Dave Grau took down two different opponents in a hot seat battle and finals to capture the top prize in a Western New York Tour stop on Saturday, September 14. The event drew 24 entrants to Camelot Billiards in Rochester, NY.
Grau's hot seat opponent was tour director Nick Brucato. Grau had sent Cory Gray west 8-5, while Brucato was sending Ron Casanzio over 8-4. Grau defeated Brucato 8-5 and waited in the hot seat for what turned out to be the return of Casanzio.
Gray moved and ran into Mark Creamer, who'd defeated Don Purdy and Rich Fontinez, both 6-4. Costanzio drew Kyle Bova, who'd eliminated Joe Herring 8-3 and Tito Ortiz 8-4. Creamer advanced to the quarterfinals 6-4 over Gray and was met by Casanzio, who'd defeated Bova 8-1.
Casanzio stopped Creamer's loss-side ambitions 8-3 in those quarterfinals, and then ended Brucato's hopes for a finals re-match with Gray, winning the semifinal matchup 8-6. Grau, though, stopped Casanzio, winning the final contest 8-4 to claim the event title.
