Marty Carey is the creator of the Marty Carey Jump Q as well as being an enthusiastic trick shot artist.  He will perform trick shots for the crowd and will even get the kids and families involved in the games and fun.  Marty Carey has always had a passion for helping children and said, “It’s all about the kids.  If I can put a smile on their face for one moment and help them forget about where they are, then I’ve done my job.”  

 

Marty Carey also teamed up with Devra and Fred Robledo, creators and owners of the DiRiginal Portable Pool Table as well as Bobble Ball.  Bobble Ball is played with an egg-shaped billiard ball which can be used to play a variety of games. Devra and Fred Robledo, whose companies are based in Anaheim, have kindly offered to deliver and set up the table at the Shriners event at no charge.  Along with participating in numerous church events, the Robledo’s are often involved in charitable and fundraising events.

 

To purchase tickets for the December 30th event, please visit the Shriners event page at shriners4childrenmedctr.eventbrite.com.  To learn more about Marty Carey Jump Q, visit his website at MartyCareysJumpQ.com.  If you’d like to find more information on Bobble Ball games, custom woodworking or the other products provided by DiRiginal, please visit www.DiRiginal.com.

GoPlayPool.com and Matchroom Sport have joined together, once again, to ensure that fans get live updates of the Mosconi Cup from nearly anywhere.  To get live scoring access, download the free GoPlayPool app or visit GoPlayPool.com. 

 

Live scoring isn’t the only reason to get involved in this year’s Mosconi Cup.  GoPlayPool is also holding raffle prize giveaways, with the help of its supporters.  Kamui Tips and Marty Carey Jump Q are sponsoring the live scoring and prize giveaways. 

 

To see the list of prizes and rules, please visit the GoPlayPool website or download the free GoPlayPool app. To enter, you will just need to provide your name, current email address and phone number.  Raffle entries are allowed after November 23, 2016, 6 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. GoPlayPool owners Mary Ann and Ramin add, “This is one of the most respected events in our industry.  We hope that fans of the sport will share this information with friends and family so we can all show our support of these great players.”

 

We have also included a voting platform for fans and enthusiasts to vote for their favorite team! Don’t forget to vote.

 

The Mosconi Cup is held from December 6th through December 9th at Alexandra Palace in London, England. You can get more information on the LIVE broadcast of the Mosconi Cup 2016, teams, breakdowns and history of the Mosconi Cup on Matchroom Sport Ltd. website at:  http://www.matchroompool.com/

“I watched this Tournament as a young boy and to now win it is amazing” said an elated Jayson Shaw moments after capturing the 2016 International Challenge of Champions title. The pressure packed $25,000 winner-take-all event was held at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 20.  Shaw, from Scotland, defeated Shane Van Boening of the United States in “sudden death” in the final match and was crowned the new “Champion of Champions.” The two semifinals and the Championship match were taped by ESPN for telecast beginning Sunday, December 11 at 4:00 EST.

 

“You have to play your best the entire tournament,” said Shaw “There’s no margin for error. I won the lag to break in Sudden Death and I knew if I missed one shot I would lose $25,000! That is pressure.”

Shaw played Kevin Cheng of Taiwan in the first Semifinal match. Cheng was off his game and Shaw played flawlessly winning both races to 5 handily 5-0 and 5-3. 

 

Shaw, the 2016 Derby City Classic 10 Ball Champion and Bergen Open 9 Ball Champion 9-Ball Champion then met Shane van Boening in the Finals who had defeated Alex Pagulayan, the 2016 Canadian Open Champion, in a sudden death tie breaker in the other semifinal. Alex won the first set 5-3 and Shane won the second set 5-4.  The sudden death game went back and forth with Shane pulling out a victory.

 

In the Finals, battling back and forth Shaw won the first set 5-4 and Van Boening took the second set 5-1.  The momentum appeared to be with van Boening, but in the one game sudden death Shaw won the lag, ran the table, and emerged the winner.  

 

The crowd gave Shaw a standing ovation when he won the final match. He raised his arms in victory and then accepted the highest single purse in international winner-take-all tournaments. The trophy and the check were presented by Gregg Hovey of Billiards International.

 

The 2016 event was the 25th annual International Challenge of Champions and the very last event to be held at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino, set to close on October 10, 2016.  Bill Talerico, Executive Vice President Sports & Entertainment for Taj Mahal, was delighted with the event and the support displayed by the crowd of pool fans. “This is a great event for the Taj Mahal to go out on.  I am only sorry we will not be around to host this again next year.”

 

In addition to the fine tournament site at the Trump Taj Mahal, the event was sponsored by Diamond Billiard Tables, Aramith Tournament Billiard Balls, Simonis Cloth, J. Pechauer Custom Cues, CueMate Cue Stands, PoolDawg.com, Cuetec, Marty Carey Jump Cues and Bill Westley Racks. The event was produced by Gregg Hovey of Billiards International.

“I am finally back,” said an excited Allison Fisher moments after capturing her sixth International Tournament of Champions title.  Allison now leads Ga Young Kim who holds five Tournament of Champion titles. The thrill of victory was all the greater since it had been several years since she won her last Tournament of Champion title.

 

The spirited $15,000 winner-take-all event was held at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 21.  Fisher, the 2016 Masters Champion, defeated Kelly Fisher in the final match and was crowned the new Woman’s “Champion of Champions.” The semi and final matches require a player to win two sets, race to four games each set. In the event of a tie, the pressure becomes brutal with a one game sudden death tiebreaker. The two semifinals and the Championship match were taped for broadcast by ESPN beginning Sunday, December 11 at 1:00 pm EST on ESPN2.

 

“We may look cool out there, but the pressure is overwhelming,” said Allison.  “I knew I had to play well from the start being matched first against Ga Young, and then to meet Kelly in the finals I couldn’t let up.” Kelly Fisher started out strong in both sets of the Final with a 2-0 lead, only to see Allison come back in each set and win 4-2, 4-2 for the Championship trophy and the winner’s take all check.

 

Allison had to go through Ga Young Kim in the first semifinal. Ga Young, the 2016 WPBA U.S. Open winner, got ahead early three games to one but Fisher fought back and won the first set 4-3. Fisher then took complete control, playing perfectly and defeated Ga Young 4-0 in the second set.

 

The other semifinal also brought cheers from the crowd. Kelly Fisher of Ireland prevailed against Jasmin Ouschan of Austria by a score of 4-3 and 4-2. Jasmin played tough and led in the first set but missed a couple of key shots allowing Kelly to close her out.

 

The crowd gave Allison Fisher a standing ovation when she won the “Champion of Champions” title, her sixth, making her the winningest player in Tournament of Champions history. She raised her arms in victory and then accepted the winner’s purse of $15,000. The trophy and the check were presented by Gregg Hovey of Billiards International.

 

The 2016 event was the 19th Annual International Tournament of Champions. Bill Talerico, Executive Vice President of Sports & Entertainment for Trump Taj Mahal, was delighted with the play and the crowd of pool fans. “We were extremely pleased with this event,” he said. “This is the last event to be held at the Trump Taj Mahal, and it was first class all the way. I wish we could hold this event next year. It was great for Atlantic City.” 

 

In addition to the fine tournament site at the Trump Taj Mahal, the event was sponsored by Diamond Billiard Tables, Aramith Tournament Billiard Balls, Simonis Cloth, J. Pechauer Custom Cues, PoolDawg.com, Cuetec, CueMate Cue Stands, Marty Carey Jump Cues and Bill Westley Racks. The WPBA sanctioned event was produced by Gregg Hovey of Billiards International.

 

TRICK SHOT MAGIC was held September 22 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Gabi Visoiu defeated Andy Segal 8-6 in the Finals. The two semifinals and the Championship match will be broadcast by ESPN on Sunday, December 4, 2016 at 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST on ESPN2.

 

The format for Trick Shot Magic consisted of two skill shots and four artistic show shots by each player in each semi-final and 8 artistic show shots in the Finals. Each player executed a challenge shot of their choice, and their opponent was required to duplicate the shot or lose a point. In the semifinals, the players alternated shots in head-to-head matches, performing intricate trick shots meant to stymie their opponents. A sudden death tiebreaker to decide a match required an eight rail bank shot onto the face of a $100 bill. The Championship Finals match pitted the two greatest Trick Shot players in the world in a head to head match for the right to claim the title “Trick Shot Champion”.

 

The Championship match was poetry on Simonis blue, with Gabi Visoiu defeating 5 time Trick Shot Magic Champion and current World Champion Andy Segal by a score of 8-6 to take the Championship Trophy.  Visoiu combined traditional multi-ball shots with his masse skills to overcome Segal’s talents with multi cue tricks. The Trump Taj Mahal crowd gave Visoiu a rousing ovation at the conclusion of the Championship match. The victory was particularly rewarding for Visoiu as he had competed in Trick Shot Magic for 5 years without a victory. 

 

The Semi-final matches featured newcomer Will DeYonker, who qualified for the event in a special tournament held over the summer in Long Island, New York. Will delivered several unique shots but fell short to Andy Segal when one of his tricks was deemed in violation of the rules by referee Dave Nangle.  Segal went on to win 7-5.  The Second semi-final featured 2016 WPA Jump Shot and Follow Shot World Champion, Jamey Gray from the United States.  He was defeated by Gabi Visoiu 7-3. The trophy was presented by Gregg Hovey of Billiards International. 

 

In addition to the fine tournament site at the Trump Taj Mahal, the event was sponsored by Diamond Billiard Tables, Aramith Tournament Balls, Simonis Cloth, PoolDawg, Cuetec, Marty Carey Jump Cues, J.Pechauer Custom Cues, CueMate Cue Stands and Bill Westley Racks. The event was produced by Billiards Interna

After 11 events on the Mezz West State Tour, a total of 32 invited players came to Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, CA to compete in the year end event for its 12th and final event of Season 1. The invited players were chosen based off a points system based off the Camel Pro Tour rankings. The top players accumulated points based off their performances to play in a special year end event of $2000 added prize money plus the membership dues collected throughout the season which totaled to 5750 off of 231 total members. In addition, as a bonus, the top 16 ranked players did not pay an entry fee while the 17-32nd ranked players paid a standard $65 entry fee.

 

The top half of the board was led by co founder of the MWST, Oscar Dominguez with wins over the Filipino veteran, Ramon Mistica 9-4, followed by wins over Johnny Kang 9-4, Dave Hemmah 9-5, and Ernesto Dominguez 9-0, to lead up to the hot seat match. The bottom half of the bracket was dominated by Hungarian sharpshooter, Attila Bezdan, with wins over Phil Prentice 9-3, Ramin Bahktiari 9-3, Melissa Herndon 9-4, and road companion Vilmos Foldes 9-4. The hot seat match was one sided as Attila came out firing balls in from all angles putting pressure on Dominguez. After a few failed safeties, Attila ran away with the match with a 9-5 score. 

 

Meanwhile on the losers side, Rodrigo Geronimo who lost his first match to Tang Hoa 8-4, had grinded through seven matches against Kevin May 9-3, Beau Runningen 9-7, Chris Fangre 9-3, Melissa Herndon 9-5, Tang Hoa 9-4,Ernesto Domiguez 9-4 and Ruben Bautista 9-7 to reach the 3rd place match against Oscar Dominguez. Rodrigo looked hungry to reach the finals and took a quick 5-1 lead over Dominguez. It wasnt until Geronimo missed a crucial 2 ball in the side pocket to widen the lead to 6-1 that Dominguez had a chance to take control of the table. Winning that game and then the next 3, Dominguez was able to tie it up 5. The following 6 games were each nail biters, with each player playing inspirational kick, jump and safety shots. Dominguez fell behind once again 7-5, but in his true fashion, showed a lot of heart to come back and win the match 9-7 sending him back to the finals to seek revenge on Bezdan.

 

The finals was one to be seen. Bezdan played flawless, only missing two balls the entire set. He pocketed every ball on the table as if they had eyes and controlled the cue ball at a top notch level. His break was also in top gear, leaving Dominguez helpless. Attila Bezdan went on to easily win the set 8-2. His victory was well deserved, as he was the best player on this day.  All of us on the Mezz West State Tour will surely miss him next season and would like to congratulate him on his very great accomplishment. 

 

We would like to again thank all of the players and sponsors who make all of this possible: Mezz Cues (miki-mezz.com), West State Billiards Supply (weststatebilliardsupply.com), ZAN tips (Zan-tip.com), Kurzweils Country Meats (kurzweilscountrymeats.com), AZbilliards.com, NYCGrind.com, POVPool.com, Marty Carey Jump Q, ontherailtv.com, Turtle Racks, and fast&loose designs.

The Mezz West State Tour was held in gorgeous La Mesa, California at its premier room, On Cue Billiards. The Nooris family welcomed 88 players including none other than “The Magician” himself, Mr. Efren Reyes. It was quite a treat for both players and spectators to watch and interact with the legend himself during the two day event. 

 

The top half of the bracket was packed with talent as it contained not only Rodrigo Geronimo, Ramin Bakhtiari, Vilmos Foldes, Johnny Kang, James Cabal, Dan Wallace, Dave Gorham, Rodney Wynn and Victor Castro but also Efren Reyes. Foldes and Reyes met up in the final 16 of the winner side in a TV table face off. Foldes fought hard, but was out matched by Reyes with a score of 9-4. Reyes’ bracket got no easier, as Rodrigo Geronimo was waiting for him following his 9-3 victory over James Cabal.  This Filipino match up went back and forth to the bitter end with Rodrigo pulling away a 9-7 victory and sending the Magician to the losers side. This win secured Geronimo’s spot in the final 4 of the winners side where he would defeat Victor Castro, who had tough wins over Mark Whitehead, Ray Pajarillo and Dave Gorham. Geronimo would go on to defeat Castro 9-6 to find himself waiting to battle it out for the hot seat. 

 

The bottom half of the bracket was no cake walk either as Oscar Dominguez, Attila Bezdan, Kenichi Uchigaki, Ruben Bautista, Sal Butera, Beau Runningen and Melissa Hernadon made up just a few of the great players that filled up this portion of the chart.  Second round of the winners side found Beau Runningen taking on Toyko player, Kenichi Uchigaki. Beau made a heart filled effort but fell short, sending Uchigaki further into the winners brackets and himself to the losers side. Uchigaki proceeded to find wins over Branch Talley, Larry Bohn and Sal Butera all of which allowed him to face off against Oscar Dominguez in the final 4 winners. Dominguez made his way there with wins over Melissa Hernadon, Amir Shoshan and Attila Bezdan. This was hard fought battle between the two international friends, but ended with Kenichi Uchigaki taking down Dominguez 9-6. This win ensured Uchigaki to face off with Geronimo for the hot seat. The match up one sided early on with Geronimo taking the win 9-5, putting him in the hot seat.

 

Meanwhile, the action continued on the losers’ side where team Hungary faced off. Vilmos Foldes defeated his best friend and road partner 9-4 knocking Attila out of the competition. Vilmos would then go on to beat Sal Butera in a hill-hill, nail bitter which came down to a safety battle on the 8 ball in the final game.  However the hill-hill matches were not over for Foldes just yet, as Victor Castro played his heart out but fell short to Foldes in the following round.  On the top side of the losers bracket, Oscar Dominguez found himself fighting back against Efren Reyes, who at one point led the match 8-2. Dominguez came with great out after great out, eventually tying the match at 8-8. In the case game, Reyes was up to break. Reyes broke in two balls and skillfully made an incredible out on Dominguez, forcing Oscar to settle for 5th/6th.

 

The 3rd/4th match found Foldes and Reyes once again. Foldes found his revenge on Reyes winning 9-6 and sending him to the losers side final against Uchigaki. Uchigaki, who was feeling ill and very jet lagged opted allow Foldes to move onto the finals by forfeit.

 

The finals between Vilmos Foldes and Rodrigo Geronimo was a match to be seen. In true double elimination format Foldes would have to defeat Geronimo twice to claim victory. Foldes easily handles Rodrigo winning the first set 9-3. The second set was much more of a grind with many break and runs, kicking and safety play. Rodrigo eventually grinded down Foldes and took his victory in a close 9-7 win. This win would make Rodrigo a three time tour stop winner this season. 

 

Also, a congrats to Melissa Herndon for being the top female finisher and receiving a $100 bonus.

 

The MWST would like to thank their sponsors for their continuous support of bringing pool back to the west coast. In addition, a very special thank you to Daniel Bush and POV POOL for their hard work providing the live streaming. Mezz Cues (miki-mezz.com), West State Billiards Supply (weststatebilliardsupply.com), ZAN tips (Zan-tip.com), Kurzweils Country Meats (kurzweilscountrymeats.com), AZbilliards.com, NYCGrind.com, POVPool.com, Marty Carey Jump Q, POVPOOL.com, Turtle Racks, and fast&loose designs.

The Mezz West State Tour headed to Phoenix, Arizona for its 9th stop of the season at the beautiful Bull Shooters establishment owned by Mike Bates. Mike and his staff worked tirelessly all weekend to accommodate the 87 player who convened to this legendary room with 43 tables of all types. Players from all over the west coast and along with several international stars in attendance, the crowd was not disappointed to a world class demonstration of 9 ball.   

 

The top half of the bracket was led by one pocket specialist and high stakes action player Scott Frost. Frost had a strong support group as he played some high powered 9 ball defeating Danny Gokhul, Tommy Tokoph, Bobby Emmons, Chuck Evans, and finally Beau Runningen to play for the hot seat. 

 

Meanwhile, leading the bottom half of the bracket was Hungarian Attila Bezdan. Attila is in the United States on a sports visa with road partner and best friend Vilmos Foldes to play on the Mezz West State Tour. The always jovial Attila had some solid play with wins over Jason Gilbert, Brian Begay, Mitch Ellerman, and Vilmos Foldes to get the chance to play Scott Frost for the hot seat. After a very impressive start, the young Hungarian allowed Frost into the match with some errors and Frost took full advantage. After some fortunate rolls on behalf of Attila, he capitalized on his fortune with intelligent safes and pocketing sending the "Freezer" to the west side of the bracket.

 

On the one loss side Vilmos Foldes awaitEd Scott Frost after two very hard fought victories over Oscar Dominguez and Beau Runningen. Frost jokingly told Attila he would "double dip" him in the finals but Vilmos was quick to say he wouldn't be playing in the finals. The friendly trash talk was the perfect backdrop to what became an incredible match by Foldes and Frost. Having only the 7 and 9 ball left in the hill hill game, Frost left himself a bit too straight and tried to punch the ball over for position on the 9. This caused the 7 ball to jaw in the hole leaving Foldes a hanging 7 and routine 9. A poor position play on the 9 left Foldes a predicament of back cutting the 9 or firing cross side which Vilmos shot at warp speed making it and sealing Frost's fate in the hill hill game. The all Hungarian final was played out with Attila winning his first event ever on the Mezz West State Tour. 

 

The MWST would like to thank their sponsors for their continuous support of bringing pool back to the west coast. In addition, a very special thank you to "Fast" Lenny Marshall for donating his time and hard work for the Live streaming. Also a congrats to Tina Hess for being the top female finisher and receiving $100 bonus.

 

Mezz Cues (miki-mezz.com), West State Billiards Supply (weststatebilliardsupply.com), ZAN tips (Zan-tip.com), Kurzweils Country Meats (kurzweilscountrymeats.com), AZbilliards.com, NYCGrind.com, POVPool.com, Marty Carey Jump Q, ontherailtv.com, Turtle Racks, and fast&loose designs.

The Mezz West State Tour visited Hard Times Billiards in Sacramento, CA for their 8th stop of their 12 stop season this past weekend of December 27-28, 2014. 80 players from all over the west coast along with a few international superstars came west to participate in the $2000 added guarantee event. The Markulis family has been supporting the billiard community for many years as past proprietors of several southern California poolrooms. This event showed why they have one of the premier establishments in the US as they have a beautiful 33 table room with a kitchen and separate "Tournament Room."  Some of the special guests from the world pool scene showed up and gave all the locals a treat to their world class play and professionalism which included, Ruben Bautista, Thorsten Hohmann, Rodney Morris, Vilmos Foldes, Attila Bezdan, Danny Gokhul, and local pro Amar Kang.

 

Sacramento local pro and World Cup of Pool representative for Team India, Amar Kang exploited his home court advantage of the super tight tables of Hard Times by playing world class pool all weekend. Some of his big wins included wins over UK sharpshooter Danny Gokhul, junior national champion Beau Runningen, and Mexican national champion Ruben Bautista. Leading the top half of the bracket was co founder of the Mezz West State Tour, Oscar Dominguez. He had a strong showing with wins over locals Rex Chan and Reid Strensrud before defeating Thorsten Hohmann (9-5), Vilmos Foldes (9-4), and Amar Kang (9-2) to gain the hotseat.  

 

Meanwhile on the B side of the chart, some big hitters were there early including Vilmos Foldes. After a fairly early loss to Dominguez, Vilmos went on a rampage of high powered pool defeating two former Mosconi Cup champions, Rodney Morris (9-5) and Thorsten Hohmann (9-3), followed by Amar Kang (9-5) to make it to the finals to avenge his earlier defeat to Oscar Dominguez. 

 

In the finals, a true double elimination format is utilized to reward the undefeated player. However, after a very intense and closely contested match, Vilmos sucessfully defeated Oscar Dominguez two consecutive sets; (9-7) and (9-8) to take home his second victory on the Mezz West State Tour.

 

As always, the Mezz West State Tour cannot thank their sponsors enough for their constant support and commitment to bringing pool back to the west coast. Mezz Cues (miki-mezz.com), West State Billiards Supply (weststatebilliards.com), Zan tips (zan-tip.com), AZBilliards.com, NYC Grind, Kurzweil's Country Meats (kurweilscountrymeats.com), POVPool, fast&loose Designs, Turtle Rack, Marty Carey Jump Q, and Virtual Pool 4.

GoPlayPool has announced that they will be providing free live scoring of the 2014 Mosconi Cup.  This year, the Mosconi Cup is being held in Blackpool, England and begins on December 1, 2014 and is projected to go until December 4th.

 

GoPlayPool is providing this service to its users thanks to the generosity of Kamui Tips and Marty Carey Jump Q’s.  The live scoring will be available on all of the GoPlayPool platforms.  Their website at www.goplaypool.com, mobile site, as well as the GoPlayPool App will feature the scoring system.  

 

Along with the free scoring of the Mosconi Cup, GoPlayPool is also having a contest which will run during the course of the competition.  GoPlayPool App users will have a chance at winning a “Want Pain? Play Shane” t-shirt from GoPlayPool, a Kamui Trip Case provided by Kamui Tips and a Marty Carey Jump Q provided by Mr. Marty Carey himself.  There will be 3 winners total, and each randomly drawn winner will be contacted once the Mosconi Cup has reached a final score.

 

The entry form for the contest is only available on the GoPlayPool App.  You can find complete contest rules on the app as well.  There is no purchase necessary, and the GoPlayPool App is free to download on Android and iOS.  

 

GoPlayPool would like to thank its supporters and the sponsors of the contest and live scoring feature, Kamui Tips and Marty Carey Jump Q’s.  You can find out more information about them by visiting their websites at www.kamuitips.com and www.martycareysjumpq.com respectively.

 

GoPlayPool has a website, mobile site and app.  You can find a directory of pool rooms across the U.S. which includes GoPlayPool Member Rooms that feature premium profiles of what the rooms offer.  You’ll also find a flyers section, a “how-to” section with drills, videos and instructional material, the “Pool Together” platform for fundraising and charitable causes, and a ton of other great features for the pool player and enthusiast.  For more information about GoPlayPool, visit their website at www.goplaypool.com or download the free GoPlayPool App to take advantage of all it offers.