On the Hunt for Second Seminole Win
Seminole Pro Tour / Springhill, FL

by Skip Maloney

Deuel is looking for another Seminole Florida Pro Tour win to add to his collection.

Corey Deuel, Donnie Mills, and Justin Hall were still in the hunt for their second win on the 2008 Seminole Pro Tour in Springhill, FL, at the close of action on Saturday. They were joined, among the winners’ side final four, by Tony Ruberto, last seen finishing in a tie for ninth place when the tour stopped at Hammerhead’s Billiards in Holiday, FL, in May.

Conspicuous in their absence—not only among the final four but among the final 12—were the last two winners on the tour: Steve Moore, who won back-to-back events, and Mike Davis. Moore was sent west on the heels of a third-round, double-hill defeat at the hands of Neil Fujiwara and ended his bid for a third tour victory with a second double-hill defeat, this time at the hands of Jerry Calderon. Davis was shut out 7-0 by Deuel in the second round and took out some of his frustration on his first one-loss-side opponent, Josh Lopez, defeating him 7-0. George McLanahan then ended Davis’ run with a 7-5 victory.

View the Seminole Florida Pro Tour double elimination brackets

Hall and Mills, who shared fifth place in July, were scheduled to meet Sunday morning as Deuel prepared to meet Ruberto. Still remaining among the final eight on the one-loss side are Jonathan Pinegar, Tommy Kennedy, and Charlie Williams. It was Kennedy who’d sent Williams west, only to follow him there after an 8-3 defeat at the hands of Mills. Pinegar, who’d been sent left in the opening round, battled his way back through four opponents to remain among the event’s final 12. He is set to take on Dave Walters Sunday.

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Carolina Classic Elimination Rounds Done for the Day
WPBA Carolina Classic / Durham, NC

by InsidePOOL Staff

Julie “Motor Molly” Kelly is moving through the field almost being unchallenged.

The elimination rounds have finished for the night at the WPBA Carolina Classic, and sixteen ladies can rest easily for the remainder of the evening. Friday night’s rounds will focus on the winners’ side, which will play one round and then come back for the final round of 16 Saturday afternoon.

After a harrowing 9-8 loss to Line Kjorsvik of Norway, Julie “Motor Molly” Kelly has skated through her last two matches. She sent Montana’s feared Morgan Steinman home early 9-2 and then did the same to Holly Sholes 9-2. Her next opponent will be Maureen Seto, who has eliminated Lisa D’Atri 9-5 and Liz Ford 9-7.

Brittany Bryant, who went double-hill with Allison Fisher in the first round before succumbing, is also still alive, having fought her way through Melissa Morris 9-5 and Caroline Pao in another hill-hill match. Bryant will next face Laura Smith, who has ousted Heather Lloyd 9-4 and Sarah Ellerby 9-4.

Iris Ranola, sent west from the winners’ side by Tiffany Nelson 9-6 Thursday, just eliminated Ewa Laurance in yet another match that went hill-hill. Ranola, the runner-up at the WPBA U.S. Open last month, will next face off against Japan’s Miyuki Sakai.

View the WPBA Carolina Classic double elimination brackets

Canada’s Joanne Ashton is still fighting. She ousted Colorado’s Bonnie Plowman in a double-hill match and then eliminated Kim Shaw 9-6. Ashton’s will next play Melissa Herndon, who just defeated Cathy Metzinger 9-4.

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WPBA Carolina Classic Second Round Complete

WPBA Carolina Classic Second Round Complete
WPBA Carolina Classic / Durham, NC

by InsidePOOL Staff

WPBA number one ranked Kelly “KwikFire” Fisher cruised through the second round of play at the WPBA Carolina Classic.

The second round of the winners’ side at the WPBA Carolina Classic finished up late Thursday night with no upsets to speak of. Friday will see the beginning of the elimination rounds starting at 10 a.m., while the winners will have a long break until Friday evening.

Sixteen players now remain in the winners’ side, with Kelly “KwikFire” Fisher still at the top of the bracket after her handy 9-2 of Gail Grecar. Her next match will be against Helena Thornfeldt, who just defeated Liz Lovely 9-1. Number-two-ranked Karen Corr also won her match against Kim White by a resounding 9-2 and will next play Vivian “The Texas Tornado” Villareal, who just bested Jennifer Chen 9-7.

Austria’s Gerda Hofstatter dealt Candi Rego a donut 9-0, while her opponent in the next round, Tiffany Nelson, sent U.S. Open runner-up Iris Ranola west 9-6. Sarah Rousey won her battle with Sarah Ellerby 9-7 and advances to play Jasmin Ouschan, who recently took third place at the Predator World Straight Pool Championships. Ouschan defeated Caroline Pao 9-4 in the second round.

View the WPBA Carolina Classic double elimination brackets

Defending champ Ga Young Kim is still going strong after a 9-6 defeat of Holly Sholes and next will play Dawn Hopkins, who just sent Liz Ford west 9-6. Ranked third on the tour, Xiaoting Pan also is in contention after her strong 9-4 defeat of Melissa Herndon. Pan’s next opponent will be Line Kjorsvik, who bested Kim Shaw 9-7.

Now ranked sixth on the tour, Allison Fisher won her second-round match against Yu Ram Cha 9-4, and her next opponent will be Monica Webb, who just defeated Kyoke Sone 9-5. Anna Kostanian, ranked seventh, is also still on the winners’ side after her 9-7 win over Melissa Little. Kostanian will meet up with Jeanette Lee, who bested My Hanh Lac 9-3, Friday.

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WPBA Carolina Classic Set to Begin
WPBA Carolina Classic / Durham, NC

by InsidePOOL Magazine Staff

Kim will try to defend her title at the Women's Professional Billiard Association Carolina Classic in Durham, NC.

The WPBA Carolina Classic begins Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. in Durham, NC, at the American Tobacco Historic District Campus. Ga Young Kim will attempt to defend her title against the 64-player field, while Kelly Fisher will strive to maintain her number-one ranking.

Though the event is seeded, there should be a few tough matches in the first round. Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan will meet Sacramento player Michelle Rakin, while Kim will have to face off against Colorado’s sharpshooter Bonnie Plowman. Julie “Motor Molly” Kelly of Ireland will match up with Line Kjorsvik, and Anna Kostanian, newly moved up in the rankings to seventh, will play Ewa “The Striking Viking” Laurance.

View the WPBA Carolina Classic double elimination brackets

K. Fisher is over 1,000 points in front of her nearest threat, Karen Corr, but Xiaoting Pan and Kim are right on Corr’s heels. Sarah Ellerby, Kostanian, and Allison Fisher are all within several hundred points of each other, so this event will prove to be a crucial one as far as it relates to the WPBA’s rankings.

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Nevel Takes Command of North Carolina Billiards Event

Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Rocky Mount, NC

by InsidePOOL Magazine

Larry "The Truth" Nevel continued his rampage on southern billiard events by snapping off the Jacoby Cues Carolina Tour event at Sharks-n-Shooters in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Despite Hurricane Gustaf threatening to wreak havoc across the state of North Carolina, 26 players bravely journeyed to Sharks-N-Shooters in Rocky Mount for the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour. Held the weekend of September 6-7, this $1,000-added event saw Larry “The Truth” Nevel come back from the left side of the chart to take first place.

Though the field was smaller than normal because of Gustav, there was a great deal of talent—including the five junior players who entered. Legend Wade Crane was bested by Ty Griffin 7-1 in the first round, while Mike “Iron Man” Davis went down in the second round after a hill-hill match with local player Stephen Bishop.

Nevel cruised through the field, besting Chris Vollmar 7-0 before going to defeat Delton Howard 7-5 and Cary Dunn 7-2. He then battled to double-hill with Michael Fuller before sending Fuller to the west side of the chart and moved on to the hot seat match, where he suffered his only loss of the event to Jeff Abernathy 7-2.

Dunn, sent to the one-loss side by Nevel earlier, had just advanced to the semifinal match with a hill-hill victory over Sam Monday. Seeking revenge, Dunn didn’t have a chance as Nevel steamrolled him 7-2 to head back to face Abernathy. In the single-elimination final match, Nevel closed out the win with a 9-4 score.

Results:

1st Larry Nevel

2nd Jeff Abernathy

3rd Cary Dunn

4th Sam Monday

5th Michael Fuller

Stephen Bishop

7th Delton Howard

Peaches Fuller

9th Ty Bissett

Joe Whaley

Mike Davis

Ty Griffin