Jeremy Sossei, Room Owner Lenore Chen and Bruce Nagle
Jeremy Sossei closed out last season on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour with four straight regular season tour stop wins. He picked up right where he left off over the last two weeks with back to back wins in the first two tour stops of the new season.
The new season kicked off on September 21st and 22nd at TJ’s Classic Billiards in Waterville, Maine. Sossei ran through the winner’s side on Saturday, dropping his final match of the day to Ross Webster 9-5. Sossei bounced back with Sunday wins over Michael Yednak and Jim Hayden before taking out his revenge on Webster 7-0 in the semi final match. Joey Dupuis was in the hot-seat after beating Webster and Sossei proceeded to double dip him 9-2 and 7-6 for his fifth straight regular season win.
Sossei wasn’t done though, as he cruised through the field at stop two on September 28th – 29th at The Spot in Nanuet, New York. Sossei went undefeated and pretty much unchallenged. His 9-3 win over Bucky Souvanthong in the winner’s side final four was his closest match before the finals. He defeated Bruce Nagle for the hot-seat 9-1 and again 9-5 in the first set of the finals.
The second chance tournament at TJ’s saw Robert Lee go undefeated with wins over Leroy Bedard for the hot-seat and Mark Ransom in the finals. The second chance tournament at The Spot featured another undefeated winner as Tom Acciavatti defeated Suzzie Wong for the hot-seat 3-2 and again 3-1 in the finals.
Joss NE 9-Ball Tour director Mike Zuglan has been taking entries for the Turning Stone Classic XXXIII on January 9th – 12th and he urges interested players to get with him as soon as possible. The event (like all other Turning Stone Classic Events) will fill up with 128 players.
Congratulations to stop # 12 winners Kyle Pepin ($1,000 main event), Jim Hayden ($300 second chance event) & our $1,500 Joss Cue raffle winner Josh Lerner
Stop #13 of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour's 2018/2019 season will take place at the beautiful new Utica Billiards on the Boulevard in Utica, NY on April 6 & 7. This will be our second stop in this beautiful room opened in May of last year by our good friend Andrea Duvall. Andrea has created a modern, bright and welcoming room featuring 10 Brunswick Gold Crowns that will be used for our event. There is also a 10-ft heated billiard table, a 12-ft snooker table, a 9-ft tight pocket table, a ping-pong table, 5 7-ft tables, darts, foosball and video games making for a varied and fun recreational experience for the community. There is a wide range of menu selections and snacks as well as a pro shop with a large array of billiard supplies, cues and cases. So come on down this weekend to compete or just watch another great tournament. Be sure to take a chance on winning a beautiful, $1,500 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 visit www.uticabilliards.com, www.facebook.com/uticabilliards or call 315-732-3000.
If you will be in need accommodations, there are many to choose from nearby on Genesee St, just off exit 31 of I90. Please call the room for more info. 315-732-3000.
This event at Utica Billiards on the Boulevard will consist of a $1500 added Saturday and Sunday Main Event (entry Fee $120 for pro level or $70 for non pro level) 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 April 6 BEFORE 11:30 AM, and in proper dress please. Jeans and sneakers are permitted in our billiard parlor events. But please, No T-shirts, tanks, 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!!
Thanks and I hope to see you all at Utica Billiards on the Boulevard.
Phil Harju (Union Station owner), Kyle Pepin, Ben Savoie and Tyler Dunbar
With the popularity of Fargo, more and more tournaments are converting to a handicapped system based on those Fargo ratings. While this format allows lower rated players to compete against more experienced opponents, it can sometimes be daunting for those better players to “outrun the handicap” in these handicapped matches. While some of the results were close, Kyle Pepin outran them all to win the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s Fargorate Handicapped event at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine on March 23rd – 24th.
Pepin (653 Fargo) made his way through the winner’s side with three match wins on Saturday (Marc Dionne, Justin Grant and Josh Lerner). The handicaps (8-6, 9-5 and 8-5 were manageable, although Pepin did go hill-hill with Lerner in his last match of the day.
Sunday play for Pepin started with a 9-5 race against Jerry Guitard that Pepin won 9-3. That was followed by the biggest spot that Pepin had to give up all weekend. His match against Tyler Dunbar (465 Fargo) was a 10-4 race that Pepin won 10-3. Pepin commented after the event on the format for this event. “The handicapped format was tough, a lot of tough spots and close matches, but I think it was pretty fair and made me play pretty honest. I didn’t have many chances to make mistakes.” he said.
Ben Savoie (570 Fargo) was making this way through the one loss side after a loss to Guitard late on Saturday. Savoie had wins over Dave Hall, Josh Lerner and Samoth Sam before earning his revenge over Guitard 7-2. Savoie then sent Dunbar home in third place with an 8-3 win in the semi-final match.
The final match between Pepin and Savoie was an 8-6 race, where Pepin won 8-4 in the first set for first place and his second career Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win. Pepin was complimentary of the event after the win. “I think the format is great for lower ranked players and the more people people play in events that are reported to Fargo, the more accurate everyone’s handicap will be.” he said.
Sunday’s second chance tournament was the regular race to three format where Jim Hayden bounced back from a loss in the hot-seat match and double dipped Lindsey Monto in the finals for first place.
Mike Zuglan, Daren Belliveau, Kyle Pepin, and room owner Phil Harju
Kyle Pepin won his first ever Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop by the narrowest of margins on November 3rd and 4th at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine.
Pepin cruised through the right side of the board with wins over Brian Wheel, Wayne Faherty, Jim Hayden, Samoth Sam and Dave Hall. His 9-8 win over Hall put Pepin in the hot-seat, waiting for an opponent in the finals.
Hall found Darren Belliveau waiting on the one loss side, itching for a fight. Belliveau had lost to Ivaylo Petrov late on Saturday, but hadn’t lost since then. Hall was Belliveau’s fifth match on the one loss side, and he became the fifth player to be eliminated by Belliveau.
Belliveau didn’t stop there though, as he then handed Pepin his first loss 9-5 in the first set of the finals. The second set couldn’t have been any closer, tied at hill-hill, when Belliveau scratched on an 8-ball leaving Pepin the easiest of shots for Joss Tour stop victory #1.
The 11 player second chance tournament on Sunday saw Ross Webster win his second stop of the season with an undefeated run. Webster defeated Tyler Campbell 3-2 for the hot-seat and then 3-1 in the first set of the finals.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action on November 17th – 18th for the 30th Ocean State 9-Ball Championship. This event features $4500 in added money, with a $500 added second chance event on Sunday.
Mike Yednak, Dany Normandin and Union Station Owner Phil Harju
Sometimes, getting that first match win is the key to tournament success. That looked to be the case on April 7th – 8th at Union Station Billiards in Portland Maine where Dany Normandin earned his first career Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win.
Normandin’s first match was against the always dangerous Kyle Pepin. Pepin approaches the table with a confidence that can affect many opponent’s games and this match was a close one with Normandin pulling out a 9-7 win. After that win though, no opponent would put up much of a challenge to keep Normandin from the winner’s circle. Xavier Libby, Jim Hayden and Samoth Sam all fell to Normandin on Saturday, by a total score of 27-11.
Normandin picked up where he left off when Sunday play got underway, as he took the hot-seat with a 9-4 win over Ivaylo Petrov.
On the one loss side, Pepin had made it through five straight matches on Saturday and opened Sunday play with a 9-2 win over Josh Rupard. Pepin’s run would finally be brought to a close by Michael Yednak in the next round as Yednak scored a 9-7 win to earn his spot in the semi-final match against Petrov. Yednak’s only loss in the event up to this point had been a loss to Petrov mid-day on Saturday, but he would avenge that loss with a 9-5 win over Petrov to send Petrov to the seats in 3rd place.
The finals would go only one set and would continue Normandin’s dominant play as he beat Yednak 9-3 for first place and $1000 in prize money.
Sundays second chance tournament saw Ross Webster drop his second match to Xavier Libby, but come back with five match wins for first place. After the win over Webster, Libby then dropped the hot-seat match to Gary Bryant 3-0. After eliminating Libby 3-0, Webster came out of the one loss side to defeat Bryant 3-0 and 3-1 in the finals for first place and $300 in prize money.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action on April 28th – 29th at Raxx Pool Room, Sports Bar and Grill in West Hempstead, NY.
Phil Harju (room owner), Cody Francis, Dave Hall and Mike Zuglan
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour wrapped up the first half of their season over the weekend of November 18th and 19th at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine where the field of 37 players came down to two local players fighting it out for their first Joss Tour wins.
Sunday matches on the winner’s side saw Bruce Nagle score a hill-hill win over Ivaylo Petrov and Cody Francis with a 9-7 win over Josh Rupard. Francis then went on to take the hot-seat with a 9-7 win over Nagle.
On the one loss side, Dave Hall was on a roll after a lopsided 9-2 loss to Mark Desjardin in his first match on Saturday. Hall bounced back with Saturday wins over Sam Hebert, Mike Dube and Xavier Libby to make it into the money on Sunday.
Sunday matches saw Hall pick up where he left off on Saturday, as he defeated Jim Hayden, Rupard, Jeremy Sossei and Nagle to earn his spot in the finals.
For two players playing for their first tour wins, Francis and Hall made the most of it. Hall, from nearby Portland Maine, handed hometown favorite Francis his first loss in the first set of the finals 9-6. Francis returned the favor in the second set of the finals and eliminated Hall 9-7 to take first place and $1,050 in prize money.
Sunday’s second chance tournament came down to Mark Stewart facing Chad Bazinet three times before a winner was crowned. Stewart won the first meeting in the hot-seat match 3-0, but Bazinet defeated Dan Couture in the semi-final match and was back for another shot at Stewart in the finals. Bazinet scored a 3-2 win in the first set of the finals, but Stewart came back to score a 3-2 win of his own for first place.
The tour now takes a break for the rest of 2017 and will be back in action on January 4th – 7th for the Turning Stone Classic XXIX at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, Ny. That event has a handful of spots left open and players are urged to contact Mike Zuglan at 518-356-7163 to lock down their place in the event,
Nelson Oliviera, Union Station Owner Phil Harju, Guy Bouthot and Eklent Kaci
Albanian youngster Eklent Kaci added another win to his American resume with an undefeated run through the field of 36 players at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine on April 29th – 30th.
Fresh off his win at the World Pool Series' Aramith Masters in early April, the 18 year old sensation swept through the winner's side on Saturday with four straight dominating wins. Kaci beat Dave Fernandez, Mike Bourque, Bruce Nagle and Jim Hayden by a combined score of 36-13. Matching Kaci on the right side of the board was American Guy Bouthot. Bouthot took advantage of a first round bye, but then scored wins over Sarah Preston, Paul Cormier and Mark Stewart.
Kaci started his Sunday with a 9-6 win over Nelson Oliveira (the closest he had allowed an opponent to get to beating him all weekend), while Bouthot scored a 9-2 win over Samoth Sam. From there, Kaci scored a 9-2 win over Bouthot to take the hot-seat.
After defeating Oliveira 9-6, Bouthot was right back looking for another shot at Kaci in the finals. In the first set of the finals, Bouthot was able to double his number of games won against Kaci the first time they played. Unfortunately, the was still just four games. Kaci took that first set 9-4 for the undefeated win.
In the second chance tournament, Jim Hayden bounced back from a 3-0 loss to Steve Lillis for the hot-seat, to eliminate Jamie Garrett 3-2 and then double dip Lillis 3-1 and 3-1 in the finals.
The lucky winner of the $1500 custom engraved Joss Cue was Darrell Heroux.
The next stop on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be another $1500/$500 added event, at Snookers in Providence, RI on June 3rd – 4th. That stop will be the last regular season stop before the Turning Stone Classic XXVIII on August 31st – September 3rd.
Congratulations to Stop 15 event winners at Union Station Billiards, Eklant Kaci ($1,000 main event), Jim Hayden ($300 second chance) & Darrell Heroux ($1,500 Joss Cue Raffle Winner)
Stop # 16, our final regular season of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, will take place on June 3 & 4 at Snookers Billiards Sports Bar & Grill in Providence RI. This will once again be our third event at Snookers this season and we all owe owners Regina & Steve Goulding many thanks for their continued generous support. With this $2,000 added they have again added a total of $10,000 to our events this season. Thanks again from all of us! All that remains of the current season is our finale, The $25,000 Added, Turning Stone Classic XXVIII 9-Ball Open, August 31 – September 3, 2017.
Snookers, in case you already didn't know, is one of the premier rooms in the United States and TWICE named the #1 room in the country by Billiards Digest Magazine! Snookers comes complete with 15 Gold Crowns covered in 860 Simonis (The Cloth Of Champions), is a world class sports bar, and has some of the best food in RI which is evident by the usual large crowds. So why not come to Snookers to play or watch, have a great meal and show your support to those who most generously keep supporting us. You might even win a custom engraved Joss Cue valued at $1,500 in Snookers cue raffle. The cue drawing will take place immediately before the final match on Sunday and, as always, you do not have to be present to win!! This gorgeous cue can be viewed here: https://josscues.com/joss-northeast-9-ball-tour-2016-17/
This event at Snookers will consist of a $1500 added Saturday and Sunday Main Event (entry Fee $120 for pro level or $70 for non pro level) and a $500 added consolation event on Sunday ($20 Entry Fee) for those non pro players eliminated from the main event on Saturday.
For those of you coming to play, please arrive on Saturday June 3 BEFORE 11:30 AM, and in proper dress please. Yes, jeans and sneakers are permitted in our billiard parlor events. But please, no T-shirts, tanks, shorts or sweats. Complete tour info can be found on our site www.joss9balltour.com
Snookers has arranged special pricing at The Marriott right accross the street. The special rate is $189 + tax and is only available until May 12. Call them at 401-272-2400 and mention the Joss tournament at Snookers.
I am currently scheduling events for our 2017-2018 (Our 21st!) season. So if you know of, or own a billiard parlor here in the Northeast that may like to hold one of our events, Please contact me NOW at 518-356-7163. Potential sponsors who would to be a part of our tour are also urged to do the same. I will be finalizing the schedule soon so it is important to contact me now.
Once again I ask all of you to please frequent your local billiard parlors and utilize the services of our most generous sponsors who are the backbone of our sport. Thank You & I hope to see all of you Snookers.
