Wednesday 13th 2009
Grand Masters Divisions Field Fierce Finals
The first set of finals in the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championship was the men’s and women’s Grand Master divisions which took place Monday, May 11.
Both the men’s and women’s brackets were full of known names and tremendous talent. Literally several hundred other players and spectators lined the walk areas and stands over looking tables 1-10 in the Riviera Grand Ballroom to watch such names as top U.S and international professional players such as Shane Van Boening, Roberto Gomez, Allison Fisher, and Kelly Fisher just to name a few.
It is tremendously rare for spectators such as the spectrum of amateur players who play in the BCAPL every year to see up close pros of this caliber to play 8-ball, much less on 7’ tables.
The matches were often close but last night the finals took place in both the men’s and women’s divisions and in both finals it was the case of the widely known vs. the lesser known.
In the Men’s Grand Master Division, Shane Van Boening came from the one loss side to take on Simon Pickering who was undefeated coming into the final race to seven. The men’s field was so thick with well known professional players that many people found themselves asking, who is Simon Pickering? Well, conventional wisdom would have had Van Boening winning the match, but it was not the case. Pickering, who hails from British Columbia, Canada has played the past 12 years in the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championship. Last year he tied for 5-6 in the Grand Master division.
The Women’s Grand Master division pitted one of the strongest U.S regional women players in the county, Julia Gabriel against one of the fastest rising women professional players in the world, Yu Ram Cha from South Korea.
Gabriel has been a top player in the mid-west and at times playing over the years on the WPBA. Cha is currently tied for 5th in the Women’s Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) rankings with Sarah Rousey of the USA and Xiaoting Pan of China.
Gabriel sitting in the hot seat needed to win one race to 7 to Cha’s two races. Both women played well and in the first set it looked that Gabriel would take Cha. The two sets were close, but it was Cha who prevailed taking first place.
Sunday 10th 2009
BCAPL Grand Master Divisions Expanded Field Includes Global Top Players
The singles competitions of the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championship started Saturday, May 8. There are a total of 11 singles divisions: men’s Open, Master, Grand Master, Senior, Super Senior, Player Member and Women’s Open, Master, Grand Master, Senior and Player Member.
The Men’s and Women’s Grand Master divisions this year has really caused a stir. Previously for a player to participate in a Grand Master division they could not also play in a scheduled pro event such as the World Pool Master or the Predator International 10-Ball Championship. Both pro events take place in conjunction with the BCAPL Nationals. This year the start date of the Grand Master divisions was moved up and the divisions were opened to all players to allow the players scheduled to appear in the pro events to also play in the BCAPL grand master divisions.
Both the men’s and women’s divisions are like a who’s who of pro pool with such names as:
Allison Fisher
Roberto Gomez
Jason Kirkwood
Daryl Peach
Yu Ram Cha
Liz Ford
Mika Immonen
Dennis Orcollo
Justin Bergman
Sal Butera
Kim Shaw
Kelly Fisher
And the list goes on...for a complete list visit the CueSports Tournament System (CTS) A link can be found on the BCAPL home page.
The BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships is a tournament for all players!
Monday 11th 2009
Scotch Doubles Best Dressed Winners Announced!
Twenty-One couples entered this years BCAPL National 8-Ball Championship Scotch Doubles Best Dressed competition. It was a close vote, but the victors of this year’s commemorative plaques were the historically and poignantly attired Deborah Dalard and Art Akers from Suffolk, Virginia. They wore short sleeve button up colored shirts with red, white and blue stripes with a black and white image across most of the front of the shirts depicting the Twin Towers and the Lower Manhattan, New York City skyline.
The runners up were Leandrea Gaff and John Branham of Phoenix, Arizona and Randy and Kristy Rein of Great Bend, Kansas.
Thanks to all the couples who participated!
Saturday May 9th 2009
One Terrific Super Senior 
In 1971, Marsh “Potts” Pottorff started playing pool and after 27 years in the sport will be playing in the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships for the first time. Potts, as his friends affectionately call him, is playing in the Men’s Super Seniors division. The division is open to players age 65 and over and he may face players young enough to be his son.
You see, Potts is 92 and the elder statesman of this year’s tremendous roster of players who have come from all over the world to the Riviera Hotel and Casino for the event that justifiably is called “The Greatest Pool Tournament in the World.”
Pott’s was born in 1918 in Missouri and lived the past 90 years in Colorado. His first sports love was motorcycle racing. He holds the national speed record from NY to Colorado clocking 1878 miles in 30 hours 30 minutes for an average of 61.5 MPH. Pretty strong when considering he’s riding a motorcycle and having to slow down for cities and towns along the way.
When the decline in American made cycles took place in the early 70’s Pott’s decided it was time to move on to another sport and chose pool. He can now be found in his home town of Avondale, CO playing every day and as his friend and team mate, Ryan Martinez said, “Pott’s will play anyone who will step up to him.” His favorite game is 8-ball.
If you get a chance to meet Pott’s take him up on that game as he full of life and will guarantee you a great time with his wonderful spirit and knack for telling a great joke. Super Senior? You bet he is!
Friday May 8th 2009
Tyler Edey Wins Back to Back BCAPL 9-Ball Challenge at the Riviera
The BCAPL Nationals started off with a bang as Tyler Edey of Canada won the 9-Ball Challenge for an unprecedented second year in a row. The 9-ball event, which each year kicks off the first two days of the 10 day BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships, is open to all players, amateur and professional. Top players worldwide play in this “warm up” two day division.
The field was the largest yet with 221 players. $2500 was added by the BCAPL for a prize fund of $22,100. Edey will represent Canada in lieu of Alain Martel in the 2009 PartyPoker.Net World Pool Masters May 8-10. Edey beat out Curtis Fleck, Ray Lucerno, J.R Davis Jr., Glen Cameron Sr., Ike Runnels, Tim Joseph, Jason Klatt, and Sammy Cordova in order to take the hot seat.
Working his way through the one loss side to meet Edey in the finals was Arizona top gun Mitch Ellerman. Considered one of the best young players in the western U.S, in the past 18 months Ellerman won the 2009 Jay Swanson Memorial, the 8-Ball division of the 2008 U.S Bar Table Championships and has been a dominant force in the competitive Desert Classic Tour.
Edey, considered a highly steady player has consistently placed well in major events: top 16 in the 2008 U.S Open, 9th place in the 2008 World Cup of Pool, and 5th place in the 2008 Predator International 10-Ball Championship.
Both Edey and Ellerman will be participating this year in the pro arena in the Predator event, which is held in conjunction with the BCAPL Nationals.
BCAPL 9-Ball Challenge Results and Payouts:
1st Place: $3500 Trophy / Tyler Edey
2nd Place: $2600 Trophy / Mitch Ellerman
3rd Place: $1900 Trophy / Sammy Cordova
4th Place: $1500 / Chad Vilmont
5th – 6th Place: $1200 / Jason Klatt and Marc Vidal Claramunt
7th – 8th Place: $900 / Mario Parayno Jr and Ike Runnels
9th – 12th Place: $700 / Jared Bailey, Billy Palmer, Tim Joseph, and Gary Onomura
13th – 16th Place: $500 / Butch Barba, Mike Banks Jr., Justin Bergman, Stan Tourangeau
17th – 24th Place: $325 / Sean Lane, David Broxson, Jarrod Spence, Jimmy Moore, Lyn Wechsler, Raymond Carter, Alex Morin, and Carlos Barbosa
25th – 32nd Place: $200 / Kenneth Brisbon, Jeremy Seaman, Francis Crevier, Ted Dean, Arlo Walsman, Billy Pinion II, Rylan Hartnett, and Samm Diep (Top Woman Finisher)
33rd – 48th Place: $125 / Gregorio Monteiro, Dino Devost, Ty Wilson, Dale Maxey, Ivan Parra Belmonte, Danny Petralba, Stacy Wallington, William Hyde, Mike Zygmunt, Chris MacDonald, George Michaels, Ray Skenandore, Josh Smith, Glen Cameron Sr., Shannon Schroeder, and Charlie Blanchard
Today the Scotch Doubles division starts at 9 am Pacific Time. Keep track of all your friends and team mates on the new CueSports Tournament System (CTS). The CTS will be tracking all the brackets at the 2009 BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships.