Marc Vidal and Gail Glazebrook Take Top Honors at the Eastside Billiards Predator Tour Stop
October 31, 2009
Marc "Spain" Vidal & Sean "Alaska" Morgan
Written By Predator Tour Staff
Eastside Billiards in NYC played host to stop # 17 of the 2009 Predator 9-Ball Tour. This event drew some of the strongest players in the Tri-State area. Top players included Marc “Spain” Vidal, Sean “Alaska” Morgan, Mhet Vergara, Jorge Rodriguez, Victor Nau, Ken Kerner, Frankie Hernandez, and Dave Pinkston.
Day one action saw Sean Morgan go undefeated at the top of the bracket, beating Donald Chu 9-3, Walter Goller 9-1, Mhet Vergara 9-7 and Jorge Rodriguez 9-7.
Marc Vidal was in dead stroke as he dominated the bottom of the chart defeating Kevin Tenery 9-3, Jason Hunt 9-3, and Dave Pinkston 9-5 before squeaking a 9-8 victory over Ken Kerner.
A Halloween Weekend of Pool: Kick it off with the “9-Ball” Movie Fan Party at Amsterdam Billiard Club!
October 30, 2009
Jennifer Barretta in the movie "9-Ball"
For Halloween 2009, there are plenty of options in NYC to make it memorable. To start with, Amsterdam Billiard Club is hosting a fan party for the upcoming movie, “9-Ball,” set to star Jeanette Lee and Jennifer Barretta, and tonight will be your chance to meet the cast of the film! This is a free event event, running from 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm, and open to the public.
Along with partying at this high-end pool room with some of the hottest pool talent in NYC, you can also get entered into the free raffle to win the Lucasi Hybrid break cue used by Jennifer Barretta in the film. To see who’s on the guest list and to RSVP, check out the event page on Facebook by clicking here.
NYC Grind will be at the party to interview the stars and catch the action. Click Here to learn more about the movie, and view the trailer for this upcoming film.
Read on to learn about the highlight tournaments for Halloween weekend.
The Action Report & BreakRAK Join Up with the Team CSI American Grand Masters
October 30, 2009
Team CSI American Grandmasters: Charlie Bryant, Corey Deuel, John Schmidt, & Earl Strickland
When the going gets tough, the tough get creative. New ground is being broken every day in the billiards industry, and particularly in “today’s economy,” we all need to reach further and try new approaches to make things happen.
Recently, CSI - CueSports International launched the Team CSI American Grand Masters, and all-star team of champions comprised of John “Mr. 400″ Schmidt, Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant, Corey Deuel, and Earl “The Pearl” Strickland, and now BreakRAK LLC and The Action Report are teaming up with them to take things to the next level.
Read on for more details in the press release from CSI…
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Pool Instruction: CueTips #14 Ten Common Pool Flaws
October 29, 2009
Keeping the cue ball in the center of the table will prevent this dilemma.
By NYC Grind Instructional Columnist, Mark Finkelstein
I just came back from teaching a seminar in Ohio, along with some private lessons in New Jersey. What I observed is that a wide range of good players consistently have some common problems with their game. I’d like to highlight them for you here so that you can see which ones apply to your game, and fix any areas that need fixing.
Here is the list in no particular order:
1. Hitting the balls too hard. This is partly due to not contacting the cue ball high enough to get a pure rolling ball. There is an optical illusion in looking down on the cue stick. What they think is a high ball is in fact much lower than they think. In order to move the cue ball, they have to hit the ball a lot harder than in necessary with a pure rolling ball.
Efren Reyes & Chao Fong-Pang Face Off to Benefit Flood Victims in the Philippines
October 29, 2009
Reyes vs Chao
Right now, two of the world’s most legendary veterans of pool are in the middle of a race to 50 games in 9-ball. Starting yesterday at 6pm in Manila (6am EST), Efren “Bata” Reyes and 2-time World 9-ball Champion, Chao Fong-Pang began this two-day set which will restart tomorrow at the same time.
This match is the second in a series of match-ups called the “Face-Off Series,” put on by Club Capo - ClubCapo.tv, and set to star a number of the world’s top players. One such face-off is set to feature Americans Shane Van Boening & Johnny Archer in a Scotch doubles match against Filipinos Francisco Bustamante & Roberto Gomez.
However, this is not just your typical high-stakes exhibition match. This is also a charity event, which is being shown pay-per-view, with proceeds going to help the victims of the recent flood disaster in the Philippines.
Read on for the press release to learn more about this exciting event.
Mika Immonen Makes History at the 2009 US Open 9-ball Championships
October 27, 2009
2009 US Open 9-ball Champion Mika Immonen
Story & photos by NYC Grind Contributor, Alison M. Fischer
Pool fans from across the country gathered at the final day of the US Open 9-ball Championships in Chesapeake, VA, as they watched the showdown of the final four players, out of a field that started with 216.
And these fans did in fact get to see history in the making, as Mika Immonen was crowned US Open 9-ball Champion for the second consecutive time. This had only been done once before, by Nick Varner nearly twenty years ago, with his back-to-back wins in 1989 and 1990.
Everyone had all but written off Mika Immonen as a contender in this event, with an early loss to Chris Bartram in only the second round. After this loss, Mika had a long grind through the one-loss side, winning twelve matches to make it to the finals.
Read on for more details on the final day of this historical event. Click here to view the photo gallery from Day 7 at the US Open.
New Video: The BCA Hall of Fame Inducts Allison Fisher & Johnny Archer
October 27, 2009
Ivan Lee presents the BCA Hall of Fame plaque to Allison Fisher
NYC Grind is proud to present our video from the recent induction of Allison Fisher and Johnny Archer into the BCA Hall of Fame. The induction banquet was a wonderful tribute to two of the most groundbreaking players and leaders in the sport of pool. Johnny & Allison have been honorable representatives of the sport worldwide for over nearly two decades, and continue to inspire greatness in players of all levels.
Read the story to watch the video, which features Allison Fisher’s acceptance speech, as well as tributes from a number of Johnny and Allison’s colleagues and friends who joined them to celebrate their achievements.
Read the BCA 2009 Hall of Fame Induction Story
View the BCA 2009 Hall of Fame Induction Photo Gallery (Photos by Alison M. Fischer)
Allison Fisher and Johnny Archer are Honored as the 2009 Inductees into the BCA Hall of Fame
October 26, 2009
Allison Fisher and Johnny Archer received the green jackets as they were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Written by NYC Grind Contributor, Geoff Conway & Photos by Alison M. Fischer
What a thrill it was to be in attendance at the BCA Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on the evening of Thursday, October 22, at the Marriot Hotel in Chesapeake, VA, for the induction ceremony for Allison Fisher and Johnny Archer.
Both Allison and Johnny are worthy recipients of this award, having won many championships and world titles between them, and more importantly, have been fantastic representatives for the sport of pool.
The banquet hall af the Marriott was packed to the gills with friends, family, and colleagues of these two legendary champions gathered to celebrate their accomplishments, and both received wonderful tributes from their friends. Additionally, Matchroom Sports founder, Barry Hearn was “virtually present” as he honored both players in a recorded video, which gave the ceremony a truly international feel.
Click Here to view the photo gallery from the BCA Hall of Fame Induction Banquet.
Annie Flores Snaps off the Tri-State 10-Ball Event at Castle Billiards
October 26, 2009
Annie Flores
Annie Flores has just won the most recent BCD Tri State Tour Trophy at her home room, Castle Billiards last Saturday, October 24th, The pool player-friendly room in East Rutherford, NJ attracted 42 B, C, and D class players to their $500 added 10-Ball event.
The aspiring pro has been progressively improving her game at an impressive rate, and earns a big confidence boost with her recent “W.” Most recently, Annie competed in the WPBA Pacific Coast Classic in Lincoln City, Oregon, and had wins over WPBA pros Janet Atwell and NYC’s Jennifer Barretta.
NJ top player, Scott Simonetti recently mentioned to me that Annie has the heart, will, and passion to play this game at it’s highest level, and believes that Annie can be a champion one day. Annie has been impressive of late on her journey as a pool player and continues to build her confidence in her ability most recently in her victory at Castle.
Those who can appreciate pool should keep an eye on Annie as she her follows her quest to become one of the best in the game.
Final Results:
1st: Annie Flores $700
2nd: Dennis Quinn $450
3rd: John Trobiano $450
4th: Gerard Gormley $150
5/6th: Christian Smith, Guy Iannuzzi $100
7/8th: Scott Simonetti, Ken Decuire $65
The Final Day of the US Open 9-ball Championships: Only 4 Players Remain
October 24, 2009
Ralf Souquet vs Lee Van Corteza
Only four players now remain in the US Open 9-ball Championships here in Chesapeake, VA, in a field that started out with 216 from 26 countries. Two players, Donnie Mills of Clearwater, FL and former US Open Champion and former World Champion, Ralf Souquet of Germany.
Souquet and underdog Mills will be playing for the “hot seat” position, guaranteeing the undefeated spot in the finals. Ralf Souquet and Donnie Mills ran through seven race to 11 matches over the course of 6 days to make it this far, and are in the heat of battle in their match which began at 1:00 pm EST. Watch it live on Accu-Stats.com.
Donnie Mills, who finished in the top 16 at the 2008 US Open, had highlight wins over Frankie Hernandez (11-10), Darren Appleton (11-5), Tommy Kennedy (11-9) and a final late-night win over Rodney Morris (11-10).
A very familiar face in the finals of major events, Ralf Souquet has stayed on-point in his game at the Open, taking down Huidjee See of the Netherlands and Lee Van Corteza along the way.
Read on to see who which players have made it through the one loss bracket to make it to the final day. Click Here to view our photo galleries from Day 6 at the US Open 9-ball Championships.
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