Brandon Shuff
They’re at it again in Virginia Beach, those die-hard 14:1, straight pool players.
The 18th Annual American 14:1 Straight Pool Championships got underway a couple of days ago. Wednesday, Oct. 25, to be precise. Though a combination One Pocket/9-Ball event some four hours away in Roanoke, VA cut into the event’s entrants, and much to the detriment of the social scene in general, women did not compete this year, 30 staunch advocates of the game, including three former champions – Thorsten Hohmann (’13), Mika Immonen (’07) and Bob Maidhof (’08) – showed up to play. Runner-ups from years gone by have signed on as well – Shaun Wilkie (’10), Danny Barouty (’06, ‘08) and Hohmann, who, in addition to his victory over Johnny Archer in 2013, has been runner-up three times; to John Schmidt (’12), Darren Appleton (’15) and Eklent Kaci (’18). As it has for the past five years, the event with this year’s $42,000 total purse (along with a $2,000 award for longest run), is being hosted by the country’s largest pool room, the late Barry Behrman’s Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA.
The 30 competitors began their quest for the 2023 title in five ‘round robin’ groups of six. Racing to 125 in Stage 1 of the event, all but 21 of the round robin matches were completed by last night (Wed., Oct. 26). At the conclusion of Stage 1, 16 competitors will begin a double-elimination Stage 2, expected to begin sometime this evening.
Heading up the list of contenders for Stage 2 are seven players who, as of this morning (Friday, Oct. 27) have yet to be defeated. Brandon Shuff and Lee Van Corteza (#1 seed), both 4-0, are scheduled to go head-to-head this afternoon (2:30 p.m.). Also undefeated at 4-0 and headed this afternoon into a matchup against Norway’s Mikael Ogaard (3-1), is Austria’s Mario He (#2 seed), who is the current ‘high run’ leader with a run of 163 (any player who finishes a race-to-125 match on a run of 75 or more can opt to continue shooting until his run ends). “The Hitman,” Thorsten Hohmann (#3 seed) is scheduled to face Jim Heller (1-3).
The Iceman, Mika Immonen, and Germany’s Ralph Eckert, both 3-0, were scheduled to start their match at noon (EST). Rounding out the ‘undefeated’s is Kuwait’s Bader Alawadhi (3-0), who is scheduled for a noontime meetup with Al Waldo (0-3).
Brooklyn, NY’s Michael Yednak, who came into today’s proceedings with a 2-2 round robin record was involved in both of the (thus far) tightest matches of Stage 1. He lost to Brandon Shuff on Wednesday (100-125) and defeated Tom Czaplicki on Thursday in the tightest match 125-119. Yednak was also involved in one of the two widest-margin defeats of the first two days, falling to #1 seed Lee Van Corteza 125-3. Less than an hour later, Van Corteza defeated Andy Geister 125-2. Yednak faces Geister at 2:30 today.
Wide margins of victory evident in early stages of Round Robin
By the time matches finished last night, the average score over 45 matches was 125-56, indicating a generally wide gap between winners and losers. On the other side of that ‘raw data’ coin is the way(s) in which that average score was attained, best demonstrated by one of the last matches to play out last night; between The Hitman (Hohmann) and “Get Some” (Shaun Wilkie).
They both stepped to the table with 3-0 records and an awareness that a 4-0 record was a likely stepping stone to the double-elimination Stage 2. The Hitman got right down to work, opening a 24-1 lead. Before Hohmann was able to drop another ball, Wilkie had cut that lead by more than half (24-15). Hohmann got back to the table and promptly dropped 14 balls to Wilkie’s 2 to have a second commanding lead 38-15 (same gap as the first lead he took). By the time Wilkie dropped another ball, that lead had expanded to 37 balls (53-16).
Wilkie got back into a groove that allowed him to get within 11 balls at 53-42, but from there, it was almost all Hohmann. He dropped all but nine balls of the next 81 and chalked up his fourth round robin win. One doesn’t tend to see a score like 125-51 and think that midway through the match, the eventual loser was only behind by 11 balls.
Match play continues today through about 7 p.m. at which time, the top 16 will begin the double-elimination Stage 2. Matches can be watched on the American 14:1 Straight Pool Championship’s Facebook page
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