Thirty-one Countries Vie for World Dominance in Wales
National pride is at stake at the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool, taking place now at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. Pressure is high as the scotch doubles matches are played on a straight knock-out basis.
The first round began on Aug. 22, with 32 two-man teams working together to represent their country. Thailand, represented by Tepwin Arunnath and Amnuayporn Chotipong, fell to Canadians Luc Salvas and Tyler Edey, 9-5. Team Qatar (Fahad Mohammadi and Bashar Hussain) was stymied by Malaysians Patrick Ooi Fook Yuen and Ibrahim Bin Amir, 9-3. And in an inter-continental contest, the Czech Republic, represented by Roman Hybler and Michal Gavenciak, defeated Poland’s Radoslaw Babica and Mariusz Roter.
The Phillipines, represented by Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, were the clear crowd favorites, and rose to the occasion in round one, with a 9-0 massacre over Malta’s Tony Drago and Alex Borg. It was a tight battle between Taiwan’s Wang Hung-hsiang and Yang Ching-shun and India’s Dharminder Lilly and Alok Kumar. The tiny island nation prevailed, 9-6.
England has two teams in the running, one of which is represented by Steve Davis and Daryl Peach. It was 5-5 before the Brits were able to pull ahead of Jeong Young-hwa and Lee Gun-jae of Team Korea. On Davis’ 49th birthday, he joyously accepted their 9-6 victory.
In the second day of play on Wednesday, Aug. 23, Russia’s Konstantin Stepanov and Konstantin Zolotilov starved Hungary’s Vilmos Foldes and Gabor Solymosi of opportunities, defeating them 9-3.
Hong Kong produced a heroic performance to stun sixth- seeded Sweden in the biggest shock thus far in the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool. Sweden, whose side consisted of former World Championship finalist Tom Storm and former World Championship semi-finalist Marcus Chamat, had been 4-1, 6-2, and 8-5 ahead in the race-to-9. But the Hong Kong pairing of Lee Chenman and Kong Man-Ho showed their character to win the last four racks to secure a place in the final 16.
Team Japan, Maasaki Tanaka and Satoshi Kawabata obliterated Indonesia’s Imran Ibrahim and Ricky Yang, 9-0. While the English “A” team of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Raj Hundal, didn’t have it quite so easy against Spain’s David Alcaide and Rafael Guzman. The crowd was gutted as the duo fell to a fast 4-0 deficit, but had their hopes back up as England got their nose in front at 8-7, but the Spaniards took the final two racks to close out a famous victory.
Team U.S.A. is composed of Rodney Morris and Earl Strickland, who had a decided victory over Singapore. The home team, Rob McKenna and Ben Davies of Wales, disappointed their fan base with a heart-breaking 9-2 loss to Germany (Thomas Engert and Oliver Ortmann).
Today, Aug. 24, three matches are left to determine the final 16. This morning, Ireland had no luck against Finland’s Mika Immonen and Markus Juva, heading home after a 9-5 loss.
The first matches of round two will begin tonight, with No. 1-ranked Phillipines and No. 3-ranked U.S.A. taking on their respective opponents. For up-to-the minute coverage at www.partypoker.com!
IPT Open Kicks Off: U.K. Sizzles, U.S. Stumbles, Qualifiers Thrive
The overwhelming success of shooters from the United Kingdom and several strong qualifiers are the big surprises from the first day of the history-making IPT North American 8-ball Open, now underway at the Venetian in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, conventional-wisdom favorites such as Jose Parica, Mike Davis, Max Eberle, and Tony Robles were headed back to the drawing board, or at least a practice table, to ponder their early exits from the $2 million tournament.
But the biggest shocker was how incredibly well the contingent from the U.K. performed. Compatriots on the English 8-ball circuit (and relative unknowns elsewhere) Michael Hill, Darren Appleton and Carl Morris each went a perfect 4-0 in the first round of round-robin play, which featured 20 groups of five players each.
The second 100 competitors in the 200-player field will wage war today in their first-round matches. The top three players in each of the 40 groups advance to the next round; the eliminated players settle for a modest $2,000 each.
Here’s a brief wrap-up of the first day’s highlights:
• Of the 100 competitors in play Sunday, 13 finished with perfect 4-0 records, representing a wide array of nations: Michael Hill, Darren Appleton and Carl Morris of the U.K.; Americans Dennis Hatch, Steve Moore, Marco Marquez, and John Schmidt; Hungary’s Vilmos Foldes; Ralf Souquet of Germany; Canadian Luc Salvas; Nick Van den Berg of the Netherlands; Filipino Antonio Lining; and Mexico’s Rafael Martinez.
Incredibly, Martinez, Moore and Marquez were among the 50 qualifiers for the event, beyond the 150 regular IPT members. And Foldes earned his spot in the event as Buddy Hall’s replacement, after the Hall-of-Famer bowed out of the Open.
• Some folks have to go, and there were several flame-outs from well-regarded American players: Robles (U.S.), 1-3; 2006 Derby City Classic Master of the Table winner Jason Miller (U.S.), 1-3; Max Eberle (U.S.), 1-3; Robb Saez (U.S.), 1-3; Tony Crosby (U.S.), 0-4; and Tommy Kennedy (U.S.), 2-2.
Filipinos are expected to perform well at the Open, but expatriate Parica struggled to a 1-3 record and an early exit.
• Snooker superstar and 8-ball neophyte Ronnie O’Sullivan (U.K.) squeaked into the next round with a 2-2 record.
• After losing his first two matches, Shawn “Bubba the Love Sponge” Putnam (U.S.) gutted out two victories to advance.
• Long-ago road player Michael Zimmerman (U.S.) emerged to win his group — a toughie that included Filipino Warren Kiamco and Keith McCready of the U.S. It was not clear initially whether McCready or Kiamco would advance, since both held 2-2 records and an identical games-won percentage.
Thirty-two Remain in the World 14.1 Straight Pool Championship
The World 14.1 Straight Pool Championship got underway May 30 at the Hilton in East Brunswick, N.J., the first competition of its kind in over 15 years.
The 64-player field included some of pool’s elite players, including Mika Immonen, Nick Varner, Mike Sigel, Allen Hopkins, and Oliver Ortmann. Top women pros Jeanette Lee, Jasmin Ouschan and Megan Minnerich were also invited to play.
The event kicked off with an opening ceremony in which the players were divided into eight groups of eight players. The first round was a round-robin format, with only the top 32 advancing to round two, which is currently underway, employing a double-elimination format.
After round one, Max Eberle, Go Takami and Mike Sigel remained undefeated. Lee, losing only to Sigel, had a 6-1 record going into round two. Big names eliminated early include Johnny Archer, Larry Schwartz, Luc Salvas, Tony Robles, Jimmy Mataya, Varner and Minerich.
Players recording high runs thus far include: Mike Sigel – 125, Ralf Souquet – 99, John Schmidt – 91, Danny Harriman – 83 and Thorsten Hohman – 71.
Archer Remains On Target For Final In Calgary
Quarter-final matches will take place today between undefeated players Johnny Archer and Luc Salvas, Alex Pagulayan and Jason Klatt at the 2006 SML 9-Ball Open in Calgary.
Archer’s path to the final was almost thwarted by young Shane Van Boening in an early match on April 13, the third day of the tournament. The match was tied at 10-10 with Van Boening breaking, but a scratch on the break proved fatal as Archer ran out the final rack to remain undefeated.
After beating Stan Tourangeau, Archer’s next obstacle is Salvas of Quebec, who has built momentum with wins over formidable Filipinos Edwin Montal and Dennis Orcollo.
Defending champion Pagulayan and 2004 champion Archer are favored for the final.
Iceman Stays Cool in Atlanta
Mike Immonen beat a solid field at the United States Professional Poolplayers Association’s fourth annual Atlanta Open, held at Murphy’s Brass Rail in Athens, Ga., Oct. 12-16.
Immonen came up the one-loss side after losing to Earl Strickland on Saturday. The Iceman beat Luc Salvas, Mike Davis and Troy Frank to secure a spot in the finals.
Waiting in the hotseat was Strickland, who was not as successful against the chilly Finn the second time around. Immonen blasted his way to a lopsided victory, 11-3. Immonen earned $10,00 for first place and Strickland took home $5,000. Frank and Davis came in third and fourth, respectively. Salvas and Tony Robles tied for fifth place.
Parica fills out Skins Semifinals
Jose Parica snared the final spot in the semifinal round of the Skins Billiards Championship late on Friday night and, in doing so, narrowly averted a playoff with at least two other opponents to reach the big-money rounds of the $130,000 tournament.
Parica will be joined in the semis – where $42,000 will be up for grabs – by Johnny Archer, Luc Salvas, Rodney Morris, Santos Sambajon, Ralf Souquet, Cory Deuel and Danny Basavich. The four players then advancing to the finals will play for an additional $54,000.
The Skins opening round kicked off Friday afternoon at the Resorts hotel and casino in Atlantic City, N.J., with 16 players divided into four brackets, playing for $500 per game. Each bracket consisted of 16 games, thus allowing a total of $8,000 in prize money per bracket. The eight players with the highest prize totals at the end of the round would advance to the semis.
By the end of play in the third bracket, it became clear that a player would need at least $2,000 to have a shot at the semis. When Basavich reached $3,000 late in the fourth bracket, all the pieces fell into place. If Parica could win one more game and reach $2,500, the final eight would be set. If he finished with just $2,000, he and at least two other players with $2,000 would have to duke it out in a playoff for the eighth spot
It came down to the 15th game, when the shooting order allowed Parica one final turn to break.
Charlie Williams and Mika Immonen, both with $2,000 from previous rounds, huddled in the back of the cavernous Superstar Theatre, rooting for Basavich to win the deciding game. But even on the ropes, Parica was too clever for his foe. Stymied by a safety, Parica decided to foul intentionally and sabotage Basavich’s runout by nestling the 5 next to the 8. Sure enough, Basavich’s runout stalled at the 5, and Parica nailed a tough cross-side bank on the 5 to take control of the table and eventually win the game.
“I’m more experienced than anybody,” the plucky Filipino said. “I think. I make the smart play.”
The Skins action will finish up Saturday evening. Check back for the final results.
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
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.