|8976|A regular on both the Tri-State and Predator Tours in the New York Tri-State area, Kapriel Delimelkonoglu chalked up his first victory on the Tri-State Tour, going undefeated in a $500-added event that drew 25 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. He was challenged in the finals by Keith Diaz, who came back from the loss-side to win five straight for the right to challenge him.
Until Diaz posed that challenge in the finals, no opponent scored more than three racks against Delimelkonoglu. From among the winners' side final four, he defeated George Osipovich 6-3 to face Lou Loria, who'd sent Diaz west and then defeated Al Cacciola 6-4. Punctuating his trip, Delimelkonoglu shut Loria out to gain the hot seat.
Diaz, in the meantime, had started his journey back on the loss-side. He defeated Dave Jusis, double hill, and Joel Huang 6-1 to pick up Osipovich. Cacciola drew Mike Strassberg, who'd gotten by Jin Gong 7-4 and Rick Shellhouse, double hill. Cacciola renewed his winning ways on the loss-side with a first match victory over Strassberg 7-3, but Osipovich fell to Diaz 6-4. Diaz ended Cacciola's day with a 6-3 win in the quarterfinals and turned for a vengeance re-match against Loria in the semifinals.
Diaz' bid for revenge was successful. Defeating Loria 6-2, he turned for a chance to spoil Delimelkonoglu's bid for an undefeated tournament . He managed one more rack than any of Delimelkonoglu's previous opponents, but couldn't unseat him. Delimelkonoglu won 6-4 to complete his undefeated, first victory on the Tri-State Tour.
Tour representatives thanked the owner and staff of Castle Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.
