Cheng Yu Hsuan Becomes First Chinese-Taipei U.S Open Winner

Cheng Yu Hsuan 

By: Markus Noé

Friday October 30th was the final day of the 40th U.S. Open Championship. The four remaining players going into the final day were  Cheng Yu Hsuan, Karl Boyes, Ralf Souquet and Liu Hai-Tao. The first match of the day was the winners side final between Cheng Yu Hsuan vs Karl Boyes. Hsuan breezed through this match as if he had no pressure and not a care in the world winning 11-4.

If I were to look back at the entire week of matches, all the players from Chinese-Taipei were very focused and composed. The type of composure they exhibited was the kind only a player being properly trained and supported can have. As we have come to find out recently the Chinese-Taipei government actively supports their players by way of salary, training facility and expenses for tournaments. In my opinion this directly effects performance and it showed this week.

In North America there is no lack of talent but there is a major lack of support. Currently I believe I can count on a single hand the amount of North American players who are financially set in terms of not needing "backers" for tournament entries and travel expenses. This is a form of support, however backers take a percentage of the winnings to cover their expenses and at times profit from it.

With prize pools being so small, for a backed player  even winning the U.S Open this year means they might get to take home $20,000. How far does that go when considering in one year these players travel to China, Philippines, Europe and Qatar. Therefore players from Europe and Asia where governments put in money to properly train and support them, have a big edge on North American players who try to grind out a living every weekend. I believe that is what we saw take place here this week and I think outside of a very select few North American players they will find it very difficult to keep up in the coming years.

After Boyes lost in the winners side final he waited for the 4th place match to play out. This was between the resurgent Ralf Souquet and Liu Hai-Tao. Souquet had his best performance in a major championship in easily two years during this U.S Open. In the end he came up a little bit short losing 11-6 to finish 4th but should give him a confidence boost going forward.

The  way that Hai-Tao was playing, I liked his chances to beat Boyes and earn himself a spot in the final. He got off to a great start and kept the pressure on right up till 9-4. Then in a flurry which featured 4 break and runs and some stellar safety play the Englishmen went on to win 11-9. Unfortunately for Boyes the final against Hsuan played out virtually in the same manner as their previous match. Boyes was unable to get a break going and was down early 9-3 and brought the score to 9-6 before a dry break. From here Hsuan basically broke and ran out the set winning 13-9 and became the first ever player from Chinese-Taipei to win the U.S Open 9 Ball Championship.

This was the first major title final for Hsuan and it was almost eerie how cool, calm and collected he was. This U.S Open more than any other tournament in recent memory showed me that the world class standard is constantly rising. Between Ko-Pin Yi who won the World 9 Ball and 10 Ball titles this year and Hsuan, they own all the major pool titles this year outside the World Pool Masters. Also I should not forget to mention that it was Chinese-Taipei who won the World Cup of Pool scotch doubles title this year. To me the "proof is in the pudding" that in order to compete, North Americans need to have government backed training facilities and money in reserve for travelling expenses, otherwise I feel as a continent we will be left behind.

Congratulations to Chen Yu Hsuan on winning his first of what looks like will be a series of major international titles. I have made last minute plans to attend the Steinway Classic which begins tomorrow in Astoria, New York. Steinway Billiards is a world renowned pool hall that is also the home room for one of my favorite players Earl Strickland. The latest edition of the players list was over 100, many of who just played the U.S Open. This will be my first time seeing the likes of the Ko brothers live and more. I will have video, pictures and article updates throughout the tournament, you can keep updated on the Cue Sport Nation Facebook page.

   

U.S Open Day 5 Evening Update: Boyes & Cheng Remain Undefeated

Karl Boyes 

By: Markus Noé

Tonight we were treated to some great matches as play continued down to the the final four. In the the first match of the night which was slightly delayed because of the hall of fame induction of Oliver Ortmann, we saw Justin Bergman and Liu Haitao in the losers bracket. As was mentioned in the afternoon update Bergman was playing at a high level in this tournament and looked to keep his U.S Open and Mosconi Cup hopes alive.

This match was back and forth in the beginning however Bergman's breaks seemed to have left him which proved costly. Haitao cleaned up a few of Bergman's dry breaks and broke and ran a few of his own to build up a healthy lead. Bergman fought back to 10-8 after being down 10-6 however his lack of break combined with a ill advised cross side on the 5 ball was enough to cost him the match 11-8. Overall it was an impressive tournament and if he did not have enough points I think he played well enough to have earned himself the captains pick for the Mosconi Cup.

Next to appear on the Accu-Stats stream was a winner side final four match between Jayson Shaw and Karl Boyes. This was a very intriguing pairing because it was a true clash of styles. Shaw is well known for his fast past and laser like accuracy and has more of a gunslinger type feel to his game. While Boyes is very thoughtful and deliberate in his approach. The 3 time reigning Turning Stone Champion came out unusually timid in this match  and made several errors, while Boyes came out shooting .975 Accu-Stat rating after 13 racks to be up 8-5.

At 9-6 the tide began to change as a few mistakes and some bad rolls gave Shaw life and before you know it was 9-9. On one hand you had a player thinking his way through racks and taking quiet some time to build this lead and within minutes with Shaw's quick pace it was erased in a matter of minutes. Shaw ended up going up 10-9 but was unable to secure the last rack and at double hill Boyes broke and ran out for the 11-10 win and to guarantee himself a top 3 finish. This has been a great bounce back for Boyes on the major tournament scene who has not been playing to his standard for sometime now according to his friend Darren Appleton who was commentating on this match.

Hsu Kai-Lun

The other final four winner side match saw two players from Chinese-Taipei meet up, Hsu Kai-Lun and Cheng Yu Hsuan. This match was not on the stream but from the live updates on www.azbilliard.com. Hsuan had a sizable lead most of the match with Lun catching up at the end but falling short 11-8.  Lun had to play immediately against Liu Hai-tao while Shaw had to play against the resurgent Ralf Souquet. At the time this article is being written both these matches are currently in progress. The two winners will join the final two on the winners side tomorrow to find out who will be the first newly crowned champion in three years. Check the brackets at www.azbilliards.com  to see who won. The final day of the U.S Open will start in the early afternoon. Check back with Cue Sport Nation tomorrow for exact matches and times.


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U.S Open Day 5 Afternoon Update: Deuel & Bergman Last Americans Standing

Justin Bergman

By: Markus Noé

With just two days of play left it has been and will continue to be a very hectic day at the U.S Open 9 Ball Championships. Going into the day there were 8 left on the winner side of the bracket. Players already on the losers side had to mentally prepare to play up to six matches today if they wanted to keep their hopes alive.

Shane VanBoening 

Corey Deuel who has been on the losers side since his second round lost to Ko Ping Chung, was in for a tough to start to the day. He had to deal with Shane Van Boening who was sent to the losers side earlier by Justin Bergman. Deuel lead most of the way in this match with SVB making a small charge at the end. The reigning 3 time U.S. Open Champion ended up calling a foul on himself which cost him the match as Deuel ran out for the win. Apparently the foul was with the rake which no one but SVB was aware of. I think we should all pause here and not only congratulate Deuel on a great win but to celebrate what SVB has given us these past years. Up until his match with Bergman I am almost certain he had not lost a set in three years at this event on his way to making history to become the first ever three-peat champion.

He has dazzled crowds with his intensity, consistency and sportsmanship and will continue to do so for many years. However to have completely dominated a major championship like he has is a feat that even myself at 29 will probably never see again. So to SVB we should all say thank you and good show.


Moving on, Deuel's draw did not get any easier as he was up against this years China Open winner Albin Ouschan. He was able to pull off another hard fought victory 11-6 and then made a big comeback against the fierce Filipino Carlo Biado gutting out an 11-10 win. He will play Ralf Souquet later on tonight, who was on a charge on the winners side until he lost to Hsu Kai-Lun 11-7.

The other American left standing Justin Bergman is really making a statement in this event. He suffered his only loss to date to Y H Cheng 11-10 This match was reportedly played at a very high level with both players breaking and running 4 tables each twice in the match. Therefore it was no surprise to see him go on today to win his only losers side match so far 11-6. Morris was on a charge of his own with an impressive 11-10 comeback against Francisco Felicilda. Less than an hour later he was stuck 7-0 to Bergman, so goes the battle in ball at times.

Jayson Shaw 

On the winners side Karl Boyes and Jayson Shaw will face off at 9:00 pm to decide who goes on to the final three tomorrow. This will be streamed live on the Accu-Stats stream make sure you go to their website and buy the pass. Bergman's match will be played tonight at 7:30, he will be attempting to keep his U.S. Open dream alive against the very game Liu Haitao. Make sure to check back with Cue Sport Nation for all your U.S. Open updates. For bracket updates and live score please visit www.azbilliard.com 


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U.S Open Day 4: Ko Pin Yi,Pagulayan, and Strickland Eliminated

Kenichi Uchigaki

By: Markus Noé

Play resumed this morning at 10:30 am at the 40th edition of the U.S Open Championships. This morning's and afternoon's sessions featured the losers side of the bracket and there were many big names trying to avoid an early exit. Ko Pin Yi found himself on the wrong end of a double hill match losing 11-10 to Kenichi Uchigaki.

This match was played in the 12:30 pm time slot and was aired on the Accu-Stats stream. Uchigaki won the lag and got off to a dream start against the world number one ranked player 4-0. In the fifth rack he broke and had a really tough decision on the one ball. It was tied up and there was no chance to pot the ball and there was really not much in the form of a safety shot either. On the T.V. table there is a 40 second shot clock and each player is permitted one 40 second extension. I assumed that the extension would automatically kick in and I think that is what Uchigaki thought as well.

However apparently in the last 10 seconds of the shot clock the table referee asks if you would like your extension. In this case Uchigaki had his ear plugs in and did not hear the request and after some deliberation Ko Pin Yi had a ball in hand. In a big match on the losers side of the bracket it's unfortunate this would have to happen. After that Ko Pin Yi did not tie it up right away but the match kind of lost its luster as these two great players seemed to be out of rhythm.

The other thing that struck me as strange was the video replay for the break rule they have in place. The rule is that 3 balls need to need to pass the side pocket or be potted to be considered a legal break. That is fine as it is in place to discourage soft breaking. However no other table has video review so I feel it should not be used and the table referee should make the call. I find it odd that in such a big tournament that one table has a shot clock and video review and the other tables do not. I just feel pool is hard enough on its own it does not need to be complicated further. And with these two players, English is not their first language so it complicates things even more. In the end Uchigaki showed impeccable mental strength gutting out the 11-10 win.

Former World 9 Ball Champion and U.S Open Champion Alex Pagulayan also had his hopes dashed today. He was up against Li He Wen, a very tough opponent and was unable to keep his run alive losing 11-7. I watched Pagulayan's second round match against Alex Kazakis and he did not look comfortable at all. Based on that performance it looked like he was in tough to do well this week.

Jeffery Ignacio 

One of my favorites, the highly controversial Earl Strickland was also eliminated today by Jeffery Ignacio. As always he did not go down quietly saying all sorts of things to the crowd and to his opponent who luckily might not understand everything he was saying. Strickland complained about his bad break, Ignacio's good break, his bad luck and how the crowd is generally against him. Really nothing out of the ordinary for the "Pearl." Despite his displeasure with losing, Ignacio never gave in and beat him easily 11-5.

Jundel Mazon

The last match on the stream before the dinner break was Jundel Mazon vs Brandon Shuff. Mazon got up early in this match and never let Shuff into the match, easily eliminating him 11-5. The action tonight starts at 7:00 pm and promises to be a great night of watching pool. Listed below are  the three matches that will appear on the Accu-Stats stream. For those not watching the stream the Cue Sport Nation Facebook page is a great place to keep up to date. I will not be releasing another article today but will update the matches throughout the night on Facebook. Also you can follow along at www.azbilliards.com as they have live scoring of each match.




Notable Scores:

J. Ignacio 11 vs E. Strickland 5                        
K. Uchigaki 11 vs Ko Pin Yi 10
T. Drago 11 vs J. Sossei 8
LI H.W 11 vs A. Pagulayan 7
SANCHEZ-RUIZ F.11 vs I. Putnik 10
I.Ignacio 11 vs S. Wilkie 6
N. Feijen 11 vs DO TKD 8
F. Felicilda 11 vs Jorge Rodriguez 6
J. Roberts 11 vs Dagas Ma 4

U.S Open Day 2: SVB, Corr, & Daigle Remain Undefeated

By: Markus Noé

It was another action packed day in Norfolk, Virginia as day 2 of the U.S Open got underway. In most fields with 128 players or more it usually takes sometime before the bigger names end up squaring off. However in a field so stacked with past and present World Champions as well as U.S Open Champions big match-up are happening each session.

The one I waited for with anticipation all day, and correctly assumed would make the Accu-Stats live stream, was Shane VanBoening vs Roberto Gomez. This was a big match because it was an early test for SVB, who is looking to extend his run to 4 consecutive U.S Open titles. Gomez or "Superman" as he is known to his fans is one of the top players from the Philippines and former runner up at the World 9 Ball Championship. This match began normally enough with the two players feeling each other out and getting accustomed to the conditions on the T.V table. They exchanged the first 8 racks and took a players break.

After the break the match continued to be close then at 8-7 for Gomez, it looked as if he was about to pull a head by two.  Unfortunately he used too much spin on the cue ball and overran his position on the 8 ball leaving himself with a tough back cut off the side rail, which he executed to perfection. He even came out fairly good on the 9. That being said there was still some work to do as it was a fine cut on the game ball, but at this level you expect them to make it without much trouble.

Gomez potted the ball right in the heart of the pocket but let the cue ball lose and it bounced off the side rail and made its way right into the opposite side pocket . This made it 8-8 then SVB broke and ran to go ahead before scratching off his next break. At 9-9 it was Gomez's turn to scratch off the break and from here SVB maintained control of the table and won 11-9. I will be honest, when Gomez scratched on the 9 ball it felt very similar to his World Final match against Peach. It really was an epic match however one Gomez would like to forget. He was in complete control but hit a wall somewhere along the line and was never able to regain momentum.

Karen Corr, photo courtesy of Shawn Beck-Cummings. 

Karen Corr who upset the World #1 player Ko Pin Yi the day before came in to day two brimming with confidence. She dominated her second round match against American James Blackburn beating him 11-1. Corr's third round match will be another stiff test as she will play Jayson Shaw. Keeping with the trends of upsets, Canadian Martin Daigle had one of his own today. He was up against Niels Feijen the 2014 World 9 Ball Champion who also holds various other major titles. Daigle got off to a roaring start going up 4-0. He was able to maintain a lead most of the match then up 10-8, Feijen made his charge to come back 10-10.

Feijen explains the last rack best on is Facebook page he wrote, " I claw back to 10-10. Break, make 2 balls but snooker. Tough push also. He hangs the 2ball a little later. I jump it in but hooked on the 3. I kick it safe, he kicks it 2 rails and leaves me a long thin 3 on the spot with qball frozen on the rail in the kitchen. Miss it and he runs out. Highly disappointed is an understatement, but still in it. Gotta keep working hard, reward has to be around a corner."

Check back the Cue Sport Nation Website or Facebook page for updates tomorrow. There will be some more great matches that you can follow along at www.azbilliards.com as they have live updates of all the tables. Also you can purchase the Accu-Stats stream which can be found at www.accu-stats.com. Matches to keep an eye on tomorrow will be Martin Daigle vs Mika Immonen, John Morra vs Mike Dechaine, Sky Woodward vs Karl Boyes and Warren Kiamco vs Jason Klatt to name a few.


Notable Scores From Day 2:

Martin Daigle 11 vs Niels Feijen 10
Jayson Shaw 11 vs Radoslaw Babica 5
Oliver Ortmann 11 vs David Alcaide 7
Mika Immonen 11 vs Matt Krah 9
Jason Klatt 11 vs Jorge Rodriguez 7
Ralf Soquet 11 vs Johnny Archer 1
Alex Kazakis 11 vs Alex Pagulayan 3
John Morra 11 vs W. Hamamm 8

U.S Open Day 1: Corr Upsets Ko Pin Yi

By: Markus Noé

Day one at the U.S Open got underway and right away there was a major upset. Karen Corr who is arguably the best female player of all time, defeated heavy favorite to win this event and this years double World Champion in 9 and 10 ball Ko Pin Yi. North Americans will remember him from this years World 9 Ball Final in Qatar where he beat Shane VanBoening.

This match was tied at 4-4, when according to reports Corr took the match over to go on to win 11-4. News of this match quickly made its way around the pool world as this could be the biggest upset in U.S Open history. Corr came into this tournament at 250-1 and beat one of the top three favorite players to win this event right out of the gate.

John Morra 

In other news, Canadians John Morra and Jason Klatt both cruised through to the second round with 11-2 wins. Klatt was up against fellow Canadian and former Vice President of the Canadian Billiard & Snooker Association Kyle Richards. While Morra made quick work of Fabio Petroni. Alex Pagulayan was also in action today and he won his match 11-5 against American Levandowsky. Another Canadian Martin Daigle a regular on the Joss Tour won his match today 11-1 and meets up with the 2014 World Champion Niels Feijen in the second round.

Five time U.S Open Champion Earl Strickland got off to a good start today beating Scott Frost 11-9. The "Pearl" has come in focused on winning his 6th U.S Open according to his social media presence. At one time it seemed unimaginable for anyone to equal his 5 U.S Open titles. However SVB who has won three in a row and has four total, is looking to equal this feat. This loss for Frost puts a strain on his Mosconi Cup hopes as he needs a top 8 to make it on the team.

In the final session of the day there were some big match ups. Ruslan Chinakhov of Russia was up against Ramil Gallego of the Philippines. With some strong play Chinakhov got off to a great start going up 5-0. Gallego never looked comfortable in this match and ended up losing 11-4. Make sure to check in daily here at Cue Sport Nation for updates on the 40th edition of the U.S Open. Also make sure to go to www.accu-stats.com to purchase the stream. You can buy a pass for the entire week or individual sessions. For full bracket updates along with live scoring go to www.azbilliards.com.

Notable Scores

Rodney Morris 11 vs Chu BJC 9
Johnny Archer 11 vs Tom D'Alphonso
Jorge Rodriguez 11 vs Justin Hall
Sky Woodward 11 vs Imran Majid 10
K.Brisbon 11 vs J. Ignacio 10
Roberto Gomez 11 vs J.Siekkinen 9
SVB 11 vs Shaun Wilkie 6

U.S Open Begins Today!

By: Markus Noé

Today marks the beginning of the 40th annual U.S Open Championships in Norfolk, Virginia. This is the second most prestigious 9 Ball event outside the World Championship and title that every player who wishes to be compared to the legends of the sport need to obtain at some point in their career. That is of course if Shane VanBoening will let anyone else win one, as we all know he is currently the three time defending Champion.

A few things have changed this year as the entry fee has been raised to $1000 up from $750 from last year. This seems to not have deterred many as they have filled this years tournament with 128 players and has been filled for sometime now. The reason for this increase in the entry fee is for two reasons I am told. The obvious one is that sponsorship dollars is always hard or near impossible to come by for pool and with increase in entry it encourages only the best of the best to show. As much as I love attending the Turning Stone Classic the lower entry fee encourages amateurs to sign up to take a shot at some of the best in World. However for a tournament as prestigious as the U.S Open you want the best in the world to show up and make it as competitive as possible.

After looking over this list of 128 players I would consider this field to be a tougher one than the final 128 at the recent World Championship in Qatar. The main reason being that somewhere near 40 spots in the World Championships were filled from the Middle East which realistically only boasts a handful of known world class talent. 

This is an intriguing U.S Open for many reasons. It is the 40th edition of this great event, with many exciting story lines. Will SVB do the unthinkable and win four in a row? Will Ko Pin Yi come to America and take that title away from SVB and add to his two World titles this year? Perhaps Jayson Shaw who is the three time defending Turning Stone Classic champion will take the next step. For Canadians will this be the tournament that John Morra ends his trend of runner-up finishes in major tournaments and take down his first U.S Open title?

To follow all these story lines and more makes sure to go to www.accu-stats.com to buy the week pass for the stream, and follow us at Cue Sport Nation for all your updates. Accu-Stats is really unrivaled in doing this type of big event with great video quality and commentary. If you are a die hard pool fan your money is being well spent. Good luck to all the competitors this year and I look forward to seeing how the week plays out.

Top Players of 'Artistic Pool' Demand Changes and Threaten to Boycott!

October 1st, 2015

Point Of View Pool Media - Los Angeles

Article by: Geraldine Thibodeau of Point Of View Pool Media

In almost any arena, when one stands alone in this day and age, creating any sort of change or impact can be a tough nut to crack. In the recent weeks, a small amount of artistic pool players have decided to take a stand against the World Pool Association’s, Artistic Pool Division (WPA-APD). On September 9th, 2015 a somewhat brash demand letter went out to Mark Dimick, President of the WPA-APD, and all the other board members (Jim Sommer, JavierGomez, Arkadiy Loshakov, Dan Hosier, Tim Chin, Jamie Moody,Buddy Eick, Stefano Pelinga, Jeremiah Owens, Curtis Robertson) stating that there were issues that a majority of the top players in the world (13 total) would like to see change for the better of the sport. These terms came with a two-week deadline for response, or else a boycott on future events would take place.

Seeking change for the betterment of artistic pool, as a sport, was what Nick Nikolaidis and his ‘Player's Board’ were seeking. In the midst of the recent World Championships that took place in Atlanta, Georgia, many issues within the industry were magnified and several players decided it was time to change the status-quo. Instead of having a continual gripe session, Nikolaidis, helped to fascilitate an impromptu meeting. Among his constituents, were top ranked, Andy Segal, world champion Gabi Visoiu, viral sensation, Florian Kohler, Dave Nangle, Abram Diaz, Steve Markle, Gordon Hedges, Adam Nickels, Jim Glanville, Jamey Gray and Sebastian Giumelli. In this initial meeting, they decided it would be an open discussion of all issues, and these issues would be taken to a vote and would be presented to the WPA-APD.

It seems that with the manifestation of such a notice of demands, the communication gap between the artistic players and it’s governing body has existed for quite some time. The players have felt that there were problems with the format of events, money allocation, and WPA-APD board elections, among other issues. In this recent letter to the WPA-APD, the ‘Player's Board’, as they call themselves, itemized this letter into seven categories, with included subcategories. The first category is “Player Quality.” Because there was a live-stream of the World Championship, the player quality was on spotlight when it came to how artistic pool was portrayed.

This being the case there were five players that scored under 100 points out of a possible 320 points. There were two players that scored 20 points or less. As a professional world championship, the playing field is expected to be of a high caliber, especially those playing on the stream table. This essentially affects how the tournament is set up with regards to which players are in which flights, which is also addressed within the letter. Upon interviewing Nick Nikolaidis, Abram Diaz and Gabi Visoiu, they all discussed that they wanted Artistic Pool to be represented in the best fashion with the highest ranked and skilled players showcased, especially on a broadcast. Not for themselves, but for the presentation for the world to see.

To read the letter to the WPA-APD please refer to the original post by clicking here 


The second category brought up within the letter to the WPA-APD is a topic most often brought up in pool and billiard tournaments: the pay-outs and purse. The first issue brought up was paying out the entire field, which essentially means the tournament is simply reimbursing all players for part of the entry fee. In a recent interview with current World Champion, Gabi Visoiu, he stated, “it is simply a lowered entry fee.” Unless it is an invitational event, it is quite unheard of to pay out the entire field. Visoiu also has a unique perspective as an international player, wiring his entry is an additional cost, as well as cashing a check from the

Bank of Oklahoma in Transylvania, Romania becomes a bit of a challenge. For Sebastian Giumelli, cashing a check in Argentina is even more of a problem. Although, the demand for cashier's checks for international winners was in the letter, upon realizing that there was a problem for Visoiu this year, the WPA-APD did tell Visoiu they would switch to an international bank for future events. Among other points was how much to pay or not pay the tournament director and referees.

Tournament format, the shot program itself, and the awards ceremony is addressed in categories three, four and five. It has been three years that the World Championships and other tournaments have not been played with a play-off format. For the players and perhaps even the presentation of broadcast, it would be beneficial to reinstate the play-off format for the top qualifying players in the tournament going into the final day. In regards to the shot program, the Player's Board is seeking that they get to at least review the shot program to identify any mistakes that may be apart of it. Finally, the awards ceremony is discussed in the letter, as these players have shown disapproval in the time and manner in which it is conducted. This once again, addresses the issue of the best representation of the artistic pool in the mainstream media.

The sixth category within the letter from the Player's Board, discusses ranking and the ranking system. This is a smaller category, but can be the most impactful to the other categories because the rankings will affect those that play in world or national tournaments in the future. The ranking system that is proposed, states the players would like to have a minimum number of events for a player to be ranked. Also the Player's board is asking that only overall finishes be counted towards ranking points and not highest individual discipline finishers.

The final category addressed is the general changes that the Player's Board would like to see with the WPA-APD. These changes include financial records to be opened up for players to see, Tom Rossman no longer being an influential part of the process, no religious material at events, board elections opened up to players and finally, the player's voice to be heard, instead of silence through the code of conduct.

What began as thirteen players, who wanted change, has now become an eighteen-player coalition, with a small board to represent everyone. Nick Nikolaidis was elected as intern President by his fellow rebels, with Andy Segal nominated as intern Vice President of the ‘Player's Union’. Like any union dispute, when demands are not met or even compromised there is a strike. These rebelling players are now on strike, from a simple response memo from the WPA-APD as, “Thank you for your feedback… Attached, please find the latest entry form for our next event”. In an interview with Player's Board Member, Abram Diaz, he stated that, “although fearful of possibly not having another opportunity to capture a world title,” he would still boycott the next event. The next event being the Master's Artistic Pool Championship being held in December at Jamaica Joe's in Oklahoma. What then becomes of the WPA-APD if a majority of the top ranked players in the world decides not to play in future events? Nick Nikolaidis stated that if need be they would notify the World Pool Association and start their own division.

Although, the Player's Board sent a demand letter, Abram Diaz commented that they were “ready and willing to negotiate all terms.” This being said, the WPA-APD might be under the impression that the Player's Board was all or nothing. Stefano Pelinga, current board member of the WPA-APD, was contacted for an interview, but in his most professional manner, declined to make a statement, as he thought he was not the appropriate person to speak on behalf of the WPA-APD board, but that Mark Dimick, the president and spokesman, should if they decide to. Unfortunately, we at Point Of View Pool Media were unable to reach Mark Dimick for a statement prior to publishing this article. In defense of the WPA-APD, they are volunteered, unpaid board members ranging from different parts of the country, so gathering together to discuss all these topics in their spare time might be a bit difficult.

Hopefully, for all of those involved, the sport of artistic billiards still has a bright future. It seems that with or without the WPA-APD some of these top players are willing to risk it all for the advancement of competition and its presentation in the mainstream media. We know that, without some of its founding members and veteran players the advancement artistic pool might be non-existent in our minds today. However, it seems that there is a new generation of talent knocking loudly at the door wanting their voices to be heard.


 CONTACT: Daniel Busch
 Email: daniel@povpool.com (310) 923-­‐6639
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 Website: www.povpool.com


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