IPT World Open Preview: Talented Tots Wu and Ouschan to Debut
The big news in the first round of the International Pool Tour’s latest multi-million dollar 8-ball tournament will be the debuts of young superstars Chia-Ching Wu of Taiwan and Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, both looking for a big piece of the record-setting $3 million purse.
The eight-day 8-ball event — with a precedent-setting $500,000 first-place prize — kicks off Sunday, Sept. 3, at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nev.
Both 17-year-old Wu and 20-year-old Ouschan earned entry into the tournament through the IPT’s rugged qualifier process, and they’re expected to go deep. The precocious Wu is the current WPA world 9-ball and 8-ball champion, and Ouschan topped the star-studded field at the EnjoyPool.com 9-Ball Championship in May.
Otherwise, it looks like smooth sailing for most of the favorites in the first round of the International Pool Tour’s World 8-Ball Open Championship, as the just-released groupings reveal predominantly balanced matchups for the first two days of the event. Top-ranked players were seeded in the field.
Of course, a few players had cause for muttering under their breaths when the groups were announced early Friday. Of the best-known players, Hall-of-Famers and best buddies Ewa Laurance and Loree Jon Jones appear to have their work cut out for them. For that matter, the groupings did no favors for Ouschan, the only female player to have won a spot in an IPT field through the qualifier process.
Expect some surprises. As the players learned in the IPT’s first event of the 2006 season — the North American Open 8-Ball Championship in July — there are dozens of unheralded 8-ball whizzes out there waiting for their big shot, and the 200-player World field features 50 qualifiers who have already proved their mettle.
Look for surprising runs from several Asian qualifiers who now have their feet in the IPT’s door, including Wu from Taiwan (who was seeded 16th in the absence of Filipino Rodolfo Luat), and his countryman Hui-Kai Hsia, a two-time world juniors champion.
The first round will feature 40 groups of five players each. After round-robin play, the top three finishers in each group will proceed to the second round. Eliminated players from the first round will each receive a whopping $5,000.
The complete list of groupings is available at the IPT Web site: www.internationalpooltour.com.
Here are some of the more intriguing brackets from the first round:
Bracket 23 — BD Bloodbath Special: Spectators looking for an exciting bracket to follow should check out this group. No superstars, just tough and hungry veterans: Ivica Putnik (Croatia), Thomas Engert (Germany), Tony Chohan (USA), Tony Drago (Malta), and Zlatko Jakulj (Croatia)
Bracket 1: German sensation Thorsten Hohmann received the top seed by virtue of his $350,000 win at the North American Open, joined here by talented American Steve Moore, Filipino toughie Warren Kiamco, and Americans Jim Raney and Loree Jon Jones. Jones, who survived the first round at the North American Open, will have to bring her “A” game here.
Bracket 26: Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan must contend with Hall-of-Famer Earl Strickland, Swedish veteran Tom Storm, Aruba national champion Roland Acosta and American Pete Fusco. Ouschan regularly hones her skills against the best male players in Europe, so don’t expect her to be intimidated by Strickland, or anyone else in the field, for that matter,
Bracket 18: Hall-of-Famer Ewa Laurance will have her hands full with Australia’s Quinten Hann, the snooker bad boy who finished a surprising 18th at the North American Open; snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan from the U.K.; and Jeremy Jones (USA) and Jose Parica (Philippines), both experienced champions who met untimely exits at the North American Open. This bracket will be a dog fight.
Bracket 35: Future Hall-of-Famer Allison Fisher, who was undefeated in the first round of the North American Open, once again has a clean look at the second round. But watch out for qualifier Hui-Kai Hsia of Taiwan and surprising Frenchman Yannick Beaufils. Tough Americans Teddy Garrahan and John Ditoro round out the group, and neither will play patsy.
Bracket 10: Once again, 13-year-old Austin Murphy has a good shot at leaving the first round, this time sharing a bracket with 10th-ranked Darren Appleton (U.K.), Paul Potier (Canada), George San Souci (USA) and Ouahbi Amine (Morocco). Murphy missed the second round at the North American Open by a single rack, losing an 8-7 nailbiter to Danny Basavich. Let’s go, Austin.
Corr Pulls Ahead of the Pack
Karen Corr is on a roll. Last month at the Florida Classic, she knocked off Allison Fisher in the final, and this month, at the Midwest Classic, she defeated the other Fisher, Kelly, in a final that tested the bladder control of many an audience member. With three titles so far in the 2006 season, Corr has left both Fishers, who have a title apiece, in the dust for the Player of the Year race.
Nine of the tour’s top players competed in the International Pool Tour’s North American Open just days before the Midwest Classic commenced at the Par-a-dice Hotel and Casino in Peoria, Ill. Sarah Ellerby went the farthest in the 8-ball event, and had to fly overnight from Vegas to make it in time for her first match in the Midwest.
While an exhausted Ellerby was knocked out early, the rest of the IPT members didn’t seem affected by the transition from 8-ball to 9-ball. After three rounds, eight players remained undefeated: Corr, Monica Webb, Kim White, Kelly Fisher, Allison Fisher, Jeanette Lee, Xiao-Ting Pan, and Belinda Calhoun.
The remaining players battled it out in the one-loss side to reach the top 16. The bottom eight were Sarah Rousey, Val Finnie, Julie Kelly, Ga-Young Kim, Ewa Laurance, Megan Minerich, Gerda Hofstatter and Pam Treadway.
In the single-elimination matches to determine the semifinalists, Allison Fisher was knocked out by Chinese up-and-comer Xiao-Ting Pan. She, along with Webb, Corr, and Kelly Fisher advanced.
Both semifinal matches were decided by crucial plays at 4-4. Kelly Fisher outplayed Pan in the semifinal, 7-4, after the tiny 24-year-old fouled on a jump shot. Fisher said that revenge was sweet, as Pan had knocked her out in San Diego. Corr also won 7-4, pulling ahead against Webb after an untimely scratch.
In the final between Fisher and Corr, the game of 9-ball had never so resembled ping-pong. The former snooker players battled back and forth, going 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 after Corr jarred an easy 9 ball. With a race-to-2 determing a difference in payouts of $5,000, Corr ran out to reach the hill. Fisher broke in the case game, and executed a safety. Corr mulled over the shot, and ended up scratching. Fisher sank the 2 and played safe on the 3, which Corr pocketed with a surprising two-rail bank shot, which proved to be the winning shot. She ran out the rest of the rack for the $13,000, and her third title of the season.
Check out www.wpba.com for the full bracket and photo highlights.
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.”
Striking Viking Resigns as WPBA President
Tied to a hectic schedule and hoping to make a last big splash in the competitive arena, Ewa Laurance has decided to step down as president of the Women’s Professional Billiard Association with a full year left on her two-year term.
The position will be filled after the WPBA’s board of directors election on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the WPBA Nationals in Lincoln City, Ore. Once a new seven-person board is constituted, the board members will elect a new president.
“I have never been busier in my life,” said Laurance, who maintains a schedule filled with tournaments, exhibitions, and appearances for sponsors. “I don’t have time to breathe. I barely see my family.
“Plus, I’m starting to play well again, and if I’m ever going to give it a shot, this is going to be it,” she said.
Laurance’s resignation comes as she and several other top WPBA players prepare for the first $1 million International Pool Tour event, to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 5 in Orlando, Fla. Laurance is among 12 Hall-of-Famers who will participate in the “King of the Hill” event, which has promised prizes of at least $30,000 to each Hall member participating.
Laurance also is among the 150 players pegged to participate in the IPT’s 2006 season, and one of only 15 women. Of those 15, nine are regular competitors on the WPBA Classic Tour.
Although her participation on the IPT tour potentially could be seen as a conflict of interest with her presidency, Laurance disagreed with any such assumptions and said they played no role in her decision to resign.
Ewa Laurance, 2005’s Trick-Shot Queen
Ewa Laurance won the second annual Women’s Trick Shot Challenge, organized by Matt Braun’s promotional company Billiards International and held at the ESPN Zone in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 4.
Laurance beat Allison Fisher, 10-7, in the final match. Both semifinals and the final match were taped for ESPN broadcasts beginning in November.
Four women played in the one-day event: Laurance, Fisher, Gerda Hofstatter and Dawn Hopkins. Fisher beat Hopkins, 11-8, in one semifinal while Laurance beat Horstatter, 12-11, in the other.
The format required each player to perform ten specific shots, with one point awarded for each successfully executed shot. Then the players challenged each other with shots of their own choice; the player’s opponent had to duplicate the shot or lose a point.
Laurance took home $25,000 for the win; Fisher collected $5,000 for second, and Hofstatter and Hopkins each won $2,000.
Lee wins Trick Shot Championship
With an 8-7 win at almost midnight Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville CT, Jeanette Lee is the new Ladies Trick Shot Champion
Lee started the event with an 8-4 win over Loree Jon Jones, and then watched as Ewa Laurance defeated Ming Ng 9-5 to set up the match in the finals. Then with Lee’s new baby Cheyenne waiting with daddy up in the room, Lee pulled off the 8-7 win over Laurance in the finals.
The only downside to the win for Lee was that her new daughter Cheyenne was not allowed on the casino floor to see it happen. “This was Cheyenne’s first tournament and she wasn’t even able to see me win it.” said Lee.
The win was worth $25,000 for Lee, while Laurance took home $5000 for second. Jones and Ng each won $2000 for third place.
Pro-Celebrity Pool Tournament Will Raise Money for Asthma
The 8th Annual Sorvino Asthma Foundation’s “Pro-Celebrity Pool Tournament” will take place Aug. 21-23 at the Venetian Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev.
The celebrities scheduled to attend are: Paul Sorvino, Mira Sorvino, Jerry Orbach, Hulk Hogan, James Tolkan, David Brenner, Pat Cooper, Joe Piscopo, Ray Franza, Penn Gillette, Alfredo Versace, Yogi Berra, and others.
The pool players who will be in attendance include: Loree Jon Jones, Ewa Laurance, Fran Crimi, Lou Butera, Allen Hopkins, Paul Brienza, Mike Massey, and Tony Robles.
There will be 8 scotch doubles teams playing 7-ball races to 5. The event will be taped for possible later airing. For more information, contact Charles Ursitti, Executive Director or the Sorvino Asthma Foundation at (212) 941-8686 or Jackie Zlatanovski, Special Events at the Venetian, at (702) 414-1501.
“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.