At least this time out, Jaydev Zaveri was the official winner. Having worked his way into the finals of three Predator Tri-State Tour stops at the same location this year (Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ), Zaveri and his first two opponents – Jan Mierzwa in February and Joe Valania in May, both of whom were in the hot seat at the time – negotiated a financial agreement and opted out of playing a final match. This past weekend (Saturday, August 27), Zaveri negotiated from the hot seat with tour newcomer, Brook Villa and while splitting the top two prizes with him, he did become the official winner of the $500-added Predator Tri-State stop that drew 29 entrants to Shooter’s Family Billiards.
Zaveri’s trip to the hot seat had something of a shaky start, surviving two straight double hill battles against Hunter Sullivan and Frank Krupa. A subsequent 7-3 victory over Pascal Dufresne set Zaveri up in a winners’ side semifinal against James Kearney. Aiden Wagner, in the meantime, destined for the hot seat match, got by Jowen Pichardo, Bob Toomey, and Ben Zimmerman to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against Villa.
Zaveri got into what would prove to be his final match, battling for the hot seat, with a 7-2 victory over Kearney. Wagner joined him after sending Villa to the loss side 7-5. A 7-4 victory put Zaveri in the hot seat and, as it turned out, afforded him the opportunity to be declared the event’s official winner.
On the loss side, Villa picked up Ben Zimmerman who’d followed his loss to Wagner with wins over Tom Crane 7-5 and John Torp 6-3. Kearney drew Kevin Scalzitti, who’d lost his opening match to Pascal Dufresne and was working on a four-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently eliminated Mike Strassberg 7-3, John Torp 6-3 and was about to end.
Kearney shut Scalzitti out and in the quarterfinals, faced Villa, who’d defeated Zimmerman 6-3. Villa was downing his opponents more efficiently as he got closer to the end, following his victory over Zimmerman with a 9-2 victory Kearney in the quarterfinals and then shutting out Wagner in the semifinals.
It set up an interesting title match, a contest between a tour veteran with a long list of cash finishes and victories on a number of area tours versus a newcomer, looking for his first recorded tour victory. The match, of course, didn’t happen. Zaveri and Villa agreed to the split and Zaveri went into the books as the event’s official winner.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues.
According to our records, all of the money that Jan Mierzwa has won playing pool over the past nine years has been won on the Tri-State and Predator Tri-State Tour. Two years ago, he came as close as he’d ever come to the winners’ circle, finishing as runner-up to Frank Seiczka at a Tri-State stop in Clifton, NJ. He has now chalked up what would appear to be his first regional tour win anywhere on the Predator Tri-State Tour this past weekend (Sat. Feb. 5). His would-have-been opponent in the finals, Jaydev Zaveri, was looking for his first win on the tour in two weeks shy of two years (Jan. 18, 2020). But when the time came, dawn on Sunday was closer ahead of them than sunset on Saturday was behind them and they agreed mutually to a split of the top two prizes. The $500-added event drew 37 entrants to Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
The two met first in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Mierzwa had started his day with a double hill win over Julian Tierney, after which he got by Dave Callaghan, Tae Chang and then, drew Zaveri in a winners’ side quarterfinal. He sent Zaveri off to the loss side 7-5 and advanced to meet an up-and-coming junior player, Aiden Wagner, in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Kerven Francois, in the meantime, squared off against Mac Jankov in the other one.
Mierzwa downed Wagner 7-4 and advanced to the hot seat match. Francois joined him after surviving a double hill battle against Jankov. In what would prove to be his last match of the night, Mierzwa claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Francois.
On the loss side, Jankov picked up Ty Classen, who’d recently eliminated KC Clayton 6-4 and Jay Chiu 6-2 to reach him. Wagner drew Zaveri, who, after his loss to Mierzwa, had defeated Mikhail Kim 7-4 and Nick Torraca 7-3.
A 7-4 win by Zaveri over Wagner and a shutout by Classen over Jankov sent Zaveri and Classen to the quarterfinals, where a double hill fight ensued. Zaveri prevailed to face his last obstacle to a rematch against Mierzwa; Francois in the semifinals.
The final match of the night came to within a game of double hill, but in the end, Zaveri earned his shot at Mierzwa, downing Francois 8-6 in those semifinals. The decision to opt out of the final match was made, the split was negotiated and the competitors, what was left of them, headed out into the chilly, Sunday morning air. As occupant of the hot seat at the time, Mierzwa was the official winner of the event.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, Sterling Billiards, Kamui, Quick Stick, Bloodworth Ball Cleaner, Joe Romer Trophies, Phil Capelle Publications and Pool and Billiards. The next stop on the Predator Tri-State Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 26-27, will be hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
It was, as one Tri-State Tour rep called it, a day of Polska duma, which translates into Polish pride. League teammates and friends Frank Sieczka, Jan Mierzwa and Grzegorz Kasica were among 36 entrants, who signed on to the first 2019 stop on the tour on Sunday, January 5, and ended the day at Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ as the $1,000-added, 8-ball event’s final three. As the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, Sieczka claimed the title when he and Mierzwa opted to split the final two cash prizes.
All three advanced to a winners’ side quarterfinal, but in one of those quarterfinal matches, Sieczka and Mierzwa met for what turned out to be the one and only time. Sieczka had started his day with a shutout over Sebastian Karwas. He then downed Jaydev Zaveri, double hill and Emit Yolcu 6-2, before running into Mierzwa and sending him to the loss side 6-4. Sieczka moved on to face DeMain Patrick in one of the winners’ side semifinals. In the meantime, Kasica, who’d sent Qian Chen, Hunter Sullivan, and Michael Graf to the loss side, squared off against Allison LaFleur in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Sieczka got into the hot seat match with a 6-3 win over Patrick and was joined by Kasica, who’d shut LaFleur out. Sieczka claimed the hot seat with a 6-4 win in what turned out to be his last match.
It was Patrick who drew Mierzwa, three matches into his loss-side streak that would end with the cash split. Mierzwa had downed Joe Mazzeo 6-4 and picked up a forfeit win over Liran Rabin to reach Patrick. LaFleur picked up (relative) newcomer Brandone Alli, who’d defeated Shweta Zaveri 6-3 and Artur Trzeciak (another representative of Polish pride) 6-4.
Mierzwa and Alli advanced to the quarterfinals; Mierzwa, 6-3 over Patrick and Alli, 6-2 over LaFleur. Mierzwa took the quarterfinal match over Alli 6-4, marking the 6th time in the event’s final 14 matches that members of the ‘Polska duma’ group had won a match by that score.
The semifinal and last match of the evening between Mierzwa and Kasica made it seven 6-4 scores out of the last 14 matches, as Mierzwa left Kasica in third place. Sieczka and Mierzwa opted out of the final and the first 2019 stop of the Tri-State Tour’s 2019-2020 season went into the books with a dash of Polish duma.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton 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, January 12, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Given the number of years that the Tri-State Tour has existed, the number of female competitors to have won a stop on the tour is relatively small, and includes the names of Kim Meyer-Gabia, Rhio Anne Flores, Yomaylin Feliz, Borana Andoni, and Sandie Paterino (to name just a few). Rachel Lang joined their ranks on Saturday, March 4, with an undefeated run through a field of 20 entrants, on-hand for a $1,000-added event, hosted by Shooter's Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Lang was one of two females among the event's final 12 competitors (Allison LaFleur was the other). Lang squared off against Mike Strassberg in one winners' side semifinal, as Brian Jeziorski met up with Brian Cap in the other. Lang got into the hot seat match with a 6-2 win over Strassberg. Jeziorski joined her for the first of two, following his 7-5 win over Cap. Lang claimed the hot seat 8-5 over Jeziorski and waited on his return.
On the loss side, Strassberg picked up Erick Carrasco, who'd defeated LaFleur 7-6, and Frank Sieczka 6-4 to reach him. Cap drew "The Warrior" (Carl Yusuf Khan), who'd gotten by Jan Mierzwa and Kevin Scalzitti, both double hill. It was Khan and Carrasco who advanced to the quarterfinals; Khan 7-5 over Cap, and Carrasco 7-6 over Strassberg.
Khan chalked up his third double hill win over his last four matches with a win over Carrasco in those quarterfinals. He then had his loss-side run ended by Jeziorski 7-4 in the semifinals. Lang completed her undefeated run with an 8-6 second victory over Jeziorski in the finals to claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter's Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, March 12, will be a $1,000-added, 'double points' event, hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
Steve Kaminow got by Kevin Coyle twice, once by mutual decision, to capture his first Tri-State Tour title. The Saturday, February 7 stop on the tour was a 1,000-added event that drew 25 entrants to Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
Kaminow drew Jan Mierzwa in a winners' side semifinal as Coyle and Dave Fitzpatrick squared off in the other. Kaminow sent Mierzwa to the losers' bracket 7-5 and in the hot seat match, faced Coyle, who'd sent Fitzpatrick over 6-3. Kaminow took possession of his first Tri-State hot seat with a 7-5 win and waited on his return.
On the loss side, Mierzwa drew Gary Murgia, who'd defeated Eric Hill 7-4 and Michael Hertz 7-3 to reach him. Fitzpatrick picked up Bob Toomey, who'd gotten by Frankie Scanlon 6-4 and Chris Calabrese 6-5. It was Mierzwa and Fitzpatrick who met up in the quarterfinals, once Mierzwa had eliminated Murgia 7-4 and Fitzpatrick had defeated Toomey 6-3.
Mierzwa defeated Fitzpatrick 7-5, before having his short, loss-side streak ended by Coyle in the semifinals 7-4. At this juncture, Kaminow and Coyle opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes. As the undefeated hot seat occupant, Kaminow claimed the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Rockaway Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.
Dinko Busanich and Frank Sieczka let the single match they played during the Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, December 6, stand as the end result. Reports coming out of Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, where the $1,000-added event that drew 53 entrants was held, suggest that the possible final would have competed with Sunday's sunrise. Busanich, having defeated Sieczka in the hot seat match, took the first place title. He and Sieczka split the top two prizes.
Busanich defeated Brian Cap, double hill to get into the hot seat match. Sieczka, in the meantime, downed Dennis Kennedy 6-3. Busanich and Sieczka then locked up in a double hill battle that proved to be the winning match.
On the loss side, Cap picked up Jan Mierzwa, who'd defeated Stewart Warnock 7-4 and Keith Adamik 7-1. Kennedy drew Lenore Chen, who'd eliminated Jaydev Zaveri 6-5 and Mike Strassburg 6-2. Cap finished Mierzwa 7-4, as Chen downed Kennedy 6-3.
Cap took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Chen, but fell to Sieczka 7-5 in the semifinals. Busanich and Sieczka opted out of the final match, leaving Busanich to claim the event title, while the two split the first and second place prizes.
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.
Tri-State Tour representatives callEd Scott Simonetti's undefeated run through a field of 32 on Saturday, July 12, "the story of the day," noting that his play "reminded viewers of the Simonetti of old;" a reference, one assumes, to a year like 2010, which saw Simonetti win three stops on the Tri-State and one stop on the Predator Tour (to go along with 'money' finishes in nine other stops on both). The $1,000-added debut event of the Tri-State's 2013-2014 season on July 12 was hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Following victories over Tri Chau, Dave Ascolese, and Dave Jusis, Simonetti moved into a winners' side semifinal match against Jose Liz Domeneche. Dennis Kennedy, in the meantime, squared off against Ramon Feliciano. Simonetti moved into the hot seat match with an 8-5 win over Domeneche and faced Kennedy, who'd defeated Feliciano 6-5. Kennedy fought tooth and nail to secure a double hill win that left him in the hot seat, awaiting the return of what turned out to be Focused Apparel's Brian Russel.
Russel, who'd been sent to the loss side by Borana "Queen Bee" Andoni, embarked on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him all the way back to the finals. He got by Chau, Jan Mierzwa, Dave Jusis and Shin Sekine (who'd taken out Andoni for him), to draw Domeneche. Feliciano picked up Frank Sieczka, who'd shut out Robert Jew, and given up only a single rack to Dave Fitzpatrick.
Russel marched on, giving up only a single rack to Domeneche as Feliciano was allowing only a single rack to Sieczka. Russel defeated Feliciano 7-5 in the quarterfinal match that followed, and got a shot at Simonetti in the hot seat with a 7-4 win over Kennedy in the semifinals. Simonetti and Russel opted out of a final match, choosing to split the top prizes, leaving the undefeated Simonetti as the event's official title holder.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle 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, to be hosted by the Cue Bar in Bayside, NY, is scheduled for July 19.
Rhys Chen's trip through a field of 58 players, on hand for the Tri-State Tour's $1,000-added, A-D 9-Ball event on the weekend of June 14-15 went through host venue (Castle Billiards, East Rutherford, NJ) owner, John Trobiano twice. They met in the third round, when Trobiano sent Chen to the loss side to embark on a seven-match winning streak that would pass through Trobiano and eventually lead to a winning effort in the finals against ChristIan Smith.
Smith, who advanced to the hot seat, defeated Don Montavalo, Carl Yusuf Khan, Shin Sekine, and Jose Liz Domeneche before running into Keith Adamik in a winners' side semifinal. Dennis Kennedy, in the meantime, squared off against Tony Ignomirello. Smith downed Adamik 7-1, as Kennedy was busy sending Ignomirello west 6-5. Smith gained the hot seat 9-8 over Kennedy, and waited on Chen.
Chen opened his loss-side campaign with victories over Antonio G.evara, Vinny Ferri, Domeneche and successfully wreaked his vengeance on Trobiano 7-5, to pick up Adamik. Ignomirello drew Dave Jusis, who'd gotten by Pat Mareno 6-2 and Jan Mierzwa 7-2.
Chen moved on to the quarterfinals (five down, three to go) with a 7-5 win over Adamik. He was joined by Jusis, who ended Ignomirello's day 6-3. Chen then eliminated Jusis 7-4 and defeated Kennedy in the semifinals 8-7. In the extended-race finals, Chen took an early and what proved to be insurmountable 3-1 lead. Smith would chalk up only one more, as Chen went on to reach seven games, extending the race to nine games, and then run out the final rack for a 9-4 win.
Tour representatives thanked John Trobiano and his 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 June 21, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
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.
As he's done numerous times in the past, John Trobiano entered a Tri-State tournament on March 1, that, as owner of Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, he was hosting. As he has also done a number of times, he won the $1,000-added AB-CD event that had drawn 35 entrants to his location. Occupying the hot seat at the end of the night, Trobiano and Brian Hunter, who'd won five on the loss side, opted out of a final match, splitting the top prizes, while conceding the event victory to the undefeated Trobiano.
Trobiano would open his five-match run on the AB side, with a victory over Borana Andoni. He followed with victories over Antonio G.errero, and Asia Cycak, before meeting up with house pro Scott Simonetti in one of the winners' side semifinals. Pat Mareno, working on the CD side initially, got by Steve Persaud, Allison Honeymar and Eddie Perez, before coming up against Ryzard Szpila in the other semifinal. Trobiana survived a double hill fight against Simonetti, and in the hot seat match, met Mareno, who'd defeated Szpila, also double hill. Trobiano won what would prove to be his last match of the night, defeating Mareno 9-7.
On the loss side, Simonetti ran right into the streaking Hunter, who'd defeated Mike Zimny 7-4 and Asia Cycak 7-3, to reach him. Szpila met up with Jennifer "Sweet P" Pedutem, who, having been sent to the loss side by Szpila in the third round of play, was on a streak of her own. She got by Jan Mierzwa 8-5 and Frank Siezcka 7-2 to meet Szpila a second time. Hunter and Pedutem advanced to the quarterfinals; Hunter downing Simonetti 7-2 and Pedutem wreaking her vengeance on Szpila, ending his day 8-4.
It was Hunter who won the quarterfinal battle, ending Pedutem's run 10-5. He then defeated Mareno in the semifinals 8-6 for a chance against Trobiano, which never happened. The two finalists opted out of the final match, leaving Trobiano as the undefeated winner.
Tour representatives congratulated Trobiano and thanked him and his staff for their hospitality. Thanks were tendered to tour sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics, as well. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for March 22, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY.
