BCA Hopes to Rev the Industy’s Engines with New Executive Director
In a move that Billiard Congress of America directors hope will put the association’s desire to become more of a marketing arm for the industry on a fast track, the BCA announced the selection of veteran motorsports executive Rob Johnson as its new executive director.
Johnson, whose most recent duties as executive vice president/general manager of Sutton International Motorsports included the staging and marketing of the Grand Prix of Denver, was unanimously confirmed by the BCA board of directors at its meeting in Baltimore, Aug. 13. At Sutton, Johnson managed sales, marketing and public relations initiatives for NASCAR, Baja and Champ Car projects. In 2002, Johnson formed Professional Sports Management, a company that managed and operated the Pikes Peak International Raceway, a 1,200-acre, 42,000-seat motorsports complex that hosted major events, including NASCAR and Indy Racing League.
“We’re very fortunate to have found someone of Mr. Johnson’s caliber,” said BCA President Gregg Hovey, of Olhausen Billiards. “He has experience taking major projects from inception to the finish line. He’s gotten major races off the ground, and has put butts in the seats.”
The move follows the retirement of Steve Ducoff, who led the BCA office for nearly six years, and coincides with the association’s revised long-term vision. “We’re looking for someone to develop ideas to get pool into the forefront of consumers’ minds,” said Hovey. “We think this will also get our membership excited, and will even help grow our membership.”
Johnson, who graduated from the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, currently resides in the Denver area. With the lease on the BCA’s current Colorado Springs offices set to expire in April 2007, Hovey did not discount the notion that the association’s offices might relocate to Denver. “We’ll wait for Rob’s proposal once he’s had a chance to work in the office and evaluate the staff and the association’s needs,” Hovey said.
Archer is the Champion of Champions
In the final of this year’s winner-take-all $50,000 International Challenge of the Champions, the 2 ball created cartoon-like hijinks, running and hiding from competitors Thorsten Hohmann and Johnny Archer.
Archer eventually put that 2 ball in its place: the pocket, in the single-game tiebreaker, and ran out for the valuable victory.
Archer started the day on Thursday with a match against Marlon Manalo. Manalo took the first set, 5-3, but Archer fought back and won the second set, 5-1, to force a single-game tiebreaker. Archer had been in this same position on Wednesday when he won the lag and proceeded to break and run the tie-breaker rack to eliminate Alex Lely. Once again, Archer won the lag and went on to break and run the single rack to eliminate Manalo and earn Archer a spot in the finals.
Archer’s opponent in the finals was IPT North American Open 8-Ball Champion Hohmann. Hohmann defeated defending champion Fong Pang Chao, 5-1 and 5-3, to earn his spot in the finals.
Hohmann came out strong in the finals against Archer and won the first set, 5-2. The next set was all-Archer as he came back and won the set, 5-1, to force yet another single game tie-breaker to determine the final winner.
Once again, Archer won the lag and made the 1 ball on the break, but the 2 ball began its hide-and-seek game. Archer could only see part of it, so he opted to push and Hohmann played him safe on the 2. Archer took an intentional foul on the, knowing that it was not playable even with ball in hand and Hohmann played another safe on the 2. Archer took on a tough shot that had him elevating his cue and trying to bank the 2 ball into a ball that was near a pocket but was not successful. Fortunately for him, Hohmann found himself dead hooked on the 2 after the balls stopped rolling. Hohmann failed to contact the 2 ball and Archer maneuvered his way through the final rack for the tournament win and $50,000 in prize money.
By Day’s End, One Champion Will Remain at the International Challenge
Day one of the 2006 International Challenge of Champions is complete and the field of eight players has been sliced in half.
Among the elite, international players, every game in the best-of-three matches carried great importance. In the first match of the day, Johnny Archer defeated Alex Lely in a one-game tie breaker to advance.
The second match saw IPT North American 8-Ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann defeat Santos Sambajon, 5-2 and 5-3, to earn his spot in the next round.
The third match of the day featured another single game tie-breaker, as Marlon Manalo came back from a 5-2 loss in the first set and won the second set, 5-2, and then won the tie breaker to eliminate Niels Feijen.
The final match of the day saw defending champion Fong Pang Chao defeat German Ralf Souquet, 5-1 and 5-4, to advance to today’s play.
The match-ups for today should make for an intense climate in the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. The first match will feature Archer vs. Manalo at 5 p.m. EST and Hohmann vs. Chao at 6:30 p.m. EST. The winners of those two matches will face each other in the finals at 8 p.m. EST where the winner will pocket $50,000 in this winner-take-all event.
International Challenge of Champions: Bracket’s Up, Rack It Up!
The bracket is drawn for the 2006 International Challenge of Champions and the eight competitors are assessing their chances for the $50,000 first prize.
First round matches begin today, Aug. 9, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. The first match of the day will take place at 4 p.m. EST as Johnny Archer faces Alex Lely of the Netherlands.
At 5 p.m., IPT North American 8-Ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann will battle 2005 Skins Champion Santos Sambajon.
In the third match of the day at 7 p.m., North American 8-Ball Championship runner-up Marlon Manalo will face ‘The Terminator’ Neils Feijen. Today’s matches will conclude with reigning champion Fong Pang Chao taking on German superstar Ralf Souquet.
Thorsten Wants 2 Chat With U
Thorsten Hohmann, half man, half machine, and almost half-a-million dollars richer, has agreed to hold a chat on Monday, August 14 at 9 p.m. EST on AZBilliards.com.
The chat will inaugurate a new chatroom on the popular AZBilliards forum, and provide users a chance to ask Thorsten about his experience winning the recent IPT North American Open, and $350,000.
To participated, log into the AzBilliards’ forums and click on the “chat” button at the top to enter the chat room. Registration in the forums is required in order to join the chat.
Make sure you log in early on the 14th to get your question posted for Thorsten to answer.
Luat Wins Third Leg of San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour
Filipino Rodolfo Luat won the Kaohsuing leg and kept the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball tour crown in the hands of the Pinoys after beating “The Assassin,” two-time world junior champion Hui-Kai Hsia, 11-7, Sunday, Aug. 6 at the Kaohsuing Business Exhibition Hall in Kaohsuing, Taiwan.
The win buoyed the hearts of the Filipinos, who saw their top bets Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante crash out of the tournament.
Reyes was ousted by Masaaki Tanaka of Japan, 6-9, late Friday and failed to advance in next round after losing in the point system in the group stage of the first round.
Bosom buddy Bustamante bowed to Hsia, 11-4, in the final-four to prevent an all Filipino final. Luat, on the other hand, nipped Indonesian ramil, 11-8, to arrange a titular showdown with Hsia, whom he beat two years ago, in a 9-2 count, in this country when Filipino-Canadian Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan won the 2004 WPC in Taiwan.
Luat, from Angeles City, Pampanga, who is scheduled to celebrate his 49th birthday on December 12, took an early 6-2 lead in the race-to-11 championships round. From there he won five of six racks en route to winning the leg and claiming the $10,000 top prize. This was Luat’s maiden appearance in Asian tour.
Filipino billiards master Efren “Bata” Reyes (Vietnam) and Ramil “Bebeng” Gallego (Bangkok) topped the first two-legs of this four-cities annual event where the fourth and final leg goes to Jakarta, Indonesia next month.
Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, acknowledged God Father of Philippines billiards, congratulated Luat’s big win, and is hoping that the Filipino cueists will win in Jakarta. “A possible sweep?” he asked.
“I am just lucky because at the end the ball is in my side.” Luat said.
Last year, Filipinos won three of the four legs: Gandy Valle (Singapore), Reyes (Jakarta) and former AZ Billiards Rookie of the Year Ronato “Ronnie Calamba” Alcano (Manila).
Besides the total prize money of US$160,000, the top 10 players on the Tour Order of Merit every year will directly qualify into the World Pool Championship.
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.
Hohmann Hits Jackpot: $350,000 Prize at IPT Open and Spot on SportsCenter
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – In a dream finale for the IPT’s first regular season event, Thorsten Hohmann of Germany gutted out an 8-7 victory over Filipino Marlon Manalo on Sunday to pocket the $350,000 top prize at the North American 8-Ball Open.
Hohmann’s feat ranked No. 9 among the Top 10 Plays of the Day on ESPN’s SportsCenter Sunday night, a rare occurrence for a pool event and one befitting the higher profile that the $8.5 million tour seeks to create for cue sports.
Two key misses by Hohmann allowed Manalo to recover from a 4-2 deficit in the final to reach the hill first, 7-6. With Manalo effortlessly piloting the cue ball as if with a GPS device, it seemed that all he needed to do was sink a ball on his break to claim the title. But, as the 200 players in the IPT’s first event of 2006 learned over the grueling eight-day tournament, getting a second shot on the table was anything but guaranteed.
Manalo failed to sink a ball on the break for the fourth time in the match, leaving a table full of hangers. The 27-year-old Hohmann carefully cleared the slate to tie the match, and then faced the most important break shot of his young career. He shattered the rack and then watched the 9 ball stroll into a corner pocket. His eyes lit up.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is the easiest runout I’ve ever had. If I can’t run this out …’” Hohmann recalled after the match.
With the same expert touch and steely concentration the German exhibited over the past week of round-robin play, Hohmann picked through the rack and nailed the $350,000 shot without hesitation.
His winnings broke the previous record of $200,000 for first place in a pool event, set at the IPT’s King of the Hill event in December. On Sunday, Manalo pocketed a none-too-shabby $99,000 for second place.
Never one to show much emotion, Hohmann remained calm and collected through his eloquent winner’s speech, broadcast throughout Europe live on the EuroSport networks. He made a point of thanking IPT founder Kevin Trudeau, giving the millionaire infomercial maven and self-help guru a deep bow.
The stakes will be even higher at the IPT’s World Open 8-Ball Championship, set for Sept. 2-10 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nev. The $3 million purse will feature a $500,000 prize for first place.
It’s Hohmann vs Manalo for biggest prize in pool history.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – German precision will meet Filipino steel in the final of the $2 million IPT North American 8-Ball Open on Sunday, as Thorsten Hohmann and Marlon Manalo battle for the history-making tournament’s $350,000 top prize.
Germany’s Hohmann and Manalo of the Philippines rose to the top of the final round-robin stage of the tournament on Saturday night in the Venetian Hotel and Casino. Both posted records of 4-1 in the six-player bracket, besting foes Ralf Souquet, Efren Reyes, Dennis Orcollo and Evgeny Stalev.
“It’s not over yet,” said Manalo after coming back from a 6-2 deficit against Souquet in his fourth match, winning 8-6 and securing his spot in the final with a then-perfect 4-0 record.
Manalo then faced Hohmann in their fifth set of matches for the night. Hohmann needed to win in order to tally four victories and cement his spot in the final. In what was to be a preview of the championship match-up, Hohmann blistered Manalo, 8-1.
The winner of Sunday’s race-to-8 final will skyrocket to the top of the IPT’s rankings, this being the first event of the fledgling’s tour’s 2006 season. The winner will pocket $350,000, and the runner-up must settle for $99,000.
Hohmann, certainly the most fit of the final six, seemed to get stronger as the day wore on. The rest were visibly flagging, and missed balls and mental miscues were common.
“For next time, I will need to exercise more,” said Orcollo of the Philippines, who finished third with three match wins, collecting a none-too-shabby $80,000.
Reyes and Souquet both had one win apiece by the last match of the night, putting them in the position of fighting for fourth and fifth place. In a painfully slow and often sloppy battle, Reyes squeaked out a hill-hill victory, 8-7, to take fourth and $65,000. Souquet settled for fifth and $50,000.
Stalev of Russia, the biggest surprise of the final six contenders, had trouble shaking off the debilitating effects of the previous five days of morning-to-night play. He finished sixth with a 1-4 record but happily accepted a $40,000 check, roughly $33,000 greater than his previous high-watermark for prize money.
The final will pit perfectionist Hohmann, a former world 9-ball champion and current world straight-pool champion, against rising star Manalo, whom many believe could be the heir to Reyes’ throne as dominant Filipino in a country of pool giants.
As far as experience in big events and technical mastery of pool mechanics, 27-year-old Hohmann seems to have the edge. But 30-year-old Manalo had the best record in the Open, finishing the round-robin stages at 23-5 and winning 61 percent of the games played. Hohmann often found himself on the brink of elimination, only to pull through with gutty wins. His overall record was 21-7, with a games-won percentage of 57.3 percent.
And Then There Were Six: Heavy Favorites Make Beeline for Final IPT Round-Robin
The cream has risen to the top of the field at the IPT North American 8-Ball Open, and six well-known players look to get significantly richer in the next round.
After 12 hours of round-robin play on Friday, a half dozen players separated themselves from the pack of 18 remaining shooters, in some cases by mere inches on the table, or percentages point on the official stat sheet. Those deserving six stand to make a minimum of $40,000 in the next round, and a maximum of $350,000 for winning the title at Sunday’s final.
The players are: Efren Reyes, Marlon Manalo, and Dennis Orcollo of the Philippines; Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet of Germany; and Evgeny Stalev of Russia;
Stalev was probably the biggest surprise of the bunch. The 26-year-old from Litkarino, 20 miles outside of Moscow, rarely ventures outside his home country for pool events, beyond the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships and Derby City Classic. But he’s a legend in Russia, having won nearly 100 titles in the cue sport of pyramid.
The reedy Stalev found himself in a must-win situation in the fifth and final match of the day, against plucky Englishman Darren Appleton. He took control of the match from the start, using his powerful break (with full-body extension) to gain control of the table, and his surgical-quality touch to pilot the cue ball.
With Stalev up 7-4, his close friend Fabrio Petroni of Italy began nudging fellow spectators in the stands, saying in a dramatic stage whisper, “That is my friend. I know him. He is a very good player!” Stalev closed the match at 8-4, leaving Appleton slumped in his chair for several minutes with his head in his hands.
“It was tough,” Stalev said. “Every opponent right now is tough. … I feel terrible. My back, my legs. The whole week, you wake up and play 10 hours a day.”
He quickly grabbed his cell phone and called his father back in Russia, and then his manager.
Meanwhile, Hohmann and Sweden’s Marcus Chamat were fighting on an adjoining table for the final spot in their bracket. Chamat led 7-5 and had three solids left on the table when he ended up straight-in on the 2. His only choice was to draw straight back on the shot, hooking himself on the 6. After a missed multi-rail Hail Mary, Hohmann took over the table and didn’t let go until he had the 8-7 victory.
The final set of matches for the night were anticlimactic for three players: Reyes was undefeated at 4-0 and a sure thing to advance; and Souquet and Manalo could afford to lose their matches, knowing that at worst they would tie with their respective bracketmates and still advance on the basis of their superior games-won percentage.