Borana Andoni is the “Queen B” of Castle Billiards
August 31, 2009
Borana Andoni
In case you were wondering, Borana Andoni means business at the pool table. While Borana first gained recognition as the model in ad for Jim Murnak Cue Cases, Ms. Andoni is proving that she is much more than a pretty face.
Along with strong performances in the JPNEWT Ladies Tour, The Predator 9-ball Tour, and weekly tournaments around NYC, she has recently been showing the guys on the Tri-State Tour a thing or two.
Saturday, August 29 marked her second win on the Tri-State Tour, making her the first female to win a Tri-State event in the 2009-2010 season, as well as the 2008-2009 season.
A 31-player field turned out at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ on Saturday for this $500-added Tri-State C/D event. In this tournament, Borana Andoni, Leo Liu, Randy Mackin, and Mike Schloven came through as the final four players in the winner’s bracket.
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Viva la France! Stephan Cohen Shocks World as the New Predator World 14.1 Champion
August 31, 2009
Cohen made history as France's first World Pool Champion
At the 69th Predator World Straight Pool Championships at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, a surprise dark horse came away the champion, in the form of France’s Stephan Cohen. While high runners Oliver Ortmann, Mika Immonen, and Ralph Eckert were stealing the spotlight throughout this 6-day event, Cohen was consistently on top, going undefeated throughout the entire event.
Cohen broke new ground for the world of French billiards, becoming the first Frenchman to ever win a world title in pool. In the final two days of the event, during the single-elimination rounds, Cohen defeated Jordan’s Zaid Thweib (200-79), Tony Robles (200-149), and Johnny Archer (200-104) to land a spot in the finals.
Read on for more on the final rounds of the Predator World Straight Pool Championships, and Click Here to check out NYC Grind’s photo galleries from this prestigious event.
Allen Hopkins Captures the 1st Stop of the Team DMIRO Tour at Eastside Billiards
August 30, 2009
Allen Hopkins
At the first stop of the Team DMIRO Nationwide 10-ball Tour, presented by Allen Hopkins, a tough group of pros and amateur from around the area as well as other parts of the country turned out to play at host room Eastside Billiards in NYC.
Top players who attended the event include Allen Hopkins, Mike Davis, “Alaska” Sean Morgan, Mike Yednak, Jonni Fulcher, Zion Zvi, and Zaid Thweib, with 24 players total.
Team DMIRO, which stands for “Don’t Miss… I’ll Run Out” will feature 25 stops across the country and culminate in a final event to be held at the Super Billiards Expo in March, 2010.
What makes this tour unique is that it guarantees that four amateurs will place, incorporating a multi-bracket format. The amateurs play in one bracket and the pros play a separate bracket until the final 4 of each side has been determined. Then, the final eight players will be matched up by a mixed draw.
Sponsors for the Team DMIRO Tour include Tiger Products, Mcdermott Cues, Delta-13 Racks, OB Cues, Hammond Custom Cues, Diekman Cue Builders, The Super Billiards Expo, and Run Out Sportswear.
Read on for the breakdown on this inaugural event, and Click Here to view our photos from the event.
4th Annual NYC 9-ball Championship Takes Over Skyline Billiards This Weekend
August 29, 2009
Atlanta top pro Stevie Moore is invading the NYC 9-ball Championship
The 4th Annual NYC 9-ball Championships kicked off this morning at Skyline Billiards in Brooklyn, NY. This $3000-added event began at 11:00 am and will run through tomorrow, and will include a “Second Chance” Tournament on Sunday.
In the first three years of running, the NYC 9-ball Championship was taken by such champions as Francisco Bustamante (2008), Niels Feijen (2007), and Euvgeny Stalev (2006).
And in true form to the previous years, there are a number of top players in attendance this weekend. Heavy hitters Oscar Bonilla, recent UPA winner Mike Dechaine, Marc “Spain” Vidal, WPBA Pro Jennifer Barretta, Dave Grau, Joey Kong, Mike Fingers, Mhet Vergara, Sam Wu, and Skyline owner Rob Pole have turned out to take a shot at this title and a $2,200 first prize.
Atlanta’s Stevie Moore, who just finished a strong showing at the Predator World Straight Pool Championship, also made the trip over to Skyline, and will be a favorite to win the event. Moore is currently ranked #2 on the Seminole Pro Tour and #13 in the National BCA rankings, and will definitely test New York’s best.
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Team DMIRO Nationwide 10-Ball Tour Kicks off This Weekend at Eastside Billiards
August 28, 2009
Team DMIRO Nationwide Tour
This weekend, August 29-30, the $2000-added inaugural event in the Team DMIRO Nationwide 10-ball Tour will be kicking off at Eastside Billiards in New York City, presented by Allen Hopkins and Tiger Products.
The concept for Team DMIRO was created by Mike Andrews and Geoff Bradshaw, who joined up with Hall of Famer Allen Hopkins to make their dream of starting a nation-wide pro/am 10-ball tour a reality.
The Team DMIRO Tour will feature stops in different cities around the country. The top 8 finishing players from each stop will be invited to the Super Billiards Expo in March 2010, to compete in a free roll tournament.
With pro and amateur playing alongside one another in the qualifier events, this tour will feature “split format” tournaments: the pros will be divided onto one half of the bracket and amateurs on the other. They two groups will meet when the winner’s bracket is narrowed down to the final four.
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Ortmann Standing Tall after Day 4 while Williams Moves Up to #2 Seed at Predator World 14.1 Championship
August 28, 2009
Oliver Ortmann
Day 4 has been completed and now only the final 16 remain at the World Straight Pool Championships. There was no shortage of drama in Thursday’s action, with some interesting upsets and amazing performances.
The fans were buzzing with anticipation of Oliver Ortmann’s third perfect game, as he ran rack after rack for the perfect 150 win over Earl Herring. This defeat did not slow down Earl however, as he went on to beat young up-and-comer Zion Zvi, 150-44.
If you haven’t checked out this incredible event yet, take a drive over to Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, or check out the live streaming video of the World Straight Pool Championships on Accu-Stats.com. Play will continue all today in the single elimination round, and move on to the finals on Saturday.
Click Here to view the photos from Day 4 of this event.
Read on for more on Thursday’s action at the Predator World Straight Pool Championships, sponsored by Ozone Billiards.
Ortmann #1: USA’s Deuel & Williams Surprise Top Seeds at Predator World 14.1 Championship
August 27, 2009
Deuel will enter the next stage of the event as #2 seed, and the top seeded American (All photos by Nick Dinicolangelo)
Moving into the fourth day of the Predator World Straight Pool Championships at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, New Jersey, 24 players now remain after the round robin segment of the event. The top four of the six players from each of the eight groups have moved on to the double elimination round.
The German titans of straight pool are in full force, with the “The Hitman” Thorsten Hohmann and “The Machine” Oliver Ortmann finishing as the top seeds in their groups… incredibly, Ortmann began the day yesterday by completing a perfect 100 and out set in the first match, and ended the day with another perfect game.
Not only that, but Ortmann continued on today with a perfect run of 150 ball run against Earl Herring, making it 3 consecutive perfect games, running 350 balls in all. This match was streamed live on Accu-Stats.com, with commentary by Danny DiLiberto & Gerda Hofstatter. Accu-Stats has been providing live streaming of feature matches in each round. DVD’s of Accu-Stats Matches, which make great learning tools, can also be purchased on their website.
Click Here to check out our photo gallery from Day 3 at the Predator World Straight Pool Championships, and read on for more on how Day 3 turned out for the best straight pool players in the world.
Eckert Perfect: Germans Rule Day 2 of Predator World Straight Pool Championship
August 26, 2009
Ralf Eckert
Here at the Predator World 14.1 Championships, the pressure is getting higher for these hopefuls, as the first round robin bracket winds down. Only the top performers from each group will move on to the next round of competition at Comet Billiards in Parisppany, NJ.
All week long, you can catch the world’s finest straight pool players in action in the Accu-Stats Arena by visiting Accu-Stats.com to log on to their live stream. Currently on the live stream, WPBA Pro Gerda Hofstatter will be matching up against top pro Charlie Williams of Dragon Promotions.
Read the story for all the details on the action at Day 2 of the Predator World Straight Pool Championships. Click Here to view our photo gallery from Day 2.
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Predator World Straight Pool Championships Live from Comet Billiards… Update from Day 1
August 25, 2009
Corey Deuel vs
Jerry T
The 69th World Straight Pool Championship in Parsippany, NJ is well into it’s second day here at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ. Legendary 14.1 players from around the world have come together for this prestigious event… proving that straight pool is alive and well in the U.S. and abroad.
Comet Billiards, home of the Accu-Stats Arena, is really the ideal venue for this event, as the equipment is top-notch and the local players here have a hight regard for the game. Not only can you come down to catch the action at Comet, you can also stream the event live for a low pay-per-view rate on Accu-Stats.com.
Coming up next on the “TV Table” NYC Grind’s own Jerry T will be facing off against “The Prince of Pool” Corey Deuel at 2:30 pm. Click Here to go to the Accu-Stats website and watch the live stream.
Plus, read the story to catch up on all the action from Day 1 at the Predator World Straight Pool Championship, which is is sponsored by Predator Cues, Comet Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Ozone Billiards, Laser Rack, Master Chalk and patron sponsors Stu Mattana and Harold Siegel of Excelsior Graphics.
Dan Cintron Claims Another Tri-State Win at Sandcastle Billiards
August 25, 2009
Johnny Ortiz (2nd) & Dan Cintron (1st)
At Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, one of the hottest spots for action in the area, The Tri-State Tour brought 36 players in for their $750-added A/D event on August 22, 2009.
This tournament was the first-ever Tri-State 10-ball event, which also featured a split format, with A-B players separated in one half of the bracket, and C-D players in the other.
Many of the tour’s toughest players were in attendance, including ’08-’09 “B+” Class Player of the Year, Gary Murgia, ’08-’09 #3-ranked “A” Class Player, Scott Simonetti, and “A” Player of the Year, Dan Cintron.
Cintron, rated an A+, would run through to land in the winner’s side final four, to face Johnny Ortiz, rated an A. Ortiz would put up a good fight, but Cintron would take the set by a 7-5 score. The other winner’s side final four match featured Mike Harrington (C+) vs Paul Reyes (B) in a race to six that Reyes finished out at 6-4.
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