It was Canada versus the US in the finals of the North American Pool Tour's Division II Championships on the weekend of February 24-26. The US, in the person of Susan Williams, representing the Arizona Women's Billiard Tour, grabbed the hot seat, but Canada, represented by Veronique Menard, with the Circuit de Feminin du Quebec, came back to double dip Williams in the finals and claim the title. The $5,000-added event, hosted by Hard Times Billiards in Sacramento, CA drew 54 entrants, drawn from 10 Division II Regional Tours. The event was streamed live throughout the weekend by Rail2Rail Productions.
The 54 entrants were divided up into eight round robin 'flights,' each yielding four players who competed in a 32-player, double elimination bracket that assured each of them some portion of the $10,400 prize package. Winning their flights and advancing, along with their three closest point-earning competitors were Nicole Keeney, Tina Malm, Veronique Menard, Michelle Cortez, Meredith Lynch, Susan Williams, Jeannie Seaver, and Julia Gabriel.
Following victories over Katrina Lyman, Revelina Um, and Liz Lovely, Susan Williams advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Tina Malm. On her end of the bracket, Veronique Menard got by Laura Bendikas, Marion Poole, and Jeannie Seaver, to draw Maria Juana in the other winners' side semifinal.
Williams had been alternating between relatively easy matches (if anything at this level can be considered 'easy') and highly competitive matches, including a double hill fight against Lovely in the winners' side quarterfinals. By comparison, she got into the hot seat match with a 7-2 win over Malm. Menard, on the other hand, saw Juana chalk up two more racks against her (5) than any other opponent to that point. In their first of three, Menard and Williams locked up in a double hill battle that eventually left Williams in the hot seat.
On the loss side, Malm met up with Jeannie Seaver, the WPBA's most recent Regional Tour Champion from that January event in Tallahasse, FL. After her defeat at the hands of Menard in a winners' side quarterfinal, Seaver got by Leslie Bernardi 7-1 and Stephanie Hefner 7-2 to draw Malm. Juana drew Lovely, who, following her defeat at the hands of Williams, had downed Nicole Fleming, double hill, and Meredith Lynch 7-5.
Malm squeaked by Seaver 7-6, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Lovely, who'd eliminated Juana 7-5. In her 'easiest' loss-side match, Lovely downed Malm 7-2. In what proved to be her toughest loss-side match, Lovely fell to Menard 7-3 in the semifinals.
Menard took the opening set of the true double elimination final against Williams 7-4. She took the second set by the same score, and claimed (for Canada) the event title.
The North American Pool Tour thanked the ownership and staff at Hard Times in Sacramento, along with sponsors J. Pechauer Cues, EYO Cues, Rail2Rail Productions, Tara Williams, and MZTam Trinh Designs. Though the complete NAPT schedule of events is still undergoing revisions, the next firmly scheduled event will be the Summer Classic, to be hosted by Shooter's in Chicago on the weekend of August 17-20. Another event has been firmly scheduled for November 2-5 at Mark Griffin's new pool venue, Griff's Billiards in Las Vegas.
Shane McMinn took two out of three against Skyler Woodward to capture the Midwest 9-Ball Tour's Bar Table event, held on the weekend of March 8-9. Briana Miller went undefeated to claim the Ladies title. Hosted by Break Billiards in Cahokia, IL, the $2,300-added main event drew 74 entrants, while the $100-added ladies tournament drew 16.
McMinn and Woodward met first in the winners' side final. McMinn had survived a double hill match against Chuck Raulston, while Woodward was busy downing Gary Lutman 9-5. Woodward then took the first of his three against McMinn 9-5 and sat in the hot seat to await his return.
Raulston defeated Frost 9-6, as Lutman was eliminating Daniels 9-4. Raulston then squeaked by Lutman in the quarterfinals 9-8, before McMinn took him down in the semifinals 9-2. McMinn forced a second set in the finals against Woodward with a 9-6 opening set, and though Woodward would force the second set to a single, deciding game, McMinn hung on to win it.
Briana Miller and Julia Gabriel faced each other twice in the ladies event. Miller took the hot seat match 7-3, sending Gabriel to the semifinals and a match against Denise Grady, who'd just survived a double hill battle against Angela Vallair in the quarterfinals. Gabriel won the semifinal matchup against Grady 7-5 and got a second chance against Miller. Miller let Gabriel get two games closer in the finals, one game away from double hill, but she hung in to win it 7-5.
Alex Olinger sliced through a daunting field of 120 entrants to go undefeated in the Midwest 9-Ball Tour's $3,250-added Open event on the weekend of February 20-23. Liz Lovely did the same thing in the $750-added, Ladies Tournament, which drew 30. Both, along with a One-Pocket event (separate story), were hosted by Shooter's in Olathe, KS.
Olinger, who picked up two victories on the Midwest 9-Ball Tour last year (March and August), and won the Great Southern Billiard Tour's tour championship in December, met up with the runner-up in the weekend's One Pocket event, John Gabriel, twice; first in the hot seat match, and later, the finals. Olinger had sent Gordon Van Der Veer to the losers' bracket 9-5, as Gabriel was busy doing likewise to Billy Thorpe in a double hill match. Olinger took the first of his two against Gabriel 9-5 and sat in the hot seat, awaiting his return.
On the loss side, Van Der Veer drew Dustin Gunia, who'd just eliminated two Midwest 9-Ball Tour heavyweights; Gabe Owen (who won the One Pocket event) 9-6 and Shane McMinn 9-4 (McMinn had eliminated Joey Gray). Thorpe drew a third Midwest 9-Ball Tour heavyweight, Chip Compton, who'd defeated Ryan Cobb 9-5 and survived a double hill battle against Manny Perez.
Thorpe advanced to the quarterfinals with a 9-5 victory over Compton. Van Der Veer did not, falling to Gunia 9-6. Gunia completed his loss-side run with a double hill win over Thorpe and was then stopped by Gabriel in the semifinals 9-7. Olinger completed his undefeated run with a 9-4 win over Gabriel in the finals.
Liz Lovely and Melissa Little played twice in the Ladies event, with Lovely winning both. She'd defeated Allison Hardwick in one of the winners' side semifinals as Little was sending Heather Middleton over 7-1. Lovely and Little battled to double hill in the winners' side final, before Lovely prevailed.
On the loss side, Hardwick and Middleton were handed their second straight losses immediately. Hardwick fell 7-3 to Brittany Colbert, who'd already gotten by Jessica Frideres 7-5 and Barb Avery 7-1. Middleton was shut out by Julia Gabriel, who'd defeated Karen Lincoln 7-2 and Michelle Davis 7-4 to reach her. Gabriel won the quarterfinal over Colbert 7-5 and was then, herself, eliminated by Little 7-3. Lovely then chalked up her second victory over Little 7-4 to claim the Ladies title.
In a buy-back situation at last June's Southern Classic in Tunica, MS, 20-year-old Skyler Woodward, who will very soon be losing the adjective "young," normally attached to his name, made it to the finals of the Southern Classic's Bank Pool Tournament at Harrah's Casino. He faced Alex Pagalayun, who's about six years away from being old enough for Hall of Fame eligibility. Woodward, who'd already used the 'buy back' option to stay in the tournament had to win twice because Pagalayun had yet to exercise the same option. Pagalayun prevailed, winning the first and only set 3-1 to finish an undefeated run. But Woodward, who'd finished tied for 70th place in the same tournament a year ago, had his reputation marker advanced a notch or two. In 2012, on our AZB Money Leaderboard, he was ranked 424th. Now, a year later, with three months to go, he's ranked 73rd.
Woodward's 'rep' continued to advance in the right direction, as he added an undefeated, September 28-29 weekend on the Midwest 9-Ball Tour to his list of 11 accomplishments (code for "in the money") in 2013. He was almost caught in this one by Jay Klatt, who mounted a five-match, loss-side streak to meet him in the finals. Klatt battled him to double hill before Woodward closed out the $2,150-added Open portion of the weekend's events that had drawn 50 entrants to Break Billiards in Cahokia, IL.
The weekend also featured a $350-added Ladies event that drew nine entrants and was won by Julia Gabriel. Like Woodward, Gabriel faced a different opponent in the hot seat match and finals. She downed Shelby Dawn in the hot seat match, but following victories over Annie Nord in the quarterfinals and Dawn in the semifinals, Allison Hardwick got the second chance against Gabriel. Gabriel completed her undefeated run through the short field with a 7-5 finals victory over Hardwick.
In the Open event, Woodward moved among the winners' side final four to meet up with Rich Sager. In the other winners' side semifinal, Steve Boucher faced Chuck Raulston, who had just sent Jay Klatt to the loss side. Woodward downed Sager 9-3, while Boucher was busy defeating Raulston 9-4. Woodward moved into the hot seat with a 9-4 win over Boucher and waited on Klatt.
Klatt, in the meantime, got right back to work. He defeated Mike Dunklin and Bobby McGrath, both 9-7, to pick up Sager. Raulston drew Shane McMinn, who'd gotten by Drake Nietoetter 9-7 and Jacob White 9-3. Klatt advanced 9-6 over Sager and, in the quarterfinals, got a second shot against Raulston, who'd defeated McMinn 9-4.
Klatt took full advantage of his re-match opportunity. He'd been defeated by Raulston 9-3, earlier. He defeated Raulston 9-5 in the quarterfinals and moved on to face Boucher in the semifinal. He took Boucher down 9-5 as well, and turned for his shot at Woodward in the hot seat. Needing to win two, Klatt's bid fell short with a double hill win in the opening set by Woodward.
John Gabriel went undefeated on the Midwest 9-Ball Tour’s $3,500-added 9-ball event on the weekend of February 23-26, working his way through a field of 150 entrants at Shooter’s in Olathe, KS. Melissa Little also went undefeated in the $500-added Ladies event, which had attracted 20 entrants.
From among the winners’ side final four, Gabriel sent Chuck Raulston west 9-5, as Dustin Gunia was busy sending Mike Banks, Jr. over 9-4. Gabriel then took the hot seat match over Gunia 9-5, and waited for his return.
First up for Banks, Jr. on the loss-side was the winner of the concurrently-run One-Pocket event, Mark Haddad, who’d defeated James Baraks 9-6, and Anthony Garcia 9-3 to reach him. Chuck Raulston, in the meantime, squared off against Joey Gray (second in the One-Pocket event), who’d downed Gary Lutman 9-3, and Gordy Vanderveer 9-6. Haddad defeated Banks, Jr. 9-4, but a re-match of the One-Pocket semifinals was avoided when Raulston dropped Gray into the tie for fifth place 9-5.
Raulston took it a step further, dropping Haddad into fourth place 9-5, and turning to face Gunia in the semifinals. Gunia ended Raulston’s bid 9-2 for a second chance versus Gabriel in a potential, true double elimination final. Gabriel took the first and only set 9-5 to secure the event title.
Melissa Little and Nicole Keeney battled twice to crown the Ladies champion. They met first in the hot seat match, and fought back and forth to double hill before Little prevailed. Keeney moved over to the semifinals to face Kathleen Morast, who’d just defeated Carrie Williams in the quarterfinals 7-5. Keeney then shut out Morast for her second chance against Little. Little, though, came out strong in the opening set of what would have been a true double elimination final, and defeated Keeney a second time 7-2.
