Mazin Shooni wins the First Stop of the 2010 TOUR!

The first stop of the USBA Tour was held in Hooksett, New Hampshire, at Cue & Cushion Billiard Lounge, owned by 2006 USBA Champion, Mazin Shooni. The guest of honor at the tournament was 3-time USBA Champion, Pedro Piedrabuena, owner of College Billiards in San Diego, California.

There were 12 players in all and there was enough time to play a 12-player round-robin format. Each player plays every other player one time, 11 matches for every player. Plenty of billiards. 25 point matches were played and a scoreboard with a 45-second shot clock was used for every match, to keep the games moving along.

The obvious favorites to finish 1st and 2nd were Mazin and Pedro, but 3rd and 4th places were up for grabs with a field loaded with some fine “B” level players.

Tournament Highlights:

-Mazin Shooni had a run of 14 against Tony Ferrara for the tournament high run and a $50 bonus.

-Pedro Piedrabuena had a 12 inning game against Tim King and a tournament-best 11 inning game against Tony Ferrara (2.273 average) for a $50 bonus

-Ellis Lawrence scored 20 points and averaged .909 against Pedro. He lost his last game against Rick McGuire which would have put him in contention for 4th place.

-Tim King played steady, losing only 3 matches. He defeated Jim Shovak 25-21 in a great defensive match. The winner of that match would end up in 3rd place automatically.

-Jim Shovak had a 16 inning game against Ellis Lawrence (1.563 average) and also defeated Pedro Piedrabuena 25-16, handing Pedro his first loss of the tournament.

-Andrew Dangelmayer needed to win his final match against Raymond Tower to finish in fourth place and was trailing throughout the entire match. He came back to rally in the end and finished in the money. Great shooting, Drew!

Pedro, having one loss going into the final match against the undefeated Mazin Shooni, needed to beat Mazin twice in order to win the tournament. But Mazin took the lead and never lost it, winning 25-17. Mazin went undefeated, 11-0. Pedro finished 2nd at 9-2, Tim King was 3rd at 8-3 and Andrew Dangelmayer (7-4) edged Jim Shovak (7-4) for 4th place by just 7 billiards. Tony Ferrara (7-4) also came real close, but settled for 6th place.

Raymond Tower got a special award from Mazin for having the “most innings”. Everyone had a good laugh. Prizes were raffled off afterwards and Pedro Piedrabuena won the Schuler Cue, donated by Noel Mendoza. Everyone had a great time!

PDF RESULTS of 12-player Round Robin

Sponsors:

-Iwan Simonis
-Aramith
-Schuler Cues by Noel Mendoza

2010 USBA Tour Financial Sponsors:

David Levine, Jim Shovak, Bob Jewett, Professor-Q-Ball (Paul Frankel), Creative Billiard Shirts, Marty Isserlis, Bruce Warner, Pedro Piedrabuena, Tommy Thomsen, Mike Walo, Bob Watson, Tom Resk, Alan Dukar, Tim King, George Allee, Ron Sakahara, Howard Kennedy, Julian Levy, Richard Lewis, Steve Andersen.

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2010 USBA Tour: OPEN TOURNAMENT
Cue & Cushion Billiard Lounge, Hooksett, NH: May 6-9, 2010
Four Day Tournament

CUE & CUSHION BILLIARD LOUNGE in Hooksett, New Hampshire will host the first
stop of the 2010 USBA 3-Cushion Billiards Tour with some of the top billiard players in the country participating. Featured players include three-time National Champion Pedro Piedrabuena of San Diego & 2006 National Champion and Cue & Cushion owner Mazin Shooni.

PLAYER'S MEETING: Wednesday, May 5th at 7:00pm

PLACE: Cue & Cushion Billiards & Lounge, 1271 Hooksett Road, Unit #2,
Hooksett, NH 03106.

PLAYERS: Limited to 16.

FORMAT:

Prelims: 2 groups of 8 players. Round-robin format. 25 point matches.

Finals: 6 player RR, 30 point matches.

Top 4 ranked USBA Players will be seeded into 2 groups in Prelims.

ENTRY FEE:

$255 for "A" Players (.800+ average).
$155 for "B" Players (between .500 & .799 average)
$105 for "C" Players (under .500 average)
Must be or become a USBA Member.

First paid, first served. Spots will not be saved.

PURSE: Estimated $5,000 based on 16 players: First Place $1,500.

TABLES: Two Chevillotte Carom Tables with new Simonis Tournament Cloth.

FEATURES:

1) 45-second Shot-Clock will be used with 1 extension per match

3) Full tournament attire: vest, tie, black pants, black shoes

4) Cue provided by sponsors

5) Celebratory Buffet

ACCOMODATIONS: Mazin Shooni will make arrangements for players to stay at the Fairfield Marriot down the street from Cue & Cushion. May 5-9. There are currently 8 rooms booked under Cue & Cushion's name at a rate of $69.00 + hotel fee.  Please call the hotel at 603-606-5485 and ask to change one of these reservations into their name.  They will be responsible for providing a method of payment upon check in. The address and website information are listed below.
Fairfield Inn & Suites - Hooksett
8 Bell Ave
Hooksett, NH 03106
Ph: 603-606-5485
Fx: 603-606-5491
http://www.marriott.com/mhtho
http://www.jitenhotels.com

INFORMATION: For further information, call Mazin at 248-910-4466.

Thank you and hope to see you in May,

Mazin Shooni
USBA Northeast Region Director
248-910-4466 cell

603-623-5330 pool room

Hotel and Rental Car Discounts:

The USBA has a contract with Choice Hotels International. If you would like to receive at least a 15% discount at Choice Hotel locations, please refer to your Membership Package for details or you can access the USBA Forum "Members Only" area. To become a USBA Member, click "Join" at the top or the upper left side of this page and follow the instructions to pay by credit/debit card through PayPal. You do NOT need a PayPal account to use PayPal. You can also mail in membership dues by check.

USBA Members also receive between 5-10% discount from the following car rental companies, if they service the area: