The fourth stop on Tony Robles' Predator Tour in the 2011 season was held on Sunday, March 27th at BQE Billiards in Jackson Heights, NY. This special one-day, amateur-only event was worth double points for the tour's standings, where sixty-two players came out to compete for the $1,000 first prize.
With the event being limited to one day, since the room was unavailable on Saturday, the marathon all-day tournament was a test of patience, stamina, and overall consistency for the players at BQE.
While this event saw a number of strong performances by top up-and-coming players, Chuck Giallorenzo would be the player to break through to win after a third-round loss on the winner's side of the bracket. After having defeated Frank Ramos 7-5 and Rene Villalobos 7-3, Chuck lost to Sam Mohamed 7-6.
Chuck stayed focused and played with a lot of heart, going on to defeat Gus Mokkas 7-3, Frank Ramos 7-5, Michael Toohig 7-6, Gail Glazebrook 7-4, Sam Mohamed 7-2, Junior Sanchez 7-0, and Steve Way 7-6 on the one-loss side.
Steve Way, who finished strong in third place at this event, had a gritty run through the tournament, playing good enough to win. Having taken some time away from the game, Steve came into the event with a clear head and solid demeanor to finish strong in third.
The event's highest-finishing female, Gail Glazebrook, has continued her consistent play coming off of her recent third-place finish at the Super Billiards Expo. Gail has been showing her ability to get into a gear, and some at the tournament called her "Grinder Squared", a play off her nickname "G Squared". After losing her second round match, her determined play got her five straight wins on the one-loss side to take a 7th place finish at this event.
However, the player to dominate the winner's bracket of this event was a familiar face to the pool scene in New York, Mark "Gypsy" Pantovic. En route to the finals, Mark defeated Naldo Troncoso 7-6, Billly Cheng 7-5, Victor Nau 7-4, Brian Hunter 7-4, Lionel Rivera 7-5, and took the hot seat after an 8-7 win against Steve Way.
Mark Pantovic then took on Chuck Giallorenzo in the finals, who had previously come off a gritty hill-hill win against Steve Way in the semifinal. The finals would prove to be another tough battle for Chuck, where this match also went to double-hill, and Chuck came away with the win at 8-7. Congratulations to Chuck Giallorenzo on this hard-fought victory!
Stop # 5 will be taking place on April 16-17 at Mr. Cue Billiards in Lindenhurst, NY. This will be an ABCD for both days with an Open/Pro on Sunday the April 17th to decide who wins the paid entry to the CSI U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship May 16-21 in Las Vegas.
