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Young Guns Dominate Winner’s Bracket in Opening Day of US Bar Table Championships

Billy Thorpe

The opening day of the 23rd Annual US Bar Table Championships began with a field of 74 players at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. And by the time the first day’s matches concluded, just three remained on the winner’s side of the bracket: Sky Woodward, Justin Bergman and Billy Thorpe — all among a growing group of strong, young players.  
 
Woodward and Bergman will face off at Noon Tuesday and the winner of the match will play Thorpe for the hot seat.
Thorpe posted wins Monday over Can Salim, 7-4; Mike Massey, 7-1; Randy Hatten, 7-2; Larry Nevel Jr., 7-5; and Shane Van Boening, 7-4.
Bergman also play strong all day, with sound wins over Miguel Batista, 7-6; Jason Klatt, 7-1; Jesse Piercey, 7-4; Dale Stanley, 7-2; and Vilmos Foldes.
Woodward’s path had victories over Manny Perez, 7-5; Mo Salamah, 7-4; Bret Huth, 7-0; and Chris McDaniel, 7-2.
 
But there are plenty of solid players on the B-side of the bracket hoping to take home the $3,800 first prize, including Manny Perez, who plays Rodrigo Geronimo at 9 a.m. and Mike Massey, who plays Dale Stanley. Others still on the one-loss side include Van Boening, Sal Butera, Bret Huth, James Adams, Jamie Bruce, Salim, Shane McMinn, Foldes, Piercey, Hattan, McDaniel, Belobradie, Nevel and Josh Roberts.
 
In the Women’s Division, Rebecca Wagner will play Jessica Frideres in the hot seat match at Noon Tuesday. Wagner posted wins against Trihn Lu , 5-3; Kimberly Whitman, 5-4 and Mary Coffman, 5-0. Frideres’ path included victories over Grace Nakamura, 5-1; Heather Cortez, 5-3; and Adina Pelletier, 5-0.
 
On the one-loss side, Nakamura takes on Whitney at 9 a.m. and Kimberly Kirk plays Deb Aarens, also at 9 a.m. The winners of those matches play Pelletier and Coffman.
 
The US Bar Table Championships take play through Aug. 28 and offer 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball divisions, as well as a Master of the Table bonus for both the open and women’s divisions.
In addition, players who place in the top 32 of each open division receive Mosconi Cup USA Team points on a sliding scale. The top three American players with the most points at the end of the year will be selected for the USA Mosconi Cup Team.
 
Sponsors include: OB Cues, the Official Cue; Kamui, the Official Tip; Diamond Billiard Products, Cyclop Balls, Simonis Cloth, BadBoys Billiard Productions, FargoRate, Magic Ball Rack and Matchroom Sport.
 
 
 
10-Ball Divisions Aug. 22-24
Open 10-Ball: Race to 7/$5,000 added
Women’s 10-Ball; Race to 5/ $1,000 added
 
9-Ball Divisions: Aug. 24-26
Open 9-Ball: Race to 9/$5,000 added
Women’s 9-Ball; Race to 7/ $1,000 added
 
8-ball Divisions: Aug. 26-28
Open 10-Ball: Race to 5/$5,000 added
Women’s 10-Ball; Race to 4/ $1,000 added
 
Master of the Table Bonuses*
Open Divisions: $1,500/Women’s Divisions: $500  
*Players must compete in all three divisions to be eligible for the bonus.

Pagulayan downs Bergman twice to go undefeated at Don Coates Memorial One Pocket event

Alex Pagulayan

It took five hours to play the match that decided the $2,000-added Don Coates Memorial One Pocket event, held from Wednesday, April 6 to Friday, April 8. Alex Pagulayan defeated Justin Bergman twice, including that final match, to finish undefeated in the event that drew 41 entrants to Brass Tap & Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
 
The One Pocket event, combined with an $8,000-added, Mosconi Cup-qualifying, Open 9-Ball event that began on Friday, drew the top names in the business, including Pagulayan and Bergman. Also on-hand as the field narrowed to its final 12 were Shane Van Boening, Corey Deuel, Josh Roberts, and Brandon Shuff.
 
Pagulayan and Bergman advanced to their first meeting following their appearance in the two winners' side semifinals; Pagulayan versus Deuel and Bergman against Brian White. Racing to 3, both of the semifinals went double hill, with Pagulayan and Bergman advancing to the hot seat match. A third double hill match (of eight among the final 14 matches) ensued with Bergman moving to the loss side for the semifinals.
 
On the loss side, Deuel and White ran into Tony Chohan and Jason Brown, respectively. Chohan had ended Brandon Shuff and Ron Park's day, both 3-1, to reach Deuel. Brown had shut out Jeff Abernathy, and survived a double hill match against Josh Roberts (who'd just eliminated Van Boening, double hill) to draw White. Advancement to the quarterfinals entailed two more double hill matches, which advanced White and Deuel.
 
White took the quarterfinal match 3-1 over Deuel, but was then himself eliminated 3-1, by Bergman in the semifinals. In the five-hour, race-to-5 final, Bergman took a commanding lead, and was on the hill at 4-1. The Lion came back to win four straight and claim the first Don Coates Memorial One Pocket title.
 
The event's tour director, David Brown, thanked Brass Tap and Billiards' owner, Tony Coates (son to Don Coates, who passed away last fall and in whose name the event is being held. Brown also acknowledged sponsor Beasley Custom Cues, as well as Ray Hansen's PoolActionTV crew for their live-streaming efforts, and Joe Blackburn, for his on-site cue repair work.  
 
The author gratefully acknowledges the support of and information exchange with Herman Parker, Tour Director of the Q City 9-Ball Tour, without whom this report would not have been possible. Parker will participate in the 9-Ball event. His wife, Angela, who went two-and-through, was the only woman to enter the One Pocket event. She had the misfortune of drawing Bergman in her opening round, and after moving to the loss side, was defeated in her next match by Randy Hatten

Davis goes undefeated to take NC State Open 9-Ball title

Mike Davis

Mike Davis is the current North Carolina State 10-Ball and 8-Ball Open Champion. He chalked up the 10-Ball title last July and the 8-Ball title this past November. On the weekend of February 13-14, he added the North Carolina State Open 9-Ball title to his resume. Davis went undefeated through a field of 52, on-hand for the $750-added event, held under the auspices of the Q City 9-Ball Tour, and hosted by Brass Tap & Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
 
There was a chance, going into the final rounds, that the opponents from last July's 10-Ball finals (Davis and Steve Page) would face each other again in this 9-Ball event. As they moved into the winners' side semifinals, though, Davis and Page were matched up against each other, preventing a repeat of last July's hot seat match, which went double hill with Davis prevailing. Davis sent Page to the loss side in this one 9-4, and in the hot seat match, faced Daniel Gambill, who'd just sent Randy Hatten over 9-2. Davis gave up only a single rack to Gambill and claimed the hot seat for the second year in a row.
 
On the loss side, Page, anxious for a rematch against Davis with three matches between him and that possibility, had the misfortune of running immediately into Stevie Moore. Moore, who'd lost his opening match to Mackey Lowery and was in the midst of a 10-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him to the finals, had defeated Josh Padron 9-5 and long-time adversary Keith Bennett 9-2 to reach Page. Hatten drew Jeff Abernathy, who'd gotten by A.J. Hertzog 9-5 and just did survive a double hill battle against Justin Martin.
 
Moore and Abernathy advanced to the quarterfinals; Moore 9-7 over Page and Abernathy 9-5 over Hatten. Moore then chalked up his 9th and 10th straight with 9-5 wins over Abernathy in those quarterfinals and Gambill in the semifinals. Davis completed his undefeated run at the NC State Open 9-Ball event with an 11-7 victory over Moore in the finals.
 

Dechaine Wins Third Straight American Rotation Title

Jody McLaughlin and Mike Dechaine

American Rotation Championship Series 5 was held at the Derby City Classic on January 22nd thru the 24th, 2015. 16 players qualified but only 15 were able to make the trip. We had 12 players representing the United States, 2 players representing Canada, and 1 player from the land of Rotation, the Philippines.
 
Once again, all qualified players were in the money even before they hit a ball. This Self Sustaining format has players earning their way to the national events rather than buying their way in. Each billiard club has 10 local players that compete over a 10 week period which ends by sending one of their players to a two day national event with free entry and an additional $800 in expense money. The American Billiard Club’s American Rotation Series seems to be picking up speed, traction and well earned attention from players, fans and club owners. It is definitely tough to ignore this format in which there are no losers, and the players are finally uniting for themselves and their sport.
 
Diamond Billiard Products not only welcomed the Championship and the additional players but they allowed us to use their tables, one day prior to the actual start date of the Derby City events. This helped to ensure that none of our players would miss out on playing in their 9 Ball Banks event, and would allow us to have minimal conflicting match schedules.
 
Our Championship event began with a 15 player draw into three separate round robin groups, 5 players in each. They would all play 4 matches racing to 120 points. Each match in this round robin would be played out in its entirety on day one. The top 2 players from each group and the two best 3rd place records would move on to the 8 player single elimination finals on day two. Group 2 attracted much of the iron with 3 of the top 4 favorites; Joe Dupuis our first ever American Rotation Champion, 2 time and defending Champion Mike Dechaine, and new comer Filipino sensation Edgie Geronimo. Below are the Groups and their results (wins, losses, ball count).
 
Group 1
 
Jody McLaughlin- Big Dog Billiards, DesMoines IA: 4-0 (+100)
Tom Zippler– Magic 8 Cue Club, Baltimore MD: 3-1 (+74)
Roger Miller– Dooley’s, Ottawa Canada: 2-2 (+41)
Randy Hatten– Press Box, Charlotte NC: 1-3 (-71)
Mike McPherson– Gate City Billiards, Greensboro NC: 0-4 (-144)
 
Group 2
 
Mike Dechaine- Snookers, Providence RI: 4-0 (+221)
Edgie Geronimo- Hard Times, Bellflower CA: 3-1 (+147)
Joe Dupuis- Stix and Stones, Abbington MA: 2-52 (-87)
Robert Hall– Bumpers Billiards, Huntsville AL: 1-3 (-112)
Ryan Lineham– Bo’s Billiards, Warwick RI: 0-4 (-173)
 
Group 3
 
Amos Bush– Billiard Den, Dallas TX: 3-1 (+72)
Brandon Shuff– First Break, Sterling VA: 3-1 (+165)
Gerry Williams– Tailgators, Ottowa Canada: 2-2 (-1)
Jay Wideman– Port City Billiard, Brunswick GA: 1-3 (-111)
Danny Petro- Lags Billiards, Columbus IN: 1-3 (-125)
 
The top 8 players were seeded based on their independent records into the single elimination bracket on day 2 of the championships.
Below was our match ups:
 
#1 Mike Dechaine vs # 8 Gerry Williams = Mike Advanced
#4 Edgie Geronimo vs #5 Tom Zippler = Edgie Advanced
#3 Brandon Shuff vs #6 Amos Bush = Brandon Advanced
#2 Jody McLaughlin vs #7 Roger Miller = Jody Advanced
 
Semi Final Matches:
 
Mike Dechaines vs Edgie Geronimo = Mike Advanced
Jody McLaughlin vs Brandon Shuff = Jody Advanced
 
This brought us one of our personal dream finals, the touring professional vs the full time working/family man. This is what the American Billiard Club is all about, helping professional players cover yearly travel expenses and keeping passionate high level players with families involved in our sport.
 
The Finals: Jody McLaughlin: 43 yrs young, married, 4 children and working 60+ hours per week VS the #2 U.S. ranked professional player, young gun and two time defending American Rotation Champion Mike Dechaine.
 
Mike wins the lag in this race to 140 points and turns up the heat right away by opening with a perfect 20 point break and run.
Rack 1 = 20-0 Mike
R2 = 24-16 Mike
R3= 40-20 Mike
R4= Mike is picking up the pace with a 24 pint lead 52-28 
R5=  60-40 Mike, but Jody is holding on 
R6=  Jody is reeling in the points 62-58 Mike
R7= 73-67 JODY, Jody takes the lead and applies unexpected heat.
R8= 80-80 baby.
R9= 91-89 Mike takes the lead but its now Jody’s break
R10= 4 innings of kick safes on the 5 ball with Jody eventually getting the first shot and clears the rack and re takes the lead 105-95 Jody
R11= Mike’s break and he shows some serious heart by coming with another perfect break and run to take the lead 115-105 Mike.
 
R12= Jody makes 2 balls on the break and starts a nice run but as he attempted to draw across a position zone, he came up short and was now hooked by the 13 ball at a score of score 115-110. Jody had a side of the 5 to hit and played a nice safety but the cue ball coming from a very steep angle off the end rail found the side pocket! Mike then clears the table right up until the 12 ball, when he shocked everyone by missing a routine shot that allowed Jody to pick up 8 huge points pulling the score to a very tight 122-118 in favor of Mike.
 
R13= Mike’s break needing 18 points to win his 3rd consecutive title. He makes 2 balls on the break, a solid and a stripe and scratches. The room of spectators believe 3 points are awarded to Jody which means Mike cannot close out the match with just 17 points remaining on the table. The stripe ball turns out to be the 9 ball, which is a one point ball, so there is still 18 points available on the table. If Jody gets at least one more point in this rack, he’ll have a chance to break and run the next rack for the title. Amazingly this was the same situation Mike was in at his last ARCS finals against Jerry Calderone in Las Vegas, with Mike needing to make a combination with 2 striped balls. In Vegas, Mike made the combo but had to play safe after it which gave Jerry one last shot. Here in this match, Mike drills the combo pocketing the 15 and the 13 ball slid right past the cue ball giving him the shot and with these 2 last balls made, Mike wins his 3rd Consecutive American Rotation Title with yet another perfect break and run,140-120 Mike Dechaine.
 
The Question now becomes, who and when will someone defeat this worthy Champion? Will it be another average Joe or our next touring pro?
 
The payouts for American Rotation Champions Series 5:
 
1st Mike Dechaine $2400 + $800 = $3200.
2nd Jody McLaughlin $1500 + $800 = $2300.
3rd/4th Brandon Shuff $750 +$800 = $1550.
3rd/4th Edgie Geronimo $750 + $800 = $1550.
5th-8th Tom Zippler $400 + $800 = $1200.
5th-8th Amos Bush $400 + $800 = $1200.
5th-8th Roger Miller $400 + $800 = $1200.
5th-8th Gerry Williams $400 + $800 = $1200.
 
9th-16th Each player received $800 for expenses.
 
Series VI begins March 9th throughout the country. If your local club is not yet on board, please take action for them and for our sport. The sooner we hit 64 clubs, the sooner we can start approaching corporate sponsors from outside the industry. It is a simple process that can be very important for our sports’ future. 
 
It takes 10 local players and at least 1 pool table, so do not hesitate to contact the American Billiard Club via their website or contact Joe Tucker directly at JTtenball@gmail.com and he will put a schedule up online for your 10 players. United, simple strong steps.