Total prize fund is growing as the SBE contributes to prize fund from live streaming passes
As a matter of perspective, the 30th Annual Diamond Open 9-Ball Professional Players Championships at the Super Billiards Expo was at a ‘120 down, 8 to go’ juncture when the sun rose over the Greater Philadelphia Convention Center in Oaks, PA this morning (Sun., April 14). With a little bit of luck, it should be over before the sun goes down.
This may be the first tournament anywhere at which players are content to not know the payouts until the final day. That’s because the prize fund is growing, day by day. That is happening because Allen Hopkins’ Super Billliards Expo is contributing directly to the prize fund with a portion of every Streaming Pass purchased as the event goes on. The money-added to the prize fund has also grown with Sponsorship Opportunities and is currently at $24.5k. The total payouts as of 10:30 a.m. this morning was at $83,514. If you have an interest in any of the matches that remain, you’ll know that when you sign on to watch through the SBE Web site (link listed below), you’ll personally be contributing to what the top finishers are paid.
We noted in a report that appeared here on Friday that the 128 initial entrants “made for a diversified, skill-level field that blended upper-tier, regional tour players with some of the best in the world.” That dynamic has survived four winners’ side and five loss-side rounds of double elimination, along with one ‘in the money’ single-elimination round.
The final eight were an hour away from beginning their day as this report was being written and the eight will likely be down to the four semifinalists before somewhere between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (EST) this afternoon. The tour directors are playing the scheduling ‘close to their vest’ to allow for any long matches that could (and often do) delay progress. Their calculations incorporate opportunities for competitors to take a breath between the three remaining rounds; not a big one that might interrupt momentum or too short to be of any value. Just enough, combined with the uncertainty of match lengths to keep the balls rolling at a steady pace to the final.
Of the eight competitors who lost their opportunity to advance to single elimination in the last winners’ side qualification round, six of them chalked up a successful, single round on the loss side to join the final 16 from that side of the bracket. Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, who’d lost his first match to Darren Appleton 11-9 in that last qualifying round, downed Eddie Abraham 11-5 on the loss side to join the final 16. He drew Michael Feliciano, who’d lost his winners’ side qualifying round to Jonas Souto Comino, the event’s defending champion.
Thorsten Hohmann, who’d lost to fellow countryman Moritz Neuhausen 11-8, returned from the loss side after defeating another fellow countryman; The Kaiser, Ralf Souquet 11-7. In the opening round of single-elimination, Hohmann drew Shaun Wilkie, who’d won three on the loss side, including an 11-7 victory over Jeremy Sossei to the join the final 16. David Alcaide, who’d been defeated by Shane Wolford 11-6 on the winners’ side, eliminated Jeffrey DeLuna on the loss side and joined the final 16, drawing Lukas Fracasso-Verner. Fracasso-Verner, who’d lost a double-hill match to Hohmann on the winners’ side, survived an opening, double-hill loss-side round to Raphael DaBreo before eliminating Rodney Morris 11-5 and Mika Immonen 11-9 to join the final 16.
Tyler Styer, who’d lost to Canada’s John Morra 11-5 on the winners’ side, defeated Cong Thanh Nguyen 11-6 on the loss side to join the final 16 party. Styer had the daunting task of facing Jayson Shaw in the opening, single-elimination round. Shaw had been defeated in the last winners’ side qualification round by BJ Ussery, Jr. 11-7 and on the loss side, ended the run of Earl “The Pearl” Strickland 11-7.
The opening round of single elimination got underway just after 9 p.m. on Saturday, with a number of intriguing matchups that reflected the ‘skill-level diversity of the field.’ Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, who topped the AZBilliards Money Leaderboard in 2022, dropped just a bit in 2023 (to #4) and is currently in the #7 spot, faced Filipino Michael Feliciano, who’s never been higher than #66 on that same list (his current position). To our knowledge, he has not recorded a major win, anywhere, so definitely the ‘underdog’ to Sanchez-Ruiz’ status as a ‘favorite.’ Last night, the ‘underdog’ sent the favorite ‘home,’ so to speak, 11-8.
In this morning’s opening round (ongoing), Feliciano drew Shaun Wilkie, a mid-Atlantic journeyman who was runner-up to Shane Van Boening at this event in 2008. Wilkie had joined the final 16 from the loss side and in the first, single-elimination round had eliminated Thorsten Hohmann, double hill. As of just after noon, Wilkie was leading Feliciano 5-3 in the quarterfinals.
Lukas Fracasso-Verner, who’d defeated David Alcaide 11-5 in the first single-elimination round was facing Jayson Shaw, who’d eliminated Tyler Styer 11-7 to reach him. Shaw was ahead 5-4.
Brandon Shuff eliminated Shane Wolford last night 11-9 and in the morning matchup, faced BJ Ussery, who’d previously defeated John Morra 11-9. Shuff was leading this morning action 4-3. Darren “Dynamite” Appleton, who’d spoiled defending champion Jonas Souto Comino’s shot at a second straight title with an 11-4 win last night, was facing Pijus Labutis, who’d previously defeated Moritz Neuhausen 11-8. Last heard, Labutis was ahead of Appleton 8-5.
Sanchez-Ruiz defeats The Pearl, as Kennedy/Shaw create drama that sends Kennedy over
It’s difficult at best, approaching impossible, to watch two pool matches at the same time. While you can certainly pay attention to more than one at a time, your divided attention has a way of missing some of the action. The modern technology of multiple screens offered by a streaming service exacerbates this problem because it makes shifting your attention from one screen to another that much easier. You end up doing it more and while you’ll certainly be able to track the score progress of multiple matches, you tend not to really ‘see’ any of them; the give and take between two competitors, the ebb and flow that defines individual games and match progress as it plays out over time. The basics of what makes a good pool match so much fun to watch in the first place.
So it was, that on Friday night (March 12), at the evening session of the 30th Annual Diamond Open 9-Ball Professional Players Championships at the Super Billiards Expo, in-person spectators and distant streamers had some tough choices to make. What to do when, for example, Earl Strickland and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz are playing a match, while at the same time, Tommy Kennedy and Jayson Shaw are doing so a matter of a few feet away? And those were just two of the 16 matchups that got started at (or near) 9:15 p.m. last night.
The two most-likely-to-be-popular matches (a subjective opinion) are generally placed in front of the two risers that accommodate the Championship Arena’s seating capabilities. There are about 32 seats in each two-level riser. There are 11 folding tables that surround the arena, seating about four per table.
The ’feature’ match on the digitalpool streaming system with its visible scoring and commentary, was between Strickland and Sanchez-Ruiz, but you could choose to watch any of the other 15 matches, as long as you were willing to keep score yourself. Or, if you had an appropriate device, you could monitor the ‘live’ brackets on digitalpool.com, switching back and forth between streaming the match and the score. Tuning in to watch a match that doesn’t provide a score is almost pointless because a lot of a match’s inherent entertainment value derives from a spectator’s awareness of where the match is ‘at,’ so to speak, at any given moment; whether the competitors are tied or one is ‘on the hill’ or in the midst of three games in a row, or . .whatever.
Sanchez-Ruiz got out to an early 2-0 lead over Strickland that he never relinquished. By game 6, it was a four-point lead (5-1), by game 13, it was five points (9-4) and two games later, Sanchez-Ruiz closed it out at 11-4. Sanchez-Ruiz was scheduled to play at 4 p.m. today (Saturday) against Darren Appleton, who’d defeated Alex Osipov 11-9. The (Saturday) afternoon, winners’ side matches will put eight players into the 16-entrant, guaranteed money, single-elimination phase of the event. Strickland was scheduled to take on Bucky Souvanthong on the loss-side at 1:45 p.m.
The Kennedy/Shaw match was only a matter of feet away, next to the Strickland/Sanchez-Ruiz table, but closer to the opposite seating area. It offered some instantaneous drama as Kennedy, almost assuredly the ‘underdog’ in the matchup, got out to a 4-0 lead that by game #9 had become a five-point lead at 7-2. Shaw was literally and figuratively ‘cold’ at the outset.
“It was so cold,” he would comment after the match, “that I didn’t even want to be here. It was like 61 degrees, blowing on the back of your neck.”
The two offered distinct differences in ‘style.’ Shaw’s performance in a match is characterized by a very business-like attitude. When he’s at the table, there is no wasted energy. He finds his shot, aims and strokes in almost one movement that would reset a shot clock (not used at this event) before it counted down more than 10 seconds. Shaw doesn’t waste any energy when he steps away from the table either.He sits down and looks like one of those newer cars that shuts off the engine when it stops moving. Until he gets back up, he looks as though he could be waiting for a bus, idly wondering what he might want to order for dinner.
Kennedy’s ‘work’ is much more of a production. He spends as much time looking for (or at) a shot and deciding to get down on it than Shaw generally spends between getting up and getting back down. The amount of time Kennedy spends between getting down to take his shot and then actually taking it, will vary widely. Though rarely long enough to challenge a shot clock, his ‘routine’ at the tables tends to be more deliberate and thoughtful as he takes the time available to double-check things before finally letting the stroke go. He tends to ‘look’ more engaged when he’s waiting for his turn at the table.
Shaw got warmed up at the conclusion of Kennedy’s 7th game win. One game at a time, he kept chipping away at Kennedy’s lead. He banked the 9-ball into a hole to tie things up at 7-7, then took his first lead and added another at 9-7. Kennedy took advantage of a ready-made combo on the 9-ball to come back to within one, but Shaw came right back to reach the hill. Kennedy got within one a second time, but Shaw finished it 11-9.
At 4 p.m. today (Saturday), Shaw is scheduled to face BJ Ussery, Jr., who defeated Sam Henderson 11-7 last night. Kennedy moved to the loss side and at 4 p.m., will take on Wiktor Zielinski.
Featuring a range of Fargo Rates from 495 (Eric Martin) to 841 (Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz), the 30th Annual 2024 Diamond Open at the Super Billiards Expo in Oaks, PA got underway yesterday (Thurs., April 11). Of the 118 competitors, who (literally) got the ball(s) rolling on Thursday morning, 29 of them entered the event without a (reported) Fargo Rate, leaving 89 competitors with an average Fargo rate of just under 700. The ‘700’ range had the most players (49), with unrated (29), ‘600’ (25), ‘500’ (8) ‘800’ (4) and a lone ‘400.’
It made for a diversified field that blended upper-tier, regional tour players with some of the best in the world, like Sanchez-Ruiz, Jayson Shaw, David Alcaide, Thorsten Hohmann and Wiktor Zielinski (to name just a few). Though there weren’t a lot of surprises in the opening two rounds on the winners’ side of the bracket, there were a few compelling matches.
Earl Strickland (772) got by his first opponent, Gary Serrano (618) readily enough 11-5 in the opening round, but had a local competitor, Kevin Clark (716), who’d shut out his first opponent, throw him a double-hill scare in the second round. Joss Tour veteran and winner of the 2023 New England Pool & Billiards Hall of Fame 9-Ball Open, Jeremy Sossei, sent this year’s US 8-Ball Open and McDermott Classic Champion, Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski to the loss side 11-8.
US Open 9-Ball Champion (1992), Tommy Kennedy brought his (Corrected) 735 Fargo Rate to the table and defeated two ‘698’s in a row; Jimmy Rivera and Matt Krah. In a marquee match-up promoted on the SBE Web site, Darren “Dynamite” Appleton defeated Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer 11-8 in the opening round. Jeffrey DeLuna gave up just a single rack in his first two matches. Jason Shaw, who played his first match at 11:30 p.m. last night (Thursday), had his opponent open by dropping the 9-ball on the break, but recovered nicely to win 11-6.
Thorsten Hohmann, Jeremy Seaman fight representative battle for winners’ side advancement
Arguably, most indicative of the skill-level(s) caliber of play at this year’s Diamond Open, and the relative unpredictability of any handicapping system in the world of pool was a second round match between a journeyman competitor from Battle Creek, MI – Jeremy Seaman (762), who’s been cashing in events all over the US map since 2003, though, as far we know, has never won an event – and World Champion Thorsten Hohmann (789), whose career started two years earlier than Seaman’s.
Hohmann opened the race to 11 with a win off Seaman’s break and broke and ran his own rack for a quick 2-0 lead; ‘off to the races,’ you’d think, but not so fast. Seaman won a rack and Hohmann added two to make 4-1. Seaman won two to pull within one and Hohmann chalked up another to make it 5-3. At that point, Seaman stepped to the table and chalked up three in a row to tie and then take a lead at 6-5. It proved to be the longest run of racks in the match. The two traded racks, back and forth, to a 7-7 tie when, off his own break, Seaman ran to the 8-ball, which stubbornly rattled in a corner pocket and did not fall. Hohmann took the 8-7 lead.
Hohmann dropped two on his break in Rack 16, but scratched. Seaman ran the table to tie it up again and broke Rack 17. He did not, however, win it. Hohmann, at a critical juncture, took the lead 9-8 and on his break, reached the hill, ahead by two. Seaman came back to win the 19th rack, setting up the fateful last rack of the match at which Hohmann broke dry. They chased the 1-ball for what seemed like ages before Seaman broke through, advancing to the 6-ball, at which point he made a critical unforced error that cost him the game and the match, as Hohmann closed it out.
And in so doing, provided a generalized answer to the question “Which of the upcoming matches should I watch, either in person, or via digitalpool streaming?” Answer: Any of them.
All of the Diamond Open matches on Opening Day were winners’ side matches, allowing that side of the bracket to get through two rounds. As a result, the winners from yesterday will not be competing until this evening (Friday), beginning at around 9:15 p.m.
Dependent on the timely advance of both sides of the bracket, there may be 11:30, winners’ side matches or they may just bring the 16 competitors looking to advance to single elimination back on Saturday.
Roland Garcia with Tommy Terrebonne and room owner Keith Hulin
It’s been several years since Keith Hulin hosted a major event at his room, Emerald Billiards, in New Iberia, LA. This year, he welcomed players back for the $16,000 added Bayou State Classic.
The star-studded field included two-time Derby City Classic Master of the Table Fedor Gorst, reigning Derby City Classic One Pocket champ Tony Chohan, 2020 Derby City Classic Nine Ball champ Lee Vann Corteza, current Music City Open champ Roberto Gomez, 2021 US Open One Pocket champ Justin Hall, BCA & One Pocket Hall of Famer Alex Pagulayan and the newly minted 2023 Cajun Coast Classic 9 Ball champ Roland Garcia. Others spotted around the room were two-time Derby City Classic One Pocket champ Billy Thorpe, current Space City Open X One Pocket champ John Gabriel, current US Open Bank Pool champ & One Pocket Hall of Famer Scott Frost, BCA Hall of Famer Rodney Morris, former ESPN World champ CJ Wiley, current Iron City Open One Pocket champ Josh Roberts and current Texas Open 9 Ball champ Vitaliy Patsura.
The event kicked off with the $1,000 added One Ball One Pocket Championship – $200 entry, single elimination and races to four. The eighteen player field was whittled down to two players. Fedor Gorst took it down 4-2 leavingRoberto Gomez in second place.
The main event – the $10,000 added One Pocket Championship – had 25 players who paid a $300 entry fee to compete in this double elimination, race to three alternate break format.
Notable first round matches saw Justin Hall defeat Jeff de Luna 3-1 and Roberto Gomez blitz Lee Vann Corteza 3-0 while John Gabriel edged out Mike DeLawder 3-2.
Next round had Alex Pagulayan squeak out a tough oneover Scott Frost as did John Gabriel against Hunter White – both matches 3-2 and in a repeat of the one ball one pocket finals, Gorst beat Gomez again 3-1.
In third round action, Gorst got past John Gabriel and Billy Thorpe succumbed to Justin Hall – both 3-1 while Tony Chohan went down to Roland Garcia in a close one 3-2.
Hall just got by Pagulayan 3-2 while the other winners side match saw Gorst smoke Garcia 3-0.
In dead punch, Gorst demolished Hall in hot seat action 3-0 and claimed a seat in the finals. Justin headed west only to be derailed by the Gomez freight train. After losing to Gorst, Roberto started mowing down his opponents – White 3-2 and then Drew Jordan, Thorpe, Garcia, Pagulayan and Hall – all 3-1.
Back in the finals again, the smoking hot Roberto got his revenge against Fedor and took the title down in an extended race to four – score 4-0.
The final event of this tournament was the $5,000 added Open 9 Ball Championship Playing on seven footers, a full field of 128 paid their $100 entries to compete in this double elimination, alternate break with races to 9/7.
Still red hot, Gomez plowed through Dallas Broussard 9-2, David Walker 9-3, Jeff de Luna 9-5, Derek Fontenet 9-6 and Scott Frost 9-7 to arrive as one of the final four on the winners side.
Making his way through the bracket, Roland had wins over Jeremy Howard and Rodney Morris – both 9-4, beat back a challenge from Jacob Pennison 9-8 and demolished Tookie Babineaux 9-0 and Hunter White 9-5. Finally arriving to play Gomez to get into the hot seat match, it was a hard fought battle but he survived 9-8 and Gomez headed west.
In the bottom half of the chart, Lee Vann Corteza was making his presence felt as his victims included Oscar Ruiz 9-3, Jason Procell 9-2, Chris Facundus 9-3, Fedor Gorst 9-7 and Sergio Rivas 9-4 making it to the final four on the winners side.
Meanwhile, Zach Marquardt was quietly working his way through the field as he notched victories over Brent Prade 9-5, Zack Louviere 9-4, Dillon Hayes 9-5, Steve Lenz 9-6 and Tony Chohan 9-1 to then face Lee Vann Corteza.
Lee Vann moved on to the hot seat match after handily defeating Zach 9-3. Hungry for a title, Roland dispatched Lee Vann 9-5 west and secured his berth in the finals.
Champions were falling right and left as they all battled for that other seat in the finals. When it was all over, Gomez had survived after eliminating Rivas 7-6, Gorst 7-5 and finally Corteza 7-6 to arrive at the finals battered and bruised.
As this was true double elimination, Roberto had to win two matches to claim the title. However, it was not to be! In a nailbiter of a match, Roland claimed the match and title 9-8 giving him back to back title wins!
Congratulations to the three Gs – Gomez, Garcia & Gorst – as the new Bayou State Classic champions!
Local sponsors for this event included APA Arcadiana, Oubre Memorial & Burial Vaults, LLC, Chops Meats, Arceneaux Ford, Global Vessel & Tank, FLOQUIP, Inc. and Emerald Billiards.
Sponsors for this event included Emerald Billiards and PoolActionTV.com as well as JB Cases, Durbin Custom Cues, Aramith and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Thanks go out to Keith Hulin and his staff for rolling out the red carpet for all the players and fans as well as Tournament Director Jimmy Rogers for doing a great job.
PoolActionTV.com would like to thank Larry Schwartz, Josh Roberts, Scott Frost, Hunter White, Mike DeLawder and Ray Hansen for their topnotch commentary.
We’d also like to thank our fans and sponsors. Our sponsors include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Lomax Custom Cues, Savage Billiards, Durbin Custom Cues, Simonis, Aramis, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore in Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event is the Inaugural $14,000 added Skinny Bob’s Nine Ball Classic in Round Rock, TX. Tournaments include a one pocket division, ladies nine ball and open nine ball. Dates are February 14th-20th – hope to see you there!
It was, in many ways, emblematic of the much larger pool community that has come so far while continuing to have a long way to go. Exhibition and/or Challenge matches happen all the time, but on Saturday, Sept. 10, two professionals squared off in a somewhat isolated venue in Wilmington, NC and played a double-hill exhibition match that was everything, as a spectator, one could hope for; ups and downs, lead changes and at the end of a race-to-17, a single game to determine the winner.
The event was organized by pro-player Justin Martin, who grew up and currently lives in Wilmington and for the past 15 months, has run the JUMP Billiards Pro Shop at Breaktime Billiards in the city. In coordination with the room’s owners, Jim and Margaret Grago, they transformed a restaurant space within the facility into a 60-seat arena, dismantled and re-assembled one of the room’s nine, 9-ft. tables and invited world-class pro player, Roland Garcia from the Philippines to be Martin’s opponent in the Exhibition match. Garcia is currently the #1-ranked competitor in the Predator Pro Billiard series.
“We’re good friends,” Martin explained, as he worked with a cue on a lathe in the Pro shop a few hours before the match. “We see each other out and about at the tournaments a lot and he’s definitely one of the few guys that I like to hang out with, spend time with out at the events.”
Garcia, sitting a few feet away, is asked whether he intends to emerge victorious in the upcoming match. Having arrived only a few hours before and still dealing with a bit of travel fatigue, Garcia yawned. And then suggested that it would be Martin who would be doing the butt-kicking in the near future. As the lathe continued to turn and Martin kept his eyes focused on the task at hand, he’s asked what prompted the decision to organize the match.
“I don’t gamble,” he said, “and I’m always looking for new ways to compete, to find new ways to stay sharp, so I always felt like exhibition pool is a good answer.”
Justin Martin
In addition to the exhibition match itself, they arranged for a VIP after-party at which spectators who had paid to sit at four VIP high-top tables and chairs, positioned a few feet away from one of the pool table’s long rails, would hang out after the match, play some pool and socialize. All things considered, the match, the VIP Party, and expectations of attendance went smoothly and met expectations. The crowd hovered throughout the match between 40 and 45 attendees, most of them with some form of personal relationship with Martin.
“I think you’d have been hard-pressed to find someone in the crowd who didn’t know me personally,” said Martin.
“Justin’s girlfriend (Katie Cool) is on our pool team here in Wilmington,” said Mike Tackett, seated at one of a number of folding tables and chairs on the opposite side of the table from the VIP area. “I take lessons from him, too; once a week for about the last month and a half.”
Grago and his wife, Margaret have owned Breaktime Billiards since November, 2015 and hosted their first exhibition match, fan-participation event about four months later, when Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris were the competitors. Though the room has since hosted tournaments at which personalities like Dr. Cue (Tom Rossman) and Venom (Florian Kohler) have been in attendance, this was the first such exhibition match since 2016. While personal-awareness-of- Justin-Martin was an important factor in drawing a crowd to Breaktime Billiards, Grago was also aware of the high-profile status of Garcia as a known, world-class competitor.
“So yeah, it was people coming because they know Justin and knowing that Roland was one of the top players in the world,” he said. “They saw our (FB) posts about the match, Garcia’s and Justin’s, too.”
Attendance got another boost because on the same day, the cities of Jacksonville, Morehead and Havelock, without a facility in their area to accommodate them, played their regional APA playoffs (known as the Tri-Cups) in the building; before, during and after the exhibition match. While at any given moment during the match, there were generally about 40-45 of the arena’s 60-seat capacity watching it, an estimated 10-15 of those were individuals who slipped into the room to watch briefly before heading out to compete in the area of the venue hosting the Tri-Cups. Had that transient part of the crowd all arrived at the same time, it would have exceeded the arena’s capacity, so in a word, sold-out.
Martin and the Gragos were happy with the result, Martin commenting the next day that they were “very happy” and that plans were moving forward “to do a lot more things, going into next year,” to include the creation of even more seating space and an upgraded streaming platform. Nothing, Martin added, really surprised him about the execution of this first-ever event at his hometown room and pointed to the involvement and engagement of the Gragos in the process to its overall success.
“They were integrally involved in being part of it,” he said. “They didn’t necessarily have tons of experience with this sort of thing, and neither did I, but everyone worked hard to make sure that everyone was satisfied, and we hope to be able to continue to do so in the future.”
And then, there was the 10-ball match. It got underway right at the time that Garcia had a meal delivered to the table where he sat with his manager during the match. His first few games were executed while he tended to be swallowing food. Garcia won the lag, broke dry, ran to the 3-ball and scratched. Martin executed a 9-ball combination shortly thereafter and took game one.
Martin broke, sinking two, ran to the 4-ball and then he scratched, allowing Garcia to finish and tie the score. They went back and forth to a 4-4 tie before Martin began to edge out in front. By the time they moved into double digits, about midway through the race-to-17 match, Martin had established a four-rack lead. Garcia began chipping away at that lead, growing closer and closer until Martin reached the hill first at 16-15. Garcia tied it up and won the final game.
“Neither one of us quite played to our level,” noted Martin, “but it was good and everybody was happy.”
So like pool itself, Martin (and company) started out with very little experience, brought what they did know to the table and put on a good show. Moving forward, also like pool itself, they’re taking lessons from their experience and using those lessons to prepare for the next stage of growth and development. Martin will be back on the road in about a week to attend the Michigan Open (Sept. 21-24), travel to Atlantic City for the US Open (Oct. 10-16) and eventually end up in Norfolk, VA for the International Open (Oct. 28-Nov. 5).
“There’s nothing set in stone right now,” said Martin of future plans for future events at Breaktime Billiards, “but going into next year, there are definitely plans.”
“We’ll be doing something that will serve the local community,” he added, “and get the local community involved.”
Johnny Archer’s new pool room is now open in Cartersville, GA, just a stone’s throw north of Atlanta off of I-75. “Archer’s” is equipped with 6 new Brunswick bar tables and three of the new Gold Crown VI 9-footers. It features a full-service bar and a kitchen serving up all the good eats you could want.
Archer’s is located at 138 South Tennessee Street in Cartersville. It is in the middle of a shopping center with lots of parking so there is no issue with parking. When we spoke to Johnny he was still waiting on some refinements like more TV’s for the walls but those have now arrived and the kitchen opens on October 28.
We first asked Johnny why he was getting back into the room business. He told us: “I have always wanted a room like this. It is not as large as the old Marietta Billiard Club and is just a lot easier to handle. Plus, this size of room is a lot more intimate and the bar is the kind of place where friendships are made and nurtured. Plus, I am really tired of the road. I have been traveling for so much of my life and I am ready to set down some roots. Having Rodney Morris here with me is another big incentive. You know Rodney, he is just a lot of fun to be around and I am simply tickled to be here with this opportunity. I have been planning this for a few years now and, while Covid slowed us down a bit, the day is finally here to open the doors and we are all excited to get going.”
Cartersville was once an Atlanta outlier but Atlanta has spread out so much that it is now one of the fastest-growing bedroom communities in the area. Johnny said: “This town is really growing fast. We expect the business to start well and grow as the town grows, so we really feel that this is a ground-floor opportunity here and we are fortunate to have this open when it has. As you know, I am a man of faith and I just feel that the good Lord has guided me to this point in my life.
From October 28th on, the hours of Archer’s will be from 11 AM until 2 AM, at least on the weekends. They will adjust their weekday hours as the business demands. They are installing a huge 24-tap beer keg system so no one gets thirsty and are looking forward to satisfying everyones hunger as well.
Archer’s is more than just pool tables. They have a beautiful shuffleboard setup and video games are lined up near the bar. These are called Georgia skill redemption games, run by the Georgia state lottery commission, so those with a gaming bent can enjoy their favorite pastime. They also have a Pacman machine, which will require getting Johnny off of it before any customers can play, and a Golden Tee golf machine as well.
Music will be well taken care of. The juke box is loaded and Johnny is looking forward to having local musicians perform as well. And Rodney has convinced Johnny to at least try a Karaoke night. Johny has promised not to sing.
There is also a private room with a Gold Crown VI that is to be called “The Scorpion Pit”. Johnny is still coming up with things to do in there but it is great for private parties and instruction. And it will be a great place for challenge matches and exhibitions when friends like Earl Strickland come to town.
Want to play a few racks and have a great time? Archer’s is waiting for you!
Scout Gaming, the leading provider of B2B daily fantasy sports, sportsbook and fantasy betting products, has made its debut in the US market after signing a deal with new sports league, the Masters Cup Series.
The five-year deal will see the Masters Cup Series leverage Scout Gaming’s Social Sportsbook Platform, a new product that has been developed specifically for the US market and aimed at online and retail operators as well as sports venues and franchises.
Scout Gaming’s Social Sportsbook Platform allows Master Cup Series to tap into the fast-growing sports wagering segment by offering a fun and low barrier of entry, next-generation ‘sports betting-like’ experience without the involvement of real money wagering. Through the combination of its proprietary Player Account Management system, award-winning B2B Daily Fantasy Sports solution and new Social Sportsbook, Scout Gaming offers US operators and franchises an end-to-end managed sports entertainment product.
The Masters Cup tour is a new sporting event spearheaded by industry legend and Hall of Fame pro billiard player, Rodney “Rocket” Morris. The event will comprise of eight professional players who will compete in weekly MCS Tour Stop events. Players will accumulate points each week, based on performance, to determine their playoff position, weekly winner, and overall Masters Cup Champion.
The event will be nationally televised and offer both on-screen real-time wagering like gameplay as well as next generation stats. In addition to Scouts standard games, fans will also be able to experience play on events directly tied to and developed in collaboration with the Masters Cup Series.
The partnership with Scout will allow the sports franchise to provide a way for fans and viewers to engage with sports game play action 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while also generating significant revenue for the series.
Andreas Ternström, Chief Executive Officer at Scout Gaming, said: “We are thrilled to be officially entering the US market for the first time and to also unveil another addition to the Scout product line that will be launching with the Masters Cup Series.
“We’ve noticed a gap in the market that we can fill and we’re hoping to unveil similar partnerships in the months and quarters to come.”
Rodney “Rocket” Morris, Chief Executive Officer at Masters Cup Series, said “I’m excited to have joined forces with Scout Gaming and feel honoured to be the first partner for the company in the USA. Its Social Sportsbook is an incredible product that will bring tremendous value to the series.
As the US business development partner for Scout Gaming Group, Stephen Crystal, CEO and Founder of SCCG Management said of the event, “We are proud of the success this team has realized throughout this process. The biggest winners will be the fans who get to experience highly engaging and competitive interaction through the real-time gameplay powered by the Scout Gaming platform. SCCG has been driving strategies to bring social sports betting to restaurants, bars, and arenas, and this is the first execution on this plan.”
ABOUT SCOUT GAMING
Scout Gaming Group is a multiple award-winning licensed and regulated premium provider of B2B Fantasy Sports & Sportsbetting. The company offers a flexible and customizable sports entertainment platform with the core pillar being the network-based Fantasy Sports solution (SGN) and a fully-managed Sportsbook capable of being tailored to market needs, whether real money Fantasy Sports, odds-based sports wagering or Free2Play. Technology and operations are 100% proprietary, having developed from the ground up and operated in-house, – allowing for virtually any sport, league, or game format to be offered. The company has achieved several industry-first’s such as the world’s largest globally pooled DFS network (SGN), Fantasy Matchups, Bet-on-my-team, Player Odds and the world’s first natively integrated DFS and Sportsbook solution – all via one single integration. The Group has 100+ employees and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with development and operations in Bergen, Norway, and Lviv, Ukraine and Malta. Scout Gaming is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the Certified Adviser is Redeye AB. Contact details: Certifiedadviser@redeye.se, +46 (0)8 121 576 90.
ABOUT MASTERS CUP SERIES (MCS)
The Masters Cup Series (MCS) is a billiards tour with a revolutionary new scoring system, created by Hall-of-Famer Rodney “Rocket” Morris. The executive team, based in Oklahoma, has stellar reputations within and access to the entire billiard industry. Not only will the new scoring system inject excitement into the game, it will also open the game up to thousands more players and solve decades long issues for the community. MCS will be televised and streamed and utilize AR/VR experiences as well as licensed gaming, gambling and fantasy sports to create a continuous engagement loop with its customers. MCS has partnered with 21 Lakes Productions and GhostDawg Consulting for ideation and execution within the broadcast and gaming areas, respectively.
ABOUT SCCG MANAGEMENT
SCCG Management is a consultancy that specializes in sports betting, iGaming, sports marketing, affiliate marketing, technology, intellectual property protection, product commercialization, esports, capital formation, M&A, joint ventures, casino management, and governmental and legal affairs for the casino and iGaming industry. Visit us at https://sccgmanagement.com.
Though unable to physically appear at the latest tournament that was organized and held for her benefit,Jeanette Lee, the Black Widow, arguably the most recognizable name in billiard sports, did make a video-call appearance at Janet Atwell’s Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN on Saturday, April 17. In the latest of an ongoing series of Black Widow Legacy Tournaments, organized by her fellow professionals and legions of fans all across the country, Lee explained to those who had gathered in Borderline Billiards to help her as she battles ovarian cancer, that she will continue to fight and that efforts to help her and her daughters have not gone unnoticed.
“The support makes a difference,” she told the assembled crowd, who, as they had done a week earlier in Florida, stopped what they were doing to listen to her on the large screen that had been set up in Atwell’s room for the purpose. “You guys are just lifting me up and I will kick this cancer.”
Two days after undergoing a related operation, she explained to the crowd that she would have loved to be there in person, but that traveling on an airplane for her was just too dangerous.
“But I love you guys,” she said. “I’m so thankful and I’m looking forward to watching these matches.”
Lee, as well as those at the venue and any who watched the live stream were treated to a number of entertaining pool matches, not the least of which was a true double elimination set of final matches in which “Rocket” Rodney Morris, who came from the loss side, was defeated by a 16-year-old competitor by the name of Jaiden Hess. Earlier, he’d been sent to the loss side by a 14-year-old junior by the name of Precilia Kinsley. The event drew 106 entrants, including a number of strong area competitors like Kia Burwell, Reid Vance, Cole Lewis, Eric Roberts, Lisa Cossette, Ryan Fossum, Scott Howard and Corey Morphew (among others, Morris included).
“Rocket” was, of course, playing with an A+++ handicap and throughout most of the tournament was being required to win at least twice as many games as the opponents he ended up facing in individual matches. He got an opening round “bye” and won just a single winners’ side match before running into 14-year-old Precilia Kinsley, who sent him to the loss side. Nine matches later, he returned from the loss side and though he took the opening set of the true double elimination final against Jaiden Hess, Hess came back and fought to double hill in the second set, before dropping the final 9-ball and claiming the event title.
In spite of the handicap, “Rocket” was impressed by the youngsters he faced in this event.
“These kids are getting some good coaching, good teaching,” he said. “Of course, they have a long way to go, learning about the cue ball (among other things), but they have got the passion.”
“Somebody’s out there,” he added. “keeping them focused, instilling that love of the game. And then, that boy, Jaiden, ends up beating me in the finals, and we’ve got ourselves a couple of lifers now.”
Janet Atwell and Rodney Morris
Morris also had high praise for Atwell and the Legacy Tournament she’d organized to benefit her fellow professional.
“It was a very emotional weekend,” said Morris, who’d been able to speak to Jeanette just prior to her appearance on the big screen to talk to all of those present. “Everybody did a great job.”
“Janet was amazing,” he added. “She is top-notch, just a very genuine person.”
According to Atwell, she will be hosting another benefit for Lee in the future, at a date to be announced. She credited her landlords, Jeff and Terri Gregory, with donating $2,000, $1,000 of which will go towards added-money for the next event.
“Counting online donations, local donations and everything raised during the event, Atwell wrote later, “we raised $16,867.”
There will be another Black Widow Legacy Tournament in Florida on the weekend of May 8-9, the second to be organized by Jeannie Seaver and Sonya Chbeeb. The Black Widow Open Benefit Event will be hosted by Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL.
“With the support of hundreds of people like you,” the Black Widow had noted before the event at Borderline Billiards got underway, “I don’t think this cancer has a chance.”
On October 9, 2020, TSPN: The Social Pool Network announces its appointment of new CEO, Rodney Morris.
Hall of Fame Inductee, “Rocket” Rodney Morris, has an extensive history in Professional Billiards. Mr. Morris has earned over 14 major titles, represented the United States in the Mosconi Cup 10 times and was named the Mosconi Cup MVP in 2004, and has won numerous professional events. A few of his titles include:
1996 Grand Prix de Puerto Rico
1996 US Open Nine-ball Championship
2001, 2004 Reno Open
2003 World Pool League (Warsaw, Poland) 2003-2008 Mosconi Cup (MVP 2004)
2004, 2006, 2010 Seminole Florida Pro Tour Stop 2004 Houston Open
2006 UPA Pro Tour Championship (Las Vegas, NV)
2007 SE Open 9-Ball Tour Stop
2007 Seminole Pro Tour Steve Mizerak Championship
2008 World Cup of Pool (Outland, Rotterdam)
2008 Quezon City Invasion (Manila, Philippines)
2011 Interpool Open 9-ball (Gävle, Sweden)
2011 Turning Stone Classic XVII
2013 US Open 10-Ball
Based on his Character, and relationships with fellow players, the United States men’s professional governing body designated him as the United Pool Players Association (UPA) Lead Player Representative.
TSPN, (the first combination of Professional and Amateur Billiard League with a compensation plan designed to pay members for building the league), offered Morris this position:
Former TSPN CEO, Allan Hendrickson said this of Morris: “He’s got incredible intuition and the best combination of compassion and competition I’ve ever met. The future of TSPN is in good hands.”
When asked about the opportunity, Morris had this to say: “I’m so excited to be given this opportunity. I truly believe in The Social Pool Network and look forward to seeing what wonderful partnerships and fun creations are in store for the future of pool. Our current and future members are connecting so many people through this beautiful game of ours! This is the beginning of a new era, and the sky is not even the limit.”
TSPNs CFO, Vern McGee, who initiated the move had this to say about Morris: “I am excited and proud to welcome “Rocket” Rodney Morris as the new CEO of TSPN. He has many great ideas to make pool great again. Come rock with the Rocket and TSPN!”
As his first order of business, Mr. Morris is launching the TSPN Team League option as well as the Saratoga Rocket RunOut Series, where players can play in remote satellite tournaments without the need of an opponent.
Morris will replace founding CEO, Allan Hendrickson.
For further information or to inquire about establishing TSPN Team Leagues in your area, contact TSPNs’ Chief Operating Officer, Tanya Mapes-Stremler at (616) 822-5172 or Facebook Messenger: @Tanya Mapes-Stremler.
They’ve been popping up on the landscape like weeds in a garden; pool competitions utilizing some variation of pool’s ‘ghost’ games in which individual players pit their skills against an imaginary opponent that wins every game that they lose. This past weekend (May 22-24), The Social Pool Network (TSPN) joined the party and hosted six top-notch pool players, competing against each other in a modified single-elimination tournament of what’s known as Rocket Runout, one of a series of games invented by “Rocket” Rodney Morris and a friend, Ed Glode.
“We created these games about 12 years ago and hammered out these rules,” said Morris, “right before (Ed) became mayor of Saratoga, Wyoming.”
According to Tanya Mapes-Stremler, TSPN’s Chief Operating Officer, it was Morris, in fact, in his role as TSPN’s Vice President of player relations, who “took the lead’ on the initiative that led to this weekend of tournaments.
“We all worked together,” she said, “and did this as one team, but it was Rodney who came up with this idea.”
And then, “Rocket” called five of his pool buddies – Johnny Archer, Tony Crosby, Tony Robles, Raj Hundal and Oscar Dominguez – and invited them to take part in a benefit tournament that would aid First Responders and Food Banks in the five states, represented by the six players; Georgia, Florida, New York (2), California and Hawaii. All six played on Friday, May 22. The four top scorers on Friday played on Saturday, and on Sunday, two of those four played in the finals of the event. Though Oscar Dominguez ended up scoring the two highest scores of all 12 matches, it was the “Rocket” himself, who downed Dominguez on Sunday to claim the first TSPN Cares benefit tournament title.
It should be noted that while the tournament did end on Sunday, and we’ve just provided you with the ultimate ‘spoiler’ alert, readers can still view the matches themselves on the TSPNCares page on Facebook. As of Monday night, donations were continuing to be accepted on the tspntournaments.com Web site, as well as entries for a number of raffles for pool-related, donated items. The matches themselves, streamed live and commentated by the team of Neight Mindham (from CueItUp podcasts) and Mike Demarco (with ShiptheCash stream) offer some entertaining play by the six professionals, playing a unique game.
Rocket Runout is one of a series of pool games, designated by Morris as the Saratoga series of games, which are a hybrid of 8-ball and 9-ball. In each of these Saratoga games, including the 9-ball variant played at the TSPN Cares benefit, the rack is divided up between the lowest stripes and the lowest solids and the 8-ball. In the TSPN Cares benefit that meant the balls numbered 1-4, 10-13 and the 8-ball were organized in a 9-ball rack. Played as a solo game, each player plays a rack in a race to a designated number; in the TSPN case, it was 20 racks. The game(s) could be played in a two-player matchup, as well. The object of the game is much the same as 8-ball; break the balls, select either stripes or solids, sink ‘your’ four balls (in rotation, low to high) and the 8-ball. Each pocketed ball is worth a single point and the 8-ball is worth 6, making the total points possible per rack, 10. There are ‘less point’ options available and rule specifics that would make this report longer than it really needs to be, like the ‘Salvage’ rule that states that if you’ve sunk a certain number of your designated solid or stripe balls and miss one, you may take ball-in-hand and try to run the other ones, which, if successful, will score you five points.
Thus, with the specific race-to-20 racks, 10-points-available per rack rule firmly in mind, we have a perspective on the scores that were recorded, beginning with Friday’s six matches. As noted earlier, Dominguez, who played last among the six, recorded the day’s highest (and event’s second highest) score point total of 152. Morris was second with 138 and Hundal checked in with 127. Though absolutely convinced that he wasn’t going to be advancing to day two of this event, The Scorpion (Archer) recorded 120 to make the cut.
“I don’t think I’ll be playing tomorrow,” he said, right after completing his 20 racks. “120 probably ain’t going to make it.”
But it did. As low men on the proverbial totem pole on Day One, the two Tonys (Crosby, 118 and Robles, 111) didn’t make the cut.
On Day Two, Dominguez showed up with his ‘A’ game again and recorded the event’s highest score of 166. For the second time, Morris came in second, this time with 122. Archer and Hundal, who chalked up 114 and 96, respectively, didn’t make it to Day Three.
In the finals of the event on Sunday, it was Morris who showed up with his ‘A’ game, chalking up the third-highest point total of the 12 (131) and defeating Dominguez’ effort by 12 points at 119.
In concept, the Saratoga series of pool games, especially the 9-ball variant, would appear to be easier than either of their hybrid forebearers; 8-ball or 9-ball. But like a lot of things, appearances can be deceiving.
“The (9-ball Saratoga) game seems easy, like all you have to do is run five balls,” said TSPN’s Mapes -Stremler, “but it’s very deceptive.”
“You not only have five balls, but you have to shoot them in rotation,” she added, “so with calling shots and the other balls in the way, this is a challenging game.”
“It improves everything about your game,” said Morris. “There’s a lot of strategy and a lot of thinking going on.
“In games, like 8-ball and 9-ball,” he added, “normally, it’s like connecting the dots. People like the creativity that comes into play with this game.”
As with its streaming ‘ghost’ game predecessors – The Ashton Twins, Roy’s Basement, and the WPBA (among others) – TSPN will likely be doing this again.
This one, it should be noted, is still happening, with the videos available on the TSPN Cares Facebook page and donations and raffle purchases still being accepted at http://www.tspntournaments.com. The raffle and donations are being extended for an indeterminate amount of time, based on site traffic. According to preliminary reports on the ‘views’ associated with the stream, around 12K people watched over the three days of the event. Sunday’s finals recorded views of 6.2K.
Donated money, by the way, will be divided up among all six players and donated to their respective states in the following way:
