Half of Final Field Set at Predator 10-Ball Championship
Predator 10-Ball Championship / Las Vegas, NV
by InsidePOOL Staff
Thursday’s billiard matches at the Predator 10-Ball Championship at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV, left 8 billiards players remaining undefeated and 24 in the one-loss bracket. With only four to return Saturday, Friday’s schedule will be a grueling one.
The winners’ bracket was whittled from 16 to 8 in the final round. A battle between two great Brits ended up with Raj “Hitman” Hundal taking precedence over fellow countryman Darren Appleton. Their match began evenly, but when the score was knotted at 4 apiece, Hundal pulled ahead by winning the next four racks in a row.
Appleton retaliated by taking two more games, but Hundal took advantage of an empty break by his opponent to reach the hill and then scored on a 3-10 combo to win 10-6.
Jose Parica and fellow Filipino Francisco Bustamante played a hotly contested set that seesawed all the way to 7-all. Bustamante took the next two games before Parica grabbed one, but Francisco emerged the winner in that match 10-8.
Table mechanic Ernesto Dominguez, who sent Shane Van Boening to the left side of the chart Wednesday, is still going strong, besting Jeremy “Double J” Jones. When Dominguez was on the hill, Jones tried to play safe on the 8 ball by leaving it on the side rail. Unfazed, Dominguez banked in the 8 but left himself a long shot on the 9 ball, which he rattled. Jones, however, missed the 9, and Dominguez sank the last two to win 10-7.
Speed demon Tony Drago whizzed through his match with Canada’s Tyler Edey. With Drago on the hill 9-6, Edey fouled on the 3 ball and handed Drago an open table with ball in hand, which he cleared. Lee Van Corteza, winner of the Turning Stone Classic a few months back, won 10-5 over Dan Louie of Seattle.
Alex Lely eliminated billiard legend Efren Reyes in Thursday night's actrion at the Predator 10-Ball Championship.
Reigning world 9-ball champion Daryl Peach bested Marcus Chamat 10-6, while Niels Feijen of The Netherlands delivered a loss to event promoter Charlie Williams 10-3. And John “Mr. 403” Schmidt is still undefeated, having won 10-3 over fellow U.S. player Gabe Owen.
Earlier in the day, on the one-loss side, there were some dramatic eliminations, but perhaps none was as dramatic as the 7:30 p.m. match between Tony Robles and Filipino player Ramil Gallego. Having dug himself into a 6-0 deficit, “The Silent Assassin” crept slowly back into the match and ultimately made it a hill-hill battle to the cheers of his fans.
He came up empty on the final break, and after Gallego played a jam-up safe on the 4 ball behind the 10, parking the cue behind the 8 up table, Robles was forced to kick at the 4. He made contact but left Gallego an out. Delicately picking through the cluster of remaining balls with pocket speed, Gallego won 10-9.
Spain’s David Alcaide ousted Southern California’s Tang Hoa, only to be eliminated himself in a televised match with Allison Fisher, which went hill-hill. Gerda Hofstatter was sent packing by Stéphan Cohen 10-3 earlier, which means Fisher is the lone woman standing in this event.
Corey Deuel was sent home early by Manual Gama of Portugal 10-7, who was then ousted by Alex Pagulayan in a quick 10-4 match. Johnny Archer eliminated recent Korean Open winner Mike Davis 10-6, while Dennis Hatch delivered Oscar Dominguez’s walking papers to him in a hill-hill bout. In another all-British match, recent World Pool Masters competitor Imran Majid matched up with Karl Boyes, but Boyes was too strong and won 10-4.
The eight undefeated players returning Friday evening are: Ernesto Dominguez, Lee Van Corteza, Daryl Peach, Tony Drago, John Schmidt, Raj Hundal, Niels Feijen, and Francisco Bustamante. The 24 left in the one-loss side will play in the morning and early afternoon rounds down to 8. At that point, tournament director Scott Smith will redraw the last 16 names and the format will change to single elimination. Only four will return Saturday to play for the $17,000 first-place prize.
Major Upsets Abound in Predator 10-Ball Championship
Predator 10-Ball Championship / Las Vegas, NV
by InsidePOOL Staff
Tied at 5 apiece, John “Mr. 403” Schmidt came through to defeat arguably the best billiard player in the world, Efren Reyes, in Wednesday night’s winners’-side round. At 9-7, Reyes sank the 10 ball on his break, which didn’t count as a win for it was in one of the bottom two corner pockets. After Reyes tried for a 2-10 carom, Schmidt played safe, and Reyes missed the subsequent thin cut, handing the table and the match to Schmidt 10-7.
“I played pretty terrible the first half of the set,” admitted Schmidt afterward. “You just gotta do your best out there and not get cracked.”
Across the room, 2007 Inside POOL Magazine Player of the Year Shane Van Boening was matched up against veteran player Ernesto Dominguez. Up 6-4, Van Boening opened the door for Dominguez to come at him, and the table mechanic won the next three to make it 7-6 in his favor. Dominguez left Van Boening a shot on the 5 ball in the next rack after a safety by “The South Dakota Kid,” so Van Boening took that rack, and then a miss on the 5 in the following put Van Boening on the hill. However, Van Boening’s grueling match the previous three days with Alex Pagulayan may have taken a toll, for he broke and ran out the next rack but badly missed a routine 10 ball. Dominguez grabbed the lifeline to make it 9-8 and then broke and ran out the last two racks.
Also in the winners’-side round Wednesday evening, Charlie Williams sent Pagulayan to the one-loss side 10-4, Niels Feijen won 10-6 over Karl Boyes, Jose Parica bested Rodney Morris 10-8, and Francisco Bustamante dealt Rafael Martinez a 10-3 loss. England’s Raj Hundal gave Johnny Archer his first loss of the event 10-8, fellow countryman Darren Appleton bested Tony Robles 10-8, and Gabe Owen won over Ralf Souquet 10-7.
In the one-loss side, Ronnie Wiseman was eliminated by Manuel Garcia 10-7, Sparky Ferrell took out Matt Krah 10-6, Christian Reimering ousted Warren Kiamco 10-8, Tony Chohan defeated Sarah Rousey 10-3, and Imran Majid routed Richard Wolff 10-1.
For live coverage of the 8th Annual Predator 10-Ball Championship, please visit Predator10ball.com, Kozoom.com, and InsidePOOLmag.com.
The American players are making an excellent showing for themselves thus far in the 8th Annual Predator 10-Ball Championship. From the original starting field of 96, there are now 32 billiard players remaining on the winners’ side, many of them from the U.S.
Tony “The Silent Assassin” Robles of New York, no stranger to winning tournaments in Las Vegas, was granted a bye in his first round and then sent Naoyuki Oi to the one-loss side in the second. Fellow compatriot Rodney Morris also had a bye and went on to defeat Hong Kong’s Lee Chenman. Event promoter Charlie Williams was given a first-round bye but then ended Gerda Hofstatter’s hot streak, sending her west.
Recently returned from the Philippines, Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer advanced with a first-round bye and then a victory over Japan’s Hayato Hijikata. Another Japanese, Go Takami, found no love at the hands of former U.S. Open champion Gabe Owen, who dealt him his first loss of the event. Straight pool champ John “Mr. 403” Schmidt sent Germany’s Nico Otterman left as well.
Top seed and defending champion Shane Van Boening has won his first match. He was given a bye and then faced down Deo Mark Golfo Alpajora of Spain. Jeremy “Double J” Jones also advanced, winning first over Eduardo Roldan and then fellow countryman Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant. Other undefeated U.S. players include Robb Saez of Florida, who bested Oscar Dominguez and then Thomas Engert, and Dan Louie, who dealt losses to Amalia Matas and then Pil Hyun-cho of Korea.
The Philippines has a very strong group representing it in this event. Undefeated as yet are Efren Reyes, Jose Parica, Alex Pagulayan, Francisco Bustamante, and Lee Van Corteza. Warren Kiamco and Ramil Gallego have suffered one loss already.
For live coverage of the 8th Annual Predator 10-Ball Championship, please visit Predator10ball.com, Kozoom.com, and InsidePOOLmag.com.
Same story, different game. An overjoyed Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan, self-admitted “slow starter,” comes back again. This time the format was a three-day, winner-takes-all, race-to-100 showdown in the TheActionReport.com (TAR) pit.
After more than 23 hours of billiards, Pagulayan proved his late-blooming style is exactly what it took to conquer multiple trophy holder “The South Dakota Kid,” Shane Van Boening.
Pagulayan was down at the end of the first two days 30 to 24, then 70 to 63. He was never ahead in the match until the score reached 93 to 92 Tuesday evening.
Neither player had missed a ball for hours, giving the packed room a rivalry they’ll be talking about for years.
Ultimately, it was apparent that the momentum had shifted. Van Boening attempted to regain his lead, but some fatal errors in the end cost him the century mark. When asked if there would be a rematch: “You can count on it!”
Final score: Pagulayan – 100, Van Boening - 94
Stake: $10,000 each
First Round Completed at Predator 10-Ball Championship
Predator 10-Ball Championship / Las Vegas, NV
by InsidePOOL Staff
Women's Porfessional Billiard Association pro Gerda Hofstatter defeated Chris Bartram 10-8 in the first round of play at the Predator 10-Ball Championship.
The first round of the 8th Annual Predator 10-Ball Championship, held at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV, is in the books, with more billiard matches to come Wednesday.
The American players seem to be holding their own so far, with former U.S. Open champion Jeremy “Double J” Jones rousting Eduardo Roldan 10-1 and Jimmy Mendoza coming out ahead of a hill-hill match against Christian Reimering. Mike Dechaine bested Alex Lely 10-8, while Robb Saez won 10-6 over Germany’s Thomas Engert, and Adam “GQ” Smith scored a 10-7 victory over Louis Ulrich.
While Sarah Rousey and Yu Ram Cha both lost their matches against Go Takami 10-5 and Richard Wolff 10-3, respectively, Gerda Hofstatter of Austria came out ahead of Chris Bartram 10-8 in their match.
Ernesto Dominguez has won two matches so far, one against Yukiko Hamanisho 10-4 and the other over Allen Hopkins 10-6, the younger Dominguez, Oscar, was defeated 10-6 in an early afternoon match.
Marcus Chamat of Sweden bested Dave Hemmah 10-7, Tony “Tornado” Drago won 10-8 over Luc Salvas, young gun John Morra dealt Diego Pedro Simon a 10-4 loss, Edwin Montal scored a 10-6 win over Mike Davis, and Mika Immonen sent Corey Deuel to the one-loss side 10-4.
The Billiard Education Foundation’s “Challenge the Stars” event brought in pool fans this evening to play against their favorite pros. This BEF event is one of the most anticipated, as champions such as Johnny Archer, Ralf Souquet, Niels Feijen, Tony Robles, Thorsten Hohmann, Mike Davis, Mika Immonen, and Rodney Morris gave of their time to mingle and play pool with some of their biggest fans, all the while raising money for an excellent cause. There was also a raffle and an auction to benefit the BEF, and Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman made a special appearance, thrilling the crowd with his trick shot exhibition.
For live coverage of the 8th Annual Predator 10-Ball Championship, please visit predator10ball.com, Kozoom.com, and InsidePOOLmag.com.
Thursday’s billiard matches at the Predator 10-Ball Championship at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV, left 8 billiards players remaining undefeated and 24 in the one-loss bracket. With only four to return Saturday, Friday’s schedule will be a grueling one.
Tied at 5 apiece, John “Mr. 403” Schmidt came through to defeat arguably the best billiard player in the world, 
Same story, different game. An overjoyed Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan, self-admitted “slow starter,” comes back again. This time the format was a three-day, winner-takes-all, race-to-100 showdown in the TheActionReport.com (TAR) pit. 
