Monday 25 January 2016

Derby City Classic: Shaw Ends VanBoening's Reign as Bigfoot Champion



By: Markus Noé

We are already finished with day four at this years Derby City Classic, which means today was the conclusion of the 10 ball Bigfoot challenge. For those unfamiliar with this mini-tournament it is played on a Diamond 10ft table and only 16 players are able to play. It is single elimination race to 11 and the top four are the only ones to cash.


For the past two years Shane VanBoening has been dominate in this tournament winning the last two Bigfoot challenges. Being that this is a single elimination format it  really is an impressive feat as he has not lost a match in this tournament in almost 3 years. On route to the final SVB won his matches against, Niels Feijen, Alex Pagulayan, and Dennis Orcullo. In his first two matches he won easily 11-4 and 11-5. In his match with Orcullo both players were playing bellow their standards however it was a very entertaining match that ended 11-9.

 The three time Turning Stone Champion Jayson Shaw had an equally difficult task on route to the finals. First he beat Canadian John Morra, 11-7, then went on to win 11-4 and 11-8 against Sky Woodward and Efren Reyes. I have had the pleasure over the past two years to see Shaw play live on several occasions and his game has come along way. When he was first introduced to North America the natural talent was evident but perhaps the only knock on him was his over aggressive style. After winning three consecutive Turning Stone Classics, placing well in the U.S Open and having various smaller tour victories he looks like he is ready to break through to that elite level, if he has not done so already. Shaw is still a very offensively minded player which is why he is so entertaining. However now his shot selection is better and combined with the willingness to lay up occasionally, Shaw has become a threat to win any event he enters.

This evening in the final of the Bigfoot Challenge it was another chance for him to showcase his world class skills. Perhaps many were expecting SVB to run away with another title this year but Shaw came in with a look of determination and in my opinion was breaking better than anyone else in the field. In the final Shaw continued his high level of play and basically shut SVB out of this final winning 11-5 and breaking and running 4 tables along the way. The skills of all these top players must be respected and appreciated, however purely for fans he might be the most exciting player to watch at this time. With his issue of travelling abroad being recently settled we should see more of Shaw on the international scene and look for him to take down a major event this year.

Shaw’s TPA was .893 while Van Boening’s was .776.

Green Room Action

Along with the several tournaments there are to play during the 10 days of the Derby City Classic, it is well known that there are some monster gambling matches that also take place. Tonight John Morra lost 25-12 to Jeffery Ignacio, Scott Frost lost a 1 pocket match 7-5 while giving up some weight. Also Danny Smith beat Omar Alshaheen in banks. Tomorrow night Erik Hjorleifson is scheduled to gamble Oscar Domiguez, I guess a few details still need to be worked out. This will be streamed, we will post the information tomorrow on the Cue Sport Nation Facebook Page. Make sure to check back daily as we will continue to update. Accu-Stats.com will be playing matches from each event throughout the week, so make sure to go to their webpage and buy the pass.

Bigfoot Cash

Jayson Shaw $16,000
Shane VanBoening $8,000
Efren Reyes/Dennis Orcullo $4,000

Monday 18 January 2016

Rasson, Andy, Aramith, Viking, Taom Tips: Official Products of the Florida Billiards Expo January 29-31,2016





Legends Ewa Mataya Laurance, Buddy Hall, Jim Rempe, Joann Mason Parker, Ray Martin, & LoreeJon Hasson will all be competing against one another for the first time in decades on this amazing Rasson table. www.Rasson.cn 




The Villages, Florida-  The 3rd Annual Florida Billiards Expo  and the Legends of Pool are pleased to announce the support and showcasing of some of the finest equipment in the world. Rasson Billiards Victory Table will be played with Aramith Balls on Andy Cloth. Viking Cue  andTaom Tips are also Official Sponsors. A quarter of a century in the making, some of the most legendary stars of the game are reunited for the first time in decades...and fans can join them for a weekend reunion! On January 29-31, 2016 the 3rd Annual Florida Billiards Expo will offer pool fans around the world the Legends of Pool Experience! An escape from the winter cold and a chance to spend 3 days of pool lessons, golf, and meals while getting to know Hall of Famers Buddy Hall, LoreeJon Hasson, Jim Rempe, Joann Mason Parker, Ray Martin, and Ewa Mataya Laurance on a very personal level. The six champions will also for the first time be competing against each other in singles, mixed doubles, and a sizzling special Battle of the Sexes 8-Ball match! The FBE takes place once again in the Villages, Florida. Formerly known as the "Billiards Expo in The Villages", the Florida Billiards Expo will easily have over 1200+ attendees during the 4 days of the event. Activities include tournaments, the Legends Pro Pool School, Golf Pro-Am, Ladies Wine & Cheese Night, Dinner & Lunch with the Pros, free clinics, and the main event, the Legends of Pool Championship.

"We couldn't ask for better with these sponsors. Rasson Tables play great and look spectacular on TV as you saw in the Kings Cup. You cannot get quality any better than Andy Cloth and Aramith Balls. Viking Cue has been cutting edge on cue technology, which the same goes for Taom Tips which already has over 25 world class pros using it in competition including Mika Immonen", said Charlie Williams of Dragon Promotions, Executive Producer of the events.

All 100 VIP seats have already been sold out with only general admission remaining for the 4 available sessions of the Legends of Pool Championship. 
Tickets can be purchased in advanced at (352) 753-3229. Most of the amateur tournaments have also been filled to capacity.The 2017 Florida Billiards Expo next year will be exponentially larger than this year's.

More on the Official Sponsors at : www.Rasson.cn , www.AndyClothUSA.com, www.Aramith.com, www.Taomtips.com, www.VikingCue.com 



King James Jim Rempe vs The Rifleman Buddy Hall Jan 30-31! After 15 years For the first time in this millennium! Learn from them Friday Jan 29 & watch them duke it out the next 2 days! Info at www.FloridaBilliardsExpo.com



The Legends of Pool & The Florida Billiards Expo are sponsored by Fross & Fross Wealth ManagementRasson BilliardsArden's Fine Jewelers,Andy ClothQuantum Vitality Centers, Aramith BallsPool & Billiard Magazine, Taom Tips and Viking Cue. Sponsorships are still available.  The events are produced by the Villages Billiards Club and Dragon Promotions. Event marketing and promotions by Orlando Synergy.



           



The Official Sponsors & Products of the Florida Billiards Expo & The Legends of Pool




3 day VIP Experience with the Legends $925. Overall value: Priceless.
Special events allow VIP fans to rub elbows with superstars such as Jeanette Lee

 
General admission tickets to watch the Legends of Pool Tournament are available as well as limited VIP.
But the Legends of Pool Experience Package is limited to 30 students. Cost: $925   Value: Priceless
 
 


250 years of pool championship experience wrapped up in 6 magnificent champions of pool history
 
 
Free admission to visit the vendors, participate in selected clinics and watch the amateurs play! www.FloridaBilliardsExpo.com
VIP tickets for the Legends of Pool are extremely limited and all ticketed pro pool shows have sold out everytime 
General admission tickets are also available at $20 per session. Please visit: thevillagesentertainment.com  ;  (352) 753-3229   On-line orders and credit cards accepted.
 
Sponsors are welcomed to contact 407-782-4978 floridabilliardsexpo@gmail.com. All other tickets, Vendors, Pro Pool School, tournament entries and information:   (352) 561-4240  floridabilliardsexpo@gmail.com
.

 
Dragon Promotions & Orlando Synergy are event organizing and marketing companies respectively. Visit www.dragonpromotions.com 
For interest in marketing and branding your company, business, or events please contact Orlando Synergy at 1-407-782-4978 or email support@dragonpromotions.com 
 

Tuesday 12 January 2016

25th Edition of the Turning Stone Classic: Mika "The Iceman" Immonen Claims his First Big Title of 2016

Mika Immonen and Erik Hjorleifson. 


By : Markus Noé

Thursday January 7th the 25th edition of the Turning Stone Classic got underway. As many know this tournament attracts most of the top players from around the world and is a nice title to add to anyone's resume. Once again this was a full field of 128 players which featured many U.S Open winners and World Champions.

Joey Cierco vs Ko Pin Chung

Being that Turning Stone is located only a few hours away from the Canadian border, as always the Canucks were well represented. Out of the 32 top players who made the cash last weekend 6 were Canadian. In these types of tournaments there are usually upsets to report however last weekend I saw the biggest upset that I was ever privileged to see. It was Ko Pin Chung who is ranked #6 in the world against a semi-pro from Montreal, Québec Joey Cicero.  Cicero to this point already had a great tournament beating Nelson Oliveria 9-6 and going on to win his next two matches before meeting up with Chung. Cicero played nearly flawless, breaking and running several racks in this race to 9 and did the unthinkable by dispatching one of the infamous Ko brothers 9-6. He did so to the delight of the very vocal Québec fans.

Ko Pin-Yi vs Erik Hjorleifson 
My business partner here at Cue Sport Nation Erik Hjorleifson was also putting together a run of his own. After beating Mike Davis 9-6 he was matched up against Ko Pin-Yi, the world #1 player. To me this was the most competitive match of the tournament. Besides my obvious bias towards Hjorleifson, both players played flawless never missing a ball. The only mistakes made were dry breaks. Hjorleifson got off to a great start leading 6-2 early on while stringing racks together. It was a dry break that got him off the table and then before you could blink it was 6-6. In the end he was able to edge out Ko 9-7 to continue on the winners side bracket.

Hjorleifson continued his charge beating Sylvain Grenier 9-7 and Mario Morra 9-8 before he met up with Oscar Dominguez. This was the final four match on the winners side. In the beginning this match was close with both players exchanging racks. The point where this match changed in Hjorleifson's favor was after a very classy move by Dominguez who is known as a gentleman on tour. He attempted to play a safe which he nailed however he was the only one who noticed that he did not touch a rail, and to his credit called himself on the foul. Hjorleifson took full advantage of this as he was breaking well and ran some racks to push his lead to 7-4 and eventually won 9-4.

Oscar Dominguez 
Dominguez went on to play Rodney Morris, and defeated him 9-2. It must be noted that Dominguez had an incredible tournament beating Jeremy Sossei 9-0, and Jayson Shaw 9-5 just to mention a few of his matches. Next up for him was none other than Mika Immonen multiple World and U.S Open Champion, who just lost to Hjorleifson in the winners side final 9-4. This was my third time at this event and every time I go Immonen is always in the top five and a threat to win the event. This match was close until 5-5 Immonen seemed to have found a break and took over the match winning 9-5.

This was Hjorleifson's first final at Turning Stone and in any field that featured this many world class players. Immonen who has been in this spot many times came into this match oozing with confidence. Hjorleifson won the lag and broke first, after missing the one ball we all got to see why Immonen is known as the Iceman. He iced Hjorleifson and the next time he got to the table it was 5-0. Overall in this final Immonen broke and ran eight or nine out of the 13 racks he needed to win. The final score was 13-2 and in no way is this a slight to Hjorleifson; you can't win if you don't have a shot.

Immonen is coming off a solid year as he has been winning in Europe which many people do not realize because of the lack of coverage. Look for him to have a big 2016, after talking with him you can tell he is focused on once again taking down major titles. For Hjorleifson who does not travel as much as many of the top pro's, this was a breakthrough performance and I expect you will be hearing more from him in 2016. In Canada he is a well known talent however I believe he has put others around the world on notice that there is another top talent that they have to contend with.

Congratulation to Mika Immonen who played a great tournament. He won the first ever Turning Stone Classic 16 years ago and has now won the 25th edition. This is a testament to his consistency and longevity in the sport.I would like to thank everyone for the positive support we had during our coverage this week. Our traffic on Facebook, Twitter and our website were off the charts as it is obvious that there is a need for what we do. If you're interested in becoming a sponsor please contact me at markus.noe@live.com and if you would like to donate please do so through PayPal on our homepage at www.cuesportnation.com  

Here is my interview with the champ!



Payouts:

1st. Mika Immonen $8000
2. Erik Hjorleifson $5000
3. Oscar Domingues $3600

For full pay outs click here: http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/1-joss-northeast-9-ball-tour/6898-turning-stone-classic-xxv-9-ball-open/results/