New Iberia, LA – Dragon Dragon Promotions and host Emerald Billiards will once again bring pro level pool back to the state of Louisiana in the 4th Annual Poison DP Pro Classic on July 28-31,2011. Emerald Billiards will host this year's 9-Ball and 10-Ball Pro-Am tournaments which are open to all players, back-to-back. The event will be in conjunction with the Ozone Billiards US Amateur Open. Poison Cues will title sponsor the events on the pro side and co-sponsor the amateur events along with Ozone Billiards. Simonis Cloth will be the official cloth used in the tournaments and Aramith the official balls, along with Master Chalk and the APA Acadiana. The entire event will be streamed live on www.PoolActionTV.com
"The Poison DP Pro Classic at Emerald Billiards is one of the most fun events we pros play in all year," says Johnny Archer.
"I really enjoyed the social atmosphere of the Poison DP Classic and I like the way it's run in Louisiana. The fans really appreciate the top pros making the trip there, and there is a multitude of events and opportunities to play and watch for everyone", said Karim Belhaj, CEO of Predator Group which sponsors the event.
Two-time Defending Champion Mika Immonen of Finland will be back to defend his title for the third time while last year's Runner-up Shane Van Boening will try to stop him. Other notables are Johnny Archer (Atlanta -Georgia), 4x World Champion and Hall of Famer; Rodney Morris (Honolulu- Hawaii), a US Open Champion; Thorsten Hohmann (Fulda,Germany), 2x World Champion; Shawn Putnam (Youngstown ,Ohio), 2x Pro Tour stop Winner; and Charlie Williams (Orlando,Florida), BCA Open Champion. Rising pro and house pro at Emerald's, Brandon Shuff, will also be vying for title. More pros are slated to join the event and fans will be updated with the new top names.
"Emerald Billiards is a great venue. The tables are in mint condition, the people there are warm, and the food is great ! I'm looking forward to going back to Louisiana and defending my title," says Mika Immonen. Immonen has won this event in 2009 in Orlando and again last year in 2010 when it moved to Louisiana.
Emerald Billiards owner Keith Hulin is excited about the prospect of so many champions walking through his doors. "Our humble town of New Iberia welcomes back the top pros. Most of these folks never seen these gentlemen before till last year at Emeralds. They only saw on TV and magazines. We tried our best to treat these champions like VIP and it's so nice to hear them all coming back. We are going to fix them up again with some fine Cajun foods and give them all a perfect pro atmosphere to play in. That's just Louisiana style hospitality."
Emerald Billiards opened in 2008 but moved in 2009 to a new million dollar facility by owner Keith Hulin. Emerald Billiards has 20 Valley Bar Tables and 8 Brunswick Gold Crown Vs and has hosted major amateur events such as the APA Tri-Cup with over 800 players. This will be the second time Emerald will host both the amateur and pro events. The event is also supported by the APA Acadiana operated by Preston and Lisa Granger, who run one of the top ten largest pool leagues in America with over 4000 members.
Emerald Billiards and the APA Acadiana will also be running numerous qualifiers where amateur players can earn a free spot into the pro events for $15-20 entry fees.
The Poison DP Pro Classic is made up of two pro events. The first will be $2000 added 9-Ball event starting on July 28. The second event will be a $3000 added 10-Ball event starting on July 29 in the evening. Pros, semi-pros, and amateurs are all eligible to enter. July 29-31 will also be a Bar Table Pro-Am for all players of any level . Players may play in all three pro-am events with no conflicts. Email dpamateurevents@gmail.com or dragonproclassic@gmail.com for info or call 407-782-4978.
The amateur event will be at same venue and next to the pro event. Amateur event players can also purchase tickets to watch the pro event at the door .
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