The 2009 United States Bar Table Championships at the Sands Regency Hotel and Casino in Reno, NV. are over. Thank God. LOL
The event was a blast but the internet and technical issues almost had Nasty and I ready to hold hands and jump off the top of the Sands. We were looking for the stairs when Nasty said "The way we are
running we would land on my truck. And live" Between a shaky internet connection, some Ustream bugs, and a pesky static electricity problem it had us all jacked up. The good news is we were able to get most
of the good stuff out to everyone despite some annoying interruptions.
The actual tournament itself ran professionally and smoothly as always with Ric Jones of Bad Boys Billiard Productions making the room, tables and event excellent as always. He had help from Bill Stock, Ken
Shuman, Rick (I totally aired Ricks last name right now. Sorry Rick) and the one who really runs everything Ric Jones lovely wife Bonnie. They are a great team who run excellent events and go out of their
way to help TAR.
After the first few days it looked like Darren (Daz) Appleton would win all three events without ever losing a match. He was on fire. It was great to see Darren make the trip to Reno. We always enjoy hanging
out with Daz even if people look at us funny when he says "Give us a kiss" to two guys who look like me and Nasty. It is a British thing. Darren snapped off the 10 Ball after defeating Glen "To be Nicknamed
Later In The Event" Atwell in the finals.
Darren went on to take the hot seat in the 9 ball event but the real story was Glenn Atwell. Glenn played strong for the entire event and on the last day it seemed played all day on the TAR table dispatching
one player after another on his way to the finals to face Darren again. Glenn then did what many thought was damn near impossible at the time and that is double dip the hottest player in the tournament,
Darren Appleton. Glenn plays a grinding deliberate style of pool, never getting too high or too low and focusing on every opportunity to the fullest. After beating Darren he won not only the 9 Ball and a
share of the All Around lead but a new nick name. Glenn "The Anaconda" Atwell. The guy just squeezes until there is nothing left. He wasn't done yet.
The 8 Ball event saw Stevie Moore race out to the hot seat only to run into .....who else? The Anaconda was back for more. Glen came out of the left side to face another difficult challenge of beating a
world class player twice for the victory. Glen took the first set and was on the hill 4-3 in the second when some dry breaks allowed Stevie to close it out and take the 8 Ball title. Stevie is a consummate
professional and one of most well like pro's on the circuit. It was great to see him win a big event and he brought a smile to every ones face while doing it.
All in all it was a great trip despite the tech gremlins and according to the hotel execs they will have a dedicated line for the August event. That's right. The Sands and Bad Boy Billiard Productions
announced a new event called The Shootout At The Sands for August. It will be 10 Ball race to 13 and 8 Ball race to 8 on the bar tables. TAR will be there as well.
Chad and I would thank some people for all their help this past week. Royce and Jessica from OB cues were awesome as always and OB sponsored the whole week of coverage. I can't say enough about how great the
OB cues crew is. They put their money where their mouth is and support the game in many different ways. Support the people who support the game. If you are looking for a new cue, break cue or shaft visit
www.obcues.com and give them a shot.
Ken Shuman spent more hours in the TAR booth than anyone last week and did double duty as a TD as well. Thanks Ken for everything you do and all the support you continue to give to TAR. Jay Helfert showed up
later in the week and sat in for several matches as well entertaining the TAR Nation with some great commentary and stories from his new book Pool Wars. Thanks Jay. Steve "Beav_99_4life" Dunham made the trip
and put in many hours helping us out. Thanks buddy.
Mark and Sunny Griffin of CueSports International, the organizers and owners of the USBTC, were in attendance as well. Mark is IMO one of the driving forces in American pool and a good friend as well. I look
forward to seeing what he comes up with next and hope we can help to make some big things happen in the pool world.
The biggest thank you goes out to all the people who watched the coverage all week through thick and thin. TAR has been more than lucky to have people who love the game as much as we do stick with us. It was
pretty bad a couple of times last week with the tech problems and I admit to losing my cool a couple of times. The kind words of many people in the chat and emails made me realize that it wasnt the end of
the world and just how lucky we are to be able to do what we do. Thanks to everyone. You guys are the stone nuts.
Below are some pictures from the event with my witty captions (my favorite part of these reports)
AZ'er Easy-E tried to intimidate Shane with his T-Shirt during their match. FAIL!!
After losing to SVB, Easy challenged him to a Greco Roman Wrestling match for his girlfriend Christina De La Garza.
Shane defeated Easy by choking him out with Easy's own back hair. It was ugly and semi legal but Christina was safe. SVB was last seen looking for a crab leg buffet to replenish his strength.
On the same week as Tiger returned to golf, Adam "The Sleeve" Behnke made his return to the tournament trail. Coincedince? I think not. It is rumored that Sleeve was giving Tiger lessons on how to be even
more Awesome.
Angel Paglia says "Buy a TAR shirt and I might go out with you." (Not really but wouldn't it be cool if she did?)
Darren "Dynamite" Appleton in dead punch.
Sunny "The Big Check Chick" Griffin presents Daz with his 10 Ball loot. Darren said "I hope it fits in my suit case"
Glenn "The Anaconda" Atwell
Glenn with his BAC (Big Ass Check) after winning the 9 Ball. Sunny Griffin and Ken Shuman keep it from falling over and killing him.
Daz after being double dipped in the 9 ball final. Darren is a true professional and dedicated competitor.
The event was a blast but the internet and technical issues almost had Nasty and I ready to hold hands and jump off the top of the Sands. We were looking for the stairs when Nasty said "The way we are
running we would land on my truck. And live" Between a shaky internet connection, some Ustream bugs, and a pesky static electricity problem it had us all jacked up. The good news is we were able to get most
of the good stuff out to everyone despite some annoying interruptions.
The actual tournament itself ran professionally and smoothly as always with Ric Jones of Bad Boys Billiard Productions making the room, tables and event excellent as always. He had help from Bill Stock, Ken
Shuman, Rick (I totally aired Ricks last name right now. Sorry Rick) and the one who really runs everything Ric Jones lovely wife Bonnie. They are a great team who run excellent events and go out of their
way to help TAR.
After the first few days it looked like Darren (Daz) Appleton would win all three events without ever losing a match. He was on fire. It was great to see Darren make the trip to Reno. We always enjoy hanging
out with Daz even if people look at us funny when he says "Give us a kiss" to two guys who look like me and Nasty. It is a British thing. Darren snapped off the 10 Ball after defeating Glen "To be Nicknamed
Later In The Event" Atwell in the finals.
Darren went on to take the hot seat in the 9 ball event but the real story was Glenn Atwell. Glenn played strong for the entire event and on the last day it seemed played all day on the TAR table dispatching
one player after another on his way to the finals to face Darren again. Glenn then did what many thought was damn near impossible at the time and that is double dip the hottest player in the tournament,
Darren Appleton. Glenn plays a grinding deliberate style of pool, never getting too high or too low and focusing on every opportunity to the fullest. After beating Darren he won not only the 9 Ball and a
share of the All Around lead but a new nick name. Glenn "The Anaconda" Atwell. The guy just squeezes until there is nothing left. He wasn't done yet.
The 8 Ball event saw Stevie Moore race out to the hot seat only to run into .....who else? The Anaconda was back for more. Glen came out of the left side to face another difficult challenge of beating a
world class player twice for the victory. Glen took the first set and was on the hill 4-3 in the second when some dry breaks allowed Stevie to close it out and take the 8 Ball title. Stevie is a consummate
professional and one of most well like pro's on the circuit. It was great to see him win a big event and he brought a smile to every ones face while doing it.
All in all it was a great trip despite the tech gremlins and according to the hotel execs they will have a dedicated line for the August event. That's right. The Sands and Bad Boy Billiard Productions
announced a new event called The Shootout At The Sands for August. It will be 10 Ball race to 13 and 8 Ball race to 8 on the bar tables. TAR will be there as well.
Chad and I would thank some people for all their help this past week. Royce and Jessica from OB cues were awesome as always and OB sponsored the whole week of coverage. I can't say enough about how great the
OB cues crew is. They put their money where their mouth is and support the game in many different ways. Support the people who support the game. If you are looking for a new cue, break cue or shaft visit
www.obcues.com and give them a shot.
Ken Shuman spent more hours in the TAR booth than anyone last week and did double duty as a TD as well. Thanks Ken for everything you do and all the support you continue to give to TAR. Jay Helfert showed up
later in the week and sat in for several matches as well entertaining the TAR Nation with some great commentary and stories from his new book Pool Wars. Thanks Jay. Steve "Beav_99_4life" Dunham made the trip
and put in many hours helping us out. Thanks buddy.
Mark and Sunny Griffin of CueSports International, the organizers and owners of the USBTC, were in attendance as well. Mark is IMO one of the driving forces in American pool and a good friend as well. I look
forward to seeing what he comes up with next and hope we can help to make some big things happen in the pool world.
The biggest thank you goes out to all the people who watched the coverage all week through thick and thin. TAR has been more than lucky to have people who love the game as much as we do stick with us. It was
pretty bad a couple of times last week with the tech problems and I admit to losing my cool a couple of times. The kind words of many people in the chat and emails made me realize that it wasnt the end of
the world and just how lucky we are to be able to do what we do. Thanks to everyone. You guys are the stone nuts.
Below are some pictures from the event with my witty captions (my favorite part of these reports)
AZ'er Easy-E tried to intimidate Shane with his T-Shirt during their match. FAIL!!
After losing to SVB, Easy challenged him to a Greco Roman Wrestling match for his girlfriend Christina De La Garza.
Shane defeated Easy by choking him out with Easy's own back hair. It was ugly and semi legal but Christina was safe. SVB was last seen looking for a crab leg buffet to replenish his strength.
On the same week as Tiger returned to golf, Adam "The Sleeve" Behnke made his return to the tournament trail. Coincedince? I think not. It is rumored that Sleeve was giving Tiger lessons on how to be even
more Awesome.
Angel Paglia says "Buy a TAR shirt and I might go out with you." (Not really but wouldn't it be cool if she did?)
Darren "Dynamite" Appleton in dead punch.
Sunny "The Big Check Chick" Griffin presents Daz with his 10 Ball loot. Darren said "I hope it fits in my suit case"
Glenn "The Anaconda" Atwell
Glenn with his BAC (Big Ass Check) after winning the 9 Ball. Sunny Griffin and Ken Shuman keep it from falling over and killing him.
Daz after being double dipped in the 9 ball final. Darren is a true professional and dedicated competitor.
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Thanks to you too Beav!!!