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.
Schmidt wins Firecracker Open
John Schmidt came back from a long stay on the one-loss side to avenge his only loss to Mika Immonen and won The Florida Firecracker Open at Capones Billiards in Springhill, Fl.
The tournament, a stop on the Seminole Florida Pro Tour, drew a field of 62 players to Capones for the two day affair. Schmidt had a perfect Saturday with wins over Rick Croney, Eric David and Robb Saez. Sunday was a different story though, as Schmidt lost a 9-4 match to ‘The Iceman’ Mika Immonen.
After the victory over Schmidt, Immonen cruised into the hot-seat relatively untested with a 9-2 win over Capone’s housepro Rodney Morris and a 9-4 win over ‘The Korean Dragon’ Charlie Williams.
Schmidt took the trip to the one-loss side and landed on his feet. A 9-3 win over Jimmy Wale got a five match winning streak started on the left side of the board. Schmidt beat Ray Martin 9-3, Danny Harriman (who won at Capones last year) 9-7, Buddy Hall 9-4 and Charlie Williams 9-4 to get to the finals.
Schmidt was not content with just a trip to the finals though, as he quickly jumped out to a 5-1 lead over Immonen in the final set. The players traded games until the 7-3 mark when Immonen put on a run and tied the match at 7-7. With the match tied at 7-7, both players knew it was a straight race to four for the title and Immonen was breaking. Immonen may have reached back a little too far looking for a strong break as he knocked the cue-ball off the table in rack 15 and was forced to watch Schmidt take control of the match again. From that point, Schmidt won the next four games to score the 11-7 victory.
Schmidt pocketed $3500 for first place, while Immonen was forced to settle for $2000. Charlie Williams and Buddy Hall filled out the top four spots. The Seminole Florida Pro Tour will be at Planet 9 Ball in Tampa, Fl on July 31st – August 1st for their next event. That event is limited to the first 64 players who pay their entry so players should get their entry in soon. Players can contact Planet 9-Ball owner Ken Miller at 813-891-1450 to sign up.
Martel wins Canadian Championship
Alain Martel has been crowned the new Canadian Cue Sports Association 9-Ball Champion.
Martel lost to 21 year old Erik Hjorleifson for the hot-seat 11-6 in a match that saw Hjorleifson take a 7-0 lead before Martel even hot an open shot at a ball. After the loss to Hjorleifson, Martel went to the one-loss side and brought Luc Salvas’ run through the left side of the board to a halt. Salvas has lost his first match but had won nine matches prior to the loss to Martel.
The final match between Hjorleifson and Martel was much different than the first. Where Hjorleifson looked perfect in the first match, a couple early errors from him allowed Martel to take control of the match and Martel never looked back. Hjorleifson fought back to get close but in the end it was Martel scoring the 15-11 win.
Martel won $6500 along with an expense paid trip to the World Championships. Hjorleifson settled for $4000 and an expense paid trip to the World Championship. Salvas earned $2500 and an invitation to the World Championship.
The Women’s division was won by Myriam Lafranchise who defeated Marianne Mcconnell in the finals and the Snooker division was won by Alain Robidoux who defeated Tim Finstat in the finals.
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
Jeanette Lee Adopts Baby Girl
The happy family.
The Lee family’s new addition was born to an unwed mother of Korean descent and a Caucasian father. Lee was approached about the possibility of adoption through a member of her sister’s church. Lee and her husband George Breedlove have long wanted to be parents.
Cheyenne was born June 11, 2004, weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces. Lee contends that motherhood will not distract her from her pool career. “Cheyenne is a great source of inspiration for me and I can’t wait to play for her. I have never felt happier or more motivated in my life than I am now as a parent.”
Fisher Three-peats In Peoria
Fisher took a crushing victory.
Fisher took home $9,000 for the top prize, and Corr settled for $6,500 for second. Monica Webb and Kim Shaw took home $5,000 and $4,000 for third and fourth places, respectively.
For brackets, visit www.wpba.com
Japan Cup Day 1 complete
Shuji Nagata
After the first day of play, Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Ralf Souquet, Thorsten Hohmann and Mika Immonen are joined by Antonio Lining, Ramil Gallego, Young Hwa Jeong, Charlie Williams, Hiroshi Takenaka, Shintaro Sugaya, Terukazu Mukai, Go Takami and Syuji Nagata on the winners side.
Warren Kiamco and Dennis Orcullo did take early trips to the one loss side, but are still playing. Mike Massey has been eliminated.
Japanese players are performing well on their home turf. Go Takami upset Warren Kiamco 9-6 and Shuji Nagata beat Antonio Gabica 9-1 on day one.
The tournament runs until June 13th with a wheelchair event beginning Thursday and a Women’s division beginning June 12th.
Further information from the event is available on the official website at http://www.ibcjapancup.com/
Archer Takes Predator Central Florida Title
Johnny Archer earned his second big win this year with an undefeated run through the field of 64 players at The 4th Annual Predator Central Florida Pro Open, held at Pro Billiards in Orlando, Fla., May 27-30.
Archer went undefeated to the title at this same event last year. This year, after a first-round 9-8 win over Josh Degler, Archer did not let any opponent win more than 6 games against him.
Archer sent “Hillbilly Charlie Bryant to the one-loss side, 9-4, and then met Bryant again in the final, where Archer took a decisive 13-3 win for the title.
Archer collected $5,000 for first, while Bryant settled for $2,500 for second place. Danny Harriman and Charlie Williams filled out the top four places.
For details and brackets, visit www.azbilliards.com
Robles and Corr win BCA Open 9-Ball Championships
Tony Robles and Karen Corr won their respective divisions at the BCA Open 9-Ball Championships on May 22nd.
Robles went undefeated and beat Santos Sambajon 7-2 in the finals, which were taped for later showing on ESPN. Robles held a 4-0 lead before Sambajon was able to win a game and Sambajon finally “threw in the towel” at 6-2 after he scratched on the 8-ball.
Corr’s victory came at the expense of Allison Fisher who had gone unbeaten all week. Corr bounced back from a loss to Julie Kelly and defeated Fisher 7-4 in the finals. The alternating break match was close early, as the players traded games until the eighth rack when Corr won on Fisher’s break. Fisher came back to win the next rack on Corr’s break, but Corr won the next two racks for the victory.
The win was Robles’ first major tournament victory, while Corr has now won this title three consecutive years.