CBSA Acquires New Sponsorship from Kamui Tips

 

The CBSA is pleased to announce our newest sponsor Kamui tips. 

http://www.thinkgreenindustries.com  

 

The CBSA would like to thank Kamui and John Bertone for their support. Kamui is an industry leader in tip and chalk technology. Please visit their Facebook page for more information. 

Kamui will now join OB Cues, Simonis, Aramith and Think Green Industries as major sponsors of the CBSA. 

 

If any company or individual is interested in sponsoring the CBSA please contact Kyle Richard at kyle.richard@cbsa.ca or visit http://www.cbsa.ca/.

Chang on the Rise

"Submitted Article" 


Another successful installment of the 2014/15 ‘404’ series took place this past weekend (December 13 & 14th) at the Shooters Snooker and Sports Club. This was the 4th event in this year’s tournaments.


Despite the proximity to the holiday season, this past weekend’s event drew a good field of 56 players to the tournament. The weekend field was comprised mainly of GTA players with several out-of-town players also attending although out-of-towners were less represented than usual. As in past ‘404’ and Shooters Amateur events, the field continues to attract players who have never before participated in these events and those making a return to this level of competition.


After play concluded on Saturday, Alan Ada, Kevin Oliveira, Ben Chang and McEarl Bucais were undefeated on the ‘A’ side while the ‘B’ side had Sumon Sarkar, Tyler Jenkins, Peter Hetherington, Brandon Griffen, Bill Delkos, Romeo Zulueta, Stefane Godinho, and Adrian Fragoso returning for Sunday play. Not surprisingly, most of the Sunday matches were very competitive and when the dust settled Ben Chang had gone undefeated to capture the ‘A’ side title while Alan Ada and Sumon Sarkar were left to contest ‘B’ side bragging rights. Ada prevailed against Sarkar setting up a rematch against Chang who had sent him to the ‘B’ side. In the tournament final Chang again emerged victorious.


Congratulations to Ben Chang on his 404 tournament win. Ben has emerged as the player to beat in the events so far in 2014/15 with his steady and consistent play. Also making his presence felt in the Shooters’ tournaments this year has been Sumon Sarkar who again achieved a high placement. And Alan’s high finish might signal a return to high calibre tournament play for the veteran Filipino.

As always, thanks to those who participated in the ‘404’ at Shooters Snooker and Sports Club. While pre-registration for the tournament remains an asset it is not without its issues as some players continue to fail to inform the tournament organizer of their change in plans. This results in a tournament field that is less than capacity. Players must notify the tournament organizer of cancellations in sufficient time to permit others toparticipate. This is not only a discourtesy to the tournament organizer and the rest of the players but it causes the tournament to begin unnecessarily late time after time.


The next Shooters ‘404’ will be held January 3 & 4th, 2015.


** If you have pre-registered for the event you must be present and your entry fee paid by 11:00 a.m. on the day of the tournament. Failure to do so may result in your place being forfeited to an individual on the waiting list.**



Player Prize Money Calcutta


1st Ben Chang 8 $850 $850

2nd Alan Ada 6 $550 $420

3rd Sumon Sarkar 7 $340 $320

4th Adrian Fragoso 6 $225 $210

5-6th Kevin Oliveira 5 $140 $105

5-6th McEarl Bucais 7 $140 $105

7th-8th Peter Hetherington 6 $85 $55

7th-8th Romeo Zulueta 6 $85 $55

9th -12th Tyler Jenkins 4 $50

9th -12th Stefane Godinho 8 $50

9th -12th Brandon Griffen 5 $50

9th -12th Bill Delkos 7 $50

Sponsorship Announcement from the CBSA

 

The CBSA is pleased to announce our newest sponsor Think Green Industries.  

http://www.thinkgreenindustries.com  

The CBSA would like to thank Roy Munns and Jane Gordon of Think Green Industries for their support. Think Green Industries Ltd is a company specializing in landscape maintenance and construction based in Regina, Saskatchewan. You can also visit their Facebook page for more information. 

Think Green Industries will now join OB Cues, Simonis and Aramith as major sponsors of the CBSA. 

 

If any company or individual is interested in sponsoring the CBSA please contact Kyle Richard at kyle.richard@cbsa.ca.

Last Minute Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Mika Immonen's "Mastering Pool" DVD Series

By: Markus Noé

We are now 8 days away from Christmas and for those who have not finished their Christmas shopping the scramble is on. We at Cue Sport Nation would like to pass along a few ideas to help you buy for that pool crazed person in your family.

Learn the run out patterns of the best players in the world!

We are lucky enough to have Run Out Media as one of our major sponsors this year. Because of this we have some great products for sale. For those of you who have not heard of Run Out Media, it is a Canadian company run by Nathan DuMoulin. He has worked with all of the top players in the world and with his unique style he has become the new standard for instructional DVDs. He is also the one responsible for the massively popular "Venom Trickshots" series done by world renowned trick-shot artist Florian "Venom" Kohler. 

Some of the best trick-shots you will see anywhere. 

We also have 3 "Hustlin" hats remaining as well as our own Cue Sport Nation t-shirts, however most of them are in a medium seize as we our at the end of our order. For more details on pricing I can be contacted through facebook or by email at markus.noe@live.com. Merry Christmas to all and Happy Holidays. 

Have You Heard of Pool Stream TV?

 By: Markus Noé

Pool players and enthusiasts Daniel Robichaud and Fred Lapointe are the ones behind http://www.poolstream.tv/ . This website is dedicated to streaming challenge matches and tournaments throughout the province of Québec. They have gained in popularity as of late because of their streams in Dolbeau, which has featured Pro and Semi-Pro tournaments cut off at 16 players with $500 entries, as well as their "Color of Money" series.

This series usually pits highly ranked players against each other in a series of challenge matches that range between $500-$1000 not including the "side action" going on between the spectators. The most recent edition was held on Saturday November 29. The first match of the day was a straight pool match between Alain Martel and Francis Crevier which Martel won 250-216. Other matches that took place was David Deschene vs Stephane Bolduc and Pat Desbiens vs Daniel Gagne. These matches can be seen for free at www.poolstream.tv . 

Daniel Gagné and Pat Desbiens. 

In an interesting switch from their usual format the next "Color of Money" challenge matches will be made for AAA ranking players and lower, as more players want to participate. Once again this will take place in the recently renovated garage of David Deschenes house where he has built in a bleacher section for fans. You can watch live for as little as 10$ and I believe that includes a meal as well. You can also watch live on stream for as little as 5$.  The "Color of Money 5" dates will be announced as soon the matches have been confirmed.

Korean Assassin Wins Back to Back C.W.T Stops

Winner Hanna Kwon with runner up Kayla Roloson 

"Submitted Article"

The amateur Canadian Women's Tour had their 4th stop on Saturday December 6, 2014 at the lovely pool hall Strokers Billiards and Other Diversions in London, Ontario.Despite having their own in-house tours and other independent tournaments, they were able to accommodate the ladies tour and it brought out probably the strongest field to date.

From the veteran's list are VNEA champions Maureen Van de Ven who also won tour stop #1, Kayla Jones and recently returning from China representing Canada at the World Junior Championships was Kayla Roloson.There was also tour stop #3 winner Hanna "The Korean Assassin" Kwon and experienced tournament player Suzanne Peters running the show as well as playing.

Newcomers Anita Chan and Donna Sasges, locals from the London area, came out to try their luck.
Chan has had previous tournament experience playing in the 404 as well as the VNEA and Sasges has also competed in the VNEA as well as the former Tiger Canadian Women's Pool Tour.

Van de Ven played tournament rookie Shaw. Solid potting from Van de Van and unluckily for Shaw, who at a score of 5-3 in a 7-5 race, had lost the cue ball in the following two racks after successfully potting the combinations shots on the 9-ball.Van de Van went on to win 9-5.Peters and Roloson were up next next, Going neck and neck, Peters squeaked by in a nail-biting hill-hill battle to win 8-7 in a straight race to 8.Jones defeated Chan decidedly with a score of 9-3 in a 9-5 race and Kwon was taken down by Sasges with a convincing score of 6-7.

As the day went on, it was clear that all of the players were struggling with the speed of the tables.
The cue ball could not seem to avoid going into the pockets or shape was a struggle as the cue ball seemed to run a lot further than anticipated.In the end, it was Peters and Jones in the A-side finals and Kwon and Sasges in the B-side finals.

On the streaming table, both Peters and Jones were having difficulty finding their rhythm and often times turned into a safety battle.Jones turned the tables near the end and pulled out a win over Peters to advance to the hot seat. Kwon had her opportunity to seek revenge against Sasges in the B-side finals and which she did by dominating the match with a definitive win of 9-3.It is now Peters and Kwon looking to fight to play Jones in the finals.

In a 9-8 race, it was head-to-head until the defensive play of Kwon gave her the edge to advance to the final match.In this true double elimination format, Kwon would need to defeat Jones twice in order to win the tournament. In a straight race to 9, a rocky start by Kwon had Jones leading for more than half the match at which time Kwon clawed her way back to win the first set 9-6.
Second set, Jones was determined to not allow Kwon take another game, let alone the match.
However, it was not to be this time as Kwon was carrying her momentum from the previous match into this final round and won easily 9-2.

This event would not have been possible without Ronda Drew-Clement of Strokers accommodating the tour, Wayne Dwyer as our streaming expert and referee, and of course, Suzanne Peters for making this tour happen.Next event will be on January 17, 2015 back at Petrina's Billiards in Ajax. Hope to see everyone there!

*Note: Hanna Kwon has had a very big year winning multiple times on the Billard Feminin Tour  and the Canadian Women's Tour. She has also had some top finishes on the AA circuit in the Quebec Federation which as resulted in her gaining some attention. Thus there will be a challenge match coming up next month between Kwon and one of the top Canadian Female players around Veronique Menard. Take a look at the poster below for more details. 

Tournoi en équipe 5A au Terminus de Hull

5A Scotch Doubles Tournament Annoucement

Heywood Takes 1st in the 3rd RCC of the Season

"Submitted Article"

Saturday December 6th was a great day for Ben Heywood, as we once again saw a player go through a tough field undefeated.  Ben had a tough first round draw with Ben Chang, coming out the victor and then successfully beating some room favorites Mike Patay, Paul Duell, Jeremy Isard and Pod Snagosh..and then sat waiting for the finals to begin…

Stuart MacTaggart had a tougher route, as the youngster, just back from the Junior event in China, lost his first round against Dave Lettner, sending him to battle it out on the B Side.  His opponents will agree that the more he played, the smoother his stroke got, and he successfully defeated Ted Easton, Scot Noonan, Tom Polsinelli, Rod Arsenault, Mike Patay, Jeremy Isard, Isaac Ramos and Pod Snagosh to meet Ben in the finals.

The first round of the finals did go hill hill, but Ben got to the end first and won the event with a clean sweep.  Congratulations Ben and Stuart on your amazing 9 Ball matches!

Results

1st Place: Ben Heywood  $460 – $790 (C)

2nd Place: Stuart MacTaggart $240 – $420 (C)

3rd Place: Pod Shognosh $160 – $280 (C)

4th Place: Isaac Ramos $  95 – $160 (C)

5th/6th Place: Justin Leyland $ 50 – $ 80 (C)

5th/6th Place: Jeremy Isard $ 50 – $ 80 (C)

For more information about Royal City Challenge events can be found on their website http://www.royalcitychallenge.ca/ 

404 Results: More of Morra

From left to right Sumon Sarkar, Peter Chin, John Morra

Submitted Article

The 3rd event of the 2014/15 ‘404’ series took place this past weekend (November 29 & 30th) at the Shooters Snooker and Sports Club in Toronto.

The 404 continues to be a popular tournament for GTA players and beyond with participants from as far away as Orillia and Columbus, Ohio making the trek to compete in this tournament. It is also satisfying to see the mix of regular 404 players and players new to tournament competition at this level participating in the 404 series this year. The tournament was ready for a full field of 64 players on Saturday but was forced to settle for a field of 60 after ‘no-shows’ failed to inform the tournament organizer that they would not be attending thus preventing players on the waiting list from participating.

After play concluded on Saturday, Jehlar Fernandez, Sumon Sarkar, Ben Chang, and David Maung were undefeated on the ‘A’ side while the ‘B’ side had Bernie Fulford, Edmund Chow, Carlin Sanderson, Ian Argue, John Morra, Rob Hall, Tony Hong and Greg Plester returning for Sunday play. When the dust settled later in the day on Sunday, Sumon Sarkar had gone undefeated to capture the ‘A’ side title while John Morra and David Maung were left to contest ‘B’ side bragging rights. Morra prevailed against Maung by a 12-1 score as Morra’s game only got stronger as the tournament progressed. In the tournament final Morra again dominated his opponent by defeating Sarkar 11-2 to claim the tournament title.

Congratulations to John Morra on his 404 tournament win --- his first of the 2014/15 season. Despite a more challenging handicap system in the 404 series this year and a loss in his first match of the tournament, Morra persevered and won 11 consecutive matches to win the tournament. While there may have been some uncharacteristic missteps by some of his opponents in the later rounds when they had him “on the ropes”, that does not diminish his accomplishment in any way. His early loss did not discourage him and he performed some old fashioned “grinding” to earn the tournament title – a trait that he obviously inherited from his father. Canada is well represented by John Morra on the world stage. John is off to the Philippines later this week to compete in the Manny Pacquiao Cup. Good luck John!

Thanks to those who participated and apologies to those who were unable to play as a result of the high demand for entry to this event. The wealth of new players to both the 404 and the Shooters Amateur Event as well as the full fields at both events is primarily due to the efforts of the Shooters room owner who has expended significant effort to contact players, follow up with these players and follow-up again to ensure that the players will be attending the event. And although guidelines need to be further tightened to better manage the privilege of pre-registration, this pre-registration has been largely successful in attracting players and ensuring full fields for the events at Shooters this season.

The next Shooters ‘404’ will be held December 13 and 14th.

** If you have pre-registered for the event you must be present and your entry fee paid by 11:00 a.m. on the day of the tournament. Failure to do so may result in your place being forfeited to an individual on the waiting list.**

Player Prize Money Calcutta

1st John Morra 12 $900 $810

2nd Sumon Sarkar 7 $600 $580

3rd David Maung 4 $350 $350

4th Carlin Sanderson 7 $230 $230

5-6th Ben Chang 8 $150 $115

5-6th Jehlar Fernandez 5 $150 $115

7th -8th Greg Plester 7 $85 $60

7th-8th Bernie Fulford 6 $85 $60

9th -12th Rob Hall 10 $50

9th -12th Ian Argue 5 $50

9th -12th Tony Hong 6 $50

Rack-M-Up Players Sweep Senior Games

From left to right Winner Réne Laurin, organizer Marie Beckstand, Darwin Bird and Robert Labelle.

 By: Markus Noé

For the second year in a row my homeroom Rack-M-Up Billards in Cornwall, Ontario hosted the 55+ Senoir Disctrict (8) Games. Defending champion Maurice Hearn was able to attend this years event however 12 others showed up to take part.

The game was 8 ball best 3 out of 5 single elimination format. There were 3 "regulars" from Rack-M-Up who chose to participate with the nine others that the organizers of the District Games had brought in. Though this was a competive format, sportsmanship and fun were definetively the main priorities today. On more than one occasion laughter and playfull jabbing back and forth between players could be heard throughout the pool hall. In between racks or as a consolation prize for those who suffered an early exit, there was a buffet of sorts set up featuring cheese, sandwiches and donuts.

Robert Labelle elated immediately his Bronze finish.

 When it was all said and done the experience of the regulars Réne Laurin, Darwin Bird, and Robert Labelle was too much. Labelle took the bronze position while Bird took the Silver leaving Laurin this years District 8 Champion. A thank you goes out to the owners of Rack-M-Up Billiards Doug Disotell and Amanda Collins who hosted this tournament. Next year they are hoping to host both the District and Regional Championships as the popularity of these types of events continuous to grow.

District 8 organizer Marie Beckstand with winner Réne Laurin

 Results:

Gold- Réne Laurin

Silver-Darwin Bird

Bronze-Robert Labelle

Amatuer Results from "Shooters Bar & Billards"

Winner Ben Chang with owner of Shooters Peter Chin

 "Submitted Article"

This past weekend (November 22 & 23) saw the 3rd tournament in the Shooters Amateur Event series take place. From an initial cap of 32 players the tournament has expanded to 64 players to accommodate the strong interest. A waiting list for entry to the tournament has also become standard which suggests that full fields will be common for the future. And similar to past Amateurs the player Calcutta was again active with the no heavy favourites in the tournament field.


After play concluded on Saturday, Ben Chang, Marius Nakas, Kevin Oliveira and Tom Polsinelli were undefeated on the ‘A’ side of the draw. On the one loss side, John Everekian, K C Nguyen, Richard Murray, Brittany Bryant, Desmond Cysani, Raphael Balverde, Carlin Sanderson and Ronald Giron managed to survive to return for Sunday play.


In the ‘A’ side final Polsinelli prevailed over Chang sending Chang to the ‘B’ side and Polsinelli to the hot seat. Over on the ‘B’ side, Chang was able to defeat the plucky Oliveira in the ‘B’ side final. In the tournament final Ben Chang got his revenge by defeating Tom Polsinelli in a closely contested match.Congratulations to Ben Chang on his tournament win. Ben’s steady consistent play over the past several months has earned him top finishes in several tournaments.


Many thanks again to those who participated and apologies to those who were unable to play due to the high demand for entry into this event. It should also be noted that all pool tables at Shooters (including the bar boxes) have been recently re-clothed with championship Simonis 860 billiard cloth to enhance the tournament experience.The next Shooters Amateur 9 Ball Event will be held December 27 and 28th.


** If you have pre-registered for the event you must be present and your entry fee paid by 11:00 a.m. on the day of the tournament. Failure to do so may result in your place being forfeited to an individual on the waiting list.**




Player Prize Money Calcutta


1st Ben Chang 7 $900 $940

2nd Tom Polsinelli 7 $500 $520

3rd Kevin Oliveira 5 $340 $310

4th Marius Nakas 7 $220 $210

5-6th Carlin Sanderson 7 $120 $55

5-6th John Everekian 9 $120 $55

7th -8th Desmond Cysani 8 $80

7th-8th Richard Murray 7 $80

9th -12th Raphael Balverde 7 $50

9th -12th Ronald Giron 7 $50

9th -12th Brittany Bryant 7 $50

9th -12th K C Nguyen 6 $50

Preregistration Available for $1000 Added Snooker Tournament

Steve Roy Wins Semi-Pro in Longueuil

Steve Roy, photo courtesy of Poolsteamtv 

By: Markus Noé

This past Saturday Dooly's Longueuil was host to the Québec Federation's second Semi-Pro Tournament of the season. 49 players showed up to take part in this $1000 guaranteed for first place event, including a few players who took part in the $500 tournament in Dolbeau the previous weekend.

In bit of a surprise, tournament favourite  and winner of the event in Dolbeau which paid $4000 Stephane Adam, had an early exit from this weekends tournament. Once again this demonstrates the depth of talent in Québec. Outside of other tournament favourites such as Danny Normandin, Pat Dery and Richard Francoeur not making the money, the story was Anas Abrouq.

He is a strong AAA who looks to be making a case for being bumped up to Semi-Pro as of late. In this tournament he lost to Francoeur in the second round 9-2. However Abrouq then went on to win 8 matches on the losers side, earning a chance to play in the losers side final. On his march though the"b" side side he beat notable names such as Johnny Laprise, Eric Claude, Pat Desbiens and Carol Audet just to name a few.

In the end he met up with Steve Roy who just suffered a loss to Yves Gaudreault 9-8. This was a tightly contested affair with Roy winning 7-5 to book a rematch with Gaudreault. The final was a different story for Roy as he was able to win 9-6, avenging his earlier loss and taking home the $1000 first prize. The next Semi-Pro will be held at Le Skratch Laval January 10th.

Payouts:

1. Steve Roy $1000

2. Yves Gaudreault $600

3. Anas Abrouq $380

4. Carol Audet $180

Info for Upcoming Snooker Tournament at Shooters

THE KOREAN ASSASSIN RETURNS WITH A VENGEANCE

Submitted article

The amateur Canadian Women’s Tour had their 3rd stop of the season at the ever-active Petrina’s Billiards in Ajax, ON. Despite a lot of ladies being in Ohio for the Sleepless in Sandusky tournament, 8 women had braved the cold to come out and compete.

To start, we had newcomer to the tour Angela Carrigan have a strong performance against Guelph native Leslie Pappas. Despite stating that 8-ball is more of her forte, Carrigan had pulled off a victory against Pappas to continue onto the A-side.

Tournament veteran Marina Linguerri from Ottawa had made the trip with the goal to win her second tour event. Her first opponent was tour producer Suzanne Peters. After some unlucky shots made by Peters and Linguerri capitalizing on some key errors, she pulled a convincing 8-3 victory over Peters, knocking her to the B-side.

Anne Beattie and Jennifer Shaw

Jennifer Shaw of Mississauga, a CPA 2, with a desire to learn and to become a more competitive player, had a tough draw matching up with consistent player Sylvia Hadaway from Guelph. After making some great shots but missing out on some critical potting, including a couple of 9 balls, she had fallen to the more experienced playing of Hadaway with a score of 8-1.

Hanna “The Korean Assassin” Kwon, who has been struggling with the tour and not even placing in the last event, was determined to walk away with the 1st place trophy. After placing in 2 events in Montreal in the AA division, she had more confidence coming into this tournament. Her first opponent, Anne Beattie from Guelph, had played stellar pool and at one point, was only behind Kwon by one game in a race where Kwon needs to win 9 games to Beattie’s 7. After missing a key 8-ball by Beattie, Kwon was able to pull off the next two racks to win, in a close final score of 9-5.
On the B-side, Shaw is now against tournament and league vet Beattie in a do or die match to stay in the tournament. Shaw was determined to gain her first victory in the tour and she did just that with solid potting and calm, steady nerves with a final score of 5-4.

The other B-side match between Peters and Pappas was to be a great one as well. Both player having been around the sport for years, it was definitely going to be a situation of the better player for that match will turn victorious and in this instance it was Peters. Despite having made only a few errors that would usually frazzle even the best players, Peters kept her composure to glide to the next stage of the tournament with a final score of 8-2.

In the winner’s brackets, there was Carrigan vs. Linguerri and Kwon vs. Hadaway. A phenomenal match-up between Carrigan and Linguerri was set. Both players were racing to 8 and the scores went back and forth for most of the match in this alternate break format. After a shocking miss by Carrigan on the 7, that put Linguerri on the hill. Linguerri then proceeded to complete the final rack that eventually pushed Carrigan to the B-side.

Kwon still had nightmares about playing Hadaway leading into this tournament after a convincing loss to Hadaway at the tour opener in Stoney Creek. Focused on the prize and some very unfortunate luck on Hadaways part had Kwon heading into the A-side finals with a score of 9-1.
Shaw vs. Carrigan and Hadaway vs. Peters made for some very interesting matches. The experience of Carrigan overwhelmed Shaw to beat her out of the tournament 8-1. Hadaway and Peters traded rack after rack, with Hadaway pulling it off in the end to win hill 8-7.

Linguerri and Kwon 

It is no surprise to see Linguerri and Kwon in the A-side finals vying to be in the hot-seat. A rocky start had Linguerri down 5-1 at which time she started clawing her way back to tie it at 5-5. After some missed opportunities and some unlucky rolls, Kwon was able to secure her spot in the hot-seat with a score of 9-5.

After squeaking by Peters, Hadaway had another tough match against Carrigan to head into the money rounds. Again, it was another match of trading racks and it was anybody’s game. Hadaway managed again to squeak by another opponent hill-hill. She then had to face the menacing Linguerri to work her way back to the finals but this time, there was no squeaking by. The superior play of Linguerri stopped Hadaway’s journey to the finals with a score of 8-5.Linguerri meets Kwon again and was more focused in the final match then in the previous match-up.

In this true double elimination format, Linguerri needed to beat Kwon twice in order to win the tournament. It was by far a much better match to watch, with break and runs, run outs, and great safety play. It was with the safety play that kept Kwon from being defeated by Linguerri and earned her the 1st place spot for the 3rd tour stop of the CWT.

A special thanks to Frank Kakouros, owner of Petrina’s for hosting the CWT’s 3rd stop and for volunteering to host another event in the New Year, Wayne Dwyer for streaming the event as well as for being referee alongside Tino Barbieri.


Hanna Kwon - $235 + Trophy
Marina Linguerri - $140 + Trophy
Sylivia Hadaway - $95

The Corner Pocket Remembrance Day 8 Ball Tournament

Champion Billy Thompson, photo by Wenda Pepin

 By: Paul Potier

Remembrance Day weekend, Nov 7-9, 2015 was when this tournament took place. It was also the real start of winter for us Albertans as lots of snow and very cold weather hit us hard on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in balmy Red Deer Alberta. A large field of 71 men and 8 women bar box 8 Ball players from Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan showed up to display their expertise on the green felt. The Corner Pocket Billiards hosted this event on twelve 7' Diamond bar tables.

They started play on Friday night and finished the tournament early Sunday night. It was a great field consisting of most of the best Bar Box pool players in Western Canada. Some of the big names were: Stan Tourangeau (BC), Brian Butler (AB), Rob Phillips (AB), The Twins Joanne and Bev Ashton (AB), Edwin Montal (AB), Dave Martin (AB), Cathy Metzinger (AB), Alain Boutin (Frenchie) (BC), Bill Thompson (AB), Paul Potier (AB), Russ Whittle (AB), Nick Kruger (BC), Bernie Mikkelsen (AB), to name a few. It was really a star studded cast of players, including some players I haven’t mentioned.

There was no seeding and many of the favourites met right away. Some of the crowd pleasing early match ups were: Stan T vs. Brian B, Dave M vs. Paul P, Joanne A vs. Garry H, Mike R vs. Barry H, and Edwin M vs. Jody T. A brave Dwayne Bjornstad vowed that he would play the entire tournament using only his jump cue. He was true to his word and even ended up cashing in the money tied for 13th place.

The Diamond tables played great and spectators were blessed with exciting matches for the entire 3 days of play. The final 4 on the A side came down to Leslie T., Bill T., myself and Jerry Y. Paul and Bill ended up in the A finals. Bill’s good solid play earned him the point as he beat me 6-2 and could relax while waiting for the outcome of my matchup with Stan to see who would have the chance beat him twice to win the event. Stan’s road to the finals of the B side was long and hard.

Paul Potier

 He lost to Jerry Y in the second round of the A side. Stan showed everyone how dangerous he is by winning 9 straight B side matches to get to the B side finals. In fact after losing on the A side Stan’s first B side match was against the great Edwin Montal, so he had a very hard road to the finals indeed. The B side finals saw Stan quickly get in the lead 3-0 but I made a comeback making it a double hill match at 4-4. Stan broke but wasn’t able to run the table out as it posed a few problems for both solids and stripe balls. It was a very long safety battle that finally saw Stan as the victor.

In the finals against Bill, Stan continued his great play and beat Bill 6-4 in the first set. However Bill won the A side so Stan had to beat him twice. Bill was having a great tournament and wasn’t about to be denied his goal so he beat Stan 5-1 in the second match. Congratulations to Bill Thompson for his great 8 Ball play and for winning this wonderful event.

Many thanks to Lorne Brooks and his entire team at The Corner Pocket for hosting this event and for his continued support of pool in Alberta. With twelve 7’ Diamond Bar Box pool tables, ten 9’ Diamond tables and three 12’ BCE Snooker tables the Corner Pocket is definitely one of the best places to play Pool or Snooker in Western Canada.

Champion – Bill Thompson - $2,000

2nd Place – Stan Tourangeau - $1,200

3rd Place – Paul Potier - $900

4th Place – Nick Kuger - $750

5/6th Place – Leslie T, Jerry Y - $550

7/8th Place – Mike Robinson, Rob Phillips - $450

9/12th Place – Brian Butler, Larry W, Dan L, Jody Thornton, Dan L - $300

13/16th Place – Sean M, Dwayne B, Eric V, Dan W. - $200

Top lady – Joanne Ashton - $150

By Paul Potier

Sumon Sarkar Undefeated in 2nd RCC Event!

Submitted article:

Another amazing weekend of pool to play in and to watch!  31 players came out to participate and there was no lack of talent in this group.  After the draw was done, play began and saw some extremely tough 1st Round Match Ups.  Some of the rooms favorites, and past winners, Paul Duel vs Kenny Chen, Brittany Bryant vs Wayne Tate, Ray Jansen vs Rod Arsenault, Carlin Sanderson vs Jason Montgomery, but it was Sumon Sarkar and Greg Johnson who would pull ahead of the field to play each other in the Finals.

Sumon went undefeated, drawing Paul Koeuth in the 1st Round, and successfully defeated Paul Dual, Justin Zammit, Wayne Tate and Shawn Miller, to await Greg Johnson for the final round up.

Greg’s path was longer, but no less difficult, drawing Mike Patay in the first round.  Mike sent Greg on the scenic side of the board, where he had to battle through some amazing competition..Jeremy Isard, Stuart MacTaggart, Brittany Bryant, Justin Zammit, Neil Mills, Alex Bartlett, Wayne Tate and Shawn Miller..

Congratulations to Sumon Sarkar on his 1st Place Finish and to Greg Johnson for coming in 2nd Place!  Amazing shooting by everyone!  We look forward to another fantastic field of players on December 6th.

The Results:

1st Place: Sumon Sarkar $495 – $810 (C)

2nd Place: Greg Johnson $260 – $425 (C)

3rd Place: Shawn Miller $175 – $285 (C)

4th Place: Wayne Tate $100 – $160 (C)

Vaillaincourt Wins in Gatineau & Valleyfield

Photo taken from Webillard.com

By: Markus Noé

Jean Vaillaincourt has had his second monster performance in the past month, as he won both the A.B.O tour stop in Gatineau along with a AA event in Valleyfield the following day. This comes just a few weeks after his impressive showing at the Quebéc Provincials held at Le Skratch Laval, where he finished runner up in both the AA and AAA divisions.

The weekend started for Vaillaincourt at Terminus Billiards in Gatineau, where 30 players showed up to take part in the third tour stop of the season.  Here he went undefeated to the finals where he met up with one of my practice partners out of Rack-M-Up Billiards, Platon Liolios. Until the conclusion of this tournament Liolios was ranked a B player meaning that in this handicap format he would get some games from Vaillaincourt who is ranked AAA on this circuit.

Platon Liolios

Liolios has been in fine form this season going deep in each of the three tournaments and is the current points leader. However Vaillaincourt, who has been supremely confident this season and has been virtually unbeatable won this match in a landslide. On a positive note for Liolios, he has another final appearance under his belt and has achieved his goal of being bumped up to A caliber player.

Payouts
1. Jean Vaillancourt $400
2. Platon Liolios $200
3. Christine Gauthier $105
4. Neil Ayotte $105

Dooly's Valleyfield 

The following day Justin "Killer" Miller and myself drove up to Valleyfield, QC to take a shot at the AA event. Here we ran into Vaillancourt who was fresh off his victory from the day before. Once again he chugged along going undefeated all the way until the A side final. There he met up with Christian Isabelle who has been one of the players to beat as of late on the AA circuit in order to win. Vaillancourt finally suffered his first lost of weekend 9-3 forcing him the the B side final.

In the losers side final he played Patrice Brunelle where he won 7-5. This set up the rematch of the winners side final and Vaillancourt returned the favour, beating Isabelle 9-3 to win the title. Despite the final loss for Isabelle, a congratulations is still in order because with this performance he has been bumped up to AAA.

Hanna Kwon 

On a side note the "Korean Assassin" has the AA division abuzz in the Québec Federation with two successful 5/6 finishes in back to back weeks. For many, seeing a women play at this high caliber is something they have never witnessed before and both this weekend and last at El Jumelgi  she has drawn a crowd and gained fans. The exposure that she has gotten these past few weeks has been enough for talks to have begun on an exhibition match to take place. The word is that her opponent would be one of the greatest female players to ever come out of Québec, Veronique Menard. If this match happens we will have all the details here at Cue Sport Nation


Payouts

Vaillancourt, Jean #948	1	380 $
Isabelle, Christian #3122	2	275 $
Brunelle, Patrice #975	3	200 $
Filiatrault, Sylvain #3642	4	140 $
Kwon, Hanna #3990	5 - 6	85 $
Pasquier, Laurent #3799	5 - 6	85 $