(l to r): Mike Delawder, Stroker’s owner Jose Del Rio & Nathan Rose
In the 17 years that Nathan Rose has been bringing home cash from mostly Florida-based pool tournaments, he’s had only two years of recorded earnings that were better than his last one, 2018. In 2015, his most productive year, he chalked up a win on the Shark Billiard Tour, was runner-up to Mike Davis at the Starcade Billiards Fall Classic and cashed in four events on the Florida Pool Tour. Eight years earlier, he had a win on the Southeast 9-Ball Tour and cashed in the Seminole Pro Tour, the Steve Mizerak Championship and the Bob Martin Memorial. Last year, he figured in the payouts of five stops on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, winning two of them, and taking a trip to the Super Billiards Expo, where he finished third behind Zoren James Aranas and Jorge Rodriguez in the Pro-Am Bar Box Championships. He’s opened his 2019 tournament schedule by winning the season opener on the now-named Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour. Mike Delawder defeated him in the hot seat match, but Rose returned from the semifinals to win a double hill final and claim the title. The $1,400-added event drew 69 entrants to Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL.
By the time Rose and Delawder met for the first time in the hot seat match, Delawder had won a single game more than Rose (36-35), but had lost eight more (28-36). Going into the winners’ side semifinals, Delawder had given up 17 racks to his opponents. Rose had given up only 10.
Rose shut out Saunders, as Delawder was busy downing Garza 7-3. They came into the hot seat match with a 13% difference in their win-percentage; Rose at 77% (thanks in no small part to the shutout over Saunders) and Delawder at 64%. Delawder claimed the hot seat 7-3, narrowing that winning-game gap to 4%; 69% for Rose and 65% for Delawder. As it turned out, that four-point winning-percentage gap would hold through to the end, though both would see their individual percentage drop. Delawder, in the meantime, waited in the hot seat to find that out.
On the loss side, Saunders picked up Mitch Keiser, who, following his defeat at the hands of Delawder, had defeated Carlton Johnson 7-4 and the eventual top junior in the tournament Trenton White 7-2. Garza drew Jarred Schlauch, who, following Delawder’s win over him, embarked on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals. He’d most recently eliminated room owner Jose Del Rio 7-4 and Kyle Bova, double hill.
Schlauch downed Garza 7-5 and in the quarterfinals, faced Keiser, who’d defeated Saunders 7-4. Keiser ended Schlauch’s loss-side trip 7-2 in those quarterfinals, and then was defeated himself 7-3 by Rose in the semifinals.
Nathan Rose’s double hill, 9-8, win over Delawder in the finals gave him the event title, though it lowered his win-percentage to 65%. The nine racks scored against Delawder lowered his win-percentage to 61%. If Delawder had dropped the 9-ball, Rose would still have won the winning-percentage contest, but only by a single percentage point (67-66).
In addition to cash prizes awarded to the top 16 finishers, two top-finishing women – Jenn Berzinski and Kelly Cavanaugh (tied) – and the event’s top-finishing junior, Trenton White, took home cash prizes, as well.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jose Del Rio and his Stroker’s staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues (to include their donation of promotional items given out at the event), Cyclop Balls, Diamond, AZBilliards and Kamui. The next stop on the Sunshine State Predator Pro Am Tour, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 2, will be hosted by Brewlands in Tampa, FL.
Tommy Kennedy and Anthony Meglino have been banging heads on Florida-based (and elsewhere) tours for years. They came together again during the sixth stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, a $400-added event which drew 35 entrants to CM’s Place Billiards in Seminole, FL on Saturday, June 2. Their one and only match came in the battle for the hot seat, which Kennedy won to complete what turned out to be an undefeated run. They opted out of a final match, when Meglino came back from a win in the semifinals.
Kennedy, after an opening round bye (one of 28), opened his undefeated campaign with a shutout over Michael Esposito, and was then challenged, double hill, by Steve Knoll. Kennedy prevailed, advancing to defeat Trenton White 7-5 and faced another of his long-time opponents, Donnie Mills, in a winners’ side semifinal. Like Kennedy, Meglino was awarded an opening round bye and then shut out his first opponent (Jason Bowen). Meglino, though gave up only two racks over his next two matches (one each to Phillip Trader and Bobby Garza) to draw Mitch Keiser in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Kennedy downed Mills 7-4 and advanced to the hot seat match, where he was joined by Meglino, who’d sent Keiser to the loss side 7-3. Kennedy won what would prove to be their only matchup 7-3 and sat in the hot seat, awaiting the ‘split’ compromise they’d reach later.
On the loss side, Mills picked up Knoll, who, following his defeat at the hands of Kennedy, was in the midst of a four-match streak that included recent wins over Garza and Dale Stanley, both 5-2. Keiser drew James Roberts, who’d been defeated originally by Garza, and was in the midst of his own four-match streak that included wins over Trenton White 6-4 and Nathan Rose 5-3.
Mills and Knoll locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Mills to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Keiser, who’d defeated Roberts 5-3. Mills then defeated Keiser 5-2. Meglino, playing what proved to be the last match of the weekend, downed Mills 5-3. He and Kennedy agreed to the split (with smiles; see photo), leaving the undefeated Kennedy as the event’s official winner.
In addition to payouts for the top eight finishers, Trenton White took home $40 as the event’s top finishing junior player. White finished just out of the money in the tie for 9th place.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jesse Tetrault and his staff at CM’s Place, as well as Johnny Archer, who stopped by to say ‘hello.’ They also thanked sponsors Play The Games Clothing Co., Jacksonville Roofing USA, AZBilliards, and Kamui Tips. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (#7), scheduled for June 23-24, will be hosted by Boulevard Billiards in Ocala, FL.
(l to r): Tommy Kennedy, Donny Mills & James Roberts
By the time Stop #8 on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour had whittled down to its final three competitors, it was nearly 4 a.m. on Sunday, October 8. Tommy Kennedy was in the hot seat, while Donny Mills had just concluded his quarterfinal victory over Benji Buckley, setting him (Mills) up to face James Roberts in the semifinal match. It didn’t happen. The three agreed to a three-way split of the relevant dough, awarding the undefeated Kennedy the event title. The $1,000-added event drew 57 entrants to Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL.
The event itself was something of a fluke. The weekend of October 7-8 was originally set aside by the Sunshine Pro Am Tour to organize a “First Coast Classic,” intended for members of local leagues (APA, BCA, etc.), to be hosted by Park Avenue Billiards in Jacksonville, FL. As the scheduled event drew closer, so did Hurricane Irma, and in the wake of that storm’s results, which included the continuing widespread absence of electricity, the tour postponed the First Coast Classic, to a yet-to-be-determined date in 2018. In the meantime, the tour decided to organize a regular tour stop, and did so in about nine days. Jose Del Rio, owner of Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor agreed to host it, and a strong list of competitors, including Kennedy, Roberts and Mills (among others) signed on to compete.
Once Kennedy had sent Pierre Palmieri to the loss side 7-2 in one winners’ side semifinal and Roberts had sent Justin “Red” Jenkins over 7-5 in the other one, Kennedy and Roberts squared off to fight for the hot seat. It went double hill before Kennedy finished what would prove to be his last match.
On the loss side, Donny Mills, winner of the June 25 tour stop at the same location and recently arrived from a winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Jenkins, downed Stephen Richmond 7-4 and Anthony Meglino 7-2 to pick up Palmieri. Jenkins drew Benji Buckley, who’d survived a double hill fight versus Nathan Rose and eliminated Tony Vicari 7-4 to reach him.
Mills downed Palmieri 7-2, as Buckley was spoiling a potential Mills/Jenkins re-match by defeating Jenkins 7-4. In the last match of the tour stop, Mills advanced to the semifinal that didn’t happen, 7-4 over Buckley.
And that was that. Kennedy, Mills and Roberts (small, medium and large in the photo) agreed to a three-way split of the money, and called it a night, or early morning, as it was. In addition to the list of 16 players who were awarded prize money, the tour also awarded $20 each to the top finishing female – Vanessa Ruedas – and top junior – Codi Allen.
Tour representatives Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jose Del Rio for hosting the last-minute event, and all of the players, who signed up in the nine days that preceded it. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (#9), scheduled for November 18-19, will be hosted by Capone’s in Spring Hill, FL.
It's an occupational hazard of many pool tour scenarios; a single day tournament signs up more players than it can reasonably handle in that single day, and finds itself moving into the tournament finals as dawn approaches. In addition, players who may have traveled any distance and have decided to stay at a nearby hotel may find that the prize money offered for all but the top four cash prizes (as an example) puts them in either a 'break even' or 'losing money' situation. This can lead to the absence of a final match with the two opponents splitting the top two prizes.
Derek Fowler and Anthony Meglino, in a specific example, opted out of a final match at the Shark Billiard Tour's sixth stop, held on Saturday, May 9. The $500-added event drew 68 entrants to Diamond Billiards in Ocala, FL. Meglino and Fowler moved on to Orange Park, FL the next day to play in Tommy Kennedy's Tiger SE Open 9-Ball Tour (finishing fourth and fifth), where the final three competitors (for reasons unrelated to the number of entrants or hotel considerations) opted out the semifinals and finals, splitting the top three prizes.
Fowler and Meglino did not meet up in the tournament. Fowler had sent Steven Richmond to the loss side 8-5 in a winners' side semifinal, as Meglino was being sent over by Jimmy Milazzo 8-6 in the other one. Fowler played his final match, defeating Milazzo for the hot seat 8-5.
On the loss side, Meglino picked up Sean Mitchell, who'd survived a double hill match versus Citi Reddick and defeated James Roberts 6-3 to reach him. Richmond drew Jim Udischas, who'd also had to survive a double hill match – versus Robert Batson – and defeated Mitchell Keiser 6-4. Meglino downed Mitchell 6-4, and in the quarterfinals, faced Udischas, who'd eliminate Richmond 6-2.
Meglino completed his loss-side run with a 6-4 victory over Udischas and a double hill win over Milazzo in the semifinals, before agreeing to split the top two prizes with Fowler. As the undefeated hot seat occupant, Fowler laid claim to the event title.
Stroker’s Billiards and Sports Bar welcomed the Florida Pool Tour on it’s first stop of the season this weekend. Saturday’s Amateur 9-Ball event drew 71 entrants while Sunday’s Super 16 10-Ball event was pre-booked with a full field.
The Amateur 9-Ball event was stacked with talented pool players and lots of auction action. A recipe for excellent pool all weekend long. Quite a few new faces had breakout results during this event. Naples player Francisco Diaz, Top FL Lady Player Chris Fields, and Tampa local Mitchell Keiser.
In it’s new format, the Super 16 10-Ball Event would host a complete field to some of the best talent in the country. After placing 2nd in the Amateur, James Adams would look strong and hungry to snap off this event.
Top 8 Breakdown
James Adams after recently taking 3rd place in the Florida State Amateur 9-Ball Championships showed up to play this weekend. Posting wins over Amine Ouahbi 7-2, Javier Chirino “The Trophy Maker” 7-4, local player Dave Stem 7-4, a hill-hill thriller with Dan Marchini, and finally 7-4 over Rich Johnson would find himself battling Mitchell Keiser for the hotseat. Showing up to that match primed and hungry, Adams would put the set away at 7-3.
Mitchell Keiser would find a way to grind out wins over Mark Wathen 7-4, Michael Stack 7-2, before capturing a $25 bounty on Mike DeLawder besting him 7-5, survived a hill-hill thriller with Miami area player Felix Luna and find a groove against Naples, FL native Francisco Diaz all before falling to James Adams 7-3 allowing James to have the hotseat and awaiting Jason Sheerman on the westside of the chart.
Rich Johnson would have an impressive 5 rounds deep into the winner side. Winning over Jason Richko 7-3, David Uwate 7-5, Daniel Grider 7-4, and Jim Sandaler, all before falling to James Adams. Johnson would not complete another match as the winnder. Jason Sheerman would beat him in a hill-hill match and complete Rich’s weekend.
Upstart player from Naples, FL Francisco Diaz would show some promise and post wins over Lisa McElroy 7-2, Justin Gilsinan 7-4, Finnish player Antti Mattilla 7-4 before falling to Lady Player Chris Fields in a hill/hill thriller. Then falling to Mitchell Keiser7-5. Diaz would then choose to forfeit out of the tournament for unknown reasons.
Dan Marchini would win against Tony Rowells 7-2, Lee Holland 7-4, Allen Ellison 7-3, Dave Ross 7-3, before falling to James Adams in a hill/hill thriller. On the westside he would pick up George Saunders, but would not take the set, letting Saunders pass with a 5-0, securing 8th place.
George Saunders would put a string of wins together after losing to Dave Stem 7-1. On the one-loss side he would beat Luke Sutliffe 5-4, Mike Lear 5-2, Jim Sandaler 5-3, Dan Marchini 5-0, Francisco Diaz 5-0, before falling to Jason Sheerman 5-2, securing 4th place.
Felix Luna would risk a loss with a hill/hill thriller against Junior Player Trenton White, Jason Bowen 7-5, falling to Nathan Rose 7-4. On the one-loss side Luna would pick up Gary Gilsinan and squeak that one out, only to fall next to Jason Sheerman again hill/hill.
Jason Sheerman had a design that was all his own this weekend. He would lose to Nathan Rose in the second round and then went on to grind out 10 matches in a row to reach the one-loss side final against Mitchell Keiser. Sheerman would go on to beat Keiser and secure his first Amateur 9-Ball title in 5 years, and it just so happens it was at Stroker’s Palm Harbor that he claimed his first victory. Sweet homecoming for Sheerman indeed.
Super 16 Recap
James Adams had one thing on his mind this weekend and it showed, it was winning. James had a great run into the finals of the Amateur 9-Ball event and then proceeded to build a charge in the first Super 16 event.
For starters we have Adam Wheeler winning against Donny Mills in a hill/hill thriller. Then he would meet up with Raymond Linares who dispatched Mitch Breedlove 8-3. James Adams would have a hill/hill thriller with Mike DeLawder and wait for Han Berber who had just finished a winning set over Tony Crosby 8-6, an upset since Tony was on a 5-1 deficit. Would not have enough to complete the charge. Jason Richko would best Eddie Sharp 8-4 and wait for Tommy Kennedy to steamed rolled Tim Parisian 8-1. James Roberts would send room owner Jose Del Rio down the hard path 8-4 and wait for Nathan Rose who bested Jason Sheerman 8-6.
Now on the westside, we have Mills and Breedlove, with Donny winning 7-5. DeLawder would then win the set against Crosby 7-4. Tim Parisian would best Sharp 7-2 and Jose Del Rio would march on past Sheerman in a hill/hill thriller.
Back on the eastside, James Adams and Raymond Linares would square off for a chance at the hotseat. Linares would take his first loss in a hill/hill thriller. Adams would be in the second hotseat match in 2 days. On the lower half, Tommy Kennedy and James Roberts would battle for the hotseat, if you call it a battle. Kennedy runs away with the set 8-2.
Back on the one-loss side, DeLawder picks up Linares and Linares pushes through 7-5. Jose Del Rio picks up James Roberts and this time puts him away. Del Rio and Linares would fight for a chance to play and jump back over to the eastside.
Back on the winners side, Kennedy and Adams would square off in a close one. Adams wouldnt have enought to stop TK and would go west to meet up with the winner of the one-loss side hotseat. That would be Raymond Linares.
After some super slow play, Linares and Adams actually get put on the shot clock and turns would trade. With the pressure of the shot clock, uncharacteristic misses and nerve controlling runouts would put Linares and Adams hill/hill. In the middle of what would seem a routine runout, the sound of a miscue coming from Linares’ cue would resonate throughout the pool room as he left a 4 ball runout to Adams with ball in hand. Adams would finish the set and prepare to take on Kennedy in the final. This would be 2 tournaments in 2 days and 2 finals for Adams.
Now in the finals, Kennedy and Adams trade a couple of racks, with Kennedy expressing his creative side of the game. Creating angles and playing combos, this would put Kennedy up 4-1. Adams would fight back with pressured safeties and consistent shot making. At 6-6 Kennedy would pull away. In the early hours of Monday morning, 2 days of super solid play would seem to weigh heavy on Adams shoulders. Taking advantage of one too many mistakes by Adams, Kennedy would secure his first Super 16 Title of 2015 just before daybreak on the horizon.
The Florida Pool Tour would like to thank Jose Del Rio and the staff at Stroker’s Palm Harbor for the wonderful hospitality all weekend long. Combined with amazing restaurant quality food, you cannot find a place that can beat that. Stroker’s Palm Harbor has been an anchor stop on the Florida Pool Tour for years as well as the host location for the US Amateur Championships for the last 5 years. Give Jose and the family there a visit and see for yourself why this is perhaps one of the best pool rooms in the country.
Xtreme Pool Challenge came through with another amazing weekend of LIVE HD quality streaming. We want to thank Gary Patrick and crew for producing one of the best streams available and the best prices around. $5 for an entire weekend of fantastic HD coverage is by far a steal in this industry. By supporting Gary and XPC you are supporting the future of pool and the future of this pool tour.
Donnie Mills and Tommy Kennedy renewed their long-standing rivalry during the Open event of the June 8-9 stop on the Poison Tour down in Florida. They met in the hot seat match, won by Mills, who went on to defeat Justin Hall in the finals, completing an undefeated run through a field of 45 entrants. The $1,000-added Open event was hosted by Stroker's in Palm Harbor, FL.
Chris Daly, in the $1,000-added Amateur event that drew 69 entrants, took the other route to the winners' circle. He won five on the loss side, took the opening set of a modified double elimination final, and won the single, 'sudden death' game to claim the top prize.
Mills and Kennedy won 14 of the 17 games played in the two winners' side semifinals in the Open event. Kennedy gave up only a single rack to James Roberts, while Mills allowed Travis Croft to move two beads on the wire. Mills, who has the overall better record in his rivalry with Kennedy, chalked up another against him 7-5, and sat in the hot seat, awaiting what turned out to be the return of Justin Hall.
Roberts and Frost moved to the loss side and faced Hall and Mike Delawder, who had both just survived double hill matches; Hall, 5-4 over Rich Schau, and Delawder, 5-4 against Chris Daly (who had already won the Amateur event). Hall and Delawder capitalized on their close calls by giving up one rack each to Roberts and Craft, and turning to face each other in the quarterfinals.
Hall gave up only two to Delawder in those quarterfinals and turned to face Kennedy, with a 20-8 record over his last four games. He made it 25-9 in five games with a 5-1 victory over Kennedy and got a shot at Mills in the hot seat. Mills, though, stopped Hall's loss-side run with a 7-4 win to claim the event title.
In the Amateur event, Chris Daly chalked up an equally impressive loss-side run, and finished it off with an overall 8-3 win in the two-set final, including the 'sudden death' single game at the end. He'd been sent to the loss side by Justin Gilsinan 7-5 in a winners' side quarterfinal matchup.
Gilsinan moved on to face Jim Sandaler, while Jose Del Rio and Angel Rivera met in the other winners' side semifinal. Sandaler sent Gilsinan to an eventual quarterfinal rematch against Daly with a 7-5 win, and in the hot seat match, faced Del Rio, who'd sent Rivera to the losers' bracket 7-3. Sandaler won his final game, defeating Del Rio 7-3 and waited in the hot seat for Daly.
On the loss side, Daly would play 25 games over five matches, and lose only five of those games. He gave up three in his opening loss-side match against Rick Hefelfinger, and none at all to Bob Gonnelly, which set him up to face Rivera. Gilsinan, in the meantime, met up with Derek Santos, who'd survived a double hill match versus Mike Delawder and eliminated Mark Whatan 5-2.
Daly did his part to earn a rematch against Gilsinan by chalking up a second straight shutout, this one over Rivera. Gilsinan played his part, as well, downing Santos 5-1. Daly gave up only two games – one to Gilsinan in the quarterfinal rematch and one to Del Rio in the semifinals – to earn a shot against Sandaler in the hot seat.
Daly took the opening set 7-4, forcing the single, 'sudden death' game to determine the event victory. Daly won that last game to claim the event title.
Tour Director Tony Crosby thanked the ownership and staff at Stroker's for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Poison Cues, Stroke-It Wear, Aramis, Diamond Billiard Products, and Simonis Cloth. The next stop on the Poison Tour, to be hosted by Capone's in Spring Hill, FL, is set for June 21-22.
Tommy Kennedy got one from his daughter and went out and won the Poison Florida State 10-Ball Championships on the weekend of January 12-13, defeating, for the first time in his life, Corey Deuel, twice.
"Really?" said Deuel, after the match, unaware that this was Kennedy's first victory against him.
"I'm amazed," said Kennedy, a few hours later.
Playing in his first major tournament since the US Open, Kennedy went undefeated through a field of 48, on-hand for the $4,000-added event, hosted by Zingales in Tallahassee, FL. Primarily a 9-ball player, Kennedy has been "warming" to 10-ball recently, and this win just might be a signal that he's right at home with it now.
He and Deuel met first in the hot seat match. Kennedy had sent Justin Hall to the loss bracket 9-4. Deuel had defeated James Roberts 9-5. With memories of 13 or 14 previous meetings stepping up to the table when he did, Kennedy overcame what might well have been a more daunting task than winning the tournament; defeating Deuel for the first time. He did so 9-6 and sat in the hot seat, feeling pretty good about a potential re-match, one would imagine.
Meanwhile, Hall and Roberts have moved over and picked up the tournament's sub-plot, otherwise known as Larry Nevel and Mike Davis. These two both lost in the opening round of play; Nevel to Mike Delawder (double hill) and Davis to Rod Rentz (9-5). They're both in the midst of an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that will take them to the Quarterfinals. In the matches that will determine the four-way tie for ninth place, they draw each other's early nemesis. Davis downs Delawder (for Nevel) 9-6, while Nevel eliminates Rentz (for Davis) 9-3.
They move on; Davis defeating J.R. Rossman 9-3, while Nevel eliminates David Grossman 9-6. Davis gets James Roberts, fresh from the winners' side, Nevel gets Justin Hall. Once Davis defeated Roberts 9-5 and Nevel got by Hall 9-6, someone's eight-match, loss-side winning streak was about to end.
It was Nevel who moved on, after a 9-6, quarterfinal win over Davis giving him a shot against Deuel in the semifinals. Deuel stopped Nevel's run at nine matches, defeating him 9-6 for his own second chance against Kennedy.
Kennedy took an early 4-1 lead, which he never relinquished. He'd win five of the next seven, punctuating his first victory over Deuel, after many years, with a second victory in a matter of hours.
"This is one of the biggest (tournament wins) I've had in a long time," said Kennedy, adding a 'thank you' to Chris Nitti Cues, which supplied him with his cue for the event, and with which he'd been putting in 50-60 hours of practice, prior to the event.
Tour director Tony Crosby thanked Mike Zingale and his staff for their hospitality, along with title sponsors Poison Cues, as well as Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls and FloridaPoolTableMovers.com
The American Billiard Club Association is off the ground and looking good, especially good for the 8 players that qualified for what undoubtedly could be a special piece of pocket billiard history – the first ever American Rotation National Championship.
64 players across the country laid the groundwork by playing 7 matches at their own local billiard rooms over a 7 week period. Week 8 of this national event was a 1 day regional event where players in each region attempted to earn a spot in their National Championship. All players who qualified were guaranteed a minimum of $1,000 each upon arrival, which ensured they would not lose money while traveling to their National Championship.
This first championship was hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA and had players from:
Alabama – Robert Hall, Bumpers, Huntsville & David Rowell, Bumpers, Hoover.
The 8 player championship called for two groups of 4 players competing in a round robin format. The top 2 players from each group were then seeded into single elimination brackets where matches would be increased from 125 points to 150 points. The final 4 turned out to be a New England vs Florida battle (Think Sox, Rays) #1 seed James Roberts vs. the #4 seed Joe Tucker and #3 seed Adam Wheeler playing the #2 seed Joe Dupuis. James Roberts who appeared by general consensus to be playing the best pool of the day had at least two 15 ball break and run outs while defeating Tucker 150-118, moving one Floridian into the finals. On the streaming table were Adam Wheeler and Joe Dupuis in a fast and well played match that kept the regional battle alive with Dupuis prevailing by a score of 150-115.
Most American Rotation matches to 150 points take about 2 hours on average. Here with everything on the line and a chance to become the first ever National Champion you might expect the pace to slow just a bit, but NOT the case with Joe Dupuis in the finals. As he did all day, he came out with his usual fast and loose style that entertained the crowd and occasionally brings some additional heat. The final match took 1hour and 15 minutes, one of the fastest of the day, with Joe Dupuis becoming the game’s first National Champion by the score of 150-95.
Joe Dupuis won the title of first ever American Rotation National Champion, a commemorative custom case by John Barton Cases and a nice check for $3,000. Our Runner up, James Roberts, received a check for $2,000. Adam Wheeler and Joe Tucker won $1,500 each for 3rd and 4th (Joe is donating a portion of his winnings to session II fees for 8 last place players of session 1 as a reward for these players stepping up and showing some heart in an effort to improve their own game and support our sport). Gordy Vanderveer, Scott Johnson, Robert Hall & David Rowell won $1,000 each.
The American Billiard Club Association (ABCA) must be doing something right, because all who competed in the first national event have nothing but good things to say. Even the players that didn’t qualify for the nationals are praising the format, which aims to solve the problem of player expenses, and the game, which aims to improve American players.
ABCA Championship Series II will begin the week of October 28th. Week 8 regional events will be held across the nation in December, and National Championship II will be held in conjunction with the 2014 Derby City Classic in January. The ABCA plans to hold their national championships close in time and proximity to other national events. This helps players save on expenses, if they choose to attend such events, and helps promoters get more entrants to their events.
As this article is being written, Joe Dupuis is at the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship also in VA, something that might not have happened, had he not qualified for the ABCA national event.
American players and club owners are encouraged to contact Joe Tucker at 508-840-6133 or jttenball@gmail.com ASAP. It just takes 8 players with a little desire to make your club one of 64 nationwide that will help our sport present one legitimate and self sustaining format that we can all be proud of!
For more information about the American Billiard Club Association, please visit:
The American Billiard Club Association is proud to present the finals of our first ever;
American Rotation Championship Series, Oct 12th at Diamond Billiards Midlothian VA; one day before the US Open 9 Ball Championship begins.
Eight players have qualified and each is guaranteed a minimum of $1,000 for this one day Championship. One of the main goals of the American Billiard Club Association is to make it sensible and affordable for players to compete on a national level with one-two day expense paid events.
We will run as many of our Championships as close in time and location to professional events in an effort to help players cover their expenses to both and to help promoters gain more entries.
For the first American Rotation national Championship, eight finalists will be divided into two round robin groups of four. The top two from each group will move on to a single elimination bracket.
The finalists are: Florida Adam Wheeler, Cue-Phoria Billiards & Café, Winter Park, FL James Roberts, Stroker’s Sports Bar & Grill, Palm Harbor, FL New England Joe Dupuis, Snookers Sports Billiards Bar & Grill, Providence, RI Joe Tucker, Amazin Billiards, Malden, MA Alabama
Robert Hall, Bumpers Billiards, Huntsville, AL David Rowell, Bumpers Billiards, Hoover, AL Oklahoma Gordy Vanderveer, Jamaica Joe’s, Midwest City, OK North Carolina Scott Johnson, Gate City Billiards Club, Greensboro, NC
To get to this point, each player has played seven local matches of American Rotation, finished in the top 4 of their 8 local players and then qualified at a one day regional event. These eight players will be sharing a purse of $12,000:
$3,000 & Title of First Ever American Rotation National Champion
$2,000 Runner-up
$1,500 3rd & 4th and $1,000 5th-8th
Custom Case being made by John Barton to commemorate our Champion.
This prize fund, along with regional payouts, totals more than 100% of what the association actually brought in through player fees. We are building a flagship product for our players and our industry.
Please tune in to watch the live stream of our finals Oct 12th to get more details and to see which player name will go down in history. www.DiamondBilliardsVA.com provides a direct link to the stream.
Session 2 of the American Rotation Championship Series II will begin the week of October 28th and run to Dec 9th. Championship finals will be held in conjunction with the 2014 Derby City Classic dates and location. The American Billiard Club Association is open to ALL players and any billiard club that can host eight high level or aspiring players for a seven week session.
Contact Joe Tucker as soon as possible at JTtenball@gmail.com or (508) 840-6133 to get your 8 players and your Billiard Club on board. Make a difference!
Zingales Billiards hosted the latest Poison Tour event with 75 players showing up over the weekend.
Saturday’s event would see some players dodging a few tornados with the weather conditions in Fl taking a turn for the worst. One man was making his own storm in the pool room would be Chad Royal.
Royal would cruise his way to the hotseat with strong wins over Clint Nichols 7-2, Michael Zingale 7-3, Jason Moran 7-4, Jason Bowen 7-5 and then a strong win over Robert Van Slyke 7-4 to capture the hotseat. Nick Applebee was looking dangerous on the one loss side after taking a first round loss to Howie Gordon he would record strong wins over Lee Caldwell 5-2, Jakie Bell 5-0, Duane Bourgeoix 5-3, Michael Zingale 5-0, Jacob Pressacco 5-4, Mark Shimelman 5-3 before taking his 2nd loss on the day to Jason Bowen 5-3 to leave Applebee with a 5th place finish. Bowen would then go on to receive a forfeit over Howie Gordon which he followed up with a strong 5-1 win over Robert Van Slyke to set up a rematch final with Chad Royal. Royal had one thing in mind and that was the winners crown as he played a very strong final to beat Jason Bowen 7-2 to take his first Poison Amateur tour title.
Congratulation to 9th-12th place finishers Jacob Pressacco, Denny Singletary, Kurt Hardeman and Clint Nichols all received a paid entry into Sundays open event.
The $1000 Added open 10-ball event would a draw a full 32 man field. Cliff Joyner made his way to the hotseat with strong wins over James Roberts 7-2, Lamarr Daughtry 7-5, Brandon Beatty 7-3, Stoney Stone 7-2 and then David Hennessy 7-2 to capture the hosteat.
Home town boy Stoney Stone would prove why he is a local favorite by making his way back through the field with wins over Tracie Majors 5-1, Jason Bowen 5-2 and then a 5-3 win over David Hennessy to set up a final with Cliff Joyner. Stoney would have to defeat Joyner in a race to 7 to force a 1 rack sudden death shoot out and he did just that, taking the first race to 7 with a strong 7-2 win.
The 1 rack shootout would see Joyner win the lag and take the break this would be his last shot as scratch would give ball in had to Stoney and that all he needed to run out the balls to take down the Poison Tour title.
The tour would like to thank room owner Michael Zingale and his staff for hosting a great event, also all the players that showed up over the weekend with such tough weather conditions. Also Poison Cues our Title Sponsors for supplying the best cues on the market.
Our next event will be at Capone’s March 31st-April 1st, we look forward to seeing you there.
