The most respected, skilled and academically brilliant minded junior cueists from across the United States were just in Vegas competing in an action packed week of billiards. A few miles south of the Vegas strip the Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) had presented and concluded the 29th Annual Junior National 9-Ball Championships. This challenging co-event was held Wednesday-
Saturday August 2nd- 5th, 2017, having returned to the family friendly South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada. Showcased at one end of the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Billiard & Home Leisure Expo was the BEF junior national’s arena. The competition area boasted 20 professional 9-foot Diamond tables. This junior event is the only opportunity for U.S. billiard student-athletes to qualify to compete at the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) World Junior 9-Ball Championships being held this year Oct 31st – Nov. 5th, 2017 in Moscow, Russia.
On Tuesday, the registration process was in full motion with the noise and bustle of last minute preparations for the tournament and expo grand openings. There, the junior players received BEF sponsor gifts and a 2017 tournament memorabilia shirt. The junior events kicked off that evening with the highly anticipated and popular annual Adult-Youth Scotch Doubles tournament, which gave parents and juniors the chance to showcase their skills for a doubles fun-filled night and prizes. Even the pros were actively seeking to be recruited to fill in and play. BEF Tournament director Earl Munson remarked, “Big grins everywhere. The pros were playing like kids and the kids were playing like pros!” BCA Hall of Famers and multi world champions Nick Varner & Loree Jon Hasson along with Mosconi Team USA and doubles silver medalist in World Cup of Pool, Skyler Woodward & Shane Van Boening joined with the junior players. Former 2002 junior national champion Beau Runningen was eagerly paired and proved he still had game, and fellow 2017 Team USA member Manny Perez matched up as well. Parent’s skill levels ranged in doubles competition from yikes (Where is the instructor quick?), to wow (Did you see that parent play?!). Eventually the fun night ended with all the pros/junior teams converging to the semi-finals. 1st Place was Skyler Woodward & Trenton White, 2nd Place Nick Varner & Justin Toye, 3rd Place Loree Jon Hasson & Xavier Hultze, 4th Place Beau Runningen & Spencer Ladin.
Wednesday, the players meeting and group photo opened the 3 pm start of the first five rounds of the 2017 BEF Junior National 9-Ball tournament. This year’s tournament format incorporated the WPA World Junior style of preliminary double elimination brackets qualifying to a seeded single elimination finals bracket. The format also allows for the larger fields sizes, table and time constraints. This year’s field represented: 167 players, ranging from 7 to 18 years of age, from over 30 qualifying events, more than 25 states and including the U.S. Virgin Islands. There were four participating divisions included 18 & Under Boys (18UB), 18 & Under Girls (18UG), 14 & Under Boys (14UB) and 14 & Under Girls (14UG). The divisions played in 64, 64, 32 and 32 double elimination brackets respectively. The top 25% of players from each division then moved to single elimination brackets with the winners seeded and the one-loss players listed by a blind draw. Without a doubt match play all week was exciting and intense as all players vied to make it to their respective finals single-elimination brackets.
On Friday night before the finals, the packed banquet night was held. The banquet comfortably seated all juniors, family members, pros, sponsors, and BEF staff and volunteers to enjoy a great meal, laughs, heartfelt speeches, recognitions, remembrance, awards and honors.
Each year players are nominated by their peers at the junior nationals to recognize sportsmanship on and off the table. This special award is in remembrance and recognition of one of BEF’s alumni’s, Brendan Crockett, who was more than just a talented young player taken early from life. Brendan grew from an eager teen-ager to an intelligent, charming gentleman with true character and humility. His humor, willingness to work hard and ability to lead have been an important part of our programs. The 2017 Brendan Crockett Character Award Recipients were: Eric Roberts from Crossville, Tennessee and Eliana Rodriguez from Brooklyn, New York.
The Special Guest Speaker at the banquet this year was “The Colonel”, Nick Varner. He humorously recounted his junior moments in the game and he jokingly had some great advice to share. “If you bet twice as much, you will learn twice as fast.” Varner has long been an enthusiastic supporter of the juniors and also stated, “This event is amazing and a great showcase of our (nations) top junior players”.
Newly inducted 2017 BCA Hall of Famer Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman also made his 24th appearance at the junior nationals. Dr. Cue, presented the 2017 Artistic Pool awards to this year’s champions, Timmy Bly (Bettendorf, IA), Michelle Jiang (Harvard, MA), Joey Tate Raleigh, NC) and Lana Keith (Dyersburg, TN).
The banquet night again amassed much of the junior field with the coveted title of “Academic All American” (AAA) when awards were presented. Of the entire 167 player field, an incredible 45% of this year’s participants (75 players!) earned school GPA’s of 3.5 and 31.6% of the AAA field earned 4.0 GPA’s, to receive recognition! The sport of billiards is definitely attracting, developing, and maintaining academic excellence! The banquet concluded with words of optimism and change from longtime BEF Trustee Tom Riccobene, “Each of us can take home what we have learned here this week and share with the people we love and meet. You’re all champions and we are honored to learn from you”, Riccobene said.
The finals play for all divisions was held on Saturday Aug. 5th. In an effort to stay more aligned with the WPA World event, the BEF awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to the top four finishers of each division.
All medalists in the 18UB & 18UG divisions along with the gold and silver medalists from the 14UG & 14UB divisions have been nominated for the 2017 WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championships October 31st to November 5th in Moscow, Russia.
This junior national was a year of competitive upsets. A trio of past back-to-back champions made up of Nathan Childress (14UB from North Chesterfield, VA), April “The Grinder” Larson (18UG from Bloomington, MN), and Ashley Fullerton (14UG from Lake Park, MN) all sought to become three-peat champions but fell short and all new gold medalists emerged.
Larson drew a bye sliding her to the winner side where she then matched up and defeated Katelin Ballou and then Abigail Reese to move her to the 18UG finals 8 bracket. In the semifinals match April was determined to move on but rival Michelle Jiang from Harvard, MA ended her bid to claim her 3rd straight 18UG’s title earning Larson a bronze medal instead for her effort. Gracie Davis from Decatur, IL with her great play also joined Larson for the bronze. Jiang battled it out in the 18UG finals match against Alex Booth from Mount Ayr, IA with Jiang excitedly getting her first 18UG gold medal win with Booth taking the very respectable silver. Jiang has been playing very strong the last few months with her now qualifying for her 4th Junior Worlds. Jiang will head to Moscow, Russia with her fellow Team USA members on Oct 31st, 2017.
In the 14UG division it was also a battle to maintain the championship reign, as the 2016 14UG Champion Fullerton from Lake Park, MN tried but failed to make the 14UG’s final bracket losing her first match to Tatum Cutting from Diamond, OH and her second to Vivian Liu from Harvard, MA. Liu and Cutting would eventually become opponents in the bronze medal round where Liu moved on leaving Cutting with the bronze. Gracie Davis from Decatur, IL matched up with Savanna Wolford from Troutville, VA in the other half of the semis with Davis also getting the bronze and earning Wolford a match up with Liu in the finals. The 14UG finals match played at 11am on Saturday spotlighted the two young quiet and upcoming players in Liu and Wolford. Both played well with Liu edging out the win with her first gold medal and Wolford proudly taking home the silver.
The title of 18UB champion was newly earned this year by Austin Summers from Metropolis, IL. Summers started out strong winning his first two matches only to come up short against Graham Swinson to earn a spot on the final 16 bracket winner seeded position. Needing only a single match win on the one loss side gave Summer’s his spot on the Final 16 single elimination 18UB bracket. Taking down Lukas Fracasso-Verner in a rescheduled reprieve match due to a disqualification sent Summer’s to play Ricky Evans in the semifinals. Evans from St. Peters, MO was last year’s 18UB champion but Evans struggled to keep Summer’s from finally advancing to gold earning Evans the bronze medal this year. Summers traded wins with Kaiden Hunkins from Waukesha, WI until the match was over with Austin Summers winning gold and Hunkins taking the silver medal for being runner-up in this year’s 18UB division. Thomas Haas from Lancaster, PA also took the bronze medal losing in the semifinals to Hunkins.
As always the 14UB’s is a very competitive division with high levels of play even for that age. As in the 18UG and 14UG, defending national champion Nathan Childress from North Chesterfield, VA was chasing his third consecutive championship. But Childress ran into a wall this year from a veteran BEF tournament player from Crossville, TN named Eric Roberts. Roberts knocked the defending champion, in a resounding statement of 6-0, to the one loss side where they would again meet up on the blind draw of the 14UB finals bracket. Again Roberts took Childress out this time for good with another convincing 6-2 win. Roberts would go on to win again in the quarterfinals against Jayden Liu from Harvard, MA only to eventually lose to Joey Tate from Lake Villa, IL in the semifinals earning Roberts his first medal ever with the Bronze. The very skilled Gabriel Martinez from New Braunfels, TX also earned a bronze medal after Joshua Shultz from Stedman, NC defeated him. Shultz earned a finals match with Joey Tate. Tate with 2X Junior Worlds experience under his belt was at an advantage in the high- pressure match for the gold with Shultz. After the last 9-ball was pocketed for the match wins the entire five-players strong Tate family, applauded with joy as their brother was crowned the BEF 2017 14UB Gold Medal Champion and Shultz as runner-up Silver Medalist.
The future is very bright for our BEF junior program members as there are now more than ever before, so many high level competitive opportunities at the local, state, national, and international level.
Gold Medals:
18UB Austin Summers, (Metropolis, IL)
18UG Michelle Jiang, (Harvard, MA)
14UB Joey Tate, (Lake Villa, IL)
14UG Vivian Liu, (Harvard, MA)
Silver Medals:
18UB Kaiden Hunkins, (Waukesha, WI)
18UG Alex Booth, (Mount Ayr, IA)
14UB Joshua Shultz, (Stedman, NC)
14UG Savanna Wolford, (Troutville, VA)
Bronze Medals:
18UB Thomas Haas, (Lancaster, PA) and Ricky Evans, (St Peters, MO)
18UG Hailey Fullerton, (Lake Park, MN) and April Larson, (Bloomington, MN)
14UB Eric Roberts, (Crossville, TN) and Gabriel Martinez, (New Braunfels, TX)
14UG Tatum Cutting, (Diamond, OH) and Gracie Davis, (Decatur, IL)
The Billiard Education Foundation proudly recognizes the industry leaders who helped make this year’s event possible.
Event Sponsors: Billiard Congress of America. Diamond Billiard Products, TLP Billiards, Simonis, Aramith, Ultimate Team Gear, Jacoby Cues, On the Wire Creative Media, Pechaur Cue, ACS, Champion, Valley, Dynamo, Connelly, FCI Billiards, McDermott, Predator, OB Cues, DigiCue, Presidential Billiards, West State Billiards, OGB Millwork, Professional Billiards Instructor Association, Master Chalk, Tiger, Presidential Billiards Pool & Billiard Magazine, Professor Q Ball, Billiards Digest, AzBilliards.com, Dr. Cue, Billiard University, Dave Alciatore, Bob Jewett, Brett Lewis, Jay Helfert, Jeremiah Gage and Tom Riccobene.
The BEF gives special thanks to all the individuals who gave countless hours throughout the year to help make this event possible: Samm Diep-Vidal, Tom Riccobene (BEF Treasurer), Jeremiah Gage (BEF Secretary), Shari Stauch (BEF President), Tammy Jo Leonard (BEF Assistant National Director), Earl Munson (BEF Tournament Director) received the 2017 BCA Presidents Award, Rick Doner (BEF Head Referee), Justin Ballou (Assistant Head Referee), Ed Smith (Referee), Ed Stephens (Referee), Angela Williams (Referee), Dennis & Doris Stotler (Referees), Jim Ladin (Volunteer/Donor), Corey and Trena Wolford, Stephanie Shaw (Volunteer), Steve Strange(volunteer), congratulations to the new 2017 BCA Hall-of-Famer “Dr. Cue” Tom Rossman (Junior Artistic Pool Championship Director), Nick Varner (Pro Guest Speaker), Ra Hanna & Beau Runningen for providing live streaming/scoring/brackets through On The Wire Creative Media and pro commentary by Loree Jon Hasson and Max Eberle, Brian Glasgow and his professional team, all the staff at South Point and a huge thanks to BCA’s Rob Johnson, Chance Pack, and Shane Tyree for all their help and support, and to all the parents and juniors who are so dedicated to the sport we give a hearty thank you and we will see you next year in New Orleans.
The epitome of the word legend. Team West will be injected with iconic blood as Ewa Mataya Laurance will don the role of Captain as her Team West gears up for Team Asia in the AM8.com Queens Cup. Ewa, born in the Nordic country of Sweden, is known on tour as the "Striking Viking" with countless international wins including the World Championship and US Open. With 37 years in the sport, Ewa will be a huge factor to the attitude of Team West. The greatest rivalry in women's billiards is about to ignite. On April 16-18th, 2015 the second installment of the AM8.com Queens Cup will feature champions vs champions as the best women from Asia will take on the best in the West! Last year, Team Asia had a dominating performance over Team West during the 3 days of competition. This year the USA & Europe will be looking to even the score. The AM8.com Queens Cup will be hosted by the award winning Resorts World Manila Casino & Hotel and sponsored by Andy Cloth , Aramith Balls, and Viking Cue. The Queens Cup is a Dragon Promotions production.
Pay-per-view is now available at pre-event sale by going to DragonPromotions.com or clicking here
"Ewa is a great selection as captain for Team West. She has so much experience in the sport and I like that she is not afraid to take control and make decisions. Plus she knows how to handle anything that comes at them with all her years in the industry", said Tony Robles, veteran men's pro player.
"Ewa did an awesome job playing for Europe in the World Trickshot Team competition. She knows how to lead and is always the consummate professional ", says Shari Stauch, former veteran pro on tour & publisher for Pool & Billiard Magazine.
"Ewa's mantle of 'Leading Lady of Billiards' is so fitting. She's been one of the people I looked up to as a kid growing up and she is one of the classiest people in our sport. I can't think of anyone better to captain the Americans and Europeans on the team in the defining event of ladies pool", said Charlie Williams, Executive Producer of the Queens Cup.
"I was really glad when I heard Ewa was chosen for our team. She has been playing as good as I've ever seen", said Jennifer Barretta, Ewa's teammate for Manila.
"I'm very excited to play in the AM8.com Queens Cup to play for Team West. America has been my home for most of my career and it's great to be able to represent both USA and my Swedish heritage", said Ewa. "Being selected as the captain of Team West is a thrill and I really feel that we have a extremely solid team that may surprise people ."
When asked on her Queens Cup predictions, she replied, "Asia is full of talented young players of course, but I think our team has a lot more experience. Plus we have Jennifer Barretta who is a notorious student of the game and she will be handy in the 10-Ball matches and preparations."
The Queens Cup will showcase the rivalry between the Asians and their western counterparts in Europe and USA, very similar to the Ryder Cup in golf or Davis Cup in tennis. Elite professional ladies from their respective countries and continents are selected onto two sides representing the East and West. The event will last 3 days in a 10-Ball format that will conclude when one team reaches 10 match wins. Style of play will include singles, doubles, triples, and 4-on-4. Captains will be put to the test to create the best strategy in partnerships and chemistry of match-ups. If the matches go 9 to 9 hill-hill, a final 4-on-4 play will set the scene for the dramatic conclusion.
Ewa Mataya Laurance was born in Gävle, Sweden and has graced the cover of New York Times magazine which impacted the entire sport helping to change the image of the sport from a seedy, men's dominated game to a professional sport of elegance and class. She has been the longest sponsored player in history of Brunswick Billiards for over 20 years. In 2012 Ewa shocked the world by a flashback comeback defeating the top 3 player son tour in back to back fashion which were Jasmin Ouschan (Austria), Ga Young Kim (Korea) and toppled Allison Fisher (UK) in the finals. Ewa still maintains a top 5 USA ranking and is looked up to by generations of players, men & women, as an exemplary role model. Ewa is also a sports writer with her own monthly feature in Pool & Billiard magazine, as well as a sports commentator for ESPN. In 2004, she was inducted into the Billiard's America's Hall of Fame. She has been nicknamed "The Leading Lady of Billiards" and the "Striking Viking".
The AM8.com Queens Cup brings a level of excitement and pressure never before seen in women's billiards. On April 16th, The Empresses of Pool Battle for Glory.
A veteran force joins the Eastern team. Taiwan's world renowned Jennifer "China Doll" Chen is the next Asian player selected for Team Asia in the AM8.com Queens Cup to play against USA/Europe next month. Chen has 12 major international titles as well as a gold at the highly coveted Asian Games, and will be the senior member of Team Asia with 24 years of professional competitive experience. The greatest rivalry in women's billiards is about to ignite. On April 16-18th, 2015 the second installment of the AM8.com Queens Cup will feature champions vs champions as the best women from Asia will take on the best in the West! Last year, Team Asia had a dominating performance over Team West during the 3 days of competition. This year the quad squad from USA & Europe will be looking to even the score. The AM8.com Queens Cup will be hosted by the award winning Resorts World Manila Casino & Hotel and sponsored by Andy Cloth and Viking Cue. The Queens Cup is a Dragon Promotions production.
"Chen is a very fun player to watch. Especially when she get's hot on the pool table", says Shari Stauch, former veteran pro on tour & publisher for Pool & Billiard Magazine.
"Jennifer's has strong physical skills like jumping balls really well and she never goes to the table with doubt. She's always been that way", comments all-star American pro Vivian Villarreal. " The experiences she has playing great players for big stakes on the line and winning are huge. That's what gives her that killer focus, which is one of her biggest strengths and a big asset for Team Asia."
"I was surprised and very honored when I was selected for the AM8.com Queens Cup to play for Team Asia. I've been a 9-Ball player for 20 years, but I think now that I've been introduced to 10-Ball, I like that game more", said Chen. When asked on her Queens Cup predictions for this year, she replied, " Asians have been more dominant in pool. Because we start training at a young age and have so many good, young players compared to the West. So, I think this is why we will win."
The Queens Cup will showcase the rivalry between the Asians and their western counterparts in Europe and USA, very similar to the Ryder Cup in golf or Davis Cup in tennis. Elite professional ladies from their respective countries and continents are selected onto two sides representing the East and West. The event will last 3 days in a 10-Ball format that will conclude when one team reaches 10 match wins. Style of play will include singles, doubles, triples, and 4-on-4. Captains will be put to the test to create the best strategy in partnerships and chemistry of match-ups. If the matches go 9 to 9 hill-hill, a final 4-on-4 play will set the scene for the dramatic conclusion.
Jennifer Chen has had an incredible career in billiards, attaining world fame through her accomplishments on the table, as well as public fame off the table becoming a national celebrity in her home country of Taiwan. She started her junior career off winning the China/Japan Pool Championship and then a year later won the prestigious US Open 14.1. She then won the Japan Open and then achieved world acclaim with a silver medal at the World 9-Ball Championship, helping her earn the Rookie of the Year in women's pool. A couple years later she was world ranked at #1, and had added 2 more gold medals for Taiwan in consecutive Asian Games. Chen also won the coveted Amway Cup World Open, making her all in all a serious component of experience and class for Team Asia.
"Jennifer Chen is one of the very few Asian women that has achieved an iconic status in billiards. She is going to be a solid foundation of experience for the younger Asians on the team", said Charlie Williams, former top American pro and Executive Producer of the AM8.com Queens Cup.
Off the green felt, Jennifer Chen became a mainstream celebrity with her model looks backed up by world class skills. She was in numerous TV shows, soap operas, magazines, and even had books published on her. Today, Chen is a business woman running her upscale billiards bar and restaurant called JC Billiards & Club in Shanghai, China.
The AM8.com Queens Cup will be broadcasted worldwide to very receptive audiences who loved the last one. This year predicts for an even bigger viewership for this highly entertaining and competitive event. Yahoo Sports writer Bob Guerrero described the event in his article "Queens Cup is a breath of fresh air for pool" .
The AM8.com Queens Cup brings a level of excitement and pressure never before seen in women's billiards. On April 16th, The Empresses of Pool Battle for Glory.
Ricky Evans, Taylor Reynolds, Nick Evans and April Larson (Photo courtesy of Ricky Bryant)
The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) wrapped up its 26th Annual Junior National 9-Ball Championships June 24-27, 2014. 79 billiard student-athletes represented 21 states at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky for this year’s event which took place in conjunction with the Billiard Congress of America 2014 Summit.
The winners from each of the four age divisions received academic scholarships, engraved trophies, Poison player equipment packages, Falcon cue and case packages, Dr. Dave Billiard University packages, and more. Along with their victories, they also earned entries into the 2014 WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championships in Shanghai, China November 15-19.
History was made this year!
For the first time of the BEF Junior Nationals, two brothers both won their respective age divisions with matching final scores of 9-6! St. Peters, Missouri’s 17-year-old Nick Evans and his 13-year-old brother Ricky Evans both went undefeated through their brackets to take home the gold. Older brother Nick finished in the top 12 of last year’s World Junior Championships in Johannesburg, South Africa and both will represent the U.S. this year.
On the girls’ side, 17-year-old Taylor Reynolds of Winslow, Maine also went undefeated beating Rachel Lang from New York in the finals. Reynolds is no stranger to the finals arena with several runner-up trophies and a couple trips to the Junior Worlds. She was also the 2011 14 & Under Girls division champion.
14-year-old April Larson from Bloomington, Minnesota took home her third consecutive title as 14 & Under Girls division champion. Though she struggled in the end, she was still able to pull out a 9-6 victory against Michelle Jiang of Harvard, Mass who had her best showing yet at nationals. Larson will enter her first year in the 18 & Under Girls division next year.
25 billiard student-athletes with GPAs of 3.5 or higher were recognized at the event’s banquet as this year’s BEF Academic All-Americans. Banquet guests were also treated with special guest speaker Jeanette Lee, “The Black Widow.”
This year’s event polo shirts were also sponsored by Falcon Cues and Presidential Billiards. Goody bags were also presented to each participant which included items sponsored by Lava Chalk, Pool & Billiard magazine, PoolDawg.com, Meullers Recreational Products, Fury Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Tweeten Fibre, and the BEF.
Great appreciation go to the event staff and volunteers who have made this a first class event year after year: longtime tournament director Earl Munson, tournament & event assistant Tammy Jo Leonard and her husband Mel, longtime National Head Referee Rick Doner, referees Justin Ballou and Seneca McIntosh, Linda McIntosh, and “Dr. Popper” Mark Dimick for conducting the Jr. Artistic Pool event, banquet emcees (& BEF board members) Shari Stauch & Tom Riccobene
As always, the BEF recognizes its loyal media sponsors: AzBilliards.com, Billiards Digest, InsidePool, Pool&Billiard, Professor Q-Ball, NYCGrind.com, Cue Times Billiard News, and On The Break News. Special thanks also go to Rob Johnson, Shane Tyree, Brian Glasglow, and all the staff involved with organizing this year’s Summit.
Any young players interested in participating in next year’s BEF Junior National 9-Ball Championships or State Championships should visit the BEF website at BilliardEducation.org or call the office at (303) 926-1039.
Chicago, IL – The wait is over. In November of this year, the world's greatest women players will be showcased like never before in an event that Dragon Promotions has been working on for nearly 2 years. It will be East versus West as Dragon Promotions is thrilled to announce its newest event creation, The Queens Cup!
The Queens Cup will be the very first time that the best women in the West will take on the best women in Asia in a dramatic format that will take 3 days to determine the outcome. Four women will be selected from Europe and the USA while another four women will be selected to represent Asia. The format will be versatile including 4-on-4s , Triples, Doubles, and Singles matches. Each team will have to play every which way possible and strategy will be crucial. The first team to reach 10 match wins will be victorious. All matches will be 10-Ball.
Renowned writer and publisher of Billiards Digest and Bowler's Journal, Mike Panozzo says,"The idea of a Ryder Cup-style competition in women's pool is a natural. Anyone who has witnessed Team USA vs Team EUROPE in pool's Mosconi Cup knows that these competitions bring out more excitement, emotion and drama than any other event during the year. The new Queen's Cup, pitting East vs West, is also a natural. The women's game really emerged when European players joined the U.S. Players on the WPBA Tour. Now the game is dominated by the talented Asian stars. Will a combination of American and European players be enough to topple the powerful Asians? Not sure, but it should be a lot of fun watching them pull together as a team to try."
"This is a pool fan's dream come true. We have been asked for years to put on something like this, and we have been biting our tongue and chomping at the bit to not release that this was already in the works. This is something that has never been done before. To get all the best women together and settle which side has the best players has been an argument for the past few years", said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions. Dragon Promotions is the creator of the Womens World 10-Ball Championship, which most players and experts agree is the toughest and most sought after Womens title to win. "Producing the Women's World 10-Ball the past four years we have seen two Asian World Champions and two western World Champions. Four different players from four different countries. This event will help settle which side is stronger once and for all. At least for a year!"
Pool & Billiard Magazine's Editor in Chief Shari Stauch says. "I think the idea of the Queen's Cup, a women's team event, will be great for both players and fans. We all have enjoyed the rivalry of the world's top men players; let's see the women battle it out, too!"
"We wanted this to be the ultimate test for the women. So we created the best format we could invent using 10-Ball in a versatile format. The rules cater to the top professionals including a forced hard break rule. There won't be any room for excuses or fluff, just plain, hardnosed pool action. Every woman in the Queens Cup will have to bring their A+ game", explains Charlie Williams. Williams has designed and played in events such as Korea vs USA, the Patriot Cup, World vs Philippines, and World vs Taiwan. He is also a 5x member of the USA Mosconi Cup Team as well as being a past USA Captain.
Most of the players have already been contracted and will be announced soon. But the one player that will be announced now is the selection of the Captain of the West Team. And that is , of course, the world #1, Ms.Kelly Fisher of England.
"I was absolutely thrilled when I first heard this event was going to take place! This is something very different and unique. The dynamics are really great and could really draw big media attention to women's pool. I feel the Queens Cup could really, really grow into a huge event," says Kelly Fisher. Kelly is a Two-Times World Champion and is considered to be the most dominant women's player in the world currently. She will be a major force to be reckoned with for the Asians in the Queens Cup.
"We believe this will be an extremely exciting event and great for television. So we anticipate this will be an annual event that will build a rivalry for years to come." says Cindy Lee.
Sponsors may now contact Dragon Promotions at support@dragonpromotions.com or 1-407-782-4978 . Official equipment sponsors will be announced shortly.
Stay tuned for more exciting news and follow the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thequeenscup
The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Samm Diep-Vidal to the position of Executive Director.
Vidal joins the organization on May 1, 2012 to work alongside current Executive Director, Laura Smith. On August 1, Vidal will assume full executive director duties; Smith will continue on as a trustee of the organization.
Samm Diep-Vidal has made a name for herself in the sport as a player, billiard instructor, writer and promoter. She is most recognized for her online interviews and instructional videos and most recently has been busy as House Pro and Marketing Director for Felt Billiards (Englewood, CO). Said Samm of the appointment, “My goal is to educate players and fans on the benefits of the BEF while creating more event and scholarship opportunities for the juniors involved. The future of our sport depends on each and every one of them.”
BEF Board of Trustees president Shari Stauch said, “The board is excited to have Samm join the BEF team. She has built solid relationships within the industry, and recognizes that promoting young players is key to our sport’s growth. Samm will bring to BEF several creative, fun and innovative approaches that will allow the industry to get behind the BEF in a big way!”
Diep-Vidal’s immediate responsibilities include a re-launch of the BEF’s website as well as identifying new ways that manufacturers, promoters, retailers and room owners can each be part of BEF’s success. Flagship programs of the BEF currently include the Junior National 9-Ball Championships; BEF Scholarships; and “Pool in School” programs that promote high school billiard clubs, inter-school competition, and billiard phys-ed classes.
