Category: Features

It’s the Hatchetman for Team USA!
Dangerous Dennis Set for Mosconi Debut

AFTER 14 DAYS of voting and some tireless campaigning by all eight candidates, it is Dennis Hatch who will be donning the colours of Team USA for the first time in his career after coming through via the fans’ vote on Mosconi Cup Idol.

‘The Hatchetman’, 38, took the lead in the vote with a few days to go and increased it over the final weekend to win by just over 6% from Rodney Morris, and then Charlie Williams.

November 5-8
Sunset Bowl – Waukesha, WI
Final Results
$7,100 Total Prize Fund
$1,850 Added Money
38 Teams and 63 Singles

The first annual ACS Wisconsin State 8-ball Tournament was held on November 5-8, 2009 at Flannagan’s and Sporties Bar inside Sunset Bowl, Waukesha, WI. There was a promising turnout for the inaugural event with 38 teams, 63 singles players, and a total of $7,100.00 in prize money.

Bob Yalen, Director of Sport & Entertainment, Mohegan Sun, congratulating the U.S.A team after giving them their Gold Medals. (from left to right) Bruce Barthelette, Andy Segal, Bob Yalen, Tom Rossman and Mike Massey.

2009 WORLD CUP OF TRICK SHOTS
The WORLD CUP OF TRICK SHOTS was held October 29 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Team U.S.A. claimed the title over Team Europe in the Fourth Annual international team competition in the sport of Trick Shots. The prize purse was $30,000 for the event, with $20,000 and Gold Medals to the winning team.
Captain Andy Segal led Team U.S.A. to victory and the Gold Medal. Other Team U.S.A. members who were awarded the Gold Medal were Tom Rossman, Mike Massey and Bruce Barthelette. Silver Medalists from Team Europe included Captain Stefano Pelinga, Nick Nickolaidis, Luke Szywala, and Ralph Eckert. Their team also won $10,000.

The 34th U.S. Open

Mika Immonen pulled off a stunning come from behind victory to win his second consecutive U.S. Open title. Following an 11-9 second round loss to Chris Bartram, Mika won fourteen matches in a row, concluding with a 13-10 victory over Ralf Souquet in the finals. Along the way he had to overcome some tough opposition and extremely difficult conditions.

This was an Open filled with adversity for all the players. Tough equipment in the form of Diamond Pro Tables, serious competition with 216 world class players hailing from twenty six countries, long matches and late nights with play extending past 3 AM several times. Plus long waits between matches with nothing to do and nowhere to go. It was a long way to Q-Master Billiards and the only practice tables around. At the tournament site, practice was limited to early mornings and a few scattered minutes between rounds.

2009 DR. CUE INTERNATIONAL TALENT SEARCH

I am proud to announce that I have been selected as one of eight audition finalists, which have the unique opportunity to win the first 2009 Cue-Dean-E worldwide talent search competition.

For the first time since I have invented this shot 4 months ago, I am releasing a picture of my MAGIC MOMENT WITH 16 BALLS. There are over 120 decks of cards, 16 cues, and a host of other props that will be on the table.

Photo (l to r): Sabra MacArthur-Beahn (2nd Place), Gary Gilsinan (Ultimate Billiards), Stephanie Mitchell (1st Place)

Fort Pierce, Fla. (Oct. 24, 2009) ““ Gas money was no problem on the ride home for Stephanie Mitchell and Sabra MacArthur-Beahn as the two took home the top prizes in the October 24th Flamingo Billiards Tour stop. The pair had road-tripped together across the state to Ultimate Billiards in Fort Pierce, Fla., where Stephanie found herself in the driver’s seat by defeating Sabra 7-5 in the finals.

23rd October
First Man Named for Team USA
of Famer Archer Gets 13th Mosconi Call Up

JOHNNY ARCHER, the 40 year-old veteran of 12 Mosconi Cups, gets his chance to help overturn a four year winless spell for America as he becomes the first player named for Team USA ahead of December’s PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) is pleased to announce that seven (7) junior players will be representing the United States in the XVIII World Junior 9-Ball Championships, November 3-8, 2009, in Managua, Nicaragua.

The World Junior 9-Ball Championships will comprise over fifty (50) of the world’s best junior players from six (6) continents and over twenty (20) countries. The Billiard Congress of America (BCA), as the North America member of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), is granted the invitations that make it possible for North American players to participate in this prestigious event.

MONK DOES IT AGAIN ON FLAMINGO BILLIARDS TOUR
Monk vs. Caukin becoming familiar pairing

Stuart, Fla. (Oct. 4, 2009) ““ To quote the great Yogi Berra, it was déjà vu all over again as Michell Monk topped Helene Caukin to win the Flamingo Billiards Tour stop on October 3. Monk previously defeated Caukin in the finals of the inaugural tourney in August, and as fate would have it, the two drew each other in the first round of the October event.

The modified double-elimination tournament was held at Amy’s Billiards (www.amysbilliards.com) in Stuart, Fla. and was hosted by Amy Poulter, one of Florida’s top players and a familiar name on the money list.

Luc Salvas with Scott Sullens of Fusion Tables (left) and Ivan Lee of Simonis Coth

The 2009 ESPN ZONE BILLIARDS SHOOTOUT was held September 16 in Las Vegas. Luc Salvas defeated Dave Pearson for the INTERNATIONAL SPEED POOL CHALLENGE crown and the $25,000 purse. ESPN Zone Las Vegas was host to the event, which was taped for three 1-hour telecasts on ESPN November 15..
The Fourth Annual INTERNATIONAL SPEED POOL CHALLENGE drew an international lineup battling for the $25,000 winner-take-all prize. The action in Speed Pool is fast and furious (the speed of light compared to  9-ball) with two sets, twelve racks in each set, the first set Straight Pool and the second set 8-Ball. Players routinely run racks of fifteen balls in about 1-minute and the player with the lowest accumulated time for twelve racks wins the match.
Salvas of Canada and Pearson, a native of England, emerged from the pack as the top guns. In the Championship Match, Salvas overcame Pearson by scores of 7:37 / 7:43 minutes the first set and 8:31 / 10:41 minutes the second set to capture the title and $25,000. In the match, Salvas ran five perfect racks for a bonus of 50 seconds deducted from his overall time.  In semifinal action, Salvas zipped past Jason Kane  8:16 / 8:31 in the first set and 9:58 / 10:35 in the second set. The other semifinal saw Person zap Bobby McGarth, the 2008 Champion, in straight sets 7:38 / 8:10 and 8:40 / 9:32. Pearson, who holds several Speed Pool records in the Guinness Book of World Records, displayed excellent form to defeat McGarth, who also won the event in 2007. Even then, it went to the last rack of the second set to decide the match.

Korean phenom, Yu Ram Cha, certainly had her work cut out for her going into day 5 of the Women’s Pro 9-Ball Tournament at the Galveston World Classic, but would prove to be up for the challenge. Cha had suffered a loss in early rounds to Allison Fisher but would have her chance at revenge.