Brandon Shuffles Through the Billiards Field

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Brandon Shuffles Through the Billiard Field
Fifth Annual Burt Kellerman Memorial Tournament / Englewood, CO
by Samm Diep
On the hot summer weekend of June 21-22 in Englewood, CO, the Fifth Annual Burt Kellerman Memorial Tournament took place. Burt Kellerman “Mr. Red, White, and Blue” passed away seven years ago, and since then, his friends Ron Ferrendelli, Peter Emily, and Michael Smith have raised and added thousands of dollars for this tournament in his honor. “He was very patriotic. He was such a pool collector and a lover of all things that were pool,” stated Ferrendelli.
The first four tournaments were held at Shakespeare’s, and since their closing they found the perfect new home at Table Steaks South. The $4,000-added, race-to-7, 9-ball event has been known to attract the finest players from across the country, and this year was no different. The full 64-player field traveled from all parts of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and even Virginia for their shot at the prize.
WPBA professional Anna Kostanian, coming off a recent third-place showing in Charlotte, wowed spectators with her big stroke and huge break. That is, until she met her match in Dave Gomez, who went on to finish fifth. Big gun Mark Haddad also took an early exit just before the cash when he was tag-teamed by the Colorado Springs Smith brothers—Nate on the A side (who tied for ninth) and Nick on the B side (who tied for fifth).
Meanwhile, Brandon Shuff from Virginia was making his way through the winners’ bracket, taking down local champs Tony Piazza and Danny Medina in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Piazza ultimately prevailed for a rematch with Shuff in the finals in a single match race-to-11 showdown. In the end, Shuff proved he didn’t travel 1,500 miles to come in second place. Final score: 11-9.
Results:
1st Brandon Shuff
2nd Tony Piazza
3rd Danny Medina
4th Bill Skinner