They are two of the more recognizeable names in the Florida pool community. Donny Mills and Raymond Linares have been ‘butting heads,’ figuratively speaking, since they both made their first appearances in our database; Mills, in 2003 and Linares, in 2009. They are both veterans of the Seminole Pro Tour, the KF Cues Tour, the Viking Tour, Tommy Kennedy’s Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, the US Open 9-Ball Championships and lately, the Predator Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, where this past weekend (May 1-2), they met in the finals of a $1,500-added event ($500 from a Predator raffle) that drew 52 entrants to Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor, FL. They missed meeting in the hot seat battle by one match, with Linares having to come from the loss side to challenge Mills in the final. Mills won it to claim his first (recorded) event title since winning Capone’s Labor Day Classic last September.
Mills, who never gave up more than three racks in any match until the final, got by Michael Xiahros, Jr. (3), Han Berber (another Florida veteran; 1), Bobby Garza (3), and Chuck White (3) to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal matchup versus New Jersey’s Desi Derado. Derek Laprairie, in the meantime, who, after an opening round bye, only gave up more than three racks once on his way to the hot seat match, got by Robert Batson (5), Trenton White (3) and Les Duffy (3) to draw Linares in his winners’ side semifinal.
Mills gave up only one rack versus Derado to get into the hot seat match. Laprairie gave up three to Linares to join him. Mills got into the hot seat by a very-popular-at-this-event 7-3 score over Laprairie.
Linares went to work on the loss side against Han Berber, who’d followed his second-round loss with six straight loss-side wins, including a double hill victory over Marcus Murillo and just before meeting up with Linares, a shutout over Chuck White. Derado drew Jerry Arvelaez, who’d followed his winners’ side quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Linares with victories over Lee Heuwagen 7-4 and Les Duffy 7-1.
Derado chalked up another one of those 7-3 wins, over Arvelaez, to earn himself a rematch against Linares, who’d demonstrated to Berber what a shutout felt like. Linares defeated Derado a second time 7-2 and then, got his shot against Mills with a 7-3 win over Laprairie.
There’d been a baker’s dozen worth of double hill matches at this event and the extended-race-to-9 finals was the last of them. Mills closed out his undefeated run 9-8 to claim the event title.
Tour directors Janene Phillips and Bobby Garza thanked Jose Del Rio and his Stroker’s staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator, Kamui, Stitch It To Me Embroidery, Diamond Products, AZBilliards, Central Florida USA Pool League and Safety Harbor Resort & Spa. The next stop on the Predator Sunshine State Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the weekend of June 26-27, will be hosted by Brewlands Carrollwood in Tampa, FL.
It had been, according to our records, almost exactly five years since Chris Schmidt had taken home any cash by competing on the Tri-State Tour. In October of 2014, he finished, in successive weeks, 5th and 4th at two stops on the tour. Schmidt returned to the ‘fold,’ so to speak, on Sunday, October 20 to chalk up his first Tri-State victory. Schmidt went undefeated through a field of 22, on hand for the $1,000-added event that was hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Schmidt had to get by Luis Jimenez twice to claim this event title. Following victories over Tri Chau 7-1 and Paul Wilkens 7-2 Schmidt drew Jimenez for the first time in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Adrian Daniels, in the meantime, squared off against Rick Rodriguez in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Schmidt advanced to the hot seat match with a 7-3 win over Jimenez. Daniels joined him after a 6-3 win over Rodriguez. Schmidt and Daniels battled to double hill before Schmidt prevailed to claim what appears to be his first recorded claim to a tournament’s hot seat.
On the loss side, Jimenez opened his three-match march back to the finals against Desi DeRado, who’d defeated Paul Wilkens 7-5 and Zach Ivie, double hill, to reach him. Rodriguez drew Shweta Zaveri, who’d recently eliminated Bob Toomey 7-5 and CJ Chey 7-1.
Jimenez and Rodriguez got right back to work, winning. Jimenez downed DeRado 7-3, as Rodriguez just did survive a double hill fight against Zaveri.
Jimenez earned his way to a slot in the finals with two straight double hill wins, over Rodriguez in the quarterfinals and Daniels in the semifinals. Schmidt, though, edged out in front in the final match that followed, defeating Jimenez 7-5 and claiming his first event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui, Phil Capelle, Bloodworth Ball Cleaner, Billiard Engineering, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues and Pool & Billiards. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, October 27, will be a Double Points, 10-ball event, hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
With his victory* on the Tri-State Tour’s October 13 stop at the Spot in Nanuet, NY, his second overall on the tour, Juan Melendez made 2019 his best earnings year to date, surpassing his 2017 earnings, when he won his first Tri-State event. Going into the $1,250-added, Double Points event that drew 49 entrants to The Spot, Melendez was the Tri-State Tour’s #10-ranked C-Class player. In what proved to be his final match, vying for the hot seat, he downed the tour’s #5-ranked B+ Class player, Matt Klein. The two opted out of a final match.
Melendez was challenged early and just did survive a double hill fight against Ada Lio in the event’s opening round. He advanced to down Amanda Andries 6-3 and Suzzie Wong 6-1 to draw Brandone Alli in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Klein, in the meantime, squared off against Pascal Dufresne in the other one.
Melendez sent Alli to the loss side 6-4, as Klein was sending Dufresne over 7-5. In what proved to be the title match, Melendez claimed the hot seat 8-5 over Klein.
On the loss side, Dufresne picked up H. Marcelo (Mars) Adinolfi, who had defeated Joe Mazzeo and Desi DeRado, both 7-3, to reach him. Alli drew Adrian Daniel, who’d recently chalked up two straight double hill wins over Jim Gutierrez and Suzzie Wong.
Adinolfi and Daniel handed Dufresne and Alli their second straight loss; Adinolfi, 7-4 over Dufresne and Daniel, 6-3 over Alli. Adinolfi took one more loss-side step with a 7-5 win over Daniel in the quarterfinals.
Adinolfi gave Klein all he could handle in the semifinals that followed. They battled to double hill before Klein ended the match, and in effect, the event 7-6. Klein and Melendez agreed on the split of the top two cash prizes and Melendez came away with the official event title.
Tour representatives thanked Rhys Chen and his staff at The Spot for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui, Phil Capelle, Bloodworth Ball Cleaner, Billiard Engineering, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues and Pool & Billiards. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, October 20, will be hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Desi DeRado earned his first cash payout at a Tri-State Tour stop back in March, in what was the tour’s 2018-2019 season. This past weekend, July 27, he chalked up his first victory on the tour*, going undefeated to the hot seat and negotiating a prize settlement with Luis Jimenez in lieu of a final match. The $1,000-added event drew 19 entrants to Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
DeRado and Jimenez did play a match in this one, a winners’ side semifinal. DeRado’s trip to the asterisk victory had something of a shaky start. A 7-3 win over Ryan Macedonio was followed by a double hill battle that he won over Steve Kaminow, setting him up for the winners’ side semifinal against Jimenez. Rick Rodriguez and Mac Jankov squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal.
DeRado won his second straight, double hill match, sending Jimenez to the loss side, as Rodriguez downed Jankov 6-2. DeRado defeated Rodriguez 8-6 in what proved to be his last match and claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Jimenez launched his trip back to the finals against Nick Serino, who’d defeated Steve Kaminow, double hill and Ryan Macedonia 7-2. Jankov drew Mike Strassberg, who’d defeated Sabrina Sherman 6-4 and survived a double hill match against John DeVito.
Jimenez eliminated Serino 7-3 and in the quarterfinals, faced Jankov, who’d defeated Strassberg double hill. Jankov ended up on the wrong side of his second straight double hill match in those quarterfinals, which sent Jimenez to his last match, the semifinals.
For different reasons, both Jimenez and Rodriguez were anxious to win the semifinals for a second shot at DeRado in the hot seat. Jimenez earned the shot with a 7-4 victory over Rodriguez, but never got the shot when negotiations opened for a split of the top prizes. The event title, DeRado’s first-ever, though accompanied by the *, went into the record books.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Liquid Weighted Cues, Bloodworth Ball Cleaner, Quick Stik, Phil Capelle, Pool & Billiards, Bender Cues, Dayton Cues, and Romer Trophies. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, August 4, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
As it came down to the end, you had a player competing in his first Tri-State Tour event, against a player looking for his first win on the tour, who ultimately defeated a hot seat occupant, whose first and last win on the tour happened five years ago. The last man standing in that trio of competitors was Marc Lamberti, looking and acquiring that first Tri-State Tour win. He earned it by coming from the loss side to meet and defeat hot seat occupant Luis Jimenez, who was looking for that first win since 2014. The man in the middle, so to speak – Daniel Alaimo – was the newcomer, and though he got by Lamberti once, he couldn’t do it a second time. The $1,000-added, 10-Ball event drew 37 entrants to Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ on Sunday, March 17.
After an opening round victory that almost put an immediate stop to Lamberti’s winners’ side ambitions – a double hill win over Veronica Perez – Lamberti moved on to another double hill challenge that he survived, over Jowen Pichardo. Michelle Brotons came within a game of being Lamberti’s third straight double hill challenge of the day, but Lamberti got out in front by two at the end and won it 5-3 to face Alaimo for the first time in a winners’ side semifinal. Alaimo arrived at that match following victories over Charlie Beam 5-3, John DeVito 5-2 and Allison LaFleur 5-3. Jimenez, in the meantime, had gotten by Mike Mele 6-4, Jonathan McConnell, double hill, and Llija Trajceski 6-4 to face the tour’s #1-ranked B+ player, Jaydev Zaveri in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Alaimo sent Lamberti off to the loss side 5-2 and in the hot seat match, faced Jimenez, who’d defeated Zaveri 6-3. Jimenez downed Alaimo in the hot seat match and waited on what turned out to be the return of Lamberti.
Lamberti opened his loss-side trip against Jowen Pichardo, whom he’d defeated earlier in the day. Pichardo had recently eliminated two women in a row, Brotons 5-2 and LaFleur, who put up a double hill fight before Pichardo finished it. Zaveri faced Desi DeRado, who’d defeated Kevin Scalzitti 6-4 and Mike Mele 7-4.
Lamberti leap-frogged into the quarterfinals when Pichardo forfeited out of their match. Lamberti was joined by Zaveri who’d knocked DeRado out of the running 6-4. Lamberti took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Zaveri to get a second shot against Alaimo in the semifinals.
Lamberti took advantage of his second chance. He downed Alaimo 6-3 and turned to see if he could lock up his first Tri-State win by knocking Jimenez out of his hot seat perch. He did, defeating Jimenez 8-4 in the finals to claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, an 8-ball tournament, scheduled for Sunday, March 24, will be hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
