Sunday, September 5, 2010
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Berri Open 2011
Attached is the 2011 Nomination
REPORT ON 2010 BERRI RESORT HOTEL OPEN
REPORT ON 2010 BERRI RESORT HOTEL OPEN 8-BALL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS HELD ON SATURDAY JULY 24TH & SUNDAY JULY 25TH        Ballarat based player Jake McCartney defeated Brenton Collier from Adelaide by 4 frames to 1 in
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REPORT ON 2008 BERRI RESORT HOTEL OPEN 8-BALL SINGLES

REPORT ON 2008 BERRI RESORT HOTEL OPEN 8-BALL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS HELD ON SATURDAY JULY 19TH & SUNDAY JULY 20TH


Adelaide based player Brenton Collier defeated Nick Howie from Bendigo by 4 frames to 3 in an intriguing final in front of an appreciative audience of approximately 220 spectators.


Competitors were playing for $15,000 in prize-money.
For his efforts, Brenton took home $3,500.00 in prize-money, together with a replica of the Perpetual trophy and also the much treasured distinction of having his name engraved on the Perpetual trophy.


In such a close final, Nick committed 2 critical fouls, the first for failing to nominate which group of balls he wished to play after breaking in the second frame and in the second instance while attempting to pot out in the fourth frame, was fouled for an article of clothing making contact with a coloured ball. In such an important match, although these 2 instances did not directly result in Brenton winning the title, it certainly did not help the cause of Nick either.


Nick collected $1,700.00 plus a trophy, which will help relieve some of the pain of losing such a close final.
Three hundred and seventy four players nominated in this year’s tournament, which was slightly down on the 390 players that entered the 2007 event. The event consisted of players being divided up into 37 sections, with the sectional play being held at various Clubs and Hotels in the Riverland. At the conclusion of play on Saturday, 168 players had qualified for the finals on the Sunday.
The Friday night restricted knock-out competition resulted in Jason McLean (Melbourne) defeat Shane Irons (Riverland) in the Final. The Friday night Invitational knock-out No. 1 resulted in James Delahunty (Adelaide) defeat Steve Seebohm (Adelaide) in the final. The Friday night Invitational knock-out No. 2 resulted in Aleck Evreniadis (Adelaide) defeat Michael Scerri (Melbourne) in the final. All matches in this competition were high class and entertaining.


The Under 18 knock-out resulted in Ricky Emery (Adelaide) defeat Nathan Nemes (Adelaide) in the final. 20 Under 18 players competed in this competition and the skills shown by all players were exceptional. The efforts of Ricky Emery is worth noting, as Ricky lost to 2008 Champion, Brenton Collier 4/3 in the Semi Final of the main event.


The Saturday night Pot out competition was won by James Delahunty of Adelaide. The Saturday night Ladies competition, which is always keenly contested, resulted in Kolbe Poole (Melbourne) defeat Lyndall Hulley (Adelaide) in the final. The “Non Qualifiers” knock-out on Sunday saw Daniel Peck (Adelaide) defeat Jason Ramsden (Melbourne) in the final.

Quarter Final results were:
Brenton Collier (Adelaide) defeated Michael Swift (Adelaide) 4/1
Nick Howie (Bendigo) defeated Russell Youlten (Adelaide) 4/2
Greg Sumner (Elizabeth) defeated Matt Cairns (Adelaide) 4/0
Ricky Emery (Adelaide) defeated Jake McCartney (Ballarat) 4/2
Semi Final results were:
Nick Howie defeated Greg Sumner 4/3
Brenton Collier defeated Ricky Emery 4/3

All 37 tables used in the event were manufactured by event sponsor Beta Billiards. The excellent standard of tables supplied was appreciated by all of the players competing.


At the Official Presentation, Berri Resort Hotel’s Duty Manager Rowan Crisp assisted in the handing out of the major prizes.
Neil Lemmey
Tournament Director
 
REPORT ON 2007 BERRI RESORT HOTEL OPEN 8-BALL SINGLES

REPORT ON 2007 BERRI RESORT HOTEL OPEN 8-BALL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS HELD ON SATURDAY JULY 21ST & SUNDAY JULY 22ND
Seventeen year old Ballarat player Jake McCartney defeated 2002 & 2003 Champion and former Riverland now Adelaide based player Russell Youlten by 4 frames to 1 in front of an appreciative audience of approximately 190 spectators.
Competitors were playing for $14,000 in prize-money.


For his efforts, Jake took home $3,200.00 in prize-money, together with a replica of the Perpetual trophy and also the much treasured distinction of having his name engraved on the Perpetual trophy.
The highlight and possible turning point in the final happened in the fourth frame. Jake was leading Russell 2 frames to 1 and was attempting to pot out. In his efforts to position the white to pot the black ball (that was mid table) after potting his last ball, Jake played a poor shot resulting in not having a clear shot to pot the black ball. With a maturity that defied his years, Jake calmly played the white ball into the side cushion, contacting the black ball which sent it into the centre pocket. This gave Jake a 3 frames to 1 lead. Jake followed this up by playing a thoughtful fifth frame which resulted in him potting out to win the final 4 frames to 1.


In an interesting piece of trivia, Jake’s father Wayne was runner-up to Mick Delahunty (Adelaide) in the 1991 Berri Open.
Russell did not go home empty handed, collecting $1,600.00 plus a trophy, which will help relieve some of the pain of losing the final.
Jake also received the prize of the best performed Junior from the Professional Pool Players Association. Other players to receive prizes from this Association included defeated semi finalists Geoff Gannon and Paul Pike, who are both Melbourne based players.
Three hundred and ninety players nominated in this year’s tournament, which was slightly down on the 430 players that entered the 2006 event. The event consisted of players being divided up into 40 sections, with the sectional play being held at various Clubs and Hotels in the Riverland. At the conclusion of play on Saturday, 128 players had qualified for the finals on the Sunday.


The Friday night restricted knock-out competition resulted in Mark Stone (Adelaide) defeat Steve Seebohm (Adelaide) in the Final. The Friday night Invitational knock-out No. 1 resulted in Marc Robertson (Melbourne) defeat Paul Keyser (Melbourne) in the final. The Friday night Invitational knock-out No. 2 resulted in James Delahunty (Adelaide) defeat Aleck Evreniadis (Adelaide) in the final. All matches in this competition were high class and entertaining.


The Under 18 knock-out resulted in Damian Walsh (Adelaide) defeat Jake McCartney (Ballarat) in the final. 20 Under 18 players competed in this competition and the skills shown by all players was exceptional.
The Saturday night Pot out competition was won by Russell Youlten of Adelaide. The Saturday night Ladies competition, which is always keenly contested, resulted in Joy Sullivan (Mildura) defeat Elise Mabbott (Perth) 3-2 in the final. The “Non Qualifiers” knock-out on Sunday saw Paul Edwards (Adelaide) defeat Damian Walsh Junior (Adelaide) 2-1 in the final.
Quarter Final results were:
Jake McCartney (Ballarat) defeated Brenton Collier (Adelaide) 4/1
Geoff Gannon (Melbourne) defeated Ben Nunan (Melbourne) 4/3
Russell Youlten (Adelaide) defeated Russell Seymour (Melbourne) 4/2
Paul Pike (Melbourne) defeated Jason Tucker (Adelaide) 4/1
Semi Final results were:
Jake McCartney defeated Geoff Gannon 4/1
Russell Youlten defeated Paul Pike 4/1


The efforts of Melbourne based first time player Geoff Gannon is worth a special mention. Geoff played consistently all week-end defeating several more fancied opponents before being defeated by the eventual winner Jake McCartney in the Semi Finals.
For the first time in the 20 year history of this event, the tables used in all 40 sections were manufactured by event sponsor Beta Billiards. The excellent standard of tables supplied was appreciated by all of the players competing.
At the Official Presentation, Berri Resort Hotel’s Assistant Manager David Sims assisted in the handing out of the major prizes.
The fact that this event has been held for 20 years was mentioned. All players that have competed in this event over the past 20 years, together with any player wishing to play in this event for the first time are invited to nominate for next years event to be held on Saturday 19th July and Saturday 20th July 2008 and help celebrate the 21st anniversary of this unique event.


Neil Lemmey
Tournament Director
 
REPORT ON 2006 BERRI RESORT HOTEL OPEN 8-BALL SINGLES
REPORT ON 2006 BERRI RESORT HOTEL OPEN 8-BALL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS HELD ON SATURDAY JULY 22ND & SUNDAY JULY 23RD

For the first time in the 19 year history of this event, the grand final featured 2 Victorian based players in which Mark Williams (Robinvale) defeated Ben Nunan (Melbourne) by 4 frames to 2. A crowd of approximately 220 watched the two high profile players battle for the prestigious title. Competitors were playing for $14,000 in prize-money.

For his efforts, Mark took home $3,200.00 in prize-money, together with a replica of the Perpetual trophy and also the much treasured distinction of having his name engraved on the Perpetual trophy.

This was the first time that these two players competed in the final after having traveled to Berri on numerous occasions seeking to win the title. In a huge display of sportsmanship, Ben trailing by 3 frames to 1, called a foul on himself for double hitting the cue ball in the fifth frame. This gesture of sportsmanship did not go unnoticed by the crowd, with a loud round of applause for his excellent sportsmanship. In his acceptance speech, Mark was also very appreciative of the gesture, stating it as the best case of good sportsmanship that he had ever seen in the game. It is also worth mentioning, that if Mark had potted out as a result of this foul, it would have resulted in the final been decided in the fifth frame. In what could be described as poetic justice, Ben eventually won this frame, only to lose the next frame and the championship 4/2.

Ben did not go home empty handed, collecting $1,600.00 plus a trophy, which will help relieve some of the pain of losing the final.

This tournament was also the designated Jackpot tournament for the recently formed Professional Pool Players Association, in which all unclaimed prize money from the previous 4 designated tournaments was distributed at this event, resulting in Mark collecting an additional $3,800 and Ben an additional $1,900. Several other players from this Association were also rewarded, including Phil Jones (semi finalist) and Martin Brady (best performing novice).

The Tournament took on an International flavor with the inclusion of a group of 12 players from New Zealand for the first time. Lead by Jim Johns from Pukekohe, the players selected had to win through a series of qualifying tournaments before being included in the touring party. Although none of the group reached the finals, they gained valuable experience from the trip. The ability to adapt to the small white ball used was the main comment made by the players.

Four hundred and thirty players nominated in this year’s tournament, which was only slightly down on the record of 446 players that entered the 2005 event. The event consisted of players being divided up into 44 sections, with the sectional play being held at various Clubs and Hotels in the Riverland. At the conclusion of play on Saturday, 132 players had qualified for the finals on the Sunday.

The Friday night restricted knock-out competition resulted in Paul Pike of Melbourne defeat Kym Saunders of Adelaide 2-1 in the Final. The Friday night Invitational knock-out resulted in Mark Williams of Robinvale defeat Paul Hancock of Adelaide 4-1 in a very high class and entertaining final. The Saturday night Pot out competition was won by James Delahunty of Adelaide. The Saturday night Ladies competition, which is always keenly contested, resulted in Suzie Yeomonds (Melbourne) defeat Annie O’Neill (Adelaide) 3-2 in the final. The “Non Qualifiers” knock-out on Sunday saw Brett Niemann (Adelaide) defeat Daniel Henwood (Adelaide) 2-1 in the final.

As a result of fund raising activities by a small group of dedicated Ladies and strong support by players in purchasing tickets resulted in prize money for the Ladies event being increased to over $1,400. This increase was appreciated by the more than 60 players competing in this event. Donations of raffle prizes by clubs and hotels hosting sectional play on the Saturday was also appreciated.

The inaugural Under 18’s knock-out in which 22 players competed resulted in Michael Hayes (Adelaide) defeat Nathan Nemes (Coober Pedy) 2-1 in front of an appreciative crowd.

Quarter Final results were:

Mark Williams (Robinvale) def Kym Saunders (Adelaide) 4/2
Anthony Grantham (Port Augusta) def Emile Riera (Adelaide) 4/3
Ben Nunan (Melbourne) def Richard Lamont (Adelaide) 4/1
Phil Jones (Adelaide) def Dax Wasley (Broken Hill) 4/3

Semi Final results were:

Mark Williams defeated Anthony Grantham 4/2
Ben Nunan defeated Phil Jones 4/2

The achievement of Port Augusta player Anthony Grantham is worth noting in making the semi finals, losing 4-2 to the eventual winner Mark Williams. This is despite not being exposed to the weekly top competition that players in Adelaide and Melbourne have available to them. Possibly the unluckiest player in the tournament was Dax Wasley of Broken Hill who fouled by potting an opponents ball after potting the black ball in the first and seventh frames in his loss against Phil Jones in the quarter finals.

The increase in prize money from $12,000 in 2005 to $14,000 in 2006 was a direct result in $2,000 in sponsorship from 8-Ball Table Manufacturer Beta Billiards. Beta Billiards was the manufacturer of 41 of the 44 tables used for the Tournament, including the 20 tables used for the finals at the Berri Resort Hotel.

At the Official Presentation, Berri Resort Hotel’s Operations Manager Bruce Gehling thanked all players for their attendance and invited them back to compete in next year’s event.

Neil Lemmey
Tournament Director