Ramon Feliciano, Vincent Morris and Frankie Scanlon
Vincent Morris returned to the Tri-State Tour winners' circle on Sunday, February 15, with an undefeated run through a field of 23. Having won two stops on the tour, four years ago (February and March, 2012), it was his first win since. The $750-added event was hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Following a double hill win in the opening round over Kevin Scalzitti, Morris went on to defeat Jamiyl Adams 7-5 and then meet Bryan Jeziorski in a winners' side semifinal. Frankie Scanlon, in the meantime, squared off against Ada Lio. Morris downed Jeziorski 7-4, as Scanlon was sending Lio to the losers' bracket 7-5. Morris took the hot seat with a 7-5 win over Scanlon and waited on what turned out to be the return of Ramon Feliciano.
Feliciano had been moved to the loss side by Lio 7-5 in the opening round of play. He won five straight, including 6-4 wins over Tony Ignomirello and Mike Strassberg to face Lio a second time. Jeziorski drew Jamiyl Adams, who'd survived a double hill fight against Luis Jimenez and defeated ChristIan Smith 7-4 to reach him. Feliciano successfully wreaked his vengeance on Lio 7-5, and in the quarterfinals, met Jeziorski, who'd defeated Adams, double hill.
In those quarterfinals, the first money round, Feliciano survived a double hill matchup against Jeziorski to face Scanlon in the semifinals. He defeated Scanlon 6-3 and got a shot at Morris, in the hot seat waiting for him.
It was a back and forth, double hill final. After trading racks in the opening two games, Morris moved ahead by two. Feliciano chalked up two to tie. Two more for Morris were followed by two more for Feliciano and the match was knotted at five. Feliciano reached the hill first, winning the 11th rack, but Morris tied it up for the third time and won the deciding game to claim the title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Focus Cases by John Barton, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Focus Apparel. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for February 22, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Yomaylin ‘Smiley’ Feliz, playing in the Amateur event of the November 29-30 stop on the Predator Tour, came back from a loss to Naldo Troncoso among the winners’ side final eight to meet and defeat him in the finals. The $500-added Amateur event drew 72 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
A concurrently-run, $500-added Open/Pro event drew 20. Spanky Kava went undefeated in this one, knocking off, in order at the end, Jayson Shaw, Zion Zvi and Frankie Hernandez.
With Feliz out of the way in the amateur tourney, Troncoso moved on to face George Poltorak, as Kapriel Delimelkonoglu squared off against ChristIan Smith in the two winners’ side semifinals. Troncoso defeated Poltorak 7-4, and in the battle for the hot seat met Delimelkonoglu, who’d sent Smith to the loss side 7-5. Troncoso won his last match, defeating Delimelkonoglu 7-3 and waited in the hot seat for vengeance to come at him from the loss side.
Feliz wasted no time getting back on track, opening her five-match, loss-side trek to the finals with a shutout over Judd Parker. She then downed Dennis Lake 7-3 and drew Poltorak. There to meet Smith was Koka Davladze, who’d defeated room owner Manny Stamatakis 7-5 and survived a double hill match against Keith Adamik.
The two battles to determine the amateur event’s quarterfinalists were just that; battles. Feliz survived, double hill, over Poltorak, while Davladze just did avoid a double hill deciding game by downing Smith 7-5.
Feliz moved on and avoided a double hill deciding game in the quarterfinals by defeating Davladze 8-6. She had a smoother run in the semifinal match against Delimelkonoglu, downing him 7-2 for a second shot against Troncoso. She completed her run with a 9-5 victory over Troncoso to claim her first Predator title.
In the Open/Pro event, Spanky Kava took the undefeated route, facing separate opponents in the hot seat and finals. He and Zion Zvi prevented a marquee hot seat match by defeating Jayson Shaw 7-4 and Earl Strickland 7-3, respectively. Kava then defeated Zvi 7-4 and sat in the hot seat, waiting on Frankie Hernandez.
On the loss side, Hernandez got by Lee Kang 7-5, gave up only a single rack to Rob Omen and faced Shaw. Strickland picked up Kevin Guimond, who’d defeated Jamiyl Adams 7-2, and survived a double hill fight against Mhet Vergara. Hernandez and Strickland eliminated Shaw and Guimond, both 7-3 and met in the quarterfinals.
Hernandez ended Strickland’s day 7-4, and then, double hill, defeated Zvi for a shot at Kava in the hot seat. To no avail, as Kava completed his undefeated run with a 7-5 win over Hernandez to claim the Open/Pro title.
Rhys Chen's trip through a field of 58 players, on hand for the Tri-State Tour's $1,000-added, A-D 9-Ball event on the weekend of June 14-15 went through host venue (Castle Billiards, East Rutherford, NJ) owner, John Trobiano twice. They met in the third round, when Trobiano sent Chen to the loss side to embark on a seven-match winning streak that would pass through Trobiano and eventually lead to a winning effort in the finals against ChristIan Smith.
Smith, who advanced to the hot seat, defeated Don Montavalo, Carl Yusuf Khan, Shin Sekine, and Jose Liz Domeneche before running into Keith Adamik in a winners' side semifinal. Dennis Kennedy, in the meantime, squared off against Tony Ignomirello. Smith downed Adamik 7-1, as Kennedy was busy sending Ignomirello west 6-5. Smith gained the hot seat 9-8 over Kennedy, and waited on Chen.
Chen opened his loss-side campaign with victories over Antonio G.evara, Vinny Ferri, Domeneche and successfully wreaked his vengeance on Trobiano 7-5, to pick up Adamik. Ignomirello drew Dave Jusis, who'd gotten by Pat Mareno 6-2 and Jan Mierzwa 7-2.
Chen moved on to the quarterfinals (five down, three to go) with a 7-5 win over Adamik. He was joined by Jusis, who ended Ignomirello's day 6-3. Chen then eliminated Jusis 7-4 and defeated Kennedy in the semifinals 8-7. In the extended-race finals, Chen took an early and what proved to be insurmountable 3-1 lead. Smith would chalk up only one more, as Chen went on to reach seven games, extending the race to nine games, and then run out the final rack for a 9-4 win.
Tour representatives thanked John Trobiano and his staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for June 21, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Ed Medina worked through a short field of 19 entrants, going undefeated on the June 8 stop on the Tri-State Tour. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Rockaway Billiards, in Rockaway, NJ.
Medina opened his campaign by just surviving a double hill match against Steve Kaminow. He wouldn't face a similar challenge until the finals. Medina went on to defeat ChristIan Smith and Jerry Ritzer, which set him up for a winners' side semifinal against William Meima. Mike Strassburg, in the meantime, faced Scott Abramowitz. Medina cruised to the hot seat match 7-2 over Meima, as Strassburg and Abramowitz battled to double hill. Strassburg prevailed and was promptly sent to the semifinals by Medina 7-3.
Meima and Abramowitz moved to the loss side, where they ran into Jerry Ritzer and Mike Guevara, respectively. Ritzer had gotten by Duane Toney and Christian Smith, both 7-2, to face Meima. Guevara had defeatEd Martin Carducci 6-3 and squeaked by Grant Weldon 7-6. Ritzer handed Meima his second straight loss 7-2, as Guevara was doing likewise to Abramowitz 6-2.
Guevara and Ritzer locked up in a double hill quarterfinal, eventually won by Guevara. Strassburg ended Guevara's loss-side run with a 6-2 win in the semifinals and turned to take a second shot at Medina, sitting in the hot seat. Whatever the outcome, it would be Strassburg's best finish in two years.
In what proved to be the longest match of the day, Medina and Strassburg fought back and forth to claim the event title. Safety play slowed the proceedings down in the early going, and at the end of six games, it was knotted at 3-3. Strassburg surged ahead by two games, and they traded racks to 6-4. Strassburg made an early combination on the 9-ball to reach seven games, forcing an extension of the match to nine games.
Medina then won three in a row, including back-to-back 3-fouls, to first, tie the match at 7-7 and then, running the next rack, reach the hill at 8-7. Medina got a look at the 9-ball in the game that would have won it for him, but it rattled in the hole, allowing Strassburg to force a 17th and deciding game. In keeping with the general direction of the match, the deciding game turned into a safety battle. Strassburg opted for a safety on the 8-ball, but left Medina enough of a shot to make it and finish his undefeated run.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Rockaway Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.
Mike Dechaine has appeared in three out of the four finals of the annual George "Ginky" Sansouci Memorial Tournament, and now, after the event's first appearance on Memorial Day weekend, he's won two out of those three; both times, going undefeated and both times, coming from behind in the finals to win it. He won the first Ginky Memorial in 2011, defeating Dennis Hatch 11-9, after being down 8-6. In 2012, Earl Strickland defeated him in the finals. Dechaine did not compete in the 2013 Ginky Memorial; won by Mike Davis, defeating Dennis Hatch in the finals. Dechaine returned this year to claim his second title, this time, defeating The Iceman, Mika Immonen in the finals. The $2,000-added, Open/Pro tournament at this year's event drew 50 entrants to Steinway Billiards, in Astoria, Queens.
Three years after winning his first tournament on the Tri-State Tour, Kapriel Delimelkonoglu went undefeated to capture the $2,000-added, Amateur side of the Ginky Memorial, which drew a full field of 128 entrants. The Amateur event has crowned four separate champions since 2011 – Raj Vannala, Daniel Dagotdot, Mike Yednak and now, Delimelkonoglu.
In the Open/Pro competition, Dechaine moved among the winners' side final four for a match against Danny Mastermaker, currently ranked at # 8 on the Action Pool Tour, as Mhet Vergara faced Adam Smith, winner of last year's Pennsylvania 9-Ball Championships. Dechaine sent Mastermaker to the losers' bracket 8-5 and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Smith, who'd defeated Vergara by the same score. Dechaine defeated Smith 8-4 and found himself in the Ginky Memorial hot seat for the third time.
On the loss side, The Iceman, after being defeated by Smith in a winners' side quarterfinal defeated Jonathan Smith 8-6 and Hunter Lombardo 8-1 to draw Mastermaker. Vergara, in the meantime, drew Jayson Shaw, who'd lost to Immonen in the opening round, and was on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him to the quarterfinals. Shaw downed Karen Corr (the only woman playing in the Open/Pro event) 8-5 and Frankie Hernandez 8-4 to meet Vergara.
Shaw's final win of the day came against Vergara 8-2 as Immonen was busy eliminating Mastermaker 8-5. Immonen took the quarterfinal match against Shaw in a tight, double hill battle, and then downed Smith in the semifinals 8-6.
The final match – a modified race-to-11 (if Immonen reached 11 games first, match would extend to 13) – was a blend of rack running and safety play that went back and forth through its early and middle stages. The Iceman pulled ahead by two, as he reached the extension 'hill' of 10 games, but Dechaine locked in and took the next three to reach 11 games first and claim the event title.
In the Amateur event, Delimelkonoglu worked his way through to a winners' side semifinal against Glenn Ramsey, as John Ortiz faced ChristIan Smith in the other. Delimelkonoglu survived a double hill battle against Ramsey, as Ortiz downed Smith 7-4. Delimlekonoglu got into the hot seat 7-4 over Ortiz and awaited his return from the semifinals.
Ramsey and Smith got right back to work on the loss side; Ramsey downing teenager Thomas Rice in a double hill battle, as Smith eliminated Lidio Ramirez 7-5. Smith took the quarterfinal match 7-3, but had his bid for a shot against Delimelkonoglu stopped by Ortiz 7-5 in the semifinals. Delimelkonoglu completed his undefeated run with a 9-7, second win over Ortiz to claim the Ginky Memorial's fourth Amateur title.
Both Victor Nau and Jayson Shaw survived double hill battles for the hot seat in the Amateur and Open portions of the November 2-3 stop on the Predator Tour, and went on to win the finals, against the same opponents. Nau took two against Borana Andoni in the Amateur event, while Shaw defeated Tony Robles twice in the Open event. The $500-added Amateur event drew 20 entrants, while the $500-added Open portion of the proceedings drew a short field of 10 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
From among the winners' side final four in the Amateur event, Nau downed Antonio G.errero 7-3, as Andoni sent Bogie Uzdejczyk west 7-2. Nau took command of the hot seat match, sending Andoni to the semifinals 8-3.
On the loss side, Geurrero met up with Giovanni Hosang, who'd gotten by Kyle Bubet 7-3 and survived a double hill battle against ChristIan Smith, to reach him. Uzdejczyk faced Stewart Warnock, who'd defeated Keith Adamik, double hill, and Koka Davladze 7-5. Guerrero and Uzdejczyk advanced to the quarterfinals with identical 7-5 wins over Osang and Warnock.
Uzdejczyk won the quarterfinal match 7-2 over Guerrero and got a second crack at Andoni. He put up a double hill fight against her, but she prevailed for a second shot at Nau. Nau finished things with an 8-4 win in the finals.
In the Open event, Shaw, still nursing wounds inflicted by back-to-back victories by Shane Van Boening and Lee Van Corteza in the US Open 9-Ball Championships, advanced among the winners side final four and met up with Scott Simonetti. Tony Robles squared off against room owner, John Trobiano, in the other winners' side semifinal.
Shaw defeated Simonetti 7-4, as Robles advanced to the hot seat match with a 7-2 win over Trobiano. Shaw won the double hill, hot seat struggle against Robles in their first of two.
On the loss side, Travis McKinley was working his way to the semifinals against Robles. He got by Keith Adamik 7-5 and Vikram Dasari 7-4 to pick up Simonetti. Trobiano faced Shpendi Kaba, who'd defeated Paul Spaanstra 7-1 and Daniel Dagotdot 7-4.
Kaba and McKinley handed Trobiano and Simonetti their second straight losses, both 7-4. McKinley then defeated Kaba in the quarterfinals 7-5. Robles ended McKinley's loss-side streak in the semifinals 7-3, and was then, himself, eliminated by Shaw in their second meeting 7-4.
Last week, September 21, Emerson Verano watched James "Doc" Pasciolla complete a six-match, loss-side run to meet him in the finals. Verano stopped the streak to claim the event title. On Sunday, September 29, looking to chalk up a second straight win on the Tri-State Tour, Verano was in the hot seat again, watching, this time, as ChristIan Smith completed a three-match, loss-side run to meet him in the finals; deja vu, all over again, as they say.
This time, though, the result was different. Smith, who'd been sent west by Verano from among the winners' side final four, came back to win the final match, and foil Verano's bid for a second straight Tri-State win. The $1,000-added, A-D handicapped event drew 27 entrants to On the Snap Billiards in Sayerville, NJ.
Smith advanced past Ed Culhane, Carl Yusuf Khan and Marco Dy to earn a spot in one of the winners' side semifinal matches, against Verano. Yomaylin "Smiley" Feliz and Tony Ignomirello squared off in the other. "Smiley" gave up only a single rack to Ignomirello and in the hot seat, met Verano, who'd survived a double hill struggle against Smith. Verano then defeated Feliz to sit in the Tri-State hot seat for the second week in a row.
Smith moved over and picked up Justin Muller, who'd defeated Marco Dy 7-3 and Rajesh Vanalla 7-4 to reach him. Ignomirello drew Christian Longo, who'd gotten by Danny Booth 7-3 and Jaydev Zaveri 6-3. Smith and Ignomirello advanced to the quarterfinal match; Smith, with a 7-2 win over Muller, and Ignomirello, double hill over Longo.
Smith and Ignomirello fought back and forth to a deciding game in the quarterfinals. Smith dropped the final 9-ball, and advanced to meet Feliz, eager for a re-match against Verano. Smith was eager, too, and downed Feliz 7-4 to earn his own re-match.
Smith jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the finals, but Verano came right back to tie it. Smith then chalked up a six-pack that put him on the hill. Verano won the 11th game, but Smith won the 12th to complete his loss-side comeback and chalk up the event title.
Tour representatives thanked On the Snap Billiards' owner-operator Bryant Mitchell, House Pro Daniel Cintron, and the staff for their attentiveness to players' needs, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Heptig Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour is scheduled for Saturday, October 5 at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Kyle Bubet, who finished 10th in the Tri-State Tour’s 2011-2012, C-class standings got off to a roaring start in the July 28 season opener of the Tri-State’s 2012-2013 season. Sent to the loss side from among the winners’ side final four, he won three straight to meet and then defeat hot seat occupant, John Trobiano, and claim the $500-added, A-D handicapped title. The event drew 25 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Bubet had defeated Debra Pritchett, Dennis Kennedy and Michael Aro before running into Rick Shellhouse in one of the winners’ side semifinals. The other featured Trobiano and Eddie DaCosta. Shellhouse sent Bubet west 6-4 and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Trobiano, who’d defeated DaCosta 7-6. Trobiano then downed Shellhouse 8-5, sending him to a fateful semifinal rematch against Bubet, as he sat in the hot seat, waiting.
First up for Bubet was Donna Padavano, who’d gotten by Dave Danchak 6-5 and Daniel Flynn 6-3 to reach him. DaCosta, in the meantime, squared off against Scott Simonetti, who’d defeated Christian Smith 7-6 and Ricardo Mejia 7-3. Simonetti, who finished 6th in last season’s A+/A rankings, ended DaCosta’s day 9-7, and in the quarterfinals, faced Bubet, who’d eliminated Padavano 6-4.
Bubet smoked Simonetti 10-2 and turned to the semifinal re-match against Shellhouse. Bubet prevailed, double hill, to earn a shot against Trobiano in the hot seat. Bubet took an immediate 4-0 lead in the finals; a lead that would narrow to within two, four times, but eventually be the winning margin. At 7-5, Bubet chalked up two in a row to move out to his second, four-point lead. Trobiano chalked up his last to make it 9-6, but Bubet closed it out in rack 16.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State event is a $1000-added, C-D handicapped event at Amsterdam Billiards & Bar in New York City, set for August 4-5.
In the finals of the Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, June 2, Christian Smith stopped a five-match, loss-side streak by Rick Shellhouse to finish undefeated. The $500-added event drew 37 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Smith was rolling along smoothly, until he got to the winners’ side semifinals, where he faced two straight double hill matches that eventually left him in the hot seat. He got by Dennis Feliciano first, as his hot seat opponent, Al Cacciola, was busy sending Antonio Navarro to the loss bracket 6-4. Smith sent Cacciola to the semifinals, and waited for what turned out to be the return of Shellhouse.
On the loss side, Shellhouse, after being sent over by Cacciola from among the final eight winners 6-4, worked his way by David Danchak 6-4 and Ted Lapadula 6-3 to reach Navarro. Feliciano picked up Scott Simonetti, who’d defeated Emily Duddy and John Trobiano, both 7-5.
Shellhouse downed Navarro 6-5 and in the quarterfinals, faced Feliciano, who’d stopped Simonetti 8-2.
Shellhouse dropped Feliciano into fourth place 7-3, and turned for a rematch versus Cacciola in the semifinals. He won that 6-3 and with a bit of momentum on his side, moved on to an extended race-to-10 final against Smith.
Shellhouse forced the extension by winning the double hill match (for Smith) at 7-7. Smith, though, went on to win three straight to complete his undefeated day.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.
The Predator Pro-Am Tour’s $1,000 added last stop of the regular 2011 season took place at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ on November 5-6.
“Castle”, as most players in the area call it, is known for their famous sizzling steak and friendly atmosphere, as well as catering to some of the best pool players in New Jersey.
Forty-five players from around the tri-state area came out to compete in the Amateur 9-ball Event, all looking to end the season on a positive note… and potentially raise their standing in the tour’s end of the year rankings.
Several players played strong throughout the two-day tournament, but one player showed the most dominance overall. Florida player Steve Knoll is known as being a top amateur player, and proved to be too strong for the competition throughout this weekend.
Steve’s road through the winner’s bracket included wins over Guy Ignonicello 7-5, Christian Smith 7-6, Ed Culhane 7-2, Mike Hertz 8-7, Jack Smith 7-4, Rene Villalobos 10-8 to take the hot seat, and Michael Toohig 10-5 in the finals.
A number of other players also showed a lot of grit in this event, including Jack Smith, Rhio Anne Flores, Gary Murgia, and Rene Villalobos… who were all playing good enough to win, and left it all on the table during their late-event losses.
Michael Toohig was also playing with more swagger and more confidence that I have seen to date on tour. It was a pleasure to watch him dig deep, and come with several wins en route to his strong second place finish.
The Open/Pro 10-Ball Division featured pro division points leader and Tour Owner Tony Robles and Jeremy Sossei, as well as several up-and-coming players.
New York player Raphael Dabreo, who was ranked #3 in the B+ Class standings prior to this event, was impressive in making a statement with a solid 3rd place finish… but one player was head and shoulders above the rest.
Connecticut pro Jeremy “The Giant Killer” Sossei played superb all day en route to an undefeated win. Jeremy defeated Brian Tierney 8-2, Joe Landi 8-4, Tony Robles 8-1, Raphael DaBreo 8-6 for the hot seat, and Tony Robles 9-8 in the finals.
Both Amateur and Open/Pro tour players will be looking forward to the Predator Tour’s 2011 Finale, which will take place at Raxx Pool Room, Bar & Grill on December 10-11. http://www.raxxpoolroom.com/
