Day one is complete at the 2021 International One Pocket Open, and the field is almost narrowed down to the final twelve players who will be redrawn into a single elimination board.
Four players are undefeated: Roberto Gomez, Alex Pagulayan, Arkansas’s Devin Poteet and Jeremy Jones. Those four players will draw opponents from the final four remaining players with one loss in the first stage.
One more round of play will be required on the one loss side in the opening stage of this event to determine those four advancing players. The four matches that will determine who advances are …
Darren Appleton vs Dennis Orcollo
Josh Roberts vs Tony Chohan
Omar Al Shaheen vs Dee Adkins
John Morra vs Corey Deuel
The four winners of those matches will face undefeated players from stage one and be guaranteed $800 in prize money. The final winner of this event will earn $4500 in first place prize money.
Fans can follow all of the action with online brackets at digitalpool.com and with streaming coverage of every table, provided by Accu-Stats.
The Racks On The Rocks Classic was the place to be this past weekend. Located in West Peoria, IL and owned by Rob and Heather Williams, they hosted three divisions – one pocket, eight ball and a nine ball mini.
Local sponsors C-N-C Fireworks, Kinner Excavating, Pip-N-Tree, Inc., Glad’s Tire Service, Elite Custom Services, Denbesten Real Estate and Beast Mode Products contributed to the $11,000 added event.
The $5,000 added one pocket division started on Wednesday night and by Friday afternoon was down to two players – Scott Frost and Evan Lunda. Scott came out of the gate firing but when it was all over, Evan had claimed the title with a 6-3 score.
The $5,000 added Open Bar Table Eight Ball began on Friday night and ran all weekend. By Sunday night, the field had been whittled down to John Morra and Devin Poteet. John was too much for Devin as he grabbed the trophy 7-5.
One Pocket Winner Evan Lunda
Meanwhile, the $1,000 Nine Ball Mini kicked off with nine players putting up $500 each. Although the field was small, the talent was huge. Racing to nine, the single elimination event came down to Roland Garcia and Warren Kiamco. The Warrior has been on a tear in the last few events and this one was no different. Final score – 9-7 Warren.
Congratulations to all!!!
Thanks to tournament directors Ray Hansen for the one pocket and nine ball divisions and Josh Suits for the eight ball division. We’d also like to thank the Racks On The Rocks staff for taking good care of players and fans alike.
Thanks to Larry Schwartz and Mary Kenniston for their great commentary!
And last, but not least, we’d like to thank our fans and sponsors! Our sponsors include JB Cases, Diamond Billiard Products, Castillo Leather Goods, Lomax Custom Cues, Simonis, 1PKT, Hanshew Jump Cues, StraightPoolEye, Durbin Custom Cues, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore in Fort Worth, TX, The Action Palace of Dayton, OH and our venue, Racks On The Rocks.
PoolActionTV.com’s next stop is Buffalo’s Pro One Pocket and Open Nine Ball in New Orleans, LA. The dates are May 26th-30th. Hope to see you there!!!
Leisure Time Billiards & Sports Bar in East Moline, IL was the hot spot of the Midwest for the past several days as players converged for the $12,000 added Inaugural Bar Box Classic.
Sponsored by owner Dwayne Bowman, Pat Diveney of Diveney Cues & Bull Carbon, there were three events in this tournament – eight ball, nine ball & ten ball. Dwayne and his staff rolled out the red carpet for players & fans alike.
The eight ball division began on Wednesday night with a field of 38 players – entry fee $300 with winner breaks. After extensive play, Shane Van Boening faced Dennis Orcollo in the finals. No strangers to titles for either player, Shane grabbed this one as he defeated Dennis 9-3.
John Morra
Late night nine ball action began on Saturday night with 19 players putting up $500 each with winner breaks. A single elimination event, the field was whittled down to only two remaining – John Morra and Warren Kiamco. Mr. Smooth put on a clinic only allowing The Warrior one game – after John uncharacteristically scratched in the side on an eight ball. Morra played nearly flawless nine ball and took the title with a final score of 9-1.
The ten ball portion of the event started on Friday night with 91 players ponying up entry fees of $150 with alternate breaks. After coming up short in the two previous divisions, Warren Kiamco was not going to be denied this time – he took the title over Devin Poteet 9-5.
Congratulations to all!!!
Commentary was provided by Larry Schwartz and Mary Kenniston – thank you!
We’d also like to thank our fans & sponsors without whom we wouldn’t be able to do what we do! Our sponsors include JB Cases, Bull Carbon, Lomax Custom Cues, StraightPoolEye, Hanshew Jump Cues, Simonis, Durbin Custom Cues, Aramith, Diamond Billiard Products and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event starts this Wednesday night with the $11,000 added Rack On The Rocks Classic in West Peoria, IL. Hope to see you there!!!
Welcome to the ‘Dennis and Warren Show,’ starring fellow countrymen Dennis Orcollo and Warren Kiamco. We’re coming to you, written, following the $10,000-added Iron City Open, at Iron City Billiards in Birmingham, AL on the weekend of March 31-April 4. Tonight’s special guests include Devin Poteet and representing the ladies, Tam Trinh.
There were four events at this Iron City Open; a $4,000-added One Pocket event that drew 18 entrants, a $1,000-added Ladies 9-Ball that drew 37, a single-elimination, no-money-added 10-ball with 23 entrants and the main event, the $5,000-added 9-ball event that drew 141. In the three events that did not involve female competitors, there were four, final-two matches – the hot seat and finals of the One Pocket and 9-Ball – and, because it was single elimination and involved two semifinals and no hot seat match, there was one final match in the 10-Ball event. In those last five matches in those three events, Orcollo and Kiamco were opponents in three of them; the hot seat and finals of the One Pocket and the final match of the 10-Ball. The other two matches featured Orcollo and Devin Poteet in the hot seat and finals of the 9-Ball. Orcollo won them all, with Kiamco as runner-up in two of them and Poteet as runner-up in the third.
Ladies first, of course, although it actually followed the One Pocket event, which got things rolling on Wednesday, March 31. Tam Trinh came back from a hill-hill hot-seat loss to Angela Gann and defeated Julie Cone in the semifinals and then Gann in the finals 11-9.
The ‘Dennis and Warren’ show had debuted the day before, when the two of them worked their way through the 18-entrant One Pocket field that included quite a few One Pocket luminaries, including, but by no means limited to Scott Frost, Charlie Bryant, Devin Poteet (about whom we will speak quite a bit, later), Billy Thorpe, John Morra and Tony Chohan. In their first of three matches in two different games, Dennis and Warren battled for the One Pocket hot seat. It went double hill and eventually sent Orcollo to the semifinals. Orcollo and Frost met in those semifinals, and it, too, came down to the final ball. Scott missed a two-railer that caught the edge on his pocket and rolled toward Orcollo’s one pocket. Orcollo finished it and got a second chance against Kiamco, waiting for him in the hot seat. An extended race-to-7 in the finals went Orcollo’s way (7-4), as he chalked up his first of the three titles.
The 9-ball event (on 7 ft. bar tables) and the single elimination 10-Ball event (on 9 ft. tables) started more or less at the same time on Friday, though the 10-ball finished much sooner. A seven-match, play-in round in the 10-ball tournament that brought the 23-entrant field down to 16, eliminated JT King, Shane McMinn (defeated by Kiamco, 9-7), George Rothrock, Dustin Cook, Josh Roberts, and Jimmy Springfield. It also eliminated Robb Saez, who battled to double hill versus Devin Poteet before giving way (told you we’d be talking about him later).
Kiamco’s path to the semifinals wasn’t easy. After defeating McMinn, Billy Thorpe challenged him, double hill. He persevered and went on to defeat Mike Delawder 9-7 to arrive at his semifinal match versus Omar Alshaheen. Orcollo, who didn’t play in the preliminary round, got by two opponents 9-7, Nick DeLeon and Devin Poteet, who would surely bring the memory of the defeat to the 9-ball challenges ahead of him. Orcollo’s first victory of the weekend over Poteet, set him up for a semifinal match against John Morra.
From Sweet 16, it had come down to the Final Four, fast. Kiamco eliminated Alshaheen 9-5. Orcollo joined him in the championship final, after defeating Morra 9-7. In their second of three meetings, they fought to double hill. Orcollo prevailed again to claim his second title.
Enter Devin Poteet, with a surprising run in the bar table 9-ball
Like any good ‘show,’ the final dramatic act depends a great deal on the action and back story of what has preceded it. By the time the field of 141 entrants had whittled down to 16, through a 13-match preliminary round and five more, the finalists from the two previous events – Orcollo and Kiamco – were still in play. The tension of a third finals match between the two was very much in play.
For Dennis, the possibility of winning all three of the events was very much in play, as well. For Devin Poteet, the Cinderella character in this ‘show,’ who, over the years, seemed to have developed an arguably bad habit of finishing as runner-up, the tension must have been . . . well, in tense. In 2015, he’d finished as runner-up in that year’s Side Pocket 9-Ball Open. Two years later, his best recorded earnings year, he finished second in both the 2nd Annual Topwater Memorial and the 44th Texas Open, where he was bested in the finals by John Morra (who fell a loss-to-Jeffrey De Luna short of meeting Poteet in this event). Poteet had not won a (recorded) major event since he went undefeated on Shannon Daulton’s Great Southern Billiard Tour in 2014. Yet here he was, having just sent Jeffrey De Luna to the loss side 9-7 in a winners’ side quarterfinal match facing Omar Al Shaheen.
Poteet downed Al Shaheen 9-5, advancing out of the frying pan, into a winners’ side semifinal fire of a match against Warren Kiamco. As for Orcollo, he’d not exactly been breezing through his personal field of five opponents, but coming into his winners’ side semifinal against Manny Chau, no one had chalked up more than five against him; that had happened twice, including his winners’ side quarterfinal victory over Robb Saez.
Chau put up a fight against Orcollo, battling him to double hill before giving way and moving to the loss side. Poteet moved into the hot seat match with a 9-5 victory over Kiamco, which deflated a lot of the excitement that had been building over a potential Orcollo/Kiamco match in the finals; not completely, since the door was still open for Kiamco to come back from the loss side. Orcollo brushed Poteet aside in the hot seat match, defeating him 9-2 and waiting to complete his third championship run of the weekend.
On the loss side, any hopes of that anticipated Orcollo/Kiamco matchup in the finals dissipated at the conclusion of Kiamco’s first loss-side match against Jeffrey De Luna, who battled him to double hill before advancing to the quarterfinals. Chau, in the meantime, fell 7-4 to Jonathan “Hennessee from Tennessee” Pinegar, who was in the midst of a 10-match, loss-side run that had included victories over James Aranas, Omar Alshaheen, and Billy Thorpe. Two double hill matches followed, ramping up the excitement. Pinegar chalked up loss-side win #9, sending De Luna home (so to speak), and then had his loss-side run stopped by Poteet in the semifinals.
Poteet took what is generally considered to be a pivotal, significant first step by winning the opening rack of the extended race-to-13 finals. Orcollo tied it up for the first of only three times that it was tied throughout the match. Orcollo began what initially ‘felt’ like the deciding run that would earn him his third title. As meager as it was (three racks), given his opponent, there was a sense emanating from the billiardnet.tv booth and the chat screen, that it was just the beginning of the end.
Not so, nor was Orcollo’s next run, another three, which followed a rack for Poteet that had it made it 5-3. At 8-3, Poteet chalked up two, and after giving one more up to Orcollo, went on what would become the longest run by either of them; four racks at the end of which, the match was tied at 9-9.
They are both playing at the top of their respective games. There’s no complacency with Orcollo, who’s doing his traditional solo “show,’ demonstrating to all the world that he knows how to jump balls with authority, a skill that will show up later as the match progresses. Poteet, for his part, is not acting as though he hasn’t won a major event in seven years. He is demonstrating prodigious cue ball skills and dropping target balls with self-confident authority.
Now, a race to 4, Orcollo chalks up two in a row that prompts that ‘here it comes, the end’ feeling again. But Poteet wins rack #21 to draw within one at 11-10. At this point, it’s Monday morning, dawn is approaching and people in the stream booth are literally falling asleep. Those awake note that even at the early hour, hundreds are watching the stream.
Orcollo wins rack #22, reaching the hill first at 12-10. Rack #23 slows the whole process down as an extended, table-length safety battle ensues. It’s Poteet who breaks the logjam and Orcollo concedes the rack as Poteet is lining up the 8-ball. And it’s 12-11.
Poteet breaks, sinks two and doesn’t take very long to look at a well-spread-out table, just itching for a run. In what had to have been the single most important rack in his entire career wielding a pool cue, he ran the table, popping target balls into holes with a bit of a ‘punch.’ He tied things up for the last time. Hill-hill.
Orcollo broke the final rack, dropping the 1-ball, but looking at a lot of room between the cue ball and the two-ball and the 5-ball right between them. As he’d done throughout the tournament, he calmly put his jump cue together as he surveyed the shot ahead of him. The problem was not necessarily the shot itself. It was a long one; cue at one end, near the second diamond on the right-hand rail, the interfering 5-ball, a diamond away from that, center table and the 2-ball, four diamonds away, about six inches off the left rail, aimed at the lower left-hand corner pocket. The 3-ball, though, was behind and to the left of the cue ball, about three inches off the short rail and midway between the middle and left diamond.
With draw, Orcollo jumped the 5-ball, hit the 2-ball, which went authoritatively into its designated corner pocket, while the cue ball traveled backwards for perfect position on the 3-ball. This time, the feeling that it was all over proved justified. Orcollo cleared the table from there to ‘run the tables’ at the event, chalking up his third victory.
Tour director Daryl Kiplinger thanked Michael Catanese and his Iron City Billiards staff for their hospitality during the event, as well as sponsors Bob@RG Billiards (Birmingham’s Table/Cue Repair, Cue Accessories Dealer) and Brutal Game Gear (Heather and Charlie Bryant).
The event was streamed throughout the weekend by TV Mike’s Billiardnet.tv. TV Mike set something of a precedent at this event, by simultaneously recording at three tables, allowing interested viewers the opportunity to see three streamed matches at once, or select one of three upon which to focus. These matches, including all quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, are available on the Billiardnet.tv Web site, as well as the site’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/billiardnet
Alex Calderon and Skyler Woodward (Photo courtesy of PoolAction.tv)
One hundred twenty eight players made the trek to Shreveport, LA to play in this year’s Sidepocket Open Nine Ball Championship. A full field of 128 players including well-known names like three-time and defending champ Skyler Woodward, Roberto Gomez, Robb Saez, Texas Open 10 Ball runner-up Kenny Loftis, Alex Calderon, Gary Abood, Devin Poteet, Ernesto Bayaua and Kevin Guimond put up their $75 entry fee to play in the race to 7, alternate break bar box event.
The event kicked off on Friday with the players meeting and draw followed by a players auction. After that, twenty players put up their hundred bucks for a ring 9 ball game. When the smoke cleared, there were two men standing – Roberto Gomez and Sky Woodward. Sky took it down…
Owner Roger Lites, along with tournament sponsors OB Digicue, Ballistic Billiards and Steve Wells of Action/27, treated both players and fans to a great event. Tournament Director Jeff Sullivan (“Sully”) and his able assistant, Ileana Ford, kept things running smoothly.
After plenty of action, Sunday night whittled down to fourth place finisher Robb Saez while Kevin Guimond came in third. Kelly Isaac took down last lady money.
Woodward, looking to claim his fourth Sidepocket Open title, needed to beat the undefeated Alex Calderon twice. Sky won the first set in a squeaker, 7-6. The second set started out neck and neck until Sky pulled away away and reached the hill first – 6-4. Alex was not about to give up easily as he went on to tie it at six apiece. One game for it all & Alex was breaking!
Alex made two balls on the break but was faced with no easy shot on the one with a two-nine combination along the side rail. He attempted to bank the one but sold out leaving Sky with a medium-tough shot on the one and a medium-tough shot on the combo. The fans sure got their money’s worth as Sky pocketed the case nine to claim his fourth consecutive title! Congratulations, Sky! Good tournament, Alex!
PoolActionTV.com would like to thank our sponsors and fans for another fantastic event! Our sponsors include Diamond Billiard Tables, Lomax Custom Cues, Kamui, John Barton of JB Cases, GoPlayPool.com, Durbin Custom Cues, Aramith, Hanshew Custom Cues, Simonis and Club Billiards of Wichita, KS. Thanks for your support!
Our next event is the much anticipated Durbin Cup to be held on March 3rd in Sullivan, IL. Hope to see you there!!!
Dennis Orcollo and Jayson Shaw (Photo courtesy of Poolactiontv.com)
This weekend, Elizabeth City, NC was the place to be for this year’s US Open 9 Ball warm-up – the 3rd Annual Dismal Swamp 9-Ball Classic. Owners Jimmy, Ashley and Scott Cartwright – father & two sons – laid out the red carpet at Colonial Cues. With tournament sponsors Glover Law Firm, Biggs Cadillac, Jim Todd, Toyota of Elizabeth City, East Coast Landscaping, McDonald’s, David and Allison Cianciulli, Mike Burton with Joss Cues and the City of Elizabeth, the Cartwrights put together another great event.
On Friday night, everyone was treated to an exhibition by Venom Trickshots – the one and only Florian Kohler. This is definitely not your grandfather’s trick shot show! For those who haven’t seen him in action, he’s incredible! This was followed by the players auction and then most headed to bed – first round matches started the next day at 10 am!
First round action saw Alex Pagulayan over Karen Corr, Devin Poteet lost to Tommy Kennedy, Jayson Shaw beat Jeremy Jones and Sky Woodward defeated Shaun Wilkie. Tony Chohan was taken down by Jani Siekkinen while fellow Finn, Petri Makonnen, lost to Shane Van Boening.
Second round action was really brutal! Loree Jon Hasson lost to Billy Thorpe, James Aranas bowled over the always tough Alex, Brandon Shuff trimmed Earl Strickland, Dennis Orcollo defeated Danny Basavich, Jayson Shaw sent Tommy west, Sky won over Jani and Shane dispatched Max Eberle to the west side of the chart.
It wasn’t getting any easier! In the third round, James sent Billy to the one loss side while Dennis did the same to Brandon. Sky polished off Jayson while Shane dusted off Kevin West.
By now, there were four players left on the winners side of the chart – James Aranas vs. Dennis and Sky vs. Shane. Dennis and Sky emerged for the hot seat match while James and Shane headed over to the other side to duke it out with the remaining players.
The battle for the hot seat resulted in Dennis locking up his spot in the finals 9-5 and Sky going west to await the results of the Jayson-Shane match. Jayson moved on in a nailbiter – 8-7. Shane had to settle for a fourth place finish.
Looking to avenge his earlier defeat by Sky, Jayson was a man on a mission. He won 8-6, leaving Sky in third place.
This would be a one set finals – race to twelve. It looked to be a barnburner as both Dennis and Jayson were in dead punch. Marching to a mid-match lead, Jayson led 6-3 and then Dennis hit a gear. Racking up game after game, it was all Dennis as he tied it up, went ahead and reached the hill first – and then missed. Now it was Jayson’s turn! Winning game after game, he stole the title from a stunned Dennis. What. A. Match!!! Congratulations, Jayson! Great tournament, Dennis!
Thanks again to Jimmy, Ashley, Scott and their staff for another successful event as well as two Tournament Directors Eric Williamson and Preach Dant for keeping the show running smoothly.
PoolActionTV.com would like to thank our viewers and all behind the scenes who helped make this a great show. Without our sponsors – Steve Lomax of Lomax Custom Cues, Aramith, John Barton of JB Cases, Simonis, James Hanshew of Hanshew Custom Cues, Kamui, GoPlayPool.com, Mike Durbin of Durbin Custom Cues and Club Billiards of Wichita, KS – none of this would be possible. Thank you to all!!!
Our next stop is the Sidepocket Open 9-Ball Championship to be held October 28th-29th at Sidepocket Billiards and Darts in Shreveport, LA. Hope to see you there!!!
It was pool heaven Sept 20th – 24th at Dave Cole’s Carom Room in Beloit, WI. This year’s Fall Classic had three events – a sixteen player one pocket tournament, a sixteen player Saturday Night 10 Ball and the main event – the Fall Classic 10 Ball Championship. No jump cues were allowed in any of the three events.
The one pocket event was filled with top notch talent and sponsored by Durbin Custom Cues, Kamui, Simonis and Aramith. It had a $500 entry fee and was single elimination – race to five. First round surprises included a couple of 5-0 thrashings – Jayson Shaw over Joey Gray and Tony Chohan over Skyler Woodward. Second round saw Chip Compton and Jayson Shaw advance to a chance for a finals slot as well as Larry Nevel and Jeremy Jones.
Jayson defeated Chip 5-3 to lock up his seat in the finals and Jeremy defeated Larry in a 5-4 nailbiter to capture the other berth.
The finals was all Jeremy as he took it down with a score of 5-2 over Jayson. Congratulations to JJ for a great finish!!! Good tournament, Jayson! And, thanks again to our sponsors!
Play started that evening in the main event. A full field of 96 players put up their $150 entry fees in the main event. It was bar box 10 ball, race to 9 with alternate breaks. The tournament chart was filled with names that any pool aficionado would recognize.
First round action saw red hot John Morra defeating Chip Compton and Charlie Bryant over Shane McMinn with 25% of the field receiving first rounds byes. Second round saw it tightening up a bit with Skyler Woodward taking down fellow young gun Tyler Styer, Joey Gray over Brian Groce, Jeremy Jones over foreign phenom Can Salim and Jason Klatt sending Houston Open runner-up Devin Poteet west.
Notable matches in the third round had Jones beating Klatt and saw two Wisconsin straight shooting legends battle it out – Jeff Carter took down Jayme Goodwin in a close match.
Fourth round pitted Jayson Shaw over Carter with Shaw prevailing. Sharik Sayed sent Morra to the one loss side while Justin Bergman did the same to Alex Olinger.
It wasn’t getting any easier in the fifth round. Jones and Bergman duked it out with Bergman taking the win. Other matches included Tony Chohan over Chad Elston, Shaw defeating Sayed and Jesse Bowman taking care of Alex Pagulayan.
Saturday night, while the main event was in progress, saw sixteen players vying for the cheese in a $500 entry, race to seven, winner break bar box 10 ball event. When the smoke cleared, there were two players remaining – Sky Woodward and Justin Bergman.
Fans anticipated a real showdown between the two young guns. However, showing why he is widely considered to be the best bar box player in the country, Sky never gave Justin any air and cruised to a 7-0 victory. Congratulations to Sky for a well-played event! Good job, Justin!
Back to the main event, it was now down to the final twelve players with Shaw vs. Bowman and Chohan vs. Bergman being the final four on the winners side. Jayson motored out to a 6-2 lead until Bowman found his gear and took it down 9-7. Tony then defeated Justin 9-6 in the other quarter-final match. This set up the hot seat match with Tony defeating Jesse 9-5 and arriving undefeated to the hot seat. Jesse moved west to see who emerged from the pack for the semi-final.
In the end, it came down to Alex and Jayson being the two remaining players on the one loss side of the chart. Alex was taking no prisoners as he knocked Jayson out of the running with a 9-5 score. This left Jayson with a well-deserved fourth place finish.
The match for the other finals spot was a barnburner! Both Jesse and Alex wanted it badly and it finally climaxed at an 8-8 score. Alex secured the win leaving a very disappointed Jesse having to settle for a hard fought third place.
Since this event was true double elimination, defending champion Alex would have to defeat Tony twice to claim the title. While both players made very few errors, Alex won the first set 9-5 forcing a second set.
A determined Tony Chohan notched game after game and by what appeared to be the end of the match, led by a score of 8-3. Finally leaving his opponent a little daylight, Alex began grinding it out. Slowly and methodically, he tied it up at 8-8! One game for it all and it was Tony’s break! He smashed the balls but came up empty and the Lion roared to claim the title!
What a finish!!! Tony played a great event while a determined Alex showed once again why he is a future Hall of Famer! Good tournament, Tony! And, congratulations to Alex for defending his Carom Room Fall Classic title!
As usual, Dave Coles and his staff went out of their way to provide a first class event for the players and fans. We want to thank them for their hospitality and also thank the event sponsors: Allied Games, Behnke Enterprises, Jacoby Cues, Valley Door and Diveney Cues. Thank you, all!!!
PoolActionTV.com, as always, would like to thank our fans and sponsors for another top-notch stream with excellent commentary by Jeremy Jones and Larry Schwartz. Our sponsors include Steve Lomax of Lomax Custom Cues, John Barton of JB Cases, James Hanshew of Hanshew Custom Cues, Mike Durbin of Durbin Custom Cues, Simonis, Aramith, GoPlayPool.com, Kamui and Club Billiards of Wichita, KS.
Our next stop is the 2nd Annual John Guffey Memorial to be held September 28th through Oct 1st at Club Billiards in Wichita, KS. Hope to see you there!!!
With the qualification period for Team USA spots now complete, it was Shane Van Boening who topped the ranking after another stellar eight months that saw him record a string of victories. With qualification for the 2017 Mosconi Cup on a different footing, players needed to have finished in the top ten of the ranking to have a chance of being selected for the team by USA captain Johan Ruijsink.
To give himself what he feels is the best possible chance for the USA to win the Mosconi Cup for the first time since 2009, the captain will pick his side from the top ten with the option of going outside the ten for one of his picks should he feel it necessary.
Ruijsink is expected to name his full side early this week.
The 24th running of the Mosconi Cup takes place from Monday to Thursday 4th to 7th December at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. The defending champions are Europe as Team USA look for their first victory in eight years.
You can’t be everywhere at once, so candidates vying to be among the top 10 players in the running for selection as a member of the 2017 Mosconi Cup team, had to choose where they’d spend this past Labor Day weekend; at Turning Stone XXVIII in Verona, NY or Round Rock, TX at the 44th Annual Texas Open, both of which were awarding a range of Mosconi Cup points to competitors.
Sitting atop the current list of contenders for selection to the US team, Shane Van Boening picked Turning Stone XXVIII to attend (separate story), and stayed on top of that list by defeating Jayson Shaw in the finals of that event (Shaw is a likely member of the European Mosconi Cup team). At the $8,000-added, 44th Annual Texas Open, the defending champion, Canadian John Morra, with no known interest in the acquisition of Mosconi Cup points, went undefeated through a full field of 128 to claim the title a second straight time. Morra became the first person to go back-to-back at this tournament since Jeremy Jones accomplished the feat in 2002/2003. Morra faced Devin Poteet twice in this one, in the hot seat and finals. Like Morra, Poteet had no ‘dog in the hunt’ for Mosconi Cup points.
In addition to the Open event, the Ladies had a tournament, as well; a $2,000-added event that commenced on Saturday, September 2, drew 32 entrants and was won by Vivian Villareal. Other features of this long-Labor Day weekend event included a Jack and Jill Scotch Doubles tournament (won by the veteran team of James Davis, Sr. and Jennifer Kraber), a race-to-three 9-ball event, and a Ring Game on Friday night.
Sky Woodward and Justin Bergman were the two Mosconi Cup contenders in attendance who were hoping to add points to their total. Woodward (who won this event in 2015) entered the Texas Open in fourth place among the Mosconi Cup contenders, while Bergman entered at a distant 15th place. They were both sent to the loss side in the early going of this event; Woodward, by Ryan Lane in the fourth round of play, and Bergman, by Morra, in the third round. They ran into each other in the sixth, loss-side round and fought a predictable double hill fight that eventually advanced Woodward to meet Shane McMinn. McMinn defeated him to end his run. Woodward did add 14 points to his Mosconi Cup total with his finish in the tie for 9th place. Bergman’s finish in the tie for 13th awarded him 10 points.
Morra and Poteet, in the meantime, advanced to winners’ side semifinal matches against James Davis, Sr. and Ryan Lane, respectively. Morra downed Davis 9-6, advancing to the hot seat match, where he was joined by Poteet, who’d survived a double hill match against Lane. The hot seat match was a battle of the former ‘young gun’ (Morra, who’s now 28) and the up and coming ‘young gun’ (Poteet, who’s 20). It went double hill before Morra was sent to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Davis, Sr. picked up Sharik Sayed, who'd defeated Justin Espinoza 9-7 and Jeff Melton 9-5 to reach him. Lane had what proved to be the misfortune of drawing long-time Texas adversary and two-time winner of this tournament, Jeremy Jones, who was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak, to include recent wins over
Davis, Sr. moved into the quarterfinals after a 9-6 win over Sayed. Jones joined him after shutting out Lane. Davis stopped Jones’ run 9-6 in those quarterfinals, and then had his run stopped 9-1 by Morra in the semifinals (“Not bad for an old guy,” said the 65-year-old Davis of his third place finish).
Morra and Poteet had fought to double hill in the hot seat match, but neither of the two, true double elimination matches came close to that. Morra took the opening set 9-3, and went one better (9-2) in the second set to complete his run and claim the 44th Annual Texas Open title for the second year in a row.
Villareal goes undefeated to claim Ladies title
Vivian Villareal did not compete in the 2016 Texas Open, which, some would argue, left the door open for Ricki Casper to claim the 2016 title. The Texas Tornado signed on to the 2017 Texas Open and competed in both the Open event and the Ladies event, which she won, undefeated. She chalked up three wins in the Open event, before the eventual winner, John Morra, sent her to the loss side. She won a single match there, against Jon Demet, before Alex Calderon eliminated her in the 7th losers’ side round.
She advanced through the 32-entrant Ladies field to meet Jennifer Kraber (winner, with Davis, Sr. of the Scotch Doubles tournament) in a winners’ side semifinal. Jennifer Yo and Michelle Abernathy met in the other winners’ side semifinal. Villareal got into the hot seat 7-3 over Kraber. Yo joined her in the hot seat match after sending Abernathy west 7-5. Villareal gave up only a single rack to Yo, claiming the hot seat 7-1.
On the loss side, Kraber picked up defending champion Ricki Casper, while Abernathy drew Autumn Duncan. Kraber and Duncan advanced to the quarterfinals; Kraber, double hill over Casper, and Duncan 7-4 over Abernathy.
Two double hill matches followed. The first, in the quarterfinals, went to Duncan over Kraber. The second, in the semifinals, left Duncan in third place and sent Yo back for a second shot at Villareal in the hot seat. Villareal completed her undefeated run in a single set, duplicating her 7-1 hot seat match effort against Yo.
With three events to go (Turning Stone XXVIII, the Texas Open and the Houston Open), all within about two weeks of each other between August 31 and September 10, the scramble to be among the top 10 ranking players for selection to the USA Mosconi Cup team is heating up. On the weekend of August 24-27, Skyler Woodward chalked up an undefeated run in the 2nd Annual Don Coates Memorial that elevated him from the fourth spot to the third spot on the current list of top 10 in Mosconi Cup standings, well above Oscar Dominguez, who didn't compete and just below Dennis Hatch, who would have slipped below Woodward, had he finished in one payout spot lower (he finished in the tie for 9th). The $10,000-added, Mosconi Cup point-qualifying event, streamed live throughout the weekend by PoolActionTV, drew 66 of the country's top players to Brass Tap Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
Eight of the top 10 players on the ranking list competed in this event (including the event's defending champion, Rodney Morris), and though Woodward grabbed the victory, the Mosconi Cup points and the headline, Filipino player, Zoren James Aranas, not in consideration for either Mosconi Cup team, made runner-up noise, winning five on the loss side before falling to Woodward in the finals. Aranas had been sent to the loss side in a winners' side quarterfinal by John Morra, who advanced to meet Woodward in one of the winners' side semifinals. Donny Mills, who entered the tournament 9th on the Mosconi Cup rankings list, and Billy Thorpe, who entered the tournament in 6th place, squared off in the other winners' side semifinal.
Woodward got into the hot seat match with a 9-3 win over Morra, and was joined by Mills, who sent Thorpe west 9-7. Woodward claimed the hot seat 9-5 over Mills and waited on the return of Aranas.
On the loss side, Aranas began his five-match march back to the finals by defeating Jonathan (Hennessee from Tennessee) Pinegar and Corey Deuel, both 9-5, to draw Thorpe. Morra picked up Brandon Shuff, who'd eliminated Hatch 9-6 and Johnny Archer 9-7 to reach him.
Shuff advanced to the quarterfinals with a 9-5 victory over Morra. He was joined by Aranas, who'd survived a double hill match that tour director Herman Parker described as "one of the best pool matches in the world, ever.
"There was only one miss in the entire match," he said. "It was alternate break and they just went back and forth at each other, trading racks to the 8-8 tie. In the last game, Thorpe missed that one shot – a straight-in shot on the 6-ball – and that was it. Aranas finished it."
Aranas won the next two in much less dramatic fashion, downing Shuff in the quarterfinals and Mills in the semifinals, both 9-3. Woodward put a stop to Aranas' run with a decisive 13-6 victory in the finals.
Two mini-tournaments supplemented the weekend's activities; a $500-added tournament on Wednesday, August 23, which drew 36 entrants and was won by John Morra, who took home an extra $760 dollars, and a $400-added tournament on Friday, August 25, which drew 34 entrants, and saw Devin Poteet pocket $700 for his victory in that event.
Tour directors, Herman and Angela Parker, who are tour directors, as well, of the area's Q City 9-Ball Tour, thanked the ownership and staff at Brass Tap Billiards, as well as sponsors Beasley Custom Cues, Cup of Jane, T-Mobile, Dayco, East Coast Construction, Dan Crocker (Nationwide), Fantasy Draft.com, Pest and Termite Consultants, Raleigh Amusements, CMA Equipment, National Building Supply, and Calvin Preston with TAP League.
