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Chen wins seven on the loss side, downs Smith in the finals of Tri-State stop

Dennis Kennedy, Rhys Chen and Christian Smith

Rhys Chen's trip through a field of 58 players, on hand for the Tri-State Tour's $1,000-added, A-D 9-Ball event on the weekend of June 14-15 went through host venue (Castle Billiards, East Rutherford, NJ) owner, John Trobiano twice. They met in the third round, when Trobiano sent Chen to the loss side to embark on a seven-match winning streak that would pass through Trobiano and eventually lead to a winning effort in the finals against ChristIan Smith
 
Smith, who advanced to the hot seat, defeated Don Montavalo, Carl Yusuf Khan, Shin Sekine, and Jose Liz Domeneche before running into Keith Adamik in a winners' side semifinal. Dennis Kennedy, in the meantime, squared off against Tony Ignomirello. Smith downed Adamik 7-1, as Kennedy was busy sending Ignomirello west 6-5. Smith gained the hot seat 9-8 over Kennedy, and waited on Chen.
 
Chen opened his loss-side campaign with victories over Antonio G.evara, Vinny Ferri, Domeneche and successfully wreaked his vengeance on Trobiano 7-5, to pick up Adamik. Ignomirello drew Dave Jusis, who'd gotten by Pat Mareno 6-2 and Jan Mierzwa 7-2.
 
Chen moved on to the quarterfinals (five down, three to go) with a 7-5 win over Adamik. He was joined by Jusis, who ended Ignomirello's day 6-3. Chen then eliminated Jusis 7-4 and defeated Kennedy in the semifinals 8-7. In the extended-race finals, Chen took an early and what proved to be insurmountable 3-1 lead. Smith would chalk up only one more, as Chen went on to reach seven games, extending the race to nine games, and then run out the final rack for a 9-4 win.
 
Tour representatives thanked John Trobiano and his staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for June 21, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.

Trobiano wins Tri-State in his own room

Brian Hunter, John Trobiano and Pat Mareno

As he's done numerous times in the past, John Trobiano entered a Tri-State tournament on March 1, that, as owner of Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, he was hosting. As he has also done a number of times, he won the $1,000-added AB-CD event that had drawn 35 entrants to his location. Occupying the hot seat at the end of the night, Trobiano and Brian Hunter, who'd won five on the loss side, opted out of a final match, splitting the top prizes, while conceding the event victory to the undefeated Trobiano.
 
Trobiano would open his five-match run on the AB side, with a victory over Borana Andoni. He followed with victories over Antonio G.errero, and Asia Cycak, before meeting up with house pro Scott Simonetti in one of the winners' side semifinals. Pat Mareno, working on the CD side initially, got by Steve Persaud, Allison Honeymar and Eddie Perez, before coming up against Ryzard Szpila in the other semifinal. Trobiana survived a double hill fight against Simonetti, and in the hot seat match, met Mareno, who'd defeated Szpila, also double hill. Trobiano won what would prove to be his last match of the night, defeating Mareno 9-7.
 
On the loss side, Simonetti ran right into the streaking Hunter, who'd defeated Mike Zimny 7-4 and Asia Cycak 7-3, to reach him. Szpila met up with Jennifer "Sweet P" Pedutem, who, having been sent to the loss side by Szpila in the third round of play, was on a streak of her own. She got by Jan Mierzwa 8-5 and Frank Siezcka 7-2 to meet Szpila a second time. Hunter and Pedutem advanced to the quarterfinals; Hunter downing Simonetti 7-2 and Pedutem wreaking her vengeance on Szpila, ending his day 8-4.
 
It was Hunter who won the quarterfinal battle, ending Pedutem's run 10-5. He then defeated Mareno in the semifinals 8-6 for a chance against Trobiano, which never happened. The two finalists opted out of the final match, leaving Trobiano as the undefeated winner.
 
Tour representatives congratulated Trobiano and thanked him and his staff for their hospitality. Thanks were tendered to tour sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics, as well. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for March 22, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY.

Bannon wins Tri-State, splits top prizes with Kennedy

Dennis Kennedy, Scott Bannon and Paul Wilkens

Going into the December 8 stop on the Tri-State Tour, Scott Bannon and Dennis Kennedy had each won a previous stop on the tour. Bannon had won two; a year ago on Staten Island, when he and Kennedy were among the winners' side final four, and three years before that in 2009. Kennedy's first Tri-State win came 22 months ago in Queens, when he came back from a loss in the hot seat match to take down Emily Duddy.  Bannon and Kennedy met only once on Saturday, December 8, and it was in the hot seat battle. Bannon won that fight, and claimed the event title when medical issues precluded Kennedy's appearance in the finals. The $1,000-added event drew 31 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
 
Their first and only match came after Bannon had sent room owner John Trobiano to the loss side 7-5 and Kennedy had dispatched Jan Mierzwa 6-2 in the two winners' side semifinals. Bannon claimed the hot seat in what proved to be his final win 9-6.
 
On the loss side, Paul Wilkens, sent west by Mierzwa from among the winners' side final eight, embarked on a four-match, loss-side march to the semifinals with victories over Mike Figueroa 6-3 and Jamiyl Adams 6-4. This set him up for a re-match against Mierzwa. Trobiano, in the meantime, squared off against Borana Andoni, who'd defeated Shin Sekine 7-3 and Ricardo Mejia 7-2 to reach him.
 
Wilkens and Andoni advanced to the quarterfinals; Andoni with a 7-4 win over Trobiano,  as Wilkens successfully wreaked his vengeance on Mierzwa 6-2. Wilkens and Andoni battled to double hill, and it was Andoni who got the first look at the 9-ball in the deciding game. She attempted a combination on the 9-ball, which not only failed, but left the ball hanging in the hole for Wilkens. Wilkens took aim at a full table bank shot on the 4-ball, which successfully traveled the distance to drop the hanging 9-ball and advance him to the semifinals against Kennedy.
 
Wilkens jumped out to an early lead in those semifinals, but Kennedy rallied to run up four racks and win it. At this point, Kennedy sighted back-related problems that forced him to forego a final, second match against Bannon, and the two opted to split the top prizes. Bannon, in the hot seat, officially claimed the event title.

Gutierrez stops seven-match, loss-side run by Zimny to claim Tri-State win

Mike Zimmy, Alexander Gutierrez and Max Watanabe

Alexander Gutierrez sent Max Watanabe to the semifinals during the November 9 stop on the Tri-State tour, but it was Mike Zimny who came back to face him in the finals. Zimny, who'd been sent to the loss side by Watanabe, came back through six opponents to face him a second time; successfully, as it turned out. Gutierrez ended Zimny's bid to claim the $1,000-added event title, which had drawn 38 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
 
With Zimny dispatched to the loss side earlier in the day, Watanabe advanced among the winners' side final four where he met up with Kyle Bubet. Gutierrez, in the meantime, squared off against Pat Mareno. Watanabe defeated Bubet 7-5, as Gutierrez was busy surviving a double hill battle over Mareno. With a 7-4 win, Gutierrez claimed the hot seat and sent Watanabe west for his fateful re-match against Zimny.
 
On the loss side, Mareno picked up Jaydev Zaveri, who'd gotten by Paulo Valverde and Andrew Cleary, both 6-4. It was Bubet who had the misfortune to draw Zimny, four wins into his seven-match, loss-side winning streak that included a double hill win over Jose Liz Domeneche, and a 7-4 victory over room owner, John Trobiano. Zimny and Zaveri handed Bubet and Mareno their second straight losses; Zimny over Bubet, 7-2 and Zaveri over Mareno, 6-2.
 
Zimny then dropped Zaveri into fourth place with a 7-3 win in the quarterfinals, to earn his re-match against Watanabe. He successfully put Watanabe in his (third) place, and got a shot at Gutierrez in the finals. Gutierrez stopped Zimny's gritty charge to reach the finals 7-5 to claim the title.
 
Tour representatives thanked Trobiano and his staff at Castle Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for November 16, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
 

Nau downs Andoni twice to take Amateur Predator stop; Shaw does likewise to win Open

Jayson Shaw

Both Victor Nau and Jayson Shaw survived double hill battles for the hot seat in the Amateur and Open portions of the November 2-3 stop on the Predator Tour, and went on to win the finals, against the same opponents. Nau took two against Borana Andoni in the Amateur event, while Shaw defeated Tony Robles twice in the Open event. The $500-added Amateur event drew 20 entrants, while the $500-added Open portion of the proceedings drew a short field of 10 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
 
From among the winners' side final four in the Amateur event, Nau downed Antonio G.errero 7-3, as Andoni sent Bogie Uzdejczyk west 7-2. Nau took command of the hot seat match, sending Andoni to the semifinals 8-3.
 
On the loss side, Geurrero met up with Giovanni Hosang, who'd gotten by Kyle Bubet 7-3 and survived a double hill battle against ChristIan Smith, to reach him. Uzdejczyk faced Stewart Warnock, who'd defeated Keith Adamik, double hill, and Koka Davladze 7-5. Guerrero and Uzdejczyk advanced to the quarterfinals with identical 7-5 wins over Osang and Warnock.
 
Uzdejczyk won the quarterfinal match 7-2 over Guerrero and got a second crack at Andoni.  He put up a double hill fight against her, but she prevailed for a second shot at Nau. Nau finished things with an 8-4 win in the finals.
 
In the Open event, Shaw, still nursing wounds inflicted by back-to-back victories by Shane Van Boening and Lee Van Corteza in the US Open 9-Ball Championships,  advanced among the winners side final four and met up with Scott Simonetti. Tony Robles squared off against room owner, John Trobiano, in the other winners' side semifinal.
 
Shaw defeated Simonetti 7-4, as Robles advanced to the hot seat match with a 7-2 win over Trobiano. Shaw won the double hill, hot seat struggle against Robles in their first of two.
 
On the loss side, Travis McKinley was working his way to the semifinals against Robles. He got by Keith Adamik 7-5 and Vikram Dasari 7-4 to pick up Simonetti. Trobiano faced Shpendi Kaba, who'd defeated Paul Spaanstra 7-1 and Daniel Dagotdot 7-4.
 
Kaba and McKinley handed Trobiano and Simonetti their second straight losses, both 7-4. McKinley then defeated Kaba in the quarterfinals 7-5. Robles ended McKinley's loss-side streak in the semifinals 7-3, and was then, himself, eliminated by Shaw in their second meeting 7-4.

DaBreo chalks up another undefeated Tri-State win at Castle Billiards

Rhys Chen, Raphael DaBreo and Chris DaCaprio

Unlike his last undefeated win on the Tri-State Tour in August, Raphael Dabreo actually got to play a final match during the Saturday, October 5 stop on the tour. His finals' opponent, Rhys Chen, won six on the loss side to meet him, but in spite of a slim, early lead could not stop DaBreo's second 2013 Tri-State victory. The $1,000-added event drew 40 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. 
 
Following wins over Borana Andoni,  room owner John Trobiano (who had won a stop on this tour, on this date, exactly one year ago) and Ricardo Mejia, DaBreo would pick up a 'medical issue' forfeit by Rhio Anne Flores among the winners' side final four. In the battle for the hot seat, DaBreo squared off against Chris DaCaprio, who'd just defeated Mike Figueroa 6-4. DaBreo downed DaCaprio 9-4 and waited in the hot seat for what turned out to be the return of Chen.
 
Flores returned to action for matches on the loss side, picking up Chen, who, after being sent west, double hill, by Scott Simonetti, defeated Mejia double hill and Jose Liz Domeneche 7-3. Figueroa drew Bernie Vogelsang, who, after being sent west by Figueroa, had gotten by Shivram Gupta 6-4 and Eddie DaCosta 6-2. Chen downed Flores 7-2, and was met in the quarterfinal match by Vogelsang, who'd wreaked his vengeance by shutting Figueroa out.
 
Chen took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Vogelsang and then, spoiled DaCaprio's bid for a second chance against DaBreo with an 8-4 semifinal win. Chen took the early 2-0 lead against DaBreo in the finals, and after giving up a single rack, made it 3-1. DaBreo came back to tie it at 3-3. They traded racks, back and forth, until DaBreo reached the hill, ahead by one. DaBreo broke dry in the final rack, but Chen missed a ball that turned the table back to him. As he'd been doing all day, DaBreo ran out to complete the match and his undefeated run through the field.
 
Tour representatives thanked John Trobiano and his Castle Billiards staff for their hospitality and continuing support for the tour and its players, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour is scheduled for Saturday, October 12, and will be hosted by House of Billiards on Staten Island.

Woo returns to the Tri-State Tour and goes undefeated at Castle Billiards

Geoff Bauer, Jonathan Woo and Teddy LaPadula

Jonathan Woo picked up a Tri-State win last November at House of Billiards on Staten Island, coming back from a double hill semifinal to down hot seat occupant, Michael Aro. On Saturday, September 7, he chalked up his first Tri-State win of 2013 with an undefeated run through a field of 37, on-hand for a $1,000-added, A-D handicapped event, hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. In the hot seat for this one, Woo and his finals opponent, Geoff Bauer, who'd won eight on the loss side for the right to face him, opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes.
 
Woo got by Ricardo Mejia, Marco Dy, and Charles Vegara to advance among the winners' side final four and a match against room owner, John Trobiano. In the other winners' side semifinal, Mike Strassberg squared off again Teddy Lapadula, last seen in the Tri-State winners' circle in February of 2010 (also at Castle Billiards). Woo sent Trobiano west 7-4, as LaPadula guaranteed himself a minimum third place finish with a double hill win over Strassburg. Woo then defeated LaPadula 8-6 and waited in the hot seat for Bauer.
 
Bauer's eight-match, loss-side streak went through Scott Simonetti, Luis Jimenez, Mejia, Vegara, and Guy Iannuzzi before running into Trobiano. Strassberg picked up Jaydev Zaveri, who'd defeated Dennis Kennedy 6-5 and James "Doc" Pasciolla 6-1 to reach him. Bauer handed Trobiano his second straight 7-4 loss and in the quarterfinals, faced Strassberg, who'd eliminated Zaveri 6-2.
 
Six down and two to go. Bauer took the quarterfinal match over Strassberg 9-7, and then gave LaPadula his guaranteed third place finish with an 8-4 win. At that point, Woo and Bauer chose not to play a final match, splitting the prize money and declaring the undefeated Woo as the event's official winner. 
 
Tour representatives thanked Trobiano and his staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State stop will be a Double Point event, scheduled for Saturday, September 14, at Gotham Billiards Club in Brooklyn, NY.

John Trobiano wins his second Tri-State Tour Invitational

John Trobiano

The sixteenth annual Tri-State Tour Invitational Tournament took place July 6 & 7, 2013, at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. The weekend was a huge success for the tour with 16 A & A+ Players, 32 B & B+ Players, 32 C & C+ Players and 16 D & D+ Players who earned their way in to compete in their respective classes and play for their chance to be named the Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion. Castle Billiards hosted the event for the fourth year. Castle Billiards owners John & Minnie Trobiano were again very professional, helpful and gracious. They donated their room and all the table time. Their generosity and support to the players and the event never dwindles and is always done with the players in mind. They are people who are genuinely into the game and the players; enough positive and complimentary things cannot be said about John, Minnie, and their staff.
 
As each day began, organizers John Leyman, Todd Fleitman & Rick Shellhouse congratulated the players on reaching the top of their classes for the season and handed out awards to the top players of the year in each class. The Tri-State Tour added $4000 in cash prizes and the sponsors QPOD, Dunkel Custom Cues, KH Custom Cues, Ozone Billiards, Fury Cues, Kamui Tips, Sterling Gaming, Capelle’s Pool Books, Billiards Digest, Pool & Billiards, Inside Pool, Professor-Q-Ball’s News, Blue Book Publications, Castle Billiards, Amsterdam Billiards, NYCGrind and Romer’s Trophies went out of their way to provide the event with some great equipment and prizes. The sponsors are owed a debt a gratitude for their dedication to the game and the players, their efforts and generosity are what made the event so special and such a great success and without their continued support of the sport and the players this event could not happen. 
 
Awards were presented to the top 3 players in each class, to the Most Improved Player of the Year, and Sportsman of the Year. The the most improved player went to Thomas Rice whose game gets stronger each day with the help of lessons from such legendary players as Earl Stickland. Thomas is only 15 and is improving every day, one day soon he will be playing with the best in the world.  Each year the tour awards one player the “Sportsperson of the Year” award. It is awarded to someone the tour believes exemplifies what a player should be and how they should act and this year’s award went to Dave Shlemperis. This year the Tri-State Tour announced that they would be starting a virtual Hall of Fame that will become part of their website. The new Hall of Fame page is still under construction and plans are in effect to debut it this fall. At the Invitational two players were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Dawn Hopkins who started it all back in the late 80’s as the “All About Pool Tour” and Daniel Cintron for his accomplishments on the tour, dedication and help to the tour throughout the years. Plans are also in effect to induct two more players who during the history of the tour their names and accomplishments became synonymous with the tour and they will be revealed in the near future.
 
The top players of the year in the their respective classes were Koka Davladze winning the A+/A class, Gary Murgia B+ player, Dave Shlemperis B player, Thomas Rice C player and Mike Davie returning to once again be crowned D+/D class player of the year. The Ladies Player of the Year was Yomaylin Feliz. In one of our most heated battles for player of the year Eddie Perez came in first only slightly edging out runner up and 2 time C class winner Tony Ignomirello by 10 points for the C+ player of the year. For a full list of winners for all the classes and events, please see the web site www.thetristatetour.com. 
The action in the tournament got going around eleven on Saturday morning, July 6 with the B+ and B class players along with the D+/D players kicking off the event.  The B+ class saw two players dominate the event and meet each other in the hot seat match, room owner John Trobiano and Ricardo Mejia.  Ricardo played strong and won the match on the hill. John moved to the one loss side where he played Steve Kaminow. John even though working 21 hours the day before preparing the room for the event could not be denied and won the match 7-0 and went on to the finals for a rematch with Ricardo. In the finals, the two combatants again played very well but John came out on top at 9-6. The B Class event paralleled the B+ class with Chris Peralta sending Mike Zimny to the one loss side after winning the hot seat match 7-1. Mike then beat Paul Spaanstra 7-5 and moved on to the finals. Playing a much different match this time against Chris, Mike won the match 7-4.
 
The D+/D class saw the 2 players who finished first and third in the points race the class for the year, fight their way to the hot seat match. Mike Davie and Ada Lio played a hard fought match but Mike came out on top 5-2. Ada then battled back by beating Amy Yu Yue on the one loss side to return to her second D+/D finals. But Mike could not be stopped and he beat Ada 5-2 again sending Ada home in second place for the second year in a row. Although Mike has been playing on the tour for a decade and has multiple Player of the year awards to his credit, he has never won a Tri-State tour tournament and so with this win Mike crowns his year on the tour with a major accomplishment.
 
On Sunday, play started again at 11 AM with the A+/A players and the C+ class and C class arriving to do battle. As the day progressed each event was dominated by one player, Raphael Dabreo in the A’s, Rene Villalobos in the C+’s and Umit Yolcu in the C’s. And all three would win their respective classes. In the A+/A class Raphael beat Geoffrey Bauer 7-5 sending Geoffrey to the one loss side and a match with home room favorite Scott Simonetti. But breaking strong and playing very strong Geoffrey came out on top against Scott at 7-5 and returned to the finals against Raphael. In one of the best matches of the entire event both players played exceptionally well with the lead going back and forth. Taking the match to hill/hill both players had opportunities in the final game but an unfortunate scratch late in the game by Geoffrey left Raphael with an out and the win. In the C+ class Rene dominated all the way thru winning the hot seat match against Keith Diaz 6-4. After losing to Rene in his second match of the day Robert Veit fought back on the one loss side to get to the finals only to lose again to Rene but this time at the score of 6-2. In the C class the scenario from the C+ class just about mirrored what was happening in the C Class. Umit Yolcu went undefeated beating Dave Danchak in the hot seat match 6-3 and then Ray Marisette in the finals 6-3. Ray just like Robert had lost his second match of the day and fought back to get to the finals.
 
This left our 6 class champions to do battle for the Grand Champion title. Rene Villalobos beat Umit Yolco 6-4 to win the C+/C playoff.  Rene then went on to beat Mike Davie in the C/D class playoff winning on the hill 7-6. John Trobiano after working the kitchen and room all day beat Mike Zimny on the hill in the B+/B class playoff and then went on to Raphael DaBreo 7-4 in the A/B class playoff.  This left the event with two players still standing; Rene Villalobos and John Trobiano. John feeling very relaxed event though working very hard over the weekend played extremely confidently and precise and won the final match of the event 7-4. This is John’s second win as Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion. His first win was back in 2010.

Domeneche comes from the loss side to down Spaanstra in Tri-State final

Jose Liz Domeneche, Paul Spaanstra and Kyle Bubet

They'd dodged each other in the winners' side semifinals; Jose Liz Domeneche, moving to the loss side, while Paul Spaanstra moved on to the hot seat match. Domeneche won three in a row on the loss side and then, came back to meet and defeat Spaanstra in the finals of the $750-added, A-D handicapped event, hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ on Saturday, June 22.
 
Domeneche had been downed by Kyle Bubet among the winners' side final four 6-4, as Spaanstra was busy surviving a double hill match against Mike Zimny. Spaanstra got into the hot seat 7-5 over Bubet and waited on Domeneche.
 
Luis Jimenez, winner of the tour's June 1 stop, was the man waiting on Domeneche on the loss side. He'd gotten by Jay Choi 6-4 and Lawrence Chandler 6-5 to reach him. Zimny drew Dave Ascolese, who'd defeated Steve Kaminov and Rhys Chen, both 7-5. Domeneche and Zimny moved on to the quarterfinals; Domeneche having eliminated Jimenez 6-3, Zimny defeating Ascolese 7-3.
 
Domeneche took the quarterfinal match 7-5 over Zimny, which set him up for a re-match against Bubet in the semifinals. He successfully negotiated that final, loss-side step with a 6-3 victory over Bubet and moved on to the finals.
 
Domeneche opened the final match against Spaanstra with three straight racks. Spaanstra would get close, but never lead. He closed the gap to within one at 4-3, and 5-4, before knotting things at 5-5. They traded racks to 6-6 before Domeneche put up his second three in a row to claim the event title.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour will be its annual Invitational Event on July 6-7, hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. The top 16 contenders for Player of the Year honors, in each of the tour's six ranking divisions, will be invited to compete. 
 
Expected to compete in the A+/A division will be current leaders, Koka Davladze, Carl Yusuf Khan, and Keith Adamik. Among those expected to compete in the B+ class will be Gary Murgia, Bryan Jeziorski and Guy Iannuzi, along with John Trobiano, Bogie Uzdejczyk and Ricardo Mejia. Among the top female players who'll receive the invitation will be Yomaylin "Smiley" Feliz, Kim Meyer-Gabia, Borana Andoni, Ada Lio and Rhio Anne Flores. For a complete list of current contenders in each of the six ranking divisions, visit the tour Web site at http://www.thetristatetour.com (follow link to 2012-2013 Player of the Year standings).

Jimenez goes undefeated on Tri-State

Geoffrey Bauer, Shinichi Sekine and Luis Jimenez

Fifth time's a charm, apparently.
 
After placing seventh and fifth twice on the Tri-State Tour since January, Luis Jimenez broke through on the weekend of June 1-2, completing an undefeated run through a field of 37. The $780-added, A-D handicapped event was hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
 
Jimenez didn't get the chance in this one to play the same opponent twice. He downed Eddie Perez, in a straight-up, C+, race to six 6-3 among the winners' side final four and was met in the hot seat battle by Geoffrey Bauer, who'd sent John Trobiano west 7-3. Jimenez got into the hot seat with an 8-4 win over Bauer, and waited for Shinichi Sikine, a B-ranked player, who was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak.
 
Sikine had been sent to the loss side by Trobiano in the third round, and got by Scott Simonetti 7-5 and Ken Debroske 7-4 before facing Trobiano a second time. Perez drew Ray Marisette, who'd defeated Cassandra Corbin 7-4 and Steven Protzo 6-2. Sekine successfully wreaked vengeance on Trobiano 7-4, and in the quarterfinals, faced Perez, who'd eliminated Marisette 6-4.
 
Sekine then defeated Perez 7-4 in those quarterfinals and survived a double hill match against Bauer in the semifinals. Jimenez, though, was not to be denied. He took the final match 7-5 to take home top honors.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards for their hospitality and continuing support, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour will be a $2,500-added, A-D handicapped event, scheduled for June 8-9 at Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.
 
"Come early," says the tour's notice of this event on their Facebook page, "because the field will fill up quickly. Practice starts at 10 a.m." Visit the tour's Web site – thetristatetour.com – for further information and updates.