Archer New Turning Stone Classic X Champion
by Rick Davis
Ending just past 10 p.m. Sunday evening, Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer survived a three-hour grinder in the finals where he bested Jeremy Sossei 13-8 to win the Turning Stone Classic X in Verona, NY. The 128-player field fought from February 21-24 at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino for a share of the $25,000 added, $41,000 prize pool.
Starting the final day of play on Sunday, the top eight players began to inch towards the finish line. On the winners’ side Sossei bested Ronnie Wiseman 9-7, while Archer defeated Tony Chohan by the same margin. Archer then found his way past Sossei 9-7 in the hot seat match while he waited for the one-loss side to present his opposition in the finals.
Early on the one-loss side Mika Immonen started strong, eliminating Turning Stone IX’s runner-up Louis Ulrich 9-3 then Wiseman 9-7. This put Immonen in the quarterfinals where he faced Dennis Hatch after he had come off victories against Steve Moore 9-5 and Chohan 9-7. Hatch stayed in gear for another round as he knocked out Immonen 9-6 but then fell to Sossei in the semifinals, where Sossei drilled Hatch 9-2 in the day’s biggest upset.
Sossei earned a crack at Archer, and with the finals set to play, a single race to 13 would decide the winner. Finally, just after the three-hour mark, Archer had the end in sight with the score 11-8 in his favor. Sossei did not claim another rack after that and Archer propelled himself to a 13-8 victory to earn the title of champion of the Turning Stone Classic X.
Results:
1st Johnny Archer $8000
2nd Jeremy Sossei $5000
3rd Dennis Hatch $3600
4th Mike Immonen $2600
5th Tony Chohan $2000
Ronnie Wiseman
7th Steve Moore $1600
Louis Ulrich

Favorites Clash as the Field Tightens at Turning Stone Classic
by Rick Davis
Friday night at the Turning Stone Classic X proved to be do or die for many of the top pros, and the field is rapidly dwindling. The event, which is taking place at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino in Verona, NY, today whittled down to its final eight players, who will return for the final day of play where everyone’s eyes will be on the $8,000 top prize from the $25,000-added event.
As day two ended and day three got into gear, few favorites were safe from the terror. Robb Saez defeated Dennis Hatch 9-6, while Louis Rios defeated Louis Ulrich 9-7. In that same round Canadian Jason Klatt sent Thorsten Hohmann west after a 9-5 thumping. From there action continued on the winners’ side as Tony Chohan defeated Tony Robles 9-4, while Johnny Archer defeated Edwin Montal by the same margin. On the one-loss side Hunter Lombardo survived a close call against Rodolfo Luat when Luat was up 8-5 in the race to 9. Lombardo managed to scrape back to within striking distance and finishing with a 1-9 combo to tie the score at double-hill, then broke and ran the final rack to claim victory. Luat was the first casualty from the top-tier players.
Closing out the early carnage another trio of top pros found themselves on the wrong end of the table. Dan Doerner defeated Steve Moore 9-7, Ray McNamara defeated Mika Immonen 9-5, and Jonathan Smith defeated Mike Davis double-hill.
Fast forward to Saturday’s evening action as most of the day lost the excess baggage on the one-loss side. The ladies were the first to be ousted as Ewa Laurance was eliminated by Holdin Chin 9-4, then Chin sent Liz Ford to follow after their 9-2 match. Val Finnie and Julie Kelly were knocked out in that same round, and then two rounds later Karen Corr was iced by Tom McGonagle 9-7. McGonagle, a three-time New England champion from the early 1990s, had a great event and after giving walking papers to Corr, he eliminated Hohmann 9-4 before getting iced himself by Immonen 9-5.
On the winners’ side Chohan fought defeated Saez 9-5 to a spot in the final eight. Archer took a cake walk to the final day of play as he drilled Mike Wallace 9-1 to ensure his return. Jeremy Sossei also survived on the winners’ side and will face Ronnie Wiseman, who just slipped past Klatt double-hill in the winners’ side final round.
From there it was a quick jump on the one-loss side to determine the quartet that would return. Ulrich survived the night by ousting Saez 9-5 and will face Immonen in the final eight, while Hatch will play Moore, who eliminated Klatt 9-6 to reach the final day.
Going into the final day, these are the matchups:
Winners’ Side:
Chohan versus Archer
Sossei versus Wiseman
One-Loss Side:
Ulrich versus Immonen
Hatch versus Moore
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Status Quo at Turning Stone Classic
by Rick Davis
The Turning Stone Classic X was in full swing Friday at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino in Verona, NY. Day two of the four-day event started to offer some thrills, although no upsets have occurred. As the evening rounds started to take shape the top pros began to merge together, while others are set to play this evening.
In the day’s early winners’-side matches Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer barely escaped from Dave Fernandez double-hill when Fernandez came up dry on his break, leaving Archer to run out for the 9-8 win. From that point many of the top pros enjoyed a free ride today as long as they could avoid a loss from a random competitor. Mike Davis, Robb Saez, Steve Moore, and Mika Immonen are all comfortable on the winners’ side with no serious threat expected until Saturday’s action. The rest of the top players, however, are already locked in against each other. The evening rounds tonight feature Tony Robles versus Tony Chohan, Archer versus Edwin Montal, and Thorsten Hohmann versus Shin Park. In that same round a Canadian showdown will take place when Erik Hjorleifson faces Jason Klatt—sure to be an interesting match.
The only notable match to finish early has been Dennis Hatch, who obliterated Karen Corr 9-0 in the 8 p.m. round. Corr now heads west where she will join WPBA compatriots Val Finnie and Julie Kelly, who have yet to begin their one-loss side rounds, as well as Liz Ford and Ewa Laurance, who have each already taken a one-loss-side win.
The night will complete after the 10 p.m. round comes to a close, and 16 players will remain on the winners’ side going into day three as they all keep their eye on the $8,000 top prize from the $41,000 prize fund.
Stay tuned to InsidePOOLmag.com for the latest news and updates from this event.

Turning Stone X Begins
by Rick Davis
The Turning Stone Classic X got underway February 21 at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino in Verona, NY. Once again the event has a full 128-player field that will battle it out through the event’s four days of play as everyone reaches for their share of the $41,000 prize fund.
Rounds begin every two hours starting at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday until the top eight are brought back for the final day of play on Sunday.
As the first rounds of the event began on the winners’ side, it seems that the random draw did a spectacular job spreading out the top pros. While this promises that the favorites are sure to keep a hold through at least the first couple days, it makes it a daunting task for anyone else who faces the gauntlet. A quick glance through the who’s who sees Mika Immonen and Thorston Hohmann as well as Johnny Archer. Top Northeastern players Mike Davis and Dennis Hatch are also stalking prey, and that’s only half of the chart! The other half of the chart includes Steve Moore, Ronnie Wiseman, and Louis Ulrich, who was runner-up last June at this event, among others. Last June’s winner, Lee Van Corteza, is not present to defend his title. As if all of that were not enough, there is a bunch of top WPBA stars in the lineup, including Karen Corr, Val Finnie, Kelly Fisher, Ewa Laurence, and Julie Kelly.
With the first day coming to a close, many top players advanced with little opposition. Hatch, Tony Robles, Immonen, and Moore all came through unscathed. Ulrich managed the day’s only shut-out against Wayne Cooperider, and favorite women’s entry, Corr, stayed prominent without a loss. The evening’s shocker was seen when Robb Saez and Rodolfo Luat were tied at double-hill, and after an intense safety battle, Saez left a shot on the 7 ball. Luat, however, rattled the 8 ball, leaving Saez to tap in the last two balls, snatching the match back from the jaws of disaster. As eyes moved from that match, much of the crowd was cheering Laurence on, but her match against Jeremy Sossei was over before it began as he drilled her 9-1.
Few unexpected results have taken place so far, but after the players rest and the first full day of play begins Friday, the excitement will pick up as players scramble to stay in the action.
Stay tuned to InsidePOOLmag.com for the latest daily updates and news.

Dechaine Destroys the Field
Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Parsippany, NJ

by Rick Davis
The January 26-27 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour swung into Comet billiards in Parsippany, NJ, where Mike Dechaine bested the 40-player field to claim the title. This double-elimination 9-ball action was second stop of the 2008 year for the tour.
On the winners’ side Dechaine owned the chart leading up to the hot seat match, where he faced and defeated top WPBA star Karen Corr 9-6. On the one-loss side it was a last-minute scramble to see who would remain to face Dechaine in the finals.
Tournament director Mike Zuglan ousted Len Favata 9-7 to reach the quarterfinals, while Bucky Souvanthong was not far behind. After taking an early loss to Dechaine double-hill, Souvanthong streaked through the one-loss side, clearing the final remaining players that included Mike Yednak 9-6, Zuglan 9-3 in the quarterfinals, and then eliminated Corr 9-6 in the semifinals.
With only one match remaining, Souvanthong was eager to avenge his early loss, although the true double-elimination format gave him a tough hill to climb. To start things out both Souvanthong and Dechaine kept things very close, as neither found a lead more than one rack, but Souvanthong edged out the double-hill win to force a final set. In the last set things kept close again until the score reached 4-all, where Dechaine was able to catch a gear and propel himself to the 9-6 win to claim the event.
Results:
1st Mike Dechaine
2nd Bucky Souvanthong
3rd Karen Corr
4th Mike Zuglan
5th Len Favata
Mike Yednak