The Super Billiards Expo finds itself back in New Jersey for its 21st year, as it returns to the very state where it all started back in 1993. The very first expo was at the Meadowlands Convention Center in Secaucus, NJ, before moving to the Valley Forge Convention Center in Valley Forge, PA, in 1994, where it had an 18 year successful run until the venue closed its doors in 2011.
This year's site looks to have hit a home run as it was business as usual, as the Amateur and Professional players entered the Convention Center to find many more vendors than in previous years, and soon found themselves swept along by the well oiled machine called the Super Billiards Expo.
The Men’s Professional 10 Ball event saw a healthy field of 61 players show up for the 11 am players meeting, and was soon underway under the watchful eye of its able Tournament Director Doug Ennis.
The format of this years event comprises of three races to eight, the winner being the first to win two matches. The rule that said that no balls need hit a rail after the break certainly raised a few eyebrows, but it appeared that the majority of the players fired full throttle on the break, thus passing up on the chance to soft break and maybe play a safe on the break.
It will be interesting on Friday morning in his 11:30 am match, to see Efren Reyes will be availing himself of the opportunity of tying up his opponent behind the pack, which is a specialty of his game.
Yes, the great, the one and only Efren Reyes is in the house, and all eyes will be on him this week to see if he will return to the great form he found in last years US Open.
It is so thrilling to just see the living legend in the flesh, and I for one cannot wait to see how he performs and watch him strut his stuff this week.
The field is full of stars of the game and include the following notable players:
Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Alex Pagulayan, Warren Kiamco, Johnny Archer, Dennis Hatch, Earl Strickland, Thorsten Hohmann, Shane Van Boening, Darren Appleton, Mika Immonen, Jayson Shaw, Corey Deuel, Ralf Souquet, Mike Dechaine, Brandon Shuff, Raj Hundal, Rodney Morris, Fabio Petroni, Oscar Dominguez, Jeremy Sossei, Shaun Wilkie, Mike Davis, Kenichi Uchigaki, Robb Saez, Matt Krau, Donny Mills, Jason Klatt, Sylver Ochoa, and Zion Zvi.
When I asked Allen Hopkins how the entry situation was going a few days before the start of the event, he said: “This is by far the most star studded event I have put on in the history of this event. Wow, a who’s who of pool all under one roof."
If you are in the area this week , try and stop by and watch this array of world champions showcasing their amazing skills before your very eyes, and also witness the wide selection of pool related equipment on display by the abundance of vendors here this week.
More coverage tomorrow as day two's play heats up, and the stars literally collide leaving many sad faces by the end of Friday's play.
