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VIP BILLIARDS proudly welcomes back January 14th & 15th, 2012 Deska dominates the 81-player field at VIP Billiards!!!  Left to right: Paul Helms, Ozzy Reynolds, Steve Didier -owner, Jess Didier, Brian Deska The Action Pool Tour (APT) held its 5th event of the 2011-2012 Session at VIP Billiards in Catonsville, MD on the weekend of January 14-15, 2012. This open-format 9-ball event drew an extraordinary field of 81 players, including 10 females! Because of the large turnout, Saturday’s format reduced to a race to 7 on the winners’ side and a race to 5 on the one-loss side. However, the matches would be lengthened on day #2 to a race to 9 on the winners’ side and a race to 7 on the one-loss side.
Play began at approximately 1:30pm on Saturday, January 14th with only one early upset as Sergey Bolotin defeated Brett Stottlemyer, currently ranked 3rd in the overall APT standings, 7-6. Play continued until approximately 11:00pm at which time only 16 of the 81 players remained: 8 on the winners’ side and 8 on the one-loss side. The winners’ side final eight included Brian Deska, Brandon Shuff, Paul Helms, Eric Heiland, Abdulla Mohammed, Alan Duty, Rick Molineiro, and Dave Beegle while the one-loss side final eight included Donny Perryman, Lester Mills, Brett Stottlemyer, Tony Long, Ozzy Reynolds, Rob Metz, Dustin Paris, and Kurtis Clausen.
Day #2 began with a highly anticipated match-up between #1 ranked Brandon Shuff and #2 ranked Brian Deska. The match remained close throughout and neither player relented; in the end, Deska slipped by Shuff 9-7. Meanwhile on the winners’ side, Helms outlasted Heiland 9-7, Mohammed defeated Duty 9-4, and Beegle overcame Molineiro 9-4. The next round saw Deska squeak by Helms 9-8 while Mohammed crushed Beegle 9-3. This set up Deska and Mohammed for the hot seat in which Deska would jump out to a commanding lead. Although Mohammed composed himself and fought back, it was too late as Deska won the hot seat match by a score of 9-5.
Meanwhile on the one-loss side, Perryman eliminated Mills 7-4, Stottlemyer took down Long 7-5, Reynolds defeated Metz 7-5, and Paris eliminated Clausen 7-2. The next round saw Shuff blast Perryman 7-2, Heiland upset Stottlemyer 7-5, Duty edge Reynolds 7-5, and Molineiro eliminate Paris 7-2. This would allow Duty to outlast Molineiro 7-5 while Shuff destroyed Heiland 7-1. The next round hosted the upset of the weekend as Beegle eliminated Shuff 7-4 while Helms edged out Duty 7-6. This set up Helms vs. Beegle for a chance at Mohammed in the semifinals. The match was close the entire way with Helms eventually notching the win 7-6. The next match would again be a nail-biter as Helms won his fourth hill-hill battle in a row against Mohammed to earn another chance to face Deska. Deska was the clear favorite in this match-up but someone forgot to inform Helms as he played spectacular. The match went back and forth the entire way and true to form for Helms, he found himself entangled in another hill-hill battle. This time though, he would not get the win as Deska ran the last rack and claimed the well-deserved win. This win is another in an impressive run by Deska. He has competed in five (5) Action Pool Tour events; finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st respectively. He is currently ranked #2 by a slim margin behind Shuff and has become the model of consistency on The Action Pool Tour.
Other notable results of the event include the top female finisher, the 2nd Chance Tournament, and the Break & Run contest. Ten (10) females, Lai Li, Ann Reynolds, Cheryl Sporleder, Pauline Mattes, Jess Didier, Tricia Tenant, Judie Wilson, Amber Witten, Tina Morfessis, and Nicole Vincent competed in the event with the top placing female winning a $75 cash prize. After losing her opening match, Lai Li would prevail by winning her next three matches to finish 25th-32nd and take home the top female honor.
The Break & Run contest, which had a payout of $100 per ball, was conducted on Saturday night. Abdulla Mohammed had the winning ticket and the opportunity at the cash. Not feeling confident in his break, he elected to have Rick Molineiro shoot on his behalf. Everyone crowded the table as Molineiro plowed the 10-ball rack. The balls scattered in frenzy but nothing found its way to a pocket. The total purse will progressively roll into the next event with a payout of $115 per ball!
Finally, after suffering a day #1 elimination, Rob Cord came back on Sunday to win the 2nd Chance Tournament and earn $150. Coming in 2nd was Tony Long who earned $100, followed by Cody Phillips in 3rd who earned $40. The completed brackets are posted on the Results page and the APT Rankings have been updated.
The Action Pool Tour would like to thank all of the players who came out to participate and the owners and staff of VIP Billiards for providing a fantastic venue and awesome equipment. This was a record turnout for The Action Pool Tour and we look forward to returning to this room many more times in the future for more great Action!
The next stop for The Action Pool Tour is February 11-12, 2012 at legendary Q-Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA. This is the largest pool room in the United States owned and operated by U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship founder and promoter, Barry Behrman.
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
Highlights and story from our 2011 APT Event shuff denies stottlemyer's bid for the #1 apt ranking
 Brandon Shuff, Tony Long, Ozzy Reynolds (APT Director) The Action Pool Tour (APT) held its final event of the 2011 Session at VIP Billiards in Catonsville, MD on September 10-11. The event attracted a respectable field of 46 participants. This was the final tournament to decide which player would earn the #1 APT ranking and receive free entry into the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship to be held next month in Chesapeake, VA. Brett Stottlemyer had remained in the #1 spot since July 10 with Brandon Shuff, Shaun Wilkie, Tour Director Ozzy Reynolds, and Matt Krah trailing close behind. It was expected that Shuff, Wilkie, and Krah would not be present for this event as they were scheduled to play in the Turning Stone Classic in New York. This would mean that the only threat to Stottlemyer would have to come from Reynolds. However, with an early elimination late Friday night from Turning Stone, Shuff drove through the night and arrived just in time to play in this event with almost no sleep. In the 3rd round of play, Stottlemyer and Shuff met on the winners’ side. Shuff eventually escaped with a 9-6 win which send Stottlemyer west to fight to hold the #1 ranking. Shuff completed the night with a 9-2 win over Tony Long while Stottlemyer finished the night by eliminating Lai Li 9-4, Trevor Dentz 9-2, and Ozzy Reynolds 9-4. Day 2 brought back the final four players on the winners’ and the one-loss sides. The winners’ side final four included Brandon Shuff, Dominic Noe, Don Perryman, and Steve Todd while the one-loss side final four included Brett Stottlemyer, Alan Duty, Dustin Paris, and Tony Long. Noe defeated Perryman 9-5 while Shuff easily disposed of Todd 9-2. This set up Shuff vs. Noe for the hot seat which Shuff won convincingly 9-3. Meanwhile on the one-loss side, Tony Long took down Dustin Paris 9-3 while Stottlemyer stumbled against Duty and lost 9-7 – assuring that Shuff would overtake him in the points race and earn the #1 ranking. Tony Long then rolled through the west-side bracket with wins over Perryman, Todd, and Noe to face Shuff in the final. In this true double elimination format, Long would have to defeat Shuff twice. However, a well-rested Shuff would have no part of it as he won the match 9-5. 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 being opening weekend of the NFL. Without the players, there is no Action Pool Tour and we will never forget that simple reality. Thanks also to the owners and staff of VIP Billiards for providing a great venue and environment for this event. 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 U.S. Open Warm-Up/Qualifier on October 14-15 at Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA. Because the U.S. Open begins on Sunday, October 16, this event will begin on a Friday night at 8:00pm and conclude on Saturday, October 15. All professionals are encouraged to come in town a little early and warm-up with us in Midlothian, VA – only about 1-1/2 hours from Chesapeake, VA!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 Payouts1 – Brandon Shuff $850 2 – Tony Long $500 3 – Dominic Noe $300 4 – Steve Todd $200 5-6 – Alan Duty $150 5-6 – Don Perryman $150 7-8 – Dustin Paris $100 7-8 – Brett Stottlemyer $100 Top Female finisher: Lai Li – $50
 
 
Watch for future events with The Action Pool Tour at VIP BILLIARDS!! | |
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