Final Foursome at San Diego Classic

Posted by admin as Billiard News, WPBA Tour

Final Foursome at San Diego Classic
WPBA San Diego Classic / Alpine, CA

by InsidePOOL Staff

The WPBA San Diego Classic, held this weekend at the Viejas Casino in Alpine, CA, has wound down to its final four players.

Three of the four players survived to the semifinals without a loss; one comes from the one-loss side of the chart. After a second-round loss to Karen Corr, Shu-Han Chang of Chinese Taipei fought her way back, defeating Miyuki Sakai, Lisa Marr, and Helena Thornfeldt to face off against China’s Xiaoting Pan in the semifinals.

Ranked third on the WPBA, Pan has so far had little troubles reaching the semifinal match against Chang. She has delivered losses to Kim Benson, Morgan Steinman, Tracie Hines, Melissa Little, and Sarah Rousey.

In the other semifinal match, tour veterans Gerda “G-Force” Hofstatter and Karen Corr will meet. Corr, ranked fourth on the tour, bested Cristina De La Garza, Chang, Rousey, and Kyoko Sone en route to the quarterfinals. There she faced Kelly Fisher, whom she eliminated to advance.

Hofstatter also enjoyed an undefeated run to the semifinals. She bested Lisa Davids, Angelina Paglia, Sone, and Monica Webb to reach the quarterfinals. Her opponent there was top-ranked Ga Young Kim, who had already suffered one loss. Hofstatter eliminated Kim in fifth place and now will play Corr to see who will move on to the finals.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

McDermott Cues to Sponsor Free Live Stream

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Players

Legendary Pool Cue Manufacturer to Sponsor Free Live Stream

Inside POOL Magazine is pleased to announce an agreement with McDermott Cue Mfg., LLC, to sponsor the free live stream of Allen Hopkins’ Super Billiards Expo, which takes place March 18-21, 2010. Widely considered the most successful billiards event, the Super Billiards Expo will feature thousands of professional and amateur pool players, vendors, spectators, and attendees.

The free live stream will be available at the Inside POOL Magazine Ustream channels and at InsidePOOLmag.com. The stream will mainly consist of two events, the Diamond Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship and the Artistic Pool Masters Championship. The finals of the 14.1 Straight Pool Challenge are also scheduled to be streamed, time permitting.

Throughout the stream, segments showing action from around the Super Billiards Expo will be aired to inform and give the stream viewers a feel of the action at the event.

“After 40 years in business, we remain excited to participate in opportunities to promote billiards. This groundbreaking event encompasses a truly promising vision that can revolutionize and expand billiards, and we are happy to be involved.” said, Jayme Cernicka of McDermott Cue.

“This event is truly one to behold. The sheer number of people who participate in events, who vend, or who just come to browse the aisles is amazing when you experience it in person. We can’t promise that we’re going to be able to give you the feeling of being at the Super Billiards Expo, but we’re certainly going to try,” said, J.R. Calvert of Inside POOL Magazine.

The Super Billiards Expo is one of the most exciting events in the billiard industry every year. Started back in 1993, Allen Hopkins’ vision for the ultimate billiard experience has been growing year after year. Thousands of players and fans look forward to this event every year. The Super Billiards Expo has become the largest consumer-oriented show in the industry.

If you miss the stream, check out the May/June issue of Inside POOL Magazine for information on viewing the videos created during the event.

About McDermott Cue Mfg, LLC
McDermott Cue Mfg is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, WI and produces and markets under the brands of McDermott Cue, Star Cue, Lucky Cue, Intimidator Shafts, G-Core Shafts, Big Boy Shafts, Sledgehammer Cues, Stinger Jump/Break Cues and Elephant Balls. For decades, McDermott Cue has consistently raised the performance standards for what billiard players expect from a high performance cue. McDermott builds billiard equipment for people who view playing pool as an end in itself, drawing on cutting-edge technology and tasteful yet aggressive design. McDermott equipment is rooted in performance, using the latest technology in a state-of-the-art facility and utilizing the finest materials available.

About Inside POOL Magazine
Inside POOL Magazine started in 2001 and quickly became the largest print billiard magazine by circulation by portraying the action of pool and billiards like no other magazine had done before. Since the first issue, Inside POOL Magazine has published online. The online version of the magazine has evolved to include flipping pages, zooming, clickable links, email sharing, and full-screen videos that can includes hours of full unedited matches. The current online version receives 450,000 readers per month.

Final 16 Set at San Diego Classic

Posted by admin as Billiard News, WPBA Tour

Final 16 Set at San Diego Classic
WPBA San Diego Classic / Alpine, CA

by InsidePOOL Staff

Some surprises surfaced on the way to the final 16 players remaining in the WPBA San Diego Classic, held this weekend at Viejas Casino in Alpine, CA.

Number-one-ranked player on the tour, Ga Young Kim was toppled by Line Kjorsvik of Norway after a hill-hill battle. Kim went over to the one-loss side to face Laura Smith to see who would make it back to the right side of the chart. Kim won, only to now face Kjorsvik in the round of 16.

Gerda “G-Force” Hofstatter will meet Monica Webb after going undefeated so far. Webb won her first two matches but then fell 9-6 to Melissa Herndon. From there Webb eliminated Amy Chen to make it back.

The tour’s fourth-ranked player, Karen Corr, is undefeated and has so far bested Cristina De La Garza, Shu-Han Chang, and Sarah Rousey. Her next challenge will come from Kyoke Sone of Japan. The winner of that match plays the winner of the Kelly Fisher versus Liz Ford match.

Xiaoting Pan, who is third on the tour, defeated Tracie Hines 9-6 to make it to the final 16 unscathed, where she will face Melissa Little. Little recently won both women’s divisions at the U.S. Open Bar Table Championship in Reno. She lost her second-round match to Kim 9-2 and worked back from the west side, ousting Supadra Geronimo, Jennifer Chen, and Hines.

Having sent Jeanette Lee to the one-loss side 9-4, Allison Fisher make it to the top 16 without a scratch and will next play Rousey, who bested Brittany Bryant after her defeat by Corr to return to the final 16.

After her win over Webb, Herndon made it to the final 16 and will face Lee, who rebounded quickly from her loss to Fisher with a victory over Vivian Villareal. The winner of that match moves on to face the winner of the tour’s second-ranked player, Jasmin Ouschan, and Shu-Han Chang.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

Marr Not Spooked at Casper’s

Posted by admin as Billiard News

Marr Not Spooked at Casper’s
OB Cues Ladies’ Tour / San Leon, TX

by InsidePOOL Staff

Lisa Marr defeated Jennifer Kraber in the finals of the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s March 6-7 event, winning the title and the lion’s share of the $2,000-added prize purse. The event was hosted by Casper’s Billiards in San Leon, TX.

Marr and Kraber met first in the hot seat match, and it was Kraber who handed Marr her first loss with a 7-4 win. But Marr was not down for the count just yet. Peters, who had just won a hill-hill struggle against Ming Ng, faced Marr in the semifinals. A motivated Marr defeated Peters 7-1 for another chance at Kraber.

As the double-elimination finals began, Marr had to beat Kraber twice. With a first set score of 7-5 and a second set score of 7-3, Marr captured the first-place spot and the guaranteed $750. Kraber finished her highest tour finish to date in second place and earned $550.

A second chance tournament was held with 21 players competing on Sunday for the $310 payout. Belinda Lee went undefeated to take first place, and board member Monica Anderson finished second.

Results:
1st Lisa Marr $750
2nd Jennifer Kraber $550
3rd Courtney Peters $400
4th Ming Ng 270
5th Amanda Lampert $155
Helen Laiche
7th Ashley Nandrasy $100
Melinda Bailey
9th Terry Petrosino $70
Kyu Yi
Tara Williams
Julia Rapp

(From left to right: Jennifer Kraber, Courtney Peters, Roy Robinson, Lisa Marr, and Ming Ng)

Kim and Ouschan Lead Viejas Pack

Posted by admin as Billiard News

Kim and Ouschan Lead Viejas Pack
WPBA San Diego Classic / Alpine, CA

by InsidePOOL Staff

The WPBA San Diego Classic kicked off March 11 at the Viejas Casino in Alpine, CA, with a full field of 64 of the top women players. The winners’ bracket is down to 32, while the other half of the field is making the uphill battle through the one-loss side.

The tour’s number-one-ranked player, Ga Young Kim, is at the top of the bracket and has won her first two matches. Her first victim was Stacy Novack, and her second was recent U.S. Open Bar Table Championship winner Melissa Little. Kim’s next match will be against Line Kjorsvik. The tour’s number-two player, Jasmin Ouschan, is also undefeated, having bested first Jennifer Chen and then Julie Kelly to face Helena Thornfeldt in the next round.

Number three on the tour, Xiaoting Pan is set for her third-round match against Tracie Hines, having bested Kim Benson and then Morgan Steinman. Hines was responsible for sending Veronique Menard and Erin McManus to the left side of the chart. The tour’s fourth-ranked player, Karen Corr, will play Sarah Rousey in the third round of this event. Corr earlier bested Cristina De La Garza and Shu-Han Chang, while Rousey defeated Dana Aft and Lisa Marr.

A featured third-round match will be between recent Hall of Fame addition Allison Fisher and Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee, who just won the St. Louis Louie Award at the Derby City Classic. In the first two rounds Fisher sent Mary Rakin and Jennifer Barretta to the west side of the chart, while Lee defeated Amy Chen and Nicole Keeney.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.