Viking Cues Photo Caption Winner for March

Congratulations to Rich Friedland of IL for submitting the winning entry in the Viking pool Cues Photo Caption Contest for the month of March.
Rich has won a Photo Caption Contest Entry Page (/option,com_facileforms/Itemid,491.html).
You can enter every day, one time per day.

Free Download of April Billiard Magazine Check out Andy's trick shot videos (/pool-billiards-videos.html) register here (/registration/register.html).

IPT Viewers Choice Challenge Match
Today, player voting entered into Phase III. This phase has reduced the size of the ballot to the top 50 players receiving votes for the April 29th IPT Ultimate 8-ball Viewers Choice match. Basic Members can now have five votes per day. This phase will certainly make the race very interesting. You have until midnight (central) April 11th to vote. And remember, the live broadcast and player voting is absolutely free. Visit International pool Tour today and vote.

Now that the player list has been narrowed to the top 50, and you have five votes per day, the race to win is truly up for grabs. The leaders so far have done well to get a large contingent of people to vote for them. Vilmos Foldes of Hungary has been the recipient of some nice exposure with a feature article about him and the voting process on a high-traffic Hungarian web site. Gerda Hofstatter has gone the viral route. She has called on her friends and family, mostly in Austria, to vote and to recruit their friends and family to do the same. That snowball effect has worked for Gerda so far. However, with five votes per day for Basic Members, their strategies are going to be put to the test because despite being in the lead, their competition is well within easy reach.
The IPT Ultimate 8-ball undercard match between World Champion Oliver Ortmann and John Schmidt will take place during the April 29th live broadcast. Although being called the under-card match, the players are both world class athletes whose match-up is essentially another feature match! And remember, both feature matches in the live broadcast, and the player voting, are absolutely free. Fans can go to International pool Tour and vote right now. Player biographies and statistics are available for those voters who are unsure of whom to vote for. Click Here (http://www.internationalpooltour.com/EventVoting/) to go directly to the voting page.

Young Captures Cookeville Classic
Great Southern Billiard Tour / Cookeville, TN

by InsidePOOL Staff
The Great Southern Billiard Tour rolled into Cookeville, TN, the weekend of March 29-30, for their Cookeville Classic event. Hosted by The Cue, this event was won by Billy Young, who triumphed in a one-set finals over Larry Nevel.
The action ultimately wound down to the final eight players, with Young triumphing over Dave Crockett 9-3 and Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton sending Nevel to the one-loss side in a hill-hill thriller. Clashing in the winners’-side finals, Young dealt Daulton his first loss to earn the hot seat. On the west side of the chart, Russ Edwards eliminated Randy Vaughn and Sparky Ferrell ousted Larry Price, both double-hill nail-biters.
Ferrell went on to survive another hill-hill match against Crockett but then fell down in the semifinals against Nevel, who sent him packing 9-4. Before that, Nevel had ousted Edwards 9-3. In the finals, Nevel held a 6-3 advantage over Young but broke and scratched. Young proceeded to break and run out the next four racks in a row to make it 7-6. He missed a ball but hooked Nevel, who kicked at it but left Young a shot. Young grabbed that rack and ran out the next two racks as well for the win.
Results:
1st Billy Young
2nd Larry Nevel
3rd Shannon Daulton
4th Sparky Ferrell
5th Russ Edwards
Dave Crockett
7th Randy Vaughn
Larry Price

Reyes, Bustamante, and Amit to Star in Upcoming Film 9-ball
World Champion Efren Reyes, International Champion Francisco Bustamante, and Champion Rubilen Amit have been cast to star in the movie 9-ball. The film is being directed by Anthony Palma of Main Street Productions, who also created the story, wrote/ the screenplay and will produce. Palma says, “It is a honor, and privilege to have these three great pool players now part of the cast of “9-ball.” pool players, and fans of the sport everywhere can look forward to seeing the Best of the Best, and most exciting players in the World in “9-ball.”
Francisco Bustamante, and Efren Reyes are two of the most respected pool champions in the history of the sport. In the film “9-ball” the audience will get to see what makes these champions the Heroes they are.

9-ball is about a young, up and coming pool player who breaks away from hustling pool in the back rooms of bars, to follow her dream of becoming the Women’s 9 ball Champion of the World. Palma is delighted to have World-renowned players cast in “9-ball.” Palma says, “ I want “9-ball” to show pool as the great sport it is and what better way to do that then have real life World Champions in the movie, these players represent what the movie “9-ball” is all about.”
Jennifer Barretta who is cast in the lead role says, “This project is the most exciting thing happening in pool right now and I’m excited to be a part of it. 9 ball is destined to become a classic,” The film has also garnered excitement from other greats such as Karin Corr and Julie Kelly who have already served as technical advisors on the script. They have also been cast to play themselves in the movie. World Champion Corr says, “After reading the screenplay for “9-ball” I was more impressed than ever to be involved with this film. “9-ball” is the first film produced that combines women’s professional pool with a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat…Gail is a young woman with a lot of guts, determination, and ambition to become the 9-ball Women’s World Champion. “9-ball” is a film that you want to see, and after you see it to go shoot pool,” Kelly is also excited to be a part of the movie. “I also like that it is about a woman pool player, we’ve seen great pool movies but nothing like “9-ball.” The film aims to inspire all up and coming pool players to take their craft seriously and follow their dreams professionally. said Kelly.

9-ball
The film is scheduled to begin principal photography June 15th. at Universal Studios. This independent film will be directed, and produced by Anthony Palma for Main Street Productions. Executive Producer is Ralph Clemente. For more information about the film, please visit the website at www.mainstreetproductions.com (http://www.mainstreetproductions.com/) or call 215-764-6128

Souvanthong Scores on Joss Tour
Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Rochester, NY

by Rick Davis
Bucky Souvanthong topped a field of 37 billiard players at the March 29-30 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour. The event was hosted by Classic billiards in Rochester, NY, and offered some of the best 9-ball action around for the weekend.
Late on the winners’ side Dan Heidrich sent Jason “The Dark Horse” Kirkwood west 9-6 but then fell to Souvanthong 9-7 in the hot seat match. On the one-loss side Ron Casanzio was working on a comeback, eliminating Jim Behringer 9-4 to reach the quarterfinal round. Kirkwood was also still fighting, and after ousting Pat Howey 9-5, he knocked out Casanzio 9-4. In the quarterfinals Kirkwood went on to get revenge against Heidrich, whom he eliminated with a 9-5 score.
In the final the true double-elimination format made it an interesting fight, and after Kirkwood owned the opening set 9-3 it looked to be anyone’s game. With the last set running, neither player could get an edge and finally, with the match at 8-all, both players had the opportunity to close out the set. After each had failed to claim it Souvanthong managed to capture the final rack for the 9-8 win.
Results:
1st Bucky Souvanthong
2nd Jason Kirkwood
3rd Dan Heidrich
4th Ron Casanzio
5th Jim Behringer
Pat Howey
7th Dan Smith
Chris Orme

Luethi Lassos a Billiard Win
Tri-State Tour / Edison, NJ

by Rick Davis
The Tri-State Tour pulled into The Sand Castle in Edison, NJ, where Chris Luethi bested the 45-player field during the March 29 event to take home the title. This event was a B-D handicapped 9-ball event, and its double-elimination format made for some great action.
On the winners’ side Michael Seas defeated Angelo Quadara 7-3, while Luethi bested Jason Egeln 6-5. Then, in the hot seat match set, Luethi edged out Seas 6-5 to claim the king of the hill seat. Over on the one-loss side Ben Sadowski ousted Brian Cap 7-2 but then fell to Egeln 6-2, who then reached the plateau of the quarterfinal match. On the other side of the chart Sal Lanuto eliminated Bogie Udejczyk 7-5 but was then uprooted by Quadara 7-5 on his way through the chart. Quadara flew through the quarterfinals, drilling Egeln 7-3 there and then knocked out Seas 7-4 in the semifinals.
With the event coming to a close, Luethi faced Quadara in the finals, and after the match tipped back and forth, Luethi managed to finish ahead by a nose, earning the event title with the 7-6 win in the finals.
Results:
1st Chris Luethi
2nd Angelo Quadara
3rd Michael Seas
4th Jason Egeln
5th Sal Lanuto
Ben Sadowski
7th Bogie Udejczyk
Brian Cap

Latin America with Opportunity to Send Biggest Contingent Ever to Predator International 10-ball Championship
San Juan, Puerto Rico - Dragon Promotions has alotted 12 spots for billiard players from America’s Southern continent this year for the upcoming Predator International 10-ball Championship in Las Vegas at the Riviera Hotel Casino during the BCA pool Leagues National 8-ball Championships May 12-17,2008. 96 pool players will be vying for the top prize of $17,000.
The Caribbean billiards Union will be selecting and sending the very best players from all over the Caribbean, Central and South America including Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, Guatemala, Aruba, Netherland Antilles, Puerto Rico and more. Last year only four players represented Latin America at the Predator event and only 3 Latin American players were able to participate in international events such as the World 9-ball Championship.
This is a tremendous opportunity for Latin American and Caribbean players to showcase their talent and also get valuable experience. The Predator International 10-ball Championships is one of the world’s most prestigious events. We’ve never had the opportunity to send so many of our players and so this is a great milestone for Latin America pool. says Harold Acosta - President Caribbean billiards Union Puerto Rican Billiard Federation.
Acosta will also be producing the Puerto Rico 9-ball Classic which will feature all the top talents of Southern Americas. The top 6 finishers will receive one of the 12 invites to the Predator International Championship in Las Vegas.
For more info on the event please visit Dragonpromotions.com or call 1-407-782-4978

KwifFire Cues Sponsors Young billiards Pros
KwikFire Cues proudly announces sponsorship with two aspiring young billiards pros. We all need to support and promote young players–these guys are the future of pool, said KwikFire President Kelly Fisher.

The talented young players are 13-year-old Jonathan Castillo from NJ and 10-year-old Taylor Reynolds from Maine, who is coincidentally playing on the same table Tiffany Nelson practiced on in her youth, Watch out, Tiffany!
They will join Team KwikFire, alongside Gerda Hofstatter, Kim Shaw, Val Finnie, Morgan Steinman, Tiffany Nelson, and Kelly Fisher.

IPT Announces Undercard Match
The International pool Tour announces the addition of an undercard pool match to the April 29th live broadcast. The bonus under-card match will be a 14.1 Straight pool game to 125 points. The two players are reigning straight pool World Champion Oliver Ortmann (Germany) and “Mr. 400” John Schmidt (U.S.A.), who is known for his remarkable high runs in the game.
Both players were surprised and excited to compete in a live challenge match. They were even more surprised when they heard they would be competing playing straight pool. Schmidt mentioned that he was looking forward to the challenge of playing straight pool on the traditional slow-nap cloth, which is made by Gorina for the International pool Tour.
The under-card match will be played immediately before the feature match of the night- The IPT Ultimate 8-ball “Viewers Choice.” Players for the feature match are being chosen by fan votes on www.internationalpooltour.com (http://www.internationalpooltour.com). Fans can still vote, for free, for who they would like to see compete against each other in the April 29th live feature match. Fans can also watch the entire live broadcast, including the under-card bonus match, absolutely free of charge. Voting for the players ends at midnight (central) April 11th, 2008. Live results are currently running on the web site so that fans can monitor the daily movements of the leaderboard.
For more information about the free April 29th live broadcast, or to sign up for free and vote for your favorite player, please visit www.internationalpooltour.com (http://www.internationalpooltour.com). The web site also features a video library including instructional videos and feature full-length matches. Player biographies, statistics, photo galleries, and other features are also available on the International pool Tour web site.

Bowman Double-Dips Nelson
Pechauer All-American Tour / Davenport, IA

by InsidePOOL Staff
Jesse Bowman ran away with the March 22 stop of the Pechauer All-American Tour by twice besting Mark Nelson in the final set. Hosted by Miller Time billiards in Davenport, IA, this $500-added event drew 34 players in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.
Nelson went undefeated to the finals. In the hot seat match, Nelson slipped past Steve Parlow 6-5. Earlier, in the A-bracket semifinals, Nelson outpointed Jim LaFavre 6-4, while Parlow dominated Shawn Sommers 6-2. In the B-side round of eight, Bowman recovered from an early round loss to eliminate Rodney Flenoi 8-4, while Rich Bideaux clipped Eric Ward 6-4.
In the quarterfinals, Bideaux white-washed Sommers 6-0, while Bowman put a hurt on LaFavre by an 8-1 margin. Bowman ended Bideaux’s run at fourth place by an 8-4 margin, and he continued his hot streak in the B-side finals by ousting Parlow 8-0. The finals featured Nelson versus Bowman, with Bowman having to win two sets to claim the title. And that is exactly what Bowman did by turning back Nelson 8-4, 8-1 for the title.

Results:
1st Jesse Bowman
2nd Mark Nelson
3rd Steve Parlow
4th Rich Bideaux
5th Jim LaFavre
Shawn Sommers
7th Rodney Flenoi
Eric Ward

Park Scores Perfect Performance
Predator 9-ball Tour / New York City, NY

by Jerry Tarantola
The Predator 9-ball Tour’s fourth stop of the season drew a record 84 players to the heart of New York City the weekend of March 22-23. Soho billiards played hosted to the event, which brought out new faces and the usual stand-out players, including Tony Robles, Shin Park, George Sansouci, and Jeremy Sossei, but Shin Park was the only player left standing at the end of it all.

Frankie Hernendez came close to repeating back-to-back Predator Tour wins as he and Park were the two undefeated players of the winners’ bracket. The two battled it out for the hot seat, and Park came out undefeated, sending Hernandez to the one-loss side.

Robles was sent to the west side late Saturday night in a grueling match against Hernendez on the first day. However, that loss fueled Robles Sunday as his momentum gained him six consecutive wins, defeating Sansouci 9-1, Eddie Vazquez 9-2, Chuck Altomare 9-2, and Jorge Rodriguez 9-6 to face off against Hernendez again. In the battle of two of the state’s greatest players, Robles proved unstoppable, convincingly defeating Hernandez 9-3.

In the finals, Park took an early 3-0 lead, but Robles fought back to even the score. Throughout the match, Park’s break was consistently effective, while Robles struggled to keep the cue ball on the table, scratching five times. The battle continued all the way to 8-8. A missed 7 ball by Robles allowed Park to gain a 10-8 lead, but Park surprisingly missed an easy 4 ball to give Robles an opportunity to close the gap. Robles managed to grab only one more rack before Park made it across the finish line to capture the fourth stop of the Predator Tour 11-9.

Results:
1st Shin Park
2nd Tony Robles
3rd Frankie Hernandez
4th Jorge Rodriguez
5th Chuck Altomare
Jeremy Sossei
7th Eddie Vazquez
Joe Pierce
9th Caroline Pao
George Sansouci
Mike Fingers
Mike Wong

Haddad Hits a Home Run
Pechauer All-American Tour / Lakewood, CO

by InsidePOOL Staff
Mark Haddad soared to first place at the March 22 stop of the Pechauer All-American Tour. Hosted by Greenfields pool and Sports Bar in Lakewood, CO, the $1,000-added event drew the maximum 48 players in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.
In the hot seat match, Haddad outscored Sam Cordova 5-1. Earlier, in the A-bracket semifinals, Haddad defeated Jeremy Fournier 5-4, while Cordova topped off Bill Skinner 5-3. The A-bracket quarterfinals included Cordova dropping Dino Devoe 5-1, Skinner dominating John Duran 5-1, Haddad besting Noe Gonzalez 5-3, and Fournier eclipsing Ronnie Chavez 5-2.

In the B-side final eight, Chavez clipped Chuey Rivera 5-4, and Dave Gomez ousted Devoe 5-1. In the quarterfinals, Chavez and Gomez continued their winning ways by eliminating Skinner 5-4 and Fournier 5-0, respectively. The semifinals saw Gomez clip Chavez 5-4, but the B-side finals ended Gomez’s run at the hands of Cordova by a 5-1 margin. The finals featured Cordova versus Haddad, with Cordova having to win two sets to claim the title. But Haddad was determined to remain undefeated, as he comfortably won the first set 5-2 for the title.

Results:
1st Mark Haddad
2nd Sammy Cordova
3rd Dave Gomez
4th Ronnie Chavez
5th Bill Skinner
Jeremy Fournier
7th Dino Deveo
Chuey Rivera
9th John Duran
Greg Wey
Greg Romero
Noe Gonzalez

IPT Viewers Choice Challenge MatchPress Release

It’s time to make the voting more interesting! Phase Two of the player voting starts now. Basic Members can now vote twice per day. This new phase will allow you to either double-up on votes for your favorite player, or, you can vote for the two players you would like to see match up. Either way, get out there and support your favorite player(s). And remember, the live broadcast and player voting is absolutely free.

A few players have jumped out to a small early lead. Vilmos Foldes from Hungary, Austrians Jasmin Ouschan and Gerda Hofstatter are all fighting for the top position. These players have benefitted from some viral marketing, including an article on a popular Hungarian web site promoting Foldes. Other players climbing up in the rankings include the U.K.’s Karl Boyes and Darren Appleton, whose personal appeals to the pool forums crowd have paid off so far for them. Hall of Fame member Earl Strickland is rapidly moving up on the chart as well.

Fans can go to International pool Tour and vote. Now that Basic Members have two votes each, per day, the dedicated fans are going to have more influence. Player biographies and statistics are available for those voters who are unsure of whom to vote for. Click Here to go directly to the voting page.

The April 29th match will be broadcast live on the IPT web site for free! The match is the fourth live challenge match of the Ultimate 8-ball challenge match series. For more match details, the voting page, and the live results, visit the International pool Tour web site (http://www.internationalpooltour.com).

Sisemore and Butler Qualify For Nationals
The South Texas Junior pool Tour held its first Junior Qualifier at its newest sponsor poolroom, Bogies billiards and Games, in Houston, TX, Saturday, March 22. They came from as far as Sherman, TX, to qualify for a chance to compete and win a qualifying spot for Junior Nationals.
Nineteen juniors, along with parents, family members, and friends, converged on Bogies billiards to battle it out for qualifying spots for the 2008 Junior Nationals. For junior hopefuls and brothers Joey (11) and J.C Torres (14), this was their first event, and even though they were eliminated, they were determined to qualify. Joey wowed the crowd on Saturday, taking down opponents in record time in an attempt to fight through the one-loss side after a first-round hill-hill loss to Brandon Sisemore (17). Eric Molina (17) also fought his way back from the one-loss side, finally eliminating Joey Torres and Sam Burns in order to meet up with the undefeated Sisemore for one final race to 7. Eric’s methodical and collected style couldn’t see him through to the end, for Brandon powered his way through to a 7-4, come-from-behind win, earning him a first-place trophy and the qualifier spot.
On the ladies’ side, Macy Bullard and Shelby Butler met in the semifinals. Shelby defeated Macy, who took home a very impressive third-place finish. It was the seemingly unstoppable Taylor Satterwhite and one-loss side player Shelby Butler competing in a final race to 7. Shelby took it home with a score of 7-4, winning her first junior tournament and qualifier. Taylor had previously qualified for Nationals a few weeks earlier, so these two best friends will be traveling to Arizona together.
Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news on the sport of billiards and pool.