Quoc Dinh, Tim Strunk, Tim Perry and Troy Deocharran
A double hill hot seat match sent Quoc Dinh to the semifinals of the 3rd Annual Eastern States Amateur Championships, held on the weekend of August 13-14. Dinh returned to face and eventually defeat Troy Deocharran in the finals. The $1,000-added Amateur event, held under the auspices of the Predator Tour, The Ride the 9 Tour and the New England 9-Ball Series, drew 76 entrants to Snookers, in Providence, RI. A concurrently-run Open/Pro event, won by Jayson Shaw (separate story), drew 31 entrants to the same location.
Deocharran and Dinh had a relatively easy time in their respective winners' side semifinal matches; Deocharran sending John Francisco to the loss side 7-2, as Dinh was sending Tim Perry over, 7-3. Their first meeting was a double hill affair, eventually won by Deocharran, who sat in the hot seat awaiting Dinh's fateful return.
On the loss side, Francisco picked up Tim Strunk, who'd been sent to the loss side by Mike Demarco, and was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side run that would take him all the way to the semifinals. Wins #3 and #4 came against Dan Martis (7-4) and Roarke Dickson (double hill), which set Strunk up to face Francisco. Perry drew John Ortiz, who'd eliminated Richard Senna 7-4 and Dan Faraguna 7-3.
Strunk chalked up a second straight double hill win, advancing to the quarterfinals over Francisco. He was joined by Perry, who'd eliminated Ortiz 7-4. Strunk won his last match, defeating Perry 9-4 in those quarterfinals.
Dinh stopped Strunk's loss-side run 9-4 in the semifinals, for a second shot against Deocharran in the hot seat. Dinh used some semifinal momentum to defeat Deocharran in the finals 9-5.
Mike Dechaine has appeared in three out of the four finals of the annual George "Ginky" Sansouci Memorial Tournament, and now, after the event's first appearance on Memorial Day weekend, he's won two out of those three; both times, going undefeated and both times, coming from behind in the finals to win it. He won the first Ginky Memorial in 2011, defeating Dennis Hatch 11-9, after being down 8-6. In 2012, Earl Strickland defeated him in the finals. Dechaine did not compete in the 2013 Ginky Memorial; won by Mike Davis, defeating Dennis Hatch in the finals. Dechaine returned this year to claim his second title, this time, defeating The Iceman, Mika Immonen in the finals. The $2,000-added, Open/Pro tournament at this year's event drew 50 entrants to Steinway Billiards, in Astoria, Queens.
Three years after winning his first tournament on the Tri-State Tour, Kapriel Delimelkonoglu went undefeated to capture the $2,000-added, Amateur side of the Ginky Memorial, which drew a full field of 128 entrants. The Amateur event has crowned four separate champions since 2011 – Raj Vannala, Daniel Dagotdot, Mike Yednak and now, Delimelkonoglu.
In the Open/Pro competition, Dechaine moved among the winners' side final four for a match against Danny Mastermaker, currently ranked at # 8 on the Action Pool Tour, as Mhet Vergara faced Adam Smith, winner of last year's Pennsylvania 9-Ball Championships. Dechaine sent Mastermaker to the losers' bracket 8-5 and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Smith, who'd defeated Vergara by the same score. Dechaine defeated Smith 8-4 and found himself in the Ginky Memorial hot seat for the third time.
On the loss side, The Iceman, after being defeated by Smith in a winners' side quarterfinal defeated Jonathan Smith 8-6 and Hunter Lombardo 8-1 to draw Mastermaker. Vergara, in the meantime, drew Jayson Shaw, who'd lost to Immonen in the opening round, and was on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him to the quarterfinals. Shaw downed Karen Corr (the only woman playing in the Open/Pro event) 8-5 and Frankie Hernandez 8-4 to meet Vergara.
Shaw's final win of the day came against Vergara 8-2 as Immonen was busy eliminating Mastermaker 8-5. Immonen took the quarterfinal match against Shaw in a tight, double hill battle, and then downed Smith in the semifinals 8-6.
The final match – a modified race-to-11 (if Immonen reached 11 games first, match would extend to 13) – was a blend of rack running and safety play that went back and forth through its early and middle stages. The Iceman pulled ahead by two, as he reached the extension 'hill' of 10 games, but Dechaine locked in and took the next three to reach 11 games first and claim the event title.
In the Amateur event, Delimelkonoglu worked his way through to a winners' side semifinal against Glenn Ramsey, as John Ortiz faced ChristIan Smith in the other. Delimelkonoglu survived a double hill battle against Ramsey, as Ortiz downed Smith 7-4. Delimlekonoglu got into the hot seat 7-4 over Ortiz and awaited his return from the semifinals.
Ramsey and Smith got right back to work on the loss side; Ramsey downing teenager Thomas Rice in a double hill battle, as Smith eliminated Lidio Ramirez 7-5. Smith took the quarterfinal match 7-3, but had his bid for a shot against Delimelkonoglu stopped by Ortiz 7-5 in the semifinals. Delimelkonoglu completed his undefeated run with a 9-7, second win over Ortiz to claim the Ginky Memorial's fourth Amateur title.
On the weekend of February 11-12, 2012 the East Coast Pool Tour hosted the 7th annual Larry Lisciotti Memorial at Branford Cue and brew in Branford CT. The $500 added event drew 46 players to the even race to 7 two day tournament.
On the A/B side of the bracket saw Jeremy Sossei cruising to the finals after a close first round hill hill match with Chuck Altomare. After that, Jeremy beat Tommy Seminaro Jr. 7-2, Brent Boemmels 7-0 and then Clint Thompson 7-1 to secure his spot in the hot seat match.
The C/D side of the Bracket saw a battle of hill hill matches. It was Eric Graven (C+) that fought his way to the hot seat match against Jeremy. Eric had wins over Dave Corley, Mike Zingarella, and Jeff Geremia
The hot seat match saw Jeremy Sossei take complete control from the start winning 7-1 against Eric Graven.
On the loser side of the bracket it was Steve Mack (A) coming back after losing his first match to Brent Boemmels 7-6, winning 9 matches in a row to play Jeremy in the finals. On his way back to the finals he beat Tom Torres, Rob Persia, John Ortiz, Phil Davis, Brent Boemmels, Lance Lisciotti 7-5, Clint Thompson 7-4, Dave Corley 7-5 Eric Graven 7-3.
Throughout the tournament Jeremy Sossei seemed to be the player to beat who looked to be playing perfect pool. He proved his point in the finals cruising to a 7-0 victory break and running 4 racks in the set. Jeremy pocketed $650 for first place while Mack settled with $440 for second place.
The break contest saw Damien Provost winning the $800 Greg Kucharski custom cue that was generously donated to the tournament.
The Predator Pro-Am Tour’s $1,000 added last stop of the regular 2011 season took place at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ on November 5-6.
“Castle”, as most players in the area call it, is known for their famous sizzling steak and friendly atmosphere, as well as catering to some of the best pool players in New Jersey.
Forty-five players from around the tri-state area came out to compete in the Amateur 9-ball Event, all looking to end the season on a positive note… and potentially raise their standing in the tour’s end of the year rankings.
Several players played strong throughout the two-day tournament, but one player showed the most dominance overall. Florida player Steve Knoll is known as being a top amateur player, and proved to be too strong for the competition throughout this weekend.
Steve’s road through the winner’s bracket included wins over Guy Ignonicello 7-5, Christian Smith 7-6, Ed Culhane 7-2, Mike Hertz 8-7, Jack Smith 7-4, Rene Villalobos 10-8 to take the hot seat, and Michael Toohig 10-5 in the finals.
A number of other players also showed a lot of grit in this event, including Jack Smith, Rhio Anne Flores, Gary Murgia, and Rene Villalobos… who were all playing good enough to win, and left it all on the table during their late-event losses.
Michael Toohig was also playing with more swagger and more confidence that I have seen to date on tour. It was a pleasure to watch him dig deep, and come with several wins en route to his strong second place finish.
The Open/Pro 10-Ball Division featured pro division points leader and Tour Owner Tony Robles and Jeremy Sossei, as well as several up-and-coming players.
New York player Raphael Dabreo, who was ranked #3 in the B+ Class standings prior to this event, was impressive in making a statement with a solid 3rd place finish… but one player was head and shoulders above the rest.
Connecticut pro Jeremy “The Giant Killer” Sossei played superb all day en route to an undefeated win. Jeremy defeated Brian Tierney 8-2, Joe Landi 8-4, Tony Robles 8-1, Raphael DaBreo 8-6 for the hot seat, and Tony Robles 9-8 in the finals.
Both Amateur and Open/Pro tour players will be looking forward to the Predator Tour’s 2011 Finale, which will take place at Raxx Pool Room, Bar & Grill on December 10-11. http://www.raxxpoolroom.com/
