Frost Nips Ochoa for Derby One Pocket Title

Frost Nips Ochoa for Derby One Pocket Title

As evening fell on Elizabeth, IN at the Derby City Classic there was talk of an upcoming storm and how cold the air felt outside. According to the National Weather Service, the storm is scheduled to hit Friday, but nobody watching the final day of action cared too much about the cold weather approaching. They seemed to fixated on Frost, Scott Frost. Scott Frost, Francisco Bustamante and Sylver Ochoa survived a field of 287 hopefuls to gain the spotlight and one pocket infamy.

The semifinal match between Francisco Bustamante and Sylver Ochoa proved to be a replay of the classic “youth versus experience” match. This match saw the youthful Ochoa prevail over the experienced Bustamante not by just ball making and shear firepower, but skill and knowledge as well.

In the finals, Scott “The Freezer” Frost met Ochoa for what promised to be another memorable duel. In a moment of levity, Accu-Stats commentator Jimmy Mataya stated, “Am I the only one that finds it ironic that we just got told how cold it was outside from a guy named Frost?” As the finals got kicked off, it was Frost that thawed out the crowd with his play by winning the first game within only a few shots. Ochoa answered the call with a quick win of his own to knot the match at 1-1.

The third game proved to be just a electric with Frost taking advantage of an Ochoa mistake and running the score to 2-1 in favor of Frost. That would be the end of the fast action. In game 4, Ochoa and Frost made a combined effort to move the remining ten balls to the non-business end of the table, all in one corner, thus creating what is known as “the Wedge” to one pocket players and fans. After what seemed like 30 shots per player, Ochoa saw an opening and tied the set at 2-2.

In the final game, Ochoa broke and almost scratched, leaving Frost nearly corner-hooked. Frost made a fantastic recovery to get out of the break but quickly fell behind 4 to -1 in ball count. Ochoa’s luck didn’t stop there. As Frost kept grinding out shot after shot to get back into the match, Ochoa “shot up in the air” at a bank and left what was surely to be the match balls only to have the balls come back together in a manner that gave Ochoa the reprieve that he needed. The match looked like they were about to get even more exciting when Ochoa shot a ball at his hole and accidentally made Frost’s game and match ball.

Early tallies of the all-around points standings show defending champion John Brumback in the lead with 136 points. In a close second at 116 points is the legendary Efren Reyes.

One Pocket Results:
1st Scott Frost $12,000
2nd Sylver Ochoa $6,000
3rd Francisco Bustamante $2,500
4-5 Corey Deuel, Nick Vita $1,800
6-8th Shannon Daulton, Rafael Martinez, Santos Sambajon, Jr.
9-12th Jesse Bowman, Danny Harriman, Joshua Oneal, Alex Pagulayan
13-19th Mark Haddad, Shane McMinn, Sam Monday, Jose Parica, John Schmidt, Adam Smith, Charles Williams

Asia Captures Team Billiards Challenge

Team Asia Wins Asia Versus Europe Men’s 9-Ball Team Challenge

All-star teams of Asian and European players collided January 15-17 at the Sutra Hall in Rizqun International Hotel in Brunei Darussalam, with Team Asia taking away $27,000 USD after squeaking out am 8-7 victory over Team Europe, who collected $13,000 USD for their efforts.

Team Asia was composed of Filipinos Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, Chee Soon Teo of Brunei Darussalam, and Pin Yi Ko and Hui Chan Lu of Taiwan. Team Europe comprised Ralf Souquet of Germany, Darren Appleton and Imran Majid of the U.K., Dutch player Nick Van Den Berg, and Russia’s Ruslan Chinakov. The event was sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union and the European Pocket Billiard Federation.

Day One saw Team Asia establish an advantage. The team of Pin Yi Ko and Hui Chan Lu bested Van den Berg and Chinakov 5-1, but Team Europe, consisting of Appleton and Majid, eked out a 5-4 thriller over Reyes and Chee Soon Teo. Chinakov and Souquet followed this up by besting Hui Chan Lu and Bustamante 5-2, but the rest of the day belonged to Asia. Pin Ko Yi and Chee Soon Teo doubled up on Van den Berg and Majid 5-4, and Reyes and Bustamante paired up to defeat Appleton and Souquet in another hill-hill match.

View the match results

The remaining matches of the event were singles. On Day Two, Team Europe rallied and drew even with Asia. Hui Chan Lu bested Majid in the first match of the day 5-4, but Souquet soon countered with a strong 5-1 defeat of Bustamante. Chee Soon Teo dealt a resounding 5-2 blow to Chinakov, but Europe grabbed the last two matches of the day. Van den Berg defeated Reyes 5-3, while Appleton edged out Pin Ko Yi 5-4.

The teams entered Day Three tied at five matches apiece, with only five left to divide amongst themselves to decide the winner. Souquet whitewashed Reyes 5-0 in the first match of the day, but Hui Chan Lu delivered a 5-2 drubbing to Appleton. Majid earned some revenge for his fellow Brit in the next with a 5-3 defeat of Chee Soon Teo, but Pin Ko Yi won 5-3 over Chinakov. With the last match the most important of the event, Bustamante went in against Van den Berg and walked away the 5-2 victor, giving Team Asia the 8-7 triumph.

November 2009 Issue of Billiards Magazine Available for Free Download

November 2009 Issue of Inside POOL Magazine Available for Free Download

Mika Immonen Continues World Domination

The November 2009 issue of Inside POOL Magazine, which features Mika Immonen on the cover, has been made available for free download at InsidePOOLmag.com. This month the download features new technology in online billiards magazine viewing such as enhanced clarity, videos, links to favorite web sites, flipping pages, zooming, emailing, sharing, and printing.

Mika Immonen Dominates the Galveston World Classic 10-Ball division. David Alcaide snares the Predator International Tour stop in Anadia, Portugal. Watch full length match videos, video pool lessons, and video trick shots. Dennis Hatch hammers the Empire State Field. Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante down Team Germany to capture the World Cup of Pool in the Philippines. Ga Young Kim scores her second win of the WPBA 2009 season. Andy Segal takes the Trick Shot Magic title at the ESPN Zone at New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Get the results from the Shooting Star Classic. Check out the products that are on the “must-have” list holiday season in Inside POOL’s Holiday Buying Guide. Get a pool lesson on 20/20 Hindsight from Tom Simpson. Check out some billiard instruction from some of Inside POOL Magazines’s professional instructors. Get a masse lesson from Jason Lynch. Bob Henning gives us all a lesson about Kicking Maps. Find out why OzoneBilliards.com is a forward thinking and foward moving company. Get all of the latest regional tour news from around the U.S. and internationally.
Download the November 2009 issue of Inside POOL Magazine for Free

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About Inside POOL Magazine
Inside POOL Magazine launched in 2001 and, with pool player-based content and high impact photography, quickly became the largest magazine in the world for the sport of billiards. The official web site, InsidePOOLmag.com, followed shortly after and became one of the largest web sites in billiards. The web site features videos, image galleries, pool lessons, custom Pool Cue makers, online games, player profiles, tournament brackets, live streaming video, rules, product reviews, and the latest billiard news from around the world.

Captain Fantastic Lely Back at Euro Helm

Captain Fantastic Lely Back at Euro Helm

Matchroom Sport can announce that Alex Lely of Holland is returning in his role as captain of the European team for the forthcoming PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup which takes place at the MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada from December 10 – 13.

The Flying Dutchman took over the role for the first time in Malta last year when he guided his team to a record-breaking 11-5 victory over their American opponents.

“I knew I was in a good position to be honored with the captaincy for this year’s event and I’m delighted that it is now official!” said Lely.

“There are still two months to go, but the vibes are already there. Also in Camp USA, on the forums that is, you can discern some strong American discomfort with the actual balance of power in the Mosconi Cup, but that is a good thing.

“The Mosconi Cup is like the Olympics of pool, where the elite players of two continents battle for a year’s reign. I say let things heat up, let there be big crowds for Team USA, let there be European pool hooligans, let it be the toughest battle in the history of the Cup!”

Lely, 35, no longer plays but through the late 90’s he established himself one of Europe’s top tournament players.

He took three Euro Tour titles and in 1999 he achieved a career-best victory when he won the World Pool Masters title which included wins against Francisco Bustamante and Kunihiko Takahashi, and an epic win in the championship match against Efren Reyes.

He has played twice himself in the Mosconi Cup and both times he was on the losing side; firstly in 1999 at the York Hall in London, and then again in 2006 in at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Lely is highly knowledgeable, a shrewd tactician and possessor of great motivational skills but was happy to let his players take the plaudits. In fact he modestly explained away his success last year; “They’re a machine, all I had to do was push the button, make the sandwiches and rack the balls.”

This year, three of his five man team have been named and they are Niels Feijen (Holland), Germany’s Ralf Souquet and Darren Appleton of England.

“The players of Team Europe have worked hard for years to acquire their status. As for the status quo and its extension, they will be prepared and be able to dig very deep when the heat is on.

“Souquet and Feijen are just the core of any European team. They are the values of European Pool personified; professional and disciplined, headstrong and technically sound. Appleton will make his debut and is sure to stand tall in the limelight. His all-round game and temperament will be a valuable addition to the European gang.”

Live in its entirety on Sky Sports in the UK, the event features two five-man teams representing Europe and the USA doing battle in a series of singles and doubles matches. Now in its 16th year, the Americans hold a 10-5 lead with one tied match in 2006.

The remaining two European players will be named in October, while the members of the Team America will be named over the coming weeks and then at the conclusion of the US Open at the end of October as well as a public vote.

Tickets for the Mosconi Cup are available from:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/2009-Mosconi-Cup-tickets/artist/1334375

Or 1-800 745 300 or from the MGM Grand on 1-800 929 1111 or 702 891 7777.

Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com, +44 7785 395688

www.matchroompool.com

Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,100 hours of original programming across a range of nine sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the Mosconi Cup is one of a stable of pool events that also includes the World Cup of Pool and the World Pool Masters.

Galveston World Classic Kicks Off

The Galveston World Classic kicked off today at Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston, TX with the One-pocket, Women’s Open 9-Ball and the Amateur 9-Ball divisions.

The One-pocket event drew 88 players, including an extensive list of Philippino stars, top professionals from around the globe and well known road players. The depth of talent at this event rivals that of the Derby City Classic with almost all former DCC Champions in attendance including Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Alex Pagulayan, Shane Van Boening, John Schmidt, Larry Nevel & Jose Parica. First round matches are now complete and there are already a number of must-see matches slated for tomorrow. Matches include Efren Reyes vs. Jose Parica, Shane VanBoening vs. Francisco Bustamante, Ernesto Dominguez vs. Tony Chohan, Gabe Owen vs. Santos Sambajon Jr. and Shannon Daulton vs. Rodolfo Luat.

The Women’s Open 9-Ball event is comprised almost entirely of WPBA pros including Allison Fisher, Gerda Hofstatter, Monica Webb, Iris Ranola and Vivian Villarreal. With $10,000 in first place prize money and 29 women in attendance, there are already a number of top professionals who have been sent to the 1-loss side. Monica Webb came from behind to defeat Iris Ranola in the first round and Vivian Villarreal put away Gerda Hofstatter to secure her spot in the second round of the winner side.

The Amateur 9-Ball event drew 135 players and a slew of top regional players. Still on the winners side are Former Oklahoma State 8-Ball Champion Shane McMinn, Former Texas BCA State 8-Ball Champion Sean Black, top Fast Eddies Tour player James Davis Sr., and last week’s Texas Open 9-Ball Championships Runner-up Justin Hall.

The FREE online steam will begin Saturday, September 12th at 1PM with the Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante followed by Ronnie Alcano vs. Sylver Ochoa who defeated Danny Harriman today in a hill-hill thriller. The live stream and image galleries can be found at Inside POOL Magazine Video.

The Galveston World Classic web site will provide live scoring, image galleries, tournament brackets, and live streaming of the event.