Kurt England Of Mansfield OH Finishes On Top In Tri-State Series under “No Conflict” Rules

September 3rd, 2014 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

A full field of 64 players gathered at Gold Crown Billiards in Erie PA for the summer version of the quarterly Tri-State Open Nine-Ball Series on Saturday, August 30th. This was the 19th event in the series and the 15th tournament in a row in which the field was full. It took a mere 13 hours inside one day to run 231 matches and determine a champion. Many players used this event as a warm-up to get ready for Turning-Stone.

Short Nine-Ball races on 9’ Gold Crowns were the recipe for many exciting matches.  The rules for the tournament included, fouls on all balls, no short games, and the No Conflict Rules for racking and breaking.  Under the rules, players are not required to pocket a ball on the break in order to get their first shot.  Players alternate breaks and shoot what they break. The rules are designed to remove the motivation and opportunity to manipulate the rack. The net result is a smoother and faster tournament.  The author of the rules, Paul Schofield, owner and proprietor of Gold Crown Billiards, equates rack manipulation to “stacking the deck” in a card game. Schofield further explains “The rules for our event heavily favor the better player.”  A full set of rules are posted on the Gold Crown Billiards website.

The top 4 finishers also happened to be 4 past Tri-State Champions.  Kurt England (Mansfield OH) went 4-1 in the qualifying rounds, advancing him to the sudden-death Championship Bracket. Kurt began his trek to the finals by disposing Al McGuane (Rochester NY) by the score of 6-4. In the quarter-finals, he trounced Jim Doran (Buffalo NY) 6-1.  Brian Alfredo (Masury OH) faired a little better, going down 6-2 in the semis.   Finalist Shayne Morrow (Erie PA), fresh off a runner-up finish in a BCA Masters event, went undefeated (4-0) in the qualifying rounds. Shayne faced local rival, Carmen Pruvedenti in the 1st round in the Championship Bracket. Carmen went down 6-4 and it was on to Lyn Wechsler Rochester(NY) where Shayne battled to another 6-4 victory. Ben Jones (Willowick OH) fell victim to Shayne 6-5 in the semi-finals, setting the stage for the England-Morrow finals.

With the score tied at 2, Kurt England won the next game and never looked back, defeating Shayne Morrow 6-3, garnering the win and the 2014 Summer Tri-State Open title.  

The tournament’s success can be attributed to many factors. The unusual rules are always well received. The fall version of the Tri-State Open Nine-Ball Series will take place in November.
 

RESULTS

1) Kurt England   $600

2) Shayne Morrow $400

3-4) Brian Alfredo, Ben Jones   $250

5-8) Jim Doran, Rob Krull, Top Purich, Lyn Wechsler   $140

9-16) Don Blevins, Ron Casazio, Mark Cimperman, Jerry Crowe, Al McGuane, Carmen Pruvedenti, Dave Slovic, Tom Washington  $85

Gold Crown Billiards “No Conflict Rules” Tourney Well Received

May 17th, 2012 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

Gold Crown Billiards in Erie, PA hosted its 10^th quarterly
independent Nine-Ball tournament on Saturday, April 28^th. The one
day event has become increasingly popular and successful, sporting a full field
of 64 players. The tournaments are noted for their unusual format.

Jason Grubb of
Morgantown, West Virginia finished on top of a field of players from five
states. Eddie Abraham of Philadelphia emerged from the one-loss bracket, having
to defeat Grubb twice to win the tournament. Abraham got half way there when he
defeated Grubb 7 to 5, forcing a second match. Grubb jumped out in front and
never looked back, winning 6 to 1. Grubb received $650 for finishing 1st and
Abraham received $400 for his efforts. More than $2700 in prizes and $6200 in
player auction cash was divided up.

By utilizing a new modified double elimination format
devised by proprietor Paul Schofield, hours are shaved off the time it takes to
complete the event. Players who lose their first match early, play 2 or 3 fewer
matches to reach finals than they would in the traditional format. Players who
lose their first match late must play one extra match in order to reach finals.
Schofield touts the format is easy to follow and is more equitable than
standard double elimination.

The “No Conflict Rules” for racking and breaking, which are
defined on the Gold Crown Billiards website, were employed for the 10^th
time. The unique feature of the rules is that the breaking player continues to
shoot after a legal break, whether or not he makes a ball. Schofield boasts
that the rules have removed all of the problematic issues surrounding the
racking and breaking process. The matches proceed more quickly, and the players
get along better, making for a smoother, more enjoyable tournament.

The Gold Crown’s tournaments include a “Break and Run”
competition, producing player ratings. Schofield has created his own system to
rate players, using the break inning as a baseline to determine players’
ability. Eddie Abraham and Rob Krull tied for 1^st in the bonus
competition with Gayle Flick finishing 3^rd. The unique rating system
has been utilized by the Gold Crown Billiards BCA Eight and Nine-Ball League
since October 2008.

Gold Crown Billiards along with the in-house BCA League host
the Tri-State Tournaments. Twenty-nine volunteers ran charts, cleaned tables,
cleaned balls, and kept score for this most recent event. Every effort is put
forth by Gold Crown, its staff, and regular clientele to run a highly organized
event on solid equipment. The next event is scheduled for sometime in August.
Event details are to to-be-announced.