The Lucasi Hybrid Invitational Classic 10-Ball event at Bankshot Billiards in Jacksonville, Florida, held in conjunction with the Ozone Amateur Championships, Junior Championships, and the Lucasi 14.1 Invitational (taken down by Thorsten Hohmann) was promoted by Dragon Promotions, which is, as most of us know, an operation led by ambitious pro Charlie Williams (himself a former junior champ!) Maybe it should be no surprise then that said Charlie, in between running several events, played his way through the full field of 48 to win his own event. Doesn't seem fair, does it? Then again, who better to take home the $4,000 than the guy who threw the party?!

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Ryan Stone captured his first U.S. Amateur Open title by winning 7 straight matches on the one-loss side. As for the player that dealt him his first loss, Germany's Dominic Jentsch, he beat him twice in the finals. Talk about revenge!

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It was a great day for Kelly Fisher! Not only did she secure a U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship title, she scored $15,000 for the win AND launched herself into #1 of the WPBA's year-to-date rankings!

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Iris who? Well, it seems the Asian invasion continues on the Women's Pro Billiard Tour. Iris Ranola of the Philippines, who upset #1 ranked defending champ Allison Fisher in the first round of play, has continued to make tracks through the undefeated side of the bracket.

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Thorsten "Hitman" Hohmann went undefeated through a field of all star players at the inaugural The Lucasi Hybrid Invitational Classic 14.1 Championship. Hohmann defeated his last four opponents, Stevie Moore 150-85; USA's 14.1 hotshot John Schmidt 150-51, and then dark horse Dave Grossman 150-26. That set up a final between high run champ Mika Immomen of Finland and the Hohmann.

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While the "boys" are competing in a multitude of divisions in this weekend's Lucasi Hybrid Classic In Jacksonville, Florida, the women pros are heating up the table action farther west, in Norman, Oklahoma, as 64 top players vie for the U.S. Open 9-Ball title. The big news so far - Iris Ranola, in only her 2nd WPBA tournament, has defeated Allison Fisher in their first round match to put Allison in the one loss side!

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The Lucasi Hybrid Invitational Classic is underway at Bankshot Billiards in Jacksonville, Florida with 39 players competing in the 14.1 division. While all of the top seeds received byes into the second round, Finland's Mika Immonen quickly staked his claim to the high run honors with a 119 ball run against Brandon Shuff. Immonen won that match 125-19. Meanwhile, in other event action

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On July 19 & 20th Highpockets Billiards in Memphis, TN hosted Viking Cue 9-Ball Tours Open and Amateur events. The events drew 87 players and paid out a prize fund of $8,120.

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This in from Inquirer.net - Former World Pool champ Alex Pagulayan yesterday filed a libel suit against the Billiards and Snookers Congress of the Philippines for accusing him of "sharking" and for later withdrawing his participation in last year's Guinness 9-Ball Tour.

Sharking is a pool term for acts that disrupt and disarm one's foe, according to BSCP in a media statement last year where it explained the reason for barring the flamboyant Pagulayan from vying in a Tour leg in Shanghai. The media statement was quoted in Pagulayan's complaint which he filed at the Pasig Regional Trial Court yesterday. He was accompanied by fellow pool stars Efren "Bata" Reyes, Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Roberto Gomez and Joven Bustamante.

In a 9-page affidavit, Pagulayan said the BSCP's pronouncements last year, which accused him of sharking his Malaysian opponent in the Guinness Tour's Singapore leg, are "libelous" and have caused him "irreparable harm, injury and embarrassment."

"My complaint is they ruined my reputation," Pagulayan told court reporters in Filipino. "I've been giving honor to the country and they accuse me of something which is not true."

The BSCP, in withdrawing Pagulayan's entry in the Guinness Tour's Shanghai leg last year, said it based its decision on a finding that Pagulayan's conduct in the Singapore leg was "unworthy and unacceptable for a representative of a country that is regarded today as the epicenter of international pool."

"His antics amounted to sharking - the pool term for acts to disrupt and disarm one's opponent in order to win," the BSCP said in its media statement.

But Pagulayan argued that his actions did not constitute sharking. In fact, he said, the promoter, the organizers, and even his own opponent in that particular Singapore match did not complain about his play. "So who complained? We talked to Ibrahim Bin Amir, my opponent, and he was not complaining. ESPN and the sponsors all said there was no problem," said Pagulayan.

Bata Reyes, who is also the vice president of the Billiard Managers and Players Association of the Philippines, said, if anything, Pagulayan was just entertaining the crowd.

First Coast APA, the biggest pool league in Jacksonville, will be joining forces with Dragon Promotions in promoting the 3rd Annual Ozone Billiards US Amateur Open during the Lucasi Hybrid Classic pro and amateur events July 30 through August 3 at Bankshot Billiards. First Coast APA Division Representative Angela Tuhacek will direct the event along with co-director John Gase.  First Coast APA boasts over 3,000 active members.

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