Danny Hewitt, Luc Pacquette and Alain Parent photo by Markus Noé
This past weekend Terminus Billiards & Bar located in Gatineau, Quebec hosted the third stop of the newly formed Falcon Cues Québec Pro Tour. This tour has been received with open arms by not only Québec players but from the entire Canadian pool community as this is currently the only professional tour in the country.
The first two stops have been played in Rimouski and Jonquiere, Québec averaging 32 players. Last weekend saw 47 players show up to participate. I credit this increase in the field size due to several factors. Gatineau borders Ottawa, Ontario and is only a few hours away from Montreal, Québec while the last two tournaments have been several hours away from Montreal which is home to hundreds of players. Also the announcement that the 8th ranked player in the world, John Morra along with his father and solid professional Mario Morra added some extra buzz.
Day 1 featured a few shocking results and a couple big matches early on. Winner of the last stop Danny Hewitt paired up with Luc "The Machine Gun" Salvas in the first round. Salvas a multiple World Speed Pool Champion, is always a crowd favorite as his speed and obvious love of the game makes him very entertaining. However he was in tough against the current #1 player in Québec Hewitt and lost his first match 9-6. Despite this early loss Salvas went on to win 7 matches before losing to Alain Martel in the 4th place match.
The biggest upset of the day was Sylvain Grenier who has had a solid year in his return to pool, failing to make it to Sunday. He suffered a 9-6 loss to Dany Nguyen a young professional from Montreal. On the losers side he won one match before being eliminated by strong local semi-pro Sébastien Cousineau 9-5. Another upset of note is Karl Petrin a newly ranked "A" player from Montreal beating Lelsie Cookie a "AAA" 9-8.
Overall as in most cases in talent packed tournaments such as this the creme floated to the top. Going into Day 2 the final eight were John Morra vs Andre Goyette, Danny Hewitt vs Yannick Bedard, Alain Martel vs Sébastien Cousineau, Luc Salvas vs Patrick De Repentigny. A feel good story going into the final was the success a few local players had been having. There was of course Cousineau who was mentioned earlier. However not to be undone is Canadian legend Andre Goyette at 75yrs who old fought right till the final 4 winners side. House pro at Terminus Repentigny also had a great deal of success only losing to Goyette and Salvas finishing tied for 8th with Cousineau.
The pool hall really became electric when there were 4 remaining. On one table there was Martel vs Salvas while Morra and Hewitt did battle on the next table. Morra defeated Hewitt 9-7 and waited in the hot-seat while Martel and Hewitt went to war to decided who would get the last shot at the tournament favorite. Martel looked a bit fatigued and perhaps was distracted by a waitress who came to bring me a coffee at aninappropriate time in the match and appeared to inadvertently "Shark" him out of a key shot. In the end Hewitt won easily 9-4 and earned a rematch.
The final began with a flurry from Morra who was breaking well and mounted a 6-1 lead in this extended race to 11. A dry break for Morra and accidentally hooking himself on a wide open was all Hewitt needed to mount a comeback, and in a blink it was 6-6. Hewitt even went on to take the lead 8-6 before Morra had a chance. Hewitt finally missed a shot and even got a good roll to not leave it easy. However Morra a former Derby City 9 Ball Banks Champion, stepped up and fired a full table cross corner on the 5 ball and ran out to get within a game.
In the end Hewitt was just playing too well and Morra a was just a bit unlucky as Hewitt went on to win 11-7. This was a phenomenal tournament all around and perhaps the most entertaining one I have seen in Canada outside the Archer Cup in Thetford Mines, Québec. Once again it was proven that Québec is the current "Mecca" for pool in Canada as it is one of the best places for the Pro's to come to be respected and watched. The local crowd was absolutely thrilled with the talent that was on display in their pool hall. I would also like to commend the amateur level players who came out to participate, because in reality there were only 12 ranked Professionals. The rest were high level Semi-Pro's and Amateurs. This to me is very important as currently in Toronto we see professional's are being left out of many tournaments, while in Québec they use staggered entry fee's and not handicaps to encourage lesser players to improve alongside some of the best in the country.
I would like to thank the Falcon team which consists of Danny Hewitt, Alain Parent and David Deschenes as well as Patrick De Repentigny and the entire Terminus staff. Combined they not only gave me everything I needed to cover this event but embraced me with open arms understanding the importance of promoting the Tour and the Sport of Pool. There will be a quick turn around for the Falcon Tour as the next stop is this weekend November 21-22 in Trois-Riviere, Québec. We will update the tournament early next week as my partner Erik Hjorleifson and myself will be playing in the Eastern Canada Barbox Championships at Tailgators in Ottawa, Ontario. I invite everyone to come and join the Nation on our Facebook page, you can also catch up with all the other videos I took at this event.
The 2015 CBSA Canadian Professional Pool Championships ran from March 30 to April 4 at the Hilton in Mississauga, Ontario. This event was held in conjunction with the Amateur CCS Nationals. This is the second year that the CBSA and CCS have joined forces to put together this combined Canadian Championships. Players from across the country entered these events with the hopes of being titled the next Canadian Champion.
VenueThe venue was equipped with 8 Diamond tables which allowed for the timely scheduling of matches. The entire event was streamed live via Randall Morrison from Calgary, Alberta. There were always plenty of spectators throughout the week which created a fitting environment for a national event.
In the Women’s events, Naomi Williams reached the 10-ball finals with victories over Hanna Kwon (7-3), Joanne Ashton (7-2) and Brittany Bryant (7-5). In the B-side finals Brittany Bryant earned a rematch with Naomi after she eliminated Joanne Ashton. In the finals, Brittany managed to stay ahead for most of the match. With a chance to go up 9-7, Bryant missed a difficult cut shot on the 10-Ball. Naomi seized the opportunity and tied the match at 8. They traded the next two racks before Naomi sealed the deal in the case game with a 10-9 win. This is Naomi’s fourth 10-Ball title in 5 years.
In the Women’s 9-Ball event, Brittany Bryant was eager to defend her title once again. In the finals, Brittney trailed Kayla Jones early in the match (4-1). As the match went on, it looked like Canada would have a new champion. However, a few opportunities slipped away from Kayla and experience prevailed. A reputable second place finish for Kayla and another feather in the hat for Brittany with her 11-8 win.
In the Men’s Open events, some fresh faces decided to test their skills competing in this national event. Dan Lewis proved that he was more than “just a hack”. Dan finished in the top 8 of the 8-ball division and looked very sharp doing so. Unfortunately, there were no prizes for the best dressed player. Another player getting a lot of attention was Sumon Sarker. The part time singer has recently been playing plenty of challenge matches all throughout southern Ontario. He is known as a fierce competitor with a strong desire to improve. Sumon finished in the top 6 of the 9-ball division with wins over some of the top players in the country.
“I learnt a lot from this tournament, I will be playing better as soon as I employ them and get my errors minimized”, said Sumon.
It was John Morra who certainly stole the show this week. John became the first player in Canadian history to capture all three titles (8-Ball, 9-Ball, and 10-Ball). John’s only loss happened in the 8-Ball event against Erik Hjorleifson. John came back strong to avenge his loss, winning 11-4 in the finals. Erik also had a great week finishing second in two events
In the 10-Ball event, John dominated Adrian Fragoso and Jesse Piercy by the same score (10-2). John’s next encounter was against his father Mario Morra. This thrilling match went right down to the wire. In the last game, Mario executed a perfect break only to witness the cue ball getting kicked into the pocket. John promptly ran the table and went on to beat Tom Theriault (10-5) and Erik Hjorleifson (13-8) for the title.
The last event was the 9-Ball event which drew the highest number of entries at 33. Shannon Ducharme, the 28 year old from Winnipeg, Manitoba added plenty of excitement to this event with his aggressive style. Shannon was sent to the B-Side after a heartbreaking 11-10 loss to Jason Klatt in the fourth round. Shannon held his composure and played great to recover as he had wins over Jason Kisheyinew (11-10), Tom Theriault (11-2), Sumon Sarkar (11-5), Andy Aupin (11-4) and Mario Morra (11-8). The finals were now set against John Morra.
The contrasting styles between Morra and Ducharme set the stage for an electrifying match. After a week of competition, both players were well adjusted to the conditions as they were making plenty of balls off the break. John held the lead for most of the match while Shannon kept it close with his banking skills and fine cut shots. In the end, a break and run in the 27th rack for John Morra ended Shannon`s run. It was truly a great performance by both players.
Steve Cooper, president of the CBSA, added the following, “I understand that there are some hurdles to improve on for future years, such as lighting and low entries, especially in the 10-ball, but I feel that the positives of these championships did out way the negatives. Our stream was very well received by most. CBSA Vice President, Kyle Richard has put a lot of effort into the sponsorship committee this year, & his work is starting to show results. A very special thanks to our major sponsors for the event, CCS, Diamond Billiards Products, Simonis Cloth & Tiger Cues.”
Francis Crevier, Michael Bernier, Jeff Blais and Dany Nguyen
Tonight players and fans who decided to come a day early were treated to a team event between some of the best players from Ontario, Quebec and U.S.A. Originally it was planned to play some bank pool and speed pool but for simplicity and time restraints it was decided to play scotch doubles 9 ball.
It was agreed that each team would play one another once in a big round robin format with the team with the least amount of wins being eliminated. Surprising the near capacity crowd team U.S.A was the loser of the round robin.
This set up the final between Ontario and Quebec which was played in a 4 man alternate format. On paper the Ontario team of Jason Klatt, John Morra, Mario Morra, and Erik Hjorleifson had the edge however Quebec was playing some inspired pool. Jeff Blais,Michael Bernier, Francis Crevier, Dany Nguyen who all played near flawlessly for team Quebec giving the hometown crowd something to cheer about. In the end it was a very close match which saw team Quebec win 7-5 and split the $2000 first place prize.
The first stage of the 2014 CBSA Canadian Open Pool Championships has come to an end at Shooters Snooker & Sports Club in Toronto. Although the attendance in each event was less than anticipated, the level of play was exceptional. The top players from each division will move on to Stage II of the Championship to be held at the Delta Meadowvale in Mississauga, Ontario. This year marks the first year where both the CBSA and CCS Championships are being held side-by-side. Here is a breakdown of the matches scheduled for this week in Mississauga:
There is no charge for spectators, so drop by and witness a piece of Canadian history being made. Be sure to bring your pool cue as mini-tournaments will be taking place throughout the event. There is no other tourney like it where you have great players from all over Canada in one place at one time.
With few exceptions the normal heroes are proceeding as they should at this stage through the brackets of the U.S. Open. One of the exceptions is Scott Frost, who became violently ill yesterday and had to forfeit out of the tournament. There is a cold virus making its way through the southland and it hit Scott like a sledgehammer. One moment he was fine and an hour later he was sick as a dog. (Don't know how that phrase came about. My dogs are always healthy.)
Nick Van Den Berg is on the charts but he was unable to get here due to flight difficulties out of Europe. But fellow Euro Nikos Ekonomopoulis is doing just fine. He won his first match 11-zip and faces local player Eric Moore today.
Earl Strickland is, as always, shooting like he invented the game. He took down a very tough Mario Morra (multi-time Canadian Champion) 11-4 and fired one of the best jump shots in that match that this reporter has ever witnessed. The object ball was only a foot away from the cue ball with a ball between them and EaR. Hopped right over it, fired the object ball into the side pocket and stuck the cue ball where it landed for shape on the next ball.
And then there is Monica Webb. She is truly in the zone this week and has now eunuched two men by a total scoreline of 22-6. But her hill gets very tall today as she has to take on Mosconi Cup member Karl Boyes.
Things begin to get very interesting today as the big guns begin running into each other throughout the room. There are too many big matches to mention. Just go here to check out the brackets and choose your favorites. The live stream here from Accu-Stats is flawless as usual and may be found here.
Day one of the 38th Annual US Open 9-Ball Championship kicked off with a handful of matches in the evening rounds. With the field at 170 players, the first rounds of this event featured quite a few byes and very few actual matches.
The 6:30 round saw a rusty Scott Frost fight off a charge from local favorite Mike McNaughton. Frost looked to be in charge at 3-1, when a missed 9-ball appeared to take the wind out of him. McNaughton stayed with Frost and took his first lead at 7-6, but that only served to get the Freezer's attention. Frost won the next five racks for the 11-7 win.
The 8:30 round's TV match saw Danny Mastermaker make quick work of Puerto Rico's Omar Santiago Roman. Mastermaker appeared to be a little hesitant early in the match, but quickly shook off any "TV Table Nerves" and ran away with an 11-3 win.
The final TV match of the night saw two local favorites facing off as Eric Moore took on longtime Q-Masters housepro Dave Bollman. Bollman gave it all he had, but came up short to Moore with an 11-7 scoreline.
Enrique Rojas BECOMES THE FIRST EVER PLAYER FROM CHILE TO ADVANCE TO A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP KNOCKOUT STAGE, JOINS 31 OTHERS IN DOHA'S FINAL 64
(Doha, Qatar)–Relief and pure joy were two emotions on wide display on Day 3 of the 2013 World 9-ball Championship, as 32 players booked their spots into Wednesday’s Final 64, the single elimination knockout phase that signals the real start of pool’s most prestigious event.
Relief came from those top players who just wanted to notch their second win and put the madness that can be the group stages behind them. Pure joy came from the other players, those that know that winning this tournament is a massive long shot, and just getting through to the big dance is a career defining moment in itself.
The 128 player field that began here on Saturday was already considered by many to be the strongest ever gathered for this event. As the wannabes wither and the main stage starts to take shape, the remaining field promises to offer a brilliant collection of cue artists from all corners of the globe. It’s the kind of shot in the arm the sport of pool needs.
Today’s play inside the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha was given over to only winners’ side matches. Winners advanced to the Final 64, while losers were sent over to the losers side of their group brackets, where they will play for one more chance tomorrow on Judgement Day.
Middle Eastern pool once again shined brightly in the form of Omar Al Shaheen. Any lingering doubts about the authenticity of Al Shaheen’s pool genius, which he’s proudly displayed over the last year, were surely put to rest today as the 21 year old Kuwaiti laid waste to the Philippines Marlon Manalo, 9-1.
Manalo’s making a bit of a comeback after a three year hiatus, but anyone who knows this sport still considers the Filipino a true monster out on the floor. That didn’t seem to bother Al Shaheen as he looked like he was having a stroll along the blue waters of the Gulf.
“I broke the balls good and always had a shot after the break,” said Al Shaheen. “He break the balls bad and can never see a ball.”
Kuwait's Omar Al Shaheen Can Al Shaheen go all the way? The university student who studies sports psychology is a long shot for sure, but his odds are definitely improving quickly. He reached the last 16 here last year and fought bravely in going out to eventual runner-up Li Hewen of China. In May of this year, Al Shaheen reached the semi-finals of the China Open in Shanghai, one of pool’s major events. He seems to be the man of the moment, and he’ll have the chance to prove it beginning Wednesday.
Defending champion Darren Appleton wore a smile of relief today after beating Korea’s Jeong Young H, 9-5. Like other favorites here, Appleton revealed that the two stage format had been playing tricks on his mind. You know you should win, but you could very easily find yourself sliding down a vortex of negativity if you’re not paying attention.
“I was worried because if I lose I have to play Efren(Reyes),” Appleton said. “With all the Filipinos here that’s like playing in front of his hometown crowd. But if you come here to win this tournament you can’t think about who you’re going to play. I made a few silly mind mistakes, like taking it easy when I was up 6-2. But I had 70% break and run outs. I played pretty well and I’m happy. I just wanted to get through to the final 64.”
China's Wu Jia QingTwo of Taiwain’s heavyweights, Chang Jun Lin and Ko Pin Yi, came through with nothing to worry about. Chang crushed Spain’s Marc Claramunt 9- 1, while Ko had an easy time with Qatar’s top player, Waleed Majed, 9-4. Another Taiwan player who always seems to play under the radar but who can do some serious damage is Cheng Yu Lung, who held off Great Britain’s Chris Melling, 9-5.
The Philippines came out with a mixed bag today with four players advancing and five being swept over to the losers side. World number 2 Dennis Orcullo breezed past Poland’s Tomasz Kaplan, 9-4, to qualify. Antonio Gabica quietly remains one of the stronger Filipinos in the massive contingent of greats the country produces. Gabica has lived in Qatar for four years now working as an assistant coach for the Qatar national team. Gabica even wears the colors of Qatar while playing. But his game and heart are true Filipino, something Germany’s young Dominic Jentsch discovered today. Gabica won 9-7 to advance.
2010 World 9-ball Champion Francisco Bustamante wasn’t so fortunate as he stumbled to Portugal’s surprising Manueal Gama, 9-6. Jeffrey De Luna fell to a strong Mika Immonen by the same score.
Completely unheralded Filipino Marlon Caneda was the surprise of the day with a 9-0 trouncing of tough Greek player Nick Ekonmopoulos. The 30 year old Caneda has a hard luck story that makes it difficult not to root for him. He has spent the last four years working as a house pro at the Run Out pool club in the remote Saudi Arabian town of Sakaka Aljouf. Caneda earns a mere $700 a month which he uses to support his child, mother and sickly grandmother back in the Philippines.
The lonely hard scrabble existence has its upsides for Caneda, though. He practices up to 12 hours each and every day.
World number three Lee Vann Corteza found himself in a back and forth dog fight with Albania’s Nick Malaj. The 26 year old Malaj, who currently lives in Athens, is no longer the upstart he was last year when he burst onto the scene here in Doha. Fighting toe to toe with Corteza, Malaj came back from 8-7 down to shock the Filipino and advance, 9-8.
“That’s the third time I played him and the first time I beat him,” a drained but excited Malaj said afterward. “If I lose to the same guy three times, that’s no good. And Filipinos are good players so I feel like a massive weight has been taken off my shoulders.”
China’s Wang Can will be seeing action on Wednesday as well. Wang made waves in the US earlier with a semi-final finish at the Ultimate 10-ball event. He continued his fine run today easily beating the Philippines Ramil Gallego today, 9-1.
One player everyone has their eyes squarely glued on is former World 9-ball and World 8-ball champion Wu Jia Qing(formerly known as Wu Chia Ching.) Wu, who only last November returned from spending two years in the Taiwan military scrubbing toilets and floors and never touching his cue stick, continued what looks to be a very serious comeback to the top echelons of the sport, after he reached the semi-finals of the China Open in May. Today, Wu, who now lives in and plays for China, looked impenetrable as he defeated a very strong Karl Boyes of Great Britain, 9-4, to qualify.
One of the best feel-good stories of the tournament so far continued again today as Chile’s Enrique Rojas did something none of his countrymen have ever done: he qualified for the knockout stage of the world championship. The 35 year old Rojas played in this event in 2005, 2006 and 2007 but never advanced past the group stage. Two days ago he upended heavily favoured Li Hewen of China 9-6. Today Rojas beat Aloysius Yapp of Singapore by the same score to finally enter the round of 64 on Wednesday.
32 more matches are on tap Tuesday with the appropriately titled Judgement Day. Nerves and drama are sure to be cascading throughout the Al Arabi Sports Club as every match is win-or-go home and careers could be hanging in the balance.
Play begins at 12pm local time(GMT +3) with all matches race to 9, alternate break. The single elimination round of 64 begins Wednesday with all matches race to 11, alternate break. The finals, which will take place on September 13th, will be a race to 13, alternate break.
The winner of the 2013 World 9-ball Championship receives $36,000. The runner up will pocket $18,000. The total prize fund is $250,000.
*The World Pool-Billiard Association(WPA) will be on hand in Doha throughout the week bringing you all the drama from the 2013 World 9-ball Championship. WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner will be reporting from the Al Arabi Sports Club with daily articles containing insight, interviews and analysis, as well as photos. Ted will also be manning the WPA Facebook page and Twitter feed and responding to fans queries and comments. Fans can also follow all matches via the WPA live scoring platform.
*The 2013World 9-ball will be held in Doha, Qatar from September 2-13,2013 and is sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of the sport of pocket billiards. 128 players from across the globe will compete for the biggest prize in Men’s Pool. The 2013 World 9-ball Championship is a WPA ranking event.
The 2012 Canadian Championships concluded yesterday – Hats off to Shooter Snooker and Sports Club and the Canadian Billiards and Snooker Association crew for putting together this year’s successful event. Thanks also to the CPA Southern Ontario Pool League for providing 16 days of non-stop live streaming coverage of the event. John Croft and Rod Babin did an excellent job sharing the Canadian talent across computers, laptops and mobile devices all over the world.
Below are the results of the final events.
10-Ball
After Alex Pagulayan clinched the National 8-ball and 9-ball titles earlier in the week, the question asked by everyone in tournament room was “Who is going to stop him?”. Last year’s champion Jason Klatt marched through the a-bracket with wins over Chris Fawcett (10-3) and Tyler Nearing (10-2) before running into Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan. Klatt put an end to Alex’s winning streak sending him to the b-side with a 10-5 score. Jason Klatt continued his run for the title beating Rob Phillips and Mario Morra to secure his spot in the finals.
It was John Morra that put a stop to Pagulayan’s hopes of a clean sweep, eliminating Alex from the event with a 10-7 victory. Having the biggest obstacle out of his way, John went on to win the tournament ousting Klatt in the finals 13-9.
In the snooker event, Alex had no difficulty changing from the collared shirt downstairs on the 9-foot tables to the formal vest and bow-tie upstairs on the 12-foot snooker tables. This kind of adaptability comes only from travelling the world and playing in a wide range of conditions under pressure. Alex lost only one game in the preliminary round robin stages (16 wins – 1 loss). His excellence continued in the elimination round knocking out Pat MacCarthy (5-0), Brian Butler (5-1) and John Everekian (6-1).
Alex then faced Tom Finstad from Alberta in the finals. The very experienced Finstad has been to the finals 11 times in the past with 3 titles under his belt. On his way to the finals, Tom had wins over Robin Peterson (5-0), Vito Puopolo (5-2) and Floyd Ziegler (6-5). Alex knew he had his hands full after Tom came out of the gate winning the first two games. A few missed opportunities from Tom opened the door for Alex as he moved ahead winning the next 3 before the break. After the break, Alex took control winning 3 of the next 4 frames to clinch the Canadian Snooker title for the second straight year.
Alex will be having his 34th birthday next week with plenty to celebrate. He has added 3 National titles to his resume within a week. As they often say “You can’t win them all”, but 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.
This article and photo originally appeared at www.thepoolscene.com
Alex Pagulayan (Photo courtesy of Dave Thomson Mediumpool.com)
The Canadian Championships continues at Shooters Snooker and Sports Club in Toronto. The Open 9-ball event had 34 players competing for the title with the winner guaranteed a spot in the World Championships. With many of the previous 9-ball champions not in attendance, the event was wide open.
Moving through the top half of the bracket was Jason Klatt with wins over Bruce Lilly (11-1), Andy Aupin (11-10), Brad Poorman (11-4) and Jason Thomas (11-7). In the lower bracket, Alex Pagulayan was in fine form after just winning the 8-Ball event. Alex had wins over Dwayne Thompson (11-4), John Morra (11-7), Rob Phillips (11-10), and Dave Martin (11-3).
In the “hot seat” match, Pagulayan made quick work of Klatt with a convincing 11-4 win. Klatt then faced Rob Phillips from Alberta in the b-bracket finals. Phillips would have to settle for 3rd place after losing to Klatt 11-6.
In the finals, Klatt then faced Pagulayan once again for a shot at the national title. With the match tied 1-1, Alex won 8 of the next 9 games leading the match 9-2. Jason managed to swing the momentum into his direction winning the next five racks to bring the score within two at 9-7. The players traded the next few racks before Alex closed out the match with a break and run in the last game. Pagulayan wins his third Canadian 9-Ball title with a 15-9 score.
Alex Pagulayan (Photo courtesy of Dave Thomson Mediumpool.com)
The Men’s Open 8-Ball Event took place this past weekend with 27 players looking to take the Canadian title. With last years champion Alain Martel not in attendance, we were guaranteed a new champion this year. After Mario Morra sent tournament favourite Alex Pagulayan to the b-side, it looked like the Morra father son duo would monopolize the event.
Mario then faced his son John Morra in the “hot seat” match. John Morra took the 9-3 win securing his spot in the finals. In the b-side bracket final, Mario faced Alex Pagulayan once again. As the tournament progressed, Pagulayan’s game got stronger. Alex took care of business beating Mario 9-5 to set up the finals against the young John Morra. Once again, it was Alex who came out on top to take his first ever Canadian 8-Ball title with a 11-7 win.
