The last time Matt Rezendes and Ryan Hemingway cashed in stops on the New England 9-Ball Series, they both finished in third place; Hemingway in August and Rezendes, a month later. On Saturday, November 24, at a $500-added event (Stop #7), that drew 46 entrants to Stix & Stones in Abington, MA, they moved up a notch. Matt Rezendes claimed the official title by going undefeated, although he and Hemingway opted out of a final match, choosing to let the double hill hot seat match stand as the defining contest between them.

 

Coming out of the upper bracket, Rezendes (FargoRate – 543) advanced through George Morgan, Ryan Stevens, Jim Prather and Bill Gallagher, to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against Andy Maynard (513). Hemingway (484), working initially in the lower bracket with an opening round bye, defeated Kyle Downey, Cameo Moy and Mark Pulsifer to face Mike Nigrelli (438) in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

In a straight-up race to 5, Rezendes shut Maynard out to get into the hot seat match. Hemingway joined him with a double hill (4-2) victory over Nigrelli. With Hemingway starting with a single game ‘on the wire,’ the hot seat match went double hill before Rezendes won what proved to be his last match 5-3.

 

On the loss side, Maynard picked up Ben Savoie, who’d gotten by Jim Prather 4-1 (Prather racing to 6), and, in a straight-up race to 5, Bill Gallagher 5-2. Nigrelli drew Mark Pulsifer, who’d eliminated Dave Morrison, double hill, in a straight-up race to 4 and Bob Lucas 4-2 in another straight-up race to 4. Savoie downed Maynard 5-3, as Nigrelli and Pulsifer locked up in a double hill fight that eventually sent Nigrelli to join Savoie in the quarterfinals (3-3).

 

Racing to 6 (Nigrelli starting with three ‘on the wire’), Nigrelli advanced to the semifinals 3-4. Nigrelli started the semifinals with a single rack ‘on the wire’ and battled Hemingway to double hill, before Hemingway concluded the event’s final match. Rezendes and Hemingway made the decision to forego a final match and opted to split the top two prizes, while the undefeated Rezendes claimed the official event title. 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Stix and Stones, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3 Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Bourgeois Farms and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop (#8) on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for this weekend (Dec. 1-2), will be the $3,000-added Bangor Bash, hosted by Rack City in Bangor, ME.

The final five matches of the May 27 stop on the J. Pechauer Ride the 9 Tour were double hill battles that eventually led to the crowning of Dave Fredette as the undefeated event titleist. The  $425-added event drew 38 entrants to Bo’s Billiards in Warwick, RI.

All three of the matches among the winners’ side final four were double hill affairs. Fredette defeated John Korpusik and moved into the hot seat match against Bill Roberge, who’d defeated Andy Maynard. In a straight-up race to five, Fredette gained the hot seat 5-4 over Roberge.

Maynard moved to the loss side to pick up Mike Demarco, who’d gotten by Jason D’Angelo 5-2, and Danny Pavao 4-3. Korpusik faced Zack Thweib, who was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him to the semifinals. He got by Ranulf Tamba 5-2 and Van Sy 5-1 to face Korpusik. Maynard got back to his winning ways with a double hill win over Demarco, but it was Thweib advancing to meet him in the quarterfinals with a 5-1 victory over Korpusik.

 Thweib completed his loss-side streak by shutting out Maynard in the quarterfinals. He battled to double hill in the semifinals against Roberge that followed, but Roberge prevailed for a second shot at Fredette. As they’d done in the hot seat match, Roberge and Fredette battled to double hill in the straight-up, race-to-five finals, before Fredette completed his undefeated day.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Bo’s Billiards for hosting the event.

Clyde Matta and Joe Dupuis battled only once, in the finals, of the April 29 stop on the Lucasi Hybrid New England 9-Ball Tour. Matta was sitting in the hot seat and Dupuis was coming off of a 28-7, three-match winning streak on the loss side. They battled to a handicapped double hill (4-9; advantage, Matta) before Matta prevailed to take the event title. The event drew 20 entrants to Stix and Stones in Abington, MA.

Matta got into the hot seat match with a 5-5 victory over Mike Nicaloro (Nicaloro going to 7), as Dupuis was being sent west by Dan Tankerly 4-5 (Dupuis going to 10). Matta gained the hot seat 6-4 over Tankerly, and watched as Dupuis gave up only three racks over his last 19 games to meet him in the finals.

Dupuis moved over to begin his loss-side journey against Scott Chrizzo, who’d survived a double hill match against Jim Prather, and won a 7-2 decision over Peter Sword to reach him. Nicaloro drew Andy Maynard, who’d gotten by Ed Loring 6-2 and Paul Dozer 6-3. In the toughest battle of the three he faced on the loss side, Dupuis survived a double hill match against Chrizzo, as Maynard downed Nicaloro 9-5.

Dupuis gave up only a single rack against Maynard in the quarterfinals that followed, and only two in his semifinal re-match against Tankerly. Matta, though, completed an undefeated day with a 5-9 victory in the finals that secured the event title.