PoolRoom

Turning Stone Day One: Shut-outs Abound

In the first day of the Turning Stone Classic, going on now in Verona, N.Y., many top players made their presence be known. Ralf Souquet, Marlon Manalo, Johnny Archer, and Keith McCready all advanced with 9-0 victories.

The Women’s Professional Billiard Association was also well represented, with Karen Corr beating Brian Groce, 9-6, Jennifer Barretta beating Mike Hurley, 9-5, and Jeanette Lee beating Peter Bowman, 9-3.

Other players who advanced through the first round included Shawn Putnam, Mike Zuglan, George Breedlove, Santos Sambajon and Dennis Hatch, who bested Mike Davis, 9-6.

A few other top seeds joined Davis in an early departure to the one-loss side on Thursday: Allen Hopkins, Howard Vickery, and Dee Adkins.

Round two gets under way today, with big matches lined up between Jeanette Lee and Shaun Wilkie, George Breedlove and Tony Crosby, and Keith McCready vs. Dave Fernandez.

Patriot Games

93aTeam Predator, consisting of the top players from the Florida Tour, defeated Team Joss of the Joss Northeast Tour in the inaugural Patriot Cup held at Planet 9-Ball in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 15-17. Charlie Williams, the event’s promoter, had a hand in several key matches that led to his team’s victory, including a win over George SanSouci in the break contest. The three-day event pitted the rival tours against one another in a series of games, including 9-ball, 10-ball, straight pool and one-pocket.

Team Predator’s roster featured Ray Martin (team captain), Buddy Hall, Nick Varner, Tommy Kennedy and Williams. Runner-up Team Joss included Mike Zuglan (team captain), Tony Robles, Frankie Hernandez, Mika Immonen and SanSouci. The event is scheduled to return next year in a location to be determined. For complete coverage of the event, check the April issue of Billiards Digest.