Antonetti goes undefeated to win lower-bracket event on Garden State Pool Tour

May 3rd, 2024 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

Rick Rodriguez and Mark Antonetti

Lampaan and Halpin split top prizes in upper-bracket tournament

In an increasingly regular format for regional tours, the Garden State Pool Tour split its entrants to create separate, paying events at a stop in Wayne, NJ this past weekend (Sat., April 20). Mark Antonetti went undefeated to win the lower bracket event for Fargo Rates of 510 or lower, while Levien Lampaan and Jason Halpin split the top two prizes in the upper bracket for Fargo Rates between 511 and 660. The upper bracket drew 20 entrants and the lower bracket drew 19 at the event hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ. 

Antonetti, in the lower bracket, faced three women in a row to reach the hot seat match. Two of those three matches went double hill. After a bye, he chalked up a double-hill win over Jennifer Pedutem, defeated Susan Durling 7-1 and in one of the winners’ side semifinals downed Allison Honeymar, double hill, to reach the hot seat match. Rick Rodriguez, in the meantime (also with a bye), downed Tracey Muller 7-2 and Bryan Arrao 5-1, before battling to double hill and winning the other semifinal against Mike Strassberg. Antonetti claimed the hot seat over Rodriguez 5-2.

Strassberg shuffled on over to the loss side, defeated Nicole Adams 5-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Honeymar came over and lost a double-hill battle against Yuchen “Laura” Zie, who joined Strassberg in the quarterfinal match. Zie eliminated Strassberg 4-1 in those quarterfinals.

Xie began the semifinals with two ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 6 against Rick Rodriguez. She got three of the four she needed to win, but Rodriguez earned a second shot against Antonetti with a 6-3 win.

In their second, straight-up race to 5, Antonetti and Rodriguez mirrored their battle for the hot seat. Antonetti completed his undefeated run with another 5-2 win over Rodriguez. 

Jason Halpin and Levie Lampaan

Lampaan and Halpin let their winners’ side semifinal match define the upper bracket result

The two competitors who negotiated a split of the upper bracket’s top two prizes faced each other once, in a winners’ side semifinal. Both Levie Lampaan and Jason Halpin met in that match, having survived a double-hill battle in earlier rounds.

Lampaan, awarded a bye, opened his campaign with that double-hill battle, versus Ryan Buczkowski. He survived it to meet and defeat Jimmy Kardias 7-2, before coming into the winners’ side semifinal. Halpin, without a bye, started out with a 7-1 victory over Mike Johnson before running into his double-hill battle, against Mark Halverson, who started their match with four ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 8. Halpin prevailed 8-3, and then defeated Gregory Meehan 7-2 to draw Lampaan. Meanwhile, from the lower end of the bracket, Gary McDonnell (after a bye) downed Jason Nicholson 7-3 and George Latko, Jr. 6-4 to draw Naldo Troncoso in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Lampaan defeated Halpin in the final-that-might-have-been 6-2, as McDonnell sent Troncoso to the loss side 6-2. Lampaan and McDonnell (with two ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 7) battled to double hill in the hot seat match, with Lampaan claiming it in rack #11.

On the loss side, Halpin advanced to the quarterfinal with a 7-1 victory over Jerry Cerchia, as Troncoso got by Jimmy Kardias 6-2. Halpin took the quarterfinal 7-3 over Troncoso and gave up just a single rack to McDonnell in the semifinals. Negotiations got underway to split the top two prizes and with Lampaan, undefeated in the hot seat, he became the event’s official winner.

Tournament director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked Kris Kemp “and her amazing staff” at Shooter’s Family Billiards for their hospitality, along with sponsors Outsville, In The Box Apparel, Billiard Engineering, JFlowers Cues & Cases, Kamui, Off the Rail apparel, Brutal Game Gear, John Bender Custom Cues, and World Beaters Apparel. 

The Garden State Pool Tour will return to Shooter’s Family Billiards and engage in the same split-bracket format on the weekend of May 4-5.

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Brotons goes undefeated to win her first Predator Tri-State Tour stop in Clifton, NJ

June 29th, 2021 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

Michelle Brotons

It’s been nice to see the former Tri-State Tour, now, officially, the Predator Tri-State Tour back to its old tricks on the other side of this pandemic thing; new names, competing and winning on the tour and older names getting better and winning on the tour, as well. This past weekend (Saturday, June 26), it was one of the familiar names, Michelle Brotons, making an appearance and winning, not only the $500-added Predator Tri-State event that drew 27 entrants to Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ, but what was her first ever, major tournament win, anywhere.

“This was my first Tri-State since Covid,” she clarified, “but I did win a Mac Attack tour in January (which went unrecorded).”

She ended up in 2^nd place in the balloting for the Ladies Player of the Year on the Tri-State in its 2017-2018 season, when she also finished in 3^rd place in the tour’s D+ division. The win in January on the Mac Attack Tour moved her into a C+ handicap category, which she might well have kept to herself when she made her appearance on this most recent Predator Tri-State stop. But she didn’t. She reported in as a C+, tour officials made the change and she went undefeated to claim her first major title.

Her path went through Martin Davis, tour veteran Bob Toomey and Paul Madonia to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Allison Honeymar. In the meantime, her eventual opponent in the  hot seat match, Luis Jimenez had been awarded a bye and then defeated Ricardo Mejia, and Levie Lampaan to face her eventual opponent in the finals, Eddie Medina in the other winners’ side semifinal. Medina had gotten by Tri Chau, Dave Fitzpatrick and Jerry Almodovar to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal match.

Brotons downed Honeymar 6-3, as Jimenez was busy sending Medina to the loss side 7-3. Brotons claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Jimenez and waited on what turned out to be Medina’s return.

On the loss side, Honeymar picked up a rematch with Latania Taylor, whom she’d sent to the loss side in a winners’ side quarterfinal match, and who’d gone on to defeat Tom McManamon 6-4 and Paul Madonia, double hill. Medina drew Levie Lampaan, who’d also been downed in a winners’ side quarterfinal (double hill by Jimenez), and then, eliminated Ricardo Mejia and Tri Chau, both 7-3. 

Medina and Lampaan locked up in a double hill fight that eventually sent Medina to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Honeymar, who’d defeated Taylor 6-2.

Medina won the quarterfinal 8-5 over Honeymar to earn a rematch versus Jimenez in the semifinals. They came within a game of double hill, but Medina edged out in front to win it 7-5. Brotons and Medina did get to double hill in the finals. Broton, though, closed it out to claim the title.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Romer Trophies and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Predator Tri-State Tour, scheduled for the weekend of July 17-18, will be hosted by New City Billiards and Café in Woodside, NY.