Canadian Champion Erik Hjorleifson Joins the Straight-Pool Team

Big Red at Le  Classique Du Billard

During my time in Thetford Mines a few weeks back I had the chance to catch up with a friend of mine Erik (Big Red) Hjorleifson. We originally met a few years back at the Serge Guenette Memorial tournament in Gatineau, Quebec. During our encounters at Le Classique Du Billard  he expressed his interest in contributing his knowledge of pool through an instructional column.

So it is with great pleasure that I announce that Big Red will start to contribute these articles in the near future. He has offered to write on a bi-weekly basis and will be discussing topics which he believes all players at all levels need to be informed about to bring their games to the next level.

Hjorleifson will write these columns in various formats. Some will be written based on an "Ask the Pro" format in which he will take questions from our audience, who are invited to participate in the comment section below. The second format will be what Big Red has dubbed "Secrets of the Pro's". This will cover everything from aiming techniques to different ways of pattern racking and breaking and anything that the pro's do to give themselves a competitive edge.

Big Red is originally from Winnipeg but now lives in Toronto and has been a mainstay in Canadian professional pool since his late teenage years. He is the current Canadian 10 ball Champion and a member of the Bonus Ball team, the Toronto sharks. Hjorleifson is also well known abroad as he has competed in Qatar, the U.S.A and the Philippines. Along with his impressive Canadian record he has had top 10 finishes in major tournaments such as the World 8 Ball Championships and U.S Open Championships and several other cashes in world class events.

The debut of these columns will appear in the next few weeks, sometime before he heads to Doha,Qatar to compete in the World 9 ball Championship. If you live in the G.T.A area he does give lessons in groups or on a one on one basis. Big Red can be contacted by email at ehjorleifson@hotmail.com or through his Facebook page. Also if you are reading this on The Pool Scene, please click above on my name, it is linked to my blog and you can ask your questions there.

Rack-M-Up Billiards Summer Series has Begun

Last year was the inaugural season of the Rack-M-Up Summer Series which turned out to be such a success they decided to do it again. This series takes place every two weeks during a 16 week rotation as there are 8 tournaments. These are handicapped tournaments where the lowest rank player (B) goes to 4 games and the highest rank player (AAA) goes to 7.

Two weeks ago was the first tournament of the season and it got off to a great start with a full field of 16 in attendance. Robert (Side Car) Bob as he is known, because of his love of motorcycles with side cars attached, shocked the field to win his first tournament. Labelle, a retired house inspector, picked up the game a few years ago and has been steadily improving. He can often be found in the pool hall challenging anyone to a race to 5 for 5$ or as he often says to me, "One rack, 5$, I break." It is this attitude that undoubtedly allowed him to win 6/7 hill matches on his way to the final.

Side Car Bob

He met up with Jody (Dirt) Roy, a AAA, who won 2 of the 8 tournaments last year. Roy who was the heavy favourite, got off to a strong start and found himself on the hill first. However Labelle was not washed up just yet, as he was down 6-1 and made it 6-3, a double hill match based on the handicap, and eventually went on to win. Louanne Leger who plays on the Billard Feminin Du Canada Tour  had a strong performance finishing 3rd.

Louanne Leger

Tomorrow will be the second tournament of the season, if you are interested in playing you can call Doug Disotell at 1-613-933-9362. It is open to the first 16 who have paid the $40 entry. If you play 4 out of the 8 you qualify for the grand finale which will have added money. If each tournament is a full field, $160 will be added each time to the finale. This tournament is open to all except Semi-Pro and Pro's, if you are an unknown your ranking will be made by Doug Disotell.


Payouts

1-$160
2-$120
3-$80
4-$40

Hanna Kwon Wins Inaugural Women's Tour Stop

Winner Hanna Kwon photo by Edwidge Cavanna

This weekend Le Skratch Brossard played host for the inaugural and long anticipated Billard Feminin du Canada tour stop. Edwidge Cavanna, player and promoter, recognized the need for a women's tour and made it so.  Using her contacts from the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) this tour is sanctioned and its players will have the opportunity to win a pro tour card.

18 players showed up to kick off the tour which boasts $500 added for each event. It was apparent after Hanna Kwon survived a double hill match against Venus Belanger that she was going to be tough to beat. After this match, Kwon gained her confidence and cruised through the Winners bracket, winning 7-3 against Farla Salmanovitch in her next match. Kwon then went on to win 7-5 against Marina Linguerri and 7-3 against Christiane Boulay to earn her place in the final.

Kwon and Linguerri playing on Billiard Quebec stream

Linguerri, who is no stranger to the pressure of big tournaments herself, maintained her focus and returned from the losers side bracket to earn her rematch with Kwon. However Kwon was not phased by waiting nearly 24 hours to play her final and earned herself a convincing 7-3 win and $350. I caught up with Kwon after her winner side final match, who drove down from Toronto with fellow player Suzanne Peters. When asked if they would take advantage of wining the pro card they both responded, "Hell ya." This was a successful debut for the tour and only promises to get better, as bigger fields are expected in future tournaments as the tour continues to grow.

All the information about this tour can be found at the Billard Feminin Du Canada website and at their Facebook page. Edwidge Cavanna is fully bilingual so feel free to contact her in both official languages. The next tournament will be hosted by Dooley's Valleyfield on June 15th.

Local Round Up

Two players from Cornwall, who play out of my home room Rack-M-Up Billiards, Louanne Leger and Corrine Johnson, made the trip east to take their shot  at the title. Johnson, who is well known on the women's circuit and who as had success in the states, has taken a break from pool these past few years to raise her family. However she still has that winning instinct as she fought off Leger in her opening match after being down 4-3 to go on to win 7-5. Johnson lost her second match to Marie-France Blanchette, who was in fine form winning 7-1. From there Johnson went on to grind out the loser side bracket for a few rounds eventually losing in the 7/8 place,  just out of the money.

Leger lining up a combo

1 - Hanna Kwon-$350
2 - Marina Linguerri-$200
3 - Christiane Boulay-$120 
4 - Farla Salmanovitch-$50
5-6 - Marie-France Blanchette - Cathy Verret -$25

Johnny Archer and Mike Dechaine Big Winners in Thetford Mines

Archer with his trophy

Yesterday was finals day at the 5th annual Classique de Billard des Appalaches. This long weekend was jam packed with matches as two full fields of 32 in the 9 and 10 ball played down to the final 4. The arena was near capacity during the entire event as we were all spoiled with world class shooting.

9 Ball
Jason Klatt vs. Mike Dechaine was the match of the day. This match was to see who would go to play Johnny Archer in the losers side final. Klatt played solid, however this was a rotating break and rack your own format. Dechaine, who is meticulous with the rack, figured out a break and was running out more then anyone. Klatt fought hard but the edge in the break was too great and he lost 8-5, finishing 4th place. The Scorpion was next for Dechaine, however once again his racking and breaking technique were too much as a dejected Archer lost 8-5.

Dechaine giving his winning speech.

In the Final against Shaw, who although played exceptionally on his way to the finals, had no answers for Dechaine's break. A few bad rolls, and a couple mistakes combined with some stellar play ended this match 13-9for Dechaine,winning the $5,000 prize.

10 ball

Shaw Warming up

Johnny Archer and Jayson Shaw were the first match of the day in 10 ball. For those who might have thought the four time World Champion had lost a step, he shattered that notion in this match. The Scorpion put on a clinic, kicking out of lock-tight safeties to not only hit the ball, but to pot it and proceed to run out. Archer also found himself a break that he liked and was using it to perfection as he dispatched Shaw 8-4.

In the final of the losers side bracket, Archer had a chance at redemption. He had just come back from a brief lunch break after being eliminated in the 9 ball by Dechaine. Now, with a full stomach and refocused, he was ready to redeem himself; he did just that with a convincing 8-4. Dechaine's break left him for a match and it was the difference as the experience of Archer took over.

Thorsten Hohmann, who did not fair well in the 9 ball but cruised to the finals in the 10 ball, started off poorly in this final. Archer, who caught a gear in his match with Dechaine, just continued on like a well oiled machine. Often breaking and running his own racks, then winning the safety battle to steal racks from Hohmann of his break. Archer went on to win the match 12-3 and claimed the $ 5,000 first place prize. To see all the results and pay outs for this event please refer to compus.ca. I would like to take moment to thank all the organizers for this event who did a first rate job, and also Tino Barbieri who was the MC and made sure I had everything I needed to cover this event.



Feed Back on the Controversy

In yesterdays update I spoke of a moment of tension between Mike Dechaine and Thorsten Hohmann. Of course this received some attention and to some, not all of it was positive. There were a few who suggested that me quoting what happened was not in good taste, for fear people would have a negative outlook on what was a very successful tournament.

My immediate response to this, is that I do not believe this to be true. Pool suffers from a lack of something a lot of other sports have, and that is hype. In my opinion, interactions like the one reported on Saturday are positive for many reasons. Firstly, that this was a rare moment where we see two world class players break their silence and show their fierce competitiveness. Also in life, just like in pool, not everyone gets along and people disagree. These differences in opinion and compete level are what results in rivalries, and as fans that is what we all live for.

Although some feel like this cast a dark shadow over the event, I feel it did nothing but get people excited for the next event or the next time these two players meet. I can see how me reporting this quote can be taken as a cheap attempt to gain more exposure for myself. The exposure might be the result but what really happened is that my journalistic instincts took over. This was newsworthy information and something I recognized would bring interest to pool fans everywhere; that is what we are all trying to do for our game is it not?

In case it was not made clear previously, this was a dispute over a rule and was dealt with professionally and with tact. After a few minutes, the match resumed and both players continued without incident. Now that I have clarified my intentions and how I feel about this issue, I ask you all to comment below and share your thoughts.

Day 2 From Thetford Mines: World Class Shooting with a Hint of Controversy

Mike Dechaine

Day two at Thetford mines was the beginning of the 10 ball event, as well as second chance for those who washed out early in the 9 ball to make a little bit of money before leaving town. This day had a little bit of everything; great crowds, world class pool and some heated words between two top touring professionals.

For those who have not heard of up and coming Quebec talent like Michael Bernier or Dany Nguyen, this weekend acted as a coming out party for them. Both are young talents who have worked their way through the Montreal SCAB Federation ranks and exploded on the local pro tour by claiming wins during their first year as a ranked professional. Bernier Finished 13-16 in the 9 ball and placed 7/8 in the ten ball losing a close match 8-6 to Jayson Shaw to be elimiated. Nguyen placed 7/8 in the 9 ball and 9-12 in the ten ball losing a tight match to his friend Bernier 8-7.

Michael Bernier 

It was also a good day for other Canadian talent like Erik Hjorleifson, Alain Martel and Jason Klatt, who all had good showings. Klatt cruised through his first few matches on the winner side until meeting up with Thorsten Hohmann who was in form beating him 9-3. Next up was Jayson Shaw who continued his high level of play despite suffering a 9-8 loss to Mika Immonen first round. He has been tearing up the B side and ended Klatts bid  8-2. Hjorleifson was virtually automatic early on and went on to finish in the 5/6 spot only losing to Mike Dechaine and Jayson Shaw. Martel, who lost his first round match, made some noise of his own on the losers side winning 4 matches to finish 7/8, losing to Johnny Archer on the hill.

Erik "Big Red" Hjorleison

The match that had everyone talking on this day was the winners side final between Mike Dechaine and Thorsten Hohmann. Hohmann, who was in control of this match from the start, earned himself a 4-0 lead when he kicked combo a six ball to the disbelief of Dechaine. According to Dechaine,  Hohmann neglected to call this shot and after some jawing back and forth a frustrated Hohmann yelled, "you think you are World Champion? You have won nothing!" This brought some laughter from the crowd and resulted in the two taking a break to work things out.  Hohmann came back and continued to dominate, winning 10-1. Regardless, Dechaine is only one win away from a rematch in the final which could turn out to be a classic match up.

Returning for the last day of the 10 ball is Hohmann, Archer, Shaw and Dechaine; in the 9 ball the same except for the addition of Klatt. As I finish this update, Klatt just lost 8-4 to Dechaine. Archer will take on Dechaine next to see who plays Shaw in the 9 ball final.

The Dancing Bear and Mike Dechaine. 

Jayson Shaw Dominate in 9 ball Division at Thetford Mines

Jayson Shaw shooting while Johnny Archer looks on.

The pleasantries of yesterday were a distant memory as the amateur and professional 9 ball tournaments got underway. With $5,000 guaranteed for first in the pro event and a cap at 32 players, many who are world class, today promised to be an exciting day for those in attendance.

Jason "Klatticus" Klatt, one of the Canadian hopefuls, was in tough as he drew Mika "The Iceman" Immonen first round. Klatt was off to a good start maintaining a two game lead until 5-3 when Immonen found the gear he has and gained control of the match, winning 10-6 from there. Klatt went on to win a few more matches edging out Jeremey Sossie in a close match then going on to beat his friend Erik "Big Red" Hjorleison convincingly.

Jason Klatt looking over the table as Erik Hjorleifson looks on.

Next up for Klatt was Alain "The Dancing Bear" Martel, another victim of the Iceman earlier in the day. Martel, who just eliminated fellow Quebecois Martel Daigle  8-7, found his form and carried this over into his next match. Klatt and Martel traded racks back and forth until the end when Klatt found a a 2 game lead and won 8-6.

The Iceman

Jason Shaw had spectators and his opponents shaking their heads in disbelief as he put on a shot making clinic today. Shaw, who earned himself a spot in the final which will take place on Monday, had no easy route to get there. He took down Hjorleifson 10-7, then cooled the Iceman 10-2 before doing the same to Johnny Archer in the winner side final. Archer will also continue on Monday as the top 4 will return.

 Mike Dechaine knocked out Immonen in 5th place and was waiting for the winner of Thorsten Hohmann/Klatt to see who he would play in the top 4 on Monday. I was recently told  as I had to leave early to prepare for my own match tomorrow,that Klatt has upset the reigning World 9 ball champion and has earned himself a spot in the final day. More updates to come tomorrow as the 10 ball division will start.

Quebecois Fred Lapoint during his match with Mike Dechaine

Dany Nguyen playing Dechaine

Quebec Wins Team Event in Thetford Mines

From left to right Francis Crevier, Michael Bernier, Jeff Blais,Dany Nguyen

Tonight players and fans who decided to come a day early were treated to a team event between some of the best players from Ontario, Quebec and U.S.A. Originally it was planned to play some bank pool and speed pool but for simplicity and time restraints it was decided to play scotch doubles 9 ball.

It was agreed that each team would play one another once in a big round robin format with the team with the least amount of wins being eliminated. Surprising the near capacity crowd team U.S.A was the loser of the round robin.

This set up the final between Ontario and Quebec which was played in a 4 man alternate format. On paper the Ontario team of Jason Klatt, John Morra, Mario Morra, and Erik Hjorleifson had the edge however Quebec was playing some inspired pool. Jeff Blais,Michael Bernier, Francis Crevier, Dany Nguyen who all played near flawlessly for team Quebec giving the hometown crowd something to cheer about. In the end it was a very close match which saw team Quebec win 7-5 and split the $2000 first place prize.

Team U.S.A left to right Andy Aupin, Jarrod Clowery, Mike Dechaine, Johnny Archer.

$2,000 Team Event Added to Thetford Mines Schedule

The anticipation is almost over as tomorrow dozens of players will make the trip to Thetford Mines Quebec, for the 5th edition of "La Classique De Billard Des Appalache." With a star studded field that any promoter would be proud to have, and with all the amateur divisions at capacity this years edition promises to be the best yet.

Being that the tournaments do not start until Saturday and most people will be there on Friday night, the Promoters decided to schedule an extra event. This will be a team event that will pit the professional players from Quebec, Ontario and the U.S against one another for a $2,000 prize going to the winning team. The players will have a meeting before the event starts tomorrow night to decide the format, then the live audience and those watching on the P.P.V will be treated to some world class shooting.

The professional 9 ball will be mostly played on Saturday and the same for the 10 ball on Sunday. Then on Monday the remaining players will battle it out to see who takes the $5,000 first place prize in each tournament. For those of who cannot make the trip there will be a live P.P.V stream available the entire weekend. For those who are within driving distance and wish to come and watch there will be a seating area for 200 people available at a cost of $10 a session. Updates on this weekends tournaments will be available on my blog  and at The Pool Scene.

Mark Selby Wins First World Title/ Saskatchewan Provincial Results

Mark Selby stunned the World and himself by coming back from as far down as 5-10 to win 18-14, as he admitted he dreaded coming to this event because of previous poor play. His competitor, Ronnie O'Sullivan, is widely known to be the best outright shooter in the game, often running centuries in minutes; dazzling anyone who has played this game before.  O'Sullivan, who was the two time defending champion, was favored to win his 6th world title even though he had a sub par performance throughout the tournament. 

Unfortunately for the Rocket and his fans, Selby was at the top of his game in the final two sessions, after closing the gap to 10-7 the previous day. Selby came back in the final day reinvigorated and determined as he began to implement a barrage of safeties and brilliant strategy to stifle O'Sullivan and take his first lead 12-11 at the end of the day's first session. 

In the final session O'Sullivan had one more chance to regain his form and momentum, as he was down 14-15. However Selby, who later spoke of this frame as the point he identified where he could take over the match, did exactly that. Grinding out O'Sullivan to the extent where after the match he admitted to being numb for long periods of time because of lack of time at the table and lack of good opportunities. Selby ran away after that, completing the improbable but very entertaining comeback, winning his first world title and the  £300,000 top prize. 

Saskatchewan Provincial Snooker Championships

This past weekend at Kenetic Park in Swift Current, the Saskatchewan Provincial Championships took place. There was a full field of 16 with spots reserved for the top shooters in the province. New to the mix this year was Jared Amyot who hails from my home room of Rack-M-Up Billiards in Cornwall, Ontario. Just under a year ago Amyot, who recently became a professionally ranked pool player, moved to Estevan, Saskatchewan with his Fiancee for job opportunities.

Since moving out west Amyot admits he has been barely playing as there is no pool hall in his town nor any place close by to play. He has a friend with a snooker table who lives about an hour away who he sneaks over to play about once a month in his spare time. However when he learned about the Provincial Championships he said it was a chance to take a romantic weekend trip and fill his craving for competition. 

Organizer of this event and accomplished player, Terry Lovestone, was Amyot's first match, which he won 4-2 and said he had to play at his top to do so. His next match was against Jim Campbell which he took 5-2. Then Amyot met up with Mike Peters in the Semi-Final who ended his bid at the title 5-3. 

In the end Darryl Wouters won his 12th Provincial Title and Mike Peters took second, Amyot did get a consolation prize by taking the 150$ high run with a run of 58. 

Darrly Wouters-$750          

Mike Peters-$350

Jared Amyot/Guy Lovestone-$100

World Class Players Will Swarm Thetford Mines for 12 K Added Event

During the weekend of May 17-19, Thetford Mines Quebec will be the place to be for pool fans and players alike. This will be the fifth addition of this event, dubbed the Classique Du Billard Appalaches, which has multiple divisions for B players right through to Professional.  This event boasts a $62,000 dollar prize field if all divisions fill up, which looks to be likely as the 8 and 9 ball divisions in the B and A divisions are already at capacity along with the 9 and 10 ball in the AA division.

The Professional divisions which will also be 9 and 10 ball will have $6,000 added in each tournament and guaranteed $5,000 for first place in both. This has caught the attention of many of the top professionals from all over North America as a pay out of this magnitude is unheard for a field of only 32. The current World 9 ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann will be in attendance as he gears up to go back overseas to China before he defends his world title later this year. Along with Hohmann, Mike Dechaine, Shane Van Boening and Jayson Shaw will all be taking the rare trip up north to take part in this event.

Canada will be well represented as we have a few world beaters of our own. All three newly crowned Canadian Champions John Morra, Erik Hjorleifson and Jason Klatt will be there along with Alain Martel, Martin Daigle and Danny Hewitt, who will all be trying to to keep the money north of the border.

Twice in one month Quebec promoters have found a way to hold large events with significant amounts of added money. Pool is alive and well in Quebec and I look forward to covering this event as I will also be there trying my luck in the 8 and 9 ball divisions.