Risky Shotz and S & T Billiards present . . . When the Smoke Clears!
The only thing that comes logically and immediately to mind is ‘What happens when the smoke clears?” which leads one to wonder and then, search for answers and the next thing you know, you’re looking at a poster telling you the who (junior competitors), the what (a $1K-added set of four tournaments on a single weekend), the where (Center Pocket, Bowie, MD), the when (Dec. 17-18) and the whyof it (cash prizes).
As the ‘name’ indicates, the tournaments were not held under the auspices of the Junior International Championships series of tournaments, spearheaded by Ra Hanna and his On The Wire Creative Media organization, but you wouldn’t have known it from the roster of people who organized it or the junior competitors who competed in it.
Tournaments first. There were three ‘main’ events: A Boys 20U (16 entrants), a Girls 20U (8), and a 13U, either-gender tournament (13). The fourth, a Sunday Second Chance for the 13U mixed-gender crowd, drew 13, as well.
And when the smoke cleared, D’Angelo Spain (aka Jawz), riding the crest of a home-town advantage, won two of the four. He won both of the 13U events. One on Saturday, one on Sunday. He went undefeated, downing Sofia Mast in Saturday’s final, and came from the loss side to take down Cameron Hollingsworth on Sunday’s Second Chance final. He placed 5th/6th in the 20U Boys division, too. If they’d let him play with the 20U girls, he might have made it a four-fer. Spain is 11 years old.
Sofia Mast
Joey Tate and Sofia Mast won their respective 20U divisions. Tate came from the loss side to take down perennial rival, Landon Hollingsworth in the finals of the 20U Boys division, while Mast went undefeated to take the girls’ title, with two Tate sisters (Noelle,13 and Bethany,16) in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.
Recently, it was learned that Mast was among the country’s 100 top Fargo-rated female pool players, nestled in at #87 between Jennifer Baretta (#1) and Kia Burwell (#100). Mast is 13.
“It has been an amazing ride,” she posted on her FB page, of the four years since she first picked up a cue and the two years that she’s since been competing against fellow juniors and adult professionals. “There have been many ups and downs, long days and nights, many plane and car rides, many laughters, many tears.”
“I will get knocked down many times,” she wrote, “but I will always go out fighting and I will come back stronger.”
She wrote this after she’d gone undefeated in the 20U Girls division and after, a day later, she’d been sent to the loss side in the 13U Second Chance event (by Jawz 7-2), before fighting backthrough Lathan Elliott 7-3, Marlin Foster 7-2 and Tanner McKinney 7-3 to face Spain a second time, in the finals. She battled him to double hill and there, but for the fall of a single 9-ball, she might have been the one to claim half of the weekend’s events.
The Tate sisters played each other in the opening round and semifinals of the 20U Girls division; Bethany took the opener 7-3 and Noelle, battling to double hill, won their semifinal matchup. Mast played them both; downing Bethany in the hot seat 7-4 and Noelle in the finals 7-2.
Joey Tate
In the 20U Boys division, it was the Hollingsworth brothers who took a ‘shot’ at each other. Younger brother, Cameron, sent eventual winner, (the Tate family’s)“Big Brother” Joey to the loss side 7-4 in the second round and advanced to take a shot at his brother, Landon in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Landon won 7-5. Nathan Childress, in the meantime, got a shot at both members of the Spain family, downing 20-year-old Marine, Snipper Spain 7-2 in the opening round. The presence of Snipper Spain came as a surprise to his younger siblings. They didn’t know he was coming until he woke them up on Friday morning; an early Christmas gift.
“I think that gave Jawz all the boost and motivation he needed to compete at a high level in the tournament, which began the very next day,” wrote their father, Frank. “It was great to see all of my kids competing in the same tournament together like they used to do.”
That said, Childress faced Jawz in the other winners’ side semifinal and defeated him 7-3. Hollingsworth grabbed the hot seat, downing Childress 7-5.
On the loss side, Jawz had the misfortune of drawing Joey Tate, who’d followed his loss to Cameron Hollingsworth with victories over two Tanners, Elliott and McKinney (7-4, 7-5) and then . . . well, Jawz would put it this way on his fan page – “Took my L’s from Nathan Childress and Joey Tate took me out (7-4).”
Tate went on to defeat Cameron Hollingsworth in the quarterfinals 7-4 and Childress in the semifinals 7-5. In a single race to 9, when the smoke cleared, Tate was champion of the 20U Boys, having eliminated his arch-rival, Landon Hollingsworth 9-2.
Jawz rallied to put on a bit of a show for his surprise-Christmas-gift, older brother Snipper, by going undefeated in the main event, mixed gender 13U, going undefeated and taking out Sofia Mast twice; once in a winners’ side semifinal 7-4 and after claiming the hot seat from Tanner McKinney 7-4, again, in the finals in a double hill thriller.
“She is a BEAST,” wrote Jawz on his fan page. “I’ve always respected her game but never had to play her. That was a different experience (and) I loved every minute of it.”
Jawz went on to win the handicapped Second Chance Tournament on Sunday, but had to come from the loss side to claim that title. He advanced through the field to face Cameron Hollingsworth in the hot seat match. Cameron had just defeated his brother, Landon 7-7 in their winners’ side semifinal (Landon racing to 9) and carried that momentum into the hot seat match where he allowed Jawz only a single rack. In something of a surprise result, Landon Hollingsworth was eliminated by Tanner McKinney in the quarterfinals and Jawz eliminated McKinney 5-3 in the semifinals.
“Up to that point (the finals, Cameron), was untouched,” wrote Jawz on his fan page. “Well, when you dig deep and grind to the finish line, anything is possible. So that’s what I did. I managed to double-dip him and claim the title.”
With Hollingsworth racing to 7 and Jawz to 5, Jawz took the opening set 5-4. He let Cameron chalk up an extra rack in the second set, but won it and the title, 5-5.
“When the Smoke Clears was an independent event, in which I (as Risky Shotz, an apparel company and as a certified PBIA instructor, train students) partnered with S & T Billiards, a cue and accessories company,” noted Frank Spain. “Based out of Center Pocket in Bowie, MD, we organized it with Ra Hanna doing the streaming and Kory Wolford as the tournament director.”
Spain, Hanna and Wolford thanked Leia Burk and Taseen Abdulbarr and their Corner Pocket staff for their hospitality at which they are planning to ‘make the smoke clear’ on an annual basis. Spain also thanked Hanna for his streaming services, along with Madison Ortiz for a “generous donation” and his teaming with Hanna in the streaming booth for commentary.
Currently riding atop the 18U Boys division of the ongoing second season of the Junior International Championship series, having won three of its six stops in 2022, North Carolina’s Joey Tate made his way to the West Coast last weekend (August 6-7) and with a hot seat ‘hiccup’ and a subsequent rematch against Adrian Prasad in the finals, claimed the BEF’s Junior National-qualifying spot at the CA State Junior Championships. The $5,000-added boys’ division drew 17 entrants to Hard Times Billiards in Sacramento, CA.
On the opposite end of the gender spectrum, two of the best-known, not to mention youngest female competitors in the sport – Sofia Mast (14) and Savannah Easton (12) – battled in the hot seat and finals of the $5,000-added, 18U Girls division of the event, which drew 7 entrants to the same location. Easton claimed the hot seat, but Mast came back from defeating her long-time (well, two-year) rival, Skylar Hess, in the semifinals and returned to defeat Easton in the finals to claim the event title.
The California event was just one of many tournaments that have occurred in this calendar year which are manifestations of the Junior International Championships (JIC), founded by Ra Hanna and his On the Wire Creative Media company in 2021. At the conclusion of the first season and just prior to the second, Hanna made note of the fact that the first season was “just practice” and that “practice was (now) over.” His intent, at the start of the second season, was to encourage his junior competitors to step away from tournaments restricted to their peers and get themselves out in the ‘real world’ of tough competition against older opponents. And the top JIC competitors have been doing just that. While not leaping to the top of ranked players, they’ve been cashing in a lot of tournaments and impressing veteran players on a lot of the tours, as, by way of just a couple of examples, the Viking Cues Q City 9-Ball Tour on which the Tate family (Joey, Bethany and Noelle) has been competing regularly and a number of Florida tours and independent events, on which Tampa-based Sophia Mast has been playing.
Though the California event drew a number of the JIC competitors back among their peers, it also had a way of demonstrating the impact of the JIC throughout the country. Ten of the 17 California event competitors in the 18U Boys division were JIC veterans and all but one of the seven girls in the 18U Girls division were regulars on the JIC series. The top four finishers in both divisions of the California State Junior Championships came from the ranks of the JIC.
Joey Tate has proved to be the JIC’s top competitor this year, not only winning the three of the series’ six events thus far in the 18U division, but two of the series’ six in the ProAm division. With the exception of Adrian Prasad, who made somewhat of a surprise showing in California, finishing third, the top four finishers among the boys in California were the top-ranked competitors in the JIC 18U division.
Tate got by his first two opponents in California, Nathan Nunes and Cody Hill, giving up just a single rack to Nunes. Cameron Hollingsworth, brother to Landon (#2 among JIC 18U Boys), chalked up three against him in their winners’ side semifinal. Adrian Prasad, in the meantime, got by Cash Lance and Gabe Martinez (who’d previously sent Landon Hollingsworth to the loss side) before defeating Carlos Jinez to join Tate in the hot seat match. Tate and Prasad locked up in a double hill fight that did, eventually, leave Prasad in the hot seat.
On the loss side, the Hollingsworth brothers were looking at the possibility of meeting in the event quarterfinals. Landon did his part, defeating Carlos Jinez 7-2, but Lazaro Martinez, #3 among the JIC 18U Boys, battled Cameron to double hill before eventually defeating him. Martinez made it two brothers in a row, defeating Landon in the quarterfinals 7-4, but Tate stopped Martinez 7-5 in the semifinals for a second shot at Prasad in the hot seat.
Tate completed his title run with a 9-6 rematch victory over Prasad in the finals.
Sofia Mast (Photo courtesy Cris Constantin)
The “Pink Dagger” and “Roadrunner” square off in CA 18U Girls hot seat and finals
You can almost imagine these two young women facing each other before a match. The “Pink Dagger,” (Sofia Mast) pretending, with a quiet smile, that she has a dagger and pretending to thrust it, while the “Roadrunner” (Savannah Easton) takes a step back and with a twinkle in her eye, says, “Beep! Beep.”
The Pink Dagger found its target this past weekend. While the Roadrunner “beep-beeped’ her way into the hot seat, the Dagger came back and downed her in the finals.
The short field made for a short run to their first match. Mast got by the only competitor not drawn from the JIC ranks, Emars Selgado, in the opening round 7-2 and walked into the JIC’s #1-ranked competitor in the 18U Girls division, Bethany Tate, in a winners’ side semifinal (Mast is 4th and Easton 9th in the JIC 18U Girls division). Easton, in the meantime, opened with a 7-4 win over Kennedy Meyman and drew Skylar Hess in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Mast defeated Tate 7-2, as Easton was downing Hess 7-4. Easton then defeated Mast 7-2 and claimed the hot seat.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, it was Hess and Tate who squared off in the event’s quarterfinals, once Hess had eliminated Hayleigh Marion and Tate had defeated Meyman, both 7-3. Hess (5th among the JIC 18U Girls) defeated Tate in those quarterfinals 7-3, but fell to Mast in the semifinals 7-5. The “Pink Dagger” flashed the sharp blade of her precision shooting and cool-as-the-proverbial-cucumber demeanor in the finals, giving up only a single rack to Easton and claiming the CA State Junior Championship title.
After this BEF Junior National qualification gig, the girls and boys of the JIC will be back at itlater this month (Aug. 19-21), when they visit Big Dog Billiards in Des Moines, IA.
Nine events, drawn from 22 national qualifiers across 17 states, yields 110 unique competitors
For the second year in a row, since the Billiards Education Foundation initiated a new rule allowing players to compete in more than one division of their Junior National Championships, Greenville, SC’s Landon Hollingworth has taken advantage of an opportunity to claim two separate titles at the annual event. He claimed two 2021 Junior National titles in both the 18 & Under and 16 & Under divisions and last week, though he’d aged out of eligibility for the 16 & Under division of the 2022 Junior Nationals, he won his second 18 & Under division title and added a win in the event’s 10-Ball Championships. Nine divisions drew 110 unique entrants to the 2022 Junior National Championships, which were hosted by the South Point Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV from June 21-25.
Three of the nine events were designated as qualifiers for the World Junior 9-Ball Championships, scheduled for the week of November 14-20 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In addition to the 18U Boys division event, won by Hollingsworth, the 18U Girls division, won by Skylar Hess and the 16U Boys division, won by Adrian Prasad will yield eligible entrants to the World Juniors event. The BEF will make an announcement sometime in the future regarding which players among those who participated will be eligible, taking into account finish positions in each of the qualifying events and the ability of individual players to attend.
The influence of the ongoing Junior International Championship (JIC) series of tournaments, now midway through its second year, was very evident in the results of this year’s Junior Nationals. Of the 27 medals awarded to competitors (gold, silver, bronze; three in each division), 25 of them went to active competitors in the JIC series.
“Proud is an understatement,” wrote On the Wire Creative Media’s Ra Hanna, who organized and runs the series, in the JIC Facebook page. “We’re a family; that’s it, pure and simple. We work hard and we play hard.”
Hollingsworth’s two Gold medals at the BEF Junior Nationals were not without their challenges. Though he’d go undefeated in the second-largest event in terms of entrants, the 18U Boys 9-Ball World Qualifier, which drew 35 entrants, he had to play one loss-side match in his 10-Ball Championship run, which drew 32.
Niko Konkel, Landon Hollingsworth and Joey Tate
None of his five opponents in his 9-Ball event run chalked up less than four racks against him and one of them, Garrett Vaughan, forced him to win the final game of a double hill struggle. He downed Niko Konkel 9-6 to claim the hot seat, before he had to face one of his regular opponents on the JIC circuit, Joey Tate, in the finals. Tate had been sent to the loss side, where he defeated Nicholas Fiore, Trent White in the quarterfinals and Konkel, who picked up the event’s Bronze medal, in the semifinals. Hollingsworth grabbed the Gold medal with a 10-7 final victory over Tate, who went home with the Silver medal.
In the 10-Ball Championships, Hollingsworth began his run to the hot seat match by defeating his younger brother Cameron and then defeated three more opponents to reach and challenge Nathan Nunes for the hot seat. Nunes handed him his first, and as it turned out, only loss of the week 7-3 and claimed the hot seat. Hollingsworth was challenged to his second double hill match by Adrian Prasad in the semifinals and prevailed for a second chance against Nunes. In the very early morning hour or so of Saturday, June 25, he collected his second Gold medal with a 7-5 victory over Nunes in the finals of the 10-Ball event.
In the 18U Girls world qualifier, which drew 17 entrants, Skylar Hess won three on the loss side to down Kennedy Meyman in the finals. Hess had been sent to the loss side by Meyman, who’d advanced to claim the hot seat in a double hill win over Courtney Hairfield. On the loss side, Hess defeated Bethany Tate in the quarterfinals and Hairfield in the semifinals, both 7-5. She won her rematch versus Meyman 10-3 to claim the event’s Gold medal. The top four finishers in this event were among the JIC’s top-ranked competitors in its 18UG division, midway through the JIC season. The winner of the BEF 18UG event, Hess, is 4th on the JIC list, while the runner-up, Meyman, is 2nd. Precilia Kinsley, who finished in the tie for 5th/6th at this event is 3rd on the JIC list, while the 4th place finisher is currently the JIC’s top-ranked young female competitor, Bethany Tate.
In the remaining world-qualifying event, the 16U Boys 9-Ball, which drew one entrant less than the 18U Boys event (34), the 10-Ball Championship’s Bronze medalist, Adrian Prasad came from the loss side to down Harrison Leinen in the finals. Prasad had been defeated by Leinen 9-7 in the battle for the hot seat, and then eliminated the 9-Ball event’s Bronze medalist Niko Konkel in the semifinals 7-2. Prasad completed his run with a 10-8 victory over Leinen in the finals.
The 16U Girls had, by far, the shortest field in the Junior Nationals with only 7 entrants and the above-noted Precilia Kinsley and Bethany Tate finished as winner and runner-up. Those two battled first in a winners’ side semifinal that went double hill before Tate advanced to the hot seat match against Hayleigh Marion. In her second straight double hill match, Tate defeated Marion to claim the hot seat. On the loss side, Kinsley won two matches, including a double hill win over Marion in the semifinals, before coming back to down Tate in the finals 7-2.
8-Ball Championships draw larger field (44), than 14U Girls and Boys combined (40)
Trenton White and Brent Worth
The popularity of 8-Ball was as evident at the BEF Junior Nationals as it is in the general amateur fields of competition, like various leagues and independent-venue, weekendtournaments from coast to coast. The 44-entrant size of the field featured a lot of competitors not included in the JIC rosters of regular competitors. The JIC series, in general, features 9-ball competition, though later this year, there are plans to include a 14:1 tournament. Though they don’t play 8-ball, all three of the event’s medals went to regular JIC competitors.
Trent White, who competes in the JIC 18U Boys division, went undefeated through the field to claim the BEF’s 18U 8-Ball Championships. White faced separate opponents in the hot seat match and finals, downing Brent Worth, double hill, in the former and Jacob Kohl 5-2 in the latter.
Eddie Vonderau, who sits atop the current JIC ranking roster in the 13UB division, went undefeated through the BEF’s 14U Boys event, which drew 28 entrants. Like White in the 8-Ball event, Vonderau faced different opponents in the hot seat and finals. He gave up only a single rack to Jordan Witkin in the hot seat match and faced Jayce Little in the finals. Little won three on the loss side, including two double hill matches, against Grayson Vaughan and in the semifinals, Witkin, for a shot against Vonderau. Witkin chalked up four racks in the finals, but Vonderau got his 8 to claim the Gold medal.
Sofia Mast, Savannah Easton and Noelle Tate
The 12-entrant 14U Girls event was won by Savannah Easton, who went undefeated through the field, downing Sofia Mast twice; hot seat and finals. Easton had defeated the youngest of the three-member Tate clan, Noelle, in a winners’ side semifinal and in the hot seat match, drew Mast, who’d defeated her ‘storied’ arch-rival in the JIC series, Skylar Hess (winner of the 18UG world qualifier), in a winners’ side quarterfinal before defeating Jordan Helfery in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Easton grabbed the hot seat 7-5 over Mast. When Mast returned after defeating Noelle Tate a second time, 5-1, Easton defeated her a second time, 7-3 in the finals to grab the 14U Girls Gold medal.
Bethany Tate, Hess and Leinen take 18 & Under Girls, 13 & Under Girls and Boys titles
“And they’re off!!” says a voice emanating from some mythical PA system, followed, seconds later, by “Rounding the first turn, it’s ‘GoGetEm’ in the lead . . .”
If you think of competition in each of the five divisions comprising the Junior International Championships (JIC), sponsored by Viking Cues, as a series of eight horse races, Stop #2 in the 2022 series is like a snapshot of the junior competitors, just after they’ve broken out of the gate and are headed into the first turn of a mile-long race. Not a lot of useful information in that snapshot in terms of how it will all play out as they round the final turn and head for home in the fall, but it’s compelling to watch as they jockey for position.
The five divisional events drew a total of 112 entrants to Diamond Billiards in Cape Coral, FL, with a great deal of crossover, including in the ProAm division, which saw nine girls from both age groups make up just over 22% of the 40-entrant Pro Am field. As intended by JIC tournament director and On the Wire Creative Media’s Ra Hanna, this group of young competitors do not flinch at playing above their normal ‘pay grade,’ whether that be defined by age or gender. The ferocity of competition, even as viewed in the snapshot of the series’ ‘first turn,’ is fierce. None of the five winners from Stop #1 repeated as winners in Stop #2. Some of the Stop #2 winners had not chalked up a win in the first season.
Sofia Mast, Skylar Hess and Gianna Fiore
Some of the ‘ponies’ in their separate divisional races are hot on each other’s trail. In the 13 & Under Girls race, Sophia Mast and Skylar Hess are running neck and neck. They met twice in the season opener; in their opening match, won by Hess, and again, in the finals, won by Mast. They met twice last weekend, too, and once again, in their opening matches of the 10-entrant event. They fought to double hill before Mast prevailed, moving on to a winners’ side semifinal against Asia Gillespie, and from there, to the hot seat match, which she won, downing Gianna “Mini Banks” Fiore 7-5. Hess came back through five matches on the loss side, including a 7-5 win over Savannah Easton in the quarterfinals and a 7-1 victory over Fiore in the semifinals. In the finals, this time Hess prevailed 9-5. Hess was also the top finishing young woman (9-12) in the 40-entrant ProAm division (the largest field at Stop #2).
The winner and runner-up in Stop #1 of Season Two in the ProAm division (Landon Hollingsworth and Joey Tate, who were also winner and runner-up in Season 1’s 18 & Under Boys division championship) become runner-up (Tate) and among the eight competitors who tied for 17th (Hollingsworth). Trenton White, who had yet to win an event in the series (either season) went undefeated to claim the Stop #2 ProAm title. He got by five opponents, including a double hill win over Justin Toye and a winners’ side semifinal, 7-5 win over Kashton Keeton to give Joey Tate a shot at him in the hot seat match. White won their first of two ‘rounds’ 7-5.
On the loss side, two veterans of the JIC series, Riley Adkins and Nathan Childress, faced each other in the quarterfinals. Childress, who’d entered last season’s 18 & Under Championships as the #1-ranked player in the division, downed Adkins 7-4 and then fell to Tate by the same score in the semifinals. White took Tate down a second time, in the finals 9-6, to claim Stop #2’s Pro Am title.
White fared well in the 18 & Under Boys division, as well, finishing in the tie for 5th/6th, but Tate went undefeated in that event and never faced White, which, from Tate’s perspective, was probably just as well. Tate advanced through to the hot seat match, where he defeated Ivo Lemon 7-5. White was eliminated in the 5th/6th matches by Hollingsworth 7-5, who went on to defeat Dustin Muir 7-3 in the quarterfinals. He was eliminated 7-4 by Lemon in the semifinals, which, again from Tate’s perspective, worked out just fine. Tate claimed the 18 & Under Boys title, downing Lemon a second time, 9-5.
Sofia Mast, Bethany Tate and April Gonzaez
‘Favorites’ in the 18 & Under Girls race fall to a (medium) ‘longshot’
With Sofia Mast, Skylar Hess and Kennedy Meyman (winner of this division last month) in the 16-entrant, 18 & Under Girls division, they’d have shown up on a ‘toteboard’ as a group of three ‘favorites’ in Stop #2’s race. And at the end of four rounds of match play (around the final turn and headed for home), Sophia Mast was in the lead. . uhh, hot seat. She’d not faced Hess, which, from her perspective, was probably just as well, but she had sent Meyman to the loss side in the opening round, survived a winners’ side semifinal, double hill fight against Bethany Tate, and shut out April Gonzalez in the hot seat match.
Bethany Tate (15) had entered her winners’ side semifinal match against Mast, looking at the distinct possibility that she could face her 11-year-old sister, Noelle, in the hot seat match. It failed to materialize when Mast sent Bethany to the loss side and April Gonalez sent Noelle over. The sisters arrived on the loss side of the bracket at the same time, again looking at the distinct possibility of facing each other, this time in the quarterfinals. Bethany did her part, eliminating Courtney Hairfield 7-5. Noelle was eliminated by Precilia Kinsley, though not before she’d forced a 13th single game, for all of the proverbial marbles.
In the quarterfinals that followed, Bethany and Kinsley also battled to double hill, before Bethany prevailed, advancing to eliminate the competitor who’d sent her sister to the loss side, April Gonzalez (7-5) in the semifinals. It doesn’t take much of an imagination to see Noelle rooting for her sister to cross the finish line first, as Bethany and Sofia Mast stepped to the table for the finals. And it worked. Bethany and Mast came to within a game of double hill, but Bethany chalked up her first JIC win 9-7.
D’ Angelo Spain, Hank Leinen and Roman Boone
Absent last month’s winner and runner-up in the 13 & Under Boys division, Hank Leinen stepped up to go undefeated and become yet another junior competitor to win a first division-event title. D’Angelo “Jaws” Spain finished as runner-up. They met first in a winners’ side semifinal, won by Leinen 7-3.
Meeting up with Leinen in the hot seat match was Roman Boone, who’d sent Gaige Wells to the loss side 7-4 in the other winners’ side semifinal. Leinen claimed the hot seat 7-2 and waited on Spain’s return from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Spain, after eliminating Landon Dunlap 7-2, advanced to a quarterfinal versus Jayce Little, who’d defeated Wells 7-1. Spain and Little locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Spain to a semifinal win over Boone 7-3. The 13 & Under Boys final pitting Spain against Leinen came within a game of double hill, but in the end, Leinen edged out in front to claim the division title 9-7
Ra Hanna and all of his support ‘crew’ thanked the owners and staff at Diamond Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues. The next stop on the Junior International Championships (#3), which will see the competitors stretch their ‘legs’ through the long straightaway on the far side of the track (stops #3 through #7), is scheduled for March 25-27 and will be hosted by The Rack and Grill III in Aiken, SC.
Martin and Cossette take Open and Ladies events at inaugural Winter Classic
In the future, there’ll be a Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall Classic on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. They are a component of a larger plan that tour director Herman Parker is initiating to feature more Open (non-handicapped) events on the tour schedule. In the inaugural Winter Classic, held this past weekend (Feb. 5-6), Justin Martin and Lisa Cossette went undefeated through the Open and Ladies fields to claim the two titles.
“I want to attract the culture of people who want to play in Open events, rather than handicapped events,” he said, following the completion of the Winter Classic. “I’m planning on 10-12 this year and my goal, down the road is to have it be 50-50; that’d be ideal.”
“I don’t know if it’ll get there,” he added, “but this year, I want to do, on average, about one (Open event) a month.”
The inaugural Winter Classic, featuring its Open tournament and a Ladies event, which, according to Parker, is a side of the tour that he is trying to grow. Three women who competed in the Ladies tournament, also competed in the Open event. The $1,500-added events ($1,000 in the Open and $500 in the Ladies) drew 52 and 18 entrants, respectively, to Break Time Billiards and Sports Bar in Winston-Salem, NC. The 18 women were the largest number of female entrants to ever compete in an Open event on the tour. One of them, 11-year-old Noelle Tate, who finished 4th, became the youngest competitor of either gender to cash in a Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball event in the nine years of its existence.
So, we’ll start there and focus on the 11-year-old for a moment. Noelle Tate is just one member of a family of competitors who are making a name for themselves at the pool tables. Noelle is a younger sister to Bethany and Joey Tate. They were all competitors during last year’s nation-wide series of events, known as the Junior International Championships (JIC), which began its second season just last month. JIC founder, tour director and something of a ‘parental unit’ at JIC events, Ra Hanna, had announced, prior to the start of the JIC’s second season, that part of the second-year plan was to move the junior competitors into the arena of regional tours and Open events. Noelle Tate and (in the Open event) Landon Hollingsworth are manifestations of that plan. Tate came into the event and lost her second-round match to Marianne Merrill. She went on to win four on the loss side, including a 5-2 win over the woman who was favored to win the tournament, Christy Norris. She was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Katie Bischoff 5-3.
The eventual winner, Lisa Cossette, advanced through the field to a winners’ side semifinal against Norris, as Shannon Johnson and Amanda Mann squared off in the other one. Cossette and Johnson, following victories over Norris (double hill) and Mann (7-4), advanced to the hot seat match, at which Cossette prevailed 7-3.
Norris moved to the loss side and ran into Tate, who’d recently eliminated Casey Cork, double hill and Beth Allen 5-2. Mann picked up Katie Bischoff, who’d downed Marianne Merrill and Allie Tilley, both 5-2, to reach her. Tate defeated Norris 5-2 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Bischoff, who’d shut Mann out.
Bischoff eliminated Tate in that quarterfinal (5-3), but not soon enough to keep the 11-year-old out of the money in what was the first money round. Bischoff moved on to defeat Johnson in the semifinals 5-3. An appropriate double hill fight ensued in the single-match finals with Cossette claiming the title over Bischoff 7-6.
Justin Martin
Martin and Ussery battle twice to claim first Winter Classic title
Nine times out of 10, the winner and runner-up of an event, if they’ve competed against each other twice, have done so in the hot seat match and finals. Not so, this time around. Justin Martin and BJ Ussery, both heavily favored as potential winners of the event, met first in the third round. Martin sent Ussery to the loss side 7-1, where he began a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would offer him a second shot against Martin in the finals.
Martin advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Graham Swinson, as Corey Sykes and Jeff Abernathy squared off in the other one. Martin shut out Swinson and was joined in the hot seat match by Sykes, who’d sent Abernathy west 7-1. Martin claimed the hot seat in a double hill fight over Sykes.
On the loss side, Swinson drew Ussery, three matches into his loss-side streak, which had recently eliminated Thomas Sansone 7-5 and Josh Padron 7-1. Abernathy picked up junior competitor Landon Hollingsworth, who’d defeated Niko Konkel and Barry Mashburn, both 7-1. Mashburn had been afforded the opportunity to face Hollingsworth when, in the previous round, Christy Norris, one of the three women who competed in the Open event, along with Allie Tilley and Beth Allen, forfeited her match to Mashburn.
Ussery downed Swinson 7-2 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Abernathy, who’d defeated Hollingsworth 7-3. Ussery then eliminated Abernathy 7-2 and in the semifinals, Sykes in a double hill match. Martin defeated Ussery a second time in the finals, this time 7-2 to claim the inaugural Winter Classic.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Break Time Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Feb. 12-13) will be hosted by Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC.
On The Wire Creative Media (OTW) AND Diamond Billiard Products, the nation’s #1 pool table manufacturer, today announced an agreement that will enable Diamond to continue to support Junior billiards competition.
The OTW Junior International 9-Ball Championship (JIC), to be held in Jan. 7-9, 2021, at Wolfs Den Billiards Roanoke, Va.
The Wolfs Den, owned and operated by the Wolford family have graciously offered their fantastic billiards room for this prestigious event.
This 110-player coed event, will take place in the (TBA) Arena and will be adhering to all Covid regulations.
The tourney will be livestreamed on OTW’s media channels along with Accu-Stats Video Promotions social channels.
$3000.00 IN GUARANTEED MONEY REGARDLESS OF ATTENDANCE!
THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE CASH AND PRIZES AWARDED FOR EACH DIVISION!!!!
2 Junior Divisions – 100 SPOTS AVAILABLE
18 and under Men and Women
ENTRY FEE $60.00
Play Dates: January 7-9, 2021
Format: Double Elimination, Race to 9, Alternate Breaks
More details to follow. Races may be adjusted.
13 and under Men and Women
Play Dates: January 7-9, 2021
Format: Double Elimination, Race to 7, Alternate Breaks
More details to follow. Races may be adjusted.
2 Pro Am Divisions – 10 SPOTS AVAILABLE
*18 – 20 Men and Women
ENTRY FEE $125.00
*Participants can only play in one division!
Play Dates: January 7-9, 2021
Format: Double Elimination, Race to 11, Alternate Breaks
More details to follow. Races may be adjusted.
“DIAMOND supports the young pool players of today! As the youth of today advance in the great sport of billiards, they learn that dedication, fortitude, and hard work improve their game and better prepares them to become successful adults”. DIAMOND wishes all of the players great success at the upcoming 2020 9-Ball Junior International Championships! “ said Chad Scharlow, VP, Diamond Billiard Products Inc.
“I’m glad to be working with such a trusted brand as Diamond”, says Ra Hanna, Owner, OTW “This partnership will be focused on continuing to invest and support the junior players in all facets of their billiard careers.”
Diamonds Greg Sullivan has expressed his extreme remorse about the fact that no one under the age of 21 will be allowed in the Casino at the Derby City Classic.
This was not a decision made by Diamond, but by the Indiana Gaming Commission.
“You must be 21 and over to attend the event. The move from a riverboat casino to a land-based casino has turned all meeting space over to the jurisdiction of the Indiana Gaming Commission. The laws in Indiana dictate that everyone must be 21 years or older to attend any function within the designated space and that includes the Derby City Classic”
“As demand for pool grows in a post-pandemic world, we will see new participants on home tables in the coming months, and we want to support them in any way we can. Part of that is unlocking more livestream programming and making the experience that much more enjoyable,” said Ra Hanna, OTW. “Diamond is a great partner to continue to help us reach a broader array of viewers.”
The INTERNATIONAL is BACK with NINE days of pure pool from October 23rd through October 31st, 2020. With two successful years under its belt, the INTL, as it is recognized, has quickly become one of the top tournaments in the world. Over the last two years, the INTL has brought over 200 players from over 23 countries together to play under one roof. The players will be playing on the “triple gold standard” of professional pool: Diamond tables, Simonis cloth, and Aramith balls, and they will be playing in the same Sheraton Waterside Hotel ballroom as the past two Internationals, as well as its predecessor, the US Open. To say the least, familiarity will be their only solace, for the competition will be fierce. As the 1st tournament of the Mosconi Points 2021 Calendar, the 2020 INTL places itself in a unique position in the professional players mind – get ahead early in the points! The winner of the 2020 INTL leads the Mosconi Point standings right away! Also, being sanctioned by the WPA, the INTL is one of the last stops on the WPA 2020 tour and the last chances at the coveted points is sure to make for some heated play! With past winners such as 2018’s Chang Jung-Lin and 2019’s Jayson Shaw, the players will definitely be charging out of the gate!
Needless to say, with successful freshman and sophomore events, Pat Fleming, the producer of the 2020 INTL, is not content with sitting on his laurels. This year, Pat has made some significant improvements to his third International 9-Ball Open. So, you ask, what has changed? With $50,000 added, the INTL now has an expanded field AND lower entry fee – 160 player field and $500 entry fee – and first place is still $30,000! This year, the INTL joins all other International Pro events by shifting to single elimination for the final 32 players. This is going to ratchet up the competition immensely! But that’s only the start.
For 2020, while 9-ball is the centerpiece, Pat is grooming the INTL into something more than “just a 9-ball tournament”. In addition to the 160 player 9-Ball Open, the International will be showcasing the inaugural 32-player 2020 INTERNATIONAL ONE-POCKET OPEN. The One-Pocket Open takes place the first Friday and Saturday of the 2020 INTL, prior to the start of the 9-Ball Open, extending the INTL two extra days. With $5000 added, an entry fee of $300, and a $4500 first prize, this is going to be filled fast – and fast paced – with the world’s best one pocket players! It is double elimination until the final 8 players. Then watch the sparks fly! It is sure to be the start of yet another great yearly INTL event.
Not content with two pro tournaments going on at one event, Pat Fleming, in partnership with Ra Hanna of On the Wire, is bringing back the junior’s event. Better than ever, the 2020 Junior Invitational Championship will have both a Junior Men’s AND a Junior Women’s division. Eight Junior Men and four Junior Women, decided through qualifying events leading up the 2020 INTL, will compete in their divisions to be the 2020 Junior Invitational Championship Men’s and Women’s 9-Ball Champions! We are very proud to support the next generation of professional players and very happy to give them the opportunity to play at the 2020 International.
The Simonis-Aramith Arena will, once again, be center stage for the all of the 2020 INTL disciplines. Three levels of reserved seating will be available: TV Arena Table side seating, Tier 1 seating and Tier 2 seating, as well as general admission for the whole event. Day and evening sessions, full day passes, and Multiple day packages will be available. Tickets will go on sale Monday, April 6th, 2020 online through Tix.com: TICKETS HERE
Since the 2020 INTL has been extended to include two full weekends, it is expected to draw larger crowds for our vendors to cater to throughout the 9-day event. Interested vendors can sign up for vendor space here: VENDORS HERE
Accu-Stats Video Productions will be providing recording and live-streaming of the 2020 INTL, both through their Pay-Per-View and free streaming via their Facebook and YouTube channels. Suffice to say, Accu-stats is looking to have a few tricks up their sleeve regarding production and access. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
Pat Fleming (Accu-Stats Productions) and Ra Hanna (On The Wire Creative) are thrilled to announce the first Junior Invitational 9-Ball Championship (JIC), to be held in conjunction with the International 9-Ball Open, Nov. 1-2, 2019, at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Va. The four-player event will take place in the Simonis-Aramith Arena and will be livestreamed.
“We are excited to showcase the Junior Invitational during the International,” said Fleming, owner and producer of the major pro 9-ball championship. “There is nothing quite like giving these young adults much-needed exposure and a chance to compete and have a great time. These young players bring a level of commitment, comradery and talent that we can all be proud of.”
“I’m so proud of our junior players, it’s about giving them the platform they need to succeed,” said Hanna, who will co-produce the junior event with Fleming. “The JIC was born out of one mission: to provide a high-level platform for young cueists to learn how to navigate the high pressures of competitive cue sports.”
The JIC will feature 2019 Billiard Education Foundation Junior National Champions Kaiden Hunkins (18-Under Boys) of Waukesha, Wis., and Kodi Allen (16-Under Boys) of Tampa, Fla., as well as Junior National runners-up Lukas Francasso-Verner (18-Under Boys) of Wallingford, Conn., and Matthew Wiseley (16-Under Boys) of Poplar Bluff, Mo.
“We hope to grow this event every year, and we are looking forward to expanding every year,” added Hanna.
For more information about the event and sponsorship opportunities, contact:
Ra Hanna Email: Ra@Otwpromotions.com Phone: (818) 809-4316
Pat Fleming Email: patscue@yahoo.com Phone: (973) 838-7089
Efren Reyes, in the midst of a ‘retirement tour,’ scheduled to conclude this August, chalked up the latest in an incredibly long list of US and world championship titles with an undefeated run on the 3rd Annual 8-Ball Classic, held on the weekend of June 2-3. The event drew 16 of the world’s best talents at the table to The Break Room in Duluth, MN.
He’s known as “Bata,” which translates into “Kid,” because when he was younger, there was another player with the same name. As the younger of the two, he was designated “Bata” to distinguish him from the other player. The need to make that distinction disappeared a long time ago, as year after year, the “Kid” morphed into “the man” at the tables. In spite of eye surgery in 2005 and his own admission that he’s been ‘slowing down,’ the only difference between the younger and older versions of “Bata” Reyes can be found in his motion as he moves around the table. He’s never been a speedball at the table strolls, when he’s assessing the lay of the balls and choosing his target, but he’s a little slower and deliberate now. What hasn’t changed is what has often been described as his ‘genius’ in making shots, which has earned him a secondary nickname as “The Magician.’ To many of us otherwise normal human beings, some of these magical shots can seem downright impossible. He made more than just a few of his signature ‘genius’ shots at this 8-Ball Classic, including some in his second and finals match against Dennis Hatch. His pre-shot routine doesn’t vary much, and motionless beyond the movement of his right arm in the practice strokes, he’s the same as he ever was, up to and including a monster break.
Reyes opened strong with a 15-7 victory over Danny Olson, allowed Vince Chambers to get a little closer, but advanced with a 15-13 victory over him to face fellow countryman, “The Lion” – Alex Pagulayan – in a winners’ side semifinal. Hatch, in the meantime, after downing Sergio Rivas 15-11, defeated Shane Van Boening 15-12 to draw Corey Deuel in the other winners’ side semifinal.
By identical 15-11 scores, Reyes and Hatch sent Paguyalan and Deuel to the loss side. By a third 15-11 score, Reyes claimed the hot seat over Hatch, and waited for his return.
On the loss side, “The Lion” drew Can Salim, who’d been defeated on the winners’ side by Deuel and then eliminated Danny Olson 15-9 and Billy Thorpe 15-11. Deuel drew a re-match against Jason Klatt, whom he’d defeated in the event’s opening round, and was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side streak that would take him as far as the semifinals. He eliminated Michael Perron, Jr. 15-10, Vince Chambers 15-9 and Roberto Gomez 15-13 to earn a re-match against Deuel.
Klatt wreaked his vengeance on Deuel for the earlier loss with a 15-13 win that sent him to the quarterfinals against Pagulayan, who’d sent Salim home 15-8. Klatt then downed Pagulayan 15-13 and squared off against Hatch in the semifinals.
Hatch, who was instrumental in the production of this event, stopped Klatt’s loss-side run 15-11 in those semifinals, and then turned to face the “Kid” a second, and if he wanted to take home the title, a third time in the double elimination finals.
The two started out with a typical trading of racks through the opening rounds, until Reyes began to pull out in front, eventually to a 9-4 lead. Hatch mounted a comeback, slowly but surely, to draw within two at 11-9. Reyes, though, re-widened that lead and reached the hill, five racks ahead (14-9). Hatch closed that gap with four in a row to draw within one at 14-13. Hatch broke what proved to be the final rack but came up dry. Reyes, significantly sunk his first high ball, and broke a solid ball away from the 8-ball, which had, until that moment, presented him with his toughest challenge of the layout.
Reyes proceeded to run the table to claim the event title. He concluded with a fist-pumping, smile-enhanced little dance around the table before stepping to Hatch for a handshake.
It is a final match worth watching and thanks to On the Wire Media, and its owners/commentators Ra Hanna and Beau Runningen, who streamed selected matches of the event throughout the weekend, can be found on On the Wire Media’s Facebook page.
Last summer., Reyes interrupted the early stages of his own retirement tour to return to the Philippines, citing fatigue. In an interview/article with a Filipino television station last summer, the author (Dominic Renor) noted that “Father Time has caught up with him; that his eyesight isn’t as dependable as it used to be, making long-range shots more difficult to convert. His wrist isn’t as steady as before.” That said, Reyes was back in form for this 3rd Annual 8-Ball Classic and looks to add a few more master strokes to his already considerable legacy as his retirement tour continues.
The World Pool Series is happy to be able to announce the full details of our media coverage for the 9-Ball Players Championship.
For 2018, the WPS has decided to return to pay-per-view in co-operation with UpState Al to ensure that the fans get the best coverage possible with the production being focused on the feature table with some selected matches available via Facebook Live. UpState Al is well known already all over the world for the live streams he provides and the WPS is looking forward to adding his knowledge to the media team
Daily passes for the PPV are now available to be purchased for $8,95 a day or $24,95 for full access over four days from April 19 until the 22nd.
The WPS will also be offering more live updates via our social media pages in co-operation with On The Wire Creative Media. Ra Hanna and Beau Runningen have been added to the WPS Team for our events in 2018. OTW is based in Los Angeles, CA. and they have been making quite a splash in the pool world over the last few years, predominately due to their viral on the spot reporting, live stream videos, and tournament promotions. OTW has become a highly sought-after choice of professional pool in America as they have a laser sharp focus on two elementary things: Relationships and Results.
“We consider OTW an extension of our clients’ organization, working hard to establish a professional but personal collaborative relationship.” says Ra Hanna. We are looking forward to teaming up with the WPS to continue our vision of exposing the exciting world of professional cue sports to the masses.”
Darren Appleton (Founder) & Shirley Ang (General Manager): “We will be providing more articles on our own site, more videos on YouTube, and more updates on all of our social media channels. We hope that the decisions we have taken for the WPS for this season will be supported by our fans and the players. We understand that there have been a lot of changes but we believe that they are for the better of the future of the WPS. But we need all players and fans to stand behind us while we go through these changes to be able to offer everyone the best tournaments in the world one day!”
Fans are invited to come and watch the best players in the world compete against each other at Steinway Billiards. Tickets can be bought online for $10 a day or $30 for all four days. Fans can also choose to buy VIP access for $15 a day or $45 for the whole event, which will give better seating, waitress service, and a goodie bag!
