Sullivan and Scalzitti split top prizes in upper-bracket event
Splitting the competitors into upper and lower brackets of this past weekend’s (May 4-5) stop on the Garden State Pool Tour yielded 17 (lower) and 15 (upper) entrants that could have been 32 in a single bracket. Vincent Chang went undefeated through the lower bracket, while Hunter Sullivan and Kevin Scalzitti split the top two prizes in the upper-bracket prize pool. The event was hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Chang opened his undefeated run with two 6-4 victories, over Justin Chang and Brook Villa to draw Nick Mendoza in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Victoria Amparo, from the other end of the bracket, got by Mark Watt 4-5 (Watt racing to 7) and Vicki Moore 4-1 to face Joshua Droz in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Amparo and Druz fought to double-hill for advancement to the hot seat match. Amparo prevailed. Chang downed Mendoza 6-3 to join her and then, claimed the hot seat 7-2.
In the only opening-round match, designed to bring the winners’ side of the bracket down to 16, Rashid Muhammad fought and lost a double-hill battle versus Marc Lamberti. Muhammad moved over and played in the only match of the loss-side’s opening round against Orion Woodard, defeating him 5-2 and launching himself on a four-match winning streak that shut out Brook Villa and defeated Matthew Wrobel 4-3 (Wrobel racing to 6) to draw Joshua Druz.
Mendoza came over and squared off for a rematch against Marc Lamberti, who, after defeating Muhammad in the opening round, lost to Mendoza in the second round 3-6. He followed that on the loss side with two straight, double-hill wins, over Andrew Croft and Vicki Moore, ahead of defeating Mike Strassberg 5-1, to draw the rematch.
Druz downed Muhammad 5-2 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Mendoza who defeated Lamberti a second time, 5-1. Druz defeated Mendoza 4-4 in those quarterfinals (Mendoza racing to 6) and in a handicap reversal, was defeated 4-3 by Amparo in the semifinals (Amparo racing to 6).
Chang won what turned out to be the only set necessary in what might have been a true double-elimination final. He gave up only a single rack and claimed the event title 7-1.
Kevin Scalzitti and Hunter Sullivan
Sullivan defeats Scalzitti once and they opt out of a final rematch
They met first in a winners’ side semifinal; Hunter Sullivan, having defeated David Marchant 6-2 and Maurice Acuna 8-3 to get there, as Scalzitti sent Naldo Troncoso (6-2) and Pascal Dufresne (5-3) to the loss side to meet up with him. Bud Robideau, in the meantime, got by Fernando Ruiz 6-2 and Michelle Brotons 7-2 to arrive at the other winners’ side semifinal for a match against Jason Hugh Sam.
Sullivan shut Scalzitti out and was joined in the hot seat match by Robideau, who’d defeated Sam 7-3. Sullivan and Robideau battled to double hill before Sullivan pocketed the last 9-ball and claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Scalzitti picked up a rematch against Troncoso, who’d followed his loss with victories over Rachel Lang (3), Giovanna Napolitano (3) and David Marchant (4). Sam picked up Ronnie Xu, who’d lost his opening match to Napolitano and then defeated Eduardo Cordova (2), Pascal Dufresne (4), and Maurice Acuna (3).
Scalzitti downed Troncoso 6-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Xu and Sam battled to double hill, with Xu hanging on to advance to face Scalzitti. Scalzitti took the quarterfinal match 6-2 and then, defeated Robideau 6-3 in the semifinals.
Negotiations were initiated to split the top two prizes. Sullivan, as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, became the event’s official winner.
Tour director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked Kris Kemp and her staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards for their hospitality, along with sponsors Outsville, In the Box Apparel, Billiard Engineering, JFlowers Cues & Cases, Off the Rail Apparel, Brutal Game Gear, John Bender Custom Cues, and World Beaters Apparel.
The next stop on the Garden State Pool Tour, scheduled for Sunday, June 30, will be a 510 and lower Fargo Rate stop, hosted by Whiskey Hideaway on Staten Island.
By their design, split/separate brackets in a tournament are intended to keep the lower-ranked (Fargo-rated) players separated from their greater-skilled (higher Fargo-rated) brethren until late in the event process. This avoids circumstances that would force a mythical, low Fargo-rated ‘John Smith’ from paying an entry fee and then drawing Shane Van Boening in an opening round of play. Players in the separate brackets compete against similarly-rated players until the two brackets get closer to the end, at which point, our mythical ‘John Smith’ might be slated to play Shane Van Boening anyway, although at a point when ‘John’ has presumably played and won a series of matches that have at least allowed him to practice a little before doing so.
Chris Farrell started out in the lower bracket (525 & lower Fargo Rate) at this past weekend’s (Feb. 4-5) stop on the Garden State Pool Tour and thanks to the efforts of a fellow, lower-bracket competitor (Juan Taveras), faced a competitor from the upper bracket (526 to 675) only once, battling for the hot seat. Taveras lost his opening match in the lower bracket to Mike Strassberg and then proceeded to win eight on the loss side for the right to meet Farrell in the finals. Farrell went undefeated through the field, downing Taveras in the final. The $150-added event drew 37 entrants (17 upper bracket and 20 lower bracket) to Breaker Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Farrell’s path went through Gil Costello, Bob Toomey and Brenda C. Martinez, arriving at a winners’ side semifinal against Brook Villa. Christian Taeza, in the meantime, working initially from the upper bracket, received an opening round bye before sending Jim Conn, Alfredo Altamarino and Frank Rodriguez to the loss side and picking up Bill Meima in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Farrell downed Villa, double hill, advancing to meet his only upper bracket opponent, Taeza, who joined him in the hot seat match after defeating Meima 6-3.
On the loss side, Meima drew an immediate rematch against Rodriguez, who’d moved to the loss side and defeated Jim Conn, double hill, and Levi Lampaan 4-4 (Lampaan racing to 6). Villa drew Taveras, who was five matches into his loss-side streak and had recently won his rematch against Strassberg 6-2 and downed Martinez, double hill.
Taveras chalked up loss-side win #6, defeating Villa 6-2 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Meima, who’d sent Rodriguez home 5-3. Taveras then gave up only a single rack to Meima in those quarterfinals.
Taveras also gave up just a single rack to his upper bracket opponent in the semifinals, Christian Taeza before advancing to meet Farrell in the finals. Farrell completed his undefeated run with an 8-6 win in that final match to claim the event title.
Tour director Dave Fitzpatrick, assisted by Jennifer Pedutem, thanked the ownership and staff at Breaker Billiards for their hospitality, along with sponsors Billiards Engineering, JFlowers Cues and Cases, IntheBX, Off the Rail Apparel, Kamui, John Bender Custom Cues and Outsville. The next stop on the Garden State Pool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 25-26, will be hosted by Diamond Jim’s Billiards and Pub in Nanuet, NY.
After five attempts on the Predator Tri-State Tour, dating back two years, when his first cash payout was recorded with us here at AZBilliards, Hunter Sullivan has broken through to claim an event title on the tour, albeit one with an * for being in the hot seat and opting out of a final match. Sullivan did record two regional tour victories last year, one on the Mac Attack Tour and the other at the Garden State Pool Tour’s Amateur Championships. Sullivan and Nick Torraca had played once already in the Saturday, Sept. 24 event, letting their battle for the hot seat stand as the defining match of the tournament. The $500-added, ABCD 10-ball event drew 33 entrants to Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ, where Sullivan began his quest for his first title two years ago.
Sullivan’s path went through Frank Rodriguez 6-2, Mikhail Kim 6-3 and then faced tour newcomer, Jason Halpin, in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Halpin put up a double hill fight, but it was Sullivan who advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Don Henriquez. Torraca, in the meantime, got by Vijay Patel (5-1), KC Clayton (5-3) and Dave Fitzpatrick (5-3) to face Brook Villa in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Sullivan defeated Henriquez 6-3 and was joined in the hot seat match by Torraca, who’d sent Villa to the loss side 6-4. Sullivan claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Torraca in what would prove to be his last match.
Henriquez and Villa arrived on the loss side of the bracket and walked right into two double hill struggles. Only one of them made it out of that first loss-side match. Henriquez picked up Mikhail Kim, who’d defeated Jason Halpin and Anthony Nasta, both 6-3, to reach him. Villa drew Gustavo Ardon, who’d recently eliminated Dave Fitzpatrick 5-1 and Tom Crane 7-4.
It was Henriquez who made it out alive (so to speak), barely, downing Kim. Villa ended up on the wrong side of his double hill battle and it was Ardon who advanced to the quarterfinals.
Henriquez defeated Ardon in those quarterfinals 5-3 and in what proved to be the last match of the night, Torraca defeated Henriquez by the same score in the semifinals. The agreement was reached, the cash was split and as undefeated occupant of the hot seat at the time, Hunter had his first Predator Tri-State Tour title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Poison Cues, Arcos 2 Balls, Ozone Billiards, Sterling Billiards, Kamui, Hustlin’ USA Clothing, Bloodworth Ball Cleaner, Billiard Engineering, Joe Romer Trophies, Phil Cappelle Publications, Pool & Billiards and Billiards Digest. The Predator Tri-State tour will return to Shooter’s Family Billiards on Saturday, Nov. 5, for a 9-ball event.
At least this time out, Jaydev Zaveri was the official winner. Having worked his way into the finals of three Predator Tri-State Tour stops at the same location this year (Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ), Zaveri and his first two opponents – Jan Mierzwa in February and Joe Valania in May, both of whom were in the hot seat at the time – negotiated a financial agreement and opted out of playing a final match. This past weekend (Saturday, August 27), Zaveri negotiated from the hot seat with tour newcomer, Brook Villa and while splitting the top two prizes with him, he did become the official winner of the $500-added Predator Tri-State stop that drew 29 entrants to Shooter’s Family Billiards.
Zaveri’s trip to the hot seat had something of a shaky start, surviving two straight double hill battles against Hunter Sullivan and Frank Krupa. A subsequent 7-3 victory over Pascal Dufresne set Zaveri up in a winners’ side semifinal against James Kearney. Aiden Wagner, in the meantime, destined for the hot seat match, got by Jowen Pichardo, Bob Toomey, and Ben Zimmerman to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against Villa.
Zaveri got into what would prove to be his final match, battling for the hot seat, with a 7-2 victory over Kearney. Wagner joined him after sending Villa to the loss side 7-5. A 7-4 victory put Zaveri in the hot seat and, as it turned out, afforded him the opportunity to be declared the event’s official winner.
On the loss side, Villa picked up Ben Zimmerman who’d followed his loss to Wagner with wins over Tom Crane 7-5 and John Torp 6-3. Kearney drew Kevin Scalzitti, who’d lost his opening match to Pascal Dufresne and was working on a four-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently eliminated Mike Strassberg 7-3, John Torp 6-3 and was about to end.
Kearney shut Scalzitti out and in the quarterfinals, faced Villa, who’d defeated Zimmerman 6-3. Villa was downing his opponents more efficiently as he got closer to the end, following his victory over Zimmerman with a 9-2 victory Kearney in the quarterfinals and then shutting out Wagner in the semifinals.
It set up an interesting title match, a contest between a tour veteran with a long list of cash finishes and victories on a number of area tours versus a newcomer, looking for his first recorded tour victory. The match, of course, didn’t happen. Zaveri and Villa agreed to the split and Zaveri went into the books as the event’s official winner.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues.
