Author: Paul

The 11th annual Pa. State TAP Titleholder was held on June 2-5, 2011 at the Cooperstown Vets in Derry, Pa. Over 60 teams from 3 states competed for the top prize of $4,000. This annual event is hosted by the Laurel Highlands division of TAP in Western Pa. A total of over $15,000 was paid out in tournament and first place division prize money.
This was the second time the Coopertown Vets (“The Coop”) hosted a major TAP event and they were very pleased with the players and the event in general. They bent over backwards to accommodate the teams with great food and beer prices.

WOMEN’S US OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Final Bout: And the Winner is… Allison Fisher!

TULSA, OK – Defending champ vs. the world’s best woman player in the history of pool. Who would win? That was the big question and it got answered in a big way as Allison Fisher took the title from 2x US Open Champion Ga Young Kim in a heated battle that Allison won 7-4.

Fisher won the opening break, but couldn’t capitalize, giving the first game win to Kim. But Allison quickly tied things up after Ga Young missed a jump shot, then broke and ran the next two racks to lead 3-1 in the race to seven.

In game five, players traded safes for a few shots until Kim got the first clear look at a shot and ran out to trail 2-3. In game six, a missed bank on the two by Kim again put Allison in the driver’s seat. She ran the rack… to the nine… and uncharacteristically missed, leaving Ga Young Kim an easy nine to tie the match 3-3. She broke and ran to the five, nearly missing it but slopping it in the other corner (with apologies to her opponent), then made a 6-9 combination to pull ahead 4-3.
Breaking in game eight, Kim ran to the three, played safe, but the cue ball slow rolled its way into the corner pocket. Fisher played safe and Kim kicked and made a ball, but missed a bank. Allison played a long six ball and caromed in the nine to tie it up 4-4!

A scratch on a safety attempt in the next game might have resulted in a runout for Kim, but missed position on the five ball caused a miss on a tough five. Allison ran out to again lead the match, 5-4. Fisher broke in game ten and played safe on the one. Ga Young made the hit with her jump cue, but left Allison a clear shot on the one. She executed a perfect runout to get to the hill 6-4!

Allison broke, pocketed the five on the break, made the one ball and then… made a 2-9 combination for the WIN! Visit wpba.com/2011usopen.pdf for a blow by blow of the final match!

1st place – Raphael DaBreo ; 2nd Place – Michael Harrington.
Also includes, on the far right, Kevin Buckley Co-Owner operator of Gotham City Billiards.

Jeanette Lee Visits Memphis at Highpockets

By Bob Hunt

It has to be something special to pull me out of semi retirement and put me back behind this typewriter.  Some experiences are just too good to miss.  On (May 25, 2011) at High Pockets poolroom in Memphis Tennessee, Jeanette Lee performed on tour.  Jeanette is a very special gift to the world of pool.  Her Black Widow flair, her long sensual black hair, and leather attire present her unmistakable trademark.  The poolroom was set up with television flair with no vacant seat visible an hour before show time.  A full house of players and fans were on hand to welcome the Black Widow and the Widow Maker as we sat in expectation to witness a night of pool heaven magic.

Melling won $40,000 and, in the process, declared loud and clear that he will be a force to be reckoned with among an already strong heap of English and European  pool players for the foreseeable future.

(Shanghai, China)–Playing virtually mistake free 9-ball, and seemingly immune to the pressure,

Fu Xiao Fang defeated fellow Chinese and defending champion Chen Siming 9-3 to capture the China Open championship Sunday afternoon in Shanghai.

Tropicana Las Vegas A Hit With Players!

USA and Canada Share Honors at the 2011 Lucasi Hybrid Cues ACS Nationals in Las Vegas
Moving the 2011 ACS National Championships to the newly-renovated Tropicana Las Vegas, May 7-14 – at the urging of the ACS board of directors ““ proved a shrewd move, as the service-oriented property bent over backwards with its friendliness and attention to detail to host the American CueSports Alliance most major Championships! When the heat of competition in twenty-four divisions of play in 8-ball and 9-ball had cooled off, players and teams from both USA and Canada merited similar overall successes.

In the Men’s 9-Ball Singles Houston’s undefeated Nick Hood took advantage of his handicap rating to dispatch Bill Mason (Virginia Beach, VA) in the one-set finals, 7-5. The Women’s 9-Ball Singles crown was hoisted by Jessica Frideres (Ft. Dodge, IA), who spotted opponent Leslee Davis (Lutz, FL) one game and fell behind 0-3 before recovering to take the division by a 7-4 margin! In 8-ball singles, Ike Runnels (Kankakee, IL) comfortably dispatched the always dangerous Glenn Atwell (Gig Harbor, WA) in the first set of the finals, 7-3, to claim the Men’s Advanced 8-Ball Singles top spot; while Canadian Sherry Warren (St. John’s, NL) and Kit Dennis (Ridgefield, WA) ““ more than 3,000 miles apart in residences ““ dueled to a final’s 7-6 climax in favor of Warren for the Women’s Advanced 8-Ball Singles laurels.

Charlotte, NC – June 1, 2011

Fury Cues is proud to announce the addition of their most recent pro player representative, Xiao-Ting Pan. Pan’s talent and growing list of achievements have made her one of the most famous female players in China.

Pan burst onto the American pool scene in 2006 with a number of wins in regional tournaments, and even secured WPBA Rookie of the Year honors. The following year, 2007, she proceeded to win the WPBA Great Lakes Classic event and the WPA World 9-Ball Ladies Championship. In 2008, she captured the Generationpool.com Open 9-Ball Ladies Championship, and then went on to win the 2010 WPBA Tour Championship.

More divisions and events were created for players at this year’s (35th) BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships. With the addition of the Men’s and Women’s 9-Ball Open Singles divisions, two new 9-ball team divisions were added to the end of the 10-day extravaganza so players could have more events in which to participate. A new 8-Ball Mixed Advanced division was also created to allow more teams to compete as well.

Of the nine total 8-ball and 9-ball team divisions, three of the winning teams came from the Chicago area. In the Men’s Mixed 8-Ball Open Team division, the Chicago team Off Constantly was not off at all. They went undefeated through the field of 618 teams with only a couple close matches. In the finals, they bested The Little Rascals from Downey, California by a devastating score of 13 to 4. “œThis was our first time playing nationals together,” said Off Constantly team captain Tony Gahala.

(L-R) Muslim Sarfaraz (2nd) and Joe Girdpool (1st)

Stop #8 on the 2011 United States Snooker Association (USSA) Tour, sponsored by Aramith Billiard Balls and Strachan West Of England snooker cloth, was won by Joe Girdpool who claimed his second Las Vegas tour win of the year, including this one at his host room, 4 Kaz Snooker Club & Bar, May 21-22.

The finals of the 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship was between two highly decorated professionals from both sides of the Atlantic. After 6 days the field of 96 player, representing 10 countries, whittled down to U.S. favorite Shane Van Boening and Spain’s David Alcaide.  Held at the Riviera Hotel & Casino and produced by CueSports International (CSI), in front of an enthusiastic crowd, Van Boening was crowned the 2011 champion winning 11-6.

Starting the day four players returned for day six of the event. The first match featured Spain’s David Alcaide versus relatively unknown player, Dennis Haar from Terre Haute, Indiana. This was Haar’s first professional 10-ball tournament and his best finish in any big event. Haar cleared a path to the final four by way of defeating top players James Baraks, Mitch Ellerman, Mike Dechaine, and Jonathan Pinegar. Unfortunately, his efforts fell short against Alcaide who jumped ahead at 6-5. Haar jumped and hung a 1-ball for Alcaide to get on the hill. At 7-5, Haar missed a 4-7 combination that would cost him the match.