Tommy Kennedy and Anthony Meglino have faced each other numerous times in the Sunshine State and elsewhere. They came together again, on the weekend of February 10-11, at Stop #2 on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour; twice, as it turned out. Once, in a winners’ side semifinal and a second time, in the finals, when they opted out of a second match and split the event’s top two prizes. Kennedy, as the hot seat occupant at the time, became the official undefeated winner of the $750-added 10-ball event which drew 33 entrants to Uncle Waldo’s Billiards in Daytona Beach, FL.
Kennedy and Meglino were awarded opening round byes and navigated their way through three opponents each to face each other in a winners’ side semifinal. Kennedy downed Brian McBride, David Grossman, and Shaun Lovett to get there. Meglino got by Dale Campbell, Billy Sullivan, and Justin McNulty. Kennedy gave up 10 racks over those three matches. Meglino gave up only four. David Singleton, in the meantime, squared off against Asia Cy in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Kennedy and Meglino locked up in something of a predictable double hill battle, which proved to be their only battle. Kennedy won it and was joined in the hot seat match by Singleton, who’d sent Cy to the loss side 7-3. Kennedy claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Singleton.
On the loss side, Meglino picked up Pierre Palmieri, who’d defeated Billy Sullivan 5-2 and Les Duffy 5-3 to reach him. Cy drew Shaun Lovett, who’d survived a double hill match against Obbie Cirillo and eliminated Justin McNulty 5-2.
Meglino and Cy advanced to the quarterfinals with identical 5-3 victories over Palmieri and Lovett. In that quarterfinal match, Meglino gave up a only a single rack to Cy, who picked up a little extra cash ($25) as the top-finishing female in the event. Meglino and Singleton battled to double hill in the semifinals, before Meglino finished it, along with, to all intents and purposes, the event itself. The undefeated Kennedy claimed the event title, as he and Meglino split the top two prizes.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked the staff and ownership at Waldo’s Billiards for their “awesome hospitality,” along with sponsors Play the Game Clothing, Kamui, Insidepool.tv, Jacksonville Roofing USA, AZ Billiards and all of the participating players. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (Stop #3), scheduled for March 10-11, will be hosted by Brewlands in Tampa, FL.
(l to r): Tommy Kennedy, Donny Mills & James Roberts
By the time Stop #8 on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour had whittled down to its final three competitors, it was nearly 4 a.m. on Sunday, October 8. Tommy Kennedy was in the hot seat, while Donny Mills had just concluded his quarterfinal victory over Benji Buckley, setting him (Mills) up to face James Roberts in the semifinal match. It didn’t happen. The three agreed to a three-way split of the relevant dough, awarding the undefeated Kennedy the event title. The $1,000-added event drew 57 entrants to Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL.
The event itself was something of a fluke. The weekend of October 7-8 was originally set aside by the Sunshine Pro Am Tour to organize a “First Coast Classic,” intended for members of local leagues (APA, BCA, etc.), to be hosted by Park Avenue Billiards in Jacksonville, FL. As the scheduled event drew closer, so did Hurricane Irma, and in the wake of that storm’s results, which included the continuing widespread absence of electricity, the tour postponed the First Coast Classic, to a yet-to-be-determined date in 2018. In the meantime, the tour decided to organize a regular tour stop, and did so in about nine days. Jose Del Rio, owner of Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor agreed to host it, and a strong list of competitors, including Kennedy, Roberts and Mills (among others) signed on to compete.
Once Kennedy had sent Pierre Palmieri to the loss side 7-2 in one winners’ side semifinal and Roberts had sent Justin “Red” Jenkins over 7-5 in the other one, Kennedy and Roberts squared off to fight for the hot seat. It went double hill before Kennedy finished what would prove to be his last match.
On the loss side, Donny Mills, winner of the June 25 tour stop at the same location and recently arrived from a winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Jenkins, downed Stephen Richmond 7-4 and Anthony Meglino 7-2 to pick up Palmieri. Jenkins drew Benji Buckley, who’d survived a double hill fight versus Nathan Rose and eliminated Tony Vicari 7-4 to reach him.
Mills downed Palmieri 7-2, as Buckley was spoiling a potential Mills/Jenkins re-match by defeating Jenkins 7-4. In the last match of the tour stop, Mills advanced to the semifinal that didn’t happen, 7-4 over Buckley.
And that was that. Kennedy, Mills and Roberts (small, medium and large in the photo) agreed to a three-way split of the money, and called it a night, or early morning, as it was. In addition to the list of 16 players who were awarded prize money, the tour also awarded $20 each to the top finishing female – Vanessa Ruedas – and top junior – Codi Allen.
Tour representatives Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jose Del Rio for hosting the last-minute event, and all of the players, who signed up in the nine days that preceded it. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Tour (#9), scheduled for November 18-19, will be hosted by Capone’s in Spring Hill, FL.
Wheelchair world champ shines along with Brits, Filipinos and Finns on a tough Day 1 at the World Pool Series in New York.
(New York City)–England’s Darren Appleton promised his fellow players that his new World Pool Series would give the players exactly what they’ve always wanted; a players’ centered tour with rules and a setup designed to test the world’s best pool players to the limits of their skills.
If the results of Day 1 of the tour’s first event, the Molinari Players Championship, are any indication, that promise has already been fulfilled.
Long races, pockets at a stingy 4.25 inches, breaking outside the center box, having to “take what you make” on the break, 3-foul rule, shootouts on hill-hill matches, and single elimination; these tweaks to traditional 8-ball rules all came together Saturday to prove that the world’s most popular cue game can truly be a hardcore test of pool.
In a long grind of a day at New York’s famed Steinway Billiards in Queens that began at 10am and ended past midnight, 56 matches were completed with nearly the half the field already being shown the exit into the cold New York night.(8 top seeded players received byes.) The field is now down to the last 64.
With some matches taking over three hours to complete, it’s clear that stamina and patience will be of utmost importance. So will talent. Don’t expect any pretenders to make a claim on the $20,000 first prize to be handed out on Tuesday night.
It’s perform or take a hike, and even then there’s no guarantee, as American pool great Johnny Archer found out. Archer and Finland’s unheralded Kim Laaksonen engaged in a back and forth battle, until the Finn pulled away at the end for a hard fought 13-11 win.
Laaksonen’s win wasn’t the only good news for Finland today and bad news for the USA. Petri Makkonen took down the USA’s Mike Dechaine by an identical score line. Both Finns move on while both highly regarded Americans are out.
Another Finnish player also advanced this time in dramatic fashion. Matti Väyrynen’s match with Frenchman Pierre Palmieri went to 12-12, and the two engaged in a thrilling shootout, will both potting pressure packed spot shots on the 8-ball until the Finn came out on top.
Barretta was one of four women players entered into the field and one of two to make it through, along with Norway’s Line Kjorsvik.
Appleton’s idea is to showcase the very best talent from all facets of the game, and this led to several wheelchair players being entered into the field, perhaps a first for professional pool. In what will surely be one of the feel good stories of year, Sweden’s Henrik Larsson, a four time WPA World 9-ball Champion wheelchair player, defeated able bodied Canadian Eric Horlfieson 13-9 to advance to the final 64. Larsson, who once had a run of 97 balls in straight pool, is a marvel to watch up close as he exhibits top tier position play and a super confident demeanor.
Fans looking for betting angles might want to pay attention to the British contingent over the next few days. The British lads, most of whom first cut their cue playing chops playing English 8-ball, put in solid performances today. 2010 World 8-ball Champion Karl Boyes handily defeated Ireland’s Sean Hoey, 13-3. 2-time English 8-ball world champion Chris Melling made a solid return to American pool with a 13-8 win over France’s Vincent Faquet. Imran Majid and Mark Gray all pulled through nicely. With Appleton and white hot Jayson Shaw getting byes, the Brits are almost sure to go deep into the championship.
Play continues at Steinway Billiards on Sunday beginning at 10am Eastern Time(GMT -5) with the round of 64 and 32. The last 16 and quarterfinals will be played on Monday. The semi-final and final will be held on Tuesday.
*The first event of the World Pool Series, The Molinari Players Championship, takes place at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, Queens, New York City from January 14-17, 2017. The World Pool Series is sponsored by Molinari, Predator, Cheqio, RYO Rack, Aramith, Iwan Simonis, Kamui, Billiards Digest, Ultimate Team Gear, and High Rock.
For more information on the live stream, please visit the official website of the World Pool Series at http://www.worldpoolseries.com/
Complete online brackets and live scoring can be found here: https://cuescore.com/tournament/WPS+1st+series+-+Molinari+Players+Championship/1286018
The World Pool Series is on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolseries/
Tony Crosby went undefeated during the $1,000-added Open portion of the June 21-22 stop on his own Poison Tour. The event drew 32 entrants to Capone’s in Spring Hill, FL. Pierre Palmieri went undefeated in a concurrently-run, $1,000-added Amateur event, which drew 64 entrants, and featured a number of players who participated in the Open.
Crosby, in fact, faced the Amateur winner, Palmieri in a winners’ side semifinal in the Open event. Palmieri reached the hill in that match without Crosby having chalked up a single rack. Crosby came back to win six straight and advance to the hot seat match against Albert Baker, who’d defeated Mike Delawder 6-1 (Delawder would finish third in both events). Crosby went on to defeat Baker 6-3 to gain the Open hot seat.
On the loss side in the Open, Delawder met up with Ray Linares, who’d gotten by Mike Lear and Justin Gilsinan, both 5-1. Palmieri drew Donnie Mills, who’d defeated George Saunders 5-4 and Chris Gentile 5-1 (Gentile, who was runner-up in the Amateur event, had sent Mills to the loss side in the opening round of play). Delawder defeated Linares 5-1 and in the quarterfinals, met up with Mills, who’d eliminated the winner of the Amateur event, Palmieri 5-3.
Delawder survived a double hill fight over Mills in the quarterfinals, but fell to Baker 5-3 in the semifinals. Crosby completed his undefeated run in the Open event with a 7-5 win over Baker to capture the event title.
In the Amateur event, it was Palmieri and Delawder who battled for the hot seat. Palmieri had sent Jason Richko west 6-4, as Delawder was busy sending Jose Del Rio over 6-5. Palmieri got into the hot seat 6-2 over Delawder and waited on what turned out to be the return of Chris Gentile.
On the loss side, Richko ran into Stephen Richmond, who’d survived a double hill battle versus Justin Gilsinan, and eliminated Ray Linares 5-1. It was Del Rio who had the misfortune of running into Gentile, who’d been sent to the losers’ bracket by Linares, and had already chalked up six wins on the loss side, including, most recently, Mark Wathen 6-4, and Albert Baker (runner-up in the Open) 5-3.
Gentile got by Del Rio 5-4 and in the quarterfinal match, faced Richko, who’d defeated Rchmond 5-2. Gentile then gave Delawder his second, third place finish of the weekend, with a 5-2 win in the semifinals. Palmieri, though, hung on to win the final match 6-5 over Gentile.