IPT Round Three: The Plot Thickens as the Field Thins
Round three starts today in the International Pool Tour’s North American Open and already 17,066 games have been played. Fatigue certainly played a role yesterday with 120 players facing a $5,000 difference in payout as they were whittled down to 60 in 12 straight hours of 8-ball action. The 60 remaining contenders who advanced to round three have been placed into 12 groups of five players each. Three players from each group will advance to the next round. The 24 who are eliminated will receive a lovely parting gift of $10,000.
Here’s a breakdown of yesterday’s highlights:
Mike Sigel was eliminated with a 2-3 record after losses to Marlon Manalo, Marko Lohtander and Quinten Hann. “The Mouth” settled for 61st and a $5,000 consolation prize.
The female players are near extinction, survived only by Sarah Ellerby who edged out Corey Harper by less than one percentage point in win average to advance to round three. Both Loree Jon Jones and Allison Fisher went winless in round two, and Gerda Hofstatter was eliminated with only one win.
Only eight players went undefeated throughout yesterday’s round, including three Americans: David Matlock, Nick Varner, and Charlie Williams. Also unscathed: Australian Quinten Hann, Filipino Santos Sambajon, Mexican Rafael Martinez, Mika Immonen of Finland, and Ivica Putnik of Croatia.
The Filipino contingent is now down three men, with Warren Kiamco and Gandy Valle eliminated after round two, and Jose Parica eliminated after round one. Still, 10 of the original 13 remain and most dominated their groups. Francisco Bustamante fell to Efren Reyes, but has the highest winning percentage of the entire field at 73.68 percent. (Johnny Archer is second with 70 percent.)
Snooker superstar Ronnie O’Sullivan held on by the skin of his teeth, with only two wins, but advanced on the merit of his winning percentage. On the other hand, Takeshi Okumura missed out on advancing by 0.03 percent to Larry Nevel.
Veterans Allen Hopkins, Kim Davenport, Keith McCready are all heading home. George San Souci and Tony Chohan went winless in round two. Other notables who are heading home with $5,000 consolation prizes: Danny Basavich, Jeremy Jones, George Breedlove and Oliver Ortmann.
Round three is upon us, and each player will play five matches among formidable fields. Here’s a quick analysis:
Ellerby will have to face two top Americans: Gabe Owen and Charlie Williams and two Filipinos: Marlon Manolo and Ronato Alcano. Good luck!
Earl Strickland is alive and well in the tournament, but grouped with Raj Hundal and Efren Reyes, the recently inducted Hall-of-Famer will have to fight hard to see another day.
German Thorsten Hohmann is by far the biggest name in his group, but will face Mick Hill, a promising British 8-baller.
Check out this group: Break-and-run Bustamante, Undefeated Ozzy Quinten Hann, 8-Ball Boy Wonder Karl Boyes, Prince of Pool Cory Deuel, and Bad Boy O’Sullivan. Yikes!
Mika Immonen and John Schmidt will face off in their group — undoubtedly there will be some good-looking pool played there.
IPT Open Continues: Filipinos Dominate; Fisher’s Perfect While Most Women Falter
The IPT’s North American 8-Ball Open is shaping up to be the Philippines 8-Ball Smackdown.
The Filipino contingent flew their flag high and often on Monday — the second day of the history-making, $2 million event — as six Pinoy shooters scored perfect 4-0 records in round-robin play: Efren Reyes, Alex Pagulayan, Francisco Bustamante, Marlon Manalo, Dennis Orcollo and Ronato Alcano.
Joining the ranks of the undefeated was Brit snooker and 9-ball superstar Allison Fisher, who steamed through a fairly soft bracket to qualify for the next round of play. However, she was one of only two women of the 15 female tour members to score a winning record, and one of only four to advance. The U.K.’s Sarah Ellerby had the other winning record, 3-1.
Top female pros making early exits Monday included Ireland’s Karen Corr, who went 1-3 in a particularly tough draw; the U.K.’s Kelly Fisher, 1-3; Helena Thornfeldt of Sweden, 0-4; and American Monica Webb, 0-4.
Play on Monday centered on the second set of 100 competitors in the 200-player field, divied up into 20 groups of five. The top three in each group advanced to today’s round, featuring the remaining 120 players, parsed into 20 groups of six.
The 80 eliminated players from the first round will settle for $2,000 each. The winner of the event will pocket a record $350,000.
Here’s a brief wrap-up of Monday’s highlights:
• One of the biggest surprises of the Open so far is the number of players who qualified for the event — those not among the 150 regular IPT tour members — who are posting undefeated records. These surprise contenders from Monday’s play include Dutchman Rico Diks; England’s Karl Boyes; and Anthony Ginn of Australia.
• Keith Bennett, a 27-year-old house pro at Breaktime Billiards in Wilmington, N.C., who made it into the Open as alternate after Hall-of-Famer Jim Rempe bowed out, posted a 4-0 record in the first-round on Monday.
• The four women to advance to Tuesday’s matches in the round-of-120 were Allison Fisher, 4-0; the U.K.’s Sarah Ellerby, 3-1; Hall-of-Famer Loree Jon Jones (U.S.), 2-2; and Austria’s Gerda Hofstatter, who managed to limp into the next round with a 1-3 record when her games-won percentage topped two other players in her group with the same record (Ed Kelly and Jim Weast, both of the U.S.; Hofstatter’s games-won percentage was in fact just 1 percent higher than Weast’s).
• Beyond the Filipinos, who were expected to do well, several favorites sent messages to the field that they were not to be underestimated. Also posting 4-0 records were well-regarded Americans Johnny Archer and Shannon Daulton, and Germany’s Oliver Ortmann.
IPT Open Kicks Off: U.K. Sizzles, U.S. Stumbles, Qualifiers Thrive
The overwhelming success of shooters from the United Kingdom and several strong qualifiers are the big surprises from the first day of the history-making IPT North American 8-ball Open, now underway at the Venetian in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, conventional-wisdom favorites such as Jose Parica, Mike Davis, Max Eberle, and Tony Robles were headed back to the drawing board, or at least a practice table, to ponder their early exits from the $2 million tournament.
But the biggest shocker was how incredibly well the contingent from the U.K. performed. Compatriots on the English 8-ball circuit (and relative unknowns elsewhere) Michael Hill, Darren Appleton and Carl Morris each went a perfect 4-0 in the first round of round-robin play, which featured 20 groups of five players each.
The second 100 competitors in the 200-player field will wage war today in their first-round matches. The top three players in each of the 40 groups advance to the next round; the eliminated players settle for a modest $2,000 each.
Here’s a brief wrap-up of the first day’s highlights:
• Of the 100 competitors in play Sunday, 13 finished with perfect 4-0 records, representing a wide array of nations: Michael Hill, Darren Appleton and Carl Morris of the U.K.; Americans Dennis Hatch, Steve Moore, Marco Marquez, and John Schmidt; Hungary’s Vilmos Foldes; Ralf Souquet of Germany; Canadian Luc Salvas; Nick Van den Berg of the Netherlands; Filipino Antonio Lining; and Mexico’s Rafael Martinez.
Incredibly, Martinez, Moore and Marquez were among the 50 qualifiers for the event, beyond the 150 regular IPT members. And Foldes earned his spot in the event as Buddy Hall’s replacement, after the Hall-of-Famer bowed out of the Open.
• Some folks have to go, and there were several flame-outs from well-regarded American players: Robles (U.S.), 1-3; 2006 Derby City Classic Master of the Table winner Jason Miller (U.S.), 1-3; Max Eberle (U.S.), 1-3; Robb Saez (U.S.), 1-3; Tony Crosby (U.S.), 0-4; and Tommy Kennedy (U.S.), 2-2.
Filipinos are expected to perform well at the Open, but expatriate Parica struggled to a 1-3 record and an early exit.
• Snooker superstar and 8-ball neophyte Ronnie O’Sullivan (U.K.) squeaked into the next round with a 2-2 record.
• After losing his first two matches, Shawn “Bubba the Love Sponge” Putnam (U.S.) gutted out two victories to advance.
• Long-ago road player Michael Zimmerman (U.S.) emerged to win his group — a toughie that included Filipino Warren Kiamco and Keith McCready of the U.S. It was not clear initially whether McCready or Kiamco would advance, since both held 2-2 records and an identical games-won percentage.
Another One Bites the Dust: Wei Grounded by Visa Woes
Another contender for the $2-million purse at the International Pool Tour’s North American 8-Ball Championship has withdrawn from the running. Liu Wei of China, who won a qualifier to compete in the event in Shanghai in mid-June, officially opted out July 20 after the U.S. government rejected his travel visa. With the event only two days away, IPT officials chose Lee Heuwagen to replace Wei.
Heuwagen played in multiple IPT qualification tournaments. He was the second of only two players to place third in two North American Open qualifiers, a performance statistic that landed him in the number two spot on the alternate list after Keith Bennett, who will replace Hall-of-Famer Jim Rempe.
IPT officials informed Heuwagen yesterday that he would need to get a plane ticket to Las Vegas. The event will take place July 22-31 at The Venetian. Heuwagen was very excited to hear the news, though he did state that he was disappointed for Wei’s unfortunate circumstance.
Elated Bennett Takes Rempe’s Spot at IPT Open
Jim Rempe’s loss is Keith Bennett’s big, big gain.
Hall-of-Famer Rempe has pulled out of the first event of the International Pool Tour’s season, leaving a space for a shocked and elated Bennett, who finished tantalizingly close to the cut at several tour qualifiers.
“It was unbelievable,” said the 27-year-old house pro at Breaktime Billiards in Wilmington, N.C. “I had some really tough beats there. … I can’t wait to get out there and try to get a title.”
The title in question is the $350,000 first prize at the IPT North American 8-Ball Open, starting Sunday at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. The 200-player field will be chasing $2 million in prizes, a record amount for pro pool.
Rempe withdrew from the tournament citing “personal reasons,” relating to his ability to hold up under the grueling IPT tournament format, according to IPT officials. He’s still eligible to compete in the season’s other four events. Rempe was not immediately available for comment.
Bennett spent much of early 2006 traveling the country and chasing qualifiers for one of 10 open tour member spots. He hit the four U.S. qualifiers, but failed to finish high enough for a slot. He then went to several qualifiers for the 50 additional spots at the North American Open, and finished third at two of them, just missing the cut.
Fortuitously, Bennett recently had been helping Hall-of-Famer Ewa Laurance prepare for the North American Open. They were in the midst of a practice session on Thursday when Bennett received the cell-phone summons from IPT tour director Deno Andrews.
Bennett spent much of Friday making hurried preparations for his week-long trip to Vegas, including making arrangements for his two children, ages 10 and 6. “I have a lot of stuff to take care of,” he said.
He wasn’t intimidated by what promises to be the strongest field ever assembled for a pool tournament, or the round-robin format that will have players competing 10 hours a day.
“I’ve been playing with the pros since I was 14 years old, so I don’t think the nerves will affect me,” he said. “And the format is pretty much alien to everyone. I feel like I have good shot at it if I get a couple rolls.”
U.S. Three-Cushion Star Allen Gilbert Dead at 77
One of the best American three-cushion players of the modern era died Saturday, July 15, in Los Angeles at the age of 77. Allen Gilbert passed away at Veterans Hospital in West Hollywood from renal failure after suffering from a variety of ailments in recent years. He was a veteran of the Korean War.
He was a very strong player as a teenager in Los Angeles, but didn’t come to national attention until the Billiard Federation of the USA (later the USBA) was organized. He won the first BFUSA National tournament in 1968, followed by wins in 1970, 1971, 1977, and 1988, and finished second eight times. In the 1993 event, he led Sang Lee 35-25 only to lose 50-44. He won four Champ of Champs national tournament sponsored by the American Billiard Association, He spent four years competing against the best players in the world in the Billiard World Cup tournaments, finishing fifth overall in 1986.
In addition to successes in national and international tournaments, he won at least twenty other elite events in his 40-year career as a top player. Gilbert was a left-handed slip-stroker whose confident style was all his own. He had a great fighting heart and could never be counted out of any game no matter what the score. His scoring ability and safety play gave him many come-from-behind wins. — Robert Byrne
“Little-Kim” Tour Hits the Road
No, we’re not talking about the risque rapper who was recently released from prison, but Women’s Professional Billiard Association stars Melissa Little and Ga Young Kim, who are teaming up to perform pool exhibitions in three states.
Kim, a two-time world champion and U.S. Open champion, and Little, a two-time Colorado State champ with 18 top 10 finishes on the WPBA, are offering free admission to the events. The pros will play each other in a pool match, have a Q & A session with the audience, and then proceeded with an autograph session.
The tour will kick off from 7-9 p.m. on Monday, July 31 at Big Dog Billiards in Des Moines, Iowa. For more information on this event, contact Randy at (515)262-6523.
The duo will then head to Gibbys Sports Bar in Grand Island, Nebraska, where they will perform on Tuesday, Aug. 1 from 7-9 p.m. For more information on this event, contact Tom at (308) 382-9744.
Their final stop will take place from 7-10 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2 at Little’s sponsor site, The Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado. For more information, call The Wynkoop at (303) 297-2700.
For VIP seating please call the poolrooms listed. For more information on the players you may visit the Women’s Professional Billiards Association at http://www.wpba.com/ or Melissa Little at http://www.melissalittle.com/
Immonen Rises to Eminence at First Norwegian 9-Ball Challenge
The Norwegian 9-Ball Challenge, a first-time tournament, attracted several of the best players in the world including Tony Drago, Niels Feijen, Raj Hundal, Jasmin Ouschan and Marcus Chamat to Oslo, Norway, July 12-15. It was not surprising that two former World Pool Champions rose to the top, with Mika Immonen from Finland facing German Oliver Ortmann in the final. The pool powers that be were not on Ortmann’s side and Immonen was in top form, taking the title, 9-4.
The event took place at ElbowRoom, a posh poolroom in Oslo. The format divided the field into 16 groups in which a round-robin format was used. Almost half the field was dismissed by day three and a single-elimination format went into effect with the final 64.
Immonen took home $7,500 Euros for his efforts. Bronze medalists were Brian Beekers from Holland and Kurt Maflin from Norway.
Gene Nagy Dies at Age 59
Gene Nagy, legendary straight-pool player and longtime coach and mentor to many players including Jeanette Lee, passed away yesterday, July 13, at age 59.
Visitation will be held this Sunday, July 16, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at:
Kearns Funeral Home
61-40 Woodhaven Blvd.
Rego Park, N.Y.
(718) 441-3300
Nagy died of emphysema and cancer of the lungs. He is survived by his aunt, Jean O’Brien, and many close friends and students.
Nagy was born Oct. 6, 1946 in New York. Before he became a highly respected pool player he was an accomplished musician. He started playing the trumpet at age 12 and attended the Juilliard School of Music at age 17.
Nagy didn’t start playing pool until he was 18 years old, and by the time he was 23, he was invited to his first professional tournament. His lifetime personal high run of 430 is topped officially only by Thomas Engert, Min-Wai Chin, and Willie Mosconi. He is also known for running 150 and out in the 1973 World Straight Pool Open against Allen Hopkins.
Luther Lassiter was quoted as saying of Nagy, “That man was born to play this game.”
Willie Mosconi commented on Nagy’s style, saying, “It was the finest I had ever seen balls taken from the table.”
By the late 1970s, Nagy had retired from competition, but continued to teach and mentor young players. Jeanette Lee, famous the world over as “The Black Widow” was one of his best students, and considered him a father.
Lee said of Nagy:
“Everything I know, I learned from him. He was my coach, my mentor, my friend, my father, my everything. Particularly for the first five years or so, when I first started playing pool.”
Lee met Nagy when she was 19, through her then boyfriend, at a New York poolhall.
“From really that day on, he played me everyday of my life until I moved away. The poolroom opened at 11 a.m., we got there at 10, had coffee, and played until they closed at 11 at night. He never kept score. He really taught me the love of the game to always stay a student.”
Lee credits all of her ability to Gene, as well as her character. She says that he taught humility by example. When she hit her first high run of 122, the very next inning, he ran 238.
“He’s the one who really gave me compassion and gave me humility. People probably wouldn’t call me that, but as a student of the game I am. What it came down to was, he just taught me to love pool for the love of the game, above and beyond any kind of competitiveness or materialism or glory you could take from it. That’s where my willingness to want to give back to this sport and do things for the growth of the game itself, comes from.”
Lee also dedicated her 2001 book, “The Black Widow’s Guide to Killer Pool” to Nagy.
“Yikes!” or “Whew…”: IPT North American Groupings Announced
“Yikes!” or “Whew…”: IPT North American Groupings Announced
Jul 14, 2006, 9:44 AM
Several top pool pros won’t be sleeping too soundly for the next week, now that they know the identities of their opponents in the first round of the International Pool Tour’s North American 8-Ball Open Championship.
Among those who might have trouble catching some “zees” are Karen Corr, Cory Deuel, Charles “Hillbilly” Bryant, and Kim Davenport. On the other hand, Allison Fisher and 13-year-old Austin Murphy look to be pretty well rested.
The $2 million, 200-player event — with a $350,000 first-place prize — kicks off Sunday, July 23, at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nev.
The IPT announced the first-round groupings — composed of 40 sets of five players each — on Thursday. After round-robin play, the top three finishers in each group will proceed to the next round. Eliminated players from the first round will each receive $2,000.
The complete list of groupings is available at the IPT Web site: www.internationalpooltour.com.
However, we’ll point out a few of the more remarkable first-round matchups to get the inevitable debate and buzz started. In no particular order:
Group 20 — International Incident
A big-time pro is going home with $2,000 — and the lonely, agonizing plane ride could be transcontinental. The round’s toughest group is topped by former world 9-ball champions Mika Immonen (Finland) and Oliver Ortmann (Germany). They’re closely followed by tough-as-nails American Charles “Hillbilly” Bryant and the wily Gandy Valle from the Philippines. If “Gentleman” Jim Raney (USA) can make it out of this group, he deserves a $10,000 bonus.
Group 14 — Cakewalk
It’s dangerous to call any group a “gimme,” because there are so many relatively unknown international players in the IPT. You can bet there will be several surprises along the way. But Brit snooker and 9-ball ace Allison Fisher looks like a lock to get past group 14, populated by middling and/or obscure players Grady Matthews (USA), Andreja Klasovic (Serbia/Montenegro), Marko Lohtander (Finland), and Jeff Abernathy (USA).
Group 32 — Dogfight of the Sleepers
Fans might not know all these names, but one or two of these guys are sure to be around late in the event. The group features rough road player Steve Moore (USA), 2006 Derby City Master of the Table winner Jason Miller (USA), resurgent 9-ball pro Kim Davenport (USA), and Canadian aces Paul Potier and Tyler Edey.
Group 18 — Bloodbath
A top player is going to go down here. This one looks like the semifinals roster from a Reno Open, with multitalented Shannon Daulton (USA) facing off against Canadian stalwart (and, coincidentally, 2005 Reno Open winner) Ronnie Wiseman, former BD Player of the Year Cory Deuel (USA), Chicago 8-ball machine Ike Runnels, and sneaky veteran Pete Fusco (USA).
Group 2 — No Rest for the Invader
Ireland’s Karen Corr will have her work cut out for her against Holland’s top pro Niels Feijen, China’s no-nonsense Wei-Liu, underrated 8-baller Greg Hogue (USA) and Hall-of-Famer Ray Martin. But Corr went 4-1 in the first round of December’s IPT King of the Hill event, so look for her to pass with honors.
Group 5 — Let’s go, Austin!
Okay, we’re (unofficially) rooting for 13-year-old Austin Murphy, who is no slouch, by the way. He just won his second consecutive title at the BCA Junior Nationals, and he can hold his own against the big guys. He has an excellent chance to get out of his first-round group, where he will face Danny Basavich (USA), Hall-of-Famer Ewa Laurance (USA), and little-known qualifiers Sam Monday (USA) and Anthony Ginn (England).