Sayginer and Cha Shoot Down Massey and Sakai

Posted by admin as Billiard News

Sayginer and Cha Shoot Down Massey and Sakai

The KIA Motors Showdown, presented by Dragon Promotions, took place in Seoul, Korea to once and for all settle who ruled trickshots and all around play. Undisputed artistic carom champion Semih Sayginer would take on the winningest pool trickshot champion in history, Mike Massey. Korea’s #1 Woman’s Player Yu Ram Cha would take on Japanese starlet and Women’s Pro Tour #19 Miyuki Sakai.
First Cha would take on Sakai in a race to 10 points in three cushion billiards. Sakai at one point made a 4 point run and lead 6-2. Later she got to the hill 9-5 but Yu Ram made a great comeback to tie at 9-9. Both players got 2 chances each and Sakai missed the winning point by a couple millimeters. Cha made the final point on her third attempt. This win avenged Cha from her 7-6 loss in April to Sakai at the Queen of Carom event.

Mike Massey challenged Semih Sayginer to a game of 9-Ball. Massey was in complete control and clearly on his game running out time and again to lead 4-1. Then a 9-Ball skidded in his match winning shot. Sayginer won the game, and then broke the 9-Ball next. Then broke and a missed shot by Massey gave Semih a run out to make it 4-4. Massey broke the last game in the alternate format and missed a combination on the 9-Ball. Semih then seemingly missed the 2-Ball badly, but the audience was fooled as he was really playing a 3 rail bank shot and made the 9-Ball for the win!

Cha then defeated Sakai in the 8-Ball and defeated her again in the 9-Ball allowing Sakai only 1 game won in the two matches while Sayginer crushed Massey 20-9 in the 3Cushion match. In a superb show of sportsmanship, Massey asked a few times for Semih to coach him on the shots. And Sayginer obliged! Massey then proceeded to run 5 points in a row with Semih’s help, to the laughter of the audience and of course Massey and Semih.
The final of the event had Sayginer and Massey perform for a panel of judges in a 15 minute each performance. Semih performed on the carom table while Massey performed on the pool table. Both players pulled out all the stops and received perfect scores each. Sayginer and Massey gave encouraging support to each other during the other’s performance.

Semih is all class. Charismatic, hilarious, understanding, and super talented. Mike, well…he’s world class on and off the table. The billiard world is really lucky to have these two giants in our sport. said Charlie Williams, architect of the event.

Rocket Rodney Morris Named UPA Representative

Posted by admin as UPA Tour

Rocket Rodney Morris Named UPA Representative

Phoenix, Arizona
The United States Professional Poolplayers Association (UPA) recently made some administrative transitions to, in effect, renew the association and its presence in the pool community. One of those positive changes was to name Rocket Rodney Morris (arguably one of the most recognized male pool players internationally) as the individual to take over the role of UPA’s Lead Player Representative.
Mr. Morris replaces former representative Frank Alvarez, who is now president of the association. Rodney is quoted as saying, I believe in the UPA; I believe in its leadership and goals. At this stage in my career I want to do my part in giving back to the industry by representing player interests.
The UPA player representative serves as not only a representative to the association’s touring professionals but also for the organization on behalf of the players. Representatives also include world-class players Tony Robles and Tony Crosby.
If you would like to learn more about the association, their website is located at www.upatour.com (http://www.upatour.com/). To contact us directly with questions, please call 480-353-6747, or e-mail info@upatour.com (mailto:info@upatour.com).

Kressel Crowned King in Virginia

Posted by admin as Billiard News

Kressel Crowned King in Virginia

2007 Virginia State 9-Ball Championships / Richmond, VA
Rarely do four-year-old tournaments have much tradition, but the Virginia State 9-Ball Championships, presented by 5 Hour Energy Drink, already has more than its share. From the handmade trophies of local walnut off the family property of tournament director Joshua Dickerson to the list of prior champions, including legend Keith McCready, traditions abound.
Held July 28-29 at The Playing Field in Richmond, VA, this year’s tilt began with 64 players from across the state, all fighting for the chance to get a paid spot in this year’s U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Last year’s champion Chris Loar and runner-up Eric Moore were prepared to defend their spots against a field that included regulars from the Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour, Larry Kressel, Brandon Shuff, Chris Bruner, Cary Dunn, Alan Duty, and Joe Russo.
The hot seat match between Kressel and Shuff was a seesaw affair. Kressel drew first blood and Shuff tied it up. A seesaw battle, filled with superb defensive play, saw the score reach double-hill. Shuff broke and made two balls but missed a tough shot on the 2 ball, and Kressel ran out for the hot seat.
Meanwhile, Moore and Newton battled to get to the final match of the one-loss bracket. This was another back-and-forth match that was neck and neck until Newton broke dry at 5-all. Moore took advantage of Newton’s miscues in the next two racks, and then he broke and ran the next two racks to win the match.
In the semifinal match between Moore and Shuff, a smooth run-out won Shuff the first rack. Yet another close match was enjoyed by the spectators, and though the players uncharacteristically missed a few shots, pretty soon the score reached 7-all. Shuff broke and ran out to reach the hill, and though Moore kicked and hit the 1 ball in the following rack, he left Shuff an out, which he took.
The final was a rematch of the hot seat match. The first rack was a long chess match as the players, both appearing nervous and tentative, had trouble getting started. But once they did, it was Kressel who held the 5-1 lead. However, Shuff didn’t get to be one of the top players in the mid-Atlantic area by lying down. He converted a table-length jump shot on the 8 ball to win the next rack and kick off a four-rack run. With the score knotted at 7, Kressel took the next two racks, and Shuff only collected one more rack before Kressel crossed the finish line with a break and run.
Kressel was thrilled to have gone through the field undefeated, and in a field as deep as this tournament has, he has a right to be proud of the accomplishment. With his first big regional event victory, he is poised to take the next step and represent Virginia at the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships in October.
Visit the VA State 9-Ball image gallery (/gallery2/v/Pool+Tournaments/va_state_9-ball/)

Results:

1st
Larry Kressel

2nd
Brandon Shuff

3rd
Eric Moore

4th
John Newton

5-6th
Alan Duty

Chris Loar

7-8th
Cary Dunn

John Dagenhardt

9-12th
Joe Russo

Bob Tubbs

Curtis Coleman

Larry Averman

Nevel and Cole Rock the House

Posted by admin as Viking Cues 9 Ball Tour

Nevel and Cole Rock the House

Viking 9-Ball Tour / Atlanta, GA
by Rick Davis
The Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour got back in action over the July 28-29 weekend, where 117 players entered the combined divisions at Mr. Cues II in Atlanta, GA. The open division was owned by Larry “The Truth” Nevel, while the amateur division kept pace with Joseph Cole in control.
In the open division a wide range of competitors threw their hat in the ring. Between the WPBA pros, Seminole Florida Pro Tour regulars, and other Southern top guns, it was rough action all around. Late action on the winners’ side had Nevel cut down Justin Hall 9-4 in the hot seat match to earn a brief rest. On the one-loss side Tony “The Sniper” Crosby faced reigning Reno Open champion Richie Orem in the quarterfinals and got revenge from the previous day, where Orem sent Crosby west. This time around Crosby ended on top with the 7-5 score to eliminate Orem. Although Crosby was getting back in gear, Hall was eager to face Nevel again and crushed Crosby 7-4 to make that happen. In the finals Hall started strong with a 4-1 lead until Nevel took five racks to go up 6-4. Hall inched back with one more rack, but Nevel was back in command as he finished the set to claim the event.
In the amateur field Cole defeated Josh Louis 5-3 in the hot seat match as the remainder of the event would be nail-biters all around. On the one-loss side Travis Dorn slipped past David Shadden in the quarterfinals then sent Louis to the door as well in the semifinals, both matches going double-hill. In the finals it was Dorn versus the 18-year-old Cole, who has already picked up BumperNets of Birmingham, AL, as a sponsor, and once again a double-hill thriller unfolded. In the end Cole was king, taking the final match 5-4 to win the event undefeated.
Open Results:
1st Larry Nevel
2nd Justin Hall
3rd Tony Crosby
4th Richie Orem
5th Cliff Joyner
John Morra
7th Clint McCollough
Billy Tyler
9th Danny Turner
David Shadden
Louis Ulrich
Helena Thornfeldt
13th Tommy Kennedy
Jim Jennings
John Macias
Monica Webb
Amateur Results:
1st Joseph Cole
2nd Travis Dorn
3rd Josh Lewis
4th David Shadden
5th Jeff Hooks
Robert South
7th Jesse Middlebrook
Roger Lewis

Lloyd Scores Second Hunter Classics Tour Win

Posted by admin as Hunter Classics Amateur Womens Tou

Lloyd Scores Second Hunter Classics Tour Win

Hunter Classic Women’s Tour / Tulsa, OK
by Rick Davis
The Hunter Classics Tour held their sixth stop over the July 28-29 weekend where a talented 36-player field mixed things up at Magoo’s Billiards in Tulsa, OK. In the end it came down to the battle of past champions until Heather Lloyd had completed her comeback capping off a great event.
Late action on the winners’ side saw Lloyd, winner of the tour’s second stop, met Leslie Anne Rogers, who had claimed two tour stops of her own this season. Both players carved a path through six matches to reach the hot seat match, as neither was lucky enough to draw one of the many byes. In the hot seat match Rogers took control early and skipped through 7-3.
On the one-loss side Amanda Lampert eliminated Michelle McDermott 7-5, while Julia Gabriel drilled Kim Pierce 7-1. In lightning fashion the quarterfinals blazed by as Gabriel knocked out Lampert 7-4; just as quickly Lloyd ousted Gabriel by the same score in the semifinals.
This brought Lloyd back to the finals for a rematch against Rogers, but it was an uphill climb with the true double-elimination format. Lloyd came out strong, taking the first set 7-3 and making it clear she was still in contention, and as the final set inched towards double-hill no one could pick a clear winner. At last the action climaxed with Lloyd taking the second set 7-6, winning the event and claiming her second tour win of the season.
Results:
1st Heather Lloyd
2nd Leslie Anne Rogers
3rd Julia Gabriel
4th Amanda Lampert
5th Kim Pierce
Michelle McDermott
7th Kathy Batson
Julie Stephenson

Billiard Education Foundation Awards Academic All-Americans

Posted by admin as BEF Billiard Education Foundation

Billiard Education Foundation Awards Academic All-Americans

It was a proud day for the sport of pocket billiards as 39 of the 136 junior players competing in the 2007 Junior National 9-Ball Championships were given the BEF Academic All-American award. Medals and Certificates of Achievement were presented to each youngster by BEF Executive Director Laura Smith and Director of Program Development Dawn Hopkins at the BEF Junior Nationals banquet. The stage was overflowing with smiling recipients as parents savored the moment.

The BEF supports and recognizes the student-athletes who excel both in the classroom and in billiard competition. Academic All-American honors are given to those who qualify for the BEF Junior Nationals, plus earn a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Students must complete an application and submit their report cards to receive the award.

2007 Academic All-Americans

Chris Anderson
Spencer Moore
Chad Behnke

Logan Parker
Brendan Bennett
Alec Parker

Ryan Beutler
Tanner Pruess
Taylor Calderon

Angelo Quadara
Reza Dastmalchian
Daniel Rakin

Adam Davis
Dante Rakin
Tyler Dollar

Jack Sanchez
Ryan Dunn
Taylor Satterwhite

Caroline Egan
Landon Shuffett
Logan Elkins

Derrick Sims
Jesse Engel
Ricky Smiley

Carlos “Alex” Esparza
Rondell Smith
Christopher Futrell

Adam Tanner
Jeremy Gibson
Amane Tawarada

Chuckie Holyoke
Jason Trager
William Howard

Vince Villarreal
Nicole Jaynes
Schuyler Woodward

Kurtis Larkin
Amber Yniguez
James Lawrence

The Billiard Education Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit charitable organization committed to furthering the standard of excellence and leadership within the billiard community by engaging in activities related to the education and cultural advancement of tomorrow’s leaders.
For more information about the BEF, please visit BilliardEducation.org or contact Laura Smith at 303.926.1039 or e-mail LauraSmith@BilliardEducation.org (mailto:LauraSmith@BilliardEducation.org).

2007 Junior National Artistic Pool Champions

Posted by admin as BEF Billiard Education Foundation

2007 Junior National Artistic Pool Champions
Maestros in Mankato
The 15th Annual Junior National Artistic Pool competition took place July 12-13 concurrently with the BEF Junior National 9-Ball Championships, held at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Once again, Tom “Dr. Cue” and Marty “Ms. Cue” Rossman provided the direction for participants to demonstrate their special cue sport skills. This special addition to the main event gave players of all four divisions an opportunity to take the artistic challenge. As always, it was an exciting and a highly anticipated event by young billiard enthusiasts.

Thank you Tom and Marty Rossman for your dedication and continued involvement with the junior artistic program.
Visit the BEF Nationals image gallery (/gallery2/v/Pool+Tournaments/acui_bef_2007/)
Congratulations to the following contestants:
19 Under Boys’ Division:
1st Alex Larson-Walker Chicago, IL
2nd Vince Villarreal Sachse, TX
14 Under Boys’ Division:
1st Mark Tafoya Albuquerque, NM
2nd Logan Ross Jerseyville, IL
19 Under Girls’ Division:
1st Taylor Satterwhite Houston, TX
2nd Mary Rakin Daly City, CA
14 Under Girls’ Division:
1st Nicole Jaynes Albuquerque, NM
2nd Amanda Rekdal Mendota Heights, MN

The Billiard Education Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit charitable organization committed to furthering the standard of excellence and leadership within the billiard community by engaging in activities related to the education and cultural advancement of tomorrow’s leaders.
For more information about the BEF, please visit BilliardEducation.org or contact Laura Smith at 303.926.1039 or e-mail LauraSmith@BilliardEducation.org (mailto:LauraSmith@BilliardEducation.org).

Sayginer Leads Carom Team in KIA Masters of the Trickshot

Posted by admin as Billiard News

Sayginer Leads Carom Team in KIA Masters of the Trickshot

Billiard News - For the first time ever in billiards history, Pocket Billiards took on Carom Billiards in a team trickshot event. The Pocket Ball Team was captained by USA’s famed Mike Massey while the Carom Team was captained by Turkey’s Semih Sayginer. The Pool Team consisted of Shanelle Loraine of Guam, Shuji Nagata of Japan, and Sung Wook Choi of Korea. The Carom Team were Yu Ram Cha of Korea, Pil Hyun Cho of Korea, and Sweden’s legendary Torbjorn Blomdahl. The event took place at KIA Motors Showroom headquarters in Seoul.

Carom trickshots and pool trickshots have inspired so many players with their magnificence. I thought it would be neat to have audiences see both at the same time with some friendly rivalry. And having each game’s best man, Semih and Mike, would showcase it like no one’s ever seen before. explained Charlie Williams, architect of this new event.

The format for the event involved 3 stages. The first stage each team would select a player to perform a shot on their home table and then the opposing team would select a player to duplicate that shot. Sayginer won the lag for the team and selected Blomdahl for the first shot. Blomdahl made the shot and a point for the team while Massey took on the challenge but failed to make the point for the pool team. Next Loraine matched up against Cha and both players scored a point for their team. Then Cho made a force follow 3 Cushion shot with Choi of Korea tying him with a perfect duplication for a point each. Finally Nagata of Japan made 6 balls in one shot with Sayginer dupicating it on his second attempt for the point.
Score Carom Team 4 - 3 Pool Team.

The second stage involved one on one challenges with both players performing a shot on their own table with the other player having to duplicate. Only one player could score the match point for the team, so the first player to do their shot and duplicate the opponents shot would win. Massey defeated Cho in the first challenge. Next Sayginer defeated Choi with a magnificent looping masse. Then Loraine defeated Cha with a simple push stroke shot to tie the match, but Blomdahl defeated Nagata to put the Carom Team still ahead by one point 6-5.

The last stage was an individual performance by each player consisting of 3 shots each. The three judges included Peter Kim, CJ Media Executive and Cindy Lee , President of Dragon Promotions. The players were judged on number of attempts, impressiveness of shots, and entertainment style. Each player performed their routine to add to their team’s scores and in the end Captains Sayginer and Massey scored the highest routine each with near perfect 8 points each out of 9 points. The Carom Team held their lead to win by one point 31-30!

The event was sponsored by KIA Motors, Coca Cola, and CYON Phones and will air on Korea’s variety network XTM.

Johnson Commands Tiger Canadian Women’s Tour Stop

Posted by admin as CWPT Canadian Womens Pool Tour

Johnson Commands Tiger Canadian Women’s Tour Stop

Tiger Canadian Women’s Pool Tour / Burlington, ONT
by Carolina Fernandez
The Tiger Canadian Women’s Pool Tour held its fourth event of the 2007 season July 15 at Bobby D’s Billiards Grill in Burlington, Ontario. Out of the field of 27 players, Sunday saw the return of the top 8 of the event, with top honors ultimately falling to Corrine Johnson.
After defeating Grace Nakamura and sending her to the one-loss bracket, Johnson faced Denise Belanger in the match for the hot seat. Although Belanger is the higher-ranked player, she struggled throughout and wasn’t able to compete with Johnson’s precise shots and safeties, resulting with a 6-1 win for Johnson.
In the B-side, Terri “Tiger” Mason fought her way through to the quarterfinals, where she was relegated to fourth place by Brittany Bryant after a double-hill match. It was then Belanger’s turn to face Bryant, but a rattled 8 ball in the hill-hill match gave the win to Bryant. The double-elimination finals between Johnson and Bryant saw Johnson streak to a 5-2 lead, but Bryant fought back to close the gap at 5-4. A scratch by Johnson gave the table to Bryant, who hung the 8 ball, allowing Johnson to finish out the match with a 6-4 win.
Results:
1st Corrine Johnson
2nd Brittany Bryant
3rd Denise Belanger
4th Terri Mason
5th Grace Nakamura
Darlene Gardiner
7th Naomi Williams
Sandie Chui

2007 Philippines World Pool Championship

Posted by admin as World Pool Championship

2007 Philippines World Pool Championship
Araneta Coliseum, Manila, Philippines
Matchroom Sport can announce they will be changing the format for the opening round of the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship.
Double elimination play will be introduced for the first time in the nine years that the UK-based sports promotion company has been promoting the event.
Once again there will be 128 players competing in the tournament, which will be held in Manila from November 3 to November 11, and everyone will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of 2006 winner Ronnie Alcano.
However, the old round-robin format has been replaced by a first round consisting of 16 groups of eight players, which will split the field from 128 to 64 competitors before the single-elimination knock-out phase.
The eight players in each group will play a total of 10 matches between them. Two successive wins will see them into the last 64 while two straight defeats will see them eliminated from the tournament.
The final set of matches in the group will feature players with one win and one defeat fighting it out to stay in the competition. All first round matches will be a race to nine racks with the winner breaking.
Each group will be played out over one day on two tables and the first round matches will be completed over four days from Saturday, November 3 to Tuesday, November 6.
From Wednesday, November 7, single elimination, straight knock-out matches will take place with the following duration:
Last 64 – race to 10, winner breaks
Last 32 – race to 10, winner breaks
Last 16 – race to 11, winner breaks
Quarter-finals – race to 11, winner breaks
Semi-finals – Race to 11, winner breaks
The Final – Race to 17, winner breaks
A Matchroom Sport spokesman said: “This change will mean that every single game will count and there will be no room for any player to take their foot off the pedal.
“We have consulted with the WPA to come up with a format that will liven up the first round of matches and generate more excitement for spectators, both in the arena and on TV.
“After the first four matches in each group, every game will either see a player go through or be dumped out the Championship and that can only be good for the competition.”
A sample first round group (consisting of eight players)
Match 1 - Player A v Player B
Match 2 - Player C v Player D
Match 3 - Player E v Player F
Match 4 - Player G v Player H
Match 5 - Winner of match 1 v winner of match 2 (the winner advances into last 64)
Match 6 - Winner of match 3 v winner of match 4 (the winner advances into last 64)
Match 7 - Loser of match 1 v loser of match 2 (the loser is eliminated)
Match 8 - Loser of match 3 v loser of match 4 (the loser is eliminated)
Match 9 - Winner of match 7 v loser of match 6 (winner advances, loser eliminated)
Match 10 - Winner of match 8 v loser of match 5 (winner advances, loser eliminated)