Qlympics

Qlympics, Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, Louisville KY, Nov. 1-18, 2007 Playbca.com's Qlympics mega event attracted the usual suspects. And it's no wonder. With U.S. Open titles in four major disciplines, Banks, One Pocket, 14.1 Straight Pool and 10-Ball, plus a guaranteed $20,000 added, players were not only interested in the prestigious accolades but the cash too. Add the BCA Pool League Big Table Championships, and another $10,000, to the mix and you have amateur and pro pool for days. Eighteen of them, in fact. And, if that wasn't enough entertainment for the rail birds, The Action Report had pitted Shane Van Boening against Earl Strickland and John Schmidt against Danny Harriman in two $20,000 shoot outs. As with all playbca.com events, pros and amateurs play on the same equipment. The arena was ablaze with Simonis 860 Tournament Blue baize that covered the 24 Diamond 9’ Smart Tables decked with tight, Pro cut 4-1/2” pockets. Red Circle cue balls and Super Aramith Pro balls rounded out the best equipment known to tournament play today. The new BCAPL tournament lights, complete with built in scoring beads, made it easy for sweaters to keep track of the results. A BCAPL regional event hosted on 7 foot Diamonds also held court to some after hour bar box action. But let's face it, those U.S. Open honors were the main attraction.
U.S. Open Bank Pool Championship, Nov. 5-9, 2007 Local hero John Brumback took the Banks title at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Louisville KY, and it wasn't all easy. After clambering thru the field, he had Diamond Derby City Classic All Around champ Jason Miller to contend with in the finals. Power bankers John Brumback, Brian Gregg, Shannon Daulton, Shawn Putnam, Tony Chohan, John Grim, and the fearless Louis Ulrich filled the top eight spots along with Brumback.
U.S. Open One-Pocket Championship, Nov. 5-9, 2007 California's Tony “T-Rex” Chohan snagged U.S.Open One Pocket honors with a crushing win over Gabe Owen that included games of 8-1, 8-0, and 8-1 and final score of 4-1. Shannon took third with Perez, Martinez, Miller, Bartram, and Brumback completing the top eight.
U.S. Open 14.1 Straight Pool Championship, Nov. 12-16, 2007 John "Mr. 400" Schmidt was in hot contention and crowd favorite to take the 14.1 title. Little did he know that master competitor Rafael Martinez's mystique included straight pool. Rafael snuck up on Owen who was sure he had a lock in the finals. The Martinez performance overpowered Gabe who had to settle for another second. New to these shores Huidje See took third--even although he ran an honorable 143. See was followed by the aforementioned Schmidt, then Danny Harriman and Jason Miller closed out the top six.
U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship, Nov. 12-16, 2007 Speaking of See, Huidje, from Holland is, obviously, of the European school that professes that playing 14.1 vastly improves ability in all pool disciplines-- especially 10-Ball. Did Huidji lure Louis Ulrich into a false sense of security in the finals? After all, who had really heard of Huidje? Maybe the Dutch? Louis had been on a roll in his best year ever with a string of wins and pro tour runner up finishes. Surely Ulrich was the favorite? Not today. We have a new U.S. Open 10-Ball Champion and it's Huidje See. Shannon Murphy, Rafael Martinez, Finland's Joonas Ohtonen, and Gabe Owen finished the pay field.
Action Report Challenge II As if the U.S. Open events weren't enough, the audience was highly entertained by the antics and banter of the Mighty Earl--Strickland that is--in the Action Report Challenge Race to 100 with current U..S Open 9-Ball Champion Shane Van Boening. Amusing as Earl can be, the real crowd pleaser was Shane's power break, compounded by his fearless and serene determination, as he pummeled and ran rack after rack. With a final defeat of 100-63, Earl muttered, "Maybe it's time I got a job." Shane doesn't need to; he had just pocketed $20,000.
Action Report All Around Danny Harriman didn't do too badly either. He and 2006 U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion John Schmidt matched up in a winner-take-all $20,000 One-Pocket, Straight Pool/14.1, and 10-Ball affair. If they tie 1-1, it's all or nothing in the 10-Ball. Mr. 400, i.e. Schmidt, in a race to 400, got off to a slow start in the 14.1. Danny blinked, John ran a 114, and it was soon over--400-323. Now to one hole. Danny was the favorite here, but at 9-9 in the race to 10, he feared for his life, or at least his wallet. If he loses, it's over. Harriman, with the heart of a lion, pounced on his last ball and we were on to the 10-Ball…and the 20 large. It was one race to 30 to determine it all. Back and forth they battled with rail bird finger nails bitten to the quick. After hours of play, they were tied at 20. Then, John was ahead 27-25 when he left Danny an easy combo. Calmly, Harriman held all the way to the hill. John caught to 28, connected with a well played snooker, but left Danny an open run for the money. Harriman never looked back. Results: 10 Ball: Harriman 30, Schmidt 28. One Pocket: Harriman 10, Schmidt 9. Straight Pool: Schmidt 400, Harriman 323 Both events sponsored by Mark Griffin, BCA Pool League and Greg Sullivan of Diamond Billiard Products. See it all on DVD soon
BCA Pool League Big Table Championships Mini Tournaments began the event in Nov 1. We all like to get rid of the opening round jitters, get a feel for the field, and there is no better way than these warm up events. Even the pros competed. They get jumpy too. Oh, you thought that the BCA Pool League was just for amateurs? Not true. The BCAPL prides itself on the fact that no matter how good you get, there will always be a division where you can play. So, the pros can play league too--in the Grand Master's Division. Just ask Brian Gregg, Dee Adkins, and the ubiquitous Louis Ulrich. They all finished well and cashed there too. Click here for more pics: BCAPL Men’s Master Big Table Singles 1st: Louis Ulrich, Suwanee, GA $815.00 2nd: Dee Adkins, West Jefferson, OH $525.00 3rd: Junior Moore, Shepardsville, NY $315.00 BCAPL Big Table 8-Ball Scotch Doubles 1st Joonas Verneri Ohtonen, Finland $700 Debbie Tasharski IL. 2nd Vincent P (Paul) Bramwell FL. $500 LouAnne LaFlamme CA. 3rd William C (Billy) Peay KY. $300 Dawn Fox OH. 4th Jerry M Watts KY. $220 Samantha S Patton KY. BCAPL Men’s Big Table Senior Singles 1st Thomas Fankhauser Decatur, IL $525 2nd Jerry Watts Shelbyville, KY $300 3rd David Carr Oreana Il $150 BCAPL Women’s Big Table Singles 1st Jacqueline Herrera, Bartlett, IL. $800 2nd Diana Parsons, Huntington, WV $500 3rd Selena Modelo, Antioch, CA. $300 4th Sherri Helton, Winslow, AZ $150 BCAPL Men’s Big Table Open Singles 1st Shannon Schroeder, Bartlett, IL $1280 2nd Ralph Bullard, Lampasas, TX $780 3rd Mike Cantrell, Portsmouth, OH $520 4th Jerry Behnke, Farley, IA $350 5th Randy Montgomery, Indianapolis, IN $200 6th Earl Settles, Greenwood, IN $200 7th Bob Hibbitts, Bellaire, OH $100 8th Earl Timmons, Mansfield,OH $100 BCAPL Big Table Teams 1. Caddy Shack $1500 2. KY Headhunters $800 3. Off Constantly $275 BCAPL Big Table Juniors 8-Ball 1. Ryan Behnke 2. Landon Shuffett 3. Brandon Williams BCAPL Big Table Juniors 9-Ball 1. Landon Shuffett 2. Schyler Woodward 3. Brandon Williams BCAPL REGIONAL RESULTS BCAPL Men’s Regional Master Singles 1. Brian Gregg $750 2. Adam Behnke $450 3. Ryan Behnke $325 BCAPL Women’s Regional Open Singles 1. Carrie Mock $600 2. Diana Parsons $350 3. Deanna Shore $240 BCAPL Men’s Regional Open Singles 1st Gregg Andler $2000 2nd Kurt England $1300 3rd Kevin England $1000 4th Larry Phillips $700 5th Dan Walton $400 6th Donald Moore $400 7th Paul Garcia $250 8th Pedro Sauceda $250 9th Andrew Benn $175 10th Kevin Nicolas $175 11th Chad Lund $175 12th Joseph Koontz $175 BCAPL Men's Regional Teams 1. Big Ten $2400 2. Caddy Shack $1600 3. Alvarado's Appraisals $1000 4. Sportsmans $700 5. Kobra Kai $500 6. Secret Service $500 BCAPL Women's Regional Teams 1. Nick's Players $1000 2. Kiss My BCA $600 3. Stacked $425 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS U.S. Open Bank Pool Championship 1. John Brumback $3700 2. Jason Miller $2400 3. Brian Gregg $1500 4. Shannon Daulton $1025 5. Shawn Putnam $650 6. Tony Chohan $650 7. John Grim $400 8. Louis Ulrich $400 U.S. Open One Pocket Championship 1. Tony Chohan $3700 2. Gabe Owen $2400 3. Shannon Daulton $1540 4. Sergio Perez $1050 5. Rafael Martinez $675 6. Jason Miller $675 7. Chris Bartram $425 8. John Brumback $425 U.S. Open 14.1 Straight Pool Championship 1. Rafael Martinez $2850 2. Gabe Owen $1850 3. Huidji See $1170 4. John Schmidt $800 5. Danny Harriman $575 6. Jason Miller $575 U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship 1. Huidji See $2850 2. Louis Ulrich $1850 3. Shannon Murphy $1270 4. Rafael Martinez $850 5. Joonas Ohtonen $575 6. Gabe Owen $575