Luis Aveiga from Ecuador wins at Doral!
Luis Aveiga |
Players from several countries participated in the 2008 USBA Tour International Open Tournament held at Doral Billiards & Sports Bar in Doral, FL near Miami on October 31-November 2, 2008. Luis Aveiga, Germy Rivera and Javier Teran came from Ecuador. Luis Avila, Guillermo Sosa and Jesus Gallegos came from Mexico. Pedro Piedrabuena is originally from Uraguay. Carlos Hallon is from Ecuador. Roberto Arana is from Nicaraugua. Mercedes Gonzales and Hugo Sanchez are from Colombia. Dang Khoa Nguyen is from Vietnam. Jae Hyung Cho is from Korea. This was truly an international event.
The preliminary rounds divided the players into 3 flights of 7 players each (flights A, B and C). The top 4 finishers in each flight advanced to the finals (12 players). For the finals, there were 2 flights of 6 players each (flights D and E). The first place finisher of flight D played 1 final match against the winner of flight E to determine the tournament champion and the loser of that match would finish in 2nd place overall. Likewise, the 2nd place finisher of flight D played 1 final match against the 2nd place finisher of flight E to determine 3rd and 4th place. The 3rd place finisher of each flight (D and E) played for 5th and 6th place overall. The 4th place finisher of each flight (D and E) played for 7th and 8th place. The 5th and 6th place finishers in flights D and E did not play a final match and did not receive prize money.
Click on the name of the flight to see Tournament Chart in PDF format:
Flight A: Pedro Piedrabuena and Carlos Hallon were the clear favorites. The other 2 spots for the finals were up for grabs. Going into the final round of the preliminaries, Germy Rivera clinched a spot in the finals. Mercedes Gonzales had a 2-3 record and faced 3-time US Champion Pedro Piedrabuena in her last match. Jim Shovak had a 3-3 record and was likely to advance to the finals as long as Pedro won his match against Mercedes. As fate would have it, Mercedes pulled an upset and beat Piedrabuena 30-29 as the crowd at Doral Billiards went wild. The win put Mercedes in the finals and booted Shovak out.
Flight B: Jae Hyung Cho from Colorado, Luis Avila and Guillermo Sosa were the obvious favorites in this flight which left just one available spot for the finals. Three players finished with a 2-4 record: Hugo Sanchez, Dang Khoa Nguyen and Sid Banner. Hugo Sanchez advanced with the highest number of total points scored in his matches.
Flight C: Javier Teran, Luis Aveiga and Jesus Gallegos took the first 3 available finals spots and the last spot was determined by the last match of the preliminaries between Roberto Arana and past US Junior Champion, Justin Gennaro. The winner advances to the finals and the loser goes home. In the end, Justin Gennaro pulled out a 30-27 victory over Arana.
Click Here to view the players who qualified for the finals.
The finalists were then ranked numbers 1 through 12 based on their performance in the preliminaries based on Wins/Losses, Total Points Scored and Total Points AGAINST. Both Jae Hyung Cho and Javier Teran were undefeated (6-0). They also scored the same amount of points (180). The total number of points that their opponents scored while playing them was ALSO the same (91). Therefore, Javier Teran was ranked # 1 based on his slightly higher average (1.259 versus 1.146 for Cho).
The players were then placed into 2 separate flights based on their rankings to balance the strength of each flight equally.
Click Here to view the Rankings of each player for the finals.
Finalists: Mercedes Gonzales, Guillermo Sosa, Jesus Gallegos, Luis Avila, Luis Aveiga,
Javier Teran, Pedro Piedrabuena, Jae Hyung Cho, Hugo Sanchez and Germy Rivera.
Not pictured: Justin Gennaro and Carlos Hallon.
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Finals
Click on the name of the flight to see Tournament Chart in PDF format:
Flight D: Luis Aveiga wins the flight with a 4-1 record and 162 points scored. Javier Teran finishes 2nd with a 4-1 record and 159 points scored. Guillermo Sosa comes in 3rd with a 3-2 record and 167 points scored. Carlos Hallon finishes 4th with a 3-2 record and 152 total points. Hugo Sanchez finishes 5th and Mercedes Gonzales finishes 6th.
Flight E: Some controversy erupted during the match between Pedro Piedrabuena and Germy Rivera. The match was very close at the time. Pedro was winning by just a few points near the end of the game. Apparently Germy Rivera scored a point and then he knocked his chalk onto the table and one of the balls which was still moving hit the chalk. Germy figured it was not a foul because the point had already been scored but Pedro disagreed. The tournament directors (Jim Shovak and Henry Ugartechea) were called in to arbitrate. Also assisting was George Theobald and Luis Martinez who have official refereeing experience. It was unanimously decided by all 4 of them that it was a foul, the point did not count and the inning was over, because the shot was not yet over since the ball was still moving. Had the foul occurred after all the balls had stopped, then the point would count but the inning would be over.
Pedro Piedrabuena wins the flight going 5-0. Luis Avila comes in 2nd finishing 4-1. Jae Hyung Cho comes in 3rd going 3-2 with 156 total points. Jesus Gallegos comes in 4th going 2-3 with 131 total points. Justin Gennaro finishes 5th and Germy Rivera finishes 6th. Final Matches
The last matches of the tournament determined the final placement of each player. A victory meant more money and a loss meant less money.
7th and 8th place: Jesus Gallegos finishes in 7th place overall defeating Carlos Hallon (8th place) by a score of 40-30.
5th and 6th place: Guillermo Sosa finishes in 5th place overall defeating Jae Hyung Cho (6th place) by a score of 40-35.
3rd and 4th place: Javier Teran finishes in 3rd place overall defeating Luis Avila (4th place) by a score of 40-23.
1st and 2nd place: The last match of the tournament was played by Pedro Piedrabuena and Luis Aveiga to determine the Tournament Champion. The match was 40 points and was refereed by Jim Shovak. Pedro scored some points and took the early lead. There was also another small controversy. During one of the early innings, Pedro scored a point and then played a very difficult shot with a very small 3rd ball target. Pedro's cue ball struck the rail and the 3rd ball at virtually the same time. Jim Shovak called the shot a miss. However, both Pedro and Aveiga disagreed with the call and since both players agreed, the referee reversed the call. Had the referee been 100% certain of the call, he would not have reversed it. That gave Pedro a run of 2 which he parlayed into a run of 6. The score was Pedro 12 and Aveiga 0. Things looked good for Pedro at the time.
However, Aveiga was just getting started. He began to make points with a vengeance and Pedro couldn't get things going. Before long, the score was 34-20 in favor of Aveiga which meant that Aveiga scored 34 points while Pedro scored only 8. Pedro fought back putting 8 more points on the board, but it just wasn't enough. Luis Aveiga won the match 40-28. Congratulations to Luis Aveiga!
Javier Teran (3rd), Luis Aveiga (1st) and Pedro Piedrabuena (2nd) |
Click here to see the results of the final matches.
Click here to see the final rankings of all finalists.
Click here to see prize money awarded.
We would like to thank the following:
Our sponsors:Mueller Products/Gorina cloth, Doral Billiards, Schuler Cues, David Levine, Jim Shovak, Bob Jewett, Marty Isserlis, Robert Byrne, Andrew Janquitto, Paul Frankel (Professor-Q-Ball).
A special thank you to Henry Ugartechea for organizing the event and making sure things ran smoothly. Also to the owners at Doral Billiards who were very supportive and accomodating. Thank you.
The 2008 USBA Tour concludes on December 5-7, 2008: Chris's Billiards in Chicago, IL: International Open Tournament. Make your reservations NOW! Contact Chris's or George Theobald. Click here for more info.
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2008 USBA TOUR International Open 3-Cushion Tournament
$ 4,500.00 First Prize and $ 18,150.00 Prize Fund
(based on 42 players)
Doral Billiards
7800 NW 25th St # 1
Doral, FL 33122
Phone: 305-592-8486
Friday through Sunday, October 31-November 2, 2008. 10:00am-finish.
Players Meeting: Thursday, October 30th at 8:00pm.
Format: ($ 7,650.00 added)
$ 255.00 Entry Fee. Maximum 42 Players. 6 Groups of 7 players. 25 Point Matches. Top 2 from each group advance to finals. No flight will be less than 7 players and the number of players per flight may not be equal. Finals: 12 Players – 2 groups of 6 players – 30 points. The first place finishers of each flight will play each other to decide 1st and 2nd place – 35 points. The second place finishers of each flight will play each other to decide 3rd and 4th place, and so on. Players will advance and be seeded into Finals based on wins/losses, total points, head-to-head and points against. Dress Code: Black pants, black shoes, collared shirt. No jeans, no T-shirts, no sneakers (all-black is OK), no hats, no sandals, no flip-flops. Finalists must wear full dress attire: black pants, vest, bow-tie, black shoes or all-black sneakers. USBA Membership is required ($ 50.00 for an entire year). Format is always subject to change based on number of available players.
Estimated Payouts (Based on 42 Players):
1- $ 4,500.00 2- $ 3,300.00 3- $ 2,400.00 4- $ 1,800.00 5- $ 1,400.00 6- $ 1,100.00
7- $ 900.00 8- $ 700.00 9- $ 600.00 10- $ 500.00 11- $ 400.00 12- $ 300.00
High Run and Best Game in Finals = $ 125.00 each (with scorekeepers)
Averages will be kept by all players. $ 5.00 per player USBA sanction fee already included in entry fee.
Make checks out to "Doral Billiards" and send entry fees to:
Doral Billiards & Sports Bar
7800 NW 25th St # 1
Doral FL, 33122
Phone: 305-592-8486
Contact: Alex, Juan or Henry Ugartechea
Rules: All official USBA 3-Cushion Tournament rules will apply. Any exceptions will be addressed at the players meeting by the Tournament Director. Players are expected to be present at the scheduled time of their match and be ready to play anytime after the scheduled time if the games are behind schedule. A schedule will be provided at the players meeting. If your game is called and you are not present (assuming the scheduled match time has arrived), then you will not be allowed to practice for that match. If you arrive more than 10 minutes after your match has been called, then you will forfeit that match. If you forfeit 3 or more matches, then all of your matches will be nullified as if you were never in the tournament. If you do not finish all of your scheduled matches, then you will not be allowed to play in a USBA Tour event for 2 years, unless you are excused by the Tournament Director.
Hotel Info: Extended Stay America
7750 NW 25 St
Miami, FL 33122
305-716-9005
Hotel is about 100 yards from Doral Billiards.
Ask for Jennifer and mention Doral Billiards Tournament.
$ 75.00 per night for 1 Queen bed and Sofa Sleeper. Kitchenette
w/refrigerator/microwave.
Jennifer's email if necessary is: MA@extendedstay.com
The USBA has a contract with Choice Hotels International. If you would like to receive at least a 15% discount at Choice Hotel locations, please refer to your Membership Package for details. To become a USBA Member, click "Join" at the top or the upper left side of this page and follow the instructions to pay by credit/debit card through PayPal. You do NOT need a PayPal account to use PayPal. You can also mail in payment by check.
USBA Members also receive between 5-10% discount from the following car rental companies, if they service the area:
Be advised that we have not reserved a block of rooms anywhere, and so availability is not guaranteed. Our aim has been to offer a wide range of choice with regard to type of room, exact location and price. Since availability is not guaranteed, we recommend that you make your reservation as soon as you know the dates you will be attending the Tournament. You may want to inquire if your hotel will offer a small discount if paid in cash upon your arrival (these policies may differ with each hotel).
All players must make their own hotel/car rental reservations. If you need a room that's closer to the pool hall, please check online at Travelocity, Orbitz or Hotels.com.
Taxes If you are planning to enter the tournament you need only read the sections below that apply to you:
• For U.S. residents – only sections 1 and 5 apply;
• Most foreign residents need only read sections 2 and 5;
• However, if you live outside the United States but you have received or can obtain an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) you may be able to avoid withholding taxes. To learn more, read sections 3 and 4 (as well as 2 and 5).
Forms referred to below may be viewed/downloaded at http://www.irs.gov/formspubs
Section 1 – United States Residents
You can avoid withholding taxes on your prize money by filling out Form W-9. This tells us your name, address and Social Security number. (Form W-9 will be made available at the Tournament.) After the Tournament, Carom Café will report your winnings to the IRS, to Florida State and to you, using Form 1099-MISC. (If you do not fill out Form W-9, we will be required to withhold 30% of your prize money!)
Section 2 – Foreign Residents: Most Will Be Subject to Withholding Taxes
For most (and, perhaps, all) foreign participants, the process is very simple: (1) You will be subject to 30% withholding taxes on your prize money; (2) at the Tournament, prize winners will have to supply their name and address; and (3) we will then provide the IRS with this information on Form 1042-S, two copies of which will be mailed to you. When it comes time for you to pay taxes in your own country, you will not only have a record of your winnings, but you will have documents that show that you paid substantial taxes to the U.S. Government. In many cases you will be able to get a tax credit for these payments. Be sure to check with your tax advisor in your home country.
Section 3 – Foreign Residents: A Few May Be Able to Avoid Withholding Taxes
For some non-U.S. residents, withholding taxes may be avoided provided (a) your country has a tax treaty with the United States, (b) you have an “Individual Taxpayer Identification Number” (ITIN) from the IRS and (c) your prize money does not exceed the maximum amount that is exempt from withholding under the treaty.
If you do not have an ITIN, we regret to inform you that rule changes in recent years have made them much more difficult to get. We will be unable to assist you in obtaining an ITIN but a tax adviser in your own country might be able to help you. However, if you received an ITIN at any time in the past, it is still valid.
In any event, if you have an ITIN and there is a tax treaty between your country and the United States and your prize does not exceed the amount allowed under the treaty you will be able to avoid withholding taxes by filling out Form 8233. We will be able to help you do this at the tournament.
One more thing: If you are eligible for zero withholding, we will have to temporarily withhold 100% of your prize money until 10 days after Form 8233 is mailed to the IRS. We expect to mail such Forms one or two days after the end of the tournament. The 10-day period is required by the IRS to give them time to verify your eligibility for avoiding withholding. Assuming there is no objection from the IRS (and there shouldn’t be as long as your ITIN is valid), we will mail you a check for the full amount of your prize approximately 12 days after the Tournament ends.
Section 4 – Foreign Residents: Information on Individual Countries
The table below summarizes the treaty situation for residents from 28 countries. We list the maximum dollar amount that you may earn without becoming subject to tax withholding. We also list the treaty article number that will have to be put on Form 8233. None of this is relevant to you unless you have or can obtain an ITIN. If there is no treaty with your country you will be subject to withholding even if you have an ITIN.
Argentina No treaty
Aruba No treaty
Austria $20,000 17
Belgium $ 3,000 14(2)(c)
Canada $15,000 16
Colombia No treaty
Czech Rep. $20,000 18
Denmark $20,000 17
Ecuador No treaty
Egypt $ 400/ day 17
France $10,000 17
Germany $20,000 17
Greece $10,000 X
Hungary No limit 13
Italy $12,000 17(1)
Japan $ 3,000 17
Korea $ 3,000 18
Luxembourg $10,000 18
Mexico $ 3,000 18
Netherlands $10,000 18
Peru No treaty
Portugal $10,000 19
Russia No limit
Spain $10,000 19
Sweden $ 6,000 18
Switzerland $10,000 17
Turkey $ 3,000 17
Vietnam No treaty
Section 5 – Two Additional Notes About Taxes
If you do not win a prize we will not need to collect any personal information from you. For U.S. residents, this means you will not have to fill out a W-9. For foreign residents, it means that neither will you have to fill out an 8233, nor will you have to provide us with the information we would need to fill out a 1042-S.
Prize Money Break Down based on Number of Payouts - PDF
Prize Money Break Down based on Number of Payouts - Word
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