With the end of my 2013 tournament year in sight (4 more tournaments in the next 6 weeks), I am compelled to share my pool tournament bucket list with you... I would love to hear what events are on yours.
Women's World 10 Ball Championship in the Phillipines- This is definitely the most difficult to attain as I need to achieve a certain level of play to even be considered for an invitation... But by writing it here, I am one step closer to achieving the possibility of this as a reality. Pool in the Phillipines is essentially the equivalent to football in the US. Players like Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, and Dennis Orcullo are celebrated as national heroes. Venues in the Phillipines are generally open area malls and I think it would be an absolutely amazing experience.
Derby City Classic- Definitely one of the most prestigious tournaments in the United States, this 10 day pool extravaganza is in my sights for January of 2015. I will most likely sign up for the 9 ball division only, but have heard that there are many amazing historical and geologic sites to visit in the near vicinity. Tournaments ran during this event included 9 ball banks, 1 pocket, and 9 ball on the 9 footers, then Straight Pool and 10 ball on the 10 Footers. 2013 Champions include: 9 ball banks- Francisco Bustamante, 1 pocket- Corey Deuel, 9 ball- Alex Pagalayun, 10 ball- Dennis Orcullo, Straight Pool- Max Eberle
US Open 9 Ball Championship- Also a very prestigious event in the US. I have no other real motivation for attending, other than players from around the world covet the title. Recent champions include: 2012 Dennis Orcullo, 2011-2010 Darren Appleton, 2009-2008 Mika Immonen
Turning Stone Classic- Hosted at the absolutely beautiful Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona NY, this event brings out the very best of what pool has to offer. I want to see this event first hand and learn how everything works. It is my goal to organize events on this scale, where the level of play is at the highest that it can be and where it can be appreciated by the community of pool players far and wide. Earl the Pearl just snapped this one off last weekend :)
Jay Swanson Memorial Tournament- Played at the Hard Times in Bellflower, this tournament is one of the toughest 9 ball fields on US soil. Top players from around the world come out to compete on sub 4" pockets.
White Diamonds - I honestly have only heard about this tournament because I was in the south a couple years ago playing at Emerald Billiards for US Amateur Open. My soul purpose of attending would be for the Calcutta. Chris Miller is legendary as the auctioneer.
Super Billiards Expo- Also known as Valley Forge, this Allen Hopkins event has achieved legendary status and includes both amateur and professional events. The trade show is where you can view all of the exciting new product lines put out by the billiards industry for the year.
I am sure there are many more events that will be added to this list, but for now these are the biggies :)
WPBA San Diego Classic 2009, Photo by Anne Craig
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Sneaky Pete Mafia launches Inaugural Issue
Hello Readers :)
I wanted to apologize for my recent hiatus from posts. I have been very busy in the last several months working with a group of great individuals to launch a brand new pool magazine. It's called Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine. The Sneaky Pete Mafia community started out as a group on Facebook and was founded by Garret Troop.
I was first approached by Garret the weekend of my Grandma Betty's passing. It was not a good time for me as I was dealing with some very heavy emotions and just didn't feel like the timing was right. I came highly recommended to him from someone I didn't know very well, TV Mike with the Onsite Pool Network. I met Mike in Houston for the WPBA Regional Tour Championships, OSPN was streaming the event and we had a couple good conversations about life in general and the pool world.
My first thought when Garret approached me to be the Editor of this new magazine was "I just don't know." I wasn't sure if it was the right time or if it was something that I could do, but I tentatively told him that I would work with the group and help them launch. He gave me total control over content and in the last few months I have come to embrace the idea. The primary goal of the Sneaky Pete Mafia (SPM) is to get players what they need to take their game to the next level. Whether it be product reviews, instructional articles, inspiring interviews with both old and young players, or road stories to remind us of all the great times to be had, SPM Magazine is blazing a trail in a media saturated pool world.
We have a great team together with a mutual respect and understanding for what we want to do. I am lining up interviews with some amazing pool players. Our first issue featured two of my interviews, one short Q&A piece with Billiards Education Foundation (BEF) Junior National participant, Eric Roberts and then one longer interview I had with Johnny Archer "The Scorpion". I am very excited to see where things go and for the second issue I have lined up interviews with Darren "Dynamite" Appleton and rising pool sensation Briana Miller. If you ever have ideas about interviews you would like to see, please don't hesitate to shoot me a message at editor@sneakypetemafia.com.
Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine is a proud support of the BEF and will be contributing 5% of all ad space sales to their foundation. The youth of the sport, and our world in general, are the foundation of the future. By supporting them, we support ourselves. I truly hope that you enjoy our magazine. You can check it and future issues out at www.sneakypetemafia.com. Thanks for being patient with me. I will post the interviews to my blog when the following months publications are released.
Cheers! SOS
I wanted to apologize for my recent hiatus from posts. I have been very busy in the last several months working with a group of great individuals to launch a brand new pool magazine. It's called Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine. The Sneaky Pete Mafia community started out as a group on Facebook and was founded by Garret Troop.
I was first approached by Garret the weekend of my Grandma Betty's passing. It was not a good time for me as I was dealing with some very heavy emotions and just didn't feel like the timing was right. I came highly recommended to him from someone I didn't know very well, TV Mike with the Onsite Pool Network. I met Mike in Houston for the WPBA Regional Tour Championships, OSPN was streaming the event and we had a couple good conversations about life in general and the pool world.
My first thought when Garret approached me to be the Editor of this new magazine was "I just don't know." I wasn't sure if it was the right time or if it was something that I could do, but I tentatively told him that I would work with the group and help them launch. He gave me total control over content and in the last few months I have come to embrace the idea. The primary goal of the Sneaky Pete Mafia (SPM) is to get players what they need to take their game to the next level. Whether it be product reviews, instructional articles, inspiring interviews with both old and young players, or road stories to remind us of all the great times to be had, SPM Magazine is blazing a trail in a media saturated pool world.
We have a great team together with a mutual respect and understanding for what we want to do. I am lining up interviews with some amazing pool players. Our first issue featured two of my interviews, one short Q&A piece with Billiards Education Foundation (BEF) Junior National participant, Eric Roberts and then one longer interview I had with Johnny Archer "The Scorpion". I am very excited to see where things go and for the second issue I have lined up interviews with Darren "Dynamite" Appleton and rising pool sensation Briana Miller. If you ever have ideas about interviews you would like to see, please don't hesitate to shoot me a message at editor@sneakypetemafia.com.
Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine is a proud support of the BEF and will be contributing 5% of all ad space sales to their foundation. The youth of the sport, and our world in general, are the foundation of the future. By supporting them, we support ourselves. I truly hope that you enjoy our magazine. You can check it and future issues out at www.sneakypetemafia.com. Thanks for being patient with me. I will post the interviews to my blog when the following months publications are released.
Cheers! SOS
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