Jeremy Sossei didn’t compete in the October 5th / 6th Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop, but he was back in action the last two weekends where he earned his seventh straight title and then finally lost in a final match.

 

The tour stop at Utica Billiards on the Boulevard on October 12th & 13th saw Sossei run through the field undefeated, beating Ron Casanzio for the hot-seat 9-7 and then Brad Guthrie in the finals. Sossei had defeated Guthrie in the final four on the winner’s side Sunday 9-4 and then did so again 9-2 in the finals. 

 

The next stop, October 19th & 20th at Sharpshooters Billiards and Sports Pub, was looking like yet another Sossei victory as he went through Saturday matches against Bob Nerkert, Chris Braiman and Bruce Carroll undefeated. Sunday was more of the same, with Sossei defeating Danny Hewitt 9-5 and then Qais Kolee for the hot-seat 9-4. 

 

Bucky Souvanthong had dropped a late Saturday match to Kolee, but ran through the one loss side with a Saturday night win over Ben Werblow and then Sunday wins over Ron Casanzio, Hewitt and Kolee to earn his place against Sossei in the finals. 

 

Souvanthong is the only man to have won a Joss Tour Stop this season, aside from Sossei, and he won that stop on the one weekend that Sossei was not in attendance. He proved that he was more than capable of a tour stop win, with or without Sossei in the field, as he double dipped Sossei 9-3 and 7-5 in the finals for first place. 

 

The October 13th second chance tournament saw Fred Gokey drop the hot-seat match to Nick Coppola and then come back to defeat Coppola twice in the finals for first place. The October 20th second chance tournament saw Bruce Carroll with an undefeated run that included 3-1 wins over Norm Vernon for the hot-seat and again in the finals. 

 

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action this weekend at Brickhouse Billiards in Syracuse, NY for another $1,500 added main event and $500 added second chance event. 

Jeremy Sossei is definitely picking up where he left off after his short break from the game in 2018. He kept up his winning ways with an undefeated run through a field of 44 players at Utica Billiards on the Boulevard in Utica, NY for the Joss NE 9-Ball tour stop on April 6th – 7th. 

 

Sossei’s first match of the day on Saturday was his closest match of the day, as he got things started with a 9-5 win over Frank Ricelli. After that win though, Sossei put together back to back 9-2 wins over Andrew Van Master and Bruce Carrol, and he then closed out day one with a one-sided 9-4 win over Bucky Souvanthong. 

 

Sunday play got underway with Sossei scoring a 9-4 win over Bruce Nagle and then a 9-5 win over Ron Casanzio for the hot-seat. 

 

On the one loss side, all eyes were on Damon Sobers. After a 9-7 loss to Ryan Mayo midday Saturday, Sobers won six straight matches on the left side of the board (including hill-hill wins over Ben Werblow, Ed Saur and Bruce Nagle. Casanzio would finally end Sobers’ winning streak with a 7-4 semi-final match score. 

 

Casanzio would still not be able to get by Sossei in the finals, where Sossei won 9-4 in the first set. It was Sossei’s second Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win this year. 

 

While Josh Welsh’s win in Sunday’s second chance tournament was not an undefeated one like Sossei’s main event win, it was still impressive. Welsh cruised to the hot-seat with a five match winning streak and an overall record of 15 wins and 2 losses. After Jon McConnell eliminated Jared Zimmerman on the one loss side, he came back and handed Welsh his first loss 3-2 in the first set of the double elimination finals. Welsh then came back and scored a 3-2 win over McConnell in the second set for the tournament win. The win was Welsh’s first win on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour. 

Raphael Dabreo earned his first career Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win over the weekend of March 2-3 with an undefeated run at the 10th New England Hall of Fame 9-Ball Open at Snookers Billiards in Providence, RI. 

 

After a hill-hill tester against Steve Mack in his second match of the day on Saturday, Dabreo finished day one of this event with a 9-5 win over Qais Kolee and then a 9-3 win over Marko Clarke. Joining Dabreo on the winner’s side on Sunday were Tom D’Alfonso, Austin Ross and Zion Zvi. Dabreo sent Zvi to the one loss side Sunday morning 9-6 and then took the hot-seat with a 9-3 win over D’Alfonso.

 

Ivaylo Petrov had lost to Pat Fleming midway through Saturday play, but bounced back nicely with six straight match wins on the left side of the board. Petrov would settle for third place though, as he finally lost to D’Alfonso 7-3 in the semi-final match. 

 

Dabreo came out on fire in the first set of the finals, taking a quick 3-0 lead. D’Alfonso then came back to win five straight racks for a 5-3 lead. After Dabreo tied things back up at 5-5, the match would be tied at 6-6 and 7-7. D’Alfonso got to the hill at 8-7, but a scratch on the break led to Dabreo running that rack to tie things again at 8-8. Dabreo came up dry on the break at hill-hill, but a D’Alfonso safety on the 1-ball left Dabreo the opening he needed and he ran that rack for the 9-8 win in one set. 

 

Sunday’s second chance tournament saw Ben Werblow go undefeated with wins over Joe Darigis for the hot-seat and again in the finals for the victory. 

 

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action this weekend (March 9-10) at Trick Shot Billiards in Clifton Park, NY. 

Players & Fans,

 

Congratulations to Stop # 10 winners, Raphael Dabreo ($1,450 & 10th New England Pool & Billiard Hall Of Fame 9-Ball Open Champion), Ben Werblow ($300 second chance), Samoth Sam ($1,500 Joss cue raffle winner), Bruce Nagle (entry into the Super Billiards Expo pro event provided by Allen Hopkins for being our 2017/2018 Tour Point Champion) & all of this years New England Pool & Billiard Hall Of Fame Inductees!

 

On March 9 & 10, stop # 11 of The Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, the "Kevin Ketz Memorial Open" will be at Trick Shot Billiards & Sports Pub in Clifton Park (near Albany) NY. Our hosts Tim & Julie Berlin deserve many thanks from all of us for their continuing support and having already hosted 3 events this season at their other room, Sharp Shooters Billiards & Sports Pub!!! Thanks again Tim & Julie!! Trick Shot is a full service room with everything needed for a great time of pool and fun anytime. It is complete with a delicious full food menu and a separate full service bar where you can watch all of your favorite teams in action. Trick Shot has also become one our areas premier places for bands and entertainment with a recently completed major addition allowing for outside as well as inside gatherings. So come on over to Trick Shot Billiards & Sports Pub to play in or just watch yet another of our great events. While there, you could even win a gorgeous, custom, engraved, Joss Cue valued at $1,500 by participating in Trick Shot's cue raffle. Anyone can participate  and you don't have to be present to win! The drawing will be just prior to the final match of the main event on Sunday. This amazing cue that will be given away at Trick Shot can be viewed here:    https://josscues.com/joss-tour-2018-19-cue/

      

For more info about Trick Shot Billiards & Sports Pub, or to get directions and nearby motel info, please call them directly at 518-383-8771. Or visit their site at www.trickshotbilliardsny.com

 

This event at Trick Shot will consist of a $1500 added Saturday and Sunday Main Event (entry Fee $120 for pro level or $70 for non pro level) and a $500 added second chance event on Sunday ($20 Entry Fee) for those non pro level players eliminated from the main event on Saturday.

For those of you coming to play, you must arrive on Saturday March 9, BEFORE 11:30 AM, and in proper dress please. Yes, jeans and sneakers are permitted in our billiard parlor events. But please, NO T-shirts, tanks, shorts or sweats. Complete tour info can be found on our site www.joss9balltour.com  

 

Lastly, I can't stress enough how important it is for all of you to please frequent your local billiard parlors and utilize the services of our most generous sponsors who are the backbone of our sport. These are the ones who keep our sport alive. So get out and play! 

 

Mike Zuglan

 

Congratulations to our stop # 8, "Northeast 9-Ball Open XXXI" champion, Jeremy Sossei ($1,050), second chance winner Ben Werblow ($300) & $1,500 Joss Cue raffle winner Joey Berlin.

 

The Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour will be at East Ridge Billiards in Rochester NY, on Sat & Sun Feb. 23 & 24 for stop # 9 of our 2018/2019 season. The event will be $1,500/$500 added and as always is open to all players and is now a Banner Event. All winners will have their names hanging high on a beautiful banner at East Ridge forever. Our generous host at East Ridge is Chris Braiman who deserves our thanks for bringing the tour back to Western NY. East Ridge is the former home room of some of the best to ever play the game. Irving Crane, Larry Hubbart & Mike Sigel to name a few! East Ridge has recently completed renovations of a brand new bar and kitchen with fantastic food to meet all of our needs. The room now includes 8 of the Diamond pro tables used at one of our recent Turning Stone events, 2 Gold Crowns, 10 Diamond 7 footers, 9 Valley 7 footers. East Ridge will also be live streaming some of our matches and you can access them on Facebook at their group East Ridge Billiards Sports Bar & Lounge. Please join the group and share the stream. For more info, please contact East Ridge directly at 585-270-8215. So why not come on down and check us out and you might even win a $1,500 custom, engraved Joss Cue in our raffle. Anyone can participate and you do not have to be present to win. You can view this beautiful cue here:       https://josscues.com/joss-tour-2018-19-cue/

 

I have been asked to let you know that East Ridge will also be holding 8-man $50 mini tournaments on Friday night preceding our event. Start time is 7pm and early arrival is strongly suggested as there are already players entered. There will be as many minis as time and amount of players allows. Call 585-270-8215.

 

There is a reasonably priced Super 8 about 10 minutes away for those in need of accommodations. 2450 Empire Blvd, Webster NY 14580, 585-347-5983. No special rate has been negotiated but it is reasonable.

 

This event at East Ridge will consist of a $1500 added Saturday and Sunday Main Event (entry fee $120 for pro level or $70 for non pro level) and a $500 added second chance event on Sunday ($20 entry fee) only for those non pro level players eliminated from the main event on Saturday. 

 

For those of you coming to play, please arrive on Saturday February 23, BEFORE 11:30 AM, and in proper dress please. Jeans and sneakers are permitted in our billiard parlor events only. But please, NO T-shirts, tanks, shorts or sweats. Complete tour info can be found on our site    www.joss9balltour.com

 

Our $25,000 Added Turning Stone Classic XXXII 9-Ball Open, Season Finale, will be held on August 22 – August 25, 2019. I began taking entries just last month and it is already close to 3/4 full!! To enter you must contact me at 518-356-7163 or see me at any of our events Before the event is full at 128. I strongly urge everyone to act now if you are at all serious about playing in this great event!! 

 

Please remember to spread the word to frequent your local billiard parlors and utilize the world class products of our most generous sponsors. They are the backbone of our sport and deserve our support!! 

 

Thanks and I hope to see you all at East Ridge.

 

Mike Zuglan

 

It’s sort of a February tradition at Sharpshooters Billiards in Amsterdam, NY. The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour comes to visit, and Jeremy Sossei ends up standing in the winner’s circle. For the fifth straight year (and sixth time in seven years), Jeremy Sossei finished in first place on February 16th and 17th. Even with his winning streak there, it wasn’t easy this year. 

 

Sossei remained undefeated all day Saturday and started Sunday with a 9-3 win over Rick Kravetz. While Sossei was getting that win, Joey Cicero was sending BCA Hall of Famer Pat Fleming to the one loss side 9-6. Cicero then sent Sossei to join Fleming on the left side of the board as he took the hot-seat match 9-7.

 

On the one loss side, Jorge Teixeira was on a roll. After losing to Ron Casanzio on Saturday morning, Teixeira had won nine straight matches culminating in a 7-3 win over Bruce Nagle for 4th place. Teixeira gave Sossei almost all he could handle but ended up dropping the semi-final match 7-5.

 

That win left Sossei with the task of beating Cicero twice in a row, which he did in two hard-fought matches. Sossei scored a 9-6 win in the first set, followed by a 7-5 win in the second. 

 

Sunday’s second chance tournament saw Ben Werblow dominate the field of nineteen players. Werblow went undefeated with wins over Bob Merkert, Greg Bombard, Nate Marshall and then Demian Provost for the hot-seat. In those four matches, Werblow lost a total of one game (to Bombard). Bruce Carroll eliminated Provost 3-0 in the semi-final match but was only able to manage one rack against Werblow in the finals. 

Bruce Nagle went undefeated to win a very contested John Babravich / Jim Romanowski Memorial tournament held by the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour at Sharp Shooters Billiards & Sports Pub in Amsterdam NY on October 13th – 14th. 

 

While Nagle went undefeated, none of his wins (Jeremy Sossei, Sam Marranca, Nick Brucato, Tom Haas and Scott Haas for the hot-seat) were by a margin of more than three racks. His hot-seat opponent, Scott Haas, only had one match that could be continued one sided, when he defeated Willie Oney 9-4 on Saturday. 

 

On the one loss side, Ron Casanzio was bouncing back from a Saturday loss to Brucato. While his Saturday wins on the left side of the board were pretty dominant, his Sunday started with back-to-back 7-5 wins (Nicolas Charette, Tom Haas and Sossei). Casanzio’s semi final win over Scott Haas was even closer at 7-6.

 

With all of the close matches that Nagle had, and Casanzio’s momentum from the one loss side, a close final match was expected. Surprisingly, Nagle scored his most lopsided win of the event in the first set of the finals when he defeated Casanzio 9-5 for first place. 

 

In Sunday’s fourteen player second chance tournament, Bob Forchilli fought to a 6-7 overall record against Ben Werblow, but that was still enough for first place. Forchilli lost to Werblow 3-0 for the hot-seat, but came back to double dip Werblow in the finals 3-2 and 3-2. 

 

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action this weekend, with another $1500 / $500 added stop at Brick House Billiards in North Syracuse, NY. Joss Tour director Mike Zuglan says he is over 2/3 full as far as entries into the Turning Stone Classic XXXI on January 10 – 13. Interested players are urged to get their entries into Mike as soon as possible as this event will fill up. 

 

Last week's quarterfinal match on the Joss Northeast Open 9-Ball Tour (stop #12) turned into this past week's finals (stop #13), as Bruce Nagle completed an undefeated run through a field of 39 entrants, defeating Bucky Souvanthong in the finals, to claim the title. The $1,500-added event ($500-added to Second Chance tournament), held on the weekend of March 18-19, was hosted by King Smiley Billiards in Fort Edward, NY. 

 

Nagle and Souvanthong advanced through the bracket to the winners' side semifinals. Nagle made it out of them, Souvanthong did not. Nagle sent Nick Brucato to the loss side 9-2, as Steve Lillis downed Souvanthong, double hill. Nagle claimed the hot seat 9-5 over Lillis and waited for Souvanthong to complete a three-match, loss-side trip.

 

On the loss side, Souvanthong picked up Noah Wells, who, after being awarded a bye, was defeated by Brucato in the event's second round, and was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end. Wells had most recently downed Fred Gokey and Dave LeBrun, both 9-5. Brucato drew a re-match against Brent Boemmels, whom he'd defeated on the winners' side, just after sending Wells over. Boemmels was in the midst of a four-match, loss-side winning streak, having recently defeated Ben Werblow, double hill, and Dave Fernandez 9-5.

 

Souvanthong and Boemmels advanced to the quarterfinals; Boemells successfully wreaking his vengeance on Brucato, in a tightly contested match, 9-7, and Souvanthong sending Wells home 9-4. Souvanthong then defeated Boemmels 9-6 and Lillis, in the semifinals, 9-5.

 

In the finals, Souvanthong chalked up more racks against Nagle than any of Nagle's previous opponents, but it wasn't enough. Nagle hung on to complete his undefeated run 9-6, and though he's chalked up two wins on Second Chance tournaments on this year's tour (2016-2017), according to our records, this was his first Joss Tour main event win.

 

In the $500-added Second Chance Tournament, which drew 20 entrants, Frank Sorriento, who was runner-up in the March 11-12 Second Chance Tournament, won five on the loss side,  to challenge and eventually double-dip hot seat occupant Dave LeBrun.  Sorriento had survived a double hill battle versus Mike Shoemaker in the 5/6 matches, and over the next four matches, including the double set final gave up only one rack; to Mike Verducci in the semifinals. He finished with two shutouts over LeBrun.

 

In addition to the prize winners in both events, David Dumas was the raffle winner of a $1,500 Joss Cue. Players are reminded that the site for the next stop on the tour (#14), scheduled for April 8-9, has been changed from Salt City Billiards in Syracuse to Hippo's House of Billiards in Utica. Salt City Billiards was destroyed in an early morning fire last month (Feb. 8). No one was injured in the blaze, and though owners are optimistic about rebuilding, no final decisions have been made. 

 

Joss Tour director Mike Zuglan is continuing to remind players that entries for Turning Stone XXVIII, scheduled for Aug. 31- Sept 3 are filling up fast, with nearly three-quarters of the field already registered. Visit the Turning Stone Web site (http://www.turningstone.com), or contact Zuglan, for further information.