Over the past weekend, the grand finale of the 49th Annual Texas Open 9 Ball Championships took place. Hosted by owners Kim and Tracy Sanders, Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, TX was the place to be!
The $20,000 added 9 Ball Open had an entry fee of $200. The double elimination event was races to nine and winner breaks. Using a template rack, the nine was racked on the spot with three point rule in effect.
After the players auction, the brackets were posted and play began.
Using eighteen Diamond tables, the 128 player field was whittled down by Sunday to the final 32. A second players auction was held and when it was over, the action resumed.
Two players battled their way through the very tough field to the hot seat match – Ukraine’s Vitaliy Patsura and BCA Hall of Famer Alex Pagulayan.
In the bottom portion of the bracket, Pagulayan defeated Clint Palaci 9-5, Brian Sanders 9-5, skunked Gordon Vanderveer 9-0, blistered fellow Filipino and day’s old Texas Open One Pocket champ Roberto Gomez 9-2 and Robert Frost 9-3. He then sent Josh Roberts to the one loss side with a score of 9-5.
In dead punch, the hot seat match saw Patsura claim his seat in the finals with a 9-5 victory over Pagulayan.Alex headed to west to await an opponent.
Over on the one loss side, Josh Roberts kept Jesus Atencio in his chair with a 9-4 win. John Morra eliminated the always tough Naoyuki Oi 9-5. Both Atencio and Oi finished 5th-6th.
Morra was ahead with a 5-3 lead until Roberts stepped on the gas. Tied at seven apiece, Josh won the last two games and took the win 9-7. John finished in fourth place.
The Alex Pagulayan-Josh Roberts match began – each player looking to get into the finals. Alex leaped out to a 5-1 advantage but here came Josh! He tied it up at five games each!
Alex won the next three games to reach the hill 8-5. But then, here came Josh again to take the next two games! Alex decided to finish it right there and took the match 9-7. He moved on to the finals leaving Josh in third place.
As this event was true double elimination, Pagulayan would have to defeat Patsura twice to win the tournament.
Alex won the first game and Vitaliy won the next three. Then he started to really pull ahead – 5-2, 6-2, 7-3 and to the hill he went. Alex managed to win one more game and then Vitaliy ran out to claim the title!!!
While the main event was going on, Sky Woodward took the $500 added Banks Ring Game mini over Raed Shabib and Sakura Muramatsu defeated Jennifer Kraber to win the Ladies Ring 9 Ball Game! Congratulations to both!
Sakura Muramatsu
The $3,500 added Ladies 9 Ball Division had a full field of 32 players with races to seven.
After several matches, room owner Kim Sanders and last year’s third place finisher Sakura Muramatsu battled for the hot seat. Sakura cruised to a 7-3 win to claim her spot in the finals.
Kim was sent to the west side to await the victor of the Jennifer Kraber-Michelle Cortez match. Michelle prevailed 7-5 leaving Jennifer in fourth place.
Cooling her heels waiting for an opponent didn’t seem to faze Sanders any as she took the match over Cortez 7-4. Michelle finished in third place.
As this was also true double elimination, Sanders would have to defeat Muramatsu twice to win the tournament but it was not to be – Sakura won the final match 7-3.
Congratulations to Vitaliy and Sakura for becoming the 2022 Texas Open 9 Ball Champions! Great tournament, Alex and Kim!
And, thanks again to everyone at Skinny Bob’s for a first class event! Big thanks to the local sponsors – they included Diamond Billiard Products, GAF, Hanshew Custom Cues, Sanders Roofing & Exteriors, ABC Supply, Sionis, Aramith and Mints Amusements.
Thanks to Tournament Director Jason Hill for an exemplary job juggling multiple events.
And, as always, PoolActionTV would like to thank our fans and sponsors! They include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, EnviroAssessments, Lomax Custom Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Diveney Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Durbin Custom Cues, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event is the Ten Ball Champions Challenge featuring Roberto Gomez and John Morra! Held at Railyard Billiards & Sports Pub in Louisville, KY, this is going to be great! Dates are September 9th-11th! Hope to see you there!!!
Players from all over the planet hightailed it to Skinny Bob’s in Round Rock, TX for the 49th Annual Texas Open – all trying to get a piece of this $40,000 added event!
Owners Kim and Tracy Sanders and their local sponsors welcomed all the players and fans to one of the most beautiful rooms in the country. Sponsors included GAF, ABC Supply Co. Inc., Hanshew Custom Cues, Sanders Roofing & Exteriors, LLC, Aramith and Mints Amusements.
The event featured four divisions – one pocket, scotch doubles, open nine ball and ladies nine ball as well as three minis – a banks ring game, a nine ball mini and a ladies ring game! Nonstop pool action!
Waiting in the wings and featuring a stellar field of 26 players, the $13,000 added One Pocket division began on Monday evening. It had a $1,000 entry with races to 5/4 with alternate breaks – double elimination.
Following a rousing player’s auction and the draw, play began.
Hot off his victory of Chip Compton earlier this month in the One Pocket Challenge, Fedor Gorst defeated veteran Scott Kitto and the always tough John Morra battled One Pocket Hall of Famer Jeremy Jones. Both matches had a 5-3 score.
Two-time Derby City One Pocket champ, Billy Thorpe, won his match over former Senior One Pocket champ James Davis Sr. 5-2 as did the current Iron City One Pocket Champ Josh Roberts over Filipino star Roland Garcia by the same score.
In a rerun of last month’s Big Dog one pocket final match, Sky Woodward got his revenge over Tony Chohan and the 2022 Scotty Townsend Memorial One Pocket champ Alex Pagulayan beat Evan Lunda – the victor in July’s One Pocket Champions Challenge with Josh Roberts. Morra also took down One Pocket Hall of Famer Scott Frost. The score in these matches was 5-2.
Scotch Doubles Champions Kristina Tkach and Fedor Gorst
Second round action also saw Alex Calderon and Tommy Tokoph duking it out. It went down to the wire but Alex edged out the win 5-4.
After drawing a first round bye, Roberto Gomez battled Josh Roberts and took the win 5-3 as did Billy Thorpe over young gun Lazaro Martinez III by the same score.
Third round pitted Woodward against Pagulayan. Sky took the win as did Calderon over Morra and Gomez over Thorpe. All scores 5-4!
After winning his first match, Gorst was quietly making his way through the field with victories over Jacob Pennison 5-1 and Nicholas De Leon 5-2. In dead punch, he smoked Woodward 5-2 and moved into the hot seat match. At the bottom of the bracket, Gomez made quick work of Calderon to lock up the other berth – also 5-2.
The hot seat match began and was close until Gomez pulled away to send Gorst west with a 5-3 score.
Meanwhile, after having lost his first match, Garcia clawed and fought his way through the one loss side with wins over Pennison, Robert Frost, Morra, Chohan and Woodward until finally succumbing to Calderon 4-2. Roland finished in fourth place.
Cooling his heels and looking to get back into the finals against Gomez, Gorst had to get past Calderon. It wasn’t in the cards as Fedor was eliminated 4-2.
It was an all Houston final as Calderon took on Gomez for the title. Since it was true double elimination, Alex would have to defeat Roberto twice to take it down. Gomez wasn’t having any of that – he took the match 5-3! Congratulations, Roberto! Good tournament, Alex!
Naoyuki Oi and Skyler Woodward
The $500 added Nine Ball Mini took place after the one pocket finals. When the smoke cleared it was Japan’s Naoyuki Oi over Sky Woodward. Great shooting, guys!!!
PoolActionTV.com would again like to thank Kim and Tracy Sanders and their staff for taking great care of all the players and fans.
Thanks to Tournament Director Jason Hill for doing a great job!
We’d also like to thank Scott Rabon, Jeremy Jones, Robert Frost and Alex Pagulayan for their topnotch commentary.
And, we’d also like to thank our fans and sponsors. They include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, EnviroAssessments, Lomax Custom Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Diveney Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Durbin Custom Cues, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Stay tuned for the rest of the results of the Texas Open – the $20,000 added Nine Ball Open, the $3,500 added Ladies Nine Ball, the $500 added Banks Ring Game and the $500 added Ladies Ring Game!
And if you haven’t already, get your pass at PoolActionTV.com and come sweat it with us!!!
From February 2nd – 4th, Aiken, SC was the site of some world class rotation!!! Owner Michael Newsome welcomed the players and fans to his Rack & Grill III for the Ten Ball Champions Challenge.
Sponsored by Diamond Billiard Products, Simonis Cloth, Aramith and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, the event was to be played over the course of three days on a nine foot Diamond using a wooden triangle rack with the winner of each game breaking.
Fresh off his Derby City Classic Nine Ball Banks and One Pocket championships, newly crowned Master of the Table Fedor Gorst faced BCA and One Pocket Hall of Famer Alex Pagulayan in what was originally to be a race to 75 with $50,000 on the line – race to 25 each day.
So, on Thursday evening, the Lion roared out to an early lead but the Viking fought back to tie it up at six games each. From there, Gorst forged ahead – winning over two games to one over Pagulayan – to take Day One with a score 25-15.
Then, the match appeared to be over as the players had a disagreement over the use of the wooden rack. The dispute was resolved by Alex agreeing to pay off the ten game difference in their scores ($6,000) and to play a fresh match to fifty games using a template to rack the balls – $30,000 in the middle.
The following day with the new set, the players traded games with Alex maintaining a small lead until the last third of the match. However, like the night before, Fedor pulled away to end the day with a 25-20 score.
The final day began with a new twist – Gorst was up five games but Pagulayan caught up. Fedor pulled a few games ahead several times but again and again, Alex evened the match.
Nearing the end of the match, Fedor tightened the screws and surged ahead a few games. Having lost to Alex twice previously and inching toward the finish line, it looked like the third time was going to be the charm – and it was. Gorst closed out the match 50-45.
PoolActionTV.com would like to again thank owner Michael Newsome, his General Manager Tiffany Smith and their staff for rolling out the red carpet for the players and fans.
And, we’d also like to thank our fans and sponsors! Our sponsors include JB Cases, Lomax Custom Cues, StraightPoolEye, Durbin Custom Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Diamond Billiard Products, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event is the 7th Annual Texas Open 10 Ball Championships held at Skinny Bob’s in Round Rock, TX. Dates are February 16th-21st – hope to see you there!!!
Billed as the second stop on the Efren Reyes Retirement Tour, sixteen of the top one pocket players on the planet and over a hundred nine-ball players stampeded to Buffalo’s Billiards in Jefferson, LA for their Fourth Annual Pro Classic. There were two divisions: the $10,000 added Pro One Pocket event and the $2000 added Open Nine-Ball.
The double elimination one pocket event had a $2000 entry fee with all races to five. Play began on Thursday night and everywhere you looked, there was world class one pocket. Tony Chohan and Corey Deuel marched through the field undefeated and met in the hot seat match. As with the previous matches, top-notch one pocket skills were displayed by both players and Chohan edged out the match 5-4 to claim his spot in the finals.
On the other side of the chart, Justin Hall defeated Dennis Orcollo in another close one, 5-4. Dennis finished in fourth place. By a score of 5-2, Corey had earlier sent Justin to the one loss side so Hall was looking for revenge. After a five hour match, it was Justin who emerged the victor leaving Corey in third place.
The finals began with Tony Chohan rocketing out to a 3-0 lead and it looked like victory was imminent. However, Justin Won the next three games to tie it up at 3-3 and then 4-4! Justin won the final game forcing a second set in the true double elimination format.
This time, it was Justin who leaped out to a 2-0 lead. Tony fought back and tied it up at two games each but then Justin forged ahead to take the hill first with a score of 4-2.
Tony fought back to make it 4-3 but Justin made short work of the last game as he took down the title – final score 5-3. Congratulations to Justin for a well-earned victory! Good job, Tony!
Saturday was opening day for the $40 entry 9 ball event. The format was double elimination, all races to seven with alternate breaks. When the smoke cleared on Sunday afternoon, Efren Reyes was the last man standing after defeating Roberto Gomez in the hot seat match and awaiting an opponent for the final match.
On the one loss side, Jeremy Jones and Billy Thorpe duked it out for a shot at Roberto – Jeremy prevailed leaving Billy with a fourth place finish. Gomez was determined to get another shot at Efren and he got his wish. Jeremy had to settle for third…
To win the tournament, Roberto would have to defeat Efren two sets. The first set was all Roberto as he raced to a 5-0 lead and an eventual 7-2 victory. The final set was much closer. Mid-set it was 5-4 Gomez and then hill-hill! One game for all the marbles! Doesn’t get much better than this, sports fans!!!
The crowd held their breath as Roberto broke and ran the final rack to take the title. Congratulations to Roberto for a well-played event! Good job, Efren! Looks like he has plenty of firepower left and is still a formidable threat!
PoolActionTV.com would like to thank James Leone, owner of Buffalo’s Billiards, and his staff for going the extra mile to show players and fans the Big Easy spirit. Tournament Director Steve McDonald had another well run event – thank you, Steve! Thanks to sponsors Attorney Joseph Long, Benwah Law Firm, Laguna Beach Daquiris, Bayou Billiards, Sound Advice USA, Lucky Coin Amusement and, of course, Buffalo’s Billiards, for their support.
Thanks to cuemaker Steve Lomax of Lomax Cues for donating a beautiful $2000 cue!
And, last but not least, thanks to all our fans and sponsors for another great event. Our sponsors include Steve Lomax of Lomax Custom Cues, Aramith, John Barton of JB Cases, James Hanshew of Hanshew Custom Cues, GoPlayPool.com, Mike Durbin of Durbin Custom Cues, Kamui, Simonis and Club Billiards of Wichita, KS.
Our next event is the first stop of the WPBA Signature Tour. It will be held at Emerald Billiards in New Iberia, LA – the dates are June 21st – 24th. It will be live streamed free of charge on Facebook and YouTube. Hope to see you there!
The stars came out to play on the weekend of July 11-12, as High Pockets in Memphis, TN played host to the $4,500-added Memphis Open, featuring a $4,000-added Pro 10-Ball event with races to 15 (11 on the loss side) and a $500-added Pro-Am 9-Ball tournament (races to 7 on both sides). Ray Hansen, with guest commentary from many of the Open-Pro players, was on site, throughout the weekend, streaming the event on PoolActionTV.
Both winners went undefeated through their fields. Justin Bergman spoiled a six-match, loss-side bid by Shane McMinn in the Pro 10-Ball event that drew 16 entrants, including last year's winner, Jason Klatt, as well as McMinn, Johnny Archer, Dennis Hatch, Larry Nevel and Skyler Woodward (among others). Like Bergman, Kenny Loftis survived a loss-side bid (by Scott Rabon; seven on the loss side) to go undefeated in the Pro-Am 9-Ball tournament that drew 64 entrants.
Bergman's undefeated run was almost sidetracked by Johnny Archer in one of the winners' side semifinals. Archer battled to double hill before giving way to Bergman. John Morra, in the meantime, sent Larry Nevel to the loss side 15-7. Bergman claimed the hot seat 15-11 over Morra and waited for Shane McMinn to finish his loss-side run.
On the loss side, McMinn, who'd been defeated earlier by Skyler Woodward, had eliminated Drake Neipotter 11-4, and last year's winner, Klatt, 11-7, to draw Archer. Nevel faced Dennis Hatch, who'd defeated Danny Olson 11-4 and Jeremy Jones 11-7 (Jones had previously eliminated Woodward 11-8). McMinn handed Archer his second straight, double hill loss, while Nevel advanced to the quarterfinals 11-6 over Hatch.
McMinn then won two straight 11-7 matches; over Nevel in the quarterfinals, and Morra in the semifinals, setting up what proved to be an epic race to 15 against Bergman that went to 28 games. The larger, more deliberate McMinn took an early, slim lead, 4-2, before the rail-thin, highly-energized Bergman settled in to win four in a row. The two battled back and forth with Bergman never extending that two-game lead, though not for lack of trying. They were tied at 13-13, when Bergman won two straight to claim the event title.
In the Amateur 9-Ball tourney, Loftis and Nick Evans advanced to the hot seat match; Loftis, having sent Mark Cavalier to the loss side 7-4, while Evans sent Greg Mitchell over 7-5. Loftis moved into the hot seat with a 7-4 win over Evans, and waited for the return of Scott Rabon.
Rabon had been sent to the loss side by Greg Mitchell, and was Mitchell's first loss-side opponent. Rabon, with two loss-side wins to his credit, had eliminated Brian Woodward 7-4 and Kevin Hutson 7-3 to reach Mitchell. Cavalier picked up Dale Neipotter, who'd defeated Paul Dodge, double hill, and Johnny Box 7-4. By identical 7-5 scores, Cavalier and Rabon defeated Neipotter and Mitchell and turned to face each other in the quarterfinals.
Rabon downed Cavalier 7-4 and earned his shot at Loftis in the hot seat with a 7-5 win over Evans in the semifinals. Loftis ended Rabon's seven-match, loss-side winning streak with a 7-5 victory in the finals.
They've been dancing around each other all year; the two young guns, Justin Bergman and Skyler Woodward. Woodward won the 2014 Big Tyme Classic Main event in March in Texas, in which Bergman finished in the tie for fifth. Bergman won the Smokin' Aces Bar Box Open back in April, in which Woodward took fifth. Woodward won last week's Smokin' Aces Bar Box 9-Ball Open, in which Bergman had bowed out in the tie for 9th place. They've been in the money at numerous events together throughout this year, and are currently ranked #7 (Woodward) and #8 (Bergman) on our Money Leaderboard. They met for the first time in an event final, during the $7,000-added Carom Room Classic in Beloit, WI on the weekend of August 23-24. In a highly dramatic developing scenario, Bergman occupied the hot seat as Woodward worked through six matches on the loss side to meet him in the finals. Bergman, though, took the wind out of the Woodward sails with a single set victory to claim the event title that had drawn 96 entrants to Coles' Carom Room.
Won by Jesse Bowman in 2013, the 2014 Carom Room Classic featured an array of pros who had not been part of the previous year's field; Shane Van Boening, Larry Nevel, Robb Saez, Corey Deuel, Warren Kiamco, Dennis Hatch, and significantly, Bergman among them. Van Boening was gone, relatively early, defeated by Hatch and then, Nevel, who one match later, fell to Woodward. Kiamco was gone by the 7/8 matches, a victim of Saez. The defending champ Bowman, had bowed out in the tie for 13th.
It was Bergman and Deuel (a repeat of the April Smokin' Aces final), who squared off in the hot seat match, each having sent a returning competitor (from last year's event) to the loss side; Chads Elston and Lund, respectively. Bergman defeated Deuel 9-5 and due to a little delay in the loss side proceedings got to watch Skyler Woodward battling through an array of opponents to reach him.
On the loss side, it was Chad Elston who had the misfortune of running into Woodward, who, having been sent to the loss side by Chuck Raulston, finished Shane Winters and Larry Nevel to reach him (three down, three to go). Lund picked up Robb Saez, who'd eliminated Stan Tourangeau and Kiamco (who'd spoiled Woodward's chance at a rematch by defeating Raulston). Saez and Woodward advanced to the quarterfinals; Saez 9-4 over Lund and Woodward 9-3 over Elston.
Displaying a high degree of confidence that has become something of a trademark for him, Woodward downed Saez in the quarterfinals 9-6, and then got way out in front to defeat Deuel in the semifinals 9-2. The true double elimination, 'young gun' battle was on.
Bergman came out on top. He took the opening set 9-4 to claim the event title.
The event was produced by Pool Action TV, under the direction of Ray Hansen. The event was streamed on Pool Action TV throughout the weekend, with primary commentating from Hanson and Scott Rabon. Hansen thanked Carom Room owner, Dave Coles, Jr. and his staff, as well as sponsors Pat DeViveney Cues, Mitchell Thomas Cues, Jumpin Jax Cues, Lemons Coin Machines, Roger Alford Heating and Cooling, Faries Construction, and Manny Perez of FundManny.com.
Warren Kiamco, Skyler Woodward, Corey Deuel and Shane Van Boening (Photo courtesy of Ray Hansen)
Skyler Woodward further cemented a developing reputation as one of the country's premier 9-ball players with a solid, undefeated performance in the Smokin' Aces Bar Box 9-Ball Tournament, held on the weekend of August 16-17. With a $2,000 entry fee, a $20,000 first-place prize, and races to 21, Woodward joined an A-list of 16-only entrants that included Johnny Archer, Warren Kiamco, Rodney Morris, Corey Deuel, John Morra, Robb Saez, Alex Olinger, and Shane Van Boening, who had two shots at Woodward, and failed to stop him.
As Van Boening was working his way through Morris and Saez to arrive at a winners' side semifinal against Morra, Woodward was busy with Jonathan Pinegar and Kiamco, which set him up to face Shane Winters. Van Boening dominated his match against Morra, defeating him 21-2. Woodward, in the meantime, defeated Shane Winters 21-9. Woodward took his first of two against Van Boening 21-18 and sat in the hot seat, waiting for him to get back from the semifinals.
Deuel and Kiamco were waiting for Winters and Morra, respectively. Deuel had defeated Eric Durbin 21-10, and Saez 21-16. Kiamco had ended Justin Bergman's run and eliminated Chad Vilmont, both 21-16. Deuel and Kiamco advanced to the quarterfinals; Deuel 21-12 over Winters and Kiamco surviving a long, grueling, double hill match against Morra, only one of two over the weekend (the other was Van Boening over Saez, second round, winners' side).
Kiamco had a much easier time with Deuel in the quarterfinals, defeating him 21-5, but he never did get a second chance against Woodward, who'd defeated him in the second round. Van Boening saw to that, downing Kiamco 21-11 in the semifinals.
Both Woodward and Van Boening had their chances in the finals, with each edging out to two- and three-point leads before the other fought back to tie things. Woodward's 19th game win, coming off the 18-18 tie was critical. Showing a lot of confidence, he dropped a three-pack on Van Boening to complete his undefeated run and claim the Smokin' Aces Bar Box 9-Ball Open title.
The event was produced by Pool Action TV, under the direction of Ray Hansen, in collaboration with Mike McKuin, owner of Smokin' Aces Barbeque and Billiards, and winner of the 2012 World Poker Open. The event was streamed on Pool Action TV throughout the weekend, with primary commentating from Hanson and Scott Rabon. Hansen thanked McKuin and his staff, as well as sponsors Pat DeViveney Cues, Mitchell Thomas Cues, Jumpin Jax Cues, Lemons Coin Machines, Roger Alford Heating and Cooling, Faries Construction, and Manny Perez of FundManny.com.
