December 2005 - Inside Pool Magazine

Transcription

1205-C1-4LO-RES
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1205-C1-4LO-RES
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December2005LORES
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December2005LORES
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December2005LORES
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December2005LORES
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December 2005
CONTENTS
INSTRUCTION
14 That’s What I’m Talking About
Mind Games
16 Mental Maximization
Taking Inventory
18 Grady’s Grad School
On the Cover
Top honors and a
$25,000 check
went to Ewa
Laurance for her
fantastic performance at the 2005
Women’s Trick
Shot Challenge,
held at the
ESPNZone in Las
Vegas, NV.
Simple But Effective Moves
20 Through the Eyes of a Champion
A Lesson in Control
22 Beat People With a Stick
The Spear-it of the Game
24 This Is Your Captain Speaking
If I Lose, I Win
26 Pro Pool Workout
Natural Tempo
FEATURES
28 Laurance Lassos a Win
29 Destiny Fulfilled in Las Vegas
Hohmann earns Sudden Death 7-Ball Title
31 New Face for the Finals
??
Stefano Pelinga pulls through
34 Drama and Glory at the U.S. Open
Fisher wins fifth tour stop
38 Meant to Be ...
Hohmann sweeps the World Pool League
42 2005 Holiday Buying Guide
Find the hottest gifts for the season
48 One for the Money
Sambajon wins at Skins in a single game
52 Davis Clears the Competition
Action and excitement at the Florida Pro Tour finale
38
6 InsidePOOL Magazine - December 2005
December2005LORES
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Volume V, Issue 10
COLUMNS
54 A View From the Cheap Seats
I dare you to put a quarter on that table
56 What’s in the Case?
Niels Feijen
58 Earmarked Editions
If You Don’t Read This Book, You’re a D Player;
Road Player: The Danny Diliberto Story
62 Industry News
48
DEPARTMENTS
10
13
60
31
??
Publisher
Advertising Sales Director
JR Calvert
Bill Perry
[email protected]
[email protected]
Editor
Sally P. Timko
[email protected]
Graphic Artist
Thomas W. Hartman
[email protected]
Graphic Artist
Pete Hudack
66
72
78
82
84
88
90
96
Technical Consultant
Tom Simpson
Instructional Staff
Johnny Archer, Steve Crutchfield, Max Eberle,
Allison Fisher, Bob Henning, John W. Loftus,
Grady Mathews, Keith McCready,
Tom Simpson
Contributing Writers
Feature Photo Credits
J.A. Barnes, Richard Davis, Bill Fuller, David A.
JR Calvert, Nissy Carter, Hanshaw, Bob Hunt, Andy Lincoln, Mark Margaretten,
Richard Davis
Matt Pingor, Bill Rosenberger
E-mail
[email protected]
Toll Free
866-961-7665
Website
www.insidepoolmag.com
Administrative Offices
220 S. Jefferson Street, Kittanning, PA 16201
Pool on TV
Advertiser Directory
League Player of the Month
Regional Roundup
Northeast
Southeast
Central
Western
Tour Rankings
World Report
Regional Players of the Month
Photo Caption Contest
InsidePOOL Magazine Volume V, Issue 10 (ISSN 1547-3511)
is published monthly except June and August by Spheragon
Publishing, 220 S. Jefferson Street, Kittanning, PA 16201.
Single copy price: $3.95 in U.S.A., $5.95 in Canada.
Subscription prices: $19.99/yr in the U.S.A., $28/yr in
Canada, $39/yr International. Periodicals postage at
Kittanning, PA, and additional mailing offices. Submissions
of manuscripts, illustrations, and/or photographs must be
accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The
publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material.
Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part without
written permission of the publisher is prohibited.
POSTMASTER: Please send address
changes to: InsidePOOL Magazine,
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PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
December2005LORES
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Page 10
Pool on TV
The Tradition Continues
All times are Eastern Time Zone – check local listings for changes.
ESPN
1993 Pro Tour Championship Final Round
01-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
2005 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Semifinal #1
15-Dec
12:00 pm ESPN2
01-Dec
12:00 pm ESPN2
15-Dec
1:00 pm ESPN2
01-Dec
1:00 pm ESPN2
15-Dec
4:00 pm ESPN2
01-Dec
4:00 pm ESPN2
2005 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
15-Dec
5:00 pm ESPN2
2005 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
01-Dec
5:00 pm ESPN2
1998 Tournament of Champions Semifinal #2
16-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
1994 Challenge of Champions Semifinals
02-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
2005 Women’s Trick Shot Magic Semifinal #1
16-Dec
12:00 pm ESPN2
02-Dec
12:00 pm ESPN2
16-Dec
1:00 pm ESPN2
02-Dec
1:00 pm ESPN2
16-Dec
4:00 pm ESPN2
1994 Challenge of Champions Semifinals
03-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
2005 Women’s Trick Shot Magic Championship
16-Dec
5:00 pm ESPN2
04-Dec
3:30 pm ESPN
1998 Tournament of Champions Final Match
17-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
1994 Challenge of Champions Final Match
05-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
2005 Men’s Trick Shot Magic Semifinal #1
18-Dec
2:30 pm ESPN
1995 Challenge of Champions Semifinal #1
06-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
18-Dec
3:30 pm ESPN
07-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
2005 Men’s Trick Shot Magic Championship
18-Dec
4:30 pm ESPN
08-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
18-Dec
5:30 pm ESPN
08-Dec
4:00 pm ESPN2
18-Dec
6:00 pm ESPN
08-Dec
5:00 pm ESPN2
19-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
09-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
20-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
10-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
21-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
12-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
23-Dec
12:00 pm ESPN2
13-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
23-Dec
1:00 pm ESPN2
14-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
23-Dec
4:00 pm ESPN2
15-Dec
11:00 am ESPNC
2005 Men’s Trick Shot Magic Championship
23-Dec
5:00 pm ESPN2
A
s we celebrate our 160th anniversary, we
thank our dealers for all their support in making
Brunswick the premier brand in billiards. To accent
this great occasion we are proud to introduce the
Marquette—an antique reproduction first produced
by Brunswick in 1912. This limited edition table
features Italian olive wood veneer with geometric
mother-of-pearl inlays and sleek ebony pin-striping
with a brandy finish. The Marquette table
(MSRP $24,499) along with matching bar, cue rack
and framed antique poster are available at any
Brunswick dealer nationwide.
8663 196th Ave. • Bristol, WI 53104 • 1-800-336-8764 • www.brunswickbilliards.com
December2005LORES
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ADVERTISER DIRECTORY
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InsidePOOL Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69, 95
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International Cuemakers Association . . . . . . . . . . .87
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International Pool Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5
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www.InsidePOOLmag.com 13
December2005LORES
I
INSTRUCTION
12/9/05
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Page 14
THATS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT
BY KEITH MCCREADY
Mind Games
In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is considered a religious holiday, much like
Christmas or Easter. Here in the
United States, though, it is a day of
celebration for anybody who wants to
be Irish. Festivities abound, especially in New York City where the annual
parade has attracted more than a million spectators since 1762. One of the
biggest duels of my pool-playing
nating force on the tournament trail, and
believe me, he was the real deal. The
best strategy to beating Earl was to keep
him in the chair, and on this fine St.
Paddy’s Day, I managed to knock him
in the tub in resounding fashion, 11-2.
My momentum carried me to the finals.
I was undefeated in this double-elimination event, and my Irish eyes were
smiling as I awaited my next victim.
Winning in a high-pressure
environment has more to
mental
approach than mechanics.
do with one’s
career happened to fall on St. Patrick’s
Day in 1984 at the Clyde Childress
Memorial 9-ball tournament in
Richmond, KY.
When I arrived at the venue, The
Maverick Club, I knew I’d need a wee
bit of luck as I gazed out at the starstudded field consisting of phenoms
Buddy Hall, Ronnie Allen, Earl
Strickland, Allen Hopkins, Louie
Roberts, and Terry Bell. I had stared
at these same faces in many a final
match, giving it my all, but often
ended up the bridesmaid, sitting on
the bench stewing about what might
have been.
In the early rounds, I scored a few
victories, but I thought my good fortune had run out when I found myself
locking eyeballs with Earl Strickland
on the other side of the table once
more. “The Pearl” had been a domi14 InsidePOOL Magazine - December 2005
The true mark of a champion is
how they deal with mistakes, and Earl
never looked back as he steamrolled his
way through the “B”-side of the chart,
relegating Terry Bell to a third-place
finish. When they announced our
names for the finals, we were greeted
by a mob of screaming fans. Adjacent
to our table, a couple of energetic
lovelies began to clog to the Irish jigs
emanating from the jukebox, their feet
barely touching the floor.
Elsewhere, patrons were buzzing
around like busy bees, and several
formed makeshift a capella groups,
singing traditional Celtic ballads like
“O Danny Boy.” It was difficult for me
to focus on the game at hand.
Even though I was sitting in the
catbird’s seat, I knew I had to make the
most out of this opportunity to snatch
the coveted title and the pot of gold.
Earl was raring to go, but I just couldn’t seem to get in the flow. He demolished me 11-3, avenging my earlier
11-to-2 thrashing, which forced a final
race to 11.
It takes real mental toughness to
keep your head in the game when the
pressure is on and focus is paramount.
The ability to block out all distractions
is a trait that is essential at this stage.
Don’t dwell on missed shots and
opportunities, as this will only erode
your self-confidence.
After a brief intermission, we
returned to the table. I was on my
belly and needed to get rid of the
gremlins inside my head. This time I
was determined. “The Pearl” and I
seesawed back and forth, fighting
tooth and nail. With the score tied at
9, I reached inside myself and gave it
my all, running out the final two
racks. It was fitting, I thought, on St.
Patrick’s Day for me, a McCready, to
snatch the almighty win.
Master players are comfortable in
the limelight and can relax in stressful
settings. It is crucial to let go of your
mistakes and bad shots. Trust yourself and let the game come to you.
Winning in a high-pressure environment has more to do with one’s mental approach than mechanics. This
isn’t something that comes naturally,
but with experience and fortitude, it is
possible to overcome mind demons by
replacing destructive thoughts with
positive images. Your confidence will
soar, and soon you too will enjoy the
thrill of achieving excellence on an
emerald field of green. t
December2005LORES
I
INSTRUCTION
12/9/05
3:48 PM
Page 16
MENTAL MAXIMIZATION
BY MAX EBERLE
Taking Inventory
In many past articles, I’ve focused the
fundamental mechanics of playing
solid pool. Much of the information I
have provided has been in the shape of
principles as they relate to alignment,
aiming, stroke, and mental effectiveness. I hope that some of the ideas,
tips, and “secrets” I have given you
have provided benefit to your game.
The fact that we are all a little different in form and ability, and the fact
that there are players who have success with many different styles,
proves that there is no ONE way of
playing pool right. However, tried and
true fundamentals hold up over time
and under pressure, and one can often
find benefit in working to make their
technique simpler, effective, and to
the point.
Usually, the proof is in the pudding. The litmus test of your game is
in your results—the ability that you
can consistently display and in the
high points you can reach. Your low
points or slumps are useful in showing
you what could use improvement in
your game. In this article, I will not
teach you a new tip or secret—rather,
I will give you a list of questions for
you to ask yourself that could help
you assess the current state of your
game and help push you in the right
direction to make intelligent improvements.
I’m sure you have heard that it
can often be the questions we ask ourselves that help take us to the next
level in anything we do. I’ve created a
list of questions for you that relate to
different aspects of your pool game. If
you cannot answer these questions off
the top of your mind, just go to the
table and find out the answers. Maybe
you will find that you are a pool virtuoso or what you might need to
improve on your path to becoming one.
Challenge one of your pool room
friends with these questions if you
want. You can also add to this list of
questions to further increase your
awareness of yourself and your relation
to the many aspects of this game we call
pool.
AIM
1. Can you find the contact point?
2. Can you find the aiming (stroking)
line?
3. Can you set up your stance and
stroke on the aim line?
4. Can you adjust your aim accurately
for throw and deflection?
ROTATION (Spin)
1. Can you judge the correct amount
of spin to get the cue ball going in
the direction you want off of object
balls, rails, or the flat bed of the
table (such as a curve shot)?
2. Can you deliver the cue tip to the
chosen spot on the cue ball?
3. Can you apply the spin effectively
with your stroke?
FORCE (Speed)
1. Are you choosing a destination for
the cue ball before you set your
stance?
2. Can you judge your needed speed?
3. Can you execute the speed you
have chosen?
4. Can you adjust to new equipment
and changing playing conditions?
STROKE
1. Can you deliver your cue (stroke)
on the aim line?
2. Can you hit the cue ball with no
side spin?
3. Do you follow through?
4. Are you smooth?
FUNDAMENTALS
1. Do your mechanics get the job
done?
2. Do they feel right?
3. Are you in control of your body?
4. Do you jump up during your
stroke?
STRATEGY
1. Do you plan your whole run out
in advance?
2. Do you precisely plan your cue
ball and object ball paths?
3. Do you always think at least two
balls ahead of your current shot?
4. Do you know many different
ways to achieve position from a
single shot?
MENTAL GAME
1. Do you have positive self talk?
2. Do you play with confidence?
3. Do you always try 100% no
matter what the score is?
4. Do you get down on yourself
when you are playing bad or just
keep trying hard until you get
your game back?
5. Do you put yourself in tough
matches to extend your comfort
zone?
HEALTH
1. Do you feel good?
2. Do you eat healthy foods more
often than not?
3. Do you exercise regularly?
4. Do you avoid bad health habits?
5. Are you willing to make healthy
lifestyle changes?
I hope you can find some of these
questions useful on your path to selfimprovement in your pool game and
also in life. Stay focused, enjoy the
game, and keep making the next ball
and playing position!t
December2005LORES
INSTRUCTION
12/9/05
Page 18
GRADY’S GRAD SCHOOL
BY GRADY MATHEWS
Simple But Effective Moves
Q
Rail Q
X
Q
Rail G
A
Diagram 2
Q
Rail P
A
Diagram 3
Grady
“The
Professor”
Mathews is one of pool’s most
Hard hit
with lots figures.
of
recognized
His success at
left english
the table has opened doors for him
as technical advisor to movie
producers, commentator on AccuStats video productions, producer
of billiard instructional video tapes,
and as an author. Grady has won several one-pocket world titles.
P
Diagram 1
In the game pictured in
Diagram 3, my opponent is ahead
four balls to zero. To make matters
A
worse,
the 4 and 6 balls won’t go
into my Hard
pocket.
hit
with lots of
Theleft english
shot I like here is to cut
the 7 ball toward the 4 ball, using
a level cue and medium speed.
The cue A
ball, after contacting the 7
X
ball, will strike the 1 ball and continue to Rail “P” and then on to the
side of the stack. If I make an error
in speed here, I’d rather be a touch
too hard, because I have the whole
side of the stack to stop the cue
ball. If I hit it too easy, there are
some bankable
balls for my oppoHard hit
lots of
nent. with
left english
You should practice the concept of A
going off more than one
ball
with
the cue ball, until it is
X
easy and natural to tell what direction the cue ball will take. You will
also learn when you cannot play
these shots.t
P
This month’s column features
three situations where the cue
ball is frozen to a rail. When
this is the case, it is usually better to not apply english unless it
is absolutely necessary.
I like everything about
these shots. They are easy, high
percentage, and effective. When
Pocket A
I see a player use this principle
Pocket “A”
in a match, I think to myself, he
knows the game.
In Diagram 1, my opponent
has six balls, and I have three.
The balls are all down at the
rack end of the table. So, if I can
win the first good shot, I should
have a decent chance to win the
game by running out. I could
execute a gentle, one-rail kick
shot and put the cue ball behind
Pocket
Pocket“A”
A
the 7 and 12 balls. A better play
is to cut the 4 ball to the left,
then the cue ball will contact the
1 ball and continue on to Rail
“Q” and behind the 7 and 12
balls.
I must cut the 4 ball enough
so that it doesn’t send the 1 ball
to the right of where it sits. The
most important part of this shot
is to control the cue ball. A level
cue, medium speed, and no engPocket
Pocket“A”
A
lish work best here. Note that
there are two reasons why not to go off
the 4 ball: One, it’s a likely scratch, and
two, by hitting the 4 first, I’ll move the
8 ball a few inches toward my pocket.
I’m behind five balls to none in
Diagram 2. I don’t want to put my
opponent on the far end rail,because it
gives him too many options. That
wouldn’t put any pressure on him at all.
P
T
3:48 PM
The best way is to play a billiard
with the
A cue ball off of first the 6 and
then the 1. The cue ball then contacts
Rail “G,” continues on, and goes softly
into the side of the stack. The only
downside to this shot is that I break up
the 1 and 6 balls, which won’t go into
my opponent’s pocket. That’s a small
price to pay for putting him on the
defensive.
December2005LORES
INSTRUCTION
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3:48 PM
Page 20
THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHAMPION
BY JOHNNY ARCHER
A Lesson in Control
played well, so I got spanked 10-3,
finishing in a tie for thirteenth place.
When I was down 8-7 in the
match with Earl, I broke the balls and
didn’t have much of a shot. I could
have
hit the left side of the 1 ball and
Q
played a safety, but the safety was
Rail P
who know the expression are thinking how can he dog it if he never
shot? I dogged it by getting by getting weak in my mind. Sometimes
A
that is worse. I was afraid of a couX his abiliple of things: (1) Earl and
ty, and (2) what I might have to do.
So I took the
pressure off of
myself by giving Earl a
tough shot and
hoped he made
a mistake.
You know
if you give a
Hard hit
great
player
with lots of
left english
like
Earl
Strickland a
chance at the
table for an
offensive shot,
he will kick
your butt. What
I should have done was either
pushed out to a safety or took the
shot and kicked behind the ball and
put it down table and hope for the
best. The reason I should have done
this was because I would have
assured myself a chance at the table
and controlled the game. If I had
pushed out to a safety and Earl had
taken the shot, at least I would have
gotten another chance at the table.
The lesson today is that you can’t
control what your opponent does at
the table, but you can always control what you do.t
P
The last tournament I played in was
the Atlanta Open in Athens, GA.
It’s always a good event for me,
because my family can come up
and watch me play. My dad and
older sister came on Friday, and my
other sister showed up on Saturday
morning.
I started the
week off pretty
well
on
We d n e s d a y
night by winning the King
of the Hill ring
game. Thursday
I received a bye
and then defeated Joey Korsiak
10-5. My next
match wasn’t
until
Friday
night at 9 p.m.,
Pocket A
but I knew I would have my hands
full when I saw who my opponent
would be—Earl Strickland.
The match didn’t start off very
well for me. I was down 3-0, but I
fought back and got within a game
at 8-7; however, Earl made a couple
of nice run-outs from the break and
won the match 10-8.
My next match was against
Charlie Williams, and this was an
important one because it was a
money match. It was close all the
way. I got lucky and broke and ran
out the last rack, winning 10-9.
Against Corey Deuel in the next
round, I played awful, and he
not going to be a very effective one. I
also could have taken more of a
chance
and kicked behind the one to
A
send it down the table and maybe
behind a couple of balls. That was the
shot I really liked. But I was afraid of
not hitting it well and leaving him a
shot.
I chose to push out to a very difficult shot. Earl decided to shoot, and
he made a great shot, pocketing the
ball and running out the rack. That
changed the momentum of the match
that I had given to him. Earl went on
to win 10-8. I got weak in that situation. In what we call in the pool
world, I “dogged it.” Some of you
December2005LORES
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INSTRUCTION
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Page 22
BEAT PEOPLE WITH A STICK
BY TOM SIMPSON
The Spear-it of the Game
In the Stone Age, our early ancestors
became adept with their spears. They
had to eat, just like some of today’s billiard sapiens. The better they got with
their spear, the more likely they were to
survive and prosper. The alpha male got
the tenderloin, the woman, and the
grudging respect of the other hunters.
I gazed across the electric blue
glow of the pit at the U.S. Open 9-Ball
Championship. Numerous battles raged
on silently. Seeing the whole scene at
once, I was suddenly taken by an
insight. It felt deep and true. It was one
their spears just so. Their skills had long
since been finely honed, their personal
spears were fully prepped, their prey had
been studied. A plan of attack was underway.
The thrill of the hunt, that pinnacle of
focus and perception, was palpable in the
room. We’ve moved from the Stone Age to
the Slate Age. Today’s high-tech spears
suit our more sophisticated demands. The
prey is different. We don’t necessarily
have to kill the other guy so we can eat.
Much is different, but much is still the
same.
cue is an
extension of our arm.
It is an instrument
We know our
wielded through
our
mind and intent.
of those things that’s so simple and
obvious once you think of it this way, it
seems that surely we’ve always seen this
connection—pool cues are modern
spears!
Looking across the battlefield, it
was clear the players were one with their
spears. We carry our cues so lightly,
with so much touch, so much awareness. We’ve carried them so much, for
so long, that they seem alive in our
hands. We know our cue is an extension
of our arm. It is an instrument wielded
through our mind and intent. The confidence with which we carry our spear,
the easy, fluid grace that shines in our
movement, the clear, calm focus we
exude, all come together to give the
impression of a warrior.
There at the Open, seasoned warriors glided smoothly about, hefting
Pool is, for lots of players, about
establishing the pecking order within a
group. That group might be your three
friends who play in your basement, it
might be your league, your poolroom, or
the serious world of high-level play.
Players want recognition and respect within their tribe. They want to move up in the
pecking order.
In every tribe, the members all know
the pecking order, or at least the portion of
it that’s of personal interest to them. The
hunters all know who is the most accurate
with their spear, who is brave, who is
smart, who can perform under pressure,
and whose spear really brought down
which kills.
We’re unconsciously carrying on a
fundamental human rite. I think pool is one
way we connect with and occasionally satisfy these basic needs. Our needs for self-
worth, for social status in the tribe, and
for continuing personal growth are real.
We’re driven to meet these needs
whether we know it or not. It’s built into
the culture and built into our games and
sports. Pool, like archery, martial arts,
shooting, golf, and many other activities, is a modern-day warrior path. A
thin veneer of civilization keeps these
rule-bound contests from truly becoming life and death events.
While for most of us, our basic survival is not dependent upon winning
pool matches, our self-esteem might be.
Some players quit pool. They can’t seem
to rise to where they feel they “rightfully” should be in the pecking order. They
fold under pressure. They just can’t
seem to become a strong enough player
to feel good about it. Maybe they’re off
trying some other activity, hoping to
find one that allows them to successfully be the warrior they know they are.
Meanwhile, you and I are committed to this particular path—we’re pool
warriors. So how can this spear connection help us? Most important, I think, is
knowing that this is where our commitment lies, and treating it as the serious
personal development opportunity it
really is. We have no right to whine if
we’re not doing everything we know we
must do.
After many years of aikido training,
I had a moment of deep realization. I
knew I was experiencing the identical
states of mind, perceptions, skills, and
beauty that my samurai predecessors
had lived. I realized I had become
another pearl in a string of pearls reaching back through centuries, embodying
the commensurate levels of quality,
skill, and awareness. Let’s honor our
spear-carrying ancestors and our more
recent cue-carrying warriors. Let’s
choose to wield our spears with grace,
power, beauty, and deadly accuracy.t
December2005LORES
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INSTRUCTION
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Page 24
THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING
BY JOHN W. LOFTUS
If I Lose, I Win
I was recently talking with a friend
who described losing a pool match to
me by saying even though he lost the
match, he learned some things. “If I
lose, then I win,” he said. It wasn’t but
a few days later another friend told me
how he was going to play pool three
times a week against the best player in
our area to help him get ready for the
Glass City Open. My friend told me,
“I hope he beats my brains in, please!”
I got to thinking about what we
learn when we lose in pool to a better
shooter and what that could do to our
pool games. Think of it this way: It’s
not a bad consolation prize, even if we
wanted to win. If we’ve paid attention,
we’ve also learned something, and
We simply
better and better at pool, then it’s a “nolose” situation for us, even if we have to
settle for the consolation prize. But
keep in mind that such a prize is indeed
a valuable one. And the more consolation prizes like these you accumulate,
the better you’ll be at the game of pool.
But what about what we learn from
playing an inferior pool player? Any
good player who plays pool in any
handicapped league will shoot against
lesser shooters from time to time. No
one seems inspired by playing against
such a shooter. There isn’t as much to
learn from them (although sometimes it
can be a reminder of the things we
ought not to do). We may lack the needed passion to play well against them.
learn best by
better
shooters. It brings out
playing against
the
best in us.
we’ll be better for it the next time out.
We simply learn best by playing
against better shooters. It brings out
the best in us. We have the needed
passion to win. We tend to focus on
the game more. We know that if we
miss a shot or position on the next
ball, we could lose. So it forces us to
think three balls in advance and to
give it our best. If the goal is to get
We take it easy on them, and we take
them for granted. We think to ourselves
that even if we miss, we’ll get another
shot. So we aren’t as focused. It just
doesn’t mean as much to win against
such players.
Let me put it this way: Who wants
to go around saying, “Hey everyone, I
just pulverized the worst pool player in
the area?” No one, not even me! But
when we do beat a better player, we
want people to know that we did. So it
inspires us. One author has suggested
that one reason we let up on lesser
shooters is that we feel sorry for them,
and that may be true to an extent. We
want to give them a chance. We don’t
want to hurt their feelings. Whatever
the reasons are, when we let up on
anyone, we will sometimes lose. Then
people will come up and ask us how
someone as bad as that player
could’ve ever beaten us. And it’s
embarrassing, I know.
So here is a lesson I’ve learned
from losing to inferior pool players
that may help you bring out your best
game against them. Remember this:
“If they lose, they win.” Yep. That’s
right! Why not reverse it? If you get a
valuable consolation prize when you
lose, then you’re not exactly hurting
those whom you beat, either. They
learned something too. Show them
what you’ve got. Inferior shooters
want to get good at the game, too—
that’s why many of them play in
leagues and why they want to play
against you when they see you in the
pool halls and the bars. So why not
help them out? Do them a favor. Show
them how pool is supposed to be
played. Beat them. Beat them badly.
And they’ll either learn to like their
pain, or they’ll get better and better at
this maddening game. That will be
their choice, not yours. You are their
teacher. So teach them. That’s what
they want. So give it to them.t
INSTRUCTION
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PRO POOL WORKOUT
BY BOB HENNING
Natural Tempo
Natural tempo is an important part of
pool and playing in it is synonymous
with being in dead stroke—you can’t
have one without the other. Your natural
tempo is also unique. You can’t learn it
from someone else or fake it or make it
up. All you can
really do is discover
it and empower it.
Everyone
plays great on a
practice table. It’s
easy to get into
stroke when there’s
no opponent trying
to stop you. It’s
easy to get the ball
rolling when no one
is watching and
judging your performance. It’s easy
to run multiple racks when it doesn’t
really count. But it’s harder to do in a
competitive match.
Your natural tempo doesn’t require
force or perspiration. It doesn’t require a
lot of management or control. It does,
however, require a certain level of comfort with yourself and your game. You
have to be able to allow yourself to
move at the speed that lets your body
and mind thrive. You have to let go of
the obstacles that are in the way. You
have to be able to ignore the distractions
that come from your opponent and surroundings and the ones inherent in the
game itself.
When you are in a match, getting
your tempo established and your stroke
out is basically a function of confidence.
Your stroke is not under the control of
your conscious mind. It comes from a
deeper place. Anything that forces your
consciousness into a reflective, questioning, or “thinking” mode, at least for
that moment, steals a bit of your confi-
dence and knocks you out of your natural
tempo.
When you don’t know what to do, it
can go two ways. You can take a momentary pause as you figure it out, see it
almost immediately, and move right back
It’s easy to get
ture of the match, and you’ve gone
through your pre-determined moves
more than twice, consider taking a break
if you have one available.
3.
If you still don’t know what to do,
do something simple.
Rushing is also associated with not knowing what
to do. You stand there looking at the table without seeing anything promising.
You open up your mind for
ideas and either get flooded
with mental pictures or
nothing at all. The longer
you stand there, the more
the physical action winds
down. You can sense the
momentum slipping away.
Suddenly a clear shot option pops into
your mind, and you are so relieved that
you jump right down and shoot it without further consideration.
If you were in the comfort of your
own home and asked to come up with
the best shot for the same situation, you
wouldn’t have acted so hastily. You
wouldn’t have chopped your decisionmaking routine short. You would have
looked at the shot, imagined it getting
played out on the table, and made a
judgment call. If you liked the way it
looked, you would have committed
yourself and moved into your shot
process. If you didn’t, you would have
discarded it and asked your calm and
silent mind for another. When you’re
playing inside of your natural tempo,
that’s exactly what you do.
Good luck & good shootin’!t
the ball rolling
when no one is
watching and judging your
performance.
into action. Or you can stand there dumbfounded. You’ve never been in this situation before, and you’d don’t see a decent
option. The longer you look, the more
everything can get bogged down.
There are two ways to prepare to successfully handle this kind of scenario.
Obviously, if you understood every possible situation, you wouldn’t ever confront
one where you didn’t know what to do.
This is impossible, of course, but it does
underscore the importance of practice,
study, and experience. Secondly, you
could create a routine to guide you
through these inevitable moments. Here
are some suggestions:
1. Don’t let the physical action come to
a complete stop while you figure out what
to do. Keep something moving, but don’t
get stuck on just one thing. Chalk the cue,
walk around the table, etc.
2. Stay focused on the table situation
and take your time. If it’s a critical junc-
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photos by Nissy Carter
December2005LORES
The other match to affect the
hot seat was Corr versus Ellerby.
Ellerby’s weekend had been going
exceptionally well. She had defeated Kim 9-4 on Friday and had just
come from a grueling match with
Megan Minerich where, after being
tied up at 4, she eventually won 9-5.
To best Corr and advance, however,
she would need to be meticulous,
and it showed in her early shot
"The G Force" studies
the rack intently, looking
for gaps.
arter
by Mark Margaretten
don’t know about all you,”
“I
Allison Fisher told the room
after defeating Karen Corr in the
finals of the Cuetec Cues U.S. Open
9-Ball Championship, “but I need a
beer.”
Held at the Sandia Casino in
Albuquerque, NM, and sponsored
by Cuetec Cues, the American
Poolplayers Association (APA),
Brunswick Billiards, and covered by
ESPN, this prestigious women’s
tournament, held October 12-16, is
the seventh event in the eight-event
season and is the fifth to be won by
current points leader Fisher.
Fisher’s path to the final round
had been anything but routine and
difficult by anyone’s standard. But
she prevailed, as she’s done so often
this year, and played like a woman
too tranquil to care that her opponents were also at the top of their
game. To win, she had to defeat
Corr, Monica Webb, and defending
champion Ga-Young Kim—all three
on Sunday, despite playing until
after 1 a.m. the night before.
While Sunday’s televised matches were exciting, the many fans and
friends in attendance Saturday were
treated to a bracket filled with the
ruthless style that now defines the
WPBA. Saturday would decide who
would play in the quarterfinals and
who would land the hot seat. It was
do or die time for everyone.
The fight for the hot seat boiled
down to two matches: Webb versus
Fisher and Corr versus Sarah
Ellerby.
In a match that became a preview of Sunday’s semifinal, Webb
and Fisher fought closely until
Webb pulled away to best her 9-5.
They were close at 3-2 and then at
4-4, jumping and kicking at everything, playing slowly and carefully,
but Webb turned on the heat to stay
on the winners’ side.
Fisher moved to the one-loss
side, and with very tough players
still alive, it looked like she might
sleep in again Sunday morning at
the U.S. Open. She didn’t play on
Sunday in either the 2004 or 2003
Open, and on Saturday evening, it
seemed like a jinx was setting in.
selection. Playing cautiously, she
hid the cue ball at every opportunity, even forgoing some possible runouts, and stayed close at 3-2. But
Corr grew tired of all that fooling
around and began running tables,
eventually winning 9-5 to advance,
where she would face Webb for the
hot seat.
Welcome to the battle for the
hot seat, starring WPBA secondranked Corr and fourth-ranked
Monica Webb. They were playing
late Saturday evening across the
room from the dramatic fight to win
the one-loss bracket but didn’t
notice. They were involved in their
own fierce struggle.
Thoughtfully and methodically,
both Webb and Corr played hide and
seek with whitey, forcing the other
to jump, kick, and play safe, and
after what seemed like hours, they
were engrossed in a 3-2 match that
seemed to have no end. They continued like this to tie it up at 4,
before once again, as in her last
match against Ellerby, Corr took off
on a run, defeating Webb 9-4 to
claim the hot seat.
“It would be great to capture the
energy in here … all the competition
… and practice with it,” tour veteran and philosopher Laura Smith
commented.
Fisher was coming off her disappointing loss to Webb while the
tired Helena Thornfeldt had just
gone to the hill with Laurance, and
neither player was looking forward
to playing each other for a possible
elimination at 11:30 p.m. Saturday
night. They got off to an even start,
tied at 4 games apiece, but then
Fisher lit up Thornfeldt to take five
straight racks and win 9-4.
Meanwhile, other topranked players were at each
other’s throats to stay alive
in the quarterfinal match on
the one-loss side.
Earlier that day, eighthranked Tiffany Nelson
fought defending champion
Kim in an exhausting hillhill match that kept Kim
Defending champion Kim was
alive on the one-loss side
up first for a shot at Fisher in the teland sent Nelson packing.
evised quarterfinal round. Fisher got
“You usually don’t see those
off to another fast start, taking the
on TV,” said Marv Wilson,
early lead 4-1, before Kim came
assistant tournament direcback to tie the match up at 4-4.
tor. “It was the best match of
In the ninth rack, the match
the week … flip-flopped
changed from a big-break and safeleads, no unforced errors.
ty-play match to one filled with
Tiffany played her heart out.
quick action. Kim broke and ran to
It could have gone either
the 5 ball before Fisher took over to
way.”
finish the table and take a 5-4 lead.
Kim stayed in to defeat
The players traded the next two
Miyuki Sakai 9-3 and Angel
games, and with Fisher on the hill,
Paglia 9-4 before facing
they traded safeties before Fisher
Kelly Fisher. Fisher, ranked
returned to the table to run out and
fifth, had just made quick
send Kim home, winning the match
work of Julie Kelly 9-1 and
7-5.
was rested and ready for
Kim. “That’s what she
does,” said Kim Shaw. Ewa Laurance waits
“Kelly’s a shoot-from-the-hip patiently in her chair
girl,” added newcomer Jeri for her turn to shoot.
Engh.
Kim and Fisher played fast
and loose before Kim prevailed,
winning 9-7 to set up a rematch
with Ellerby.
Kim was on the one-loss
side courtesy of Ellerby, who’d
bested her 9-4 on Friday.
Ellerby was on the one-loss side
after losing Saturday to Corr,
who’d sent her there after her 95 victory in the quest for the hot
seat.
But Ellerby’s tremendous
week soon came to an end. Kim
was on fire and simply out-shot
Ellerby, running racks and
maintaining big leads to go
ahead 6-3 and eventually win 96. Kim moved on to play in the
quarterfinal match Sunday on
television but was waiting for an
opponent to emerge from a
crowd playing the nearby tables.
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Anyone reading the bracket
Sunday afternoon knew that the day
was about to get hot: Fisher was
getting another shot at Webb in the
semifinal match.
Webb had knocked Fisher onto
the one-loss side the night before,
and now it was Fisher’s chance at
payback. Fisher played a wide-open
shootout with Kim earlier that afternoon and was fully in stroke, having run three racks to best Kim 7-5.
Nobody would get in her way of
another tour title, not Kim, not
Webb ... nobody.
But Webb had been playing
well all week, having defeated
Rachael Abbink 9-3 and Angel
Paglia 9-4 before losing to Corr 4-9.
She was ready to face Fisher for
either a third place finish or a shot
at Corr in the final.
Number-two ranked Karen Corr
always displays intensity and
determination on the table.
After the usual television fanfare and a close lag, Webb jumped
out to an early one-rack lead and set
the tone for the entire grueling
match with safety play and short
runs defining each rack. Fisher tied
the score after the following game.
They traded more racks, neither
running out from a break, both
playing safe more than usual, and
toughed out a match that was tied at
3 games, then at 4, and then again at
5.
Rack 11 found Webb breaking
and running to the 6 ball before
missing the 7. Fisher didn’t squander the chance to finish the table
and go ahead 6-5 before winning
the twelfth rack, and the match, 7-5.
Fisher had just broken down
her opponent, shot by shot, rack by
rack, and looked strong and
refreshed walking to the player’s
lounge where she relaxed before her
final match against her familiar foe,
Corr.
Everyone knew that Sunday’s
final showdown between Corr and
Fisher was going to be rougher than
the any of the preceding matches.
Corr was on fire, entering the room
with an astonishing 54-22 record
over the week, with 8 of them coming against only one opponent,
another former snooker player, Kim
Shaw, who walked into the room
ranked seventeenth.
Either Corr or Fisher has won
26 of the last 31 tour stops, punctuating the story of a long rivalry that
remains one of sport’s best.
“They’re scientists,” remarked
Vivian Villarreal.
Fisher began quickly, jumping
out front to take a 3-0 lead in matches filled with big breaks
and fast run-outs.
In Rack 6, with the
match 3-2, Fisher buried
Corr in a safety so purely
evil that she didn’t think
very long before giving the
ball back. The cluster that
engulfed the 2 ball made a
run-out unlikely, so rather
than kick out of it and open
up the table for a long run,
Corr simply took the foul
and returned the ball. When
it was over, Fisher extended
her small lead to 4-2. But Corr
responded and, playing smart, quietly fought back to tie the match up at
4.
By Game 12, Fisher was on the
hill at 6-5 and, having just been
denied glory by a rival too tough to
go gently, just couldn’t seem to run
the table. Then Corr, with a chance
to force a hill-hill showdown hung
the 4 ball in the corner. The match
seemed over. Perhaps Aristotle was
right, that details doom the hearty.
But Fisher missed the simple kick,
and Corr mopped up the rack to tie
the match at 6-6.
Rack 13 was the hill game. Corr
moved to the table and, with a stiff
break, left the ugliest table seen all
week. A large cluster of balls sat at
the headstring. Corr then buried the
1 ball deep behind the cluster, leaving the cue ball on the footer, a classic safety. After kicking in the 1
(“best shot all week”) and trading
misses, Fisher dropped the easy 2
ball, cleared some of the traffic and
calmly completed the table to take
the final match 7-6 and win the 2005
Cuetec
Cues
U.S.
Open
Championship.
With more than 200 points separating Fisher and Corr in the rankings, and being 600 more ahead of
Kim, Webb, and Kelly Fisher,
Allison is an odds-on lock to finish
at the top of the chart for 2005.
Nothing seems to be getting in her
way. Her stroke is perfect, her mind
focused, and she’s well on her way
to another series of tournament wins
similar to her run in the late ‘90s,
when it seemed like she won six or
seven events each year. She’s
already won five events this year
and could be on her way to a sixth in
Oregon, something she hasn’t done
since 2000.
It wasn’t so long ago that the
same dozen players finished at the
top of each WPBA tour stop.
They’ve dominated the tour for
years. But recent history suggests
that the guard may change. More
and more, younger players like
Sarah Ellerby, Megan Minerich,
Tiffany Nelson, Melissa Herndon,
Sarah Rousey and Jeannie Seaver
appear at the top of the charts, and
this trend shows no sign of subsiding. They’re getting schooled on
this tour, enduring bitter disappointment, fluctuating wages, road food,
and the kind of long road days that
toughen a player with the thick skin
needed to break into the top slots,
but that tale won’t be told until next
season, when the next chapter in the
Fisher story begins.
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
7th
9th
Allison Fisher
Karen Corr
Monica Webb
Ga-Young Kim
Helena Thornfeldt
Sarah Ellerby
Ewa Laurance
Kelly Fisher
Julie Kelly
Megan Minerich
Gerda Hofstatter
Angelina Paglia
$16,000
$9,500
$7,000
$5,500
$4,300
$3,500
$2,800
December2005LORES
12/9/05
3:59 PM
Page 38
Photos courtesy of Matchroom Sport
The event kicked off with Hohmann
and Foldes, who won the Junior World
Championship two years ago. Foldes
looked nervous as he conceded the table,
and Hohmann was in control as he had little trouble winning the match 7-3.
Drago lived up to his reputation as
the fastest player on the planet with a
Thorsten Hohmann outlined
his intentions right from the start
of the 2005 888.com World Pool League.
A
7-3 win over Vilmos Foldes
in the opening match of the
event, held October 14-16 at the
NOT Building in Warsaw, Poland,
set the tone.
“I felt like it was meant to be
my week,” Hohmann smiled after
the event. The 2003 World Pool
champion added this event to his
resume, which for this year
includes the BCA Open and
European 8-ball and straight pool
titles as well.
Hohmann proved himself to be
the best player over the weekend—
breaking and running out with
supreme efficiency and showing
the subtleties and cleverness of tactics that befit a world-class player.
The World Pool League is an
invitational, bringing together six
of the best international players to
match up in a round-robin format.
Each plays the others once in a
best-of-ten-racks match. At the end
of the league section, the top four
players contest the race-to-8 semifinals, with the two winners meeting in the finals. This year’s event
pitted
defending
champion
Francisco Bustamante, Alex Lely
of Holland, Kuo Po-Cheng, Tony
Drago, Foldes, and Hohmann
against each other.
quick-fire victory over Lely in the first
session. The European champion was not
at his best but was forced to watch on for
the majority of the match as Drago strutted around the table, potting balls with
ease for a 6-4 victory.
A relatively one-sided encounter saw
Bustamante dispose of 2005 World Pool
Championship runner-up Po-Cheng 7-3 in
the first round. Down 5-3, Kuo, needing to
take the final two racks to secure a draw,
wasted his chance with a poor effort on a
cut on the 2 ball, and Bustamante was
clinical in his potting efficiency before a
run-out in the last sealed an emphatic win
for the Pinoy favorite.
In the second session, Foldes delighted his band of travelling Hungarian supporters with an emphatic 7-3 win at the
start of Friday’s evening session. He condemned his opponent, European Mosconi
Cup team member Lely to a second consecutive defeat, although the Dutchman
will point to a string of misfortunes for his
downfall. Several errors and plain bad
luck kept Lely in his chair, watching as
the match slipped away.
Bustamante smashed his way past
Drago to record a remarkable 9-1 victory
in the second round. In an alternate-break
format, a difference of that size in the
score line is rare to find in world-class
competition, but Drago was out of stroke
and offered no competition for the legendary Filipino.
And in the same manner that
Bustamante brushed past Drago,
Hohmann thrashed Cheng 8-2. In complete control of the match from start to
finish, Hohmann was potting balls with
confidence and getting the better of most
of the safety exchanges, taking his perfect
record into the event’s third session.
Things did not improve for Cheng, as
Drago raced his way to a 6-4 win in less
than half an hour in the third session. The
Maltese Falcon lost the last two racks but
already had victory assured to take himself a step closer to the semifinals.
Foldes took another step closer to the
semifinals with a morale-boosting 7-3 win
over Bustamante in the
Tony Drago of Malta
third round. Foldes
is thought to be one
recorded his second
of the fastest players
victory of the series in
on the planet.
style, quickly finding
his stroke and leaving
his big-name opponent
with few chances
throughout the ten
racks.
Hohmann became
the first player to seal
his place in the final
four after a 7-3 victory
over an off-form Lely.
It appeared that Lely
took his poor displays from Friday into his
third match, with Hohmann in no mood to
allow him any room for recovery.
Joining the German soon after was
Drago, the second man through the
semifinal stages after a scrappy 6-4 win
over Foldes. A game littered with potting and safety errors finally edged in
Drago’s favor in the final rack to leave
Foldes still mathematically needing a
point to qualify himself.
In a feast of run-outs, Hohmann
edged out Bustamante with a 6-4 victory in the fourth session of the World
Pool League. With seven complete
clearances from ten racks, the standard
was high for the packed crowd. Indeed,
it wasn’t until the final rack that
Hohmann played a shot that didn’t
result in a pot.
Cheng managed to keep alive
through this round with a clinical 8-2 win
over Holland’s Lely. Lely had not reached
top gear in any of his matches, and Kuo
took full advantage but knew he must still
rely on other results and mathematical calculations if he was to make the last four.
Sealing his semifinal spot with a 7-3
win over Lely in the final group round,
Bustamante took full advantage of the
Dutchman’s disastrous weekend. Lely
lost all five of his matches, looking badly
out of form in comparison to his recent
showings on the international stage.
A narrow 6-4 victory over Drago
gave Hohmann an unblemished record
for the group stages of the World Pool
League. With both players already
through to the last four, the match was
played in a relaxed atmosphere and produced six run-outs.
Cheng came back from the dead to
make the semifinal rounds by sealing
victory with an 8-2 win over Foldes.
Foldes needed to win four racks to make
the semifinals, but after losing the first
five, he faced an
uphill
battle
Filipino legend Francisco
against
Kuo,
Bustamante made it to the
finals against Hohmann but
who had seemed
couldn't argue with destiny.
out of the running after losing
his first three
matches.
The seemingly invincible
Hohmann put an
end to Cheng’s
dreams in the
semifinals,
though, with an
8-6
victory.
Cheng put the
German to the
test after gradually improving from his
poor start, but in the end, the 2003 World
Pool Champion had too much in his locker.
With the format of the event changing to race-to-8, winner breaks, Kuo won
the all-important lag but soon conceded
hold of the table by scratching on his first
break. Hohmann ran out, but then a misjudged shot on the 1 ball left the second
rack for Kuo. He ran out of position on
the 2 and couldn’t continue his visit,
allowing Hohmann the chance to clear,
and a subsequent run-out took the score
to 3-1. Hohmann played safe on the 1
ball at the start of the fourth and induced
a scratch from Kuo via two kicks.
December2005LORES
12/9/05
3:59 PM
Page 40
The German took himself to the
halfway stage with a composed clearance
and then ran out the sixth rack to leave
Kuo stuck in his seat. A rare miss from
Hohmann at the start of the next gave the
Taiwanese potter another chance, and he
clawed back a rack.
Junior champion Vilmos
Foldes studies a tough
shot while referee Nigel
Rees looks on.
But Kuo was forced to play safe in
the eighth, and he left the 1 ball on for
Hohmann, who potted it with a long shot.
He left himself in a poor position, though,
and fouled on a jump shot when trying for
the 4 ball—Kuo sank the remaining balls
to move within two racks of his opponent.
But Kuo sent the cue ball spinning
off the table when potting the 2 ball with
a jump shot in the next, and Hohmann
sank a 3-9 combination to lead 6-3. Cheng
was forced to push out in the next but then
benefited with a clearance from a bizarre
foul by Hohmann, who missed the yellow
1 completely having attempted a fine cut.
Trailing by just two racks once more, Kuo
ran out in Racks 11 and 12 but then
pushed out with a shot that traveled barely a centimeter after finding himself out of
position from the break in Rack 13.
He was put back in by Hohmann and
left the table open for a difficult clearance,
which took the 2003 World Champion to
the hill—a position he was never going to
relinquish as yet another clearance from
the start of the rack sealed his place in the
championship match.
Bustamante remained on course to
defend his title by besting Drago 8-4. Both
players showed nerves with regular
scratches and misses, but in the end it was
the 2004 champion who prevailed to
move to the final stage.
Drago ran the first but scratched from
his break in the second, and Bustamante
cleared to level. The pair exchanged
safeties at the start of Rack 3 before Drago
fluked the 1 ball when escaping from a
hook, and he ran out to re-take the lead. In
the fourth rack, Drago scratched after
snookering himself on the 2 ball, but
Bustamante uncharacteristically missed a
relatively easy shot on the 3, and Drago
cleared. He should have taken the fifth,
too, but a careless error of scratching
when potting the 9 ball allowed
Bustamante a reprieve
to reduce the deficit to
3-2.
Both players missed
simple pots on the yellow 1 in Rack 6 before
Bustamante cleared
up, but he then fouled
at the start of the seventh rack by striking
the 6 when trying to
bank his way on to the
1 ball. For the second
time in the match,
Drago suffered the
misfortune of a needless scratch, however,
this time after downing the black 8, and
Bustamante once more stepped in to steal
the rack.
The Filipino legend had to play safe
on the 1 ball after breaking in the eighth
rack, but Drago’s luck was out again as he
left it on and soon found himself 5-3
ing the table open for the German to take
the opener. There was a question of a foul
by Hohmann in Rack 2 as no ball hit the
rail after he banked the cue on to the yellow 1, but the replay showed the cue had
shaved the 1 on its way through, and referee Nigel Rees’ decision not to award a
foul was correct.
After the pair exchanged safety
shots, Bustamante showed his class with a
great pot on the 1 ball and went on to take
the rack and level the match. The Filipino
took a scrappy third rack and then ran the
next two to lead 4-1. He was put back in
after pushing out in Rack 6, though, and
fouled before Hohmann hooked him
again, and Bustamante left the 2 ball on
for Hohmann to pot and clear up. He ran
the next two to restore parity but then
snookered himself on the 2 ball, and
Bustamante rose expectantly from his
chair.
A bad miss on the 6 ball meant his
visit was short and not so sweet, and
Hohmann took the lead for the first time
since the opening rack.
After running Rack 10, Hohmann
looked well set to seal the match, but he
uncharacteristically tried a difficult 3-9
combination in the eleventh rack when
faced with few options and missed the
shot. Bustamante dragged
the game back in the balRunner-up in this year's
ance, but, having been
World Pool Championship,
put back in by Hohmann
Kuo Po-Cheng stretches
after pushing out in Rack
for the 7 ball.
12, he left the 1 ball on
with a poor table-length
bank attempt. Hohmann
cleared the table to regain
the break and reach the
hill. Then, appropriately
with the manner in which
he has played all tournament, the 2003 World
Champion added another
title and $20,000 to his
roll of honor with a chardown. Bustamante lost position on the 4
acteristically slick run-out.
ball and left the cue ball behind the 9 leavA disappointed Bustamante reported,
ing himself with a double that came ago“In the final, I thought I should have won,
nizingly close. But the pink stayed up, and
but I missed the six ball [in Rack Nine],
Drago took advantage to close the gap to
and I knew I had lost then. When I was
one rack.
four to one up, I should have gone on and
He was disconsolate again in Rack
won, but I miscued a push shot, which
10, under-hitting a soft shot on the 3 and
was terrible. Thorsten was playing the
leaving it up for Bustamante to clear.
best out of all the six players, but my
Bustamante ran out in Rack 11 but
game can be better, and I’m disappointscratched in Rack 12, although it wasn’t
ed.”
looking like Drago’s night when he
“I played well in every game, but I
missed a straightforward shot on the 3
wasn’t one-hundred-percent happy with
ball. It proved to be his final shot as
my positional play, and my safety game
Bustamante cleared to set up a final showneeds some improvement,” a glowing
down with Hohmann.
Hohmann recounted. “But I didn’t miss
The Filipino legend won the lag but
too many shots, and I got most of the
didn’t get too far with it—missing the 1
rolls—even when I was down, I thought I
ball into the bottom left pocket and then,
would still come through!”
after being snookered by Hohmann, leav-
December2005LORES
12/14/05
4:47 PM
Page 42
2005 Holiday Buying Guide
2
1. Lucasi Cues
The cues in the Lucasi line from Cue & Case Sales,
Inc., feature a high-gloss UV coating to help prevent
stains and fading, precisely milled joint collars, inset
joint rings, hand-crafted inlays, Ivorine ferrules, and
Irish linen wraps. They are constructed out of exotic woods, and the shafts are made of hard rock
maple. The suggested retail price for these cues
starts over at $200. For purchasing information, contact Cue & Case Sales, Inc., at 800-835-7665.
2. Shaft Care Products
New to the market this year, Atlas Billiard Supplies
has come out with a full line of cue care solutions.
This entire line is bleach- and alcohol-free, as well as
non-toxic. Atlas Clean safely removes dirt and chalk,
while Atlas Wax seals, protects, and polishes shafts
and restores a nice luster to the top coat. Atlas Slick
is a lubricious formula that is safe for use directly on
your cue shaft or on your hands to replace messy
talc. The suggested retail price is $4.99 each. To
order, visit Atlas Billiard Supplies at
www.cuestik.com, or call 800-283-7845.
1
3
4
6
5
3. The Brunswick Gold Crown IV
The standard of the industry and the professional
players’ table of choice. It is available in mahogany
with bronze or brushed nickel trim or matte black
with chrome or brushed nickel trim. The Gold Crown
comes in 8-foot pro and 9-foot sizes with either gully
or drop pockets. The Gold Crown IV is a world-class
billiard table of legendary quality and has a suggested retail price of $7,999. For ordering information,
please contact Brunswick Billiards at 800-336-8764,
or
visit
their
website
at
www.brunswickbilliards.com.
4. American Heritage Series
New from Smith & Wesson, the Heritage Series cue
features the latest innovations in design, technology,
and performance. An Advanced Variable Weight
System enables the player to change cue weight from
18 to 21 ounces without affecting balance. Both the
exotic hardwood forearm and laminated maple shaft
are fiberglass-reinforced, making them warp- and
damage-resistant, and are backed by a one-year warranty. The titanium ferrule adds power and control.
Heritage Series cues range in price from $179 to
$329. For ordering information, visit their website at
www.smithandwessonbilliards.com.
5. The Power Shaper
Billiards Warehouse has the perfect stocking stuffer
for your favorite pool player. A pool cue with a poorly maintained tip will be your worst enemy. You
must keep your cue’s tip groomed to maximize
playability. This tip shaper from Billiards Warehouse
is cordless and rechargeable and provides the easiest
and fastest way to shape your tip! It has a powerful
torque, includes two bits, and runs on two “AA” batteries. The retail price is $29.99. To order, log onto
www.billiardswarehouse.com, or call 888-809-7665.
6. You Might Be A D Player If …
Covering “101 classic movies that all pool players
can appreciate,” this little book is the perfect gift for
players of all skill levels. Packed with over 100
pages of stories and illustrations, it will strike many
familiar chords. It would make a terrific gift for
league members or a stocking stuffer for your
favorite player. The retail price is $12.95. To order,
call 303-667-8000, or visit www.SammsPocket.com.
December2005LORES
12/14/05
4:48 PM
Page 44
13
7
8. New Billiard Games
Offering new twists on familiar games, author
Joseph Minkevitch has adapted the rules of football,
baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, golf, car racing,
craps, and the poker game Texas Hold ‘Em to the
pocket billiards table. Each instruction book offers
concise instructions for regulation tie-breaker play
and table set-up illustrations for each sport. You can
purchase games individually starting at $14.95 or all
nine for $89.95. For ordering information, log onto
www.newbilliardgames.com.
9. Marquette
Find a complete matching gameroom package from
Olhausen Billiards. This set includes a bar, bar
stools, a game table, and game chairs. These quality
furniture pieces are now available as part of
Olhausen's accessory line of products. For ordering
information, call 800-866-4606, or log onto
www.olhausenbilliards.com.
10. Billiard Fabric
Victor manufactures a wide selection of billiards fabric in a variety of colors, produced with durability
and quality. Their Forstmann and Tournament precut fabrics are available in four sizes and over thirty
colors and are shipped within 48 hours. Made of premium worsted wool fabric, this cloth was designed to
meet all of your professional requirements. To order,
call 800-591-1139, or log onto www.victorforstmann.com.
11. Baby Widow Cue
Through a licensing agreement with Jeanette “The
Black Widow” Lee, Frank’s Center, Inc., is proud to
introduce this latest signature baby cue in honor of
Jeanette Lee and George Breedlove’s new daughter,
Cheyenne Lee Breedlove. The Baby Widow is a twopiece cue for an overall length of 30 inches. The cue
comes complete with its own red-felt-lined hard carrying case. This cue retails for $34.95. Call Frank’s
Center at 800-666-9190 or order, or e-mail them at
[email protected].
12. Billiard License Plate Frame
Proclaim your game! Let everyone know you’re
cruisin’ to your favorite billiard room with a billiard
license plate frame from the Billiard Congress of
America. The frame is made of durable metal and
features a colorful billiard-themed design with the
industry slogan “pool. everybody’s game.” Buy it
now at www.EnjoyPool.com or from your favorite
billiard retailer for $11.95.
9
10
12
14
8
13. Opal Balls
VIGMA incorporated the most advanced
technology to create these opal-like billiard
balls. The sparkling opal-like particles are
evenly distributed in the balls, making them
look so real. Every single piece of VIGMA’s
Opal ball set is inspected and tested under the
highest standards to ensure ball balance and
tournament-standard compliance. This ball
set features permanent inlaid numbers, along
with attractive pearlized colors. To order, log
onto www.vigma.com.
15
7. Three-Player Air Hockey Table
Be the first in your area to offer this new, unique, and
exciting air hockey game from J-S Sales Co., Inc.
This is the only air hockey game on the market to
offer three-player capabilities, and the triangular
shape allows each player to directly challenge both
opponents. The table can also be easily converted to
two players with the addition of a fitted rail that
blocks off one of the wings. The powerful fan allows
the puck to glide smoothly, easily, and consistently
over the surface. The game comes with three goalie
mallets and six pucks. The carton size is a 56” x 56”
x 56” triangle x 7” high, and the weight is 90 lbs. The
suggested retail price for this item is $599.99, and it
is available from J-S Sales Co., Inc. Contact them at
800-577-2537, or log onto www.j-ssales.com.
14. Third Edition Blue Book of Pool Cues
Get new and updated information and pricing
on current and past cue makers and their cues
from Brad Simpson’s Third Edition Blue
Book of Pool Cues. This new book includes a
64-page color cue gallery and consists of over
900 pages with hundreds of cue images.
Refer to the updated trademark index for all
of the cue makers’ current contact information, including e-mail addresses and websites.
Pick up your copy by calling Seybert’s
Billiard Supply toll free at 877-314-2837, or
visit their website at www.seyberts.com.
15. National Billiard Academy
Get some serious pool training! Two- and
three-day weekend intensives are the best
investment you’ll ever make in your game—
period. Contact Tom Simpson, BCA Master
Instructor, at the National Billiard Academy
at 614-975-8337. Lessons given in
Columbus, OH, and selected cities nationwide. Find free articles and videos at
www.PoolClinics.com.
11
16. Predator BK2
Engineered for explosive performance, the
new Predator BK2 instantly delivers unparalleled power, speed, and accuracy. Take a look
at the BK2 technology interactive demo at
www.predatorcues.com/bk2 and find out why
the BK2 performs better than any other break
cue. The BK2 launch is scheduled for this
holiday season. To order, contact Predator
Cues at 888-314-4111 and take your game to
the next level.
16
17
17. Adrenaline
Take your tired tees out of your closet and
make room for the new Adrenaline line of
apparel from Hampton Ridge Billiards. With
sporting designs that are hilarious through
serious, these tees have something to fit every
personality. They are made fromm only highquality, brand-name shirts like Hanes or
Russell, and every shirt is hand-screened in
the USA. Hampton Ridge Billiards even carries cues and cases to match your new
Adrenaline shirts. Visit your local dealer or
log onto www.hrbilliards.com for ordering
information. Dealers only call 800-845-0850.
December2005LORES
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4:48 PM
Page 46
24
19. The Vintage Charleston
This shuffleboard table from Champion Shuffleboard
is a beautiful reproduction of an original design from
the 1940s. Handcrafted in maple, its art deco styling
includes classic period elements such as inlaid mirror
detailing along the cradle, stainless steel runners down
the legs, and luxurious red vinyl liners. The Champion
playfield is made from the finest Canadian maple and
finished with Champion’s lifetime polymer surface.
To order, call 800-826-7856, or log onto www.championshuffleboard.com.
20. The Majestic
The Majestic is DLT Billiards’ latest floor-to-slate legs
design. Its massive post legs extend from the floor to
the cabinetry, and the frame and cabinet are pre-leveled and squared in the factory, promoting a flawless
installation. The meticulous hand-carving gives a gracious accent to a table that provides grace with playability and fun. Made of solid maple, the Majestic
offers a hand-rubbed finish and abalone or genuine
mother-of-pearl double-diamond sights. Available in
mahogany or teak finishes. For ordering information,
please contact DLT International at 888-782-2208, or
visit their website at www.DLTBilliards.com.
21. Scorpion Cues
New in 2005, the Scorpion line of cues from Cuestix
International is for the player who doesn’t wish to sacrifice performance for a good price. These cues incorporate classic designs with a contemporary flair to create a look all their own. They feature high impact ferrules, Irish linen wraps, hard-rock maple shafts, and
warp-resistant wood stabilizers. To order, visit your
local billiard products retailer.
22. “The Twins”
From custom cue maker Mike Gulyassy, here is a set
called “The Twins” consisting of an amboyna burl
playing cue and a matching Sledgehammer
break/jump cue. Both are set off with ivory, silver,
snakewood, and turquoise and have baby alligator
leather wraps. There are over 300 inlays in each cue,
and each weighs 19 ounces. The playing cue comes
with three shafts with ivory ferrules and medium
Moori tips, and the Sledgehammer comes with two
shafts. To order, call Mike at 864-458-7662, or visit
his website at www.babysproshop.com.
23. Modern Pool
Modern Pool is a classic among billiard literature in
Germany. With this book, Ralph Eckert has put a complete study and training program together that promises to turn the beginner into an advanced player.
Advanced players can use this book as well to learn
this game from another point of view and discover
problem zones when they come to the point in their
game where progress has slowed or stopped. For more
information, log onto www.billiardbook.com.
18
20
21
23
19
24. Kaiser Cues
J&J America is pleased to introduce a new line of
high-quality hand-inlaid cues for competitive pool
players and professionals. Kaiser Cues feature selected hardrock maple wood or other high-quality exotic
wood, speed joints, 5/16 x 18 pilot joints or 3/8 x 11
joints, hand-spliced points and inlays, layered leather
or Water Buffalo tips, fiber linen ferrules, Irish linen
wraps, and pro tapers. All of these features give
Kaiser cues a solid hit. The suggested retail price
starts at $100. To order, contact J&J America at 562229-9688, or visit www.jjcue.com.
25
25. Richard Helmstetter Signature Collection
The Adam Cue Company is proud to introduce the
new Richard Helmstetter Signature Collection. This
line consists of nine models, including three different
three-cushion cues. With over 37 years of experience,
the craftsmanship, attention to detail, and quality of
materials are apparent in these beautifully designed
cues. Only the finest woods and materials are used.
These cues are presented in a blue velvet sleeve. For
ordering information, contact Adam Cue Company at
516-799-6600, or visit their website at
www.theadamcueco.com.
26
28
22
29
27
18. T-Shirts With Attitude
These T-shirts from Bottom English Billiards are new
this holiday season. No fancy artwork, just simple
statements to make your feelings known on pool night.
They are available in sizes Medium to XXXL and
priced at only $14.95 (add $2.00 for XXL and $4.00
for XXXL). To order, contact Bottom English
Billiards at 888-866-1446, or visit www.bottomenglish.com.
26. Hustlin USA Clothing
Hustlin USA Clothing Company is the premier clothing line for the active pool-playing individual. The
company provides a full line of men’s and women’s
apparel, consisting of shirts, polos, sweat jackets, and
hats. Because of their cutting-edge slogans and
designs, Hustlin USA has become the preferred
choice among pocket billiard players and poker players around the world. Shirts start at $20, hats at $25,
polos at $30, and sweat jackets at $50. To order, contact Hustlin USA at 916-560-0008, or visit them
online at www.hustlinusa.com.
27. Aramith Shaft
This new shaft from Aramith, based on several hightech components and advanced technologies, is
designed to reduce cue ball deflection when applying
english. The shaft will work with any existing butt.
Also, a training kit will be available that will teach
cue ball physics and how to easily apply precise side
spin with this shaft. For ordering information, visit
Aramith’s website at www.saluc.com.
28. Torchiere Lamp
This torchiere-style lamp from RAM Gameroom
Products combines style with functionality as it sheds
light on your game. Featuring 2 x 100 watt bulbs illuminating white frosted glass, the specially designed
clear table top also acts as a pool cue holder. The
height is 72 inches, and the width is 16 inches. The
suggested retail price of this lamp is $199. Dealers
only contact RAM Gameroom Products at 888-8762931, or e-mail [email protected].
29. Personalized Pool Room Glasses and
Coasters
Have fun at your next party serving your guests using
your very own personalized glasses and coasters
from Mueller Recreational Products. These colorful
glasses each hold 16 ounces and come in a set of four.
The set of eight 4-inch coasters are made of
absorbent, heavyweight board and are colorfast and
reusable. You can personalize glasses or coasters with
up to 14 characters. The price for a set of four glasses is $59.95, and the set of eight coasters are $14.50.
For ordering information, call Mueller Recreational
Products at 800-627-8888, or order securely online at
www.poolndarts.com.
December2005LORES
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4:21 PM
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December2005LORES
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December2005LORES
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by Richard Davis
With bigger payouts across the
board and a large prize for first place,
an impressive list of the Seminole
Florida Pro Tour regulars appeared
to compete at the finale. Amidst the
excitement and surprises, Mike
Davis came through the event undefeated.
After many months of tour
stops, the championship event took
place October 7-9 at Stroker’s in
Palm Harbor, FL. Players’ only
requirements were that they had to
have entered two events during the
regular season. Of the near 200 different players in the season, this
requirement made 78 people eligible
to play in the championship, with 47
players entering to take part in the
three-day event.
Before the event began on Friday
afternoon, tournament director John
DiToro enacted a major rule change
at the overwhelming request
of the players. It was decided that if the 10 ball was
made on the break, it would
be spotted, thus eliminating
possible problems with the
rack and taking away some
of the luck factor. Rodney
Morris summed up the
majorities opinion by saying, “Anything that takes
away luck is good.”
Otherwise, the tour utilized
the regular Texas Express
rules with a rack-your-own,
winner-breaks format. The
players in the first two days
of the event played in a race to 7,
while Sunday brought a race to 8
with a final race to 9 to determine the
Mike Davis
17 first-round byes, while the action
in the first round seemed split, as
most of the matches were either a
blowout or a slow battle. Jason
Kirkwood, Rodney Morris, and
Robb Saez each defeated their
opponents 7-0, and Neil
Fujiwara only gave up a single
game to win his match 7-1.
Donnie Mills played a strong
game and defeated Buddy
Hall 7-3, as Jason Richko and
Mike Davis defeated their
opponents by the same margin. As the round progressed,
two slow battles emerged until
finally John Schmidt defeated
David Broxson and Tony
Crosby
defeated
Bill
Ferguson, both double-hill.
Troy Frank
The players were greeted
Saturday with a schedule of three
The first day of competition was
winners’-side rounds and four on the
held Friday afternoon and was schedone-loss side all set up to finish in the
uled for only one round. The limited
early evening. Davis breezed through
but impressive field of players saw
winner. The entire floor space of
Strokers, which consisted of 14
beautiful 9-foot Robertsons tables
with Simonis cloth, was utilized for
this event.
his day by defeating Kirkwood and
DiToro, thus ensuring his return on
the winners’ side Sunday. Jose Del
Rio took a similar path and went
undefeated through his opponents,
which included Troy Frank.
Meanwhile, Richard Broumpton and
Earl Strickland filled the remaining
spots for Sunday’s winners’-side
players. Strickland scorched his early
opponents and squeaked by his last
match against Donnie Mills by winning double-hill, while at the same
time Richard Broumpton showed his
“A”-game by defeating Saez and
Morris back to back.
For those not staying on the winners’ side, progress was difficult and
full of surprises for everyone. After
taking a loss, Kirkwood came back
to win his next two matches, including a 7-2 defeat of Hall, eliminating
the Hall of Famer. This was only the
beginning, as Ray Martin got
knocked out early by Justin Hall, a
17-year-old player who recently
moved to the area. Hall woke up
after an early loss to Strickland and
defeated Tommy Kennedy in addition to Martin and others, although
he was finally stopped by Schmidt,
who, after losing his first round, won
his next four matches to return on
Sunday. Early favorites Fujiwara and
Butch Croft each took an early loss
only to win their next several matches and then finally meet up at the last
round of the day. Croft quickly took
control and won 7-4. This story paralleled the stories of Adam Wheeler
and Saez, who also took early losses
only to meet up the last round of
Saturday, with Wheeler caroming
into the 10 ball to usher himself from
the double-hill match into Sunday’s
matches.
Sunday began with four
matches on the one-loss side, where
the winners would move on and the
defeated players ended up tied for
ninth place. Croft matched up with
Morris, while Kirkwood faced Frank.
Both matches were close, as each
went 8-6, but in the end Croft and
Frank came out on top. A similar set
of matches happened at the next two
tables where Schmidt played DiToro
and Wheeler met up with Mills.
Schmidt managed to get by DiToro 86, as Mills won by the biggest margin
of the day, defeating Wheeler 8-5.
In the winners’ side, Strickland
took an early lead against Davis but
couldn’t hold it, as Davis chipped
away with a quick 3-10 combo and
then cashed several racks in a row to
tie the match double-hill. On the
final rack, he made a 1-10 combo to
take the match. At the next table,
Broumpton came out with an early
lead of 5-2, and even though his
opponent Del Rio took several racks,
he just could not catch up, allowing
Broumpton to take an 8-6 win.
On the other side of the board,
Mills played strong against Schmidt,
who took the first rack only to watch
Mills take the next five. “Mr. 400”
only got one more game under his
belt before succumbing to Mills 8-2.
The final match of this round saw
Croft and Frank in a seesaw battle,
trading games until the score reached
5-all, where Frank broke away to
reach the hill. Croft took another
rack, but Frank proved too tough,
wrapping up the match 8-6.
Del Rio came with a quick 3-1
lead in his match against Mills, only
to watch his opponent take five
straight to move up 6-3. Only one
more rack went to Del Rio, who
couldn’t stop Mills from surging
ahead and winning the set 8-4. Frank
and Strickland traded games until the
score reached 6-5 Frank. The Ohioan
reached the hill with his next rack
and ended up victorious by the score
of 8-6.
Late afternoon saw the top four
emerge. Davis and Broumpton met
in the hot seat match, with Davis
completely in control the entire way,
defeating his opponent 8-2. Mills,
fighting Frank in the one-loss side,
took the first three racks and only
allowed Frank four before crossing
the finish line with an 8-4 score.
The semifinal match between
Mills and Broumpton was a real battle. Though the first rack went to
Mills, Broumpton took the next
three, including a difficult 10 ball
carom. Again Mills took another
rack, but this time Broumpton
answered by taking four more and
putting himself on the hill 7-2. The
match seemed all but over, but Mills
had other ideas. He began to tear
through the racks, playing perfect
shots mixed with even better safeties,
taking rack and after rack until he
had tied the match double-hill. Both
players played strong, but Mills
could not be stopped from taking the
last rack and winning the match.
After a short rest, the final match
began. Davis struck the first blow by
taking the opening rack, but Mills
answered with the next three. Again
Davis took a rack, and Mills scored
two more, taking a 5-2 lead.
Patiently, Davis kept cool, helping
him take the next two racks, but a dry
break gave Mills the opportunity to
make a 1-10 combo and stay in the
lead at 6-4. The next four racks were
split, putting Mills on the hill with
Davis trailing by two games; however, an empty break left a 2-10 combo
for Davis, who pocketed that and
then broke and ran the next rack to
tie the set on the hill. After a delicate
safety exchange over the 2 ball,
finally Mills was unable to find his
way out, fouling and giving Davis
ball in hand. With this turn of events,
Davis was able to easily clear the
remaining balls on the table and
claim first place.
With a small but solid lead over the
field, Robb Saez was announced as
the Seminole Florida Pro Tour’s
2005 Player of the Year. He amassed
the most tour points, which included
one first-place finish and several
other top placings. Dave Grossman
and Neil Fujiwara rounded out the
top three, with Grossman only 10
points ahead of Fujiwara.
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:27 PM
Page 54
A VIEW FROM THE
CHEAP SEATS
BY MARK MARGARETTEN
I DARE YOU TO PUT A QUARTER ON THAT TABLE
I
“I dare you to put a quarter on that
table.”
“That one? That one right there?
No way,” I answered and took
another sip of whiskey.
“Sally will bail you out. You
told me she would. Go ahead … put
a quarter down.” Tom was adamant
now.
“No.”
Some joints have very specific
rules about who gets the next table,
very specific indeed. Often times the
rule is on a sign or written on a
chalkboard, and other times someone tells you. This time we were just
expected to know. The table in question was number six, in the corner at
the Sandia Casino during the WPBA
U.S. Open, and Allison Fisher had
just finished beating Sarah Rousey.
We were on the road in
Albuquerque, Tom and I, just two
writers covering an event with a
photographer in tow, seven long
hours by Acura from Denver, a city
I try not to leave without good reason. Some friends of ours were playing in the U.S. Open, and after some
fast talk, we convinced our editors
to send us down there. We had
planned on taking our fly rods and
going early to get in some fishing,
but I had developed a hacking
cough, so we bagged the fishing
plans and came down to see the
weekend matches.
“What happened to your cough?
I thought you were going to hack up
a lung somewhere near Pueblo,”
Tom inquired.
“Tylenol Severe Cold Medicine
…” I started.
“That’ll take care of anything,”
he said. “One time …”
“… and cough drops,” I continued. “… and the emergency
Percocet.”
“And
you’re
drinking
whiskey! No wonder you’re not
coughing!”
“Yeah
…”
I
began.
“Remember what happened last
year? With the potato chips? With
Monica Webb? There is no way
that’s happening again, no way. I
won’t risk it. No cough can survive
all those drugs. I will not cough.
It’s just not possible.”
“That was pretty bad. I thought
she was gonna kill you. You got
out of there in a hurry.”
“I will not be ‘The Coughing
Guy,’” I said. “I just won’t be. Last
year I was ‘The Potato Chip
Crunching Guy,’ and this year I
definitely won’t be ‘The Coughing
Guy.’”
“Good idea,” said Tom. “Noise
can get you killed in this place.
Let’s go get a drink.”
“I have a drink.”
“Then let’s go get me one.”
Walking from the bar behind
the bleachers, I pulled out my program and flipped the pages. “What
did you think of that match?” I
asked, pointing to the chart I had
been scribbling in all night.
“Nothing happened. She won.
That was it. It was boring.”
“They should change the rules
a little … open the game up some
… encourage wild play,” I said,
opening my green-bottled beer.
“Since when do you drink
that?”
“A kind and understanding
woman drinks it,” I replied. “They
should change the rules, like they
do in football and baseball. It makes
for better television. They could
open up the pockets … open ‘em
wide … three balls wide … and fix
the shot clock … make it ten seconds
long … and no extensions. That’d fix
it. Every match would be crazy!
There’d balls flying all over the
place!”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Tom
replied, fiddling with his press pass,
turning it around so no one would
see it. “Have you mentioned it to
Ewa?”
“We should go find her. Let’s
find her now.”
“Perhaps you should develop the
idea …” Tom suggested, “… and
bring it up tomorrow … tonight
doesn’t seem right.”
“But she’s right over there. Look
… right there.”
“Yeah, Mark,” Tom said. “She
sure is right there. But she’s playing
… she’s playing a match. We’re at
the U.S. Open, ferchrissakes. Let’s
wait till tomorrow.”
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed,
and we walked back to the bleachers..t
“I feel better than James
Brown,” Mark is known to say, “...
and I look better, too.” From his
humble beginnings as a patentholding dot-com flyboy to his current status as a struggling author,
wannabe sommelier, and tormented
pool player, Mark’s keen sense of
drama and outrage transcend his
inability to run a rack of balls,
despite using the most beautiful cue
on earth.
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:27 PM
C
Page 56
WITC
C
?
BILL ROSENBERGER
WITC
WITC
EQUIPMENT STATS
Playing Cue:
Weight:
Shaft:
?
Joint:
Wrap:
Weight:
Hit:
WITC
regional or pro events. “My roots are still over
there, and I don’t mind the travel.”
Niels’ largest cash-in was a $64,000 prize he
netted as runner-up at the 2001 Tokyo 9-Ball
Championships. His second largest winning,
$42,500, took place at the inaugural Skins
Championship in November 2004. At the skins
event, Niels wasn’t even aware of the significance
of his third straight win. “I won my third game, but
I didn’t know how much it was worth.”
While the Skins title was huge, Niels seems
more proud to mention his three consecutive
European straight pool titles. He also took third
ROXME
NB
Y
ER
Holland’s Niels Feijen is
known as “The Terminator”
not just for the way he finishes off his opponents on
the table but also for the
ferocious look he has on his
face during matches. The
only thing missing from his
repertoire seems to be the
dark black sunglasses.
The 28-year-old has
been at the billiards table
since he was 12, spending
most of his youth playing
snooker, but when money
because an issue, he almost
stopped playing completely
until a friend introduced
him to pool. “My friend
took me to play pool. The
first tournament I played, I
got second. The next one I
got first. I liked the game
much better.”
Even though he loved
the game, he wasn’t anticipating making a career out
of it. “When I was twenty,
I was doing night school for
computers, but I was miserable.” Soon after, Niels
spoke to his dad about letting him come to the states
to try his hand in the pool
scene. Not only did his
father agree, but he even
paid for the plane ticket.
Within three years,
Niels had built an impressive resume in the U.S.,
prompting him to turn pro.
He still hasn’t moved to the
States and doesn’t think he
will. He prefers to simply
come and stay for a month
at a time, playing in major
WITC
BY
EVA
AT'SINthe ASE
H
WITC
Break Cue:
Weight:
place in the 2004 U.S. Open, as well
as defeated Thomas Engert in the
finals of the Big Apple 9-Ball
Challenge in August 2005.
Although Niels doesn’t quote
the famous line spoken by Arnold
Schwarzenegger
from
“The
Terminator,” all of his foes know he
will be back every time he heads
home to Holland. And each time he
returns, he’s sure to stare down
another victory.t
Tip:
Tip tools:
Custom-made
Longoni
19.5 ounces
Predator 314,
with a standard
diameter
Quick Lock
Xp-Joint
Irish linen
19.5 ounces
Medium
Longoni
20.5
ounces
Hard tip
Shaper, Tip Pik
Case:“It’s an old case that was made for me
a long time ago.”
In the case:
Notebook, Tip Pik,
talc powder, extra
chalk, spare contact
lenses
Advice on buying a cue:
“Try a couple different cues. Hit a couple
balls with it. Once you buy it, be patient
with it. Put a new tip on it.”
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:27 PM
Page 58
EARMARKED EDITIONS
If You Don’t Read This Book, You’re a “D” Player
by Mark Margaretten
T
This holiday
season, Samm
Diep’s
new
book, You Might
Be A D Player If
…, is the perfect
gift for any
player
who
remembers
what it was like
to start playing
pool.
Filled
with
snappy
one-liners and
hysterically
accurate observations, You
Might Be A D
Player If … will
have you and all
your teammates
laughing
for
years.
After playing dozens of
leagues and in hundreds of tournaments, Samm has managed to
capture all of pool’s hilarity in
her fully illustrated, 109-page
homage to foolish behavior
everywhere. From “insisting
your 14-year-old opponent is
sandbagging,” “shooting onehanded with a phone stuck to
your ear,” to “insisting you can’t
lose when this song is on,”
Samm has captured pool in a
way that everyone can enjoy.
Even a fast read reminded
me of early league days played
in smoky bars with warm beer
and slow rails. Back then, it was
commonplace to rest a cigarette
on the rails (#2), shoot behind
your back (#19), and roll house
cues on the table (#38). I still
chalk my cue after I miss (#34).
Oh, the horror …
“Why did I write it?” said
Samm. “At first I wanted to
write a Harry Potter story, but
my lawyer said I could get into a
lot of trouble. So I wrote this one
instead. At least no one is going
to sue me.”
Ask your local pool hall or
visit www.sammspocket.com to
pick up your copy, browse
through her extensive online
store for training aids and clothing, or just look at pictures of
Colorado’s favorite pool pixie.
Road Player: The Danny Diliberto Story
by Bob Henning
EARMARKED EDITIONS
T
This new book by Jerry Forsyth is an
inside look into the life of a road player. Told in the colorful voice of Danny
Diliberto, Road Player not only reveals
the truth about the life of a traveling
pool player, it also shows how such a
life could come to be. We rarely see
life-changing moments when they
occur, and it is only later that we can
look back upon them and know that
this or that is what caused our lives to
take the turns toward ill or good. When
Danny Diliberto set out from Buffalo
on his first road trip all those years ago,
he had no way of knowing that his life
had been permanently altered. But that
first trip to the Hustler’s Jamboree
would become the sextant for the
remainder of his life.
This collection of road stories
from the vibrant memory of Mr.
Diliberto is a great glimpse into the
lifestyle of those who choose to be
modern-day Ronins—lone-wolf warriors with no master save themselves.
There are highs beyond belief and lows
that no one should suffer. From facing
prison because of a roommate who pilfered motel towels to winning hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single gamble, this is a life story that is
anything but boring.
Diliberto excelled in four sports.
He has been a baseball player, a
bowler, a boxer, and a billiard player.
Boxing was his first love but one that
did not return his favors. An excellent
puncher, his own hands could not stand
the power of his blows.
It was billiards that gave him his
greatest fame and the life described
herein. Any devotee of the game will
find Road Player a fascinating look into
the immediate past of the game. From
Las Vegas to Hollywood to the smallest
towns on the most distant highways, this
book chronicles the life of the roadman.
A gambler’s tale in his own words.
December2005LORES
12:27 PM
Page 60
H
EAGUE EPORT
OF THE
EAGUE PLAYER MONTH
L L
Hank Dowdell
has been playing in the APA
League
of
South Pinellas County, FL,
for more than ten years, with
over 500 lifetime matches
under his belt. He plays two
nights a week, shooting in
both a 9-ball division on
Monday nights and an 8-ball
division on Wednesdays, and
is currently ranked a skill
level 6 in both formats. He
always participates in the
many APA events and tournaments that are held locally
and regionally each year.
As an active participant
in the APA Singles Program,
he has won local single
qualifier boards to advance
L E A G U E
P L A Y E R
o f
t h e
M O N T H
LPM
12/14/05
R
to the regional level several
times in his 10 years of playing.
Hank personally runs single
qualifier boards at least twice
every month, which has resulted
in over 50 players becoming
qualified in 2005 to compete at
the regional level. For his
efforts, his fellow APA members
are grateful. Hank recently finished competing in his first U.S.
Amateur preliminary round. He
didn’t advance to the championship round but is making
plans for next year! He is an
active member of the Local
Board of Governors, as well as a
division rep for Wednesday
night 8-ball. Hank has also volunteered his time for the last
three years at the local team
championships to be a referee.
“Hank has a great outlook on playing pool and life
in general,”
said
his
league operators, Mike
and Carol
K o n a k .
Hank
Hank has
Dowdell
been heard
saying, “The next best thing
to playing pool and winning
is playing pool and losing.”
Hank also enjoys the outdoors, playing poker, and
building plastic models.
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:27 PM
Page 62
INDUSTRYNEWS
The American CueSports
Alliance (ACS) is pleased to
announce its partnership with
McDermott Handcrafted Cues
in presenting the McDermott
All American Tour for
2005/2006. Weekend tournaments featuring either 8-ball
or 9-ball will be produced
throughout the United States
in rooms that are ACS
Proprietor Members or that
host ACS leagues. Each event
will be supported with
American-made
products
from one of the most respected names in billiard sports—
McDermott
Handcrafted
Cues.
ACS Executive Director
John Lewis remarked, “ACS
presenting the McDermott All
American Tour is another in a
series of proactive programs
that serves the purpose of
offering added benefits to
ACS members, in addition to
referee, coaching, youth, and
Olympic programs that will
further the credibility of our
sport to all billiard participants in the years to come.”
Each event is open to any
amateur player, and membership to ACS is not required.
All prize money will be paid
out onsite, as in a typical tournament, but the highest-plac62 InsidePOOL Magazine - December 2005
either the 2006 ACS National
8-Ball Championships or the
2006 ACS National 9-Ball
Championships.
McDermott’s Executive
Vice President and COO Nat
Rosasco added, “Joining with
the ACS in producing the tour
provides our company with
another opportunity to aggressively expand our McDermott
line of products to another
level of consumer and expand
our dealer network at the
same time.”
Supporting sponsors for
the tour also include Silver
Cup Chalk (chalk) and PJ’s
Billiard Supply Co. (cloth).
Dates and openings for further
tour stops are still available
for qualified billiard establishments. For further information on the McDermott All
American Tour, contact the
ACS
at
920-662-1705,
www.americancuesports.org
or www.mcdermottcue.com.
Hurricane Relief
Donation From
Scorpion Cues
Scorpion Cues will donate
$3,120 to the American Red
Cross for ongoing relief
efforts in Louisiana after
Hurricane Katrina. The contribution comes directly from
the proceeds of a recent sale
held by CueStix International,
Inc., during the month of
October.
“We wanted to contribute
somehow, and our customers
really stepped up to the plate,”
said Eric Weber, vice president
of CueStix International. “I
expected it, to be honest,
because I know what kind of
people our customers are, but it
makes you proud to being
doing business with these folks
nonetheless. It was a fantastic
response.”
Scorpion Cues are manufactured and distributed by
CueStix International, Inc.
Visit
them
online
at
www.scorpioncues.com.
Westwood
Billiards Signs
Ga-Young Kim
Westwood Billiards has
announced that an agreement
has been reached with GaYoung Kim for her to represent
Westwood Billiards on the
WPBA Tour and internationally.
Having competed all over
the world, Kim joined the
WPBA in 2004 and won the
2004 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball
Championship,
defeating
Karen Corr in the finals.
Currently ranked number three
by the WPBA, the “Little Devil
Girl” is gaining popularity with
every tournament she competes
in and is sure to be a force on
the women’s tours for years to
come.
“When the fastest-growing
star in professional billiards
teams up with the fastest-growing billiards company in the
industry, you know you’ve got
a great combination,” said Lou
Ferris, president of Westwood
Billiards. “As wonderful as GaYoung is as a player, she is
even more delightful as a person.”
Kim
will
represent
Westwood on tour, as well as
making appearances for them
at the BCA show in Houston
and at Westwood’s private
dealer show in Orlando next
summer. She will also act as
spokesperson in their advertising and will be available to
Westwood’s dealers for personal appearances as her time permits.
Westwood Billiards is the
fastest-growing table manufacturer in the U.S., offering “best
in class” tables of exceptional
quality that are reasonably
priced.
Their
innovative
approach has proven to be a
winner for dealers who carry
their line of tables, and like
Kim, they plan to continue their
climb towards the top.
INDUSTRY NEWS
INDUSTRY NEWS
ACS PRESENTS THE ing ACS member in each
event will receive a free entry
MCDERMOTT ALL
into the singles division of
AMERICAN TOUR
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:29 PM
Page 64
INDUSTRY NEWS
Simonis to
Sponsor Two
Tours
Simonis Cloth is proud to
announce that they will be
sponsoring both the Stan
James Canadian 9-Ball Tour
and the Showdown Tour.
Based in Gibraltar, Stan
James Sports Bookmakers is
one of largest and most
respected names in online
sports wagering. They are no
strangers to the billiard world,
having been involved in sponsoring events such as the
WPA
World
9-Ball
Championships, the World
Masters, and the Mosconi
Cup.
The Stan James Canadian
9-Ball Tour is the first of its
kind in Canada. Each event
carries a prize fund of over
$15,000 and has a point system that will establish a
nationally recognized ranking
list for Canadian competitors.
Sanctioned by the Canadian
Billiards
and
Snooker
Association (CBSA) and the
World Pool Association
(WPA), this ranking list
will serve as a guideline
for player selection any
time international billiard events are concerned. The top two
finishers this season will also rep64 InsidePOOL Magazine - December 2005
resent Canada in the WPA
World
9-Bball
Championships slated for
Taipei in the summer of 2006.
The Simonis Showdown
Tour is sanctioned by and in
partnership with the Ontario
Billiard
and
Snooker
Association. This tour will
consist of five events, each
carrying a direct entry and
flight to the Canadian
Championship to be held
in Edmonton, Alberta, in
June 2006. The main
event will be the
O n t a r i o
Championships
with
$4,000
added.
American
Heritage
Line
Smith
&
Wesson is proud to
announce the arrival of
their new cue line,
“American Heritage,” to
compliment their existing
production line of Player,
Performance,
Heritage,
snooker, and carom cues. This
line
is
100% made
in the U.S.
and
emphasizes
handselected exotic
hard
woods,
patented performance features, and
sleek new designs and
inlays.
This line also features
solid hard wood forearms
and butts with a doublepressed Irish linen wrap and a
titanium and composite joint.
The shafts for this lines are
made from hand-selected
Canadian hard rock maple and
are fitted with a melamine ferrule and a Triangle tip. Truly
unique is their Advanced
Variable
Weight
System
(AVWS). Unlike traditional
weight bolts or other adjustable
weight systems, the Smith &
Wesson AVWS is a series of
three individually inset weight
bolts set inside the butt, up
under the wrap, allowing the
player to change the weight of
the cue in one-ounce intervals,
without effecting balance,
stroke, cue length, or performance. The Smith & Wesson
AVWS is standard on the
Performance, Heritage, and
American Heritage cues.
Visit www.smithandwessonbilliards.com to view the
complete line. Dealer inquiries
should be directed to Cue &
Case Sales in St. Augustine, FL.
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:29 PM
Page 66
R
R
EGIONAL OUNDUP
NORTHEAST
BROTHERS AND WILKIE WIN N.U.T.S. PLAYOFF
by Andy Lincoln
The Tiger Planet Pool Tour returned
to the beautiful Great Slates Pool Room
in Cambridge, MD, October 1, for the
New Unified Tour System regional playoffs. Players qualified for this event
throughout the year in both the amateur
8-ball and open 9-ball divisions. On the
line for this event was an added $1,600
from the host room and sponsors, as
well as eight coveted spots in each division for the national N.U.T.S. event in
2006. To top things off, there was also a
choice of paid entries into the BCA
Open, the Glass City Open, the Derby
City Classic, or the Tiger Planet Pool
Tour year-end finale.
The 9-ball and 8-ball divisions held
independent events that ran side by side.
Each division held 10-ball games to decide
the player fields for both divisions. All
players received 20 poker chips to start,
and the ante in the first round was 1 chip
with 4 or 5 players per table. As the tournament progressed, the ante was raised for
each round of 60 minutes. When a player
ran out of chips, they became spectators.
The 8-ball division event first worked
its way down to six players at the final
table. Young gun Brandon Shuff suffered a
short losing streak and wound up in fourth.
Tour sponsor Jim Parker took the next exit,
leaving Stacey Sudler to take on early
favorite Josh Brothers. A few games later at
a hefty 40 chips per game, Brothers came
out on top. First place yielded $350, and
Brothers took a paid entry into the 2006
BCA Open.
The 9-ball division saw seven wellmatched players battle for an entire round
with no eliminations. In the next round, a
10-ball on the break by Shaun Wilkie
eliminated both Jeremy Montgomery and
Kevin West. This left the final table, consisting of Chris Comstock, Walter Koch,
Nick Prinsloo, and Brett Stottlemyer joining Wilkie. By this time, Wilkie had
defeated Comstock, Koch, and Prinsloo to
go head to head with Stottlemyer. It was
over in a few games, and Wilkie earned
$400 and chose the BCA Open entry.
CAMBRIDGE, MD / TIGER PLANET POOL 9-BALL TOUR
Young sharpshooter Ellen Yu dazzled all in attendance at the Tiger
Planet Pool Tour in Cambridge, MD,
Oct 1-2 inside the Great Slates Pool
Room. While Saturday saw the debut
of 10-ball ring games for the National
United Tour System’s regional playoff,
Sunday was a regular women’s division 9-ball points event.
Yu worked her way through the
first two rounds to meet up with tour
regular Kathleen Lawless, who had
managed a tough win over 26-0 legacy
Pamela Treadway. Yu emerged from
her battle with Lawless to face off with
Ellen Yu
Nicole Vincent in the hot seat match.
Vincent played very well, almost her
best on the tour, and she made the most
of it as she comfortably slid into the hot
seat with a 7-6 win.
Quickly returning from the elimination bracket abyss, Yu took a victory
over Malea Haacke in the semifinals.
Yu, not willing to falter this time
around, commandeered the match and
won the single-set final against
Vincent. This was Yu’s second title on
the tour and she received a first-place
prize that paid $300, while Vincent
received $190 for second place.
RHEE GIVES FREE LESSONS TO COMPETITORS
Rhee and Lac went at it, and although
Lac thought she was prepared, Rhee just cut
her off with a close 7-6 victory.
In the west side of the chart, Haacke
defeated Treadway 5-3 to put her into
fourth place. Haacke gained her revenge
over Lac 5-2, earning the chance to take on
Rhee.
In the single-set, final race to 9, Rhee
was hurting with a 2-4 deficit. This only
lasted for about a game, until she decided to
HAGERSTOWN, MD / TIGER PLANET POOL 9-BALL TOUR
RR NE
On Sunday, Wilkie advanced to
the hot seat match with a 9-7 win over
B.J. Ussery, where a 9-6 win over
McCreesh left him waiting for an
opponent in the finals. Lee Holt was
by Andy Lincoln
The Tiger Planet Pool 9-Ball
Tour headed up to Hagerstown
Billiards October 22-23 to compete
on 18 Brunswick Gold Crowns.
There were 66 open division
entrants on Sunday fighting for the
$2,000 added prize money, but of
them, Shaun Wilkie fared the best.
Wilkie came out strong and
undefeated, with a couple of easy
wins and a 9-5 victory over points
leader Mike Davis. Also rolling
was Kevin West, who won his
three matches by a combined score
of 27-1.
Shaun Wilkie
shifted gears,
winning the
match
9-5, 1st Sueyen Rhee
along
with 2nd Malea Haacke
3rd My-Hanh Lac
$430
RESULTS
4th Pamela Treadway
RESULTS
also having a
nice run with
1st Shawn Wilkie
wins over Sudler,
2nd Ryan McCreesh
West,
and
3rd Lee Holt
Ussery,
but
4th Brett Stottlemyer
5th Ed Deska
McCreesh put an
B.J. Ussery
end to Holt’s
7th Kevin West
event with a 7-3
Walter Koch
win to take on
Wilkie again.
In the finals, these two traded
game for game, and a crushing break
followed by a routine run-out put the
score at 10-10. A missed safety by
Wilkie followed by a botched 6 ball by
McCreesh led to the victory for Wilkie.
QUEEN OF THE HILL
GLENN FALLS, NY / JOSS NORTHEAST 9-BALL TOUR
by Matt Pingor
The Joss
Northeast 9-Ball
Tour took its
1st Karen Corr
second stop way
2nd Mike Zuglan
up in the moun3rd Danny Basavich
tains October 84th Mike Hurley
9 to Adirondack
5th Dave Vorano
Billiards Club in
Pierre Saove
7th Tim Persian
Glenn
Falls,
Julie Kelly
NY. Karen Corr,
with cue in
hand, laid claim
at the summit of 36 other players, winning
for the second time on the tour.
Undefeated throughout the event, Corr
displayed little doubt, even when
Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich had
her down with a 5-2 lead. She snapped
out of that slump and took the match 98, moving on to watch the “B”-side and
eye up would be opponents.
Tour director Mike Zuglan faced
Basavich in the semifinal match.
Zuglan traded game for game with
Basavich before winning 9-7.
Corr’s climb to the top was not easy, as
Zuglan played an amazing match, tailing her in nearly every other game.
Corr reached the summit unscathed and
became $1,360 richer when she finished Zuglan off 9-8.
Karen Corr
MCMAHON CONQUERS CWPT
WATERLOO, ONT / TIGER CANADIAN WOMEN’S POOL TOUR
by Matt Pingor
Anita McMahon dominated a 26player field during the latest Tiger
Canadian Women’s Pool Tour
October 22–23, 2005. Dooly’s in
Waterloo watched as she won her
third consecutive WPBA qualifi- 1st
2nd
er.
3rd
Making her presence known, 4th
McMahon claimed the hot seat, 5th
sending Terri Mason to the one- 7th
loss bracket.
WPBA pro player Maureen
Seto was ready to take on some action
on the “B”-side with Naomi
“Cruncher” Williams. Williams fought
long and hard to come back on Sunday.
Her power break and skill was proven
in this match when she put Seto down
in fourth place.
The semifinals
saw Mason challenge Williams. With
Anita McMahon
a 6-4 lead, Williams
Naomi Williams
held her ground.
Terri Mason
Mason
tried
to
Maureen Seto
Grace Nakamura
defend herself, but
Loureen Toutant
instead
she
set
Sharlene Watkinson
Williams up for an
easy combo.
Taking the combo, Williams won and
moved up to take on McMahon.
In the finals, McMahon was in
total control because of a miscue by
RESULTS
HAGERSTOWN, MD / TIGER PLANET POOL 9-BALL TOUR
by InsidePOOL Staff
Most of the top ten women’s division
point’s leaders were in Hagerstown, MD, for the
Tiger Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour October 23.
Dominating a well-stocked field of 21 players was
Sueyen Rhee.
The final four on the winners’ side came
down to a strong group with Rhee taking on
points leader Pamela Treadway and overcoming a
0-4 deficit to win 7-5. Malea Haacke faced MyHanh Lac, with Lac cruising to a 7-2 win.
WILKIE RISES ON THE TIGER TOUR
RESULTS
YU COMES THROUGH ON THE TIGER TOUR
by Andy Lincoln
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
Williams, tough hooks, and a combo
shot. With a 7-1 final score, Williams
settled for second place, and McMahon
won the Bell custom cue WPBA qualifier event.
C T . D E . M A . M D . M E . N H . N J . N Y. O H . P A . R I . V T .
CAMBRIDGE, MD / TIGER PLANET POOL TOUR
NORTHEAST
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:30 PM
Page 68
NORTHEAST
InsidePOOL
HATS OFF TO HEWITT
WINS STAN JAMES CANADIAN 9-BALL EVENT
RR NE
by Stan James Staff
The Stan James Canadian 9-Ball
Tour, co-sponsored by Falcon Cues
and Simonis Cloth and held at Pool
Paradise October 22-23 in Waterloo,
ONT, found a winner in Danny
Hewitt. Hewitt played flawlessly in
his final match against Edwin Montal
and gave Montal no air, defeating him
11-1. Montal had just delivered a similar message of his own by defeating
Harold Rousseau in the semifinals 91. Indeed, the knowledgeable crowd
that filled the venue had picked
Montal as their favorite to win after
that display. But Hewitt started strong
and only grew more powerful as the
match progressed. His shots found the
back of every pocket, and his position
play kept him in comfortable territory
throughout the match.
Hewitt’s record certainly displayed the power required to win. It
was he who had already retired another pre-tournament favorite, Erik
Hjorliefson, into a seventh-place position earlier in
the day when Edwin Montal
he pulled away
late in a tight
match to win 97. Since being
relegated to the
one-loss bracket on Saturday
by
Montal,
Hewitt
had
been outrunning everyone
he faced. With
notable victories over both
Bob Chaperon
and
Al
Loughheed,
Hewitt kept strengthening with every
match.
When Hewitt played Cliff
Thorburn he faced another strongman
and dominated him, winning the
match 9-4. Canadian Sports Hall of
Famer Thorburn had been placed on
the shot clock as a result of his slow
play, and while his shotmaking
seemed to even
improve with the
clock, his ability
to outlast an
opponent was no
longer in play,
and
Hewitt
never had his
pace impacted.
Thorburn settled
for fourth place.
H a r o l d
Rousseau, the
c u r r e n t
C a n a d i a n
national champion, was another Danny Hewitt
player having a
good tournament. It was he who had
handed first losses to Thorburn, Tyler
Edey, and Brady Gollan. None of these
top cues had even come close to besting him. Then he faced off with Montal
for the hot seat, where the Filipino
completely mastered the table and
destroyed Rousseau 9-1. During most
of the match
Rousseau was
forced into the
role of spectator as Montal
ran his way
through
the
racks.
Rousseau
went on to the
semifinal
match against
Hewitt for the
opportunity to
play in the
final against
Montal. This
was one of the
closest matches of the entire tournament. Hewitt and
Rousseau remained locked in a dead
heat all the way out to the end of the
scoreline. They were tied at 4 apiece,
then at 5, 6, and 7 games each before
Hewitt pulled away at the last and won
the match 9-7.
The final match between Hewitt
and Montal only began close. After an
initial tie at 1 game apiece, Hewitt
dominated the table and ran rack after
rack. The racks he could not run he
controlled, and he always managed to
bring himself back to the table. He
won 10 straight games in the expanded final round to take the Stan James
title 11-1 over a shell-shocked Montal.
Montal said, “I never got to shoot! He
was too good. But I had a good week,
too. I got some nice points here, and
it’s all about the points, now.”
The reserved Danny Hewitt
remained low-key in victory. He
thanked the sponsors, especially Stan
James, and said only, “I played well
today.” As tour organizer Jim Wych
handed out the prize checks, he was
already making plans for the rest of
the stops. Wych shared his dream for
the tour: “If I could have my wish list
for pool, it would be to turn players
into celebrities and raise
the level of
1st Danny Hewitt
awareness for
2nd Edwin Montal
all the play3rd Harold Rousseau
ers, not just
4th Cliff Thorburn
5th Brady Gollan
in Canada but
Jeff White
around the
7th Erik Hjorliefson
world. And
D.J. McGinley
the way you
do that is to bring more great events
into the game and have a forum where
you can display these guys and their
skills.”
RESULTS
So why would you want to go anywhere else?
InsidePOOL Magazine, the number one billiards magazine for the best price: 10 issues for
$19.99. That is all the lastest pool news, professional instruction by some of your favorite players, extraordinary writing, and comprehensive coverage for less than $2 an issue. Take your
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#
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:30 PM
Page 70
NORTHEAST
NORTHEAST
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS NORTHEAST
Date
Tournament
Venue
City, ST
Contact
$ Added
Eligibility
12/3-4
Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour
Diamond Eight Billiards
Lathan, NY
518-786-8048
$2,000
Open
12/3-4
J. Pechauer Women’s 9-Ball Tour Clifton Billiards
Clifton, NJ
508-699-5627
TBA
Open
12/4
Blaze 9-Ball Tour
Southside Billiards
Altoona, PA
814-949-2630
$1,000
Open
12/4
J. Pechauer New England A/B
Fast Break Billiards
Plainville, MA
508-699-5627
$1,000
Open
12/4
New England Invitational B Series Snooker’s Café & Billiards
Providence, RI
401-351-7665
$1,000
Amateur
12/11
New England Invitational B Series World Championship Billiards
Manchester, CT
860-646-8682
$1,000
Amateur
RR NE
12/10-11 Blaze Tour Championship
Drexeline Billiards
Drexel Hill, PA
610-259-9144
$10,000
Open
12/11
Branford Cue & Brew
Branford, CT
203-483-1388
$1,000
Open
12/18
World Championship Billiards
Manchester, CT
860-646-8682
$1,000
Open
1/21-22
Comet Billiards
Parsippany, NJ
973-334-7429
$3,000
Open
1/28-29
Canadian 10K Tour
Pool Paradise
Waterloo, ONT
519-884-4969
TBA
Open
1/28-29
Snooker’s Café & Billiards
Providence, RI
401-351-7665
$5,000
Open
1/29-30
Tiger Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour
Champion Billiards Café
Laurel, MD
702-282-0912
$2,000
Open
2/11-12
Cap’s Cue Club
Syracuse, NY
315-701-0101
$1,500
Open
2/12-13
First Break Café
Sterling, VA
702-282-0912
$500
Open
2/16-19
Turning Stone Classic 9-Ball
Turning Stone Casino
Verona, NY
518-356-7163
TBA
Open
2/25-26
Stan James Canadian 9-Ball Tour The Q Club
Edmonton, ALB
905-469-8303
$1,500
Open
2/26-27
Bill & Billies Cuesports
Arnold, MD
702-282-0912
$2,500
Open
3/12-13
Break Time Sports Grill and Pub
Salisbury, MD
702-282-0912
$500
Open
3/12-13
Break Time Sports Grill and Pub
Salisbury, MD
702-282-0912
$2,000
Open
3/25-26
Canadian 10K Tour
Stroker’s Billiards
London, ONT
519-641-6067
TBA
Open
3/25-26
Stan James Canadian 9-Ball Tour Dooly’s Billiards
Valleyfield, QBC
905-469-8303
$1,500
Open
4/2-3
Shirlington, VA
702-282-0912
$500
Open
4/11-15
Stan James Canadian 9-Ball Tour The Olympic Oval
Calgary, ALB
905-469-8303
TBA
Open
Champion Billiards Café
RR NE
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:30 PM
Page 72
R
R
EGIONAL OUNDUP
SOUTHEAST
USSERY SINGS IN SAVANNAH
by InsidePOOL Staff
Savannah,
GA’s,
Southside
Billiard Club is known for consistently
strong turnouts. Hosting a tough 44player field, this was proven true during the J. Pechauer Custom Cues
Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour October 12, as B.J. Ussery pressed on to victory.
In the hot seat match B.J. Ussery
took on tour director Tommy Kennedy.
Early on, the race to 9 was tight, but
Ussery would not let Kennedy come
out ahead, exploiting his opponent’s
mistakes
to
win 9-5.
1st B.J.Ussery
The semi- 2nd Neil Fujiwara
finals
gave 3rd Tommy Kennedy
Kennedy one 4th Steve Moore
more chance 5th Bruce Berrong
David Grossman
as he faced
Jacksonville, FL’s, Neil Fujiwara.
Anxious for another win, Fujiwara sent
Kennedy back to his director duties
right quick with a 9-5 finish.
Granted the will to sing out in
Savannah, Ussery sustained determina-
RESULTS
tion throughout the event, as he
claimed an intense 11-9 victory over
Fujiwara. As most of his previous racks
went, Ussery also quickly pocketed the
first-place prize of $1,000.
B.J. Ussery
HALL TOPS FURY FIELD AGAIN
TAMPA, FL / KBP FURY AMATEUR 9-BALL TOUR
by J.A. Barnes
October 2, 2005, the Fury
Amateur Tour had Planet 9Ball in Tampa, FL, full with
action, brought on by Justin
Hall’s 9-8 win over Adam
Wheeler. His success was
warranted following a tight
race to the last rack.
Fifty players eventually
distilled to a four-man winners’ bracket, with Hall facing
Wheeler as Brian Davalos was
RESULTS
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
Justin Hall
Adam Wheeler
Brian Davalos
Elvis Rodriguez
Robert Noon
Louis Altes
7th Mike Caron
Bill Bloom
9th Frank Zummo
Cal McGann
Danny Sheldon
Jim Oddy
matched with Robert
Noon. Hall won 7-5,
while Davalos took a hillhill nailbiter, setting him
up to face Hall in the hot
seat match. Capitalizing
on his opponent’s mistakes, Hall closed out that
match
7-1,
sending
Davalos to the semis.
On the “B”-side,
Wheeler soon made short
work of Elvis Rodriguez
in the final match, winning 5-4 and
advancing to the semis against Davalos,
only to take that match 5-0.
In focus for a rematch with Wheeler,
Hall used his ability to make omni-present run-outs, earning a 3-0 lead. Not willing to go easy, Wheeler shadowed him
tightly all the way to an even race of 8-8.
Wheeler now had his chance with a ball
in hand, he missed shape on the 4 ball
and put the 9 near the pocket, allowing
Hall to draw the cue off the 4 into the 9
for a successful carom and a 9-8 win.
HOMEROOM COMEBACK FOR DANIEL
LONGWOOD, FL / KBP FURY AMATEUR 9-BALL TOUR
by J.A. Barnes
Forty-eight players converged
October 16, 2005, at Fastbreak Billiards
in Longwood, FL, for the KBP Fury
Amateur 9-Ball Tour. Several young and
talented local players made their stand,
but none prospered as Tim Daniels did.
Running to the hot seat match were
Dan Briggs and Ray Pollanz. Briggs was
hitting heavy, sending Adam Wheeler,
Justin Hall, and Josh Lewis to the left
side on his way. Shooting steady to meet
him was Pollanz, who left a string of
players in his wake. Pollanz had more
firepower going into the hot seat match
and dismissed
Briggs 7-3.
1st Tim Daniel
While peo2nd Ray Pollanz
ple were drop3rd Dan Briggs
4th Justin Hall
ping off the win5th Josh Lewis
ners’ side, they
Julio Aquino
were
running
7th Adam Wheeler
Richard Murray
into
an
9th Steve Foster
indomitable
Jim Sandaler
match in Tim
Daniel, who was right at home at
Fastbreak as the house manager. Daniel
found himself on the losing end of a hillhill match with Justin Hall in the first
round but was undeterred. Daniel had
RESULTS
won the last Fury event held in his homeroom and was making a bid to win this
one as well.
With five match games under his
belt and a narrow 5-4 triumph over
Wheeler, Daniel then took a 5-3 win over
Lewis. Daniel played his next match double-hill with Hall but prevailed to make
his eighth win in a row, gaining him a
spot in the semifinals against Briggs.
With the finish line in his sights, Daniel
swiftly shot down Briggs with a 5-1 win.
Making for a true comeback story, Daniel
continued his quest in the final against
Pollanz and dominated to a 9-4 win.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
DEKLERCK’S STORMING REIGN CONTINUES
TAMPA, FL / NATIONAL WHEELCHAIR PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION
by Bob Hunt
Even when it rains, the weather in
Tampa, FL, is always beautiful and a perfect place to hold this year’s National
Wheelchair Players Association events.
The “climate” was just right for Kurt
Deklerck as he reigned over the competition. The NWPA built an eight-day venue
of solid competition at Planet 9-Ball,
with 45 of the greatest international
wheelchair players, including six from
Europe.
Play lasted for four long hard days
before the final four of the nationals
came down to Deklerck, Charlie Hans,
Bob Calderon, and last year’s winner,
Aaron Aragon. All of these well-known
players are champions of the sport.
Deklerck hails from Belgium and carries
a record of 214 victories.
Aragon dealt Deklerck his first loss
of the event, sending him into the left
RR SE
4. Belgium’s Deklerck took home the
NWPA national title and now holds 215
titles.
Calderon and Hans earned the pleasure of playing with the ladies of pool on
the special ESPN television event. Lori
Jon Jones, a world champion and Hall of
Famer partnered with wheelchair Hall of
Famer Calderon to play Hans and his pro
partner Tiffany Nelson.
Nelson is an explosively
solid player who takes
no prisoners. Local play1st Kurt Deklerck
ers also had the opportubracket. There he faced Hans, 2nd Aaron Aragon
nity to play Nelson, Ewa
and their match went hill-hill. 3rd Bob Calderon
Lawrence, Buddy Hall,
Hans missed the 9 ball, leaving 4th Charlie Hans
and Jones in a fun fundthe final shot hanging precariraising event for the NWPA. The main
ously on the corner pocket shelf.
prize for the televised event is bragging
Graciously conceding, Hans opened
rights, which right now belong to Nelson
the door as Deklerck entered the ESPN
and Hans thanks to their 5-3 win.
final round with Aragon. Deklerck took
his revenge when he defeated Aragon 7Kurt Deklerck, Ken Force
RESULTS
DAVALOS DOMINATES IN DELRAY
DELRAY, FL / J. PECHAUER SOUTHEAST OPEN 9-BALL TOUR
by InsidePOOL Staff
Brian Davalos left Delray, FL, in
awe of his skills at the J. Pechauer
Custom Cues Southeast Open 9-Ball
Tour, October 15-16. Jump Shots Sports
Bar and Billiards hosted a field of 52
competitors upon ten 9-foot, pocket-riddled altars.
As the chart whittled down, Nathan
Rose battled Davalos for the hot seat.
This close match tested the players’
RESULTS
nerves and proved
Davalos the victor
1st Brian Davalos
9-8.
2nd Nathan Rose
Rising from
3rd Phil Rosen
the quarterfinals
4th Mike Williams
5th Randy Epperson was Phil Rosen
Bob Zide
with a 9-6 win
7th Tom Kennedy
over
Mike
Chris Clark
Williams. Rose
was hungry for his own resurrection
when he was paired with Rosen in the
semifinals. Keeping his game tight, Rose
climbed out, winning 9-6.
Coming out of the west end, readied
by a skill-filled event, Rose faced
Davalos. They both played an outstanding match, but the hill was no place for
Rose as Davalos came out on top with an
11-7 triumph, taking the fans in Delray,
as well as the $1,000 prize.
NELSON STORMS THROUGH FURY FIELD
TAMPA, FL / KBP FURY LADIES’ 9-BALL TOUR
by J.A. Barnes
Planet 9-Ball in Tampa, FL, was full
of energy as it hosted the KBP Fury
Amateur 9-Ball Tour, October 1. Jennifer
Nelson came out unscathed, showing no
mercy in the 15-player field.
Nelson took wins over Patti
Mitchell, Helen Caukin, and Mary
Reinhardt to earn a space in the hot seat
match against Ellen Van Buren, who she
scorched 7-1.
RESULTS
Van
Buren
moved to the “B”- 1st Jennifer Nelson
side
to
meet 2nd Ellen Van Buren
Caukin, who had 3rd Helene Caukin
recovered from her
own loss to Nelson when she took out the
rest of the left bracket to make it to the
semifinals. The race was tight, as Caukin
took a sharp 9 ball combo, and Van Buren
fought back by putting the three-foul rule
into effect on Caukin. The ladies fought
to double-hill, and Van Buren gained a 54 victory.
Van Buren showed nerves in the
finals, missing the 9 ball in the first two
racks. Nelson gave Van Buren a few shots
at safeties and the break but wasn't letting
up in her run-outs. Each rack disappeared
at Nelson's hands as she ran down to the
9 and sank it for another game. The finals
were over with the best score of the season on the ladies’ side, 9-1.
A L . F L . G A . K Y. M S . N C . S C . T N . VA . W V.
SAVANNAH, GA / J. PECHAUER SOUTHEAST OPEN 9-BALL TOUR
SOUTHEAST
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:32 PM
Page 74
SOUTHEAST
SOUTHEAST
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
SEAVER UNDEFEATED IN FLORIDA
by J.A. Barnes
Twenty-six ladies met at Wally’s
Sports & Billiards in Lakeland, FL, for the
Ladies Spirit Tour’s latest stop, October 22,
2005. A $2,300 purse was in play. To
accommodate for oncoming hurricane
Wilma, the ladies voted to make this a oneday event with a race-to-9 finals instead of
the normal double-elimination two-day format.
By the evening, Jeannie Seaver was
just finishing off a 7-2 win over Ellen Van
Buren to secure a chance in the hot seat
match. Meeting her was Tracie Hines, who
had just taken a 7-0 victory over Bonnie
TAMPA, FL / THIRD ANNUAL PATRIOT CUP
Rodil, McCormick went on to defeat
Coats. Seaver and
Heather Barkley 7-6, Niki Rasmussen
Hines battled back and
7-4, Coats 7-5, and rounded out her
forth in the first six
1st Jeannie Seaver
2nd Tracie Hines
winnings with a 7-4 victory against
racks, tying the score
3rd Crystal McCormick Debbie Schjodt.
at 3-3, but Seaver
4th Debbie Schjodt
McCormick then met Hines in the
made her move in the
5th Ellen Van Buren
semifinals, but Hines ended her aspiranext rack and took the
Bonnie Coats
tions abruptly with a 7-0 shutout.
last four games in a
7th Niki Rasmussen
Kimiko Yamauchi
With Seaver and Hines bringing their
row to close the set at
9th Heather Barkley
strong offensive skills to the finals and
7-3.
Lisa Hamilton
neither giving an inch, the match went
In the “B”-side,
Jessica Barnes
down to the wire. After a superb shot on
Crystal McCormick
Helene Caukin
the 8 to get in line for the 9 ball, Seaver
was on her game and
claimed her first season win 9-7 and
making a nice recovery after an early loss to
took home a $700 payday.
Hines. Staging a 7-6 comeback over Alex
RESULTS
NOON SCORES WIN ON FURY TOUR
TAMPA, FL / KBP FURY AMATEUR 9-BALL TOUR
by J.A. Barnes
Rio. He then secured his spot in the
Forty-five players returned to hot seat match with a 7-3 victory
Planet 9-Ball for the October 23
over Jose Ybarra.
KBP Fury Amateur
Young debuting Fury Tour
RESULTS competitor
9-Ball Tour. Just as
Josh
Lewis
Hurricane Wilma 1st Robert Noon
brought out the big guns for a
was throwing a tor- 2nd Brett Lykens
7-0 takedown of Elvis
nado towards his 3rd Josh Lewis
Rodriguez, making it into the
hometown
of 4th Jose Ybarra
hot seat match against Noon.
5th James Roberts
Lakeland, Robert
When Noon and Lewis
Elvis Rodriguez
Noon steered clear 7th Jim Sandaler
met it was a match up of oppoTracie Hines
of the drive home by
site styles, with Lewis having
staying in the wina fast and loose quality and
ners’ bracket at the tournament.
Noon being a more methodical
Second-ranked Noon started the player. When the cards were all
day off with close wins over Rick dealt, Noon was the one to score the
Rogers, Jeff Miller, and Jose Del most games, winning the match 7-4.
Soon after, Lewis was sent to
the “B”-side semifinals where he
met Brett Lykens. Lykens found a
tough match in Lewis and narrowly
escaped 5-4 to make it to the finals.
Patiently waiting for an opponent, Noon made a deposit of five
winning racks in a row on Lykens
to start off the race-to-9 finals.
Lykens returned by winning three
of the next four games to trail by
half at 6-3, but Noon kept on top of
the match and stayed ahead. Lykens
posted another three wins, but
Noon beat him to the finish, scoring
another three games of his own to
take the set 9-6.
ASHCRAFT RUNS THE SHOW
LIVONIA, MI / VIKING CUE 9-BALL TOUR
pense. Smith did not
by Matt Pingor
Brandon Ashcraft left Livonia, go easy, shadowing
MI, victorious following the Viking Ashcraft almost game 1st Brandon Ashcraft
9-Ball Tour October 8-9. An excit- for game before sub- 2nd Adam Smith
3rd Jim Davis
siding 9-8.
ed crowd filled The
4th Aaron Toth
A fierce 5th Craig McPartlin
Rack to watch the 20 Brandon Ashcraft
S m i t h
consistently filled tables
Luke Jacko
channeled 7th Mart Sawinski
dim down to the light of
Pat White
his energy
one decisive match.
into
the
Working towards
semifinals when he
the hot seat, Ashcraft
paired up with Jim Davis.
and Adam Smith kept
Only permitting Davis to
the spectators in sus-
RESULTS
use his cue once, Smith ran
Davis into the ground with
a 9-0 triumph.
Smith did not have it so
easy in the next match. He
managed two games, but
Ashcraft put him away
almost as clean as Smith
did Davis and won 9-2 in
the finals.
by Inside Pool Staff
North met South for the third
time in an epic battle for bragging
rights at the Third Annual Patriot
Cup, held October 1-2. The Viking
North
team
came away victorious, defending their title
against
the
Image
Que
South team.
The North
comprised captain Tony “The
Silent Assassin” Robles, heading up
Mika Immonen of Finland, Mike
Davis, Danny Basavich, Shawn
Putnam, and Tiffany Nelson.
Johnny Archer, the captain of the
Southern
team,
commanded
Charlie Williams, former world
champion Thorsten Hohmann,
Rodney Morris, John Schmidt, and
Miyuki Sakai.
Planet 9-Ball in Tampa, FL,
was the event host, while sponsors
included
Connelly
Billiards,
LTLUniverse.com,
Dragon
Promotions, KBP Promotions, and
Rocky McElroy.
The unusual format began with
Scotch doubles 9-ball matches,
where the North bested the South
two matches to one. After that, the
six-on-six Scotch match began,
where every player was involved in
an alternate-shot format, where
Immonen pocketed a difficult rail
shot for a 3-1 win. Nelson matched
up with Sakai in the next round,
where she swept the match 4-0.
The break contest followed,
where two-time undefeated champion Williams faced off against
Davis. The rookie player won the
first two challenges, but Williams
put the third under his belt.
In one-pocket action, Putnam
and Schmidt went head to head.
After a lengthy match, the score
was tied at 2 games apiece. An
opening was all Schmidt needed to
keep the South alive and kicking
when he won the final game.
Basavich and
Archer
faced
each other in the
8-ball division,
with
“The
Scorpion” making some exacting shots to give
the South another needed boost,
winning the match 3-1. The final
score at the end of the first day was
6 matches and 22 games for the
North, and 3 matches and 11 games
for the South. The winning team
must lead in both divisions, otherwise the tournament goes into sudden death.
In the singles matches that
kicked off the second day, “Rocket”
went hillhill with
Putnam
but
left
himself
tough on
the final 6
a
n
d
missed,
giving his
opponent
the win.
Former
world champion Hohmann met fellow European Mika “Iceman”
Immonen and sent him packing
with a 3-1 win. All-around talent
Schmidt matched up with Basavich
and triumphed 3-2, and Nelson
went to the hill with team captain
Archer before missing her final 9
ball and handing over the match.
Williams came in hoping to tie
the match score by defeating Davis
but overcut his last 8 ball, leaving
RR SE
Davis an easy two-ball out. Sakai
went up against Robles but still
hadn’t gotten used to the crowd and
was dealt a 3-0 defeat. A rematch
between Nelson and Archer saw
Nelson play with cunning and
heart, and “The Rock” came
through with a win.
Bank pool came next, with
Immonen, the two-time banking
champ at this event, facing off with
Morris. Not widely recognized for
his banking abilities, Morris took
Immonen to the hill before the Finn
made the final bank, securing the
win for the North as he did so.
With nothing left on the line,
the South came out ahead in the sixon-six event following the banks,
winning 3-1. But the highly anticipated straight pool game was next,
with Robles and Hohmann matching up. These two excellent players
didn’t let the fans down, with
Robles notching a 70-ball and a 50ball
run,
and
Hohmann taking
two 50-ball runs. It
was neck and neck,
but
ultimately
Robles
pulled
away to win by the
tight score of 150146.
With the North
leading in both
games and matches, all that was left
was to choose the MVP. Robles
held the best record for wins for the
North, and the South’s best was
Schmidt. The two faced each other
in a playoff situation for the MVP
honors, with Schmidt winning 3-1
in the 10-ball format.
RR SE
VIKING NORTH DEFENDS THEIR TITLE
LAKELAND, FL / LADIES SPIRIT TOUR
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:32 PM
Page 76
SOUTHEAST
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS SOUTHEAST
RR SE
Date
Tournament
12/3
City, ST
Contact
$ Added
Eligibility
KBP Fury North FL 9-Ball Finale Bank Shot Billiards
Ocala, FL
407-867-8100
$1,500
Open
12/3
KBP Fury Carolina 9-Ball Finale B.G. McGee’s
Greensboro, NC
336-299-0042
$1,000
Open
12/3
KBP Fury Central FL 9-Ball Finale Bank Shot Billiards
Ocala, FL
407-867-8100
$500
Open
12/3-4
Ladies Spirit Tour
Spring Hill, FL
ladiespiritour.com
$7,500
Ladies
12/3-4
J. Pechauer Southeast 9-Ball Tour Sharpshooters
Miami, FL
305-596-0588
$1,000
Open
12/6-8
BCAPL Ohio Valley Regional
Louisville, KY
www.playbca.com
TBA
League
12/10
KBP Fury Georgia 9-Ball Finale The Pool Room
Duluth, GA
877-328-7449
$1,000
Open
12/10-11
First Break Café
Sterling, VA
703-282-0912
TBA
Open
12/10-11
J. Pechauer Bar Table Open
The Billiard Club
Louisville, KY
502-491-3810
$1,000
Open
12/10-11
Kings Bay Amateur 8-Ball Tour Cunningham’s Billiards
Vero Beach, FL
772-562-1171
TBA
Amateur
12/17-18
Kings Bay Amateur 8-Ball Tour Stroker’s Billiards
Palm Harbor, FL
737-786-6683
TBA
Amateur
12/17-18
J. Pechauer North Georgia Open Mr. Cues II
Atlanta, GA
770-454-7665
$1,200
Open
1/6-14
Derby City Classic
Executive West Hotel
Louisville, KY
derbycityclassic.com $80,000
Open
1/7-8
Pechauer All-American Open
Jumpshots Sports Bar & Billiards Delray Beach, FL
561-265-0777
$1,000
Open
1/17-22
Music City 9-Ball Open
JOB Billiards Club
Madison, TN
615-868-4270
TBA
Open
1/28
KBP Florida Ladies’ Am 9-ball
Strokers Billiards
Palm Harbor, FL
727-786-6683
$500
Ladies
1/28-29
The Pechauer Tennessee Classic Sevierville Billiard Club
Sevierville, TN
865-300-7957
$1,000
Open
1/29
McDermott All-American Tour
Chattanooga, TN
920-662-1705
$500
oPEN
1/31
IPT Masters’ 8-Ball Championship Orlando Convention Center
Orlando, FL
internationalpooltour.com
Invitation
2/11-12
J. Pechauer Southeast 9-Ball Tour Pockets Billiards
Dothan, AL
334-793-9644
$1,000
Open
2/16-19
Turning Stone Classic 9-Ball Open Turning Stone Casino
Verona, NY
518-356-7163
TBA
Open
2/18
KBP Ladies’ Am. 9-Ball Tour
Fast Break Billiards
Longwood, FL
407-830-1036
$500
Ladies
2/18-19
J. Pechauer Tampa Open
Planet 9 Ball
Tampa, FL
813-891-1450
$1,000
Open
2/25-26
J. Pechauer Southeast 9-Ball Tour K-O Corral Billiard Club
Enterprise, AL
334-347-3007
$1,000
Open
3/4-5
J. Pechauer Beaufort County Open Parkway Billiard Club
Bluffton, SC
843-757-4779
$1,500
Open
3/25
KBP Ladies 9-ball
Palm Harbor, FL
727-786-6683
$500
Ladies
4/1-2
J. Pechauer Southeast 9-Ball Tour Sevierville Billiards Club
Sevierville, TN
865-740-5229
$1,000
Open
4/8-9
J. Pechauer Southeast 9-Ball Tour Mr. Cues II
Atlanta, GA
770-454-7665
$3,000
Open
4/22
KBP Ladies’ 9-Ball Tour
Orlando Billiards Club
Orlando, FL
407-896-2334
$500
Ladies
4/21-30
IPT U.S. 8-Ball Championship
TBA
TBA
internationalpooltour.com
Invitation
4/28-29
Flipper McCoy’s
Norfolk, VA
920-662-1705
$1,000
Open
5/6
J. Pechauer Southeast 9-Ball Tour Cunningham’s Pool and Darts Vero Beach, FL
772-562-1171
$1,000
Open
Venue
Capone’s Billiards
Executive Inn
Chattanooga Billiard Club
Strokers Billiards
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:32 PM
Page 78
R
R
EGIONAL OUNDUP
KS. LA. MI. MN. MO. ND. NE. OK. SD. TX. WI.
On the west side was White, battakes,
Dennis Strickland, Gabe Owen, Mike
tling back after a second-round loss to
Former U.S. Open Alonzo, Manny Chau, Mindy Cohen
Owen was
Pierce. White was salivating for the
champion Gabe Owen
there to
title as she eliminated everyone, aiming
won his second Houston
t a k e
for a chance at Lampert. The first game
Open title, going undeadvantage,
went to White, and it appeared as if she
feated
at
Legends
running up
couldn’t be stopped; however, the
Billiards in League City,
the final
match went the other way when White
TX, October 8-9. Booked
score to 9made some crippling mistakes. Ready
to capacity with Katrina
5.
to pounce, Lampert’s steadfast playing
and Rita refugees, the
The semiearned her a
building had been under
f i n a l
third straight
evacuation only days
match saw
Houston Open
before the 125-player
Alonzo
title.
swarm showed up for the
playing
open and women’s 9-ball
solid, as
1st Gabe Owen
events.
he ran a 5-2 score before Chau started a
2nd Manny Chau
The open division played long and successful comeback that put him
3rd Mike Alonzo
4th James Davis Jr.
hard on Saturday to take the field down against Owen. In the finals, Owen played
5th Kenny Greer
to 32 players, returning on Sunday. almost perfect pool to win the final
James Davis Sr.
James Davis Jr. played his way to match and the title with a score of 9-4.
7th
Brian Jones
fourth place but then suffered a 7-5
In the women’s division, a player
Charlie Bryant
defeat
by
field of 29
9th John Macias
M a n n y
narrowed
Doug Smith
Mindy Cohen, Kim White, Trish
Chau. On
down to top
Gordon Van de Veer
Strickland, Amanda Lampert
the winners’
picks
Kim
Charlie Mora
side, Owen
White, Kim
13th Travis Stamper
1st Amanda Lampert
matched up
Candido Ramirez
P i e r c e , 2nd Kim White
Denis Strickland
with Mike
Belinda Lee, 3rd Belinda Lee
David Parker
Alonzo for
and Amanda 4th Michelle Cortez
the hot seat.
Lampert. The 5th Leslie Anne Rogers
Alonzo was
hot seat came
Terry Petrosino
playing
down
to 7th Rebecca Goodnight
Jennifer Kraber
strong, but
Lampert and
when
he
Lee,
with
began
to
Lampert ending up
make misvictorious.
by Bill Fuller
MEN’S
RESULTS
WOMEN’S
RESULTS
BEAN CHRISTENS NEW TOUR
EAST MOLINE, IL / MCDERMOTT ALL-AMERICAN TOUR
pionship in the decisive game, clipping
Kelly 3-2.
Players with 4 averages completed
the prize money payout list. The tour is
open to any amateur player, and all
entries pay the same entry fees. The
highest-finishing
ACS
member
received a free entry into either the
2006
ACS
National
8-Ball
Championships or the 2006 ACS
National 9-Ball Championships. Kelly,
placing second, earned the honors at
this event.
by David A. Hanshaw
Holland, MI, and
the beautiful Guppies
Casual
Dining
&
Billiards saw the return
of the Jacoby Cues
Great Lakes Tour
October 22-23. The
playoff began when 18
players from Michigan,
Illinois, Ohio, and
Indiana all came out to
capture
the
2006
WPBA qualifier.
With all but four players getting a
first-round exit, the second-round match
between 2004-2005 tour points winner
Julie Melman and Ohio’s perennial contender Dawn Fox intensified. Fox came
out on top 7-5, giving her the momentum
to emerge on
the winners’
side.
Meanwhile,
Tara Davis lost
her third-round
match
to
Lonnie Fox 73. She then
began making
her
way
through
the
one-loss side
with wins over
Holly Walters 7-1, Tina Carpenter 7-4,
Lisa Blaylock 7-3, setting up a Sunday
rematch with Fox. Ultimately, Davis
eked out a 7-5 win and headed to the
semifinal match against Lisa Cain. That
match also brought a 7-5 victory for
Tara Davis
RR C
Davis and a place in the finals against
Dawn Fox.
In the finals, Dawn Fox plummeted
early, rallied late, and fell short in the end,
losing 9-6. Davis took first place and the
qualifier spot
RESULTS
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
Tara Davis
Dawn Fox
Lisa Cain
Lonnie Fox
Lisa Blaylock
Julie Melna
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS CENTRAL
Date Tournament
Venue
City, ST
Contact
$ Added
Eligibility
12/3-4
Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour
The Rack
Livonia, MI
734-422-7665
$1,000
Open
12/3-4
Jacoby Great Lakes Tour
Rack Attack Billiards Café
Port Clinton, OH
419-732-7225
$500
Open
12/3
Carom Room
Beloit, WI
920-662-1705
$500
Amateur
12/10-11
Pro-Tyme Billiards Café
Orland Park, IL
708-403-0600
$1,000
Open
12/17
Cue Master Billiards
Dubuque, IA
920-662-1705
$500
Open
12/17-18
Chris’ Cue-Phoria
River Grove, IL
708-425-9105
$1,000
Open
12/18
Viking Cue Amateur 9-Ball Tour Mahoning Valley Billiards
Youngstown, OH
330-270-1742
$500
Amateur
1/tba
Crestwood, IL
708-371-7665
$500
Open
1/4-8
Windy City State Championship Pheasant Run Resort
St. Charles, IL
800-474-3272
TBA
Open
1/7
Miller Time Billiards
Davenport, IA
920-662-1705
$500
Amateur
1/21
Rich’s Roadhouse
Freeport, IL
920-662-1705
$300
Amateur
1/27
Lassiter’s Billiards
Clinton, IA
920-662-1705
$5,000
Amateur
2/tba
E&A Billiards
Sandusky, OH
419-499-7665
$500
Amateur
2/4
Leisure Time Billiards
East Moline, IL
920-662-1705
$500
Amateur
2/25
Lassiter’s Billiards
Clinton, IA
920-662-1705
$500
Amateur
3/4
Cue Master’s Billiards
Dubuque, IA
920-662-1705
$500
Amateur
3/18
Rich’s Roadhouse
Freeport, IL
920-662-1705
$300
Amateur
3/22-26
BCAPL Midwest Regional
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Minneapolis, MN
702-719-7665
TBA
League
3/25
McDermott All-AmericanTour
Miller Time Billiards
Davenport, IA
920-662-1705
$500
Amateur
4/22
Carom Room
Beloit, WI
920-662-1705
$500
Amateur
5/6
Leisure Time Billiards
Sterling, IL
920-662-1705
$500
Amateur
Pockets
AR. IA. IL. IN.
LEAGUE CITY, TX / 14TH ANNUAL HOUSTON OPEN
RESULTS
DAVIS IS HAPPY IN HOLLAND
HOLLAND, MI / JACOBY CUES GREAT LAKES TOUR
LAMPERT & OWEN DOMINATE 14TH HOUSTON OPEN
by InsidePool Staff
Master-caliber players at 5, lower
The first stop of the 2005/2006 Master-caliber players at 4, and openMcDermott All American Tour (pro- caliber players at 3 and below.
duced by the American
The event featured
CueSports Alliance) was
double-elimination 8-ball
launched at Leisure Time
on bar boxes, and Bean
Billiards in East Moline, IL, 1st Aaron Bean
(rated a 3) sailed undeOctober 22. Christening this 2nd Jared Kelly
feated through the field.
inaugural tour stop was 3rd Gary Norman
In the hot seat match,
Moline’s own Aaron Bean.
Bean eclipsed Gary
4th Dave Knight
Each tour stop has the 5th Frank DeCastecker Norman (3) 3-1. In the
flexibility to handicap or not
consolation
finals,
Dwaine Bowman
handicap its event, and host
Norman was upended by
Dwaine Bowman used a regionally rec- Jared Kelly 0-3. The title match was
ognized handicap that ranked high nip and tuck, and Bean won the cham-
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
AR. IA. IL. IN.
CENTRAL
CENTRAL
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:32 PM
Page 80
CENTRAL
SURPRISE WIN FOR MURPHY
COLUMBUS, OH / VIKING CUE 9-BALL TOUR
by InsidePOOL Staff
into Smith and relegated him to a thirdShannon Murphy shook
place finish after winning their semifithe very walls of Cornfed Red’s 1st Shannon Murphy nal match 7-2.
Billiard Café the weekend of 2st Kevin Tomlin
For Murphy to win the event, he
October 29-30 for his first-ever
would have to defeat Tomlin twice in
3rd Adam Smith
victory on the Viking Cue 9-Ball
the tour’s true double-elimination forTour. The tour’s Columbus, OH, 4th Chris Mitchell
mat. In the first race to 9, both players
stop attracted a strong field of 57 5th Howard Vickery
exchanged wins until the score was 8-7
Mike
Cantrell
players, all vying for the firstin favor of Murphy. Tomlin scratched
place prize.
on the 7 ball in Rack 16, handing Murphy the
Murphy started his winning trek with wins
first win. In the second set, which was a race to
over Shawn Putnam 9-3, Mike Cantrell 9-3 and
7, Murphy ran the show. Preventing Tomlin
Adam “GQ” Smith 9-2. The spectators thought
from any chance to make any balls or win any
Murphy’s win over Putnam was a fluke but
games, his work was cut out for him, and he
immediately changed their minds when Murphy
manifested a clean 7-0 finish.
started his match against
Smith and ran seven
racks in a row. After
defeating
Smith,
Murphy slipped a bit
while wrestling with
Kevin “The Crow”
Tomlin for the hot seat.
Tomlin was making some waves himself,
winning matches over
Joe Brown 9-8, C.R.
Henderson 9-2, Shane
Albaugh 9-5, and Chris
Mitchell 9-8. After he
sent Murphy to the oneloss side, he ran back
RESULTS
AR. IA. IL. IN.
RR C
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:32 PM
Page 82
R
R
A K . A Z . C A . C O . H I . I D . M T . N M . N V. O R . U T . WA . W Y.
EGIONAL OUNDUP
WESTERN
PAWLOSKI, FOUR FOLD
PHOENIX, AZ / ARIZONA WOMEN’S BILLIARD TOUR
by InsidePOOL Staff
October 20 saw the Arizona
Women’s Billiard Tour boast a field
of 30 women for their eighth tour
stop. Hosting the event, the Metro
Sportz Bar of Phoenix, AZ, turned
out to be a cozy location for Tina
Pawloski as she won her fourth
major victory in a row.
From the beginning, two
women stood out above the rest:
Pawloski and Kristin Haney. Haney
was victorious and won the hot seat
match 7-4.
Pawolski became more focused
than ever. She easily made an example
of Vegas gal Julie Nogiec by a large
margin of 7-2 in the semifinals, earning
combinations
and
incredible
safeties. Pawloski made a beautiful
shot and was left with a three-ball
out, which she handled with ease,
winning the first set by a score of
7-6.
The second match began with
Haney winning the lag. As in the
first set, both women traded wins,
back and forth. With a spectacular finish and the crowd
gasping in delight, Pawloski
her way back to challenge
made an
awesome 3-9
Haney.
1st Tina Pawloski
combo, winning the tournaThe first match started 2nd Kristin Haney
ment, the $320 in prize
with Haney running out to 3rd Julie Nogiec
money, and the coveted seat
make it on the board first.
into a 2006 WPBA Classic
Both women followed one
event of her choice.
another, making tough banks, kicks,
Tina Pawloski
RESULTS
HEMMAH HITS HARD TIMES
SACRAMENTO, CA / J. PECHAUER WEST COAST TOUR
by InsidePOOL Staff
Sacramento asking, “Who is Fach? Where
Amid a 98-player field, Dave “The
is he from? How do you say his name
Wave” Hemmah clobbered all
again!?” Garcia played like
opposition in the J. Pechauer West
gangbusters until he ran
Coast Tour October 21-22. Hosting
into Ismael “Morro” Paez.
the stop was Sacramento, CA’s, 1st Dave Hemmah
Geraldo
Jamito
Hard Times Billiards.
advanced over Frank
2nd Billy Palmer
After a grueling Saturday of 3rd Ismael Paez
Nordmann and continued
play, the left bracket matches start- 4th Geraldo Jamito
until Paez deposited him in
ed bright and early at 11:00 a.m.
fourth place.
Sunday, with the fresh smell of an added
With Jamito out of the way, Paez faced
$5,000 in the air.
Billy Palmer. Palmer was in no mood to
On the tour, there are occasionally
mess around after a disappointing 7-9 loss
competitors who suffer from serious illto Hemmah for the hot seat. Putting Paez
nesses but beat “the odds.” Fach Garcia is
away 9-4, Palmer moved into the finals for
one such person, and he had everyone from
his second chance against Hemmah.
RESULTS
Hemmah did not take any chances
against Palmer in the finals. Before Palmer
could break, the score was already 7-1.
Hemmah caught a gear early on and managed to wow the crowd and shut the match
down at an astonishing 13-2 finish.
Billy Palmer, Dave Hemmah
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS WESTERN
Date
Tournament
Venue
City, ST
Contact
$ Added
Eligibility
12/3-4
Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour
Sixshooters
Phoenix, AZ
602-993-5035
$500 + Qual.
Ladies
12/15-18
The Mosconi Cup
MGM Grand Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, NV
matchroomsport.com
1/4-8
UPA Pro Tour Championships
The Bicycle Casino
Los Angeles, CA
upatour.org
TBA
Open
1/14-15
Main Street Billiards
Tucson, AZ
920-662-1705
$1,500
Open
3/1-5
U.S. Bar Table Championships
Sand Regency Hotel/Casino Reno, NV
310-370-3994
$30,000
Open
4/21-23
Nite Hawk
Portland, OR
920-662-1705
$1,000
Open
5/12-20
BCA National 8-Ball Championship Riviera Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, NV
866-USA-POOL
TBA
League
6/10-17
ACS National 8-Ball Championship Riviera Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, NV
920-662-1705
TBA
League
Invitational
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:33 PM
Page 84
TOUR RANKINGS
TOUR RANKINGS
LADIES SPIRIT TOUR
UNITED STATES PROFESSIONAL
POOLPLAYERS ASSOCIATION
TIGER PLANET POOL
WOMEN’S 8-BALL
TIGER PLANET POOL
WOMEN’S 9-BALL
TIGER PLANET POOL
OPEN 9-BALL
Johnny Archer
560
Rodney Morris
220
Trace Hines
1050
Kathleen Lawless
968
Pamela Treadway
2268
Kevin West
6516
Mika Immonen
475
Tony Crosby
209
Wendy Jans
860
Tina Meraglio
918
Malea Haacke
2265
Mike Davis
6491
Shawn Putnam
390
Santos Sambajon Jr.
203
Jeannie Seaver
840
Janet Keith
890
Kathleen Lawless
1930
Ryan McCreesh
6147
Jeremy Jones
375
John Schmidt
180
Bonnie Coats
660
Cheree Adams
724
Kathy Friend
1796
Lee Holt
5222
Charlie Williams
370
Marcus Chamat
167
Debbie Schjodt
660
Ceci Strain
477
My-Hanh Lac
1539
Walter Koch
5180
Mike Davis
350
Dave Hemmah
165
Crystal McCormick
500
Pauline Mattes
437
Amanda Pasko
1497
Brandon Shuff
5059
Corey Deuel
344
Fabio Petroni
155
Niki Rasmussen
425
Amanda Pasko
368
Kim Sudler
1474
Shawn Putnam
4936
Thorsten Hohmann
342
Bill Ferguson
147
Helene Caukin
430
Kathy Friend
320
Sueyen Rhee
1468
B.J. Ussery
4672
Danny Basavich
317
Joey Korsiak
140
Stephanie Mitchell
420
Paula Brown
309
Tina Meraglio
1438
Brett Stottlemyer
4524
Troy Frank
292
Max Eberle
125
Ga-Young Kim
400
Ellen Yu
307
Ellen Yu
1402
Nick Prinsloo
4496
Tony Robles
280
Jose Parica
125
Jessica Barnes
350
Judie Wilson
293
Judie Wilson
1285
Alvin Thomas
3780
Charles Bryant
260
Timothy Hall
121
Ellen Van Buren
325
June Prescop
290
Tommie Ann Keyser
1271
Ed Deska
3523
Ralf Souquet
255
Steve Lillis
109
Lisa Hamilton
300
Marianne Rinker
230
Wendy Safford
1247
Freddy Scott
3498
Gabe Owen
240
Frank Alvarez
107
Sherry Sandaler
300
Amy Tourison
189
Teresa Savage
1050
Andy Lincoln
3319
Robb Saez
235
Brandon Ashcraft
103
Alex Rodil
280
Kristina Chapple
182
Nicole Vincent
971
Alan Duty
3051
Luc Salvas
222
Evan Broxmeyer
101
Sarah Ellerby
270
Chanta Kli
176
Ji-Hyun Park
841
Shawn Toni
3033
WPBA
CANADIAN WOMEN’S
POOL TOUR
TIGER PLANET POOL
OPEN 8-BALL
J. PECHAUER WEST
COAST TOUR
JOSS NORTHEAST
9-BALL TOUR
Allison Fisher
1510
Kim Shaw
375
Terri Mason
840
David Hunt
3784
Glenn Atwell
1445
Mike Zuglan
625
Karen Corr
1275
Jeannie Seaver
355
Grace Nakamura
660
Ed Deska
2880
Tinsley Johnson
815
Karen Corr
475
Ga-Young Kim
880
Melissa Little
345
Anita McMahon
600
Brandon Shuff
2128
Dave Hemmah
575
Al Lapena
280
Monica Webb
830
Romana Dokovic
335
Corrine Johnson
565
Freddy Scott
1360
Tony Chohan
560
Dennis Hatch
250
Kelly Fisher
830
Sarah Rousey
310
Sharlene Watkinson
430
Johnny Cisneros
1274
Steve Lingelback
540
Marlon Manalo
200
Gerda Hofstatter
715
Janet Atwell
310
Naomi Williams
415
Ken Mason
1234
Kenny Dodd
510
Tony Ruberto
200
Helena Thornfeldt
710
Angelina Paglia
305
Donna Sasges
370
Barry Bowman
1158
Tony Balzer
470
Hongsavady Vongxay
200
Tiffany Nelson
660
Tracie Hines
305
Maureen Seto
325
Freddie Greenwell
1127
Ernesto Dominguez
460
Danny Basavich
195
Jeanette Lee
645
Megan Minerich
300
Darlene Gardiner
300
Wayne Edwards
1021
Billy Palmer
425
Frankie Hernandez
175
Vivian Villareal
580
Laura Smith
280
Leanne Amable
295
Ceci Strain
992
Darin Walding
420
Allen Hopkins
170
Melissa Herndon
550
Dawn Hopkins
275
Dorthy Brown
295
Tai Bui
976
Ismael Paez
400
Earl Herring
160
Julie Kelly
540
Belinda Campos Calhoun
265
Sophie Houle
285
Alex Parker
940
Mike Stevens
395
Jerry Slivka
145
Jennifer Barretta
480
Miyuki Sakai
260
Star Williams
280
Danny Bell
940
Raul Abenojar
350
Tom D’Alfonso
135
Jennifer Chen
470
Hsin Huang
250
Diana Yeoman
280
Todd Elkins
892
Mike Vidas
350
Julie Kelly
135
Sarah Ellerby
435
Stacy Hurst
240
Nikki Manzer
255
Pat Carosi
851
Amar Kang
335
Holden Chin
130
Ewa Laurance
415
Melissa Morris
235
Susan Wipper
245
Wayne Bean
843
Rich Difulio
130
Dave Fernandez
130
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:33 PM
Page 86
TOUR RANKINGS
KBP GEORGIA
AMATEUR 9-BALL
KBP NORTH FLORIDA
AMATEUR 9-BALL
KBP FLORIDA LADIES’
AMATEUR 9-BALL
International
Cuemakers
Association
Steve Cox
229
Julio Aquino
501
Jessica Barne
578
TF Whittington
165
Robert Otto
473
Jennifer Nelson
545
Jesse Middlebrooks
160
Dave Ross
440
Stephanie Mitchell
500
David Holloway
153
Elvis Rodriguez
400
Barbara Ellis
475
Jeff Stratton
150
Tim Daniel
379
Niki Rasmussen
446
Jim Jennings
139
Johnny Reeves
347
Helene Caukin
401
Gerald Germany
120
Ron Richardson
345
Ellen Van Buren
383
Archie Ranew
110
Bryan Pinkley
323
Mary P. Brown
344
Chris Tatnell
104
John Tatum
289
Patti Mitchell
330
www.cameroncues.com
Robert South
103
Scott Rawlins
284
Amy Poulter
278
THE Q EFREN REYES CHOSE
“A commitment
to Excellence”
www.internationalcuemakers.com
NORWELA CUES
Starting at $850. Also sold seperately: 2
HR Cue Repair and Building Video - $50,
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book $69.95, lathe pins, concaved live centers, chucks, wrap motors, and other parts to
convert your lathe for cue making or repair.
Tapered Shaft and Butt Blanks
WWW.CUESMITH.COM
Phone (770) 684-7004
Ask for Chris or write: “Cue Man Billiards”
444 Flint Hill Rd. Aragon, GA 30104
By Jim Griffin 318-294-4566
PRATHER CUE PARTS
CAMERON CUSTOM CUES
“As Always” ALL Components for complete Cue
Building VISA, M/C, Amex 1-800-364-6913
200 South Main Steeet
Moreland, OK. 73852
www.prathercue.com
[email protected]
http://www.queperfect.biz
KBP CENTRAL FLORIDA
AMATEUR 9-BALL
KBP NORTH CAROLINA
AMATEUR 9-BALL
Julio Aquino
902
Johnny Griffin
538
Josh Ulrich
120
Robert Noon
845
Cary Dunn
531
Ted Reeves
105
Adam Wheeler
811
David Brown
513
Tom Wright
96
CUES BY DAVE SUCHER
Robert Otto
804
Eddie Little
489
Mark Bontrager
94
www.paradisecues.com
Elvis Rodriguez
766
Dale Russell
486
Tony Davenport
70
Scott Howard
764
David Slaughter
476
Luis Colon
66
Tim Baron
755
Bobby Strandbert
467
Joe Dirkman
64
Marty Linzy
754
Jeff Pruitt
460
Luke Yi
62
Jim Oddy
754
Don Lilly
398
Brian Peterson
60
Ron Bussell
736
Voytek Partyka
398
Ernie Shinall
60
Sandy Man
736
Chris Vollmar
398
Tom Stathis Jr.
40
Rick Rogers
728
Paul Hinson
386
KBP LAKE MICHIGAN
AMATEUR 9-BALL
CUE LATHES & INLAY
MACHINES
HIGHTOWER CUSTOM CUES
www.hightowercues.com
Waldo's Cue Repair 386-760-7006
www.unclewaldosbilliards.com
Players Wanted!
Steve Morris Midwest Custom Cues
Established 1993
Cues in Stock by - Richard Black
Russ Espiritu, Ginacue, Huebler Custom
Midwest Custom Cues by Steve Morris
“From My Hands to Yours”
651-455-3435
Samm’s Side Pocket
FUN & UNIQUE PRODUCTS
FOR POOL PLAYERS
Check it out! www.SammsPocket.com
303.667.8000
Classifieds
Here
1.866.961.7665
Suscribe to
InsidePOOL
Magazine
$19.99
for one year
- 10 issues
To order, call our
Subscription Hotline
1.866.961.7665
KBP MIDWEST
AMATEUR 9-BALL
Casey Ward
341
Josh Ulrich
297
Ted Reeves
289
Joe Henry
273
Rob Kasparian
256
Mark DeYoung
239
Jeremy Seaman
223
Mark Ritter
201
Rickie Arms
200
David Poppenfuse
197
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:34 PM
Page 88
W
R
WORLDREPORT
ORLD
OUNDUP
NEW ZEALANDER SETS WORLD RECORD
by InsidePOOL Staff
While world records are normally
broken by other competitors by a second or a split second, New Zealand
pool player Rocky Lane smashed one
down by 12 seconds. UK resident Dave
Pearson, known as “The Ginger
Wizard,” held the world record
for clearing a pool table of all
15 balls, having done so within
26.5 seconds. A month ago,
Rocky filed a claim with
Guinness saying he will not
only pot the 15 pool balls in less
time, he will first jump shoot
them over a 2-inch high rail and
pot them all into one pocket. He
claimed he will do this in less
than 20 seconds.
W O R L D
R E P O R T
WR
T
OUR
The record attempt was carried out
October 27 at 1 p.m. at Auckland, with
TV cameras present. Rocky jump-shot
15 balls over the rail and potted them
all in one pocket in 14.05 seconds. The
story was featured on “Sports Tonight”
Rocky Lane
at TV3. Rocky was proclaimed on the
popular TV 3 series as the “James
Bond of Pool.”
Rocky, who co-starred with New
Zealand national player Jimmy Henry
in the NZ-produced movie “POOL—
From
Beginner
to
Champion,” said, “I intend
to attempt other records on
the pool table whilst still
competing at the national
and international nine-ball
tournaments. I am by no
means the best player in
New Zealand, but there are
other things one can do to
promote a sport which is
starving from the sponsorship that it deserves.”
December2005LORES
R E G I O N A L
P L A Y E R S
o f
t h e
M O N T H
RPM
12/14/05
12:34 PM
Page 90
R
P
REGIONAL PLAYERS MONTH
EGIONAL
by Matt Pingor
Working hard on the KPB Fury
Tour, Floridian Jennifer Nelson has truly
earned her nomination as Player of the
Month. “My goal is to enjoy myself
playing pool,” she stated. Yes, this is a
universal idea when it comes to sports,
but finding the time and reason to do so
can be like hiking through a swamp.
Jennifer’s love for the game began
when she was young. A regular at
Conway Family Billiards in Orlando,
FL, Nelson dominated the local scene
when she was just 16. Convinced that
she was naturally talented, playing billowed her passion. What could stop her?
“Life just happened,” as she put it,
and so a 20-year-old Jennifer Nelson
sought other means to take her to that
next level. Following a stint at a university, she got a decent job with Optimal
Communications. From her desk, she
lines up transportation and language
translation personnel for an outfit that
deals with worker compensation cases.
by Matt Pingor
Havre de Grace,
MD, is home to this
issue’s Player of the
Month, Shaun Wilke.
Within the Chesapeake
Watershed, Shaun nurtured his billiards game,
and at 24, he is now on
the banks, ready to take
his game mainstream.
“Just ‘cause I started
teaching you doesn’t
mean you owe it all to
me.” This modest statement from Shaun’s
grandfather just goes to
show the kind of honest
and pure ethics that went
into Wilke’s beginnings.
With a crevasse of 25 years since she
played a serious game of pool, and the “itch”
crawled under her skin while watching a professional competition. She soon came to realize that someone 45 years old could devote
time to getting better and even qualify for a
spot in the WBPA.
Around 2002, Jennifer made her return
to the game. With the help of friend and local
BCA instructor Thom Grace, she resurrected
her skill and strategy. Since then, she has
found her place with the Fury Tour and the
Ladies Spirit Tour. “I truly love the camaraderie with the other women on the tour,”
she attests to her home turf family atmosphere.
Winning several events and placing in
the money nine out of ten times, Nelson still
works to improve every day. Proof of this is
also manifested in her 545 points record.
Spending her time wisely, she recently
redesigned a 18’ x 20’ space in her Florida
residence for a 9’ Olhausen table. This should
make it easier for her to progress as a player
who truly enjoys the game.
Shaun Wilkie
LAYERS
OF THE
Retired from the
Army, Wilke’s grandfather was able to take him
to the recreation hall at
Aberdeen
Proving
Grounds. There he
learned how to shoot at
the age of 10. Coupled
with the fear of losing to
such a young lad,
Wilke’s skills carpetbombed enlisted men on
a regular basis.
At the age of 14,
he was convinced that
those lessons could pay
off some day. He won
his first trophy in 1991
at Pool’s Cab Stand in
Havre de Grace. The tro-
Jennifer Nelson
YOUR
AD
HERE
1.866.961.7665
phy was about six feet tall, quite the soapbox to mount a future campaign from.
Through his teen years Wilke intensified his studies. Learning from many
sources, he gained the perspective to do
more than just shoot. “All you got to do is
concentrate and make it to the next level.”
Coming from his grandfather, these are
confident words. With the support of a very
close family, which is rare these days,
Shaun has confidence as well behind him.
Placing in the top four at tournaments
quite often, with his trusty Tim Scruggs cue
in hand, Wilke has the feeling that he can
make a living playing pool. This is not just
a mere dream. “I’ve built up enough money
to really start traveling now, and I would
love to get some sponsorship.” Wilke has
classic roots in the game, loving support,
and a strong will. His future looks bright.
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:34 PM
Page 92
Billiard Business Solutions
Sales Tracker
This is the best solution available for operating
pool rooms. This software is capable of performing
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lists, table alarms and more. Billiard Business
Solutions is available alone, but if you need hardware, touch screen and standard turnkey systems
are available. Operate your room knowing that you’re
in safe hands.
This POS solution is perfect for pool rooms,
bars and restaurants. It carries out all of the standard restaurant and bar functions, adds sales to
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December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:34 PM
#
Page 94
InsidePOOL
Magazine
InsidePOOL.com
get Inside.
InsidePOOLmag.com
#
#
POOL WEBSITE.
POOL MAGAZINE
WAY TO GET INSID
So why would you want to go anywhere else?
InsidePOOL Magazine, the number-one billiards magazine for the best price: 10 issues for $19.99.
That is all the lastest pool news, professional instruction by some of your favorite players, extraordinary writing,
and comprehensive coverage for less than $2 an issue. Take your best shot–you won’t find anything better!
Call (866) 961-7665 ext. 235 for your subscription. Mail check or money order to
220 S. Jefferson St., Kittanning, PA 16201
#
InsidePOOL
Magazine
InsidePOOLmag.com
get Inside.
Entries can be submitted in two ways. By mail, entries must be postmarked by December 22. E-mails must be submitted
no later than midnight on December 31. We will contact the winner by phone and announce it on our website. The winner
receives a Viking Cue with a retail value of $300/$400 and a one-year subscription to InsidePOOL Magazine.
WIN A VIKING CUE!
December2005LORES
12/14/05
12:34 PM
Page 96
LAST MONTH’S
WINNER
"Mr. Sorvino, you play a tough guy in a lot of movies, but I am
not giving you ten percent of my winnings for 'protection'"!
Rich Hamlin, Martinsville, VA
96 InsidePOOL Magazine -December 2005
>>
1205-C1-4LO-RES
12/14/05
2:13 PM
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1205-C1-4LO-RES
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2:13 PM
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December 2005 - Inside Pool Magazine

Transcription

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