Tim Orange has been at the tables for a baker’s-dozen years, commencing (as far as we know) in 2005, when he won the T-Town Billiards Classic in Tuscaloosa, AL, defeating Jonathan “Hennessee from Tennessee” Pinegar in the finals. He’s chalked up a few wins and cashed on a variety of tours and events in the years since, and on the weekend of November 11-12, he added his first win on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour to his modest, but very much on-going list of accomplishments. The $500-added event drew 27 entrants to Mr. Cues II in Atlanta, GA.
Orange had to get by Jeff Crawford twice in this event, meeting him first in a winners’ side semifinal, as Jeff Hooks squared off against Derek Fountain. Orange sent Crawford to the loss side 9-6, and in the hot seat match, faced Hooks, who’d defeated Fountain 7-3. Orange gave up only a single rack to Hooks in the hot seat match, and waited for Crawford to return.
On the loss side, Crawford picked up Raed Shabib, who’d defeated Faith Thompson 8-3 and 75-year-old BR Tatum 8-6. Fountain drew Raoul Aviles, who’d eliminated Michael Fletcher 7-1 and Shane Bridges 7-3.
Crawford and Shabib locked up in a double hill battle that eventually sent Crawford to the quarterfinals. Aviles, in the meantime, finished Fountain’s weekend 7-5. Crawford won the ensuing quarterfinal match 9-5 over Aviles, and then spoiled Hooks’ re-match-against-Orange bid 9-6 in the semifinals.
Momentum and an eagerness to avenge the earlier loss may have been on Crawford’s mind entering the finals, but Orange’s desire to chalk up the event title proved stronger. Not, though, without a fight, as the two battled to a deciding game, before Orange complete his undefeated run.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mr. Cues II, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (November 18-19) will be a $1,000-added (total) event, featuring two separate tournaments; a $500-added handicapped event on Saturday, November 18 and a $500-added Open event, on Sunday, November 19. Both will be hosted by Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA.
While headlines have tended to focus on the state of Florida’s fortunes in the wake of Hurricane Irma, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Irma’s impact stretched further north, as far as Atlanta, GA, where as late as this past weekend (September 16-17), there were still thousands of people without power. Mr. Cues II in Atlanta had the power necessary to host a Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour stop over the weekend, though the continuing issues may well have contributed to a relatively low field of competitors. Raed Shabib navigated his way through a field of 28, on-hand for the $500-added event, and after dropping the opening set of a true double elimination final to Jeff Hooks, came back to win the second set and claim the event title.
Shabib advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Marvin Reed, as Jeff Crawford squared off against Mike Chapman. Shabib got into the hot seat match with an 8-4 win over Reed. He was joined by Crawford, who’d defeated Chapman 9-3. Shabib claimed the hot seat with an 8-7 win over Crawford, who was racing to 9, and waited on the return of what turned out to be Jeff Hooks, who, at the time of the hot seat match, was in the midst of a five-game, loss-side winning streak that began with a defeat at the hands of Reed, and would give him a shot against Shabib in the finals.
On the loss side, it was Chapman who drew Hooks, three matches into his streak, with recent wins over John Maikke 7-4 and Bernardo Hernandez, 7-8 (Hernandez racing to 10). Reed picked up Justin Duncan, who was on a win streak of his own, having been defeated in the event’s opening round, and winning six straight to advance as far as the quarterfinals.
Hooks downed Chapman 7-2 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Duncan, who defeated Reed 6-5 (Reed racing to 7). Hooks and Duncan locked up in a double hill fight that saw both of them miss a shot at the 9-ball, three times, in the deciding game. Hooks eventually advanced to the semifinals against Crawford, where a 7-6 win (Crawford racing to 9) gave him a shot against Shabib in the hot seat.
With Shabib racing to 8, Hooks took the true double elimination opener 7-6. With one loss for each of them going into the second set, they battled to double hill for the title. Shabib hung on to win it 8-6 and claim that title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mr. Cues II, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for September 23-24, will be hosted by Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
The Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour paid its first, though according to tour director Herman Parker, hopefully not its last visit to Mr. Cues II in Atlanta, GA on the weekend of February 11-12. The $1,000-added event drew a strong field of 64 entrants ("9s, 10s, and 11s everywhere," said Parker) that came from near and far to play. Georgia was represented, of course, as was Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, the Philippines, and Illinois. It was, in fact, Peoria, IL's veteran competitor Bobby McGrath, who went undefeated to claim the event title.
By the time the event had whittled down to its final 12 players, McGrath was the only '10' left standing. He got into the hot seat match by defeating B.R. Tatum 10-4 in a winners' side semifinal. McGrath was joined by Esteban Hernandez (a 9), who'd just eliminated the senior representative of the Davis family, Duane Davis 9-4 (his two sons – Sean and Wes – were still alive and well on the loss side). In their first of two, McGrath claimed the hot seat 10-6 over Hernandez and waited in the hot seat for his return from the semifinals.
Over on the loss side, Tatum ran into Sean Davis, who'd been sent over by McGrath, and was in the midst of a six-match winning streak that would carry him to the semifinals. He'd most recently eliminated Ryan Williamson 9-3, and Jeff Crawford 9-4. Dad Duane Davis drew Justin Duncan, who'd gotten by Keith Yates, double hill, and Derek Fowler 5-1 (Fowler had eliminated Wes Davis in the previous round). Father and son were each a single match away from facing each other. Sean Davis did his part, defeating Tatum 9-2, but Dad was shut out by Duncan.
Sean moved on to defeat Duncan 9-4 in the quarterfinals, but had his loss-side streak ended by Hernandez, who, after defeating Dad in a winners' side semifinal, downed his son, Sean 9-7 in the event semifinals. McGrath, though, gave up two less racks in the finals than he'd given up battling for the hot seat, to complete his undefeated run and claim the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Mr.Cues II owner, Rick Sweet, and his staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, GoPlayPool.com, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (February 18-19), will be the $1,000-added NC State 9-Ball Championships, whose current title holder is Mike Davis. The event will be hosted by Brass Tap in Raleigh, NC.
Jeff Crawford, Sean Morgan, Dennis Spears, Mike Miller, Ed Liddawi, Danny Basavich and Pat Fleming
Sean "Alaska" Morgan joined the ranks of Francisco Bustamante and Darren Appleton, winners of the first (2013) and second (2014) New Jersey State 10-Ball Championships. He had to get by Jeff Crawford twice to do it, with Crawford taking one against him in the finals. The $1,000-added event drew 35 entrants to Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ on the weekend of April 25-26.
Morgan almost got sent to the loss side in a winners' side semifinal against Joe Hong, but (if you'll excuse the pun) hung on to win the double hill match. Crawford, in the meantime, defeated Brian Maher 7-1. Morgan took the first of his three against Crawford 7-3 and waited in the hot seat to play the next two.
Maher and Hong moved over and were eliminated immediately; Maher, by Dennis Spears who'd reached him through Julie Ha, 7-0, and Michael Wong, 7-5 and Hong, by Mike Miller, who'd eliminated Ed Culhane 7-2 and John Smith 7-1. Spears defeated Maher 7-5. Miller took care of Hong 7-3.
Spears won the quarterfinal 7-5 over Miller, before he was eliminated 7-3 by Crawford in the semifinals. Crawford took the opening set of the finals 7-5 over Morgan, giving them each a single loss. Morgan broke the tie and captured the event title with a 7-4 win in the second set.
Brandon Shuff followed up two straight recent wins on the Action Pool Tour with a come-from-the-loss-side victory in the 8th Annual Maryland State 9-Ball Bar Table Championships. Though it was Danny Green advancing to the hot seat and being defeated by Shuff in the finals, the event featured two matches between the Action Pool Tour’s prime competitors, Shuff and Shaun Wilkie. The $1,000-added 9-ball, bar table event drew 82 entrants to Great Slates in Cambridge, MD.
Shuff and Wilkie had locked up in the finals of the last two Action Pool Tour (APT) events. In the first – Stop # 3 on the tour in March – Shuff had put an end to an unprecedented six-event winning streak by Wilkie, dating back to the 2014 season. A month later, Stop #4 on the APT tour, Shuff did it again.
They met for the first time in this most recent event in a winners’ side semifinal, as Green squared off against Darryl Riley. In their first of two, Shuff was on the hill at 6-1, before Wilkie battled back to tie and then win it. Green sent Riley to the loss side 7-1, and then, in the hot seat match, sent Wilkie to a second meeting versus Shuff with a double hill fight that left him in the hot seat.
On the loss side, Shuff ran into Jeff Crawford, who’d defeated John Moody 7-5 and Evan Ford 7-3 to reach him. Riley ran into another perennial favorite on the Action Pool Tour, Mike Davis, who’d gotten by Pat Carosi 7-2 and Joe Wright 7-1 (Wilkie, Davis and Shuff, respectively, are currently ranked #1, #3 and #4 on the APT). Shuff downed Crawford 7-3, and in the quarterfinal match, hooked up with Davis, who’d sent Riley packing 7-1.
Shuff downed Davis 7-1 and got a much-anticipated second shot at Wilkie in the semifinals. He took advantage. The match came within a game of being a second double hill contest, but Shuff pulled ahead, to win by two at 7-5. Shuff and Green battled to double hill in the finals, before Shuff completed his loss-side run to claim the event title.
Kevin Clark, Karen Corr, Darren Appleton and Jason Klatt
If the barrier separating men and women on the felt fields of pool is ever going to be permanently removed, Karen Corr is as likely a candidate as any to be the movement's poster child. Corr joined 39 men competing for the 10th Annual American Straight Pool Championship over the weekend of September 12-14, and came within a single match of winning the whole thing. She was defeated, soundly, one might add, by Darren Appleton in those finals. The $13,000-added event (originally the Maryland 14:1 Open) was hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA.
The event began with eight, round robin flights, consisting of four matches for each of five players in races to 100. At the end of those flights, 24 of the 40 players were seeded into a single elimination bracket, with the top eight seeds receiving byes in the opening round. The players were seeded by virtue of their total match victories and point differentials in the four matches they had played.
The top seed for the single elimination bracket was Tom Walter, who went undefeated, with a point differential of 319 (an average score of 100-20 in those opening rounds). Jason Klatt, playing in his fist straight pool tournament was the # 2 seed, also undefeated with a point differential of 305. In order, the other players receiving byes were Darren Appleton (290 point differential), Brandon Shuff (264), Kevin Clark (256), Johnny Archer (231), Mika Immonen (220), and Mike Dechaine (205). Corr was seeded at #9, having dropped one of her four matches (to Kevin Clark), though her point differential was stronger than Archer's at 252.
The top names in the event were spread out over the eight round robin flights, so that Appleton, Dechaine, Archer, Immonen, and Corr (as examples) did not compete in the early rounds of play. Each of those five faced strong players in their respective round robin matches.
The point differentials tightened immediately in the opening round of single elimination, with races to 125. On average, the point differential in the eight matches was decimal points over 56, with Robert Madenjian chalking up the largest difference (125-40 over Jeff Crawford) and Mike Davis battling in the tightest race (125-20). The top nine seeds in round robin play had averaged point differentials of just over 65.
In the second round, the top eight seeds joined in and increased the differential point average by about 13; from 56 in the opening rounds to 69 in the second. Contributing to this increase was Karen Corr, who not only eliminated Mike Dechaine in this second round, but did so by a score of 125 to minus 2. The closest race in this round was won Huidji See, who eliminated Johnny Archer 125-110. Corr had collected $100 by recording the highest run over Friday and Saturday of the event (83), which bested Dechaine's run over the same period by a single ball. In effect, she stomped on him twice.
Gone with Archer and Dechaine were Mike Davis, Shaun Wilkie, Danny Mastermaker and Holden Chin, who fell to Appleton 125-21; 32 down and eight to go. Corr battled Tom Walter. Shuff faced Kevin Clark (the only person at this stage to have defeated Corr), The Iceman (Mika Immonen) squared off against Jason Klatt and Appleton took on Huidji See.
The point differential in this quarterfinal round, with races to 150, averaged out at just over 63 balls, with Corr defeating Walter 150-122, Clark besting Shuff 150-75, Klatt getting by Immonen 150-88, and Appleton checking in with the largest differential, eliminating See 150-62.
Klatt would now face Appleton, as Corr turned to do battle against the only opponent who'd defeated her to that point, Kevin Clark.
The somewhat insignificant differential in the event semifinals was just over 50. It was brought about by Appleton's 150-50 victory over Jason Klatt, and the tightest race of the entire event that saw Corr advance to the finals by a single ball over Kevin Clark – 150-149. It was followed by the largest point differential recorded in the entire tournament; a gap of 122 balls, as Appleton claimed the event title with a 150-28 victory over Corr.
Peter Burrows, chairman of the American Straight Pool Championship, said that the 11th annual event is "likely" to be back at Diamond Billiards, and is being scheduled to precede the US Open 9-Ball Championships in 2015, so that players in attendance for the straight pool event can travel just a few miles to begin play in the US Open.
According to Burrows, a difficult time identifying a room willing to hold the 10th Annual 14:1 Maryland Open led to the search beyond the state of Maryland and into Virginia, where Diamond Billiards agreed to host.
Tour director Megan Fort thanked Thomas Dorsey and his staff at Diamond Billiards, Iwan Lee with Simonis Cloth and Aramis Balls, Nathan Sulinski, Pete Burrows, Michael Frank, Shaun Wilkie, Andy Lincoln, QPod (who donated raffle cues, as well as the cue presented to Appleton as the winner), Brian Russell of Focus Apparel (designer of the logo for the new American Straight Pool Championships), Lucasi Cues (Jamie and Wes Bond), John Berton and Kamui Tips.
Brandon Shuff and Mike Davis have a bit of history, much of it unrecorded, one would suspect. They met in the finals of a stop on the Action Pool Tour in March of 2013; Davis won. In April, of that year, Davis took the hot seat away from Shuff in the VA State 8-Ball Championship. Shuff did not return from the semifinals of that event. Davis won again when they met in the finals of another APT stop in August. It hasn't always gone Davis' way. Shuff's won a few stops on the APT in which Davis finished fourth (March, 2012, and November, 2011, for example).
On Labor Day weekend, Shuff took command of their long-standing rivalry and defeated Davis twice to capture the 3rd Annual Labor Day Bar Box Championships in Cambridge, MD. The $500-added event drew 41 entrants to Great Slates Billiard Cafe in Cambridge.
They met first in the hot seat match. Shuff had defeated Jeff Crawford 7-2, as Davis was busy sending Joe Wright to the losers' bracket 7-3. Shuff took the first of his two against Davis 7-3 and waited in the hot seat for him to return.
Crawford and Wright moved to the losers' bracket and got right back to work, against Steve Fleming and Kevin West. Fleming had defeated Brian Abrams and Brett Stottlemeyer, both 7-5 to meet Crawford. West had gotten by John Moody, Jr. 7-1 and Roland Freolo 7-4 to draw Wright. Crawford downed Fleming 7-3, as Wright was eliminating West 7-2.
Crawford took the quarterfinal match against Wright 7-3, and then, by the same score, was eliminated by Davis in the semifinals. Shuff completed his undefeated run with a 9-6 victory over Davis in the finals to claim the event title.
Tour Director Danny Bell thanked room owner John Moody, Sr. and his staff at Great Slates Billiard Cafe for their hospitality.
It's started. The world's oldest, longest running pool tournament has begun with this morning's matches featuring an all star lineup!
The ANDY CLOTH 74th World Tournament is taking place on August 4th-9th, 2014. Dragon Promotions and Dr. Michael Fedak are pleased to bring the 74th production of the oldest billiard event in the world . Also sponsored by Andy Cloth, Kamui Brands, OB Cues, Amsterdam Billiard Club, Realrealcool.com, Pool & Billiard Magazine , Aramith Balls, and George Beckman Kinetic Sculptures. Official patron 14.1 aficionados are Stu Mattana, Tom Gleich, Harold Siegel, and Dr. Greg Diehl Plastic Surgery. A star studded field has made it back once again to the 14.1 extravaganza taking place at Steinway Billiards Cafe, who is once more hosting the world's greatest straight pool championship.
Watch online Pay Per View at www.worldstraightpool.com and order tickets for the 14.1 Hall of Fame Banquet.
For their third consecutive year, Sandcastle Billiards hosted a qualifier event for the World Tournament of 14.1 Continuous Straight Pool. Only one slot remained available in the 16 man double-elimination qualifier tournament. The top 2 finishers were to be awarded a seat in the prestigious main event being held this year in New York from August 4th. A very talented and bloodthirsty field came out from various neighboring states to compete on this 12th with players by Noon time as they began practicing till the first round was called at 1pm.
Fans and players can attend the once a year special event August 4th-9th, 2014 at Steinway Billiards Cafe or watch online at www.worldstraightpool.com . $50 All Event Pay Per View special for the ANDY CLOTH World Tournament of 14.1 !! Price goes up on Aug 2. It will be a star studded gala with billiard super stars such as Mika Immonen, Shane Van Boening, John Schmidt, Stephan Cohen, Johnny Archer, Darren Appleton & many more with Charlie Williams as the event MC. The ANDY CLOTH World Tournament of 14.1 is sponsored by ANDY CLOTH, Kamui Brands, OB Cues, Amsterdam Billiard Club, Realrealcool.com, Pool & Billiard Magazine , Aramith Balls, and George Beckman Kinetic Sculptures. Official patron 14.1 aficionados are Stu Mattana, Tom Gleich, Harold Siegel, and Dr. Greg Diehl Plastic Surgery. Dragon Promotions and Dr. Michael Fedak are pleased to also bring the 4th Annual Straight Pool Hall of Fame inducting "King" James Rempe and Frank "Sailor" Stellman. Since 1912, this will be the 74th production of the oldest billiard event in the world.
The pills had been drawn at random and the first round matchups were as follows;
Although any one of these competitors were very capable of winning this event, only two of these cue proficient warriors would be awarded the honors to advance and compete in the 74th World Tournament of Straight Pool.
The first to receive those honors by ripping through the field undefeated for the 3rd in a row was Sandcastle’s very own house player, Dennis Spears aka “Spider”. With victories over NJ local player, Geovani Hosang 100-19, then 100-32 over Eddie Culhane also from NJ, then a close one over a very impressive Dominic Noe 100-87 and finally over World Tournament veteran and solid player Bob Madenjian 100-39, Spears once again defended his home turf and rightfully claimed the 1st spot.
The other valiant contender took a very scenic route with a first round loss. After getting sent to the one-loss side of the charts by Dominic Noe, Jeff Crawford originally from Elkhart, Indiana and currently residing in Parkesberg, Pennsylvania clawed his way through a gauntlet of skillful and commendable opponents.
Crawford’s first round loss to Noe was followed by a 2nd battle began. First taking down the fierce Sean “Alaska” Morgan of NY with a score of 100-60, then Sandcastle’s own Gerard Soriano 100-41, he went on to defeat Raxx Pool Room owner, Holden Chin 100-45, then the well revered NY player, Flaco Rodriguez 100-34 and finally being victorious over the unyielding Bob Madenjian, Crawford claimed the 2nd year slot into the main event.
Special recognition goes out to Sean Morgan and Holden Chin as they had a nail biting final score of 100-95 in their match. Congrats to Michael Franzyshen, Sandcastle In-House 14.1 handicapped league 3 –Time Champion for stepping up to the big leagues and also squeaking out a 100-95 victory over Sean Leinen. Acknowledge Gerard Soriano, long overdue for getting his feet wet. It’s not the last time you’ll see his name for sure. Thank you Sean Leinen and Bob Madenjian for making those long trips out to compete once again, Don Montalvo for doing what it took to make it possible to come out, Geovani Hosang and Jim Heller for your continued support and improved games as you entered the battlegrounds, the well respected Flaco Rodriguez, always a pleasure to have, Gene Ok and Dominic Noe, such a pleasure meeting you. I hope to see you all at the main event.
Sandcastle Billiards would like to thank all those who came out to compete this year and all of its loyal regular patrons that continue to work to improve their game and share the same passion for the game enjoying the beauty of its complexity, poetry, high demand for focus and freedom of individual expression and style of play. “We’re not here just to make a dollar- we’re here to make a difference!” Good luck and play well.
Mr. Cues II in Atlanta played host to the Simonis Cloth's 4th Annual Richard Sweet Memorial over the July 4th weekend which is a memorial event and a celebration of his life and contributions to our sport, featuring four separate events; two, single-elimination, 'King of the Hill' format (one $500 1st prize) tournaments, a Thursday 8-Ball tournament and a Friday 9-ball tournament , a 1-day $1,000-guaranteed prize fund 9-Ball race to 4 double elimination tournament on Sunday, and a $3,000-guaranteed prize fund main event in 10-Ball which ran Saturday and Sunday. Jayson Shaw won two of them, and almost won a third. He opened the weekend's proceedings with a finals victory over John Maikke in the first of the single elimination tournaments(8-Ball) on Independence Day that drew 86 entrants. The following day, in the second of the single elimination tournaments (this one, with 79 players and 9-Ball), Shaw made it to the finals again, only to be denied his second win, by Michael Clay, who shut him out in the finals.
In the Saturday, main event, the 10-Ball Competition, Jayson Shaw squared off the event's defending champion, Phil Burford, twice; once in the hot seat match, and again, in the finals. Shaw had sent Jeff Hooks to the loss side 7-3 among the winners' side final four, as Burford was busy doing likewise to Randy Jordan 7-2. Shaw got into the hot seat with a 7-5 win over Burford and waited for him to get back. It wasn't long.
Jordan and Hooks moved to the loss side, where they were picked up by J. R. Rossman and Tim Orange. Rossman had gotten by Matt Bulfin 7-2 and John Maikke 7-4. Orange had defeated Dustin Byrd (The Parakeet) 7-5 and John Jones 7-3. Jordan advanced to the quarterfinals, double hill, over Rossman. Orange handed Hooks his second straight loss 7-5 to join him.
Jordan took the quarterfinal match over Orange 7-5 and earned himself a re-match against Burford, who'd sent him west among the winners' side final four. Burford, anxious for his own rematch against Shaw in the hot seat, downed Jordan 7-5. Shaw, though, hunkered down and gave up only a single rack in the opening set of the potential two-set final to claim the event title.
Events shifted to double elimination with commencement of the races-to-4 9-Ball Tournament on Sunday, which drew 59 entrants. Larry Nevel (who'd won both single elimination tournaments at last year's Sweet Memorial) started out by dropping his opening round match to Danny Cash, but rallied on the loss side to win nine straight, and then, two more in the finals against Bernardo Estevan.
Estevan had advanced to the hot seat with a winners' side final four victory over Tommy Najar 4-2, while the winner of the second single elimination 8-ball tournament, Michael Clay, advanced to meet him with a 4-1 victory over Pat Cooper. Estevan shut Clay out in the battle for the hot seat and waited on the return of Nevel.
Meanwhile, on the loss side, The Truth was mowin' 'em down, one by one. With four down and five to go, he defeated Tony Riley 4-1, and survived a double hill battle against Jason Lyons, to pick up Majar. Cooper drew Andy Stewart, who'd squeaked by Horace Goodwin 4-3 and defeated Dana Aft 4-1. Nevel and Stewart handed Najar and Cooper their second straight defeats; Stewart shutting out Cooper and Nevel advancing to the quarterfinals 4-2 over Najar.
Nevel gave up only two racks over his next 14 games. He shut out Stewart in the quarterfinals, and gave up a single rack to Clay in the semifinals. Moving into the opening set of the finals against Estevan, he gave up one that forced a second set. Estevan battled him to double hill in that second set, but Nevel prevailed to claim the title.
Full payouts for the main 10-Ball event are as follows:
