Robles Scores Double-Hill Billiard Victory

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Robles Scores Double-Hill Billiard Victory
Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Levittown, NY

by Jose Burgos
The Blaze 9-Ball Tour stopped at Leisure Time Billiards August 26, 2007, where a field of 37 players came out to play. Topping players like Beau Baur, Oscar Bonilla, Mark Vidal, Bristol Bob Begey, and Mike Miller was Tony “The Silent Assassin” Robles.

Leading the top half of the bracket, Robles notched wins over Sean Gavins 7-1, Brian Cap 7-1, Carol Martorana 7-2, Wali Muhammad 7-3, and Marc Vidal 7-0. Miller led the bottom half of the bracket, with wins over Jorge Rodriquez 7-4, Vinnie Leone 7-2, Gordon R. 7-3 and Bristol Bob 7-3.

When Miller and Robles met in the hot seat match, it was all Robles, who won easily 7-3 and sent Miller to the one-loss side, where Bristol Bob awaited. Miller ran away with the match 7-3 to reach the finals. The rematch between Miller and Robles saw Robles pull off a double-hill victory.

Results:

1st
Tony Robles

2nd
Mike Miller

3rd
Bristol Bob

4th
Marc Vidal

5th
Beau Baur

Oscar Bonilla

7th
Wali Muhammad

Liz Ford

Clarion Hotel and Conference Center Co-Sponsors Qlympics

Posted by admin as Pool Leagues - BCA Pool Leagues

Clarion Hotel and Conference Center Co-Sponsors Qlympics
Now under new ownership and management, the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center has committed to co-sponsor the first annual Qlympics, a colossal billiards event, November 1-18, 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky.
“We are proud to host and co-sponsor the first annual Qlympics event and anticipate future years of participation,” said the Clarion’s Adam McDonald. “This is a truly unique opportunity for us. Pool is now an international sport and it’s an honor to contribute to its growth. We look forward to being of service to players, fans, exhibitors, press, and all who attend. We intend to make their stay as comfortable as possible during the ‘round the clock’ activity.”
Stay where you play! — The Clarion’s support of Qlympics comes from revenues generated by players staying at the hotel. So, to participate in the added money, you must be a registered guest for the duration of your event.
Please make your reservations at the Clarion. Call 502.491.4830 and mention “Qlympics.” Sorry, reservations made through 3rd party web sites, like hotels.com, etc. will not entitle you to share in the $20,000–guaranteed–added money. With full fields, the added will increase to $64,000 pushing the pro events prize fund to $176,000.
Qlympics is an OPEN event in a “player friendly” venue with a 24/7 action room and late night food and drink. And, like all playbca.com events, there will be plenty of warm-up and nightly mini tournaments.
For entry forms and more, visit playbca.com
Get your butt there!

Stroud Elected to Academy of American Cue Art President

Posted by admin as Billiards Industry News - Information

Stroud Elected to Academy of American Cue Art President
The Academy of American Cue Art (AACA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of billiard cues as a legitimate art form, has selected well-known cue maker Bill Stroud as its new president.
The Academy has also appointed new board members Dick Abbott, Tony Martino, and Will Prout. All are longtime supporters of billiard cues and cue-collecting as well as successful businessmen. Their combined experience will be invaluable to the Academy.
Under this new leadership the Academy has started an ambitious program that includes a certified cue appraiser, a cue museum, a cue-buying guide, and a new website.
The cue museum will debut with a traveling exhibit at the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Expo in Charlotte, NC, in June 2008. Display space is being provided for the exhibition by the BCA. Included in this exhibit will be some of the most expensive and interesting billiard cues ever made.
The Academy of American Cue Art is also taking over the planning for the International Cue Collectors Show. This show has been the premier showcase for high-end billiard cues for the last six years. The Academy is now studying various locations, including Denver and Kansas City, as possible venues for next year’s show.
For more information about the Academy of American Cue Art, please contact Bill Stroud at (505) 378-5677 or visit Cueacademy.org.

Park and Shea Win on Tiger Pool Tour

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Tiger Planet Pool Tour

Park and Shea Win on Tiger Pool Tour
Tiger Pool Tour / Sterling, VA

by Ceci Strain

The Tiger Pool Tour returned after a short summer break to First Break Café in Sterling, VA, August 25-26. The open division started off strong with a full 64-player field, but at the end of the weekend, Shin Park was the last man standing. In the women’s division, 15 players showed up, with Linda Shea taking top honors.
Most notably in Sunday’s final 16 was fifteen year-old Richard “The Kid” Barney from Hagerstown, MD. Barney met with an early placement into the elimination bracket with a 9-6 loss to Shawn Putnam in the second round on Saturday. The early loss didn’t faze “The Kid,” as he won his next matches until being eliminated by Mike Davis 7-3.

Park faced Larry Kressel on Sunday morning and sent him to the elimination round with a win of 9-4, just in time to meet up with tour regular Jerry Slivka. Though Park took a strong 6-1 lead, he missed the 6 ball in the eighth rack, and Slivka came back like a whirlwind to take the match 9-8.

Continuing In the elimination bracket, Shawn Putnam and Park continued to please the crowd by again bringing their matches to the hill. Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie was victorious over Putnam 7-6, and Park battled Davis to continue on with a win of 7-6. In the hot seat match, Slivka and Francisco Diaz seemed to be playing a speed pool match as they quickly ran through their games. Slivka had an early lead, and after a short trade-off in the middle of the set, he finally closed it out with a win of 9-5, sending Diaz over to the elimination bracket to wait for his next opponent.

Park methodically ran rack after rack against Wilkie in the quarterfinals, defeating him 7-2. He then moved on to the semifinals against road partner Diaz, and again he methodically defeated Diaz 7-5 for the opportunity to match up again with Slivka. However, because of a scheduling conflict, Slivka had to forfeit the final round to Park.

The one-day women’s event saw tour regular Cheryl Squire gain a notable win of 7-2 early in the day against current point’s winner, My-Hanh Lac, and a win over Sharon O’Hanlon 7-4 to reach the hot seat match against Linda Shea. Shea moved through the winners’ bracket and sent Kathleen Lawless to the elimination bracket 7-3.

The hot seat match in the ladies’ event was a close one, but Squire advanced with a final score of 7-5. Tina Meraglio, who had returned from a pool hiatus, had worked her way through the elimination bracket after a first-round loss and met up with Lawless in the quarterfinals. Meraglio was determined to move on to the semifinals and won the match 5-1. Shea wasn’t prepared to lose the tournament, and seemed determined as she practiced on another table straight through the quarterfinals. She was ready and quickly defeated Meraglio, moving on for a rematch against Squire.

In the single race-to-9 finals, Shea took a strong lead of 8-2 against Squire but didn’t close the door completely. Squire managed to fight back for a few more games before Shea finished the match with a win of 9-5.
Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news on the sport of billiards and pool.

Trick Shot Magic and International Speed Pool Challenge

Posted by admin as Independent Tournaments - Trick Shot Magic

Trick Shot Magic and International Speed Pool Challenge
New York New York Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
The premier special events in professional billiards will be hosted by ESPN Zone in Las Vegas on October 3-4. The Semifinal matches and the Championship match of both events will be telecast by ESPN beginning in November.

International Speed Pool Challenge will feature four top players from an international roster competing for a purse of winner-take-all $50,000. Luc Salvas, the 2006 International Speed Pool Champion also holds the record for Speed Pool in regular competition. Dave Pearson, the 2006 International Speed Pool Runnerup also holds a Guinness Book of World Records Speed Pool listing. Francisco Diaz, the 2007 VNEA Speed Pool Champion also holds a host of Speed Pool records in recent years. Bobby McGrath, the 2007 BCA Speed Pool Champion also holds many Speed Pool titles in competitive events.

The winner will claim the title of International Speed Pool Champion on October 3. The game is all action and offense, with players competing against the clock to run racks in the fastest possible time. A match consists of two sets, the first set a variation of Straight Pool and the second set regulation 8-Ball. Players routinely run a rack of fifteen balls in one-minute-fifteen-seconds or less. Tied sets result in a blistering one rack Sudden Death.

Trick Shot Magic will present eight international stars of the sport contending for a purse of $50,000 on October 3-4. Mike Massey, the 2006 Trick Shot Magic Champion. Tom Rossman, the 2006 World Artistic Pool Champion. Andy Segal, the 2007 Masters Artistic Pool Champion. Nick Nikolaidis, the 2006 Masters Artistic Pool Champion. Stefano Pelinga, the 2005 Trick Shot Magic Champion. Sebastian Giumelli, the 2007 South American Trick Shot Champion. Matt MacPhail, the 2006 World Artistic Pool Ranked #3. Sal Conti, the 2006 World Artistic Pool Ranked #4.

Trick Shot Magic winner will claim the crown and $30,000. Format for the tournament consists of twenty artistic show shots in each match. Players will execute a challenge shot of their choice, and their opponents are required to duplicate the shot or lose a point. The players alternate shots in two-man head-to-head matches, performing intricate trick shots meant to stymie their opponents. A sudden death tiebreaker to decide a match will require an eight rail bank shot onto the face of a $100 bill. In the seven year history of the event, the Championship has twice been decided by a sudden death tiebreaker.

ESPN will telecast three 1-hour programs each on Trick Shot Magic and International Speed Pool Challenge. ESPN Zone will make the events Admission Free for spectators. ESPN Zone is a 50,000-square-foot sports-themed dining and entertainment complex located at the New York New York Hotel Casino in Las Vegas (phone: 702-933-3776). The tournaments are sponsored by Connelly Billiards, Cuetec Cues, Cue Case Sales, Aramith Super Pro Balls, Simonis Cloth, L.E.A.N.I. Slate, Ozone Billiards, Original Italian Slate, AcCue Shot Training Device and Silver Cup Chalk. The tournaments will be produced by Billiards International, Ltd.

Ample parking is available near ESPN Zone. The INTERNATIONAL SPEED POOL CHALLENGE Semifinals and Championship Finals will begin at 4 PM on October 3. The TRICK SHOT MAGIC Semifinals and Championship Finals will begin at 4 PM on October 4. Admission is free and those attending should plan to arrive early. For more information call: 860-379-8414.