Blomdahl is King of pool and billiards in Korea

billiard News - Torbjorn Blomdahl of Sweden, the current #1 ranked 3-Cushion player in the world, defeated Korea’s number one Young Hwa Jeong in a contest of carom and pocket billiards. The two champions played a set of 3-Cushion, 9-ball, and 8-ball on live TV with MBC ESPN at Korea’s largest amusement park Lotte World.

Blomdahl is the world’s best at 3-Cushion, but I know he plays 9-ball well too. It won’t be easy for me. admitted Korea’s Champion Jeong.

Jeong looked confident at the beginning of the 3-Cushion match and took an early lead at 2-0, and later at 8-6. Blomdahl took a bit of time to warm up but then made a 6 point run and held a 14-9 lead. The last few points both players played conservative saftey shots and at 19-12 Blomdahl’s favor Jeong made a do or die attempt to score and make a run but missed and Blomdahl finished the match at 20-12 winner.

In the 9-ball, Jeong started off at the wrong foot with a scratch on the break and Blomdahl switched gears to pool and ran out for 1-0 lead. Utilizing a soft break, Blomdahl made a ball on the break but failed to run out. But jitters showed on Jeong with another miss and Blomdahl took an easy 2-0 lead. Next game Jeong scratched again on the break but this time Blomdahl made the error and left Jeong his first easy win to score 2-1. Blomdahl made a tremendous out in the fourth game and led 3-1. Blomdahl eventually got to the hill first at 4-2 when Jeong made a terrific cut shot on the 6-ball and made the match at 4-3 and was running out in game #8 and missed a very easy straight in 8-ball stop shot to tie at 4-4. Instead Blomdahl won the match 5-3.

In the 8-ball, Blomdahl broke and ran out the first game . The next game was full of misses and Jeong looked unsure and succumbed to the masterful Blomdahl 2-0.

The match was broadcasted live in a 2 hour window with Sweden’s Blomdahl proving to Asian audiences his prowess in all games.

Honestly, I play more pool nowadays then carom. I was following the World 14.1 Championship online. I really want to learn that game well. I ran over a hundred once, but usually I keep getting stuck at 50. chuckled Blomdahl after his win.

Tosado Takes It All

Tri-State Tour / Parsippany, NJ
by Rick Davis
The Tri-State Tour held its annual invitational event over the July 8-9 weekend at Comet billiards in Parsippany, NJ, where the top players in each class faced off while the players for the year were recognized. After nearly 100 hours of preparation by the Tri-State staff and much support from sponsors such as Viking Cues and Stealth Cues, the event took off and took over 30 hours for play to complete.
There were seven divisions of play, all having 16 players except one with 8 players, that played through to one top player. Each of these players then faced off until an overall winner was determined.
In the A+/A class Wali Muhammad bested Michael Tosado 7-4 in the hot seat match. On the one-loss side Mark Bantovick ousted Noel Bensurto in the quarterfinals. Tosado then eliminated Bantovick 7-4 in the semifinals and then proceeded to drill Muhammad 9-2 in the finals to claim the division.
In the B+ class Brian Cap bested Dan Chapman 7-2 in the hot seat match to earn his spot in the finals. Meanwhile, on the one-loss side, Ariel Rivera ousted Trevor Heal in the quarterfinals only to fall 7-3 to Chapman in the semifinals. Chapman had one more shot at Cap but was again repealed as Cap took the match 7-3 to claim the division.
In the B class Bill Meima squeaked by Bogie Uzdejczyk double-hill in the hot seat match, while Mike Wong was making a comeback on the one-loss side. Wong ousted several players to reach the quarterfinals, where he eliminated Tom McCloud then followed that up by knocking out Uzdejczyk double-hill in the semifinals. Earning his way to the finals, Wong did not squander his chance and dominated Meima 9-3 to earn the division title.
In the C+ class Lenny Knapp defeated Greg Hecht 6-2 in the hot seat match, while Jacob Schwartz ousted Jason Egeln in the quarterfinals. Schwartz then took Hecht double-hill in the semifinals, and though he got close in the finals, Knapp kept in control for the 8-6 win.
In the C class Ron Mason defeated Mike Harrington 6-3 in the hot seat match. Then, on the one-loss side, Tim Malloy eliminated James Dellarata 6-3 in the quarterfinals but was then knocked out himself 6-2 by Harrington. Harrington went on for a rematch against Mason but was denied again, this time double-hill, but with Mason on top again and this time taking the division title.
In the D+ class Xenia Balleste slipped past Mike Poisler double-hill in the hot seat match, while Jim Ireland did the same against Ray Marisette in the quarterfinals. Ireland went on to eliminate Poisler 5-3 in the semifinals only to become another victim for Balleste, who defeated Ireland 7-4 in the finals to earn the class title.
In the D class action was fast and furious. John Kang drilled Ada Lio 5-1 in the hot seat match, while Maya DelVillar slipped past Pete Gallo double-hill in the quarterfinals. Lio ousted DelVillar double-hill in the semifinals then was ousted herself as Kang took the final match 5-2 to earn the division.
Next, the champions of the individual division faced off until an overall winner was found. Brian Cap (B+) defeated Mike Wong (B) 7-3, Lenny Knapp (C+) bested Ron Mason (C) 6-5 and Xenia Balleste (D+) won over John Kang (D) 5-4. The C and D division winners faced off next, and Balleste bested Knapp 7-6. The winner of the A and B division also met, with Michael Tosado defeating Brian Cap 7-6. Finally, the winner of the all-A/B faced the winner of all-C/D, and in the end it was Tosado who come out on top of Balleste 10-6.
In addition to tournament action, the players of the year were announced based on points earned through the season events. Also announced were Most Improved Player and Sportsman of the Year.

Player of the Year:
Open: Danny Barouty

A+/A:
1st Tony Liang
B+:
1st Carl Yusef Kahn
B:
1st Michael Wong
C+:
1st Greg Hecht
C:
1st Mike Harrington
D+:
1st Jim Ireland
D:
1st Ed Savage
Ladies:
1st Gail Glazebrook

Most Improved Player: Charles Bromley Jr.

Sportsman of the Year: Mike Davie

Aramith Launches a New Dining Room Concept
Know how to entertain
When it comes to family home entertainment, the Fusion table has exactly what it needs to create those unique memorable moments to share with friends and family. By integrating a quality pool table and a game table right in a design dining table, the Fusion concept is unique in the fact that it adds multi-functionality to the dining room.
The table shifts seamlessly from a pure design object, into a roomy get2gether dining table, transformable in seconds into a quality billiard table or a game table to accompany the after dinner drinks.
As such, the Fusion table introduces a totally new product concept that addresses the current trend of people enjoying inviting and entertaining friends at home again. In this context billiards is one of the rare games that gathers young and old, male and female, friends and neighbors.
As such, Aramith’s innovative Dining Room Concept makes inviting, lounging or cocooning at home a truly entertaining experience.
For more information, please visit the Saluc website: www.fusiontables.com (http://www.fusiontables.com)
SALUC is a Belgian manufacturer of billiard balls under the Aramith brand, distributed in more than 85 countries with a marketshare of 80 % worldwide. The company has a turnover of about 22 millions euros and employs 200 people.

Daulton Tops Great Southern billiard Tour

Great Southern billiard Tour
by Rick Davis
The Great Southern billiard Tour pulled into Breakers in Knoxville, TN, where a 45-player field emerged to seek the title. Although many top players were in attendance it was tournament director Shannon Daulton who came out on top besting the field.
On the winners’ side Daulton was in control of the lower half of the chart as he defeated two of the strongest tour regulars, John Hennessee and Eddie Little, to reach the hot seat match. Not far behind was Steve Moore, winner of the previous tour stop, who plowed through Todd Nelson but was upset by Claude Marrier who bested him 9-4. The hot seat match was then Marrier and Daulton and Daulton wasted no time drilling Marrier 9-1.
Then it was all eyes on the one-loss side. Earlier action there saw Robert Green fight back after his loss early in the day until Little showed him the door while the same story unfolded for Dallas Roach who shutout Larry Nevel just before falling to Moore 7-3. Moore was on a mission from there on and pounded Little 7-2 then got revenge against Marrier 7-3 to face Daulton in the finals.
With true double-elimination the road was tough for Moore but after he took the opening set 9-7 it was anyone’s game. In the final set each player tried to get a lead but it was Daulton who took it first and extended it for the 9-5 win to defeat Moore and claim top honors for himself.
Results:
1st Shannon Daulton
2nd Steve Moore
3rd Claude Marrier
4th Eddie Little
5th Robert Green
Dallas Roach
7th Larry Nevel
Todd Nelson

Hatch Dominates Tiger pool Tour

Tiger pool Tour / Sterling, VA
by Rick Davis
A stacked field of 61 players came out for the Tiger pool Tour, which held its ninth event at First Break Café in Sterling, VA, over the July 21-22 weekend. Top national players, previous event winners, and other dangerous entities swarmed the event, but Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch recovered from a loss to best the field.
Action on the winners’ side included a who’s who of tour players. Hatch made his way through three rounds before falling to Chuck Altomare 9-5, who was sent west as well by Matt Clatterbuck in the next round. Clatterbuck, who has taken three top-three finishes including a win, was now in the hot seat match. On the other end of the board Mike Davis fell just short and was defeated by tournament director Andy Lincoln 9-5, but Lincoln was denied also as Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie, who has also taken three top-three finishes, slipped by 9-7 to take his seat in the hot seat match. Wilkie and Clatterbuck inched along, but in the end it was Clatterbuck who had the endurance for the 9-6 win.
On the one-loss side the cream was certainly rising to the top. Hatch took a trio of wins, including a 7-1 slap against Lincoln, to reach the quarterfinals. Nearby, Ryan McCreesh was on a comeback, taking six left-side wins, including the elimination of Davis 7-4, but was then upset just shy of the quarterfinals by Chuck Altomare 7-3.
The handful of remaining matches blazed through as Hatch eliminated Altomare 7-5 in the quarterfinals, then Wilkie 7-3 in the semifinals, to reclaim his seat at the finals. Hatch and Clatterbuck put on a good show from the amassing crowd, but the top pro, Hatch, was too much for the top tour player and defeated him to claim the title.
Results:
1st Dennis Hatch
2nd Matt Clatterbuck
3rd Shaun Wilkie
4th Chuck Altomare
5th Ryan McCreesh
Andy Lincoln
7th Jeremy Sossei
Bob Begey