March2003 - Inside Pool Magazine

Transcription

• The new Meucci Black Dot Bullseye FlatLaminated shaft is made from, not 6, not 8,
not 10 or 12 separate pieces, but 35 flat
Northern Hard Rock Maple laminations,
the same as a tree normally grows.
• Radial Consistency of this shaft is equal
to Natural Hard Maple or any of the pie
laminated shafts presently on the market.
• The less than 2% spine differential of this shaft is marked
with our Black Dot Bullseye for those of you who can detect
slight nuances and play to this extremely high level.
• The end result: The most consistent, hi tech, greatest performing cue shaft in the world today, unequalled by all
other products.
• This fact is being proven at every amateur event and
trade show across the USA. These new shafts out perform
all other competitors’ shafts by a minimum margin of 50%
less deflection, with increased power as a bonus.
• Nothing can compare with what the new consistent Black
Dot Bullseye Flat-Laminated shaft will do for your game.
w w w. i n s i d e p o o l . c o m
On the
Cover>
of
Table Contents
20
Features
20 Inaugural Mid-Atlantic
9-Ball Event
by Sally P. Timko
Reyes Rises to the Top of an
International First-Class Field
28 Daulton Sets Music City
on it’s Ear
by Sally P. Timko
Runs Seven Racks in a Row
Twice for First
32 Black Widow Bitten in
Pittsburgh
by Mark Whiteside
Canadian Club Vegas
Showdown Qualifiers Begin
Efren Reyes,
winner of the
first MidAtlantic
9-Ball
Tournament
Instruction
8
Ask Allison
by Allison Fisher
10 On the Road with the
Monk
by Tim Miller
The Four Stages of Pocket
Billiards
12 Grady’s Grad School
28
by Grady Mathews
Letter to the Editor
14 Pro Pool Workout
by Bob Henning
The Power of Staying
16 Practical Practice
by Tom Simpson
Cause the Pause
18 Pool Prayers
Columns
6
by Richard Kranicki
Facial Guide Points
From the Editor
by Mark Whiteside
I Want to be Your Sledgehammer
34 What’s in the Case
Scott Frost
36 The Buss Stop
by Jim Buss
A Tale of the Tip
38 The Good Old Days
by Mark & Connie Stellinga
Right on Cues
42 What’s New?
by InsidePOOL Staff
48 The School for Scoundrels
by Chef Anton
A Hard One-Railer
2
Inside Pool Magazine
Departments
4 Advertiser Directory
5 Pool on TV
50 League Report
Regional Roundup
52 Northeastern
60 Southeastern
64 Central
58 Western
78 Industry News
32
79
Advertiser Directory
InsidePoolPoolonTV
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Allison Fisher’s Billiard Academy . . . . . . . .48
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American Poolplayers Assoc. . . . . . . . . . . .53
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Atlas Billiard Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
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Beads and Billiards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
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Bebob Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
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Bert Kinister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
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Billiard Business Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . .37
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Billiard Club Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
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Billiard Warehouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
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Billiards.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC
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Billiardcue.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
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Chef Anton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
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Crown Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
www.crownawards.com
Cue & Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26-27
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Cue Doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
www.cuedoctor.com
Cuestix International . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover
www.scorpioncues.com
D&D Cue Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
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Falcon Cues, Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
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Five Star Billiards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
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Frank’s Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
www.frankscenterinc.com
Flyin’ Lion Billiard Antiques . . . . . . . . . . . .47
www.billiard-antiques.com
Fury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
www.fury-cues.com
Great Seminol Senior Open . . . . . . . . . . . .62
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InsidePool.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
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Inside Pool Magazine . . . . . . .16, 35, 61, 77
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4
Jacoby Custom Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
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Jerry Olivier Custom Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
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Jim Buss Custom Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
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Legends of One Pocket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
www.gradymathews.com
Legends Sports Pub & Grille . . . . . . . .55, 57
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Meucci Custom Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
www.meuccicues.com
Mueller Recreational Products . . . . . . . .7, 43
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Olhausen Billiards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC
www.olhausenbilliards.com
Paul Mottey Custom Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
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Pool Table Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
www.pooltablemagic.com
Pool Cube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
www.poolcube.com
Quick-Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
www.quick-clean.com
Reno Open 9-Ball Tournament . . . . . . . . . .73
www.quick-clean.com
Richard Chudy Custom Cues . . . . . . . . . . .76
925-798-4369
Richard Kranicki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
www.1stbooks.com
Run-Out Sportswear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
www.run-out.com
Sledgehammer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
www.babysproshop.com
Sterling Gaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
www.sterling-gaming.com
Stroketrainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
www.stroketrainer.com
The Association for P.O.O.L. . . . . . . . . . . . .51
www.tapleague.com
The Monk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
www.themonk.com
The Pool School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
www.thepoolschool.com
Tiger Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
www.tigerproducts.com
Tom Simpson, Billiard Instruction . . . . . . .76
tsimpson@columbus.rr.com
Viking Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
www.vikingcue.com
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5
InsidePoolColumn
From The Editor
by Mark Whiteside
I Want to be Your Sledgehammer
I
Photo by Lawrence Lustig
n February I received an e-mail from one of our readers, and
pool. The WPA has an active set of
since I had already been thinking about the subject matter, it
rules that are named the World
became a natural source of interest to me.A good friend had
Standardized Rules.To my way of thinking, every tavern, league,
purchased one of Mike “Babyface” Gulyassy’s “Sledgehammer”
tournament, or competition of any type in pool should be played
break/jump cues with the phenolic resin tip. I had my thoughts
by the same rules, those promulgated by the WPA.
about the new equipment, mostly negative, but I had not had
That being the case, the first person that I called in my
anyone else state their opposition to me before. I must state that
search for answers was John Lewis of the BCA.To my surprise,
I come from the “old school” that has never and probably will
he told me that the Sledgehammer and other phenolic resinnever choose to jump balls. Being from the age group that grew
tipped cues had been legalized for both breaking and jumping
up playing straight pool, I was rather taken aback the first time
for about two years, since the last rules meeting of the WPA.This
that I saw a player attempt a jump shot. My feelings have not realsurprised me, because as a competitor on the Viking Tour (began
ly changed since that day. If I can’t
using BCA/WPA rules this year)
kick and hit it, then I just won’t hit
the tour director allowed players
it. I may be behind the times, but I
to break with them, but not to
consider myself a purist when it
jump with them. I called Mike
comes to the sport.
Janis, the director, and told him
I will only print a portion of
what I had learned from John
his communication due to space
Lewis, and he was very surprised.
limitations. I am a custom cue
He called John Lewis himself and
maker and asst. tournament
then called me back to inform me
director at Northfield Billiards
that as of the weekend of March 1(Northfield, OH) weekly 9-ball
2, 2003, this type of cue would be
tournaments. I have noticed an
allowed on the Viking Tour.
increase
in
“jump”
or
My next call was to Mike
When Ralf Souquet of Germany played on the victori“jump/break” cues that do not
Gulyassy to fill him in on what I
ous European Mosconi Cup squad in December, he
meet the specifications for player
had learned, and he gave me a
was allowed to both break and jump with his
equipment in either BCA or Texas
quick lesson on the basic compoSledgehammer since it was played under the World
Express rules. Why, you ask?
sition of which his tip/ferrule
Standardized Rules.
Because they do not have a tip on
combination consisted. The phethem – instead, they have a phenolic resin that he uses is not the
nolic ferrule rounded on the end, simulating the shape of a tip.
same formula that either pool balls or ferrules are made from.
I subscribe to most of the billiard publications and I have
The mixture that he uses allows the tip to retain chalk well, prenever seen this topic covered. I think if you wrote about this in
venting miscues. In the future, his advertisements will state that
your magazine, you would help to educate a lot of the pool
the Sledgehammer meets BCA equipment specifications.
world. Thank You, Robert Giusti
In Atlantic City in February, I got the opportunity to ask Ralf
Well, Rob, we’re going to educate them, but not how we
Souquet why he chose to use one. His reply initially spoke to
expected to.The first question to ask is:Whom shall we look to
convenience when he said,“I was tired of having to carry a third
as the rule-making body for pool? Unfortunately, here in the U.S.
cue around, and with the Sledgehammer I am able to be very
the rulebooks have been rewritten by several different organizaaccurate on both short and long jump shots.” He explained that
tions that claim to be pool’s governing body in this country. Rob
it took a short amount of time to adjust to both the feel of the
mentions Texas Express, but it hasn’t been an active entity for
contact and also the slightly different sound that striking the cue
half a dozen years now, so the rules will never be updated in any
ball made.
manner. I don’t consider their rules to be a viable option. Rob
Considering Rob’s and my personal feelings, we would
also mentions the Billiard Congress of America (BCA), the
probably have been better served to not say anything, but what
American pool organization that is a member of the World Poolfun would that be? Besides, if the rules say that it is okay, who am
Billiard Association, the recognized world governing body of
I to argue? Why don’t we all play by the same set of rules? ◆
6
InsidePoolInstruction
Ask Allison
by Allison Fisher
H
i pool fans, thanks for all the e-mails. I am going to
answer some more questions sent to me through my
website www.allisonfisher.com.
What weight of a cue do you shoot with?
I use an 18 ounce Cuetec cue. When I played snooker, I
played with a 19 ounce cue, which was the average used by
most players. I like an 18 ounce for pool, as I think I get more
feeling with this weight. It really does
not matter, as long as the weight is balanced in your hands and feels good.
My break cue is also 18 ounces, which
gives me more velocity when breaking. Because my break cue is also a
jump cue, the lighter weight in my
rear (right) hand also helps for jump
shots.
be on each shot. When I am ready to
start executing, I am planning three
shots at a time, making sure I get to
the correct side of balls and leave the right angles for my next
shot.As I make one shot, I add the next shot on to continue my
pattern of three shots ahead. For example, if I can see the 1, 2,
and 3 balls, after I make the 1 ball I now look at where I want
to be on the 3, 4, and 5 balls, as I am already positioned on the
2 ball. If the rack is not an easy run
out, I look for the problem balls, and
if I cannot break them out, maybe
my best solution is a good safety.
How do you stay cool
under pressure?
I don’t always! Of course
there are times when we all get
upset or annoyed with what happens at a pool table.The simple fact
of the matter is that once it is gone,
it is gone. We cannot bring it back,
so why worry? I think the main
thing is to be able to let go of a poor
shot right away. This sounds easier
than it is, but how are you going to
play when you get back to the table
with negative thoughts still in your
mind? Be ready for anything, take it
as it comes, and more than anything
enjoy it because this is why we all
play the game. ◆
Where are your eyes looking when you strike the
cue ball?
That is a good question. When I
strike the cue ball, my eyes are
focused on the object ball at the point
that I want the cue ball to make contact on the object ball.There are a few
special situations, however, when my
eyes look at the cue ball last. They are:
1.When I am bridging over a ball and
looking down at the table from above
2.When I am breaking
3.When I am striking a ball on the rail
4. When I am jumping the cue ball
over an impeding object ball
These times are the only times I
change my routine, as my head position in relation to the shot is different, and it is very important
to hit the center of the cue ball in order to avoid a miscue on
certain shots.
When you play pool, how far in advance do
you plan your shots?
After the break, I view the table and look for an obvious
run out. If the answer is yes, I have an idea of where I want to
8
Considered by many to be the
leading lady in womenís pool
today, Allison Fisher started her
illustrious pool career by winning
the World Snooker Championship
at the age of 17. She continued
playing snooker and living in England for the next ten years,
accumulating a stunning array of titles. In 1995, Allison relocated to the U.S., where her domination continues on the
womenís pro tour. She currently resides in Charlotte, NC, and
has recently become a BCA-certified instructor. Her countless
collection of awards, titles, and championships have made
Allison one of the most popular and well-respected players in
the game today.
When jumping the cue ball over an impeding
ball your eyes should be on the cue ball when
executing the stroke.
On the Road with the Monk
by Tim “The Monk” Miller
The Four Stages of Pocket Billiards
W
e have been talking about “The Monk’s Four Stages
of Pocket Billiards.” If you do not pass through each
stage, your game will not be as strong as you desire.
You will be plagued with inconsistencies; something will be
missing. On one day you will have it and on others you will
not. I played a match in Las
Vegas and ran five racks
against my opponent. He
followed me to my next
match and bet on me. A
different me showed up,
and I could not run four
balls. For the longest time
my game suffered the
“yoyo” syndrome. I was up
one day and down the
next. Now that I have
focused on the Four Stages
of Pocket Billiards, I can
put my best game
on the table
almost
every
time. Consistency
comes from having a well-rounded experience in
your pocket billiards development. You must
also gain your
inner freedom to
perform.
The
stroke, minus the
interference,
equals the shot.
The
shot
makers’ stage is the first experience you have in your journey.
The next stage is to master the four strokes. In the third stage,
we deal with cue ball speed. In the fourth stage you must master self. I was able to bring Suzanne Bosselman from a beginner to a world-class player in 14 months simply by taking her
through each stage one step at a time.We did not waste time
in haphazard practice. If you are on the right path, you will
pass through each stage.
10 Inside Pool Magazine
Most players today lack cue ball
speed control. They simply do not
practice this fine art. If they get the
cue ball in the right lane, they are happy. And most of the
times, they are successful with their next shot. But the run
begins to break
down as they
progress through
the rack. The last
three balls turn
them into shot
makers. They are
tempted to think
this causes their
anxiety, when in
fact, they got out
of line early and
had to wing it the
rest of the way.
The shots got
tougher, and this
made them nervAbove- The Monk
ous. If you study
snaps off a followthe
situation
through draw as he
closely,
you will
demonstrates the four
see
that
they
draw strokes at a
missed
position
workshop. Left- Left to
somewhere
right: Felix Martinez,
along the way
Carolyn Rodriguez,
and are now in a
Kelly Bate, Patricia
battle to stay at
Anvario, and Robert
the table. Of
Perez showed up in
course they are
Dallas for the worknervous. Their
shop on the four
trouble comes
stages of pocket
from lack of cue
billiards.
ball speed control.
When you practice the third stage of pocket billiards, you
should consider it a missed shot if you are not within two feet
of your next object ball.You must see the entire shot.The shot
ends when you pocket a ball and place the cue ball into a
desired location. My students play a game where you give up
ball-in-hand if you are not within two feet of your next object
Continued on page 74
Grady’s Grad School
by Grady Mathews
Letter to the Editor
A
3
10
s a player and teacher of our great game for over 40
years, I’d like to make a couple of comments about the
December 2002 article of one of my heros.
In Example #1, he says, “Place the cue ball near the intersection of the first diamond of the BOTTOM rail and the second diamond on the right side rail.” As with many tournament
commentators, he mistakenly called the head rail the bottom
rail. The foot rail at the lower end of the table is the bottom
rail. The end rail at the
head of the table is the
top rail.
Also, in Example #2,
Grady said when there’s
two balls on the spot and
you have cue ball in
hand behind the headstring, you can make the
back ball two rails by
using right english. No,
Grady, you have to use
left english on that shot,
or as Cornbread Red said,
A
“You’ll make both balls in
the other man’s pocket.”
Additionally, you had
many pictures of players using the bridge, in that same issue
- the right way and the wrong way. I posted one of each in my
poolroom. One of Allison Fisher showing the correct way to
shoot with the bridge, and another with a young man shooting with the bridge straight up in the air. These photos prove
that a picture is worth a thousand words. Nice work!
Sincerely, John Morris
Knoxville, Tennessee
John Morris of Knoxville, TN, writes that in the December
2002 issue, I mistakenly called the top rail the bottom rail.Well,
I say yes and no. While he is technically correct, being a onepocket artisan lo’ these many years, to me, playing “oil” (extremely good safety play especially emphasizing length) is to utilize
the “bottom rail.” As Danny D. would say, “That’s upstream.” I
have never used the terms “top rail”and “bottom rail”in the technically correct manner. I’m also guilty of other errors in speech
concerning pool. For instance, I’ve never used the word
“carom,” nor have I ever heard a pro say,“I’m going to carom that
ball in off the 8 ball.” We also don’t use
the term “headstring” unless we are
doing commentary.
In this month’s featured diagram, taken from the December
2002 issue of InsidePOOL Magazine, Mr. Morris further comments that it is necessary to use left english to execute this shot.
Actually, it is possible to make the shot using either english, but
the natural outside english is better. In addition, to getting the
proper action on the
two object balls, it is
easier to control the
P
cue ball. I must admit
that many of the modx
ern players use inside
english with great
success, and perhaps
for them and Mr.
Morris, inside english
would be better for
this and many other
shots. I learned this
wonderful one-pocket shot more than 40
years ago from the
great Johnny Vivas
(Connecticut Johnny). I then refined the shot and its various
permutations with the help of the infamous Jersey Red.All of the
concepts I learned so many years ago are still applicable today.
If you work hard on your one-pocket game, you’ll find that you
too can create interesting new shots and strategies.
Lastly, John Morris mentions proper use of the bridge.
Without mentioning any names, it’s fascinating to me that there
exists a young champion today who defeats “A level” players
shooting every shot with the bridge. I wouldn’t have believed it
if I hadn’t seen it more than once with my own eyes. I am grateful that I did see it. Otherwise, I surely would have lost a goodly
sum of money wagering to the contrary on this young man’s
“bridge game.” While perusing these interesting proposition
games, I rather enjoyed the uniqueness of this great player’s handling of the bridge, something that has always given me problems. It is obvious to me that this young man is even better than
the English snooker players at using the bridge. Mr. Morris is
absolutely correct in stating that Allison Fisher has perfect form
in using the bridge.The rest of her game is pretty good too. ◆
Pro Pool Workout
by Bob Henning
The Power of Staying
F
look and taste a lot like generic
From the beginning of your match to the end, you will
Tums, but they’ll make you a better
always be in one of three physical locations. You will
pool player. Honest!
either be at the table, in the player’s chair, or someIf you’re not buying that, let’s try the second option. Let’s
where on a break. Everyone understands the importance of
start
an examination of the shot process, see if we can polish
the time at the table, but performances are constantly influyours
up a bit, and make a better player out of you the old
enced and impacted by everything that happens in all three
fashioned
way—with work and effort.
of these locations. By everything, I mean the actions you
The
shot
process is where you actually execute, so it’s
take, the thoughts you think, and the feelings you have.
the
most
important
routine. It doesn’t matter if you have a
All players come to a match with some type of action
great shot selection
plan. For some it is a
process if you can’t execonsciously scripted
cute what you select.
outline and for others,
Likewise, it doesn’t matjust a loose idea based
ter how well you manage
on intuition and experiyourself in the chair or on
ence. Either way, the
a break if you can’t exepurpose of a plan is to
cute once you get back to
manage the flow of
the table.
events so you can proThe shot process
duce your best performis
defined
as the steps
ance. For those who
you
go
through
AFTER
scoff at such an idea,
you
commit
to
a
specific
consider the following
shot.
Sometimes this
question. If you don’t
process
flows
effortlessly
assume the managefrom
one
shot
to
another,
ment role in your own
but
at
other
times
it stops
game, then who does?
and
starts
on
individual
Great plans are
shots. It all depends on
built around routines
the circumstances. In this
and great routines are
examination, we’ll take
based on the results of
Bob
Henning's
Magical
Pool
Playing
Pills.
Play
great
pool
without
the shot process apart so
study and experience.
even
trying.
Price
Negotiable.
we
can look at it, but in
When you find a succompetition
keep it as
cessful and consistent
free
flowing
as
possible.
way to relate with any variable, you naturally add this factor
Let’s start with a short synopsis. The four sections of the
to your standard way of doing things. Over time, this colshot
process are the standing address, the transition, the setlection of factors becomes your routines.
up,
and
the delivery. The standing address begins the
Have you ever noticed that the better players have more
moment
you
commit yourself to a shot and includes how you
polished and consistent routines? Have you ever wondered
align
your
body
to the shot line, how you visualize the shot,
which came first? Did their routines become more refined
and
how
you
focus
your mind. The transition begins the secand that made them better players? Or did their routines
ond
you
complete
the
standing address and ends when your
become smoother because they became better players? If it’s
bridge
hand
touches
the
cloth. The set-up includes everythe latter, then lucky you—you don’t have to work on your
thing
you
do
to
prepare
yourself
once you are down on the
routines at all. They will simply improve if you do.
shot,
including
your
practice
strokes,
eye movements, and
If you believe that, I have some big, fat pills you can buy.
They are pink, blue, and yellow and very expensive! They
www.InsidePOOL.com 15
Practical Practice
by Tom Simpson
Cause the Pause
Y
ou’ve probably heard talk about “the pause” at the
of the hit stroke – the forward
back of the backswing. It’s often promoted as a good
motion.
thing, a change worth making. But when you look
Now, what happens when you stroke without a pause
around the poolroom, you don’t see it much. Let’s take some
is this: The triceps pulls the cue through the backswing. To
of the mystery out of the
get the cue to change direcpause, consider the pros and
tion and swing forward, we
cons, and look at how to actufire the biceps before the cue
ally do it.
gets all the way to the back of
For those of us who aren’t
the stroke. The biceps, acting
pros (in other words, almost
against the triceps, pulls foreverybody), our quest should
ward, slows the backswing
be to develop the absolutely
and eventually overcomes the
simplest stroke possible. The
backward motion, and the
less extra stuff that happens in
cue moves forward. In other
the stroke, the better. Any
words, your biceps is fighting
extra movements or flourishes
the triceps. Both muscles are
present more opportunities to
engaged.
go wrong. You have to do
What’s wrong with this
those extra movements – they
approach? Consider the playdon’t just happen as part of a
Above - Most instruction refers to a pause at the back
ers you see using a fast backof the stroke to smooth the transition from triceps to
good, natural stroking motion.
swing. How do they get the
biceps muscles. Below - Try starting your final stroke
Using muscles or joints your
cue to change direction and
from a pause at the cue ball.
stroke doesn’t need can also
move forward? They use their
lead to unnecessary complexibiceps to overcome the backty of motion. Complexity
ward motion of the triceps.
makes it difficult to be consisThe faster the backswing, the
tent. And of course, consistenmore “fighting” it takes to
cy is the foundation of
change to the forward stroke.
improvement in pool.
The slower the backswing,
If we can agree that simthe less fighting. Does this
ple is good, and that the fewer
fighting in the stroke strike
muscles and joints we have to
you as a good idea? The more
use, the better, we can make a
fight, the more opportunity to
case for two big fundamentals:
come off the stroke line or
1) not using the shoulder joint
lose your speed touch. How
(in other words, not dropping
do you throw a baseball? Do
your elbow on the hit stroke),
you take it back faster to
and 2) pausing slightly at the
throw harder? Of course not.
back of the hit stroke. We’ll focus on the pause for now.
There is no fight in your ball throwing. What if there was no
Let’s think about the primary muscles we use to stroke
fight in your pool stroke?
the cue. The triceps pulls the cue back. The biceps pulls it
If we take the cue back with one primary muscle and
forward. (For those unsure which muscles are which, the
come to a natural stop at the back of the stroke, our musbiceps is the one you’re pumping up when you “make a
culature automatically sets up to fire the biceps and move
muscle.” The triceps are on the other side of the upper arm,
forward. A slight pause allows this shift to occur without
behind the biceps.) So, the biceps really does the business
Pool Prayers
by Richard Kranicki
Finding Facial Guide Points
n this column, we will begin finding your Facial Guide
and “Jaw Center Points”? Where is it
Points according to your own particular style of shooting.
really intersecting on your face?
As a reminder for those who forgot or for those just startContinue to freeze and try to look at the string while
ed reading my columns, I introduced a new term in the last
moving your one eye, and then move the other eye. Then
column – The Facial Guide Points. I mentioned that the Facial
move both eyes. Do you see that it will appear that the string
Guide Points are specific points on your face that align directwill intersect different facial points as you move your eyes?
ly over the imaginary aim line and /or your cue stick.
This changing perception of the strings intersecting the difMoreover, because the Facial Guide Points will help you with
ferent facial points is due to the change of your angle of sight.
approaching the shot, they will be well worth learning.
Then focus on the string and your face points the same way
You will see that they can be a valuable tool for consisyou normally aim and shoot to establish your Facial Guide
tency for pool, billiards, snooker and, even bumper pool! The
Points!
Facial Guide Points can also align directly over the cue ball
Can you see how the slightest eye movement will change
center for those using the
your perception? The sub“ghost ball” and “double the distlest eye movement will have
tance” aiming methods or for
an enormous affect on your
the cue ball contact point for
shot-making ability, especialthose using the “contact-to-conly with the long shots. (A
tact” aim method.
Michael Jackson song says if
I assume that you have the
you want to make a change,
items that I requested from the
start with the pretty face in
last column and will ask you to
the mirror).
help me to help you find your
So, with your favorite
personal Facial Guide Points.
eye position, examine where
Take the time to angle the mirthe string intersects the speror so that you can see the
cific points on your face. Pay
reflected cue ball (acting as an
close attention to where the
object ball), cue ball, bridge
cue stick and string intersect
hand, and cue stick from your
the specific points around
normal head shooting position. To begin finding your facial guid points, set up a mirror at your eyebrows, teeth/mouth,
Take care to set the string in a home and create a vertical line to compare your reflec- and chin areas. Select the
straight line by taping a little at tion to.
points that are easy to recall
the top and bottom. One
and to visualize. Ask your
checkpoint would be to place your bridge hand the same
friend to verify and help make any adjustments that you may
normal distance from the cue ball as when playing. In addineed. Ask your friend to coach your way to your favorite
tion, it is important to lower your head the same distance as
Facial Guide Point. (Moreover, why not do the same for your
you normally would.Then you will position yourself in front
friend?) The next columns will help select other possible
of the mirror as you would when playing. Set yourself so that
Facial Guide Points using slightly different head positions. ◆
you will be able to duplicate your normal feet, body, and head
positions.
Richard, of South Philadelphia, researched his topic
Once you are comfortably set over the imaginary shot –
over thousands of hours spanning 12 years. He studied
freeze your head and body! Then look in the mirror to see
and traded ideas with Jerry Briesath, Don Feeney, Jimmy
where the vertically aligned string (imaginary aim line) is in
Fusco, and Willie Mosconi. Answers to a Pool Player’s
relation to your face and cue stick. Take time to study where
Prayers, the first volume to come from Richard’s research,
the string intersects the specific points on your face. Is it
focuses on alignment, aiming, and stroke.
intersecting over the normally assumed “Nose Center Line”
I
any times, tournaments are touted
as gathering “some of the best players in the world!” In the case of
Brady Behrman’s first tournament, the
Mid-Atlantic 9-Ball Tournament, that would
actually be an understatement. He didn’t
collect some of the best players, he got
almost all of them. From Reyes on down,
there was hardly an international star or
national name that wasn’t in Chesapeake,
VA, for his inaugural event. Emerging as
the best of the best was, of course, “The
Magician,” Efren Reyes, who defeated newcomer to the States, number-one Korean
player Young Hwa-Jeoung, in the final
match.
M
Inaugural
Mid-Atlantic
9-Ball Event
Reyes Rises to the Top
of an International
First-Class Field
Coming of Age
by Sally P. Timko
The Mid-Atlantic was the first event promoted solely by
Brady Behrman, son of the colorful and sometimes controversial Barry Behrman. Barry has the distinction of being
the founder and promoter of pool’s longest-running 9-ball
tournament, the U.S. Open, but Brady was adamant about
pulling his own weight. “I’m doing this on my own. I’ve
been helping my dad promote his events for a long time.
I’m an independent person, and I want to be able to go out
on my own and do my own thing,” Brady declared vehemently in his soft drawl. Reportedly spending six months
planning for his first big event, Brady lined up an impressive
lineup of sponsors that included Diamond Billiards, Joss
Cues, Simonis, and Run-Out Sportswear. Ultimately, he said
he wants to do three or four events a year, incorporating
league and amateur players as well. He also sanctioned his
event with the UPA, citing as his reason that he wants to see
men’s pool do better. “I want to be able to promote pool.
Pool deserves so much more, and I’m working to bring that
together.”
Who Behrman brought together that chilly week in
Chesapeake were nothing short of the most superlative
names in the game: Reyes, Luat, Parica, Souquet, Strickland,
Pagulayan, Bustamante, Archer, Varner, Hall, Immonen,
Hopkins, Rempe, Chamat …the list goes on. Of the 94
entrants, most were world class and allowed to win any
tournament. There were three forfeits for various reasons;
George SanSouci, Evgeny Stalev, and Fabio Petroni all were
missing in action. But the remaining 91 braved the uncharacteristic snowstorm for the $61,800 total purse and
brought their best game with them to the Holiday Inn.
Feared Francisco Bustamante of the
Philippines took third place in
Chesapeake after losing to “The
Magician” in the semifinals.
The event began on Wednesday, January 22, and ended
on Superbowl Sunday, scheduled to finish right before the
big game began. While most played with intensity and
determination, some of the more unlucky players had met
their matches in an opponent that wasn’t listed in the bracket. Apparently a few diners at a local buffet, including Allen
Hopkins, came down with food poisoning, rendering them
unable to finish out the tournament.
Feature Match Falls Flat
The feature match on Saturday evening was between
countrymen Francisco Bustamante, InsidePOOL Magazine’s
Player of the Year for 2002, and Efren Reyes, both on the winners’ side of the bracket. Reyes had scored victories over
Leonardo Andam, Mike LeBron,Tony Robles, Jose Parica, and
Jim Rempe before reaching
Bustamante, who had come
through unscathed the equally
tough bracket of Ed Griffin,Andy
Lincoln, Rodney Morris, Luc
Salvas, and Danny Harriman.
What started off looking as
though it could become a hill-hill
nailbiter between two of the
most talented players in the
world
fizzled
flatly
after
Bustamante ran out to tie the
score at 4-all. Reyes won the next
UPA President Charlie Williams
finally fell to Bustamante and
ended up in fifth place.
two games and then kicked into high
gear, running the next four racks to get
on the hill. He then paused to allow his
opponent to the table long enough to
win two games, but after Bustamante
made three balls on the break and then
scratched, it was all over. Reyes took
the gift and sent Bustamante to the
one-loss side to meet UPA President
Charlie Williams, who had been defeated earlier in a hill match by Hall-ofFamer Jim “King James” Rempe.
With only two players remaining in
the winners’ bracket, the matches for
fifth place geared up. Buddy Hall, who
had come out on the wrong end of a
hill match with Hwa-Jeoung, found
himself facing Rodney Morris of
Hawaii. “The Rocket” was true to his nickname and swiftly
took a 5-1 lead over Hall. With a show of heart and some
great run-outs, Hall was able to tie the score at 6-all, but
Morris won the next four straight to get on the hill. Hall got
one more game, but in the last rack missed hitting a safe ball
and gave Morris ball-in-hand, who ran out for the 11-7 win.
Francisco Bustamante’s match for fifth with Charlie
Williams was, not surprisingly, a lengthy one. Williams is infamous for his painfully ponderous play, and this week it was
obvious to one and all that any New Year’s resolutions he
might have made did not include speeding up his game. He
did manage to keep up with Bustamante for much of the
match, though, which in itself is no small feat. A bobbled
behind-the-back 9 ball by Bustamante led to Williams bringing the score to 6-5 Bustamante, and then Williams broke and
Considered by many to be the “Player of
the Decade,” Johnny Archer finished tied
for seventh place.
ran the next three racks in a row to turn the
tables and make the score 8-6 Williams.
Scratching on the break didn’t help, though;
Bustamante ran that rack out and the next
for the 8-all tie. He was forced to play safe
on the 2 ball in the following game, and a
flummoxed Williams hit it but left his opponent a shot, which Bustamante missed. Now
Williams, faced with the chance to run out
and take the lead, became all thumbs as he
made several balls but got poor position and
barely escaping scratching once. Perhaps to
cut his losses, he tried to play safe but failed,
muttering, “I hit that a little harder than I
wanted to.” Willing to benefit from his sudden good fortune, Bustamante claimed that
rack and ran the next two to win the match 11-8. Williams
and Hall collected $3,000 for their fifth-place tie.
Super Sunday
At 11 AM on Sunday, the matches were set in motion.
Hwa-Jeoung found himself in the unenviable position of having to contend with Reyes for the hot seat, while Morris had
all he could handle with a determined Bustamante. Their
match for fourth place, a rematch of the earlier set when
Bustamante handed Morris his first loss, went about the same
for “The Rocket.” When the score was 4-all, Morris scratched
and gave his opponent ball-in-hand, which ordinarily does
not spell disaster, but in this case, it did. Bustamante brought
the score to 8-4 in a flash before allowing Morris another
game. It was too little too late, however; Morris lost the safety battle that led Bustamante to get to the hill, and then
Bustamante broke and ran the following rack to send
Morris home with a fourth-place finish for which he
collected $4,000.
The quietest set of the event thus far had to be the
hot seat match between Reyes and Hwa-Jeoung. Both
players had their game faces on and exhibited some of
the finest pool seen yet. Hwa-Jeoung is not a flashy
player; he has an even feel to his game and tends
towards short position, while displaying an ardent
desire to win. Occasionally he would cock his head to
one side if he felt he had gotten out of line, but that
was about the extent of his visible emotions. And
Reyes, while dazzling on the table, usually looks as if
he’s debating between taking a nap or laughing aloud.
The match was filled with brilliant safeties, kicks,
banks, and run-outs. From a 2-all tie, Hwa-Jeoung
jumped to a 5-2 lead before scratching on the next
break and allowing Reyes another game. Reyes played
safe on the 1 ball after his next break, to which HwaJeoung responded with a great kick-safety. Out of
options, Reyes was forced to kick at the 1 and left HwaJeoung a difficult but makeable shot. Apparently
unfazed, Hwa-Jeoung made a great tough out, ran the
Rodney Morris of Hawaii rocketed past most of
his colleagues into fourth place.
Veteran Hall-of-Famer Buddy Hall has
a good showing, tying for fifth with
Williams.
next rack, and made the 9 ball on the break in the next game,
which brought the score to 8-3 Hwa-Jeoung. He then
attempted a 6-9 combo in the following rack that was no
gimme and missed, leaving the cue parked behind the 8.
Reyes kicked in the 6 like it was nothing, barely escaped
scratching in the side, and got out. He narrowed the gap
between them by bringing the score to 9-8 Hwa-Jeoung,
always looking as if he might burst into laughter at any given
moment. Reyes broke and tried for a 1-5-3 combo-carombank shot that apparently called for more magic than he
could conjure up and missed. Hwa-Jeoung set up for a 4-9
combo to reach the hill and then won the next rack after
Reyes missed a two-rail kick shot, winning by 11-9 and
becoming the only undefeated player left in the tournament.
Yet another rematch was therefore in place, this time
between Reyes and Bustamante for third place. At this point
in the event, the subdued, sterile hotel ballroom atmosphere
switched dramatically to whirling
green lasers, dry ice, and blaring dance
music while tournament director Scott
Smith announced the two players.
After the hoopla, the crisp-looking
Bustamante, who always looks as
though he’s just stepped out of a bandbox, joined Reyes at the table and
began. Unfortunately for Bustamante,
this match went but little better for
him than it did the last time he met
Reyes on the table. He tied several
times with Reyes throughout the
match but never gained the lead. A few
bad rolls and several errors didn’t help
Danny Harriman had a great month,
taking first in the Derby City banks
division and then having a strong
seventh-place finish in Chesapeake.
him out much, but Reyes wasn’t playing perfect either. One thing that became apparent
was that after the break, the 9 ball began
exhibiting a propensity for floating down
table to the bottom rail, easy pickings for a
combo or carom shot. Six of the eleven games
won by Reyes in that match were either
through caroms or combos on the 9. When
the score was 9-4 Reyes, it looked as though
there was a comeback in the making;
Bustamante took control of the table, and with
a combo and a couple of run-outs, got within
a game of his opponent. Nothing on his next
break left the table to Reyes, who slopped in a
two-rail short bank on the 1 to get on the hill. He then
missed the 2 ball by a mile, giving hope to Bustamante, who
only missed the 6 ball and handed Reyes the match 11-8, taking home $5,000 for third place.
Same Players, Different Outcome
A single race to 13 would be the deciding factor
between the two enduring champions. Before they got started, there was a presentation by Barry dedicating a plaque to
son Brady, and then Charlie Williams made a speech praising
Brady and emphasizing that the UPA is trying to unite the
sport, not destroy it, and promising their continued support.
The formalities done, the two players lagged, and HwaJeoung won, only to give the first game to Reyes after a
scratch. He kept up game for game with Reyes until the
score was tied 4-all, and then it seems as though he lost
Runner-up Young Hwa-Jeoung
had an outstanding tournament
in one of his first U.S. events.
focus. In the remaining games,
there were only two in which HwaJeoung was able to run out successfully. In the others, he made at least
one error, and when playing someone of Reyes’ caliber, this is a big nono. Needless to say, Reyes quickly
got up 9-4 before missing the 1 ball
and giving his opponent another
game. Hwa-Jeoung got to show his
skills off to the audience in a following game when Reyes hooked
him behind the 4 ball for the 2.
Deep in jail, he performed a fantastic massé that, even though he
fouled, garnered
tremendous
response from the audience.
Probably the biggest mistake HwaJeoung made, however, was when he played a tough position
shot on the 7 ball after shooting in the 5, with the score 115 Reyes. Instead of playing conservatively, he put some wild
backspin on the cue, whizzing it backwards up the rail into
the corner pocket, where it hung for a second and then
dropped, to the groans of the audience. Reyes tucked that
game under his belt gratefully, bringing him to the hill, and
then broke and missed a 1 ball that was literally hanging in
the corner pocket. Not to be outdone, Hwa-Jeoung missed
the exact same shot, to the amazement of all who saw, and
Reyes rode that gift horse all the way home, making his third
game-winning combo of the set for the 13-6 win. HwaJeoung received $8,000 for second place, while Reyes
earned $15,000 for first.
Hwa-Jeoung appeared to be tickled pink with his
second-place finish, and Charlie Williams was happy to
act as interpreter for him after the finals. “Because this
is the first time he’s come to the U.S., he’s been wanting to come here for many years, in Korea there’s no
tournaments, so all he does is practice. He’s been
dreaming of coming here for a long time, so I think that
because so many years he’s been dreaming and thinking of coming here, when he came, here he felt very
positive, so I think that’s why he had such a good tournament,” Williams explained Hwa-Jeoung’s outlook.
There are a few tournaments in Korea that Hwa-Jeoung
competes in, but mainly he is considered to be their
number-one player not through an official ranking system, but by a federation and his peers. He is here on a
visa, and his next big tournament will be the BCA Open
in May in Las Vegas.
Exhibiting a dry wit and a humble spirit, Reyes stated,“The guy that I played in the finals played terrible.
When I played him in the semifinals he played so good
he made me shiver. So when I saw him playing and
every time he missed, I said,‘I got him.’ I stumble, and
then every tournament I get lucky.” ◆
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Tough Ladies’ Field Converges
by Sally P. Timko
Daulton Sets Music City
on its Ear
Runs Seven Racks In a Row Twice for First
S
hannon Daulton barely managed to shake the dust off
his feet after winning the 9-ball event in Derby City
before he breezed into JOB Billiards in Nashville, TN.
Once there, he proceeded to tear through the field, trouncing
Gabe Owen twice in the finals to take first place at the sixteenth annual Music City Open. Exuberant in his back-to-back
triumphs, he flashed a smile and professed, “I’d like to do it
every week!”
Snow Slams the South
Despite the uncharacteristic six inches of snow that fell
in Nashville during the course of the tournament, there were
no forfeits. But the small field of 70, consisting mainly of local
players, came as a surprise to some until they considered the
fact that Music was right on the heels of the Derby City
Classic, which took place the week before in Louisville, KY. .
This grueling nine-day event seemed to absorb many of the
players’ resources, leaving a skeleton crew to make the journey to Nashville.
JOB Billiards is without a doubt the preeminent pool hall
in the area, and it sees many of the best players in the world
pass through its doors. Last September it had the distinction
of being the only room in the U.S. to host an International
Billiard Council World Tour stop. On one side of the smoky
building are the nine-foot tables in the sunken tournament
room, and on the other, past Joe Blackburn’s repair shop and
the lone action table, are the bar boxes where Music City took
place.
Music actually comprised three events in one. While it
seemed that the men’s event took the front burner, the
women’s and scotch doubles events had plenty of action as
well. Additionally, Midnight Madness, the mini-tournament
limited to eight players, was scheduled to begin at the witching hour on Saturday.
A total of 25 women showed up to compete in the ladies’
division, including pros Helena Thornfeldt, Neslie O’Hare,
Belinda Campos, and Monica Webb. Their event started the
day after the men’s event began and wound down to the final
four on Sunday afternoon. Thornfeldt, whose play was effortless and smooth, defeated defending champ Webb 7-4 in the
hot seat match, while
Pamela Bell and Nicole
Mancini battled it out for
fourth place. Bell, the BCA
Women’s
Masters
Champion, tied up the game
5-all after a missed 2 ball by
Mancini. A 1-9 combo got
Bell on the hill, and Mancini
gave her opponent ball-inhand in the last game, allowing Bell to run out and win
the match 7-5, relegating
Mancini to fourth place.
Webb quickly gained
the upper hand in her
match for third place with
Bell, getting up 3-0 before
her opponent got on the
board. She then won the
next three games to get on
the hill, at which
point she missed
Runner-up
the 5 ball, and Bell
Gabe Owen
got out to bring the
proved himscore to 6-2. Bell
self a force
made the 9 ball on
to be reckthe
snap
but
oned with.
scratched on the
next break, and
Webb ran out that
rack to take the
match 7-3.
It’s Like Déjà Vu All Over
Again
Both Webb and Thornfeldt had
won the ladies’ division of Music previously. Last year’s finals saw Webb
defeating Thornfeldt twice for the
title, and Thornfeldt won in 2001 and
2000, both times over Webb. Which
could’ve made for a grudge match, except that the ladies are
road partners and good friends, so there was no grudge to
speak of. This year, it was apparent that Thornfeldt’s playing
was superior to Webb’s. Up 2-0,Webb scratched on the break,
and Thornfeldt won the next five in a row with ease. “The
Sledgehammer” scratched on the break, and Webb ran out
nicely until she got to the 8 ball. There she had a rail shot and
drew the cue ball so much farther than necessary that it
scratched, giving Thornfeldt ball-in-hand. Thornfeldt won that
rack to get on the hill and then ran the next to win 7-2 and
take first place, while Webb had to settle for second place
another year.
Double S and Double T Take Down the
Doubles Event
The scotch doubles event, which was a formidable single-elimination, race-to-five format, incited 12 teams to put in
their entry fee to try for the $1,800
first-place prize. Second place would
receive $600, and any other place
need not apply. The 2002 winning
team of Monica Webb and Barry
Emerson were on hand, as well as
past winners Marcus Chamat and
Helena Thornfeldt, Toni and Nick
Varner, and other daunting duos.
Surprisingly, it was tournament director Scott “The Junkyard Dog” Smith
and his petite partner Toni Tucker
who ended up in
the finals facing
Helena
Webb
and
Thornfeldt
Emerson.
The
returned to
defending champs
Music City to
found out soon
take first in
enough that they
the ladies’
had all they could
division
handle in Double
again.
S and Double T.
Webb played
safe on the 7
ball in the first
game; Tucker
coolly kicked it
in and got perfect shape for
her
partner,
allowing them
to draw first
blood. Several
more mistakes
on their part,
and Webb and
Emerson found
themselves
looking at a 0-3
deficit. Smith
made the 9 on
the snap to get
on the hill, chomping satisfactorily on his cigar. Emerson and
Webb broke and ran the next rack to finally get a game on the
board, but it was too little too late. Making two balls on the
break in the last rack,Tucker played a sporty shot on the 2 to
get position for her team to run the rest of the balls out, taking first place by the score of 5-1.
The pièce de résistance, the men’s event, went on for a
total of five days. Sometimes it was in the background, sometimes not. With Midnight Madness gearing up on Saturday
evening, restlessness increased and pocketbooks emptied.
One of the quirky qualities of Midnight Madness is that no
player is allowed to put himself in; he or she must have a
backer to pony up the steep $500 entry fee. Limited to eight
players, Madness actually began a little after 1 AM on Sunday
morning and went until after 8 AM.
Let the Madness Begin
In keeping with the race-to-11 format of the tournament,
Madness also went to 11. Half of the first matches were fairly close, and half were blowouts. On
the top half of the bracket, Johnny
Archer won his match against Rafael
Martinez 11-8, going on to play last
year’s winner Nick Varner, who
defeated Sweden’s Marcus Chamat
11-4. In the bottom bracket, Shannon
Daulton squeaked by Music’s defending champ Scott Frost by a mere two
games and went on to match up with
Jose Parica, who
Scott “The
soundly defeated
Junkyard
Cliff Joyner 11-4.
Dog” Smith
The races became
managed to
even tighter in the
work and play
second round, with
at the same
Archer defeating
event.
Varner 11-9, and
Daulton eliminating
Parica 11-8. And
then, in the closest
match of the mini,
Archer and Daulton
slugged it out in the
finals, which turned
out to be a hill
match that saw
Daulton
finally
emerging victorious
by the score of 1110. As testament to
how his game was
going, later that
afternoon Daulton
reported,“Last night
in the finals of the
Midnight Madness,
Johnny had me 107. He scratched on
the break, and I ran
four and out on him.”
Surprises in Store
Daulton’s slamming break contributed much to his success throughout the event. However, he did find himself surprised in the hot seat match with skilled Tulsa, OK, player
Gabe Owen, who won the Texas Open several years previously and took second to Johnny Archer at the Music City
Open in 2000. Owen, a tall, baby-faced blond, jumped to a 51 lead before Daulton got another game. Daulton managed to
wrest the score to 9-7 Owen when he tried to play a safe on
his opponent and missed by a mile. “I got the touch of an elephant,”he observed ruefully, while Owen ran the remainder of
the rack to get on the hill. A miss by Owen led to Daulton getting two more games under his belt to bring the score to 109, but Daulton missed another safe in the last rack, and Owen
took the opportunity and ran out for the 11-9 win.
Meanwhile, Cliff Joyner was giving Shawn Putnam,Viking
Cue 9-Ball Tour’s Player of the Year for four years running, all
he could handle in their
match
for
fourth place.
Putnam was
in the lead 5-0
at the drop of
a hat.
He
scratched on
the break in
the
next
game, leaving
a dead 1-9
combo
for
Joyner, who
cried, “Yes!”
and leapt out
of the electric
chair. Now it
was Joyner’s
turn to do
some electroAll-around
cuting;
he
great player
made
the
Cliff Joyner
combo and
gave Shawn
ran the next
Putnam a run
three racks to
for his money.
bring
the
score to 5-4
Putnam. The
score was tied 6-all, at which
point Joyner won the next four
games in a row to reach the hill.
Joyner scratching on the break of
the next game gave Putnam the
opportunity he needed. After
winning the next two games,
Putnam pushed, and his opponent gave it back to him. Putnam
played a fantastic jump shot to hit
the 1 ball. He contacted the 1 and made the 5 ball while the
1 continued careened around the table and then knocked in
the 9. Putnam ran out the next rack to get on the hill and then
made an easy 7-9 combo for the 11-10 win in the last game.
The only chance Joyner had in the last five racks of the match
was when he gave the option back to Putnam after he
pushed.
This turn of events put Putnam in the semifinals with
Daulton to play for third place. Both players are about the
same age with similarly powerful games, making the predic-
tion of a winner impossible. The greatest advantage, it
seemed, belonged to Daulton with his break. It was not
unusual at all for him to make three balls on the break, which
would be a huge help under any circumstances, but on a bar
box, it was almost incalculable. Nevertheless, the match was
a tight one. Daulton had a three-game lead over his opponent
at one point, but Putnam pulled himself up to tie the match at
8-all. Putnam scratched in the next game and practically
kicked himself as he was forced to watch Daulton run out.
Putnam had one more chance in that match when Daulton
played safe on the 1
ball in the next rack,
but he left a shot for
Daulton after hitting
it. Daulton cleaned up
that rack and the next,
winning the match 118.
The Playoffs
Begin – Both of
Them
The atmosphere
was charged with
excitement
that
revolved not only
around the final match
but the Tennessee
Titans/Oakland
Raiders playoff game
as well. The true double-elimination finals,
a rematch between
Owen and Daulton,
started off innocuously enough. Daulton
Sweden’s
must’ve been exhaustMarcus
ed from the mere four
Chamat had
hours of sleep he got
a good tourbut showed no outnament,
ward signs of fatigue.
tying for fifth
He took the lead from
place with
the gate, registering
Archer.
three games before
Owen got on the
board. Finding himself without a shot
after the break in the next rack, Daulton
drove the cue ball to the rail in an effort
to play safe. Owen won that rack and
then made a great three-rail kick to take
the next one, bringing the score to 3-2
Daulton. After a tricky 1-9 carom by
Daulton in the next rack, the first set
was, in effect, over for Owen. From a
score of 4-2, Daulton ran the next seven racks in a row to win,
dealing Owen his first loss of the tournament and putting
them on even ground.
For the final set, tournament director Scott Smith
switched the contenders to the neighboring table, citing the
fact that the corner ball always went on the break as the reason for this move. This didn’t seem to throw off either of the
player’s games; the two went right back at it, soon with Owen
at six enjoying a three-game lead over Daulton. A scuffle in
the next rack over the 2 ball led to a win for Daulton, and then
“The Cannon” turned both barrels onto Owen and fired away.
Unbelievably, he proceeded to run out rack after rack again.
Sitting in a player’s chair nearby, Owen wordlessly lifted his
cue and pointed to the table to indicate a concession after
each game. After seven incredible times of this, Daulton had
made it to 11 games while Owen sat
still at 6, and Daulton was the new
Music City Open champion.
Owen, who frequents the Tulsa
Billiard Palace, stated afterwards,“I feel
I did pretty good getting second in this
field. I played pretty good overall.” He
then mentioned that his upcoming
plans included a trip to the South
Padre Island tournament in Texas.
On the other hand, Daulton was a
bit more equivocal about what was on
his agenda. “I don’t know if I get to go
to Virginia. I really don’t know. I’m
really just about
burned out, to be
Shawn
honest. I mean, it’s
Putnam
just so much presmakes a
sure. I’m definitely
strong
going to Atlantic
showing at
City, but I may take
Music by taka break from
ing third
Brady’s
tournaplace.
ment. I hate to
miss his tournament, because it’s
the
inaugural
event. I’m sure it’ll
be a good event,
but I just get
burned out, you
know what I’m
saying?
You’re
under so much
pressure and stuff
all
the
time,
because I try real
hard when I play,
and it just takes a
lot of out you. I’m
weak right now,
feel like I need a
little time to rest.”
Without a
first-place finish in 2002, Daulton seems to have greatly
improved his outlook in the New Year, first at Derby City and
then following up a week later to take down Music City, certainly no small feat. After he takes the time to sharpen his saw,
he will be a force to reckon with in upcoming events. ◆
A fan prays
that Lee is
successful in
her trick shot
attempt.
by Mark Whiteside
Black Widow Bitten in
Pittsburgh
Canadian Club Vegas Showdown Qualifiers Begin
T
he way that the story is supposed to read, the female
Black Widow spider lures the male of the species into
her web before killing and eating him after having her
way with him.Two players from the Latrobe, PA area turned
the tables on Jeannette Lee, pool’s “Black Widow” and most
recognizable face, when she visited Shootz Café and Billiards
on February 20, 2003, in support of Canadian Club Whisky’s
annual amateur pool competition. InsidePOOL readers may
recall an article in our May/June 2002 issue entitled “Canadian
Club Sharp Shooter Challenge” that described last year’s individual 8-ball competition in Las Vegas, for which Mike Davis of
Watervliet, MI, received $5,000 and the chance to make the 8
ball on the break for a $1,000,000 annuity that he came tantalizingly close to successfully accomplishing.
It’s a year later, and again Jeannette Lee is traveling from
regional site to regional site, entertaining players all over the
country with her friendly rapport that has players eating out
of her hand and enjoying themselves immensely.The players
who won in their local establishments were vying for prize
packages that included trips to Las Vegas with air, hotel, and
spending money provided for the winning two-person teams.
Yes, this year the tournament will be contested in scotch doubles 8-ball. I’m very pleased to see that the tournament directors have chosen to play the event under BCA rules (WPA
World Standardized Rules) this year, a positive step.
Six teams, one from each of six different regions of the
country, will be participating in the national finals on April 12,
2003, at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, dubbed “The
C.C.Vegas Showdown,” for some unbelievable prizes.The winning team will receive $10,000 per man and an opportunity
to face Jeannette Lee in a best-of-three match as scotch doubles partners playing against her as a single player. If they can
beat her, and history has shown that she is beatable in these
matches, the winning team will each receive a $250,000 annu-
have believed her, as they cheered wildly
whether she made them or not.
When the challenge match began,
things quickly went against Lee. The
Pennsylvanians got the high balls, leaving
their opponent with several low balls that
were in very unfavorable positions.The guys got a little lucky
in that respect, as they missed several times, giving up the
table to their single opponent. Try as she might, the Black
Widow was unable to dislodge her 6 ball from a spot near a
rail with two stripes blocking its path to the pocket. She was
able to glance off it on one attempt, but it remained tied up,
keeping her from being able to clear the table. Lee missed a
couple of shots in the middle portion of the game, and the
veterans were finally able to secure the victory and a $1,000
cash bonus. Chalk one up for the amateurs!
With one-sixth of the final field for Vegas selected that
ity each spread over 20 years. In addition, one of the two playevening, Lee began her journey to the rest of the six regional
ers will be given the opportunity to break one rack of 8-ball,
playoffs to entertain the
and if he is successful in makfans and compete with
ing the 8 on the break, he and
each team of winners for
his partner will receive an addithe $1,000 bonus.When the
tional $250,000 per man 20six teams assemble in Vegas
year annuity. Between the two
for the national event, Lee
players, they have the potential
will again be present, but
of bringing $1,020,000 home
some lucky team will be
from Las Vegas in addition to
competing with her for half
the thousands at which their
a million dollars instead of
prize package for winning the
just a paltry $1,000. Win or
regional was valued.
lose at the national level,
A crowd of several huneach of these teams have
dred crammed Shootz, waiting
already won great prize
patiently in a long line to get
packages. As a past national
Lee’s autograph and to have
event
participant
in
their picture taken with her as
Canadian Club promotions,
a keepsake. As she was doing
although I was unsuccessthis, the winners at the local
ful in Vegas, the trip that my
level were competing for the
One of six partnerships that will be competing for over
wife and I received and the
trip to Las Vegas and the
$1,000,000 at the Rio in Vegas in April. Don Szidron and
outstanding hospitality that
chance for all that money, and
John Clopp are congratulated by Lee after winning the
the promoters treated us
also for the opportunity to play
$1,000 bonus for beating the Black Widow.
with made my participation
the WPBA star that night in
the best prize that I have
front of their family and friends
ever won in a pool tournament. I’m sure many of this year’s
with a $1,000 bonus if they were able to beat her in a game
participants will agree after April 12! ◆
of 8-ball.
The veteran team of Don “Rainbow” Szidron and John
“Red”Clopp worked their way through the bracket to win the
regional prize package and trip to Vegas for the national tournament. As they caught their breath and contemplated the
task before them, the effervescent Lee got the crowd rollicking with a part inspirational, part humorous, and definitely
crowd-pleasing trick shot exhibition. She had the crowd roaring their approval whether her shot was successful or not,
claiming that Shootz was in a known earthquake zone and
therefore if one of her shots missed the pocket, it obviously
must have been shifted by a tremor.
John “Red” Clopp
Although I didn’t exactly buy that
lags for the break
since I’ve lived here for 26 years
with Lee in their
and haven’t felt a tremor yet, obvibonus match.
ously most of the spectators must
InsidePoolColumn
What’s in the Case?
Scott Frost
A disagreement with his basketball
coach inspired the 16-year-old Scott Frost to make
his first visit to a local pool hall. “A guy beat me out
of $22, and I loved it. I went ahead and continued
to play. I had a passion for it,” he said with a smile.
Now 27, the Phoenix resident still exhibits the
same ardor for the game by attending every major
tournament and many of the smaller ones as well,
which is difficult without a sponsor. Recognized
as one of the top one-pocket players in the country, “The Freezer” has now begun to focus on 9ball. He took first place at the 2002 Music City Open
and just recently placed 9th-12th at the U.S. Open. He
warned, “I’m star ting to
play more tournaments, so
I’ll be doing much better
soon for sure.” ◆
Playing Cue: Cogniscenti
Shaft Diameter: 12 1/4 mm
Taper: Pro 14”
Tip: Moori Hard
Tip Radius: Nickel
Wrap: Irish linen
Playing Cue Hit: Super stiff and hard
Break Cue: Predator
Shaft: Predator 314 BK
Tip: Moori Hard
Wrap: None
Preferred Joint: Wood to wood. “It’s true as
can be.”
Tip Tools: Porcupine. “It holds the chalk the
best and doesn’t wear down the tip.”
Shaft Maintenance: Cue Sliks. However, Frost
says that he likes his shafts a little dirt y. “You
just get a little bit better feel. I like to feel it a
bit.”
Other Products, Tools, or Techniques: “I don’t
use jump cues. I like to kick balls. I try to imitate the Filipinos. I think that there’s more to
kicking balls.”
Advice to Others: “Experiment with the largest
variety of cues you can at the earliest starting
period of your play so you can get a sense of
what works best for you. Then, once you find
it, no matter what, don’t get rid of it, because
it only grows stronger the longer you have it.”
InsidePoolColumn
The Buss Stop
by Jim Buss
A Tale of the Tip
T
he tip is the single most important part of the cue
because it’s the only part of the cue that actually touches the cue ball. It’s very important your tip is in “tip
top” shape. Over the next
few months, we will be discussing proper care of your
tip, including shaping,
scuffing, chalking, and
changing. This month, we
will be talking about caring
for the tip you have on
your cue.
Let’s
assume
you
already have a good quality
tip on your cue. We’ll discuss the various types of
tips in a later article. A
good quality tip that has
been properly installed
should last you many, many
months, even if you play
every day. The only reason
many of these tips don’t
last is that the player messWhen using a tapes with them too much.
per,
don't grind the
There are more tools made
rough
surface into
for tip care than any other
the
leather, but
single item in the billiard
instead
use a tapindustry. These items are
ping
motion.
relatively cheap to buy and
easy to use, but many people still use them improperly.
A good quality tip will hold its shape for many
weeks.You don’t need to reshape it very often, but
when it needs shaping, you need to know how to
do it properly.The first thing you need to know is
that the tip will take a shape that matches your
playing style. If you’re a center ball player and hit
the cue ball in the center with very little english,
your tip will become flat on the end. Just because
it’s flat doesn’t mean you need to reshape it. Flat
matches your style. It’ll only become flat again. If you use a lot
of english, your tip will become rounder.
If you feel you need to mess with your tip, then you need
to know the proper way and have the proper tools. Let’s talk
about the hitting surface of your tip.
This is the only part that touches the
ball and is the most important. Tips tend to develop a glaze
over the hitting surface after extended usage.
This makes it harder for the chalk to adhere to
the tip.There are many products on the market
to scuff up the surface. In the early days of
pool, players carried an ordinary file with
them.They lightly tapped on the tip to develop
a texture. Sometime in the ‘70s, Lou Butera
came out with the “Tip Tapper,” and the tip tool
war was on.
There must have
been at least 30 differWhen using a pik
ent types of tip tools
on your leather tip,
marketed over the
you should hold it
years, most of which
vertically and
work well. The secret
make small puncto their use is to not
ture marks. Don't
use them in a sanding
twist it as you will
motion. This tears the
tear up the leather
leather. Simply tap the
tip.
tip with the tool or
press them to the surface of the tip, and
then roll it around the
on the tip. This produces a dimpled surface that will hold
chalk well. If you’re
using the “Tip Pic” or
other tools that contain a lot of needle tips,
simply
press
and
release. Do not roll this
type of tool because it
will only tear the
leather on your tip.
In
the
next
months, we’ll discuss
the other aspects of tip
care. Remember, I’m always looking for your questions, so
contact me at jimbuss@insidepool.com. ◆
The Good Old Days
Right On Cues
S
ome of you know that the game of billiards, in one
form or another, goes back several hundred years.
What you may not have understood is that, according
to all recognized authorities on the sport, the ball was not
always moved around by means of what we today call a “cue.”
Initially, the “tool,” and I refer to it as that with all due respect,
was shaped more like a staff or spear than the sleek and polished cylindrical device we see today. It generally had a
“head,” sometimes straight, sometimes cupped out, for pushing the ball, not striking it as is done today. Scout’s honor,
PUSHED! The smaller end of the tool was not originally meant
for addressing the ball, but by the late 1600s, images from that
period clearly indicate that both ends were being utilized. In
this design, the item in review was called a “mace.” In a simpler form, this basic one-piece wooden pole with an attached
head was available under the name of “geoffrey.” There is also
evidence that by the late 1670s, the “ferrule” surfaced in a
metal form, and the leather tip appears to have surfaced right
on cue (sorry, couldn’t resist), in the early 1800s. Other than
the addition of a ferrule (minus a tip) and a thin layer of
leather to both ends of the maces and geoffreys, the design of
the early tools used for moving the balls around the table did
little in the way of evolving for the next several decades.
Maces and geoffreys were not a pretty sight compared to
what has evolved into today’s cue. Once the technique
employed for splicing different pieces of wood together to
make what we now know as a cue was discovered and perfected, half a dozen or more billiard suppliers began producing their own line of fine examples. There were cue makers
here in the states as early as the mid-1800s, but the primary
source for a really fine billiard cue was France, Germany, or
England. There were other manufacturers in other countries,
by Mark & Connie Stellinga
but the bulk of collectible cues found today originate from
somewhere on the continent.There must be a few thousand
varieties in design, but there are also some strong similarities
between the more prominent makers.They all seem to have
been partial to a few popular designs. Though there are many
different examples of “carved handles,” a lot of copying went
on. I suspect that a few of the styles were not copyrighted
and that many of the European’s “registered” patterns were
not protected here in the U. S. I’ve found virtual twins in
some early billiard supply catalogs that clearly indicate that
many dealers procured their cues from the same manufacturers. Some larger distributors cleverly applied decals on the
butts of the cues they offered despite the fact that they had
not actually produced the cue themselves. A few select and
wary table makers did make their own line of cues, and the
names of some of them can be found clearly, though often
very faintly, actually stamped into the butt. Most cues with
stamped-in names are from the 1840s to the 1870s. I’m not
sure when the first decal appeared, but I doubt if it was much
earlier than the 1880s. My earliest Brunswick-Balke-Collender
cue examples that sport the company logo can be no earlier
than 1884 and display an attractive white, black, and gold
waterslide decal with an eagle on a perch and a ribbon in his
beak. Brunswick’s earlier identical offerings have no decal,
and I have always presumed that they were acquiring their
cues from the Reiper Cue Co. of New York City or some
European firm prior to the point at which their sticker first
appears.
Along with the many varying styles of carved butt
designs, the other most dominant feature in the look of an
early antique cue is what’s known as the type of splice it
incorporates. It can get a little complicated to designate the
Left picture, from left to right - Model #30, double butterfly spliced, early
square butt, ebony wood. Odd purple heart maple, and walnut four point
and butterfly spliced. Unique elliptical spliced veneers in butt with twoveneer butterfly splice above, rare. Classic multiple veneer, double
reversing pointed and butterfly style splice, with three veneer surrounded
mother of pearl name plate, in a rosewood butt.
subtle but important factors that clearly distinguish one cue from another. For example, there
can be one splice, two splices, or three splices.
There are reverse splices, where the points aim at
the butt rather than the tip of the cue. Consider
the number of different colored veneers used in
each splice: one, two, three, four, five, six, even up
to ten! And then there are the spliced shafts, available in at least three different woods. It gets
almost ridiculous, I’m happy to say. It’s safe to say
that the busier the splicing and the more it reverses up and down the stick, the greater the value
and the rarer the cue is. The many different
aspects of what makes a cue valuable are clearly
pointed out in our new book on billiard collectibles. The technique of joining a cue with a
rounded, or more popularly called, “butterfly”
splice (though it has been christened in the late
1800s Brunswick catalogs as the “Vignaux style
splice,” named after a extremely prominent world
champion Brunswick-sponsored player of the
period named Maurice Vignaux), did not find its
original proponent in the late 1800s. This method
of splicing is now regularly replicated by some of
today’s finest cue-makers, despite the fact that it
was already of traditional design as far back as the
early 1800s, testifying to the fact that you don’t
ignore a proven favorite style. Another interesting
design feature that held on well into the early
1900s was that of the beveled butt. Only to retain
the appearance that experienced makers know
has always seemed to strengthen sales, the
beveled butt, also attributed to a famous player of the late 1800s, was aimed at carrying on the
sloped face that was, in the good old days, the shape the head needed to be to push the balls.
The early European examples typically have a bevel on both sides of the butt, where the
American versions normally have just one.
Two-piece and three-piece cues were being made for the aristocracy as early as the 1700s,
and by at least as early as the 1860s, we see the first examples of the combination cane/cues.
Marquetry cues, the most highly sought after of all, have a very long lineage and often a fascinating pedigree as well. They were typically specifically made for noblemen and other members of the aristocracy or as grand tournament prizes. They, too, appear in one-piece, twopiece, and three-piece examples. The unique decorations can depict flowers, people, animals
and/or scenes. We are currently looking for more marquetry examples for our collection.
Better examples of the late 1800s and early 1900s butterfly-spliced cues are becoming
increasingly scarce and continue to rise in value as they do. Incidentally, the most rare models are often actually the one-piece examples.
Many one-piece butterfly cues have been cut
Four very scarce middle 1800’s, butterfly
and made into two-piece models. Watch out
spliced style European designed cues.
for these, as they can sometimes be a risky
rather expensive examples in their day,
investment.
they are easily distinguishable by the
Here is a true benchmark in the world of
unusual aptterns of inlay work at the
antique cues. Happy Hunting! ◆
base of their butts.
Billiard
Jewelry
Circa 1770s
This is as fine a cue as was ever made. With four lustrous colors of enamel crimson, emeralds, violet, and gold - used for the foliage and tiny, delicate
vines, a spectacular abalone - feathered peacock, with a rosewood breast
perched proudly on a walnut branch embedded in a crushed mother
of pearl window actually framed in brass, with still more intricate brass and pewter inlays throughout the flowery design.
This magnificent specimen takes a back seat to nothing ever made. It has an ultra-fine linear “stitching” affect in inlaid wood bordering the
incredible panorama, which appears on
both sides of the masterpiece. It
has a brilliant triangular
mother of pearl insert,
bordered by more
fine colored
veneers on both sides as well, and a stunning
white ivory butt plate. Climbing to the forearm of
the cue, we find a spectacular five-wood “reversing”
butterfly and four-point style splice not once, but twice, as
we travel up the abruptly tapered shaft toward the 1770s ferrule-less tip. This is a full 57 inches of literal “Billiard Jewelry.” The
tiger-striped mahogany custom-built carrying case is exquisitely finished
and lined with billiard felt. It bears and engraved spelter plaque that reads,
"Mr. Claud Falkner / Presented by ALCOCK & CO. PTY. LTD. / MELBOURNE /
1924," sports a leather handle, and has a lock and key. Claud Falkner was at
one time a world champion billiard player, and we believe that this cue was
one of the trophies passed to winner to winner from the late 1700s to possibly
as late as the early 1900s. Definitely a one of a kind item, and perhaps the
finest example of late eighteenth century cue craftsmanship in existence.
InsidePoolColumn
What’s New?
▼ Olhausen Dining Tops
“Python” Snakeskin Cases
▼
Shown in the Traditional Mahogany
Finish on Maple. #908, 8ft. = 61 in.
x 105 in. (3 pcs.) #918, 9ft. = 67 in.
x 117 in. (3 pcs.) These dining tops are
available in Oak, Maple, or Cherr y and
can be custom finished to match your decor.
To order these great values, call 1-800-8664606 or visit the Olhausen Website at
w w w.olhausenbilliards.com. ◆
FCI imitation "Python" snakeskin cases are constructed with
the best grade vinyl available and have a hard foam core interior and
individual shaft and butt tubes. The two largest cases have full-length
airtight tubes that allow carr ying of butts joint up or down, just like
the more expensive brands. Each case has a standard carr y handle and
shoulder strap. It has two external pockets, and the larger is made long
enough to accommodate the butt of a jump cue. These cases look great and
offer some of the best value that you can find anywhere. Available at
w w w.frankscenterinc.com or call Frank's Center, toll-free 800-666-9190. ◆
rack of ages
(pool established 1400 a.d.)
▼
Hands Off T-Shirt
Mueller’s exclusive design! Hands Off T-Shirt is 100% cotton
and available in L and XL for $15.95 each, XXL for $17.95, XXXL for
$19.95, and XXXXL for $21.95.
Available through Mueller’s Recreational
Front
Products. For a free catalog, contact
Meuller’s at 800-627-8888 or visit
w w w.poolndarts.com. ◆
Dept. IP • 4825 S. 16th St. • Lincoln, NE 68512
Call 800.627.8888 for a FREE catalog
Shop online www.poolndarts.com
Back
WHAT’S NEW?
▼
Qclaw
Perry’s Ball Polish
▼
The Qclaw is a self-weighted cue holder that allows
you to move from table to table with ease. It fits easily into
most cases and will not mar cues. The Qclaw is available as
either a two-cue or a five-cue holder in purple, black, and
blue. For more information, visit www.beadsandbilliards.com
or call 253-945-1888. ◆
Perr y’s Ball Polish uses new technology to provide the finest
polish and cleaner ever offered for billiard balls and rails. Contains no
wax to attract debris or leave “build-up” on the balls. Contains no
abrasives that can scratch and dull balls over time. Provides shiny,
clean and smooth surfaces, yet is not slippery or oily. Balls will play
better and roll truer. For more information contact Justin Daniels at
330-542-2989. Dealer inquiries welcome. ◆
▼
Pool Cube
Artistic Pool Manual
▼
Combine the most exciting features of craps and poker with 9-Ball or 8Ball, and you have The Pool Cube™, the newest and most exciting way to play
pool ever invented. The Pool Cube™ makes for an exciting game of 9-ball, 8-ball,
or whatever your favorite game of pool may be, where every inning is dramatic
and important. The game becomes more fun, more exciting, more strategic, and
more dangerous. For instance, if you are about to start a new inning, and you
spot an opportunity to leave your opponent with an impossible safe or if you are
confident of your ability to run out, you can double the point value and force them
to accept the challenge or concede the game. Log on to www.poolcube.com to
read/download the rules, place your order, get tournament information, or for general information. ◆
The Artistic Pool Manual is a multimedia CD-ROM that shows you how to
become a billiards champion. The hundreds of pages of pictures, movies, and
instructions demonstrate how to execute some of the most difficult and important
shots in pocket billiards. Endorsed by top artistic pool players such as Mike
Massey and Larr y “Dr. Cue” Rossman, the Artistic Pool Manual will teach you the
secrets of artistic pool with details on 40 professional shots and 5 show trick
shots. It includes photos, a video, and a CD FlipAlbum® for PC usage. Over 50
video clips with audio actually demonstrate each shot being made! The Artistic
Pool Manual is available exclusively through Sterling Gaming at 704-821-1010. ◆
WHAT’S NEW?
▼ Cuetec Fiberglass House Cues
Our new house cues feature Cuetec’s patented fiberglass-clad shaft. This 15.5” Super Slim Taper™ shaft is
impregnated with Tru-Glide™ so it slides easily through your fingers. It has a polycarbonate ferrule, a 13mm tip, and a
Veltex grip. The overall length is 57 inches. The white cue weighs 18 oz., the blue cue is 19 oz., the black cue is 20
oz., and the burgundy cue is 21 oz, $29.95 each. Available through Mueller’s Recreational Products. For a free catalog, contact Meuller’s at 800-627-8888 or visit www.poolndarts.com. ◆
▼ Cue Guard™
Trouble Shooter
▼
The Cue Guard was born out of necessity from personal experience and is basically a lined soft vinyl sleeve
that slides easily over the shaft of the cue from the tip end. The sleeve is placed onto the cue shaft while waiting for
the next game and while the cue stick is resting against something where it can be knocked over. The sleeve protects the shaft from dents, nicks, or scratches should the cue fall onto a rough surface or hard object or anything
else that might damage the cue. The Cue Guard can also be used as a promotional item for cue manufacturers or as
a giveaway with the purchase of a cue. It is also a great gift idea for the pool player who has
everything. Check out www.cueguard.com for more information, or
call toll-free 866-284-8273. ◆
Finally a short cue that doesn’t feel like one! Did you think your room was too small
for a pool table? Think again! Now you can place a pool table in a smaller room. Trouble
Shooter puts more pool tables in more homes. Trouble Shooter™ is a balanced, weighted,
short cue with the unique feature of its weight being positioned forward. Play with ease and
precision, even with as little as 24-inch clearance. Trouble Shooter™ cues allow you to play a
great, comfortable game of pool without the inconvenience of room size restrictions or obstacles. There is also a quality crafted 24-inch bridge stick that can easily be used in conjunction with your Trouble Shooter™
short cues or regular sized cues.
Why let a little post get in the way of
owning the pool table that you’ve
always wanted? To find a dealer near
you, call 800-631-1068 or visit
w w w.troubleshootercue.com. ◆
InsidePoolColumn
The School for Scoundrels
by Chef Anton
W
elcome to this month’s edition of my column,
Difficulty Rating: 5
called “The School for Scoundrels.” This colOrigin: I first saw this shot in
umn will feature the world’s greatest hustles,
Rick Wright’s aforementioned
swindles, and billiard brain-teasers. You will
receive a number of benefits including the ability to:
Set-Up
• Fool and Amaze Your Friends
• Never Pay for a Drink Again
• Protect Yourself from Someone
Who Has Read This Column.
Shot #15
A Hard One-Railer
Proposition: From behind the head string, bank
the 1 ball off the short rail and around the triangle.
trick shot book.
Set-Up: Place a triangle on the foot spot as if you are
racking the balls for a game. Place the cue ball and the
1 ball behind the head string.
Shot #15
A Hard One-Railer (Solution)
Secret: Ordinarily, this shot would not be possible.
However, it can be made if the 1 ball is spinning.
Execution: Spin the 1 ball by hand in a clockwise direction. Softly shoot the cue ball into the 1 ball. Try to contact the short rail as close to the triangle as possible.
Once the 1 ball contacts the rail, the spin will cause the
ball to go around the triangle.
Trick of the Trade: The perfect blend of speed and spin
are needed to make this shot work. You will want to
spin the 1 ball as hard as possible yet shoot the cue ball
as soft as possible.
Frank “the Barber” Almanza does this
shot without spinning the 1 ball by hand.
He uses low right-hand english on the
cue ball, whivh transfers the needed lefthand english to the object ball. Good
luck. You will need it.
Send an original Betcha or Trick Shot to
Chef Anton at hustler@inside pool.com,
and if it’s one he’s never seen, you could
win a copy of the Pool Hustler’s
Handbook!
InsidePoolLeagueReport
TAP Player of the Month
Ken Hess
Ken Hess has been nominated for March’s Player of the
Month for multiple reasons. Dedicated to his Carlisle Moose
team, he can be found supporting them even on nights he will
not play because of his 7 handicap rating. Being the top shooter and coach on the team, Ken can be found exercising his
encouragement and offering advice on not only how the game
should be played, but also how the game should be approached.
In short, when it comes to coaching, he covers all aspects of the
game. He promotes T.A.P. pool wherever he travels. Ken demonstrates excellent sportsmanship, is a gracious loser, and is a
humble winner – all of the things we look for in respectable players. His outstanding talents come
from experience with nearly 40 years of playing pool and billiard games. T.A.P. is extremely happy
to have Ken as a member. ◆
APA Player of the Month
Denise Simon
The APA Player of the Month for March is Denise
Simon of Carencro, LA. Denise is a skill level 4 in the
A PA and competes weekly in both open and ladies’ 8-ball
divisions. Denise has been playing in the APA for 6 years
and is always encouraging players in her area to try the
A PA. She competes on singles qualifier boards when possible and plays in a tour event that occurs once a month.
Photo not available.
“Denise always speaks well of the
League; she’s a joy to have in the league,” said Preston Granger, Denise’s league
operator in Louisiana. ◆
Six Champions.
InsidePoolRegionalRoundup
$300,000
Northeastern Region
CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT
14th Annual Ocean State
9-Ball Championship
by Joe Tucker
Francisco Bustamante
Held at Snooker’s in Providence,
RI, on February 1-2, 2003, this is one
of the longest-running and most prestigious tournaments in the New
England area. This year’s event drew
an amazing field of world-class players. Calling the Wednesday prior to
the event and revving up the excitement were none other than Efren
Reyes and Francisco Bustamante. By
Friday night, we had Mika Immonen;
Charlie Williams; the new Korean sensation, Young Hwa-Jeong; ladies Julie
Kelly and Karen Corr; Sandor Tot from
Hungary; and arriving earlier in the
week and astounding the room with
his incredible play was Rafael
Martinez of Mexico.
Ninety-one players set the stage
for a true battle of skill, endurance,
and mental fortitude. Snookers has
16 Gold Crown tables, great cloth,
and Centennial balls. Conditions were
tough on Saturday, with hundreds of
players and spectators all trying to
watch matches. We did have the
match on Table #1 being broadcast on three TV’s in the comfort
of Snookers “Green Room,” and
even it was packed. Some players complained, while others
fought hard to make it through to
Sunday. Matches kicked off
about 2:30 PM, and the last
match of the day would end
around 3 AM. Did I mention
endurance?
Immonen set the pace early
by hitting local player “Super
Dave” with an incredible seven
pack from the coin flip in the
race to 9. The bottom half of the
bracket matched up Alcano and
Martinez, with the winner, Alcano,
having to face Bustamante. The
WPBA match of the day was house
pro Nicole Mancini edging out the
number-one female player in the
world, Karen Corr, by a score of 9-8.
Making it through Saturday’s battle and returning undefeated Sunday
were
Teddy
Garrahan
facing
Immonen, Ginky versus Reyes,
Sandor Tot versus Frankie Hernandez,
and local player Bob Hammack, Jr.,
who would have the toughest opponent
of
his
life,
Francisco
Bustamante. Of the eight players
returning with one loss on Sunday,
none of them hit the top six. Young
Hwa-Jeong came the closest by winning seven consecutive matches on
the one-loss side after losing to
Snookers owner and host of the
event, Steve Goulding, in the first
round on Saturday.
*
Marquee matches on Sunday
included Reyes squeaking out a hillhill match with Immonen, and later
Tot edging out Immonen, leaving the
Finn in fourth place and leaving himself alone with probably the two most
feared players on the planet, Reyes
and Bustamante, who owned the hot
seat. Tot was quoted as saying, “ I
keep track of the Joss Tour results
through the Internet, and it looks
appetizing, then I get here and it
looks like the U.S. Open!” Tot would
have to settle for third in this starstudded event, as Reyes played flawlessly to ensure himself another shot
at fellow countr yman, Francisco
Bustamante.
This last match was heavily anticipated, and I don’t recall either player
missing a ball. Reyes did make a few
uncharacteristic position errors,
which was more than enough for
Bustamante to take advantage of. He
played amazingly well and kept spectators and fellow players astonished
on his way to becoming the new
Ocean
State
Champion.
Congratulations
to
Francisco
Bustamante and everyone involved in
this event.
Results
1st Francisco Bustamante
2nd Efren Reyes
3rd Sandor Tot
4th Mika Immonen
Joss Northeast
9-Ball Tour
APA National Singles
Championships
Everyone Can Play...Anyone Can Win!
®
Three champions — one from each Skill Level Tier — will be crowned in
each tournament, for a total of six new APA National Champions!
The World’s Best Tournament Value Anywhere!
SM
SM
APA 8-Ball Classic
APA 9-Ball Shootout
Tier
Skill Level
Tier
Skill Level
Blue Tier
2&3
Green Tier
1,2 & 3
Yellow Tier
4&5
White Tier
4&5
Purple Tier
6&7
Black Tier
6,7,8 & 9
For more information about the National Singles
Championships, contact your Local League
Operator or log on to poolplayers.com.
*Cash and prizes.
poolplayers.com poolplayers.ca
NORTHEAST REGION
NORTHEAST REGION
Billiard Club Network and Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour
Announce Agreement
Leonardo Andam and Sueyen Rhee Win
Falcon Cue 9-Ball Tour Debut Event
Leonardo Andam
The newly organized Falcon Cue
9-Ball Tour was off to a
strong start the first weekend
in
Februar y
at
Champions Billiard Cafe in
Laurel, MD. The open division field of 93 players was
full of superstars and local
players anxious to take their
shot at the $5,920 purse.
The $1,250 provided by the
gracious folks at Champions
with the new Falcon sponsorship brought the total
added money to $3,000.
This pulled in several name
players, including Jose Parica, Keith
McCready, Leonardo Andam, Ramil
Gallego, Dick Lane, and Amar Kang,
who battled it out with the strong
local talent.
Saturday provided several surprises when top performers such as
Ryan McCreesh and Mike Davis were
sent home early as the field was narrowed down to 24 players. Sunday
included more of the same, with
upsets all over the bracket. Local
favorite Jerr y Slivka had lost his first
match Saturday and then went on to
BCn is now the “Official TV Network”
of the Viking 9-Ball Tour
take 8 matches, including
wins over Gallego, Kang,
Billy Stephen, and Brian
O’Donnell before finally
falling to Parica. The
c rowds gathered early
Sunday afternoon for a
highly anticipated match
between
undefeated
Filipino players Andam
and Parica. They would
not be disappointed, as
both men played superbly,
and the score wound up
at
hill-hill.
Andam
emerged victorious to
advance to the winner’s
side final against Ron
Justice, who was having
an outstanding tournament. Andam then shifted gears and
to the true double-elimination format
final against the undefeated Andam.
The first set looked to be a blowout as
Andam stormed out to a 6-3 lead.
Undaunted, the entertaining Henson
fought back and took a 7-6 lead in the
race to 9. Andam quietly and purposefully pulled the score back to 8-8
before winning the deciding game and
the first-place prize, while Henson finished in second place.
The women’s division also sported a sizeable 28-player field for the
Sunday-only event. No surprises here
as last year’s Player of the Year
Sueyen Rhee rolled into the hot seat
full of confidence. Amanda Smith was
sent to the one-loss side by Rhee in a
hill-hill match but rebounded, downing
Tina Mason and relegating her to
fourth place. Smith then fell to Kathy
Friend, who was having a
fantastic
tournament.
Sueyen Rhee
Friend had previously lost
to Rhee in the winner’s
side but advanced to take
another shot at Rhee. She
would not fare any better
this time, as Rhee dominated the match to take
the title.
The tour would like to
thank Falcon and all the
sponsors for their support.
Stay tuned, because it is
going to be a great year.
rolled into the hot seat with
an easy 9-3 victory.
Jim “Shor ty” Henson
was sent to the one-loss
side by Ron Justice early
Sunday afternoon but recovered quickly with a win over
Jim McAdams. Henson later
found himself on the right
side of a 7-6 score with
Parica, who settled for
fourth place. Henson gained
his revenge on Justice, placing him in third to move on
ST. LOUIS, MO (February 26, 2003) –
Billiard Club network announces an
agreement with the Viking Cue 9-Ball
Tour, whereby BCn’s monthly production of Billiard Club Television will feature exclusive video footage from tour
events, making BCn the official television network of the Viking Cue 9Ball Tour.
“ We’re very excited about this
opportunity,” says Mike Janis, Tour
promoter. “BCn gives our tour, our
host clubs, and our players creative
television exposure through BCn’s
nationwide network of clubs and poolrooms.”
“This is a good fit for our BCtv
program and its distribution,” said
Rob Sykora, BCn president. “Viking
Cue Tour events are held in the club
locations that are more likely to
understand the value of BCtv as their
in-house entertainment. Plus, many
top players play on the Viking Tour,
and this is just another way for us to
expose their talents and the sport to
the viewing public.”
For those pool and billiard fans
whose neighborhood poolrooms or billiard clubs do not subscribe to BCtv,
video footage from the Viking Tour
events will also be seen on the
Billiard Club Video Magazine, which is
available through the Internet. To
experience the vZine, free issues are
available to anyone who installs the
channel at www.billiardclub.net.
BCn is a national network of bil-
liard establishments that promote the
spor t by playing Billiard Club
Television as their in-house video
entertainment for their customers.
BCtv features match footage; instructional segments; and other entertainment, including video footage from
Affiliates Clubs in the network.
The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour, now in
its ninth year and produced by Mike
Janis Productions, has grown significantly since its inception. In fact, it is
currently the largest tour in the
United States, with for ty-eight
$1,000-added tournaments, four
$5,000-added
regional
championships, and one $25,000-added
national grand championship.
Dick Lane
NORTHEAST REGION
NORTHEAST REGION
Shawn Putnam Takes First
at Fiddlestix
By Mark Whiteside
Shawn Putnam
Because of the high level of
bar-box play in Canton, OH, and the
surrounding area, it seems as if all of
the up-and-coming pro players from
Ohio are exceptionally good small
table competitors. Young gun Shawn
Putnam, the Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour’s
Player of the Year for the fourth year
in a row, is no exception. When the
Viking
Tour
breezed
through
Fiddlestix Billiard Café in Canton on
February 15-16, to nobody’s surprise
it was Putnam right there in the finals
again, this time defeating West
Virginian player Joseph Arbuckle
twice in the finals by a total of 18
games to 3.
Fiddlestix Billiard Café,
owned by pro player Chris Szuter
and his dad Steve Szuter, himself
a feared bar table player, is a
favorite stop of the Viking Tour’s.
The room contains a mixture of
eight 9-foot Diamond tables and a
dozen 7-foot Valley bar boxes that
play great. Eighty-two players
from half a dozen states gathered
at Fiddlestix for a double-elimination $1,000-added event that featured races to nine using the world
standardized 9-ball rules, which the
Viking Tour recently adopted. The bidding favorites in the player auction
were Shawn Putnam and Troy Frank,
as would be expected, but the large
number of players entered that were
capable of high finishes boosted the
auction considerably and raised the
total purse to $5,100.
As the competitors were
knocked either into the one-loss
bracket or out of the tournament, two
players kept winning match after
match until they played each other
for the king seat. Shawn Putnam had
been playing well all weekend and
welcomed the challenge. His opponent, Joseph Arbuckle of West
Virginia, had never done so well in a
Viking event. He beat Putnam after
watching an 8-2 lead going to 9 evaporate to 8-7, with Putnam running out
to the 9-ball and then missing.
Arbuckle took the match and sat
down to see who would come from
the one-loss side to challenge him. In
the fourth-place match, Jim Davis of
Mentor, OH, defeated Troy Frank of
Canton, OH. Davis moved forward to
play Putnam and was steamrolled 9-3.
Not to be denied his third win of the
year, Putnam dispatched Arbuckle in
the first set of the finals by a 9-2 margin and then came back with an even
more decisive 9-1 victory in the second set to win the event.
The feature match-up of the first
round on Sunday was between two
Filipino
superstars,
Francisco
Bustamante and Joss Tour dominator
Ronnie Alcano. Alcano definitely
started the day off right by cruising
through the match and winning by a
score of 9-3. Also surviving their first
matches of Sunday were Mike
Zuglan, George “Ginky” SanSouci,
and rising star Jarrod Clowery.
Some of the eight players returning with one loss were Rafael
Martinez of Mexico; Edwin Jackson
from New Zealand; Santos Sambajon,
Jr., of the Philippines; and the newest
member of the BCA Hall of Fame, Jim
“King James” Rempe!
Jarrod Clowery defeated Ronnie
Alcano and set himself up for a match
against George SanSouci of New York
City. Ginky, a young but very experienced Joss Tour player won the match
by a score of 9-6 to remain undefeated and ensure him a spot in the finals.
Meanwhile, Bustamante was
mowing them down on the
Francisco
one-loss side. Bustamante
Bustamante
would have to defeat five
worthy opponents just to
get a shot at the title,
which he did in fine fashion. The stage was set for
a
fantastic
final.
Bustamante would have
to defeat SanSouci in two
races to nine, while Ginky
would have to win just one
of
the
two
sets.
Bustamante didn’t waste
any time in winning the
first or the second set. He
Results
figured out the break after six racks
in the first set, which he won by a
1st
Francisco Bustamante
score of 9-3. He then came with a
2nd
George SanSouci
four-pack halfway through the second
3rd
Jarrod Clowery
set to win that set, $1,600 and the
4th
Ronnie Alcano
title by a score of 9-3. SanSouci got
5th
Rafael Martinez
$1,140 for second, Clowery got $900
Mike Zuglan
for third, and Alcano received $700
7th
Robb Saez
for finishing fourth.
Jim Rempe
Results
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Shawn Putnam
Joseph Arbuckle
Jim Davis
Troy Frank
Boston Billiards Does it Right!
By Joe Tucker
Stop #16 on the Joss Northeast
9-Ball Tour was held in superb fashion
as Boston Billiards in Danbury, CT,
joined forces with the American Red
Cross, the Connecticut Lottery, and
the Housatonic Valley Tourism District
to host 78 players and a packed room
full of appreciative spectators.
Boston Billiards could offer a
class on how to promote a pocket billiards tournament. Paris Caporale
heads up a tournament committee
that unites a community. They offered
special contests throughout the
weekend and a raffle in which the win-
ner would receive an antique Blatt
pool table valued at $12,000, graciously donated by Mr. Rober t
Courtright of CT. Last year, they hired
world-renowned trick shot artist Mike
Massey to entertain the crowd, and
this year they drew probably the best
9-ball player on the planet, Francisco
Bustamante of the Philippines.
The event star ted Saturday,
February 8, 2003, with all players
receiving T-shirts that advertised all
the participating sponsors and a complimentary ticket for a lunch buffet
later in the day. After attending hun-
dreds of tournaments myself, I can
tell you the players were not used to
such gracious hospitality. It was nice
to see some of the surprised looks on
their faces as they were greeted at
the door. Boston Billiards also offered
us access to over 25 Gold Crown pool
tables, which was a tournament director’s dream come true and made it
very easy to whittle the field down to
the 16 players who would return on
Sunday to battle it out for their share
of a $9,000 prize fund.
Eight players returned undefeated, and eight returned with one loss.
Upcoming Northeastern Tournaments
NORTHEAST REGION
Date
Tournament
Venue
City, ST
Contact
$ Added
Eligibility
3/1-2
Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour
Golden Cue Billiards
Elmhurst, NY
718-651-9009
$2,000
Open
3/1-2
Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour
Mr. Pockets Pool & Pub
Pittsburgh, PA
412-922-4665
$1,000
Open
Amar Kang and Nicole Mancini
Win Falcon Cue 9-Ball Tour Event 2
3/1-2
Falcon Cue 9-Ball Tour
Orange Ball Billiards
Rockville, MD
301-309-6440
$1,000
Open
3/2
Tri-State Tour
Plaza Billiards
Rahway, NJ
732-396-4997
$500
C-D
By Andy Lincoln
3/2
Falcon Cue 9-Ball Tour Ladies
Orange Ball Billiards
Rockville, MD
301-309-6440
$250
Ladies
3/8
Tri-State Tour
Comet Billiards
Parsippany, NJ
973-334-7429
$500
B-C-D
3/8-9
Rhode Island Billiard Club
Providence, RI
401-232-1331
$2,000
Open
3/9
Tri-State Tour
Olympia Billiards
Astoria Queen, NY
718-278-4460
$500
A-B-C-D
3/15-16
Tri-State Tour Straight Pool
Amsterdam Billiard Club West New York, NY
212-496-8180
$1,000
Divisions
3/15-16
Northfield Billiards
Northfield, OH
330-467-6865
$1,000
Open
3/15-16
Diamond Billiards
Lancaster, PA
717-569-5144
$2,000
Open
3/16
Tri-State Tour
Prime Time Sports Bar & Billiards Sayreville, NJ
732-721-6555
$500
B-C-D
3/21-23
Super Billiards Expo
Valley Forge Convention Ctr
Valley Forge, PA
superbilliardsexpo.com
Varies
3/23
Tri-State Tour
West End Billiards
Elizabeth, NJ
908-352-4019
$500
A-B-C-D
3/29-30
Classic Billiards
Rochester, NY
716-227-7400
$5,000
Open
3/29-30
Tri-State Tour
Spin City Café Billiards
Woodside, NY
718-507-1660
$1,500
Open
3/30
Tri-State Tour
Clifton Billiards
Clifton, NJ
973-365-9856
$500
C-D
4/4-6
Legends 9-Ball Open
Legends Sports Pub & Grille
Uniontown, OH
330-896-4433
$5,000
Open
4/5-6
Ultimate Billiards Club
Berlin, CT
860-828-5754
$3,000
Open
4/5-6
Tri-State Tour
Amsterdam Billiard Club East New York, NY
212-570-4545
$1,000
B-C-D
4/12
Tri-State Tour
Herbert’s Billiards
Secaucus, NJ
201-330-7665
$500
C-D
4/12-13
Tri-State Tour
732-721-6555
$1,500
Open
4/12-13
Spot Shot Billiards
Portland, ME
207-773-3466
$1,500
Open
4/12-13
Louis Messersmith Super 7
Champion Billiards
Laurel, MD
301-498-5260
$700
A PA 7
4/15-16
Chesapeake Area Tour
Bill & Billie’s Cuesport
Arnold, MD
410-544-8185
$1,000 + Qual. Ladies
4/19
Tri-State Tour
Comet Billiards
Parsippany, NJ
973-334-7429
$500
A-B-C-D
4/25-27
Legends Women 9-Ball Open
Legends Sports Pub & Grille
Uniontown, OH
330-896-4433
$5,000
Ladies
4/26-27
Tri-State Tour 8-Ball
212-496-8180
$1,000
2 Divisions
4/26-27
Pro Billiard Lounge
Rotterdam, NY
518-355-9811
$1,500
Open
4/27
Tri-State Tour
Elite Billiards
Milltown, NJ
732-846-7665
$500
B-C-D
5/3-4
Color of Money Billiards
Niagara Falls, Ont.
905-353-1500
$5,000
Open
5/3-4
Tri-State Tour
212-570-4545
$1,000
A-B-C-D
5/3-4
Killer B’s Series Champs
Renaissance Billiard Club
Quincy, MA
401-487-9882
$1,000
5/10
Tri-State Tour
Olympia Billiards
Astoria Queen, NY
718-278-4460
$500
C-D
5/11
Tri-State Tour
Herbert’s Billiards
Secaucus, NJ
201-330-7665
$500
B-C-D
5/17
Tri-State Tour
Comet Billiards
Parsippany, NJ
973-334-7429
$500
C-D
5/17-18
Accu Billiards
New Bedford, MA
508-995-6286
$2,000
Open
5/18
Tri-State Tour
732-721-6555
$500
A-B-C-D
5/24-25
Tri-State Tour
Amsterdam Billiard Club West New York, NY
212-496-8180
$1,000
B-C-D
5/24-25
Joss Northeast Tour Finals
Accu Billiards
New Bedford, MA
508-995-6286
$15,000
Open
5/31
Tri-State Tour
Plaza Billiards
Rahway, NJ
732-396-4997
$500
B-C-D
5/31-6/1
Champion Billiards Café
Frederick, MD
410-908-4259
$1,000
Open
6/1
Frederick, MD
410-908-4259
$250
Ladies
6/7-8
PA State 9-Ball Championships
Lucky Break Billiards
Indiana, PA
724-349-6277
$3,500
No pros
Amar Kang
The Falcon Cue 9-Ball Tour held
its second event of the new season on
February 15-16, 2003, at Bill & Billies
Cuesport in Arnold, MD. The weather
reports Friday were ominous, as a
snowstorm of historic propor tions
was on its way. Saturday morning conditions proved to be somewhat bearable, and 58 players showed up while
the snow slowly piled up outside. The
owners of Bill & Billies Cuesport and
Falcon Cues made the added money
of $2,500 possible for the open and
women’s division.
Early round match-ups provided
some excitement, as Tony Annigoni
from Northern California knocked off
last event’s second-place finisher Jim
Henson. Jim McAdams has
been playing very well lately
and took down Filipino sensation Ramil Gallego and
Annigoni.
By
Saturday
evening, the field was down
to just 12 players scheduled
to come back on Sunday.
Returning on Sunday
proved to be quite a challenge; well over a foot of
snow had fallen during the
night and continued to come
down heavily. However, there were
just three forfeits. Local star Brian
O’Donnell edged into the hot seat
with a hill-hill victory over road player
Amar Kang. Ramil Gallego had just
won his eighth match on
the one-loss side, putting
Alan Duty into four th
place, his best finish to
date. Kang quickly put an
end to Gallego’s run with
a 7-2 victory. The precise
Kang worked his way
through the first set of the
final with a 9-6 win over
O’Donnell. By this time,
Kang was in gear and
rolled 9-1 in the second
set to take the title and the first place
prize. O’Donnell finished in second
place with Gallego in third.
Seven women also braved the
weather conditions for their Sundayonly event. The out-of-town players
again dominated as Nicole Mancini
from Rhode Island plowed her way
into the hot seat with a victory over
Pamela Bell from Wisconsin. Bell
came back for a second shot, but
Mancini dominated 7-0 to take firstplace money. Bell finished second
with tournament director Amy
Tourison taking home third.
Nicole Mancini
Cap’s Classic Pool Hall
By Joe Tucker
Despite the upcoming 10-ball
event in Atlantic City and the impeding snowstorm that would take away
from the draw, Caps Cue Club owner
Capotto said that no matter how
many players showed, they were having their Tenth Annual Mary Capotto
Memorial. Even though the 36-player
field was small, sometimes it’s qualit y, not quantity, that counts.
The Canadians were definitely the
stars of the event. Harr y Chaggaris
suffered early losses to fellow countrymen Pagulayan in the third round
of the winners’ side and to Hewitt in
his first match of the “B” side. Alex
Pagulayan remained undefeated
through Saturday and Sunday to
ensure himself a spot in the finals. On
the other hand, Hewitt, who lost his
first match to Ian Costello of Albany,
NY, won eight consecutive matches
on the “B” side to get a shot at
Pagulayan.
The finals started with Pagulayan
taking the lead by a score of 8-3 in
this race to nine double-elimination
event. The momentums slowly
changed as the next four games were
decided by the push-out after the
break. After the next four games had
ended, the remainder began with push
outs, and the score had shifted to 8-7
Pagulayan. At this point, he stayed in
line, bore down, and got out for the
$1,200 first prize and trophy, leaving
Hewitt a $780 check for second
place.
Results
1st Alex Pagulayan
2nd Danny Hewitt
3rd Ian Costello
4th Tom D’Alfonso
Southeastern Region
AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV
Falcon Cues Signs Sponsorship
Deal With Planet Pool
Falcon Cues, Ltd., signed a title
sponsorship deal with Planet Pool
Promotions on January 30, 2003, for
what has until now been known as
the Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour. The tour,
which is now in its fourth year, will
henceforth be known as the Falcon
Cue 9-Ball Tour, and will feature 20
events this year.
“ We’re very excited about the
deal,” said Mike Ricciardella, Planet
Pool proprietor and president. “Planet
Pool has been long overdue for title
sponsorship, and Falcon is the ideal
sponsor for helping us achieve our
tour’s objectives. We are very happy
to bring them on, and we look forward
to a long and mutually rewarding relationship with them.”
The tour has been based primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region, with regular tour stops from Baltimore, MD,
to as far south as Norfolk, VA, but is
set to expand to other U.S. regions
soon. The tour consists of both open
and women’s events and is currently
the only of its kind in the U.S.
The 2003 season will kick off as
the Falcon Cue 9-Ball Tour on
Februar y 1, 2003, at Champion
Billiards in Laurel, MD. Another first
for Planet Pool is their new senior
tour, which will cater for male and
female players of ages 45 and up.
“ We feel that this is a rich and
untapped market, and by creating an
exclusive tour for this demographic
group, we will be drawing players who
would normally not play on the regular
tour,” Ricciardella stated. The first
event takes place on February 8 at
Champion Billiards in Rockville, MD.
There will be six senior tour events
this year for starters.
Planet Pool To Host WPBA Regional
Tour Championships
It was a great day indeed for
Planet Pool after also receiving confirmation from the WPBA that Planet
Pool has been awarded the annual
WPBA Regional Tour Championships,
a women’s event that draws more
than 64 players. This $5,000-added
event takes place on November 1-2,
with the venue to be announced at a
later date. Planet Pool/Falcon Cue 9Ball Tour will also be hosting four
WPBA qualifier events for the WPBA’s
pro tour stops in Peoria, IL, and
Windsor, Canada.
2003 Lucasi Florida Amateur
9-Ball Tour Results
Southern Division
Tour Stop #2- January 25-26, 2003
Breakers Billiards - Pompano Beach, FL
A field of 48 players took part in the
two-day event.
16 places paid- top 4 published
1st place
Patrick Regan
2nd place
Steve Apakiam
3rd place
Chris Crosser
4th place
Johnny Aguilar
Northern Division
Stop #3- February 9, 2003
Bakers Billiards -Tampa, FL
A field of 62 players took part in the
one-day event.
16 places paid- top 4 published
1st place
Bruce Choyce
2nd place
Bill Wilson
3rd place
Joel Dozier
4th place
Joe Scarboulogh
Florida Amateur
9-Ball Tour
Upcoming Southeastern Tournaments
SOUTHEAST REGION
Rod Rentz Wins
Southeast Open
9-Ball Opener
Thir ty-two players converged
upon the brand-new Stix & Stonz
Billiards and Grill in Douglas, GA, on
February 8-9, 2003, to kick off the
season opener for the Southeast
Open 9-Ball Tour. Tour regular Rod
Rentz tore through the winners’
bracket of the field, finishing off his
triumph with a 13-10 win over Stoney
Stone in the finals. Rentz earned
$600 for first, and Stone got $400 for
second place.
Additionally, Katie
Cowan, the top woman player, earned
$50, while Cadey Spivey, the top junior, received $50 as well.
The next tour stop for the South
East Open 9-Ball Tour will be on
February 22-23, 2003, at Murphy’s
Brass Rail in Athens, GA.
Jeannie Seaver Victorious at
Murphy’s Brass Rail
The Southeast Amateur Ladies
(SEAL) Tour held their fourth stop of
the season at Murphy’s Brass Rail in
Athens, GA, on February 8-9, 2003.
Jeannie Seaver of Florida met Janet
Atwell in the hot seat match, defeating her opponent by the score of 7-3.
Interestingly, Seaver and Atwell met
in SEAL’s last event at The Pool
Room in Murrieta, GA, in January in
the hot seat match as well, where the
result was Seaver 7-4.
In the one-loss side of the board,
Atwell and Lisa Marr, InsidePOOL
Magazine’s Female Amateur Player of
the Year for 2002, battled it out for
third place. Again, the two played in
January, with the same result this
month. Atwell won by the score of 75 and relegated Marr to third place,
going on to challenge Seaver again in
the finals for first.
For Seaver’s second tour victory
in a row, she and Atwell had a
rematch similar to their match in
January. Last month Seaver defeated
Atwell by the score of 9-6, whereas at
Murphys’ Rail, Seaver won the final
match 9-3. Atwell took home $329
for second place, and Seaver earned
$415 for first.
The next tour stop for the South
East Ladies Tour will be on March 1516, 2003, at Mr. Cue’s Billiards in
Atlanta, GA.
Date
3/1-2
Tournament
Shooter’s 9-Ball Open
Venue
Shooter’s Sports Bar
City, ST
Greensboro, NC
Contact
336-852-1448
$ Added
Eligibility
Open
3/1-2
J. Pechauer SE 9-Ball Tour
Mr. Cues 2
Atlanta, GA
770-454-7665
$1,000
Open
3/2
$1,500 Open 9-Ball
Park Ave. Billiards
Orange Park, FL
904-215-1557
$1,500 1st Pl Open
3/8-9
First Break Café
Sterling, VA
703-444-2551
$1,250
Open & Ladies
3/8-9
The Pool Room
Marietta, GA
770-579-3388
$1,000
Open
3/9
Sterling, VA
703-444-2551
$1,000
Open
3/9
First Break Café
Sterling, VA
703-444-2551
$250
Ladies
3/14
Bosom Buddies Casino Benefit Mr. Cues II
Atlanta, GA
770-454-7665
Charity for Breast Cancer
3/15
Florida Amateur 9-Ball Tour
Trick Shots Billiards
Orlando FL
407-298-5112
$500
3/15-16
S.E.A.L. Tour
Mr. Cues 2
Atlanta, GA
770-454-7665
3/15-16
Morey’s Billiards
Charlotte, NC
704-537-6925
$1,000
Open
3/16
Park Avenue Billiards
Orange Park, FL
904-215-1557
$500
Amateurs
3/22-23
Ladies Spirit Tour 9-Ball
Baker’s Billiards
Tampa, FL
772-778-9893
$1,000
Ladies Pro-Am
3/22-23
Athens, GA
706-369-3924
$1,000
Open
3/29-30
Capones
Springhill, FL
352-688-9965
$1,000
Open
4/5
9-Ball Open
Gameland Billiards
Albany, GA
229-432-6411
$500
Open
4/6
Pro Billiards
Orlando, FL
407-898-3007
$500
Amateurs
4/5-6
S.E.A.L. Tour
Murphy Brass Rail
Athens, GA
706-369-3924
4/5-6
Randolph’s Billiards
Hickory, NC
828-326-7005
$1,000
Open
4/12-13
Riptide
Greenville, SC
864-297-6500
$2,000
Open
4/12-13
Mid-South Ladies Regional Tour JOB Billiards
Madison, TN
615-868-4270
$1,000
Ladies
4/12-13
Fast Eddies Billiard Café
Alexandria, VA
703-660-9444
$1,000
Open
4/13
Fast Eddies Billiard Café
Alexandria, VA
703-660-9444
$250
Ladies
4/13
Breakers Billiards
Palatka, FL
386-325-4343
$500
Amateurs
4/25-27
8-Ball Mania 12
Billiards East
Memphis, TN
901-756-2594
$10,000
Hcp Partners
4/26-27
Mother’s Billiards Parlor
Charlotte, NC
704-553-7457
$1,000
Open
4/26-27
Capone’s Billiards
Spring Hill, FL
772-778-9893
$1,000
Ladies Pro-Am
4/26-27
Pool House
Doraville, GA
770-455-1124
$1,000
Open
5/3
9-Ball Open
Gameland Billiards
Albany, GA
229-432-6411
$500
Open
5/4
Capone’s Billiards
Spring Hill, FL
352-688-9965
$500
Amateurs
5/3-4
Athens, GA
706-369-3924
$1,000
Open
5/30-6/1
Empire Billiards
Charlotte, NC
704-568-9699
$1,000
Open
6/7
9-Ball Open
Gameland Billiards
Albany, GA
229-432-6411
$500
Open
6/7-8
Mid-South Ladies Regional Tour Parkway Billiards
Chattanooga, TN
423-265-7665
$1,000
Ladies
6/8
Fat Cats Billiards
Mt. Dora, FL
352-735-2202
$500
Amateurs
6/21-22
Pro Billiards
Orlando, FL
772-778-9893
$1,000
Ladies Pro-Am
6/28-29
Women’s VA State 9-Ball Champs
Arlington, VA
703-619-0337
$500 + Qual. Ladies
6/25-29
Great Seminole Seniors Open
Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club Naples Beach, FL
803-407-0047
$40,000
Seniors
6/29
Planet 9-Ball
Tampa, FL
813-818-7665
$500
Amateurs
7/5
9-Ball Open
Gameland Billiards
Albany, GA
229-432-6411
$500
Open
7/6
Strokers Billiards
Palm Harbor, FL
727-786-6683
$500
Amateurs
7/19-20
Park Ave Billiards
Orange Park, FL
772-778-9893
$1,000
Ladies Pro-Am
7/27
Wally’s Billiards
Lakeland, FL
863-688-4460
$500
Amateurs
8/2-3
Fast Eddie’s Billiards Café
Alexandria, VA
703 660-9444
$1,000
Open
Amateurs
Ladies
Ladies
CENTRAL REGION
USBA 2003 National Championship
Central Region
By Bob Henning
AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, MO,
ND, NE, OK, SD, TX, WI
First Hunter Classics Tour Stop of 2003 Plays at
Corner Pocket in Albuquerque, NM
Choy’s road
to the finals was
with wins over
Lisa Marr (7-6),
Julie Stephenson
(7-1), Pearl Ortiz
(7-1),
Anna
Kostanian (7-1),
and then Terri
Kelley (7-6) for
the hot seat.
Kelley’s road
to the finals
star ted with a
bye and then
with wins over
Shanna Lewis (72), Melinda Bailey (7-2), and Leslie
Anne Rogers (7-4) before losing to
Choy (6-7). Then Kelly defeated Anna
Kostanian (7-6) and Choy two sets (75, 7-4) to win the tournament and the
WPBA qualifier. Fourth place went to
2002 Tour Champion Leslie Anne
Rogers.
Right before the finals, the beautiful Hunter Classics custom cue was
raffled off, and Brian Mileshosky won
the cue! Players and spectators will
have seven more chances for another
Hunter Classics cue throughout the
year.
On Sunday, the second chance
tournament was won by board member Stephanie Croft, her first time
winning this event, while local
Shanna Lewis placed second.
Wes Hunter keeps allowing the
women to reach for their pool goals
by supporting the Hunter Classics
Tour, which happens to be the longest
Left to right: Terri Kelly, Phoebe Choy, Anna Kostanian.
On the weekend of Jan 18-19,
2003, 27 women came to compete
for the first Hunter Classics stop of
the year. Nine of them were also vying
for the WPBA Qualifier. The ladies
played at Corner Pocket in
Albuquerque, NM, which has been a
stop for the last few years and always
treats the ladies to a wonderful tournament and hospitality.
When play started on the numerous newly recovered nine-foot tables,
who would have known new faces
would grace the finals. It was a good
fight - the final six ladies in the tournament all had paid the qualifier fee
and wanted the ever-elusive WPBA
spot! In the end, it would be Terri
Kelley, who recently moved to the
DFW area, who won the tournament
and the qualifier. Second place would
go to Phoebe Choy, who came all the
way from Hawaii. Third place went to
a local player, 15-year-old Anna
Kostanian.
running, largest women’s regional
tour in America.
Results
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
7th
9th
13th
Terri Kelley
Phoebe Choy
Anna Kostanian
Leslie Anne Rogers
Julie Stephenson
Jackie Broadburst
Miriam Martinez
Melinda Bailey
Pearl Ortiz
DelAnn Nash
Jennifer Vera
ulia Gabriel
Becky Rouse
Andrea Wardel
Stacy Jackman
Lisa Marr
Second Chance Tournament Results
$115 Added 15 Ladies
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
Stephanie Croft
Shanna Lewis
Julie Ekman
Stacy Jackman
Yolanda Valdez
DelAnn Nash
Hugo Patino
Photo by Professor Q-ball
The
Three-Cushion
National
Championship, organized by the
United States Billiard Association,
was held at Bogart’s Billiard Cafe, in
Livonia, MI, from January 28 through
February 2, 2003. As the premium
event in American three-cushion billiards, this contest pitted 32 of the
top carom players from around the
country in a two-stage round-robin format.
The preliminary rounds had four
flights of eight players, with each
match playing to a score of 30 points.
The top two players in each flight,
based on the number of wins, would
advance to a final playoff flight. Two
wild cards, determined by wins (or
points and head-to-head results in
case of ties), would also advance to
make a final round-robin of ten players. This flight would play to 40
points.
W ith four heated Verhoeven
tables, Bogart’s has
long been the center
for three-cushion play
in Michigan. For the
tournament, they sectioned these tables off
from the rest of the
room, covered them
with new Simonis, and
put up some chairs
and a small set of
bleachers. The venue
was small but exclusive. All the players
were dressed in black
shoes, black trousers,
white shir ts, vests,
and tuxedo ties.
Charlie Brown, the
past president of the
USBA,
and
Bob
Jewett, the past secretary, set up shop in
the back of the room
and generated the
char ts and repor ts
that kept the matches
running smoothly and the statistics
current.
The success of Mazin
Shooni, the tournament director, in
promoting the event was also clear.
There was substantial coverage in the
major Detroit newspapers, and a letter of welcome from the governor of
Michigan was prominently hung on
the wall. In addition, there was a 30page tournament program produced
by Steve Hegg and David Thompson.
It included tournament charts for the
spectators to track results, some history of the game, and profiles on over
30 players, including the defending
champion Pedro Piedrabuena of
Flushing, New York.
Three-cushion billiards is an interesting game with a culture all its own.
First and foremost, it is presented as
a gentleman’s sport. A good shot is
acknowledged by a snap of the fingers, and there are no arguments, disagreements, or wild displays of emo-
tion. According to one USBA insider,
even banging a cue butt on the floor
after a miss could result in a disqualification.
Perhaps the genteel nature is
influenced by the heavy European and
Asian participation.
Although the
sport is not a very popular in the
United States, it is considerably more
active across the oceans. Compared
to the 600 members of the USBA, for
example, there are about 45,000
members in the French organization.
Even so, the level of play, according to Bob Jewett, has increased dramatically in the last few years, partially because of the refinement in
equipment. “Twenty-five years ago, a
.8 point average per inning could win
a major tournament. Hoppe’s best
ever performance in a major, in fact,
was only a 1.33. Today, you need a
1.6 to 2.2 average to win at a world
level.”
The tournament statistics for the
final flight supported his assertion.
Young Kyu Lee of Flushing, NY, lost
six matches in a row and still had a
1.14 grand average. There were best
games with a 2.0 average by several
players, including Piedrabuena; Hugo
Patino of Jackson Heights, NY; and
Shooni of Southfield, MI. Patino
established the high run of 13 points
in one inning on Sunday.
The spectators were treated to a
spectacular final round. Four players
stood at five wins and three losses,
and Miguel Torres of New York City,
already finished at six and three, was
waiting to see if he would get into the
tie-breaker playoff.
Three players
were going to end at six and three,
but only the top two would advance to
the finals.
Patino won his final round match
with Moon Bum Heo of Flushing, NY,
and that put him into the playoff
match. If Piedrabuena won his match
with Yong Chan Kim of New York City,
he would also be in the final match.
Upcoming Central Tournaments
CENTRAL REGION
But if Kim triumphed, that would put Torres into the finals.
It was an awesome battle! Both players got to the hill, 39
to 39 and had several shots at the last billiard, with both
missing expected points. Kim, the spoiler, finally scored
and destroyed Piedrabuena’s chance to hang onto the
title.
Patino wrapped up the weeklong tournament with a
win of 40-24 over the ever-patient Torres and claimed both
the title and the first prize of $4,000. Torres was consoled with a $2,600 second-place prize. ◆
These ten finalists (from a 32-player field) played
a round robin of 40-point matches:
Pos.
Player
W-L
Avg.
High
Run Prizes
1. Hugo Patino
6-3 1.223 13
2.000 $4400
2. Miguel Torres
6-3 1.139 9
1.739 $2600
3. Yong Chan Kim
6-3 1.012 11
1.538 $2200
4. Pedro Piedrabuena 5-4 1.260 9
2.000 $1900
5. Moon Bum Heo
5-4 1.209 8
1.429 $1400
6. Mazin Shooni
5-4 1.074 11
2.000 $1400
7. Sonny Cho
4-5 1.062 11
1.429 $1000
8. Salvador Diaz
4-5 0.906 8
1.429 $800
9. Byung Soo Kim
3-6 1.063 10
1.429 $700
10. Young Kyu Lee
1-8 1.204 10
1.429 $500
Notes:
- Finals grand average for all 10 finalists: 1.109
- Piedrabuena lost in the 1-hole, 40-39, to Yong Chan Kim and
Miguel Torres, in 2 of his last 3 matches.
- Patino won the $300 high run prize with a run of 13 in a late
round victory over Yong Chan Kim.
- The $300 best game prize was split between Patino, Shooni and
Piedrabuena, each with a best game of 2.000, 40 points in 20
innings.
- Young Kyu Lee averaged over 1.0 for all nine of his games, and
yet only won one game. This was the toughest finals field ever for
The USBA 3-Cushion National Championship.
[Charles Brown, Steve Hegg and Bob Jewett contributed to this
report.]
Date
Tournament
Venue
City, ST
Contact
$ Added
Eligibility
3/5-6
BCA 8-Ball State Champs
Cumberland Place
West Lafayette, IN
219-763-6314
$2,000
IN League
3/8
Michigan Jack & Jill
Hall of Fame Billiards
Warren, MI
586-801-4351
3/14-16
Chalk Talk 8-Ball
Dakota Casino Hotel
Hankinson, ND
612-991-4241
$4,000
Open
3/14-16
Chalk Talk 8-Ball Ladies
Dakota Casino Hotel
Hankinson, ND
612-991-4241
$1,000
Ladies
3/19-23
BCA 8-Ball State Champs
Bradley Center Quality Inn
Bradley, IL
219-763-6314
$2,000
IL League
3/28
Chalk Talk 9-Ball
Jackpot! Junction Casino Hotel
Horton, MN
612-991-4241
$1,000
Open
3/28
Chalk Talk 8-Ball Ladies
Horton, MN
612-991-4241
$2,000
Ladies
3/29-30
Chalk Talk 8-Ball
Horton, MN
612-991-4241
$6,500
Open
3/29-30
Snookers’ Pool & Pub
Southgate, MI
734-284-9025
$1,000
Open
4/3-6
Midwest 9-Ball Tour
Tulsa Billiard Palace
Tulsa, OK
918-627-3486
4/12-13
Quentin Corner Pocket
Palatine, IL
847-705-1361
$1,000
Open
6/12-13
Weekly Amateur Pool Tour 9-Ball
Treasure Island Resort & Casino
Red Wing, MI
763-780-1585
$5,000
Top 1024 Points
6/14-15
Weekly Amateur Pool Tour 9-Ball
Treasure Island Resort & Casino
Red Wing, MI
763-780-1585
$15,000
Top 1024 Points
6/21-22
Nat’l Wheelchair Assoc. 9-Ball
Sky Dancer Casino
Belcourt, SD
701-477-0322
6/27-29
VNEA Junior Pool Champs
Mankota, MN
www.vnea.com
7/12-13
Hunter Classics Tour
Speed’s
Arlington, TX
817-640-7675
7/30-8/2 BCA Junior National 9-Ball
Univ. of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
www.bca-pool.com
8/1-3
WPBA Amateur Nationals
Magoo’s
Tulsa, OK
8/9-10
Legend’s
11/8-9
Big Daddy’s
SC. Dbl.
Open
Wheelchair
$2,000
Ladies
www.wpba.com
$4,000
Qualify
League City, TX
281-332-7716
$2,000
Ladies
Alvin, TX
281-585-0004
$2,000
Ladies
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at Your Tournaments?
Go to
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click on
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and enter your info.
Not only will it appear on our website Forum, an e-mail will be sent to us and if it qualifies it will be added to the Upcoming Tournaments in the
appropriate Regional Roundup Calendar.
Western
Region
AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV,
OR, UT, WA, WY
Ernesto Dominguez Wins The
Jay Swanson Memorial
Left to right: Dave Hemmah,
Ernesto Dominquez
Photo by Alex Kjorlien
Ernesto
Dominguez
waded
through a tough 128-player field to
win his first Jay Swanson Memorial
Tournament. The steady Dominguez, a
regular performer on pro pool tours for
many years, has been an infrequent
visitor to San Diego, mostly because
of the time constraints of his other
job. He is the most sought after pool
table mechanic for major poolrooms
all over the West Coast. His signature
work, tight perfectly cut pockets, can
be seen on pool tables wherever big
games are played.
Many people had forgotten
Dominguez’s dominance of tournament pool in Southern California during the 1980s when he was the man
to beat, along with the late Swanee.
Those two hooked it up in many tournament finals, and it was always
closely contested and marked by the
good sportsmanship exhibited by both
these men.
The last two years have seen
Dominguez’s re-emergence on the
Southern California pool scene. This
was his third recent victory in large
field events that featured many top
players. And this event certainly had
its share of top guns, with names like
Evgeny Stalev, Ismael Paez, Victor
Castro, John Schmidt, Dave Hemmah,
and Bernardo Chavez to
contend with. Pre-tournament favorites Stalev
and Paez got early exit
passes thanks to some
unsung heros. Stalev, or
“The Russian” as he is
known in the pool world,
fell victim first to Glenn
Rosete 9-4 and then got
sent packing by local player Dan
Wallace 9-8. Paez lost to Don
Westbrooks 9-5, and Diamond
Billiards boss Greg Sullivan gave him
a 9-6 sendoff.
Meanwhile, Dominguez quietly
cruised along, defeating Jerr y Decker
9-1, Wallace 9-5, Rosete 9-2, Dave
Sparks 9-7, John Bryant 9-6, and
Shane Manaole 9-2 to reach the hot
seat match with another old rival,
A rturo Rivera. Rivera hasn’t been
seen much in these parts since moving north to San Luis Obispo several
years back, but he decided to have a
little reunion with his pool buddies
that weekend. It was a nice welcome
home for Rivera as he swept by Louie
Ulrich 9-5, John Troy 9-7, Hiroshi
Kitamoto 9-3, Brian Parks 9-6, Rick
Tobin 9-5, and Dave Hemmah 9-5 to
reach the match with Dominguez.
On the one-loss side of the board,
Ulrich was tearing things up, winning
eight in a row before being upended
by Bernardo Chavez 9-6. The beefy
Glen Rosete, who resembles Rodney
Morris in size and style, won six in a
row before Dave Hemmah dropped a
9-5 bomb on him. Hemmah then
knocked out Chavez 9-6 to reach the
final three. It was Chavez’s second
loss to Hemmah in the tournament,
By Jay Helfert
losing 9-7 earlier. In the hot seat
match, Dominguez sent Rivera over to
meet Hemmah with a 9-4 drubbing.
The one-loss side final turned into a
marathon, and two hours later
Hemmah emerged on top of a 9-8 battle. The long final match was an exhibition of top-flight 9-ball, with both
players showing great form. Dave
Hemmah has stepped up his game,
and it is beginning to show results.
He fought tooth and nail with
Dominguez right down to the wire,
finally succumbing by a 13-11 margin.
The tournament was held at two
establishments owned by Mark
Griffin. The first day was played at
Gaslamp Billiards in downtown San
Diego, and the second day play
moved to College Billiards in the El
Cajon neighborhood. Griffin and Jay
Helfert teamed up to run the tournament. This event has become so popular more than two dozen players who
arrived on Saturday morning at
Gaslamp were too late to get into the
field, which had cut off at 128.
Results
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
7th
9th
Ernesto Dominguez
Dave Hemmah
Arturo Rivera
Bernardo Chavez
Glen Rosete
Shane Manaole
John Bryant
Louie Ulrich
Mike Defino
Toshi Akimoto
Rick Tobin
Jason Krisle
WESTERN REGION
Atwell Undefeated in Pechauer Stop #5
By Carissa Biggs
City Lights Billiards in Tacoma,
WA, hosted the fifth Pechauer Cues 9Ball West Coast tour stop on February
1-2, 2003. The room has a combination of bar tables in one half and ninefoot Gold Crowns and a snooker table
in the other half. The tournament was
held on the 10 Gold Crowns, which
were recently worked on by renowned
table mechanic Ernesto Dominguez.
Because of the amount of tables, the
field was limited to the first 64 entries
and filled up in advance. Play began
late Saturday morning and ran well
into the night. The 3.75-inch pockets
made it challenging to run a rack of 9ball, and consequently the matches
took longer than they ordinarily would
have.
The top 16 competitors returned
at 10 am Sunday morning to battle for
the title. Todd Marsh and Stan
Tourangeau found themselves in quite
the dogfight for the fourth-place spot.
After being down 8-6, Marsh put the
heat on, bringing the score to 8-7 and
then played a game filled with world-
class safeties and offensive shots.
Marsh ended up in a pickle when he
found himself on the wrong side of a
3 ball with the 4 at the opposite end
of the table. Marsh didn’t let the
crowd down, as he displayed his
incredible abilities by spearing in the
3 ball with a perfect draw stroke that
walked the cue ball back seven feet
for a shot on the 4. Even with his display of heart and determination, it
just wasn’t meant to be for Marsh in
this set, and Tourangeau closed out
the match to leave Marsh with a
fourth-place finish, his best yet in the
tour.
Tourangeau moved on to face
Jerr y Johnson, who had been defeated by Atwell. Johnson, an animated,
ex-road player, had knocked off player after notable player on his road
through the tournament. Atwell had
seemingly taken the wind out of his
sails. Tourangeau dominated Johnson
completely and closed out the set,
moving on to the single race-to-13
finals.
Atwell dictated the first half of
the final match, earning himself a sizable lead. Tourangeau is not one that
will lie down and die, though. The
tough Canadian forged his way back
to within two games, making the
score of the match 11-9. The seesaw
then ensued. The two champions battled back and forth, one just as driven as the other. Different styles,
same result - one would win a game,
then the other would win. A mistake
in the twenty-third game by
Tourangeau put Atwell on the hill,
where he proceeded to close out the
set for the championship. Afterward,
Atwell gleefully declared, “I finally
won one of these Pechauer Stops!”
Results
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
7th
9th
Glenn Atwell
Stan Tourangeau
Jerr y Johnson
Todd Marsh
John Dohert y
Bryce Avila
Mike Vidas
Mike Zimmerman
Paul Juarez
Rennie Amadeo
Zak Leach
Dan Louie
Pechauer West Coast 9-Ball Tour
Pool players from all over the West
Coast converged at The Cue Ball in
Salem, OR, for the Pechauer 9-Ball
Tour stop on January 18-19, 2003.
Jim and Casey Lebold, proprietors of
The Cue Ball, hosted a first-class
event. Their establishment boasts
more than 30 Brunswick pool tables,
contributing to a smooth-running
event that concluded play each day
between 6 PM and 8 PM.
Top players from Seattle dominated the Salem stop, closing the
gap on points leader Billy Palmer of
San Francisco, CA. The finals pitted
fellow Seattle players and friends Tim
Tweedel against John Dohert y. John
Doherty had gained momentum coming through the one-loss side after his
loss in the winner’s bracket to Troy
Van Winkle of St. Helens, OR. This
momentum, as well as his exemplary
and skillful playing abilities, earned
him the fourth stop championship and
moved him to within 60 points of
Palmer.
The newly formed Pechauer
Tour started its season in August and
will run through the end of July 2003
at poolrooms up and down the West
Coast.
Results
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
7th
John Doherty
Tim Tweedel
Troy VanWinkle
Gerardo Jamito
Steve Lingelbach
Kings Santy
Todd Marsh
Bill Rosenberr y
WESTERN REGION
NWPA Player of the Month
Kari Stevens has been chosen
as the Nor thwest Women’s Pool
Association Player of the Month for
March. Kari, who has been playing
pool for only three years, captured a
top-12 finish in her very first NWPA
event. Although she has worked hard
to capture her first win, she is no
stranger to competition. She is a seasoned league player who enjoys both
9-ball and 8-ball. Her BCA teams in
2002 finished 5th/6th at the
Western Regional BCA Champion-
ships and cashed at the BCA’s
National 8-Ball Championships in Las
Vegas. “She is always positive,
always eager to learn, and has a
great tough attitude at the table,”
said one of Kari’s teammates. Kari,
who lives in Oregon City, OR, is married to Mike Stevens and has a 7year-old daughter, Danielle.
NWPA
Northwest Women's
Pool Association
Las Vegas Three-Cushion International Tournament 2003
An international tournament
like the 1999 and 2001 World Cup
Events that were held in Las Vegas at
the Riviera will be held at the
Stardust on July 8-13, 2003. The
exact format and conditions are still
being decided. The current, very tentative plan is to limit the qualifying
tournament to 128 players with an
entry fee of $150 and a single-elimination format, with 16 qualifiers to
join 16 seeded players in the main
tournament. The finals will be on
Sunday, July 13.
The Stardust was remodeled
in 2000, and is a very nice venue for
this event, located just across the
street from the Riviera and within
walking distance (a warm walk) from
the Sands Convention Center, where
the Billiard Congress of America will
be hosting their Trade Expo July 10-
12. The Stardust tournament room is
a few steps from the hotel towers. A
website will be set up just for room
reservations for the tournament. If
you would like more information as
plans are finalized, please send your
email address to: Bob Jewett jewett@sfbilliards.com for general info or
to Dennis Dieckman cuebuilder@cuemaker.com to volunteer for refereeing
or scorekeeping
Upcoming Western Tournaments
Date
Tournament
Venue
City, ST
Contact
$ Added
Eligibility
3/6-9
US Bar Table Championships
Sands Regency Casino
Reno, NV
866-386-7829
$20,000
Open
3/15-16
Pechauer Tour Stop
Sunset Family Billiards
Renton WA
425-255-7225
$1500
Open
3/21
March Open 9-Ball
Back/Street’s Billiards
Boise, ID
208-672-8870
$500/64 pl.
Open
3/22-23
March Open 8-Ball
Boise, ID
208-672-8870
$3000 Purse
Open
3/22-23
SCWBT
Jay’s Billiards
Inglewood, CA
310-677-6878
$1,000
Ladies
4/4-5
Pechauer Tour Stop
McQ’s Billiards
Spokane, WA
509-891-8357
$1500
Open
4/12-13
Match-Ups 8-Ball Open
Match-Ups
Fort Collins, CO
970-482-BEER
$1000
No Pros
4/15-19
West. Canadian 9-Ball Open
Great White Billiards
Calgary, AB, Can
604-685-0100
$10,000 Can. Open
4/18
Open 9-Ball
Boise, ID
208-672-8870
$300
Open
4/19-20
Pechauer Tour Stop
Back/street’s Billiards
Boise, ID
208-672-8870
$1,500
Open
4/24-26
A PA National Singles Champ
Riviera Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, NV
www.poolplayers.com
A PA Memb.
4/25-27
Wormo Rak’em &Crack’em II
The Pocket
Twin Falls, ID
208-733-9676
$1,500
4 Divisions
4/26-27
Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour
Pappy’s
Phoenix, AZ
$500
Ladies
5/4-5
Pechauer Tour Stop
Family Billiards
San Francisco, CA
415-931-1115
$1500
Open
5/9-17
BCA 8-Ball Nationals
Riviera Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, NV
www.bca-pool.com
BCA Memb.
THE MONK FROM PAGE 10
ball. It really helps in mastering the third stage. You need to
be able to see the entire shot. Play Scotch doubles whenever
you can. By setting up your partner, you are learning to see
the entire shot.After a while, you get use to playing great position. What the mind sees, it can repeat. If you are content to
make the shot and simply get a glimpse of the next shot, you
are building a poor foundation to your game.
In our journey, we will miss position many times, and
when we do, we are tempted to go back to just making the
shot. Don’t do that. Make the commitment to pass through
the third stage. If you are content with a long shot, you will
wear out in tournaments.As you approach the final four, you
will be exhausted from dealing with all the tough shots you
have left for yourself.Winning takes a complete performance.
Spend a lot of time in the third stage. Be specific in your practice. Pay attention to what you are doing.You strengthen what
you focus on.
I visited Houston, San Antonio,Austin,Waco, South Padre
Island, Arlington, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, and Odessa on
my recent Texas tour. In my workshops around the country,
players often ask about what to practice. Felix Martinez
brought along his entire team to my workshop at Clicks
Billiards in Dallas,TX, to learn about the four stages of pocket billiards. Players are interested in what they can do to
improve their game. In my book, “The Lesson,” I have many
patterns to work on, but there is always one answer I give. I
PRO POOL WORKOUT FROM PAGE 14
tell them they must practice one of the four stages of pocket
billiards. Work on shot making. Work on the four strokes of
pool.Work on cue ball speed control.Work on mastering self.
When you see the shot, shoot the shot, don’t back away.
Deliver the proper stroke, and let the results be what they are.
If you back away, you will set the stage for a mediocre performance. Be strong in your desire to play this game at its
highest level. Name the shot. Lean into the shot. Focus on
where you will hit the cue ball, focus on where you will hit
the object ball, name your stoke, and feel the speed of the
shot. Rock back and forth, and deliver the shot as it is called
for. Many players take years to develop great cue ball speed
control.You can cut this time down by working specifically on
this fine art. Get “The Lesson” and begin your serious training.
I’ll see you in the finals. ◆
Tim Miller, known all over the world as “The Monk,” has
authored several books and is considered one of the industry’s elite instructors. Tim’s instructional columns have
been featured on many of the pool world’s top websites. He
is currently traveling through the U.S. with his revolutionary
“Monk 101” tour, which consists of a series of workshops
designed to help players of all levels improve their game.
how you focus your mind. The delivery is the actual execution. It begins with the final back stroke and includes watching the object ball disappear into the pocket and the cue ball
go to the designated target. The delivery is complete before
you begin to rise up out of the shot.
I’ll leave you to ponder these ideas until the next column,
but here’s a couple of guidelines you might find interesting.
Each section starts with one specific physical action and this
action is tied to a specific mental activity. In other words, your
body has a starting point, your mind has a starting point, and
your attention focuses on one specific thing at a time. A good
key to keep you pointed in the right direction is the following
statement: The only thing that matters right now is...
Good luck & good shootin’! ◆
Bob Henning is the author of The Pro Book, widely
considered to be the most advanced training resource
for competitive pool players. It brings the latest techniques of the top coaches and trainers of all sports into
pool. It is intended for those who wish to prepare physically, mentally, and psychologically for pool competition.Bob is also the author of The Pro Book Video Series,
a complete, on-the-table training system. In addition, he
has authored Cornbread Red , a biography of the colorful Billy “Cornbread Red” Burge.
How many years have you
been playing pool?
In two days you can play 50%
better.
By now you probably know the occasional joy of playing pool
somewhere near your potential. Ever said to yourself,“What I
wouldn’t give to play like this all the time” ? Now you can.
Come to the New Pool School and work with one of the great
teachers in the world. Stay for two to five days, whatever suits
your schedule. Session enrollment will be limited to 4, so instruction can be best tailored to your individual needs. Previous students have claimed immediate improvements averaging 50%,
often much higher.
Call or write for details.And find out, once and for all,
how well you can really play.
The Pool School
N. 2774 Summerville Park Rd., Lodi, WI 53555
608-592-4255
thepoolschool.com or poollessons.com
PRACTICAL PRACTICE FROM PAGE 16
fight. Then we stroke forward with biceps only. I think we
can agree this is simpler and should be easier to control.
OK, it’s simpler. Our problem, though, is this is hard to
learn if we’ve played a long time without the pause. Here’s
the trick. The biggest obstacle to incorporating the pause is
the fact that most players start the backswing from motion.
As they do their warm-up strokes, they check aim, cue ball
contact point, and stroking comfort. When everything seems
right, they hit. Instead, what if you started the backswing
from a full stop at the cue ball? Take your warm-up strokes,
and when you feel ready, come to a full stop with the tip
close to the cue ball. Check your tip position, check your
aim, know you’re ready, and then slowly draw the cue back
to the pause position at the back of the stroke. To learn the
pause, hang out at the pause position for a full second or
so. It will seem like a long time. Focus on cleanly firing the
biceps to deliver the hit. The feeling should be that you’re
accelerating through the cue ball. The hit stroke motion is
forward only – no sense of pulling back. The forward stroke
stops because the cue ball slows it down and the stroke runs
out of energy, or because you’ve stroked as far as your
physical form allows.
The rhythm of this will seem all wrong at first. That’s
because it is wrong. We’re exaggerating to learn a new skill.
Once you start to get the feel of the pause, it probably won’t
be nearly as long or as noticeable. In fact, if you pause too
long, your muscles will set in the paused position, and you’ll
feel like you have to do something to move out of the pause.
It has to become natural. Like pulling a trigger, you fire without jerking into motion.
Here’s a wonderful image from Zen archery. There is a
pause with the arrow fully drawn. The student wonders
when to release the arrow. The master smiles and says, “As
snow accumulates on a pine bough, at the right moment, the
branch bends and the snow slides off.” Try not to be too selfconscious about releasing the hit stroke. The right moment,
the natural time to hit, is something you will find through
(yeah, you guessed it) practice. Pause and try it. ◆
Tom Simpson of Columbus, OH, is a BCA Advanced Level
Instructor, a WBIA Master Instructor, and a BCA Referee. He is
an active instructor and has taught over 700 students. As the
founder of Elephant Balls, the inventor of Practice Balls, and
the developer of the Ghostball Aim Trainer, Tom’s innovations
in training devices have helped countless players improve
their skills. His instructional articles have been published in
numerous pool and billiard publications and websites.
TSimpson@columbus.rr.com
Subscribe to
InsidePool Magazine
1 Year - 10 Issues for $27.99
call 888-428-7665
or see page 61 for details.
PLAY THE BEST POOL OF
YOUR LIFE...STARTING NOW!
BCA Advanced Certified Instructor
WBIA Master Instructor
Founder: Elephant Balls
Inventor: Practice Balls
Developer: Ghostball Aim Trainer
Writer: Billiards books & articles
Instructor: Over 700 students
★ Beginner Clinics
★ Advanced Player Clinics
★ Team Clinics
★ Private Lessons
Real improvement – All levels of players
Tom Simpson (Columbus, OH)
614-975-8337
tsimpson@columbus.rr.com
Industry News
BCA Meets With USOC Membership and
Credentials Committee
Colorado Springs, Colorado - Representatives of the
Billiard Congress of America (BCA) met with the United States
Olympic Committee (USOC) Membership & Credentials
Committee on February 1, 2003, in San Diego, CA. The committee requested BCA representatives to discuss the BCA’s
application for membership in the USOC as an Affiliated Sport
Organization (ASO). BCA President Skip Nemecek, BCA
Executive Director Stephen Ducoff, player representatives
Jeanette Lee and Paul Guernsey and BCA legal counsel were
on hand to represent billiards.
The meeting gave the BCA representatives the opportunity to present the case for billiards and for the BCA’s recognition as an ASO.“Recognition as an ASO is an important step
toward eventual inclusion in the Pan American and/or
Olympic Games,” said Mr. Ducoff.“The BCA has made several
changes to our bylaws, procedures, and structure so that we
are in compliance with USOC requirements.This meeting was
to clear up a few minor issues and allow us the opportunity
to present billiards as a competitive sport that is enjoyed by
players and fans around the world.”
One requirement of the USOC is a 20% player representation on the BCA Board of Directors.An elite player council,
consisting of four players, will be put in place after an election
is held at noon on Sunday, May 11, 2003, at the Riviera Hotel
and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Members of this player council
will be BCA board members and represent player interests at
BCA board meetings and in BCA committee meetings. The
BCA is currently accepting nominations for the player council, and nominations may also be made from the floor the day
of the election.
A second requirement is representation for affiliated billiard organizations such as the American Poolplayers
Association (APA), United Poolplayers Association (UPA),
Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA), and the
United States Billiard Association (USBA).This election will be
concluded by the end of February 2003.The remainder of the
BCA Board of Directors consists of representatives for manufacturers, retailers, and room owners. The BCA is currently
accepting nominations for these categories.
BCA Board of Directors Seeking Nominations
The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Nominating
Committee is seeking nominations from current BCA Voting
and Associate members to fill four BCA Board of Director positions that will begin in July 2003 and have a three-year term.
The committee, which is chaired by Mr. Michael Brownstein
(Recreation World) and includes Mr. Michael Di Motta
(Imperial International), Hank Hayes (Iwan Simonis) and
Martyne Bachmen, is also seeking nominations from retailer
and proprietor members for their respective representatives,
each of who will serve a two-year term that will begin in July
2003.
Duties of BCA Board members include attending quarterly Board meetings, serving on BCA committees, assisting with
financial and administrative decisions and representing your
constituency. Participation has a far-reaching effect concerning the future of billiards in North America and throughout
the world. Details on board member duties are available upon
request from the BCA National Office (719.264.8300) or on
the BCA web site (www.bca-pool.com) in the “About Us” section on the “Staff & Board” page.
BCA members may nominate candidates from within
their membership category only. Each candidate must be a
member in good standing with the BCA at the time of nomination and through the election. Persons wishing to submit a
name for consideration by the Nominating Committee should
submit the individual’s name, company affiliation, and a brief
description of the person’s credentials and qualifications. An
individual may nominate himself or herself.
Written nominations must be received at the BCA
National Office or provided to any committee
member no later than April 18, 2003, for retail
and proprietor member representatives and no
later than May 25, 2003, for voting and associate member representatives.
Retailer and proprietor representative ballots will be
mailed to current BCA retailer and proprietor members no
later than May 2, 2003, with a return deadline of June 10,
2003. Elected retailer and proprietor board members will be
announced no later than June 15, 2003.
Voting representative ballots will be mailed to BCA voting
and associate members no later than June 19, 2003, with a
mail-in deadline of July 3, 2003. Voting representative ballots
may also be hand carried and cast at 5:00 PM on July 9, 2002,
at the BCA general membership meeting at the Sands
Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Elected voting board
members will be announced at the general membership
meeting, and the new board of directors will vote on officers
for 2003-2004 immediately following the general membership
meeting.
The first board meeting of the 2003-2004 sessions will be
held in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 13, 2003 (time and room
location TBA).
Submit nominations by mail to:
Billiard Congress of America
BOD Nominations
4345 Beverly Street, Suite D
Colorado Springs, CO 80918-5916
Left to right: Richard
Kranicki, Flora Mosconi
(Widow) holding a photo
of Willie Mosconi, Bill
Mosconi (Son), and
David Boorboor.
Mosconi: The Documentary
Richard Kranicki (Pool Eyes Publications) and David
Boorboor (Eye in the Sky Entertainment) are proud to
announce the March 2003 signing with Mrs. Flora Mosconi of
a contract for the rights to develop The Willie Mosconi
Motion Picture. Their first plan is to do Mosconi: The
Documentary as a tribute and a preview to the Mosconi film.
The film documentary, approximately one hour long, will
present the intriguing life of the most recognized name in the
history of pool,Willie Mosconi.The documentary will be illuminating and very amusing. It will be composed of interviews
with Mrs. Flora Mosconi and Bill Mosconi (son). A unique feature will have Willie’s Mosconi’s “voice over” accompany the
presentation of some of his private scrapbook articles and
photos to help bring the informative segments to life. These
will include Mr. Mosconi’s personal news articles covering his
world championships and the famous “526 ball run.”
Scheduled footage will include an exceptionally entertaining
visual treat, out of circulation film clips showing the incomparable young Mosconi exhibiting some of his favorite trick
shots. These vintage 1940s clips are truly rare treasures and
were shown regularly as movie previews for the featured
films in movie houses around the world.
The main purpose in doing the Mosconi documentary is
to pay homage to the greatest pool player in the history of the
game, a man who developed his natural pool genius into
those of a true pool Grand Master, while playing some of the
greatest pool players ever. These pool legends included Ralph
Greenleaf, Andrew Ponzi, Jimmy Caras, and Erwin Rudolph.
His hard work and years of dedication helped guide his childhood ambition to countless tournament victories and his fifteen world championships. His accomplishments and love
for the game earned him induction into the Billiard Congress
Hall of Fame.
Besides being a legend at pool, some of Mosconi’s other
accomplishments included being an actor and technical
adviser for the 1960 movie “The Hustler,” as well as a sportscaster and an instructional author. He has found a home with
other great American sports legends, like the legendary baseball names of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio, to
name a few. Even after his death in 1993, the Mosconi name is
still the most recognized name inside of the world of pool,
and his legacy continues to live on with the
American/European Super Bowl trophy of pool – The
Mosconi Cup.
Richard Kranicki currently resides several South
Philadelphia blocks from the birthplace of Willie Mosconi and
is a longtime friend of Flora and Willie Mosconi. Besides being
one of this magazine’s instructional columnists, he is the only
author ever to receive the prestigious Mosconi endorsement
for the specialized work in his unique pool instructional
work,“Answers To A Pool Player’s Prayers.”
David Boorboor lives minutes away from the present
Mosconi home in South Jersey. His documentary projects
have merited local and national television broadcasting. Mr.
Boorboor’s short film “Familiar Stranger” has earned him the
2002 Atlantic City Film Festival’s top honor.
The legendary name of Willie Mosconi is, and will always
be, perpetually synonymous with the game of billiards.
Therefore, it is the hope of this documentary to help enhance
the image of all the billiard games in a respectful and classy
manner, while broadening their appeal to family audiences
and players worldwide.
The release date for the Mosconi documentary is targeted for sometime in 2004. Serious sponsors that are interested
in receiving the project proposal for this monumental memorial can call David Boorboor at (856) 265-3295.

March2003 - Inside Pool Magazine

Transcription

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