First of all I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year.
My question to all of you is what to do for this year’s event? The past several months of my life have been more difficult than maybe ever & I’m asking the pool world for your input.
My beautiful daughter, Shannon, left in November to pursue the real estate business and I know she will be great at it as she has been with anything she has ever accomplished & she has my full blessings. Then in December, we all lost our beloved House-Pro, Dave Bollman, to cancer. We all miss Dave very much. We were together for 40-years.
When I was 15-years old and began to wrestle, I read a sign in our practice room which read, “Winners never quit & quitters never win.” I have lived my life with those 7 words, but now with so much to do at Q-Master Billiards, finding ample time for our 39th Annual is difficult. I’m not saying no to this year, but what I am asking for is your valued opinions, which will help me decide on what to do this October.
We all want to be in one large ballroom as we were from 1997 – 2011 at the Chesapeake Conference Center, rent free. Now they want $35,000 for the rental which makes it impossible to go back.
The Marriot has saved October 12th – 18th for this year and I have to decide very soon. So, again, I am looking for constructive criticism from those of you who truly know and have been here.
Many good posts have been greatly appreciated but at the same time some people who really don’t know write things that hurt very much such as saying my son’s daughters are awful singing our national anthem one night. Anyone can say whatever they wish, but who can say they have stayed through the good, the bad and the ugly for almost 40-years. Yes, I surely have made my mistakes along the way. However, my passion for the game is undeniably true. The U.S. Open is not a money maker. Each year, I hope to break even or even, God forbid, make a few dollars.
So many kind people, sponsors, vendors and many more depend on me, each and every year to come through when there are fewer events worldwide and especially in America, which is just a shame.
No, I don’t want to quit, take a year off and regroup into a larger ballroom. I want to continue on as always. Having the support from my sponsors, our players, our vendors and the greatest fans in the world is what I need to have the strength to carry on again this year.
I will gladly place the $50,000 added money along with player’s entry fees into my SunTrust U.S. Open account which will be set-up for all to be able to click on anytime 60-days prior to October 12th – 18th, 2014.
I realize I have much to prove and as last year, all players will be paid on time at the event.
Last year’s open at the Marriot was much better than the year prior and by tweaking the main ballroom for better viewing it will be much better for our VIP’s and general admissions ticket buyers.
So, again, I’m asking for your input which will help determine what to do for this year’s 39th Annual U.S. Open.
My House Pro and close friend for 40 years was Mr. Dave Bollman, Mr. Perfection, passed away December 10th, 2013. It was a very sad day to experience the loss of such a great man.
Dave excelled in every aspect of his life from basketball to becoming the All-Navy Golfing Champion for two years running in 1970 and 1971 on the PGA Tour.
He excelled at anything athletic. In 1981 he was the third-highest ranked Professional American Pool Player. That was in no way surprising. Dave could beat almost anyone almost all the time at whatever they wanted to try. He would take you on in pool, gin, poker, golf or whatever you chose to come with.
Now he belongs to an elite group who can say that when their time here is over that they met whatever challenges came their way in life head-on, never ducking and certainly never quitting.
Dave built by hand the pro shop which will always bear his name. His spirit still reigns there every time the lathe spins and the smell of leather and wood spill out into the room.
People came from a hundred miles away or more to have their cues repaired or to purchase one of Dave’s own custom cues known for their solid combination of beauty and performance.
He and I went back to 1971. The first week I went into business and a year later in 1972, Dave began as my, our House Pro. Our first exhibition was in 1972 with Luther “Wimpy” Lassiter playing two matches with Dave and in 1973 Dave played Willie Mosconi, also two exhibitions.
Dave was always included in every match or tournament I held throughout his entire life until the last match played in October at the U.S. Open.
Dave was a master of everything he decided to do because he did it all with extreme care. When he gave you your cue back repaired, it was as if it was new again.
We will be having a celebration of Dave’s life tomorrow at Q Masters in his Pro-shop from 5pm-8pm. Plenty of food and great conversation.
Day one of the 38th Annual US Open 9-Ball Championship kicked off with a handful of matches in the evening rounds. With the field at 170 players, the first rounds of this event featured quite a few byes and very few actual matches.
The 6:30 round saw a rusty Scott Frost fight off a charge from local favorite Mike McNaughton. Frost looked to be in charge at 3-1, when a missed 9-ball appeared to take the wind out of him. McNaughton stayed with Frost and took his first lead at 7-6, but that only served to get the Freezer's attention. Frost won the next five racks for the 11-7 win.
The 8:30 round's TV match saw Danny Mastermaker make quick work of Puerto Rico's Omar Santiago Roman. Mastermaker appeared to be a little hesitant early in the match, but quickly shook off any "TV Table Nerves" and ran away with an 11-3 win.
The final TV match of the night saw two local favorites facing off as Eric Moore took on longtime Q-Masters housepro Dave Bollman. Bollman gave it all he had, but came up short to Moore with an 11-7 scoreline.
Mike Conway Jr, Shannon Daulton and John Mitchelltree
Pool players will tell you that it’s often better to be lucky than good. In the wake of his recent victory on the Great Southern Billiard Tour, Mike Conway, Jr. might tell you that you’d better be both. Luck played a role in Conway’s semifinal victory, while ‘good’ took the stage in 10 straight loss-side matches and the second set of the double elimination finals against John Mitchelltree, that earned him the event victory. The $1,500-added amateur 9-ball tournament drew 60 entrants to QMaster Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA on the weekend of February 4-5.
Conway was working from the loss-side from the conclusion of his opening match; a 9-4 victory for Dwight Cherry, who would advance to the winners’ side final four, and then meet up with Conway again in his first loss-side match. Chris Futrell sent Cherry west 11-7, and in the battle for the hot seat, met up with Mitchelltree, who’d just sent Cheryl Pritchard to the loss side 9-5. Mitchelltree survived a double hill contest against Futrell and sat in the hot seat, waiting for Conway.
With five down and five to go on the loss-side, Conway defeated Tim Colvin 9-2, and Dave Bollman 9-4 to earn a re-match against Cherry. Pritchard drew Justin Squires, who’d eliminated John Hernandez 7-7 (Hernandez needing to reach 9), and Jimmy Byrd 7-4. In a straight-up race to 9, Conway wreaked his vengeance on Cherry 9-7 as Pritchard (a C player) survived a double hill battle against the B-rated Squires 6-6. Conway chalked up loss-side victory # 9 with a 9-7 win over Pritchard in the quarterfinals.
“A stellar performance,” said co-tour director Marge Daulton of Pritchard’s fourth place finish; the highest for a woman in the five year history of the Great Southern Billiard Tour. “She was down in a few and battled back, winning some key double hill matches.”
“We’re proud to see her accomplish this,” Daulton added. “She earned it.”
Conway, in the meantime, was on his way to the semifinals and his date with Lady Luck. His opponent, Futrell, needed to reach 11 games before he reached 9. Futrell was on the hill, at 10 games, when Conway (at seven games) shot at the 9-ball that would bring the match to double hill. Conway missed, and watched as the 9-ball kept traveling. . .one rail, two, three. . and then dropped into a hole. He even apologized, before settling in to take the final game and finish his 10-match streak on the loss-side.
With some ‘good’ and some ‘luck’ behind him, Conway added momentum to his repertoire and took the opening set of the straight-up race to 9, true double elimination finals handily 9-2. In the second set, he found himself down 4-0, and then after chalking up his first, gave up two more, giving Mitchelltree a 6-1lead. Conway called on some ‘good’ to catch up, winning eight of the next nine games to secure the event victory.
Tour directors Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked Barry Behrmann and his staff at QMaster Billiards for their hospitality on Super Bowl weekend, as well as sponsors Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Mike Davis Exterminating, Tiger Products and Delta-13 racks. The GSBT shifts to Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH on the weekend of February 18-19, for a $2,000-added 9-ball/8-ball tournament, with a 9-ball bank tournament, scheduled for Friday night at 7 p.m.
