Brett Stottlemyer and Rolando Freolo
Maryland’s On the Hill Productions has been running a ‘points system’ series of tournaments that will culminate with the determination of four (points) winners in each of three FargoRated divisions. Those 12 competitors will each receive a $300 cash prize and receive free entry into a year-ending, $5,000-added Split Bracket event, scheduled for the weekend after Christmas (Dec. 27-29). As that event draws closer, the event battles to be among each division’s final four in point standings are heating up.
The most recent battle for those top four positions was held this past weekend (Nov. 9-10) at a Winner Break 9-Ball Tournament, which drew 39 entrants to Brews & Cues on the Blvd. in Glenn Burnie, MD. Rolando Freolo, in the 600 division, went undefeated to the hot seat, claiming the seat in a victory over Brett Stottlemyer, who then defeated Rob Cord in the semifinals. At that point, Freolo and Stottlemyer opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes.
On the Hill Productions’ CEO, Loye Bolyard, with assistance from event tour director Beverlee Dillow, prepared a report on the event, which was posted on Facebook. While it didn’t offer readers a progress-narrative of the event – tracking Freolo and Stottlemyer’s individual paths to the winners’ circle, for example – it did emit an ‘air’ of enthusiasm about the event itself and the players that Bolyard and Dillow know personally. They also included an update on the point-standings, going forward into events that are going to impact the 12 competitors who’ll pick up $300 and qualify for the $5,000-added Split Bracket event next month.
Take it away, Mr. Bolyard and with some clarification and space edits from us here at AZ, Vive la difference!!
“Although this past weekend’s Winner Break 9-Ball Tournament was a bit of ‘last minute,’ we ended up with 39 entrants, for whom the format (a Split Bracket without the actual split, racing to handicaps) was definitely a favorite, especially among our higher FargoRated players. The range of rates ran from a low of 407 to a high of 721.
Rolando (Rolly) Freolo went undefeated all day and although he knocked Brett Stottlemyer over to the B-side in the hot seat match, that didn’t slow Brett down. He came back from the semifinals (downing Rob Cord) to face Rolly in the finals. After a brief discussion, they decided to split the cash.
Great shooting, gentlemen!
Rob Cord’s run to a third-place finish featured a few great matches. In his opening-round match against Brett, a 10-7 race, Rob was down 5-0 and managed to chalk up the racks he needed to eventually force a hill-hill deciding game. But Brett got him. Unfortunately, the second time they faced each other, in the semifinals, after Rob had won eight on the loss side, Brett had caught a gear. Rob didn’t get too many opportunities and was eliminated 10-3.
All in all, Rob shot strong all day. Nice finish, Rob!
Finishing in 4th, was our 14-year old ‘kid wonder’ Tanner McKinney. He played great all day, in spite of being sent to the loss side by the eventual (official) winner (Rolly) and being eliminated by the eventual third-place finisher (Cord). If you’ve never watched him play, you need to. At 14, he is well on his way to being a killer on the pool table.
Ending up in the tie for 5th place were Josh Mohammed and Bethany Sykes. Josh, who had quite a few ‘comeback’ wins in his run, is like Tanner; getting better and better with each tournament. Bethany is Ms. Consistent, always playing her heart out and often rewarded for her hard work.
In the tie for 7th place were Miroslav Stojanovic and Jamie Evans. Miroslav is a strong player who is just about always in the money. Jamie, a newcomer to OTH Tournaments, came into this event with a 407 Fargo Rate and only had to win three games against generally higher-ranked opponents, making quite a few of them sweat before a match against him was over. Jamie shut out his first opponent, before running into Brett Stottlemyer, who shut him out 10-0. On the loss side, Jamie chalked up four straight wins, defeating an ‘8’ by a score of 3-6, a ‘4’ by score of 3-1 and a ‘5’ by a score of 3-2. Grats to Jamie for a strong finish against some strong players.
I’d also like to take a moment to give a shout out to Chris Peratino who finished in the four-way tie for 9th place. Chris plays in just about every event and has often gone ‘two and out.’ But he keeps coming back and it’s starting to pay off. Good shooting, Chris!
The impact on the ‘points race’ for cash and qualification for free entry to next month’s $5k-added Split Bracket shapes up like this:
600+ division
Rolando Freolo keeps his spot with another successful event. Bobby Pacheco held his ground, while Brett Stottlemyer and Rob Cord pushed their way into the top. Tina Malm is still hanging on to round out the top 4 positions in points.
450-599 division
Kane Miller has maintained a hold on first-in-points for a while now, but Jason Hamond and Josh Mohammed are just a pre-pay away from tying or taking over the top spot. Another shout out to Chris Peratino, who is OTH’s showcase player. Chris jumps in the fire and tests himself and currently rounds out this division’s top 4 points leaders.
350 – 450 Division
Jenn Benton and Eric Wagoner are neck-and-neck in this division’s points race, tied at#1. Adrian Stewart is right behind them, with Aaron Surguy in 3rd place and Michael Weatherly rounding out the top 4.
As always, we would like to thank Tony and Stefanie Manning, along with their Brews & Cues staff for their continued support and great service. We would also like to thank our sponsors
Simonis Cloth (https://www.simoniscloth.com) Aramith Balls (https//www.aramith.com), CPBA Gloves (https;//www.cpbabrand.com, Moori Tips (https://mooritip.com), AZBilliards, Jacoby Custom Cues (https://jacobycustomcues.com/JacobyCMS), J. Pechauer Custom Cues (https://pechauer.com/pool-cues). We’d also like express our appreciation for each and every one of the competitors who support us by coming out to play in our events.”
Please be sure to follow us on Facebook. Our next event will be the Maryland State 10-Ball Championships, scheduled for Thanksgiving Day weekend (Nov. 30-Dec. 1), hosted by Brews & Cues on the Boulevard.
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