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Brothers double dips Morrow to win the Dynaspheres Cup 9-Ball Memorial Day Shootout

Josh Brothers

If it had been a horse race, the trio of Josh Brothers, Shayne Morrow and Russell Redhead would have yielded an outstanding trifecta payout. None favored, really, although Brothers, who won the Dynaspheres Cup 9-Ball Memorial Day Shootout this past weekend (May 28-29), was the third pick among those expressing an opinion. Ahead of him were Shaun Wilkie and Lucas Fracasso-Verner, who finished 24th and 17th, respectively, as Brothers came from the loss side to double dip Morrow, chalking up his first (recorded) event win in almost a decade; since he won a stop on the Mezz Pro Am Tour in February of 2013. The event, held under the auspices of and streamed by Billiard Sports Network (BSN Media), drew 55 entrants to Bank Shot Bar & Grill in Laurel, MD. 

“That was the great thing about this tournament,” commented BSN Media owner and event tour director, Jake Lawson. “You had two guys who were not favored on paper (finishing) 2nd and 3rd. And Shayne (Morrow; 3rd) won the hot seat.”

“So, pretty crazy weekend,” he added. “It’s why I love doing this.”

Neither of the two competitors favored in the event faced the winner. Wilkie didn’t make it out of the second winners’ side round or the third loss-side round. Fracasso-Verner won two on the winners’ side but only one on the loss side.

After an opening round bye, Brothers’ path to the hot seat match went through John Moody, Sr., Vietnam’s Tuan Chau (who would later, on the loss side, eliminate Wilkie), and eventual third-place finisher, Russell Redhead, arriving at a winners’ side semifinal against Scott Haas. Morrow, in the meantime, defeated Donald Painter, Justin Mast, Jimmy Varias and Curtis Branker to arrive at his winners’ side versus Jeff Jones, Jr.

Morrow fought a double hill battle before advancing to the hot seat match, as Brothers sent Haas to the loss side 7-2 and joined him. In his second straight double hill battle, Morrow, at 6-6, took a chance on an extraordinary, not to mention low-percentage, three-rail bank shot at the 9-ball that travelled back from what looked to be an impossible angle off the second rail to hit the 3rd rail and travel cross-table to drop into a side pocket. He was in the hot seat.

On the loss side, Jones drew Redhead, who’d followed his loss to Brothers with victories over Fred Crislip, Jr. 6-3 and a double hill win over Thomas Haas. Scott Haas picked up Eric Yoo, who was working on a four-match, loss-side streak that had recently eliminated Tuan Chau (fresh from his elimination of Wilkie) 6-4, John Newton 6-3 and Mike Miller (double hill).

Scott Haas put a stop to Yoo’s loss-side trip 6-4 and in the quarterfinals faced Redhead, who’d knocked Jones out 6-2. Redhead chalked up his last match victory eliminating Haas 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

Brothers stopped Redhead’s streak at three in the semifinals to earn himself a rematch against Morrow, waiting for him in the hot seat. Brothers took the opening set of the true double elimination final 7-4. He and Morrow battled back and forth to 5-5 and a single game for all of the proverbial marbles. Brothers won it.

Tour director Jake Lawson thanked the ownership and staff at Bank Shot Bar and Grill, as well as sponsors Dynaspheres, Championship Billiard Fabric, Lucid Ballsports (Predator Arena Light), JB Cases, Gina Cunningham (Keller Williams Integrity), East Coast Prime Meats, Integrity Cues, Break Out Apparel Co., AZBilliards, Premier Billiards, Cue Score, The League Room, American Billiard Covering, B&R Productions (Rich France & Bruce Carder), DFE Billiards Service/XLR. For information on BSN Media productions, including upcoming Dynaspheres Cup 8-Ball, 9-Ball and Juniors 9-Ball competition, visit their Web site at http://www.thebilliardsportsnetwork.com/. 

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Kurt England Of Mansfield OH Finishes On Top In Tri-State Series under “No Conflict” Rules

A full field of 64 players gathered at Gold Crown Billiards in Erie PA for the summer version of the quarterly Tri-State Open Nine-Ball Series on Saturday, August 30th. This was the 19th event in the series and the 15th tournament in a row in which the field was full. It took a mere 13 hours inside one day to run 231 matches and determine a champion. Many players used this event as a warm-up to get ready for Turning-Stone.


Short Nine-Ball races on 9’ Gold Crowns were the recipe for many exciting matches.  The rules for the tournament included, fouls on all balls, no short games, and the No Conflict Rules for racking and breaking.  Under the rules, players are not required to pocket a ball on the break in order to get their first shot.  Players alternate breaks and shoot what they break. The rules are designed to remove the motivation and opportunity to manipulate the rack. The net result is a smoother and faster tournament.  The author of the rules, Paul Schofield, owner and proprietor of Gold Crown Billiards, equates rack manipulation to “stacking the deck” in a card game. Schofield further explains “The rules for our event heavily favor the better player.”  A full set of rules are posted on the Gold Crown Billiards website.


The top 4 finishers also happened to be 4 past Tri-State Champions.  Kurt England (Mansfield OH) went 4-1 in the qualifying rounds, advancing him to the sudden-death Championship Bracket. Kurt began his trek to the finals by disposing Al McGuane (Rochester NY) by the score of 6-4. In the quarter-finals, he trounced Jim Doran (Buffalo NY) 6-1.  Brian Alfredo (Masury OH) faired a little better, going down 6-2 in the semis.   Finalist Shayne Morrow (Erie PA), fresh off a runner-up finish in a BCA Masters event, went undefeated (4-0) in the qualifying rounds. Shayne faced local rival, Carmen Pruvedenti in the 1st round in the Championship Bracket. Carmen went down 6-4 and it was on to Lyn Wechsler Rochester(NY) where Shayne battled to another 6-4 victory. Ben Jones (Willowick OH) fell victim to Shayne 6-5 in the semi-finals, setting the stage for the England-Morrow finals.


With the score tied at 2, Kurt England won the next game and never looked back, defeating Shayne Morrow 6-3, garnering the win and the 2014 Summer Tri-State Open title.  


The tournament’s success can be attributed to many factors. The unusual rules are always well received. The fall version of the Tri-State Open Nine-Ball Series will take place in November.
 

RESULTS

1) Kurt England   $600

2) Shayne Morrow $400

3-4) Brian Alfredo, Ben Jones   $250

5-8) Jim Doran, Rob Krull, Top Purich, Lyn Wechsler   $140

9-16) Don Blevins, Ron Casazio, Mark Cimperman, Jerry Crowe, Al McGuane, Carmen Pruvedenti, Dave Slovic, Tom Washington  $85

Dechaine Dominates Strong Field Under the No Conflict Rules

Dechaine (L), Bartram (R)

The Spring version of the quarterly Tri-State Open Nine-Ball Series at Gold Crown Billiards in Erie PA saw the strongest field yet in any of their events. Participating were 3 past Mosconi Cup players, not to mention 12 past winners and runners-up along with a handful of other professional players. A full field of 32 players competed in the one day, $4000 added event.

The rules for the tournament included, fouls on all balls, no short games, and the No Conflict Rules for racking and breaking. Under the rules, players are not required to pocket a ball on the break in order to get their first shot. Players alternate breaks and shoot what they break. One hundred and fifteen matches were played without incident and controversy that usually surround the racking and breaking process. The author of the rules, Paul Schofield, owner and proprietor of Gold Crown Billiards, contends the current rules poison matches and corrupt entire tournaments. Schofield further explains “The rules for our event heavily favor the better player.” A full set of the rules are posted on the Gold Crown Billiards website.

The top 4 finishers also happened to be the top 4 bids in the player auction. They finished in order from highest bid to 4th highest bid. Mike Dechaine from Waterville ME put on a clinic,winning 7 straight matches to win the event. Dechaine breezed through the qualifying rounds trouncing Ron Casanzio (Rochester NY) 6-3, Willie VanGuilder (Garland PA) 6-0, Jerry Crowe (Bathe NY) 6-2, and Shayne Morrow (Erie PA) 6-3. In the championship bracket, Dechaine picked up where he left of by putting down Jerry Crowe again 8-1 in the quarter-finals. Things got tough in the semi-finals where Alex Olinger (Dayton OH) took Mike Dechaine to the hill only to have Dechaine break and run the last game under the threat of elimination. Continuing on his reign of terror, Dechaine easily handled Chris Bartram (Columbus OH) 8-4 in the finals.

Chris Bartram fought hard, grinding through the qualifying rounds with a 6-2 record, earning a spot in the championship bracket. Bartram downed Shane Jackson (Pittsburgh PA) in the quarter-finals 8-5 and went on in the semis to defeat Shawn Putnam (Powder Springs GA) 8-5. Dechaine was on fire and proved too much for Bartram in the finals.

The tournament was a success. The unusual rules were well received. Gold Crown Billiards will look to grow this annual event in future years by picking up additional sponsors and recruiting stronger fields.