With 2013 being the only exception, Bogie Uzdejczyk has won two events on the Tri-State Tour, three out of the last four years. His only event victory last year was on the Predator Tour. He has apparently decided to make up for lost time. On Saturday, May 10, he chalked up his third win on the 2014 Tri-State Tour, following his January win in Brooklyn and a February victory in Queens; all by going undefeated. The $1,000-added AB-CD event was hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, where 43 entrants came out to play.
Uzdejczyk's AB trail went through Paul Raval, Doug Youmans, and Borana "Queen B" Andoni, before drawing Vincent Ferri in a winners' side semifinal. Andrew Cleary, in the meantime, playing on the CD side of things initially, went through Bernie Vogelsang, Eddie Perez, Pat Mareno and Jessica Lynn Greibeslad, to face Jan Mierzwa in the other semifinal. Uzdejczyk defeated Ferri 7-4 and turned to face Cleary, who'd defeated Mierzwa 6-4. Uzdejczyk claimed his third Tri-State hot seat with an 8-6 win over Cleary, and waited on what turned out to be Mike Zimny.
Zimny, who was among the final eight on the winners' side, had been denied a winners' side semifinal match by Ferri. He moved to the loss side and began his five-match march to the finals. He took out Youmans 7-2 and Andoni 7-4 to draw a re-match versus Ferri. Jan Mierzwa drew Dave Jusis, who'd eliminated Ed Huth and Eddie DaCosta, both 6-2.
Zimny took the re-match over Ferri 7-5, as Mierzwa defeated Jusis 6-3. Zimny completed his loss-side run with a 7-3 win over Mierzwa in the quarterfinals and a 7-2 victory over Cleary in the semifinals.
Zimny got out to an early lead over Uzdejczyk in the finals, and was ahead by three when he reached seven games, forcing an extension to nine games. Uzdejczyk broke and ran the next rack, and then won four more to stop Zimny in his tracks and claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Saturday, May 17, will be hosted by House of Billiards on Staten Island. The following weekend – May 24-26 – the 4th Annual George "Ginky" Sansouci Memorial Tournament, with Amateur and Pro events and sponsored by the Tri-State, Predator and Mezz Tours, will be held at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY.
Sam Hoffman, 13, went undefeated through a field of 41 at the $1,000-added, October 19 stop on the Tri-State Tour, hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ. He joined Thomas Rice among the youngest players to ever win a stop on the Tri-State Tour. Sitting in the hot seat, Hoffman was to have been challenged in the finals by Paulo Valverde, who'd just finished a seven-match run on the loss side, but due to the lateness of the hour, the two opted out of playing a final match.
Hoffman almost had to come from the loss side, himself. He was challenged, double hill, in the opening round of play by Pat Mareno. He survived and went on to defeat Andrew Cleary 7-3, and Mike Figueroa 6-2, which put him into a winners' side semifinal against Michael Fedak. Victor Nau and Dave Ascolese squared off in the other.
Hoffman downed Fedak 6-3 and in the hot seat battle, met up with Ascolese, who'd squeaked by Nau in a double hill match. In what would prove to be his final win of the day, Hoffman got into the hot seat 9-7 over Ascolese.
Valverde, in the meantime, was working his way back. Loss-side victories (his second and third) over Teddy Lapadula 7-3, and Eddie DaCosta 7-5, set him up to face Fedak. Nau had to contend with Borana Andoni, who'd gotten by Shinichi Sekine 7-4 and just did defeat Antonio G.ererro 7-6. Nau ended Andoni's day 7-2, as Valverde picked up a forfeit victory over Fedak.
Valverde and Nau locked up in a quarterfinal battle that was won by Valverde 11-9. No doubt contributing to the 'lateness of the hour' that led to the decision not to play a final match, Valverde and Ascolese battled to double hill before Valverde prevailed to complete his seven-match, loss-side winning streak. In the absence of that final match, Hoffman, undefeated in the hot seat, claimed the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Heptig Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, a B-C-D- handicapped event, is scheduled for Saturday, October 26 at Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.
Unlike his last undefeated win on the Tri-State Tour in August, Raphael Dabreo actually got to play a final match during the Saturday, October 5 stop on the tour. His finals' opponent, Rhys Chen, won six on the loss side to meet him, but in spite of a slim, early lead could not stop DaBreo's second 2013 Tri-State victory. The $1,000-added event drew 40 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Following wins over Borana Andoni, room owner John Trobiano (who had won a stop on this tour, on this date, exactly one year ago) and Ricardo Mejia, DaBreo would pick up a 'medical issue' forfeit by Rhio Anne Flores among the winners' side final four. In the battle for the hot seat, DaBreo squared off against Chris DaCaprio, who'd just defeated Mike Figueroa 6-4. DaBreo downed DaCaprio 9-4 and waited in the hot seat for what turned out to be the return of Chen.
Flores returned to action for matches on the loss side, picking up Chen, who, after being sent west, double hill, by Scott Simonetti, defeated Mejia double hill and Jose Liz Domeneche 7-3. Figueroa drew Bernie Vogelsang, who, after being sent west by Figueroa, had gotten by Shivram Gupta 6-4 and Eddie DaCosta 6-2. Chen downed Flores 7-2, and was met in the quarterfinal match by Vogelsang, who'd wreaked his vengeance by shutting Figueroa out.
Chen took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Vogelsang and then, spoiled DaCaprio's bid for a second chance against DaBreo with an 8-4 semifinal win. Chen took the early 2-0 lead against DaBreo in the finals, and after giving up a single rack, made it 3-1. DaBreo came back to tie it at 3-3. They traded racks, back and forth, until DaBreo reached the hill, ahead by one. DaBreo broke dry in the final rack, but Chen missed a ball that turned the table back to him. As he'd been doing all day, DaBreo ran out to complete the match and his undefeated run through the field.
Tour representatives thanked John Trobiano and his Castle Billiards staff for their hospitality and continuing support for the tour and its players, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour is scheduled for Saturday, October 12, and will be hosted by House of Billiards on Staten Island.
Back in May, on the Tri-State Tour at Amsterdam Billiards in Manhattan, Eddie Lum got close to chalking up his "first ever" tournament win. He advanced to the winners' side final four, and when sent to the loss side from there, won a match that put him into the quarterfinals. It was as far as he got.
On Saturday, August 10, Lum was back at Amsterdam Billiards and once again, found himself among the winners' side final four. This time, though, he advanced into the hot seat and defeated Eddie DaCosta twice to capture the event title and claim the tournament win that had eluded him in May. The $640-added, C-D handicapped event drew 35 entrants to Amsterdam Billiards.
Lum faced Chris Soto-Chimelis in one of the winners' side semifinals, as DaCosta squared off against Paolo Valverde in the other. Lum, who'd win his final three matches by the same 6-3 score, downed Soto-Chimelis, as DaCosta was sending Valverde west 7-5. Lum got into the hot seat over DaCosta, and waited on his return.
Valverde and Soto-Chimelis got right back into the swing of things on the loss side. Valverde drew John Lazo, who'd defeated Wanlop Chantarakolkit 6-2. Soto-Chimelis faced Will Hodgins, who'd eliminated Javier Colayco. Valverde got by Lazo 7-4, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Soto-Chimelis, who'd given up only a single rack in his contest against Hodgins.
It was Soto-Chimelis who advanced to the semifinals against DaCosta, with a 7-5 win over Valverde. DaCosta stopped Soto-Chimelis' brief, loss-side run with a 6-3 victory in the semifinals, and got a second chance against Lum. Lum, though, closed out his undefeated run with his final 6-3 victory, and chalked up his first ever tournament win.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Amsterdam Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.
Kyle Bubet, who finished 10th in the Tri-State Tour’s 2011-2012, C-class standings got off to a roaring start in the July 28 season opener of the Tri-State’s 2012-2013 season. Sent to the loss side from among the winners’ side final four, he won three straight to meet and then defeat hot seat occupant, John Trobiano, and claim the $500-added, A-D handicapped title. The event drew 25 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Bubet had defeated Debra Pritchett, Dennis Kennedy and Michael Aro before running into Rick Shellhouse in one of the winners’ side semifinals. The other featured Trobiano and Eddie DaCosta. Shellhouse sent Bubet west 6-4 and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Trobiano, who’d defeated DaCosta 7-6. Trobiano then downed Shellhouse 8-5, sending him to a fateful semifinal rematch against Bubet, as he sat in the hot seat, waiting.
First up for Bubet was Donna Padavano, who’d gotten by Dave Danchak 6-5 and Daniel Flynn 6-3 to reach him. DaCosta, in the meantime, squared off against Scott Simonetti, who’d defeated Christian Smith 7-6 and Ricardo Mejia 7-3. Simonetti, who finished 6th in last season’s A+/A rankings, ended DaCosta’s day 9-7, and in the quarterfinals, faced Bubet, who’d eliminated Padavano 6-4.
Bubet smoked Simonetti 10-2 and turned to the semifinal re-match against Shellhouse. Bubet prevailed, double hill, to earn a shot against Trobiano in the hot seat. Bubet took an immediate 4-0 lead in the finals; a lead that would narrow to within two, four times, but eventually be the winning margin. At 7-5, Bubet chalked up two in a row to move out to his second, four-point lead. Trobiano chalked up his last to make it 9-6, but Bubet closed it out in rack 16.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State event is a $1000-added, C-D handicapped event at Amsterdam Billiards & Bar in New York City, set for August 4-5.
Though he finished undefeated, at around 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning, Quin Y Chen’s journey to the winner’s circle of the Tri-State Tour stop on March 3, was not without its challenges; specifically, Emily Duddy, who met him, first, in the hot seat, and chalked up as many racks in the double hill battle against him as three of Chen’s four previous opponents combined. She’d return to challenge him again in the finals, and again, he prevailed to capture the event title. The $500-added, A-D handicapped event drew 55 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
After an opening round bye, Chen (racing to 6) faced four opponents to get into the hot seat match against Duddy, and didn’t give up more than three racks against any of them. He gave up two each to Eddie Perez and Cory Sohlman, before Michael Rodriguez managed three against him. He gave up two more among the winners’ side final four versus William Zarzour and moved into the hot seat match. Duddy, by contrast, (racing to 7, and in one case, 8) opened strong with a 7-1 victory over Chris Peralta, but got locked up in a second round, double hill fight against Bogie Uzdejcyzk. She survived that battle and then downed two Tri-State regulars, Ed Culhane (7-4) and Scott Simonetti (8-4), to join Chen among the winners’ side final four. She survived a second double hill fight against Steve Way 7-6 to face Chen in the battle for the hot seat. They faced each other for the first time, with an aggregate score total of 24-9 (Chen, 72%) to 36-21 (Duddy, 63%).
Chen took an early lead in the hot seat battle, but Duddy fought back to knot things at double hill. A fateful decision on a 6-ball in the final game (difficult bank, or safe; she chose safe), left Chen with a difficult shot. A kick-bank dropped the 6-ball, and he ran out from there to claim the hot seat.
On the loss-side, Michael Rodriguez was in the midst of a four-game winning streak that would propel him into the semifinals versus Duddy. He got by George Osipovitch and Eddie DaCosta, both double hill, to draw Zarzour, coming over from the winners’ side final four. Steve Way drew Joe Palone, who’d defeated Culhane 7-3 and Simonetti 8-6. Rodriguez downed Zarzour 6-4, as Palone was eliminating Way 7-5. Rodriguez got his shot against Duddy with a 7-5 victory over Palone in the quarterfinals.
Rodriguez got off to a quick start in the semifinals against Duddy, advancing to the hill at six games, before Duddy mounted a comeback that eventually tied the match and then, won it. It was already 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, but Chen and Duddy opted to tough it out and play the final match. Chen won it 7-4 to take top honors.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.