Van Boening in Reno 10-Ball Hot Seat
U.S. Bar Table Championship, 10-Ball Division / Reno, NV
by InsidePOOL Staff
The 10-ball division of the U.S. Bar Table Championship is in the homestretch at the Sands Regency Hotel and Casino in Reno, NV. From the original field of 115 players, only four remain standing, with Shane Van Boening sitting pretty in the hot seat.
The format mostly remains the same as last year’s event, with a couple of changes. It is still a race to 7, alternating break, rack your own, true double elimination. However, unlike last year, neither the 9 ball nor the 10 ball will count on the break, no matter what pocket it drops into.
Also, there is a separate division for the ladies this year. In the 9-ball division, which begins today at 1 p.m., there are 24 women, and in the 8-ball event, 36 women signed up. There is no separate division for the ladies in the 10-ball event. Some early favorites include Tina Pawloski, Amanda Lampert, Melissa Little, and Andrea Wilson of Canada.
Defending 10-ball champion Darren Appleton delivered a donut to Melissa Little in the first round and won 7-2 over Linn Petty in the second, but he was stopped in the third round by Manny Chau in a hill-hill affair. From there Appleton ousted Vince Tedesco 7-2 and Tommy Tokoph 7-6 but was on the wrong end of another hill-hill match, this time against Bernardo “King Kong” Chavez.
Earl Strickland made his first appearance at the event and did quite well. He lost his second-round match to Kings Santy 7-4 and fought his way back through the one-loss side. His meeting with Steve Moore in the eighth round was the match of the event. Moore jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but slowly and surely Strickland chipped away at Moore’s lead. Strickland managed to tie the score at double-hill and then prevail for the win. He was eliminated in the next round by Sal Butera 7-5, ending up in ninth place.
From the original field of 115 players, only four remain standing, with Van Boening sitting pretty in the hot seat.
Van Boening enjoyed an uncomplicated run to the hot seat. He has notched wins over Billy Palmer 7-3, Barry Boney 7-4, PJ Massicotte 7-3, Billy Lee Bailey 7-5, and Sal Butera 7-6. In the hot seat match, he completely dominated Jose Parica, sending “Amang” to the west side of the chart 7-1 to await a finals opponent.
Parica, who recently won the Jay Swanson Memorial Tournament at Hollywood Billiards in Hollywood, CA, escaped a hill-hill first-round match against Arturo Rivera and then went on to best Matt Clatterbuck 7-4, Shane Winters 7-4, Butler 7-3, Dominguez 7-5, and Larry Wilson 7-1 before his meeting with Van Boening.
Defending all-around champion Glenn Atwell has had a rather tough road, being sent to the left side 7-4 by Billy Lee Bailey in the third round. From there he had to win seven matches in a row to make it to the quarterfinals against Butera. Butera made it to the fifth round before he was sent to the west side by Van Boening and then ousted Strickland, Brian Butler 7-4, and Larry Wilson 7-2 before meeting Atwell.
The 9-ball division begins at 1 p.m. Wednesday with 136 men and 24 women. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.