According to our records, the last time Bryan Jeziorski won a stop on the Tri-State Tour, he and Ricardo Mejia split the top two prizes. The 2013 event (part of the tour’s 2012-2013 season) drew 73 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ on Saturday, Feb. 2. The field had been restricted to 64 entrants, but when tour representatives saw the number of competitors still lined up to register when they reached that number, they expanded the field to accommodate them. At 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 3, they were probably questioning the wisdom of that decision. In any case, Jeziorski had sent Mejia to the loss side in the third round and Mejia had won six on the loss side to face him a second time in the finals . . . that didn’t happen.

 

On Saturday, April 20, Jeziorski signed on for a Tri-State Tour stop with 29 other entrants, and though, like his previous win, the event finished up early the next day (Easter Sunday morning), this time, Jeziorski played a final; against Rick Rodriguez, as it turned out, and won it to claim his second Tri-State title. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.

 

Jeziorski and Rodriguez almost met in the hot seat match. Jeziorski had gotten by Frank Sieczka 7-5, Yomaylin Feliz-Foreman (AKA Smiley) 7-5 and Ilija Trajceski 7-4 to draw Luis Jimenez in a winners’ side semifinal. Rodriguez, in the meantime, after victories over Jowen Pichardo 6-2, Clint Pires 6-2 and Mac Jankov 6-4, drew Mark Joseph in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Jeziorski advanced to the hot seat match with a 7-5 win over Jimenez. Joseph, however, sent Rodriguez to the loss side 6-3 to join Jeziorski battling for the hot seat. Jeziorski downed Joseph 7-5 and waited in the hot seat for Rodriguez to complete a three-match trip on the loss side.

 

Jimenez opened his loss-side campaign against Clint Pires, who’d defeated Sabrina Sherman 6-4 and Feliz-Forman 7-3 to reach him. Rodriguez picked up one of the tour’s top female competitors, Michelle Brotons, who’d eliminated Jeffrey Rosen 7-5 and Mac Jankov 6-2.

 

Rodriguez and Jimenez advanced to the quarterfinals; Rodriguez, surviving a double hill fight against Brotons and Jimenez, downing Spires 7-2. Rodriguez then defeated Jimenez 7-5 in those quarterfinals.

 

Rodriguez earned his spot in the finals with a strong 6-1 victory over Joseph in the semifinals. Jeziorski earned his first non-asterisk Tri-State title with a 7-4 win over Rodriguez in the finals.

 

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, DIGICUE OB and Hustlin USA. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, April 28, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY. 

Dave Shlemperis and Jaydev Zaveri battled once to claim title to the $1,000-added, April 29 event on the Tri-State Tour. That battle, for the hot seat, was won by Shlemperis, and though Zaveri would make a successful comeback from the semifinals, the two opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes. The event, which drew 46 entrants, was hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.

 

Following victories over Duc Lam, Abel Rosario, Basdeo Sookhai and Kirill Safronov, Shlemperis advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against John Francisco. Zaveri, in the meantime, met up with Juan Melendez. Shlemperis punched his ticket to the hot seat match with a 7-3 win over Francisco and was joined by Zaveri, who’d defeated Melendez 8-6. In what proved to be the ‘championship match,’ Shlemperis defeated Zaveri 7-2.

 

On the loss side, Mike Mele was working on a six-game, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals, and began when, following an opening round bye, he was sent to that side of the bracket by Francisco. Wins #2 and #3, against Adam Miller (6-1) and Mio Celaj, double hill, set Mele up for a re-match against Francisco. Melendez drew Ray Feliciano, who’d gotten by Christian Longo, double hill, and Jeffrey Rosen 9-4, to reach him.

 

Mele came out on the winning side of his second straight double hill match, exacting his revenge on Francisco. Feliciano joined him in the quarterfinal match with an 8-4 win over Melendez.

 

Tired, apparently, of double-hill drama, Mele shut Feliciano out in that quarterfinal match, onlya to be drawn into his third double hill match; this time, against Zaveri, in the semifinals that proved to be the event’s final match. Zaveri prevailed and then, in consort with Shlemperis, opted out of a final and split the top two prizes.

 

Tour representatives thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway Billiards staff, 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, a $1,000-added, double points event, scheduled for Sunday, May 6, will be hosted by BQE Billiards in Jackson Heights, NY.