Though CJ Chey would go undefeated on the Mac Attack Tour’s 4th stop, he would split the top three prizes with Raymond Paragas and Levie Lampaan. The event drew 32 entrants to CJ Chey’s ‘home’ room, Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
Chey and Lampaan advanced through the field to arrive at their respective winners’ side semifinals. Chey faced Miguel Berrios, as Lampaan squared off against Ricky Mejia. Lampaan and Mejia locked up in a double hill fight, which eventually advanced Lampaan to the hot seat match. He was joined by Chey, who’d sent Berrios west 6-4. Chey claimed the hot seat and his last victory of the tournament 7-4 over Lampaan.
On the loss side, Ricky Mejia ran into Raymond Paragas, who was moved to the loss side by Lampaan in a winners’ side quarterfinal and then defeated Kevin Scalzitti 5-3 and Matt Klein 6-4. Berrios picked up Mike Strassberg, who’d been defeated by Chey in the second round and was working on a four-match, loss-side winning streak that had recently included a double hill victory over Michelle Brotons and a 5-2 win over Paul Everton.
Strassberg and Paragas handed Berrios and Mejia their second straight loss; Strassberg 5-3 over Berrios and Paragas 6-1 over Mejia. Paragas and Strassberg battled to double hill in the quarterfinals that followed before Paragas advanced to what would have been, but was not, a rematch against Lampaan in the semifinals.
The three remaining contenders agreed to a three-way split of the first three cash payouts. Chey, as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, was awarded the official event title.
Tour director Mac Jankov thanked Rockaway Billiards’ owner Paul Spaanstra and his staff, including Michelle Pirrello, for all of their help. He extended thanks, as well, to the members of the tri-state area pool community who’ve attended all four of the Mac Attack Tour’s events, thus far. The next stop on the Mac Attack Tour, scheduled for Nov. 1 will be hosted by Breaker Billiards in Clifton, NJ. Further events are scheduled through Nov. 15. A 16-entrant Open/Pro event is in the planning stages for the Mac Attack Tour. Anyone interested in sponsoring this event should reach Jankov at 973-937-8852
The Tri-State Tour’s top two women almost met in the hot seat and finals of a $1,000-added tour stop on Sunday, November 17, which drew 29 entrants to Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ. But it didn’t turn out that way. Allison LaFleur went undefeated through the field, and in the end, past midnight, with a long drive ahead for both of them, she and (male) Alfredo Altamarino opted for a split of the top two prizes.
The ‘match that almost happened’ actually occurred in one of the winners’ side semifinals. LaFleur’s path to the hot seat was a bit of a roller coaster ride; four matches, two of which went double hill and two of which she gave up only one rack, total. She downed Adrian Daniel and another of the tour’s top women, Vinny Mistry, double hill, shut out newcomer Roger Blanco and in that winners’ side semifinal, gave up the single rack to the woman who entered the tournament ahead of her (just barely) in the tour standings, Michelle Brotons. In the other winners’ side semifinal, a local Shooter’s player, CJ Chey, squared off and defeated Joe Mazzeo 6-2. In her third double hill fight, which reportedly hinged in the end on a safety battle, LaFleur claimed the hot seat over Chey.
The potential for a Brotons/LaFleur final was still very much in the air, so to speak.
Brotons moved over and picked up . . . guess who – Alfredo Altamarino, who’d been sent to the loss side by CJ Chey in the second round and was working on a seven-match, loss-side streak that would take him to the finals and include victories over three of the tour’s top women and a prize split with a fourth, LaFleur, who’d end the night at the top of the list. After defeating top-tour-female #3, Amanda Andries 5-2, Altamarino downed #7, Vinny Mistry 7-4 and then, eliminated Mac Jankov 5-3 to pick up Brotons. Mazzeo, in the meantime, picked up Chris Kemp, who’d defeated Marcelo Adinolfi 6-3 and Rick Rodriguez 6-4 to reach him.
Kemp moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-4 win over Mazzeo, as Altamarino was busy surviving a double hill battle against Brotons, and ending hopes for a ‘top two women’ final. Altamarino then eliminated Kemp 6-4 and in what was described as a “stunning upset,” his rematch versus Chey in the semifinals was a shutout.
LaFleur and Altamarino opted out the final match, split the cash and called it a night.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui, Phil Capelle, Bloodworth Ball Cleaner, Billiard Engineering, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and Pool & Billiards. The next Tri-State event, scheduled for Sunday, November 24, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
