Dan Kolacz, Max Fisher, Jim Shovak & Brian Haff
Qualify into the USBA National Championship

Jim Shovak (3rd), Max Fisher (2nd), Dan Kolacz (1st), Brian Haff (4th)

Click Here To View Videos
of 30 of the Matches or see below.

Story by Tom Rossman & Paul Frankel

Thursday evening was a special night at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, KY. Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman performed a dazzling display of artistic pool shots and entertained a very responsive audience of Pendennis Club members and 3-Cushion billiard players and fans. The magnetic humor and unique character-like antics of “Dr. Cue” created spontaneous laughter and special “table trotter” moments in billiard history.

Paul “Professor Q Ball” Frankel, promoter of the USBA 3-Cushion Regional Qualifier, also performed some of his special magic for those in attendance and kept each person leaning closer and closer to his amazing card tricks.

Prior to the evening’s entertainment festivities Paul presented a special acknowledgement plaque to Tinker Zimmerman, wife of Thom Zimmerman, a long time member of the Pendennis Club and passionate player of 3 Cushion Billiards. Thom passed away recently and will be missed by all both on and off the table.

The event coverage was Live-Streamed by Steve Elzinga and Mike Christenson, giving many of the event players an opportunity to showcase their billiard skills to viewers around the world. It started promptly at 10:00AM on January 22nd with a full field of 24 players and a growing number of spectators to “enjoy the roll”.

The 1st day of this spectacular event witnessed great play and a series of close matches. Jim Shovak of New York had a beautiful run of 9 points in his win over Chris O’Brien from Boston, MA. Jim won the high run money for the tournament with his dazzling display of poise and focus.

After O’Brien’s wide scoring differential in his loss against Shovak, Chris gained some special confidence in a close fought and exciting game victory over Greg Warren by a slim 1 point margin 20 – 19. In 2 other tight matches Gary Eake was defeated by Steve Anderson 20 – 18 and John Anderson returned the favor to Steve by the same 2-point margin.

Day 2 produced some amazing 3 Cushion shots and matches. Each player kept one eye on the victory circle to garner a spot in the semi-finals and the other eye on the table. As the games rolled on it was evident that Dan Kolacz from Buffalo and Brian Haff from Chicago were playing for a perfect 5 – 0 record in the prelims, while 6 players set their individual win-loss stages at 4 – 1. This latter list of players included Gary Scharf, Ed Friedman, Bill Johnson, and Max Fisher. The other two players with 4 – 1 records gave the Pendennis Club a special treat in one of the greatest matches of the day with Greg Warren defeating Jim Shovak in their prelim match 20-18 in just 15 innings with both players averaging 1.200 or better!! The top two 3rd place finishers would join the other 8 players in the race to victory. John Anderson and Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman earned those places.

PDF Prelim Charts:

Flight A
Flight B
Flight C
Flight D

The 1st round of the semi-final matches started off with a loud roar, as Tom Rossman found a consistent cueing pattern with a victory over the smooth stroking Brian Haff by a score of 25-15. Kolacz remained the only undefeated player as he coasted to a determined win over steady John Anderson by 5 points. In the final match for Day 2, Gary Scharf defeated Ed Friedman by a score of 25 – 19.

Matches started on Day 3 at 9:30AM!!
The semi-final match play on Sunday, January 24th, was poetry on green felt as the 10 final gladiators of 3 Cushion shifted gears into a focused high. The players were divided into 2 groups of 5 players each. The top three players from each of those 2 flights would play one more time in the final playoff matches. The top 4 players after the last ball stopped rolling received free entry to the USBA Nationals in Tacoma, WA, February 17 – 21, 2010.

PDF Semi-Final Flights:

Flight E
Flight F

Dan Kolacz (bracket E top finisher) played Max Fisher (bracket F top finisher) to determine the overall USBA Regional Qualifier Champion. Displaying brilliant play technique, Kolacz maintained a smooth and steady movement around the table as he entered the winner’s circle with a 25 – 15 win over Fisher.

Jim Shovak (2nd place finisher in bracket E) challenged Brian Haff (2nd place finisher in bracket F) for 3rd and 4th place honors. Both players showed great determination to win; however, Shovak got an early lead and never looked back. Shovak made the final point to win by a score of 25 – 12. Haff received comfort in his loss with a berth in the Tacoma event free of charge. Brian also won a beautiful carom cue donated by Samurai Cues, Inc. in an event raffle.

In a valiant effort to make the final top 4 places, Bill Johnson finished 5th overall and Jonathan Anderson finished 6th. Positions 7 thru 10 were in order: Scharf, Rossman, Warren, and Friedman. Many of the semi-final matches were won by 5 points or less, which produced an exciting adventure among not only the players, but also the fans in attendance.

When the final ball stopped rolling and the event curtain closed, all players shared a wonderful time in special camaraderie with their fellow carom friends. Each enjoyed the roll and experienced many special moments in billiard history!! A special thanks goes out to the historic Pendennis Club for allowing all the 3 cushion players, fans, and friends of the game take residence in their private setting for 4 awesome days in January of 2010.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Samurai Cues, Simonis Cloth, Pendennis Club,
Bob Watson, Dennis Dieckman, James Barnett, Stanley Lombardo.

To all the scorekeepers and players that helped out, a personal thank you.

OVER ALL FINISH POSITIONS

1 DAN KOLACZ
2 MAX FISHER
3 JIM SHOVAK
4 BRIAN HAFF
5 BILL JOHNSON
6 JONATHAN ANDERSON
7 GARY SCHARF
8 TOM ROSSMAN
9 GREG WARREN
10 ED FRIEDMAN

Recorded UStream Matches:

(Click the highlighted link to view the videos)

If anyone is interested in getting a DVD of any of the recorded matches,
please contact Steve Elzinga: SteveElzinga@yahoo.com

Last time I checked it was only $ 10.00 per DVD.

Match # 1: Dan Kolacz vs. Tom Rossman
No Commentary

Match # 2: Bill Johnson vs. Chip Sutherland
Part 1: No Commentary
Part 2: No Commentary
Part 3: Frozen-Not needed
Part 4: Commentary by Jim Shovak

Match # 3: Gary Eake vs. Steve Andersen
Commentary: Bill Johnson, Jim Shovak

Match # 4: Jim Shovak vs. Chris O'Brien
Commentary: Tom Rossman

Match # 5: Tom Rossman vs. Paul Frankel
Commentary: Jim Shovak, Gary Scharf

Match # 6: Brian Haff vs. Eric Hughes
Commentary: Gary Scharf, Jim Shovak

Match # 7: Max Fisher vs. Gary Eake
No Commentary

Match # 8: Jonathan Anderson vs. Steve Andersen
Commentary: Jim Shovak

Match # 9: Jim Shovak vs. James Stoner
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman

Match # 10: Dan Kolacz vs. Paul Frankel
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Jim Shovak

Match # 11: Bill Johnson vs. Eric Hughes
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman

Match # 12: Gary Scharf vs. Jonathan Anderson
No Commentary

Match # 13: Greg Warren vs. Jack Leitzinger
Commentary:

Match # 14: Paul Frankel vs. Ken Holstrom (Incomplete)
No Commentary

Match # 15: Eric Hughes vs. Dale Saunders
Commentary: Paul Frankel, Jim Shovak, Steve Andersen

Match # 16: Max Fisher vs. Steven Buchoff
No Commentary

Match # 17: Brian Haff vs. Tyler Thompson
No Commentary

Match # 18: Ed Friedman vs. Tom Rossman
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman

Match # 19: Paul Frankel vs. John Printz
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Mike Christenson

Match # 20: Bill Johnson vs. Dale Saunders
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Jim Shovak

Match # 21: Max Fisher vs. Jonathan Anderson
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Jim Shovak, Ed Friedman

Match # 22: James Stoner vs. Bernard Kapinos
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Ed Friedman, Jim Shovak

Match # 23: SEMI-FINALS: Tom Rossman vs. Brain Haff
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Jim Shovak

Match # 24: SEMI-FINALS: Dan Kolacz vs. Ed Friedman
No Commentary

Match # 25: SEMI-FINALS: Bill Johnson vs. Tom Rossman
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Max Fisher

Match # 26: SEMI-FINALS: Jim Shovak vs. Ed Friedman
No Commentary

Match # 27: SEMI-FINALS: Jim Shovak vs. Gary Scharf
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Eric Hughes

Match # 28: SEMI-FINALS: Bill Johnson vs. Greg Warren
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Jim Shovak, Ed Friedman

Match # 29: SEMI-FINALS: Brain Haff vs. Bill Johnson
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Ed Friedman, Bob Jewett, Jim Shovak

Match # 30: FINAL MATCH: Dan Kolacz vs. Max Fisher
Commentary: Dennis Dieckman, Bert VanArsdale

-------------------------------------------

Click here to view Live-Stream

Professor-Q-Ball is proud to announce that Tom "Dr. Cue"® Rossman, ESPN & World Masters Trick Shot Champion, will be entertaining at the Pendennis Club the day before the USBA Qualifier starts.  His exhibition will be on Thursday the 21st at 7:30PM.

You are welcome to attend and watch this unique show -- relax and enjoy his unique "twist of humor" on the pool table. Cash bar and food will be available. Dress code will be enforced: Pants, shoes, collared shirt. No jeans, no T-shirts, no sneakers.

Professor-Q-Ball Promotions Presents:
3-Cushion USBA Regional Qualifier Event at

Pendennis Club
218 W Muhammad Ali Blvd
Louisville KY, 40202
Phone: 502-584-4311
January 22-24, 2010
Dedicated to Promoting the Sport of 3-Cushion Billiards

We are proud to announce that the dates are set to hold another Regional Qualifier at the Historic Pendennis Club.

The USBA Regional Qualifier will be a 3-day event on January 22-24th. First rounds will start right after player’s meeting on Friday.

Format: Entry fee is $150, Dress code: collared shirt, shoes and slacks, round robin format, race to 20 points in the prelims and 25 points in the finals. There will be 4 flights of 6. Two from each flight advances to the 6 person finals on Sunday. Top 4 winners of the finals each receive free entry into 2010 USBA National Championship + $200 expense money at the Nationals.

Don’t miss this unique presentation of 3-Cushion Billiards

For more information on entering the USBA Qualifier please contact:
Paul “Professor-Q-Ball” Frankel – professorqball@comcast.net
Bus. 901 756-2594 or Cell 901 210-7251

Send entry fee to:
Professor-Q-Ball
1662 Rocky Hollow Rd
Germantown, TN 38138

Special rates at the Econolodge
401 S. 2nd St
Louisville, KY 40202
502-583-2841
Code is: PROFESSORQBALL
$68.70 for a Double includes tax
$62.98 for a King includes tax

If you use your USBA Discount, it will only cost $51/night on Thursday & Friday, $67/night on Saturday and $54/night on Sunday:

Hotel and Rental Car Discounts:

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 or you can access the USBA Forum "Members Only" area. 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 membership dues by check.

USBA Members also receive between 5-10% discount from the following car rental companies, if they service the area: