The two winners of the 6th stop on the NE 9-Ball Series, held this past weekend on Saturday, Nov. 14, drove to the event together and thanks (presumably) to an agreement at the end to split the top two prizes, they drove back together amicably. As the undefeated occupant of the hot seat at the time, Kenny Hoke became the official winner, while rideshare companion, Frank Gaetani, took the runner-up title. The $500-added event drew 36 entrants to Straight Shooters Family Billiards in Fall River, MA.
Both working in the lower bracket in the early going, they met first in a winners’ side semifinal. Hoke had gotten by Rich Ferrell 4-2 (Ferrell racing to 6) before running into two straight double hill matches that he won, against Sandra Kostant and Jared Forsberg. A subsequent 5-2 win over Ed Murray put him into the winners’ side semifinal against Gaetani. Gaetani, in the meantime, had been awarded an opening round bye, after which he defeated Ryan McCrum and Rob Rogan, both 5-1. A double hill win over Joe Arruda put him into the winners’ side semifinal against Hoke. Antero Tavares squared off against Matthew Rezendes in the other winners’ side semifinal.
In a straight-up race to 6, Tavares downed Rezendes 6-4. The one match Hoke and Gaetani did play went double hill before Hoke prevailed to challenge Tavares for the hot seat. He did so, convincingly. With Tavares racing to 8, Hoke played what proved to be his final match and shut him down 4-3.
Gaetani and Rezendes got right back to work on the loss side, playing in the first money round and handing Mark Ruzzano and Johnny Robles, respectively, their second straight loss. Ruzzano had eliminated Ed Murray 7-1 and Joe Arruda 5-3 to reach Gaetani. Robles had defeated Mike DeMarco, double hill, Roger Vivier 5-4 (Vivier racing to 7). Gaetani downed Ruzzano 5-2, as Rezendes was busy defeating Robles 6-2.
In the quarterfinals that followed, Gaetani made Rezendes’ loss-side trip a short one, winning the straight-up race to 6, 6-2. In a second straight-up race to 6 in the semifinals that followed, Gaetani eliminated Tavares 6-4.
Hoke and Gaetani then opted out of the final. As the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, Hoke claimed the official event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Straight Shooters Family Billiards, as well as Predator, Poison, Arcos II, BCAPL, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Bob Campbell, MJS Construction, Master Billiards, OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America, Piku Tips and Just the Tip Cue Repair and Custom Accessories.
The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for Saturday, November 28, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Strokers Billiards in Pelham, NH.
It’s rare on the New England 9-Ball Series, but splits of the top prizes do happen. Case in point: Stop #7 (2019-2020), hosted by Straight Shooters’ Family Billiards in Fall River, MA on Saturday, November 23. Tom D’Alfonso and Mark Ruzzano battled in the hot seat and were scheduled to meet again in the finals. They allowed their hot seat result to stand as the definitive answer to ‘who won,’ split the top two prizes, and left the undefeated D’Alfonso as the official winner. The $500-added event drew 48 entrants to Straight Shooters.
D’Alfonso was far and away the highest FargoRated player at the tables on this particular day. At 737, he was 102 points ahead of the next highest-ranked player in the field; Dennis Levesque at 635 and he didn’t play against him. In his six matches (to include Ruzzano twice), he faced an opponent-average FargoRate of 552.8. His highest-ranked opponent through six matches was Roarke Dickson (588) in a winners’ side quarterfinal, in which Dickson was awarded ‘four beads on the wire’ in a race to 8 and only added two, for an 8-2 actual score, or 8-6 handicap victory for D’Alfonso.
D’Alfonso advanced to face Antero Tavares (560) in one of the overall winners’ side semifinals (the tour keeps upper and lower rated players separated in the early matches). Mark Ruzzano, in the meantime, squared off against Adam Blair (505). D’Alfonso moved on to the hot seat (and what proved to be his final) match with his only double hill win of the day, 8-3, arriving at the hot seat match having given up only six racks through 39 games. Ruzzano, in a straight-up race to 5 sent Blair to the loss side 5-1. D’Alfonso claimed the hot seat 9-2.
On the loss side, two long loss-side streaks were about to come to an end. Tavares picked up Jim Prather, who, in the lower bracket, had been defeated in the opening round by Mark Ransom and was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the overall quarterfinals. Along the way, he’d wreaked his vengeance on Ransom with a double hill win that left Ransom in the tie for 13th. Prather then downed Roarke Dickson and Matthew Rezendes, both 5-1, to meet Tavares.
Blair drew Mourad Idrais, who’d also been defeated in the event’s opening round (he was shut out by Mike Negrelli) and was on his own six-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end. He’d recently defeated Souheil Muraby, double hill, and in a serious ‘vengeance is sweet’ scenario, returned the shut out ‘favor’ to Negrelli to meet Blair.
Prather downed Tavares, double hill (5-3) and in the quarterfinals, faced Blair, who’d ended Idrais’ loss-side streak 4-2. Blair then ended Prather’s run 4-2 (Prather racing to 6).
In a straight-up, race-to-5 semifinal, which proved to be the final match of the night, Ruzzano ended Blair’s short loss-side visit 5-3. He and D’Alfonso opted out of the final and as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, D’Alfonso claimed the official event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Straight Shooters, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, BCAPL, 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 with Lease Fundings, Master Billiards and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend (November 30 – December 1), will be a $1,000-added event, hosted by Legends Billiards in Auburn, ME.
As an A Player, Ken Ludy was generally racing to 7 games during Stop #18 on the New England 9-Ball Series, held on Saturday, March 10. In six of the eight matches it took for him to claim the event title, Ludy’s opponents were racing to fewer games. He played one opponent, another A player, straight up, while in his winners’ side semifinal match against Joe Dupuis (an Open player), it was Dupuis who had to win more games (9 to Ludy’s 6). Ludy won all but one of his eight matches in the $500-added event that drew 44 entrants to Straight Shooter’s Family Billiards in Fall River, MA.
In all but two of Ludy’s matches, opponents chalked up less than five racks against him. The two opponents who chalked up five or more against him were Dupuis, who, racing to 9, managed to run up six, before Ludy hit that same number to win the match, and Tyler Campbell, who chalked up five to win the opening set of the true double elimination final. That winners’ side semifinal win against Dupuis, which finished at 6-6 put Ludy in the hot seat match against Ryan Stevens, who, in a straight-up race to 6, had sent Campbell to the loss side 6-4. With Stevens racing to 5, Ludy claimed the hot seat 7-1.
On the loss side, Dupuis, fresh off his victory at the New England Pool & Billiard Hall of Fame tournament a week earlier, picked up fellow Open player, Mike Minichello, who’d won the previous stop on the tour, and after being defeated by Dupuis on the winners' side of this event, defeated Sal Morgado and Antero Tavares (both B players, racing to 5), both 10-1 to get a second shot at Dupuis. Campbell drew Lida Mullendore, who’d gotten by Josh Caesar 6-2 and Adam Blair 5-3.
In a straight-up race to 7, Dupuis advanced to the quarterfinals over Minichello, 7-1. Campbell joined Dupuis with a 6-3 win over Mullendore. Campbell, in those quarterfinals, then chalked up his requisite five racks, before Dupuis could hit his target of 10, winning the match 5-8 to advance to a rematch against Stevens in the semifinals.
Campbell proceeded to shut Stevens out in those semifinals (6-0) and then, win the opening set of the true double elimination final 5-4. Ludy rallied in the second set, allowing Campbell only a single rack on his way to a 7-1 victory that secured the event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Molinari, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Championship Cloth, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for the weekend of March 17-18, will be the $2,000-added Players Championship, to be hosted by Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.
