“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).
Live Coverage of Florida Pro Tour This Weekend
The second stop of the Florida Men’s Pro Tour boasts a cramped marquis and live online coverage, taking place this weekend, April 15-16, at Players Billiards in Melbourne, Fla.
Players competing will include Earl Strickland, Nick Varner, Buddy Hall, Rodney Morris, Mike Sigel, Ronnie Wiseman, Troy Frank, Rob Saez, Ray Martin, Danny Diliberto, David Grossman, Neil Fujiwara and many more. Tournament coverage can be found at www.platinumbilliards.com where brackets will be updated match-by-match and for some, game-by-game.
Sponsored by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the tournament is $8000-added, 10-Ball, race-to-8, rack your own, winner breaks.
Hewitt and Martel cruise to Saturday Showdown
Danny Hewitt
Hewitt defeated Martin Daigle 11-2, while Martel defeated Craig Cochrane 11-1. Hewitt will face Martel on Saturday. Ronnie Wiseman did not fare as well on Friday, as he dropped his match to Erik Hjorleifson. Hjorleifson will face Paul Potier on Saturday.
On the one-loss side, Brady Gollan lost to Eddie Galati and was eliminated from the event. Another early elimination was Brad Poorman who lost to Glen Seesemann on Friday. Poorman opened the tournament with a win over Luc Salvas but lost his next two matches.
Photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe – Pool Pics by Hoppe
Canadian 9-Ball Championship Underway
Luc Salvas
Salvas, who has posted some nice finishes in recent events was shown to the one-loss side in the first round by Brad Poorman. Poorman was sent on his way to the left side of the board in round two by Martin Daigle. Daigle will have the unenviable task of taking on Danny Hewitt on Friday. Another top player upset on Thursday was last year’s runner up Chris Orme. Orme started with a win over Harold Rousseau, but then lost to Craig Cochrane in the second round.
Photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe – Pool Pics by Hoppe
Drago, Dragon Take Titles
Tony Drago of Malta is making a splash in 9-ball circles after years as a snooker pro. He gave the 9-ball world his notice by reaching the semi-finals of the WPA World Pool Championships earlier in the summer, and now he’s proved his worth with a first-place finish at the 2003 World Pool Masters, in Egmond aan Zee, Holland. Drago defeated Taiwan’s Hui-kai Hsia, 8-6, in a tense battle highlighted by a handful of Drago’s lightning-fast run-outs. To get to the final, Drago took matches from Earl Strickland, Nick van den Berg and Alex Pagulayan. The 37-year-old potter was elated by his success. “To win this was something else for me. I enjoyed it so much, and the crowd here were fantastic — the best in the world. I’m starting to play more and more, and 9-ball will be a big part of my future,” he told event promoter Matchroom Sport. Drago’s win earned him $20,000.
On the other side of the ocean, American pool pro Charlie Williams was busy winning his second title within a two-week span. Williams’ 13-8 victory over Ronnie Wiseman in the finals of the 2003 Capital City Classic, comes right on the heels of his Big Apple 9-Ball Challenge win last week in New York City. To take the Capital City win, Williams powered through 9 straight games after being sent to the losers’ side by Wiseman early in the tournament. Williams took $8,500 for first place, while Wiseman settled for $4,700. Cory Deuel and Luc Salvas took third and fourth, respectively.