Tina Malm and Briana Miller with TD Frank Maialetti
The PA Pro-Am ran its inaugural Women’s 9-Ball Open this past weekend (Sat., March 25). The $350-added event drew 36 entrants to Bluegrass Billiards in Philadelphia, PA. Tina Malm went undefeated to the hot seat and was to have faced Briana Miller in the finals, before the two opted out of a final and split the event’s top two prizes.
Malm has many titles under her belt including both the 2022 Super Billiards Expo Women’s Open Championship and the 2022 Delaware State Ladies 9-ball Championship. She claimed title to the 2023 Music City Ladies 9 Ball Championships in January, as well. Miller, who became tour director of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT) in January, was the tour’s 2022 champion and became the first sponsored player of the PA Pro-Am events.
Malm went undefeated to the hot seat, while Miller found herself battling from the loss side after losing to Nicole Nester 6-3. Nester continued her advance through the bracket until she came across Linda Shea, former JPNEWT tour director and #2 in that tour’s 2022 standings. The two battled to double hill for the right to face Malm in the hot seat match. Shea prevailed to do so.
Though Malm took a 4-1 lead in the battle for the hot seat, Shea started gaining some momentum as she chalked up three racks to tie it. Malm stopped Shea in her tracks at that point, winning the next two to claim the hot seat 6-4.
Miller, in the meantime, was out for revenge against the person who’d sent her to the loss side and when Nester showed up in the quarterfinals, she didn’t let a single rack escape her grip, ultimately landing Nester into 4th place. Miller advanced to defeat Shea 5-2 in the semifinals.
Malm and Miller agreed to the split of the top two cash prizes, leaving Malm, the undefeated hot seat occupant at the time, as the official event winner.
TD Frank Maialetti thanked the ownership and staff at Bluegrass Billiards for their hospitality and sponsorship, as well as other sponsors Integrity Cues and Players Choice for their help in hosting the event. Streamed matches can be found on the PA Pro-Am Pool’s Facebook page with commentary by Maialetti and Ed Liddawi. PA Pro-Am Pool will return to Bluegrass Billiards on Saturday, April 1 for those with a 599-and-under Fargo Rate. Also coming up on PA Pro-Am Pool’s schedule will be the official PA State Championship titles, at a to-be-determined date and location.
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