Chalking up his first win on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour in a little over a year, Kelly Farrar did it this past weekend (Sat., Sept 24) the way he did it a year ago, going undefeated and defeating the same opponent twice in the hot seat and finals. Last year at Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC, he defeated Scott Johnson twice. This year, it was Justin Knuckles at the $250-added event that drew a short field of 18 entrants to Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
Both advanced through the short field to arrive at their respective winners’ side semifinals; Farrar versus Brian Overman and Knuckles against Glen Spikes. Farrar got into the hot seat match with a 7-3 victory over Overman and was joined by Knuckles, who sent Spikes west 7-2. Farrar took his first of two against Knuckles 7-5.
On the loss side, Overman and Spikes ran right into their second straight loss. Overman drew Danny Farren, who’d defeated Ron Ford 8-1 and Jack Whitfield 8-4 to reach him. Spikes picked up Delton Howard, who’d survived a double hill match against Thomas Sansone and eliminated Thomas Cook 8-3 to reach him.
In what were battles for advancement to the first money round, the quarterfinals, Howard and Farren defeated Spikes and Overman by the same 8-2 score. Howard followed up with a strong 8-1 victory over Farren in those quarterfinals.
The Knuckles/Howard semifinal turned into a double hill struggle for a shot at the event title. With Howard racing to 8, Knuckles claimed that shot.
The final was a carbon copy of their hot seat match. Same result. Farrar won it 7-5 to chalk up his second title on the tour.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mickey Milligan’s for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues
Until the weekend of September 7-8, Kelly Farrar had cashed in only three events on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, finishing 4th twice (both times in May, 2018 and 2019) and 5th once (this past April). In a relatively small field on hand for the tour stop at Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh (18 entrants) this past weekend, he went undefeated to claim his first tour title.
He defeated Scott Johnson, also looking for his first tour win, twice to do it. Johnson had only cashed twice previously on the tour, finishing 3rd a little over a month ago (July) and was runner-up to JT Ringgold at a stop in April, 2016.
They advanced through the short field to a winners’ side semifinal match. Farrar faced Travis Guerra, as Johnson met up with Gary South. Johnson sent South west 7-3. He was joined in the hot seat match by Farrar, who’d given up only a single rack to Geurra in a 6-1 victory. With Johnson racing to 7, Farrar defeated him double hill (6-6) and sat in the hot seat, awaiting his return.
On the loss side, Guerra drew Josh Shultz, who’d defeated Brian Overman 6-4 and Steve Jenkins 6-2 to reach him. South picked up Tanya Parsley, who’d been defeated in the opening round of play by Ricky Dickson and was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take her as far as the semifinals. She’d recently shut out Billie Spadafora and defeated David Strum 4-3 (Strum racing to 6).
Both matches for advancement to the quarterfinals went double hill, with Guerra downing Shultz 6-5 and Parsley knocking off South 4-6 (South racing to 7). With Guerra racing to 6, Parsley won the quarterfinal match 4-4.
Johnson was able to put an end to Parsley’s winning streak in the semifinals, but not before she’d brought him to the brink and forced a 10th and deciding game. Johnson’s 7-3 win gave him a second shot at Farrar in the hot seat. Farrar, though, improved on his hot seat performance with a 6-4 win over Johnson in the finals.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Brown’s Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (September 14-15), will be the $500-added North Carolina State 8-Ball Championships ($1,000-added with field of 64), hosted by Randolph’s Billiards in Hickory, NC.
Collin Hall’s 2019 year at the tables is playing out the way his 2018 year did. On Saturday, July 20 at the Gate City Billiard Club in Greensboro, NC, Hall chalked up his second victory of the year* on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. At this point last year, July 21 to be exact, he’d chalked up only his first 2018 victory. He’s already won twice in 2019 and has until October 13-14 to break a two-per-year threshold he’s faced on three separate occasions; 2016, 2018 and now, 2019. He’s defeated six different opponents in those six final matches, including Danny Jones and Jeff Young in 2016, Brent Hensley and Wes Campbell in 2018.
Hall beat Scott Roberts at The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA in April of this year. This most recent event drew 35 entrants to the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC. Hall took the hot seat match over BJ Ussery, and then watched, as Scott Johnson, in the midst of an eight-match loss-side winning streak, got way out in front against Ussery in the semifinal. Johnson, at the start, was getting five beads on the wire in a race to 12, so at 6-6, Johnson was on the hill. He missed three opportunities shooting at the 9-ball that would have sent him to the finals against Hall. Ussery took advantage and defeated him 12-6 for a second shot at Hall which didn’t happen. A room curfew led Hall and Ussery to negotiate a prize settlement in lieu of a final match and as the undefeated hot seat occupant, Hall claimed the title.
Their first clash in the hot seat match came after two double hill matchups in the winners’ side semifinals. Hall downed Cartelli 6-4. Ussery sent Shaun Apple to the left bracket 12-4. Hall entered the hot seat match with six on the wire in a race to 12 against Ussery and chalked up the six he needed to win 6-9, in what was, in essence, the event’s title match.
On the loss side, it was Shaun Apple who picked up Johnson, six matches into his loss-side streak, who’d just eliminated Bradley Barker and James Blackburn, both 7-5. Cartelli drew Joe Woo, who’d eliminated Gary Campbell 6-2 and Alex Valencia 6-4.
Johnson got into the quarterfinals with a 7-3 win over Apple. He was joined by Cartelli, who’d ended Woo’s day 5-2. Johnson won what would prove to be his last match of the day, defeating Cartelli 7-3 in those quarterfinals.
Johnson, who’s not appeared on a payout list (to our knowledge) since 2016, when he was runner-up to the tour’s most prolific player, JT Ringgold, entered the semifinals looking for a chance to compete in his second final in three years. And almost pulled it off. As noted above, he was in the driver’s seat, on the hill, poised (thanks to the room curfew) to chalk up a second runner-up victory against one of the tour’s best. He stumbled going into what amounted to be the ‘final turn,’ and Ussery closed the gap to win the game, match and what was essentially, the battle for the runner-up slot.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Gate City Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (July 27-28), will be hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Jason Evans (entrant #172 in our database of nearly 20,000 pool players) had been bringing home cash from pool tournaments for almost 20 years, but according to our records (containing information only on events reported to us), had yet to win a major tournament. Until this past weekend, February 16-17, when he went undefeated through a field of 41 on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. Evans and David Tickle battled twice in this event, hosted by Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC. Both matches, for the hot seat and finals, in straight-up races to 9, went double hill.
Their first meetup followed Tickle’s defeat of Shaun Apple 9-2 in one of the winners’ side semifinals and Evans’ 9-1 victory over Brad Smith in the other one. Evans took the first of his two double hill wins over Tickle and claimed (again, according to available records) his first hot seat.
On the loss side, Apple picked up Jerry Stone, who’d defeated Scott Johnson 6-5 (Johnson racing to 7) and Michael Moore 6-4. Smith drew Gate City Billiards Club owner, Don Liebes, who’d recently defeated Harry Florence, double hill, and Geoff Grayson 6-3.
Apple and Smith advanced to the quarterfinals; Apple 5-4 over Stone (racing to 6) and Smith, by shutout, over Liebes. Smith gave up only a single rack to Apple to take the quarterfinal match 6-1.
Tickle gave up only two to Smith in the semifinals to earn his rematch against Evans in the finals. A second double hill match ensued, with the same result. Evans claimed his first major title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Don Liebes and his Gate City Billiards Club staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Feb. 23-24), will be dedicated to the memory of tour veteran Chris Walsh, who passed away recently. The event is expected to be the first Chris Walsh Memorial of many to come. The event will be hosted by Walsh’s home room, Randolph Billiards in Hickory, NC, where he won a stop on the tour in February 2017. Money will be raised at this event in support of Walsh’s family.
The American Billiard Club has just held it's fourth National Championship and Mike Dechaine is our first repeat Champion. Mike sponsored by Snookers Providence RI and OB Cues earned another $3,000 paycheck at Q Masters the Saturday Sunday prior to the US Open's Monday start. Mike dominated throughout the weekend and Sunday's finals were no exception. Mike got the jump on Joe Dupuis with a 55-5 lead, held that lead and finished strong defending his title by the score of 140-54!
Joe Dupuis playing out of Stix & Stones Abbington MA who had won last year's inaugural American Rotation title in VA earned an extra $2,000 while competing in his 3rd US Open; his second via the American Billiard Club qualifying system. Through his impressive play over the past year with the American Billiard Club Joe was able to obtain his first cue sponsor and what good way to start with none other than Steve Lomax Custom Cues. Steve has got to know Joe while watching him compete in a couple of American Rotation finals and some streamed events where Joe was tearing it up. For those of you that don't know Steve Lomax, he is a good player himself and really enjoys the fast and loose natural style player, we're pretty sure Joe fits that model and we're hoping the two enjoy a nice long term relationship.
Scott Johnson and his wife Amy also made the trip from Gate City Billiards NC yet again. Scott is the only player to have qualified for all four national championships and it’s always a pleasure to have him and Amy at the finals. Scott struggled a bit on Saturday and for just the second time Scott did not make the final four semis. We believe the players at Gate City are now putting a bounty on Scott's head for Series 5!
One of the final 4 contestants on Sunday was Aaron Remijio who qualified via Hard Times Bell Flower CA which is one of the more historic rooms in the country. Aaron is definitely Series 4 poster person as he is; a college student, working man, hard practicing, aspiring pool player who was attending his very first US Open. To make this event even more special was not only did the ABC help this young man get to his first US Open with the $1,400 he earned but Aaron made this special trip with his Mom and his girlfriend Geraldine! This is what we're talking about, this is a taste of what we want for our future players, play, compete and qualify locally and we'll make it financially sensible for you to compete nationally.
Completing our final four on Sunday and playing out of Amazin Billiards Malden Ma was Suad Kantarevic. Suad tied for 3rd 4th but may also be tied for poster person with Aaron for this event as I witnessed a true pool vacation for this 50+ hour working/family man. Suad started his pool vacation early Thursday with at least a 12 hr day in the backroom of Q Masters. Friday saw a 14hr day and Saturday he played six 100 point games of rotation over 9hrs, followed that by another late night in the back room mixing it up with some of the best players in the world! These 3 days may have taken a toll on Suad as Sunday's performance definitely did not match Saturday’s strong performance. Being eliminated on Sunday was only a bump in the road as neither the backroom at Q Masters or Mondays first round draw of Earl Strickland were very far away for Suad.
All in all the Series 4 finals was a blast for everyone and it was also a nice table setter for the week’s main attraction of the 39th U.S. Open. The American Billiard Club wishes to thank Barry Behrman and his right hand girl Roberta for allowing us to hold our fourth national championship at such a historic venue. We would also like to thank the entire staff of Q Masters for making us feel so welcomed. Most of the staff was working 12hr shifts but none of them were without smiles and top notch service! We hope to qualify 32 players for next years American Rotation Championship at the US Open!
To help our sport, our industry, current and future players get your local club on board with the ABC Qualifying Series simply by uniting 10 local pool lovers, at 50 united clubs we’ll have a real product.
Visitwww.AmericanBilliardClub.com
www.facebook.com/AmericanBilliardClubLeague or
contact Joe Tucker directly at JTtenball@gmail.com.
This is a simple but strong step for our entire industry.
12 players from around the country qualified for the Series III Finals which was held in conjunction with this year’s BCAPL Nationals at the Rio in Las Vegas.
Two round robin groups of 6 players each had everyone playing five 120 point matches on the first two days of the event. Two players from each group would emerge to make the final four single elimination stage. All 12 players were in the money as soon as they landed in Vegas.
Semi finals and finals matches were races to 140 points. Up on table 2 in the pro arena was Scott Johnson of Gate City Billiards NC who is the only player to have made it to all 3 of our National Championships vs Professional player Mike Dechaine playing in his 2nd Championship. On the streaming table we had defending Champ Jerry Calderone facing Matt Tetrault who was on his first trip to our nationals. Sitting in between both tables was none other than the Man, the Magician, Efren Reyes, who had recently played two games of American Rotation himself with Daniel Busch of Pov Pool at Hard Times Bellflower. We were very honored to have him sweating it in the front row. If the streaming table didn't bring some extra heat for the players, having Efren as a spectator may have done it as neither Matt or Jerry took control of the match as opportunities to do so arose. This forced the match into the last rack with Jerry advancing and coming one step closer to becoming our first repeat Champion. On table 2 Mike Dechaine had defeatEd Scott Johnson leaving Scott tied for 3rd 4th and setting up what was sure to be a great final match.
The finals did not disappoint. Jerry is a working family man from South Florida that quite often flies under the radar so Mike was a pretty big favorite in many eyes. Jerry came out quick putting some pressure on Mike by taking leads of 29-11 and 51-29. Mike being the young but experienced player he is took a timely break to refocus in an effort to tighten the match, a big lead in AR can be tough to overcome. We think it worked as Mike scored a complete 20 point break and run making the score 51-49 in favor of Jerry. From there both players held serve fairly well on their breaks or struck back when needing to do so; 16-4 Jerry, 15-5 Mike, Mike breaks serve with a 13-7 and Jerry breaks back with a 14-6 as we hit 101 Mike to 99 Jerry. The finals to 140 points came down to a score of 121 for Dechaine and 119 Calderone with Dechaine breaking. Jerry would need to steal 2 points off of Mike's break to ensure one more rack and an opportunity to run his rack for a 2nd National title. Mike broke them nicely and started the rack with ball in hand, ran all the way down to a 12-13 combo, he sized up the shot carefully knowing that Jerry needed just one of these 2 point balls to extend the match. He made the combo but position on the 12 escaped him and he was forced to place safe with just the 12 14 & 15 remaining on the table. Jerry later stated that he had two shot choices; a return end to end safety that would allow Mike to see the 12 ball or a rail first kick that would leave Mike hooked. He opted for the kick safe but didn't get deep enough behind the 12 ball which sent both the 12 and cue ball out towards center table leaving Mike the opportunity to run the three remaining balls to become the 3rd American Rotation Nation Champion! Final score 140-119 Mike Dechaine over Jerry Calderone.
The American Billiard Club wishes to thank all the clubs and players in America and Canada that helped make this another successful Championship. Our mission is to unite some of our best billiard clubs with some of our best players to form one self sustaining tour for our sport, our industry and our players. We also aim to reduce player expenses significantly by having players earn their way to short, sweet and paid for national events, they're in the money before they ever hit a ball at our nationals.
Series IV and V Nationals will be held in VA just prior to the U.S. Open and in conjunction with the 2015 Derby City Classic. We urge all pool lovers of all playing levels to become part of the American Billiard Club simply by uniting 10 local players and sending one of them to our next Championship.
The American Billiard Club Association is off the ground and looking good, especially good for the 8 players that qualified for what undoubtedly could be a special piece of pocket billiard history – the first ever American Rotation National Championship.
64 players across the country laid the groundwork by playing 7 matches at their own local billiard rooms over a 7 week period. Week 8 of this national event was a 1 day regional event where players in each region attempted to earn a spot in their National Championship. All players who qualified were guaranteed a minimum of $1,000 each upon arrival, which ensured they would not lose money while traveling to their National Championship.
This first championship was hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA and had players from:
Alabama – Robert Hall, Bumpers, Huntsville & David Rowell, Bumpers, Hoover.
The 8 player championship called for two groups of 4 players competing in a round robin format. The top 2 players from each group were then seeded into single elimination brackets where matches would be increased from 125 points to 150 points. The final 4 turned out to be a New England vs Florida battle (Think Sox, Rays) #1 seed James Roberts vs. the #4 seed Joe Tucker and #3 seed Adam Wheeler playing the #2 seed Joe Dupuis. James Roberts who appeared by general consensus to be playing the best pool of the day had at least two 15 ball break and run outs while defeating Tucker 150-118, moving one Floridian into the finals. On the streaming table were Adam Wheeler and Joe Dupuis in a fast and well played match that kept the regional battle alive with Dupuis prevailing by a score of 150-115.
Most American Rotation matches to 150 points take about 2 hours on average. Here with everything on the line and a chance to become the first ever National Champion you might expect the pace to slow just a bit, but NOT the case with Joe Dupuis in the finals. As he did all day, he came out with his usual fast and loose style that entertained the crowd and occasionally brings some additional heat. The final match took 1hour and 15 minutes, one of the fastest of the day, with Joe Dupuis becoming the game’s first National Champion by the score of 150-95.
Joe Dupuis won the title of first ever American Rotation National Champion, a commemorative custom case by John Barton Cases and a nice check for $3,000. Our Runner up, James Roberts, received a check for $2,000. Adam Wheeler and Joe Tucker won $1,500 each for 3rd and 4th (Joe is donating a portion of his winnings to session II fees for 8 last place players of session 1 as a reward for these players stepping up and showing some heart in an effort to improve their own game and support our sport). Gordy Vanderveer, Scott Johnson, Robert Hall & David Rowell won $1,000 each.
The American Billiard Club Association (ABCA) must be doing something right, because all who competed in the first national event have nothing but good things to say. Even the players that didn’t qualify for the nationals are praising the format, which aims to solve the problem of player expenses, and the game, which aims to improve American players.
ABCA Championship Series II will begin the week of October 28th. Week 8 regional events will be held across the nation in December, and National Championship II will be held in conjunction with the 2014 Derby City Classic in January. The ABCA plans to hold their national championships close in time and proximity to other national events. This helps players save on expenses, if they choose to attend such events, and helps promoters get more entrants to their events.
As this article is being written, Joe Dupuis is at the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship also in VA, something that might not have happened, had he not qualified for the ABCA national event.
American players and club owners are encouraged to contact Joe Tucker at 508-840-6133 or jttenball@gmail.com ASAP. It just takes 8 players with a little desire to make your club one of 64 nationwide that will help our sport present one legitimate and self sustaining format that we can all be proud of!
For more information about the American Billiard Club Association, please visit:
The American Billiard Club Association is proud to present the finals of our first ever;
American Rotation Championship Series, Oct 12th at Diamond Billiards Midlothian VA; one day before the US Open 9 Ball Championship begins.
Eight players have qualified and each is guaranteed a minimum of $1,000 for this one day Championship. One of the main goals of the American Billiard Club Association is to make it sensible and affordable for players to compete on a national level with one-two day expense paid events.
We will run as many of our Championships as close in time and location to professional events in an effort to help players cover their expenses to both and to help promoters gain more entries.
For the first American Rotation national Championship, eight finalists will be divided into two round robin groups of four. The top two from each group will move on to a single elimination bracket.
The finalists are: Florida Adam Wheeler, Cue-Phoria Billiards & Café, Winter Park, FL James Roberts, Stroker’s Sports Bar & Grill, Palm Harbor, FL New England Joe Dupuis, Snookers Sports Billiards Bar & Grill, Providence, RI Joe Tucker, Amazin Billiards, Malden, MA Alabama
Robert Hall, Bumpers Billiards, Huntsville, AL David Rowell, Bumpers Billiards, Hoover, AL Oklahoma Gordy Vanderveer, Jamaica Joe’s, Midwest City, OK North Carolina Scott Johnson, Gate City Billiards Club, Greensboro, NC
To get to this point, each player has played seven local matches of American Rotation, finished in the top 4 of their 8 local players and then qualified at a one day regional event. These eight players will be sharing a purse of $12,000:
$3,000 & Title of First Ever American Rotation National Champion
$2,000 Runner-up
$1,500 3rd & 4th and $1,000 5th-8th
Custom Case being made by John Barton to commemorate our Champion.
This prize fund, along with regional payouts, totals more than 100% of what the association actually brought in through player fees. We are building a flagship product for our players and our industry.
Please tune in to watch the live stream of our finals Oct 12th to get more details and to see which player name will go down in history. www.DiamondBilliardsVA.com provides a direct link to the stream.
Session 2 of the American Rotation Championship Series II will begin the week of October 28th and run to Dec 9th. Championship finals will be held in conjunction with the 2014 Derby City Classic dates and location. The American Billiard Club Association is open to ALL players and any billiard club that can host eight high level or aspiring players for a seven week session.
Contact Joe Tucker as soon as possible at JTtenball@gmail.com or (508) 840-6133 to get your 8 players and your Billiard Club on board. Make a difference!
Enjoying a large increase in participation this year (with some divisions up 50-100%), the 2013 Pure X Cues ACS National Championships capped off a banner year of growth for the nine-year old American CueSports Alliance (ACS). The New Tropicana Las Vegas proved to again be an attractive venue for the event, as scores of entertainment venues are conveniently located in this section of The Strip! And most attendees stayed at The Trop. Players enjoyed online coverage in all divisions throughout the event via onsite monitors and their smart phones. A record $36,500 in added prize monies drew players from throughout North America to twenty-three divisions of competition. Despite the large turn-out, players such as Mike Singleton, Beth Fondell, Dustin Gunia, Jessica Frideres and the team Wrecking Crew (LA) still earned top honors in multi-events. All flow charts are still viewable by accessing www.compusport.us; then “Tournaments”; then “ACS Nationals.” With the jump in attendees, ideal dates in mid-May and the attractive location, many participants projected that these Championships on its 10th anniversary “will be even bigger next year!”
Singles action began at the first of the week with handicapped 9-ball. Mike Singleton of Sulphur, LA, improved on his past mediocre performances in the Nationals to outlast 69-year old Lyn Wechsler (Rochester, NY) for the Men’s 9-Ball Singles honors. On the distaff side, past 8-Ball champion Beth Fondell (Owatonna, MN) remained undefeated throughout, including her one final’s set against Phoenix, Arizona’s Bernie Store to earn her Women’s 9-Ball Singles crown! Results from the many divisions of 8-ball singles included: Dustin Gunia (Omaha, NE) displaying dominating form to defend his Men’s Advanced Singles 8-Ball crown over Lyn Wechsler (Rochester, NY) ; Beth Fondell (Owatonna, MN) obtaining a rare double by outlasting defending champion Jessica Frideres (Fort Dodge, IA) on the last ball of the deciding set to claim the Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Singles title – 7-6; Ben Sutherland (Peoria, AZ) losing to Julian Russell (Fort McMurray, ON/CAN) in the first set of the finals, only to recover to gain the deciding set for the Men’s Open 8-Ball Singles championship; Toni Barnes (Shawboro, NC) scoring a title with a one-set finals defeat over Sophia Morquecho (Glendale, AZ) for the Women’s Open 8-Ball Singles laurels; once-defeated Dennis Coolen (Bridgewater, NS/CAN) outdistancing Joe Herne (Hogansburg, NY) in two sets for the Men’s Standard 8-Ball Singles division success; and Melanie Jacobs (Hogansburg, NY) besting Frances Jensen (Calgary, AB/CAN)in one set for the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Singles glory.
In the senior-aged 8-ball singles divisions, Carl Coffee (Pueblo, CO) took down Claude Gragg III (Arlington, TX) in the first set of the finals for the Men’s Senior (55+) 8-Ball Singles crown – leaving Gragg to take the runner-up position for the second straight year; Debbie Snook (Boone, CO) stopped three-time defending champ, Shawn Modelo (Antioch, CA), in the winner’s bracket finals and then took the Women’s Senior (50+) 8-Ball Singles title by upending Linda Asleson (Billings, MT) in two sets in the tourney finals; and Richard Foley (Ketchikan, AK) delegated undefeated Charles Smith (Whitesboro, TX) to the runner-up position for a second straight year in taking the Super Senior (65+) Singles 8-Ball Singles title in two sets!
The two Scotch Doubles 8-Ball divisions showcased perhaps the most dominant amateur scotch doubles team in the country, with defending champions Dustin Gunia and Jessica Frideres (NE/IA) capturing the Advanced Scotch Doubles division with a comfortable one-set win over Labernaline Store/ Steve Stowers (AZ); and the team of Arlene David/ Bill Mason (VA) needing just one set as well to claim victory over Sophia Morquecho/ Burt Balancad (AZ) in the Open Scotch Doubles category.
With the ACS schedule in the latter portion of the week allowing non-conflicting accommodation of entry into both 9-ball and 8-ball team competitions, there was still plenty of competition to keep every player involved – especially those out of the money who automatically qualified for free second-chance team divisions! In the Men’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division, defending champion Dick’s Pick [Ronnie Allen, Jimmy Moore, Greg Kuhl, George Huffman, Chris Akey and James Carmona] (Las Vegas, NV) reloaded but with the same results to take down Jitnot (NS/CAN) in the title match in two sets – after Jitnot had originally claimed the hot seat. The Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Team division showcased Victoria’s Secret [Susie Miller, Linda Asleson, Jonella Staus and Teresa Keller] (MT) outpointing Colorado’s T’s Bar in the round-robin format. In the Men’s Open 8-Ball Team competition, once-defeated Wrecking Crew [Mike Singleton, Blaine Stanford, Jamie Spivey, Rodney Browne III and Luke Coffey] took two sets from No Flash (AZ) in the title match. The Women’s Open 8-Ball Team division’s San Antonio’s Fuhgettaboutit [Barbara Wisdom, Kenyon Juo Young, Sophie Lopez, Kawania Watson and Maria Lopez] survived a deciding set over After Eight (FL) for the title.
Harbor Hills (WI) [Al Carmody, Mark Schmidt, Tim Gamerdinger, Tom Decker and John Schlapman] needed only one set in the Men’s Standard 8-Ball Team division final’s clash to make Comrades (GA) the bride’s maid. In the Women’s Standard 8-Ball Team division, British Columbia’s Venus Envy [Theresa Warren, Susan Johnston, Susan Kottke and Roxanna Alton] took off the deciding set of the finals to repel New York’s Mohawk Chicks for the crown.
The 3-person 9-ball team divisions featured some of the top 8-ball team placers as well. Undefeated Gotta Have It [NE/IA] [Jerrod Frideres, Jessica Frideres and Dustin Gunia] turned back Las Vegas’s Dick’s Pick in the first set of the finals for the Men’s Advanced 9-Ball Team title. Open 8-Ball Team runner-ups – After Eight (FL) [Flori LeHart, Michelle Jarrell, Janet Smith and Jamie Toennies], succeeded in ousting Miller Time (FL) for the Women’s Open 9-Ball Team laurels. In the Men’s Open 9-Ball Team category, Wrecking Crew (LA) [Jamie Spivey, Mike Singleton and Luke Coffey] doubled up on its Open 8-Ball Team win to capture this title as well with a two-set finals sweep over 9 Ball Shockers (AZ).
In the 9th Annual ACS National Artistic Pool Championships, Dennis Brown of Creston, BC claimed another title for Canada, edging out hundreds of entries. ACS would like to especially thank our title sponsor – Pure X Cues, as well as Gary Benson and his tournament direction staff at High Country Promotions, as well as the exhibiting vendors and the host site – the Tropicana Las Vegas! The ACS Nationals is already looking to returning to the Tropicana May 10-17, 2014! The ACS is a national non-profit, member-governed association which will sanction any local pool league (whether player-run or owner-operated) via a $10 annual sanction fee. Contact the ACS at 1-888-662-1705 or www.americancuesports.org for complete information on sanctioning your league!
The ACS currently sanctions leagues in 38 states and enjoys reciprocal relations with its sister organization in Canada (Canadian Cue Sport Association – CCS). Twelve state associations are affiliated to ACS; and the ACS offers the Midwest ACS Championships each January at the Riverside Resort & Casino in Iowa. The ACS produces a national amateur Pure X All American Tour each Fall thru Spring and offers certification for both instructors and referees dedicated to the sport.
3rd Annual Carolina Cup on tap for this weekend
