David Deschenes (TD), Danny Hewitt and Yan Ialande (TD)
Like everybody else, Canada’s Danny Hewitt’s been on a bit of a hiatus from the pool tables. Last ‘seen’ on the roster of Turning Stone XXXIII back in January, when he finished in the eight-way tie for 17th place, Hewitt returned to the tables on Sunday, September 20 at the debut stop on the 2020 Predator Quebec Pro Am Tour. Hewitt went undefeated through a field of 16 entrants at the $1,300-added event which was hosted by Billard-Lounge L’Abasie in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada. The field of 16 was populated by eight of the top-ranked Canadian players, combined with four players each from two qualifying tournaments held the day before at separate locations.
Hewitt opened his undefeated campaign with a 7-1 victory over Rene Brind’Amour and followed it with a 7-5 win over Vincent Beaurivage. This set Hewitt up in a winners’ side semifinal match against Martin Daigle. In the meantime, Sylvain Gringas got by Harold Rousseau 7-2 and Tommy Cayer, double hill, to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal match against Tom Théiault.
Hewitt sent Daigle to the loss side 7-3 and in the hot seat match, faced Gingras, who’d defeated Thériault 7-5. Hewitt and Gingras battled to double hill before Hewitt prevailed to wait in the hot seat for what turned out to be the return of Francis Crevier.
Crevier, who’d won his opening match 7-5 over Jonathan Gavreau, was sent to the loss side by Thériault in a winners’ side quarterfinal. On the loss side, he downed Brind’Amour and Cayer, both 7-4 to draw Daigle. Thériault picked up Alain Martel, who’d lost his opening match to Cayer and was in the midst of a three-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to come to an end. He’d recently eliminated Sebastien Laramée 7-3 and Beaurivage 7-5.
Thériault and Crevier earned their rematch. Thériault survived a double hill match versus Martel. Crevier came within a game of double hill against Daigle, but prevailed 7-5. Crevier had a successful rematch against Thériault, eliminating him 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
Crevier completed his five-match, loss-side winning streak with a 7-4 victory over Gingras in the semifinals. Hewitt, though, apparently unaffected by his wait in the hot seat, completed his five-match, winners’ side streak with a 7-5 win over Crevier that earned him the debut event title.
Tour owners and directors David Blanchett, David Deschenes and Yan Ialande thanked the ownership and staff at Billard-Lounge L’Abasie for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Arcos II Billiard Balls and Poison Cues. Stop #2 on the 2020 Predator Quebec Pro Am Tour, scheduled for this Saturday, Sept. 26, will be hosted by Dooly’s in St. Hyacinthe, about 33 miles east of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
(Doha, Qatar)-–Omar Al Shaheen knows that success in championship pool is as much about perseverance as it is about being an amazing shot maker. Sometimes, when things aren’t going your way, you just have to be patient. When your time finally does come, you have to be ready to grab the cherry.
Today at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha, that cherry came in the form of a brilliantly played match against former World 9-ball Champion Darren Appleton. Today was Judgement Day at the 2016 World 9-ball Championship, the last chance to make it into the Final 64, the knockout rounds and the real road to 9-ball glory.
Of course Appleton, one of pool’s giants, was the heavy favorite. But the 23 year old Kuwaiti played flawlessly and completely carefee, while the Brit couldn’t find the measure of the break shot and looked tight. Al Shaheen won in a master class, 9-5, putting Appleton out, and himself in the money rounds of pool’s biggest event.
To understand just how Al Shaheen got to this point of being able to oust one of pool’s best players, it helps to look back over the last few days. The talented and good looking youngster didn’t even have a spot in the tournament a few days ago. He entered the brutally tough qualifiers last week, reached the finals two times, only to lose to two top players. But as he was lamenting what could have been this year, he got the call that another player had dropped out and, as the leading point holder of the qualifiers, he got the very last spot in the world championship.
Al Shaheen then lost his very first match and was forced over to the losers’ side of his group bracket. But then the Kuwaiti found his groove, handily beating Sweden’s Marcus Chamat, to set up a showdown with Appleton. He suddenly realized all the tough competition and, yes, the losing, had prepared him for this moment.
“I think it’s good that I lost many times,” an ecstatic Al Shaheen said after disposing of Appleton. “In the qualifiers I lost three times, two of them in finals to very good players. In the group stages I lost my first match. So that’s four times. So now I can accept losing. And it was good practice. Today I just play my game and I am relaxed. Darren is a very good player and I feel very good right now.”
31 one other players left the Al Arabi with similar wide grins today as they booked their spots in the Final 64 which begins Tuesdaymorning here. They join the 32 players who qualified on Sunday in what is a brutally stellar field of pool greats ready to do battle over the next three days for pool’s most prestigious prize.
Leading the way, as usual, are the Taiwanese and the Filipinos. Taiwan brings 10 heavyweights into the knockout stages, including defending champion Ko Pin Yi, Chang Yu Lung and Chang Jun Lin. Filipino fans will have nine players to get behind including Dennis Orcollo, Warren Kiamco, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado, Jeffrey De Luna and Johann Chua. Filipino Alex Pagulayan, who won the World 9-ball crown in 2004, plays out of Canada and also made it through to the knockout rounds.
It wouldn’t be surprising if China finally takes its first World 9-ball title. Former champion Wu Jiaqing(formerly Wu Chia Ching) is playing rock solid pool, while Lui Haitao has consistently been raising his game over the last few years. Six Chinese players will be featured in the Final 64.
Poland has proved this year that it could arguably be Europe’s leading pool country with four players qualifying. A slew of other Europeans make up the field as well.
Perhaps the most notable statistic this year is the rise of the Middle Eastern players. Six players from the Middle East have qualified for the knockout rounds, a first in the history of this prestigious event. Clearly having the World 9-ball Championship in Qatar for the last seven years has significantly helped the sport grow.
Judgement Day always brings with it plenty of jangling nerves and high drama as players wilt under the gravity of the circumstances. One small roll of the ball can spell the difference between a player going 2 games and out, and perhaps a run at a world title. If there was ever a sport where whole careers rest on a razor’s edge, pool is it.
The Philippines young Jeffrey Ingacio has given Pinoy fans high hopes for the young generation to make their mark, but he had to get very lucky in holding off tough Canadian Francis Crevier to advance, 9-7.
Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw has played himself into being one of the top players in the world over the last six months, but today he had to come from way behind against a stingy Justin Campbell of Australia to qualify, 9-7.
2007 World 9-ball Champion Daryl Peach had to go toe to toe with the Philippines Antonio Gabica, but the Brit prevailed 9-7 in a high quality match.
Bangladesh isn’t the first country to come to mind when one thinks of great pool players. Today, however, will stand as a monumental day in Bangladeshi cue sports history. 29 year old MD Alim became the first player from Bangladesh to make it to the knockout rounds of the World 9-ball Championship. Alim, who owns a business installing satellite TV services in Dhaka, was playing in his very first world championship this week. Today, he went to the wire with Italy’s Bruno Muratore and showed major league poise and skills in crossing the finish line to qualify.
Another player to look out for is Iran’s Ali Maghsoud. A few days ago Maghsoud took down the great Mika Immonen. Today the Iranian sucked up the massive pressure and beat Japan’s Hiroshi Takenaka, 9-7 to make his first Final 64.
Other Middle Eastern players continued to impress. Abdul Rahman Al Amar of Saudi Arabi continues to show maturity beyond expectations. Today he came from behind to win at the wire against Poland’s Konard Juszczyszym, 9-8, and move on to the money rounds.
Other notable players bouncing back from defeats and advancing today include the Netherlands’ Niels Feijen, Germany’s Ralf Souquet, the Philippines Dennis Orcollo, Japan’s Yukio Akagariyama and Taiwan’s Chang Yu Lung.
One particular match at the end of today’s play seemed to encapsulate the drama and pressure of Judgement Day to a “T.” The Philippines Carlo Biado was not playing well and found himself down to Japan’s Hayato Hijikata, 7-4 in a race to 9. Hijikata pushed the score to 8-6, but with the finish line and a qualification in sight, the Japanese began to wilt and the match went to 8- 8 and a pressure packed one rack decider, with Hijikata breaking.
The Japanese sank a ball on the break and then proceeded to make a superb full table bank on the two, with an open table to the win. But just as Biado started to slink down in defeat in his chair, Hijikata missed a wide open shot on the 4-ball. The Filipino bounced out of his chair but even then his legs looked weak from the pressure. Biado held it together and cleared the table for an unlikely spot in the knockout stages.
“When he made that 2-ball, I just knew the match was over,” a seriously relieved Biado said after the match. “But then he missed the 4-ball and I knew this was my chance. My heart was beating and it was pressure. Now that I won the match, I have a lot of confidence. I’m in the Final 64. Anything can happen, and anyone can win. May the best man win.”
Play in the first day of the group stages begins Tuesday at 10am(GMT +3). All matches now become race to 11, alternate break. The round of 64 and round of 32 will be played on Tuesday. The round of 16 and quarterfinals will be played on Wednesday. The Semi-finals and Finals will be played on Thursday. The final will be a race to 13, alternate break.
**The 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from July 30-August 4, 2016. The winner of the 2015 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
The players will be competing on Wiraka DYNASTY Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
The 2016 World 9-ball Championship is being hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
The WPA will be on hand in Doha throughout this year’s World 9-ball Championship providing up to the minute information, live scoring, photographs and in depth articles with insights and analysis from WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner.
Greece's Nikos Ekonomopoulus plays perfect pool to book his place with 31 others in the knockout rounds at the World 9-ball Championship.
(Doha, Qatar)–Misery and joy danced a sultry tango today at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha on Day 2 of the 2016 WPA World 9-ball Championship, as 32 players headed for the exits, while another 32 players booked their place in the final 64 knockout stage.
As on Day 1, all 128 players saw action, but unlike the opening rounds, much more was at stake. All 32 losers-side matches in the group stage were do-or-die. All 32 winners-side matches offered the victor a massive sigh of relief, and a day off as they await the start of the single elimination knockout stage which begins on Tuesday.
For the 64 players remaining in this year’s World 9-ball Championship, that means Monday is the dreaded Judgement Day, when every roll of the ball could spell the difference between a career defining run at glory, or a career sullying walk into the lonely Qatari desert, head in hand, never wanting to show your face in public again. Yes, pool at this level can deliver the ultimate prize and the ultimate shame, and all at the same time. It’s why fans around the world love world championship 9-ball.
The day started early at 10am inside the icy cold Al Arabi Sports Club with the losers side matches. A second loss meant an instant out, while a win meant one more chance at qualifying. You could sense the tension straight away as nobody, especially the top players, wanted to go 2 and out in a world championship.
Easily the biggest shock of the tournament so far came when former World 9-ball Champion and Hall of Famer Mika Immonen quickly got the big boot. Surprisingly the always ready for prime time Finn couldn’t get himself into the thick of the action this year. Today he fell behind early to Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski and never contended, getting blown out, 9-4.
Day 1 had been a terrible day for the USA, but Shaun Wilke, Skylar Woodward and Shane Van Boening kept hope alive for the American side with impressive wins. Van Boening in particular looked the goods as he broke magnificently in his 9-2 drubbing of Argentina's Ariel Castro. Fans will recall it was Van Boening’s sensational break shot last year that saw him storm into the finals.
2007 World 9-ball Championship Daryl Peach bounced back from a big collapse on day 1 and played perfect in a 9-5 win over Singapore’s Alyosius Yapp, who had made a run to the quarterfinals last year. Interestingly Peach will play a Judgement Day match against the Philippines Roberto Gomez, the very man he beat in Manila in 2007 to win the world title.
The winners side matches in the afternoon presented some brilliant face offs that would be worthy of a semis and even a finals any day of the week. Defending Champion Ko Pin Yi once again looked completely impervious as he took down Austria’s Mario He, 9-5.
China’s Zhou Long and Canada’s John Morra squared off in a battle of young rising stars. Morra has been one of pool’s rising bright lights in the last two years and even made it to the quarterfinals last year in Doha with a sensational run. But Zhou made a case for his superb skills today, playing what could be the match of the tournament so far, as he beat the Canadian handily, 9-2.
Perhaps the biggest matchup on the winners’ side took place between Greece’s Nikos Ekonomopoulus and Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw. Ekonomopoulus has been one of Europe’s best players over the last three years. Shaw recently won two straight events in Europe and currently leads the points race for the European Mosconi Cup squad.
Today, however, belonged to the Greek as he played absolutely perfect pool and beat the determined Scotsman, 9-5. Afterward, Ekonomopoulus attributed his stellar play to the fact that he has recently put aside his usual high life living and taken up a training regime.
“I played a perfect set,” the friendly Greek said. “The last two months I made a good workout program for myself. I go to the gym every day, I practice pool for two hours, and I eat good. So I feel better. It’s the first time in my life I have made a program like that so I feel really comfortable at the table.”
Fans and future opponents should pay attention as Ekonomopolous new focus on fitness is clearly paying off. He’s reached the final in the last Euro Tour event, made two finals in other recent open European tournaments, and won an event in Cyprus. And now he’s in the Final 64 in Doha.
Also deserving a good look are the Russians, as veterans Konstantin Stepanov and Ruslan Chinakov barged into the Final 64 undefeated. It should be noted that both Stepanov and Chinakov have spent the last year under the tutelage of coach Johan Ruysink, the Dutch pool coaching guru who led the European Mosconi Cup team to victory seven times.
Several big names failed to qualify today as 2012 World 9-ball Champion Darren Appleton and the Philippines Dennis Orcollo both went down to defeat. Appleton couldn’t fend off the spirited play of Taiwan’s tiny Chu Hong Ming—nicknamed “Peter Pan”—losing 9-7. Orcollo faced fellow Filipino in veteran Ramil Gallego. Orcollo couldn’t get a groove and got swept aside, 9-4. Both players will be back for another go on Judgement Day.
Former world champion Wu Jiaqing(formerly Wu Chia Ching) once again looked superb and moved on. Already seven Chinese players, including Liu Haitao and Li Hewen, have made it through to the final 64.
Other notable players qualifying include two time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann, Austria’s Albin Ouschan, Great Britain’s Karl Boyes, and Chang Jung Lin of Taiwan.
Play in the final day of the group stages begins tomorrow at 10am(GMT +3).
**The 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from July 30-August 4, 2016. The winner of the 2015 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
The players will be competing on Wiraka DYNASTY Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
The 2016 World 9-ball Championship is being hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
The WPA will be on hand in Doha throughout this year’s World 9-ball Championship providing up to the minute information, live scoring, photographs and in depth articles with insights and analysis from WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner.
Abdul Rahman Al Amar (Photos courtesy of Bo Bader)
(Doha, Qatar)–The moments before the first rack on the first day of the World 9-ball Championship are never easy, even for the best of players. The tables and conditions are new and untested. Players know they only have to win two race-to-9matches to qualify for the final 64, but things in pool can easily go array as you may come out flat, or the balls might conspire against you. Even the top players realize that just because you haven’t heard of the guy you’re paired against, it doesn’t mean you’re going to waltz into the money rounds.
Indeed while 15 of the WPA’s top 20 players won their opening matches on day 1 in Doha, several big names suffered setbacks, suddenly finding themselves on the one loss side of their groups, and one more loss from unceremoniously exiting pool’s biggest stage.
After 8 hours of pool at its highest level at the Al Arabi sports club, several things stand out loud and clear. The sport of pool has never seen this many highly skilled players from so many different countries. This fact, combined with the new rule this year of racking the balls with the 9-ball on the spot instead of the 1-ball, thereby toughening up the opening break shot, means that the 2016 World 9-ball championship will surely see the world crown contested at the highest level we have ever witnessed.
All 128 players saw action in the double elimination group stages today and, as usual, it seems the Taiwanese are ready to contend yet again. Defending champion Ko Pin Yi had a layup of a match to get things started as he cruised to a 9-1 win over Algeria’s Mohamed Elraousti. As the day progressed, the Taiwanese kept notching up impressive wins, going 8 out of 10; Chang Jun Lin, Chu Hong Ming, Ko Ping Chung (Pin Yi’s younger brother), Hsieh Chia Chen, Li Wen Lo, Wu Kun Lin and Cheng Yu Husan all saw victory. Only Chang Yu Lung and veteran Yang Chin Shun lost.
Many people believe that a European will be standing in the winner’s circle next Thursday because the Europeans have been playing with the 9-ball on the spot on the Euro tour for years, and already understand this breaks shot’s unique complexities. One player in particular with good odds is 2014 World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, who didn’t face a difficult task as he waltzed past Qatar’s Abdul Latif Al Fawal, 9-3. It’s rumored that the Dutchman has put in 1000’s of hours perfecting the break shot and has even unlocked a certain secret about its configuration.
Other notable Europeans notching victories today include two time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, Greece’s Nikos Ekonomopoulos, Austria’s Albin Ouscan, and 2012 World 9-ball champion Darren Appleton.
[photo id=45144|align=right]Fans looking for a relatively new European face to break through should pay attention to Britain’s Jayson Shaw. The Scotsman recently topped two very strong fields in Europe and is currently leading the points race for the European Mosconi Cup team. This is a young player who is clearly on the rise and anxious to make some waves.
“My game is about as good as it’s ever been,” Shaw said after besting Iraq’s Karar Abdulwahed, 9-3. “I’m not putting any pressure on myself. There’s some seriously good players here so I’m just taking it one match at a time and trying to enjoy this atmosphere. My goal is to get into the final 16 and from there, anything can happen.”
It was a solid day for Spain as David Alcaide, Francisco Pizaarro Diaz, and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz all won. Ruis squeaked by last year’s surprise quarterfinalist from Singapore, Aloysius Yapp.
The day proved downright miserable for the USA, as 5 out of six Americans in the field went down to defeat. Last year’s runner up, Shane Van Boening drew a very difficult opponent in 2011 World 9-ball champion Yukio Akagariyama of Japan. The match was close halfway, but Akagariyama, who earned entry into the tournament by winning a qualifier, pulled away to win, 9-5. Only Oscar Dominguez saved the day for the USA, but barely as he squeaked by Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki, 9-8.
China’s powerhouse lineup performed solidly today. Former world 9-ball champion Wu Jiaqing, world number 3 Lui Haitao, Li Hewen, Dang Jinghu and three others saw victory.
One of the early revelations of this year’s world championship is just how far players from the Middle East have truly come in competitive 9-ball. In years past Middle Eastern players were just entering these big events for the experience. Now it is clear they are truly on a world class level and will soon start contending and even winning big events. And they are coming from some very surprising places.
Nobody thought Iran’s Ali Maghsoud had much of a chance against Hall of Famer and multi world champion Mika Immonen, especially being down 8-5 in the race to 9. But the 27 year old from the Iranian city of Kermanshah buckled down, held his nerve and stormed back to win by a thread, 9-8.
“When I was down 8-5, I just knew I was going to come back,” Maghsoud, who owns his own pool club in Iran, said afterward. “He’s a world champion but I was very positive.”
[photo id=45143|align=right]Saudi Arabia showed they are a rising pool nation today as Abdul Rahman Al Amar beat American Justin Campbell 9-7, while Abdulla Al Shemmari took down the USA’s Hunter Lombardo, 9-5. Eritrean Hamzaa M Saeed Ali, who was born and raised in Saudi and still lives there also won, defeating Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 9-8.
The 27 year old Al Almar is clearly knocking on the door to success. Last year he defeated the Philippines Johann Chua in the group stages and made it to the final 64. The former snooker player informed us that pool is actually backed by the government in Saudi and that there are currently over 14,000 registered pool players in the Kingdom. Yes, you read that right; Saudi Arabia is one of pool’s hot spots.
Even Bangladesh rode the winning wave today as MD Alim handily defeated Swedish veteran Marcus Chamat, 9-4.
The group stages at the 2016 World 9-ball Championship continue on Saturday at the Al Arabi Sports beginning at 10am local time(GMT +3.) All 128 players will again see action on Day 2, with 32 players advancing into the final 64 Knockout rounds, and another 32 players heading for the exits.
**The 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from July 30-August 4, 2016. The winner of the 2015 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
The players will be competing on Wiraka DYNASTY Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
The 2016 World 9-ball Championship is being hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
The WPA will be on hand in Doha throughout this year’s World 9-ball Championship providing up to the minute information, live scoring, photographs and in depth articles with insights and analysis from WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner.
Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolbilliardassociation/
The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa
DAY 1 RESULTS , GROUP STAGES, DOUBLE ELIMINATION
Winners need 1 more win to advance to the Final 64.
In 2014 at Quebec’s 5th Annual Appalachian Billiards Classic, Thorsten Hohmann was runner-up to Johnny Archer in a 32-entrant field, playing 10-ball. In the 32-entrant 9-ball competition, won by Mike Dechaine, Hohmann finished in the tie for fifth place with Mika Immonen. This year, under the auspices of a newly-formed company called EvenTime, the annual tournament gave way to a new competition called The Archer Cup; so named, according to tournament director, Marco Sanschagrin, because “Johnny represents what we want to promote.
“He has always been a gentleman,” he added, “and when we asked him if he would be (the event’s) honorary patron, he agreed.”
The $10,000-added, 10-ball tournament drew 24 entrants to a converted ice hockey arena; The Black Lake Arena in the village of Thetford Mines, about an hour outside of Quebec City. In addition to the 10-ball tournament, the first Archer Cup featured a $2,000-added Scotch doubles tournament that drew 15 teams. It was won by Erik Hjorleifson (third in the 10-ball event) and Ashley Nolan, who defeated John Morra (fourth in the 10-ball event) and Joey Cicero in the finals.
It would have been highly fitting had Archer, last year’s 10-ball winner, gone on to win the tournament now named in his honor, but it didn’t happen. He won his opening match, against Luc Salvas, but then lost two in a row (to John Leblanc and Tom Theriault, by the same 10-8 score). He remained ‘in the house’ to be part of the post-tournament ceremonies, thanking all those who had made the event possible.
It was Hohmann who emerged from the field to go undefeated and claim the first Archer Cup title. The $6,500, first-place prize was accompanied by an actual Archer Cup, a huge trophy donated by a monuments company called Atelier du Bronze. Valued in the vicinity of $20,000, the “A”-shaped trophy featured a molded scorpion, poised to sting.
“It’s a good thing that I’m not going to have to carry this with me,” joked Hohmann in post-tournament ceremonies, “because the (baggage) fees would be more than my prize money.”
The trophy will be retained by tournament officials, with the winner’s name added each year.
Hohmann completed his undefeated run through the field with six victories, in which he gave up an average of just a little over five racks in each of the five races to 10 and single race to 12 in the finals. He chalked up two straight 10-4 victories in the opening two rounds before running into what proved to be his toughest challenge of the event; Francis Crevier, who battled him to double hill before giving way, allowing Hohmann to advance to a winners’ side semifinal against Erik Hjorleifson. In the meantime, Hohmann’s opponent in the hot seat and finals, Canada’s Danny Hewitt, squared off against fellow Canadian John Morra.
Hohmann and Hewitt advanced to the hot seat; Hohmann 10-5 over Hjorleifson and Hewitt 10-8 over Morra. Hohmann claimed the hot seat 10-5 over Hewitt and waited on his return.
Morra moved to the loss side and picked up Mike Dechaine, who, after being defeated by Hewitt in the second round, went on a four-match, loss-side streak, including a 10-4 victory over Francis Crevier and a 10-2 win over Jeff Blais that set up his match against Morra. Hjorleifson drew John LeBlanc, who’d defeated Yan Lalande 10-8 and Luc Salvas 10-7 to reach him.
Hjorleifson advanced to the quarterfinals 10-7 over LeBlanc and was joined by Morra, who’d eliminated Dechaine 10-4. Hjorleifson went on to defeat Morra 10-7, but was denied a second shot at Hohmann when Hewitt defeated him 10-2 in the semifinals.
Hohmann opened the final match proceedings with a bang; winning the lag, dropping five balls on his break, and easily taking the opening rack. Hewitt broke dry on the second rack, opening the door for Hohmann’s second win. The match tightened considerably with safety play starting to make an appearance, as Hewitt got on the board in the third rack, and tied it up in the fourth.
A combination of unforced errors by Hewitt and strong play by Hohmann, led to five straight for Hohmann. Hewitt responded with three straight of his own, to pull back within two at 7-5. Four racks later, Hohmann was on the hill. He broke dry in the subsequent rack, opening the door to what proved to be Hewitt’s last game victory. Hohmann closed it out in the 18th rack, claiming the debut Archer Cup title with a 12-6 victory over Hewitt.
In post-tournament ceremonies, he congratulated Hewitt for a strong tournament and final match.
“He defeated me a few months ago at Turning Stone,” he said, adding that while assembled fans probably wanted a longer final match, against Hewitt, he didn’t.
Reminded of his opening break, the strongest of the final, with five balls dropping, he quipped, “Ok. I did it once, I figured I didn’t need to do that again.”
According to tour director Sanschagrin, the Archer Cup is but the first of many planned events by the new EventTime company. In addition to a 2nd Annual Archer Cup next year, the group (which includes tournament president Roger Doyon and Michel McCutcheon) will be hosting tournaments for juniors, seniors and is looking to create a pool tournament that will coincide with Quebec’s annual winter carnival, one of the nation’s largest such festivals.
Hopkins wins Women's Open 9-Ball, Brown takes One-Pocket Title
Dennis Orcollo went undefeated through a field of 64 entrants, on-hand for the 23rd Annual Super Billiards Expo's $9,000-added Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship, held on the weekend of April 16-19 at the Greater Philadelphia Center in Oaks, PA. Over the past three years, Shane Van Boening had defeated Stevie Moore (2012), Thorsten Hohmann (2013) and Tommy Kennedy (2014) in the finals of this event. This year, however, Orcollo defeated him in the hot seat match, and Jayson Shaw foiled his attempt at a rematch against Orcollo by defeating him in the semifinals.
Orcollo's path to the hot seat went through Patrick Carosi, Danny Olson, Rodney Morris, Johnny Archer, and, in the winners' side semifinal, Hohmann, before he handed Van Boening his first of two straight losses. Van Boening had gone through Francis Crevier, Beppu Kenji, Corey Deuel, Mika Immonen and, in the other winners' side semifinal, Warren Kiamco, before he ran into Orcollo, never to return.
The other two runner-ups from the last three years were on-hand, as well. Tommy Kennedy, last year's runner-up went two and out, falling to Scott Frost in the opening round, and Yu-Huan Kevin Chang in the first loss-side round. Moore, 2012's runner-up, was defeated in the opening round by Kevin Clark, and then, defeated Raj Vannala, Michael Yednak and Dan Cintron, before falling to Corey Deuel in the fourth loss-side round. Hohmann defeated, in order, Tim Murray, Justin Bergman, Mike Dechaine and Darren Appleton to earn himself a winners' side final four matchup against Orcollo. Orcollo sent him west where he picked up his second straight loss versus Mike Dechaine.
Shaw, who faced Orcollo in the finals, defeated Alan Rolon, and Lee Kang on the winners' side before Warren Kiamco sent him to the loss side. Shaw then ran the gauntlet through a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that was arguably as tough as any set of opponents faced by any of the event's competitors. He got by Jeremy Sossei, Hunter Lombardo, Darren Appleton, and Johnny Archer, before successfully navigating his re-match against Kiamco. He then defeated Dechaine and Van Boening to earn his spot in the finals.
The Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship was the marquee event of four held over the weekend. Dawn Hopkins came from the loss side and defeated Caroline Pao in the finals of the $2,800-added Women's Open 9-Ball Players Championship that drew 28 entrants, and Jason Brown took the $2,200-added One Pocket event that was expanded to include 48 entrants.
The weekend also featured four Amateur events; an Open event, won by Alex Olinger, that drew a record-breaking 960 entrants, a Senior Division (age 50+), won by Dennis Spears, that drew 384, a Super Seniors Division (age 65+), won by Warner Burton, that drew 128, and a Women's Division, won by Brianna Miller, that drew 160.
Further detailed reports on the Super Billiards Expo, to include more complete reports about the Women's, One-Pocket and Amateur events will follow, soon.
Francis Crevier, Michael Bernier, Jeff Blais and Dany Nguyen
Tonight players and fans who decided to come a day early were treated to a team event between some of the best players from Ontario, Quebec and U.S.A. Originally it was planned to play some bank pool and speed pool but for simplicity and time restraints it was decided to play scotch doubles 9 ball.
It was agreed that each team would play one another once in a big round robin format with the team with the least amount of wins being eliminated. Surprising the near capacity crowd team U.S.A was the loser of the round robin.
This set up the final between Ontario and Quebec which was played in a 4 man alternate format. On paper the Ontario team of Jason Klatt, John Morra, Mario Morra, and Erik Hjorleifson had the edge however Quebec was playing some inspired pool. Jeff Blais,Michael Bernier, Francis Crevier, Dany Nguyen who all played near flawlessly for team Quebec giving the hometown crowd something to cheer about. In the end it was a very close match which saw team Quebec win 7-5 and split the $2000 first place prize.
The opening stages of the 2014 Canadian Open Pool Championships kicked off earlier this week at Shooters Snooker & Sports Club. This year the format of the event has been changed to two venues. The final stages will be hosted at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel in Mississauga, ON, starting on Tuesday, April 15th.
The Canadian Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA) is also very pleased to announce that Simonis Cloth and OB cues are returning as sponsors of the 2014 Canadian Cue Sport Championships. Simonis will be the official cloth supplier for the pool disciplines and OB is the official cue sponsor of this year's events. "Having a giant in the billiard industry like Simonis and a reputable and respected cue manufacturer like OB involved with our national championships will definitely enhance our events.. We wish to thank them very much and are deeply grateful for their support," noted Steve Cooper CBSA president.
The Canadian Amateur Pool Championships will be hosted by Fairville Shooters in Saint John NB, June 24 to 29.
A strong field of 36 players travelled to the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu hotel in La Malbaie, Quebec for the second annual Challenge du St. Laurent.
Canada put forth some of our best players while Americans from the south traveled north of the border with something to prove taking the first three spots in this 10-Ball tournament. Free live streaming of the event was provided by www.billardquebec.com.
In the A-Side finals, Dechaine looked good winning the first three racks, but Archer’s kept his composure and secured his spot in the top two with an 11-8 win.
The finals of the B-side, Dechaine now faced the lefty Shawn Putnam for the second time in this tournament. Putnam was the runner-up at the U.S. Open just two weeks ago. Dechaine was unable to beat Putnam the second time around and would have to settle for third losing 9-2.
The race to 13 finals was an all american match, Shaun Putnam from Pennsylvania and Johnny Archer from Georgia. With the current exchange rate on the american dollar, the colour is about the only difference between the two dollars. A few early unforced errors by Putnam gave Johnny Archer a commanding 9-4 lead. It looked like Archer was going to run away with the match in this alternate break format. Putnam battled back to bring the score to within one at 12-11. With Archer breaking for the match, a cell phone from the audience rang. Archer broke and scratched, giving Putnam ball in hand on an open table. The score was now 12-12. Putnam broke in the last rack making two balls with no shot on the three ball. A poor safety by Shawn, gave Johnny the opening. Archer quickly cleaned the balls and lint from the table as he remained undefeated throughout the event. Nice escape for Archer.
Special thanks to Francis Crevier, Jean Bergeron and Marco Sanschagrin who have helped organize this tournament. Happy travels, see you next time.
