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D’Alfonso and Ruzzano split top prizes on New England 9-Ball Series stop in Fall River, MA

Adam Blair, Tom D’Alfonso & Mark Ruzzano

It’s rare on the New England 9-Ball Series, but splits of the top prizes do happen. Case in point:  Stop #7 (2019-2020), hosted by Straight Shooters’ Family Billiards in Fall River, MA on Saturday, November 23. Tom D’Alfonso and Mark Ruzzano battled in the hot seat and were scheduled to meet again in the finals. They allowed their hot seat result to stand as the definitive answer to ‘who won,’ split the top two prizes, and left the undefeated D’Alfonso as the official winner. The $500-added event drew 48 entrants to Straight Shooters.

D’Alfonso was far and away the highest FargoRated player at the tables on this particular day. At 737, he was 102 points ahead of the next highest-ranked player in the field; Dennis Levesque at 635 and he didn’t play against him. In his six matches (to include Ruzzano twice), he faced an opponent-average FargoRate of 552.8. His highest-ranked opponent through six matches was Roarke Dickson (588) in a winners’ side quarterfinal, in which Dickson was awarded ‘four beads on the wire’ in a race to 8 and only added two, for an 8-2 actual score, or 8-6 handicap victory for D’Alfonso.

D’Alfonso advanced to face Antero Tavares (560) in one of the overall winners’ side semifinals (the tour keeps upper and lower rated players separated in the early matches). Mark Ruzzano, in the meantime, squared off against Adam Blair (505). D’Alfonso moved on to the hot seat (and what proved to be his final) match with his only double hill win of the day, 8-3, arriving at the hot seat match having given up only six racks through 39 games. Ruzzano, in a straight-up race to 5 sent Blair to the loss side 5-1. D’Alfonso claimed the hot seat 9-2.

On the loss side, two long loss-side streaks were about to come to an end. Tavares picked up Jim Prather, who, in the lower bracket, had been defeated in the opening round by Mark Ransom and was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the overall quarterfinals. Along the way, he’d wreaked his vengeance on Ransom with a double hill win that left Ransom in the tie for 13th. Prather then downed Roarke Dickson and Matthew Rezendes, both 5-1, to meet Tavares.

Blair drew Mourad Idrais, who’d also been defeated in the event’s opening round (he was shut out by Mike Negrelli) and was on his own six-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end. He’d recently defeated Souheil Muraby, double hill, and in a serious ‘vengeance is sweet’ scenario, returned the shut out ‘favor’ to Negrelli to meet Blair.

Prather downed Tavares, double hill (5-3) and in the quarterfinals, faced Blair, who’d ended Idrais’ loss-side streak 4-2. Blair then ended Prather’s run 4-2 (Prather racing to 6).

In a straight-up, race-to-5 semifinal, which proved to be the final match of the night, Ruzzano ended Blair’s short loss-side visit 5-3. He and D’Alfonso opted out of the final and as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, D’Alfonso claimed the official event title.

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Straight Shooters, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, BCAPL, 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 with Lease Fundings, Master Billiards and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend (November 30 – December 1), will be a $1,000-added event, hosted by Legends Billiards in Auburn, ME.

Levesque goes undefeated in unhandicapped stop on the NE 9-Ball Series

(l to r): Charlie Matarazzo, Dennis Levesque & Lukas Fracasso-Verner

For stop #21 on the New England 9-Ball Series, the ‘training wheels,’ known as handicaps, were removed. The 24 entrants who signed on for the Saturday, March 31 event, hosted by Straight Shooters in Fall River, MA, were, as usual, split into upper and lower brackets at the start; B or higher players in an upper bracket, racing to 6, and C+ or lower players, in a lower bracket, racing to 5. The brackets came together in the hot seat match and quarterfinals. Dennis Levesque, working in the upper bracket, went undefeated through the field to claim the event title.
 
Levesque faced separate opponents in the hot seat and finals of this event. He won three straight 6-4 victories to advance to a winners’ side semifinal against Mike Cote, as Charlie Matarazzo and Derek Oliveira squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal. Levesque downed Cote 6-3, and in the hot seat match, faced Matarazzo, who’d sent Oliveira to the loss side 5-3. Levesque gave up only a single rack to Matarazzo in the race-to-5 battle for the hot seat.
 
On the loss side, Levesque’s opponent in the finals, Lukas Fracasso-Verner, was working on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that started when John Ferreira sent him to the loss side 6-4 in the event’s opening round. Fracasso-Verner was awarded a bye in his first loss-side round, and after his first two loss-side wins, he ran into Ferreira for a re-match. He eliminated Ferreira 6-4, and survived a double hill battle against Rich Senna to draw Cote, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Oliveira drew David Melancon, who’d defeated Anthony Petruzelli 5-2 and Buddy Oldham 5-3 to reach him.
 
Fracasso-Verner and Melancon handed Cote and Oliveira their second straight losses, both by shutout. In the now-joined brackets in the quarterfinals, Fracasso-Verner downed Melancon 5-2, and then, defeated Matarazzo 5-1 in the semifinals. In what would have been a straight-up race to 5 in any event, the two A players, Fracasso-Verner and Levesque squared off in the finals. Levesque won the first, and only set necessary 5-2 to claim the event title.
 
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Straight Shooters, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Molinari, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Championship Cloth, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series (#22), scheduled for April 8, will be a Partners Tournament, hosted by Snookers in Providence, RI.
 

Hooker hangs on to win New England 9-Ball Series Winter Classic at Snookers in RI

Dennis Levesque, Bobby Hooker & Joey Dupuis

By the time that the field of 126 entrants competing for the New England 9-Ball Series’ Winter Classic had whittled down to its final 12, there was only one “Open” player left – Joey Dupuis. In one of the vagaries of a double bracket format (upper and lower brackets employed for higher and lower handicapped players), Dupuis had been sent to the loss side by Dennis Levesque in an upper bracket winners’ side semifinal, which is a winners’ side quarterfinal in the overall event. Bobby Hooker, in the meantime, a C+ player, advanced through the lower bracket and eventually claimed the overall event hot seat; last player without a loss, still standing. Though Dupuis would navigate his way through five loss-side matches and win the opening set of a true double elimination final versus Hooker, Hooker fought back in the second set, and won it to claim the event title. Held on the weekend of January 27-28, the $5,000-added Winter Classic was hosted by Snookers in Providence, RI.
 
Levesque’s 6-5 victory over Dupuis (Dupuis racing to 9) put Levesque in an overall winners’ side semifinal (two from the upper bracket) against Mike Pettit. From the lower bracket, Hooker and Adam Blair met in the other winners’ side semifinal. Levesque and Pettit (both A players), in a straight-up race to 7, went to double hill before Levesque won it to advance to the hot seat match. Hooker and Blair (both C+ players), in a straight-up race to 5, went double hill, as well, with Hooker advancing to the hot seat match. With Levesque racing to 8, and Hooker to 5, Hooker claimed the hot seat 5-6 and waited for Dupuis to complete his loss-side run.
 
Pettit’s first match on the loss side was against Dupuis, who, following his defeat at the hands of Levesque, had eliminated Rich Minichello, double hill (7-5), and Francisco Cabral 9-3. Blair drew Rob Diehl, who’d defeated Josh Ceasar, double hill, and Justin Grant 5-1.
 
Dupuis gave up only one rack to Pettit in advancing to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Blair, who’d survived a straight-up race to 5, double hill, over Diehl. The subsequent battle between the Open player (Dupuis) and the C+ player (Blair) was a 10-4 race, won by Dupuis 10-2.
 
The semifinal rematch between Dupuis and Levesque was a 9-6 race, won by Dupuis 9-3. Dupuis took the opening set of the true double elimination final 10-2 over Hooker (Hooker racing to 4). In the second set, Dupuis got halfway to his 10-rack goal, but Hooker made it to his 4 first to win the second set and claim the event title.
 
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff for their hospitality during the Winter Classic, 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, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Championship Cloth, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. Next week’s scheduled event at Workmen’s Hall in Norwood, MA has been cancelled. The next stop (#15) on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for Saturday, February 17, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.
 
The New England 9-Ball Series has announced that it is currently taking entries for the Tour Championship, scheduled for September 8-9 at Bo’s Billiards in Warwick, RI. The field will be limited to 128 players, all of whom must have played in at least four events to be eligible.

O’Connor hangs on in double elimination final split with Pina to win New England 9-Ball Series

(l to r): Patrick O’Connor, Rob Pina & Kevin Brule

They had to be some anxious moments for Patrick O'Connor there at the end of the sixth stop on the New England 9-Ball Series tour, held on Saturday, November 18. Having successfully dispatched Rob Pina to the loss side in a winners’ side quarterfinal, O’Connor’s anxious moments would likely have come at the end of the first set in the double elimination finals, after Pina had defeated him, forcing a second and deciding set. O’Connor weathered the anxiety storm, and won the second set to claim the event title. The $500-added event drew 43 entrants to Straight Shooters in Fall River, MA.
 
With Pina already at work on his five-match, loss-side march back to the finals, O’Connor advanced to meet Dennis Levesque in a winners’ side semifinal. Kevin Brule, in the meantime, faced Adam Blair in the other winners’ side semifinal. With Levesque racing to 5, O’Connor got into the hot seat match with a 3-3 victory, as Brule, in a straight-up race to 3, survived a double hill fight against Blair to join him. O’Connor defeated Brule 4-3 to claim the hot seat, and wait on Pina.
 
On the loss side, Pina opened his trek to the finals with two straight double hill wins; over Paul Laverdiere and Mark Young (4-4 both times, LaVerdiere and Young racing to 5), which set Pina up to face Levesque.  Blair drew Scott Reynolds, who’d shut out Rob Rogan and downed Todd Yarborough 3-1 to reach him.
 
Pina eliminated Levesque 3-3 (Levesque racing to 5), and in the quarterfinals, faced Blair, who’d defeated Reynolds, double hill. Pina chalked up loss-side win #4 against Blair 4-1, and completed his trip to the finals with a shutout over Brule in the semifinals.
 
Pina took the opening set of the finals 4-1, and although the total game score over the two-set, straight-up race to 4 final, was 6-5, in favor of Pina, O’Connor won the game-set-match-deciding second set 4-2 to claim the event title.
 
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Straight Shooters, 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, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell. Championship Cloth and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America.
 
Stop #7 on the New England 9-Ball Series is scheduled for this coming Thanksgiving Day weekend, on Sunday, November 26. The $500-added event will be hosted by Maxamillians Billiards in Tyngsboro, MA.
 

Shaw double dips Wilkie to win 7th Annual New England Hall of Fame 9-Ball Open

Jayson Shaw has opened 2016 with a string of victories that have already earned him half of his 2015 earnings. After finishing seventh at Turning Stone XXV in January, he went on, two weeks later, to win the Derby City Bigfoot 10-Ball Challenge (defeating Shane Van Boening in the finals). He finished second in that multi-tournament 9-Ball Banks event, fourth in the One Pocket and 45th in 9-Ball. He added $1,750 to his mounting total by winning the 7th Annual Ray Desell Memorial 9-Ball Tournament, held on the weekend of March 4-6. Also known as the New England Pool & Billiard Hall of Fame 9-Ball Open, the $2,500-added event, held under the auspices of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, drew 88 entrants to Snookers in Providence, RI.
 
The event was preceded, on Friday night, by the annual New England Hall of Fame awards ceremony, which inducted eight players into the region's Hall of Fame; Mike Dechaine, Joe Dupuis, Tommy D'Alfonso, Tommy Seminaro, Bobby Hilton, Sal Bevilacqua, Larry Gendler, and Becky Ellsworth-Tucker. Dechaine was inducted into the Hall as a two-time winner of the tournament, and its defending champion. Dupuis had won the event in 2014, defeating Dechaine in the finals.
 
Dechaine and last year's runner-up, Jorge Rodriguez, ended up meeting in the quarterfinals; Rodriguez, at the time, had lost his opening match and won nine loss-side matches. They'd both survived double hill matches in the battles for 5th/6th to get to those quarterfinals.
 
It was Shaw and Shaun Wilkie who ended up battling twice to crown a winner. Shaw had sent Ivaylo Petrov to the loss side in a winners' side semifinal 9-5, as Wilkie was sending Jeremy Sossei over 9-6. In what was surely a surprise to Shaw, Wilkie claimed the hot seat 9-4 and waited on Shaw's return.
 
On the loss side, Petrov and Sossei ran into Dechaine and Rodriguez. Dechaine had picked up a forfeit from Nelson Oliveira, and defeated Kevin Bauccio 9-4 to reach Petrov. Rodriguez had chalked up loss-side wins #7 & #8, downing Ron Casanzio 9-3 and Kyle Pepin 9-1 to draw Sossei. Two double hill wins sent Dechaine and Rodriguez to the quarterfinals, where Dechaine prevailed 9-4 for a shot at Shaw.
 
Another double hill battle ensued, and the defending champion, Dechaine, finished in third place. Shaw, not pleased to have had to play that extra match against Dechaine, won the opening set of the true double elimination final against Wilkie 9-3. He punctuated his displeasure with a 9-2 second set win that gave him the title.
 
A $500-added Second Chance Tournament that drew 17 entrants saw Justin Muller defeat Joe Darigis in the finals. Mario Argentino finished third, and Dennis Levesque finished fourth. Mark Creamer and Bob Begey finished in the tie for fifth place. A custom, engraved Joss Cue, valued at $1,700 was raffled off at the event, and won by Joe Duperry. 
 
The next stop on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for March 12-13, will be a $1,500-added event, hosted by Trickshot Billiards and Sports Pub in Clifton Park, NY. Tour director Mike Zuglan noted that the roster for Turning Stone XXVI, scheduled for August 25-28, is two-thirds full. Anyone wishing to sign up should contact Zuglan immediately at 518-356-7163.

Dechaine chalks up 7th 2014 win with undefeated run at revived Eastern States Championship

Mike Dechaine

It was, at one time, one of the country's premier tournaments; the Eastern States 9-Ball Championships, but for a variety of reasons, it had ceased to exist. Until Tony Robles and his Predator Tour, in collaboration with Marc Dionne's New England 9-Ball Series, and Gloria Jean's Ride the Nine Tour revived the event, creating the 1st Annual Eastern States Pro and Amateur Championships, held over Labor Day weekend. The $3,000-added Pro event drew 30 entrants to Snooker's Billiards in Providence, RI, and was won by the room's house pro and sponsored player, Mike Dechaine, chalking up his seventh 2014 win (two stops on the Joss Tour, the New England 9-Ball Open XXVII, an Open event on the Tri-State Tour, the George "Ginky" Sansouci Memorial, and in July, a challenge match victory (with Corey Deuel, against Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante) and the American Rotation Championship Series III Finals.
The $2,000-added Amateur event (separate report) drew 75 and was won by Eric Tang, who won three on the loss side and defeated hot seat occupant, Dennis Levesque.
 
"I'm always looking for ways to improve the (Predator) tour," said Predator Tour director Tony Robles, "and the Eastern States Championships used to be as well-known as the US Open. By working together (with Dionne and Gloria Jean), we were able to make people more aware of their tours.
 
"We had a blast," Robles added. "We love Snookers."
 
So, apparently, does Mike Dechaine. Sponsored by the room, Dechaine set out on an undefeated route through the field that eventually led him to a winners' side semifinal against Jeremy Sossei; the first of two against him. Joe Dupuis, a regular on both Dionne and Gloria Jean's tours, met up with Ray McNamara in the other semifinal. Dechaine got into the hot seat match with a 9-6 win over Sossei. Dupuis advanced to meet him with a 9-5 win over McNamara. Dechaine gave up only a single rack, advancing to the hot seat over Dupuis.
 
On the loss side, Jayson Shaw, who'd been defeated, double hill, by Sossei in a winners' side quarterfinal match, was working his way back to a re-match in the quarterfinals. He got by Tom D'Alfonso 9-3 and (picking up some speed) Nelson Oliveira 9-1, to draw McNamara. Sossei picked up Sean "Alaska" Morgan, who'd defeated Suad Kantarevic 9-2 and Michael Yednak 9-3. Sossei shut Morgan out, as Shaw eliminated McNamara 9-5.
 
Shaw had earned his re-match against Sossei, only to see the second verse be the same as the first. Sossei took the quarterfinal match 9-7 over Shaw, and then, in what Robles described as an "error-filled match," defeated Dupuis 9-3 to earn his own re-match against Dechaine.
 
In the extended race-to-13 format of the event, Sossei needed to reach 13 first, which would have extended the match to 15 games. He chalked up just a little shy of half that many, as Dechaine completed his undefeated run 13-6 to claim the newly-revived Eastern States Pro Championship title.
 
Tour Director Tony Robles thanked Steve and Regina Goulding, owners of Snookers, and their staff, as well as "(his) lovely wife, Gail," NYCGrind, NAPL, AZBTV, New England 9-Ball Series, Gloria Jean's Ride the NineTour, Poolonthenet.com, Gotham City Technologies, Ozone Billiards.com, Delta-13 racks and ("the Big Kahuna," said Robles) Predator Cues.
 

Tang comes from the loss side to win 1st Annual Eastern States Amateur Championship

Eric Tang returned from a winners' side semifinal defeat at the hands of Dennis Levesque to defeat him in the finals of the newly-revived Eastern States Amateur Championship, held on Labor Day weekend. The $2,000-added event drew 75 entrants to Snooker's Billiards in Providence, RI. A concurrently-run, $3,000-added Pro event  (separate story) drew 30 entrants.
 
Tang (an "A" player) and Levesque (a "B+") met first in the winners' side semifinal, as Dan Faraguna (B) and Mark Small (C) met up in the other. Levesque took the first (and last) of two against Tang 7-3 and in the hot seat match, met up with Small, who'd sent Faraguna west 7-4. Levesque gained the hot seat 8-7 over Small and waited on Tang.
 
Tang moved over and picked up Paul Dryden, who'd defeated Ryan Cullen and Victor Nau, both 7-5, to reach him. Faraguna drew Josh Gormly, who'd eliminated Chris Amaral 7-4 and Mike Demarco 7-5. Tang got by Dryden 7-2, and after Gormly had defeated Faraguna 7-3, Tang defeated him 7-2 in the quarterfinals.
 
Tang chalked up the third straight loss-side match in which he'd given up only two racks by defeating Small in the semifinals 9-2. Levesque, in the finals, challenged that streak, as he and Tang battled to double hill (8-7). Tang chalked up game #16 to snatch the title away from Levesque.
 
Tour Director Tony Robles thanked Steve and Regina Goulding, owners of Snookers, and their staff, as well as "(his) lovely wife, Gail," NYCGrind, NAPL, AZBTV, New England 9-Ball Series, Gloria Jean's Ride the NineTour, Poolonthenet.com, Gotham City Technologies, Ozone Billiards.com, Delta-13 racks and ("the Big Kahuna," said Robles) Predator Cues.