02/09/2026
THORPE & SALIM TAKE INDIANAPOLIS!
By Mary Kenniston
This past Wednesday (February 4th), players and fans alike showed up at John Wayne’s Pub & Eatery in Indianapolis, IN for their $10,000 added John Wayne’s Pro Open.
Welcomed by owner Chuck and Sam Thomas and presented by Meucci Cues and PoolActionTV.com, the Open featured four events – a one pocket mini, a banks ring game, a 10 ball Midnight Madness mini and the main event, the nine ball open.
Meucci’s own Billy Thorpe – last year’s Bayou State Classic 9-Ball and Bank Pool Showdown champ as well as Johnathan Pinegar (“Hennessee”) were there. Ultimate Pool USA Hall of Famer Dave Matlock, Germany’s Can Salim and Peru’s Gerson Martinez roamed the room. Shane Winters, who won the inaugural Making It In American One Pocket Championship tour stop at Billiard Breakdown in Greece, NY, current USA National Men’s 9 Ball Pool champ Lukas Fracasso-Verner and Joe Prince, the Ultimate Pool USA Arizona Open winner were there as well.
Also spotted were Shane McMinn, Danny Smith, Sergio Rivas, Louis DeMarco, Jeremy Seaman, Manny Perez, Gary Lutman, Jeff Beckley, Chase Stumfoll and Taylor Hansen.
Play kicked off with the eight player $500 entry One Pocket Mini. The format was race to three - single elimination.
First round action saw Shane Winters over Hennessee, Billy Thorpe over Lukas Fracasso-Verner and Danny Smith over Brett Cruse – all 3-0. Sergio Rivas sneaked past Can Salim – score 3-2.
Next round saw Thorpe skunk Winters 3-0 and Rivas defeat Smith 3-1.
The final match pitted Thorpe against Rivas with Thorpe winning the title 3-1.
Featuring sixteen players, Friday evening saw the $200 entry Banks Ring Game. When the smoke cleared, the last two standing were Hennessee and Thorpe. After a lengthy battle, Thorpe took this down too!
Saturday opened with a player auction, meeting and draw for the main event – the Nine Ball Pro Open. Featuring 54 players who paid a $150 entry fee and played on seven foot Diamonds, the format was double elimination, alternate breaks and races to seven on both sides. Ladies received two games on the wire.
Shooting out of the starting gate and slicing through the bracket to the final eight saw Manny Perez eking out a win over Shane McMinn 7-6, Jeremy Seaman defeating Danny Smith 7-4, Billy Thorpe beating Lukas Fracasso-Verner 7-5 and Indianapolis favorite Jeff Beckley fell to Tom McCluskey 7-4.
As play in the main event ended for the night, the Midnight Madness 10 Ball Mini began. Thirteen players jumped in to play in this $200 entry single elimination event. Also played on seven foot Diamonds, races were to seven.
Battling down to the last two players, Can Salim defeated Jordan Davis 7-2 to grab the cash.
Returning on Sunday and vying to get into the hot seat match were Perez vs. Seaman and Thorpe vs. McCluskey. Thorpe beat McCluskey 7-4 and Perez survived a close one over Seaman 7-6.
Moving into the hot seat match, it was Thorpe who locked up his seat in the finals after thumping Perez 7-2.
Meanwhile, tearing through the one loss side after a second round defeat was Hennessee. He beat Nate Williams 7-1, Emilio Alfaro 7-0, Shane Winters 7-4, Ronie Solgot 7-5, Fracasso-Verner 7-0, Sergio Rivas 7-3, Jeremy Seaman 7-5 and Danny Smith 7-2.
Waiting for him was Perez – he went down also 7-3. Manny finished in third place and Hennessee moved into the finals.
Since this was true double elimination, Hennessee would have to defeat Thorpe twice to take the crown. However, it was not to be as Thorpe was not to be denied. He won the match 7-2 leaving Hennessee in a well deserved second place and Billy claimed the title.
Congratulations to Can Salim and Billy Thorpe for winning three events at this year’s John Wayne Pro Open!
PoolActionTV.com would like to thank owners Chuck and Sam Thomas, their General Manager Sharon Haas and their staff for laying out the red carpet for both players and fans.
Thanks to Tournament Director Ian Jones who also sneaked into the booth to do some commentary along with Larry Schwartz, Shane Winters, Scott Rabon and Ray Hansen.
We’d also like thank our sponsors and fans. Our sponsors include attorney Joseph J. Long, Meucci Cues, Simonis, Hanshew Jump Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Inc., Lomax Custom Cues, Aramith, CueMaker Supply.com, Durbin Custom Cues, Smash Billiards, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event is The Rack in Detroit, MI for its $7,000 added Making It In American One Pocket Tour stop. Featuring the main event, the $6,000 added One Pocket Championship as well as the $1,000 added One Pocket One Ball One Pocket Mini, the dates are February 25th-March 1st. Hope to see you there!
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