Sally Timko

Day Two of the World Team Championships

On the second day of the World Team Championships in Hanover/Germany, most of the seeded teams had their first appearance. The Philippines, with two-time world champ Ronnie Alcano; Germany 1 with the reigning 8-ball world champion, Ralf Souquet; and the Britain team, with Darren Appleton, finally entered the arena.

But the first highlight of the day was definitely the match between Czech Republic and Korea. After being down 0:3 the players from Prague had a great comeback and tied the score, so the Shoot-Out had to decide. Korea was up 5:2 and just need one more point, but the Czech team came back again and won 8:6 in a very exciting match.

Denmark also needed the Shoot-Out to win the match against the young guns from Hungary.

In less than two and a half hours, the Philippines had won 4:0 against the second team from Great Britain. Every single match was quite close, but in the end it was Alcano & Co. to win 4:0. With the same results the German squad with Thorsten Hohmann and Souquet reached the next round. Team Serbia had no chance to make a point against the well-supported Germans.

Although the final result of 4:1 for the Chinese quartet sounds lopsided, quite clearly the match against Germany 2 was thrilling for the spectators. Germany was down 0:3 as Oliver Ortmann kept his team alive by besting Li He-Wen 8:6 in 9-Ball. In the final two 10-ball games Ortmann was up the whole match until he scratched in the deciding game. At the same time Dominic Jentsch was on the winning road after being down 0:4. Too bad for the local heroes from Hanover.

Tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. CET the U.S. boys will enter the tournament. Johnny Archer and his teammates are in a good mood and looking forward to their first appearance at the WTC. Straight pool world champ Stephanè Cohen and his friends are already waiting for that very promising clash.

Results and live scoring: www.wpapoolonline.com
Online coverage (one recording per day): www.cueball-vision.de
Official website: www.wtc-2010.com
Official pictures: www.touch-magazine.net
German press releases: http://portal.billardarea.de/cms_blog

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

Andoni Aces Tri-State Event
Tri-State Tour / Brooklyn, NY

by InsidePOOL Staff

Borana Andoni went undefeated at the 1-30 installment of the Tri-State Tour, besting Justin Muller in the final match to take the title. A total of 28 B-D players showed up at Gotham Billiards in Brooklyn, NY, to vie for their share of the $750-added prize purse.

After sending Mel McCullen to the one-loss side with an 8-4 victory, Andoni moved on to the hot seat match. This was the first time during the event she met Muller, who had just defeated Allen Wong in a hill-hill match 7-6. It was a close call, but Andoni moved on to the hot seat 7-5, while Muller was sent west.

Once on the left side, Wong rebounded, eliminating Trevor Heal 7-2 in fifth place, while McCullen tied with Heal after his 8-4 defeat at the hands of John Stiles. Wong advanced to the quarterfinal match against Stiles, who ousted Wong 7-3. In the semifinals, a determined Muller was able to earn a rematch with Andoni by sending Stiles home in third place 7-4. The final match was touch and go, but after the hill-hill match was over, it was Andoni who was sitting pretty in the winner’s circle 9-8.

Results:
1st Borana Andoni $530
2nd Justin Muller $300
3rd John Stiles $200
4th Allen Wong $125
5th Mel McCullen $75
Trevor Heal

Hard Times Billiards Welcomes Corey Harper as New House Pro

In an effort to add value for their customer clientele and further promote the sport billiards, Hard Times Billiards – Bellflower, Ca (Voted “Best Billiard Room” in America by Billiards Digest Magazine) has added to their staff Touring Pro Corey Harper as their official “House Pro” and sponsored player. Aside from seeing Corey competing regularly at Hard Times and giving lessons, you will also see him on the professional tour wearing the Hard Times Billiards logo.

As a “thank you,” and promotion, Corey is offering one month of free pool/practice time to new students with their initial (by appointment) lesson booking. Email

crowncitycorey@yahoo.com for more details.
Some of Corey’s career highlights include:
2010 Predator World 10-Ball Touring Pro
IPT North American Open 8-Ball Qualifier Winner (Hard Times Billiards – Bellflower, Ca)

Reyes Captures Fifth Derby City Classic All Around Title
Claims 9-Ball Title For Icing

Efren Reyes has been considered the best pool players alive for the last decade or so, give or take a few. As the 12th Annual Derby City Classic kicked off, many top handicappers asked if Reyes had what it took to take down yet another All-Around title. There question was answered Saturday evening as Reyes n ot only won the 9-ball division but sealed the All-Around title several rounds before the end of the event. The All-Around

The $25,000 added 9-ball division kicked off on Wednesday, January 27 with 257 of the world’s finest professionals vying for the $16,000 first place prize.

The semifinals witnessed a great match between Shannon Murphy and Efren Reyes. At one point, Reyes was trailing in the match, 4-1. Reyes would parlay a few good rolls in to a lead and victory to earn his shot at the 9-ball title against “Rocket” Rodney Morris.

As the finals kicked off, the scuttlebutt around the arena was split between to the two players. The stands filled to see who would win the rematch of the 1996 U.S. Open finals that saw Morris emerge as the victor.

The match went back and forth for a few games until Reyes gradually eraned a lead. The turning point came when Morris won a game only to be a victim of a freakish scratch on the break. Though the b attle dragged on for a few more shots, Reyes came through in the end and sealed the victory, 7-4.

For Reyes , this is his fifth trip to the winners’ circle as the All-Around champion in twelve years. His name litters the roster of past champions in all three divisions. His sucess this year is not limited to the 9-ball and All Around though. Reyes snapped off Fatboy 20-Ball event and added $8,500 to his total winnings of $44,500 for the span of the 9 day event, excluding the proceeds picked up during his one-on-one matchups.

Results of the 9-Ball division
1st Eferen Reyes $16,000
2nd Rodney Morris $8,000
3rd-4th Shannon Murphy, Jeremy Sossei $4,000
5-6th Bill Bailey, Justin Hall $2,250
7th-12th Mike Dechaine, Robert Frost, Rudolfo Luat, Alex Pagulayan, Jamie Baraks $1,300

Day One of the World Team Championships

courtesy of Global Cuesports Touch Magazine

Yesterday evening one of the biggest pool tournaments that was ever held in Europe started. Around 40 teams and 200 players from all over the world attended for the first World Team Championship in Hanover, Germany, and 16 of them have already finished their first matches.

Overall 32 K-Steel II tables are arranged in one of the biggest halls of the Hanover Fair. Sixteen of them are in an arena for more than 3,000 spectators, whilst the other sixteen are practice tables in between the billiards exhibition that also is taking place. Besides that, there are two more fairs—one of them is a large Harley Davidson exhibition with beautiful and expensive Harleys—so it is secured that thousands of people have the possibility to watch the matches and take a look at the billiards exhibition.

Whilst teams like the Philippines, USA, Germany 1, and also The Netherlands didn’t play yesterday, the most exciting match was certainly Team Canada versus Germany 2 with Oliver Ortmann and teen sensation Dominic Jentsch. After more than four hours, it was finally Ortmann who secured the win for his team against Jason Klatt, who failed to finish the match as he missed two shots right at the end. Jentsch played probably the best match of the whole day as he dominated Tyler Edey with an impressing 7-1 win in 10-ball.

The information seems to indicate that there will not be a live stream during the week. Maybe a team from Cueball Vision will show up soon and record some matches. It is not clear yet how they will be broadcasted.

Results and Livescore: www.wpapoolonline.com
Official website: www.wtc-2010.com
Official pictures: www.touch-magazine.net
German press releases: http://portal.billardarea.de/cms_blog

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

Cordova Turns Back Borrego for Title
Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Lakewood, CO

by InsidePOOL Staff

Sam Cordova triumphed at the January 23 stop on the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour, defeating Ed Borrego in the finals to take the title. The $500-added event showcased 30 players in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot Dynamo bar boxes.

Cordova moved unscathed to the finals via wins over Jimmy Dean Birdsall 5-0, Cannon Russell 5-1, Bill Skinner 5-1, Rick Field 5-3, and Borrego 5-4. Borrego earlier had handed losses to James Largent 5-0, Roy Yamane 5-3, Rich Cunningham 5-3, and Jackie Karol 5-3. Dave Hughes challenged Borrego for the B-side finals, but Borrego ousted Hughes 5-2 for a second chance at Cordova in the title match. Cordova left no doubt that he was top dog on this day, as he turned back Borrego by a 5-1 margin in the first set for the title.

Results:
1st Sam Cordova $439
2nd Ed Borrego $220
3rd Dave Hughes $165
4th Rich Cunningham $110
5th Jackie Karol $55
Rick Field
7th Bill Skinner $28
Robert Chadwick

January 2010 Issue of Inside POOL Magazine Available for Free Download

Jasmin Ouschan Wins WPBA Tour Championships

The January issue of Inside POOL Magazine, which again features Jasmin Ouschan on the cover, has been made available for free download at InsidePOOLmag.com. This month the download features new technology in online billiards magazine viewing such as enhanced clarity, full-screen videos, links to favorite web sites, flipping pages, zooming, emailing, sharing, and printing.

Jasmin Ouschan graces the cover as she hoists her hardware from the WPBA Tour Championship at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL. Johnny Archer aces the Seminole Pro Tour Steve Mizerak event. Ruslan Chinakhov and Keng-Chun Lin snare the Junior World titles in Managua, Nicaragua. 16-year-old Sasha Lin claims the Women’s World Pool Championship in Shengyeng, China. Mika Immonen caps off his legendary year by claiming the World 10-Ball title in Manila, Philippines. Get pool lessons from Tom Simpson, Bob Henning and Matt Sherman. Learn trick shots from Jason Lynch. Receive the latest regional and world tour news.

Download the January 2010 issue of Inside POOL Magazine for Free

Want the real issue? Order this issue online today!

Inside POOL Magazine publishes both print and online versions of each issue. The online version is usually made available for FREE (without a membership) viewing and downloading around the middle of each month. If you would like to receive the print version of this wonderful magazine, please visit InsidePOOLmag.com to subscribe.

About Inside POOL Magazine
Inside POOL Magazine launched in 2001 and, with pool player-based content and high impact photography, quickly became the largest magazine in the world for the sport of billiards. The official web site, InsidePOOLmag.com, followed shortly after and became one of the largest web sites in billiards. The web site features videos, image galleries, pool lessons, custom Pool Cue makers, online games, player profiles, tournament brackets, live streaming video, rules, product reviews, and the latest billiard news from around the world.

Frost Nips Ochoa for Derby One Pocket Title

As evening fell on Elizabeth, IN at the Derby City Classic there was talk of an upcoming storm and how cold the air felt outside. According to the National Weather Service, the storm is scheduled to hit Friday, but nobody watching the final day of action cared too much about the cold weather approaching. They seemed to fixated on Frost, Scott Frost. Scott Frost, Francisco Bustamante and Sylver Ochoa survived a field of 287 hopefuls to gain the spotlight and one pocket infamy.

The semifinal match between Francisco Bustamante and Sylver Ochoa proved to be a replay of the classic “youth versus experience” match. This match saw the youthful Ochoa prevail over the experienced Bustamante not by just ball making and shear firepower, but skill and knowledge as well.

In the finals, Scott “The Freezer” Frost met Ochoa for what promised to be another memorable duel. In a moment of levity, Accu-Stats commentator Jimmy Mataya stated, “Am I the only one that finds it ironic that we just got told how cold it was outside from a guy named Frost?” As the finals got kicked off, it was Frost that thawed out the crowd with his play by winning the first game within only a few shots. Ochoa answered the call with a quick win of his own to knot the match at 1-1.

The third game proved to be just a electric with Frost taking advantage of an Ochoa mistake and running the score to 2-1 in favor of Frost. That would be the end of the fast action. In game 4, Ochoa and Frost made a combined effort to move the remining ten balls to the non-business end of the table, all in one corner, thus creating what is known as “the Wedge” to one pocket players and fans. After what seemed like 30 shots per player, Ochoa saw an opening and tied the set at 2-2.

In the final game, Ochoa broke and almost scratched, leaving Frost nearly corner-hooked. Frost made a fantastic recovery to get out of the break but quickly fell behind 4 to -1 in ball count. Ochoa’s luck didn’t stop there. As Frost kept grinding out shot after shot to get back into the match, Ochoa “shot up in the air” at a bank and left what was surely to be the match balls only to have the balls come back together in a manner that gave Ochoa the reprieve that he needed. The match looked like they were about to get even more exciting when Ochoa shot a ball at his hole and accidentally made Frost’s game and match ball.

Early tallies of the all-around points standings show defending champion John Brumback in the lead with 136 points. In a close second at 116 points is the legendary Efren Reyes.

One Pocket Results:
1st Scott Frost $12,000
2nd Sylver Ochoa $6,000
3rd Francisco Bustamante $2,500
4-5 Corey Deuel, Nick Vita $1,800
6-8th Shannon Daulton, Rafael Martinez, Santos Sambajon, Jr.
9-12th Jesse Bowman, Danny Harriman, Joshua Oneal, Alex Pagulayan
13-19th Mark Haddad, Shane McMinn, Sam Monday, Jose Parica, John Schmidt, Adam Smith, Charles Williams

One Pocket Hall of Fame Inducts Latest Members

The ambassadors, dignitaries and superstars of billiards gathered Tuesday, January 26, 2010 to induct Jose Parica, Rudolf “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone, Glenn Rogers, and Harry Plattis into the One Pocket Hall of Fame. The ceremony, held at Legends in the Horseshoe Casino, was hosted by OnePocket.org.

The ceremony kicked off with a one hour “meet and greet” that allowed old friends, competitors and business partners to mingle, tell jokes, laugh, discuss the new inductees, pose for photos, and share stories from the days past. This year three of the inductees, Jose “Amang” Parica, Glenn “Piggy Banks” Rogers and Harry “High Roller Harry” Plattis were present. The outspoken and outrageous Rudolf “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone was inducted posthumously. Jay Helfert introduced “Fats” with a speech reminiscent of the speech “Fats” gave during the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Hall of Fame induction.

OnePocket.org is an organization dedicated to provide a comprehensive internet resource to help all One Pocket players improve their level of play, to educate and encourage all One Pocket fans to further their enjoyment and spectator participation in the game, to facilitate networking and cooperation between One Pocket players, promoters and fans for the purpose of helping the game of One Pocket grow in popularity, and helping One Pocket events to be more successful. The organization also helps maintain a standardized set of rules to One Pocket while upholding and promoting the dignity of the game in a manner that encourages new player, promoter and fan participation in One Pocket.

Brumback Repeats as Derby City Classic Banks Champ

After four days of competition at the Derby City Classic, the Bank 9-Ball division ended Monday night with John Brumback successfully defending his title as Derby City Classic Bank Champion by defeating Filipino billiards legend Efren Reyes. In addition to being the defending Banks Division champion, Brumback is also the defending Derby City Classic All-Around champion.

The event kicked off Friday, January 22 with 352 competitors. It was originally thought that the field was 353, but Roberto Gomez was not registered and his entry was withdrawn. The total prize fund for the event was $45,200 with $10,000 being added by the Derby City Classic promoters.

Efren Reyes defeated Larry Nevel in the semis to earn his chance to win the one discipline that has eluded him in the past. Though Reyes has won several titles, including the All-Around, the Banks division has remained out of his reach. His highest finish in the Banks division was runner-up against Steve Moore.

With Brumback being a Kentucky native and Reyes being a legend know around the world, the finals was a classic home crowd favorite versus the world. As Brumback won the lag, the crowd barely cheered. But as Brumback broke, made several banks, and then went on the close out game 1 without a contest, the crowd erupted with hope. Brumback continued to fire in banks and play smart safeties and won the second game. Brumback was met in the third game by a determined Reyes. The game went to a 4-4- tie in ball count before Brumback fired the last bank in for the win.

Derby City Classic 2010 Banks Division Results
1st John Brumback $10,000
2nd Efren Reyes $5,000
3rd Larry Nevel $2500
4-5th Rafael Martinez 1,375
Alex Pagulayan
6-9th Chris Bartram $850
George Breedlove
Shannon Daulton
Truman Hogue
10-16th Bill Bailey $550
Danny Harriman
Neil Jacobs
Michael Laney
Clent McCollough
Steve Moore
Mark Slye, Jr.