Archive Page
Sossei at Sharpshooters Again
Joey Cicero and Jeremy Sossei
It’s sort of a February tradition at Sharpshooters Billiards in Amsterdam, NY. The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour comes to visit, and Jeremy Sossei ends up standing in the winner’s circle. For the fifth straight year (and sixth time in seven years), Jeremy Sossei finished in first place on February 16th and 17th. Even with his winning streak there, it wasn’t easy this year.
Sossei remained undefeated all day Saturday and started Sunday with a 9-3 win over Rick Kravetz. While Sossei was getting that win, Joey Cicero was sending BCA Hall of Famer Pat Fleming to the one loss side 9-6. Cicero then sent Sossei to join Fleming on the left side of the board as he took the hot-seat match 9-7.
On the one loss side, Jorge Teixeira was on a roll. After losing to Ron Casanzio on Saturday morning, Teixeira had won nine straight matches culminating in a 7-3 win over Bruce Nagle for 4th place. Teixeira gave Sossei almost all he could handle but ended up dropping the semi-final match 7-5.
That win left Sossei with the task of beating Cicero twice in a row, which he did in two hard-fought matches. Sossei scored a 9-6 win in the first set, followed by a 7-5 win in the second.
Sunday’s second chance tournament saw Ben Werblow dominate the field of nineteen players. Werblow went undefeated with wins over Bob Merkert, Greg Bombard, Nate Marshall and then Demian Provost for the hot-seat. In those four matches, Werblow lost a total of one game (to Bombard). Bruce Carroll eliminated Provost 3-0 in the semi-final match but was only able to manage one rack against Werblow in the finals.
Deja Vu for Nagle at Hippos House of Billiards
Bruce Nagle, Andrea Duvall (room owner) and Bucky Souvanthong
One day shy of exactly one year since his last Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win, Bruce Nagle came out on top of another Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop. That wasn’t where the similarities ended though.
Last year on the weekend of March 18th – 19th, Nagle went undefeated at King Smiley’s Billiards and defeated Bucky Souvanthong in the finals. This year, on the weekend of March 17th – 18th at Hippos House of Billiards (who came through and hosted the event when King Smiley’s wasn’t able to), Nagle went through the winner’s side undefeated and beat Bucky Souvanthong in the finals.
This year’s stop saw Nagle and Souvanthong battle it out for the hot-seat, which Nagle won 9-3. It was Nagle’s second hot-seat in as many weeks as he was in the hot-seat at last weekend’s Kevin Ketz Memorial.
Souvanthong won a quick 7-2 match against Ron Casanzio on the one loss side and was looking to keep Nagle from the winner’s circle for the second straight week as Nagle lost to Joey Cicero last week.
Souvanthong’s plans were looking good after one set, as he scored a 9-6 win to force a second set. Nagle wasn’t going to get double-dipped twice in a row though and scored a 7-4 win in the second set for first place.
Sunday’s second chance tournament looked a lot like the main event with Joe Mayo taking the hot-seat with a 3-0 win over Bruce Carroll, but losing the first set of the finals (to John McConnell 3-1) before coming back and winning the second set 3-1.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will now take a break until April 7th – 8th, when they are back in action at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine for another $1,500 added main event and $500 added second chance tournament.
Players who are interested in competing in August’s Turning Stone Classic XXX are urged to contact Mike Zuglan soon, as the event is now “well over half full”.
Joss Tour, $1,500/$500 Added, March 17 & 18, Hippos The House Of Billiards, Utica NY
Congratulations to stop # 10 winners, Joey Cicero ($1,000 main event), Tom Acciavatti ($320 second chance) & Jack Fitzpatrick (1,200 Joss Cue raffle winner)
The Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour will be at Hippos The House Of Billiards (Utica NY) for stop # 12 of our 21st season on March 17 & 18. Andrea Duvall deserves many thanks for generously offering to pick up this event that was originally scheduled at another location. Since taking over at Hippo's Andrea has added her own touch with a new web site www.hipposyorkville.com, a new Facebook page, delicious homemade food specials and free WiFi. Hippos has 12, 9 foot Gabriel tables and 8, 7 footers, all covered in 860 Simonis (The Cloth Of Champions). She has made Hippo's a true family fun destination spot, and has even held many events and functions for our junior players! So come to Hippo's to show your support and be treated to yet another great 9-ball event. You may even win a $1,200 custom, engraved Joss Cue in Hippos cue raffle, Anyone can participate and you do not have to be present to win! We will draw the winner of the cue on Sunday just before the final match. The Joss raffle cue can be viewed here: https://josscues.com/cues/custom/joss-custom-26/
For more Hippos and motel info etc., please contact Hippos directly at 315-768-0218
This event at Hippos 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) 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 March 17, BEFORE 11:30 AM, and in proper dress please. Jeans and sneakers are permitted in our billiard parlor events only. But please, NO T-shirts, tanks, shorts or sweats. Complete tour info can be found on our site www.joss9balltour.com
Our $25,000 Added Turning Stone Classic XXX 9-Ball Open, Season Finale, will be held on August 23 – August 26, 2018. I began taking entries just recently and it is already over 1/2 full. To enter you must contact me at 518-356-7163 or see me at any of our events Before the event is full at 128. I strongly urge everyone to act now if you are at all serious about playing in this great event!!
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 Hippos.
The Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour Is Proudly Sponsored By;
Joss Cues – http://www.josscues.com
Turning Stone Resort Casino – http://www.turningstone.com
Simonis Cloth – http://www.simoniscloth.com
Poolonthenet.com – http://www.poolonthenet.com
AzBilliards.com – http://www.azbilliards.com
Aramith – http://www.aramith.com
Billiards Press – http://www.billiardspress.com
World Class Cue Care – http://www.jnj-industries.com
Joey Cicero Undefeated for Kevin Ketz Memorial Win
Bruce Nagle, Trick Shots Owner Julie Berlin and Joey Cicero
Joey Cicero went undefeated and beat Bruce Nagle twice to win the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s “Kevin Ketz Memorial Open” over the March 10th-11th weekend at Trick Shot Billiards in Clifton Park, NY.
Cicero’s path to the final four on the winner’s side included wins over Bruce Carroll, Nick Coppola and Dave Grau. Cicero was joined on the winner’s side Sunday morning by Jorge Teixeira, Matt Tetreault and Bruce Nagle. Cicero then defeated Teixeira while Nagle sent Tetreault to the one loss side.
On the one loss side, both Teixeira and Tetreault kept their tournament hopes alive with wins over Yesid Garibello and Bucky Souvanthong respectively. They then met up to determine 4th place, with Teixeira scoring the hill-hill win. Teixeira quickly joined Tetreault in the seats after a 7-4 loss to Nagle in the semi-final match.
The finals only went one set, and although Nagle gave Cicero his toughest test of the weekend, he still lost 9-7 to finish in second place.
The 19 player second chance tournament on Sunday saw Tom Acciavatti recover from his hot-seat loss to Mark Creamer, only to come back and defeat Creamer twice in the finals.
Tour players are reminded that the March 17th – 18th event that was originally scheduled at King Smiley Billiards is now being held at Hippo’s House of Billiards in Utica, NY.
Players are also reminded that the Turning Stone Classic XXX on August 23rd – 26th is over halfway full. This event always fills up, with a waiting list of players who missed out on signing up. Contact Mike Zuglan to assure your spot in the event.
Billy Thorpe Wins Turning Stone Classic XXIX
Billy Thorpe (Photo courtesy of Taylor Workman)
While most fans in attendance felt that Jayson Shaw was the odds on favorite, it was Billy Thorpe who earned the title at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino on January 5th – 8th, with an undefeated run through a field of 128 players.
Thorpe fought his way to the hot seat match with wins over Jon McConnell, John Morra, Brandon Shuff, Canadian Adam Monture and Albania’s Besar Spahiu. His opponent for the hot-seat was another Canadian, Joey Cicero. In Cicero’s final eight match, he upset Shaw with a 9-5 match that saw Cicero controlling the table with a soft, controlled break. Shaw held an early lead at 4-0, but Cicero won 9 of the next 10 racks for the win.
After Cicero sent Zion Zvi to the one loss side, he came up one rack short of the hot-seat as Thorpe came back from 8-7 down to win the match 9-8.
On the one loss side, Cicero found Dennis Hatch on a roll. Hatch had lost an early match to Shaw, but put together a six match winning streak that included notable wins over Mika Immonen, Zvi and Spahiu. Hatch kept his dreams of a Turning Stone title alive with a dominating 9-2 win over Cicero in the semi-final match.
The final race to 13 looked as if it would be a quick one, with Thorpe racing to an early 10-2 lead. That was when Hatch took control of the match and what was an 8 rack Thorpe lead was only a 3 rack lead when Thorpe next won a rack at 11-8. Hatch wasn’t done though, as he won the next 3 racks to tie things at 11-11. In the next rack, Hatch looked to be running out for his first lead at 12-11, but bad shape on a 4-ball spelled his doom as Thorpe ran out that rack for a 12-11 lead of his own. Hatch would get back to the table in the 24th rack, but a missed 5-ball in the side from Hatch and a bank on that same 5-ball from Thorpe was all that Thorpe needed for the win.
Thorpe collected $8000 for the win, with Hatch settling for $5000 in second place prize money.
Turning Stone Classic XXIX Day Four
Joey Cicero (Photo courtesy of Taylor Workman)
Canadian Joey Cicero did what most fans at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino didn't think could be done. He rode a soft, controlled break to a 9-5 upset win over Jayson Shaw. Their match on Saturday night looked like a typical Shaw match early on, with Shaw grabbing an early lead. When Cicero got to the table though, he took control and didn't release control for the rest of the match. Cicero faces Zion Zvi in one quarter final match Sunday morning, while Besar Spahiu faces Billy Thorpe in the other. On the one loss side, Shaw takes on Danny Hewitt and Dennis Hatch plays Mika Immonen.
The tournament will crown a winner today, with the finals scheduled for 7pm EST.
AzBilliards will have all of the coverage with online streaming, online brackets and real time scoring all weekend. Your hub for following this event is at http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/1-joss-northeast-9-ball-tour/7953-turning-stone-classic-xxix-9-ball-open/live/.
Casualties Mount at U.S. Open
Jayson Shaw and Ko Pin Yi Prepare to do Battle (Photo courtesy of Erwin Dionisio)
Day three saw the beginning of the elimination rounds and players are beginning to find the exit. Reymart Lim sent Daryl Peach home 11-9, Donny Mills did the same to James Blackburn and Brad Shearer scraped past Tim De Ruyter 11-10.
Nick Malai ruined the day for Jorge Rodriquez 11-7 while Earl Strickland stayed with his hot hand to end the run for Matt Krah and John Schmidt gave no air to Joey Cicero as he took him down 11-3.
The winner’s side of the charts had lots of great matches. Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz first sickened Imran Majid and then did the same to Rodney Morris 11-7. Warren Kiamco had owned the hottest stick in the room until he came up against Alex Pagulayan. Pagulayan had a tough road of it but defeated Kiamco 11-9. Darren Appleton continues his strong play and defeated Mario He 11-5 while Eklant Kaci ruined the milk for Ronnie Alcano 11-7.
Albin Ouschan and Joshua Filler, two EuroTour Champs, went face to face and took it to the wire with Ouschan prevailing 11-10. J.L. Chang took down Chris Melling 11-5 after Melling had beaten Justin Bergman 11-8.
John Morra killed a giant when he won out over Niels Feijen 11-8 and Thorsten Hohmann carried the day over Martin Daigle 11-8. In the most anticipated match of the day Jayson Shaw was down 10-5 to Pin-Yi Ko when his young daughter yelled out “Come on Daddy!” Well, that is some fine inspiration there and Jayson rode it to the bank to win 6 games on the trot to win the match 11-10.Another anticipated match was Billy Thorpe against Fargo #3 James Aranas. Thorpe played an aggressive, gutsy game to take down Aranas 11-7.
From here the matches only get better. Follow all the action live on Accu-Stats.com and stay up to the minute with all of your favorite players right here on AZB with our real-time live scoring and brackets.
Turning Stone Classic XXVII Day Three
John Morra
WIth two days of play complete, the field at the Turning Stone Classix XXVII has been cut in half to just 64 players.
While no early tournament favorites have been eliminated yet, the one loss side is started to become populated with dangerous competitors.
Day two was moving along without any real fireworks on Fruday, until the 8pm round when the winner's side saw third round matches. No sooner had the round begun, than John Morra gave notice that he was going to be a danger to win this event with his 9-3 win over Darren Appleton. On the other side of the room, we looked to be on our way to the biggest upset of the event so far, when Joey Cicero started out with a 4-0 lead against reigning champion Jayson Shaw. "I got hooked on the 5-ball in the first game. I played a great shot to make it and scratched. The next time I get a shot it's 4-0" said Shaw after the match. Shaw turned in another of his comebacks though and won the match 9-8, with a break and run on the hill. Another great comeback win on Friday featured Karen Corr and Jarrod Clowery. Corr trailed Clowery 4-1 and 5-3 early, but came back to win the match 9-7 and remain undefeated going into Saturday.
Notable Saturday winner's side matches will include Johnny Archer vs Thorsten Hohmann, Amar Kang vs Karen Corr and Dennis Hatch vs Hunter Lombard
Follow all of the action with our online coverage, including live stream, real time scoring and online brackets at http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/1-joss-northeast-9-ball-tour/7300-turning-stone-classic-xxvii/live/
Shaw Defends Ocean State Title
Mike Zuglan, Ron Casanzio, Jayson Shaw and room owner Steve Goulding
It's good to be Jayson Shaw right now. After back to back undefeated wins at the Steinway Classic and then the Kuwait Open, Shaw extended his undefeated streak to three consecutive tournaments with his win at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour's 28th Ocean State 9-Ball Championship at Snookers Billiards in Providence, RI.
Shaw hasn't lost a match since his semi-final match loss to Chang Jung-Lin at the US Open 9-Ball Championship, and he made quick work of the field of 79 players at Snookers on November 12th – 13th. Shaw's second round 9-6 win over Tom Zippler was the closest an opponent would get to Shaw all weekend, and he played stronger as the event went on. A 9-0 win over Redgie Cutler, a 9-4 win over Jorge Rodriguez and a 9-1 win over Canadian Joey Cicero were just a couple highlights for Shaw's weekend.
Shaw took the hot-seat with a dominating 9-3 win over Ron Casanzio, and after a 9-6 win over Nelson Oliviera, Casanzio would have the unenviable task of trying to defeat Shaw twice in the finals. The task would prove to be way too much for anyone on this day, as Shaw went on to defeat Casanzio 9-1 in the first set of the finals.
Shaw collected $2,500 for the win, his second straight Ocean State Title, while Casanzio settled for $1700 in second place prize money.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be at Union Station Billiards in Portland Maine next weekend for another $1500/$500 added main event and second chance tournament.