What a difference a week can make. At the New England 9-Ball Series’ 2019-2020 season opener last week (Sept. 22), Tyler Boudreau chalked up his third 2019 victory on the tour, meeting and defeating in the event finals, Buddy Oldham, who’d won nine on the loss side for the right to face him.  Boudreau and Oldham were back this past Saturday (Sept. 28) for the second stop on the ’19-’20 tour; Boudreau looking to chalk up his fourth win, and Oldham still looking for his first major win. Boudreau went two and out, while for the second week in a row, Oldham settled for a runner-up finish. Both were defeated by Brett Cavazos, who went undefeated at the $500-added, Dave Marcus Memorial Tournament that drew 43 entrants to Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH.

 

Boudreau was awarded an opening round bye and then lost his first match to Cavazos. Separated by only six Fargo Rate points (Boudreau, 550 & Cavazos, 544) they played a straight-up race to 6, which sent Boudreau to the loss side 6-3, where he lost his first match. Demonstrating that it wasn’t a fluke, Cavazos advanced to shut out Yenik Nazarian and then, in another straight-up race to 6, defeat last week’s third-place finisher Mourad Idrais 6-4. This moved Cavazos into a winners’ side semifinal match against Brett Chansky. Oldham, in the meantime, apparently not enamored of the extra matches needed to be played with an early loss, downed Dana Hussey, Greg Andrecyk, survived a double hill fight against Aundria Reynolds and defeated Phil Walton to draw Kyle King in the other winners’ side semifinal (King had been the only opponent he’d defeated on the winners’ side of the bracket in last week’s event).

 

Cavazos sent Chansky to the loss side 6-2. Oldham joined him in the hot seat match after shutting out King. Cavazos claimed the hot seat 6-3 (Oldham racing to 5).

 

On the loss side, Chansky picked up Idrais, who, after his defeat at the hands of Cavazos in a winners’ side quarterfinal, downed Tony Albair 5-2 and shut out TJ Marshall. King drew Phil Walton, who followed his defeat at the hands of Oldham with victories over Richard Comeau 4-1 and Jamie Dube in a shutout.

 

Chansky advanced to the quarterfinals with a double hill win over Idrais. King joined him when Walton forfeited. Chansky and King battled to double hill before Chansky closed it out to face Oldham in the semifinals.

 

Oldham started the semifinal with two on the wire in a race to 6. He and Chansky both chalked up four racks, but the handicap advantage advanced Oldham to the finals. Cavazos and Oldham opted out of those finals and split the top two prizes. As the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, Cavazos went on record as the official winner of the Dave Marcus Memorial Tournament.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Buster’s Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, USAPL New England, BCA Pool League, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell with Lease Fundings, Master Billiards and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America.  The next stop on the NE 9-Ball Series (#3), scheduled for the weekend of October 12-13, will be the $2,000-added Bangor Bash, to be hosted by Rack City in Bangor, ME. Pre-registration is required for this event, with a deadline of 5 p.m. on Friday, October 11.

Dana Hussey had the lowest FargoRate (351) among the final 12 competitors in the Saturday, Oct. 6 stop on the New England 9-Ball Series, the Dave Marcus Memorial Tournament. In his final three matches, Hussey was being awarded three and four games on the wire in races to 6 or 7, and only at the end, in the finals, did a competitor (Kyle Sariceno; 507) manage to force a deciding game. Hussey went undefeated in the event’s lower bracket, before joining the final 12 and eventually claiming his first event title. The $500-added event drew 45 entrants to Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH.

 

Following an opening round bye in the lower bracket, Hussey chalked up victories over Shane Ryan, Lida Mullendore, and Peter Rizzo, Sr., to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal matchup against Cody Chagnon. In the upper bracket, Jason Seavey and Hussey’s eventual finals opponent, Kyle Sariceno met in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

In a straight-up race to 6, Seavey and Sariceno battled to double hill before Seavey finished it and advanced to the winners’ side final. Hussey joined him after a 3-4 victory over Chagnon (racing to 6). With Seavey racing to 7, Hussey allowed him only two racks before chalking up his own three to claim the hot seat.

 

On the loss side, Sariceno began his march back to the finals against Matt Treglia, who’d eliminated Fred White, double hill and Walt Kelly 6-2. Chagnon picked up Mark Pulsifer, who’d defeated Rizzo, Sr., double hill and Matt Benson 4-1. Sariceno downed Treglia 4-1 (Treglia racing to 6) and was joined in the quarterfinal match by Pulsifer, who’d shut out Chagnon (in this match, racing to 4).

 

In a straight-up race to 4, Sariceno and Pulsifer battled to double hill before Sariceno dropped the final 9-ball to earn a re-match against Seavey in the semifinals. In his second straight double hill match, Sariceno prevailed again, downing Seavey 5-4 to get a shot at Hussey in the hot seat.

 

Third time proved to be not such a charm. In his third straight double hill fight, Sariceno got six of the seven racks he needed to win the opening set of the true double elimination final, but Hussey chalked up the three he needed to claim the event title.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Buster’s Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Predator, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Bourgeois Farms, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop (#3) on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for Saturday, October 13, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.