Accu-Stats "Make it Happen" 1 Pocket Results

By: Erik Hjorleifson

This past weekend at Sandcastle Billiards in New Jersey the Accu-Stats "Make it Happen" One Pocket Invitational title was up for grabs.  Three 'One Pocket' legends and three future stars of the game slated to do battle. The event titled "Make it Happen" described exactly what did happen in this unique event, enthusiasts of the game were invited to step up and buy VIP tickets to the matches. All of the revenue from ticket purchases was put towards the prize fund in which the players were not required to pay an entry. In return the enthusiasts each received a full recording package of the event, front row seating for the weekend and signed memorabilia from all the players who competed.

Four of the players were chosen based on known ability over their careers. One Pocket legend Efren Reyes was at the head of this list and fan favourites Alex Pagulayan, Scott Frost and Shane Van Boening were also chosen in the original selection process. There was then an open vote for the two remaining spots and up and comer Justin Hall who has had many high finishes in one pocket tournaments in recent years took one spot. The other went to newcomer to the big stage Danny Smith, who had a significant challenge match win against Darren Appleton.

The format for the tournament was a race to 3 round robin, the two best records would advance to play in the finals. There were a lot of hill hill matches in the robin, something that was to be expected as all the players in the field were true champions of the game. Scott Frost and Alex Pagulayan were coming off a 4 day One Pocket marathon in Las Vegas just a few days before, they played a challenge match where the winner had to get 8 games ahead. The score could have been 8-0 but in the end it took close to 100 games before Pagulayan was finally able to gain the edge.

It could have just been coincidence and again there were a lot of close matches but Pagulayan and Frost seemed to be showing the effects of the 4 day mental grind. Pagulayan ended the event with a  0-5 record and Frost was left out of contention with a 2-3 record. Justin Hall also fell short losing to Frost, Reyes and Van Boening finishing the weekend with a 2-3 record.

The round robin came to a climactic end with Efren Reyes faced off against Shane Van Boening, both had 3-1 records going into the match. The winner would advance to the final against Danny Smith who had a stellar performance advancing to the final with a 4-1 record.  This match did not disappoint and went right down to the wire. With the the score tied at 2-2 the game went into classic one pocket battle mode with all the balls being pushed up table and the game time going over the 30 minute mark. Reyes as he has done so many times in his career, eventually gained the advantage and won the game. This would set up a final match of youth versus experience and Reyes once again rose to the challenge with a 3-1 victory to claim the title.

Alex Pagulayan, photo courtesy of Ray Hansen

With Pagulayan's recent win in the Frost-Pagulayan challenge match it is hard to deny him as the unofficial best One Pocket player in the world. However Reyes has two major titles of his own this year with the Smoking Aces one pocket title and now the Make it Happen title. It would be great to see these two Filipino champions go head to head in an extended challenge match format.

Let's not forget that Reyes is over 60 years old now and for him to still be winning at the highest level is something that we may never see again. Special thanks goes out to the crew at Accu-Stats who have been bringing world class pool to the American public since the time of VHS tapes, along with the players they truly "Made It Happen" this weekend in New Jersey.

World Pool Masters Draw Announcement: Shaw and Morra Recieve Invite

Photo courtesy of Mario Paradis

By: Markus Noé

With just less than two months away from this years edition of the World Pool Masters, Matchroom Sports has announced the draw and schedule. Each year 16 players from around the globe are selected to compete for this coveted title.

This is a favourite among players not only for its guaranteed pay-outs for each player but for the exposure it brings to them. Matchroom Sports is really alone in terms of marketing in the pool world, as this event will be broadcasted live throughout England and around the world on Sky Sports.

Photo courtesy of Mario Paradis

Canadian John Morra will be representing Canada at this event for the first time since they made it invite only. Last time Morra played in 2010 it was a 64 player event which he lost to the eventual winner Dennis Orcuollo. He will be in tough in his first match of this single elimination format as he plays defending champion, American Shane Van Boening.

Scotland native Jayson Shaw has also been rewarded and invite to this event. His fast pace and shooting from the hip style has endeared him to fans in the U.S.A where he has chosen to make his home. As the defending champion of the previous two Turning Stone Classic's and countless other regional tour wins he will be a force to reckon with this year.

Photo courtesy of Mario Paradis

Shaw will play a favourite player among the profressionals Waleed Majid, who is the best player in the Middle East. Over the past year this newcomer to the international scene who some have dubbed the "most improved"  has had impressive finishes in both the World 9 Ball Championships and U.S Open. Majid is currently ranked 19th in world.

The World Pool Masters will be played August 14-16th at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, England just before the next Turning Stone Classic. As usual it promises to be a great event. Below is a list of the complete first round draw.

The Draw:

(1) Shane Van Boening (USA) v John Morra (CAN)

(8) Waleed Majid (QAT) v Jayson Shaw (SCO)


(5) Liu Haitao (CHN) Karl Boyes (ENG)

(4) Niels Feijen (HOL) v South America No.1
 
(3) Darren Appleton (ENG) v Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

(6) Johann Chua (Philippines) v James Georgiadis (AUS)


(7) Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) v Ralf Souquet (GER)

(2) Ko Pin Yi (TPE) v Daryl Peach or Mark Gray (England)
 

"Young Guns" Defeat "Old School" in Epic match-up at Teachers Billiards

By: Markus Noé

This past weekend at Teachers Billiards and Sports Cafe in St. Peters, Missouri, a challenge match dubbed "Young Guns" vs "Old School" took place. This pitted hall a fame inductee Johnny Archer and former U.S Open Champion Rodney Morris up against Justin Bergman and Sky Woodward. 

 Most of you would recognize Bergman from his first Mosconi Cup appearance last year and his $20,000 win at Smoking Aces. During this time Woodward has also been making a splash winning his own $20,000 Smoking Aces event along with a $16,000 win at the Carom Room Spring Classic. 

As you can see from the poster above this was a $20,000 challenge match, which began with Johnny Archer calling out the two young guns. Originally Archer wanted to play Mosconi Cup teammates Justin Bergman and Justin Hall who perhaps were among the most useful players for the American team, however Hall declined to participate in this match. This allowed a very capable Sky Woodward to step in. 

Photo courtesy of Richard Schenck

Much to the delight of room owner Richard Schenck, Mosconi Cup team captain Mark Wilson and Derrick Keith agreed to commentate on the live stream and MC the event. The format for this event was 8, 9 and 10 ball with four singles matches and one doubles match for each game. The scotch doubles matches were worth 2 points each while the singles matches accounted for 1 point.

The "Young Guns" lead most of the way with but the "Old School" found a way to take a late lead in the event. Bergman was able to defeat Archer in a 10 ball single match, setting up a scotch doubles match to see which team would win this challenge. Bergman/Woodward got off to an early start as they were breaking at a higher level. Archer/Morris were never able to recover from this early lead and eventually lost this set the 9-5, with the overall score being 10-8.

Photo courtesy of Richard Schenck

I would like to thank Richard Schenck for provided me with all the information necessary to write this article. He also mentioned that there has been a lot of interest from other players who would like to step up and challenge Bergman and Woodward. In the future Schenck said these type of events will be played in a King of the Hill format, with the winning team staying on as the team to beat in the next event. 

Photo Courtesy of Richard Schenck

An arena was set up with two 9 ft Diamond tables by themselves which was surrounded by spectators for this event. It was also streamed by www.oncue2.com   which was said to be a great success I look forward to seeing more of these types of events. From my brief conversation with Schenck it was apparent that Missouri has a great ambassador for pool as he said, "Pool will always be a bottom feeder unless the billiard rooms organize and lift the sport. I'm doing my part. I encourage others to join me."

When asked about the venue and the event Justin Bergman had this to say, "It was top notch. I live in the area and the owner has been doing a lot for pool this year and wants to do even bigger things. I think it's the best pool room in the Midwest."