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.

He finished the NE 9-Ball Series’ 2018-2019 season by winning its tour championships on the weekend of September 7-8 and on Sunday, September 22 he won the tour’s 2019-2020 season opener. Tyler Boudreau has recorded five cash payouts in his first year on record with the NE 9-Ball Series and three of them have been victories. He finished 3rd at the Players Championship in March and shared 4th place with his Scotch Doubles Partner, Tom D’Alfonso, in August. The September 22nd event drew 43 entrants to Crow’s Nest in Plaistow, NH.

 

To claim the title, though, Boudreau had to contend with a competitor who was looking for his first major win, and like Boudreau, was making his first appearance on a regional tour payout list in 2019 – Buddy Oldham. Oldham had chalked up a victory over Kyle King in the lower (FargoRate) bracket in the opening round of the event, and then, defeated by John Mills in the second round, embarked on a nine-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him all the way to the finals against Boudreau.

 

Boudreau, in the meantime, advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Chris Richard. Mourad Idrais and Roger Vivier squared off in the other one. In a straight-up race to 5, Boudreau moved into the hot seat match with a 5-3 victory over Richard. Idrais joined him after sending Vivier to the loss side 5-2 (Vivier was racing to 6). In a straight-up race to 6 (Idrais with a 512 Fargo Rate and Boudreau with a 468), Boudreau claimed the hot seat 6-4 and waited for Oldham to complete his loss-side run.

 

Oldham was six matches into his nine-match run. He’d chalked up wins #4 and #5 against Bob Campbell 4-1 and survived his only double hill battle against Julio Xhiu to draw Chris Richard, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Vivier picked up Tom D’Alfonso, whom he’d sent to the loss side in the event’s fourth round. D’Alfonso was working on a modest, loss-side streak of his own, having defeated Dominic Souza, double hill and Ricardo Diaz 8-2.

 

Oldham would advance through to the finals with three wins in which he gave up only one rack to his three opponents. He gave up none at all to Chris Richard to get into the quarterfinals against Vivier, who’d eliminated D’Alfonso with a surprising 4-3 second win. Oldham then blanked Vivier in the quarterfinals.

 

In a straight-up race to 4 in the semifinals, Oldham allowed Idrais a single rack and earned a shot at Boudreau in the finals. The two relative newcomers to the sport, with a 3-point differential in their Fargo rate (Oldham, 471 and Boudreau, 468) squared off in a straight-up race to 5 in the finals. Oldham gave up as many racks to Boudreau as he’d given up to his previous five opponents. Boudreau claimed his third 2019 NE 9-Ball Series title 5-2.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Crow’s Nest, 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, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, will be the $500-added Dave Marcus Memorial, hosted by Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH.

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.

Carlos Aguilar and Tyler Dunbar opted out of a final match at the end of the New England 9-Ball Series’ 2018-2019 opener, held on Sunday, September 23. As the undefeated competitor, Aguilar claimed the event title. To secure his runner-up position, Dunbar, who’d been defeated in the second round of play, won nine on the loss side to earn a spot in the finals that didn’t happen. The event drew 57 entrants to Crow’s Nest in Plaistow, NH.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne announced at the start of this new season for the New England 9-Ball Series that the tour would no longer be using letter ratings (A, B, C, etc.) to determine handicaps and match races. They have switched to the FargoRate system for this purpose and with certain competitors and matches, we’ll be providing current FargoRates, in parentheses, as a reference.

 

The tour continues to separate the players into lower and upper (rank) brackets at the start of events, combining them towards the end. Playing in the lower bracket, Aguilar (503) chalked up victories over Peter Rizzo, Sr., Lida Mullendore and Tyler Boudreau, who’d just sent Dunbar (461) to the loss side.  Aguilar then defeated Dorie Oakes, advancing to an overall winners’ side semifinal against Josh Edmonds (479). From the upper bracket, Matt Rezendes (539) and Jose Concepcion (585) squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

In a straight-up race to 5, Aguilar and Edmonds battled to double hill before Aguilar prevailed, advancing to the hot seat match. He was joined by Rezendes, who’d sent Concepian to the loss side 5-2 (Concepcian racing to 6). With Rezendes racing to 6, Aguilar claimed the hot seat 5-2 in what proved to be his final match.

 

On the loss side, it was Edmonds who picked up Dunbar, seven matches into his loss-side winning streak that had included recent victories over Dorie Oakes and Ben Come, both 5-1. Concepcian drew Mike Gagne, who’d chalked up two straight double hill wins against Gabriel Kirshnitz and Ruben Soto to reach him.

 

In what was Gagne’s third straight, straight-up race to 5, Concepian allowed him only one rack and advanced to the quarterfinals. Dunbar joined him following a 4-1 victory over Edmonds.

 

Dunbar started the quarterfinal match with three on the wire in a race to 6, and though he and Concepcian chalked up three racks each, the handicap advantage gave Dunbar the win and advancement to his last match of the night.

 

Dunbar and Rezendes battled to double hill before Dunbar finished it to earn a shot at Aguilar in the hot seat. The two opted out of the final match and split the top two cash prizes.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Crow’s Nest, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, USAPL New England, FargoRate, 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 on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for October 6, will be the $500-added Dave Marcus Memorial Tournament, hosted by Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH.

Bill Phillips gave up only two racks in his final three matches to complete an undefeated run on the New England 9-Ball Series’ second tour stop on Saturday, September 30. The $500-added Dave Marcus Memorial 8-Ball Tournament drew 34 entrants to Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH.

 

Phillips, who finished fourth in the tour’s season opener the previous weekend, got into the hot seat match with two straight shutouts. The first, against Marco Pirotta, came in a winners’ side semifinal, as Steve Fleming was busy sending Charles Rosco to the loss side, double hill, in the other winners’ side semifinal. Phillips shut out Fleming and in the hot seat, waited on the return of Carlos Aguilar, who was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would net him a spot in the finals.

 

Rosco moved over and picked up the last remaining B player in the tournament, Brett Chansky, who’d defeated the only other B player among the event’s final 12, Thomas Hood 4-2, and Matt Elaine 4-1. Pirotta drew Aguilar, four matches into his loss-side streak, which, most recently, had included victories over Eli Davenport and Gilmer Fagundes, both double hill.

 

In a straight-up race to 3, Aguilar defeated Pirotta 3-1. He was joined in the quarterfinals by Rosco, who’d shut out Chansky. Aguilar downed Rosco 3-1, and then shut out Steve Fleming in the semifinals.

 

The finalists, Phillips and Aguilar, were both coming off shutout wins over Fleming. With Aguilar racing to 4, Phillips prevailed in the final match 3-2 to claim the event title.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Buster’s Billiards for their hospitality, along with sponsors Molinari, OTLVISE, Ozone Billiards, AZBilliards, and Delta 13 racks. Stop #3 on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for October 14-15, will be a $1,500-added event hosted by Legends in Auburn, ME.

  

 

One day after Rachel Lang went undefeated to claim a Tri-State Tour title in New Jersey (Sat., March 4), Candy Whalen chalked one up in New Hampshire with the New England 9-Ball Series. In the end, Whalen's victory (playing as a C-) came at the expense of (B player) Dennis Daniels, who had two shots at her in the hot seat match and finals, and fell short by the same score, both times. The $500-added Joe Brown Memorial event, drew 48 entrants to Buster's Billiards in Somersworth, NH.

 

In a straight-up race to 3 against fellow C- player, Randy Gilbert, Whalen survived a double hill fight in a winners' side semifinal to get into the hot seat match. She was met by Daniels, who'd defeated Dave Marcus, also double hill, in the other winners' side semifinal. With Daniels racing to 8, Whalen claimed the hot seat 4-6 and waited for him to get back from the event semifinals.

 

On the loss side, Gilbert picked up Marc Murphy (C-), who'd gotten by Roger Bowley 4-2 and Dorothy Gauvin 5-2, which, with Gauvin racing to 3, was double hill. Marcus drew fellow C+ player Josh Edmonds, who'd shut out Robert Whalen (playing as a B-), and given up only a single rack to another B-, Martin Flagg.

 

Gilbert downed Murphy 3-1, and was met in the quarterfinals by Edmonds, who, in a straight-up race to 4, had eliminated Marcus 4-1. With Edmonds racing to 5 in those quarterfinals, it was Gilbert who advanced to the semifinals with a 3-3 win. 

 

Daniels ended Gilbert's run with a decisive 7-1 victory in the semifinals and got a second chance against Whalen. Whalen, though, repeated her hot seat performance against Gilbert, claiming the event title with a second 4-6 win.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne, who was inducted into the New England Pool & Billiards Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Rhode Island on the Friday before this event, thanked the ownership and staff at Buster's Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Molinari, Bert Kinister, AzBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta-13 Racks, Bob Campbell, Championship Cloth, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America.  The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for the weekend of March 25-26, will be the $2,000-added Players Championship, hosted by Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.