Reyes Takes Sixth San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Leg Title
Efren Reyes was the fan favorite at the first leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour, which took place May 5-7 at the Nguyen Du Sports Hall in Ho-Chin-Minh City, Vietnam. And “the Magician” didn’t disappoint, defeating Li He Wen of the Chinese Taipei, 11 – 6, in the finals to claim the trophy and the top prize of $10,000.
“Before the match, I knew I had a good chance but towards the middle I started to lose my confidence since I have taken bad safety shots,” Li said. “Reyes is really an experienced player and you can’t make too many mistakes when playing against him.”
With this win, Reyes has now won six leg titles in the Asian Tour, which will travel to Bangkok, Thailand for the second leg on June 2 – 4, followed by Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Aug. 4-6 and Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 15-17.
IPT’s King of the Hill 8-Ball Shootout to Occupy Sunday Prime-time Slot on OLN
The International Pool Tour has secured a major television package to air the lucrative tour’s debut event, the action-packed “King of the Hill 8-Ball Shootout” series on the Outdoor Life Network [OLN]. The network will carry the six IPT shows in prime time, with the first show set to premiere at 7 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 4.
The Comcast-owned OLN is currently available in almost 70 million households nationwide. The network is best known for its coverage of the National Hockey League, the prestigious Tour De France, the America’s Cup, Davis Cup tennis, the A1 Grand Prix series and the “Survivor” reality series in syndication.
“OLN is known for its coverage of some of the most prestigious and competitive international events in sports,” said Jon Denny, Executive Director of the IPT. “This new partnership signifies that pool is now a major television sport and that the International Pool Tour is a ready for prime time property.”
The International Pool Tour’s “King of the Hill 8-Ball Shootout” features the world’s greatest players competing for more than $1 million in prize money. The series will be shown on OLN over six consecutive Sundays, culminating in a two-hour finale on Sunday, July 9, in which Mike Sigel and Efren Reyes face off in the final.
The “IPT King of the Hill 8-Ball Shootout” was produced by the International Pool Tour in association with A. Smith & Company, the executive producers of network hits such as “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Skating with the Stars” and many major television sports events including pro football.
San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Event Underway
The 2006 San Miguel Beer Asian 9-Ball tour begins today, May 5, at the Nguyen Du Sports Hall in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The field is divided into eight groups. Using a round-robin format, race-to-9, with alternating breaks, the winner of each group will advance to the quarterfinals. Filipino top seeds include Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan in group one, rising star “Marvelous” Marlon Manalo heading group three, Francisco “Django” Bustamante heading group four, and Efren “Bata” Reyes in group five.
Last year’s overall champion, the sensational Taiwanese Yang Ching-Shun, is the first seed in group eight, veteran Fong Pang Chao heads group seven and last year’s World Pool Champion, teenage sensation Wu Chia Ching has been listed No. 1 in group two. The fourth player Taiwanese player is Wang Huang Hsiang.
The only outsider who earned a top-seed ranking was Malaysia’s Patrick Ooi, who is heading group six. Four players will represent the host nation, Vietnam, led by Nguyen Thanh Nam and including Luong Chi Dong, Vu Trong Khai and Nguyen Phuong Thao.
Japan’s lone entry is Masaaki Tanaka. Hong Kong will be represented by Au Chi Wai. Korea’s entry is Jeong Young-Hwa who was runner-up to Reyes in Taipei in 2004. Other entries are Xu Meng and Li He-Wen of China, Nurdin Abuba and Imran Ibrahim of Indonesia, Sundeep Gulati of India, Chan Keng-Kwang of Singapore, Tepwin Arunnath and Amnuayporn Chotipong of Thailand.
Three Cushion Debuts on American TV
This Sunday, May 7, the first show of a four part series on the 2005 Sang Lee International Open will premiere at 10 p.m. Eastern on America One Sports, a division of America One Television Network.
The tournament featured 76 of the strongest three-cushion players in the world, from 23 countries, competing for the most prestigious title in the game and $100,000, the richest purse ever offered on American soil.
The event took place last August at Carom Café Billiards, in Flushing, N.Y., and served as a memorial for the tournament’s namesake, Sang Chun Lee, who passed away on Oct. 19, 2004, at the age of 51. As player, organizer, promoter and room owner, Lee devoted his life to “making billiards beautiful in America,” and rejuvenated three-cushion billiards in the United States.
Ira Lee said Sang would be incredibly pleased to see three cushion’s debut on American TV. “It’s a dream for him,” Ira said.
Three-cushion is a mesmerizing game, in which there are only three balls, a yellow ball for one player, a white one for the opponent and a neutral ball, which is red. The object is to hit both balls and three cushions, but players commonly make five-, eight- and even 10-cushion shots under extreme pressure.
“Many of the top pros in our event have played billiards for over 30 years,” Lee said. “Raymond Ceulemans, perhaps the greatest of them all – has been playing billiards for over 50 years and is still in great form.”
Lee says that the television coverage will be of interest to anyone, with expert commentary and intricate shot problems charted out and diagrammed for the audience beforehand.
“Pool players can learn a lot about cue ball control from these masters, who practice just that aspect of the game that long and that diligently.”
The four-part series will air between May 7 and Aug. 1. For TV scheduling information, check your local listings or visit www.americaonesports.com.
Kim Breezes Through Enerva Asian 9-Ball Championship
Reigning back-to-back world champion Ga Young Kim of South Korea has another title to add to her growing resumé, with a win at the Enerva Asian 9-Ball Tour Championship, held April 26-28 at Robinson’s Gallera in Mandaluyong City, Philippines.
Kim defeated Shu-Pin Kao of Chinese-Taipei, 11-4, in the finals to clinch the the top purse of $10,000. Kao received the runner-up prize of $5,000. Losing semifinalists Yuan Chun Lin and Jui-Fang Fan of Chinese-Taipei got $2,500 each.
Suffering at the hands of the undefeated Kim in the winners’ bracket were Chieh-Yu Chou of Chinese, Taipei, 9-7, Sakiko Namiki of Japan, 9-5, Jennifer Chen of Chinese-Taipei, 9-3, and Kao, 9-5, respectively.
Kao was able to get back in contention after topping the losers’ bracket with Fan. Kao beat lone Filipina quarter finalist survivor Irish Ranola, 9-6, while Fan inched out Chen, 9-7.
In the single-elimination matches between the top four players, Kao yanked the carpet out from under tied-for-top finisher Lin, 9-8, while Kim battered Fan, 9-5.
In the final, Kim posted three consecutive racks to take a 3-0 lead in the opener. Kao was never able to overcome Kim’s lead, despite some momentum gained after connecting a difficult 2-9 combo for a 4-9 count. Kim regained control, taking the last two racks for a final score of 11-4.
Van Buren Becomes Oldest Touring Professional in WPBA
Ellen Van Buren played her first professional event in 1976, finishing third in the World Open. On April 22, 2006, 30 years later, Van Buren achieved the goal she has been working towards since 2003, becoming a touring professional in the Women’s Professional Billiard Association, and making history on the way, as the oldest female ever to earn this sought-after distinction.
While Van Buren had her first taste of victory at the ripe old age of 17, she gave up professional pool to follow a more conventional path. “I really just thought the girls must not have played very good. I didn’t know. So I quit, I did school, I did career, and then I retired when I was 43. I had started playing pool again a couple years before that, so I actually came back to the game when I was 41. Two years later, I decided to try and make it here on the WPBA,” she said.
For the past three years, Van Buren has been playing regional tours to gain qualifiers for WPBA events, and trying to make a name for herself as “The Florida Flash.” While gaining the touring pro status was her main focus, she says the most important thing to her is to have a good time. “Out there, there’s no pressure on me. I’m not paying my house bill, I’m not paying my car note, I’m realizing a childhood dream. So how could I not be happy? Win or lose.”
Check out Van Buren’s “player diary” at www.wpba.com.
IPT Announces 25 Qualifier Tournaments for 2006 Season
The International Pool Tour has announced that it will hold 25 additional tournaments to win a spot in the 2006 IPT North American 8-Ball Open Championship on July 22-30 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev.
Five qualifiers will be held every weekend, starting May 26-28 and ending June 23-25, in locations ranging from Australia to Akron, Ohio. For an updated schedule, visit www.internationalpooltour.com.
Entry into IPT Qualification Tournaments is $1,000, with the option to enter for a $500 fee, by which the player will be eligible for only half of the full prize payout earned. The third through sixth-place contestants who paid the $1,000 entry fee will earn a free entry into another qualifying tournament of their choice. Each tournament will be a double-elimination, race-to-10 format.
Online registration is the only way to enter these events and the form is on the aforementioned IPT Web site.
Kelly Fisher Defends Her Title at San Diego Classic
It was a case of deja vu in the finals of the WPBA’s Sand Diego Classic, between defending champion Kelly Fisher, ranked third in the WPBA, and second-ranked Karen Corr.
On April 23 at Viejas Casino in Alpine, Calif., the same place and the same score as last year, Fisher beat Corr, 7-4, in front of a packed audience. Initially Corr dominated with a 3-0 lead, but the tide turned and it became all Fisher. Fisher pocketed the 9 ball on two breaks and capitalized on some rough misses and bad rolls by Corr.
In semifinal play, Fisher defeated fellow Brit and snooker convert, Allison Fisher, 7-4. Corr creamed Sarah Ellerby, 7-2.
The WPBA also celebrated its 10 year anniversary with the Viejas Casino and awarded a plaque to the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians in appreciation for their support.
Four Finalists Remain In the San Diego Classic
A face-off of the Fishers: Allison and Kelly, will take place today, April 23, at 1 p.m. at the San Diego Classic, the third 2006 stop on the Women’s Pro Billiard Tour currently being played out at Viejas Casino in Alpine, Calif.
Kelly dismissed Jeanette Lee and Allison defeated Dawn Hopkins to reach the semifinal match. Kelly is the returning champion of this event, and will do her best to defend the title.
Also among the undefeated, Karen Corr and Sarah Ellerby will face off at 1 p.m. as well. For ongoing results and event highlights, visit www.wpba.com
The Heat Is On In San Diego
Ready, set, rack! WPBA President Kim White of Texas and Val Finnie of Scotland rack in the first round.
Defending champion Kelly Fisher won her first match over California’s Darlene Stinson, 9-1, and looks well poised to make her way to the finals. Local favorite Tina Pawlowski suffered her first loss at the hand’s of Virginia’s Sueyen Rhee, but will return today to compete against Wisconsin’s Jeri Engh.
First round upsets included #51-ranked Lisa D’Atri over Colorado’s #24-ranked Laura Smith; #42-ranked semi-pro Leslie Anne Rogers of Texas over #26-ranked pro Melissa Little; newcomer Julia Gabriel over #31-ranked Stacy Hurst of Southern California; and the Florida Flash, #43-ranked Ellen Van Buren over #19-ranked Romana Dokovic.
Big matches in the winner’s bracket will take place tonight, including Jeanette Lee vs. Kelly Fisher and Kim Shaw vs. Dawn Hopkins, who dismissed both Tiffany Nelson, 9-5, and Kim White, 9-7, in preliminary rounds.
Stay tuned for more coverage here at HeadString, or follow updated tournament brackets and highlights at www.wpba.com.