shuff & strickland split the u.s. open warm-up!
|
|
The Action Pool Tour (APT) held The U.S. Open 9-Ball Warm-Up at Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA on October 14-15. This was the first event of the 2011-2012 APT Session and attracted a respectable and strong field of 45 participants which included the likes of Earl “The Pearl” Strickland, “Iron” Mike Davis, Brandon “Sho Nuff” Shuff, and Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie.
The first round of play included a major upset on the live stream table as “Iron” Mike Davis was sent to the one-loss side by Mel Peck 9-7. Several rounds of play were completed Friday night and the action resumed at 10:00am on Saturday morning with 8 players remaining on the winners’ side and 16 remaining on the one-loss side. The beginning of day #2 winners’ side action saw Brandon Shuff dominate John Newton 9-3 while the other matches remained close with Dave Hunt squeaking by Larry Kressel 9-8, Shaun Wilkie narrowly escaping Danny Mastermaker 9-8, and Earl Strickland edging out Ozzy Reynolds 9-7. This would set up two terrific double hill matches as Hunt downed Wilkie 9-8 and Shuff beat Strickland by the same score with a “Hail Mary” jump shot and run-out in the final rack. However, the hot seat match was not as close as Shuff easily sent Hunt to the one-loss side by a score of 9-3.
The final eight players included Brandon Shuff (hot seat), Dave Hunt, Earl Strickland, Shaun Wilkie, Larry Kressel, Danny Mastermaker, Ozzy Reynolds, and John Newton. As an added event bonus, the highest event finisher who was not already entered in the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, would receive free U.S. Open entry (a $500 value). Of the final eight, only two players: John Newton and Ozzy Reynolds were not already entered into the U.S. Open. As fate would have it, they faced each other in a 5th-6th place battle to determine the winner of the last remaining U.S. Open spot. Newton dominated early but Reynolds fought back to tie the match 8-8. The last rack saw John Newton play a terrific safety and force Reynolds to attempt his own “Hail Mary” kick shot. Lady Luck was apparently with him as he pulled the trigger and made an incredibly fortunate kick-combination which set up a relatively easy run-out to win the set 9-8.
The next round saw Wilkie outgun Reynolds 9-7 and Strickland tore through the one-loss brackets defeating Kressel 9-3, Wilkie, 9-4, and finally Hunt 9-4 to reach the final match to face Shuff. However, with both players scheduled to play the next morning in the U.S. Open, they decided to split the winnings rather than play through the true double elimination final set. The complete bracket is posted online at www.actionpooltour.com/results.
The tour would like to thank all of the players who participated in this event despite it beginning on a Friday night. Thanks also to the owners and staff of Diamond Billiards for providing a fantastic venue and environment. We look forward to returning to this room many more times in the future for some more great Action!
The next stop for The Action Pool Tour is The Bob Stocks Memorial 9-Ball Open on October 29-30 at First Break Cafe in Sterling, VA. Although the APT does not normally advertise added money, this is a special annual event and First Break Café has guaranteed $1,000 added.
The Action Pool Tour is continually looking for sponsors. If anyone is interested in placing an ad during our live stream, on our website, or any other sponsorship arrangement, please contact Tour Director Ozzy Reynolds at admin@actionpooltour.com.
By Tour Staff
Payouts
1 – Brandon Shuff/Earl Strickland $850
2 – Brandon Shuff/Earl Strickland $500
3 – Dave Hunt $300
4 – Shaun Wilkie $200
5-6 – Larry Kressel $150
5-6 – Ozzy Reynolds $150
7-8 – John Newton $100
7-8 – Danny Mastermaker $100
Top female finisher: Marianne Rinker – $75
The first round of play included a major upset on the live stream table as “Iron” Mike Davis was sent to the one-loss side by Mel Peck 9-7. Several rounds of play were completed Friday night and the action resumed at 10:00am on Saturday morning with 8 players remaining on the winners’ side and 16 remaining on the one-loss side. The beginning of day #2 winners’ side action saw Brandon Shuff dominate John Newton 9-3 while the other matches remained close with Dave Hunt squeaking by Larry Kressel 9-8, Shaun Wilkie narrowly escaping Danny Mastermaker 9-8, and Earl Strickland edging out Ozzy Reynolds 9-7. This would set up two terrific double hill matches as Hunt downed Wilkie 9-8 and Shuff beat Strickland by the same score with a “Hail Mary” jump shot and run-out in the final rack. However, the hot seat match was not as close as Shuff easily sent Hunt to the one-loss side by a score of 9-3.
The final eight players included Brandon Shuff (hot seat), Dave Hunt, Earl Strickland, Shaun Wilkie, Larry Kressel, Danny Mastermaker, Ozzy Reynolds, and John Newton. As an added event bonus, the highest event finisher who was not already entered in the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, would receive free U.S. Open entry (a $500 value). Of the final eight, only two players: John Newton and Ozzy Reynolds were not already entered into the U.S. Open. As fate would have it, they faced each other in a 5th-6th place battle to determine the winner of the last remaining U.S. Open spot. Newton dominated early but Reynolds fought back to tie the match 8-8. The last rack saw John Newton play a terrific safety and force Reynolds to attempt his own “Hail Mary” kick shot. Lady Luck was apparently with him as he pulled the trigger and made an incredibly fortunate kick-combination which set up a relatively easy run-out to win the set 9-8.
The next round saw Wilkie outgun Reynolds 9-7 and Strickland tore through the one-loss brackets defeating Kressel 9-3, Wilkie, 9-4, and finally Hunt 9-4 to reach the final match to face Shuff. However, with both players scheduled to play the next morning in the U.S. Open, they decided to split the winnings rather than play through the true double elimination final set. The complete bracket is posted online at www.actionpooltour.com/results.
The tour would like to thank all of the players who participated in this event despite it beginning on a Friday night. Thanks also to the owners and staff of Diamond Billiards for providing a fantastic venue and environment. We look forward to returning to this room many more times in the future for some more great Action!
The next stop for The Action Pool Tour is The Bob Stocks Memorial 9-Ball Open on October 29-30 at First Break Cafe in Sterling, VA. Although the APT does not normally advertise added money, this is a special annual event and First Break Café has guaranteed $1,000 added.
The Action Pool Tour is continually looking for sponsors. If anyone is interested in placing an ad during our live stream, on our website, or any other sponsorship arrangement, please contact Tour Director Ozzy Reynolds at admin@actionpooltour.com.
By Tour Staff
Payouts
1 – Brandon Shuff/Earl Strickland $850
2 – Brandon Shuff/Earl Strickland $500
3 – Dave Hunt $300
4 – Shaun Wilkie $200
5-6 – Larry Kressel $150
5-6 – Ozzy Reynolds $150
7-8 – John Newton $100
7-8 – Danny Mastermaker $100
Top female finisher: Marianne Rinker – $75
