Third Rack-M-Up Summer Series Results.

For the second time out of the three tournaments thus far, a full field of 16 showed up to take part in this handicapped event. A busy end of the season tournament schedule kept me out of the first two of the series. However now that the circuits in Montreal and Ottawa are done for the year the Rack-M-Up series provides a great opportunity for competitive players like myself to stay in form during the off-season.

Unfortunately it was a short and swift exit for me on this day. I started off playing local hotshot Jacques (Jacques-pack) Sauve who is a (7). I currently shoot as a (5) and was up 4-3 when I let one bad miss eat at me and it turned into a flurry of errors that resulted in a 7-4 loss. Next up was Walter Sydlowski (6) a wily veteran who took advantage of my weakened state and punished me 6-2.

Sauve went on to win a few matches after me, then ran into Jeff Flemming(6) from Brockville Ontario, in the winners side final. Flemming, who regained form after suffering a horrific knee injury last year that resulted in a full knee replacement, caught a gear and easily beat Sauve setting up a rematch between himself and Jody (Dirt). Roy, who is also a (7) was dialed in as he won a few matches after his previous loss to Sauve. With this confidence and determination to settle the score, Roy played near flawlessly winning 7-4.

The wait between the Winners side final and the actual final did not seem to bother Flemming. He got to work immediately in the first rack, cutting the 3 ball full table into the 9 which was near the pocket but no hanger for a 1-0 lead. From there, Flemming built a 2 game lead which he never relinquished, eventually winning 6-5.

The next tournament will be June 28. If you have not played in any of the events remember there are only five left to get the four needed to qualify for the Grande Finale. Also I apologize for the lack of photos as I experienced a technical issue with my camera.

To book your spot in the next tournament call Doug at 613-933-9362.

Jeff Flemming-$160
Jody Roy-$100
Jacque Sauve-$60
Kevin Thibeault-$40

Canadian Hopefuls Gearing up for World Championships

John Morra

On June 21 stage 2 of the World 9 Ball Championships will begin at the Al Saad Sports Club in Doha, Qatar. Canada will be represented this year by our current Canadian Champions John Morra (8ball), Jason Klatt (9ball) and Erik Hjorleifson (10ball), as well as Mario Morra.

John "Mr. Smooth" Morra has already proven to be in top form, with a successful final 16 finish at the recent China Open. Because of it's large prize pool and red carpet treatment of the players, the China Open has become a prestigious event that everyone would like to have on their resume. With its qualifiers and group stages, which lead to a final 32 single elimination knock out format, it is also one of the most difficult tournaments in the world to win. 

Morra, who impressively worked his way into the final 32, met up with one of the top players in Asia, Ko Pin Yi. Not phased by playing one of the tournament favourites, Morra was solid and went on to win 11-7.  His next match was an 11-8 loss to Jeffery Ignacio, who played his way into the final where he lost to Chang Yu Lung.

Jason Klatt

Klatt also made the trip to China where unfortunately he was not as successful. However after the completion of the China Open Klatt traveled to "Huslters," a pool room in Bangkok, Thailand. There he met up with Shane Van Boening, Corey Duel and Darren Appleton who were all invited to take part in a series of challenge matches against some local talent. Klatt teamed up with Appleton to play a $1000 scotch doubles match which they easily won. 

Erik Hjorleifson

Hjorleifson has stayed in the G.T.A (Greater Toronto Area) to finish up the 404 K tour and to continue on with his instructional clinics. He plans to practice as much as possible these next few days before he and Mario Morra head to Doha to meet up with Klatt and John Morra. Make sure to stay tuned during the entire World Championships as Hjorleifson will be sending updates the entire time. 

To see the match between Ko Pin Yi and Mr. Smooth click here 

  

82 players for Final Tournament of the Season in Valleyfield

Last weekend Dooly's Valleyfield was the host for the 6th annual end of season handicapped tournament for the Federation Quebecoise (FQSB). The Federation organizes a circuit of tournaments that are played out of the Montreal region; it has divisions for every level, C through Professional. .

This year was one of the best attended as 82 players showed up to take a stab at the $3000 added prize pool. There was also a record Calcutta of $5,815, which added some excitement as there was a large amount of money to win. On Saturday they played down to the final 16 who came back Sunday morning to shoot it out for the top prize.

It was Sylvain Filiatrault, a level A player and local shooter, who proved too hard to beat as he played a solid tournament and went undefeated to claim the $1,000 first prize. He met up with AA player Eric Levesque who had an impressive tournament, battling back from the B side to claim 2nd place and $700.

Tournament Pay Out

Filiatrault, Sylvain #3642	1	1000 $
Lévesque, Éric #1182	2	700 $
Chicoine, Maxime #4004	3	500 $
Otis, Pierre #531	4	340 $
Pétrin, Karl #3648	5 - 6	250 $
Bélanger, Jean-Guy #4014	5 - 6	250 $
Parent, Alain #1369	7 - 8	180 $
Zbikowski, Denys #3053	7 - 8	180 $
Gagnon, Mario #3136	9 - 12	130 $
Abrouq, Anas #3636	9 - 12	130 $
Ellis, Everald #3240	9 - 12	130 $
St-Onge, Serge #1249	9 - 12	130 $
Martin, Steve #1572	13 - 16	80 $
Morissette, Pierre #2911	13 - 16	80 $
Malo, Benoît #1554	13 - 16	80 $
Patoine, Renaud #3318	13 - 16	80 $
Goulet, Jocelyn #1841	17 - 24	50 $
Plante, Serge #3775	17 - 24	50 $
Tremblay, Jeff #917	17 - 24	50 $
Gagné, Daniel #735	17 - 24	50 $
Roy, Luc #1932	17 - 24	50 $
Legault, Jocelyn #2457	17 - 24	50 $
Poudrier, Alain #1381	17 - 24	50 $
Morel, Daniel #1842	17 - 24	50 $

  

Calcutta Pay Out

Andre Dube-$2000 Split with Filiatraut

Sylvain Gringras-$1400
Karl Mixer-$915

Christian Issabelle-$500

Karl Petrin/Serge St-Onge-$300

Andre Dube/Roger Theriault-$200

Rack-M-Up Summer Series #2: Another First Time Winner

Tournament winner Kevin Thibeault

Saturday May 31st was the second of 8 scheduled events for the summer series. A nearly full field of 14 showed up to take part, and once again there was a first ever tournament winner. Kevin Thibeault, who was forced to put down the cue for a few years due to a nagging back injury, showed he has regained his playing form this weekend. 

It has only been about 6 months since Thibeault, who is ranked a B, has been able to play with some consistency but slowly and surely his game came back. All his hard work came to a head this weekend  as he cruised  through the winner side the entire day. At the end Thibeault had two notable wins against winner and multiple finalist since the debut of the series last summer, Jacques Sauve, who is ranked AAA.

The next tournament will be held on June 14. The entry is $40 and is open to the first 16 paid. This tournament is for B players through to AAA, no Pro/Semi-pro's. There are only 6 tournaments left to obtain the 4 needed to qualify for the end of the season tournament. It will have added money and potentially a Calcutta. To sign up call Doug Disotell at 1-613-933-9362 -don't get left out!

1st- Kevin Thibeault-$150                                                              

2nd Jacques Sauve-$100

3rd Ron Periard-$50

4th Wayne lebrun-$25

5/6th Jr Cook, Walter szydlowski

7/8th Jay Hall, Platon Liolios

9-12 Matt Cook, Bob Labelle, Gus Jacobs, Jeff Flemming

13-16 Maurice Hearn, Amanda Collins

Canadian Champion Erik Hjorleifson Joins the Straight-Pool Team

Big Red at Le  Classique Du Billard

During my time in Thetford Mines a few weeks back I had the chance to catch up with a friend of mine Erik (Big Red) Hjorleifson. We originally met a few years back at the Serge Guenette Memorial tournament in Gatineau, Quebec. During our encounters at Le Classique Du Billard  he expressed his interest in contributing his knowledge of pool through an instructional column.

So it is with great pleasure that I announce that Big Red will start to contribute these articles in the near future. He has offered to write on a bi-weekly basis and will be discussing topics which he believes all players at all levels need to be informed about to bring their games to the next level.

Hjorleifson will write these columns in various formats. Some will be written based on an "Ask the Pro" format in which he will take questions from our audience, who are invited to participate in the comment section below. The second format will be what Big Red has dubbed "Secrets of the Pro's". This will cover everything from aiming techniques to different ways of pattern racking and breaking and anything that the pro's do to give themselves a competitive edge.

Big Red is originally from Winnipeg but now lives in Toronto and has been a mainstay in Canadian professional pool since his late teenage years. He is the current Canadian 10 ball Champion and a member of the Bonus Ball team, the Toronto sharks. Hjorleifson is also well known abroad as he has competed in Qatar, the U.S.A and the Philippines. Along with his impressive Canadian record he has had top 10 finishes in major tournaments such as the World 8 Ball Championships and U.S Open Championships and several other cashes in world class events.

The debut of these columns will appear in the next few weeks, sometime before he heads to Doha,Qatar to compete in the World 9 ball Championship. If you live in the G.T.A area he does give lessons in groups or on a one on one basis. Big Red can be contacted by email at ehjorleifson@hotmail.com or through his Facebook page. Also if you are reading this on The Pool Scene, please click above on my name, it is linked to my blog and you can ask your questions there.

Rack-M-Up Billiards Summer Series has Begun

Last year was the inaugural season of the Rack-M-Up Summer Series which turned out to be such a success they decided to do it again. This series takes place every two weeks during a 16 week rotation as there are 8 tournaments. These are handicapped tournaments where the lowest rank player (B) goes to 4 games and the highest rank player (AAA) goes to 7.

Two weeks ago was the first tournament of the season and it got off to a great start with a full field of 16 in attendance. Robert (Side Car) Bob as he is known, because of his love of motorcycles with side cars attached, shocked the field to win his first tournament. Labelle, a retired house inspector, picked up the game a few years ago and has been steadily improving. He can often be found in the pool hall challenging anyone to a race to 5 for 5$ or as he often says to me, "One rack, 5$, I break." It is this attitude that undoubtedly allowed him to win 6/7 hill matches on his way to the final.

Side Car Bob

He met up with Jody (Dirt) Roy, a AAA, who won 2 of the 8 tournaments last year. Roy who was the heavy favourite, got off to a strong start and found himself on the hill first. However Labelle was not washed up just yet, as he was down 6-1 and made it 6-3, a double hill match based on the handicap, and eventually went on to win. Louanne Leger who plays on the Billard Feminin Du Canada Tour  had a strong performance finishing 3rd.

Louanne Leger

Tomorrow will be the second tournament of the season, if you are interested in playing you can call Doug Disotell at 1-613-933-9362. It is open to the first 16 who have paid the $40 entry. If you play 4 out of the 8 you qualify for the grand finale which will have added money. If each tournament is a full field, $160 will be added each time to the finale. This tournament is open to all except Semi-Pro and Pro's, if you are an unknown your ranking will be made by Doug Disotell.


Payouts

1-$160
2-$120
3-$80
4-$40

Hanna Kwon Wins Inaugural Women's Tour Stop

Winner Hanna Kwon photo by Edwidge Cavanna

This weekend Le Skratch Brossard played host for the inaugural and long anticipated Billard Feminin du Canada tour stop. Edwidge Cavanna, player and promoter, recognized the need for a women's tour and made it so.  Using her contacts from the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) this tour is sanctioned and its players will have the opportunity to win a pro tour card.

18 players showed up to kick off the tour which boasts $500 added for each event. It was apparent after Hanna Kwon survived a double hill match against Venus Belanger that she was going to be tough to beat. After this match, Kwon gained her confidence and cruised through the Winners bracket, winning 7-3 against Farla Salmanovitch in her next match. Kwon then went on to win 7-5 against Marina Linguerri and 7-3 against Christiane Boulay to earn her place in the final.

Kwon and Linguerri playing on Billiard Quebec stream

Linguerri, who is no stranger to the pressure of big tournaments herself, maintained her focus and returned from the losers side bracket to earn her rematch with Kwon. However Kwon was not phased by waiting nearly 24 hours to play her final and earned herself a convincing 7-3 win and $350. I caught up with Kwon after her winner side final match, who drove down from Toronto with fellow player Suzanne Peters. When asked if they would take advantage of wining the pro card they both responded, "Hell ya." This was a successful debut for the tour and only promises to get better, as bigger fields are expected in future tournaments as the tour continues to grow.

All the information about this tour can be found at the Billard Feminin Du Canada website and at their Facebook page. Edwidge Cavanna is fully bilingual so feel free to contact her in both official languages. The next tournament will be hosted by Dooley's Valleyfield on June 15th.

Local Round Up

Two players from Cornwall, who play out of my home room Rack-M-Up Billiards, Louanne Leger and Corrine Johnson, made the trip east to take their shot  at the title. Johnson, who is well known on the women's circuit and who as had success in the states, has taken a break from pool these past few years to raise her family. However she still has that winning instinct as she fought off Leger in her opening match after being down 4-3 to go on to win 7-5. Johnson lost her second match to Marie-France Blanchette, who was in fine form winning 7-1. From there Johnson went on to grind out the loser side bracket for a few rounds eventually losing in the 7/8 place,  just out of the money.

Leger lining up a combo

1 - Hanna Kwon-$350
2 - Marina Linguerri-$200
3 - Christiane Boulay-$120 
4 - Farla Salmanovitch-$50
5-6 - Marie-France Blanchette - Cathy Verret -$25