Jason Halpin and Tim Clark
The pool world’s general definitions regarding what constitutes an ‘amateur’ and a ‘professional’ are subject to all kinds of interpretation. Specific rating scales (and there is more than just one of them) have a way of separating ‘amateur’ from ‘professional.’ The math that’s employed to assign these ratings does so on the basis of some very specific, though some might argue limited parameters, although you’d never know it, looking at the formulas. A Fargo Rate, for example, which is based on an ELO rating system that’s used in a lot of competitive games, calculates a ‘score’ that a given player might be ‘expected’ to record in a given match and is based on a very precise formula ($$E_A = \frac{1}{1 + 10^{(R_B – R_A)/400}}$$) which, of course, is impossible to understand on the face of it. Not, for example, like Major League Baseball’s primary metric for defining a batter’s ‘skill level,’ known as a batting average, which is calculated by dividing the number of hits that a given player has recorded (a small number) by the number of times the player has come to bat (a larger number); thus, 5 ‘hits’ ÷ 10 ‘at bats’ = .500 batting average. But baseball has other significant statistics, like OBP (on-base percentage, which adds the number of times a batter gets on-base, instead of just the ‘hits,’ into the equation).
After being afforded a unique look at Santa’s database of 2024 gifts, we’ve discovered that pool players are wishing for a more comprehensive and hopefully more accurate set of numbers to more specifically define a player’s skills at the table.
Generally speaking, the FargoRate line between ‘amateur’ and ‘professional’ competitors is at ‘700,’ although it’s considered to be ‘800’ if the player is actually trying to make a living out of it. Every year, the Garden State Pool Tour conducts a Grand Amateur Championship event, which assigns High and Low Fargo Rates (generally, below 700) to divide the event into more than just one bracket. This past weekend (Dec. 14-15), the tour invited 48 of its top players (based on ‘point’ totals earned throughout the 2024 season) to compete in this year’s $500-added event, which was hosted this year by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ. The 36 competitors who accepted the invitation were divided up into five brackets; two High brackets and two Low brackets, from which two players, each, emerged to create a Grand Amateur Elite Eight bracket that eventually crowned the ‘one ring (player) that rules them all.’
That would be New Jersey’s Jason Halpin, with a FargoRate of 659, who went undefeated through four matches in one of the High brackets and four more through the Grand Amateur Elite Eight bracket to claim the title. Halpin had the event’s second-highest FargoRate, behind the ‘665’ rate of Levie Lampaan, who was eliminated from one of the two High brackets. In effect, Halpin won two titles, the Upper Bracket title and the Grand Amateur Championship. He had to get through Timothy Clark twice in the Elite Eight bracket; winners’ side semifinal and final. In the Elite Eight hot seat match, Halpin faced Chris Hanold, who’d gone undefeated in one of the Low brackets to claim the Lower Bracket title.
Halpin emerged from one of the High brackets, after downing his first three opponents by an aggregate score of 20-3. Beneficiary of a first-round forfeit, Halpin shut out Hunter Sullivan, downed Luis Jimenez 7-3 and in the bracket’s hot seat match, shut out Jason Nicholson. Nicholson moved to the semifinal, where he was defeated by Timothy Clark 7-1. Halpin and Clark advanced to the Elite Eight bracket. Pascal Dufresne went undefeated to the hot seat in the other High bracket, downing Sheng Ronni Xu 6-2 in the hot seat match. Xu was defeated 6-4 in the bracket’s semifinal by Kevin Scalzitti, who advanced with Dufresne to the Elite Eight.
Chris Hanold emerged from one of the Low brackets after winning only two matches. Beneficiary of an opening-round bye and a subsequent forfeit, Hanold defeated Mike Lamberti 5-3 and in the hot seat match, battled to double hill before claiming the seat over Mike Strassberg. Strassberg moved to the semifinals and was eliminated by Brook Villa 5-1. From the other Low bracket, Nicole Adams punched her ticket to the Elite Eight (the only woman to do so) with two 5-3 wins and a hot seat match victory over Rick Rodriguez 4-3 (Rodriguez racing to 6). Rodriguez proved to be the only competitor who survived the individual brackets’ semifinals, moving into the Elite Eight with a 4-3 win over Matthew Wrobel (Wrobel racing to 5).
The Elite Eight bracket featured one competitor racing to 7 (Halpin), five to 6 (Brook Villa, Rick Rodriguez, Chris Hanold, Pascal Dufresne, Timothy Clark) and two to 5 (Nicole Adams, Kevin Scalzitti). Halpin downed Scalzitti 7-3 and drew Clark in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Hanold opened with a 6-3 win over Rodriguez and drew Adams in the other one.
Halpin got into the hot seat match with a 6-2 win over Clark, as Hanold was busy defeating Adams 6-4. Halpin claimed the hot seat 7-2 over Hanold.
On the loss side, Clark drew Rodriguez, who’d just eliminated Villa, double hill. Adams picked up Dufresne, who’d just defeated Scalzitti, also double hill. Clark advanced to the quarterfinals 7-2 over Rodriguez and was met by Dufresne, who’d shut Adams out. Clark and Dufresne battled to a somewhat predictable double hill in those quarterfinals before Clark prevailed.
Clark shut out Hanold in the semifinals. In what might have been a two-set final, Halpin shut the door early, defeating Clark a second time by the same 6-2 score to claim the Garden State Pool Tour’s Grand Amateur Championship title.
The GSPT announces 2024 ‘point standing’ finalists and end-of-season awards
At the Grand Amateur Championship event, the Garden State Pool Tour announced its top four competitors in each of the 2024 season’s four divisions.
Upper Bracket Lower Bracket Top 4 Women Open Division
1st. Michelle Brotons Mike Strassberg Michelle Brotons Pascal Dufrense
2nd Ronnie Xu Nicole Adams Nicole Adams Juan Pena
3rd Timothy Clark Chris Hanold Vicki Moore Timothy Clark
4th Hunter Sullivan Vicki Moore Susan Durling Michelle Brotons
In addition, they announced Sportsmanship and Most Improved awards for the Upper and Lower Bracket divisions. David Marchant was the tour’s Most Improved player from the Upper Bracket. Naldo Troncoso picked up the division’s Sportsmanship Award. From the Lower Bracket, Brook Villa who won the Most Improved award, while David Moore collected the Sportsmanship award.
Tour director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards “for hosting this event,” he said. “They went well above and beyond to make players feel comfortable and (the event) enjoyable. We’re looking forward to having them host the tour’s 2025 events.”
Fitzpatrick also thanked tour sponsors Outsville, Kamui, Billiard Engineering, Brutal Game Gear, Off the Rail Apparel, In the Box, John Bender Cues, and J.Flowers Cues and Cases.
The next and final 2024 event will be an Open 10-Ball Season Finale, scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 28-29 and hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards.
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