WPC Ups Prize Fund for 2004
The World Pool Championships have announced the prize breakdowns for this year’s event, to be held July 10-18 in Taipei, Taiwan. They have added $50,000 this year’s prize purse, bringing to total purse to $350,000 and pushing last year’s $65,000 first-place prize up to $75,000. Last year’s runner-up got $30,000; this year’s will take home $35,000. See the full payouts below, with indications of the changes made from last year’s amounts.
2004 World Pool Championship Prize Fund:
Winner: $75,000 (was $65K last year)
Runner-Up: $35,000 (was 30)
Semi-Finalists: $20,000 (was 17.5)
Qtr Finalists: $10,000 (was 8.5)
Last 16: $5,000 (was 4)
Last 32: $2,500 (was 2)
Last 64: $1,750 (was 1.5)
5th Place in Group: $1,000 (same)
6th Place in Group: $500 (same)
“Law & Order” Puts Pool in the Spotlight
Ewa Laurance enjoyed a moment with special guest Jerry Orbach at Laurance’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Mr. Orbach is an accomplished billiard player and recently was a special guest at the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (held April 1, 2004 at the Las Vegas Hilton) as the industry honored the 2004 inductees Ewa Mataya Laurance and George Balabuska.
Please check your local listings for time and channel.
Griffin Purchases BCA League System
Mark Griffin, a poolroom owner and partner in table manufacturer Diamond Billiard Products, has agreed to purchase the Billiard Congress of America’s 60,000-player amateur league system, despite the efforts of a group of regional league officials to form their own association in opposition to the sale.
The BCA’s board of directors agreed to the general terms of the deal during a meeting on March 31, the first day of the BCA’s annual industry trade show in Las Vegas. Griffin, a BCA board member who was recused from league-sale votes, made a substantial payment toward the total purchase on April 1.
Griffin was quick to quell fears that he would substantially alter the way the 26-year-old league system operates.
“Nothing will change,” said Griffin, 57, himself a master-level player in the league. “Not the entry fees, or the rules, the regulations, the sanctioning of the teams — there will be no changes.”
For at least the first couple years, the league would maintain the “BCA” name in its moniker, Griffin said. He expected to hire a new administrative staff for the league, the headquarters of which likely would move from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Las Vegas.
[Griffin has created a Web site for those interested in more information on his plans: www.bcapoolleague.com]
The BCA had received multiple offers for the league system, according to John Stransky, chair of the BCA’s league sale committee. Griffin’s bid was considered the strongest overall, in part because “he was very much in favor of keeping things intact,” Stransky said. “BCA players could continue to play under his ownership and expect things to be greatly the same.”
Griffin’s agreement with the BCA came less than a week after news that a group of BCA league operators and state association presidents had decided to form a new association in opposition to the pending sale.
By forming its own league, dubbed the American Cuesports Alliance, the group sought to preserve the BCA system’s not-for-profit modus operandi. Alliance members expected to have the support of a majority of BCA league operators and players, and announced their intention to hold their own national championship in 2005.
[The Web site for the American Cuesports Alliance can be found at www.americancuesports.org]
W.C. Dixon, president of the BCA league’s Texas state association and vice-president of the Alliance, told BD on April 1 that Griffin’s purchase of the league system would have no bearing on the Alliance’s plans.
It all pointed to a war for the hearts and minds of the rank-and-file players at the 2004 BCA National 8-Ball Championships, to be held in mid-May in Las Vegas. Stransky said the BCA would make overtures to players and operators at the event supporting Griffin’s leadership.
For in-depth coverage of the BCA league sale and its ramifications for players, see the May issue of Billiards Digest, mailed to subscribers in mid-April.
Archer Takes Players Championship
Johnny Archer won the Brunswick Men’s Professional Players Championship, held March 25-28 at the Super Billiards Expo in Valley Forge, Pa.
Archer took a surprise second-round loss to Frankie Hernandez, 10-2, and then charged through 10 straight matches in the left bracket for the win. Notable victories included a hill victory over Charlie Williams, plus wins over Mika Immonen and Ralf Souquet.
In the final against Jose Parica, Archer dominated, 10-4, collecting $10,000 for the title. Parica took home $5,000 while Souquet and Jose Garcia took home $3,500 and $2,500 for third and fourth places, respectively.
Davis Wins Joss
Continuing his recent run for the top, Mike Davis won the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour stop held March 20-21 at Renaissance Billiard Club in Quincy, Ma. Other Davis wins of note in the past season include a third-place finish at an early-March 111-player Planet Pool Tour stop, ad a top-place finish at the Sands Regency Reno Open 9-Ball Championships.
In Quincy, Davis defeated a field of 68, who defeated Robb Saez, 9-6, for the hotseat, before facing Saez again in the the finals. Saez took the first match of the double-elimination set, 9-8, before Davis closed the door on him with a 9-7 second-match win. Davis collected $2,500 for his win, while Saez settled for $1,900.
Check out Billiards Digest’s April issue for an in-depth profile of rising star Mike Davis.
Varner Doing Fine
Hall-of-Famer and BD columnist Nick Varner is recuperating nicely from aorta femoral bypass surgery performed on Jan. 29. Although currently in the midst of an anticipated two-month recovery, Varner hopes to return to competition as early as the BCA Open 9-Ball Championships in mid-May.
Varner was rushed to the hospital on Jan. 20 when, during a match at the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Ky., he began to have trouble staying on his feet. Doctors discovered a blockage in the major artery near his abdomen that feeds both the right and left leg.
Varner is still feeling the effects of the particularly invasive procedure, which called for temporary displacement of his intestines. “It really screws up your digestive track,” Varner said. However, all signs point to full recovery: “It looks like everything went okay.”
Doctors recommended that Varner quit smoking, and, indeed, he hasn’t had a cigarette since first entering the hospital. For the time being, he’s happy to lead a relatively sheltered life away from the poolroom while the nicotine leaves his system. He also is looking forward to April 26 — the date his wife, Toni, is expected to give birth to their first child. Best wishes from BD.
San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour Season Opens
The first event for the 2004 season of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is happening this weekend, at Pool Haven in the city of Clarke Quay, Singapore.
A field of 32 top Asian players, headed up by pool stars Francisco Bustamante and Efren Reyes, will vie for the $50,000 prize purse, as well as a chance at entry into the World Championships in Cardiff, Wales. The Tour is the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championships, and the top ten finishers will be given entries.
The rest of the stops on this five-leg tour are as follows: Ho Chi Minh City (March 13-14), Hong Kong (April 17-18), Taipei (May 7-9) and Manila (May 29-30).
Due to the outbreak of SARS, only two legs were held in the inaugural San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour last year. 2002 Busan Asian Games 9-Ball singles gold medalist Yang Ching Shun of Chinese Taipei and 1999 world champion Reyes took the two leg titles, in Singapore and Manila respectively.
For more information on the Tour, please check out www.asian9-balltour.com.
Cornbread Red Dies at 72
BD is saddened to report the passing of Billy Joe “Cornbread Red” Burge, 72, on Friday, Feb. 13, of natural causes. He lived in Prestonsburg, Ky.
Burge was born on Dec. 17, 1931, in Paducah, Ky. As his nickname suggests, “Red” was one of the more colorful personalities in the “hustlers era” of pocket billiards, which ran from the 1950s to 1970s and produced more than its fair share of outsized characters. He was described in R.A. Dyer’s recent tome on the era, “Hustler Days,” as “the wild-man one-pocket specialist,” and was known for his knack for showmanship.
He spent the vast majority of his time as a hustler, but his occasional forays into the tournament world included competing at the fabled 1960s hustlers’ tournaments in Johnston City, Ill.
“He was a hustler, and he did it all his life, from when he walked into a billiard hall when he was 8 or 9,” recalled friend Chris Walker, who served as a pallbearer at Burge’s funeral on Feb. 15. Burge continued to play up until his death. He also enjoyed attending tournaments as a spectator; one of his most recent appearances was at the 2003 Derby City Classic in Louisville, Ky., which itself was inspired by the Johnston City events.
Larry Lisciotti, 57, Passes
Lisciotti, nicknamed “Oil Can Larry” by cohort Jim Mataya, was a free-wheeling money player coming to prominence in the 1970s who also boasted the skills to win his share of mainstream tournaments (including the World Open Pocket Billiard Championship in 1976, pictured here). He perhaps is best remembered as one of pool’s most charismatic personalities. A prominent mention in John Grissim’s 1979 book “Billiards” summed up his allure: “Slim, smooth good looking, confident and a lover of the good life, Oil Can Larry satisfies the most demanding definition of that cherished persona that lies dormant in the psyche of millions of Americans-the riverboat gambler.” And Sports Illustrated writer Mike DelNagro wrote, “Lisciotti, who has yet to work a day of his life, does not care about games against the big names; any guy he can win a quick $50 from is his favorite opponent.”
Lisciotti continued to compete up until 2003, spending the majority of his time in later years playing on the Joss Northeast Tour. Our condolences to his family and friends.