Day 1 of the 2025 SBE is in the Books with a Few Each of Results and Surprises

Billy Thorpe (Courtesy Johnny Sturgis)

Mosconi Cup captain and teammate play back to back, side by side in last match of the night 

It was a great way for the first night of the 2025 Diamond Open at the Super Billiards Expo to end. Among the 16 matches that comprised the tournament’s second-round, final set of Thursday, April 10 matches were two that played out on adjacent tables, end-to-end in the Diamond Open arena. At one, US Mosconi Cup Captain, Skyler Woodward faced Eric Roberts. At the other, Billy Thorpe squared off against Robb Saez. We’ll tell you how that went in a minute here, but first, a word from your host . . .  

The $12,000-added, 31st Annual Super Billiards Expo at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA drew a 128-entrant field to its World Nineball Tour-ranking, 2025 Diamond Open Players Championship that got underway early yesterday (April 10). There is, of course, a lot more going on in the place than the one Pro event, to include the Open Amateur championships which put 1,024 competitors into 16, 64-entrant brackets, and plays them single-elimination until it’s over, which you’d think might take until Christmas, but doesn’t. There is also a Senior event (over 50) with 512 competitors, a Super Senior event  (65+) with 256 entrants (both single elimination), along with an as-yet-to-be determined number of Juniors, Women and ProAm competitors who begin signing up today (Fri., April 11). And this does not include the indeterminate number of folks taking part in an ongoing series of Mini tournaments at which competitors pay $60 to become part of an eight-person, single-elimination bracket, offering them the opportunity to win $400 for winning three matches in a row. 

All this with a Billiard Trade extravaganza in the 240,000 square-footage of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at which you can consider purchasing a cue from any of dozens of pool cue manufacturers, or maybe you could use some chalk. Or a new pool table! Or behind door #3, you could choose to watch Jayson Shaw at his own booth, trying out Earl Strickland’s hand-wrapped (to a fare-thee-well), 70” cue stick, as Earl himself ‘holds court’ talking to people about anything that crosses his mind. They are scheduled to participate in a series of ‘challenge matches’ against Expo patrons who’ve opted in to the experience of having their butts kicked by either of the two professionals. 

On to the Diamond Open Championships, with their 128 competitors, which at the close of business last night, was still at 128, because the second round of winners’ side matches were scheduled for today (Friday) and the first round of loss-side competition would not begin until that second round was completed. The winners’ side’s second round is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. this evening. 

In no particular order, the shortlist of ‘pros’ who’ll be moving to the loss side after the opening round included, but is not limited to “Fireball” Mike Dechaine, Matt Krah, Shaun Dobson (who gave Sky Woodward a double-hill run for his money), David Alcaide, Nathan Childress (who fought Robb Saez to double hill), Rodney Morris, Earl “The Pearl” Strickland (who lost to The Kaiser, Ralf Souquet) and Raymond Linares. 

And so it was, that at 9 p.m., last night, eight matches (half) of the winners’ side second round got underway, featuring some of the more ‘favored’ competitors. Included (among others) were Fedor Gorst, Shaun Wilkie, BJ Ussery, Hunter Lombardo, Thorsten Hohmann, and the opening paragraph’s side by side matches; Sky Woodward against Eric Roberts and Billy Thorpe versus Robb Saez. It being virtually impossible to pay any detail-oriented attention to two matches at the same time, we focused on the Thorpe/Saez matchup, primarily because they were two competitors who were separated by 30 FargoRate points, giving Thorpe the 777 edge over Saez’ 747. With one eye on the Woodward/Roberts match, on which in the midst of our reporting on the Thorpe/Saez match, we will comment, like so – SKY/ERIC 0-0 (with lead player listed first).

Saez, Roberts beat/defeated by the odds against Thorpe and Woodward

By reputation alone, Woodward and Thorpe would have been favored in the matches. FargoRate calculations gave Thorpe a 67.7% chance of defeating Saez, while it gave Woodward (813) an 87.9% chance of defeating Roberts (736). Saez beat the odds to win his match, Roberts did not. Saez’ voyage to the win was not without its share of ‘critical junctures,’ affording him some agita, that Italian expression related to “feelings of unease or emotional agitation often associated with stress or annoyance.” Indeed!

The favored ‘Rack your own’ format in play dictates that in order to win, you’ll need to win some racks that your opponent breaks. Thorpe and Saez played 18 games, with Saez just winning the ‘break of serve’ contest 5-4. He won the first game off Thorpe’s break and finished by winning the last game the same way.

It wasn’t what you’d call a ‘pretty’ match with both of them making the occasional and personally frustrating ‘unforced error.’ 

“I could not possibly have played worse,” said Thorpe at the end, as he packed his cues for a trip to the loss side. Saez, too, while happy to have won, was not happy with how difficult he’d made it for himself along the way with, among other things, dry breaks and scratches.

Saez opened with a three-pack (meanwhile, ERIC/SKY 3-1) that ended when he dry-broke rack #4 and put Thorpe on the board. Saez came back and dropped another three-pack on Thorpe and it’s 6-1. Saez broke and Thorpe took over to chalk up his second rack. Thorpe came back to win the next one, too, even though he’d scratch on his own break. Saez then scratched shooting at the 4-ball, giving Thorpe (as they say in baseball) an ‘extra out’ in the inning, which he used to good advantage to chalk up his third rack (6-4).

(SKY/ERIC 6-5, Woodward’s first lead)

Saez scratched on his next break and Thorpe ran ‘em to pull within two at 6-4. He broke to get within one (critical juncture), but in a shot at the 2-ball, came inches shy of setting himself up for a very makeable 3-9 combination. Saez closed it out to regain a three-rack lead at 7-4.

(Meanwhile, SKY takes the lead and extends it over ERIC 8-6)

 Saez broke and scratched on rack #12, but Thorpe gave him an ‘extra out’ and Saez went back up by 4, 8-4. At another critical juncture (more for Thorpe than Saez), with Saez a rack away from reaching double hill and Thorpe breaking, they arrive at the 8-ball, where they spend more time chasing and safing that ball than they’d spent on a few of the entire games. Thorpe wins it to pull within three and turn rack #14 into a non-stop critical juncture. 

It began with Saez scratching, and though Thorpe would give the table back, Saez missed a shot (another ‘out’ for Thorpe) and gave it back to him. Thorpe pulled within two at 8-6.

(SKY 9 – on the hill – ERIC 6)

At yet another ‘critical juncture,’ on Thorpe’s break, play goes back and forth, until Saez wins it to reach the hill first (9-6). Saez scratches breaking rack #16 and Thorpe runs it to pull back within two at 9-7. Thorpe drops two on his next break but has to ‘safe’ the 3-ball. Saez gives him the table back, but he rattles the 5-ball in a hole, which Saez then repeats, allowing Thorpe to draw within one 9-8. The tension, to say the least, has ratcheted up a great deal.

(Meanwhile, SKY/ERIC is over, 10-7).

Saez broke the final rack, dry as it happened. There was a little jockeying for position, which led to Saez making a good ‘safe,’ shooting at the 2-ball. Thorpe returned the favor and they chased it for a while. When that logjam broke and a few more balls had dropped, Saez found himself staring at as clear a three-ball ‘connect the dots’ situation as a table can offer; 7, 8, 9. He made them all to complete his second win (both relatively harrowing). He is scheduled to jump out of the frying pan into the fire of “The Hitman,” Thorsten Hohmann at 6 p.m.

Woodward will face Italy’s Francisco Candela at the same time. Also scheduled for this evening at 6 will be Fedor Gorst against Shaun Wilkie, Jayson Shaw versus Sullivan Clark, and BJ Ussery against Bosnia/Herzegovina’s Sanjin Pehlivanovic. For further information, you can check in with digitalpool.com’s page (search for ‘2025 Diamond Open at SuperBilliards Expo’), which will also offer guidelines to watch some of the action live.

Stay tuned for further updates.  

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