40 of the strongest A/ B players descended on Country Club USA in Chelmsford MA for another stop on the Pechauer New England A/B Tour. Notable names in attendance were were Walter Bryska, Mike Nicoloro, Tom McGonagle, Tony Ruberto, Shane Cote, Luis Rios, Randy Labonte and Mike Minichello.
I saw great pool shooting during the entire tournament, but a few upsets caught my eye. A player by the name of Kerry McAuliffe beat both Mike Minchello and Tony Ruberto.
Winners side semi final 1 was Joe Dupuis vs Ken Ludy. Joey started out hot and won the first 5 games and Ken won the next two to make it 5-2. Joey won the next game to make it 6-2 but Ken won the next 4 games to put pressure on Joey and made the score 6-6. The last rack was a lot of safetys and Ken lost the battle and the match 7-6.
Semi final number 2 was Mike Nicoloro vs Luis Rios. This match was going one way. Mike Nicoloro took a commanding lead in the set 5-2 then suddenly he missed an easy 6 ball. Luis won that game to make it 5-3 and then ran the next 3 racks to make it 6-5 him. Then Nicoloro had a chance to tie the match and he dogged the 7 ball and left Luis an easy shot on the 7 and the remaining balls for 7-5 win.
The finals were Joey Dupuis and Luis Rios when the smoke cleared and only 2 players were left from a feild of 40 players. This was a very exciting match to watch as they both made great shots. Joey came out of the gate red hot and won the first 5 games and then Luis won the next 2 games to make the score 5-2. Joey won the next 2 games to put the pressure on Luis and make the score 7-2 but Luis wasn't done yet. He won the next 5 games to make the score 7-7 going to 10 and the next 2 games went to Luis to make it 9-7 in his favor. Before he could blink an eye, the score was tied 9-9. The last game was a lot of safetys and Joey made a gutsy shot on the 5 ball to gain position on the 7-ball and evenualy win the match and his second straight victory of this season.
I would like to thank Country Club USA for hosting this event and remind everybody that I am hosting a special 8 ball event at World class Billiards in Peabody mass on November 13th. Start time is 11am sharp. If you need any info, please check the web site at www.mdpromotions.com
Complete Payouts:
1st Joey Dupuis $600 calcutta $300
2nd Luis Rios $300 calcutta $150
3rd Randy Labonte $150 calcutta $50
4th Dave Fernandez $100
5th/6th Ken Ludy, Mike Nicoloro $60
7th/8th Kerrie McAuliffe, Walter Bryska $40
9th/12th Ivo Petrov, Tom McGonagal, Jeff Luckenbill, Mike Minichello $25
Photo courtesy of Mitch Heydt
