ThePoolScene.com

Super Billiard Expo - Diamond Open Results

The Super Billiards Expo was held April 4-7th, 2013 at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison, NJ. Live streaming of the event was provided by InsidePoolTV.  The event was sponsored by Simonis Cloth, Diamond Billiards, OB Cues and Kamui Tips.

The format for the ladies event was Single Elimination, 9-Ball, Race to 11 and Rotate Break.  19 ladies paid the $300 entry fee with a guaranteed first place prize of $5,000. This is how they finished:

The men’s event was 10-ball and limited to 64 players.  The $500 entry fee ensured a hefty payout.  The single elimination event was race to 8, best 2 out of 3 sets.  Our local star John Morra got off to a quick start catching a bye in the first round.  The bye put him into the cash as the event paid out half the field (32 spots).  John wouldn’t be so lucky in his next match as he faced 2003 World 9-Ball Champion “The Hitman” Thorsten Hohmann.  Hohmann won the deciding set over Morra and his momentum continued through to the finals with wins over Dennis Hatch, Jayson Shaw and Alex Pagulayan.

On the other half of this single elimination bracket, Shane Van Boening was looking to defend his title.  He won this event last year beating  Stevie Moore in the finals.  Van Boening had wins over Donnie Mills, Robb Saez, Ralf Souquet, Darren Appleton and Warren Kiamco.

Shane Van Boening and Thorsten Hohmann

The final was the same format, race to 8, best 2 of 3 sets. Shane won the first set 8-6 and Thorsten took the second set 8-7. In the last set, Shane simple outplayed Thorsten successfully defending his title. Shane Van Boening is not only one of the most talented players in the game today, he is also one of the most dedicated players in the game. Always practicing, always improving. Congratulations Shane, you earned it.

Share This

Rivalry Continues in Newmarket

Bigwigs Billiards in Newmarket hosted the 404 9-Ball Tour this past weekend.  62 players battled it out for a shot at the title.

In the top half of the bracket, Ian Argue was turning heads with wins over TJ Humber (5-5), Isaac Ramos (5-5), Chris Bartha (5-6), John Morra (5-9) and Ryan Clements (5-3). Erik Hjorleifson worked his way through the bottom bracket with wins over Ken DeFilippis (11-3), Ryan Murray (11-2), Rob Henry (11-6), Eric Hildebrand (9-3) and Mario Morra (9-7).

Ian Argue

John Morra

In the hot-seat match, Ian Argue ran out of steam as Erik came out on top with a convincing 11-2 score. Ian then faced John Morra in the b-bracket finals. John Morra played perfect securing his spot in the finals with a 12-0 whitewash.  Only two players remain, John Morra and Erik Hjorleifson.  Erik got the best of John at the last tour stop in Toronto.  John Morra reclaimed his supremacy as he won the final match of the event 9-7.

Thanks to BigWigs Billiards and tournament director Blain Jorgensen for running another successful event.

This is how they finished:

Share This

Stellar Field at Shooters Billiards

A strong field of 79 players battled it out on the 404-Tour in Toronto.

In the top half of the bracket, Erik Hjorleifson beat John Morra in A-side semi-finals hill-hill. In the lower bracket, Mario Morra beat Chris Wood 9-3. In the A-side finals, Mario beat Erik 9-3 to send him to B-side final. On the B-side, John Morra beat Chris Wood hill-hill to play Erik for the second time. The rematch between Erik and John had the same result, as Erik beat Johnny 8-4 to get his spot in finals against Mario. Mario beat Erik hill hill (9-8) to win the event. Congratulations to super Mario!!

Super Mario Morra

A great event and it looks like the excitement and momentum is picking up with the Finale events just around the corner.  Thanks to the tournament director and staff at Shooters for hosting another fine event.

This is how they finished:

Share This

Canada Shines at the US Bar Table Championships

Here are the final results from the 20th Annual Bar Table Championships from Reno, Nevada.  The tournament was held February 25 – March 3, 2013 with $25,250 guaranteed added.  The event started out with Brittany Bryant taking the 10-ball crown, Jason Klatt finished it off taking the 8-Ball ball title.  John Morra also finished deep into the cash in all three events.

Men’s 10-Ball – 118 players – Race to 7

Dennis Orcollo
Photo Courtesy of Bob Beaulieu

1st ($4,550) – Dennis Orcollo
2nd ($2,600) – Corey Deuel
3rd ($1,800) – Rodney Morris
4th ($1,200) – Ronnie Alcano
5-6th ($750) – Stevie Moore, Shane Van Boening
7-8th ($475) – Thorsten Hohmann, Jayson Shaw
9-12th ($300) – Francisco Bustamante, Stan Tourangeau, Jeff Beckley, Mark Haddad
13-16th ($225) – Brian Begay, John Morra, Mitch Ellerman, Jeremy Jones
17-24th ($175) – Mark Tafoya, Oscar Dominguez, Jose Parica, Darren Appleton, Rory Hendrickson, Tim Larson, Christopher MacDonald, Jason Klatt
25-32nd ($150) – Amar Kang, Ramesh Gokhul, Manny Chau Duran, Sam Cole, Terry Johnston, Ernesto Dominguez, Rafael Martinez, Warren Kiamco

Brittany Bryant
Photo courtesy of Andy Chen

Women’s 10-Ball – 26 players – Race to 5
1st ($875) – Brittany Bryant
2nd ($500) – Vivian Villarreal
3rd ($300) – Melissa Little
4th ($175) – Mary Rakin
5-6th ($125) – Jessica Frideres, Leslie Bernardi
7-8th ($100) – Brook Thomason, Suzanne Smith

Men’s 9-Ball – 144 Players – Race To 9

John Morra
Photo courtesy of Bob Beaulieu

1st ($4,700) – Shane Van Boening
2nd ($2,800) - Dennis Orcollo
3rd ($1,600) - Rodney Morris
4th ($1,000) - Darren Appleton
5-6th ($650) - John Morra, Thorsten Hohmann
7-8th ($500) - Ramesh Gokhul, Corey Deuel
9-12th ($375) - Rafael Martinez Chavez, Oscar Dominguez, Jamie Pluta, Jose Parica
13-16th ($275) – Ike Runnels Jr, Ronnie Alcano, Wade Thompson, Stevie Moore

Women’s 9-Ball – 35 Players – Race To 7
1st ($900) - Rebecca Wagner
2nd ($525) - Vivian Villarreal
3rd ($325) - Brittany Bryant
4th ($220) - Melissa Little
5-6th ($140) - Mary Rakin, Cindy Sliva
7-8th ($100) – Stephanie Goens, Susan Williams
9-12th ($75) – Andrea Wilson, Christy Hawley, Betsy Sundholm, Trish Vermule

Jason Klatt

Men’s 8-Ball – 205 Players – Race To 5
1st ($6,000) – Jason Klatt
2nd ($3,500) – Thorsten Hohmann
3rd ($2,200) – Francisco Bustamante
4th ($1,600) – Ernesto Dominguez
5-6th ($1,000) – Chris MacDonald, Rodney Morris
7-8th ($650) – Darren Appleton, Oscar Dominguez
9-12th ($450) – Shane Van Boening, Larry Nevel Jr, Dennis Orcollo, Warren Kiamco
13-16th ($300) – John Morra, Mark Haddad, Jerry Matchin, Ronnie Alcano

Women’s 8-Ball – 55 Entrants Race To 4

Jessica Frideres

1st ($1,175) - Rebecca Wagner
2nd ($675) -
3rd ($450) – Mary Rakin
4th ($300) – Vivian Villarreal
5-6th ($200) – Brittany Bryant, Leandrea Gaff
7-8th ($125) – Leslie Bernardi, Jennifer Alexander
9-12th ($75) – Diane Krause, Mary Ann Starkey, Sara Miller, Cindy Sliva
13-16th ($50) – Melissa Little, Nicole Keeney, Beth Fondell, Stacy Allsup

Share This

Orcollo Rules Heady 17th Swanee Roster

CueSports International, Henderson, Nevada (March 1, 2013) – The Western US Pool Season started full swing in style with the completion of the 17th Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament. The “Swanee” is produced by CueSports International (CSI) and was held at Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, California. Live streaming was provided by POV Pool (povpool.com).

The full 192 field ushered into the pool room early Saturday morning February 23rd to face one of the most regarded and grueling two day 9-ball events in the country. With a total purse of $15,520 up for grabs and the strongest field in the “Swanee” 17 year history; it was tough action for the rail birds. With such names in the field as recent two time consecutive winner Alex Pagulayan, Shane Van Boening – the undisputed top US player for the past several years and multiple world champions such as Francisco Bustamante, Darren Appleton, Dennis Orcollo and making a re-appearance on US soil Ronnie Alcano, the top spot could go to any player.

Dennis Orcollo
Photo provided by Ashi Fachler

However not to be ruled out were rock solid top California players such as Sal Butera, Ernesto Dominguez and Louis Ulrich to name a few who have the arsenal in their playing repertoire to take on their international counterparts.

Winning the Swanee comes down to several factors, as all premier tournaments do; skill, a strong mental game, perseverance, a dash of occasional luck of the rolls and in this particular event, stamina.

When the dust settled it was Dennis Orcollo crowned champion late Sunday night and pocked the $3,000 first place prize. In addition to winning the 17th Jay Swanson Memorial, a few additional highlights of Orcollo’s professional 13 career includes winning the 2012 US Open 10-Ball Championship – also produced by CSI, the 2011 Derby City Classic 9-Ball division, the 2011 WPA World 8-Ball Championship and the 2010 World Pool Masters.

Payouts for the 17th Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament:

1st $3,000: Dennis Orcollo
2nd $1,500: Jayson Shaw
3rd $1,000: Rodney Morris
4th $750: Ernesto Dominguez
5th-6th $535: Shane Van Boening and John Morra
7th-8th $400: Brian Butler and Manny Chau
9th-12th $300: Brian Parks, Santos Sambajon Jr., Francisco Bustamante and Ramin Bahkriari
13th-16th $200: Ronnie Alcano, Darren Appleton, Louis Ulrich and Alex Pagulayan
17th-24th $175: James McGoo, Manuel Herrera, Greg Harada, Chris Fitzgerald, Jeremy Jones, Dave Hemmah, Jeff Beckley and Jerry Matchin

Share This

CSI’s – “Swanee 17″, to Feature All-Star Cast

Hard Times Billiards, Bellflower CA
February 23rd & 24th, 2013 @ 10:00 AM / PST

It’s called ‘The Home Of Champions’ for a reason folks! This years’ annual ‘Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament’ at Hard Times Billiards, sponsored by Mark Griffin of Cue Sports International will schedule the most stunning array of top professional players in it’s 17 year history. A handful of Britons, top American players and a virtual army of Filipino Pros are signed up for this, once again, filled field of 192 players. And lest we forget the large mob of ‘shortstops’ signed on, who on any given day, could give these guys a run for their money.

The A-List Pros to beat this year will consist of the following:

Ronnie Alcano, Darren Appleton, Francisco Bustamante, Sal Butera, Manny Chau, Oscar Dominguez, Ernesto Dominguez, Max Eberle, Corey Harper, Dave Hemmah, Warren Kiamco, Stevie Moore, John Morra, Rodney Morris, Dennis Orcollo, Alex Pagulayan, Jose Parica, Santos Sambajon Jr., Jayson Shaw, Louis Ulrich and Shane VanBoening!

Who Is Favored?

For the past week or so, Dennis Orcollo, Ronnie Alcano and Alex Pagulayan have been seen at Hard Times getting into action, playing the ghost, challenging hard-hitters with huge spots, just to keep in form and be ready for this event. Shane VanBoening has been playing alot also in Vegas, where he has just defeated Mike Dechaine in the TAR 31 Challenge Match, running 3 & 4 packs like a walk in the park! Francisco Bustamante & Scotland’s Jayson Shaw are hot off the grill from a recent, Accu-Stats Challenge, where neither player had more than a 2 game lead in a race to 21 but finally ending in a loss for Shaw! Max Eberle is also hitting well after defeating Dennis Orcollo in the finals at the Derby Classic, 14.1 Challenge. In addition, don’t forget Manny Chau, Corey Harper and Rodney Morris, who have all felt comfortable enough at Hard Times to chalk up some wins against players like Efren Reyes, Sal Butera and Louis Ulrich (Respectively).

One thing’s for sure…Our consecutive, 2 time winner of the ‘Swanee’, Alex Pagulayan has his hands quite full this time as the pro’s keep flocking from near and far.

Free Live Stream & Sponsor Support!

For the second consecutive year the Jay Swanson Memorial Tournament, aptly known to pool players as ‘The Swanee’ will be streamed for free and live online, onPoint Of View Pool’s Ustream Channel. Sponsored by several of POV Pool’s faithful supporters like Cue Sports International, Kamui Tips, Virtual Pool 4, GoPlayPool, Pro Pool Academy & Cue 2 U and thanks to new the newfound support of OB Cues, this stream is made possible for free. In addition, this much needed support for the pool streaming community will also enable POV Pool the time and resources to post all Swanee matches to YouTube at a much higher quality of 720p HD.

Owner/Operator of POV Pool, Daniel Busch states, “I’m very grateful to all of the sponsors of this event for providing me with enough support to make this a worthy cause. The memory of this great pool player, Jay Swanson deserves it and this event could arguably be the biggest and most important memorial tournament for pool in the United States. It’s an honor to play a part in bringing the action to screens all over the world. Without the support of my sponsors and some of my private donors, this live stream would not be possible. Thanks as well, to Hard Times Billiards staff and owner Eddie Arreguin, who provides an awesome venue for pool and for players.”

POV Pool will also be present with helping hands, Mike Piyosambun, Barbara Lee, Christopher Fitzgerald, John Bertone, Frank Almanza and a handful of prepared commentators and co-hosts.

Realtime Stats and Performance Ratings!

And, for those of you who follow the numbers and want some data to hedge your bets with, Donn Espinoza will provide realtime Pool-Trax statistics and player analysis, which will be available for each streamed match, viewable in realtime on the Pool-Trax’s website at www.pool-trax.net or you can visit the Jay Swanson event page directly at the following link: http://www.pool-trax.net/Events/EventDetails.aspx?Sid=172www.pool-trax.net or you can visit the Jay Swanson event page directly at the following link: http://www.pool-trax.net/Events/EventDetails.aspx?Sid=172

The Rules Of Engagement!

Please review the following details of the Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament.
The 17th Annual Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament!

$4,000 Added / 192 Players

Double Elimination / Race to 7 & 6
Final 8 Players / Race to 7 one loss side
Final Match / Race to 11 – True Double Elimination
Magic Rack / Rack your own
3-Foul Rule in effect
Doors Open at 9AM PST
Play begins at 10AM PST
Live Stream Link/s: www.povpool.com or ustream.tv/channel/povpool

Share This

Morra Over Morra on the 404 Tour

Shooter Billiards in Toronto hosted the 404 9-Ball Tour on February 9-10th.  Due to the snowy weather and extra efforts some players made to attend, the field was opened up to 73 players.  It ended up being a great event with some excellent pool!

In the A-side semi-finals, John Morra made a statement as he took out Bobby Drowns with a solid 12-1 score.  In the other semi-final, Rick Garant from Cambridge took care of the young sniper Stefane Godinho 7-6.  Rick then faced the red hot John Morra, John’s skills could not be overcome as John won the hotseat match 12-5.

John and Mario competing side-by-side at last years US Open

As Rick turned his attention to the b-side, where he had to face yet another Morra.  This time it was Mario Morra.  Mario had lost his second match to Fawcet 7-7.  Rick Garant would settle for third as Mario took the 11-5 win in B-side final.  Mario had fought his way back to the finals, winning 8 consecutive matches.

Only two players remained, John Morra and his father Mario Morra.  It is no coincidence that these two players would meet each other in the finals.   This family eats, sleeps and breathes pool.  The results speak for themselves.  This time it was John’s turn for the spotlight as he pulled out the win 12-11 over Mario in the finals.

Share This

The Banks are Open

Unless you have been living in a box, you should be well aware the 2013 Derby City Classic is up and running. This year marks the 15th consecutive year of this event. Whether it be Bank Pool, One Pocket, Straight Pool, 9-Ball or 10-Ball, no other event draws such a wide variety of players. You can surely find a game at this event, just be sure to bring your bankroll.

The event opened on Friday, January 25th with 353 players entering the Bank Pool event. All eyes were on the reigning bank champion John Morra who lasted 6 rounds before bowing out to Dee Adkins. Alex Pagulayan was eliminated by Justin Hall in the 8th round. Going into the 9th round, the following players still remain in the Banks event:

Justin Hall (1)
Francisco Bustamante (0)
Skyler Woodward (1)
John Brumback (1)
Warren Kiamco (1)
Brandon Shuff (1)
Louis DeMarco Jr (1)
Joseph Gray (0)
Thorsten Hohmann (1)
Shannon Murphy (0)
Carlo Biado (1)
Rob Saez (1)
Brian Groce (1)

There were 302 players in the One Pocket event which started Sunday. Live match results can be found HERE

BIG TRUCK LIVE STREAM

INSIDE POOL MAG LIVE STREAM

Stay tuned!

Share This

Shane Takes Turning Stone

January 10-13, 2013. Complete results with prize money amounts for the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour’s “Turning Stone Classic XX 9-Ball Open”. Total prize fund $41,400.

1st $8,000 Shane Van Boening
2nd $5,000 Johnny Archer
3rd $3,600 Thorsten Hohmann
4th $2,600 Mike Dechaine
5/6th $2,000 each – Warren Kiamco, Karen Corr
7/8th $1,600 each – Dennis Hatch, Jayson Shaw
9/12th $1,200 each – Ronnie Alcano, Jonathan Demet, Shaun Wilkie, Corey Deuel
13/16th $850 each – Ron Casanzio, John Morra, Hunter Lombardo, Oscar Dominguez
17/24th $550 each – Jason Klatt, Jessie Engel, Mario Morra, Ivaylo Petrov, Matt Tetreault, Spencer Auigbelle, Corey Harper, Tom McGonagle
25/32nd $300 each – Tom D’Alfonso, Brent Boemmels, Zion Zvi, Cleiton Rocha, Dave Grau, Adam Kielar, Jessie Piercey, Bill Cote

Our second chance event on Sunday January 13, 2013 results are:

1st $500 Holden Chin
2nd $300 Kevin Ketz
3/4th $200 each John Babravich, Gregg McAndrews
5/8th $100 each Mark Creamer, Paul Rozonewski, Jay Plonski, Bruce Carroll

Share This

Ramos Closes Out 2012

Mike Patrowicz

On the last weekend of the year, BigWigs Billiards hosted the 404 9-Ball Tour. The room was filled with players dressed in their new sweaters and socks that Santa brought them just a few days before. Keeping with the Christmas spirit, the room owner allowed an overflow of 68 players, which meant for a late night of play on Saturday. Typically this tournament only has a 64 player maximum.

On the top half of the chart, Mike Patrowicz moved through his bracket with wins over Malcolm MacTaggart (9-4), Ron Bradshaw (9-6), Ben Heywood (9-5), Rodel Puruganan (9-2) and K.C. Nguyen (9-1). Isaac Ramos was tearing up the lower half of the chart with wins over Vince Belanger (7-1), Brittany Bryant (7-4), Jesse Piercey (7-6) and Bernie Fulford (7-5). Issac then faced tournament favourite John Morra in a handicapped race of 11-6. With the score 4-3 for Isaac, John surrendered and forfeited the match. Morra was eventually eliminated by John Timmermans on the b-side.

Isaac Ramos

In the match for the “hot seat”, Mike Patrowicz secured his spot in the finals with a 9-4 win over Isaac Ramos. Ramos managed to squeak past John Timmermans in the the b-side finals with a hill-hill victory. With only two players remaining in the event, it was time for business. Mike agreed to let Isaac have the title while both players split the dough and ran outside to make angels in the snow. Congratulations all players who cashed!

Share This