Chris Penney Emerges Atop Record Field At Predator CSNS Ranking #3
By Dale Brimicombe.
October 25, 2026
Tournament Bracket:
Brian's CueSport Stream:
Predator CSNS Ranking event # 3 (9-Ball) at Dooly’s Burnside this weekend saw a new attendance record set for a ranking event with 88 players in the house. Of course, that many players did force a slight reduction in the A side/B side races, but it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the participants. Action was swift and in due time the field was whittled down to a 32-player single knockout redraw. With most of the talent in the final 16 sporting a Fargo rate north of 600, it seemed a toss of the dice in who would win out.
Chris Penney had his hands full with recently minted Canadian Amateur 8-Ball champ Mitch Tucker but managed to squeak out a 5-4 victory to get to the quarter-finals. A heavyweight tilt featuring Jody Swim and Kyle Richard saw Swim advance with a 5-1 win only to face his practice partner and mentor Penney in the quarter finals. Jody had to pack it in part way through the match due to being overtired so Chris would see semi-final action in the form of Shawn Smith. Smith had been showing signs of regaining his top form in recent events but Penney dispatched him quickly 5-1 to reach the finals.
Meanwhile, the other side of the draw was a family affair as Christian Mantolino dusted Jacques Cote, Colin MacDonald and Peter Thompson to get to the semi-finals. Smooth-stroking Nok Mantolino got by Adam Cormier and Guy Tremblay to set up a father-son clash where Nok prevailed by a 5-1 scoreline.
The final match saw Nok get ahead 2-0 and breaking the third game. This provided the TSN turning point as a scratch on the break and two subsequent fouls off of lock-up safeties by Penny allowed Chris to get on the board at 2-1 down. The match see-sawed and was locked at 3-3 when Nok inexplicably jawed the 6-ball, allowing Chris to clear up and take the lead for the first time. The next game saw a bit of safety play on the 1-ball before Chris finally took on a shot in the side to make it. The rest of the rack he was seemingly out of position on every shot but kept his composure and concentration to pocket the balls and the final 9-ball to close out the victory with a 5-3 score line.
Brisk sales for the 10-ball break contest saw the pot swell to $190/ball. Craig Teal had his ticket drawn but a dry break saw him settle for the $85 consolation prize.
Payouts:
1st - $710 – Chris Penney
2nd - $535 – Nok Mantolino
3/4 - $265 – Shawn Smith, Christian Mantolino
5/8 - $175 – Jody Swim, Wayne Thibodeau, Peter Thompson, Guy Tremblay
9/16 - $135 – Kyle Richard, Mitchell Tucker, Brian White, Adam MacRae, Nick Villano, Colin Macdonald, Brian Bedford, Adam Cormier
550 and under Fargo payouts:
$54 each for 6 players tied for first place
Ramil Madalang, Gerole Salas, Ricky Johnson, Dave Karas, Cal Boudreau, Travis Warren
450 and under Fargo payouts:
1st - $165 – Denyel Clado
$80 each for 2 players tied for second place
Kim Hobbs, Carlyle Brannen
Many thanks to our title sponsor Predator, whose continued commitment to our tour has helped make it so successful; to Jessica Lee and the staff at Dooly’s Burnside for their hospitality in hosting our event; to Brian McNamara and Brian's Cuesport Streams for the live stream coverage throughout the day; and to Bruce Lilly who, while still laid up as a player, continues to man the helm at the tournament desk and runs a tight ship, kept things moving at a brisk pace to get the event done in a day.
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