Sally Timko

Piazza Punishes Lucasi Billiards Field
Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Lakewood, CO

by InsidePOOL Staff

Tony Piazza took down the March 20 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour, defeating Mark Haddad in the finals. The $250-added event was hosted by Lakewood, CO, at Greenfields Pool & Sports Bar and attracted 35 players in a double elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot Dynamo bar boxes.

Piazza ended his run to the hot seat by outpointing Mark Morgan 5-2 in the A-side semifinals and Adam King 5-1 in the A-side finals. On the B-side, Morgan was eliminated at fifth place at the hands of Haddad 5-1, joined by Steve Chan, a 5-3 victim of Ruben Silva Jr. Haddad then ousted Silva at fourth place by a 5-3 margin.

Haddad won a trip to the tournament finals by virtue of his B-side finals win over Adam King 5-4. The finals showcased Piazza versus Haddad, but Piazza dominated play with a 5-1 first-set win for the title.

Results:
1st Tony Piazza $600
2nd Mark Haddad $300
3rd Adam King $150
4th Ruben Silva Jr. $75
5th Steve Chan $50
Mike Morgan

Rice Rebounds for Victory
Great Southern Billiards Tour / Duluth, GA

by Lea Andrews

A late loss to Billy Kuykendall didn’t stop David Rice from powering through to ultimate victory at the March 27-28 stop of the Great Southern Billiards Tour. Rice and Kuykendall, who faced each other three times, were among the field of 60 that gathered at The Pool Room in Duluth, GA, for the $1,500-added amateur event.

A-ranked Rice got past recent winner Josh Newman 9-6 to meet A-ranked Sean Davis in the hot seat match. Davis, who’d just breezed past B-ranked Jack Cavalier 9-4, fell just short of his goal against Rice and moved to the west side 9-8.

On the one-loss side, B-ranked Kuykendall was on a mission to get back to Rice, who’d edged him out 9-6. Kuykendall took care of B-ranked Amy Chen 7-4 to face AA-ranked Benny Conway Jr., who was coming off a big 11-1 win over fellow AA-player Brian White. Conway fell 7-7 in the weighted race, landing in seventh while Kuykendall moved on to Cavalier. Meanwhile, B-ranked Curtis Hale moved past A-ranked Robert South 7-7 to meet B-ranked Richard Andrews, who’d gone hill-hill 7-10 with AA-ranked Danny Smith. Another hill-hill match was up next for Andrews, but it went the wrong way this time, and he finished in seventh 7-6. Hale moved on to Newman, who dealt him a 9-4 blow to reach the quarterfinals against Kuykendall, who’d blown through Cavalier 7-1. A strong 7-5 win over Newman put Kuykendall into the semifinals against Davis, who couldn’t mark up the final two games and finished in third 7-7.

In the first set of the true double-elimination final match, Kuykendall got a taste of revenge, notching the final game in the hill-hill set to push another set 7-8. Fatigue was wearing on both players in the second set, which began a couple hours into Monday, and the two took advantage of each other’s errors to stay even through their third hill-hill set of the tournament, but the all-important final 9 ball belonged to Rice.

Results:
1st David Rice $1,000
2nd Bill Kuykendall $600
3rd Sean Davis $400
4th Josh Newman $200
5th Jack Cavalier $100
Curtis Hale
7th Benny Conway, Jr. $70
Richard Andrews
9th Brian White $45
Amy Chen
Danny Smith
Robert South

Maresca Comes out on Top
Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour / Clinton, IA

by InsidePOOL Staff

Tony Maresca went undefeated through the field at the March 20 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour. Hosted by Legends Sports Bar in Clinton, IA, the $500-added event featured a full 32-player field in a double-elimination 9-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.

Maresca won the A-side bracket, including a hill-hill semifinals win over Tommy Fuller 6-4 and a hill-hill hot seat win over Jim Baker 6-4. On the B-side Will Kohl and Keith Helfrich ousted Will Thomsen 5-4 and Woody Van Kampen 6-2 at seventh place, respectively. Kohl then eliminated Fuller at fifth place by a 5-4 margin, where Fuller was tied with Helfrich, who fell at the hands of Ray Fredericksen 5-2.

Kohl then ended Fredericksen’s run at fourth place 5-2, and in the next match Kohl gained an entrance to the finals courtesy of his win over Baker 5-3. The finals ended in one set, as Maresca remained undefeated, clipping Kohl 5-3 for the title.

Results:
1st Tony Maresca $335
2nd Will Kohl $225
3rd Jim Baker $160
4th Ray Fredericksen $100
5th Tommy Fuller $65
Keith Helfrich
7th Will Thomsen $45
Woody Van Kampen
9th Crist Aiardo $25
Don Sager
Frank DeCastecker
Rocky Mickelson

March 2010 Issue of Inside POOL Magazine Available for Free Download

Efren Reyes Wins Fifth Derby City Classic Master of Table

The February issue of Inside POOL Magazine, which again features Efren Reyes on the cover as he captures his record fifth Master of Table tile at the Derby City Classic 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, Bonus Content, full-screen full length videos, links to favorite web sites, flipping pages, zooming, emailing, sharing, and printing.

March 2010 Inside POOL Magazine features Efren Reyes on the front cover as he wins his fifth Master of Table award. Get to know Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie. Figure out whether to shoot or bunt from Grady Mathews. Get a trick shot lesson from Jason Lynch. Get the secret on how pros aim. Ever wonder what it takes to choke like a pro? Check out what Donnie Mills has in his Pool Cue case. See Corey Harper’s new vision of sports marketing. Get the pool on TV lisitngs and check out some cool places to play pool and buy billiards supplies. See what’s new in the pool world. Ken Shuman gives us a lesson in being a referee. Get the latest billiards news from tours and tournaments around the U.S. and the rest of the world.

View the March 2010 issue of Inside POOL Magazine for Free

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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.

Davis Goes Undefeated on Lone Star Billiards Tour
Lone Star Tour / Temple, TX

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Green Room in Temple, TX, hosted its first $1,000-added Lone Star Tour event the weekend of March 27-28. The superstars came out, 47 in all, including Al Mason, T.J. Davis, Doug Young, and pro player Max Eberle to battle for over $5,500 in cash, with James Davis Jr. going home with the lion’s share after winning his second consecutive tour stop.

When the smoke cleared Sunday, it was Davis Jr. against Temple’s own Noel Torres for the hot seat. On the west side Mason bested T.J. Davis, while Robert Clark won six consecutive matches, including a 7-6 win over Eberle, to meet up with Mason. Clark made Mason his seventh consecutive match win on the one-loss side and sent Mason home with fourth place. After besting Torres as well in the semifinals, Clark moved on to the finals against Davis.

Both players burned up the felt, trading racks until the score was 8-7 Davis. Clark broke and left himself a shot at the 1 ball then a shot at a 2-9 flyer. Clark missed and gave up control of the table. A safety battle ensued in which Clark ultimately ran out to the 6 ball and hooked himself. Clark gave up ball in hand, and Davis put him away 9-7. This was Davis’ second consecutive win on the Lone Star Tour, undefeated in both.

Also, 25 women vied for over $1,500 in prize money. On the winners’ side, Heather Bryant bested Michelle Cortez 7-5, and Helen Hayes overcame Kim Pierce 7-5. On the west side, Austin’s own Kim Sanders was on a five-match winning streak. Cortez bested Melinda Bailey 5-1 then ended Sander’s winning streak. In the semifinals, Cortez squeaked by Bryant 5-4 then matched up with Hayes in the final. Cortez held Hayes at bay 6-2. After a few unforced errors, Hayes came back to make it 6-all. In the final game, Hayes broke and made the 9 ball.

Open Results:
1st James Davis, Jr. $800
2nd Robert Clark $500
3rd Noel Torres $300
4th Al Mason $200
5th Nash Peterson $125
Max Eberle
7th T.J. Davis $80
Eric Aicenena
9th Roger Allen $50
Eric Brown
Corey Dordek
Doug Young

Women’s Results:
1st Helen Hayes $350
2nd Michelle Cortez $175
3rd Heather Bryant $100
4th Kim Sanders $70
5th Kim Pierce $40
Melinda Bailey

TAP League’s 14th Rally in the Valley

by InsidePOOL Staff

After 14 years of an event that shows continued growth, increasing participation numbers, and improvements that players recognize were done to better serve them, the TAP league and its growing number of licensees returned home from Valley Forge, PA, on a positive roll.

On March 17, licensees and players alike started to arrive to the Valley Forge Convention Center. Registration was offered to the players for the first time that evening, along with a social gathering at Fox and Hound for the licensees to get acquainted.

Licensees had their annual national meeting March 18 to go over training modules throughout the day lead by TAP founder, owner, and CEO Loyd Schonter. In the last hour new licensees (of which TAP has over 15) spent time solely with Mr. Schonter to be welcomed as part of the TAP family and have one-on-one time with him. New licensees, UPSTATE TAP, Chris Ruegsegger, and April Bradley from South Carolina were awarded plaques for starting up with over 50 new teams in their first month of operation. At TAP, licensees are encouraged to share experiences and ideas and work together to provide the best sanctioned amateur league experience to the players. Positive feedback from several licensees was received on the format, structure, and educational information provided to them at this annual meeting.

Thursday evening saw the beginning of the single competition. This year TAP brought back the round robin format and added a “best of the rest” so that all singles participants got four rounds of play guaranteed.

On Friday the sold-out, 144-team event kicked off at 8 a.m. and ran through Sunday. TAP’s Dream Team event is a round robin event that goes to single elimination of Elite, Championship, and Best of the Rest and guarantees four rounds of play.

Over $100,000 in total prizes were given out at the event. Players enjoyed 100% payback in the singles event, open Diamond tables, and the competition of players throughout the USA and Canada. As with all Rally events, friendships were always formed because of the common love of the game with new people.

As always, the entry of all score sheets for team and singles events ensures an overall solid handicap based on player performance week to week and at National competitions. New Pool Net features were used for the planning of the event, which took manual processes and made them automated, efficiently and effectively streamlining preparations. Also available for the first time, a new qualification report and the release of automated flagging report features helped the director and his staff run the event.

Players were appreciative of the communication efforts and improvements to registration, proving once again TAP listens to their players and is continually using their resources and efforts to constantly improve based on player feedback.

Once again, the Predator Group was an event sponsor, providing items from their Predator and Poison lines to all TAP players, Poison jump cues to each player on the Elite Bracket Dream Team and to each singles handicap winner, and various cues for the player prize giveaway.

Omega Billiards sponsored badges and provided a 10% discount for all players and licensees in attendance at the event. Additional sponsors and advertisers included Fox and Hound, Crown Cues, Mickey’s Cues and Brews, and Diamond Tables.

Congratulations to the 2010 TAP Rally in the Valley Elite Board Champions: “Mulligans.” Front row left to right: Brian McGee, Dennis Dudgeon, Kurt Wanyek, Dave Kriak, Larry Holschuh. Back row left to right: Greg Kencson, Bryan Kasper and Karl Abend

Congratulations to the 2010 TAP Rally in the Valley Championship Board Winners: “Fat Guy Assassins.” Back row left to right: Bert Csizek, Ron Perry, Winston Davis, Tim Hyatt, John Walsh. Front row left to right: Jack Albainy, Justin Yankowski and Bill Varkonyl.

Congratulations to the 2010 TAP Rally in the Valley Best of the Rest Board Winners: “All or Nothing 1.”

Congratulations to Singles Championship Winners: Butch Weimer, 7 Handicap; Nick Comstock, 6 Handicap; Travis Babcock, 5 Handicap; Pat Boone & Ben Pope, 4 Handicap; Laura Mallery, 3 Handicap.

A complete list of team and singles winners will be posted on www.tapleague.com and on TAP Facebook.

In 2010 and 2011 TAP will be returning to Las Vegas, NV, for Nationals and adding a new event, RALLY AT BALLY’s, which will be like its big brother event, Rally in the Valley, in March in Valley Forge, PA, held each year.

Want more information about TAP? Visit tapleague.com or contact TAP through their corporate office, at the Live Help Desk, or via e-mail or IM.

Popov Plays to Win
Tri-State Tour / Edison, NJ

by InsidePOOL Staff

Alex Popov cut through the field at the March 27 Tri-State Tour stop and went undefeated to the finals. This $750-added stop was hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, and attracted a field of 30 players.

After besting Ken Debroske in the winners’ side final four 6-4, Popov went on to the hot seat match. There he faced off against Randy Mackin, who had just sent Joe Varvaro to the one-loss side 6-3. Their match went hill-hill, but it was Popov who prevailed 6-5.

Debroske rebounded on the west side of the chart, besting Qian Chen 7-3 and sending him home in fifth place. Tying with Chen was Varvaro, who suffered his second loss of the event to Richard Ng 6-4. Debroske and Ng collided in the quarterfinals, with Ng managing to stay alive after a hill-hill battle 6-5.

Ng advanced to the semifinal match against Mackin, who had been cooling his heels since the hot seat match. It was a close call, but Ng sent Mackin home with a third-place finish and moved on. In the finals, it was another hill-hill nail-biter that saw Popov remain undefeated to take the title.

Results:
1st Alex Popov $490
2nd Richard Ng $280
3rd Randy Mackin $180
4th Ken Debroske $110
5th Joe Varvaro $70
Qian Chen

“Bulldawg” Blasts Jacoby Field
Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Raleigh, NC

by Lea Andrews

One of the Southeast’s most dominant forces, Michael “Bulldawg” Fuller added another notch to his belt when he went undefeated through the March 27-28 Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour stop. The $1,000-added event drew a talented field to Babineau’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC.

A 7-5 win over Brad Shearer put Fuller into the hot seat match against Chris Turner, who’d just sent Johnny Griffin west 7-5. Turner found himself on the flip side of another 7-5 match, and he moved to the other side to vie for a rematch.

On the left side of the bracket, two tour hotshots were fighting for the right to go on. Recent winner B.J. Ussery, who’d taken a first-round loss to Shearer, earned the right to continue by holding Sam Monday to three games. Meanwhile, another former winner, Arnold Hamlet, ousted Keith Crawford 7-4 to meet up with Griffin. A 7-4 victory put Griffin into the quarterfinals against Ussery, who’d earned his revenge on Shearer 7-6. Ussery’s 7-5 win over Griffin pushed him into the semifinals, and after edging out Turner 7-6, Ussery moved on to the single race-to-11 final match against Fuller.

Ussery broke the first rack but missed his first shot after the break, allowing Fuller to clean up and mark up the first game, and though Ussery managed to take the next rack, Fuller notched four in a row to take the lead 5-1. Ussery fought back, managing to get within two at 6-4, but Fuller finished strong to take his first Jacoby win this season 11-4.

Results:
1st Michael Fuller $1,000
2nd BJ Ussery $400
3rd Chris Turner $100

Two in a Row for The Hatchet Man
Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / N. Syracuse, NY

by Lea Andrews

Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch, who went undefeated at the March 13-14 Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour stop, made a repeat performance at the March 27-28 stop. The $1,500-added event, which featured a total prize purse of $3,660, drew 27 competitors to Salt City Billiards in Syracuse, NY.

Hatch took care of Ron Casanzio 9-6 to reach the hot seat match against Robb Saez, who’d squeaked past Dave Grau 9-8. Another 9-6 victory gave the hot seat to Hatch and sent Saez to the west side.

On that side of the bracket, recent winner Chris Orme, who’d taken a third-round 9-7 hit from Grau, went on to oust Nick Brucato 9-2 and Mike Renshaw 9-3 before coming up on Casanzio. Meanwhile, Lyn Wechsler, Hatch’s first-round 9-5 victim, was edging out tour director Mike Zuglan 9-8 and Grau 9-8 to match up with Orme in the quarterfinals. Wechsler’s chance for a rematch with Hatch in the finals ended there, though, and he landed in fourth 9-5. Orme advanced to the semifinals against Saez, who dropped him into third 9-7 to earn another go at Hatch.

In the true double-elimination final match, Hatch jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and though Saez managed to get within two at 5-3, Hatch pulled back ahead, earning his sixth tour win this season 9-5.

Results:
1st Dennis Hatch $1,100
2nd Robb Saez $800
3rd Chris Orme $600
4th Lyn Wechsler $400
5th Dave Grau $250
Ron Casanzio
7th Mike Zuglan $130
Mike Renshaw

Van Boening Retakes Professional Players Title
Super Billiards Expo / King of Prussia, PA

by InsidePOOL Staff

After suffering a close 9-7 loss Saturday night to Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar in the final four of the winners’ side of the Diamond Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship, Shane Van Boening came back through the one-loss side to win it all. Van Boening took this title in 2008 over Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie, and this year his finals victim was Pinegar.

His defeat in the winners’ side must have motivated “The South Dakota Kid,” for he went on Saturday evening to whitewash Northeast terror Dennis Hatch, sending the Mosconi Cup VIP home in fifth place. Sunday morning Van Boening went up against former world 9-ball champion Thorsten Hohmann.

Hohmann hung with the 2007 Player of the Year at the start of the match, but Van Boening reached a two-game lead to go up 5-3 in the race to 9. However, Hohmann was able to even the score at 5-all and then 6-all. A safety battle over the 8 ball in the next rack saw Hohmann beautifully thin it in, and then a break and run put the German on the hill 8-6. Another couple of safety exchanges saw Van Boening join Hohmann on the hill. In the final rack, Van Boening pocketed the 10 ball on the break. It did not count as a win, but he was able to continue shooting. He proceeded to run out and win the match 9-8.

The bout with Hohmann was Van Boening’s closest of the day. He went on to challenge Corey “The Prince of Pool” Deuel, who had suffered a 9-3 loss to Pinegar in the hot seat match the night before and was waiting in the semifinals. Deuel and Van Boening split the first four racks, but it wasn’t long before it became apparent that Deuel was having an off day, while Van Boening was unstoppable. Several errors by Deuel added to Van Boening’s score, and several break and run-outs did as well. When Deuel came up empty on his break in the final rack, it was all over. Van Boening had a wide-open table and negotiated through it easily, winning 9-4.

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The finals comprised an extended single race to 13, with Van Boening’s prior loss erased. Pinegar jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a quick 2-10 combo in the first and a missed 8 ball by Van Boening in the second. But Van Boening not only drew even, he won six racks in a row to take a commanding 6-2 lead, charging Pinegar for every small mistake. With his massive break in full effect, Van Boening was an unstoppable force, and though Pinegar managed to gather another few racks to put under his belt, with the alternate-break format, the debt he accrued was almost insurmountable.

At 8-5 in Van Boening’s favor, Pinegar scratched on the 2 ball, and Van Boening took that rack and then the next when Pinegar missed the 2 ball. Now in full stride, Van Boening broke and ran the next to make it 11-5. Pinegar had the break next but came up dry. It was his last time at the table. Van Boening cleared that table to reach the hill and then, with his break splitting the rack wide open, he dropped the 1 ball on his final break and ran out to win 13-5.

Videos from the matches will be available at InsidePOOL.

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