claps. People were roaring and clapping for great shots and well placed break balls. It is an extremely knowledgeable and large crowd”, said Charlie Williams, pro player in the event.
Tomorrow’s TV stream schedule is:
10:30am Huidji See NED (World 14.1 Silver Medalist) vs Bob Madenjian USA (NYC Qualifier Winner)
12:00pm Mike Davis USA (World 14.1 Silver Medalist) vs Chris Lynch USA (NYC)
1:30pm Earl Strickland USA (World & US Open Champion) vs Danny Barouty USA (Former Quarter Finalist World 14.1)
4:30pm Darren Appleton ENG (World 9-Ball, 10-Ball, and 2x US Open Champ) vs Max Eberle USA (World 14.1 Bronze Medalist)
6:00pm Efren Reyes PHL (World 9-Ball, 8-Ball, 1-Pocket Champ) vs Corey Deuel USA (US Open 9-Ball Champ)
7:30pm John Schmidt USA (US Open Champ, 5th World 14.1) vs Stephan Cohen FRA (2009 World 14.1 Champ)
Collectors can purchase the main TV table where the finals and all streamed matches will be played on. The beautiful new Olhausen Grand Champion Pro II is valued at $6500 but will have an incredible $5000 price tag which includes souvenir Aramith Balls used in the event, Championship Tour Edition Cloth, and free installation! The table will also be signed by the champion along with an autographed poster of all the World Tournament players. For more information on buying the table, player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.
Full schedule and event info is now at www.Worldstraightpool.com and more info on www.dragonpromotions.com
The 2nd Annual Straight Pool Hall of Fame Dinner will be inducting Danny Diliberto and Jack Colavita. Fans can buy tickets in advance by going to http://worldstraightpool.com/tickets.html
Get the latest news by following http://www.facebook.com/Worldstraightpool and www.twitter.com/Dragonpromoter
Reserve your tickets for the main events and the exhibitions at: caromcafe.qrickets.com
Pay per view streaming available (14.1 and 3c): www.worldstraightpool.com
