Poolin' Around

Pool enthusiasts from across the globe participated in the sixth annual Wyoming Open pool tournament at the Platte Valley Community Center March 29 through 31.

The event, produced by E.J. Glode and co-promoted by the Illinois-headquartered Dragon Promotions, featured some of the world’s greatest pool players. United States’ No. 1-ranked Shane Van Boening from South Dakota went undefeated to win the Wyoming Open, beating Hawaii’s “Rocket” Rodney Morris in the “8-Ball Bar Table” event in the Masters Division, which boasted 48 top players from around the world. Van Boening, who also won the Open in 2009, received a $2,800 grand prize for his recent first-place victory.

Local Carbon County players included Ricardo Martinez, Mack Pride and Jordan Thayer. Martinez placed fifth in the Masters Division, and Pride placed second in the “Hard Luck 9-Ball” event, which was a second-chance shot for players knocked out of the competition early.

In the Masters Division, Morris, who won the Wyoming Open twice before and was No. 2 in the player auction this year, actually beat Van Boening in the past five Open tournaments. However, Van Boening’s break seemed unstoppable this year, and Morris scratched the final break, giving the match to Van Boening 7-5.

“The way I’ve been playing, I knew Shane would have to play absolutely perfect to beat me,” Morris said. “And sure enough, he played a flawless two matches against me this tournament. My hat’s off to him.”

The Classic Division, at the intermediate level, featured a full 64-player field of more advanced players and $1,600 for first place.

Colorado’s Don Clements went undefeated and won first in that division, also scoring two wins over runner-up Kevin Wall.

In the Sportsman Division, which featured beginning level novice players, Mike Kozeniewski of Wyoming won the 50-player division, also defeating Colorado’s Dwain Twiford twice in the finals. Kozeniewski received $600 for his first place win.

The main event open to masters level players and professionals featured $5,000 added to the purse, and in addition to Van Boening and Morris, other tournament favorites included Florida’s Charlie “Korean Dragon” Williams, South Carolina’s Stevie “The Blade” Moore, India’s Raj “The Hitman” Hundal, and Mexico’s Rafael Martinez- all of whom made it into the final 16 bracket. Other notable players at the tournament included Spain’s Marc Vidal and Utah’s Mark Tadd.

Williams won the Wyoming Open in 2011 and is ranked as a Top-16 player nationwide, said the tournament was quite competitive because of the attending player accomplishments. Williams is also the founder of Dragon Promotions, which helped produce the event.

“Raj Hundal finished fifth last year and is ranked top 30 in the world. Rafael Martinez is the No. 1 pool player in Mexico. Stevie Moore is the world bank pool champion,” Williams said. “Shane Van Boening is also the No. 1 ranked player in the U.S., and the No. 3 ranked player in the world.”

With a drawing of more than 150 players in three divisions, the Wyoming Open is now widely regarded as the biggest and best pool event in six states.

The event was co-sponsored by Asia’s No. 1 cloth provider, Andy Pro Cloth, and Master Chalk. Local sponsors included Hotel Wolf, Duke’s Bar and Grill, Valley Foods, Riviera Lodge, Carbon County Visitor’s Council and Shively Hardware. Local partners for the event included Duke’s Bar and Grill and Riviera Lodge. All events were coordinated by Shively Hardware.

“The Wyoming Open is the biggest week for my business and for many others in our town,” said Duke’s Bar and Grill owner Chris Duke. “E.J. Glode is always trying to improve the event, and this year is by far the best Wyoming Open ever.”

For the second-chance Hard Luck 9-Ball event, Utah’s Ace Brown won first place, scoring his first trophy at the Wyoming Open in six tries.

“The second-chance tournament given was for those who didn’t finish in the top 16, and Ace Brown won $400 for first place,” Williams said. “Saratoga’s Mack Pride, who got second, received $300.”

Also at the Platte Valley Community Center, younger competitors got a chance to play in the Wyoming Open Qualifier for the USA Junior Nationals, hosted by the Billiard Education Foundation. A total of 26 kids aged 17 and under came from Nebraska, Colorado and all over Wyoming to participate.

“The top three kids won top spots to play in the Junior Nationals in Las Vegas over the summer, and Kelly Glode, E.J.’s daughter, won third place,” Williams said.

All players in attendance were indeed grateful for Glode, who helped bring more recognition to Saratoga and the world of pool through producing the event.

“If we had more promoters like E.J. Glode, the pool world would be a much better place,” Hundal said.

For more info on the Wyoming Open, contact [email protected], call 307-329-8924 or visit http://www.facebook.com/wyomingopen.