Justin Schneider and Jared Bonn
Though strictly speaking, his FargoRate (429) would suggest that he plays as a ‘3’ in most handicapped tournaments, Justin Schneider is more likely what’s commonly known in amateur (league) circles as a ‘4.’ Either way, Schneider went undefeated at this past weekend’s (Jan. 11-12), Michael Fedak Open Handicapped 9-Ball Tournament, receiving ‘beads on the wire’ at the start of four of his seven total matches. As it turned out, he didn’t need any of those ‘beads’ until he got to the hot seat match and gave up a total of only three racks to the higher-ranked opponents he faced before he got there. In the other three straight-up races to 6, Schneider won 18 of his 27 games and five of the nine he lost were given up in a single, double-hill match. Schneider earned his first tournament payout and major win at the $3,000-added event that drew 61 entrants to Paradise Billiards in Lantana, FL.
Though he contends that he’s been playing pool “on and off” for all 40 years of his life, it’s only been recently that he has stepped into the organized competition arena. Schneider joined a BCA league a couple of years ago and apparently, if this weekend’s win is any sort of measure, it’s had an effect on his game.
“I’ve been taking (the game) seriously for the last couple of years,” he said. “I try to practice and play as much as I can, usually about 3-4+ hours a day.”
One can almost see pool-head eyebrows raising, thinking, “Yeah, that’ll do it.”
Organizers of the event used what’s known as a FargoRate R7 Hot Chart, which lays out the individual races between opponents, utilizing differential rates between two players to assign races. For the purposes of this event, the FargoRates were divided into A and B groups; A for players 500 and above (up to the event’s highest-rated player, Anthony Meglino at 783) and B for players 499 and below (down to Christian Bolash at 393). Players from the same group competed in straight-up races to 6, while mixed-group matches offered handicaps (beads on the wire) in varying amounts.
Also joining the AZBilliards database for the first time with his first recorded payout at a tournament was Jared Bonn, who faced Schneider in the finals. Bonn lost his second-round match, double hill, to the tournament’s namesake, Dr. Michael Fedak, and headed out on a nine-match, loss-side winning streak that would put him into the event’s final match. More on Bonn’s unofficial ‘most matches played’ award (12) a little later.
With three ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 8, Schneider opened with a 5-1 victory over Adrian Reyes and then, with five ‘beads’ in a race to nine, he chalked up the four he needed and gave up just another one to Gio Radelich. In his first of two straight-up races to 6, he ran into his first double-hill challenge, versus Stan Rodowicz (brother to tour director Roxanne), survived that and got back to being stingy, giving up another single rack to Trevor Gawlikowski. Schneider drew Anthony Erale in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Also headed for the hot seat match was Chris Crum (616), one of the ‘A’ group of competitors, who, as a result, raced in different matches to four of the nine possible single digits. After downing Graham Swinson 6-4 (Swinson racing to 8) and Henry Salinas 8-2 (Salinas racing to 5), Crum won two straight, double-hill battles against Sam Kanter (6-7) and Mike Delawder (5-7) to draw Charles Vella in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Schneider played in his first (recorded) hot seat match after defeating Erale (racing to 7) 6-2. Crum advanced to meet him after sending Vella to the loss side 9-2. In his second double-hill match, Schneider prevailed to claim his first hot seat 4-8.
When Erale and Vella arrived to play their first loss-side match, Bonn was six matches into his nine-match winning streak that had benefited from an opening-round forfeit. Bonn played ‘above his weight’ winning the first three matches and then, won the next two straight-up races to 6, eliminating Gawlikowski 6-1 and Rick Boisclair 6-3 to draw Vella. Erale drew one of the ‘acknowledged favorites,’ the highest-ranked competitor in the event, Anthony Meglino, who had lost his opening match to Corey Seaman, double hill (3-9). Meglino set out on a seven-match winning streak, chalking up a 67-8 aggregate game score. Before drawing Erale, he had eliminated another ‘acknowledged favorite’ Mike Delawder 8-3 and shut out Ronald Conill.
After losing his opening match, double hill, Meglino lost his final match double hill, to Erale 4-8. Bonn joined him in the quarterfinals with a 6-3 win that eliminated Vella. Another 6-3 win, over Vella, in that quarterfinal match, put Bonn into the semifinals against Crum.
Starting with four ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 9, Bonn battled Crum to double hill in that semifinal match. Bonn prevailed for a shot at Schneider, waiting for him in the hot seat.
Both of the finalists had already attained their best known/recorded finish in a major tournament, and had it been late, moving into the early hours of Monday morning, they might have opted for a split of the top two prizes. On the other hand, the opportunity to record a first major win might just as well have motivated them to play until the sun came up.
It was a fitting, straight-up race to 6 for two of the event’s lower-ranked ‘B’ competitors. Each was dealing with a different kind of first-time, major-money tournament pressure; Schneider, with his undefeated, six-match winning streak on the line and Bonn, dealing with his undefeated loss-side winning streak that had lasted three matches longer than Schneider’s. It’s a lot to think about, something that conventional wisdom dictates that players need to put aside to focus on the immediate, mid-range and long-term goals that boil down to one ball, one game and possibly, in this event’s true double-elimination format in the finals, one match at a time.
According to the digitalpool bracket’s time stamp, the final match took one minute longer than an hour to play what turned out to be the only match necessary; between six and seven minutes per rack, on average, which is not the ‘lightning’ couple of minutes per game that one can see with the top professionals, but showed no evidence of the kind of ‘analysis paralysis’ and missed-shots time that can often accompany the kind of pressure scenarios that such matches can create. Schneider defeated Bonn 6-3, heading home with his first major event title and the cash that came with it.
“I’d never won any type of tournament before and I never expected to place first in this one,” Schneider said, “but I played my best and it paid off.”
Literally, as it turned out. Schneider added that he’s “looking forward to playing in many more of these tournaments.”
Schneider thanked tour director Roxanne Rodowicz and joined her in thanking Paradise Billiards’ owner Steven Nevins, and his staff, to include Brittani and Sandra, along with Dr. Michael Fedak “who did a great job organizing this fabulous tournament.”
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