$260 Raised for "Team London" at Summer Shootout

Myself and raffle winner Greg Richardson

By: Markus Noé

This weekend in between our matches, Erik Hjorleifson and myself were at the booth we set up at Tailgators Ottawa. Here we were promoting our upcoming website Cue Sport Nation while fundraising for "Team London Nine Ball." For those of you not familiar with this team they are the 3 Juniors who qualified at the C.B.S.A Canadian Junior Championships for the World Junior Championships. This year the World Championships is in China, and the cost for the team to go is $6,000.

When informed of the fundraiser Steve Gelinas of  The "Winning Stroke" and Doug Disotell of Rack-M-Up Billiards were quick to step up. Gelinas donated a "Delta Rack" and Disotell donated a "Players Cue".  We packaged them together and had Kaitlin Bick and Chelsea Raso, who did an amazing job, go around to everyone in the pool hall to make sure they purchased some tickets for a good cause. We ended up raising $260 for Team London.

At this time I would like to thank Curtis and Morgan for allowing us to set up a booth this weekend, and for all their help. I would also like to thank our sponsors Rack-M-Up Billiards, the ideal place to play in Cornwall Ontario, as it has great equipment and a fantastic atmosphere to play in whether you are a competitive or recreational player. As well as The Winning Stroke , which is an online billiards product retailer. If you are looking for the best cue's or any products The Winning Stroke cannot be beat for price or service. Once again thank you to everyone who made this weekend possible and I look forward to the next event at Tailgator's! To find out more about "Team London" and how to donate click here.

Erik Hjorleifson Wins Tailgator's Summer Shootout

By: Markus Noé

Pool players and spectators were treated to two great events this weekend at Tailgators in Ottawa. The main attraction was the $1600 added 8 player Pro Division, and there was a 59 player handicapped as well. The game in both divisions was Bar Box 8 ball, played on Valley tables.

Friday night at 7 pm was the start of each event. First round in the Pro Division saw Erik Hjorleifson vs Norm Pomanville as well as John Morra Against Jody Roy. Hjorleifson came out of the gate strong earning a 3-0 lead, when a scratch on his break allowed Pomanville back into the set. After it was 3-3, these two traded games right to the end. It was a dry break from Pomanville that allowed Hjorleifson a chance to runout which he did to win the set. 

On the adjacent table top amateur Jody Roy, who decided to step up to the Pro Division, had people talking. This was because he had the #1 player in Canada stuck 5-2 in a race to 8. However Morra picked up his level of play and Roy made a few mistakes leading to an 8-5 win for Morra. The rest of the tournament went as many predicted, with Morra and Hjorleifson meeting in the winners side final. 

In this match the difference was the break, as it is so often the difference at this level. Hjorleifson had a thunderous break working for him making multiple balls each time and often running out. On the other hand Morra suffered a few dry breaks early on which his opponent ran out. This match ended 8-5 sending Morra to the losers side final. Here he met Danny Nguyen, the lone representative from Quebec. I believe this was his first 8 ball bar box tournament and he did not disappoint as he only lost to Morra and Hjorleifson finishing 3rd. 

In the final, Morra needed to beat Hjorleifson twice as this was a true double elimination tournament. In the beginning it looked like the spectators were going to be treated to two sets as Morra took an early lead. However Hjorleifson rallied back and in a blink he won 8-7, taking home the $2500 first prize. 

When I left the event,  Audrey O was awaiting the winner of the B side final in the amateur event. I will update as soon as I get the final results.

This was a great weekend for pool fans all around, Tailgators plans to host a 128 player event in November. Also rumors have begun that in the near future they are hoping to host a $1000 entry 16 max Pro Event.

Pro Division Pay Outs 

1. Erik Hjorleifson $2500
2. John Morra $1000
3. Dany Nguyen $500

Tailgators Summer Shootout this Weekend

By: Markus Noé

The Tailgators Summer Shootout is only a few short days away and promises to be a very entertaining event. There will be two division, one being a 64 player max amateur and a talent packed 8 player max pro division. With top Canadian players like John Morra and Erik Hjorleifson attending this $300 entry and $1600 added event. Tailgators is located in the Merivale Mall in Ottawa and will be the place to be for pool fans this weekend.

Both tournaments begin at 7:00PM this Friday; the pro event will only play one round on this night. This means that all spectators who cannot make it the first night have nothing to fear as no one will be eliminated until Saturday. According to the last update from Curtis Houlden, the promoter of this event there are 7 out of the 8 spots filled. This spot is reserved in the hopes one of the local bar box legends, which Ottawa boasts a few, will step up to represent the area.

My hometown of Cornwall, Ontario will be represented in this event by Jody Roy. He is a high ranked amateur player and one of the top action players in the area.  Last fall in a similar event held at Tailgators,  he actually knocked Hjorleifson to the losers side early on. For Roy this is far from a donation and should be a lot of fun for Cornwall supporters to sweat his matches.

Hjoleifson & Morra at this years World Championships

The amateur event has changed slightly since I posted the original announcement. As you can see above, according to the poster the handicaps were only from 5-7. Houlden has changed this as he has noticed a need to include spots for lower caliber players. Thus there are two new handicaps for beginners and intermediate players which will be 3 and 4. For this handicap you are given a number and that is the amount of games needed to win. In this event the last update from Houlden which came on Monday, 50 spots are already taken in the 64 player max field. To find out if there are anymore places available please call Curtis Houlden at (613)852-6550.

Cue Sport Nation Brand Launch (C.S.N)/Team London Fundraiser

For people who are familiar with this blog you already know that Erik Hjorleifson and myself have formed a business partnership. We have decided to start a billiards media company which we are calling Cue Sport Nation. Our goal is to promote all cue sports and while doing so talk about the game beyond generic tournament updates. As well as to discuss in detail the current state of the game and what needs to be done to improve it. Our brand is that we are about the players, professional and amateur. Because to us without the competitive players pushing this game forward, pool will always be looked upon as nothing but a parlor game.

There are organizations and promoters who are stagnant to the extent that it is detrimental to the progression of cue sports. On our website, along with all the standard billiard news, will be a platform to hold these organizations and promoters accountable. In order for there to be significant change, which the industry needs, barriers have to be broken down and discussions need to be begin.

The owners of Tailgators have been gracious enough to reserve us a section where we will set up a booth so we can promote ourselves. At this booth we will have some "Hustlin Clothing" t-shirts for sale as well as our own Cue Sport Nation merchandise. Along with promoting our brand we will also be fundraising for Team London.  This will be for the group of junior players who have all earned spots at the upcoming World Junior Championships in China. Steve Gelinas from the Winning Stroke has donated a Delta Rack to be raffled off and we will be adding our own merchandise as well. ALL proceeds from this raffle will go to Team London.

For more details about our upcoming website or if you are interested in donating something to raffle off for Team London. I can be contacted through Facebook or by email at markus.noe@live.com.

Sky Woodward Wins Smoking Ace's Bar Box Open

Photo Courtesy of poolactiontv.com 

By: Markus Noé

For the second time in a row a young upstart player walked away with the 20k top prize from the Smoking Ace's Bar Box Open. Last time it was Justin Bergman, this year it was 21 year old Sky Woodward who went through this star studded field undefeated.

Woodward might be young but he is definitely not an unknown. For American fans he has been been known for a few years already. For the rest of the world this year has been his coming out party, winning the banks ring game at Derby City. In the last month he has followed that up winning the Grand Masters event at the BCAPL and now this event.

Bar Box tournaments are the fad as of late because they are known as the great equalizer. Smaller tables and big pockets means missing for these guys is a rare occurrence. This game is all about offence so when experienced players like Rodney Morris, Johnny Archer and Corey Duel do not have the strategical advantage that they would usually have on a 9 footer. In fact in this tournament where Morris and Archer were some of the biggest names, they only won 1 set between the two of them.

Photo by John Morra 

Yesterday there were only 4 remaining and the day started off with the A side final match between SVB and Woodward. The already seasoned, well beyond his years Woodward never looked the least bit intimidated going up against the number one American. This set was close with Woodward winning 21-18; the only real difference here was that SVB kicked the cue ball in for a scratch a few times off his break. It was the only edge that Woodward needed to dispatch SVB to the losers side final.

There he met up with Warren Kiamco who had been on fire after losing a match early in the tournament. He also survived a few sets in which his opponents had 6 game leads and more. Kiamco had just beat Corey Duel 21-5 in the other final four match, which saw Kiamco put together multiple packages, his highest being six racks in a row.  The B side final was a closer affair as this set went 12-12 then 16-16, until SVB pulled away at the end to win and get another chance at Woodward.

This tournament was set up in a true double elimination format. This meant Van Boening had to win two races to 21 to claim the title. From the beginning SVB looked like he was determined to turn this final into a marathon, claiming an early lead. Woodward was losing the entire time however at 16-12 down, SVB had a break get away from him and it opened the door for Woodward who took full advantage. In a blink it was tied, then Woodward continued on breaking and running the final rack to win again 21-18 to close out a fantastic tournament. I would like to thank Ray Hansen for the great stream and making coverage of this event possible.

Pay Outs/ Calcutta

Sky Woodward- $20,000 + $14,500
Shane Van Boening- $7000 + $11,000
Warren Kiamco - $5000 + $7,400
Corey Duel- $2000 + $3,800

Final Four Left in Smoking Aces 20k Shootout

By: Markus Noé

Over the past few days, for those in attendance and those who have bought the stream at poolactiontv.com, we have been treated to some big time action. Last night the field of 16 was cut down to the final 4. Canadian hopeful John Morra was right in the thick of the action.

He was on a good run in this tournament getting through last years winner Justin Bergman in the first round. He then followed it up with a win against Corey Duel before running into the brick wall that is Shane Van Boening. The "South Dakota Kid" as he is known, has been a thorn in the side of Morra this year as they have met up countless times late in tournaments with SVB usually winning a close match on the hill.

For most, taking SVB to the hill multiple times in a short period of time would be an accomplishment. However for touring professionals playing in top heavy pay out tournaments, losing comes at a significant cost. Unfortunately for Morra who has been playing great, he keeps running into his nemesis SVB at key times in tournaments.

Photo courtesy of Pool Action TV

Last night was one of these occasions as the two of them played on the T.V table. Shane got off to a kick 5-0 start, with the help of one bad roll where Morra ended up hooking himself and costing the rack. He had another chance on a 3 ball that SVB missed and left tough with no safety option, Morra forced the shot and unluckily kissed off the 5 ball and scratched in the top corner. In a blink SVB took these two rolls and ran away with this set 21-2. Next up was Warren Kiamco who ended Morra's hopes at cashing in this event, knocking him out in the 5/6 position.

In other news, yesterday Alex Olinger who is a barbox specialist who beat Johnny Archer, was up against Chad Vilmont. Olinger had a huge lead at 20-11 however Vilmont played his way all the way back to win this set at a shocking 21-20.

The action resumes today at 1pm central time. The final 4 returning today will be Shane Van Boening, Sky Woodward, Corey Duel and Warren Kiamco. To purchase today's stream go to poolactiontv.com

Smoking Ace's Tournament: 20k Top Prize

By: Erik Hjorleifson

This weekend some of the best players in North America will be gathering at Smokin Ace's BBQ & Billiards in Poplar Bluff Missouri for the 2nd edition of the Smokin' Aces Bar Box Open. The format is a race to 21 winner breaks bar table 9 ball, there is a full field of 16 top players including the likes of Shane Van Boening, Rodney Morris, Corey Deuel and Johnny Archer. Also in the mix will be bar table specialists Sky Woodward, Chad Vilmont, Shane Winters and returning champion Justin Bergman. John Morra from Toronto will carry the hopes for Canadian fans.

This event is the most successful of a new style of tournament that we have seen in the U.S. over the past year. The idea is to raise the entry fee considerably and narrow the field down to only the very elite players, In this case the entry is $2000. The most noticeable thing this does is increase the prize fund; first prize this weekend at Smoking Ace's is $20 000. 

In the past the general format has been to keep the entry fee low and rely on volume to make up the prize fund. There have been many tournaments played where a field of similar quality to the sixteen players you see registered this weekend, were entered along with 100 other players paying $100 each. The fact is that you will never be able to raise the prize fund enough with these kind of numbers. First prize will always be around 2 to 3 thousand. What this new format does is make the field more prestigious and also give the players a chance to earn a substantial payday.

The Smokin Aces tournament is the highest entry fee we have seen to be successful but many other tournaments, including a successful $1000 dollar entry one pocket tournament in Iowa and many other $500 dollar entry tournaments have been well received. Most of these tournaments have been on the bar table because of the equalizing factor of the smaller table, more players feel like they have a chance of winning the event. 

A few weeks ago in Memphis they ran a $500 dollar entry 9 foot 10 ball tournament and received 25 entries, so hopefully we will see more events on the 9 foot in the future as well. This year the U.S. Open is following suit as well raising the entry fee from $500 to $1000 dollars and limiting the field to 128 down from 256. I personally think that tournaments like this are an overall step in the right direction for the game. Next week at Tailgators in Ottawa Ontario I will be competing in a smaller but similar event with John Morra. It is bar box 8 ball, $300 entry 8 players max with $2,500 guaranteed to the winner. 

Play will start August the 15th and run until Sunday the 17th; you can purchase the stream at poolaction.tv. There is also a challenge match between Shane Winters and Sky WoodWard the night before and it will also be available on the PPV stream.  We will be following all the action here at straight-pool.bolgspot.ca

"Team London" Fundraising Trip to World Junior Championships

Stuart Mactaggart, Kayla Roloson, Nicholas Ridley 

By: Erik Hjorleifson

The media is starting to take notice of the Junior pool talent in London, Ontario. This week Kayla Roloson was featured along with her sister on CTV London for their athletic accomplishments, and yes they did call pool a sport. She will be competing in the World Junior Championships in Shanghai,China from the 14th to the 18th this November. Joining her will be Nicholas Ridley and Stuart Mactaggart, both also London residents.

These three players earned the right to participate in the World Junior Championships based on their results in the Canadian Junior Championships this June in Saint John, New Brunswick. They have all been in close competition for the past few years. Stuart Mactaggart came out on top this year with Nicholas finishing second and Kayla finishing third. Roloson is a two time VNEA Junior girls champion and Mactaggart won the boys title this year as well; very prestigious considering they beat all the best Junior players in North America. All three have won titles in the Canadian Junior 8 Ball Championships. 

For Stuart and Nicholas, this will be their first time representing Canada at the World Championships. Kayla will be back for her third appearance in the girls division, she has  had 9th place and 7th place finishes in the past and will come in to this year as one of the more experienced players.

Mactaggart lists his sponsors as customclothing4u.com, Strokers Billiards and OB Cues. Ridley is a player representative for Meucci Cues but the expenses of travelling overseas are very high. The three players from London have formed a Facebook group called "TeamLondon Nine Ball", and have started a fundraising campaign to help offset the cost of competing at this years tournament. I have met all of these Juniors personally and I can tell you that they are all really nice kids who love to play pool. They all have a lot of potential and we look forward to following their progress in the future and at this years World Junior Championships. If you are interested in making a donation you can do so at gofundme.com. Thanks everyone for your generosity.

Appleton Wins 74th World 14.1 Tournament.

Darren Appleton Photo Courtesy of NYC GRIND

By: Markus Noé

Late Saturday night after six days of grueling competition Darren Appleton was crowned the 14.1 World Tournament Champion. Appleton has been a threat every year he has played this event, I believe he has never finished outside the top 8. Last year he lost in the final to Thorsten Hohmann.

Strangely enough Appleton went through this tournament quietly, as players like Shane Van Boening and Evegeny Stalev were stealing the show. Throughout the entire week, as I was watching on stream no one seemed to favour Appleton despite his 14.1 background. However this did not phase him as he chugged along through the bracket.

In the final four he played crowd favourite Stalev, who is a Russian Billiards player that has converted over to pool. Stalev had been impressing the crowd all week with his 27oz cue and fearless style of play. In one match he got the high run for the tournament at 226. However the experience of Appleton plus the fact that his level of play was increasing dramatically in each match proved to be too much for Stalev.

In the other semi-final match SVB played Max Eberle. With SVB getting an early and commanding lead 148-39 it looked as if he was going to cruise to the final. Eberle was not done just yet putting together a 100 ball run of his own to get right back into the thick of things. Unfortunately for Eberle, right after this run he was forced into a 3 foul situation costing him 15 balls in penalties. From here SVB never looked back and sealed the deal to book his spot in the final.

Appleton played like a man looking for redemption after last years bitter defeat in the the final. He only let SVB have one inning at the table. It only took two innings for Appleton to wrap up this title with runs of 61 then 131 and out. I would like to thank Alison Fischer of NYC GRIND and Upstate AL for making it possible for me to cover this entire event this week and I look forward to the 75th edition of this tournament.

4 Left at The World 14.1 Tournament.

SVB vs Mika Photo Courtesy of Alison Fischer @ NYC GRIND

It has taken five days and several hundred balls pocketed by each player to get down to get to this point. Yesterday there was lots of action as the final 16 single elimination races to 200 began. First match I witnessed was Shane Van Boening vs Johnny Archer.

This match was incredible for SVB fans as he finished this set in just two innings wining 200-10. During SVB's second inning he ran 130 out. On the next table, in the same part of the bracket, Earl Strickland and Mika Immonen were in a close match. With the Iceman getting the win, he set up a quarterfinal match between himself and SVB.

This was the last televised match of the evening. It was a chippy affair at first, with a lot of safety battles. However SVB, as he has done all week, came out ahead this time with a 200-115 scoreline. The other three who made it through were Evegeny Stalev, Darren Appleton and Max Eberle.

Today's Scheduled Matches:

11:00am – Stalev vs Appleton Semifinal

1:30pm – Van Boening vs Eberle Semifinal

5:00pm – Final Match

To watch the stream today go to www.worldstraightpool.com 

World 14.1 Into the Final 32

Mike Dechaine taken by Alison Fischer  NYC GRIND

The great play at Steinway Billiards continues today during the 14.1 World Tournament. They are into the double elimination final 32 bracket. The races today go to 150 as they play down to 16. Some great matches have been played with more yet to come later on today so make sure to go to worldstraightpool.com to purchase the stream.

As I had to work this morning, the first match I was able to see was Earl Strickland vs Thorsten Hohmann. Strickland got out to a roaring start winning the lag then running 70 balls. This match had a few turning points. The first one being a bad miss by Strickland at 104-3. This gave the 3 time 14.1 champion a chance to get back into this match which he took full advantage going on a 62 ball run. Another error by Strickland allowed Hohmann to close the gap completely at 125 a piece.

Hohmann was the victim of some unlucky scratches off the pack during his break shots. This happened to him twice before and the third and final time in this match at 138-139 Strickland.  From here "The Pearl" ran out the 11 balls he needed and celebrated with a fist pump and various hip gyrations as only Earl can do

On the the adjacent table we were occasionally treated with the Mike "Fireball" Dechaine and Mika "The Iceman" Immonen match. Dechaine was over 100 at one time with the Iceman only at 2. Mika went on a run however Dechaine ran out after his first mistake winning 150-74..There will be more matches tonight in the 5:00 and 7:30 time slots so make sure to purchase tonights stream. This tournament ends on Saturday with a packaged deal available at worldstraightpool.com . Also even if you know little about this game the commentating is very informative and whenever these players start stringing racks together it really is something to see.

Billard Feminin Tour Leader Given 1 Year Ban

By: Markus Noé

Yesterday morning as I opened up my laptop to begin the days updates I expected to see several emails and Facebook messages being that this was the first day back from an action packed long weekend. What I did not expect was the series of messages I received informing me of the one year suspension given to Hanna Kwon and Suzanne Peters from the Billard Feminin Tour .

Edwidge Cavanna is the founder and tour director of this newly formed circuit that is recognized by the WPBA (Women's Professional Billiard Association). With this recognition, Cavanna is able to advertise that the winner of this tour gets a spot at the Regional Tour Championship where they have a chance to play their way on to the Professional Tour.

The suspension sent shock-waves through social media between players and supporters of the tour. As Kwon is not only a huge supporter of the Billard Feminin Tour, but its current run away points leader. Kwon won both of the first two tournaments held in Brossard(QC) and Stoney Creek (Ont), losing only one set so far this season.

Hanna Kwon selfie after her second win. 

What has added to peoples outrage and curiosity is that both Kwon and Peters were never told why they were being suspended. Instead they were sent an email outlining a section of the WPBA code of conduct adopted by the Billard Feminin Tour. Below is the section Cavanna used to enforce this ban.

"Engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a player or anyone working for the tour, that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome. Bullying, intimidating or offensive jokes or innuendos, displaying or circulating offensive pictures or materials, or offensive or intimidating phone calls and social network.   The player will be ban to play in any tournament during the year."

Something else that has sparked debate is that the first mention of the WPBA Code of Conduct on the Billard Feminin website or Facebook page came on August 3. With the suspension being handed down two days later, there was no specific incident cited to Kwon or Peters for why they are in violation of this code. Cavanna was approached and informed of this story; when asked if she would give a specific example for the suspension Cavanna replied, "By respect to the players and the tour, I won't make any comments. Thank you."

Kwon was willing to comment on her suspension and diplomatically stated, "I am oblivious as to the reasons surrounding the ban from the ladies tour. I am saddened by the news of the ban with no offered explanation, but will continue to pursue my goal of participating in the WPBA, as well as promoting cue sports and making contributions to the sport when able. I am hopeful of the Billard Feminin du Canada  tour growth Quebec as there is a lack of events available for female amateur player."

Peters, who is one of the owners of "On the Snap Billiard" which recently hosted the tour, was clearly upset by the lack of information on her suspension. As a result she stated she will no longer be a participant or supporter of this tour regardless when her ban ends. Peters has also decided to cancel the next Billard Feminin Tour stop, which she was suppose to host October 25th. Cavanna is welcomed to add her comments to this issue at anytime. Her next event will be held at Dooly's Neufchatel on August 23.

Warren Kiamco Wins 3rd Annual Steinway Classic

Photp by Alison Fischer 

By: Markus Noé

After two days of jam packed action at Steinway Billiards in Astoria New York, a winner has emerged from this star studded field. The Steinway Classic, in the short three years since its debut on the tournaments scene, has become a must stop for touring professionals around North America. With Earl Strickland being the house pro, combined with  support of the owners of Steinway who are known for giving a lot back to the pool community, it is understandable why this 64 player is poised to to grow to 128 maybe as soon as next year.

Canadian John  Morra was in town to play this event and after suffering a loss early on Morra heated up. On the stream which I purchased for 25$(a steal for how much content we got) for the weekend I was able to catch Morra on the stream Saturday night. His first match I witnessed was against tournament favourite Shane Van Boening. SVB as he so often does, came out in a flurry going up 3-0.

Despite this lead by "Mr. 10 Ball", Morra battled back and tied it up at 3. From there they exchanged games back and forth the rest of the set with Morra winning a crowd pleaser 9-8. Immediately after this match Morra was up against "The Scorpion" Johnny Archer. Once again he was down early in this set 5-2. Morra gained control of the table as a result of an error from Archer and put on a clinic from there winning 9-5 and eliminating another favourite from contention.

"Mr. Smooth", as Morra is sometimes referred to, came back the next day to play Nelson Oliviera who he won against. Then next was house pro Earl Strickland; Morra also knocked him out of the tournament with a 9-3 scoreline. Mike Davis ended Morra's hopes next, beating him 9-6 and knocking him out in a tie for 8th place. Leaving with only $400 for his troubles is a disappointment, however his high level of play was far from disappointing.

Dennis Hatch and Warren Kiamco were the two who survived the field to reach the final. They met originally on Saturday on the t.v table with Kiamco blowing Hatch out 9-2. From there Hatch went on a tear on the B side, winning 10 matches in a row to earn a second shot at Kiamco. This match was a lot closer this time however once again Kiamco was too much for Hatch, winning 13-11 and becoming the 3rd Annual Steinway Classic champion.


 Payouts

1st: Warren Kiamco – $4,000
2nd: Dennis Hatch – $2,500
3rd: Shaun Wilkie – $1,400
4th: Jorge Rodriguez – $900
5th/6th: Evgeny Stalev, Mike Davis – $600
7th/8th: John Morra, Mike Dechaine – $400
9th-12th: Mika Immonen, Tom D’Alfonso, Earl Strickland, Justin Bergman – $250
13th-16th: Nelson Oliviera, Jonathan Smith, Zion Zvi, Jayson Shaw – $125

China (2) Captures World Team Championships

Team China  Photos Courtesy Tai Chengzhe/China Foto Press & the WPA.

By: Markus Noé

The home team of China (2) avenged the loss of their counterpart China (1) in the semi-final against the same Filipino team. Yesterday the Filipinos came out flying, dominating the entire session and sending China (1) home with an embarrassing 4-0 defeat.

However as a country, China takes pool very seriously and the team of China (2) had no intentions of letting the Philippines embarrass their program twice. The Philippines, who survived a nail biter in the quarter-finals, then ran away with their semi-final match and came out less than sharp in the final .

The first match of the day was 8 ball, which pitted former World 8 ball Champion Denis Orcollo (PHI) up against Liu Haitao(CHN). Orcollo was the obvious favourite in this match, however Haito gained an early two game lead after an uncharacteristic mistake by Orcollo, which he never relinquished winning 6-4. At the same time Biado and Corteza were up against young Chinese stars Dang and Wang. This was an 8 ball doubles match in which the Filipino's lost again 6-2.

In a perfect world for the Filipino team, they would have been the ones up 2-0 after the first two matches or at least 1-1 banking on a win from Orcollo. However their inability to execute in the key moments early on proved fatal for their Championship hopes as they went on to lose 4-2 overall to China (2).

Dang Ching Hu  Photos Courtesy Tai Chengzhe/China Foto Press & the WPA.

This comes as a major disappointment for Orcollo as he stated before this match that he was  really hoping his team could pull this win out. He wanted this for more than just the money this time, as he has seen a decline in sponsorship support for tournaments in the Philippines. In his mind a win here could have gotten his country the attention they needed to lure these sponsors back to pool.

For the Chinese, this is a prestigious moment as this marks the countries biggest international win for "American" style pool. For the China (2) squad of Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang, and Liu Shasha they have become instant hero's in the Chinese pool community for this accomplishment.

Finally I would like to congratulate team China (2) on their immense win and I look forward to next year when we will hopefully get to sweat out some team Canada matches.

Ducharme Wins W9BL Summer Shootout

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By Markus Noé

Last Sunday July 27th Bourbon Street Billiards  hosted the Winnipeg 9 Ball League(W9BL) Summer Shootout. It was a 30$ entry for league members and 50$ for non league members. The races were either to 4,5,6 depending on ones league handicap. For any players who were not a part of the league or an "unknown" they automatically raced to 6.

Winner Shannon Ducharme 

After 10 hours of play the eventual winner was well known local talent Shannon Ducharme. This win was especially rewarding for Ducharme as he recently had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour. Below is a video of the finals. If you are a local to Winnipeg and interested in joining this league or finding out more information about upcoming events contact Kevin Kornelsen .





Payouts
Shannon D-$250
Joey C-$175
Jim M-125
Les L-$100
Randy P-$75
Darcy G-$75

World Team Championship Semi-Final Results

Photos Courtesy Tai Chengzhe/China Foto Press & the WPA.

The World teams Championships is down to the final two teams. It will be China (2) vs Philippines in the final to see who gets to walk away as the World champions and of course the large $80,000 first place prize. Even though for most of this tournament there have been many blow outs, I found it surprising to find out these trends continued today in the final four.

The Filipino team of Denis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit have been dominate this past week and continued this trend today. They blanked China (1) 4-0 in this 6 set format. The way that the Philippines won this match was not only shocking but makes them the favourties going in the final.

China (1) vs Philippines Match Results 
- Denis Orcollo vs. Wu JiaQing 8 Ball Singles, 6-3 (PHI)
- Biado and Corteza vs. Li He Wen and Chu Bing Chia 8 Ball doubles,  6-1 (PHI)
-Corteza vs. Li He Wen singles 9 ball, 8-3 (PHI)
-Rubilen Amit vs. Han Yu,8-3 (PHI)

China (2) vs Japan Match Results 

China (2) vs Japan did not fair the same way as this was a much tighter contested affair. This match ended up 4-2 in favour of China (2) and they will have a shot of redemption for Chinese hopes. For those that were are not aware, China was able to have two teams this year, as it is protocol for the host countries to get two teams in the WPA events. Both of these teams were funded by their government and not winning this event after having both teams in the final 4 would be a huge disappointment.

 Photos Courtesy Tai Chengzhe/China Foto Press & the WPA.

Hotshot Amateur Earns Legendary Status With $8K Break and Run

Jeremy Isard photo courtesy  of the  The Pool Scene

By: Erik Hjorleifson

Last week at Formac Billiards in Burlington Ontario, local  shooter Jeremy Isard to my knowledge won the biggest break and run pot in Canadian history and one of the largest ones in the history of similar competitions in North America. I can remember Jason Klatt informing me of a monster break and run pot in Wisconsin a few years back that was up to about $40,000. I never did hear who the eventual winner was. Personally I have won a few in my life, the biggest one being for about $700 but this definitely pales in comparison to the feat Jeremy accomplished last week running out a rack for $8000!!

I spoke to Isard and he gave some of the details and he informed me that this 9 ball break and run challenge had been running for over 3 years. One player is drawn per week and money is awarded on a per ball basis, if a player scratches then all his balls are void. Unfortunately this did happen to a player a few weeks back scratching on the 6 ball, a very expensive scratch to say the least. In this format the breaker does not have to make a ball on the break.

This was the key for Isard who is a highly competitive amateur player. He plays mostly in Ontario and has won numerous high level events on  404 K tour. Jeremy informed me that before the draw that night he was practicing a break where he was not concerned with making a ball, he focused more with the position he would get on the 1 ball. He noticed that although he usually breaks from the side rail he was able to control the 1 ball better by breaking from closer to the center of the table. After an hour of practicing just his break, he waited and hoped to be drawn for the chance at a huge payday.

He had never been drawn in the past but this day ended up being his lucky day. He stepped up to break and executed exactly what he has was practicing skillfully bringing the 1 ball back over the top corner just as he planned. He was off to the races and ended up being a little out of line on the 4 but made a beautiful carom off the 4 ball and got a shot on the 4. To finish the rack he moved the cue ball table length from the 8 and landed perfect on the 9 to take home the full $8000 prize.

Post by Jeremy Isard.

There is a certain kind of pressure that comes with these break and run challenges particularly when it is not per ball, there is only one option and that is to run out, there is no playing safe. Also there are no second chances its all or nothing. Jeremy would like to thank the directors of the C,P.A (Canadian Poolplayers Association) Mike Cumberland and Dennis MacDonald and we would like to extend a big congratulations to Isard on a job well done.