TJ’s Classic Billiards owner Steve Reynolds, Alex Osipov, Dave Hall and GM Howard Fogg Jr.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour kicked off their 2022/2023 season with The Maine Event XIV at TJ’s Classic Billiards in Waterville, Maine on September 17th – 18th, and crowned a first time tour stop winner in local favorite Dave Hall.
Hall, from nearby Portland Maine, is one of the top players in the area and always does well when the Joss Tour comes to town. With all of that success though, he still had yet to win a tour stop. Hall kicked the weekend off with a hill-hill win over Doug Brown, and then got comfortable with wins over Mike Perry (9-1), Cody Porter (9-4) and Ray McNamara (9-5) to finish undefeated for the day.
Sunday kicked off with Hall taking on Alex Osipov for the hot-seat. In another hill-hill thriller, Osipov sent Hall to the left side of the board 9-8.
Ray McNamara was waiting for Hall on the one the loss side but was still unable to win more than five racks in their rematch, and lost the semi-final match to Hall 7-5. That set up Hall and Osipov for a rematch in the finals.
Being a true double elimination tournament, Hall would have to beat Osipov twice if he wanted to win his first Joss Tour title, and he did just that. Hall won the first set 9-7 and then the second set 7-5 for the tournament win.
Sunday’s second chance event saw Jeff Mosimann hold off an attempt by Doug Brown to duplicate Hall’s double dip. Mosimann took the hot-seat with a 3-0 win over John Francis. Brown won the first set of the final match 3-1, but dropped the second set 3-2 for Mosimann’s victory.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action this weekend with stop 2 of the 2022/2023 season at Yale Billiards in Wallingford, Ct.
Congratulations to “The Maine Event XIV” winners, Dave Hall ($1,000 Maine Event XXIV), Jeff Mosimann ($300 Second Chance) & $1,900 Joss Cue raffle winner Michael Duff
Stop # 2 of my Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour will be at Yale Billiards in Wallingford CT on September 24 & 25 for a $2,000 ($1500+$500) added 9-ball event. Our host, Bobby Hilton, deserves much credit for bringing our tour back to Connecticut. The Northeast is very lucky to have someone who promotes the game as well as Bobby! So let’s come out in big numbers to show our support! Yale Billiards has been around for almost 30 years with just the last few in their new building. They have a full bar with an extensive bar food menu to satisfy all of our needs. There are 16 Gold Crown tables all covered with 860HR Simonis plus a couple of Valley bar boxes for league play. Yale Billiards is also the home of the increasingly popular “The Sharkstream” which allows for live streaming league and tournament pool matches as well as our event. You can access the live stream on Facebook on “The Sharkstream” page or on YouTube by searching Yale Billiards Shark Stream. So come on down to compete or just watch another great tournament. Be sure to take a chance on winning a beautiful, $1,900 custom engraved Joss cue in the cue raffle. Anyone can participate and you do not have to be present to win! We will draw for the cue just prior to the finals of the main event. For more information about visit them at yalebilliards.com or call them at 203-294-9591
If you will be in need of motel accommodations, please call the room at 203-294-9591
This event at Yale Billiards will consist of a $1500 added Saturday and Sunday Main Event (entry Fee $120 for pro level or $70 for non pro level plus applicable tour fees) and a $500 added second chance event on Sunday ($20 Entry Fee) for those non pro players eliminated from the main event on Saturday. All of our billiard parlor main events are now races to 9 on the winners side and races to 7 on the one loss side.
For those of you coming to play, please arrive on Saturday September 24, BEFORE 11:00 AM, and in proper dress please. Jeans and sneakers are permitted in our billiard parlor events. But please, No T-shirts, No tanks, No shorts or sweats. Complete tour info can be found on our site www.joss9balltour.com
Please remember to spread the word to frequent your local billiard parlors and utilize the world class products of our most generous sponsors. They are the backbone of our sport and deserve our support more than ever!!
Thanks, and I hope to see you all at Yale Billiards.
(l to r): Jeff Mosimann, Ben LeBlanc & Matt Benson
Most major sports experience the football-originated “any given Sunday” phenomenon, which acknowledges that while favorites and underdogs exist, when you get into the games, almost anything can happen, and often enough, it does. The growing popularity of the FargoRate system in pool has a way of codifying favorites and underdogs and even, if you look it up, provides the odds in a match between opponents in possession of a FargoRate.
On Sunday, Oct. 21, at Legends Sports Bar in Auburn, ME, 54 entrants competed in the $1,000-added 4th stop on the 2018/2019 New England 9-Ball Series. The Fargo-rated ‘underdog,’ Benjamin Leblanc, with a rating of 525, went undefeated, downing the ‘favorite,’ Jeff Mosimann (616) twice. On this particular Sunday, Leblanc’s Fargo-rated odds of winning either of the two matches was 38.4%.
Leblanc and Mossiman, both emerging from the event’s upper (higher rating) bracket, met first in a winners’ side semifinal, as Matt Benson and Josh Edmonds from the lower bracket faced off in the other one. Both matches featured an opponent (Leblanc and Benson) who began the match with two ‘on the wire’ in a race to 6. Benson sent Edmonds to the loss side 4-3. Leblanc didn’t give up a rack to Mossiman. Nor did he give up a rack to Benson in the subsequent match that put him in the hot seat.
Mossiman moved to the loss side and met up with Kyle Sariceno, who’d defeated Ricky Bergevin, Jr. 4-1, and a racing-to-7 Ross Webster 3-5. Edmonds drew Greg Morse, recent winner over Justin Myers 4-1 and Derick Lycette, double hill 4-2.
Mossiman chalked up two straight double hill wins. He defeated Sariceno 6-2 and then, after Morse had downed Edmonds 4-2 to join him in the quarterfinals, he beat Morse 8-2. With Benson racing to 3 in the semifinals that followed, Mossiman gave up only a single rack to advance 8-1, to a re-match final against Leblanc.
Leblanc started the finals with 3 on the wire in a race to 7. He completed his undefeated, ‘any given Sunday’ run with a 4-2 victory.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Legends, along with 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 (#5) on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for Nov. 4, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Bo’s Bar & Billiards in Warwick, RI.
Jonathan Smith held off a late charge from Nelson Oliveira to win the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour's stop at Raxx Pool Room Sports Bar & Grill in West Hempstead, NY on October 22nd – 23rd.
Smith's path through the brackets saw him defeat Jeff Mosimann, Oliveira and Bruce Nagle for the hot-seat. After the loss to Smith, Oliveira went on a one loss side winning streak that saw him eliminate Holden Chin, Kang Lee and Nagle.
Oliveira kept his strong play going in the first set of the double elimination finals, where he defeated Smith 9-5. The second set of the finals saw Smith bounce back with a one sided 9-2 win for first place.
George Florides was the lucky winner of the drawing for the $1,500 custom engraved Joss cue.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour is back at it on November 5th – 6th, with the Al Conte Memorial at Hippo's House of Billiards in Utica NY. Players who wish to compete in the upcoming Turning Stone Classic XXVII should contact Zuglan at 518-356-7163 to lock up their place in the event.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour kicked off their 2016-2017 season on September 24th – 25th at the same place and the same way it has kicked off the past nine seasons. Since 2007, the tour has held their first event of the year at TJ’s Classic Billiards in Waterville, Maine. Considering that TJ’s is the homeroom for Mike Dechaine, it will come as no surprise that he has won the season opener on the tour every year since 2011.
This year, Dechaine held off a field of 52 other players to notch win #6. Dechaine beat Canadian Tom Theriault 9-7 for the hot-seat, in a match that saw Theriault miss a relatively easy shot that would have allowed him to get to hill-hill against Dechaine.
Theriault made quick work of Corey Payer in the semi-final match, where he posted a 9-2 win to send Payer home in third place.
Dechaine’s win in the first set of the double elimination finals was a much more comfortable one, with him defeating Theriault by a 9-5 scoreline.
Sunday saw 22 players come back for the $500 added second chance event, where Jeff Mosimann came back from the one loss side to defeat Cleiton Rocha twice in the finals. Rocha defeated Jordan Labbe 3-2 for the hot-seat, but Mosimann then eliminated Labbe 3-1, before defeating Rocha 3-2 and 3-0 in the finals.
The lucky winner of the raffle for the $1500 custom Joss cue was local player CJ Farnum.
The Joss NE 9-Ball tour will continue their new season at East Ridge Billiards in Rochester, NY on October 1st and 2nd. Tour director Mike Zuglan pointed out that January’s Turning Stone Classic XXVII is filling fast and will undoubtedly fill up again. Players should contact Zuglan at 518-356-7163 to lock up their place in the event.
Congratulations to TJ's Classic Billiards, "Maine Event X" Champion, Mike Dechaine ($1,000), Second Chance winner Jeff Mosimann ($340) & our $1,500 custom engraved Joss Cue raffle winner CJ Farnum!
The Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour will be at East Ridge Billiards in Rochester NY, on Sat & Sun Oct 1 & 2 for stop # 2 of our 2016/2017 season. The event will be $1,500/$500 added and as always is open to all players. Our generous host at East Ridge is Chris Braiman who deserves our thanks for bringing the tour back to Western NY. FYI, East Ridge is the former home room of some of the best to ever play the game. Irving Crane, Larry Hubbart & Mike Sigel to name a few! At East Ridge we will have 14, 9 footers all covered in 860 Simonis at our disposal. There is also a full kitchen with daily home made specials, and a beer and wine bar to satisfy any thirst. Once again there will be a $1,500 custom, engraved Joss Cue up for grabs in our raffle. Anyone can participate and you do not have to be present to win. You can view this beautiful cue here: https://josscues.com/joss-northeast-9-ball-tour-2016-17/
This event at East Ridge will consist of a $1500 added Saturday and Sunday Main Event (entry fee $120 for pro level – I will decide – or $70 for non pro level) and a $500 added second chance event on Sunday ($20 entry fee) only for those non pro level players eliminated from the main event on Saturday.
For those of you coming to play, please arrive on Saturday Oct.1st BEFORE 11:30 AM in proper dress of NO T-shirts, shorts or sweat clothes please. Jeans, sneakers and a shirt with a collar works just fine at all of our billiard parlor events! If coming to watch, play will begin after sign in on Saturday and 11am on Sunday.
For our complete Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour schedule, results and other pertinent tour info, please go to www.joss9balltour.com or Facebook at – Mike Zuglan's Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour.
Please note that our $25,000 Added Turning Stone Classic XXVII 9-Ball Open (January 5-8, 2017) is fast approaching and will fill to capacity before you know it. If you would like to compete in this BCA, WPA & Official Mosconi Team USA ranking event, NOW is the time to enter to avoid being shut out! To enter you must contact me at 518-356-7163 or see me at any of our events Before the event is full. I have been actively collecting entries since our last Turning Stone event so I strongly urge everyone to act now!!
Please remember to spread the word to frequent your local billiard parlors and utilize the world class products of our most generous sponsors. They are the backbone of our sport and deserve our support!! Thank you & I will see you all at East Ridge, Mike Zuglan
