Lidio Ramirez fought through a double hill challenge by Pablo Sanz in the finals of the Predator Tour's Amateur stop on the weekend of May 21-22 to claim his first Predator title. The $1,000-added event drew 67 entrants to Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY. 

 

With his eventual finals' opponent, Sanz, already at work on the loss side, Ramirez advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Rhio "Annie" Flores, while Andrzej Kaldan, who'd just sent Sanz to the loss side, faced Jimy Cardona. Ramirez and Kaldan moved on to the hot seat match, after identical 7-4 wins over Flores and Cardona. Ramirez claimed the hot seat 8-5 over Kaldan and waited on the return of Sanz.

 

Sanz opened his loss-side, finals-bound campaign against Nicole Monaco, defeating her 7-5. He followed up with a 7-2 win over Chickie Romero to draw Cardona. Flores picked up Steinway Billiards' owner, Manny Stamatakis, who'd defeated Miguel Laboy 7-4 and Josh Friedberg 7-3 to reach her.

 

Flores sent Stamatakis home 7-2, as Sanz eliminated Cardona, double hill. Flores gave Sanz his second straight double hill fight in the quarterfinals, but Sanz prevailed to earn himself a re-match against Kaldan. Sweet revenge became even sweeter revenge, as Sanz shut Kaldan out in the semifinals. 

 

Sanz, in his third double hill match of his final four, forced a deciding game against Ramirez in the finals. Ramirez, though, hung on to win and claim his first Predator title.

 

Robles thanked the ownership and staff at Raxx Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, National Amateur Pool League, Ozone Billiards, Delta-13 racks, Gotham City Technologies, PoolOnTheNet.com, The DeVito Team, Billiards Press, AZ Billiards, Billiards Digest, and Pool & Billiard Magazine. He also thanked William Finnegan, Mandy Wu, and Irene Kim for their assistance with the tournament, as well as his wife, Gail Robles.

Two out of three of Dan Faraguna's final three matches at an April 23-24 stop on the Predator Tour went double hill. He won them both, and the hot seat match to complete an undefeated run on the $1,500-added Amateur Predator Tour stop that drew 70 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.

 

Faraguna's opponent in both the hot seat match and finals was Fernando Paulino. Faraguna had sent Abel Rosario to the loss side in the first of two double hill matches he needed to secure the event title. Paulino had defeated James Stevens 8-6. Faraguna claimed the hot seat over Paulino 9-7.

 

On the loss side, Rosario picked up Andrzej Kaldan, who'd defeated Akiko Taniyama 7-5 and Dany Recinos 7-4 to reach him. Stevens drew Steinway Billiards' owner, Manny Stamatakis, who was on a six-match, loss-side ride that began when Stevens had defeated him in a winners' side match. Stamatakis picked up loss-side wins #3 and #4 against Koka Davladze 7-3 and Basdeo "Shawn" Sookhai 7-4. 

 

Stamatakis won his re-match against Stevens 7-5. He was joined, in the quarterfinals, by Rosario, who'd given up only a single rack to Kaldan. Stamatakis then defeated Rosario 8-6, before ending his loss-side run with a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Paulino in the semifinals.

 

Paulino's second shot at Faraguna in the finals went double hill. Faraguna won it to complete his undefeated run and claim the event title.

Michael Farley took two out of three matches over Ed Sumner, coming back from the semifinals to defeat him twice in a true double elimination final during a May 31-June 1 weekend stop on the Tri-State Tour. The $3,000-added event drew 64 entrants to Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.

 

Farley's path to the winners' circle went through Alberto Sanchez, Erick Carrasco, Ed Lalmiu and 14-year-old Sam Hoffman, before coming up against Vagif Laekberov in a winners' side semifinal. Sumner, in the meantime, faced Trevor Heal in the other. Farley sent Alekberov to the losers' bracket 6-4, as Sumner defeated Heal 7-4. Sumner took the first of his three versus Farley 7-2 and sat in the hot seat awaiting his return.

 

Over on the loss side, following his defeat against Farley, Hoffman began his trip back to the semifinals with a shutout over Mike Harrington, and gave up only a single rack to Andrzej Kaldan, which set him up to face Alekberov. Heal drew Lidio Ramirez, who'd defeated Ricardo Mejia 7-5 and the other teenager in the mix, Thomas Rice, 7-3. Hoffman chalked up a second shutout,  this time, 6-0 over Alekberov, as Ramirez downed Heal 7-2.

 

Hoffman took the quarterfinal match over Ramirez 8-6. Farley, though, put a stop to Hoffman's four-match, 28-7, loss-side winning streak with a 7-5 win that earned him a second shot at Sumner in the hot seat.

 

Farley and Sumner traded racks to 3-3 in the opening set, before Farley edged out to a 5-3 lead. Sumner chalked up rack #9, but Farley took the next two to win the opening set 7-4. In the second set, Farley was on the hill 6-0 before Sumner recorded a game victory. Sumner took three in a row at that point, but it was too little, too late, as Farley completed his quest for a first Tri-State title with a 7th and final rack.

 

A $500-added second chance event saw Dave Shlemperis collect at $440 first-place prize.

 

Tour representatives thanked Kevin and Isabel Buckley, owners of Gotham City Billiards, for their continuing support, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Heptig Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State event, scheduled for June 7, will be hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.

The last time Koka Davladze won a Tri-State Tour stop (September 14, 2013 at Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY), he went undefeated through a field of 64 and opted out of a final match against runner-up Chris DeCaprio, with whom he split the top prize. On Saturday, March 8, he went undefeated through a shorter field of 24, during a $1,500-added Tri-State event, hosted by the same room. This time, though, he played a final match, coming from behind to defeat Keith Diaz and claim the top prize.

 

Davladze's path went through Andrzej Kaldan, and Luis Jimenez, before running into Keith Adamik in a winners' side semifinal. Diaz and Ambi Estevez met in the other one. Davladze advanced to the hot seat match 7-4 over Adamik, as Diaz was sending Estevez to the losers' bracket 6-4. In their first of two, Davladze defeated Diaz 9-6 and sat in the hot seat to await his return.

 

Keith Adamik moved to the loss side and ran immediately into Wesley Kennedy, who'd been defeated by Gary O'Callaghan in the opening round of play, and was in the midst of a five-match loss-side streak that would take him to the quarterfinals. He'd gotten by Luis Jimenez 7-3 and Bogie Uzdejczyk 7-5 to draw Adamik. Uzdejczyk had just spoiled Kennedy's chance for a re-match against O'Callaghan by defeating O'Callaghan 7-6. Estevez picked up Eddie Perez, who'd gotten by Mike Harrington 6-5 and Jud Parker 6-1, to reach him.

 

Kennedy completed his loss-side winning streak with a 7-4 victory over Adamik, while Estevez downed Perez 6-3. Estevez brought Kennedy's streak to an end with an 8-4 victory in the quarterfinals, and had his own streak broken by Diaz, 6-3, in the semifinals.

 

Diaz jumped out to a 4-0 lead in his re-match against Davladze in the finals, but Davladze roared back with a run of his own, to an eventual 5-5 tie. Diaz would only win one of the next five, as Davladze moved on to completed his undefeated run and claim the top prize, this time, all to himself.

 

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Gotham City Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Heptig Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. There will be two Tri-State events, at separate locations, on the weekend of March 22-23; the first on Saturday, March 22 will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria, Queens, NY, and the second on Sunday, March 23, at On the Snap Billiards in Sayerville, NJ.

Koka Davladze, last seen playing runner-up to Michael Yednak in the 3rd Annual Ginky Memorial Tournament over Labor Day weekend, went undefeated through a field of 64 entrants to claim the event title of a Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, September 14. Davladze and Chris DeCaprio opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes. The $1,800-added event was hosted by Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.

 

Davladze and DeCaprio did face each other in the hot seat battle. Davladze had gotten by Gary O'Callaghan, Andrzej Kaldan, Carl Yusuf Khan and Rajesh Vannala to move among the winners' side final four, where he defeated Juan Guzman, double hill. DeCaprio, in the meantime, was downing Kyle Bubet 7-5. Davladze took that hot seat match, his last of the evening as it turned out, 10-7.

 

Guzman moved over to pick up Khan, who'd shut out Harry Lau and just did defeat Rhio Anne Flores, double hill, to reach him. Bubet picked up Mike Harrington, who'd defeated Tornike Khaduridze 6-2 and Pat Mareno 6-4. Guzman and Bubet got back on track right away, with Guzman surviving a double hill match versus Khan and Bubet winning 7-5.

 

Two straight double hill battles followed and ended the evening's proceedings. Bubet defeated Guzman in the quarterfinals 8-7, but was then himself defeated in the double hill, semifinal match against DeCaprio, 6-5. Davladze and DeCaprio chose not to face each other in a final match, and agreed to a split in the top two prizes, allowing the undefeated Davladze to claim the event title.

 

Tour representatives thanked Gotham City Billiard's owners, Kevin and Isabel Buckley, for their continuing support of the players, as well as the "outstanding equipment" provided for them to play on. They also thanked sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Heptig Custom Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.

 

The next stop on the Tri-State Tour is scheduled for Saturday, September 21, at Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.

Andrzej Kaldan and Basdeo Sookhai played their last match, battling for the hot seat on the Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, April 28. They were scheduled to face each other a second time in the event finals, but when they got to those finals, they opted, in the face of mutual fatigue and the lateness of the hour, to split the top two prizes. Kaldan, sitting in the hot seat, was declared the official winner of the $1,500-added, A-D handicapped event that drew 49 entrants to Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.

From among the winners’ side final four, Sookhai sent Daniel Dagotdot to the loss side with an 8-5 victory, as Kaldan was busy sending Randy Mackin over 6-2. In what would prove to be the event’s title match, Kaldan and Sookhai battled to double hill, before Kaldan prevailed to sit in the hot seat.

Dagotdot moved over to face Dave Shlemperis, who’d defeated Beau Baer 7-2 and Keith Adamik 7-3. Mackin picked up Kim Meyer-Gabia, the tour’s top female player, who’d gotten by Jaydev Zaveri 6-1, and Luis Nova 6-4. Dagodot got right back to work with an 8-4 win over Shlemperis, but Meyer-Gabia handed Mackin his second straight loss, finishing his day. Dagotdot then ended Meyer-Gabia’s day in the quarterfinals 9-5, for a second shot against Sookhai.

Sookhai defeated Dagotdot a second time, 8-4 in the semifinals, and then, accepted the proposal to split the top two prizes with Kaldan.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Gotham City Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State event is a $500-added A-D handicapped event, scheduled for Saturday, May 5, at Castle Billiards  in  East Rutherford, NJ.

Recently elevated to Open/Pro status on the Tri-State Tour, Dan Cintron was ineligible to participate in the $2,000-added, A-D handicapped, Double Points Tri-State event on the weekend of January 7-8. In the absence of tour representatives, who were dealing with a family crisis, 

Cintron did, however, step in and run the tournament, and watched (occasionally itching to be a part of it), as Ben Castaneros came back from a defeat among the winners’ side final four to double dip hot seat occupant Raymond Lee. The event drew 61 entrants to Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.

In their first of three, among the winners’ side final four, Lee sent Castaneros west 6-1, as Bryan Jeziorski was busy sending Alex Osipov over 7-5. Lee then prevailed 7-4, and waited in the hot seat for the return of Castaneros.

First up for Castaneros on the loss side was Mike Strassberg, who’d benefited from a forfeit by Luis Jimenez, and defeated Andrzej Kaldan 6-2. Osipov picked up Ron Gabia, who’d gotten by Arturo Reyes 7-3 and Ed Culhane 7-5. Castaneros defeated Strassberg 7-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals against Osipov, who’d downed Gabia 7-2. A 6-4 victory for Castaneros in those quarterfinals, was followed by a 7-4 semifinal victory over Jeziorski.

Castaneros gave up only three racks in the two-set finals against Lee. He gave up two in the opening set, and one in the second, to capture the event title. 

Tour representatives thanked the staff and management of Gotham City Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.

It was Billy Cheng‘s second official victory on the Tri-State Tour, but the first in which he battled an opponent in the finals. Back in April, Cheng was the winner of record when he and Raul Reyes opted out of a final match because it was set to commence at 4 a.m. on Easter Sunday morning. Eight months later, on Saturday, December 3, Cheng had to play an extra match when Carl Yusuf Khan kept him out of the hot seat, but returned to defeat Khan in the finals and chalk up the “W.” The $1,250-added event drew 44 entrants to Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.

Following victories over Samson Kelly, Raphael DaBreo, Tien “Max” Tran, and Joei Huang, Cheng moved among the winners’ side final four to face Kapriel Delimelkonoglu. Khan, in the meantime, squared off against Vincent Morris. Cheng downed Delimelkonoglu 7-5, as Khan was busy sending Morris west 7-3. Khan won his last match by prevailing in the battle for the hot seat 7-4, and waited for Cheng’s return.

Morris and Delimelkonoglu moved to the loss-side and lasted only a single round. Morris picked up Gary Murgia, who’d defeated Duane Toney 7-2 and Joei Huang 7-5 to reach him. Delimelkonoglu had the misfortune of running into Dave Shlemperis, who, like Cheng, had been sent west by Khan, and was working his way back with a re-match on his mind. Shlemperis got by Ben Cateneros 7-5 and Andrzej Kaldan 7-6 to face Delimelkonoglu, and then survived a double hill match against him to get into the quarterfinals. He was joined by Murgia, who’d defeated Morris, also double hill.

In what was a second straight double hill match for both of them, it was Shlemperis prevailing over Murgia in those quarterfinals to meet Cheng in the semifinals. Both Shlemperis and Cheng were looking for a second crack against Khan, and it was Cheng who earned it with a 7-3 victory.  

Khan took the first two games of the single, race-to-9 final match, and Cheng took the next two. They traded racks to a 5-5 tie, at which point, Cheng took a two-rack lead. Khan came back to win one more, before Cheng won the last two. He sunk the 9-ball on the break in the final game to capture the event title.

Tour representatives thanked Kevin and Isabel Buckley of Gotham Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. Next stop on the Tri-State Tour is scheduled for Saturday, December 10, at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.