Ron Casanzio with room owner Andrea Duvall and Alex Bausch
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour is on a roll with a new winner each week. Different than previous seasons where one or two players dominated the season with multiple title wins, the 2022 / 2023 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour has seen a different winner at each stop. That record continued through October with Alex Bausch winning his first career tour stop at Utica Billiards on the Boulevard on October 15th – 16th, Kyle Akaloo earning his first career tour stop win at Brickhouse Billiards in N. Syracuse on October 22nd – 23rd, and then Ray McNamara winning his first title of the year at American Pool & Billiards on October 29th – 30.
Alex Bausch’s win on October 15th – 16th kicked off with an undefeated run to the hot-seat match, where he beat Dan Sharlow 9-5. Sharlow would not make it back to face Bausch in the finals, as Ron Casanzio was tearing through the one loss side and defeated Sharlow 7-5 in the semi-final match.
Casanzio had lost to Bausch early in the day on Saturday, but won seven straight matches to get to the double elimination finals. Casanzio quickly extended that run of wins to eight, with a 9-2 win over Bausch in the first set of the finals, but Bausch took control in the second set and scored a 7-2 win for his first career Joss Tour Stop.
Ron Casanzio, Brickhouse Billiards Manager Chloe Romanyk and Kyle Akaloo
The October 22nd – 23rd tour stop at Brickhouse Billiards looked a lot like the event a week before. This time, it was South Africa’s Kyle Akaloo who defeated Casanzio on Saturday as part of his run to the hot-seat match. Akaloo defeated Qays Kolee for the hot-seat 9-6, and Kolee found Casanzio on another winning streak on the left side of the board. This time, Casanzio’s run was only five consecutive wins, including a 7-2 win over Kolee, to put Casanzio in his second final match in as many weeks.
Casanzio won the first set of the finals 9-7, but faltered again in the second set, dropping that match 7-3 for Akaloo’s first career Joss Tour win.
Dave Hall, American Pool & Billiards Owner Jerry Giutard and Ray McNamara
The October 29th – 30th tour stop at American Pool & Billiards in Portland Maine saw Dave Hall run through the right side of the brackets and score a 9-3 win over Shane Cote to take the hot-seat.
Cote, then dropped a heart-breaking 7-6 match against tour regular Ray McNamara, who had lost his Saturday match against Hall 9-8. McNamara strung together five straight wins on the left side of the board and got the finals underway with a 9-4 win over hot-seat holder Hall. While two players had been unable to complete the double dip the previous two events, McNamara was successful in his attempt this time, with a 7-5 win over Hall in the second set of the finals for McNamara’s first win on the tour since June of last year.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be at Diamond Billiards in Rochester, NY this weekend for tour stop number 8, with another $1500 added main event and $500 added second chance tournament.
TJ’s Classic Billiards owner Steve Reynolds, Alex Osipov, Dave Hall and GM Howard Fogg Jr.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour kicked off their 2022/2023 season with The Maine Event XIV at TJ’s Classic Billiards in Waterville, Maine on September 17th – 18th, and crowned a first time tour stop winner in local favorite Dave Hall.
Hall, from nearby Portland Maine, is one of the top players in the area and always does well when the Joss Tour comes to town. With all of that success though, he still had yet to win a tour stop. Hall kicked the weekend off with a hill-hill win over Doug Brown, and then got comfortable with wins over Mike Perry (9-1), Cody Porter (9-4) and Ray McNamara (9-5) to finish undefeated for the day.
Sunday kicked off with Hall taking on Alex Osipov for the hot-seat. In another hill-hill thriller, Osipov sent Hall to the left side of the board 9-8.
Ray McNamara was waiting for Hall on the one the loss side but was still unable to win more than five racks in their rematch, and lost the semi-final match to Hall 7-5. That set up Hall and Osipov for a rematch in the finals.
Being a true double elimination tournament, Hall would have to beat Osipov twice if he wanted to win his first Joss Tour title, and he did just that. Hall won the first set 9-7 and then the second set 7-5 for the tournament win.
Sunday’s second chance event saw Jeff Mosimann hold off an attempt by Doug Brown to duplicate Hall’s double dip. Mosimann took the hot-seat with a 3-0 win over John Francis. Brown won the first set of the final match 3-1, but dropped the second set 3-2 for Mosimann’s victory.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action this weekend with stop 2 of the 2022/2023 season at Yale Billiards in Wallingford, Ct.
Congratulations to “The Maine Event XIV” winners, Dave Hall ($1,000 Maine Event XXIV), Jeff Mosimann ($300 Second Chance) & $1,900 Joss Cue raffle winner Michael Duff
Stop # 2 of my Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour will be at Yale Billiards in Wallingford CT on September 24 & 25 for a $2,000 ($1500+$500) added 9-ball event. Our host, Bobby Hilton, deserves much credit for bringing our tour back to Connecticut. The Northeast is very lucky to have someone who promotes the game as well as Bobby! So let’s come out in big numbers to show our support! Yale Billiards has been around for almost 30 years with just the last few in their new building. They have a full bar with an extensive bar food menu to satisfy all of our needs. There are 16 Gold Crown tables all covered with 860HR Simonis plus a couple of Valley bar boxes for league play. Yale Billiards is also the home of the increasingly popular “The Sharkstream” which allows for live streaming league and tournament pool matches as well as our event. You can access the live stream on Facebook on “The Sharkstream” page or on YouTube by searching Yale Billiards Shark Stream. So come on down to compete or just watch another great tournament. Be sure to take a chance on winning a beautiful, $1,900 custom engraved Joss cue in the cue raffle. Anyone can participate and you do not have to be present to win! We will draw for the cue just prior to the finals of the main event. For more information about visit them at yalebilliards.com or call them at 203-294-9591
If you will be in need of motel accommodations, please call the room at 203-294-9591
This event at Yale Billiards will consist of a $1500 added Saturday and Sunday Main Event (entry Fee $120 for pro level or $70 for non pro level plus applicable tour fees) and a $500 added second chance event on Sunday ($20 Entry Fee) for those non pro players eliminated from the main event on Saturday. All of our billiard parlor main events are now races to 9 on the winners side and races to 7 on the one loss side.
For those of you coming to play, please arrive on Saturday September 24, BEFORE 11:00 AM, and in proper dress please. Jeans and sneakers are permitted in our billiard parlor events. But please, No T-shirts, No tanks, No shorts or sweats. Complete tour info can be found on our site www.joss9balltour.com
Please remember to spread the word to frequent your local billiard parlors and utilize the world class products of our most generous sponsors. They are the backbone of our sport and deserve our support more than ever!!
Thanks, and I hope to see you all at Yale Billiards.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour was back in action over the Halloween weekend. This time, Mike Zuglan had the tour at American Pool & Billiards in Portland Maine, with a field of 32 players, including the 2018 and 2019 winner at this room, Kyle Pepin. Pepin was shooting for a three-peat and looked to be well on his way to that achievement. Tour regular Joe Darigis had other plans though.
Darigis and Pepin both made it through Saturday’s matches unscathed. Darigis had Saturday wins over Derrick Burnham, Bob Dennis and Nick Brucato, while Pepin beat Mike Giurleo, Jim Hayden and Cody Porter to qualify for Sunday play. Joining them on the winner’s side on Sunday were Ben Savoie and Dave Hall.
Hall made quick work of Darigis on Sunday morning 9-3, while Pepin kept his streak going and defeated Savoie 9-5. Pepin then went on to take the hot-seat in a 9-7 battle with Hall.
Darigis took the trip to the one loss side and found Giurleo waiting. Giurleo had just eliminated Joe’s Dad, Bob Darigis, and was looking for a clean sweep for this event. Darigis avenged his Dad’s loss though, with a 7-5 scoreline. Darigis then sent Ben Savoie to the seats with another 7-5 win and then defeated Hall in the semi-final match 7-2.
Darigis came into the finals against Pepin with the unenviable task of trying to defeat Pepin twice. Pepin’s last Joss Tour match loss at American Pool & Billiards was in the finals back in 2018, and he came back to win that match in the second set. The first set of the finals, this time, went to Darigis hill-hill. The second set was just a little less stressful as Darigis completed the double dip with a 7-5 win.
Sunday’s second chance tournament did see a repeat, as Jim Hayden defended his win from the 2019 second chance tournament with an undefeated win. Hayden had wins over Gary Bryant, Larry Haskell, Steve Sutton and then Nick Brucato to take the hot-seat. The win over Brucato was a hill-hill match and Hayden repeated that scoreline with another hill-hill win over Brucato in the finals.
Phil Harju (Union Station owner), Kyle Pepin, Ben Savoie and Tyler Dunbar
With the popularity of Fargo, more and more tournaments are converting to a handicapped system based on those Fargo ratings. While this format allows lower rated players to compete against more experienced opponents, it can sometimes be daunting for those better players to “outrun the handicap” in these handicapped matches. While some of the results were close, Kyle Pepin outran them all to win the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s Fargorate Handicapped event at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine on March 23rd – 24th.
Pepin (653 Fargo) made his way through the winner’s side with three match wins on Saturday (Marc Dionne, Justin Grant and Josh Lerner). The handicaps (8-6, 9-5 and 8-5 were manageable, although Pepin did go hill-hill with Lerner in his last match of the day.
Sunday play for Pepin started with a 9-5 race against Jerry Guitard that Pepin won 9-3. That was followed by the biggest spot that Pepin had to give up all weekend. His match against Tyler Dunbar (465 Fargo) was a 10-4 race that Pepin won 10-3. Pepin commented after the event on the format for this event. “The handicapped format was tough, a lot of tough spots and close matches, but I think it was pretty fair and made me play pretty honest. I didn’t have many chances to make mistakes.” he said.
Ben Savoie (570 Fargo) was making this way through the one loss side after a loss to Guitard late on Saturday. Savoie had wins over Dave Hall, Josh Lerner and Samoth Sam before earning his revenge over Guitard 7-2. Savoie then sent Dunbar home in third place with an 8-3 win in the semi-final match.
The final match between Pepin and Savoie was an 8-6 race, where Pepin won 8-4 in the first set for first place and his second career Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win. Pepin was complimentary of the event after the win. “I think the format is great for lower ranked players and the more people people play in events that are reported to Fargo, the more accurate everyone’s handicap will be.” he said.
Sunday’s second chance tournament was the regular race to three format where Jim Hayden bounced back from a loss in the hot-seat match and double dipped Lindsey Monto in the finals for first place.
Mike Zuglan, Daren Belliveau, Kyle Pepin, and room owner Phil Harju
Kyle Pepin won his first ever Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop by the narrowest of margins on November 3rd and 4th at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine.
Pepin cruised through the right side of the board with wins over Brian Wheel, Wayne Faherty, Jim Hayden, Samoth Sam and Dave Hall. His 9-8 win over Hall put Pepin in the hot-seat, waiting for an opponent in the finals.
Hall found Darren Belliveau waiting on the one loss side, itching for a fight. Belliveau had lost to Ivaylo Petrov late on Saturday, but hadn’t lost since then. Hall was Belliveau’s fifth match on the one loss side, and he became the fifth player to be eliminated by Belliveau.
Belliveau didn’t stop there though, as he then handed Pepin his first loss 9-5 in the first set of the finals. The second set couldn’t have been any closer, tied at hill-hill, when Belliveau scratched on an 8-ball leaving Pepin the easiest of shots for Joss Tour stop victory #1.
The 11 player second chance tournament on Sunday saw Ross Webster win his second stop of the season with an undefeated run. Webster defeated Tyler Campbell 3-2 for the hot-seat and then 3-1 in the first set of the finals.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action on November 17th – 18th for the 30th Ocean State 9-Ball Championship. This event features $4500 in added money, with a $500 added second chance event on Sunday.
Phil Harju (room owner), Cody Francis, Dave Hall and Mike Zuglan
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour wrapped up the first half of their season over the weekend of November 18th and 19th at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine where the field of 37 players came down to two local players fighting it out for their first Joss Tour wins.
Sunday matches on the winner’s side saw Bruce Nagle score a hill-hill win over Ivaylo Petrov and Cody Francis with a 9-7 win over Josh Rupard. Francis then went on to take the hot-seat with a 9-7 win over Nagle.
On the one loss side, Dave Hall was on a roll after a lopsided 9-2 loss to Mark Desjardin in his first match on Saturday. Hall bounced back with Saturday wins over Sam Hebert, Mike Dube and Xavier Libby to make it into the money on Sunday.
Sunday matches saw Hall pick up where he left off on Saturday, as he defeated Jim Hayden, Rupard, Jeremy Sossei and Nagle to earn his spot in the finals.
For two players playing for their first tour wins, Francis and Hall made the most of it. Hall, from nearby Portland Maine, handed hometown favorite Francis his first loss in the first set of the finals 9-6. Francis returned the favor in the second set of the finals and eliminated Hall 9-7 to take first place and $1,050 in prize money.
Sunday’s second chance tournament came down to Mark Stewart facing Chad Bazinet three times before a winner was crowned. Stewart won the first meeting in the hot-seat match 3-0, but Bazinet defeated Dan Couture in the semi-final match and was back for another shot at Stewart in the finals. Bazinet scored a 3-2 win in the first set of the finals, but Stewart came back to score a 3-2 win of his own for first place.
The tour now takes a break for the rest of 2017 and will be back in action on January 4th – 7th for the Turning Stone Classic XXIX at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, Ny. That event has a handful of spots left open and players are urged to contact Mike Zuglan at 518-356-7163 to lock down their place in the event,
Mike Zuglan, Jeremy Sossei, Nelson Oliveira & Room Owner Phil Harju
It looked like it was going to be smooth sailing for Nelson Oliveira on his run through the field of 40 other players at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour's stop at Union Station Billiards in Portland Maine on November 19th – 20th, but in the end he would have to fight it out with Jeremy Sossei in a double elimination final before a winner was crowned.
Oliveira had no problems on Saturday, as he scored wins over Jeff Mosimann, Andrew Burns and Bob Dennis to remain undefeated. Joining him on the winner's side Sunday were Jeff Provencher, Dave Hall and Josh Rupard. Sunday matches saw Oliveira beat Provencher 9-1, and Hall beat Rupard 9-4. Oliveira would then go on to defeat Hall by that same 9-4 score.
On the one loss side. Jeremy Sossei was on a tear after a hill-hill loss to Samoth Sam on Saturday. After that loss, Sossei went on a seven match winning streak, including notable wins over Martin Daigle, Chad Bazinet, Provencher, Rupard and Hall.
Sossei extended his streak to eight matches with a 9-5 win over Oliveira in the first set of the double elimination finals. The second set was close early, with the players tied at 3-3, before Oliveira took control and won six straight games for the 9-3 win.
The second chance tournament on Sunday drew a field of 20 players where Brent Boemmels went undefeated to earn first place. Boemmels defeated Travis Webster 3-1 for the hot-seat and then held off Lindsey Monto 3-2 in the first set of the finals. Boemmels collected collected $320 for first, while Monto settled for $200 in second place prize money.
In addition to a fourth place finish in the second chance event, Josh Lerner was also the winner of the raffle for the $1500 custom engraved Joss cue at this event.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour now takes a break until the Turning Stone Classic XXVII on January 5th – 8th in Verona NY. This event is now full.
Not only did Mike Zuglan bring his Joss Northeast 9-Ball tour to TJ's Billiards in Waterville, Maine this past weekend, he brought his A-Game along too. 62 Players from all over showed to play in this $3000 added event. The area this time of year is too beautiful for words and the competition was incredible. Playing for the cash this weekend, we had Zuglan, Sambajon, Acaba, Lapena, Saez, Altomare, Tavernier, Tucker, LaFlamme and more. The story in this tournament was not only Mike and the "big guns" on the Joss tour but also some the young players and their great play.
Saturday had it's share of close matches and good play. At the end of the day we had Chuck Altomare, Tom D'Alfonso, Mike Zuglan and Santos Sambajon all unbeaten. On the one loss side we had Karen Corr, Dave Hall, Ray Suda, Al Lapena, Sylvan Grenier, Dave Rodrigue, Darrell Canning and Carlos Vieira. Cashing for the first time on the Joss tour in his 3 years was Mike Hurley from Glenn Falls, NY and Patrick Adam from Quebec. Good job guys welcome to the cash line. Also cashing but not returning on Sunday was Joe Tucker and Robb Saez.
Sunday started with Zuglan beating Sambajon and young Tom "Shorty" D'Alfonso beating 5 time event winner Chuck Altomare. D'Alfonso played great for two days to meet up against Zuglan for the hot seat. After losing to Zuglan, Shorty had to wait for some great matches on the one loss side. Playing wonderfully, Karen Corr beat Robb Saez, Dave Hall, and Al Lepena. Karen came up on the short side to Chuck Altomare to finish a respectable 5th/6th. Darrell Canning from Prince Edward Island beat Pat Adam only to lose to fellow Canadian Syl Grenier. Grenier a newcomer to the Joss tour from Three Rivers, Quebec played well all week end beating Carlos Vieria on the hill, Dave Rodrigue, Joe Tucker and Steve Tavernier only to lose to Altomare and finish 4th. Altomare beat D'Alfonso to face Zuglan in the finals. In the last set it was all Mike Zuglan. At 3-1 Zuglan left himself with a long jump over a ball for the 4 ball. Hitting the cue dead perfect the 4 split the pocket and the cue went two rails for perfect position on the 5. It went that way for the entire set and Zuglan came out on top 9-4.
What a great event at a great room only 3 1/2 hours from Boston. This northern pool room has a lot to offer any serious player. Great tables, balls and cloth in a nice room makes it a great place to play. TJ and Debbie LaFlamme are incredible host and their staff really takes care of things. It is no secret that this is one of the tournaments a lot of us look forward to each year. Our thanks to TJ and Debbie along with Joss Cues Ltd, Webb Custom Cues, Giuseppi Cases, Cappone Custom Cues and Simonis cloth.
