Davis tops largest SBE field of 1,024 to win Amateur Open

 

In its multi-discipline, varied-skill format that, with some overlap among 11 events, drew over 3,000 pool players to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks, PA over the weekend of March 28-31, the Super Billiard Expo’s Pro Am Bar Box Championships has always existed as something of a challenge. In 2018, they used the challenge in promoting the event, asking potential participants a simple question – How good do you really think you are?

 

Open to all levels of competitors, without restriction, its field is capped at 32 players, who play a ‘best of three set’ format with races to 6 in each set (all other Amateur events utilized the same format, although with races to 5 in each set). While encouraging and expecting a wide variety of players from the amateur to the pro, this year’s ProAm Bar Box Championships featured a field that was tipped somewhat toward the amateur end of things. Not completely, because it was won by 20-year veteran Jonathan Pinegar, who’s been winning and cashing in amateur and semi-pro events for nearly 20 years. Known throughout most of his career as “Hennessee from Tennessee,” Pinegar has, in recent years, been signing on to events with his given name. At this year’s SBE, he signed in as John Pinegar. This year’s runner-up was Demetrius Jelatis.

 

The posted brackets on the SBE Web site for all of the amateur events (including the ProAm Bar Box) do not indicate the scores of the individual sets, which masks the give and take of game-by-game scoring. Instead, each player is seen to have won their individual matches by only one of two possible outcomes; 2-0 or 2-1. There is no way of knowing, therefore, a given player’s game-winning percentage, only his or her set-winning percentage.

 

Pinegar won 10 of 12 sets he played over five matches. He opened with a 2-1 win over Alex Olinger, went 2-0 against Kevin West and allowed Scott Haas a single set in the third round, which brought him to a semifinal matchup against Justin Espinosa. Jelatis, in the meantime, won eight of the 12 sets he played over five matches. He opened with two straight 2-0 set victories over Shane Clayton and Alan Rolan, before giving up a set to Ryan McCreesh. This set him (Jelatis) up against Jorge Rodriguez in the other semifinal. Rodriguez is another one of those competitors who’s been competing at the semi-pro and pro-level for years.

 

Pinegar got into the finals with a 2-0 set victory over Espinosa. Jelatis joined him after a 2-1 set victory over Rodriguez. Pinegar completed his undefeated (in sets) run with a 2-0 victory over Jelatis.

 

Davis goes undefeated in his individual bracket, advances to win Amateur Open

 

In the largest field of the SBE, the Amateur Open, 1,024 entrants initially split up into 16 brackets of 64 players each. Each of those brackets delivered a single player to a Final 16 bracket. Phil Davis didn’t lose a single set (best of three sets in races to 5) in his initial bracket, going 2-0 against Chris Garrett, Matt Clatterbuck, Mark Alicea, Paul Swinson, Richard Anderson and in his bracket’s finals, Jason Balas. He gave up his first set in the opening round of the single-elimination final 16 bracket, going 2-1 against Joe Wright. He went back to his 2-0 pattern against Mark Nanashee in the second round, which moved him into the semifinals against Julio Burgos.

 

Raed Shabib, in the meantime, gave up his first set, in the opening round of his 64-player bracket, to Christopher Balderson. He didn’t give up another one until his bracket finals, having gone 2-0 against Abel Rosario, John Hoge, Bill Mason and Randy Tate. He took the bracket final 2-1 over James Adams. He opened the Final 16 portion of his run with a 2-1 victory over George Crawford and then downed Brett Stottlemeyer 2-0, to arrive at a semifinal against Chris Bruner.

 

Davis and Shabib advanced to the finals with identical 2-1 set victories over Burgos and Bruner, respectively. Davis completed his undefeated run with a 2-1 victory over Shabib in the finals.

 

Amateur highlights

 

The next highest attended Amateur tournament was the Open Seniors event (for 50+), which drew 384 entrants. Originally split into eight preliminary brackets, yielding a single winner, the event was won by Bobby Connor. He advanced through the Final 8 field with set wins over Oscar Bonilla and Dennis Spears, both 2-1. He was met in the finals by Efrain Morales, who’d defeated Joe Armeni 2-1 and Chuck Ross 2-0. Connor didn’t give up a set in claiming the Open Seniors title.

 

Next up, with 192 entrants, was the Super Seniors (65+), who started in four initial brackets, yielding a very short final field of four. Ed Matushoneck downed Tom Acciavatti 2-1 to claim his spot in the finals, and was joined by Ronny Park, who’d defeated Nelson Rivera 2-1. Matushoneck claimed the Super Seniors title with a 2-0 win over Park.

 

The Amateur Ladies drew 188, just four less than the Super Seniors. Combined, those two events would have yielded an enormously entertaining field with just four less than the Open Seniors event. As it was, the 188 ladies, like the Super Seniors, started with four initial 64-player brackets (with a number of opening round byes) and ended with a final field of 4. Rachel Lang and Michelle Jiang advanced to the finals without giving up a set to either Marie-France Blanchette and Stacey Tonkin. Lang downed Jiang in the finals two sets to one.

 

In the 12 and under Juniors event, which drew 56 entrants, Parker Jakubczak downed 2018 11 & under Junior National Champion Kyle Yi in the finals 2-1. In the 17 & under category, which drew 76 entrants, two-time 14 & under National Junior Champion Nathan Childress defeated Ivo Linkin in two straight sets.

Event Directors note growing field for Beasley Custom Cues 9-Ball Open in June

 

In his first appearance and win on the Viking Cues’ Q-City 9-Ball Tour, Daniel Moore came back from a winners’ side quarterfinal loss against Mark Hurst to meet and defeat him twice in a double elimination final during the May 5-6 stop on the tour. The event drew 53 entrants to Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.

 

Once Hurst downed Moore 6-5 in their first of three matches (Moore racing to 7), he advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Ryan Fossum. Steve Dye, in the meantime, squared off against Brady Brazell. Hurst got into the hot seat match with a 6-3 win over Fossum. Dye joined him after downing Brazell 5-4 (Brazell racing to 7). Hurst claimed the hot seat 6-3 over Dye and waited in it for the return of Moore.

 

Moore opened his loss side trip with a 7-1 victory over Justin Clark, and followed it with a double hill win (7-5) over Brandon Stiltner. This set him up to face Brazell. Fossum drew John Hoge, who’d defeated Shawn Martin, double hill (5-5), and shut out Mike Skeens to reach him.

 

Both matches for advancement to the quarterfinals went double hill; Fossum over Hoge and Moore over Brazell. Moore took the next two, 7-3, downing Fossum in the quarterfinals and Dye in the semifinals.

 

Moore also took the opening set of the true double elimination final against Hurst 7-3. Hurst got an extra rack in during the second set, but Moore claimed his first Q-City 9-Ball title with a 7-4 win in that second set.

 

Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her staff at Borderline Billiards (which will host the Tour Championships later this year), 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 the weekend of May 12-13 will be hosted by Corner Pockets in Fayetteville, NC.

 

$10,000-added Beasley Custom Cues 9-Ball Open, set for June, is filling up

 

With a little over a month to go, the Beasley Custom Cues 9-Ball Open (formerly, the Don Coates Memorial) has already attracted some of the sport’s top names. Scheduled for the weekend of June 13-17 (commencing on a Wednesday) at Brass Tap & Billiards in Raleigh, NC, the $10,000-added (guaranteed) event has already signed up Johnny Archer, Sky Woodward, Rodney Morris, Brandon Shuff, and from the Philippines, Zoren James Aranas (Warren Kiamco is expected to join, but hasn’t done so, as yet). Also competing will be young, Albanian sensation Eklent (“Klenti”) Kaci, who finished as runner-up to Jayson Shaw in last October’s US Open 9-Ball Championships and chalked up two wins on the 2017 Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour.

 

Event directors Herman and Angela Parker are advising those who want to compete in this event to get in touch as soon as possible, as the event will be capped at 128 entrants. Anyone interested should call them at 336-686-5360.

Zach Leonard got by Collin Hall twice to win the March 5-6 stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour; once in a winners' side semifinal and again, in the finals. The event drew 58 entrants to Chandley's Chalk & Cue in Statesville, NC.

 

Their first of two, a 7-4 win for Leonard, put him into the hot seat match against Jonathan Ailstock, who'd defeated Jody Musselman 6-4. Leonard claimed the hot seat 7-2 over Ailstock and waited on Hall's return.

 

On the loss side, Hall began his trek back to the finals against Scott Lewis, who'd won two straight double hill matches, against Russell Bush and Josh Williams, to reach him. Musselman drew Chris Baker, who'd eliminated John Hoge 7-3 and Stevie McClinton 7-4.

 

Musselman and Hall advanced to the quarterfinals; Musselman 7-5 over Baker, and Hall 6-8 over Lewis (Lewis racing to 10). With Musselman racing to 7, Hall survived a double hill quarterfinal match that sent him up against Ailstock in the semifinals.

 

Hall completed his loss-side run with a 6-4 victory over Ailstock and earned himself a second shot against Leonard. They fought to double hill just before dawn on Sunday morning, before Leonard prevailed to chalk up the event title.