Richfield Chalet in Hubertus, Wisconsin, proved to be an ideal site for hosting some hot pool on cold Wisconsin winter nights, as the inaugural ACS Midwest 8-Ball Championships came to the Milwaukee area, December 7-10, featuring singles and 3-person team play for ACS league members.
ACS added $5,000, and players primarily from Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin made the trek, and had a great time in a great sociable atmosphere. Finals matches were exciting to watch, the Men's Master Singles being one example. Undefeated Scott Herbeck of Sauk City, WI held off a determined Dennis Babcock (Dousman, WI) in the deciding game of their second set after being down 5-6, to claim the title in two sets 3-7 and 7-6! In the Women's Master Singles, Beth Fondell (Owatonna, MN) had undefeated Pam Patton (Milwaukee, WI) on the ropes 3-0 in their finals, only to have Pam take advantage of a couple missed 8-balls to reel off 5 straight games to claim the title 5-3! The Men's Open Singles final could also have gone either way, but once-defeated Tim Sena (West Bend, WI) saw his title hopes dashed against Tom Cox (Sun Prairie, WI) when his brilliant 8-ball shot to tie the score 4-4 resulted in a cue ball scratch to earn Cox the crown 5-3! Illinois dominated the Women's Open Singles competition, with undefeated Kelly Lee (Montgomery, IL) out pointing her teammate, Cherie Teason (Somonauk, IL), for first place, 4-2.
Team divisions proved very competitive, and no division displayed this better than the Men's Open Team, dominated by the many teams of all levels entered by Flanagan's Pub. Flanagan's Misfits (WI) lost its very first match 7-6 to Flanagan's Mueller (WI), but this proved only a prelude to the finals. A tiring Flanagan's Misfits won five intense matches on the B-side to gain another shot at Flanagan's Mueller, which had taken the hot seat. The “Misfits” were not to be denied, as they triumphed in two sets for the title, 7-2 and 7-5! The Women's Open Team finals was much closer, with “Girls on Top” (IL) facing off against “Bitches” (IL) in a two-out-of-three set format that went back and forth – with Bitches finally prevailing 2-5, 5-0 and 5-3! The undefeated Carom Room team from Beloit, WI dodged some close calls in the Men's Master Team division to gain the finals undefeated, and barely escaped in the first set against Mush (IL) 8-7 for the group title. In the Women's Master Team competition, the LMS Midwest Masters from the Twin Cities in Minnesota has a long, and storied history of national and regional titles, and the team anchored by long-time teammates Chris Glass and Jolene Herum and strengthened with Masters Singles finalist Beth Fondell used experience and ability to cut down its opponents. All their matches were close, but seldom in doubt against some other very powerful teams. In the finals, LMS Midwest Masters took down Eggs R Us (IL) 7-5 for the crown.
The ACS wishes to thank host Tom Lubus and his fine staff at the Richfield Chalet; Dean Roeseler and his staff at Dr. Pool Promotions for providing the Valley tables which played great throughout; World Champion Nick Varner for providing exhibitions and challenge matches throughout most of the weekend(!); and the valued assistance of Jon Kent, Richie Kersten, Mark Komppa, Cecil Messer, Jill Nickel and James Reed.
Next stop – the 2007 ACS Nationals at the Riviera in Las Vegas – June 7-16! Again emphasizing “something for everybody,” team and singles 9-ball will be scheduled for June 7-10 and team and singles 8-ball will be scheduled for June 11-16! The ACS National Junior 8-Ball divisions (18 & Under and 14 & Under) will be conducted June 11-13. The ACS is a non-profit, national organization dedicated to heightening the interest and awareness of cue sports through the support and sanctioning of organized competition throughout the United States and North America.
Final Results:
Men's Master Singles
1st Scott Herbeck (Sauk City, WI) $300
2nd Dennis Babcock (Dousman, WI) $200
3rd Ron Pluym (Dubuque, IA) $130
Women's Master Singles
1st Pam Patton (Milwaukee, WI) $300
2nd Beth Fondell (Owatonna, MN) $175
3rd Jolene Herum (River Falls, WI) $100
Men's Open Singles
1st Tom Cox (Sun Prairie, WI) $600
2nd Tim Sena (West Bend, WI) $425
3rd Mark Eifler (Fitchburg, WI) $300
4th Andy Friberg (Waukesha, WI) $200
5-6th Robert Ball (Valparaiso, IN) $100
Chris Bonde (Blue Mounds, WI)
7-8th Kirk Krueger (Milwaukee, WI) $75
Richard Rocha Jr. (Whitewater, WI)
9-12th William Mueller (Milwaukee, WI) $50
Gary Houy (EDBQ, IL)
Jason Beale (Cottage Grove, WI)
Jon Kent (Wausau, WI)
Women's Open Singles
1st Kelly Lee (Montgomery, IL) $250
2nd Cherie Teason (Somonauk, IL) $140
3rd Lisa Clemente (Mequon, WI) $70
Men's Master Teams
1st Carom Room (WI) $800
2nd Mush (IL) $450
3rd Blue Chalk Club (WI) $270
Women's Master Teams
1st LMS Midwest Masters (MN) $525
2nd Eggs R Us (IL) $300
Men's Open Teams
1st Flanagan's Misfits (WI) $1,000
2nd Flanagan's Muellers (WI) $700
3rd Flanagan's Sitarz (WI) $400
4th Weston Cue Club (WI) $210
Women's Open Teams
1st Bitches (IL) $450
