Matt Krah fends off "Iron" Mike Davis in the finals of a 75-player field at Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA!
Aug 7, 2012
The Action Pool Tour (APT) held its 11th event of the 2011-2012 Session at Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA on the weekend of July 21-22, 2012. In the midst of summer when participation is usually low, this 9-ball event drew an unbelievable field of 75 players which included the likes of “Iron” Mike Davis, Brian Deska, Larry Kressel and Matt Krah just to name a few.
Play began at approximately 1:30pm on Saturday, July 21st with no significant early upsets. By the end of Saturday, thirty-two (32) players remained; eight (8) on the winners’ side and twenty-four (24) on the one-loss side. The winners’ side consisted of Brian Deska, Matt Shilinski, Matt Krah, Nil Lim, Billy Gallagher, Larry Kressel, Mike Davis and RJ Carmona while the one-loss side included Tony Nguyen, Rafael Reyes, Linh Nguyen, Andrew Park, Suresh Suryawanshi, Paul Helms, Chip Klein, Manny Orino, Todd Strickland, Paul Oh, Alan Duty, Danny Mastermaker, Steve Wigglesworth, Dave Hunt, Lam Le, Ozzy Reynolds, Ann Reynolds, Curtis Branker, Tuan Chau, Will Moon, Pat Carosi, Dan Maruschak, Butch Weimer and Larry Yearsly.
Sunday began on the winners’ side with a thrilling live stream match between Carmona and Davis in which Carmona captured a hill-hill victory 9-8. Meanwhile, Kressel defeated Gallagher 9-6, Krah got by Lim 9-4, and Deska edged Shilinski 9-6. The next winners’ side round saw Krah squeak by Deska 9-7 and Kressel defeat Carmona 9-6. This set up Kressel vs. Krah for the hot seat. Although Kressel was having a great tournament and predicted himself to go undefeated, Krah would not have it as he sent Kressel west by a score of 9-3 and earned his rightful place in the finals.
Meanwhile on the one-loss side, play continued until only three players remained – Davis, Kressel and Klein. Although Klein was having a great weekend, Davis looked strong and easily eliminated Klein 7-2. This set up Davis vs. Kressel for the right to play Krah in the finals. Kressel took an early 4-1 lead in this race to seven and had only the 7-ball and 9-ball remaining to take a commanding 5-1 advantage. Inexplicably, Kressel missed the straight in 7-ball and allowed Davis to take the rack and make the score 4-2. This was all the opportunity that Davis needed. From that point forward it was all Davis as he won every subsequent rack and cruised to a 7-4 victory.
This set up Davis vs. Krah in the finals in which Davis would have to defeat Krah twice in the true double elimination format. The first set began as a one-sided affair with Davis taking a commanding 8-2 lead in the race to 9. However, Krah fought back to make the score 8-6 but came up just short as Davis won the set 9-6. The final and determining set was a race to 7 for the title. Building on his earlier comeback momentum, Krah seemed to be on autopilot and cruised through rack after rack with nearly flawless play. In the end, he defeated Davis 7-3 and claimed the 75-player tournament victory.
Left to Right: Mike Davis, Shanna Lewis, Sam Yoo, Ozzy Reynolds, Matt Krah
Other notable results of the event include the top female finisher, the 2nd Chance Tournament, and the Break & Run contest. Nine (9) females: Lai Li, Laurie Bunn, Pauline Mattes, Ann Reynolds, Daisy Blancaflor, Kristen Goff, Shanna Lewis, Nikka Angeles and Brittany Blair competed in the event in which the top placing female would earn a $75 cash prize. In the end, Ann Reynolds, wife of tour owner and director Ozzy Reynolds, prevailed to take home top female honors and the $75 cash prize.
The Break & Run contest, which had a payout of $205 per ball, was conducted on Saturday night. RJ Carmona had the winning ticket and the opportunity at the cash. Everyone crowded the table as Carmona plowed the 10-ball rack and pocketed a ball. However, as the balls scattered around the table, the cue ball sat dangerously close to the side pocket. Just as it appeared Carmona would have an opportunity at the first shot, another ball got bumped into the cue ball causing it to scratch in the side pocket to end his chance. The total purse will progressively roll into the next event with a total payout of $230 per ball!
Finally, twenty-three (23) players showed up on Sunday to compete in the 2nd Chance Tournament. Being unable to compete in the main event due to family obligations, Sean Sporleder showed up to go undefeated and claim the $200 cash prize. Coming in 2nd was Jimmy Endara who earned $125, followed by Danny Mastermaker in 3rd winning $75, Dima Khvan in 4th winning $50 and Will Moon and David Choi in 5th-6th earning $25 each. The complete bracket is posted on the Results Page.
The Action Pool Tour would like to thank all of the players who came out to participate. A very special thanks goes out to Shanna Lewis for making this event happen and to Breakers Sky Lounge owner Sam Yoo and his staff for providing a terrific venue, awesome environment, and fantastic food for this 9-ball event. We look forward to returning to this room many more times in the future for more great Action! Thanks also to our sponsors: Lambros Cues, Magic Ball Rack (CSI), AzBilliards.com,PoolActionTV, and Steve Lingafelter.
The next stop for The Action Pool Tour is August 11-12, 2012 at VIP Billiards in Catonsville, MD.
The Action Pool Tour is continually looking for sponsors. If anyone is interested in placing an ad during our live stream, on our website, or any other sponsorship arrangement, please contact Tour Director Ozzy Reynolds at admin@actionpooltour.com.
By Tour Staff
Payouts
1 – Matt Krah $1100
2 – Mike Davis $700
3 – Larry Kressel $500
4 – Chip Klein $350
5-6 – Brian Deska $250
5-6 – RJ Carmona $250
7-8 – Dave Hunt $150
7-8 – Paul Helms $150
9-12 – Rafael Reyes $100
9-12 – Billy Gallagher $100
9-12 – Nil Lim $100
9-12 – Matt Shilinski $100
13-16 – Todd Strickland $50
13-16 – Ozzy Reynolds $50
13-16 – Curtis Branker $50
13-16 – Butch Weimer $50
Top Female Finisher: Ann Reynolds – $75