It was, in a way, the final that might have happened at the 2017 VA State 10-Ball Championships in February, had it not been for Dennis Orcollo. At that event, the second stop on the 2017 Action Pool Tour (APT), Orcollo was sent to the loss side by Shaun Wilkie in a winners' side semifinal, and immediately picked up Mike Davis, who was in the middle of a six-match, loss-side winning streak. Orcollo shut Davis out, advanced to the finals and claimed the title with a victory over Wilkie.

 

On the weekend of April 15-16, at the fourth stop on the APT, Wilkie and Davis got the chance they never had to face each other in the earlier tournament. They met twice in this one; once in the hot seat and again, in the finals. Davis took the first one, but Wilkie came back to chalk up a 'deuces wild' victory in the finals. Wilkie claimed his second match against Davis (who was playing in his second APT event of the year), and, following his victory on the tour's second stop, picked up his second APT title of the year. The event drew 70 entrants to Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA. 

 

In a concurrently-run Ladies event, which drew a short field of 11 entrants, Nicole King and Tina Malm played twice as well, each looking for their second title on the APT Tour. Malm had taken the season opener in February, and King claimed Stop #3 last month. Like Davis in the Open, Malm claimed the hot seat, but like Wilkie, King came back from the semifinals to defeat Malm in the finals and claim the title. It was the second time in a row on this young APT season that Wilkie and King had won the Open and Ladies titles.

 

Wilkie got off to a flying start in the Open. After an opening round bye, he played four matches to get into a winners' side semifinal match against Larry Kressel (runner-up to Chris Byers in the Amateur event of the Super Billiards Expo earlier in the month). He'd given up only five racks total in those opening four matches, which included a shutout over Jenny Acot, a single rack each to Steve Ball and Aldrin Manreal, and three against Greg Sabins in a winners' side quarterfinal. Davis, too, opened with a shutout (over Jon Crider) and gave up only six racks in his four-match run to a winners' side semifinal against Alex Parker. Davis gave up three to Jamey Mellott, two to Justin Powers and (obviously picking up some speed) one to Chris Funk.

 

Wilkie sent Kressel to the loss side 7-3, as Davis was sending Parker over 7-1. In what proved to be their only double hill match, individually or together, Davis claimed the hot seat, and waited for Wilkie to get back.

 

On the loss side, Kressel drew Matt Krah, who, following a defeat at the hands of Parker, downed Jamey Mellott 6-3, and Jimmy Varia 6-4. Parker picked up Brian Dietzenbach, who'd lost to Kressel, and then defeated Tom Zippler 6-3, before surviving a double hill battle versus Greg Sabins. Kressel eliminated Krah 6-2, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Dietzenbach, who'd ended Parker's weekend 6-4.

 

Kressel appeared to be a man on a mission in those quarterfinals, and shut Dietzenbach out for a crack at Shaun Wilkie in the semifinals. It turned out to be something of a 'mission impossible' as Wilkie allowed Dietzenbach only two racks in those semifinals for his own second shot against Davis in the hot seat. Now, it was Wilkie who was on a mission. Mission accomplished with a 9-3 win over Davis in the finals.

 

King wins her second Ladies APT event of the year

 

Nicole King's second straight Ladies APT victory took five matches to claim, two of them in matches against Tina Malm. King opened with a shutout over Giulletta Dahl, and a 5-2 win over Kristin Horgen, before coming up against Judie Wilson in a winners' side semifinal. Malm played only four matches total. An opening round bye was followed by a 5-1 victory over Deeqa Nur, which set Malm up in a winners' side semifinal against Sharita Green.

 

King downed Wilson 5-3, while Malm was chalking up a shutout over Green. Malm claimed the hot seat 5-3.

 

On the loss side, Wilson picked up Nur, who, following her defeat at the hands of Malm, had (after an opening round, loss-side bye) Lai Li 4-1. Green drew Sierra Reams, who'd defeated Tina Scott 4-1 and Melissa Mason, double hill, to reach her.

 

Nur survived a double hill fight against Wilson, and in the quarterfinals met up with Reams, who'd shut out Green. Nur took the quarterfinals 4-2 over Reams, but was shut out by King in the semifinals. King downed Malm 7-2 in the finals, denying Malm her second APT title to claim it for herself. 

 

 

Female competitors living in the vicinity of the Northeast Corridor, extending along a two and half hour section of Route 95 from Midlothian, VA to Elkridge, MD (along with others who may have traveled from other areas), had two choices over the weekend. They could attend the VA State Women's 8-Ball Championships in Midlothian, or the season finale of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour in Elkridge. Combined, the two events drew 26 women, six of whom opted for the APT event in Midlothian. 

 

 

Sierra Reams' trek to the victory in the VA State 8-ball event was extended by two matches, when she was defeated, double hill, in a winners' side semifinal by Kim Whitman. Jacki Duggan joined Whitman in the hot seat match, following a 6-4 victory over Terri Stovall. Duggan claimed the hot seat 6-4 over Whitman.

 

 

On the loss side, Reams downed Vivian Nguyen 5-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Bethany Sykes downed Stovall, double hill, to join her. Reams took the quarterfinal match over Sykes 5-2, and then locked up in a double hill fight against Whitman in their semifinals re-match. Reams won it for a shot at Duggan in the finals. Reams defeated Duggan 8-6 to claim the title.

 

 

In the Open event, All 10 of the Action Pool Tour's top 10 competitors were on hand to battle for the 8-ball title, all vying (with one event to go) for the top two slots on the season-end ranking list, which will earn those top two players free entry into all three divisions of the 2017 US Bar Table Championships in Las Vegas, and a shared free hotel room during the event. The #1-ranked player, which, with only the one event to go, would appear to be Moore, will earn plane fare to the event, as well.

 

 

Moore's primary nemesis in this event proved to be Max Schlothauer, making a rare appearance on the tour; his first this year (he defeated TD Ozzy Reynolds in the finals of an event a few years ago). Moore and Schlothauer came to the first of their two meetings, in the hot seat match, on the heels of two distinctly different paths. Moore faced four opponents before Schlothauer and gave up an average of 3.5 racks to each of them; overall, 28-14. Schlothauer faced just as many and gave up an average of only one rack to each of his opponents; overall, 28-4.

 

Following victories over Yuta Morooka, Chris Pyle, Chris Bruner, and Danny Mastermaker, Moore squared off against Jamey Mellott in one of the winners' side semifinals. Schlothauer got by Luther Pickeral, Ernie Allen, Alan Duty, and Reggie Jackson to draw Kenny Miller in the other winners' side semifinal. Between them, Moore and Schlothauer gave up only a single rack in the two winner's side semifinals. Moore allowed Mellott one, while Schlothauer advanced to the hot seat match after a shutout over Miller. Moore chalked up as many racks against Schlothauer in the hot seat match, as all five of Schlothauer's previous opponents combined. Schlothauer claimed the hot seat 7-4 and waited on Moore's return.

 

 

On the loss side, Mellott picked up Bruner, who, following his loss to Moore on the winners' side, got by Wai Cho Yee, Bobby Stovall, Reggie Jackson and Yuta Morooka. Miller drew Mastermaker, who'd gotten by Duty, double hill, and Rick Glasscock 6-4 (Glasscock had previously eliminated the tour's #3-player, Shaun Wilkie). Mastermaker downed Miller 6-1, advancing to the quarterfinals against Bruner, who'd eliminated Mellott 6-4.

 

 

It was Bruner who advanced to meet Moore in the semifinals, following a 6-3 win over Mastermaker in the quarterfinals. Moore ended Bruner's six-match, loss-side streak with a 6-4 win in the semifinals. In a reversal of fortunes, Moore was able to chalk up as many racks against Schlothauer in the finals as had been chalked up against him to that point (8). Schlothauer managed only three in those finals. Moore was able to record his third APT victory on the year, and claim the VA State 8-Ball Championship title, to go along with his previous VA State 10-Ball Championship title that he earned back in February.