(l to r): Wayne Fenton, Will Wilson, Stephen Ho Lem, Brady Gollan & Brian Kvasnicka
Brady Gollan has won the annual Spokane Open five of the eight times the tournament has been held. With the exception of 2015, when John Schmidt defeated him, he’s won three of the last four. On Labor Day weekend, he came within a single game of claiming his sixth Spokane Open title. Derailing that sixth title was Stephen Ho Lem, who was defeated in a winners’ side quarterfinal, won five on the loss side for a shot at Gollan in the hot seat, and double dipped him (double hill in the deciding match) to claim it. The $3,100-added 8th Annual Spokane Open drew 97 entrants to The Black Diamond in Spokane Valley, WA.
Ho Lem was moved to the loss side in one of the winners’ side quarterfinals by Paul Potier, who advanced to meet Steve Smith in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Gollan, in the meantime, squared off against John Dougherty in the other one. Gollan defeated Dougherty 9-6 and in the hot seat match, faced Potier, who’d sent Smith to the loss side 9-7. Gollan claimed the hot seat 9-7 over Potier and waited for Ho Lem to get back to the finals.
On the loss side, Ho Lem opened his campaign against Josh Smith, defeating him 9-3 and then eliminated Cole Gibbons 9-5 to draw Dougherty. Smith picked up Eric Vargas, who’d eliminated Jack Haggie 9-2 and Wade Thompson 9-7.
Ho Lem and Vargas advanced to the quarterfinals; Ho Lem, 9-4 over Dougherty and Vargas, 9-7 over Thompson. Ho Lem, picking up speed, shut Vargas out in those quarterfinals, and then spoiled Potier’s bid for a re-match against Gollan with a 9-6 victory in the semifinals.
With the intangible advantage of momentum, Ho Lem took the opening set of the true double elimination final 9-3 over Gollan. Gollan fought back to force a 17th deciding game in the second set, but the title went to Ho Lem 9-8.
In addition to the list of 16 competitors who cashed in the event, Phyllis Fernandez and Adrianne Beach took home $100 each as the top female finishers.
Tour directors Will Wilson and Brian Kvasnicka thanked The Black Diamond’s owner, Wayne Fenton and his staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Admen Banner & Sign and Pepsi.
Shane Van Boening double-dipped James Aranas of the Philippines to win the 8-Ball Division of the U.S. Bar Table Championship Saturday, locking up the All-Around title for the third time.
Van Boening won the 9-Ball Division and took second in the 10-Ball Division earlier this week. He also won the All-Around title in 2008 and 2010.
Van Boening came into the finals from the one-loss side of the bracket. He started the tournament with wins over: Ernesto Dominguez, 5-1; Dave Strachan, 5-0; Dennis Orcollo, 5-3; Max Eberle, 5-4; before losing to Jesse Engle, 4-5. On the B-Side of the bracket, he bested; Mitch Ellerman, 5-1; Skyler Woodward, 5-3; and Jesse Engel, 5-2 to make it to the finals. Van Boening met Aranas in the finals and beat him 5-1 in the first set, to force a second set in the true double-elimination tournament.
Aranas’ went into the finals undefeated, beating: Michael Tonsowny, 5-0; Andrew Wroblewski, 5-3; Marshall Hill, 5-2; Mitch Ellerman, 5-2; Skyler Woodward, 5-0; and Jesse Engel, 5-3. But he was unable to beat Van Boening in the finals.
[photo id=48388|align=right]In the Women’s Division, Arizona’s Bernie Store was undefeated to win the title of 2017 US Bar Table Women’s 8-Ball Champion.
Jessica Frideres, who won the 9-Ball Division, came through the one loss side to meet Store in the finals. Frideres won her first match of the tournament against Amanda Stevens, 4-0, before Store sent her to the losers bracket, 4-3. On the B-side, Frideres bested: Molly Oliver, 4-0; Karen Poitra, 4-2; Jennifer Shumaker, 4-1; Rachel Lang, 4-0; and Tian Tian, 4-2. But Frideres wouldn’t be able to overcome Store in the finals, where she lost 4-1.
Shane Van Boening of South Dakota added a fifth US Bar Table 9-Ball Championship to his resume Thursday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, beating James Aranas of the Philippines in the finals, 9-2.
Van Boening went into the finals undefeated, posting wins over: Abrin Schaad, 9-6; Ernesto Dominguez, 9-3; Oscar Dominguez, 9-7; Billy Stephan, 9-1 and Mitch Ellerman, 9-4. Van Boening beat Aranas to earn the hot seat, 9-7.
Aranas’ path to the finals included beating: Donald Weatherby II, 9-3; Jeremy Edwards, 9-7; Jason Klatt, 9-6; Sky Woodward, 9-8; and Amar Kang, 9-7. After losing the hot seat match, Aranas beat Jesse Engle, 9-2, to earn a place in the finals.
Van Boening kept control in the final match from the start, jumping out to a 4-2 lead. In the seventh rack, the players traded safeties until a kick by Van Boening left the one ball open for Aranas, who then uncharacteristically missed a six ball to let Van Boening back to the table. They traded safeties again until Aranas made a good hit on the seven ball and then scratched, giving Van Boening the game. Van Boening then broke and ran, to go up 6-2. Aranas scratched again in the next rack, giving up another game. Van Boening broke and ran again, then ran out the final rack after Aranas broke dry.
Van Boening, player representative for the USA Pool League, previously won the 9-Ball Division at the US Bar Table Championships in 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2010. On Tuesday, Van Boening earned second place in the 10-Ball Division.
In the Women’s Division, Jessica Frideres added the title of USBTC 9-Ball Division Champion to her resume, to complete a trifecta of USBTC titles. Frideres, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, won the USBTC 8-Ball Division in 2013, and the USBTC 10-Ball Division in 2016. Frideres’ went into the finals undefeated, having bested Molly Oliver, 7-3 and Rachel Lang, 7-5, before beating Heather Cortez for the hot seat.
Cortez’s path to the finals included wins over: Trinh Lu, 7-4; Amanda Stevens, 7-1; and Rhonda Moses, 7-1, before Frideres sent her to the B-side of the bracket. Cortez then beat Trinh Lu, 7-4, to earn her place in the finals.
But Cortez’s efforts in the finals weren’t enough to beat Frideres, who beat Cortez 7-3 to earn the title.
The 24th US Bar Table Championships kicked off Sunday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The 8-Ball began Thursday and continues through Saturday, Dec. 16.
For more information, contact Mary Coffman, CSI Marketing Manager, at 702-719-7665 or by email at mary@playcsipool.com.
After settling for runner-up of the US Bar Table Championships’ 10-Ball Division for the past two years, Skyler Woodward, of Paducah, KY, earned the title of 10-Ball Champion Tuesday.
Woodward went into the finals undefeated, posting wins over: Ian Costello, 7-3; BJ Fox, 7-1; Mark Wissman, 7-5; Mark Tademy, 7-2; and Vinnie Calabrese, 7-5. Woodward met Mosconi Cup teammate Shane Van Boening in the hot seat match Monday evening, and came back from a 6-4 deficit to win 7-6.
Van Boening cleared a clean path through the winner’s bracket as well, beating Donald Weathersby II, 7-2; Robert Doral, 7-2; Amar Kang, 7-6; Jesse Engel, 7-3; and Mitch Ellerman, 7-2; before losing the hot seat to Woodward. In the semifinals, Van Boening beat Vinnie Calabrese, a Australian player with a snooker background, 7-2.
In the first set of the finals, Woodward jumped out to a 3-2 lead before a few errors put Van Boening in control of the set. Woodward miscued on an eight ball, allowing Van Boening to tie the score at 3-3. Then Van Boening broke and ran out to take the lead at 4-3. On Woodward’s next break, he scratched, allowing Van Boening back to the table where he ran another rack, and followed that up with another break and run, putting him on the hill. Woodward broke dry and Van Boening ran the rack to win the set and force a second set in the true double-elimination format.
Woodward and Van Boening traded games in the second set tied at 4-4. When Van Boening played a safe on a 3 ball. Woodward called the nine, which was hanging in the side pocket, kicked the 3 ball and the cue ball caromed off to make the shot and allow Woodward a run out to gain a 5-4 lead in the match. Woodward broke and had a tough layout, but after making two tough bank shots, he was able to run the rack, putting himself on the hill. In the final game, Van Boening broke dry and Woodward was able to run out to become the 10-Ball Champion.
[photo id=48373|align=right]The women’s 10-Ball Division concluded on Monday, a day earlier than normal. First place went to Heather Cortez, $800; second, Rae Evans, $400; third, Trinh Lu, $250.
The 9-Ball Division, which started Tuesday, continues today. Still undefeated in the Open division are: Shane Van Boening, Mitch Ellerman, James Aranas and Amar Kang. Fighting through the one-loss side of the bracket are: Dave Stachan, Abrin Schaad, Demetrius Jelatis, Jesse Engel, Josh Smith, Billy Stephan, Ernesto Dominguez, Mark Wissman and Shaun Wilkie.
Live streaming of the US Bar Table Championships continues today at 1 p.m. PST. The schedule is as follows:
1 p.m.: Jesse Engel vs. Demetrius Jelatis
2:30 p.m.: Shaun Wilkie vs. Ernesto Dominguez or Mark Wissman
4 p.m. Shane Van Boening vs. Mitch Ellerman
5:30 p.m. James Aranas vs. Amar Kang
7 p.m. Shane Van Boening or Mitch Ellberman vs. James Aranas or Amar Kang (Hot Seat Match)
8:30 p.m. Fourth place match – players TBD
For streaming information, go to www.playcsipool/live-streaming.html
The 24th US Bar Table Championships kicked off Sunday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The 9-Ball Division concludes Thursday, Dec. 14 and the 8-Ball is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 16.
John Morra (Photo courtesy of Dave Thomson – Mediumpool.com)
John Morra may not be known for his bank pool game, but that will be be a thing of the past as he has won the Derby City Classic Bank Pool event.
Morra started the event with a fairly manageable draw but that is only half the battle in any tournament. Morra displayed a bank game that many fans were not expecting from him with notable wins over Jerry Matchin, Josh Smith and Josh Oneal in the early rounds. The level of competition picked up after that as Morra rattled off wins against Louie Ulrich, Charlie Bryant and John Brumback to make his way undefeated into round twelve with only three players remaining.
With three players left in the 12th round, one player would get a bye and fate would smile on Morra as he got to sit out and watch Van Boening and Shuff try to knock each other out of the tournament.
Van Boening eliminated Shuff and got ready for the unenviable task of trying to hand Morra back to back losses.
Shane was up the task in the first match 3-2, but the second match saw Morra take a 2-0 lead and then at 2-1, take advantage of a number of hung balls by Van Boening to notch a 5-3 win in the final game for the 3-1 win and the banks title.
With the bank pool event complete, attention now turns to One Pocket with just over 200 players competing over the next three days.
We promised you results from last night’s Senior One Pocket Tournament and the results from the 83 player event were as follows…
