Three of the 2019 American 14:1 Straight Pool Championships’ competitors made it through the event’s three-day Round Robin phase (Oct. 22-24) with undefeated (6-0) records. They were arguably not the names you might have expected from this particular field of 42 entrants, which included six former winners of the championship title – Mika Immonen (2007), Johnny Archer (2011), John Schmidt (2012), Thorsten Hohmann (2013), Darren Appleton (’14 & ’15), and Neils Feijen (2016). Two-time runner up Danny Barouty (to Ed Hodan in 2006 and Bob Maidhof in 2008) was competing, as were runner-ups Shaun Wilkie (to Danny Harriman in 2010), John Schmidt (to Archer, 2011), Archer (to Hohmann, 2013), Hohmann (to Schmidt in 2012, Darren Appleton in 2015 & Klenti Kaci in 2018), Immonen (to Feijen in 2016) and Dennis Orcollo (to Konrad Juszczyszyn in 2017).

 

Instead, Austria’s Max Lechner, Finland’s Jan Siekkinen and Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz went undefeated through the Round Robin phase of the event and were awarded a bye in the 24-entrant single elimination phase which began today (Friday) and will continue through tomorrow (Saturday) at Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA. Lechner was paired in his seven-entrant round robin flight and won his six race-to-125 matches by an average of 102 balls. He gave up, in order, one to David Alcaide, 66 to Marc Vidal, 24 to Tom Walter, seven to Blair Levandowski and 41 to Don Polo. 

 

Siekkinen competed in what was arguably the event’s toughest group of seven and went through Thorsten Hohmann (43), Johnny Archer (81), Lee Van Corteza (59), Sean Morgan (21), Neil Gold (65) and Pascal Dufresne (44); an average of 52. Ruiz got by John Schmidt (66), Petri Makkonen (25), Bob Hunter (55), Mike Badsteubner (27), Reymart Lim (72) and Michael Frank (-1); average of 40.

 

The remaining five competitors to receive opening round byes into single elimination were all 5-1 in the round robin competition. Ruslan Chinakhov lost his opening round match to Neils Feijen, one of two matches that Feijen won by shutout, 125-0 (the other was against Bob Madenjian). Chinakhov went on to down Albin Ouschan, Ralph Eckert and deliver a second shutout to Madenjian, before defeating Holden Chin and Darren Frank. Dennis Orcollo lost his opening match to Darren Appleton in one of the round robin’s closest games, 125-116. Orcollo went on to meet and defeat Maksim Dudanets, Marco Teutscher, Danny Barouty, Earl Herring and Steve Matthieu.

 

Feijen was the only member of this year’s European Mosconi Cup team who competed in this event, and while he did chalk up two shutout victories, he did lose his opening match to Albin Ouschan 125-44. In addition to the shutouts, he defeated Ralph Eckert, Holden Chin and D. Frank. The sport’s acknowledged comedian, Alex Pagulayan opened the round robin proceedings against Mika Immonen, and together, they produced the round robin’s official closest game, won by The Lion 125-119. Pagulayan went on to defeat Max Eberle before losing his one match to Shaun Wilkie in another close match 125-104. He finished with victories over Michael Yednak, Steve Lillis and Jay McWorter.

  

As noted above, Immonen’s path to his 5-1 round robin record began with a defeat by Pagulayan. The Iceman would go on to down Eberle, Wilkie, Yednak, Lillis and McWorter.

 

Friday morning competition in the single elimination phase saw eight matches scheduled. Five of the 16 competitors had also logged 5-1 records in the round robin phase; tie breakers were head-to-head results and beyond that, total ball counts. John Schmidt was scheduled to face Maksim Dudanets, who finished the round robin phase with a 3-3 record. The marquee match was likely to be Albin Ouschan (5-1) against Johnny Archer (4-2), who closed out Thursday evening’s matches with a necessary win of Sean Morgan that gave him the record he needed to advance.

 

The Darren Appleton (5-1) and Shaun Wilkie (4-2) combination was garnering interest and was selected as the Billiard Sports Network’s Friday morning choice for live broadcast. Ralf Souquet, competing in the round robin flight with the 6-0 Lechner, advanced with his 5-1 match record to face Reymart Lim (3-3). Marco Teutscher (5-1) was scheduled to face Ralph Eckert (3-3). 

 

Remaining matches pitted Lee Van Corteza against Petri Makkonen, Thorsten Hohmann versus Marc Vidal, and David Alcaide squaring off against Max Eberle. 

 

Day 4 of the American 14.1 Straight Pool Tournament is now in the books from the fabulous Diamond Billiards in Midlothian VA.  Outstanding action in the first two rounds of the 24 man single elimination phase has reduced the field to 8 players heading into Saturday’s action.  The remaining players are Lee Van Corteza, Alex Pagulayan, Thorsten Hohmann, Albin Ouschan, Dennis Orcollo, Konrad Juszczyszyn, Brandon Shuff and Warren Kiamco.  Everyone remaining has produced the consistent high level form required to advance in this tournament, and making it to the winners circle will certainly demand continued flawless play.  

 

Prior to the start of the elimination phase, round robin play was completed.  Pagulayan, Corteza, and Juszczyszyn were the only players to go undefeated in their flights – another indication as to just how deep this tournament field was.  Notable players who failed to advance to the elimination round included Mika Immonen, Johnny Archer, Li Wen Lo, Max Eberle, and Chris Melling, this year’s George Fels Memorial 14.1 Tournament champion at Derby City.

 

In the 24 man elimination phase, all 8 flight winners received a bye while the remaining 16 players squared off in an effort to advance.  The firepower possessed by Jayson Shaw was on full display as he came back from a 123-44 deficit with a run of 81 balls to best Rodney Morris 125-123.  John Schmidt, who has severely cut back on his tournament play over the past several years, was nonetheless in classic form in defeating David Alcaide 125 to -2.  The results of the remaining matches were Tom Walter over Darren Appleton, Thorsten Holmann over Shawn Wilkie, Mario He over Ralf Souquet, Niels Feijen over Mike Davis, Dennis Grabe over Kai-Lun Hsu, and Corey Deuel over Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz.

 

In the round of 16, all the flight winners advanced with the exception of Yu-Lung Chang, who was beaten by Thorsten Hohmann.  The highlight match involved Albin Ouschan and Mario He, teammates who earlier this year won the 2017 World Cup of Pool representing Austria.  Mario jumped out to a 111-7 lead before Albin could get back to the table.  He proceeded to methodically run out to 125 and eliminate his teammate from the tournament.  Lee Van Corteza, seeking his third 14.1 tournament victory this year, used a 96 ball game ending run to eliminate Estonia’s Dennis Grabe.  Alex Pagulayan proved too much for Tom Walter to keep his impressive tournament run going, while Dennis Orcollo sent defending champion Niels Feijen packing.  Brandon Shuff prevented another Jason Shaw comeback win with a well-played 125-95 victory while Warren Kiamco eliminated Corey Deuel.  John Schmidt could not hold off Konrad Juszczyszyn as the 24 year old from Poland, who played the entire match from behind but was able to catch Schmidt at 119 and rolled on to victory.  Juszczyszyn is described by his traveling partner Dennis Grabe as a “fearless player willing to take on any shot”.

 

The quarter final matches are now set with Pagulayan vs Hohmann, Ouschan vs Orcollo, Juszczyszyn vs Shuff, and Corteza vs Kiamco.  Play begins at 11:00AM, followed by the semi-finals and final.  A quarter-final match along with both semi-finals matches and the finals will be available for viewing.  The link to the free stream is available on the Diamond Billiards Facebook page or  http://diamondbilliardsva.com/live-stream..

 

The American 14.1 Straight Pool Championship is sponsored by the Dorsey family, owners and operators of host Diamond Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Billiard Balls, and numerous private donors.

 

After 3 days of round robin play at the fabulous Diamond Billiards in Midlothian VA, two key themes have emerged:  Players agree that this is the strongest 14.1 field assembled in recent memory, and Lee Van Corteza continues to show the form that has led him to the World Tournament of 14.1 championship in 2017.

 

The quality and depth of the field is evident from the short list of players who remain undefeated in round-robin play: 2-time champion Darren Appleton, Dennis Orcollo, Alex Pagulayan, Rodney Morris, Tom Walter, Konrad Juszczyszyn, and (of course) Lee Van Corteza.  Amongst the players who face the prospect of missing the 24 man single elimination competition include defending champion Niels Feijen, Corey Deuel, Li-Wen Lo, Mika Immonen, John Schmidt, and others who must win out, or hope to be on the right side of the tie breaker process when round robin play concludes.

 

Corteza is currently 4-0 and has locked up 1st place in his flight. In his final match of day 3, he faced David Alcaide, who was also undefeated at 3-0.  Corteza won the lag, forcing Alcaide to break.  Unfortunately for David he left a makeable shot and never again left his chair as he watched Lee Van run 100 and out for a perfect game.  At 98-0, Corteza faced a typical break shot but by his own admission, soft stroked it to assure the cue ball would not get “stuck anywhere”.  It didn’t but all he had for a winning shot was a 3 ball combination on the foot rail, which he calming executed for the win.  On day 2, Kai-Lun Hsu from Taiwan had Lee Van down 64 to -1.  But a miss by Hsu put Corteza back on the table and he systematically ran 101 balls, putting an end to that match.

 

One of the surprise performances has been turned in by Konrad Juszczyszyn from Lubin Poland, who defeated Feijen and Li-Wen Lo along the way to compiling a 4-0 record and locking up his flight.  Yesterday, in a one-for-the ages match, Hall-of-Famers Johnny Archer and Rodney Morris squared off with Morris prevailing by the score of 100-98.  Morris (4-0) has locked up his flight.  Longtime straight pool player Tom Walter from New York is currently 3-0 with 2 matches remaining tomorrow.  His victims include Thorsten Hohmann.  Dennis Orcollo is 4-0, outscoring his opponents 400-58, but has yet to lock up his flight.

 

Round robin play concludes tomorrow with the top 3 players from the 8 flights advancing to a 24 man single elimination competition.  The 8 flight winners will receive a 1st round bye.  The 1st and 2nd rounds will take place tomorrow night.  Races will be to 125.  The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals will be played on Saturday.  Those matches will be races to 150.

 

All rounds on Friday will feature a streamed match beginning at 10:00AM. On Saturday, a quarter-final match along with both semi-finals matches and the finals will be available for viewing.  The link to the free stream is http://diamondbilliardsva.com/live-stream.  

 

The American 14.1 Straight Pool Championship is sponsored by the Dorsey family, owners and operators of host Diamond Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Billiard Balls, and numerous private donors. 

 

If the barrier separating men and women on the felt fields of pool is ever going to be permanently removed, Karen Corr is as likely a candidate as any to be the movement's poster child. Corr joined 39 men competing for the 10th Annual American Straight Pool Championship over the weekend of September 12-14, and came within a single match of winning the whole thing. She was defeated, soundly, one might add, by Darren Appleton in those finals. The $13,000-added event (originally the Maryland 14:1 Open) was hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA.

 

The event began with eight, round robin flights, consisting of four matches for each of five players in races to 100. At the end of those flights, 24 of the 40 players were seeded into a single elimination bracket, with the top eight seeds receiving byes in the opening round. The players were seeded by virtue of their total match victories and point differentials in the four matches they had played.

 

The top seed for the single elimination bracket was Tom Walter, who went undefeated, with a point differential of 319 (an average score of 100-20 in those opening rounds). Jason Klatt, playing in his fist straight pool tournament was the # 2 seed, also undefeated with a point differential of 305. In order, the other players receiving byes were Darren Appleton (290 point differential), Brandon Shuff (264), Kevin Clark (256), Johnny Archer (231), Mika Immonen (220), and Mike Dechaine (205). Corr was seeded at #9, having dropped one of her four matches (to Kevin Clark), though her point differential was stronger than Archer's at 252.

 

The top names in the event were spread out over the eight round robin flights, so that Appleton, Dechaine, Archer, Immonen, and Corr (as examples) did not compete in the early rounds of play. Each of those five faced strong players in their respective round robin matches. 

 

The point differentials tightened immediately in the opening round of single elimination, with races to 125. On average, the point differential in the eight matches was decimal points over 56, with Robert Madenjian chalking up the largest difference (125-40 over Jeff Crawford) and Mike Davis battling in the tightest race (125-20). The top nine seeds in round robin play had averaged point differentials of just over 65.

 

In the second round, the top eight seeds joined in and increased the differential point average by about 13; from 56 in the opening rounds to 69 in the second. Contributing to this increase was Karen Corr, who not only eliminated Mike Dechaine in this second round, but did so by a score of 125 to minus 2. The closest race in this round was won Huidji See, who eliminated Johnny Archer 125-110. Corr had collected $100 by recording the highest run over Friday and Saturday of the event (83), which bested Dechaine's run over the same period by a single ball. In effect, she stomped on him twice.

 

Gone with Archer and Dechaine were Mike Davis, Shaun Wilkie, Danny Mastermaker and Holden Chin, who fell to Appleton 125-21; 32 down and eight to go. Corr battled Tom Walter. Shuff faced Kevin Clark (the only person at this stage to have defeated Corr), The Iceman (Mika Immonen) squared off against Jason Klatt and Appleton took on Huidji See.

 

The point differential in this quarterfinal round, with races to 150, averaged out at just over 63 balls, with Corr defeating Walter 150-122, Clark besting Shuff 150-75, Klatt getting by Immonen 150-88, and Appleton checking in with the largest differential, eliminating See 150-62.

Klatt would now face Appleton, as Corr turned to do battle against the only opponent who'd defeated her to that point, Kevin Clark.

 

The somewhat insignificant differential in the event semifinals was just over 50. It was brought about by Appleton's 150-50 victory over Jason Klatt, and the tightest race of the entire event that saw Corr advance to the finals by a single ball over Kevin Clark – 150-149. It was followed by the largest point differential recorded in the entire tournament; a gap of 122 balls, as Appleton claimed the event title with a 150-28 victory over Corr.

 

Peter Burrows, chairman of the American Straight Pool Championship, said that the 11th annual event is "likely" to be back at Diamond Billiards, and is being scheduled to precede the US Open 9-Ball Championships in 2015, so that players in attendance for the straight pool event can travel just a few miles to begin play in the US Open.

 

According to Burrows, a difficult time identifying a room willing to hold the 10th Annual 14:1 Maryland Open led to the search beyond the state of Maryland and into Virginia, where Diamond Billiards agreed to host. 

 

Tour director Megan Fort thanked Thomas Dorsey and his staff at Diamond Billiards, Iwan Lee with Simonis Cloth and Aramis Balls, Nathan Sulinski, Pete Burrows, Michael Frank, Shaun Wilkie, Andy Lincoln, QPod (who donated raffle cues, as well as the cue presented to Appleton as the winner), Brian Russell of Focus Apparel (designer of the logo for the new American Straight Pool Championships), Lucasi Cues (Jamie and Wes Bond), John Berton and Kamui Tips.

New York, New York –  Reigning World Tournament of 14.1 Champion John "Mr.400" Schmidt will be headlining the American pros at this year's World Tournament odf 14.1. Opposing his lead will be Germany's Thorsten Hohmann, who's red hot 14.1 win last week will gear him and the other Europeans. The USA contingent and Europe will clash next week in New York City. Dragon Promotions and Dr. Michael Fedak will bring another globally star studded field at this year's Olhausen World Tournament hosted by Steinway Billiards in New York on August 19th-24th,2013.  Live stream broadcast will be on www.insidepool.tv 
 

"Out of all the titles I've won, the World 14.1 Tournament has meant the most to me. I couldn't even contain the emotions when I made the final break shot last year against Efren. I'm just happy to have done it for all the American players and fans", said Schmidt. John has two runs over 400 in straight pool and dozens of 200+ ball runs. He is known on tour to be the best pure ball runner in 14.1.
 

"John did two things last year that changed history. First, he became the first American World Tournament of 14.1 Champion. Secondly, he proved to the world that the Europeans could be beaten. And the first time in this decade, he prevented a European from entering the finals. Then he defeats Efren Reyes!", explained Charlie Williams, executive producer of the event. Schmidt defeated Thorsten Hohmann in the quarter-finals last year and Germany's Ralf Eckert in the semi-finals. He then defeated Hohmann again a few weeks later in the finals of the Maryland 14.1, proving his wins were not a fluke.