Posts Tagged ‘Best Player’

Mezz Pro-Am Billiards Tour Launches

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Mezz Pro-Am Billiards Tour Launches

Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour. The Mezz Tour is a 1-day Open Tournament with staggered entry fees and additional cash prizes for the top 2 finishers in the A/B and C/D division. Events will take place in the North East region.

“We are happy to work with Jose Burgos, who runs the best 1-day tournaments in this region. We hope to offer a highly competitive tournament and great prizes for pros and amateurs alike. We will also give each player a free raffle ticket for a Mezz Cue and Mezz Case at the Grand Finale Tournament along with prizes for the Top 10 point leaders of the year,” says Mika.
Jose describes, “I am honored to join forces with Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues. I believe having the best player in the world along with one of the leading cue companies in the industry as sponsors will make the Mezz Pro-Am Tour one of the premier tours in the region.”

Along with the Mezz Open Tour, we are also proud to announce a Mezz Women’s Tour overseen by WPBA Pro and Mezz USA President, Caroline Pao.

“With so many great female players in the Northeast region, this is a great opportunity to provide a competitive tour for them to participate in. We will feature great prizes at each stop as well as hold a Grand Finale tournament with added monies. Prizes will also be awarded for the Top 3 female players of the year with the Top Female receiving paid entry to the prestigious Turning Stone Tournament in Syracuse, NY. I am very excited be able to provide an opportunity for our local female players to sharpen their competitive edge. Once we complete the 8 event schedule, it will be on our official Mezz Tour website, www.mezztour.com,” explains Caroline.

Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour.

Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour.

As a prelude to our official launch of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, we had a great event at Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA on January 31st with an attendance of 53 players. Joey Testa and Ignacio Chavez were co-champions of this event with Victor Nau in 3rd and Josh Brothers in 4th place.

The next stop will be at on February 21st at :
Atlantic City Billiards
6701 Blackhorse Pike
Egg Habor, NJ 08234
(609) 645-7576

Visit the official Mezz Pro-Am Tour website, www.mezztour.com, for more information.
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@mezztour.com.

Immonen Wins World Ten Ball Championship

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Immonen Wins World Ten Ball Championship
Jerry Forsyth, WPA Press Officer

There can be no doubt as to who the best player in the world is now. Mika Immonen of Finland has won the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) World Ten Ball Championship in Manila scant weeks after winning his second consecutive US Open and the Challenge of Champions. These wins push him over the $200,000 mark for the year and cement his place firmly in pool history.

Immonen entered the final day as one of four players left out of the 128 who started the week. His first victim for the day was Antonio Lining of the Philippines whom he beat 9-7. Just after this win the other semi-final between Lee Van Corteza of the Philippines and David Alcaide of Spain ended with Corteza earning the right to face Immonen 9-7.

Immonen continued his assault on the sport of pool as he captured the title of WPB World Ten Ball Champion.  With this win, his winnings this year puts him over $200,000.

Immonen continued his assault on the sport of pool as he captured the title of WPB World Ten Ball Champion. With this win, his winnings this year puts him over $200,000.

Corteza began the final with a hot hand and led 2-0 after the first two racks. But from there Immonen found his game and slowly pulled away to take the title 11-6 in a convincing victory.

View the WPA World 10-Ball Championships Groups tournament brackets

View the WPA World 10-Ball Championships Single Elimnation tournament brackets

Congratulations go out to Raya Sports for their production of this year’s championship and the Republic of the Philippines for being such gracious hosts.

Hohmann Unscathed at Comet Billiards

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Hohmann Unscathed at Comet Billiards

Thorsten "The Hitman" Hohmann laid the smackdown his fellow pros at the Accu-Stats 14.1 Straight Pool Invitational at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ.

Thorsten "The Hitman" Hohmann laid the smackdown his fellow pros at the Accu-Stats 14.1 Straight Pool Invitational at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ.

It’s Official. Not even Hurricane Hannah could contain Thorsten Hohmann as he cruised, unscathed, through a minefield chock-full of straight pool powerhouses  in the Accu-Stats 14.1 Straight Pool Invitational at Comet Billiards, in Parsippany, N.J.

Johnny Archer, Jose Parica, John Schmidt, and Ralf Souquet all felt the frustration as Hohmann hosted a clinic. Accu-Stats’ commentators Incardona and DiLiberto were so impressed by Thorsten performance that they considered him to be the best player they’d ever seen. Never, in recent memory, has there been a round robin event where a player went undefeated. Even Efren, in the 2001 Accu-Stats 8-Ball Invitational, had to compete in a play-off to secure his win.

The Accu-Stats Video Production, Double Round Robin, event, also broadcast over the internet, allowed each competitor to play each other twice with both matches immortalized on DVD. All century plus runs are given a “Player Review” where the aspirant narrates his own DVD.

John “Mr. 400″ Schmiidt had highest run honors as he blasted a lightening fast 169. Off to a slow start, and zero for 5 in his opening matches, John redeemed himself by winning his last 3 over Souquet, Archer, and Parica.

Ralf, too, was on shaky ground. He had 3 wins; one over Schmidt and two over Archer.

Johnny garnered wins over Schmidt and a 60-and-out over Parica where he continued to complete a high run of 99.

Parica, with 4 and 4, secured $2,000 in prize money by defeating Archer, Schmidt, and Souquet, twice,

Players earned $500 for each win with a possible $1,000 in bonus money per match.  Once a player hit 60, he could continue pocketing balls in the hope of running to 100 and win an additional $500 or, $1,000 for 150.

Hohmann grossed $5,000 for his 8 wins and his century plus runs of 112 and 149. One more point on the 149 and he would have made an extra $500. Johnny felt the sting too. His 99 was so close yet, so far.

Accu-Stats’ Pat Fleming would like to thank Bill Hailey and his crew at Comet Billiards for their superior service, and all who attended the inaugural event there. That means you net surfers too.

In the interest of keeping the production values at peak performance, Pat asked the players for suggestions on how to improve the event. The consensus was, “Don’t change a thing.”

Final results:
1. Thorsten Hohmann 8-0
2. Jose Parica 4-4
3. John Schmidt 3-5
4. Ralf Souquet 3-5
5. Johnny Archer 2-6
High Runs
1. John Schmidt 169 _ $1,000
2. Thorsten Hohmann 149 _ $500
3. Thorsten Hohmann 112 _ $500

Hohmann Holds onto Perfect Record

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

Hohmann remains unblemished as day 3 of the Accu-Stats 14.1 Round Robin continues
The Accu-Stats 14.1 Straight Pool Invitational

 

Thorsten "The Hitman" Hohmann is still on the path to a perfect record at the Accu-Stats 14.1 Straight Pool Invitational at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ.

Thorsten "The Hitman" Hohmann is still on the path to a perfect record at the Accu-Stats 14.1 Straight Pool Invitational at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ.

Although off to a rocky start in the opening rack, in day 2, Thorsten Hohmann’s recovery skills and consummate cue ball control garnered his second high run of the event at 112. Thorsten’s consistency, pattern play, and ability to overcome potential disaster had Accu-commentators Incardona and DiLiberto considering whether Thorsten was the best player, not only playing today, but ever. That’s high praise from men who’ve seen them all.
For other constestants, the Accu-Stats Invitational has held some disappointments. John “Mr 400″ Schmidt has hardly lived up to his monicker as he has managed only 24 balls in 4 matches. The 60 point matches put players in a now-or-never mind set. And, that causes panic. On the upside, this is just sort of come-from-behind motivation that John may need to get rolling.
Archer, with a high run of 150-and-out in a previous Accu-Stats tournament, has only managed one win, interestingly enough, against Schmidt.
Johnny has had opportunity. In his 7:00 pm, Friday night match, he scored 45 against Jose Parica’s 60. Johnny missed a ball he would have made in the case came of any 9 Ball championship. That seems to be the challenge of 14.1. When a ball gets just outside one’s comfort zone, as the consequences are much more dire, errors happen.
8:00pm had John Schmidt (-1) got no sympathy from Thorsten Hohmann with a 60 & Out concluding with a High Run of 112.
10:00pm – Ralf Souquet (60) gave Johnny Archer (15) his 3rd defeat.
11:00pm – Thorsten Hohmann (60) and Jose Parica (54). This was without a doubt the most tightly contested match. Parica needed six when Hohmann was allowed to the table. Thorsten stalled at 58 and a safety battle ensued.
So the tallies so far are, Hohman 4 and 0 losses. Parica 3 and 1, Souquet is 2 and 2,  Johnny is 1 and 3, and Schmidt 0 and 4. For his two, century plus runs, Hohmann has generated an additional $1,000 in bonus money.

Saturday afternoon’s session continued with the aforementioned Archer defeating Schmidt 60 to minus 2, and Pareica over Souquet, 60-4.
Can Hohmann prevail? The schedule will prove interesting.
The Afternoon session continues with
3:00pm – Thorsten Hohmann vs. Johnny Archer
4:00pm – John Schmidt vs. Ralf Souquet
And the evening matches scheduled are:
7:00pm – Jose Parica vs. Johnny Archer
8:00pm – Thorsten Hohmann vs. John Schmidt
10:00pm – Ralf Souquet vs. Jose Parica
11:00pm – Johnny Archer vs. John Schmidt
Please noter all times are Eastern.

Visit http://www.accu-stats.com/liveppv.html for your ringside seat and live commentary by Bill Incardona and Danny DiLiberto.

Killer Instinct

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

“Killer instinct” is a term tossed around fairly regularly in pool room conversations. It is applied to some players and found absent in others. “He’s got the killer instinct…she doesn’t have a killer instinct,” etc. What, exactly does this term mean? How do you know if you have it or not? Is it a good thing to have, or is it a dinosaur left over from the smoke-filled, trouble-in-River-City poolrooms of the hustlers’ era?

For sure, pool is a one-on-one sport. Two players go into a match, and only one comes out a winner. Only one player gets to move forward on the tournament chart. You could say that the other player, in terms of a pool match, gets killed off, and that points to the essential aspect of competition. Everybody can’t win. If your opponent really wants to win and you really want to win, one of you has to be denied. And that denial, no matter how many mistakes you make, is ultimately delivered by the hand of your opponent. In that respect, pool requires the winner to land a killing blow. He has to squash the other player’s intention and kill off his hope.

There are people who appreciate the beauty and camaraderie of pool and cringe at killer allegory. They would prefer to pretty it up. No killers here, thank you. To them, the outcome of any particular match is just a matter of the best player winning. If one player plays a better game, then he wins; if the other player plays better, then he wins. It’s not a personal thing, for goodness’ sake.

If we were talking about boxing, this issue would be easy to resolve. After all, somebody is likely to get knocked out, maybe even hospitalized. Having a clear and focused killer instinct in a boxing match is clearly a genuine advantage. Only a fool would be there without one. But is boxing so different from pool? Pool players can’t physically touch each other, but aren’t they up to the same thing?

The truth probably leans toward the killer instinct, even though some will not admit it. To such a player, resistance to the phrase killer instinct comes from associating it with undesirable traits such as hatefulness, evil, and disrespect. That player wants to see himself as a good person, intent on pursuing his own goals and not someone who is focused on actively killing off another person’s hopes and dreams. But that perspective denies the real truth of competition. You have to eliminate the other player to claim victory.
There is nothing wrong with having a killer instinct, expressing it in competition, or talking about it in a mature fashion. It’s not something bad. Having a killer instinct doesn’t mean you have to hate your opponent or be mean and surly, and it certainly doesn’t necessitate poor sportsmanship. In fact, the greatest killers in competitive pool are often the most jovial, friendly people you will ever meet. The killer instinct is not demonstrated and revealed by mannerisms but by the underlying intention of the player.

You can like or dislike a particular player, but if you want to play well against them, it’s essential to respect them. Allison Fisher once said it was the most important thing. It’s also natural to feel love and camaraderie for people like yourself who have found a passion for playing pool. None of this, however, needs to interfere with the killer instinct coming to the surface once your match is called. It’s what competition is about, and if you didn’t have it in you, you would not be playing competitively.

All competitive players, in other words, possess a killer instinct, even if they can’t express it powerfully. One has to acknowledge and accept it to express it effectively. Think about yourself as a competitive player and look for it inside. Don’t worry, pool isn’t an existential activity. No one is really going to die. Even if your opponent tells you he needs to win to feed his family, that’s just a bunch of baloney. It’s still your responsibility as a competitor to kill him off as soon as you can. You’re not taking anything away from him, because if he’s not qualified to win, he doesn’t deserve it. He can get a job just like anyone else.
Good luck good shootin’!