Ken Doherty Appointed as New WPBSA Official

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Posted on 9th May 2012 by admin in Billiards

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Ireland’s Ken Doherty, one of the most experienced snooker players in the professional line up and the former World Snooker Championship winner has been appointed an official of the snooker governing body, World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). The Irishman will be taking charge in the organization as Non-Executive Player Director and advising on current playing matters will include in his duties.

The former champion will be joining the former six-time World Snooker Champion from England, Steve Davis in his team. After Davis, Doherty is the second Non-Executive Player Director of the association and he will work together with the Englishman. Having Doherty in the line-up of the board of directors of the organization has made the WPBSA chairman, Jason Ferguson quite happy.

While speaking to the World Snooker, Ferguson said that they are delighted that Ken has agreed to join them and they look forward to working with him. Over the past two decades, he has been a fantastic ambassador for snooker and he has always played his part in promoting the highest standards in the sport. He added that Ken is extremely popular, well respected by his fellow professionals and brings a vast amount of knowledge to their table. He further said that the sport of snooker is going from strength to strength and the WPBSA continues to play a vital as it expands rapidly worldwide.

On the other hand, Doherty hoped that his experience as a player would facilitate when it comes to keeping at heart the concerns of the players as a whole when key decisions are made in terms of alterations to the tour and he has expressed that he was delighted to join the WPBSA board.

After showing superb talent in the early days of his professional career, the Irish potter is the only player to clinch the World Snooker Championship at amateur level. The momentum of WPBSA’s run to strengthen and promote the game across the globe will definitely boost by Doherty’s appointment in the board. Doherty stated that he is looking forward to work with the Englishman and other officials of the body and he added that working along with a legend like Davis would surely be a marvelous experience.

Advani Wins 11th Asian Billiards Championship Title

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Posted on 12th April 2012 by admin in Billiards

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Six-time world champion Pankaj Advani defeated Thawat Sujaritthurakarn of Thailand in the final and clinched the 11th Asian Billiards Championship title. Advani started the proceedings on a positive note by winning the opening game; however, it was Thawat who played at the Clube Tennis De Gaspar Dias Miramar, impressed in the initial stages of the match. Thawat secured a 2-1 lead by taking the second and third games. At the Clube Tennis De Gaspar Dias Miramar, Advani beat Praput by 5 games to 4.

Thawat whitewashed the challenge of the other Indian, Devendra Joshi 5 games to nil and Thailand had the satisfaction of winning this semifinal. In this championship, Thawat has been one of the most consistent and steady performers on view and it would be absolutely unwise to right-off this dodgy exponent of the three ball game when he faces Pankaj in the Billiards final.

Advani stroked the balls well and compiled an unbeaten century break to take the fourth game and restore parity at 2-2, under a bit of pressure as he was trailing 1-2. Thawat stranded once again at 0, as Advani notched up a 73 break to win the fifth game.

Advani showed no mercy. On way to pocketing the sixth game, he just went about his job of scoring in a fluent manner with clinical efficiency to record another unbeaten century break. Thawat was completely subdued. Thawat greatly required a possible one-cushion regulation cannon to have a semblance of a chance of making a comeback after Advani had begun the seventh game, but he could not take any advantage whatsoever. Advani got a yellow pot while trying to score a cannon. He promptly double-baulked, following on the stroke. This ploy enabled Advani to stretch the lead to 5-2 and a break of 98. However, Thawat fought back. He compiled a century break to get one back and trail by 3-5. That was the only distance he was able to cover.

In the ninth game, Advani stamped his authority on the rather one-sided match with a splendid century break to win the match and championship title with consummate ease.

Trevor Heal Wins Tri-State Billiard Title

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Posted on 28th March 2012 by admin in Billiards

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Trevor Heal trounced Gary Murgia 7-1 before moving on to the hot seat match in the winners’ side final four. It was his first meeting with Jeziorsky. The latter had just bested Chris Luethi 7-4. Jeziorsky triumphed over Heal 7-5 to claim the hot seat, although it was close match.

Trevor Heal came first, followed by Brian Jeziorsky in second and Bill Suden in third. David Danchak and Gary Murgia came fourth and fifth respectively.

Heal took top honors in the Tri-State stop as he started strong and finished the same way. He finished by returning from the semifinals to take down hot seat occupant, Bryan Jeziorsky and earlier, he had opened his 6-1 campaign with a shutout. B-D handicapped event drew 30 entrants to Port Richmond Billiards on Staten Island with the $750-added. Heal moved on to defeat Inna Bediner and Rajesh Vannala following his opening round shutout over Ed Culhane. These wins moved him among the winners’ side final four to face Gary Murgia.

In the meantime, Jeziorsky squared off against Chris Luethi. Once Jeziorsky had sent Luethi west 7-4 and Heal had defeated Murgia 7-1, Heal and Jeziorsky got their first shot at each other. With a 7-5 victory over Heal, Jeziorsky got into the hot seat and that would prove to be his last.

In the midst of a run that was propelling Murgia to the quarterfinals; he moved over to meet David Danchak. He had gotten by Mike Zimmy double hill and Richard Anderson 6-3. Luethi was on a four-match run that would set him up to face Heal in the semifinals. Luethi had drawn with Bill Suden. He had gotten by Culhane 7-4 and Vannala 7-3 to pick up Luethi.

Suden was benefiting from a forfeit by Luethi with Danchak downed Murgia 8-2. Suden won the quarterfinal match by double hill versus Danchak and turned to face Heal. For a second crack at Jeziorsky, Heal won his only loss-side match 7-4.

Heal pulled out to a 4-1 lead after trading racks through the opening two games of the extended race-to-9 finals. Jeziorsky won two in a row, to pull within one and they traded racks to 5-2. This proved to be his last win. After that, Heal went on a four-game run that first, when he reached seven games, forced the extension to nine games, and then, two racks later, earned him first prize.

The ownership and staff at Port Richmond Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Kamui Tips, BlueBook Publishing, Sterling-Gaming, Human Kinetics, Ron Tarr Cues and Phil Capelle were thanked by tour representatives. Next stop is scheduled for April 1, at Carom Cafe and Billiards in Flushing, NY for the Tri-State Tour is a $1000-added, A-D handicapped event.

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

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Posted on 26th May 2011 by admin in Billiards

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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

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Posted on 12th May 2011 by admin in Billiards

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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

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Posted on 28th April 2011 by admin in Billiards

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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

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Posted on 15th April 2011 by admin in Billiards

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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

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Posted on 30th March 2011 by admin in Billiards

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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

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

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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

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Posted on 7th February 2011 by admin in Billiards

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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.

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