(L to r): Dave Shlemperis & Jaydev Zaveri
Dave Shlemperis and Jaydev Zaveri battled once to claim title to the $1,000-added, April 29 event on the Tri-State Tour. That battle, for the hot seat, was won by Shlemperis, and though Zaveri would make a successful comeback from the semifinals, the two opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes. The event, which drew 46 entrants, was hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Following victories over Duc Lam, Abel Rosario, Basdeo Sookhai and Kirill Safronov, Shlemperis advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against John Francisco. Zaveri, in the meantime, met up with Juan Melendez. Shlemperis punched his ticket to the hot seat match with a 7-3 win over Francisco and was joined by Zaveri, who’d defeated Melendez 8-6. In what proved to be the ‘championship match,’ Shlemperis defeated Zaveri 7-2.
On the loss side, Mike Mele was working on a six-game, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals, and began when, following an opening round bye, he was sent to that side of the bracket by Francisco. Wins #2 and #3, against Adam Miller (6-1) and Mio Celaj, double hill, set Mele up for a re-match against Francisco. Melendez drew Ray Feliciano, who’d gotten by Christian Longo, double hill, and Jeffrey Rosen 9-4, to reach him.
Mele came out on the winning side of his second straight double hill match, exacting his revenge on Francisco. Feliciano joined him in the quarterfinal match with an 8-4 win over Melendez.
Tired, apparently, of double-hill drama, Mele shut Feliciano out in that quarterfinal match, onlya to be drawn into his third double hill match; this time, against Zaveri, in the semifinals that proved to be the event’s final match. Zaveri prevailed and then, in consort with Shlemperis, opted out of a final and split the top two prizes.
Tour representatives thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway Billiards staff, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, a $1,000-added, double points event, scheduled for Sunday, May 6, will be hosted by BQE Billiards in Jackson Heights, NY.
