Day one of four of the 2021 Tiger Silver Cup has commenced at Vicke Pineda’s Silver Cue-Billiards in Huntington Park California. With a powerhouse field of 72 players in attendance, the event was originally scheduled for only 50 players to compete in a ‘tiered entry fee’ event ranging from $365-$125 (based on skill level). The event earned responses from 79 willing competitors and was re-capped by tournament director, Ricky Carranco just prior to last night’s player meeting and flight draw. A wide range of talent consisting of both US and Pan-American champions have flocked from all corners of the Americas to battle it out on nine 10 foot Verhoevens, maintained by the renowned table mechanic, Insoo Park.
The overwhelming support for the two promoters, Ricky and Vicke, shows an enduring strength of the sport of Three-Cushion Billiards in America, with the Tiger Products sponsored event boasting a star studded field of familiar names, defending 2019 ‘Cup’ recipient and champion, Pedro Piedrabuena, New York’s, Hugo Patino, former USBA president and founder of 3 CushionUSA’s, Mazin Shooni; Pan-American and Mexican Champions include, Javier Vera, Guillermo Sosa, Luis Aviega to name a few. Additional surprises are expected with names like Gilbert Najm, Raymond Groot, John Park, Stan Lee, Kevin Pham, Carlos Cruz and also the tournament promoters themselves (Ricky/Vicke) should cause a stir during these upcoming prelim rounds.
This year’s tournament format will consist of three days of preliminary rounds (May 13-15), 12 flights of 6 players each competing in ‘round robin’ to 35 points, followed immediately by a single elimination, final bracket of the top 12 or the winner from each group. The event will also be slightly seeded, issuing a ‘bye’ to the top player of each group.
This event is scheduled to be live streamed by Daniel Busch and Point Of View Pool Media at POVPOOL on YouTube, however due to some technical issues there is a possibility that the broadcast might migrate to Facebook Live instead. Please stay tuned for more news and updates on this as they develop.
Also, in a surprise announcement, Vicke Pineda has decided to raise additional funds for the family of the dearly departed Luis Miguel Avila, donating $1,000 of a $3,000 in-house cue raffle at the event and redirecting another $1,000 to the prize fund of the event, making this year’s Cup event; $4,000 added!
