First Round at the World 8-ball Championships: Vincent Facquet Upsets Mika Immonen
April 6, 2010
Vincent Facquet
With a field of international pool superstars on hand, the Etisalat WPA World 8-ball Championships moved into the elimination stages in Fujairah, UAE, on Monday, April 5th, 2010. What I find to be most interesting about these high-caliber events is that while we in the U.S. may be familiar with names like Shane Van Boening, Mika Immonen, and Thorsten Hohmann, there are always a number of players from other parts of the world who have been flying under the radar who might surprise us.
There have already been some upsets in the early rounds… and reigning World 10-ball Champion & US Open 9-ball Champion Mika Immonen fell victim to one of them, in the form of France’s Vincent Facquet, who defeated him 8-6. In other highlights from the first day, England’s Karl Boyes, Darren Appleton, and Scott Higgins all made it through the right side of the bracket, along with USA’s lone representative Shane Van Boening and German favorites Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet.
Read on for the full press release from WPA press officer Jerry Forsyth…
Scott Simonetti Runs Through the Field Undefeated to Claim at Tri-State Win at his Home Room Castle Billiards
April 6, 2010
Scott Simonetti
The Tri-State Tour kicked off April with a stop at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. This event featured 47 of the toughest amateur players from New Jersey and New York who were ready to battle for the top prize of $800.
However, the pool fans at Castle would not have to look too far for the top player on that day, as house player Scott Simonetti would run through the field undefeated to claim top honors.
To secure a spot in the final match, Scott did not have much trouble… but his biggest challenge en route to the hot seat came from one of NY’s up-and-coming female players, Yomaylin Feliz, who ended the match by a close 8-6 score. To secure a spot in the finals, Scott defeated Carl Sallo (7-2) in the winner’s side final four, followed by Tony Eglesias (7-2) for the hot seat.
Meanwhile, the players on the one-loss side were hard at work to get another chance at the finals. In the one-loss side final four, Brian Hunter defeated Rick Shellhouse (9-6) while Gary Murgia edged out Sam hill-hill (7-6).
