Bay Shore Billiards Straight Pool League ~ Season 1 ~ Final Match
The stage was set for the Season 1 final match between John “the Fireman” and John Chisholm. Both players were very eager to claim the prize, a custom cue built for the league by renown cuemaker Pete Tonkin valued at over $2,500 and for the bragging rights of being the winner of the first ever Straight Pool League winner at Bay Shore Billiards. You can visit the Tonkin Cues website www.tonkincustomcues.com to see more of his amazing work.
Neither player has ever been in a final match, And it showed as they were warming up before their match. John Chisholm, who played a great season finishing the season in 3rd place with a 9 – 4 record, and John “the fireman” who had a very respectable season finishing in 5th place with a 8 – 5 record.
The match was a handicapped match with the score of John C (109) and John “the fireman” (150). Starting with the coin flip there was absolute silence in the room. Everyone in attendance gave both players the respect they deserved. Everyone knew that both players had a lot riding on this match and they were in for quite a show.
From the break, John “The Fireman” started to nibble away at the spot, not taking any huge risks but taking what the table gave him. Having a few unforced errors, but regrouping by playing safe when he had to. John Chisholm started off the match very slowly. I think from the get-go he thought that he was not favored to win. Missing several shots early on in the game allowed John Fireman to very methodically chip away at the 41 point handicap that was given to him. About halfway through the game there was a shift in focus. John the Fireman broke his concentration with some unforced errors and allowed John C to gain back some control so he could open that margin back up.
With about 2 racks to go, the room was in dead silence; both players were not taking any risks. Both players were fighting it out with tooth and nail with safeties, return safeties and several intentional fouls. In the final rack John Chisholm only needed 2 points and fell short on position. John C. opted to go for it with a tough reverse bank back to the corner and missed it by a fraction of an inch. This allowed John the Fireman back to the table only needing 9 points for the win. I think at this point he could smell victory with enough balls left on the table to allow him to close out the match. But the remaining balls needed some work; not all of them were open shots. John the fireman got within 1 point of winning the game when he was faced with no shot after opening up the last remaining cluster. So the fireman did the wisest thing which was to play safe. He played a successful safe, but left an easy return safe for John C. in which he left the fireman all the way down table with a very tough cut shot on the only available ball. The fireman went for it, and missed it by a hair. The shot was a very makeable shot in 9 Ball, but there is something about Straight Pool that makes that shot a lot tougher. After the fireman had missed, the cue ball landed in a very desirable spot for John C to take the win. That being said, John C took about 15 or 20 practice strokes on the second to last ball to make sure that his aim was true. And it was, he nailed it !!!
John Chisolm won the match with a final score of 109 –149, winning the match by just 1 point. Congratulations to John Chisholm for being the winner of the first ever 14.1 League at Bay Shore Billiards. And Congratulations to John “The Fireman” for a great finish with 2nd Place, you really stepped up your game with a great showing.
1st Place – John Chisolm ~ Pete Tonkin Custom Cue (valued at $2,500)
2nd Place – John “the Fireman” ~ $650.00
3rd/4th Place – Steve Kurtz, John Deak ~ $350.00 each
5th/6th Place – Asa Shaw, Steve Piesner ~ $250.00 each
The next season with a projected increase of players is starting right back up on Tuesday, February 10th. The 2nd season will have a first place custom trophy cue built by renown cuemaker Bob Manzino valued over $4,000.00, with payouts for the players that make it to the playoffs. A Wildcard is added to the playoffs motivating players to stay into the final rounds. In addition we will be having a High Run Prize based on percentage of Handicap making all players, no matter the handicap, eligible for the prize.
I am very honored to be running this Straight Pool League for Bay Shore Billiards. From what I can see, everyone is happy to be a part of the League as well as playing the greatest game in Billiards.
-Steve Kurtz
Straight Pool League Director
Bay Shore Billiards, New York
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