John Schmidt Wins Diamond 10-ball Open as the 2009 Expo Comes to a Close
March 23, 2009
Allen Hopkins & John Schmidt
By NYC Grind Contributor, Alison M. Fischer
On Sunday March 22, the 2009 Super Billiards Expo came to a close, rewarding some of the event’s players very handsomely, while others had to go home hoping for better luck next time… “Mr. 400″ John Schmidt, was one of the lucky ones to walk away with by far the largest top prize of $20,000.
However, you didn’t have to be a pro to win at the Expo, with divisions for players at every skill level and age. In the Senior’s division, Pennsylvania’s Dave Daya came in first place, defeating Dave Fernandez of Vermont. In the Men’s Amateur Open Division, which saw in incredible 864 entrants, 2-time Derby City Classic 9-ball Banks champion, Larry Price would walk away with the $5,000 top prize, topping Michigan’s Danny Barnes.
The ladies division saw recent 2009 WPBA Regional Tour Champion, Ming Ng take control to win the final match against Teruko Cucculelli, of Columbus, Ohio. Ng, who is native of Hong Kong and now resides in Seattle, won a stellar four WPBA qualifiers in the 2008 season.
Ming Ng
This event also saw great performances from 3rd Place finishers Sherry Fredericks and Junior World Champion, Brittany Bryant, who knocked out Morgan Steinman as well as Liz Lovely. Representing NYC, dedicated Predator Tour players, Gail Glazebrook, Olga Gashkova, Borana Andoni, Erin McManus, and Linda Cheung also had strong performances at this year’s Expo.
New York’s own Junior rising star, Darwin Vergara, finished 3rd in the 14-and-under division, coming through a tough field of the best young players in the country, including a big win against Jonathan Castillo. Jonathan would go on to win the Juniors 2nd Chance event, defeating 14-year-old phenom Briana Miller in the finals. On Sunday morning, Darwin would finish third, falling to Daniel Satinoff. Both Darwin and Jonathan are regular players on Tony Robles’ Predator Tour and have great attitudes toward the game. Darwin’s father, Mhet Vergara, recently finished 3rd in the Predator Tour 2009 opening event.
Darwin Vergara
Daniel Satinoff would then face Kevin Sun of Harvard, MA in the finals, but not have as much luck, losing 5-3 and 5-1 to Sun. In the Juniors 19-and-under division, Mac Harrell (who took out last year’s winner Chris Futrell in the semi-finals) would come out on top, defeating Luther Farley.
Read on for NYC Grind Contributing Writer Geoff Conway’s breakdown of the pro action in the Diamond Open 10-Ball Pro Players Championship, as well as the ladies invitational event, and the Expo’s Pro/Am…
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JOHN SCHMIDT WINS THE DIAMOND OPEN 10 BALL PRO PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
John Schmidt, a player known for his prowess the straight pool field, really made a stamp on the 9-Ball world this week, winning the prestigous Diamond Open 10-Ball Event at Valley Forge, in PA. Schmidt, who definitely excels in multiple disciplines of pool, also recently won the coveted Derby City Classic One-Pocket title in January, as well as the Accu Stats Gameshow at the DCC, which was a single-elimination race to one in 9-ball, with a 16-man field including 9-ball killers like Mika Immonen, Shane Van Boening, and Efren Reyes.
Corey Deuel was waiting on the winner’s side for the other quarter-finalists to battle it out, after beating Oscar Dominguez late on Saturday evening. Deuel and Dominguez then had to wait for the outcome of the Ralph Souquet vs. John Schmidt match and the Thorsten Hohmann vs. Charlie Bryant match.
Ralf Souquet’s run in this event was soon to come to an end. When the German made only a couple of unfamiliar mistakes, they were pounced on by an on-form John Schmidt. John, who looked very confident and at the same time relaxed, cruised to an easy win with a score line of 10-5.
On the next table it was Thorsten Hohmann trying to get past “The Hillbilly” Charlie Bryant. However, Charlie did not get the memo, and clinically dispatched the German into 5/6 place, with a score of 10-4. Charlie, who had some close matches in the earlier rounds, was firing on all cylinders against Thorsten.
The first match on Sunday morning was Charlie Bryant vs. John Schmidt, which unfortunately did not turn into the battle we had hoped to see, when Charlie did not show up with his “A” game, and was easily beaten by Mr. Schmidt, who was still playing great 10-Ball.
John’s next match was against Oscar Dominguez in the semi-finals. Oscar, who was having a great run in this event, was playing with such confidence that I looked for him to give John a good run for his money.
Unfortunately, I think that the occasion got to Oscar a little, and in meeting Mr. Schmidt in such good form, it was not to be his day, losing 10-6, and putting Oscar in 3rd place. I know that his father Ernesto Dominguez must be very proud of him for both the way he conducted himself in the tournament, and his reaching 3rd place.
Now we finally had the much-awaited final with the contenders Corey Deuel and John Schmidt facing off for a first prize of $20,000. With only $7,000 going to second place, first place was the only thing in sight for both players in this race to 13 formatted final.
Corey Deuel in the Finals against John Schmidt
John, who had just finished playing his semi-final match, I felt should have had the edge going into this match, due to his already being in stroke. It looked as though this was the case with John going straight into a 4-1 lead. However Corey did not take long to get in stroke, and quickly tied the match at 7-7.
This match was turning into a real close one, with the score getting tied again at 10-10, before Corey jumped out to to a score line of 12-10 to get on the hill. However, John would not let go of Corey’s leg, and fought back to tie the match hill-hill. With John breaking, it looked as though he would be the favorite to win at this point, but remember that it is not over until the fat pool player sings.
John Schmidt
John broke and wow he comes up dry, leaving a road map for Corey to go for the gold. But it was not to be, when Corey ran just a little out out of position on the five ball which went into the side pocket. Making the five a harder cut, but not unmakeable. Oops, Corey gets a skid on the five-ball and leaves an easy run out for John.
This is a great win for John, who can now add this prestigous event to go along with his 2006 US Open Title.
Congratulations to Allen Hopkins and and his entire Allen Hopkins Productions Staff for putting on another fantastic event, both for the Pros and the Amateurs alike. This is truly a great venue and one of the most looked-forward-to events of the year.
My standouts in the pro event, were Oscar Dominguez and Dominic Jentsch, for both their entertaining play and their achievements in this event. Two young guns that we will be seeing a lot more of. Remember that Dominic is only just seventeen, and is a phenom in the making. He is the German Junior Champion, and surprised everybody with his 150 and out in the straight pool event in Jacksonville last fall.
Shawn Putnam is also showing great form not only in this event, but with a recent fourth place finish at the Joss Turning Stone event last month. All due, he says to taking a little longer of stroking the ball. Take note, amateurs!
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On Sunday we also saw the finals ladies take the stage, as Allison Fisher clearly dominated the field of 16 players, coming out to beat the young Korean Champion, Yu Ram Cha, 10-5 in the finals. Allison was definitely the favorite for this event, and always a pleasure to watch. Congratulations to all the ladies who came out to compete!
NYC Grind's Geoff Conway with Allison Fisher
In the Pro Am event which was run on Saturday evening and on Sunday morning, it was Dennis Hatch who is keeping his winning streak going by coming out the winner in the final over Mike Dechaine.
Dennis took the $2,000 first prize, having wins over Jeremy Sossei, Darren Appleton, (A good omen for the $20,000 Action Report challenge match that they are scheduled to play in Vegas in early May) and Eddie Abraham on his route to the final.
I trust that you all had a great time at the Expo this year, and that you got home safely. See you all next year!
Geoff Conway - Pool Junkie
Dennis Hatch
Jerry T’s Player Spotlight:
One of my highlights from the tournament was catching a portion of the match between emerging superstar Brandon Shuff and the legendary grinder, Rodney “The Rocket” Morris.
Brandon recently won the NCS 8 Ball National Championships, and has been one of the hottest emerging players in the Northeast, and Rodney has been a dominant force of the Pro Tour for some time. In this match, Rodney showed his many fans in the Northeast that he is still on the top of his game, beating Brandon 10-4.
After the match, I caught up with Rodney’s long-time friend Jimmy Cole, who was also watching some of the pro action. Jimmy mentioned to me that he has been watching Rodney play for many, many years, and he feels that Rodney is about to show the pool world a new gear. In Jimmy’s opinion, Rodney is the most impressive and explosive player on the tour right now. He advised pool fans to stay tuned, because Rodney is counting down until liftoff.
On another note, I would also like to thank to all the fans who came down to check out the Expo, as well as the NYC Grind supporters who stopped by our booth. We look forward to seeing you again soon….
Stay on the Grind…
Jerry T
Sunday’s Photo Gallery
(We recommend viewing the gallery with the “View With Piclens” link.)
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