Thursday 7 December 2017

Falcon Pro Tour :"The Dancing Bear" Returns to his Winning Ways at Le Patriote


Finalist Alain Martel and Joey Cicero 
By: Markus Noé

Over the weekend of December 2-3 Le Patriote situated in St.Eustache, Québec hosted the fifth stop of the Falcon Québec Pro Tour.  It was another healthy field of 40 players that showed up despite  competing with several other tournaments within driving distance. As usual the rules were call every shot, rack your own break from the box and alternate break.

All the usual favourites were in attendance such as Alain Martel, Danny Hewitt, Dany Nguyen, Martin Daigle and more. Francis Crevier was really the only regular professional in the area that did not make it due to a Snooker tournament. There was a few new additions to the field this time such as Mike Petrowitcz from Barrie, Ontario and Stephen Scobie from Newmarket Ontario. Along with myself filling out the Ontario contingent there was Wayne Tate from Oshawa and Mike Black from Lindsay.

Throughout day 1 there was no real upsets to report as all the favourites made it through.  A notable match however took place against Alain Martel and Danny Hewitt which saw Hewitt being sent to the one loss side 9-6.

Final 8 who returned Sunday

Winner Side

5 Mike Patrowicz vs 9 Joey Cicero
6 Luc Salvas vs 9 Alain Martel

One loss side

9 Martin Daigle vs  5 Daniel Gagne
7 Jeff blais vs 9 Dany Nguyen

In the 5/6 match up's it was Nguyen vs Patrowicz and Daigle vs Salvas. Nguyen winner of the last stop at Terminus in Gatineau who earlier on in the tournament eliminated Hewitt did the same to Patrowicz 9-7. Patrowicz is virtually unknown around these parts but I am told he is a very solid player and well known in Southern Ontario. That being said he held is own against some of the best players in Québec and fell just short against Nguyen. Daigle who has been easily one of the most consistent players recently eliminated Nguyen 9-5. He then went on to face Joey Cicero for the second time and lost another close match 9-7.  Cicero who lost 9-7 to Martel in the winners side final  earned his second chance at the "Dancing Bear."


It takes more than one arrow to kill the "Dancing Bear."

Less then a week after publicly questioning whether or not his game was slipping, and realizing he was no longer a top 5 ranked player in Quebec Alain Martel wins!The young gun Joey Cicero lead several times to start this race to 11. 4-0, 6-1 and 9-5 however it was not enough as Alain "The Dancing Bear" won 11-9! Great shooting to both players. Incredible performance by both players.

I would like to thank Danny Hewitt and Luc Paquette for running a great tournament. The next stop will be January 13-14 a Dooly's Levis. Go to www.falconcuesquebectour.com for full detailsl.

Payouts: 

1 Alain Martel 1000 $ 
2 Joey Cicero 800 $ 
3 Martin Daigle 625 $ 
4 Dany Nguyen 460 $ 
5 - 6 Mike Patrowitcz330 $ 
5 - 6 Luc Salvas 330 $ 
7 - 8 Daniel Gagné 200 $ 
7 - 8 Jeff Blais 200 $ 
9 - 12 Martin Sears 70 $ 
9 - 12 Danny Hewitt 70 $ 
9 - 12 David Deschênes 70 $ 
9 - 12 Mehdi Bahloul 70 $

Second Chance

1-Vincent Beauregard 200 $
2-Dominic Byrne 150 $
3-David Lanthier 100 $

4-Martin Bouthotte 50 $

Wednesday 22 November 2017

Gatineau: Nguyen Dominates Falcon Québec Pro Tour Stop at Terminus

Photo Courtesy of Guy Simard www.billardquebec.com

 By: Markus Noé

Terminus Bar-Billard in Gatineau, Québec hosted the most recent Falcon Québec Pro Tour this past weekend November  18-19. In the 3 year history of the tour, Terminus has always been one of their best results in terms of player participation. This season was no different as 49 players came to partake, some came as far from Montreal, New York State and the Greater Toronto Area.

Danny Hewitt current number one player in Québec and one of the most accomplished players in the country is a co-founders of the tour. The rules are similar to Mike Zuglan's Joss Tour as it is break from the box, which makes the break shot more unpredictable. The difference in the Falcon Tour compared to the Joss Tour is that every shot is call shot, you are permitted to rack your own balls and it is alternate break.

Despite the high participation the tournaments favourites remained virtually the same. As per usual Danny Hewitt was a clear favourite as I believe he has won nearly half of all the events over the 3 year existence of the tour. Then Alain Martel, Francis Crevier and Martin Daigle were all in the mix. However not to be forgotten is the up and coming young pro's in Québec who are beginning to make names for themselves, Dany Nguyen, Joey Cicero and Maxime Villneuve to name a few.

As a mid range amateur I have been a big supporter of this tour, which to my knowledge is the only Pro Tour in Canada. Whenever the tour stops are within reach I enjoy throwing my hat in the ring and testing my skills against some of the best players in the country. Quickly for me this was my best performance in a pro level field as I was able to cash in the 13-16th place. On route to doing so I had the luxury of playing two legends.

In my first round I matched up against Alain "The Dancing Bear" Martel, who over the years I have been doing Cue Sport Nation as become a friend. Before our match he must of noticed I was a little nervous as this was my first time playing him. In classic Martel humour he says to me after we shake hands, "this is the first time we play right? I have been waiting for this moment all my life." I could not help but laugh out loud. Martel went on to beat me 9-2, then on the losers side I was able to dispatch some good players before I ran into Luc "Machine Gun" Salvas who ended my run 9-3. With the staggered entry these tournaments are great learning experiences for players at my level and I highly recommend participating whenever possible.

In Martel's next match he paired up against a strong Semi-Pro from my home room of Rack-M-Up Billiards Jean Therriault. In what is considered a major upset, Therriault notched his first ever win against Martel in a thrilling 9-8 victory. The other day 1 upset was Andy Aupin a strong pro from Sudbury who just had a good tournament at the East Coast Challenge in Halifax the week before defeated Hewitt 9-7. Otherwise all the favourites made it through the winners side on day 1.

It should be noted that Dany Nguyen who already had one previous final appearance in Trois-Riviere this season was on fire. He won his first round 9-2, then in what on paper would seem to be a fantastic match of two of Québec's young pro's ended up being a white of Nguyen over Joey Cicero 9-0. On Saturday no one was able to get past 5 on the day, which shows just how dominate Nguyen was. In his last matche of the day against Jean Therriault he won with ease 9-2.

 Sunday the final 4 on the winners side were Nguyen vs Daigle and Crevier vs Aupin. Nguyen continued his torrid pace winning 9-2 and Crevier was able to edge out Aupin 9-8. On the losers side Hewitt began to find his form as he beat Pierre Normand 9-1, then Martin Daigle 9-1 and followed this up with a 9-3 win over John Leblanc. In the losers side match Crevier ended his run 9-6 setting up a winners side final rematch.

Francis Crevier and Dany Nguyen
Crevier made it close, however no one was going to stop Nguyen from winning this tournament as he went on to win 11-7 to capture his first Falcon Tour victory of his short professional career. Nguyen was clearly playing the best all weekend and deserved the win, Cue Sport Nation would like to congratulate him on this landmark moment.

I would like to thank Danny Hewitt for the sponsorship so I could cover this event. Also Luc Paquette long time director of the Falcon Tour despite having a significant personal health issue and a week outside of a surgery came and did a great job as always. Francis Farley was also vital for keeping the tournament running smoothly throughout the weekend and acted as a referee, both these guys did a great job this weekend. Finally I would like to thank Patrick De Repentigny and Daniel Samson and the entire Terminus Staff. Before this tournament they invested a significant amount of money to re-cloth and level all the tables so the conditions were nearly flawless for this event.

The next Falcon Tour Stop will be at La Patriote in St.Eustache December 2-3 hope to see you all there!


Falcon Tour Pay Out 

1-Dany Nguyen 1125$
2-Francis Crevier 900$
3-Danny Hewitt 680$
4-John Leblanc 500$
5-6 Martin Daigle 340$
5-6Andy Aupin 340$
7-8 Luc Salvas 200$
7-8 Pierre Normand 200$
9-12Jean Thériault 90$
9-12Eric Hamel 90$
9-12Maxime Villeneuve 90$
9-12Alain Martel 90$
13-16Markus Noe 40$
13-16Andre Goyette 40$
13-16Mehdi Bahloul 40$
13-16Nicolas Charette 40$


Amateur Only Second Chance Pay Out

1-Dave Simard 200$
2-Dominic Gauthier 150$
3-Alex Lalanne 100$
4-Neil Ayotte 50$



Tuesday 7 November 2017

Moscow: Canadian Results from the Junior World Championships

Dean Cuillerier and Brenden Croft 

Submitted Article 

At this years Junior World Championships Canada was lucky enough to have 2 boys representing in Moscow Russia. 15 year old Brenden Croft from Peterborough Ontario has been playing pool since he was about 4 years old coming from a pool playing family and has been mentored recently by Mario and John Morra.

Croft 


Then there is 16 year old Dean Cuillerier from Montreal Quebec. Canadian Junior Champion 2017 and multiple junior event winner of the ADBQ junior tour in Quebec. Dean has been mentored by Alain Martel and his dad Rodney (2016 Canadien snooker champ) who made the trip to Russia with them.


 Dean Cuillerier

Dean won his first match vs. Seo from South Korea and then lost 7-6 vs Roberts from the U.S. On the losers side he won his match vs. Smithers (USA) and then lost hill hill vs. Kalyaev (Ukraine). Brenden lost his first match 7-5 vs. Peterson (South Africa) and on the B side lost a heart-breaker 7-6 vs. Schultz (USA).

The trip was a huge learning experience and both kids are looking forward to more major events in the future. Brenden will be playing at the junior event at the Super Billiards expo in Philadelphia and also at the junior BCA nationals in Vegas.

Wednesday 1 November 2017

Cornwall: Kelly Tenholder Wins Inaugural Women's Tournament at Rack-M-Up Billiards

From left to right, Mel Jacobs, Louanne Leger, Sara Lee, Kelly Tenholder
By: Markus Noé
 Sunday October 22 Rack-M-Up Billiards hosted its first  ever women's only tournament. This was the brain child of Loreen Toutant a long time competitive player who has played at every level of pool available in Canada including the prestigious Canadian Billiard & Snooker Association's, Canadian Championships.
 Since moving down from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) a few years ago Toutant has been a welcomed addition to the local pool scene. Using her connections in the Women's circuit and with the help of the owner of Rack-M-Up Billiards Doug Disotell, Toutant was able to organize a successful first event. 
Despite other events going on simultaneously a healthy field of 12 showed up to take part, one came from as far as Kitcher,Ontario. The two best represented rooms in terms of participation in this field was Rack-M-Up Billiards and Tailgators located in Ottawa,Ontario.
This tournament was a round robin format, each player would play each other once a best of 3 games. After each player played 11 matches the top 4 winners would move on.  At this point it turned into a blind draw,
The two semi final matches ended up being Mel Jacobs vs Kelly Tenholder and Louanne Leger vs Sara Lee the winners would move to the final. The losers would play to determine who would finish 3rd and 4th. Jacobs who went through the entire round robin undefeated ended up suffering her first lost in the semi-final to Tenholder. Outside of Jacobs, Leger was the only local left and she lost to Lee. 
Tenholder appeared to get comfortable with her surroundings as the day progressed and improved with each match which resulted with her winning the tournament. Congratulations to the 4 winners after a long day of pool each earned some well deserved cash for their troubles. 
Toutant would like to thank Doug Disotell who returned the "green fee's" into the prize fund for his help organizing and running the tournament. Toutant would also like to extend a thank you to Henry Barkwell. He acted as assistant director throughout the day and was crucial to the event going so smoothly. 
Everyone is invited to visit Rack-M-Up Billiards Facebook page to find out information on leagues, upcoming tournament and watch some of their archived tournament matches. Rack-M-Up Billiards also sells cues and installs, as well as repairs pool tables and cues, feel free to call Doug Disotell at 1-613-933-9362 for all your billiard needs. 

Payouts:
Kelly Tenholder $180
Sara Lee $90
Louanne Leger $50
Mel Jacobs $40

Tuesday 31 October 2017

SNOOKER'S UNLIKELIEST CHAMPIONS - BOB CHAPERON



In a series of articles over the coming weeks here at The Cue View, we take a look at some of the most surprising, long-shot tournament winners in the history of professional snooker.

First up is Bob Chaperon...

One of the unlikeliest champions of a ranking event ever was Canada's Chaperon at the 1990 British Open. He would become one of the sport's cult figures because of it.

Lower profile than his fellow professional countrymen at the time, as it stands, Chaperon is still the last Canadian to lift a ranking trophy. He based himself in Gainsborough to further his top tier snooker career and worked his way into the World's Top 32. His previous best performance was a Quarter-Final finish at the 1987 Grand Prix.

His 1989/1990 campaign had been uninspiring, though; of the seven previous events he had competed in, he failed to get past the Last 32 in any of them. However this sequence, and his life, was to dramatically change for the good at the Assembly Rooms in Derby in early March.

The 1990 British Open was screened on ITV and featured an FA Cup style draw for each round of the main stages. It would be a tournament of early eliminations for the big names with World Number 16 Steve James the highest ranked player left come the Quarter-Finals.

Chaperon came through his opening rounds which included a defeat of the World Number 6 Mike Hallett. 

In the Last 16 he would face good friend and compatriot Alain Robidoux. The match went all the way to a deciding frame where Robidoux had one foot and four toes in the Last 8 after forging a 47 point lead with just one red remaining.

Despite requiring three 4 point snookers just to tie, Chaperon elected to carry on. Sensationally, he managed to get the snookers and forced a freeball opportunity from his opponent. Blessed with a bit of luck when fluking the last red after he had inadvertently snookered himself, he managed to pull off one of the most famous turnarounds on the final black.

Now perhaps 'freerolling', the French Canadian then dispatched Neal Foulds 5-3 and Robert Marshall 9-5 in the Quarters and Semi-Finals respectively.

Chaperon's opponent in the final would be none other than a resurgent Alex Higgins.

Now into what would be the twilight of his career, 'The Hurricane' had slipped to 24th in the World Rankings, although a 9-3 victory over James in the Last 4 secured his first berth in a ranking event final for over 16 months. It would turn out to be his last ever professional final appearance.

Visibly, Higgins was emotionally charged for this match; at times it seemed as if he was attempting to intimidate his less experienced rival with his antics away from the table of play. He also complained about Chaperon and referee Alan Chamberlain disturbing him whilst he was at the table.

The maiden finalist took an early 4-1 lead, settling in with a 110 break in Frame 2 after losing the opener, but was pegged back to 4-4. From there, there was never more than one frame between them as they moved on to 8-8.

Understandably, the remainder of the match was a ragged, nervy affair, but it would be the pre-tournament 150/1 shot who kept his cool in winning 10-8. The unexpected champion collected £75,000 for his win – one of the most surprising in professional snooker history.

This would be his solitary ranking success - in fact he never reached another ranking Quarter-Final, although amazingly he did win the World Cup a few weeks later alongside partners Robidoux and Cliff Thorburn. Coincidentally, the Canadians beat Northern Ireland (Dennis Taylor, Tommy Murphy and Higgins) 9-5 in the final.

Chaperon retired in 2003 after flitting on and off the tour, but still plays back home in Canada. Only last week he reached the final of a North American invitational event.

He will forever be in the books as a major ranking event winner – a very exclusive club.


The picture above is courtesy of Markus Noe from www.cuesportnation.com


Written and published by Michael Day on the 28th October 2017

Sunday 22 October 2017

Moncton N.B: Daigle Wins Eastern Canadian 9 Ball Championships

Winner Martin Daigle 
By: Candace Campbell 

For 25 years players on the east coast have looked forward to Thanksgiving and the Eastern Canadian 9 Ball Championships. The tournament is a major event on the Maritime Pool calendar, drawing top talent to compete in Moncton, NB. As always Steve Cooper did an excellent job of making sure everything ran smoothly all weekend long.

We kicked off Friday night with the Jack Williston Memorial invitational where 15 of our best tested their skills. The format of this contest is first to 3 sets with each set being a race to 5, alternate break. It has been one of the favored formats over the years with positive feedback from participants. Close opening round matches saw NB’s Jeff Kennedy and Ashley Nowlan narrowly besting their opponents with the remaining matches won in more convincing fashion.  Jeff Blais breezed through to the semi-finals without losing a set. 

He beat former champ Jason Robichaud, and NB’s current #1 Tom Theriault before running into the event Promoter Rob Sakell. Rob put on a strong performance but in the end lost to Blais by a score of 3-2. Martin Daigle had an equally impressive showing in the lower bracket that would see these two road partners meet in the finals.  This would be Martin’s 10th appearance in a professional tournament final within the last year and a half. Daigle was due for a win.  He played well taking down the first set but Blais stepped it up a notch winning the next 3 sets in a row to take home the title.

Saturday’s round robin saw 58 participants separated into groups for the elimination round. As always, it was nice to have 4 ladies in the mix competing in a very strong field.  By day 2 we were down to the final 48 redraw: Double Elimination. The full bracket can be viewed here (insert challonge link). The highlight of this tournament was most definitely the performance of Martin Daigle. As we have seen, even seasoned professionals have their challenges. Daigle is no different.  He has worked hard for years not only on the physical but the mental aspect of the game. 

When he found himself, here in his 11th final in a year and a half his demeanor changed. It began in the semi-final against Matt Crawford. The two had met earlier in the tournament and it went to the hill with Daigle getting the better of Crawford. Here they were again and you could see the physical differences. He held his head high, focused on every shot and rarely missed. The token mannerisms we’ve all come so used to seeing were all but absent. You could tell by the calm and confidence that he wanted it and no one was going to stop him. He made swift work of Crawford 13-6 and found himself, again, facing Jeff Blais in the finals.  Blais had put him on the B side only a few matches ago, but it did not matter. Both players would give it their all and only the smallest of errors were made. In the end Martin conquered his slump and took home his first Eastern Canadian 9 Ball Championship. The final score 15-13. 

Not to be outdone, our ladies division saw 5 participants and though there was a small turnout the enthusiasm was high. Angela Buchan made her Easterns debut against some strong returning players. Nova Scotia’s Leign Ann Giles and Brenna Sylliboy, along with local ladies Louise Cormier and Joline Boudreau.  Everyone gave it their all and Brenna Sylliboy had her best ever Easterns performance. She was the lone survivor on the “A” side and had a bit of a wait for her rematch with Leigh Ann Giles. Giles came back from the “B” side with a vengeance. Sylliboy was up on her early but Giles is no stranger to competition and stuck it out coming back from a 3-0 deficit to take the set, and the title 9-5.
Congratulations to this year’s Champions! As always, we look forward to seeing everyone back here next October. The Championship is played over Thanksgiving long weekend and is open to players from NB, NS, PE, NF, and QC. If you would like to get involved as a sponsor, or participant please email Rob Sakell: moncton9ball@gmail.com.

For full brackets click HERE

Payouts

9-12 $100
7-8 $200
5-6 $300
4th $500
3rd $800
2nd $1,200
1st $1,800

Monday 18 September 2017

Cornwall: Sypes Wins Rack-M-Up Summer Series Finale

Sypes in disbelief with his big win

By: Markus Noé

On Saturday September 16 Rack-M-Up Billiards in Cornwall, Ontario held the Grand Finale of the Summer Series. 28 players qualified for this handicap AAA and under event, and every single one of them showed up to the Finale. The tournament prize pool was a hefty $2300 as some money from each qualifier was held back for the season ending tournament. Being that this is a handicap event there was many players who had a legitimate chance of winning. I had it between 8-10 real contenders and of course there is always a chance for a few surprises along the way.

Because of the amount of players who had a chance of winning the Calcutta was a great success as it went up to $2100. Some of the tournament favourites met up early on and knocked each other to the one loss side. Justin Miller, Jody Roy, Platon Liolios all suffered early defeats and hurt their chances.

The top three in this tournament as is the norm in these handicap events were all players who play strong for their rating. Mike Mitchell placed third losing to Charles Sypes in the losers side final. Mitchell had a good season has he won one of the qualifiers. Jason Hall who knocked myself to the one loss side convincingly 7-3 went undefeated to the final.

 The last match ended up being a thrill for the spectators to watch as it went down to the wire. Sypes edged out the always hard to beat Hall 7-6 to become the 4th Annual Summer Series Grande Finale Champion! Congratulations to all the winners. Honorable mentions go to Joe Herne and Loreen Toutant both on the lower end of the handicaps who matches up against some very good players and got some big wins. This allowed them to break through the field and both had impressive finishes.

Runner-up Jay Hall 
I would like to thank Doug Disotell who organized the entire season and was the tournament director for each event.He runs a very organized tournament and does not waste time between matches as all these tournaments no matter the seize of the field ended in a timely manner. Disotell also deserves some praise as when the season started the qualifiers were set at 16 Max. However there was so much interests in the circuit that he had to bump it to 24 player Max and almost all the events completely filled. Disotell would like to thank his wife Amanda Collins and their parents Mike and Joan Collins as well as Barb and Clayton Disotell for taking care of the family while he has to work.

It is now time for the fall leagues to begin, there are leagues for seniors during the day and several leagues for all classes during the evenings. Contact Doug Disotell @ 613-933-9362 for more details.

Results:


Finishing from 25-32 : Ryan McLaurin, Greg Cole, Robert Labelle and Sandra Mackay.
In order from 17-24 : Leon Cook Jr, Eric Mallet, Matt Cook, Randy O'Byrne, Clayton Disotell, Josh Levac, Amanda Collins, Cullen Arihote,
13- 16. Platon Liolios, Jeff Flemming, Doug Jacobs, Mitch Lappierre.

9-12th : Justin Miller, Mark Roy, Walter Szydlowski, Markus Noe. 
7-8 : Jody Roy $50.00
7-8 : Loreen Toutant $50.00
5-6 : Joe Herne $100.00
5-6 Jacque Sauve $100.00
4th Mathew Pawis $200.00 plus $210.00 Calcutta
3rd Mike Mitchell $300.00 plus $420.00 Calcutta
2nd Jay Hall $575.00 plus $630.00 Calcutta
1ST Charles Sypes $1000.00 plus $840.00 Calcutta

Rack-M-Up Billiards: Women's Only Tournament Coming to Cornwall!


By: Markus Noé

I am pleased to announce that my home room of Rack-M-Up Billiards will be hosting its first Women's Only tournament October 22. This will be an independently run event by Loreen Toutant. She moved from the GTA to Cornwall a few years back and as been a welcome addition to our scene here. Toutant is a very level headed player who despite starting pool later in life has become one of the better amateur players in the area, and has competed in several Canadian Championships among other big events.

For more information please see below. I look forward to seeing who shows up for this one!

Tournament Women Only Sunday 22 October 2017 @ 10 AM sharp @Rack-Em-Up Billiards 613.933.9362 – Cornwall, Ontario Players meeting 10 minutes before 10AM (MANDATORY)

This is a 1 day tournament. Registration closes @9pm Saturday,21 October 2017 The game will be 9 ball on black crown 4 &1/2x 9 foots The 9 ball is re-spotted if made on the break The 9 ball must ALWAYS be called (re-spots if pocketed during the game & was not called) The game continues until the 9 ball is pocketed in the called pocket OR leaves the playing surface.

When ONLY the 9 ball is left to shoot, LOSS OF GAME if 9 ball goes in uncalled pocket. Rack your own .. coin toss or lag for 1st break Play format will be round robin group(s). (races to 2 )# of players and # of groups will be determined by the size of the field.

Higher wins in each group will move to finals board. Finals Format will be races to 3 (brief meeting for the re-draw and to review format) There will be NO handicaps. All women are encouraged and welcome to play. When you finish a match, both players MUST report your scores to TD(Tournament Director) and choose your next opponent in your group until you've played all opponents in your group.

Please limit your 'nature breaks' between matches. Offenders may be penalized

Note: Your fees include green fees($7per player) This is donated back as part of the prize fund by the owner of Rack-Em-Up. FEES FOR ALL PLAYERS IS $30 The prize fund ($30 x # of players who paid) This will be paid to players who reach the "finals" board contact Rack-Em-Up (613-933-9362) to Register-Your name & phone # (you can pay before OR when you arrive to play on tournament day) **if you reserve your spot and don't show up, you will not be allowed to play in the next one**

Tuesday 5 September 2017

$10,000 Added Archer Cup Announced!




By: Markus Noé

Marco Sanschargrin and the Eventime Productions team are at it again with another big event. By now many of you would have heard of their work with the Classic Billard Appalaches, the Canadian Championships and the two previous Archer Cups. Eventime Productions has earned reputation for having world class events that have attracted players such as Mika Immonen, Thorsten Hohmann, John Morra,Alex Pagulayan, Jayson Shaw and many more.

Johnny Archer 
Last week the long anticipated announcement for the 3rd Annual 10 Ball Archer Cup was made. The previous two winners of this event are Thorsten Hohmann and Alex Pagulayan. The dates for this years event are September 30th to Oct 1st. The $10,000 added is based on 32 player field, and the prize pool on the poster is guaranteed for a 64 player field.

John Morra 


This years tournament will be held on a military base in St-Jean-sur-le-Richilieu which is just east of Montreal, Quebec. The Archer Cup should be well attended as their is enough Semi-Pro and Professional Talent in Quebec alone to get a good field not to mention the benefit of a staggered entry with group stages that guarantees 4 matches. Another plus for the amateur players looking to take a step up in competition is that their is a second chance $500 prize pool tournament on day two for those that did not qualify.



Rooms directly on the base can be reserved for as little as $65 a night, there is also a $30 a day meal plan. For questions please see the posters for contact info or message Marco Sanschagrin through Facebook.
Here is the link yo sign up https://shop.eventime.ca/




Wednesday 28 June 2017

Morra Hold's Off Young Gun Styer to Win Corner Bank 10 Ball Open

Runner up Tyler Styer and winner John Morra 
By: Erik Hjorleifson 

This past weekend at the Corner Bank in Scarborough, Ontario, was a weekend that I believe could be a turning point for the Toronto pool scene going forward. For those of you that have been following the scene here you will know that it has been plagued with tournaments that are over handicapped and the majority of the time do not allow pros to compete. This weekend saw a return to the traditional non handicapped style event open to all players. With $2000 added in the main event and $1000 added to the second chance event this would promise to be the most competitive tournament held in Toronto in a long time. The players responded with 40 of the very best from Toronto and surrounding areas in attendance, Tyler Styer from Wisconsin also participated as he was visiting a friend in London, Ontario.

The format was 10 ball race to 8 on the winners side and race to 7 on the losers side, winner breaks with a one set final race to 10. The player auction was quite lively as the first blind went for $1000 with John Morra being the pick of the field. Myself, Tyler Styer and Mario Morra also went in the blind bids.

Play began at around 1 pm on Saturday and there was one big upset in the first round as Isaac Ramos defeated me (Erik Hjorleifson) 8-7. Most of the favorites advanced throughout the day but there were a bunch of competitive matches that could have gone either way, here are some of the match score highlights:

John Morra 8 Tyler Nearing 6
Tyler Styer   8 Mario Morra  3
Erik Hjorleifson 7 Adam Monture 6
Brittany Bryant 8 Adam Monture 7
Mario Morra 7 Rodel Pinoy 5

After the dust settled on Saturday there were 8 players left all in the money, any players ranked AAA and under not advancing to Sunday play were eligible to compete in the $1000 added second chance tournament on Sunday.

In the winners side semi final matches Brittany Bryant continued her impressive play winning 8-7 against Ben Crawley, John Morra also defeated Tyler Styer with an 8-2 score line. Mario Morra and I both won our first losers side matches and both stalled in our next leaving us tied for fifth sixth. John Morra defeated Brittany in the winners side final and Tyler Styer was able to battle back from the losers side to set up a re match with John.  John was up to the challenge again taking the title with a 10-6 victory.

In all it was a great weekend of pool that saw the best in this area battle it out with no handicaps. It has been a long while since there has been an attempt to try an Open tournament with good added money and by all accounts the event was a great success. One thing I noticed was the amount of people watching and the amount of people that stayed over after they were eliminated, the overall level of play was higher than what they were used to and worth watching. Kudos to the corner bank for being a huge supporter of pool in this area. Next on the list for the Corner Bank will be the $5000 added Molson Cup bar table 8 ball championships from the 6-9 of July, hope to see you all there.

Payouts: 

1st John Morra $1500
2nd Tyler Styer $900
3rd Brittany Bryant $700
4th Ben Crawley $500
5th Erik Hjorleifson $300
       Mario Morra    
7th Dave Parker   $150
       Tyler Nearing
Player Auction $5200 total

Second Chance Winners

Vince Chrysler with Isaac Ramos 

1st Issac Ramos $475
2nd Vince Chrysler $275

Sunday 25 June 2017

Rack-M-Up Summer Series is Underway



By: Markus Noé

For the 4th consecutive summer Rack-M-Up Billiards located at 1916 Pitt Street in Cornwall Ontario, is hosting its "Summer Series". This is a handicap event open to all rankings excluding semi-pro and professional players. These events have been very successful in the past because with them being handicapped every player who enters has a legitimate chance to win.

The entry is $40 with some being held back for green fee's and for the grand final which will be played September 16th. Each qualifying event is limited to the first 16 players paid and in order to qualify for the grand final each player must compete in 4 out of 8 tournaments.

The Payouts in each event are as follows, 1st $160, 2nd $100, 3rd $80, 4th $40. With only 16 allowed to enter each event it does affect the payout and it could be considered low. However the purpose of these events are more for practice and to qualify for the grand final which is ends up being $1000 added. The winner of the grand final  usually takes home around $2000 for their troubles.

The Summer Series is off to a great start as each of the first 3 events sold out. Also their has been a different winner each time which goes to show you the handicap system has been working. If you are interested in playing please contact Doug Disotell owner of Rack-M-Up Billiards through the business Facebook page or by telephone at 613-933-9362. If you wish to watch some of the best local players fight it out feel free to come and watch. Also Rack-M-Up Billiards is a great place to come and beat the heat in the summer as you can a friend can play for as low as $9:00 an hour.

Finalist of the third Qualifier Mike Mitchell and Walter Sydwolski 



Qualifier 1 Results:  

1 Joe Herne
2 Kirk Pawnis
3 Justin Miller
4 Steve Daoust

Qualifier 2 Results:

1. Justin Miller
2. Kirk Pawnis
3. Randy O'Byrne
4. Markus Noé

Qualifier 3 Results:

1. Walter Sydwolzki
2. Mike Mitchell
3. Justin Miller
4. Jaques Sauvé


Remaining qualifier Tournaments:

Sunday July 9th

Sunday July 23rd

Sunday August 13th

Sunday August 27th

Sunday September 10th



Thursday 22 June 2017

Yoga for Pool Excellence: Developing the Physiological, Cognitive, and Affective Domains of the Cueist



Submitted by: 
Ryan Kasperowitsch 
BRLS, MEd
Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way. With yoga, we become aware of how and where we are restricted — in body, mind, and heart — and how gradually to open and release these blockages. As these blockages are cleared, our energy is freed. We start to feel more harmonious, more at one with ourselves. Our lives begin to flow — or we begin to flow more in our lives – Cybele Tomlinson (Ayurveda Wisdom, 2003)

When it comes to athletics, and for the purpose of this article one must intrinsically believe that pool is an athletic endeavour, every athlete uses a method of triangulation for sport development.  Approaching sport training from a holistic perspective is something which trainers, coaches, athletes, and sport medicine professionals have embraced.  So, when looking at current approaches to cue sport development, a missed opportunity in pool improvement lies in the holistic and mindful engagement of all available training practices.
               
Coming from a background of high level sport pedagogy, and research in neurological processes of education, I feel that a critical aspect which could hold optimal development for any pool player is regular Yoga and meditation practices.  The following will present my argument and rationale for incorporation of Yoga for development of the physical, cognitive, and emotional areas of the self for enriched cueing.

Connecting the Mind and the Body
                
A common exercise which I have engage many of my sport students in is sense deprivation for enlightened body connection.  For example, I have used a blindfold on high level kayak racers to improve focus on specific muscle efficiency for maximum water displacement.  Evoking a differentiated perspective on body kinesthetic movements through a lack of sight is crucial for building the nuanced fundamentals of body movement.  But how can one develop this body and mind connection through external training?  There must be something which one can do to become more in tune with their own body, and the micro motions which your brain and body converse through.
                
The answer is through consistent Yoga practices.  The foundation of Yoga in Western culture is in physical positions.  Asana is the practice of body postures for finding balance and understanding of the self.  Without any analysis at all, immediately the prospect of being balanced and self-enlightened should excite any pool player.  Entrenched in the body postures, novice to advanced, is the focus on posture, alignment, and balance.  A brief inspection of Yoga fundamentals will provide a rationale for improvement of cue kinesthetic movement.

Like any other sport, many coaches work on physical technique from the ground up.  Yoga starts in just the same, as one may stand or sit in their first pose.  With eyes closed, stand or sit for a few moments with a pointed focus on how the body feels over the contact points (feet or sit bones).  Notice which side feels heavier, the natural sway of your body to one side or the other, how your hips are uneven, lower spine is curled and unsupported, upper back is hunched, and a supination of the head.  Everything is out of line, but without the pointed focus, you have no idea.  Why is that?  Much like anything else, the brain needs to be conditioned to engage in any habitual behaviour.  Consistent practice of Yoga can condition the brain to be more aware of body alignment, and ultimately overall mind-body connection becomes a part of natural kinesthetic processes.  Imperative to fine motor skills needed for pool, this connection to your own body can improve your stroke by rewiring your neurological processes related to physical action.

Something which can be assumed as an improvement for the physical self which Yoga can provide are improvements in health and fitness abilities.  Flexibility, strength, and endurance are all developed through Yoga practice, and I have observed the undeniable overall improvement this can have for any athlete.  Additionally for improved health practices, the body degradation from repetitive physical mechanics requires constant attention, especially if one wants to continue playing for the lifespan.  If you want longevity out of your pool enjoyment, then a healthy moving body is a prerequisite.

So, through an analysis of the potential for mind-body connection, and other inherent benefits, one can see that Yoga has the opportunity to develop the pool player from holistic physical engagement.  But what else can Yoga do for the self, other than just an exercise in body mechanics?

Using Pranayama and Meditation for Better Decision Making

As previously stated, Western Yoga is movement-centric; however, Eastern philosophies rely more on a well-rounded approach of breathing and mental calming (pranayama and meditation).  At first analysis, this seems useful of course.  Take a breath, calm the mind, and take your shot.  This should be rudimentary, but concentration and focus are major factors which impact cueing.  It is important for any pool player to be aware of the ways which can help improve brain functioning for good decisions, and Yoga can provide the foundations for sound problem solving on the table.
  
Why is it in high concentration and focus scenarios that humans engage in breath cessation?  It is not uncommon for athletes who require high levels of focus to pass out from hypoxia.  However, we know enough about neurology now that oxygen is required for better communication of all parts of the brain.  Pool, being a sport which requires a high level of creative and pattern/spatial cognition, the interaction of left and right brain is critical for high level performance.  Without focused breathing incorporated into your game, you are depriving your brain from the oxygen needed to perform to your fullest potential.  Much like the mind-body connection which the brain needs to be conditioned to be made aware of, Yoga can help reinforce the breathing required for good decisions through fluid neuron activity fueled by oxygen.
  

Yoga is roughly defined in the Sutras of the Patanjali as the calming of the fluctuations of the mind.  This sentiment alone sounds like something which would immensely enrich life overall, not only pool.  But how can one actually do this?  Try calming your mind for a moment, and immediately you hear your inner voice.  There is always a narration to your life inside your head.  You should be hearing voices; this is your consciousness which enacts your free will.  While you try your hardest to quiet it, the voice is still there, and sometimes even louder.  What is important to be aware of is your ability to care, or not care, about that voice.  Yoga meditation practices attempt not to shut those voices off, but engage in more of a rational conversation with them.  Appropriation of focus can be quite magnetic in nature, and so meditative practices can help train your brain to magnetize your focus to what you choose to.
             
   Use this as an example:
You are cueing on a rudimentary shot, and your consciousness drifts away from the object ball.  Your voices are giving you all sorts of information layered over top of the pointed concentration of the task at hand: pocketing the ball.  The longer you are down, the louder the overlaying voices become, and as you swirl into the abyss of unconscious thoughts, you consciously pull the trigger on the shot, and miss.

You know that you needed to focus, but you just were not able to appropriate your unconscious thoughts in the direction you wanted for conscious action.  With training of mind through meditative practices like any other aspect of sport training, it is possible for the player to transcend the radio chatter of the unconscious thoughts.  The more you practice meditation, you will be aware of the irrationality of thought appropriation in your everyday life, and naturally prove to calm the fluctuations which cause poor decision making.

With an alternative perspective on the cognitive impacts Yoga practices can have on focus and concentration, this further provides a rationale for enriching a pool training regime with holistic triangulation.  What helps in the big picture of mental health and cognitive awareness for life, inherently enriches the cueing of any pool player.

Finding Yourself to Know Yourself
         
       A common Yoga adage is: Yoga is not about touching your toes, but what you learn on the way down.  Influencing the affective, or emotional, aspects of your pool game can be developed through Yoga in this same way.  As any pool player knows, curbing the emotions which emanate from such a tumultuous game are crucial to performance.  A body mechanic which requires such precision cannot allow for emotions to detract from execution.  By gaining control of the broiling inner self through Yoga practice, and the self awareness that comes through personal anguish, one can overcome the emotional factors which damage your ability to perform.              

Much of my experience lies in educating students in situations of peril (wilderness expedition and adventure pedagogy) to activate resilience development and self actualization.  Using danger and consequence to faulty action as a neurological motivator for development of decision processing, this powerful technique allows for optimal control of the affective domain of the self.  This frames the rationale for my proposal of Yoga as a training technique to engage emotional resilience for pool, which requires one to overcome some of the most emotionally damaging moments (any miss can hit the ego pretty hard).

 When first looking at the Asana aspect of Yoga (the physical practice), one can immediately perceive the physical anguish which can come from some of the postures.  Bending, twisting, stretching, balancing; these aspects of any Yoga vinyasa can prove to be physically difficult.  Feelings of pain from deep stretching, pain from pressure points, discomfort from exertion, and even ego discomfort from an inability to stay in a posture are all inherent in the practice of any Yogi.  The tacit benefits from willfully placing yourself in these postures of discomfort train your brain to be able to deal with peak anxiety, much in the same way I have explained how the physical and cognitive domains are trained and conditioned.

 By gaining a better understanding of the extremes of emotion, and through training in Yoga to rewire the brain to overcome emotional distress, one can reach higher self actualization on the table.  Again, with a holistic approach as the foundation for my rationale, an overall life ability to control emotion through knowing the self, one can improve their pool game from the inside out through affective awareness.

Conclusion

After an analysis of the three domains, physical, cognitive, and affective, which I feel Yoga helps in athletic training, one can see how on incorporation of Yoga in cue sport training is imperative.  Gaining a better mind-body connection, improving efficient brain activity, and a controlled awareness of emotions are all observed outcomes which I have seen in both my students and myself in various athletic endeavours.  The myriad of improvements which the practice of Yoga can afford would be in any pool players best interest.  I hope that through reading this I have made you reflect on your own experiences of how each domain is influenced, and that I have imposed you to question: Why have I not been doing this from the beginning?