Janet Atwell hosts first Borderline Brunswick Invitational in a new Borderline Billiards facility
Unlike pool tours that measure member performance on more or less of a yearly basis, wiping the slate clean to start fresh once a tour’s new season gets underway, the Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s (WPBA) Leaderboard is a snapshot of its last 10 events; a sort of ‘what have you done for me lately’ look at a player’s accomplishments on the tour, represented in points-earned. With two of the WPBA’s top competitors (Jasmin Ouschan, #3 and Allison Fisher, #7) not in attendance for this past (long) weekend’s Borderline Brunswick Invitational (May 1-5), there were opportunities, both literally and figuratively, ‘on the table’ for those who were in attendance to advance a notch or two on the Leaderboard.
None of them could have de-throned either Tzu-Chien Wei from her #1 spot or Kelly Fisher from #2, who battled twice against Kristina Tkach to claim the title. Fisher and Tzu-Chien have competed in nine of the 10 qualifying events dating back to the 2022 Puerto Rico Open and had too much of a ‘points’ lead to be caught in a single event. If Tzu-Chien had opted out of the Borderline Invitational, Kelly would have left Bristol, TN in the top spot. As it turned out, Tzu-Chien finished in the tie for 5th place, adding enough points to her 10-event total to retain the top spot.
There were a couple of individual noteworthy performances at the $20,000-added Borderline Brunswick Invitational that drew 80 entrants to the new Borderline Brunswick Arena in Bristol, TN, formerly just Borderline Billiards. The new site is within walking distance of the old one, and did not host this event without a lot of predictable ‘opening’ issues, as workers at the new site coordinated their schedules to create and ‘polish’ the interior in time for this event. Room owner Janet Atwell not only pulled it all together in time (there was a ‘soft opening’ of the doors a week earlier for the general public), but did so after weeks and weeks of frustrating delays, discovered issues with the architecture, the everyday hassles of opening a new business and sustaining an ankle injury. She also competed in the event she was hosting, looking for an opportunity to sustain or improve on her #11 position on the WPBA Leaderboard.
Atwell joined April Larson in the streaming booth for the Fisher/Tkach final and in addition to insightful observations about shot-making choices and table situations, the girls got to chatting a bit, with April asking her early-on how she was feeling about the opening of her new pool room.
“I’m absolutely blown away,” Atwell told her, although, at the moment she was asked, she added “I’m wondering when I’m going to get some sleep.”
“It’s been a roller coaster of emotions,” she went on to say, noting that it took some perseverance to get to the point at which she owned the 130-year-old building and became the beneficiary of the good fortune that led to her being able to stay in the downtown Bristol area where she had launched the original Borderline Billiards 18 years ago. In addition to changing from tenant to property owner, the shift allowed Atwell to maintain the original name, because the new Borderline Billiards, as with the old Borderline Billiards, exists on the state line between Virginia and Tennessee.
“A lot of stars had to align to let me stay downtown,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave the downtown community.”
“There’s still a lot of things to do to get it where I want it,” she added. “You know, you have a budget, start out at a certain point and the ideas continue. I’ve added a lot more money, but it’s added more to the value, too.”
In noting enthusiastic responses from those in attendance (including Larson herself), Larson asked her if the reality of the new room was better than she’d imagined it would be.
“It is,” she replied. “It’s one thing to build a nice place, but when people react positively, it’s not just for me, but for the people who love pool and the community, too.”
Atwell went on to note that while she had not done as well as she might have hoped in competing for the first title in her new room, she felt good about the effort that she’d put in to it. It was an effort, she explained, that was aided by an unexpected difference.
“Haven’t hit a ball to speak of in three or four months,” she explained to Larson and a larger audience in the chat room of the stream. “I stayed down on my shots, ‘cause I didn’t have the energy to jump up.”
Atwell finished in the tie for 17th place, as 13-year-old Savannah Easton, finishing 4th, slipped ahead of her, eventually taking charge of the 10th spot on the Leaderboard. Easton defeated Atwell 8-4 in the second round of the event’s Stage 2, just ahead of sending Tzu-Chien Wei to the loss side 8-6 in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Two years ago, at the old Borderline Billiards, Easton had chalked up her best finish at a WPBA event (5th), until this past weekend, when her 4th place finish became the best.
The Borderline Brunswick Invitational began earlier in the week with a Stage 1, double-elimination bracket with 48 players. That number was reduced to 16; eight from the winners’ side of the bracket and eight from the loss side. Those 16 joined 32 seeded competitors in the final Stage 2.
Fisher’s path through the final field of 48 went through Tina Larsen 8-1, April Larson 8-3, and Kaylee McIntosh 8-3, to arrive at winners’ side semifinal against Pia Filler, who was one of the 16 who advanced from Stage 1. Kristina Tkach, in the meantime, got by Laura Smith (0) and Susan Williams (5), before meeting and defeating one of the event’s two youngest competitors, Sofia “Pink Dagger” Mast (3) and drawing the other, the aforementioned Savannah “Roadrunner” Easton in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Fisher and Tkach gave up two racks each to Filler and Easton and met for the first time in the hot seat match. Tkach claimed it 8-4 and waited to see who’d be coming back from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Filler drew Tzu-Chien Wei, who’d followed her winners’ side quarterfinal loss to the “Road Runner” with victories over Loree Jon Brown 8-6 and April Larson 8-4. The “Road Runner” picked up Kristina Zlateva, who’d followed her loss to “The Pink Dagger” with a four-pack of wins, three of which went double hill; versus Margarita Fefilova (DH), Kennedy Meyman (1), Kaylee McIntosh (DH), and Brittany Bryant (DH).
Easton stopped Zlateva’s run 8-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals. There’s no telling what could have happened, had Filler not defeated Tzu-Chien Wei 8-4 and advanced to join Easton in those quarterfinals. Pre-supposing that Tzu-Chien would have defeated Easton in what might have been their quarterfinal (by no means a “given”), it would have put the WPBA’s top two competitors face-to-face in the semifinals.
As it turned out, Filler downed Easton 8-1 in those quarterfinals to earn a rematch against Fisher. Filler did a little better in the rematch, but Fisher defeated her a second time (8-4) to earn her own rematch against Tkach.
It looked, right out of the gate, as if there were going to be no stopping Kelly Fisher in the final. She broke the first rack and dropped four balls. And then, shooting at the 8-ball, she overshot her ‘position’ with the cue ball and then, shooting at an oblique angle, failed to drop the 9-ball. Tkach did and followed by dropping three on her own break, and running to the 9-ball. She missed the relatively easy shot,giving Fisher the opportunity for a quick ‘payback.’ She took it and tied the score.
Winning off of each other’s break became something of a habit as the two of them fought back and forth to a 3-3 tie. Fisher broke and ran rack #7, starting a three-match run. Tkach fought back, winning three to tie it again at 6-6. Fisher took the lead back, off of a three-ball break and run, then took advantage of a scratch on Tkach’s break to go up by two and then, reached the hill, ahead by three at 9-6.
Tkach kept it interesting by pulling within two in rack #16. Fisher, though, a hard person to deny at this stage of a match, completed her trip to the winners’ circle with a final rack to claim the first Borderline Brunswick Invitational title.
Room owners Kim and Tracy Sanders welcomed pool aficionados to Round Rock, TX for their inaugural $14,000 added Skinny Bob’s Nine Ball Classic.
It was noted that in addition to the Americans, the field had players from all over the world representing Canada, Poland, Bulgaria, Mexico, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Venezuela, Switzerland, Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
Players and fans were treated to three main championships in addition to a banks ring game, a ladies ring nine ball game and an opening night nine ball mini. When the smoke cleared in the $500 added event, Fedor Gorst and Jeff de Luna chopped the cheese.
The event continued the following day with the $4,000 added One Pocket Tournament. Thirty seven players posted a $200 entry fee to compete – the format was double elimination with races to three.
Hot off claiming the Bayou State Classic One Pocket title, Roberto Gomez was still on fire. After receiving a first round bye and then dispatching Kristina Zlateva 3-0, Kash Keeton 3-0, Jerry (Alex) Calderon 3-2 and Roland Garcia 3-1, Roberto arrived at the hot seat match.
Meanwhile, Fedor Gorst was taking no prisoners as he tore through the bottom half of the chart. Mark Nanashee 3-0, Chip Compton 3-1, Billy Thorpe 3-0, Jeff de Luna 3-0 and Raed Shabib 3-0 were all sent west by the Russian.
The hot seat match was close but in the end, it was Gorst who edged out Gomez 3-2 to take his seat in the finals.
After being sent to the one loss side by Calderon 3-2, Roland Garcia eliminated de Luna 3-1 and Tommy Tokoph 3-2 to take on Roberto. Neck and neck, in the end it was Roland who won the match 3-2 and moved on to the finals.
Although he put up a good fight in the finals, Roland went down 3-0 and Fedor claimed another title!
Later that night, another $500 was added to the banks ring game and finalists Fedor Gorst and Blaine Barcus decided to split the cash.
The $300 added Ladies Ring Nine Ball game also began. Bulgaria’s Kristina Zlateva took top honors over Michelle Corteza with Jennifer Kraber and Kim Pierce taking third and fourth places.
The following day, the $7,000 added Open Nine Ball began. A full field of 128 players posted their $150 entry fee to play in this double elimination, winner breaks tournament – races were 7/7.
Although the field was packed with champions, it didn’t seem to matter to young Gabriel Martinez. He won his first match against Daniel Schneider 7-2 and barely survived against current Texas Open champ Vitaliy Patsura 7-6. Down went Steve Sheppard 7-5, Jon Demetand Joey Torres – both 7-2. Next was Blaine Barcus 7-4 – Gabe had arrived at the hot seat match.
However, in the other portion of the bracket, Fedor Gorst was on his way to the hot seat. He barely broke a sweat as he defeated Bart Czapla 7-4 and skunked Eric Aicinena and Roberto Gomez 7-0. Next was Naoyuki Oi who went down 7-2, Jesus Atencio 7-3 and Michael Schneider 7-1.
Gorst steamrolled Martinez 7-0, locked up his seat in the finals and sent Gabe west to await an opponent.
After being beaten by Gorst, Michael Schneider beatreigning Bayou State Classic 9 Ball champ, Roland Garcia and Blaine Barcus – both 7-4 – to face Martinez for the other slot in the finals.
Looking for a rematch with Fedor, Gabe eliminated Michael 7-3 and moved into the finals.
Since this was true double elimination, Gabe would have to win two matches to claim the title. Fedor was having none of that as he took the match & title 7-4.
Sakura Muramatsu
The final division of this event began on Saturday. A full field of thirty two players posted their $100 entry fees to play in the $2,500 added Ladies Nine Ball Championship. This was also double elimination with winner breaks and races to 7/5.
Known as “The Roadrunner,” young Savannah Easton shot out of the gate and without looking back, ended up in the hot seat match. On her way there, she defeated Crystal Jones 7-1, edged out Sakura Muramatsu 7-6, Kennedy Meyman 7-2 and Kim Sanders 7-4.
In the other portion of the bracket, Tara Williams survived two squeakers against Liz Galvan and Jennifer Kraber 7-6. She then spanked former Texas Open champ Ming Ng 7-2 and the always tough April Larson 7-4 on her way to the hot seat match.
The hot seat match was all Savannah as she cruised past Tara 7-3 and waited for a finals opponent.
Meanwhile, after losing her second match to Savannah, Sakura mowed down both Melissa Smith and Ada Lio 5-1, Ming 5-2, Angie Payne 5-1, Kim Sanders 5-0, Music City Open champ Tina Malm 5-3 and Tara 5-0 to reach the finals.
Since this was true double elimination, the current Texas Open 9 Ball champ would have to beat Savannah twice – and she did. Sakura won the first set 7-5 and the second one 5-1 to take the title!
And, as usual, thanks again to everyone at Skinny Bob’s for a first class event! Big thanks to the local sponsors – they included Austin Pro, Diamond Billiard Products, GAF, Hanshew Custom Cues, Sanders Roofing & Exteriors, ABC Supply Co, Inc., Simonis, Aramith, Savage Billiards and Mints Amusements.
Thanks to Tournament Director Jason Hill for doing an exemplary job juggling multiple events.
And, as always, we’d like to thank our fans and sponsors! They include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Lomax Custom Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Diamond Billiard Products, Durbin Custom Cues, Savage Billiards, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event is the $12,000 added Midwest Open Billiards Championship III to be held at Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH. Featuring six events – one pocket, 9 ball banks, open nine ball, a bank ring game, ladies 8 ball, a pro ten ball invitational and mini tournaments galore – Michael’s will also crown an all around champ! Dates are March 20th-26th – hope to see you there!
Over his sixty plus years in the Billiards Industry, Mark Griffin has outran a lot of things. He underwent a double lung transplant in 2015. A year later, Griffin started having issues with his retina and lost the use of his right eye. From what Griffin’s doctors tell him, he may have finally run into the obstacle that he can’t outrun. Griffin went to the doctor in October of this year, suffering with problems with his foot, and was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. This situation has quickly gotten worse and Mark has recently been informed that he doesn’t have much longer to live.
Griffin first got involved in the pool world during the 7th grade when his father purchased a table for their home. The table got so much use in the Griffin residence, that it needed to be recovered and Mark was the man for the job. Griffin started recovering more and more tables in the Alaska area, and he started becoming known for his speed and precision at the task. “I used to keep track in a book of every table that I did, but I stopped doing that when I reached 1000 tables in the book” said Griffin.
In early 1969, Griffin opened his first pool room, the Q & 8 Billiards. Griffin fondly remembered that the room was known as “The Den of Iniquity” back then. A year later, he expanded to a second pool room, Lazy Cue Billiards Academy in Mountain View, Alaska. Griffin discovered that a love for the game sometimes isn’t enough to make a living and found himself taking odd jobs to make ends meet. “I worked for Thrifty Rental Cars, washing cars for a year” Griffin remembered. “I couldn’t get a real job. They always told me I was overqualified”.
Grady Mathews with Mark in 2007
Griffin finally found himself involved in the bingo scene in Alaska and became one of the biggest sellers of bingo supplies in the state. He actually opened a Bingo Hall at the former location of one of the larger pool halls in Anchorage.
Griffin got back into pool in the late 80’s and hasn’t left the game since. He opened the Anchorage Billiard Palace in 1988, a room recognized by Billiards Digest as one of the best rooms in the game back then. In 1996, Griffin acquired College Billiards in San Diego and went on to purchase three other rooms in the San Diego area.
In 2001, Griffin became a major partner in Diamond Billiards Products, and provided the building that Diamond occupies to this day. In 2004, Griffin purchased the BCA Pool League from the Billiard Congress of America. The purchase of the BCA Leagues was the catalyst for creating Cue Sports International. “I was working twelve hour days, living in the offices, working on getting CSI going” said Griffin.
Griffin brought back the US Open Banks and One Pocket events in 2004, and ran them under the CSI umbrella, along with the BCA Pool League World Championship. Three years later, Griffin started the US Open 10-Ball, 14.1 and 8-Ball events. He would later add the US Bar Table Championships to the list of events that were ran by CSI.
Mark with Harry Platis in 2010
In 2007, Mark made a small contribution to help bring in commentators for a challenge match between Shane Van Boening and Corey Deuel. That challenge match would be the first match for the newly formed The Action Report (TAR) and Mark would be a part of it, along with Justin Collett, until the end. Mark got involved in the project, and provided the dedicated studio where they would record many of their matches. TAR helped create modern billiards streaming and we know it today.
2009 was a big year for Griffin. He was named the “Man of the Year” by Billiards Digest magazine and he also created the USAPL League System. The USAPL continues to grow today, and boasts over 10,000 players in its system. “I think the USAPL will eventually be the best league system in the game.” Griffin predicts.
With the large number of events that were being run by CSI all over the country, a system was needed to display brackets online and CTS on Demand was created. The decades worth of data that had been accumulated by CTS on Demand amounted to nearly a million matches and became the starting ground for the FargoRate system. Mark helped to financially support the business’s creation.
In 2016, a year after his double lung transplant, Mark opened Griff’s Bar & Billiards in Las Vegas, which has remained one of the premier pool rooms in the sport today.
Mark with Mary Kenniston in 2011
Not everything that Griffin did in the industry was even seen by most fans of the game. For example, after a shortfall by the tournament director of the UPA Desert Shoot Out in 2008, Griffin stepped in and covered the deficit in prize money of over $20,000 to make sure that the top pros were paid what they had won. He did this without fanfare or accolades. He did it to help take care of the game.
Through all of the projects that Griffin has been a part of, he has never been shy to express his opinion, and today is no different. Griffin still offers his opinion on the happenings in the game today. “The pro game is great for the players today, but the system is still broken” said Griffin. “It eats its young. The big players keep talking about working together, but it doesn’t happen. ”
Griffin does see the positive things in the sport today though. “Savannah Easton is going to be another Jean Balukas” he says. “She has all of the talent and a great team behind her”. Griff’s is the home of multiple top juniors, including Easton and Jin Powell.
With a list of accomplishments as long as Griffin’s, you would think that he had done everything he wanted to do in the game. That would not be the case though. “I was never able to get the movers and shakers of the industry together for a consortium, like I had hoped to” Griffin explains. “The power brokers of the industry never seem to be able to put aside their differences and work together. There has always been an attitude in the game that in order to win, your competitor needs to lose. That needs to change.”
Greg Sullivan and Ralf Souquet with Mark in 2008
As Mark finds himself near the end of his journey, he is still hard at work every day on mapping out the future for the various interests that he has in the game. “Griff’s will stay open. To the average person, they won’t know anything has changed. I just won’t be there” he says. Griffin has a tournament director chosen to keep the pro events that he owns going long into the future. “The US Open 8-Ball and 10-Ball will be in March, and the One Pocket and Banks will be later in the year” he explains.
Griffin has been a major partner in OB Cues for the last five years, but his recent illness is going to force OB to either restructure or close their doors.
Mark was the proud owner of one of the largest Cue Stick collections in the country. He also owned one of the largest printed media collections and was involved in all facets of the industry. “
One of the things that Griffin is the most proud of is the fact that he always paid the players what they were owed. “I never did say I was going to do a lot of things. I just did them. “ Griffin proudly says.
It’s been a long road for Griffin. He has seen the billiards industry from just about every angle. He has been a major contributor in the creation of a number of important parts of today’s game. He’s been a player, table mechanic, room owner, league operator, tournament director, promoter and has helped to fund Diamond, Fargo Rate, The Action Report, OB CUES and much much more. While some people may not agree with everything Mark has said and done during his long illustrious career, no one can argue that he didn’t help this game to be better than it was when he first got involved with it, so many years ago.
In respect for Mark and his current health conditions, please refrain from calling him. Communication via email would be preferred. As the inevitable comes closer, there will be announcements for services and remembrances.
April Larson, Kim Sanders, Jennifer Kraber and Rhio Anne Flores
There’s a lot of it going around these days. A younger generation of pool players going head to head against an older generation of players who were around before they were born. In Puerto Rico recently, the phenomenon featured WPBA top pro Kelly Fisher doing battle against 12-year-old Savannah Easton and in the early going, the 12-year-old was ahead 3-2, albeit not for long. That sort, though not precisely that sort of generational ‘combat’ was on display this past weekend at the On the Ball Ladies Tour in the finale of the tour’s season. Veteran Texas competitor, Jennifer Kraber, whose recorded-to-us career got its start when she finished 17th on the Hunter Tour back in 2000, and former five-time BEF Junior National Champion (2012-2016) and current WPBA competitor April Larson (aka The Grinder) squared off twice in the hot seat and finals of the $3,000-added ($2,000, On the Ball Co., $1,000, Skinny Bob’s) season finale, that drew 28 entrants to Skinny Bob’s in Round Rock, TX.
Kraber went undefeated at the event to claim the title, while Larson ended the tour’s season as its tour champion, beating out Ming Ng by a mere five points. In all, the tour handed out over $1,000 in awards and giveaways over the weekend. Its Most Improved Player award went to Chris Fields, who was also credited with the Most Break & Runs award. Natalie Mans was acknowledged as the tour’s top competitor at making the Most 9’s on the Snap, while Natalie Rocha received the tour’s Best Sportmanship award.
Kraber’s path to the winners’ circle in the tour’s season finale went through Rhio Anne (“Annie”) Flores, Kim Pierce and Gail Roles to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal matchup against Kim Sanders. The Grinder, in the meantime, got by Erica Hanlon, Molly McWhorter and Zoe Lozano to reach her winners’ side semifinal opponent, Michelle Cortez.
Kraber downed Sander 7-3, as Larson was dispatching Cortez to the loss side 7-2. The two generations battled to double hill in the hot seat match before Kraber won it and sat in the seat, awaiting Larson’s return.
On the loss side, Sanders picked up Ming Ng, who’d lost her third winners’ side match to Cortez, double hill and then defeated tour director Teresa Garland 7-5, and Chris Fields, double hill to face Sanders. Cortez, in the meantime, drew “Annie” Flores, who’d followed her opening round loss to Kraber with four loss-side wins, giving up only three total racks to Brenda Viola (1), Brittany Kromer (1), Carmel Luttrell (1) and Nicole McDaniel (0).
Flores made it five in a row, eliminating Cortez 7-4. Sanders and Ng locked up in a double hill fight that eventually put Sanders into the quarterfinals against Flores.
Another double hill battle ensued, this one eventually sent Sanders to the semifinals against Larson. Larson got a second shot at Kraber, waiting for her in the hot seat with a 7-4 win over Sanders in those semifinals.
The finals came within a game of double hill. Kraber, though, edged out in front near the end and won it 7-5, claiming the OTB Tour’s season finale title.
Tour director Teresa Garland thanked the ownership and staff at Skinny Bob’s for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor On the Ball Co., and Backwards Billiards for the free live streaming on YouTube. The On the Ball Ladies Tour for 2023 will be coming soon and available on the tour’s page here at AZBilliards.
Defending champion Chang Jung-Lin made it through the first round of the Predator World 8-Ball Championship with an 8-6 success over Dutchman Tim de Ruyter on the opening day of play at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan.
There were wins for Americans Shane van Boening and Tyler Styer, Germany’s Joshua Filler and Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw on the TV tables, with the former defeating Puerto Rico’s Alan Rolon.
The eventual winner will collect $60,000 of the $250,000 total prize fund from the event, which is part of the first annual Caribbean CueSports International Expo.
Rolon’s home crowd came out in force to support their local favorite, putting Van Boening in the rare spot of being the player less favored by those spectating. The Puerto Rican, who reached the knockout stages of the Medallla Light Puerto Rico Open during the week, took down the first rack and despite conceding the second, moved ahead again at 2-1 to a loud roar inside the arena.
But Van Boening’s quality ultimately showed. Rolon fouled by moving the 5 ball as he bridged over it and the American was able to level. A great break opened up the fifth rack for Van Boening, and before Rolon knew it he was 6-2 down in the race to eight.
A dry break afforded Rolon an opportunity to claw back the deficit. He found trouble with four balls left but made the 12 with position on the 15 to bring the match to 6-3. However, his next break shot was his final visit as he came up dry, turning the table to Van Boening.
The five-time US Open champion had a straight shot on the 14 which set him up for the rack. Breaking at 7-3 ahead, Van Boening had the 12 down but opted to shoot the 2 owing to the layout of the table. A runout followed for the South Dakota Kid, who returns on Sunday to face Johnny Salas.
While Van Boening was winning on Table 1, on Table 2 a battle was heating up between two member’s of USA’s World Teams Championship roster from September.
Joey Tate and Tyler Styer are close friends off the table and with neither player able to build a substantial lead throughout the match it was Styer who arrived first on the hill before just a second dry break of the match by Styer allowed Tate to the table. The 17-year-old, who is also competing in Under-19 division of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships this week, played the 15 brilliantly to bring the 10 away from the side rail and from there had no problems in reaching the hill.
A dry break came at the worst possible time for Tate but when Styer missed a 4 he’d usually expect to make, the younger of the two Americans was back at the table. However, he missed the 9 to the middle pocket with three balls and the 8 remaining.
Styer showed he was feeling the pressure when the cue clipped the 10 as he looked for position on the 4. He played the shot well but again the cue kicked another ball, this time the 11, as it came through for position on the 7. The former Kremlin Cup winner held his nerve, though, and made a testy shot up table to come back and make the match-winning 8.
“I’d rather play Shane or Jayson, anybody else but Joey,” said Styer. “I have helped him out a lot and taken him under my wing, so to draw him in the first round sucked. I believe in him but I have to forget about that when I play him because he is like a little brother to me.”
Later in the day, Tate advanced to the quarter-finals of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championship. Playing in the Under-19 division, he defeated Germany’s Dennis Laszkowski 9-5 to progress from the winners’ side. His sister Bethany is through to the last eight of the Girls division, along with Savannah Easton, Lena Primus and Alara Ghaffari. The other Under-19 quarter-finalists are Keane Derek Rota, Szymon Kural and Yannick Pongers.
Riku Romppanen, Mika van Berkel, Felix Vogel and Lazar Kostic made it four Europeans in the last eight of the Under 17s. The losers’ qualification matches of all three divisions take place on Sunday, followed by the quarter-finals. All matches are broadcast live on Kozoom.com and all three Junior finals will be on World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and watchbilliard.tv on Monday.
Predator World 8-Ball Championship reigning champion Chang Jung-Lin has waited ten years to defend his title and was given a tough examination by Tim de Ruyter before eventually winning 8-6. There was a hill-hill win for Jayson Shaw against Dimitris Loukatos while former World 8-Ball Champion Ralf Souquet will face Konrad Juszczyszyn on Sunday after beating Juan Carlos Exposito of Spain in his opening match.
Table 2 has full coverage and commentary on the Predator Pro Billiard Series Facebook Page. All tables, including matches from the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships, can be watch live for FREE at Kozoom.com
Four-time Predator Pro Billiard Series champion Kelly Fisher had to come from 3-2 down to eventually win the second set against 12-year-old American Savannah Easton and move to the winners’ qualification stage of the Medalla Light Puerto Rico Open.
At the impressively set-up Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, 192 pro players from 44 countries opened the 2022 Caribbean CueSports International Expo on Tuesday. With $100,000 in the prize pot of the 128-player Open, and $75,000 for the 64-player Women’s event, the Medalla Light Puerto Rico Open is the final stop of the 2022 Predator Pro Billiard Series and will be followed in Puerto Rico by the Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships and Predator World 8-Ball Championship.
After beating Elise Qiu on a shootout at the start of the day, Fisher faced Easton on the TV table in her hunt for an unprecedented fifth Predator Pro Billiard Series title. Easton has been making waves this year, most recently taking fifth in the WPBA’s Sledgehammer Open in Bristol, TN last month.
The 12-year-old had seen off Emilyn Callado in straight sets in the opening round and earned a huge ovation from the Puerto Rican crowd for her efforts against Fisher, who was almost taken to shootout by the youngster nicknamed ‘Roadrunner’.
Having won the first set 4-2, Fisher took a 2-0 lead in the second. However, the American youngster, who will take part in the Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships starting Friday, cut that lead in half after making the 5 with the bridge. Easton then leveled the set at 2-2 after a safety battle with just the 9 and 10 remaining and a long 8 opened up the fifth game of the set for the junior, who took a 3-2 lead.
A dry break from the hill allowed Fisher to play a safety which Easton couldn’t escape but ball in hand was returned by the Brit when she completely missed the 7. However, Easton left a long 9 in the jaw and Fisher was finally level again at hill-hill in the second set.
The final rack brought more drama as Easton battled for the shootout but the pressure showed as she overcut the 10. Both players had another chance to close out the set but it was Fisher who got over the line to advance to winners qualification tomorrow.
“What a great player, she has nerves of steel and definitely one to watch for the future,” said Fisher. “She should have had me there, it should have been a shootout. I was all over the place but she missed some crucial balls at the end.
“What a great future she knows she must have, she is a great player and we are going to see her in the future. I, personally, don’t want to play her again; she put me under pressure, she got me, could have had me, and I don’t want to play her again until she’s 18!”
“I was this close, I was so close,” said Easton. “In the first set when I was 2-2 I thought I might be able to beat her, and in the second set when it was 3-2 and I took that break, I was so excited but I tried to hold it in as much as I could. It was so fun, I couldn’t believe it.”
In the men’s tournament, local favorite Alan Rolon was well-supported as he Wu Kun Lin by shootout and then Alex Montpellier to earn a day off and set up a winners’ qualification match against Badar Alawadhi on Thursday morning.
A strong field spelt early casualties as the likes of Ko Ping-Han, Aloysius Yapp and Ko Pin-Yi all lost in the first round and now face a long road to reach the last 32 and single elimination.
The late Helena Thornfeldt remembered in heartfelt 1st Annual event named in her honor
She was nicknamed the Sledgehammer because of her powerful break. Whenever conversations about Helena Thornfeldt broke out among friends and competitors at the 1st Annual WPBA Cherokee Sledgehammer Open, named in her honor this past weekend (Wed., Oct. 19 – Sun., Oct. 23), more than just a few of the gathered women had cause to remember it; the loud whack of initial contact and the way the balls spread out as though desperate for space beyond the rails to dissipate the energy of it. It had taken over two years for the pool community’s widespread respect and admiration for the late Helena Thornfeldt to arrive at a gathering in her honor. The WPBA Hall of Famer died in August of 2019 and though Janet Atwell, in an attempt to organize a 2020 event, began work on it almost immediately, COVID had other ideas, that persisted.
This past weekend, Atwell’s room, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN had one of Thornfeldt’s favorite things, sunflowers, on prominent display. A table was set aside to hold a variety of individual and collections of photos. The trophies that were handed to the winner, Kelly Fisher and runner-up Kristina Tkach were accompanied by two actual sledgehammers, made by Robert Ingold of Team SuperShaft. Atwell is working on the creation of a permanent wall plaque at Borderline Billiards with engraving space for the event’s present and future winners, along with a pair of crossed sledgehammers. The event began on Wednesday with words from Janet Atwell and a video made by Bonnie Arnold that featured, among other things, Thornfeldt singing a karaoke version of Born to be Wild. The event officially opened with the National Anthem sung by Christina Druen.
“I think it was an emotional event for everyone,” said Atwell. “Some went through some struggles with it.”
“Absolutely,” agreed Kelly Fisher. “A very emotional event, that first night. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”
Kelly Fisher
“We all missed her really,” she added, “and we hadn’t had a chance to show that or feel that, as a family, together. I know that for myself, during that final and a during a few other close matches as well, I could just imagine Helena saying things to me. I went outside at one point to get a breath of air and Monica (Webb) said something to me that Helena would have said and I got kind of fired up there. So for me, personally, she was definitely a presence in my heart and mind.”
Among those in attendance, including Fisher, Tkach and Atwell of course, was Jeannette Lee, who had, in a 2017 interview, called Thornfeldt “the best female straight pool player in the world.” Lee joined Atwell as a member of a ProAm team (one of many) that played a social tournament on opening night, full of blatant sharking and fun. Monica Webb, who ran a restaurant business with Thornfeldt for a number of years, was there, as well. So, too, was the WPBA’s Peg Ledman, a personal friend of Thornfeldt. Not present, though there in spirit, was Allison Fisher, who was in England being awarded an MBE title (a Member of the British Empire) for her “contributions to sport,” many of those, from Britain’s point of view, earned as a snooker player there. The event also featured a strong contingent of (now) relatively well-known junior competitors like Hayleigh Marion (for whom Borderline Billiards is a home room), Sofia Mast, Skylar Hess and recipient of a great deal of attention, 12-year-old Savannah Easton.
The $10,000-added Sledgehammer Open drew a total of 80 entrants to Borderline Billiards, 32 of them drawing byes exempting them from Stage One competition. The 48 others, 16 of whom drew opening round byes in Stage One, played in a double-elimination bracket until there were eight on each side of it. Stage Two awarded byes to the top 16 in the WPBA standings, as the double-elimination bracket got underway, and . . . they were off.
Headlining the eight competitors who advanced to Stage Two from the winners’ side of the Stage One bracket was Sofia Mast, one of the 16 who’d been awarded opening round byes in Stage One. Her first opponent was Savannah Easton, setting up an early junior marquee matchup. Mast advanced on the winners’ side 7-2, while Easton would move to the loss side, winning three by an aggregate score of 21-5 and advancing to Stage Two. Also advancing on the winners’ side of the Stage One bracket were Kathy Friend, Jaye Succo, Nathalie Chabot, Christy Norris and the Callado sisters, Eleanor and Emilyn. Along with Easton, loss-side competitors advancing to Stage Two were junior competitors Skylar Hess and Precilia Kinsley, along with Nicole Albergaria, Dawn Oldag, Kim Housman, Lisa Cossette and Casey Cork.
Kristina Tkach
The opening round of Stage Two, with Kelly Fisher (among others) idle with opening round byes. Kristina Tkach played and won her opening round against Casey Cork 8-3 and then downed Stephanie Mitchell 8-3 in a match that set her up to face Fisher. Savannah Easton opened the Stage Two part of her title bid with a successful, double-hill match versus J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT) veteran Kia Burwell. Easton advanced to face another JPNEWT veteran and the #1-ranked American player in the WPBA rankings, Caroline Pao, where she (Easton), as they say, met her match; Pao winning the contest 8-5. Mast lost her opening Stage Two match to Meng-Hsia (Bean) Hung 8-2, and moved west for an eventual rematch against Easton.
Fisher, in the second round, downed Eleanor Callado 8-3 and then, in a late match, fell to Tkach 8-6. Tkach advanced to the other winners’ side semifinal against Pao.
“She obviously had worked very hard and perfected that cut break and I just wasn’t getting my break going,” said Fisher. “She obviously played very well to beat me. I knew she was in good shape and thought “Oh, my!”
At the other end of the bracket, Margaret Fefilova, with relative ease, was working her way through the winners’ side for an eventual matchup against Jennifer Baretta in the other winners’ side semifinal. Fefilova got by Lisa Cossette 8-3 before running into what turned out to be her toughest opponent (as gauged by racks-against), Janet Atwell, who chalked up five against her. Fefilova moved on to down Ashley Rice 8-2 and record a shutout over the #3 competitor in the WPBA rankings, Brittany Bryant, which set her up against Baretta.
Fefilova got into the hot seat match with an 8-3 win over Baretta and was joined by Tkach, who’d sent Pao to the loss side 8-4. On Saturday night, Tkach claimed the hot seat 8-2 over Fefilova and would wait until Sunday afternoon to see who came back from the semifinals.
It was Kelly Fisher. But she wouldn’t play that semifinal until Sunday. In the meantime, Pao and Baretta had business to attend to on what was left of Saturday night. Baretta picked up Savannah Easton, whose improbable and impressive run among this roomful of professional female pool players was still happening as the bracket whittled down to its final six. Easton had followed her loss to Pao with a loss-side, double-hill win over Beth Fondell and then, looking to advance into the first money round (17th/24th), she had the opportunity to avenge her Stage One loss to Sofia Mast. She did so, in a match that appropriately came within a game of going double hill. Easton then eliminated Laura Smith and won a double-hill battle against Emily Duddy. She then downed Monica Webb 8-6 and Dawn Hopkins 8-3.
Larry Easton, Savannah’s father, no stranger to his daughter’s talent, turned to Atwell as he was watching this, as amazed as many of the spectators at how far his daughter had come, in a lot of ways.
“I don’t even know what to say,” he told Atwell.
“She’s got great cue ball control, thinks ahead and plays very smart for her age,” Atwell would comment later. “She’s very strategic and plays great safeties. She plays like an adult and (her career) is off to a great start.”
Pao, in the meantime, drew Fisher, who’d started what she called a “grueling Saturday,” playing five matches in a row from noon to 8:30. She played and eliminated Meng-Hsia Hung (at noon), Janet Atwell (2 p.m.), Susan Williams (4:30) and the WPBA’s #2-ranked competitor, Brittany Bryant (6:30), all 8-4. Fisher defeated Pao 8-3 (8:30), as Baretta elicited a variety of mixed emotions from all assembled by ending Savannah Easton’s run 8-1. There was a lot of spectator applause in the moment, some of it for both of them, but a lot of it for the talented junior.
“People were excited to see her play,” said Atwell, “and happy with her finish.”
In a quarterfinal battle appropriate to the circumstances, played the following morning, Fisher and Baretta went double hill before Fisher prevailed. In the semifinals, Fisher went back to the loss-side pattern she’d established and punching her ticket to the finals, defeated Fefilova 8-4. Fisher might have played six matches to be in the finals, but thanks to Tkach, it required eight, including a loss. The rematch came within a game of double hill, but not before Fisher found herself down 2-5 and later, 5-8; Tkach a rack away from the hill.
“I was spurred on by pure determination really and the will to win it,” she said of her comeback. “I told Helena, I looked at her picture and like that, ‘Come on, do this for you’ kind of thing and whether you believe in that kind of thing or not, it’s not about who or what it takes to spur you on, but doing whatever it takes.”
“Whatever it was,” she added, “things turned around. I dug in my heels, hit a gear and took charge of the match.”
From 2-5 down, Fisher won eight of the last 11 games, including the last five in a row. Quite the gear, all things considered. Whether it was herself, Helena, or just the adrenaline of a final push to the finish line, Fisher brought it all to bear and claimed title to her close friend’s first and likely not the last memorial.
Helena Thornfeldt
The 1st Annual WPBA Cherokee Sledgehammer Open came about through the efforts of any number of people, all of whom host Janet Atwell thanked, from the players and spectators to the members of her staff. She also thanked event sponsors the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Brad Hendricks Law Firm (Little Rock, ARK), Patty and Walter Harper of Knoxville and the streaming services of DigitalPool with Upstate Al, Zach Goldsmith and a number of competitors who joined them in the booth.
Editor’s note: Helena Thornfeldt died on August 20, 2019 at the age of 52. Originally from Borlange, Sweden, she was living in Villa Rica, about 35 miles west of Atlanta, when she died. She had opened a new restaurant, Pizza Mania, 15 days before she passed. The “Sledgehammer” turned professional in 1994, was a three-time European straight pool champion and won the 2002 US Open Championship in New Mexico, downing Allison Fisher in the finals. In the year she was inducted into the WPBA Hall of Fame in 2017, she was ranked 9th among American pool players. We here at AZBilliards join with members of the ever-expanding pool community in mourning her loss and in the years to come, celebrating the life of such a vibrant, widely-admired and respected member of our community at an annual Sledgehammer Open.
Khalid Alghamdi became the first-ever SVB Junior Open winner beating Trenton White in the final during the 2022 US Open Pool Championship at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Alghamdi overcame White 9-3 in the final dropping only 14 racks across the six matches it took for the 17-year-old to claim the $2,500 first-place prize and free entry to the 2023 US Open Pool Championship and to write his name into the history books.
64 of the world’s best juniors descended on New Jersey with their own hopes of claiming victory with the likes of European double-gold medalist Yannick Pongers, Finnish sensation Riku Romppanen, rising USA stars Joey Tate, Savannah Easton and White all looking to take away the top prize.
Over the two days of action, juniors as young as Lyno Liu aged seven played in front of the same audience as the US Open scaring the current crop into what they’re going to come up against in years to come.
Alghamdi of Saudi Arabia had a run to the last 32 at the inaugural European Open back in August and it was clear he would be one to watch in AC and he was delighted with his performance: “It feels great. I am so happy to win the first-ever SVB Junior Open title. Shane is my idol when I started to play pool in 2015. It’s fun to see Shane and he’s taught me a lot in that time. It feels so good to play next to the champions. This is my last year as a junior, I am coming for them. I think I am ready to make the step up. I hope to learn more. My whole family, my mother, my father, my friends, and the federation were all watching. It was had. I can’t wait to play next year’s US Open Pool Championship.”
Emily Frazer, Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director added: “The SVB Junior Open was a remarkable event with a showcase of such talent amongst players from 7-years through to 17. It was great to work so closely with World Champion Shane Van Boening to turn his dream into a reality of inspiring the next generation of professional pool players. This is the first of many Junior Opens as we continue to grow the Nineball game over the coming years; it is all well and good creating a tour but there must be a next generation who are inspired to pick up their cue and earn a living through our Nineball World Rankings system. Not only was it fantastic to see such a diverse field of ages, genders, and nationalities, but it was also fantastic to see so much support from our professionals who were at the business end of the US Open during the competition. I cannot wait to see what the next one brings.”
Zach DiMotta, President of Imperial said: “It was amazing to be a part of and see Matchroom put on its first junior event. I think that you couldn’t have asked for more out of this partnership with Shane Van Boening. There are few times that you get to witness the world’s complete junior Nineball talent in one arena and that is what all the fans got to witness. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this event.”
Juniors were competing for a slice of the $10,000 prize fund with the field extended from 32 to 64 players due to demand. Van Boening’s official cue partner, Cuetec put up $5,000 alongside $5,000 from Matchroom to offer one of the most exciting prize pots in Junior Pool. Juniors also received an SVB Junior Open jersey free of charge from official apparel partner Onboard.
The tournament was played on Diamond Tables, with Simonis Shark Grey 860 cloth, Aramith Tournament Black balls, and KAMUI chalk in the same Diamond Arena as the US Open Pool Championship which took place from October 10-15.
Digital Pool would like to welcome Savannah “The RoadRunner” Easton as the newest member to the Digital Pool Pro Team! At only 12 years old she is a fierce competitor and has really been making quite a name for herself over the past year by being a positive influence for the game and competing in many pro-level events all across the country. She has already won several national titles at the BEF Junior Nationals this year and she is looking to secure a few more at the upcoming SVB Junior Open and WPA Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships. Savannah has a very bright future ahead and we look forward to supporting her in achieving all of her goals and dreams. Welcome to the team Savannah!
Biography:
Savannah Easton, aka Roadrunner, born and raised in Las Vegas, started learning the concept of pool at the age of 4 by watching her dad, Larry, played at home. She was a leisure home player on and off between the years. Because she was involved in many other sports like baseball and ice hockey, competing in pool never crossed her mind. In July 2021, at the age of 11, she decided to compete in BEF Junior Nationals as her first tournament, although she did not place that year, it spiked her interest in continuing to compete. She continued to practiced at home, placed in many local adult tournaments, ladies tournaments, started to travel for junior international championship and was invited to multiple WPBA events. In June 2022, her second time entering the BEF Junior Nationals, she accomplished both 18 and under Girls 8 ball as well as 14 and under Girls 9 ball National Champion titles. It took her exactly 11 months to achieve her first goal.
Nothing is going to stop Savannah from moving forward. Playing players heads up and a willingness to challenge anyone (even Shane VanBoening or Jayson Shaw) to a set. She plays well under pressure and thrives on competition.
Jayson Shaw, Mika Immonen and defending champion Aloysius Yapp are all through to the last 16 of the Seybert’s Michigan Open, while Jasmin Ouschan, Allison Fisher and Margaret Fefilova are into the single elimination stage of the women’s event at the fourth 2022 stop on the Predator US Pro Billiard Series presented by CSI.
Fefilova followed her opening-day victory over Kelly Fisher with a 4-0, 4-1 win against Shanelle Loraine to come through the winners’ side of the draw and into the last 16. Karen Corr rolled back the years to beat Canada Open champion ‘Amber’ Chia Hua Chen by shootout for her place in the single elimination stage, and Allison Fisher defeated Kristina Tkach, also by shootout.
In the open event, Immonen produced a strong performance to beat Naoyuki Oi 4-0, 4-3 for a place in the single elimination stage. The Finnish Hall of Famer won the lag and ran three racks before a dry break allowed Oi out of his chair. However, a misplayed 1-ball bank left a 1/10 combo for Immonen to win the set.
In a reversal of the first set, Oi took the first three racks of the second. However, Immonen was determined to avoid the shootout and put together a brilliant four-pack to win the set 4-3.
“That is probably the best I have played in a little while,” said Immonen. “It was nice to come out of the gates strong and put a three pack on him. He got into the game a little bit in the second set and was 3-0 up. I made a few mistakes but I finally ran out and broke and ran three to close the door to him. When you win the first set, the worst case is you go to shootout, but it was nice to close the door.”
Chang Jung-Lin was taken to a shootout by Sharik Sayed after their first two sets finished 4-1, 2-4. Sayed had sent Carlo Biado to the losers’ side earlier in the day with a 4-3 shootout win, but wasn’t as sharp from the spot against Chang, missing his first two as Chang made three in three to advance to the last 16.
Yapp and Shaw both also needed shootouts to advance. Yapp, winner of this event last fall, won 4-1, 1-4, 3-2 against Bader Alawadhi and Shaw was a 4-2, 1-4, 4-3 winner against Pijus Labutis.
Fedor Gorst, Vitaliy Patsura, Robbie Capito and Joven Bustamante complete the eight players who have made it through to the last 16 from the winners’ side, with three rounds of play on Friday set to determine the other half of the single elimination draw.
Among the big-name players returning on the losers’ side are Alex Pagulayan, who lost in a shootout to Ukraine’s Vitaliy Patsura on Wednesday, John Morra, who was defeated 4-0, 4-1 by Shaw, and Biado after his defeat to Sayed.
Recent World Women’s 10-Ball Championship runner-up Wei Tzu-Chien is among the players who join Fefilova, Corr, Allison Fisher and Ouschan in reaching the last 16 without defeat.
Play continues from 10am local time on Friday, with six more matches to be broadcast live on watchbilliard.tv and the World Billiard TV YouTube channel.
