Maryland’s On the Hill Productions, under the leadership of Loye Bolyard, went “all in” with the full range of services offered by DigitalPool.com for the first time this past weekend (Feb. 4-5). Its MD State Fargo Rate 9-Ball Open, which drew 54 entrants to Choptank Bowling & Billiards in Cambridge, MD,featured all of DigitalPool’s technological capabilities designed to make tournament events easier to run and more accessible to an audience interested in following the event activities; live streaming with cameras and microphones at every table, score-tracking tablets and mounted monitors above the tables displaying scores of the matches taking place beneath them.
All that technological equipment and personnel, along with in-house spectators, witnessed Andy Downs go undefeated to the hot seat match and then, return from a semifinal to double-dip Cambridge, MD local Will Johnson in the finals. Downs had gotten by Adam Frank, Mike Etti, Jody Cahall and John Moody, Sr. to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Brandon Foster. Johnson’s path went through Matt Krah, Holden Moody, David Stanley and Joe Feuka to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal versus Mike Saleh.
Downs defeated Foster 7-4 and was joined in the hot seat match by Johnson, who’d dispatched Saleh to the loss side 4-8 (Saleh racing to 10). Johnson claimed the hot seat, handing Downs what proved to be his first and last defeat 6-4.
On the loss side, Foster picked up Choptank’s own Coen Bell, who’d been defeated 7-2 by Saleh in a winners’ side quarterfinal and then defeated Bethany Sykes 7-4 and Garrett Waechter 7-1. Saleh drew Coen Bell’s father, Danny Bell, who’d been sent to the loss side by his own son and embarked on a four-match, loss-side streak that had recently eliminated Huberth Alvarado 7-4 and John Moody, Sr. 7-5. Two potential, quarterfinal rematches hung in the balance as the 5/6 matches got underway, both dependent on Coen Bell, who would face either his Dad or the man who’d sent him to the loss side, Saleh.
Coen Bell accomplished his objective with a bit of a punctuation mark, shutting out Brandon Foster. Saleh, though, defeated Coen’s father 7-4, spoiling the anticipated father/son quarterfinal.Saleh and Coen Bell battled to double hill in their quarterfinal rematch before Saleh finished it and turned to face Andy Downs in the semifinals.
With Saleh racing to 9, Downs earned his two-set, double elimination rematch against Johnson with a 5-4 victory over Saleh in those semifinals. Downs took the opening set against Johnson 7-4 and completed his title-capturing run with a 7-2 victory in the second set.
On the Hill Productions’ (OTHP’s) Loye Bolyard thanked the ownership and staff at Choptank Bowling & Billiards and extended a ‘shout out’ to Isaac Wooten and Zach Goldsmith from digitalpool.com for “bringing all of the table streaming to Maryland” and to Dave Nangle, “who spends hours upon hours bringing us our very own stream.” He also thanked sponsors AlleyKat Cue Sports, AZBilliards.com, Aramith Balls, Simonis Cloth, TAP Chesapeake Bay Region, Safe Harbor Retirement Planners, Bull Carbon, Gina Cunningham and Keller Williams Integrity. The next event on OTHP’s calendar, set for the weekend of Feb. 18-19 will be a ‘599 and under’ Fargo Rate event, hosted by Brews & Cues in Glen Burnie, MD.
(l to r): Warren Kiamco, TD Raymond Walters & Ruslan Chinakhov
Atwell goes undefeated to reclaim Ladies title she won in 2016
Most players will spend a few hours, sometimes quite a few, practicing at their local pool room before venturing out to compete in a major tournament. Russia’s Ruslan Chinakhov spent two days on the West Coast in what’s been described as a “grueling” one-on-one 10-ball challenge (which he won) against Oscar Dominguez, before showing up 3,000 or so miles away, three days later, to compete in the 2018 VA State 10-Ball Championships, held under the auspices of the Action Pool Tour on the weekend of February 10-11. Chinakhov went undefeated through the field of 64 entrants in the Open portion of the Championships, which were hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA. A concurrently-run Ladies tournament was won by Janet Atwell, who went undefeated through a field of 16 entrants to reclaim the title she’d last won in 2016.
Chinakhov faced separate opponents in the hot seat and finals of this event. He met the Action Pool Tour’s top-ranked player, Reymart Lim in the hot seat match, and in the finals, Warren Kiamco, whom he’d defeated earlier in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Following victories over Joseph Sellechia, Steve Fleming and Donnie Haynes, Chinakhov downed Kiamco 8-5 and moved on to a winners’ side semifinal against John Newton. Lim, in the meantime, who’d won the APT’s season opener, downed Matty Arcuri, Chris Pyle, David Stanley, and Mike Davis to draw Kirill Rutman in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Rutman battled Lim to double hill, but it was Lim who advanced to the hot seat match. Chinakhov joined him after sending Newton to the loss side 8-1. Chinakhov claimed the hot seat with an 8-3 win over Lim and waited on the return of Kiamco.
Though this year’s VA State 10-Ball Championships did not include last year’s winner, Dennis Orcollo, it did feature last year’s runner-up (Shaun Wilkie), third place (Larry Kressel), fourth place (Lim), and both 5th place finishers (Newton and Davis). Newton, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal this year drew Davis, who’d survived a double hill battle against Chris Bruner and defeated Kenny Miller 8-1 to reach him. Rutman picked up Kiamco, who, following his defeat at the hands of Chinakhov, stopped Shaun Wilkie’s four-match, loss-side winning streak 8-4, and then eliminated this event’s 2016 champion, Eric Moore 8-1.
Kiamco advanced to the quarterfinals 8-2 over Rutman, while Davis was downing Newton 8-2 to join him. Kiamco sent Davis home 8-4 in those quarterfinals; one spot higher than he’d reached last year. Kiamco then downed Lim 8-6 in the semifinals, sending him home one spot higher than he’d finished last year.
Chinakhov completed his undefeated run with a commanding 10-3 victory over Kiamco in the finals.
Atwell returns to chalk up her third VA State 10-Ball Ladies Championships
[photo id=48695|align=right]For two years in a row – 2015/2016 – Janet Atwell and Jacki Duggan were winner and runner-up, respectively, in the Ladies edition of the VA State 10-Ball Championships. Atwell did not compete in 2017, although Duggan did, finishing in the tie for 7th place. Duggan was on hand this year, as well, although she would be shut out by Atwell in the second round, and for the second year in a row, end up in the tie for 7th place. Last year’s champion, Meredith Lynch, showed up to defend her title and finished fourth, just behind Lisa Cossette, who would win three on the loss side before falling to the undefeated Atwell in the finals.
Atwell’s path to the winners’ circle proved a little shaky at the outset, as she survived an opening round, double hill match against Falon Newton. Atwell went on to shut out Duggan and then, faced Lynch in a winners’ side semfinal. Nicole King, in the meantime, got by Sierra Reams, and Soo Emmett to face Cossette in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Atwell sent last year’s winner to the loss side 6-1, and was joined in the hot seat match by King, who’d defeated Cossette 6-4. Atwell claimed the hot seat 6-2 over King and waited on Cossette’s return.
On the loss side, Cossette picked up Duggan, who’d defeated Judie Wilson and Bethany Sykes, both 6-3, to reach her. Lynch drew Buffy Jolie, who’d shut out two straight opponents – Eugenia Gyftopoulos and Falon Newton – to reach her.
The two battles for the right to advance to the quarterfinals went double hill; Cossette downing Duggan, and Lynch eliminating Jolie. So did the quarterfinals, with Cossette eventually moving on to face King. Cossette, who was likely a little tired of the double hill route, gave up only a single rack to King in the semifinals and turned to face Atwell in the finals. Atwell gave up only two to Cossette in the finals to claim her third VA State 10-Ball Ladies Championship.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Diamond BIlliards, as well as sponsors Kamui, Tiger Products, Predator, Viking Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Aramith, SImonis, Ozone Billiards and George Hammerbacher. The next stop on the Action Pool Tour, scheduled for March 17-18 will be a Bar Box Bash, hosted by Peninsula Billiards in Newport News, VA.
In the absence of Brandon Shuff, who sits atop the Action Pool Tour's leaderboard, the next three players on that board finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on the tour's sixth stop, held on the weekend of June 18-19 (third-place finisher, Kenny Miller, advanced to that third spot as a result of his finish). Eric Moore, winner of the Virginia State 10-Ball Championships in February, chalked up his second victory on the 2016 tour, coming from the loss-side to defeat Shaun Wilkie, who'd sent him there. The event drew 46 entrants to Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA.
Moore and Wilkie clashed first in a winners' side semifinal. Moore had advanced through four opponents, allowing each of them an average of two racks against him; 1,1, 2 & 4, against Bill Duggan, Kia Sidbury, Bill Woods and Tuan Chau. Wilkie, after an opening round bye, had faced three opponents and allowed just a slightly higher, percentage point average; 1, 4, & 5, against Rob Gager, Nathan Childress, and Joey Mastermaker. As Moore and Wilkie battled, Kenny Miller and David Stanley squared off in the other winners' side semifinal.
Wilkie took the first of his two against Moore 9-5, and in the hot seat match, faced Miller, who'd sent Stanley to the loss side 9-2. Miller proved to be Wilkie's toughest challenge (to that point), chalking up six racks against him, but when the dust settled, Wilkie was in the hot seat, and Miller was on his way to the semifinals.
On the loss side, David Stanley ran into a formidable opponent in Taylor Burleson, who'd been defeated in the opening round of play, and then won six on the loss side, including a double hill win over Joey Mastermaker, and a 7-1 victory over Tuan Chau. Moore drew Chris Bruner, who'd been defeated by Miller in a winners' side quarterfinal, and then, on the loss side, eliminated Paul Oh 7-3 and Doug Hornsby 7-2.
Moore and Burleson gave up one rack between them versus Bruner and Stanley (Bruner chalked up the one against Moore). Moore then ended Burleson's strong, loss-side campaign at seven wins, with a 7-1 victory in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Moore chalked up a second straight 7-1 victory that denied Miller a second shot at Wilkie in the hot seat. Moore, though, got his second chance against Wilkie, and took full advantage. He became Wilkie's toughest opponent in the tournament, defeating him 11-9 in the finals to claim the event title.
Tour director Ozzy Reynolds noted that Shaun Wilkie's four straight wins on his Action Pool Tour would be a record that would be hard to break. Imagine his surprise when Wilkie upped the ante on the weekend of January 17-18 by going undefeated to win his fifth straight stop on the tour. The event drew 52 entrants to Magic 8 Cue Club in Cockeysville, MD.
It was not a random-draw easy path for Wilkie, either. After a bye, he had to contend with Brett Stottlemeyer, Paul Oh, and Karen Corr to move among the winners' side final four and a match against Dominic Noe. Alan Duty and Steve Fleming squared off in the other winners' side semifinal. Wilkie moved into the hot seat match 7-3 over Noe, and was joined by Duty, who'd survived a double hill battle versus Fleming. Wilkie claimed the hot seat 7-5 and waited on the return of what turned out to be Fleming.
Fleming's three-match, loss-side streak, started out the same way Wilkie's win-side streak had begun; against Brett Stottlemeyer, who, following his earlier defeat at the hands of Wilkie, won six in a row, including back-to-back shutouts over Tom Zippler and Shawn Jackson to draw Fleming. Noe picked up Garrett Waechter, who'd survived his first loss-side match (double hill win over David Stanley) and given up only four racks since, including one each to Will Stem and Allan Cannington, which set him (Waechter) up to face Noe.
Noe and Fleming advanced to the quarterfinal, defeating Waechter and Stottlemeyer, both matches ending in 5-1 scores. Duty put up a fight in the semifinals, but Fleming prevailed 5-4 for a second chance against Wilkie. For all the good it did him. Wilkie downed Fleming 9-5 to complete his "unprecedented" fifth straight win on the tour.
