Robles Scores Double-Hill Billiard Victory
Blaze 9-ball Tour / Levittown, NY

by Jose Burgos
The Blaze 9-ball Tour stopped at Leisure Time billiards August 26, 2007, where a field of 37 players came out to play. Topping players like Beau Baur, Oscar Bonilla, Mark Vidal, Bristol Bob Begey, and Mike Miller was Tony “The Silent Assassin” Robles.

Leading the top half of the bracket, Robles notched wins over Sean Gavins 7-1, Brian Cap 7-1, Carol Martorana 7-2, Wali Muhammad 7-3, and Marc Vidal 7-0. Miller led the bottom half of the bracket, with wins over Jorge Rodriquez 7-4, Vinnie Leone 7-2, Gordon R. 7-3 and Bristol Bob 7-3.

When Miller and Robles met in the hot seat match, it was all Robles, who won easily 7-3 and sent Miller to the one-loss side, where Bristol Bob awaited. Miller ran away with the match 7-3 to reach the finals. The rematch between Miller and Robles saw Robles pull off a double-hill victory.

Results:

1st
Tony Robles

2nd
Mike Miller

3rd
Bristol Bob

4th
Marc Vidal

5th
Beau Baur

Oscar Bonilla

7th
Wali Muhammad

Liz Ford

Clarion Hotel and Conference Center Co-Sponsors Qlympics
Now under new ownership and management, the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center has committed to co-sponsor the first annual Qlympics, a colossal billiards event, November 1-18, 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky.
“We are proud to host and co-sponsor the first annual Qlympics event and anticipate future years of participation,” said the Clarion’s Adam McDonald. “This is a truly unique opportunity for us. pool is now an international sport and it’s an honor to contribute to its growth. We look forward to being of service to players, fans, exhibitors, press, and all who attend. We intend to make their stay as comfortable as possible during the ‘round the clock’ activity.”
Stay where you play! — The Clarion’s support of Qlympics comes from revenues generated by players staying at the hotel. So, to participate in the added money, you must be a registered guest for the duration of your event.
Please make your reservations at the Clarion. Call 502.491.4830 and mention “Qlympics.” Sorry, reservations made through 3rd party web sites, like hotels.com, etc. will not entitle you to share in the $20,000–guaranteed–added money. With full fields, the added will increase to $64,000 pushing the pro events prize fund to $176,000.
Qlympics is an OPEN event in a “player friendly” venue with a 24/7 action room and late night food and drink. And, like all playbca.com events, there will be plenty of warm-up and nightly mini tournaments.
For entry forms and more, visit playbca.com
Get your butt there!

Stroud Elected to Academy of American Cue Art President
The Academy of American Cue Art (AACA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of billiard cues as a legitimate art form, has selected well-known cue maker Bill Stroud as its new president.
The Academy has also appointed new board members Dick Abbott, Tony Martino, and Will Prout. All are longtime supporters of billiard cues and cue-collecting as well as successful businessmen. Their combined experience will be invaluable to the Academy.
Under this new leadership the Academy has started an ambitious program that includes a certified cue appraiser, a cue museum, a cue-buying guide, and a new website.
The cue museum will debut with a traveling exhibit at the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Expo in Charlotte, NC, in June 2008. Display space is being provided for the exhibition by the BCA. Included in this exhibit will be some of the most expensive and interesting billiard cues ever made.
The Academy of American Cue Art is also taking over the planning for the International Cue Collectors Show. This show has been the premier showcase for high-end billiard cues for the last six years. The Academy is now studying various locations, including Denver and Kansas City, as possible venues for next year’s show.
For more information about the Academy of American Cue Art, please contact Bill Stroud at (505) 378-5677 or visit Cueacademy.org.

Park and Shea Win on Tiger pool Tour
Tiger pool Tour / Sterling, VA

by Ceci Strain

The Tiger pool Tour returned after a short summer break to First Break Café in Sterling, VA, August 25-26. The open division started off strong with a full 64-player field, but at the end of the weekend, Shin Park was the last man standing. In the women’s division, 15 players showed up, with Linda Shea taking top honors.
Most notably in Sunday’s final 16 was fifteen year-old Richard “The Kid” Barney from Hagerstown, MD. Barney met with an early placement into the elimination bracket with a 9-6 loss to Shawn Putnam in the second round on Saturday. The early loss didn’t faze “The Kid,” as he won his next matches until being eliminated by Mike Davis 7-3.

Park faced Larry Kressel on Sunday morning and sent him to the elimination round with a win of 9-4, just in time to meet up with tour regular Jerry Slivka. Though Park took a strong 6-1 lead, he missed the 6 ball in the eighth rack, and Slivka came back like a whirlwind to take the match 9-8.

Continuing In the elimination bracket, Shawn Putnam and Park continued to please the crowd by again bringing their matches to the hill. Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie was victorious over Putnam 7-6, and Park battled Davis to continue on with a win of 7-6. In the hot seat match, Slivka and Francisco Diaz seemed to be playing a speed pool match as they quickly ran through their games. Slivka had an early lead, and after a short trade-off in the middle of the set, he finally closed it out with a win of 9-5, sending Diaz over to the elimination bracket to wait for his next opponent.

Park methodically ran rack after rack against Wilkie in the quarterfinals, defeating him 7-2. He then moved on to the semifinals against road partner Diaz, and again he methodically defeated Diaz 7-5 for the opportunity to match up again with Slivka. However, because of a scheduling conflict, Slivka had to forfeit the final round to Park.

The one-day women’s event saw tour regular Cheryl Squire gain a notable win of 7-2 early in the day against current point’s winner, My-Hanh Lac, and a win over Sharon O’Hanlon 7-4 to reach the hot seat match against Linda Shea. Shea moved through the winners’ bracket and sent Kathleen Lawless to the elimination bracket 7-3.

The hot seat match in the ladies’ event was a close one, but Squire advanced with a final score of 7-5. Tina Meraglio, who had returned from a pool hiatus, had worked her way through the elimination bracket after a first-round loss and met up with Lawless in the quarterfinals. Meraglio was determined to move on to the semifinals and won the match 5-1. Shea wasn’t prepared to lose the tournament, and seemed determined as she practiced on another table straight through the quarterfinals. She was ready and quickly defeated Meraglio, moving on for a rematch against Squire.

In the single race-to-9 finals, Shea took a strong lead of 8-2 against Squire but didn’t close the door completely. Squire managed to fight back for a few more games before Shea finished the match with a win of 9-5.
Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news on the sport of billiards and pool.

Trick Shot Magic and International Speed pool Challenge
New York New York Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
The premier special events in professional billiards will be hosted by ESPN Zone in Las Vegas on October 3-4. The Semifinal matches and the Championship match of both events will be telecast by ESPN beginning in November.

International Speed pool Challenge will feature four top players from an international roster competing for a purse of winner-take-all $50,000. Luc Salvas, the 2006 International Speed pool Champion also holds the record for Speed pool in regular competition. Dave Pearson, the 2006 International Speed pool Runnerup also holds a Guinness Book of World Records Speed pool listing. Francisco Diaz, the 2007 VNEA Speed pool Champion also holds a host of Speed pool records in recent years. Bobby McGrath, the 2007 BCA Speed pool Champion also holds many Speed pool titles in competitive events.

The winner will claim the title of International Speed pool Champion on October 3. The game is all action and offense, with players competing against the clock to run racks in the fastest possible time. A match consists of two sets, the first set a variation of Straight pool and the second set regulation 8-ball. Players routinely run a rack of fifteen balls in one-minute-fifteen-seconds or less. Tied sets result in a blistering one rack Sudden Death.

Trick Shot Magic will present eight international stars of the sport contending for a purse of $50,000 on October 3-4. Mike Massey, the 2006 Trick Shot Magic Champion. Tom Rossman, the 2006 World Artistic pool Champion. Andy Segal, the 2007 Masters Artistic pool Champion. Nick Nikolaidis, the 2006 Masters Artistic pool Champion. Stefano Pelinga, the 2005 Trick Shot Magic Champion. Sebastian Giumelli, the 2007 South American Trick Shot Champion. Matt MacPhail, the 2006 World Artistic pool Ranked #3. Sal Conti, the 2006 World Artistic pool Ranked #4.

Trick Shot Magic winner will claim the crown and $30,000. Format for the tournament consists of twenty artistic show shots in each match. Players will execute a challenge shot of their choice, and their opponents are required to duplicate the shot or lose a point. The players alternate shots in two-man head-to-head matches, performing intricate trick shots meant to stymie their opponents. A sudden death tiebreaker to decide a match will require an eight rail bank shot onto the face of a $100 bill. In the seven year history of the event, the Championship has twice been decided by a sudden death tiebreaker.

ESPN will telecast three 1-hour programs each on Trick Shot Magic and International Speed pool Challenge. ESPN Zone will make the events Admission Free for spectators. ESPN Zone is a 50,000-square-foot sports-themed dining and entertainment complex located at the New York New York Hotel Casino in Las Vegas (phone: 702-933-3776). The tournaments are sponsored by Connelly billiards, Cuetec Cues, Cue Case Sales, Aramith Super Pro Balls, Simonis Cloth, L.E.A.N.I. Slate, Ozone billiards, Original Italian Slate, AcCue Shot Training Device and Silver Cup Chalk. The tournaments will be produced by billiards International, Ltd.

Ample parking is available near ESPN Zone. The INTERNATIONAL SPEED pool CHALLENGE Semifinals and Championship Finals will begin at 4 PM on October 3. The TRICK SHOT MAGIC Semifinals and Championship Finals will begin at 4 PM on October 4. Admission is free and those attending should plan to arrive early. For more information call: 860-379-8414.

Stevens Steals Daytona Open
J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-ball Tour / Daytona Beach, FL

by InsidePOOL Staff
Josh Stevens stopped in at the J. Pechauer Custom Cue Southeast Open 9-ball Tour’s August 26 event, where he took first place. This tournament was hosted by Uncle Waldo’s billiards in Daytona Beach, FL.
Tour director Tommy Kennedy faced down Mark Coats 9-6 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinal match, where he ousted John Gerekis by a resounding 9-2. Gerekis had earlier been bested by Stevens in the hot seat match 9-5. In the finals, Stevens had little trouble with Kennedy and won the match and title 9-2.
Results:
1st Josh Stevens
2nd Tom Kennedy
3rd John Gerekis
4th Mark Coats

Lanuto is Tops on Tri-State Tour
Tri-State Tour / Edison, NJ

by Rick Davis
The Tri-State Tour had their latest offering at Edison billiards 153 in Edison, NJ, where Sal Lanuo chopped a path through the chart to claim the title. Taking place August 25, a 25-player field threw their hat into the ring, although all would be lambs to the slaughter as Lanuto chalked up another win.
Late on the winners’ side Lanuto faced Gary Murgia in the hot seat match, where Lanuto slipped by 8-7. Then, on the one-loss side, Ed Medina ousted Lenny Knapp 7-4, while Jason Blanchard did the same to Dave Fitzpatrick double-hill. Blanchard, who had taken his loss from Lanuto in the second round, was quickly finding his gear and attempting to avenge that loss. Blanchard eliminated Medina 7-4 in the quarterfinals then knocked out Murgia 7-5 in the semifinals.
Finally, Blanchard had his chance at a rematch after fighting his way to face Lanuto in the finals. Lanuto, however, had a different plan and continued his strong play, defeating Blanchard 6-4 to claim the event.
Results:
1st Sal Lanuto
2nd Jason Blanchard
3rd Gary Murgia
4th Ed Medina
5th Dave Fitzpatrick
Lenny Knapp

Canadian 9-ball Tour Confirms Dates
The Canadian 9-ball Tour, sponsored by Cineplex Entertainment and Chapters-Indigo Bookstores, has now confirmed the dates and venues for each stop on the tour. The complete schedule is below and may also be seen at the official Tour website: Canadian9balltour.com.
New for this year are several improvements to the tour. First, each stop now contains $10,000 in added money for a total of $80,000 added for the season. And there is now a charity tie-in as the Boys and Girls Club has been named the official Tour Charity and will share in the proceeds of each tour stop.
Also, as the tour is now open to all international players and not just Canadians, the fields are being limited to the first sixty-four entrants to pay their entry fees. First come, first served, so get your entries in early (via the tour website) in order to insure yourself a berth in the fields. No spots will be reserved until paid.
The first event will be held October 5-7 at Bigwigs billiards in Newmarket, Ontario (just north of Toronto). All dates were chosen in order that they not conflict with other important tournaments. It is hoped that promoters of new events will maintain and encourage this mutual respect.

Tour Dates
October 5-7, 2007: Bigwigs billiards Newmarket, ON.
October 26-28, 2007: The Q Club Edmonton, AB.
Nov. 30 – Dec. 2, 2007: Tailgators billiards Ottawa, ON.
February 1-3, 2008: Doolys billiards Valleyfield, PQ.
March 7-9, 2008: Breakers billiards Bistro Kelowna, BC.
April 4-6, 2008: LeSkratch Bar billiards Montreal, PQ.
April 25-27, 2008: Bourbon Street billiards Winnipeg, MB.
May 23-25, 2008: Shooters Snooker Sports Bar Toronto, ON.

Davis Lights Up Atlantic City billiards ClubBlaze 9-ball Tour / Egg Harbor, NJ

by Jose Burgos
After earning a hard-won ninth-place finish at the Turning Stone Classic IX, Mike Davis traveled to Atlantic City billiards Club to take first place on the Blaze 9-ball Tour. This August 19 event was held in Egg Harbor, NJ, and boasted a tough 33-player field, including world champion Ronnie Alcano, Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie, and Matt Krah.
Alcano took charge of the top half of the bracket, notching wins over Jay Jones 7-4, Adam Kielar 7-2, Gary Barnish 7-1, and Bob Maidhof 7-2. On the bottom half, Davis scorched through all opponents in his path, defeating Barry Bowman 7-1, Joey Testa 7-5, Liz Ford 7-0, and Mike Miller 7-3.
Davis met Alcano in the hot seat match and dominated the world champ, sending him to the one-loss side with a 7-5 victory. Miller was waiting for Alcano in the semifinals, and Alcano managed a comeback win to take the match 6-4. In the double-elimination finals, Alcano won the first set double-hill, but Davis took control of the last set and won 6-4 to claim the event.

Results:

1st
Mike Davis

2nd
Ronnie Alcano

3rd
Mike Miller

4th
Bob Maidhof

5-6th
Matt Krah

Shaun Wilkie

7-8th
Adam Kielar

Carl Morgan

All Lampert at Hunter Classics Amateur Women’s Tour
Hunter Classics Amateur Women’s Tour / Corpus Christi, TX

by InsidePOOL Staff

Tropical Storm Erin moved away from the Texas coastline just in time for the Hunter Classics Amateur Women’s Tour to descend at Paradise billiards in Corpus Christi, TX, August 18-19. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, and there was no bad water to be found, despite media reports earlier in the week.

Climbing through the brackets to meet in the hot seat match were Amanda Lampert and Heather Lloyd, with Lampert advancing with a 7-4 win. On the one-loss side, an over-two-hour match with numerous safeties ended with Leslie Anne Rogers over Terry Petrosino 7-4. Rogers went on to play Lloyd for third place, and it came down to one game. At 6-6, Lloyd was down to the 9 ball and was ready to bank it in the corner when someone got in her line of sight. She stood back up, readdressed the shot, and decided to shoot a thin cut instead of the bank, which she made.

This led to a rematch between Lloyd and Lampert in the double-elimination finals. Lloyd started off strong, sailing through the first set 7-3. The opposite result happened in the next set, though, as Lampert prevailed with some strong shooting to win 7-2 to capture her first Hunter Tour win of the year and the WPBA qualifier as well.

Results:

1st
Amanda Lampert

2nd
Heather Lloyd

3rd
Leslie Anne Rogers

4th
Terry Petrosino

5th
Melinda Hinojosa

Jennifer Kraber

7th
Michelle Yim

Shayla Neris

9th
Maria Rodriguez

Kyu Yi

Samm Diep

Monica Anderson

Daulton Dominates Great Southern billiards Tour
Great Southern Billiard Tour / Macon, GA
by InsidePOOL Staff
Tournament director Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton took out a top field of 42 other players to take first place on the August 18-19 stop of the Great Southern Billiard Tour. Hosted by The Hole Thang in Macon, GA, this was a $1,500-added event.
With players such as Larry Nevel, Scotty Townsend, and Cliff Joyner, anything was possible. The field whittled down to 16 returning Sunday, which saw a hill-hill nail-biter between Townsend and Nevel, which saw Townsend advance after dropping the 9 ball on the break.
Daulton moved steadily through the winners’ side of the chart, defeating four strong players in Horace Godwin, Sammy Odom, Paul Turner, and finally George Rothrock to earn the hot seat. Now on the west side, Rothrock tried to fight his way back to the finals but was ousted by Towery, who went on to meet Daulton. On fire, Daulton gave Towery no shot, and he ran seven racks in a row to win the match 9-1.

Results:

1st
Shannon Daulton

2nd
Adam Towery

3rd
George Rothrock

4th
Scotty Townsend

5th
Cliff Joyner

Paul Turner

7th
Horace Godwin

JR Rossman

USBA Announces 2008 National 3-Cushion billiards Championship
The 2008 USBA National Championship Tournament for 3-Cushion billiards will be held on January 9-13, 2008 at the Executive Inn in Louisville, KY. Further details will be announced in the future.Number of billiard players will be limited to 42. The top 4 finishers from 2007 are automatically given first priority, leaving 38 available spots.
These spots will be filled by winners of qualifying tournaments first, and then will be made available to the membership in the following order of priority:
1) Players who have played in a Qualifier ($ 300.00 entry fee) on a first paid/first served basis.
2) All others ($ 500.00 entry fee) on a first paid/first served basis.
All players who qualify through their Regional Qualifier will receive $ 200.00 expense money when they arrive to play at the National Championship Tournament.
Entry fees are now being accepted, however, this will NOT guarantee you a spot in the Nationals.
Information on the United States Billiard Association is available at USBA.net.

The WPA World Tour Final
February 2008
The WPA is happy to announce that the idea of their new world tournament series is finally brought to life. Developing the success of European Eurotours, EPBF will become the host of the first World Tour Final, which will be held in February 2008. The participation of the best players from all continents, a big prize fund, and high-standard television production is about to turn The WPA World Tour Final into one of the biggest events of next season.
From 2009 onwards they are planning to have four World Tours every year.
Event Information
Date: End of February 2008
Discipline: 9-ball
Venue: T.B.A.
Format: 64 players coming out of qualifying events from around the world; D.K.O. till last 16; 16 players qualify for final 24 + 8 wildcards will be added to 16.
Last 24 play in 8 groups of 3 round robin as follows:
Match A: Player 1 vs Player 2
Match B: Loser Match A – Player 3
Match C: Winner Match A – Player 3
Group winners advance to quarterfinals with single K.O.
Prize Fund: US $100,000 or more
Participants:
AAPA (South Africa) 1 Qualifying event 4 players
APBU (Asia) 4 Qualifying events 16 players
BCA (North America) 2 Qualifying events 8 players
BCA (Canada) 1 Qualifying event 4 players
OPBA (Oceana) 1 Qualifying event 4 players
CPB (Latin America) 1 Qualifying event 4 players
EPBF (Europe) 5 Qualifying events 20 players
Main Event 1 Qualifying event 4 players
The qualifying events should be played by December 31, 2007, and are meant to be organized by WPA members supporting the idea. Standard requirements for the qualifying events are: race to 10; entrance fee of US $200 per person; D.K.O. format; 2 winners and 2 winners from the one-loss side are qualified.
If the continental federation wants to change the number of delegated players, it can be discussed with the WPA.

Sanctioning: WPA World Tour Final is organized and sanctioned by the World pool Association, which is the world governing body for pool and administers the game at many levels across the globe. The WPA is made up of continental members from South Africa, Asia, North America, Canada, Oceania, Latin America, and Europe. Individual national associations are in turn members of their continental associations.

Sholes Superior on Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour
Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour / Tucson, AZ

by InsidePOOL Staff
Holly Sholes took off the August 18-19 stop of the Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour, winning in a double-elimination finals over Susan Mello. The event attracted 22 women to come out to Pockets in Tucson, AZ, for the $500-added event that included a WPBA qualifier.
Kristin Haney and Mello went head to head for the hot seat match. Mello got to the hill first and won the match 7-4. Haney went on to play Sholes in the semifinal match. Sholes had just pulled off an incredible comeback match that put Michelle Trevino out of the tourney in fourth place. Still on a roll, Sholes defeated beat Haney 7-3.
Sholes advanced to play Mello in the final match. Sholes took the lead from the get-go, going up 6-2 lead, but Mello didn’t seem to let it phase her and won the next three games to make it 6-5. But to everyone’s surprise, Sholes snapped in the 9 and won the first set.
Mello won the lag and broke to start the second set. She missed the 8 ball and then stood up and announced that she would need to forfeit the match in order to make her plane back to Canada on time. Mello placed second in the event, with Sholes winning top honors.
Results:
1st Holly Sholes
2nd Susan Mello
3rd Kristin Haney
4th Michelle Trevino
5th Susan Lance
Susan Williams
7th Anne Gray
Marissa Hallett

ProPoolVideo.com Rolls Out World 14.1 Coverage
ProPoolVideo.com announced today the premiere of the first of seven billiards matches to be webcast from the recent Predator World 14.1 Straight pool Championship. The event, which was put on by Dragon Promotions, was held July 9-14 at the Hilton East Brunswick in New Jersey, and attracted the best straight pool players in the world. The first match is from the round of sixteen during the single-elimination phase of the tournament, and features last year’s champion Thorsten Hohmann vs. former world 14.1 champion and hall-of-fame member Allen Hopkins. Fans are in for a treat, as the tournament’s second-highest run is posted in this match. All match videos are decked-out with ball-by-ball score counters, with current-run and high-run counters as well.
The online videos also have optional commentary—a ProPoolVideo.com innovation. An accompanying photo gallery rounds out the multimedia coverage.
ProPoolVideo.com is a totally free website that already sports over 50 professional pool and carom matches available for on-demand, high-quality viewing.