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2015 ACSISA Open Artistic Pool Championship – Recap
2015 ACSISA Open Artistic Pool Championship: A Resounding Success!
Complete Group
The 2015 ACSISA Open Artistic Pool Artistic Pool Championship finished after 3 days of exciting competition from March 20-22, 2015 in the beautiful New Orleans Ballroom at the historic Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois. This event was held in conjunction with the ACS (American Cue Sports IL State Association) Tournament. There were 23 Artistic Pool Playing Artists from North America competing for 9 separate titles (1 overall + 8 discipline champions) plus WPA World Artistic Pool Professional ranking points.
Nine competitive sessions were conducted with the final session showcasing the top 6 scoring players (after the 1st 6 disciplines). This magnetic session was highly competitive with the top 3 players being separated by only 8 points. Andy Segal won the overall championship, tying the record of 277 points, which was set by Nick Nikolaidis of Quebec, Canada at the 2014 WPA World Artistic Pool Championship. Second place went to Tim Chin with a score of 270 while Steve Markle and Jamey Gray took third and fourth place respectively with scores of 269 and 267. (Complete results and other Artistic Pool Worldwide sport items are available at the new WPA Artistic Pool Division website – www.wpa-artisticpooldivision.com)
Top 4 Players Left to Right: Andy Segal, Tim Chin, Steve Markle, Jamey Gray
Players came to the event with a wide range of experiences ranging from elite players through players attending their first WPA World Artistic Pool ranking event – Ben Zeman (WI), Brian Pauley (OH), Andrew Sozio (NJ), and Kevin Brown (SC).
Artistic Pool focuses on specific cueing challenges skillfully performed under 8 discipline categories. The discipline title winners are as follows: 1) Trick / Fancy Shots – Mark Dimick, 2) Special Arts – William DeYonker, 3) Draw Shots – Andy Segal, 4) Follow Shots – Curtis Robertson, 5) Bank / Kick Shots – Will DeYonker, 6) Stroke Shots – Mark Dimick, 7) Jump Shots – Jamie Moody, and 8) Masse Shots – Dan Hosier. 39 of the 40 shots / challenges were scored under the standard Degree of Difficulty (D.O.D) process in which players receive 3 attempts on each challenge with a full D.O.D. point value earned if the challenge is made on the 1st attempt, 1 point less if made on the 2nd attempt, and 2 points less if made on the 3rd attempt. A special scoring system was used for the other challenge.
Discipline Champions / Special Awards: Left to Right: Andy Segal, William DeYonker, Curtis Robertson, Ben Zeman, Jamie Moody, Dan Hosier, Mark Dimick
There were several perfect discipline scores (40 points) during the competition as follows: Special Arts – Will DeYonker & Jamey Gray, Follow – Curtis Robertson, Jeremiah Owens & Tom Kinzel, Jump – Jamie Moody & Tim Chin.
Two awards were also presented for special recognition. A Sportsmanship Recipient voted on by the players was awarded to Ben Zeman. The Rising Star Recipient Award was presented to Dan Hosier as the highest scoring player based on designated factors of eligibility.
Contributions by several organizations and individuals helped make this an extremely successful event. We would like to thank the ACSISA (American Cue Sports Illinois State Association) for the following: primary financial support ($2500), the venue (in association with Pheasant Run Resort), tables / lights (in association with John Stitch), custom ACS IL State awards for the top 4 places, and associated provisions to make the event a total success. Direct sponsors were ACSISA (Dan Taylor, Cecil Messer, and the ACSISA board), Tom and Marty Rossman of Dr. Cue Promotions for discipline / sportsmanship medals, and Tim Chin for sponsoring the Rising Star Award. Lori Owens and Susie Robertson donated their service time as the final round scorekeepers. TVMike.TV provided video streaming services with commentary by Jason Lynch for the final round of play. Photo services were courtesy of Brenda Lee and Karolina Quigley.
Our worldwide audience enjoyed the stream. We are grateful for the general hospitality services of Pheasant Run Resort and special venue help services by Dr. Phil and other members of John Stitch staffing.
Dr. Cue Promotions (Tom and Marty Rossman), plus Mark Dimick and Curtis Robertson provided direction services for the event. Thanks are also due the WPA APD committee members for their administrative help, players, fans, and special guests that performed various duties, plus each valued performer that entertained a large audience during the Saturday night media / fan / sponsor appreciation experience!!
The 2015 ACSISA Open Artistic Pool Championship was recognized / documented by the WPA Artistic Pool Division as a 100% world ranking event under the WPA umbrella for the growing and internationally recognized sport of Artistic Pool.
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