In the absence of Shaun Wilkie, Brian Deska took command of the Action Pool Tour rankings with a third straight win on the tour. He became the first in the tour's history to accomplish the feat, during the 6th stop on the tour; June 7-8, in a field of 54, hosted by Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA.

 

Though he would go undefeated, Deska did not go unchallenged. He gave up an average of five racks per match; 30 over six matches and 48 games, prior to the finals. Kim Whitman challenged him with six in the opening round and Tuan Chau battled him to double hill in a winners' side semifinal. In the hot seat match, challenged by Troy Miller, who'd defeated Paul Oh 8-6, Deska gave up his match average, but there he sat, in the hot seat, on the brink of three straight.

 

Tuan Chau moved over and picked up Alan Duty, who'd gotten by Rocky Guell 7-4 and Jimmy Endara 7-5, to reach him. Oh drew Pooky Rasmeloungon, who'd shut out Jeremy Perkins and defeated Rich Glasscock 7-3. Chau defeated Duty 7-4, as Rasmeloungon eliminated Oh 7-3. Chau survived a double hill quarterfinal against Rasmeloungon, and then had his four-match, loss-side winning streak ended by Miller, 7-5, in the semifinals.

 

Deska brought his 61% winning average into the finals and completed his undefeated run by winning 71% (10) of the final 14 games. Runner-up Troy Miller, from Virginia Beach, finished with an overall winning average of 56% percent, winning 48 of the 86 games he played.

 

Shaun Wilkie (former #1), Larry Kressel (#9) and Raymond Walters (#10) were not on-hand for this event, while Alan Duty (#5) and Paul Oh (#7) finished in the tie for 5th place. Rick Glasscock (#8) finished in the tie for 7th place. Dan Madden (#3) and Steve Fleming (#4) finished out of the money, among the four tied for 13th place, while Pat Carosi (#6) also finished out of the money in the tie for 33rd place.

 

Stop #7 on the Action Pool Tour will again be hosted by Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA. The 10-ball event is scheduled for September 6-7. 

Shaun Wilkie picked up his second straight 2014 win on the Action Pool Tour, with a come-from-the-loss side performance on the weekend of March 8-9. Sent to the losers' bracket in the second round of play by Mike Hagood, Wilkie won seven on the loss side and came back to defeat Hagood in the finals. The Bar Box Bash at Clubhouse Billiards in Lynchburg, VA drew 32 entrants.

 

With Wilkie out of the way, at least temporarily, Hagood moved on to survive a double hill match versus Doug Carter, and then, in a winners' side semifinal, shut out James Bilderback.  In the hot seat match, Hagood faced Jeremy Perkins, who'd just sent Steve Fleming west 6-4. Hagood and Perkins battled to double hill, before Hagood prevailed to sit in the hot seat, waiting on the fateful return of Wilkie.

 

Through seven, race-to-5 matches and 43 games on the loss side, Wilkie gave up a total of only eight racks. He gave up one each to his first and second loss-side opponents (Neel Samanta and Jason Trigo) before allowing Collin Hall to chalk up three against him. He then shut out two in a row; Jason Clay and then, coming over from the winners' side semifinal, James Bilderback. 

 

Steve Fleming, in the meantime, drew Matthew Siple, who'd gotten by Doug Carter 5-2 and Raymond Walters 5-4. Like Wilkie had done with Bilderback, Fleming shut out Siple. Wilkie then eliminated Fleming 5-2 in the quarterfinals, and gave up only one rack defeating Perkins in the semifinals. Wilkie had earned his re-match against Hagood in the finals. 

 

When they'd met in the second round, Hagood had prevailed 6-4, thus chalking up more racks against Wilkie than any other single opponent all weekend and more than Wilkie's first five loss-side opponents combined. He wasn't as fortunate the second time around. Wilkie came out fast in the finals, chalking up the last of six matches in which he'd given up a rack or less, and claiming the event title 8-1.

Things got progressively tighter for Shaun Wilkie, as he worked his way through a field of 73 entrants, on hand for Stop # 2 on the Action Pool Tour, hosted by Champions Billiards in Frederick, MD on the weekend of February 8-9. After surviving two straight double hill matches that left him in the hot seat, Wilkie had to contend with Brett Stottlemyer, who'd won seven on the loss side to challenge him in the finals. Wilkie prevailed in those finals to complete an undefeated weekend and claim the event title.

 

After an opening round bye, Wilkie defeated RAndy Davis, Dan Madden and T.J. Moore, by an aggregate score of 21-7. Trevor Dentz challenged him from among the winners' side final eight, chalking up five against him. Wilkie then moved into a winners' side semifinal against Ryan Jones, while Tony Long met up with Sean Sporleder. In the first of two double hill matches, Wilkie sent Jones to the losers' bracket, as Long defeated Sporleder 7-4. The hot seat match went to a deciding game, as well, with Wilkie prevailing to watch the progress of his eventual finals opponent, Stottlemyer.

 

On the loss side, it was Sporleder who had the misfortune of running into Stottlemyer, in the midst of his seven-match, loss-side winning streak. Stottlemyer had already defeated Dan Madden, Meredith Lynch, Trevor Dentz and Jimmy Varias. Ryan Jones drew Alan Duty, who had most recently eliminated Chris Garrett 7-4 and Jeremy Perkins, double hill.

 

Stottlemyer gave up only a single rack to Sporleder and advanced to the quarterfinals against Jones, who'd defeated Duty, double hill. Stottlemyer downed Jones 7-4 and then, in the semifinals, spoiled Tony Long's bid for a re-match against Wilkie with a 7-2 victory.

 

Stottlemyer had that intangible – momentum – on his side as he squared off against Wilkie in the finals. Wilkie, though, shrugged off the equally intangible factor of waiting for an opponent and completed his undefeated run with a 9-3 victory to claim the event title.

 

A Second Chance Tournament, held on Sunday, drew 16 entrants and saw Dan Madden return from the loss side to defeat Tom Helmstetter 7-4 in the finals. Helmstetter had sent Madden to the losers' bracket in a double hill, winners' side semifinal. Madden moved over and took down Kyle Ray 5-3, Jeff White, double hill, in the quarterfinals and Will Moon 5-1 in the semifinals. A 7-4 win in the finals over Helmstetter gave Madden the Second Chance title.  

Mike Davis took two out of three matches against Brandon Shuff to claim the twelfth stop on the 2012-2013 Action Pool Tour season. Heading into the tour's final point-eligible event, scheduled for September 7-8, Davis' victory assured him a spot among the tour's top 10 players for the 2012-2013 season. The event drew 37 entrants to First Break Cafe in Sterling, VA. 

 

After being awarded an opening round bye, Davis got by Stephano Araviakis, Steve Wigglesworth and the tour's #3-ranked player, Dominic Noe. This set him up to play a winners' side semifinal match against Dan Madden, the #4-ranked player. Shuff and the tour's #1-ranked player, Brett Stottlemyer, squared off in the other winners' side semifinal. Shuff sent Stottlemyer to the loss side 9-6, and prepared for his first of three against Davis, who'd defeated Madden 9-2. Davis took the first of those three 9-6, and sat in the hot seat, waiting for Shuff to get back.

 

Stottlemyer moved to the loss side and met up with Shaun Wilkie, who'd been sent over by Shuff in the third round. Wilkie had picked up a forfeit victory over Dominic Noe and then given up only a single rack to Mike Ricciardella. Madden drew Danny Green, who'd eliminated Leo McDaniel 7-3, and Jeremy Perkins 7-5. Both of the matches, fought for advancement to the quarterfinals. went double hill; Stottlemyer picking up his second straight loss, advancing Wilkie,  as Madden was ending Green's weekend.

 

The quarterfinal match between Madden and Wilkie (two of the tour's top 10) went to double hill, too, with Madden prevailing for a shot at Shuff in the semifinals. That match came within a game of being double hill, too, but Shuff earned his re-match against Davis in the finals with a 7-5 win over Madden.

 

Shuff  took the opening set of the finals, chalking up his nine racks and restricting Davis to four. Davis, though, came back in the shortened second set to chalk up seven, holding Shuff to four and claiming his third Action Pool Tour victory.

 

Stottlemyer will be the 2012-2013 Action Pool Tour's top-ranked player 

 

Regardless of the outcome of the APT's final stop on the weekend of September 7-8, at Breaker's Sky Lounge in Verndon, VA, Brett Stottlemyer will end the season as the tour's #1-ranked player. His fifth-place finish in this event earned him performance points that put him out of reach of his closest competitors for the tour ranking title. He will, as a result, be awarded the tour's top-ranking prize of free entry to the US Open 9-Ball Championships in October.

 

There could be an interesting battle on that final tour stop for the tour's second and third-ranked players. Separated, for the moment, by only 29 points in the tour's performance standings (and assuming their presence), tour director Ozzy Reynolds (#2, for now) and Dominic Noe will be battling for that position. If Reynolds finishes the final event ahead of Noe, he will secure the second spot. If the reverse is true, Noe could finish in that spot. There is, too, the possibility that the #4-ranked player, Dan Madden, could pass them both; assuming that at the last event, he is present and finishes ahead of them, way ahead of them.

Brandon Shuff won five straight on the loss side to meet and defeat Tour Director Ozzy Reynolds twice in the finals of the Action Pool Tour stop on the weekend of April 14-15. The event, streamed live via The Big Truck Show, drew 40 entrants to Break Time in Salisbury, MD.

Shuff was challenged immediately at this event, surviving a double hill battle versus Chris Garrett in the opening round of play. He went on to defeat Mike Mcnaughton 9-5, and then got caught up in a second double hill battle; this time, against Brett Stottlemyer. At double hill, Stottlemyer actually sunk the 9-ball, but the cue ball traveled multiple rails, and hung in a pocket, before dropping in to essentially give Shuff the victory. Shuff then ran right into Brian Deska and a third straight double hill match that sent him to the loss side.

Deska moved on to face Reynolds among the winners’ side final four. Joining them were Fred Scott and Danny Bell. Reynolds downed Deska 9-7, and moved into the hot seat match against Bell, who’d defeated Scott 9-6. Reynolds survived a double hill match against Bell, and for the first time since April of 2011 on the Great Southern Billiard Tour, he was in the hot seat.

Deska moved over to face Kevin West, who’d defeated Jeremy Perkins 9-6 and Paul Helms 9-2. Scott picked up Shuff, who, following his defeat at the hands of Deska, had defeated Josh Brothers 9-3 and Derek Schwager 9-1. Shuff downed Scott 9-5 and was denied a quarterfinal re-match against Deska, when West defeated him 9-3. Shuff defeated West 9-7 in those quarterfinals, and followed that with a 9-6 win over Bell in the semifinals.

In the opening set of the true double elimination finals, Reynolds appeared to be on his way to a single set victory. Shuff took the opening game, but Reynolds ran four straight, including two break and runs to take an early 4-1 lead. They traded racks to 6-3, and Reynolds added another to stretch his lead to four games at 7-3. Shuff won two in a row to narrow that lead to two games, and Reynolds won the 13th rack to reach the hill first. Shuff came back to win four straight and force a second set.

Reynolds opened the second set with a win, but Shuff came back to break and run the second rack and add five more for a commanding 6-1 lead. Reynolds took the next game, but it proved to be his last. Shuff won three in a row to win the second set.

Cheryl Sporleder claimed the 8-entrant Second Chance Tournament title on Sunday, defeating her husband, Sean Sporleder twice to do it. He’d defeated her in the hot seat match 5-2, and she’d gone on to shut out Paul Oh in the semifinals. She returned to double dip him in the finals.  

From a brief, one-win, two-quick-loss appearance at the US Open 9-Ball Championships, Mike Davis travelled about four hours north to Sterling, VA, where on Sunday, October 30, he went undefeated to capture the event title at the 6th Annual Bob Stocks Memorial 9-Ball Tournament.  The $1,000-added event drew 51 entrants to First Break Café in Sterling.

From among the winners’ side final four, Davis defeated Eddie Abraham  9-7 to get into the hot seat match against Brian Deska, who’d defeated Alan Duty 9-6. Davis sent Deska to the semifinals 9-6 and waited in the hot seat for his return. 

On the loss-side, Abraham picked up Curtis Branker, who’d picked up a forfeit victory from Kevin West and defeated tour director Ozzie Reynolds 7-2. Duty drew Shaun Wilkie, who’d gotten by Jeremy Perkins 7-3 and just did squeak by Brandon Shuff, in a double hill match. 

Abraham and Wilkie advanced to the quarterfinals; Abraham with a 7-2 win over Branker, and Wilkie, 7-4 over Duty. Abraham moved on to the semifinals versus Deska with a 7-5 victory over Wilkie. Deska then earned a re-match with Davis on the heels of a commanding 7-1 victory over Abraham.

In a true-double elimination final, Deska put up a fight that came within a game of going two sets. Davis, though, persevered, taking the 17th and deciding rack to capture the event title. Lai Li picked up $75 as the event’s highest finishing female.