Shane Van Boening of South Dakota added a fifth US Bar Table 9-Ball Championship to his resume Thursday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, beating James Aranas of the Philippines in the finals, 9-2.
Van Boening went into the finals undefeated, posting wins over: Abrin Schaad, 9-6; Ernesto Dominguez, 9-3; Oscar Dominguez, 9-7; Billy Stephan, 9-1 and Mitch Ellerman, 9-4. Van Boening beat Aranas to earn the hot seat, 9-7.
Aranas’ path to the finals included beating: Donald Weatherby II, 9-3; Jeremy Edwards, 9-7; Jason Klatt, 9-6; Sky Woodward, 9-8; and Amar Kang, 9-7. After losing the hot seat match, Aranas beat Jesse Engle, 9-2, to earn a place in the finals.
Van Boening kept control in the final match from the start, jumping out to a 4-2 lead. In the seventh rack, the players traded safeties until a kick by Van Boening left the one ball open for Aranas, who then uncharacteristically missed a six ball to let Van Boening back to the table. They traded safeties again until Aranas made a good hit on the seven ball and then scratched, giving Van Boening the game. Van Boening then broke and ran, to go up 6-2. Aranas scratched again in the next rack, giving up another game. Van Boening broke and ran again, then ran out the final rack after Aranas broke dry.
Van Boening, player representative for the USA Pool League, previously won the 9-Ball Division at the US Bar Table Championships in 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2010. On Tuesday, Van Boening earned second place in the 10-Ball Division.
In the Women’s Division, Jessica Frideres added the title of USBTC 9-Ball Division Champion to her resume, to complete a trifecta of USBTC titles. Frideres, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, won the USBTC 8-Ball Division in 2013, and the USBTC 10-Ball Division in 2016. Frideres’ went into the finals undefeated, having bested Molly Oliver, 7-3 and Rachel Lang, 7-5, before beating Heather Cortez for the hot seat.
Cortez’s path to the finals included wins over: Trinh Lu, 7-4; Amanda Stevens, 7-1; and Rhonda Moses, 7-1, before Frideres sent her to the B-side of the bracket. Cortez then beat Trinh Lu, 7-4, to earn her place in the finals.
But Cortez’s efforts in the finals weren’t enough to beat Frideres, who beat Cortez 7-3 to earn the title.
The 24th US Bar Table Championships kicked off Sunday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The 8-Ball began Thursday and continues through Saturday, Dec. 16.
For more information, contact Mary Coffman, CSI Marketing Manager, at 702-719-7665 or by email at mary@playcsipool.com.
After settling for runner-up of the US Bar Table Championships’ 10-Ball Division for the past two years, Skyler Woodward, of Paducah, KY, earned the title of 10-Ball Champion Tuesday.
Woodward went into the finals undefeated, posting wins over: Ian Costello, 7-3; BJ Fox, 7-1; Mark Wissman, 7-5; Mark Tademy, 7-2; and Vinnie Calabrese, 7-5. Woodward met Mosconi Cup teammate Shane Van Boening in the hot seat match Monday evening, and came back from a 6-4 deficit to win 7-6.
Van Boening cleared a clean path through the winner’s bracket as well, beating Donald Weathersby II, 7-2; Robert Doral, 7-2; Amar Kang, 7-6; Jesse Engel, 7-3; and Mitch Ellerman, 7-2; before losing the hot seat to Woodward. In the semifinals, Van Boening beat Vinnie Calabrese, a Australian player with a snooker background, 7-2.
In the first set of the finals, Woodward jumped out to a 3-2 lead before a few errors put Van Boening in control of the set. Woodward miscued on an eight ball, allowing Van Boening to tie the score at 3-3. Then Van Boening broke and ran out to take the lead at 4-3. On Woodward’s next break, he scratched, allowing Van Boening back to the table where he ran another rack, and followed that up with another break and run, putting him on the hill. Woodward broke dry and Van Boening ran the rack to win the set and force a second set in the true double-elimination format.
Woodward and Van Boening traded games in the second set tied at 4-4. When Van Boening played a safe on a 3 ball. Woodward called the nine, which was hanging in the side pocket, kicked the 3 ball and the cue ball caromed off to make the shot and allow Woodward a run out to gain a 5-4 lead in the match. Woodward broke and had a tough layout, but after making two tough bank shots, he was able to run the rack, putting himself on the hill. In the final game, Van Boening broke dry and Woodward was able to run out to become the 10-Ball Champion.
[photo id=48373|align=right]The women’s 10-Ball Division concluded on Monday, a day earlier than normal. First place went to Heather Cortez, $800; second, Rae Evans, $400; third, Trinh Lu, $250.
The 9-Ball Division, which started Tuesday, continues today. Still undefeated in the Open division are: Shane Van Boening, Mitch Ellerman, James Aranas and Amar Kang. Fighting through the one-loss side of the bracket are: Dave Stachan, Abrin Schaad, Demetrius Jelatis, Jesse Engel, Josh Smith, Billy Stephan, Ernesto Dominguez, Mark Wissman and Shaun Wilkie.
Live streaming of the US Bar Table Championships continues today at 1 p.m. PST. The schedule is as follows:
1 p.m.: Jesse Engel vs. Demetrius Jelatis
2:30 p.m.: Shaun Wilkie vs. Ernesto Dominguez or Mark Wissman
4 p.m. Shane Van Boening vs. Mitch Ellerman
5:30 p.m. James Aranas vs. Amar Kang
7 p.m. Shane Van Boening or Mitch Ellberman vs. James Aranas or Amar Kang (Hot Seat Match)
8:30 p.m. Fourth place match – players TBD
For streaming information, go to www.playcsipool/live-streaming.html
The 24th US Bar Table Championships kicked off Sunday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The 9-Ball Division concludes Thursday, Dec. 14 and the 8-Ball is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 16.
Skyler Woodward – File photo courtesy of Karl Kantrowitz
Skyler Woodward came back from a 6-4 deficit to steal the hot seat by a score of 7-6 of the 10-Ball Division at the 2017 US Bar Table Championships from Mosconi Cup teammate Shane Van Boening Monday evening.
The 24th US Bar Table Championships kicked off Sunday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The 10-Ball Division wraps up today, as the 9-Ball Division begins. The 9-Ball Division concludes Thursday and the 8-Ball is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 16.
Van Boening also had a solid day, beating: Donald Weathersby II, 7-2; Robert Doral, 7-2; Amar Kang, 7-6; Jesse Engel, 7-3; and Mitch Ellerman, 7-2; before losing the hot seat to Woodward.
At 1 p.m., Van Boening will face Calabrese, an Australian with a snooker background who has only been playing American-style pool for about a year.
Calabrese posted wins over: Shane Longest, forfeit; Gary Lutman, 7-6; Donny Branson, 7-4; and Jason Klatt, 7-5; before Woodward sent him to the loser’s side of the bracket, 5-7. Then Calabrese tossed Shaun Wilkie (7-5) and Klatt (7-3) out of the tournament, to secure himself a spot in the semi-finals.
The women’s 10-Ball Division concluded on Monday, a day earlier than normal. First place went to Heather Cortez, $800; second, Rae Evans, $400; third, Trinh Lu, $250.
Live streaming of the US Bar Table Championships continues today at 1 p.m. with Van Boening vs. Calabrese in the semifinals of the 10-Ball Division. The winner of that match will play Woodward at 2:30 p.m. in the finals. If the true double-elimination finals goes to a second match, that will be streamed at 4 p.m.
Selected matches from the 9-Ball Division will be streamed at approximately 5:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. PST. To access live streaming, visit www.playcsipool.com/watch-live.html.
For more information, contact Mary Coffman, CSI Marketing Manager, at 702-719-7665 or by email at mary@playcsipool.com.
They've gathered every year since 2010 to play 9-ball for The Shade Tree, a Las Vegas shelter for women, children and their pets. This year, 36 women came together on the weekend of March 26-27 at the Rum Runner Tropicana in Las Vegas, and between $10 entry-fee donations and raffles, they raised about $6,800 to benefit The Shade Tree. The Western Women's 9-Ball Charity, a handicapped event, is generally the third tournament, every year, hosted by The Rum Runner in March, and is preceded by the Doc Hill Memorial Tournament for B players and the Andy Mercer Memorial for A players.
At this 7th annual women's charity challenge, Bernie Store, a regular on the Arizona Women's Tour and Gina Quinones battled three times to claim the event title. Store took two out of three in a double elimination final to win it.
They met first in the hot seat match. Store had sent Shirell Ivey to the loss side in a double hill match, as Quinones was busy sending Robin Verner west 5-2. In a double hill hot seat match, Quinones survived, sending Store to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Ivey picked up Anne Carmona, who'd defeated Gina Valerio, double hill, and Trinh Lu 4-4 to reach her (Lu, racing to 6). Verner drew Katy Moore, who'd gotten by Amy Kane 5-2 and Debra Aarens 5-3. Verner eliminated Moore 5-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Carmona, who'd handed Ivey her second straight loss 4-1.
Verner took the quarterfinal match 5-1 for a shot at Store in the semifinals. An apparently determined Bernie Store shut Verner out 6-0 for her own second shot against Quinones in the hot seat. Store took that shutout momentum into the opening set of the true double elimination final, allowing Quinones only a single rack and forcing a second set. Quinones chalked up two more racks in the second set, but Store got her six to claim the event title.
Tournament representatives thanked Gino and Gordie Hill, owners of the Rum Runner Tropicana and their staff for their hospitality, as well as thanking sponsors the Vegas TAP Pool League, APA Las Vegas, BCA Pool League, USAPL, Pool Tools, Vegas Billiards Buzz, CSI, Fargo Rate, Long Horn Casino, the All City BCAPL, and Southern Nevada 9-Ball Tavern Owners' Association.
Nathalie Seichter – Photo courtesy of Joe Gonzalez Photography
New York City- DDD-Day! Today is Do-or Die- Day as half the field will be cut as 32 women face elimination from the Andy Cloth Women's International Pool Championship . China, Russia, Canada, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Sweden and USA look strong to take top seedings into the final rounds of the event. The pro tournament is the longest women's billiard event of any kind with 6 days of heavy pool action with a round robin event that evolves into a final single elimination chart where players will start out races to 10 in 10-Ball and eventually rise to races to 11,13, and 17 in the finals. All activities are taking place at Steinway Billiards Cafe and sponsored by Andy Cloth, J.Pechauer Cues , Viking Cues, Steinway Billiards. , Olhausen Balls, Pool & Billiard Magazine , the NAPL & Focused Apparel . Patron sponsors include Dr. Greg Diehl, Tom Gleich, and Dr. Michael Frank. Media partners include PKE Partners, IB Sports, NYC Grind, Gotham City Technologies, Nona Photography, and Charles Eames Photography. 7 days of live pool will be filmed and streamed by Inside Pool TV. Pay per view on www.Dragonpromotions.com for $10 daily or $50 for the entire week for the upcoming Andy Cloth Women's International Pool Championship taking place December 16th-21st at the same venue.
Who's looking good:
Players looking to take the top seeds in their groups include Ga Young Kim (KOREA) the event's original #1 seed, she has been storming through her opponents in record time with the exception of local NY pro Erin McManus who gave the 3 times World Champion a tough match who only lost 4-6. McManus looks prime to take one of the top 4 spots in the group, and Florida's Jessica Barnes could take the 2nd spot. In other groups, Taiwan's Jennifer Chen, Russia's Anna Mazhirina, and USA's Vivian Villarreal remain undefeated. Florida's top player Jeannie Seaver, a qualifier winner, could steal her Group 5 as she also remains undefeated!
Maureen Seto could steal away the top spot in Group 2 from #2 event seed Jeanette Lee today. Seto controls her own destiny after she came from behind to defeat the Black Widow and has remained undefeated. Lee still looks safe to get through.
In danger:
Some notable players that are in do or die situations today that likely must win all their matches include:
Kim Jones and Jana Montour have been trading victories on the Northwest Women’s Pool Association Tour since March. Montour opened the season with a win in March. Jones chalked one up in April, and then went on to win the Regional Tour Championships in May. Montour won the tour’s third stop in June. On the weekend of July 14-15, Jones won five on the loss side, including a victory over Montour in the semifinals, before defeating local favorite, Phyllis Fernandez in the finals. The $500-added event drew 27 entrants to Black Diamond Billiards in Spokane, WA.
Jones won her first two matches, against Alisha Rogers and Tayla Makus, before running into Mary Hopkin. They battled to double hill before Hopkin prevailed, moving among the winners’ side final four to face Montour. Fernandez, in the meantime, had opened her bid by surviving a double hill match against Adrianne Beach (double hill). She then defeated Alicia Kvasnicka and Joyce Robinson to move among the winners’ side final four and a match versus Shelby Locati.
Montour sent Hopkin west double hill, as Fernandez was busy sending Locati over 7-2. The battle for the hot seat went double hill, with Fernandez coming out on top of Montour, and waiting in the hot seat for the return of Jones. Montour’s appearance in the hot seat match allowed her to maintain her top spot in the NWPA tour rankings (just ahead of Jones) no matter what the outcome from that point on.
On the loss side, Jones defeated Fran Johnson 6-1 and Sandra Badger 6-3 to pick up Locati. Hopkin drew Kimberly Kirk, who’d gotten by Trinh Lu in a double hill match and Julie Valdez 6-4. Kirk prevented a Jones/Hopkin re-match with a 6-2 win over Hopkin, as Jones downed Badger 6-3.
Jones survived a double hill battle against Kirk in the quarterfinals, and turned to face Montour. A win for Montour would have guaranteed an extension of the point lead for her in tour standings, but Jones won it 6-3 for a chance to meet Fernandez and narrow that tour-leading gap to 45 points.
In the single race-to-9 finals that followed, Jones reached the hill, three games ahead, which is when it got interesting. Fernandez won the 14th and 15th rack to pull within one. In the 16th rack, Fernandez rattled the 8-ball in a corner pocket, leaving it right there for Jones. Jones, from up-table, put it in, but came back straight, up and down-table square on the 9-ball. She tried to poke it into the corner pocket, but not only did it rattle in that pocket, the cue ball came around the table and dropped into a hole.
“I tried to put bottom on it to avoid the scratch,” said Jones, “but when the 9-ball rattled in the pocket, the cue ball came around and headed to that other pocket.”
With ball in hand, Fernandez sunk the 9-ball to knot things at double hill.
Fernandez scratched on her subsequent break. Jones stepped to the table and forced a first foul on Fernandez. When Jones got the ball back, she did it a second time. With ball in hand for the third time, she forced Fernandez to kick long at the 1-ball. Fernandez shot at the short rail, and not only safely touched the 1-ball, but put it in. Jones would regain control of the table, and stepped up later, shooting at the 9-ball. It dropped readily, but the entire room went silent, as the travelling cue ball worked its way down (very slowly) toward a diagonal corner. It just did touch the long rail and bounce away safely, securing the event victory for Jones.
“I’d played it so it wouldn’t scratch,” she said of that final shot, “but in that moment (as the cue ball drifted toward the corner), I couldn’t celebrate the win until I was sure.”
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Black Diamond Billiards, as well as sponsors Billiards 911, Cue Tracker, and Horizon Rentals. They also thanked Rail2Rail Productions for their live stream of the event. Next stop on the NWPA Tour is scheduled for August 11-12 at The Parlor in Bellevue, WA.
On April 29, Kim Jones won the second stop on the Northwest Women’s Poolplayers Association Tour. A week later, on May 6, she joined 28 regional players in Bellevue, WA for the WPBA West Coast Regional Tour Championship, and in the finals, battled to a double hill victory over Liz Cole. The victory earned her the right to face the WPBA’s East Coast champion, Megan Smith, in a one-on-one battle to crown an overall regional tour champion at the WPBA US Open next month in Oklahoma. The $2,000-added RTC, hosted by Parlor Billiards and Spirits in Bellevue, featured a series of round-robin matches that sent eight, top-scoring women to a single elimination round of three matches which eventually crowned the West Coast champion.
The 28 entrants were broken up into four groups of seven, which played a series of six, round robin matches, tallying points (games won) along the way. The top eight scores (two from each group) at the end of the series, advanced to a three-match series of single elimination rounds. Liz Cole went undefeated (30 points) in her group, defeating eventual, final-eight competitor (Shelby Locati) in the process. Jones, who won five of her six matches to finish with 27 points, was in a group with the current, top-ranked player on the NWPA tour, Jana Montour; Jones is second on that tour, and Cole is third. Montour finished the round robin matches, a point ahead of Jones. Jones had won their head-to-head battle, but had scored only two points in a second round match against Trinh Lu.
Mary Hopkin and Linda Carter (the only competitor among the final eight not ranked on the NWPA Tour) advanced from their group with 25 points each, edging out Talya Makus (ties broken by head-to-head records in the round robin series). Suzanne Smith (28 points) and Deby Welfringer (26 points) completed the group of eight finalists. Jones faced Welfringer, Cole drew Hopkin, Montour took on Smith, and Locati squared off against Carter.
Jones advanced to the semifinals with a 9-4 victory over Welfringer and faced Locati, who’d downed Carter 9-3. Cole took her place among the final four with a 9-5 win over Hopkin, and was joined by Montour, who’d defeated Smith 9-4.
In a reversal of the April 29 hot seat match on the NWPA Tour, which Montour won 7-5, it was Cole advancing to the finals with a 9-4 victory. Jones advanced with a 9-6 win over Locati.
Cole took an early 3-0 lead in the race-to-9 finals, and maintained that lead, through to 6-3. By the 12th rack, the lead was down to two at 7-5. Jones promptly chalked up three in a row to reach the hill, and Cole came back to tie it – double hill. A shot at the 7-ball in the final rack was missed by Cole, and Jones took advantage to capture the WPBA West Coast RTC championship.
“Liz was the toughest challenge,” said Jones, a day later.
“I felt like I was struggling in that last match,” she added. “I felt I was shooting well, but I made a few errors in the last three games.”
It’s on now to Oklahoma for the (free entry for Jones) WPBA US Open, scheduled for June 6-10 at the River Spirit Casino and Resort in Tulsa, OK, for a match versus the East Coast champion, Megan Smith. Smith earned the East Coast title, when the winner of that event, My Hanh Lac, determined that she could not attend the Open.
“I’ve played her quite a few times,” said Jones, who began her competitive career on the East Coast, “but I think I’ve only beaten her once.”
“When I played her,” she added, “she was dominating that (JPNEWT) Tour.”
NWPA and WPBA President Tamre Rogers extended thanks to Steve Olson (owner) and Dave Lauer (manager) of Parlor Billiards and Spirits in Bellevue, Rail2Rail Productions, which provided live streaming at the event, and Billiards 911 for the event’s raffle cues. Rogers also thanked the WPBA for their contribution of a free entry to the US Open for the winner.
Jenny “The Asian Assassin” Lee marks her first major win this year by defeating Stacy Novack in the finals of the ‘Tiger So Cal Ladies Tour’. After two days of grueling play by some of California’s most talented female pool players, it was these two veterans to the Tiger SCLT who remained to battle it out in the race-to-9 final match.
Due to WPBA player (and Tournament Director) Melissa Herndon‘s early promotional efforts plus several mini-qualifiers run by Raquel McCluskey prior to the event; and despite a rather stormy weekend looming in the skies of Southern California, On Cue Billiards in La Mesa remained in the crosshairs of 29 female gunslingers and a host of railbirds for this double elimination, race-to-7 event.
Probably the longest journey made to play the event was that of Emilyn Callado‘s, hailing from San Francisco. Emilyn remained in the top 8 finishers, even after losing early to Stacy Novack. She powered through three more matches against Shannon Powell, Brandy Pamintuan and Nellie Del Rosario on Saturday before falling to Melissa Morris in her one and only match on Day 2 of the event. Emilyn’s close 7-5 loss against Melissa landed her tied for 7th/8th in the tournament.
Despite the handful of talented veterans competing, two tough greenhorns, Dara Nakagawa and Lila Woodland found themselves in the top eight players on Day 2.
Lila, from San Diego, defeated Dara in her first match, and then sent former WPBA player Melissa Morris to the loser’s side…showing her determination to do well in the event. But she hit a wall with her first loss against Trinh Lu from Rosemead, CA.
On Sunday, Lila finally met her fate, finishing in 5th place after a rematch against Melissa, where she just couldn’t gain the momentum she had against the “Cue-Maker’s Daughter” in their previous match on Day 1. Meanwhile, Fountain Valley’s Dara Nakagawa fought an uphill battle after losing her first match to Lila, trudging her way to 8th place by defeating Raquel McCluskey, Hiroko Makiyama and Wendy Chou. Dara’s run to the finish was cut short by the very talented Tina Pawloski, who’s fast-paced play and pool knowledge was on display throughout their match.
The reigning 2011 State Champion and eventual 2nd place finisher of this event, Stacy Novack earned her spot in the hot seat by defeating Verni Flauta, Emilyn Callado, Tina Pawloski, Jenny Lee and Trinh Lu. Jenny Lee won her first three matches of Day 1, beating Melinda Huang, Brook Thomason, Wendy Chou before suffering her first loss to Stacy. Jenny then came back on Day 2 to defeat Tina Pawloski, Melissa Morris and Trinh Lu, which earned her a rematch with Stacy and guaranteeing her a 2nd place award for this event. But Jenny Lee had other plans…
The final match between Jenny and Stacy was quite a contrast of styles. Jenny Lee had already played several matches on Sunday and was well in-stroke for the final match. She seemed to be playing faster and more aggressively than normal. Jenny has been known to play at a slower pace in the past, but today it seemed like she was moving in ‘fast forward’, giving few chances to Stacy and leaving her tough on most safeties; even playing some very good kick-shots and getting good rolls.
Stacy’s demeanor remained consistent as she took her time to execute, but she seemed to play a bit tighter than normal and sometimes even a little hesitant. Capitalizing on this, Jenny jumped ahead early in the first half of the match to an impressive 6-1 game lead. A couple of sloppy breaks by Jenny, who sent the cue-ball flying off the table, could have been a good turning point for Stacy. She had ball in hand and wide open racks, but unfortunately she failed to close them out. Those two missed chances, coupled with the already distant lead, proved to be an impossible climb back for Stacy, and the match finally ended in a 9-2 defeat by Jenny Lee.
In a conversation with the 20-year pool veteran after the event, Stacy stated, “I haven’t sought out extra help or knowledge with my game for quite sometime, but now feel that I am in a place that is receptive to elevating my game to the next level.” By day’s end, Jenny Lee was visibly exhausted and even stated at a break between games that she was enduring some physical pain and discomfort brought on by leg cramps, which started just before the match. Nonetheless she kept her mind on the game and showed no signs of weakness. Jenny’s laser-like focus cut through her opponents in her typical ‘Assassin’ style.
Yet again, Melissa Herndon is to be congratulated for another seamless Tiger SCLT event, sponsored by Tiger Billiard Products, PoolDawg and Delta-13 and streamed live from On Cue Billiards in La Mesa, CA by Daniel Busch of POV Pool who stepped in for veteran streamer, Andy Chen. Congratulations also go Nellie Del Rosario, who won the second chance event undefeated in a field of 14 players…and to Shar Vanderstyne, the winner of the Tiger Classic Series, TC-1 Cue raffle.
This marks the first Tiger SCLT event of the year, which served as an excellent warm-up for the following Tiger sponsored tour stops, also to be streamed live:
April 14th & 15th $1,000 Added ($1,500 added with 32 players) – Tiger So Cal Ladies Tour event at Hard Times Billiards, Bellflower CA
April 21st & 22nd Tiger West Coast Women’s Tour $1,000 Added / The 2012 Women’s 9-Ball California State Championship at California Billiard Club, Mountain View, CA
