Raphael DaBreo and Miguel Laboy were getting a little bored, sitting around the New York City’s Tri-State area, waiting for the state’s governor and/or the city’s mayor to loosen pandemic restrictions to the level where pool play was possible. They heard about a tournament in Port St. Lucie on the last weekend in January, which, with an apparent storm on the way where they were, and $90 round-trip flights available, seemed like a cool (make that ‘warm’) idea.
Down they flew.
They walked into Shooter’s Billiards in Port St. Lucie, signed on with 60 other competitors and promptly lost their opening matches, both of which went double hill; Laboy lost to Chris Filippelli and DaBreo fell to Anthony Meglino. Though privately asking themselves whether boredom in a snowstorm might have been a better idea, they both persevered, because after all, pool is better than no-pool.
Laboy lasted until the third loss-side round. DaBreo ended up winning 10 on the loss side, which translated into a rematch against Meglino in the finals. DaBreo won the single race to 9 and claimed the event title. It was the first of a planned Bi-Annual event, held under the auspices of AH Tournaments, which drew its 62 entrants to Shooter’s Billiards in Port St. Lucie, FL.
As it happened, come Tuesday morning, Feb. 2, DaBreo and Laboy were still there.
“On Saturday,” said DaBreo, “I got a message from the airline that we’d have to re-schedule because of the snowstorm up there. Wednesday was the first available flight.”
Though prompted by inexpensive flights and a current, general lack of tournaments in their area, DaBreo has found himself in a situation with a 715 Fargo Rate that’s beginning to edge him out of the amateur tournaments that are the backbone of a lot of NYC-area pool events.
“There are not a whole lot of tournaments that I’m allowed to play in anymore up there,” he said, when asked what (beyond the obvious) had prompted a 1,200-mile trip to Florida. “And there’s not much going on in New York, anyway. The way the city is implementing its (pandemic protocols), in terms of distancing and cleaning tables and balls, there are a lot of restrictions and if they catch you in a violation, they can just shut you down.”
It’s been a little more than just that, he went on to say. His participation in tournaments has also been affected by his new role as general manager of New City Billiards in Queens, NY and his regular job in construction and home restoration.
He and Laboy had come down to Florida last November to compete in the first Meucci Classic, both of them; 9-ball and 10-ball. Laboy had finished third in the 9-Ball and out of the money in the 10-ball tournament. DaBreo had finished in the tie for 9th in both events and setting up what was going to happen in two months, had been defeated in the 9/12 matches of the 10-ball by none other than Anthony Meglino (who lasted only one more round).
One would think that given that little bit of history that DaBreo would have had a rather negative reaction upon hearing his name called in Port St. Lucie and hearing it paired with Meglino. Again. Not so, he said. Nor, for that matter, did it affect what happened next.
“It’s just about recovering early,” he said of his first-round, double hill loss to Meglino. “It’s not the first time it had ever happened to me and not likely to be the last.”
Meanwhile, Meglino moved on, won three more against Edgar Lopez, Corey Penrod (who would move to the loss side and give DaBreo a run for his money) and Jason Sheerman to face Chris Daly in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Donny Branson, in the meantime, who’d started out with a defeat of Julia Sheerman, before defeating the competitor who’d sent Laboy to the loss side, Chris Filippelli 7-5. He then gave up a single rack to Randy Smith and none at all to Justin Jacobs and drew Sam Kantar in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Branson then gave up another stingy single rack to Kantar and advanced to the hot seat match. Meglino joined him after shutting out Daly. Meglino claimed the hot seat over Branson with his second straight shutout; a pair of victories that did not escape the attention of DaBreo, working his way back on the loss side.
“They played the hot seat match early,” he said, “so I knew it was going to be him.”
In the meantime, he was dealing with each of the match hands he’d been dealt. Six matches into his loss-side streak, he ran into Corey Penrod, who took him to the brink of elimination.
“I got to the hill first (at 6-4) and broke dry,” he recalled. “Corey ran out and then broke and ran the next rack to tie it up. Then he broke dry and left me with a jump shot. I made it and ran out to win.”
That victory set him up against Chris Daly, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Kantar came over to face Mike Miller, another competitor who’d lost in the opening round and was in the midst of a loss-side streak that had recently included victories over Ricky Charles 7-5 and Jason Sheerman 7-2.
Miller handed Kantar his second loss 7-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals. DaBreo joined him after eliminating Daly 7-5. Miller engaged DaBreo in his second loss-side double hill fight in those quarterfinals and almost won it. As DaBreo had been, earlier, Miller reached the hill, ahead by two, 6-4, but, said DaBreo, “he made a mistake.” DaBreo was able to cash in and advance to the semifinals. DaBreo made relatively short work of Branson in those semifinals 7-2 and 10 matches after his first against Meglino, DaBreo stepped up to Meglino to play his last.
They came within a game of double hill in the extended race-to-9, before DaBreo closed it out at 9-7 and went back to the hotel, where he knew, before he’d even finished the final match, that he’d be ‘recuperating’ for at least three days. He hadn’t given the initial loss to Meglino, nor the rematch in the finals very much thought ahead of time.
“I don’t think about stuff like that, because when you do, you start overthinking things,” he said, with that ‘been here, done this before’ attitude, so necessary in pool. “You just play the table.”
AH tour directors Alyssa and Henry Kantorski thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Billiards for their hospitality. AH Tournaments will host a One Pocket event in March and their second Bi-Annual 10-Ball tournament in July. Check the AH Facebook page for further details.
The American CueSports Alliance (ACS) conducted its most successful national championships to date with a record $36,500 in added prize monies drawing players from throughout North America to twenty-three divisions of competition at the 2012 Lucasi Hybrid ACS National Championships in Las Vegas. Over 90% of attendees chose the host hotel, the Tropicana Las Vegas, for lodging – primarily attracted by early-bird hotel rates and discounted entry fees. The Tropicana Las Vegas is near the center of the action on the Las Vegas strip, and the dates – May 5-11 – and the gorgeous setting of this renovated property have quickly won over the players as a great site for pool action! The biggest highlight of these Championships was San Antonio TX capturing four of the nine team titles up for grabs!
Singles action began at the first of the week with handicapped 9-ball. Dustin Gunia of Omaha, NE, improved on his 4th place performance in 2011 by outperforming fellow Nebraskan – Chris Siefken (Lincoln, NE) – in the finals for the title by a 10-4 margin. On the distaff side, Susan Orr (Las Vegas, NV) took two sets in the final against Richmond, Kentucky’s Samantha Patton (2-5, 5-2) to earn her crown! Results from the many divisions of 8-ball singles included: Dustin Gunia performing a rare double by outpointing Glenn Atwell (Clay Center, KS) 7-4 in the finals of Men’s Advanced Singles 8-Ball; Jessica Frideres (Fort Dodge, IA) adding to her growing list of ACS Nationals titles with a come-from-behind, two-set finals decision over undefeated Kawania Watson (San Antonio, TX) in the Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Singles – 7-3/7-4; Richard Louapre (Jersey City, NJ) double-dipping undefeated Robert Nelson (Sycamore, IL) 5-4/5-3 for the Men’s Open 8-Ball Singles championship; Susan Orr scoring another title with a 4-2 finals defeat of Mandy Schneider-Hood (Houston, TX) for the Women’s Open 8-Ball Singles laurels; undefeated Joey Glover (Virginia Beach, VA) outdistancing David Field (Calgary, AB) in the first set of the finals – 5-3 – for the Men’s Standard 8-Ball Singles division success; and Bernadine Crowchild (Calgary, AB) besting Arlene David (Virginia Beach, VA) by a 4-1 margin for the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Singles glory.
In the senior-aged 8-ball singles divisions, Dennis Brown (Creston, BC) took down Claude Gragg III (Arlington, TX) in the deciding set of the finals, 5-3, for the Men’s Senior (55+) 8-Ball Singles crown; Shawn Modelo (Antioch, CA) captured her third straight Women’s Senior (50+) 8-Ball Singles title by clipping Susan Kornerly (Two Rivers, WI) 4-3 in the finals; and Keith Parker (Henderson, NV) needed only one finals set to take the Super Senior (65+) Singles 8-Ball Singles title from Charles Smith (Whitesboro, TX) by a 5-2 margin!
The two Scotch Doubles 8-Ball divisions included the powerhouse duo of Dustin Gunia and Jessica Frideres (each winners of their respective Advanced Singles 8-Ball divisions) defending their 2011 title in the Advanced Scotch Doubles division with a narrow 7-6 finals win over Susan Orr/Ricky White (Las Vegas, NV); while the Canadian team of Anne Sinclair/ Michael Therrien (ON) needed just one set as well to claim 4-2 victory over Grand Junction, Colorado’s Sandra Walsh and David Miles in the Open Scotch Doubles category.
With the ACS schedule in the latter portion of the week allowing non-conflicting accommodation of entry into both 9-ball and 8-ball team competitions, there was still plenty of competition to keep every player involved – especially those out of the money who automatically qualified for free second-chance team divisions! In the Men’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division, Dick’s Pick [Greg Kuhl, Donnie Branson, Rocky Phipps, Fred Boggs, Lyn Wechsler and Jimmy Moore] (Las Vegas, NV) defended its 2011 title by eclipsing Virginia’s Brass Bell 13-8 in the title match. The Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division showcased Knaw Kaw Min [Becky Mowdy, Brandy Phillips, Judy Griffith, Sherry Griffin and Jan Aust] (WA) battling to a final’s win over Ontario’s Eenie Meenie Miney Moe. At this point, Team Mireles from San Antonio, TX started collecting titles. In the Men’s Open 8-Ball Team competition, undefeated Team Mireles [Frank Ferrer, Shane Manaole, Pat Powers, Jacob Jimenez, Rick Robles, Gerard Jimenez, Lupe Sanchez and Eric Aicinena] outdistanced New York’s Foreign Policy 13-9 in the title match. The Women’s Open 8-Ball Team division showcased the Virginia team of Footers Femme Fatale [Alena Joyce, Tiffiny Ebner, Diana Wirt and Marcia Schomburg] recovering from big deficits in two sets of the finals (2-7/4-7) to claim the top prize by 10-8/10-7 scores over Iowa’s No Balls Just Racks.
The Men’s Standard 8-Ball Team division witnessed a similar rebound for eventual winner, The Tribe (BC) [Tyler Chan, Doug Narcisse, Charles Narcisse, Adam Beeds and Bill Armstrong]. In the first match of the tournament, The Tribe faced Las Vegas’s Dick’ Pick and trailed 8-12 before recovering for a 13-12 win. Dick’s Pick was not deterred and marched through the B-side of the bracket for another shot at The Tribe in the finals. Again, The Tribe was down again at 9-12, but won the last four games for the Championship by another 13-12 margin! In the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Team division, Virginia’s Inland Reef 1 [Michelle Carawan, Tavonia Millender, Beverly Michelle Carawan, Teresa Price, Jennifer O’Brien and Ashley Hoover] took the undefeated route to the finals and repelled El Paso’s Twinz by a 10-7 margin for the crown.
The 3-person 9-ball team divisions were swept by San Antonio TX! Once-defeated Team Mireles Too [Rick Robles, Shane Manaole, Pat Powers and Gerard Jimenez] took down Las Vegas’s Ray’s Babys in two sets by 19-17/19-11 margins for the Men’s Advanced 9-Ball Team title. Another San Antonio team, Vito’s Ladies [Mary Ida Gamez, Elizabeth Blancas, Kawania Watson and Sophie Lopez], captured the Women’s Open 9-Ball Team laurels with a 10-8 victory over Eenie Meenie Miney Moe [ON]. In the Men’s Open 9-Ball Team category, Team Mireles [Frank Ferrer Jr., Jacob Jimenez, Lupe Sanchez and Eric Aicinena] struck again with a 19-13 finals decision over New York’s Foreign Policy (victims in the MOT8 finals as well!).
In the 8th Annual ACS National Artistic Pool Championships, Connie Eddins of Santee CA. edged out the boys for the title. ACS would like to especially thank our title sponsor – Lucasi Hybrid Cues, as well as Gary Benson and his tournament direction staff at High Country Promotions, as well as the exhibiting vendors and the host site – the Tropicana Las Vegas! The ACS Nationals is already looking to returning to the Tropicana May 11-17, 2013! The ACS is a national non-profit, member-governed association which will sanction any local pool league (whether player-run or owner-operated) via a $10 annual sanction fee. Contact the ACS at 1-888-662-1705 or www.americancuesports.org for complete information on sanctioning your league!
The ACS currently sanctions leagues in 38 states and enjoys reciprocal relations with its sister organization in Canada (Canadian Cue Sport Association – CCS). Twelve state associations are affiliated to ACS; and the ACS offers a Lucasi Hybrid Midwest ACS Championships each January at the Riverside Resort & Casino in Iowa. The ACS produces a national amateur Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour each Fall thru Spring and offers certification for both instructors and referees dedicated to the sport.