Brandon ‘Shuff’les Through the 5th Annual Burt Kellerman Memorial Tournament

On a hot summer June 21-22, in Englewood, Colorado, the Fifth Annual Burt Kellerman Memorial Tournament took place. Burt Kellerman “Mr. Red, White, and Blue” passed away seven years ago and since then, his friends Ron Ferrendelli, Peter Emily, and Michael Smith have raised and added thousands of dollars for this event in his honor. “He was very patriotic. He was such a pool collector and a lover of all things that were pool,” says Ferrendelli.

The first four tournaments were held at Shakespeares and since their closing they found the perfect new home at Table Steaks South. The $4,000 added, race to 7, 9 ball event has been known to attract the finest players from across the country. This year was no different. The full 64-player field traveled from all parts of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and even Virginia for their shot at the prize.

WPBA professional Anna Kostanian, coming off a recent third place showing in Charlotte, wowed spectators with her big stroke and huge break. That is, until she met her match in Dave Gomez, who went on to finish 5-6^th, proving he’s not just a bar table player. Big gun, Mark Haddad also took an early exit just before the cash when he was tag-teamed by the Colorado Springs Smith brothers, Nate on the A side (who tied for 9-12^th) and Nick on the B side (who tied for 5-6^th).

Meanwhile, Brandon Shuff from Virginia was making his way through the winners’ bracket, taking down local champs Tony Piazza and Danny Medina in the quarter-final and semi-final rounds. Piazza would ultimately prevail for a rematch with Shuff in the finals in a single match race to 11 showdown. In the end, Shuff proved he didn’t travel 1,500 miles to come in second place. Final score: 11-9.

Make sure you return to Table Steaks South October 2-5^th for your chance at the guaranteed $5,000 added National Gomez Challenge; bar table 9 ball, race to 15.

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