River Spirit Casino Will Host The 2011 WPBA’s U.S. Open

Comments Off

Posted on 26th May 2011 by admin in Billiards

, , ,

The 2011 Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s U.S. Open will be held at the River Spirit Event Center at 81st Street from June 15 to19. The River Spirit Casino beat out Dallas to host the Women’s Professional Billiards Association.

According to River Spirit Casino’s website, 64 players will compete each day during two sessions in double elimination play.

The Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau, Visit Tulsa, estimates that the event, at 81st Street and Riverside Drive, will draw 1,000 spectators a day and have an economic impact of $260,000.

According to the website, scheduled players for the 2011 U.S. Open tournament include top rated players Vivian Villarreal “The Texas Tornado”, “The Assassin” Monica Webb, current number one rated US Bar Table Championship Woman’s 9-Ball along with 2010 U.S. Open 2nd place winner, the “Irish Invader” Karen Corr, and returning to defend her title as winner of the 2010 U.S. Open, “Little Devil Girl”, Ga-Young Kim.

On June 15 at 7 p.m. at the Event Center, the WPBA will start the tournament with a charity event where the public is invited to play with professionals. Proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

At the River Spirit Event Center box office tickets are on sale now. During the tournament ESPN will air live coverage of matches on Saturday and Sunday.

6th Annual Ozone Billiards US Amateur Open Begins in July

Comments Off

Posted on 12th May 2011 by admin in Billiards

, , ,

Ozone Billiards US Amateur OpenThe 2011 Ozone Billiards US Amateur Open is back in its 6th year and the event begins on July 28 until July 31 at Emerald Billiards in New Iberia, Louisiana. It will ring forth some of the finest amateur talents around the country. 7 total tournaments with 9-Ball and 8-Ball disciplines, with divisions in Open, Women, Seniors, Mixed Doubles and new Pro-Am 9-Ball Open which allows all players pro or amateur to play will feature in this 6th installment of this amateur show. In the 8-Ball events, No Pros, No Semi-Pros, No Top Rated Amateur players will be permitted to play.

The winner of the Pro-Am 9-Ball $5000 based on moderate field sizes and the champion of the Open 8-Ball will receive $3000. The event is supported also by Simonis Cloth, Poison Cues by Predator and APA Acadiana.

Ozone Billiards has had a history of supporting professional tours as well such as The World Straight Pool Championship, The Predator International 10-Ball Championship and the Dragon Promotions Pro Classic.

In 2008, the host Emerald Billiards opened it but in 2009, moved to a new million-dollar facility by owner Keith Hulin. Emerald Billiards has hosted major amateur events such as the APA Tri-Cup with over 800 players and it has 20 Valley Bar Tables and 8 Brunswick Gold Crown Vs. Emerald will be hosting both the amateur and pro events for the second time. APA Acadiana will be supporting the event. Preston and Lisa Granger operate APA Acadiana. With over 4000 members, they run one of the top ten largest pool in America.

WPBA Texas State Billiards Champion – Nicole Keeney

Comments Off

Posted on 28th April 2011 by admin in Billiards

, , ,

Nicole KeeneyAt the April 16-17 stop of the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour, Nicole Keeney defeated a 44-player field, and she was crowned the WPBA Texas State champion. In pool, she was competing for the WPPA U.S. Open qualifier spot. The event was hosted by Casper’s Billiards, San Leon, TX, and it drew some of the finest women players.

On the winners’ side, it came down to Keeney in opposition to Amanda Lampert and Ming Ng against Ricki Casper, while in the one-loss side; Jennifer Kraber took hold of the qualifier over Orietta Strickland. Ng bested Casper 7-4, while Keeney won her match hill-hill. Keeney kept the streak going with a 7-4 success over Ng in the hot seat match.

Winner of the November 2010 tour stop at Casper’s, Terry Petrosino was hanging tough as she won a hill-hill match against Lampert, on the one-loss side. On Saturday, Lisa Marr was capable to get another opportunity against Casper. She bested Marr 7-0. Marr avenged this loss on Sunday with a score of 7-4.

With a rematch of the hot seat between Ming and Nicole, the finals were set. Ming would need to overpower Nicole in 2 sets. As Ming was securing win after win, it appeared that it would as if go to 2 sets, eventually reaching the hill 6-1. Nicole would not go down so easily and she had to refresh and dig deep. A safety battle ensued, with a nice 6-7-8-9 run; ultimately, Nicole was able to conclude the match. Both Nicole and Ming produced some exhilarating play and strong finishes.

The top five finishers were – Nicole Keeney $750, Ming Ng $550, Terry Petrosino $400, Lisa Marr $260 and Amanda Lampert $160.

Asian Billiards Title for Alok

Comments Off

Posted on 15th April 2011 by admin in Billiards

, , ,

Alok KumarNational champion Alok Kumar achieved the rare feat of winning both the Billiards and Snooker Asian titles and became the first cueist to do the same. At the Olympic Stadium of Kish Island, he blanked Praput Chaithanasukan of Thailand 6-0 to win the Asian Billiards championship. Alok defeated his compatriot Pankaj Advani, former World Professional Billiards champion in the finals back in 2004 in Jordan. Elated Alok said that the feeling of winning is great and he cannot believe his achievement.

Alok was not even expected to be there to beat it all. He was interested in the Philippines Open 10-ball pool, but National coach Manoj Kothari convinced the Punjab cueist to skip the same for the Asian billiards bash.

From the beginning, Alok showed a great deal of grit and determination in the best of 11 games 100up format summit clash. He compiled a break of 93 to go 1-0 ahead in his first visit to the table.

Seemingly, in command, with brilliant stroke play, Alok rattled his opponent and conjuring breaks of 84 and 85 in the second and third games respectively to open up 3-0 lead in just 25 minutes.

In the fourth game, Alok once again showed his versatility by prevailing over his opponent with his tactical brilliance. His game showed why he is one of the best all-round cueists in the country. Staging a wonderful recovery to clinch the fifth, Alok showed his fighting skills too, before posting a break of 73 to seal the sixth and the title for another historic victory this season.

Newman Grabs Great Southern Billiards Win

Comments Off

Posted on 30th March 2011 by admin in Billiards

, , ,

On the weekend of March 26-27, Josh Newman, now 18 years old, has been a part of the Great Southern Billiard Tour for four years. In three separate divisions; B, A, and Double-A, he became the lone player on the tour to ever win events. Going unbeatable on the $1,500-added event, he took his first Double-A match and he had drawn 74 contestants to Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.

To complete the task, Newman had to get by B.J. Ussery twice and did so first among the winners’ side final four, hurling Ussery west 11-10. In the meantime, Glen Russell was busy sending Jack Miller over 9-4. With an 11-7 triumph over Russell, Newman got into the hot seat and waited for what turned out to be Ussery’s return.

It was Ussery who marked up the final game to move on to the semifinal match against Russell, even though Ussery and Champion were determined to be the one to move on, fighting their way to hill-hill 10-8 and it was Ussery who played his way into the finals 11-5, leaving Russell behind in third.

Newman and Ussery stayed quite even until they’d reached seven games apiece in the true double-elimination final match, but an accidental 9 ball in the next rack permitted him to reach the hill 10-7 and a few bad rolls and errors on Ussery’s part allowed Newman to pull ahead 9-7. Ussery snookered himself on the 6 and missed the kick, even though he took the next game, Newman went back to the table to clean up what was left and he had put another GSBT victory under his belt.

Inaugural 2011 Asian 6-Reds Snooker Championship – Review

0 comments

Posted on 23rd February 2011 by admin in Snooker & Pool

, , ,

In the last-32 round of inaugural Asian 6-Reds Snooker Championship in Chanthaburi Thailand, Pakistan’s top ranked cueist Imran Shehzad won and lost a match.

In the first match round of 32, Imran registered an exciting 5-4 win over Mustafa Shehab of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Against newcomer Muhammad Shahid, Imran, who suffered a shock defeat in the final of NJI 36th National Snooker Championship here, chalked out his best win in the Asian event, when he overpowered Macau Indoor Asian Games gold medalist Shehab in a fully extended nine frame contest.

Lahore based recovered from 1-2 and 3-4 down to set up 0-53, 33-0, 0-43, 34-22, 18-48, 38-37, 19-44, 31-22, 45-0 victory. However, in the second match of last 32 rounds, Kamal Chawla of India beat Imran Shahzad 5-3. Imran after losing the first two frames came back strongly and took the next three frames in row to gain 3-2 lead. Shahzad was ruthless against Owais as he comfortably won the five frames. Chawla plays compatriot Brijesh Daman in the quarter-final. Shahzad had earlier also beaten UAE’s Mustafa Shehab in a closely-contested encounter 5-4 to finish second in the last-32.

Kamal Chawla showed a great fight back won the three frames in a smart fashion to record 43-24, 46-0, 0-66, 10-31, 07-31, 44-08, 57-0, 37-21 win. Pakistan’s Asian number two Muhammad Sajjad already crashed out of the competition after three straight defeats in the league rounds.

Police Seize Illegal Gaming Machines at Local Pool Halls

Comments Off

Posted on 7th February 2011 by admin in Billiards

, , ,

Athens police raided two pool halls and seized at least $1,500 cash. The two pool halls were accused of conducting backroom gambling. The raid also netted 15 video gaming machines.

At Eightball Billiards and Bama Billiards, the raid occurred simultaneously. On Market Street in downtown Athens, the railroad track separates the two. When officers entered at Bama Billiards, two people were playing machines.

Capt. Floyd Johnson said that they received several citizen complaints about gambling and they do not know yet how long they have been operating. The undercover operation was started about two weeks ago.

The machines and cash were seized by the officers. $1,500 was the amount of cash seized and there is a possibility that the amount of cash could total more than that seized. On totaling the money, investigators still were working, securing the machines and doing warrant checks on those inside both pool halls.

Johnson said that nobody has been charged yet and they will probably get arrest warrants next week. To determine who owns and operates them, investigators are checking business licenses. He added that one pool hall had a back door that led to the video gaming area. The other had the video gaming area separated from the pool tables by a wall. How much it cost to play the games was however remains unknown.

This year, it was the second gambling raid in the area. In January, from The Corner Store in the Kitchens Mill community, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department confiscated four machines and $1,300 cash. Based on receipts, Lawrence Sheriff Gene Mitchell said those machines probably were generating $5,000 to $6,000 a week.

Following several weeks of undercover work by police, electronic gaming machines and cash were seized from Bama Billiards, at 106 E. Market St., and Eight Ball Billiards, at 100 W. Market St. police made no arrests, although they expect to do so.

Rawat Creates Sensation at CCI Open Invitation Snooker Challenge

0 comments

Posted on 21st January 2011 by admin in Snooker & Pool

, , ,

In the Rs 5-lakh CCI Open Invitation Snooker Challenge, Delhi collegian Laxman Rawat created a sensation when he surprised snooker legend Jimmy White of the United Kingdom 4-3 in a league encounter.

The 19-year-old started off in brilliant fashion in his Group C tie against 48-year-old White and cruised to a memorable 72(71)-0, 39-51, 3-59, 76 (50)-35, 36-54, 73-39, 69-22 victory. White in his three-decade long career has won 23 professional titles and a six-time world runner-up. He is among a few who have compiled snooker’s highest possible break of 147 in its world championship history.

White said that the young Indian cuests playing in the tournament would benefit from the experience of playing with top international players. White is highly favored to pocket the top prize of Rs 1.5 lakh. The final day of the tournament is on January 23. He added that he would try to make the tournament better by getting some more (international) players.

Rawat was expected to be no match for the 48-year-old White. Rawat came into the tournament as a qualifier. At the Cricket Club of India, Rawat started well and he continued the momentum. He said that he was quite tensed in the beginning but gradually, he was calm and focused on the game. With a 71, He started off well. Including an unfinished 55, he had two other fifty breaks.

Rawat had lost all his three encounters against Manan Chandra, Kaman Chawla and Neeraj Kumar, in the six-man pool. Against Nikhil Ootam, he will play his final league game.

Perfect Start for O’Sullivan and Higgins in Championship League Snooker

0 comments

Posted on 7th January 2011 by admin in Snooker & Pool

, , ,

In the Championship League Snooker at Crondon Park, Essex, Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins made the perfect start, each winning all three of their opening matches. A comfortable 3-1 win for the world number one over Ali Carter, before edging his remaining matches against Shaun Murphy and Mark Williams.

O’Sullivan lost just two of the 11 frames he contested, with crushing 3-0 wins over world champion Neil Robertson and Jamie Cope. He also beat Shaun Murphy by 3-2. After winning the UK Championship, John Higgins is back in snooker and he is in sparkling form, but when he fights for the Ladbrokes Mobile Masters at Wembley next week, he will not feel at home.

On Sunday, Wembley Arena hosts the biggest invitational snooker event and runs until January 16. The former world champion Higgins finds the atmosphere inside the venue more than a little intimidating and he is not a fan of the event.

Higgins has won 18 of his last 19 matches. He captured the trophy at the 12BET.com UK Championship and he has now returned in flying form, after serving his now infamous ban from Snooker. Higgins said that he has always been overawed by the atmosphere at Wembley. As per him, if one starts playing badly, then the feeling gets exaggerated. He added that except the 2006 final, where he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan, he has not played to a great standard.

He said that he has bombed out so many times in the first round, although he admits that he does not have a terrible record. For him it is a fabulous tournament and he would like to produce his best by playing better at Wembley. At the moment, he is high in confidence and he is really looking forward to do better. This week, at the Championship League, he will be playing to get himself sharp, even though he only played for a couple of days over Christmas.

Frenetic Season For Pankaj Advani – Billiards

0 comments

Posted on 24th December 2010 by admin in Billiards

, , ,

Pankaj Advani touched base after another near triumph in the IBSF World Snooker Championships in Damascus last week. He had a frenetic season that bagged him the Asian billiards title, the Asian Games billiards gold and the National snooker title. He went to Syria nevertheless and rediscovered his snooker touch again.

Pankaj Advani said that he was too tired after the Asian Games and he went out to Syria without expectations. It was not just the Asiad that took a toll on him rather a series of events before Guangzhou. He said he played freely in Syria because he had set up his mind that if he did not make it past the group stage it was okay for him. He had a lot of pressure on him before the Asiad and after winning the Asiad Games gold, the pressure abated. For him it was the biggest event of the year. He did not care about other results after winning the gold medal at Asiad.

In all the two evening sessions, he got about three hours of practice. The gold in the Asiad games boosted his confidence to new levels. He said that he did not play his 100 percent but still he managed to bag gold for India. This made him believe that even if he not at his best, he still can win matches and that is what was most important to Advani.

In another piece of news, Pankaj Advani sponsored the entire amount required for the open-heart surgery of a toddler, who was detected with a hole in her heart, which necessitated an immediate surgery at Narayana Hrudayalaya, one of the largest pediatric heart hospitals in the world.

His sponsorship is said to give the child a fresh lease of life. Advani said that his contribution was like a drop in an ocean. He added that only 60,000 heart surgeries are performed out of an estimated 2400,000 people, as very few could afford the cost of surgery.

« Older Entries