Veterans Top Day Two at the World Tournament in 14.1 as Ray Martin, Allen Hopkins, & Mike Sigel Get Wins Over Top Seeds
August 31, 2011
Ray Martin shooting against Oliver Ortmann (Photo by Charles Eames)
By NYC Grind Contributor, Geoff Conway “Pool Junkie”
Ray Martin vs Oliver Ortmann
Tuesday the 30th of August will long be remembered by Ray “Cool Cat” Martin, as the day he beat Oliver “The Machine” Ortmann on the TV table, and showed us all that at 76 years old, he still possesses the talents that won him his three World Titles back in the 70’s.
On Monday, Ray won his two matches easily, but not against world beaters… whereas yesterday, he had to play the reigning champion on the TV table. I, for one, thought that the younger Ortmann would have the edge in this one. Well, it did not take many minutes to see that Ray was not a pushover, as we saw from his magical safety play, in which he absolutely took control of the table.
With the score in the favor of Mr. Martin at 85 to 52, Oliver ran fourteen balls to put the score at 85 to 66. However, he left himself a long break shot, which he missed. The crowd got very excited at this point, as they were expecting the underdog to run out. Oops. Ray only made one ball, then missed. More ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the crowd!
Oliver got to the table and only managed to run nine balls before missing. The general opinion of those watching is that Ray will run out from here and get the win. Unfortunately, he first had to deal with the 90 degree cut on the break ball behind the pack. The veteran slices the ball into the corner pocket only to witness the cue ball miraculously go straight through the pack and scratch in the side pocket. At this point, we were wondering if Ray would ever get to the finish line?
Well, Oliver got down to business and made twenty-three balls before missing again. But, he left Ray up table with no loose balls to shoot at, with the score at 89 to 86 in Oliver’s favor.
The World Tournament in 14.1 Gets Underway at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, NJ
August 30, 2011
The World Tournament in 14.1 Arena at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick (Photo by Charles Eames)
By NYC Grind Contributor Geoff Conway “Pool Junkie
The 71st World Tournament in 14.1, brought to us by Dragon Promotions, got underway Monday morning, just one day later than originally scheduled. The original start date just happened to coincide with the path of Hurricane Irene, which was due to arrive in New Brunswick at exactly the time of the first match on Sunday.
Well, Irene has come and gone, but not without its toll on the neighboring community, with trees down, power outages and terrible flooding throughout the area. But all in all, the event got underway without a hitch, and even late arrivals were accommodated and allowed to play later in the day’s schedule.
You can watch live streamed feature matches from Inside Pool on www.insidepool.tv.
We saw quite a few shock results in the first day of competition, as well as many of the top players easily winning their matches. Dennis Hatch dealt out a surprise result when he was matched up against Mika Immonen. Mika, who looked to be winning the match by a clear margin, made a mistake when at 95 to 23, and had to stay in his chair while the “Hatchetman” ran out the 77 balls required to win the match.
Mika also had a hard match in his 10pm round against Matt Tetreault, who had won his two previous matches yesterday (100 to 52 against Zion Zvi and Mr. Hull 100-41). Mid-way through the match, Matt had a convincing lead 70 to 28, but made just one mistake that let Mika back in, and we saw a very determined Mika digging deep and he soon had the score in the other direction 87 to 77. (Surprising as it might sound, Matt said that the last two times he had played Mika at straight pool, he had beat him!)
Schedule Change for The World Tournament of 14.1 & Warm-Up Event
August 27, 2011
Breaking news from Dragon Promotions on The World Tournament in 14.1...
New Brunswick, New Jersey – Dragon Promotions is making preparations for Hurricane Irene and possible issues caused by the impending storms. Players and fans are not to worry though, the event will go on this week. The 14.1 Warm-Up Tournament originally scheduled for Amsterdam Billiard Club will be moved to Sunday August 28 with players meeting at 2pm. The main event, 71st World Tournament, will begin with a players meeting at 9am on Monday morning August 29th. The event will stay on schedule to end on September 2.
Fans will still be able to watch world class straight pool action Sunday with stars such as Thorsten Hohmann, Mike Sigel, John Schmidt, Jose Parica, Johnny Archer, Alex Pagulayan, Stephan Cohen, Rodney Morris, Kunihiko Takahashi, Ralf Eckert, Mike Davis, Max Eberle, Charlie Williams, and many more competing.
All fans and players of any skill level can join in the Warm-Up for $75 and get a rare opportunity to play in the main arena of The World Tournament. The Olhausen Tables with Andy Cloth and Aramith Balls will be new so come out and experience the feeling of world class 14.1 action with the pros at The Hyatt Regency!
Both tournaments are sponsored by Dr. Michael Fedak and Amsterdam Billiard Club. Predator Is the Official Cue of the events.
Continue reading “Schedule Change for The World Tournament of 14.1 & Warm-Up Event” »
The World Tournament in 14.1 is Almost Upon Us as Players Prepare to Battle at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, NJ
August 26, 2011
The World Tournament in 14.1
By NYC Grind Contributor, Geoff Conway “Pool Junkie”
It seems that everywhere I have gone this week, all I hear is, “Have a look at this pattern”… “You will like this pattern”… “David recommends this pattern,”etc, etc… Have I stumbled on a group from the East Coast Knitters Guild, or have I gate crashed a board meeting in the Garment District?
Of course, what I was actually hearing was the lament of the lesser-known Straight Pool Player; a rare bird indeed, but gaining in popularity as the game reincarnates itself on the pool landscape.
Kudos to Dragon Promotions and their team of supporters for their work in continuing the resurrection of the game of 14.1, and establishing itself firmly in the yearly calendar of great events not to miss.
The 2011 edition of the World Tournament in Straight Pool will be taking place at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This invitation-only event is set to feature 64 of the world’s most elite straight pool players, along with qualifier players from around the country.
The World Tournament will run from Sunday, August 28 through Friday, September 2. These 64 players participating will be not only representing their country, but also be a part of the rich tradition in the best of what makes up the billiards world.
Fans from around the world will be able to watch the action via the live stream by Inside Pool. Read the press release with details on the live stream here: http://www.dragonpromotions.com/news/08232011.html
Justin Muller Gets the Better of Matt Krah in the Accu-Stats Thursday Night Challenge Match in the Simonis Arena at Breaker Billiards
August 24, 2011
Justin Muller shooting the final rack in the Simonis Arena at Breaker Billiards
By NYC Grind Contributor, Geoff Conway “Pool Junkie”
Little-known Justin Muller, an “A” player from Seldon, Long Island, NY, was matched up against five-year pro Matt Krah, who hails from Wilmington, DE, in the Accu-Stats Challenge match that took place on Thursday, August 18.
The match played in the Simonis Arena at Breaker Billiards in Clifton, NJ, and as usual, this race to eleven 10-ball match utilized the Accu-Stats Arena Rules, with a mandatory push out following the break. This is to insure that both players get to shoot in every rack, and no one player is left in his chair as the other player runs out several racks, while you do not get to see the skills of the other player.
Well, this match sort of went the way of previous matches, with both players reiterating in their minds the Arena Rules in the early games, which are dramatically different than a normal 10-ball formatted match. However, it did not take them long to realize that the player at the table after the break should force his opponent to push out.
Matt Krah, a two-time Mezz Player of the Year, went into an early lead, by dint of several unforced errors by Justin, and soon had the score at 3-1 in his favor. Justin took the next game, but a little while later found himself the wrong side of a 5-2 score. However, at this point Justin showed the fire power that he is becoming known for, and took the next five racks to put the score at 7-5.
Pat Fleming, who created the Arena Rules, (which also feature an early hill-hill rule, where if the score gets tied at 7-7, 8-8, 9-9 or 10-10 the next game is the match-winning game), was jumping up and down in his commentary chair at this point as he saw a 7-7 score looming on the horizon. Well, Pat would not be disappointed as Matt took the next two games to make Pat’s wish come true. In the final game, both players realized that they could not afford to make a mistake, nor go for a high-risk shot and miss. Believe me, the shot clock went down to some low numbers in this game.
Charles Darwin Vergara Wins His First Tri-State Tour Event at Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn
August 23, 2011
Charles Vergara (1st) & Frank Dagostino (2nd)
In the Tri-State Tour’s second stop of the 2011-2011 season, another young Filipino-American rising star would take the spotlight, this time at Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.
15-year-old Charles Darwin Vergara (son of top NYC player Mhet Vergara) would go through the twenty-four player field undefeated to win his first Tri-State event ever.
Charles’ trail to victory included wins over Mike Davie 6-3, Armando Baquero-Rache 6-3, Thomas Shuler 7-6, David Danchak 6-3, and Frank Agostino 7-5 to take the hot seat and lock down his spot in the final.
Prior to taking on Charles, Frank Dagostino sent one of New York’s top lady players, Diana “Snooky” Rojas, to the one-loss side after defeating her in the winner’s bracket final four, 7-1.
Daniel Dagotdot Wins the Opening Stop of the Tri-State Tour’s 2011-2012 Season
August 22, 2011
Allen Wong (3rd), Daniel Dagotdot (1st), Dan Cintron (2nd)
On Saturday, August 13, Daniel Dagotdot would achieve victory in the Tri-State Tour’s opening event of the 2011-2012 season at Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ. This event was an A/B/C/D 10-Ball tour stop that drew a field of 49 of the area’s toughest amateurs.
Over the course of the last few years, Daniel Dagotdot has worked to continually strengthen his game, and this win has now set him at the top of the rankings to start the Tri-State Tour’s new season.
25-year-old Dagotdot, a Filipino-American who resides in Jersey City, NJ, has added this title to his growing list of accomplishments, along with two more Tri-State titles from 2010-2011, and a Predator Tour title in 2010 as well.
Prior to this win, Daniel recently finished in 3rd in the Mezz Tour stop at Raxx Pool Room. These two impressive finishes come on the heels of Daniel’s ongoing coaching with renowned Filipino pool instructor, Ramon Mistica, who has spent the past few months teaching in the New York area. You can read our spotlight on Ramon Mistica here: http://nycgrind.com/?p=15137
Continue reading “Daniel Dagotdot Wins the Opening Stop of the Tri-State Tour’s 2011-2012 Season” »
Amsterdam Billiards Hosts The Last Qualifier For The 71st World Tournament (World Straight Pool 14.1 Championships) This Weekend
August 19, 2011
Amsterdam Billiards is set to host the last qualifier for the 71st World Tournament (World Straight Pool 14.1 Championships) this weekend, August 20-21.
The 71st World Tournament is being produced by Dragon Promotions, and will boast the largest payout in straight pool history with a $20,000 first prize.
The $35,000 added event will take place at the beautiful Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, NJ. The extremely prestigious event will take place from August 28th-September 2nd, 2011.
NY and NJ have a very rich history and tradition for straight pool, and the Tri-State area has been buzzing of late with interest around this event.
Players and hardcore fans will have the opportunity to watch two-time World 14.1 Champion Oliver Ortmann come back to defend his title along with former World Champion Thorsten Hohmann, Niels Feijen, Allen Hopkins, Jasmin Ouschan, Johnny Archer, Mika Immonen, John Schmidt, and Stephan Cohen of France are just a few of the powerful list of world beaters who will come to play in the greatest straight pool tournament in the world.
NYCgrind.com was there to cover the action last year, and will be there again this year to help keep straight pool in the hearts and minds of sports fans everywhere. Get up to speed from last year’s NYCgrind.com coverage here.
This invitation-only event has only 4 spots left, which will be determined by the last four players standing in this upcoming weekend’s tournament which will take place at Amsterdam Billiards, in NYC’s Union Square. The two-day qualifier for the 71st World Tournament will get underway at 11am for anyone who believes they have the chops to hang with the best players in the region.
The entry fee is $105, and the top 4 players left standing will get a chance to be part of history at the upcoming World Tournament.
For more information on the event or directions visit AmsterdamBilliards.com
Accu-Stats Matches Up Matt Krah Against Justin Muller in the Simonis Arena at Breaker Billiards Tonight
August 18, 2011
Accu-Stats
This evening, Accu-Stats is bringing another new match-up to the table at the Simonis Arena at Breaker Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
One of Long Island’s top up-and-coming players, Justin Muller, will go head-to-head against one of the toughest players in the Northeast, Matt Krah, the current #3-ranked player on The Mezz Tour.
Matt Krah at the 2008 US Open (Photo by Alison M. Fischer)
Justin, who was ranked #7 in The Tri-State Tour’s ‘A’ Class for the 2010-2011 season, has quickly been improving his game over the past few years, and this match should be a treat for both local fans and live stream viewers.
Justin Muller in the 2009 Predator Tour at Castle Billiards (Photo by Alison M. Fischer)
The match will use the Arena Rules format and is set to kick off at 8:30pm EST.
Watch it live on the Accu-Stats Ustream Channel:
www.ustream.tv/channel/accu-stats-on-location
Brett Stottlemyer Takes The Poison Planet Pool Tour Stop at Triple Nine Bar & Billiards
August 17, 2011
Brett Stottlemyer (1st), Tour Director Mike Ricciardella, Shaun Wilkie (2nd)
The Poison Planet Pool Tour made its way to Triple Nine Bar & Billiards in Elkridge, MD on Saturday, August 7, 2011. A strong field of 32 player showed up to play, players including tour points leader Ryan McCreesh, Brett Stottlemyer, Shaun Wilkie, Matt Krah, Josh Brothers, Alan Duty, Sergei Bolotin, and Manuel Orino.
Brett Stottlemyer, Matt Krah, Ryan McCreesh, and Josh Brothers took care of their half of the winner’s side bracket on day one. Day two on the winner’s side had Brett Stottlemyer vs Ryan McCreesh, where Stottlemyer would win 9-7 to get a shot at the hot seat.
The second match on the winner’s side had Matt Krah vs Josh Brothers, which Krah would win 9-7. The hot seat match had Brett Stottlemyer beating Matt Krah 9-7 and sending Krah to the one lost side.
Making his move on the one-loss side was Shaun Wilkie, by winning six straight matches before running into Matt Krah. This was a great match that want double-hill but it was Wilkie winning 7-6 and his 7th straight match.
