Wednesday 30 July 2014

World Team Championships: Down to the Final 16

Photo Courtesy Tai Chengzhe/China Foto Press & the WPA.
By: Markus Noé

Over the past few days the group stage has been playing out at the World Team Championships in Beijing,China. Thus far there is not much to report in the way of upsets as all the heavy hitters have moved on through to the final 16 knock out stage. This particular format has opposing countries play six sets which include 8-ball men’s doubles, 8-ball men’s singles, 9-ball women’s singles, 9-ball men’s singles, 10-ball mixed scotch doubles and a 10-ball men’s singles.

With there being a large gap in talent and experience among the 25 teams, upsets were hard to come by. It is understandable that a weaker team might steal a set or two but to win enough to get through to the knock out stage is a long shot for many countries in this format. Team U.S.A (Corey Duel, Hunter Lombardo, Oscar Dominguez, Jennifer Barretta) the sole North American representation at this event beat Bulgaria 5-1 and moved on to the final 16, which will be a single elimination knock out stage.

Photo of Team U.S.A  from Corey Duel Facebook Page, Corey Duel, Jennifer Barreta, Hunter Lombardo, Oscar Dominguez
The knock out stage begins Thursday with the semi-final played Friday and the final on Saturday. The last time Canada was represented at this event they finished in the quarter-finals. The team we would have sent, Jason Klatt, John Morra, Erik Hjorleifson and Brittany Bryant in my opinion would have been one of the few teams capable of upsetting some of the power houses. It has been three years since their last team outing and all have gained lots of valuable international experience since then.

It should be noted that out of the 25 teams who participated in this years Championships. A fair amount of these teams are funded by their governments or local associations with some teams even provided with coaches. This would mainly be true for the European and Asian countries.  Support such as this is something that is lacking for North American players at the moment. Check in for daily updates from the knock-out stages starting tomorrow.

Final 16
1.China 1 vs. Singapore
2.Poland vs. Croatia
3.Philippines vs. Indonesia
4.Chinese-Taipei vs. Austria
5.China II vs. Sweden
6.Great Britain vs. Vietnam
7.Germany vs. Russia

8.Japan vs. USA

Monday 28 July 2014

Inaugural N.A.P.A Canada Cup Challenge




By: Markus Noé

The North American Poolshooters Association (N.A.P.A) held their inaugural Canada Cup Challenge this past Saturday July 26th, at Raxx Billiards Bar &Grill in Kingston, Ontario. This pitted league members from Montreal against rival league members from the Kingston and surrounding area against one another.

The Québec team came with 15 shooters and the Ontario team had 11. This challenge included singles and scotch double events in 8,9 and 10 ball and "laggers choice" in which the winner of the lag picks the game. It was races to 7, with 5 singles matches and 2 scotch doubles matches taking place in all the disciplines.

Montreal features extensive leagues and circuits such as the Québec Federation, where most of these players have honed their skills in. This perhaps gave them the edge they needed as the Québec team went on to win the first ever Canada Cup Challenge convincingly 220-154. Talking with some of the Ontario team members after the event I found out a few of their top shooters were missing on this day.This should add to this rivalry for next year as team Ontario now feel they have something to prove.



The next Canada Cup Challenge will be held in Montreal at a location to be determined at a later date. It will run a little differently next year as players will have to qualify to be a member of either team. N.A.P.A is a fairly new organization to the pool league scene. They run in a similar manner to the T.A.P leagues and the C.P.A. They boast an extensive "sandbagger" free handicapped system that has a place for all players amateur to world class.

A big thank you goes out to the host at Raxx Billiards Bar & Grill. As well as Rob MacArthur  (Ont) and Eric Rousseau(QC) who organized this fun and flawless event. If you are interested in joining the N.A.P.A leagues or directing one yourself talk to either MacArthur or Rousseau (depending where you reside) and they will set you up with everything you need.


Klatt Double Dips Bergman to Win Memphis Open 10 ball

Photo provided by Rick Hansen 
By :Markus Noé

This past weekend the Memphis Open took place at High Pockets in Tennessee, July 23-27. The events included One Pocket Open, 10 Ball Open and Amateur 9 Ball. These tournaments were all well attended and the two open events featured some world class talent.  It is no wonder why, as this tournament has a substantial amount of added money. $2000 added $500 entry One pocket, $4000 added $500 entry 10 Ball, plus $500 added Amateur 9 ball.

The 10 ball event began play on July 25th. Canadian Jason "Klatticus" Klatt had a bye that lead right to Mosconi Cup team member Brandon Shuff. Klatt set the tone for his tournament here winning this match and continuing on to beat Dennis Hatch and Ruben Bautista. In the winners side final Klatt met up with another Mosconi Cup team member, Justin Bergman. Here Bergman put a stop to Klatt's run and continued his own, winning 17-7.

Bergman overpowered some big names on his way to the final as he dispatched Sky Woodward,  Johnny "the Scorpion" Archer and Justin Hall. Klatt waited in the losers side final as Johnny Archer made his way through the bracket. On this day the Scorpion was no match for Klatticus as he regained his earlier form and won 17-8, against a visibly frustrated Archer.


Photo by Kenneth Lawson 
 This was a true double elimination event, meaning Klatt had to beat Bergman twice in order to win. The first set was a tightly contested affair. At 15-14, Klatt won this game and never looked back to take the first set 17-14. The second set once again was a close affair between these two young talents. However Klatt bested Bergman once again winning 17-13 and claiming the $6,200 top prize and his most prestigious title to date. When talking with Klatt today via Facebook chat, he gave full credit for the win to his mental toughness. "What won me the tournament was my mental game. I just try to keep my head in the game the whole match. Tough to do in long race." said Klatt.

In a classy move Bergman went to Facebook after his match and gave credit to his opponents great play. For those who were unable to watch the live stream, Bergman gave some good insight to how well Klatt played when stated,"Well I'm disappointed I lost didn't play bad Jason Klatt played flawless and broke great."

After being in Vegas for the BCAPL, then heading right to Memphis for this event Klatt is not sure what is next. For now he will take a few days off to relax and enjoy this win. There is a flurry of big tournaments coming up including the return of the Turning Stone Classic and the U.S Open. With his playing getting better with each tournament it promises to be an exciting fall for Klatt fans.

Top 3
Jason Klatt- $6200
Justin Bergman-$3300
Johnny Archer-$2000

The results of the One Pocket and the Amateur 9 Ball will be updated later. Thank you to Ray Hansen and Kenneth Lawson for their help in piecing this story together.


Sunday 27 July 2014

Final CSI Invitation Update

SVB & Ko Pin Chung Photo by Michael Brown

By: Erik Hjorleifson

All good things must come to an end and such is the case with the 2014 BCAPL National Championships from the Rio hotel in Las Vegas. Saturday will be the final day of competition in the team events and Friday saw the last day of play in the CSI Invitational 8 Ball Championship.

In the 16 player invitational tournament going into the final day, two players had guaranteed their place in the final groups. Thorsten Hohmann (Germany) and Ko Pin Chung (Taiwan) finished their groups with undefeated records. In both of the other two groups all four players were tied with 1 win and 1 loss. Which would mean that in both groups two players would finish with a 2 and 1 record, and two players would finish with 1 win 2 loss record. The first tiebreaker in determining who advance was based on  head to head match-ups.

In group "C" Shane Van Boening won his match and to have the head to head edge in the tiebreakers he would need Ralf Soquet to lose to Dennis Orcollo. Soquet won his match in a very close contest 9-8, however in an odd twist of fate Soquet, due to his participation in the World Team Championships starting very soon in Beijing, China, was forced to forfeit his spot in the semi finals to Van Boening who came second in his group. He attempted to change his flight plan but was unable to find an alternate flight. In group "D" Darren Appelton and Ko pin Yi tied with 2 and 1 records but Yi advanced with a better head to head record.

This set up a clash of the titans semi final match-up between Ko Pin Yi and Shane Van Boening. I think this is a rivalry you will see repeat itself many times in the next 10 years. Ko has been Van Boening's nemesis this week, defeating him in the group stages of the 10 ball tournament and with a score of 21-17 in the Kamui challenge event. Shane would finally get his revenge in this match, moving forward into the final with a 9-6 win after being given a second life after Soquet's forfeit.

In semi-final #2 Ko Pin Chung, the younger brother of Ko Pin Yi, faced off against Thorsten Hohmann. Chung has been a pleasant surprise this week, finishing in the final of the 10 ball invitational and he continued his fine form in the semi-finals of the 8 Ball Invitational with a 9-6 win over Hohmann.

The final was now set between Shane Van Boening (USA) and Ko Pin Chung (Taiwan). Chung took the early lead with 6-2 in the now extended race to 11 final set. He then held on for his first major victory in his young career winning the match 11-7.  At only 18 years old this is the first major victory by a player under the age of 21 since Chia Ching Wu won the World 8 ball and World 9 ball Championships in the mid to late 2000's.

Congrats on a well deserved win, pool can be a fickle game sometimes. I watched him lose a match 3 weeks ago in Qatar 9-1 against Chang Jun Lin, making a few errors in the process and I remember thinking to myself that he wasn't quite ready to break into the upper echelon of players yet. But after his first major victory this week and a second place finish in the other event I am reminded that everyone has their ups and downs in this game.

Saturday 26 July 2014

"Quick Nick" Wins World Artistic Pool Championship


By: Markus Noé

One of the Plethora of events that occurred this week at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas was the 2014 W.P.A World Artistic Pool Championship. This event which took place July 17-20 saw 26 of the worlds best trick shot artists compete in an 8 discipline format with highest overall score claiming the title.

This years winner was none other than Montreal, Québec native and world famous trick shot artist Nick "Quick Nick" Nickolaidis. I'll shamefully admit that with the abundance of events we have been covering here at Straight-Pool this one was initially off my radar. Thankfully french Canadians as they so often do support their own in droves, and picture updates of the winner from Billard Quebec filled my news feed shortly after "Quick Nick's" win. This allowed me to get in touch with the champion himself who graciously provided me with the following information.

As mentioned before this was an 8 discipline event with 5 shots in discipline for a combined 40 shots.
The participants were given a 136 page program which outlined all the disciplines, rules and available shots. Each shot had 3 options and were scored based on difficulty.With 40 points available in each discipline a possible max score was 320, something that has never been done.  Since it's inaugural event in 2000 there has never been a final score higher then 270. Nickolaidis broke this record with an impressive final score of 277.

 Straight-Pool would like to congratulate Nick Nickolaidis on adding to his impressive collections of titles with this World Championship, and wish him the best in his next event.


Top 5 

1 Nick “Quick Nick” Nikolaidis (CN) - $3500
2 Gabi “Mr. Perfect” Visoui (EUR) -$2600
3 Andy “The Magic Man” Segal (US)-$1800
4 Abram “Too Tall” Diaz (US) -$1300
5 Jamey “The Sharpshooter” Gray (US) -$1000

Discipline Champions:

Trick / Fancy Shots: Nick Nikolaidis 39 out of 40 pts.
Special Arts: Tim Chin 39 out of 40 pts.
Draw Shots: Gabi Visoiu 40 out of 40 pts.
Follow Shots: William DeYonker 40 out of 40 pts.
Bank / Kick Shots: Chris Woodrum 37 out of 40 pts.
Stroke Shots: Andy Segal 38 out of 40 pts.
Jump Shots: Jason Lynch 39 out of 40 pts.
Masse Shots: Andy Segal 37 out of 40 pts.



Friday 25 July 2014

BCAPL Day 9 Update


By: Erik Hjorleifson 

Hello again everybody we are back with more updates from the BCAPL National Championships. We are now 9 days into the event and only a few days left of action. Within the next couple of days the team events and CSI pro events will to crown their winners. Since our last report we have seen the completion of all the singles events, here are the final results from some of the divisions we are following:

Men's Grand-Master 8 ball division

Skyler Woodward  $1900
Charlie Bryant        $1400
Oscar Dominguez  $1100
Dennis Hatch           $800

Men's open 8 ball

Greg Romero  $9500
Dan Taylor       $6200
Chris Daly        $4200
Martin Zavala  $3300

Women's Open 8 ball 

Kelly Isaac            $3500
Kris Chamberlain $2400
April Larson          $1800
Faith Thompson   $1400

Men's Master singles

James Davis Sr  $2100
Shane Morrow  $1200
Dustin Gunia      $700
Ace Brown           $500

Men's advanced singles

Alex Olinger           $3100
Kenny Brisbon        $2200
Brett Stottlemeyer $1700
Johnny Kang             $1300

Tuesday also saw the third and final challenge match of the week produced by CSI in association with Tiger products. This match saw Dennis Orcollo from the Phillipines and Chang Jun Lin from Taiwan face of in a  much anticipated race to 21 winner breaks 9 Ball format. Chang took the early lead at 3-0 but there was still a long way to go in the race to 21 match. Orcollo narrowed the gap by rack 23 making the score 12 to 11 in Changs favor. The two champions would go toe to toe in the next 12 racks eventually arriving to an 19-18 scoreline.Chang then went on to win rack 38 and broke and ran out on the hill for a hard fought win.

The second 16 man invitational tournament began on Wednesday with 16 world class players facing off in an 8 ball race to 9 format. Following the same format as the 10 ball invitational the players are placed in groups of 4 and will play round robin format. John Morra was up against Darren Appleton in his first match, Appleton came away with the 9-4 victory. Morra went on to beat Francisco Bustamante  and just lost to Ko Pin Yi ending his chances in this event.  Other notable matches include Mike Dechaine with wins in his first two matches,  Thorsten Hohmann over Corey Deuel 9-3 and Chang Jun Lin over Efren Reyes 9-7. Check in tomorrow for more updates.   

Tuesday 22 July 2014

CSI Challenge Match and BCAPL Update

John Morra & Efren Reyes
By: Erik Hjorleifson

Monday, CSI had their second challenge match of the week with an interesting scotch doubles 8 ball format race to 21 . The teams were  Corey Deuel and Mike Dechaine (USA) vs Francisco Bustamante and Efren Reyes (PHI). In this match the Americans came away with a 21-14 victory, a bit of an upset in my opinion considering the experience and past success from the Filipino team in 8 ball. Although it should be noted that all four players are proven champions, and Deuel is also known a very strong 8-ball player.

The Grand-Master 8 ball division spent most of the day catching up the losers side bracket. Jason Klatt from Canada played a late night match against Ernesto Dominguez and was able to survive this test against the skilled veteran. He now advances to play Charlie Bryant another strong competitor from Texas. There are 8 players left who will be fighting their way for a shot at Skyler Woodward in the final. Blair Lawson from Winnipeg, Manitoba had the highest Canadian finish in the 1000 player Men's Open 8 Ball division finishing tied for 33rd.

Some other Canadian results from Mondays action

Shannon Keenatch (SK) lost in the winners side final of the "Women's Leisure" singles and will continue play waiting for her opponent in the 3rd place match

-Ryan Solleveld (MB) 5th place Men's Master Singles

-Larry Wilson 13-16th (BC) Men's Advanced Singles

-Blaine Burns 13-16th (Sk) Men's Master Singles

-Bev Ashton (AB) 5th  Women's advanced singles.


Today will see the completion of most of the singles events and another great challenge match from CSI. This time featuring Chang Jun Lin (TPE) vs Dennis Orcollo (PHI), I can assure you that this will be an epic match. Even if the scoreline isn't close, it will take phenomenal play to create separation as these two players are right near the top of everybody's list as the best in the world. The match is a race to 21 with the game being 9 ball, this can be purchased on PPV at playcsipool.com

Monday 21 July 2014

BCAPL Daily Vegas Briefing




By: Erik Hjorleifson

Sunday saw some major eliminations in the Open Men's 8 Ball Tournament with the field being narrowed down from 950 to the final 100 who will continue play today. The Grand Master 8 Ball got underway and played down to the winners side final. In the highest profile action of the day the first CSI invitational 10 ball champion was crowned.

In the Grand-Master 8-ball division, Canadian Jason Klatt looked to continue his strong week of play after a win in the 9 ball challenge and a 5th place finish in the 10 ball challenge. Klatt drew Darren Appleton in the first match and came away with a strong hill hill win. In the next match he defeated american pro Larry Nevel. In the final 8 on the winners side Klatt played Dennis Hatch, and this time was on the other end of a hill hill battle. Jason will wait for the losers to catch up and sits in the ninth place match on the losers side.

Other notable Canadian results from Sunday:


  • Colin Maloney lost his second match in the open 8 ball division and has won his next six matches to be down to the last 100.



  • Carlin Sanderson lost his first match in the open 8 ball and won his next 4 finishing tied for 125th.



  • Shannon Keenatch from Saskatchewan has won her first 4 matches in the "Women's Leisure" singles division and will continue today starting in the final 8 on the winners side.



  • Bev Ashton and Larry Wilson will continue play today, starting in the final 8 and final 16 on the winners side respectively. 


In the feature event of the day, the CSI invitational 10 ball championships crowned its first ever champion. Ko Pin Yi from Taiwan defeated his younger brother Ko Pin Chung 11-9. I'm sure that I'm missing someone but I think the only other brother combination that has ever made a mark on pool are Lou and Sal Butera, who are very accomplished. However the accomplishment that the Ko Pin brothers achieved this week is unprecedented.

 Interesting to note as well is Albin Ouschan, brother of Jasmin Ouschan, was runner up in the World Nine Ball Championships a few weeks back. If he was to win, it would be the only brother and sister duo with world titles. In the semi finals Chung defeated Jayson Shaw 9 to 7 and Ko Pin Yi defeated Dennis Orcollo 9-5. The CSI invitational events will resume on the 23rd with the 8 ball division up for grabs. For the next two days, CSI will be running two challenge matches.

Photo by Christopher Clark


July 21st Corey Deuel and Mike Dechaine vs. Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante
Race to 21, scotch doubles 8 ball, winner breaks

July 22nd Dennis Orcollo vs Chang Jun Lin

Both matches are available via P.P.V at playcsipool.com





Tailgators to Host Pro and Amateur events August 22-23



By: Markus Noé

It is hard to believe that we are already at the half way point of the summer holidays for many. A sad fact for most, however for pool junkies it is a sign that it is almost time for the beginning of another tournament season. This first announcement comes from Curtis Houlden of Tailgators pool hall located in the Merivale Mall in Ottawa, Ontario.

When it comes to bar-box leagues or events, Tailgators really is the mecca for Ontario. This event promises to kick the season off with a bang, with its 8 player 300$ entry and $1600 added Pro tournament. Our very own Erik "Big Red" Hjorleifson has already confirmed and depending on his busy traveling schedule John Morra will most likely be there as well. This tournament will be a great one to watch as it should attract all the best bar-box specialists around.

There will also be a 64 player max Amateur handicapped event, this will be done on a first come first serve basis. To make sure you don't get left out book your spot now. For more information on the tournaments please contact Curtis Houlden at 1-613-852-6550, I will be playing and covering this event so see you all there!  

Sunday 20 July 2014

Big Reds BCAPL Update From Vegas

Jason Klatt, Andrew Cleary, Darren Appleton, Raphael Dabreo, Max Eberle

By: Erik Hjorleifson

Our coverage continues today with lots to report about from the 2014 BCAPL National Championships in Las Vegas. All of the singles and doubles divisions are now under way as well as the Men's open 8 ball tournament which is the largest division in terms of participation topping off at close to 1000 players this year. On Saturday the field for the 10 ball challenge was narrowed down to two and play continued in the invitational pro 10 ball event.

Going into Saturday there were 8 players remaining in the prestigious 10 ball challenge, Jason Klatt and Stan Tourangeau carried the hopes of the Canadian contingent, both starting the day on losers side. Both players won their first matches Stan moved on to play Ruben Bautista and Jason moved on to play Oscar Dominguez. Unfortunately neither would advance past the next round both up against formidable opponents, they settled for very respectable 5th/6th place finishes and will be playing in the final Pro/Am tournament, the grandmaster 8 ball division which started this morning. Klatt will be put to the challenge early as he will be up against former World Champion Darren Appleton.

Yesterday there was more strong play from Canadians as Bev Ashton from Calgary won her first three matches in the Women's advanced singles to put herself into the final 8 on the winners side. Larry Wilson from BC also had a great day advancing undefeated into the final 16 on the winners side in the Men's advanced singles division, they will both continue play today. In the Men's open 8 ball division, Ontario hopeful Carlin Sanderson lost his first match but has rebounded today with two wins this morning  .

In the pro 10 ball tournament John Morra was up against Efren Reyes in the race to 9 round robin format, looking to improve his record to 2 and 0  Morra was defeated 9-6. This set the stage for this morning matches. If Morra was to beat Ko Ping Chung (Taiwan) and Ralf Soquet beat Efren Reyes this would leave Morra and Chung with 2 and 1 records at the top of their group. The first tiebreaker is head to head matches and Morra beating Chung would allow him to advance. Morra got the help he needed from Soquet as he defeated Reyes 9 to 4. The young champion from Toronto unfortunately was defeated 9 to 6 but came very close in this superstar packed event. Advancing to the final four in the tournament are Ko Pin Yi who will play Dennis Orcollo and Jayson Shaw who will play Ko Pin Chung, both semi-finals and the final match will be available tonight on PPV at playcsipool.com.

Saturday 19 July 2014

BCAPL UPDATE: Another Canadian Winner, Morra Wins First Match


By Erik Hjorleifson 

The action continues from the BCAPL National Championships at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. Friday marked the beginning of the 16 player invitational Pro 10 ball tournament. Play also continued in the Amateur bar able tournaments as well as the Pro/Am ten ball tournament.
 
Straight-Pool is once again pleased to announce our second Canadian winner of this years championships, Ben Liu from Calgary, Alberta. He was  the winner of the open 9-ball division which boasted over 300 players. Randy Bagot from Winnipeg, Manitoba was also in the final with Ben so we were guaranteed our second Canadian Champion of the week. Congratulations to both players and good luck to them the rest of the week.
 
In the Pro/Am 10 ball challenge, the most prestigious of the bar table events, along with the Pro/Am 9 ball challenge we have two Canadians left in the mix. Stan Tourangeau from B.C. had a nice win over Ernesto Dominguez, eventually losing to Josh Roberts. He remains in the tournament with only 8 players left and will try to fight his way back to the final today. Jason Klatt, winner of the Pro/Am 9 ball challenge, won his first three matches in the ten ball tournament eventually losing to Mitch Ellerman from Arizona, who advanced to the winners side final. Klatt remains in the tournament at the start of today and will attempt, along with Tourangeau, to make his way back to the final.



 
 John Morra from Toronto, Ontario has begun his quest in the 16 player invitational 10 ball tournament. The  format is a race to 9 round robin. Players are placed in groups of 4 with each group being comprised of a player from North America, Philippines, Asia and Europe. The player with the best match record in each group will advance to the single knockout semi final and final stages of the tournament. Morra's first match was against Ralf Soquet from Germany in which he came away with a thrilling 9-8 victory, banking in the 4 ball en route to a pressure packed run out in the deciding game. Morra is currently playing his second match against Efren Reyes.

Friday 18 July 2014

Update from Vegas: Klattaclysmic Performance in 9 Ball Pro-Am

Jason Klatt playing in Thailand. 

The 2014 BCAPL national championships are now underway and the winners are beginning to be crowned. Day one and two featured the 9 ball challenge, considered to be the most prestigious pro/am event along with the 10 ball challenge which starts today. Thursday also featured the Kamui challenge match between Shane Van Boeing (USA) and Ko Pin Yi (Taiwan).

Straight-Pool is proud to announce that Jason Klatt originally from Manitoba, Canada has claimed Canada's first title of this years Championships. The field in the 9 Ball Pro-Am included numerous top amateur players from the U.S. along with a many top pros including; Warren Kiamco, Dennis Hatch, Oscar Domiguez, Ernesto Dominguez and Dennis Orcollo among many  others.

Klatt had no easy path along his way to an undefeated victory. Most notably he had wins over Oscar Dominguez, Skyler Woodward and Warren Kiamco in the winners side of the draw. On the losers side Kiamco came back after his earlier loss to Jason. In the final our correspondent Jason explained to me that Warren won the lag and failed to make a ball on the break. Klatt then proceeded to run out that rack and broke and ran the next 6 racks and out! in the race to 7 winner breaks format. He played well this whole tournament as Klatt mentioned he had strung multiple racks together a few times in this tournament to close out sets.

Klatt now adds the BCAPL 9 ball challenge to his already impressive list of bar table titles which include the U.S. Bar Table 8-Ball Champion and Valley Forge pro/am champion. When Jason and I were growing up in Manitoba we traveled a lot to Minnesota, North Dakota and the surrounding area where the most popular game was bar table pool. These tournaments were very competitive and although Jason was very young at the time he did very well. I was able to pick up a couple of titles myself and still remember experiences from those training grounds when I have a chance to play on the bar table.

Other notable finishes from the 9-ball challenge;

Ryan Solleveld (mb) 65th place including a 7-1 victory over Dennis Hatch

Stan Tourangeau (BC) 33rd

Larry Wilson (BC) 49th

9-Ball Mens Open division

Darcy Gilkes (MB) 65th (300 entrants)

all results and draws can be found at ctsondemand.com

Ko Pin Yi Photo by Michael Brown
By Erik Hjorleifson

Another feature event on Thursday was the Kamui challenge match promoted by CSI. This clash was billed as a race to 21 winner breaks 10 ball. CSI brought together two young guns one from the east and one from the west. This match-up brought together arguably the two most talented players from each region. The match was tight the whole way with the score being tied at 16 before Ko pin Yi eventually pulled away for 21-17 win.

To my knowledge the only other players to ever defeat Van Boening in a challenge match setting are Earl Strickland, Alex Pagulayan and Dennis Orcollo, losses which have all been avenged. Hopefully we will be able to see a rematch between these two great players in the future.

Stay tuned to Straight-Pool as we will be back tomorrow with all the results from today's action.

Side Note: Semi-Professional Roger Miller from Ottawa, Ontario will be playing in the Final 12 of the American Rotation event. He will also be sending in updates from Vegas, we here at Straight-Pool wish him good luck and enjoy your trip.



Thursday 17 July 2014

Daily BCAPL Championships and Challenge Matches Updates

BCA venue photo by Jason Klatt

By: Erik Hjorleifson

One of the most anticipated weeks in the Pool community is upon us and that is the the 2014 BCAPL International Bar Table  Championships. This series of week long tournaments includes 24 different divisions which will see play in 9 ball, 10 ball and 8 ball in women's and men's singles, teams and scotch doubles divisions. The singles tournaments are open to anybody of amateur status and pros are allowed to enter  the 9 ball and 10 ball challenge divisions. The men's open 8 ball division is the  single largest tournament in the world, boasting 1500 plus entries.

This year the amateur tournaments will also be complemented by two extremely prestigious professional  events promoted by Cue Sports International. The events are 16 player invitationals with a who's who of pool filling out the list of players. Participants will compete in a round robin format with each group being comprised of one player from Europe, North America, Asia and the Philippines. The player with the best record in the round robin stage will advance to the single knockout semi-final and final stages. There will be 8 ball and 10 ball divisions and they will be sure to be two of the most hotly contested tournaments in the history of pool.

Along with the pro tournaments, Cue Sports International will also be promoting a series of challenge matches. Below is the list of scheduled matches:

July 17 8 pm EST

Shane Van Boening vs. Ko Pin Yi
10 ball race to 21


July 21st 9pm EST

Corey Deuel and Mike Dechaine vs. Francisco Bustamante and Efren Reyes
Scotch doubles 8 ball race to 21

July 22nd 9 pm EST

Dennis Orcollo vs. Chang Jun Lin
9 ball race to 21

All matches, as well as the invitational tournaments, can be purchased at playcsipool.com, just click under the  events icon and follow the links.

Straight-Pool will be following all the action and we will be giving daily updates from the amateur and professional tournaments. We will  be focusing on the results from our Canadian talent and will have photo and written updates from our correspondents John Morra and Jason Klatt. Morra will be playing in the invitational pro tournaments and Klatt will be playing in the open bar-box table 9 ball and 10 ball tournaments. Stay tuned for all the results; it promises to be a great week of pool.

Some of the players we will be following, and hopefully some others who will make waves down there include:


(Maritimes) Colin Maloney

(ON) Harvey Shognosh, Pod Shognosh, Brittany Bryant, Maureen Van De Ven, Kayla Jones, John Morra.

(MB) Ryan Solleveld, Darcy Gilkes, Jason Klatt

(SK) Blaine Burns 

(AB) Kevin Osborn, Joanne Ashton, Bev Ashton

(BC) Andrea Wilson

Tuesday 15 July 2014

The Korean Assassin Strikes Again on Women's Tour

Hanna Kwon, Maureen Van De Ven, Kayla Roloson. Photo by Edwidge Cavanna 

By: Markus Noé

On The Snap Billiards and Lounge in Stoney Creek, Ontario was where 19 Canadian amateur women came for a chance at a title.  This was the second $500 added event of the newly formed Billard Feminin Tour , started by player and promoter Edwidge Cavanna.

Tino Barbieri, a semi-professional player, commentator and promoter from Montreal, took to the road for the 6 hour hike to Stoney Creek to support the tour and help out where he could. Barbieri quickly noticed that the level of competition in the G.T.A was a step higher then what he saw at Le Skratch Brossard in the previous tournament. He explained his thoughts on why when he said, " I credit the higher level of play here to the VNEA competitive leagues, which most of these women play in, as well as the larger population."

Barbieri was not the only one to drive up from Quebec as three others joined him. Corrine Johnson who is from my neck of the woods Cornwall, ON, which is near the Quebec border, also made the trip. Johnson, who is an accomplished player, is coming back to the game after taking a few years off to start a family. She played well finishing 5th overall. Her only loss came late in the day, and she was forced to forfeit the tournament because she was unable to return for day 2.

Hanna "The Korean Assassin" Kwon, winner of the inaugural tournament, was in fine form again. Slaying her way to the winner side final where she met up with multiple VNEA provincial champion and veteran Maureen Van De Ven.  Van De Ven was too much for Kwon in this set and she lost her first match in two tournaments (7-4), forcing her to the losers side final.

Kwon waited patiently as the 17 year old Kayla Roloson worked her way through the losers side bracket. Roloson is a multiple top female finisher in the Canadian Junior Amateur Championship and was a two time Junior VNEA International Champion when she was 14-15 years old. She also boast a 95% G.P.A. Roloson is a bright and upcoming talent to watch out for. However Kwon, a more seasoned talent, was too much for Roloson as she dropped this set 7-3 finishing in an impressive 3rd place.

This set up a rematch between Van De Ven and Kwon. The Assassin had her back against the wall from the start of this set going down 5-1 to the veteran. However, digging in and showing a great deal of heart, Kwon battled all the way back winning 7-5. This being a true double elimination format, Kwon had to settle in for one more set. Carrying on her moment from her previous two matches, she went on to easily win the second set 7-3 to become the first back to back winner on the tour.

Kwon with her trophy

A big thank you goes out to Suzanne Peters, owner of the venue, as well as Edwidge Cavanna (Promoter), Tino Barbieri and the guy who set up the stream for all us to watch, Wayne Dwyer. Dwyer is a sanctioned referee who also streams the Canadian Championships. The next tournament will take place at Dooly's Neufchatel on August 23. More info on the upcoming events can be found on the Billiard du Canada Facebook page.










Monday 14 July 2014

3rd Time is the Charm for Jacques Sauvé

Jaucques Sauvé winning reaction,photo by Markus Noe
By: Markus Noé

This past Saturday Rack-M-Up Billiards hosted the 5th tournament out of 8 scheduled for the second season of the Summer Series. Continuing the tradition as of late, the series saw its 5th different winner in Jacques Sauvé (7), a long time local player who has had multiple runner up finishes this year.

The day started poorly for Sauvé, losing his first match to one of the previous winners Kevin Thibeault (4). I was watching this match and saw that Sauvé was in control of most racks, however he missed four 9 ball attempts which Thibeualt converted every time regardless where it was on the table.The full table cross corner Thibeault hammered in to win pretty much summed up that first set for Jacques.

From there Sauvé began grinding out the losers side of bracket beating Platon Liolos, who ended my day early in his previous match. Sauvé continued on his pace systematically winning all his matches until he got his second chance at Thibeault in the B side final.

After dropping the first two games Sauvé began to catch form and quickly got to the hill at 6-2. However, as it happens from time to time, the case game can be the hardest to win. This proved to be true for Sauvé as he missed a 6 ball leaving an easy out for his opponent. With the scoreline 6-3 this was a was a double hill match as Thibeault only had to go to (4). Keeping his cool, Sauvé found a way to win. With another top 3 finish Thibeault was bumped up to a (5) at the end of this tournament.

Jeff Flemming, another previous winner, waited patiently in the hot-seat after cruising through all of his opponents. He was looking to be the first two time winner this year but it was not to be as some early mistakes led to a 2-0 lead for Sauvé, and he never looked back winning 7-2. Only three tournaments left to get the 4 needed to qualify for the Grande Finale that will have lots of added money and a Calcutta.

Below is a video I recorded of final few shots to have a little fun and catch the winning reaction.

Prize Money                        
Jacques Sauvé-$160
Jeff Flemming-$100
Kevin Thibeault-$60
Dave Hookimaw-$40



Sunday 6 July 2014

Quebec Update: Scotch Doubles Events Held in St. Hyacinthe

6A Winners David Deschenes & Pat Desbiens


On Saturday July 5th Dooly's St.Hyacinthe, located about 45 minutes east of Montreal, hosted two scotch doubles 9 ball tournaments. Owner Elvis Joubert, along with his friend Raphael Houde, frequently host these types of tournaments during the Montreal Federations off season. The format of this tournament was alternate break with the 9 ball not counting off the break. 
The two tournaments were played simultaneously with some players deciding to play in both. There were 11 teams  in the 6A tournament. This meant the overall ranking between the two players had to equal or less than 6A. The possible teams were A /Pro, AA/SP or AAA/AAA.  

There were top players in this event such as professionals Dany Nguyen and Ghrislain Champagne as well as AAA player Pat Desbiens, all of whom were participants in the recent Classique du Billiard in Thetford Mines. Desbiens was the winner of the 3A event in that tournament.


 On Paper, a team with two AAA's would be one of the favourites to win this tournament and in this case it turned out to be true. For the second time in a row the team of Patrick Desbiens and David Deschenes, both 3A, proved to be too strong as they left St-Hyacinthe the winners. They also took home the lions share of the Calcutta which totaled  $570. 


In the 2A there were 21 teams that showed up for a chance at the top prize. The possible teams in this division were C / AAA, B/AA and A/A. Taking third place in this tournament was the team of Patrick Pelletier and Marie-France Blanchette. First and Second were split
due to time restraints, between Pascal Roy/Bertrand Richards and Phillipe Roy/Melissa Pelletier. The prize pool was $735 plus $900 in Calcutta. 

These tournaments are very popular among the players and often well attended. It is understandable why, as they are a pool hall who caters to the players. An example of this is that all the tables will be re-clothed with tournament blue this week in preparation of the upcoming tournament season. 


I would like to thank Luc Paquette for sending me all the details necessary for this update. You may remember Paquette from his great work as one of the main commentators for the streams at the Classique du Billard. 



Payouts: 6A 1-$350,2-$155,3-$100
             2A 1-$350,2-$200,3-$105,4-$80







Friday 4 July 2014

Big Red Instructional: Part 2 of Bridging



Hello again everybody, I had a nice ten days in Qatar for the World Nine Ball Championships. I was only able to come away with one match win but I was pleased with my performance overall, as I lost two close matches while my opponents played well. Today we are going to continue our instructional about bridging, focusing mainly on bridging from the rail.

In the first article we talked about the open bridge; before I begin today's piece I would like to clarify a statement which I made regarding the open bridge. Previously I stated that an open bridge is used on 70% of shots. I just wanted to make it clear that I meant 70% of shots that are not rail shots, in other words the cue ball is accessible from the bed of the table.

While watching some matches at the World Nine Ball Championships, I noticed a bridge that was coming up quite often, even more than I had previously realized. I call this the over the top bridge from the rail, meaning that your index finger is over the top of the cue lying on the rail.

There are three main bridges that are used when playing shots off the rail.


#1 An over the top bridge

















#2 A level open bridge

















#3 An off the back of the rail bridge
















The first bridge you always want to look for when playing shots from the rail is an over the top bridge. Any time you are drawing a ball or playing a shot with follow at medium speed or more, this is the ideal bridge. It is actually a very easy bridge to execute.When using this bridge, make sure you bend your thumb underneath your palm to about you ring finger then place it down on the rail with the cue lying on the rail. This creates a very solid base and tight controlled area for your cue to stroke through. The second part of this bridge is the most important part of execution because this is an area where most pros and amateurs differentiate.

You want to "press" your index finger over the top of the cue, and not lie it flat over the top of the cue. This creates a tighter bridge which is always the goal for all bridges. Notice now that relative to the angle your cue is taking on the shot, you will either have two or three contact points with your cue. The three contact points are the knuckle of your thumb, the inside of your middle finger and the knuckle created by pressing your middle finger. When the cue is elevated to play draw you will usually have two points.

Note: This bridge can be used for very long distances from the cue ball and very short distances from the cue ball.

The second most common bridge from the rail is an open style bridge, mainly used for hitting balls at a pocket weight speed and when following the cue ball. It is very important to note here that although this is an open style bridge it is not the same as the open bridge used when the cue ball is in the middle of the table. The main difference is that you take your thumb away from the top knuckle of your index, which creates a type of backwards letter J shape. This allows you to again lie the cue flat on the rail, which is of the utmost importance. If you use a normal open bridge on top of the rail you will be creating an unnecessary and detrimental angle with your cue.

The third most common bridge from the rail is a bridge where you bring the back of your hand off the rail which allows you to create a type of extended rail at the same level as the actual rail. I would only suggest using this bridge on slower speed pots and pots that are lower in difficulty. Depending on the angle of the shot you might have 3 fingers as the base of the bridge or all four fingers.  Somehow this bridge can give you a little more feel but I would use it only sparingly because the back of the bridge is floating and is weaker.

Some players, particularly professionals and I, would say mostly Filipino pros will actually use a close bridge on the rail, the same as the one used on the bed of the table. But I will tell you right now that your hands have to be very flexible in order to keep the bridge low enough. They would only use this bridge when trying to power draw a ball off the rail. There are also rare situations where you will use a raised open bridge to dig into the very bottom part of the cue ball.

 In summary, look to use the three bridges that I outlined with frequency relative to the order that they were presented in. Note that the exact meticulous execution of how the bridge is formed is very important. I'll be back in couple of weeks with my next article. Finally I am very happy to announce that Canadian champion Paul Potier is now on-board with the Straight-Pool team and will also help out our readers with instructional advice.

By: Erik Hjorleifson