Eberle Wins Unusual Billiards Event

Some of the finest players in Southern California assembled at Danny K’s Billiards in Orange, CA, the weekend of August 23-24 to play in the second rotation continuous double-elimination pool tournament. Even though only 32 players entered, the field hosted some local and national pros, like Jose Parica, Ernesto Dominguez, Tang Hoa, David Hemmah, Oscar Dominguez, and ultimate winner Max Eberle.

The entry fee was $50, with $2,000 added to the prize money.

The format was a race to 100 point on the winners’ side and 75 points on the one-loss side. Rotation continuous is played like rotation, with each ball counting a point and with each player coming to the table with cue ball in hand. Safeties are not allowed, and if the shooter makes a ball on the break, he or she takes cue ball in hand,

On Sunday, Eberle played Parica in the winners’-bracket semifinals. Tied at 75 points, Eberle scratched on the break. Parica had the option to give the shot back to Eberle and did so because the 1 ball was tied up on the spot with other balls. Eberle banked the one in the side, breaking up any clusters and ran the table.

Parica then went to the one-loss side, where he played Hoa. At 74 points, Parica got out of line on his out ball and rattled it in the corner. Hoa had 56 points when this happened and mounted a charge, running 11 balls. However, he got out of line on the 8 ball and missed position on his next ball. Hoa missed, and Parica won 75-66. Parica then had to play Nick Spano from Victorville. Spano showed a lot of heart but lost 75-55. Meanwhile, Eberle and Dominguez were battling it out for the hot seat. The audience witnessed some great pool, with Eberle winning 100-40.

Dominguez then had to face Parica in the semifinal match. Dominguez displayed great cue ball control in winning 75-54. In the finals, a single race to 100, Eberle displayed near-perfect cue ball control, running 28 balls and then 22 later in the match, while Dominguez seemed to have a difficult time making a ball on the break. Ultimately Eberle won the match 100-54 and the tournament, stating, “Rotation continuous may just be my new favorite game. I’ve always loved rotation and this is a great way to bring it into an exciting and highly playable format. It’s an awesome test of skill and focus, and this may well be the game of the future.”