Caroline Pao & Dawn Hopkins Share a Victory on the Mezz Women’s Tour
August 15, 2010
Caroline Pao & Dawn Hopkins
By NYC Grind Contributor, Alison M. Fischer
On August 7th, 2010, the Mezz Women’s 9-Ball Tour held its second stop of their inaugural season at Main Line Billiard Club in Frazer, PA. A field of thirteen players including top names such as Dawn Hopkins, Megan Smith, Caroline Pao, Gina Kim-Lipsky, and Erin McManus were set to battle that Saturday.
Also among these top players was arguably the most impressive female junior player in the U.S., PA’s Briana Miller. Former Junior World Champion and multiple-time Junior National Champion, Briana continues to prove that she is a strong force at the table. In this event, Briana ran through to the hot seat match after defeating Sam Miskezich, Kathy Friend, and Erin McManus.
In the match for the hot seat, Briana faced Caroline Pao, who previously had wins over Eugena Gyftopoulos, Linda Cheung, and Dawn Hopkins. Caroline would then battle against Briana Miller, where she edged ahead to win 7-5 to guarantee a spot in the final.
Ga-Young Kim Defends Her Title vs Karen Corr at the WPBA US Open
August 2, 2010
US Open runner-up Karen Corr & champion Ga-Young Kim (Photo by Anne Craig)
It’s been an exciting weekend for pool fans, with plenty of drama on the final two days of the WPBA US Open. After four days of grueling competition, Korean champion Ga-Young Kim has re-asserted her dominance on the tour, going undefeated to defend her title of US Open Champion.
NYC Grind Contributor Geoff Conway has all the details from the final two days of the event: Saturday’s quarterfinal and Sunday’s semis and final. Although Geoff was not on-site to report, he had the assistance of WPBA pro Melissa Little provided in-depth match details. Read on for the full story….
Melissa Little finished in the Top 16 of the US Open (Photo by Anne Craig)
Linda Haywood-Shea Makes a Comeback Win at KB Billiards While Neslihan Gurel Takes the World Qualifier
July 27, 2010
Linda Shea (1st), Kim Jones (3rd), Neslihan Gurel (2nd), Borana Andoni (5th), Ji-Hyun Park (4th), Lai Li (5th)
By NYC Grind Contributor, Alison M. Fischer
On the scorching hot weekend of July 24-25, the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour headed to KB Billiards in Elkridge, MD. In this event, a field of seventeen players competed to win a spot in the 2010 World 9-Ball Championships, which will be held in Shenyang, China over August 23-29.
The dominant player in the winner’s bracket of this event would be Neslihan Gurel. In her second year playing on the tour after moving to the U.S. in 2009 from Turkey, Ness has been steadily moving her way up through to the ranks on the tour, as well as making waves through many other events in the region. In this event, Ness took the hot seat by defeating Sharon O’Hanlon (7-3), Linda Haywood-Shea (7-4), Ji-Hyun Park (7-6), and Kim Jones (7-3).
After her second-round loss to Ness Gurel, Tour Director Linda Shea bounced back on the one-loss side, defeating… Shanna Lewis (7-5), Eugenia Gyftopolus (7-2), Lai Li (7-0), Ji-Hyun Park (7-4), Kim Jones (7-4).
JPNEWT Ladies Head to MD for a Chance to go to the World Championships
July 22, 2010
Maryland's My-Hanh Lac will be one of the top players gunning for a chance to go to the World Championships
This weekend, many of the best female players from across the East Coast will head to KB Billiards in Elkridge, MD for the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour, where they will compete to earn a spot in the 2010 Women’s World 9-Ball Championships.
Included among the tour’s top players are 3-time 2010 JPNEWT champion Megan Smith, with other WPBA pros like My-Hanh Lac, Liz Taylor, Kim Jones, and new tour member Emily Duddy. Joining them will be other top rising stars such as Briana Miller, Erin McManus, and Borana Andoni.
With some of the tour’s top players preparing for the WPBA US Open next week in Norman, OK, this will prove to be a great warm-up for those attending. Read on for more details on this event.
Player Spotlight on Megan Smith: Nothing to Lose and Everything to Gain
June 30, 2010
Megan Smith at the JPNEWT tour stop at Primetime Billiards (Photo by John Yee)
By NYC Grind Contributor, Alison M. Fischer
Young people around the world are exposed to the game of pool on a regular basis. Whether through casual play at a club, bar, or rec center, many people have opportunities to learn the game… but very few have the ability to take the game to the next level. And to say that success and achievement in pool is hard-earned would be an extreme understatement.
For WPBA pro Megan Smith, pool started out as a way to show up the tough guys at a biker bar. “It was fun to beat those guys at their own game,” said Megan. “My girlfriend Dawn thought it was the coolest thing to do, so she got me a cheap cue and we started playing. I was eighteen and had never seen a table before. But within months, I really got interested in the game, and the love just intensified.”
Although she started from humble beginnings, Megan Smith (formerly Minerich) has become one of the leading American players on the WPBA women’s tour, and one of the most dominant female pool players in the Northeast. After having spent her pro career up until 2008 in Denver, Colorado, Megan has now returned to her hometown, Reading, Pa., giving her a chance to dig into the action in both the women’s and the men’s regional tours in the Northeast.
Megan Smith Wins the New York State Championships to Claim Back to Back State Titles
June 23, 2010
Megan Smith (1st), Briana Miller (3rd), Kim Jones (2nd)
By NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer
After going through her career without a single state title, in the JPNEWT Tour’s 2010 season, WPBA pro Megan Smith has now won back to back State Championships in Maryland and now in New York. On June 19-20, 2010, Megan went undefeated through a field of 23 players hailing from across the East Coast, making this her third win out the four stops so far in 2010.
On the first day of the event, Megan drew a first-round bye, and in the second round came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, with a break and run in the first rack vs Gail Glazebrook, followed by two more in that match, winning 7-3. In the third round, Megan defeated Neslihan Gurel to move into Day 2. Gurel, who is in her 2nd season on the JPNEWT, would go on to finish tied for 5th in this event.
To start off Day 2, four players remained in the winner’s bracket. In this round, Megan Smith would defeat tour director Linda Haywood-Shea 7-4, while Kim Jones knocked junior phenom Briana Miller to the one-loss side by a 7-5 scoreline. In the match for the hot seat, Megan Smith stayed strong to defeat Kim Jones 7-4.
The Ladies of the JPNEWT Tour Head to Raxx for the New York State 9-ball Championships This Weekend
June 16, 2010
New York pro Liz Ford playing in the JPNEWT at Prime Time. (Photo by John Yee)
This weekend at Raxx Pool Room, Bar & Grill in West Hempstead, NY, the JPNEWT Women’s Northeast Tour will be holding the New York State 9-Ball Championships. On June 19-20, the best female players from around the region will gather to compete on the green felt for the title of 2010 NY State Champion.
Among the top players in the field, we’ll get to see WPBA pros such as Liz Ford, My-Hanh Lac, Maryland State Champion Megan Smith, Supadra Geronimo, and Liz Taylor… along with numerous up-and-coming players like Long Island native Erin McManus, junior phenom Briana Miller, and “Kiss of Death” members Borana Andoni, Michele Li, Gail Glazebrook, and Emily Duddy.
Along with having $1,500 added prize money to this event, the winner will also receive an entry into the 2010 WPBA US Open. Stop by Raxx to check out the great action at this event and support the ladies on the JPNEWT Tour!
To learn more about the tour and view the schedule, visit www.JPNEWT.com.
For more info on Raxx Pool Room, Bar & Grill, visit www.RaxxPoolRoom.com.
“Don’t Mess with the Ness!” Neslihan Gürel Goes Undefeated for Her 1st Tri-State Win
June 15, 2010
Alan Chan (3rd), Neslihan Gürel (1st), Shawn Sookhai (2nd)
On June 12-13, the Tri-State Tour held a special 2-day, $1,500-added tournament at Master Billiards in Sunnyside, Queens. This 9-ball tournament was open to A/B/C/D level players, and drew 40 of the NY-area’s top amateurs.
While this event featured many of the tour’s familiar top finishers such as Shawn Sookhai and Scott Simonetti, a relative newcomer to the tour, Neslihan “Nes” Gürel, would stand out to surprise the field in this event.
Nes, who made her move to New York from Turkey just over a year ago, has been gaining major momentum in her game… including top finishes in the JPNEWT women’s tour, where she currently holds the #5 position alongside some of the toughest ladies in the Northeast. On this weekend, she claimed her first win, undefeated, at the Tri-State Tour.
The diminuative Nes cleared through the winner’s bracket, defeating Ron Mason 6-3, Mike Davie (6-3), Ken DeBroske (6-4), Alan Chan (6-2), then Basdeo “Shawn” Sookai (7-6) to reach the hot seat.
After Alan Chan’s loss to Nes on the winner’s side, he got by Ramilo Tanglao (6-5) in the final four of the one-loss side. Also in the final four, Dave Shlemperis, who had his first loss to Shawn Sookhai, would be eliminated by Scott Simonetti in a close match that ended 7-5.
The WPBA Finds Value in Old and New as it Announces the 2010 Board Members
June 13, 2010
WPBA pro Cristina de la Garza is one of the newly-announced board members
With the WPBA (Women’s Professional Billiards Association) US Open only a few short weeks away, running from July 28 - Aug 1, 2010 at the Riverwind Casino in Norman, OK, the tour’s players are hard at work preparing for the biggest event of the year. As the WPBA is undergoing some transitional changes in 2010, this will only be the second WPBA event of the year that the WPBA pro players will be competing in… making the US Open a major opportunity for the players to make a statement.
At the beginning of a new decade in 2010, the WPBA tour, along with many other branches of the billiards industry, are working hard to be innovative in how they promote the sport, in hopes of bringing new eyes to the game and the players that make it great. In building its strength as an organization, the WPBA recently announced their new board member for 2010.
Read on for the details in a press release from the WPBA…
The Kwikfire Tour Kicks off Opening Event of 2010 on June 5-6
May 28, 2010
Kwikfire Tour at 150 N Out Billiards
The newest women’s tour in the Southeast, the pro-am Kwikfire Tour, will be holding its first tour stop of 2010 on June 5-6 at 150 N Out Billiards in Mooresville, NC. This event will feature $2,500 added to the prize fund, and with a number of the top lady pros residing in the vicinity, there will surely be some great action to watch.
This pro-am format will be greatly beneficial for players looking to take their games to the next level, as the up-and-comers will go toe to to with WPBA pros like Kwikfire Cues owner Kelly Fisher, Holly Sholes, Allison Fisher, Tiffany Nelson- Crain, and Kwikfire Tour founders Kim Shaw & Kristi Carter. Unsurprisingly, Hall of Fame inductee Allison Fisher was the tour 2009 Kwikfire Tour’s #1-ranked player.
To follow up the first event of the season, the Kwikfire Tour has two additional stops scheduled so far:
August 14-15th, Silver Dollar Saloon (Rock, SC)
September 4-5th, Burrkats (Monroe, NC)
Get in the action or stop out to support some of the best players in the country!
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