Slate of Bayside hosts pro pool event

In the last 10 years, the past time known as pool has been undergoing a revolution of both style and reputation. In trying to shed the smoky barroom scene aura, pool aficionados have been working to elevate the game to bonifide professional sport.
While there are thousands of places to play pool throughout the world, the International Pool Tour (IPT) standards require the best equipment and select different locales to be classified as premier places to play pool. For this reason, they chose Slate Bayside Billiards, the Bell Boulevard-based, 21-table pool hall as a &#8220world class” venue and one of five United States locations to host a qualifier.
&#8220It is a tremendous honor for us to host this qualification event,” explained Slate General Manager, Evelyn Hatzigeorgiou of the tournament held over the weekend. &#8220We are so thrilled because these professionals have played everywhere in the world and they remembered us.”
The IPT has officially launched the largest pool tour in the history of the sport. Interestingly, it is the only true &#8220open” tour. 200 men and women will compete in the IPT World 8-Ball Open Championship from September 2 to September 10 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, NV. 150 entrants will consist of the already chosen tour members and the last 50 participants will be admitted from 25 different worldwide qualification events. These participants will compete for a historic first place prize of $500,000.
Like other athletes, professional pool players dedicate their lives to abundant hours of practice to refine their skills, while also utilizing knowledge of both geometry and physics. Slate's qualifier welcomed competitors from across the globe, including contestants from England, Serbia, Korea, Canada, and the Philippines.
Queens' participants included Eddie Kwok of Flushing, who lost in the third round, and amateur pool player and Bayside dentist, Dr. Louis Pannullo, the sixth-place finisher. His ranking will guarantee him a free spot in another qualifier. The winner of Slate's qualification event was Marco Marquez of Chicago; Santos Sambajon also earned a spot in the World 8-Ball Open, finishing second.
Although he already qualified for the World Open in Atlanta, GA, professional pool player Frankie Hernandez, an Ozone Park resident, attended Slate's event as a bystander on the final day of competition. Having played pool for 20 years with friend and IPT tour member, Tony Robles, Hernandez hopes to triumph in the World 8-Ball Open in September.