The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour kicked off their 2016-2017 season  on September 24th – 25th at the same place and the same way it has kicked off the past nine seasons. Since 2007, the tour has held their first event of the year at TJ’s Classic Billiards in Waterville, Maine. Considering that TJ’s is the homeroom for Mike Dechaine, it will come as no surprise that he has won the season opener on the tour every year since 2011. 

 

This year, Dechaine held off a field of 52 other players to notch win #6. Dechaine beat Canadian Tom Theriault 9-7 for the hot-seat, in a match that saw Theriault miss a relatively easy shot that would have allowed him to get to hill-hill against Dechaine.

 

Theriault made quick work of Corey Payer in the semi-final match, where he posted a 9-2 win to send Payer home in third place.

 

Dechaine’s win in the first set of the double elimination finals was a much more comfortable one, with him defeating Theriault by a 9-5 scoreline. 

 

Sunday saw 22 players come back for the $500 added second chance event, where Jeff Mosimann came back from the one loss side to defeat Cleiton Rocha twice in the finals. Rocha defeated Jordan Labbe 3-2 for the hot-seat, but Mosimann then eliminated Labbe 3-1, before defeating Rocha 3-2 and 3-0 in the finals. 

 

The lucky winner of the raffle for the $1500 custom Joss cue was local player CJ Farnum.

 

The Joss NE 9-Ball tour will continue their new season at East Ridge Billiards in Rochester, NY on October 1st and 2nd. Tour director Mike Zuglan pointed out that January’s Turning Stone Classic XXVII is filling fast and will undoubtedly fill up again. Players should contact Zuglan at 518-356-7163 to lock up their place in the event.