Player Spotlight on Megan Smith: Nothing to Lose and Everything to Gain

By NYC Grind Contributor, Alison M. Fischer

Young people around the world are exposed to the game of pool on a regular basis.  Whether through casual play at a club, bar, or rec center, many people have opportunities to learn the game… but very few have the ability to take the game to the next level.  And to say that success and achievement in pool is hard-earned would be an extreme understatement.

For WPBA pro Megan Smith, pool started out as a way to show up the tough guys at a biker bar.  “It was fun to beat those guys at their own game,” said Megan.  “My girlfriend Dawn thought it was the coolest thing to do, so she got me a cheap cue and we started playing.  I was eighteen and had never seen a table before.  But within months, I really got interested in the game, and the love just intensified.”

Although she started from humble beginnings, Megan Smith (formerly Minerich) has become one of the leading American players on the WPBA women’s tour, and one of the most dominant female pool players in the Northeast.  After having spent her pro career up until 2008 in Denver, Colorado, Megan has now returned to her hometown, Reading, Pa., giving her a chance to dig into the action in both the women’s and the men’s regional tours in the Northeast.

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Michael Yednak Goes Undefeated in the Tri-State at Amsterdam Billiards

By NYC Grind Contributor,  Alison M. Fischer

In The Tri-State Tour’s feature two-day event at Amsterdam Billliards on Manhattan’s Lower East Side on June 26-27, thirty-five top amateur pool players came out to compete for a top prize of $800.  This event featured a split-bracket format, with A/B players competing in the upper half of the bracket and C/D players on the lower half.

Although players traveled from all over NYC as well as New Jersey, it was Amsterdam house player Michael Yednak who would dominate and go undefeated through this field.  One of Michael’s biggest challenges of the event would be in the first round, in the form of Paul Raval, who Michael defeated double-hill.

Michael Yednak then went through to the winner’s side final four, where he faced his only other close match, defeating Michael Wong 7-5.  In the other final four match up, SPOT Clothing creator Andrew Cleary defeated Sandie Patarino double hill, 7-6.  In the face off for the drivers seat, Michael defeated Andrew by a scoreline of 11-7.

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Pool Instruction: CueTips #27 A Position Route to Master

By NYC Grind Contributor, Mark Finkelstein

Here is a layout that came up right after the break in a recent 9 ball game I was playing in…

This layout is instructive because it has a key position route that a lot of players avoid because they are afraid of scratching in the side pocket.  This rack was a race to the 5, with getting from the 3 to the 4 being the most difficult path.

Here is how I played it.  Center ball stop shot to the center of the table off the one (note that the cue ball picks up a little English from the angle hit on the one), and then a center ball draw shot off the 3 to get to the long rail just below the side pocket and come down the line towards the 4.  I like to use a center ball on these shots and draw as it gives me more accuracy on the shot and I can control the direction of the cue ball better.

Read on to view the CueTable diagram…

Continue reading “Pool Instruction: CueTips #27 A Position Route to Master” »

This Weekend in Pool on the Grind

If you’re looking to get in to tournament action this weekend, there is plenty to be had in and around the NYC area.  Even though summer’s in full swing, the area’s tours are still on the grind!

West Hempstead’s Raxx Pool Room Bar & Grill will be hosting the Predator 9-ball Tour tomorrow, Saturday, June 26th through Sunday, June 27th.  This is the 10th stop of the 2010 tour season, and will feature the A/B/C/D amateur 9-ball division as well as the Open/Pro 10-ball division.  For more details visit www.Predator9BallTour.com.

For the strongest one-day pro/am tour in the Northeast, the Mezz Tour will be heading to Main Line Billiards in Frazer, PA for their 11th tour stop of the season on Sunday, June 27th.  This stop was originally scheduled to be held at Drexeline Billiards, but has been switched.  For more info and the complete Mezz Tour schedule, visit www.MezzTour.com.

The Tri-State Tour will be heading to the heart of Manhattan for a special two-day $1,000-added A/B/C/D event at Amsterdam Billiards.  This is a 9-ball event which will split the A/B players and the C/D players into the upper and lower halves of the bracket, with the top of each meeting in the winner’s side finals.  Visit www.TheTristateTour.com.

The East Coast Pool Tour, based in Connecticut, will also be hosting a 10-ball Shootout this weekend at US 1 Billiards in West Haven, CT.  This event will run from Saturday 26-Sunday 27.  To learn more about the tour, visit the ECPT on the web at www.members.cox.net/ecpt

East Coast Pool Tour

Good luck to all the players competing this weekend!

If you would like to submit an event announcement, email Alison at amfischer85@gmail.com.

Megan Smith Wins the New York State Championships to Claim Back to Back State Titles

By NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer

After going through her career without a single state title, in the JPNEWT Tour’s 2010 season, WPBA pro Megan Smith has now won back to back State Championships in Maryland and now in New York.  On June 19-20, 2010, Megan went undefeated through a field of 23 players hailing from across the East Coast, making this her third win out the four stops so far in 2010.

On the first day of the event, Megan drew a first-round bye, and in the second round came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, with a break and run in the first rack vs Gail Glazebrook, followed by two more in that match, winning 7-3.  In the third round, Megan defeated Neslihan Gurel to move into Day 2.  Gurel, who is in her 2nd season on the JPNEWT, would go on to finish tied for 5th in this event.

To start off Day 2, four players remained in the winner’s bracket.  In this round, Megan Smith would defeat tour director Linda Haywood-Shea 7-4, while Kim Jones knocked junior phenom Briana Miller to the one-loss side by a 7-5 scoreline.  In the match for the hot seat,  Megan Smith stayed strong to defeat Kim Jones 7-4.

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Danny Harriman Dominates Maryland 14.1 Championships With Repeat Performance

Story and Photos by NYC Grind Contributor, Charles Eames

On June 19th-20th Big Daddy’s Billiards in Glen Burnie, Maryland rolled out the red carpet and cooked up some hot roast beef sandwiches with gravy for the 35 intrepid players of the sixth annual Maryland State 14.1 Championships. An event whose history includes past winners such as Ryan McCreesh, Mika Immonen, and Bob Maidhof to name a few just to give you an idea how tough this field can be.

View the Photos from Day 1

View the Photos from Day 2

The evening before the tournament, tournament director Peter Burrows and his lovely wife hosted a cocktail party / player meeting at their beautiful home in Annapolis. The atmosphere was a relaxed and intimate one that felt more like a family reunion than a cocktail party. Food and drink and more stories than you could possibly listen to in one night, Peter’s daughter, and beautiful grandchildren were on hand as well making giving the entire event a much more personal feel than any other I have ever played in. Peter’s enthusiasm for Straight Pool is astounding and he himself is a force to be reckoned with at the table.

Tournament Day 1 – Upon entering Big Daddy’s Billiard,s you are immediately greeted by a staff that is warm and courteous. The equipment is top-notch and the conditions could not have been better for the event. Rick and company were up until the wee hours of the morning making sure every table was just so. After asking many of the players there, the reply was unanimous that Big Daddy’s was a great spot with people who truly care about our sport, and more importantly the people who play it.

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Episode #10 of the Kiss of Death Web Series: Hard Eight!

NYCgrind.com is proud to present the 10th episode of the “Kiss of Death” web series. This series, presented by Poison Billiards and Amsterdam Billiards, follows the ladies of team “Kiss of Death” throughout the weeks leading up to the BCAPL National 8-ball Championships, where they compete in the Masters Team Division for the first time, after going undefeated in the Women’s Open Championship in 2009 in a field of 143 teams.

In this episode, team Kiss of Death competes in the Masters Division for the first time in Las Vegas in the 34th Annual BCAPL 8-ball Championships. Team Captain Gail Glazebrook went through the field of 402 Women to capture the Women’s Open 8-Ball Championships earlier in the event, and the team looked to build on that success.  KOD also sweat the US Open 10-Ball Championships which ran in conjunction with the BCAPL team event.

Be sure to watch the video for a mash up of billiards action in Vegas. This episode is longer than most of the episodes, as to pack in as much of the action in Vegas as possible.

The “Kiss of Death” web series is sponsored by Poison Billiards.

“Kiss of Death” is also brought to you by Amsterdam Billiard Club.

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Rikki Ragoonanan Makes an Undefeated Run Through the Tri-State at Sandcastle

By NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer

On Saturday, June 19, Sandcastle Billiards hosted the Tri-State Tour’s B/C/D class 9-ball event.  Twenty-six players came out to compete for a top prize of $500, which was awarded to the undefeated winner, New York’s Rikki Ragoonanan.

Rikki cleared through the winner’s bracket with wins over Ken DeCuire (7-4), Andrew Cleary (9-6), Serrafin Serrano (7-6), and Troy Deocharran (8-6).  This streak set him up in the winner’s side final against veteran NY-area player Pat DiBuono, who had previously defeated George Osipovitch (7-2) in the winner’s side final four.  Rikki would edge out Pat (7-6) in that match to claim the hot seat.

There was still plenty of action going on in the one-loss bracket… where Raphael Dabreo would battle through to stand out.  Raphael has had a number of top showings in both the Tri-State and the Predator tours so far in 2010, and again made a strong statement at this event.

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Pool Instruction: CueTips #26 – Improve Your Ball Pocketing Skills Today

By NYC Grind Contributor, Mark Finkelstein

I just had a chance to meet with Tony Robles yesterday and we were talking about all sorts of things pool-related. I didn’t realize this, but besides running the Predator Tour, he is also running the NAPL League. I understand it is on a Wednesday night and doesn’t conflict with other leagues. Check it out, the competition is one of the pillars you need to build a strong game (lessons and practice being the other two, for those of you new to my columns).

This week, I had a light bulb go off in my head about something that I want to share with you. I was teaching a lesson at Slate’s and my student just couldn’t understand the concept of throw. I tried demonstrating two balls frozen together, I tried putting three balls on the long rail, two frozen and one off the rail, I tried explaining about hitting something off to the side. She still didn’t get it.

Now my student is an extremely intelligent, dedicated person who works hard at her game, and I was getting frustrated. What she said, and the implications, changed how I see pocketing balls! I asked her what she wasn’t getting. Her answer was enlightening. She didn’t understand why the ball didn’t go in when you hit the contact point. She had always been told that to make the ball, you have to hit the contact point.

Basically what she said was, “You mean you don’t hit the contact point to make the ball on cut shots?” And, the answer is yes! You don’t hit the contact point because throw is real, and it affects the path of the object ball.

I want you to go to the table right now, or today if you can, and try this shot…
Continue reading “Pool Instruction: CueTips #26 – Improve Your Ball Pocketing Skills Today” »

The Maryland State 14.1 Straight Pool Championships Brings World-Class Players to Glen Burnie, MD This Weekend

In continuing a rich tradition of 14.1 Continuous on the East Coast, the 2010 Maryland State 14.1 Straight Pool Championships will be kicking off tomorrow, June 19, at Big Daddy’s Billiards in Glen Burnie, MD.  This year’s event is presented by Richard Molineiro, along with tournament director & founder Peter Burrows.

Every year, this event attracts a host of world-class players, and this year is no exception.  Included among them are Mike Sigel, Danny Harriman, Charlie Williams, Mike Davis, WPBA pro Gerda Hofstatter, Bob Maidhof, Zion Zvi, NYC 14.1 icons Danny Barouty & Steve Lipsky, Bob Chamberlain, Dave Daya, Dan Heidrich, Bob Madenjian, Brian Deska, and Northeast young guns Shaun Wilkie, Mike Dechaine, and Dominic Noe, among many others.

The format for the event will feature a round robin segment on Saturday, with the players meeting and practice beginning at 9:00 am.  Sunday will move into the elimination rounds and the finals, and $15,000 in prizes will be awarded to the top finishers.  The entry fee for players is $250, with an additional $50 late fee for players entering after June 10.

NYC Grind is pleased to announce that for this year’s event, we will be featuring on-site coverage and photography from Long Island 14.1 enthusiast, Charles Eames, who will also be competing in the tournament.

Charles was a key player in spearheading the first-ever Super Billiards Expo 14.1 Challenge earlier this year, and is a great advocate of the game.  “It’s fantastic that 14.1 is becoming a more mainstream game, and this is really a world-class event,” said Charles. “I’m really excited to be both playing in the event and covering it for NYCgrind.com.”

For pool fans and players who want to experience the play of the best competitors in the country, this event is well worth the trip.  The host venue, Big Daddy’s Billiards, is located at 7954 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. in Glen Burnie, MD 21060.

For information on hotel accommodations, contact Richard at (410) 760-1332.

Stay on the grind for results other news on the 2010 Maryland State 14.1 Straight Pool Championships…

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