l to r: Jessie Murphy, Francisco Cabral, Ben Benson, Matt Eline, Ned McConnell, and Lida Mullendore
Francisco Cabral and Jessie Murphy, sitting in the hot seat, opted out of a second and final match against Ben Benson and Matt Meline during the Saturday, April 8 Partners Tournament, stop (#22) on the New England 9-Ball Series. The event drew 53 teams of two to Snookers in Providence, RI.
The two pairs of competitors met first in the hot seat match. Cabral/Murphy had defeated the team of Sal Midolo and Lance Liscotti, double hill, in one winners’ side semifinal, as the team of Benson/Eline was downing Rob Diehl and Austin Ross 5-3 in the other one. Cabral/Murphy grabbed the hot seat, and as it turned out, their final match, in a shutout over Benson/Eline.
Midoli/Liscotti got into the quarterfinals with a 6-3 win over Gormly/Psarros. They were joined by Mullendore/McConnell, who’d eliminated Diehl/Ross 5-3.
Mullendor/McConnell then shut out Midolo/Liscotti. In the subsequent, straight-up race to 5 in the semifinals, Benson and Eline earned a second shot at Cabral and Murphy with a 5-2 win over Mullendore/McConnell. The last two teams opted out of a final match, potentially two, and split the top two prizes. As occupants of the event’s hot seat, Cabral and Murphy claimed the official event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Snookers, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Molinari, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Championship Cloth, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series (#23), scheduled for Saturday, April 21, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.
Eric Tang returned from a winners' side semifinal defeat at the hands of Dennis Levesque to defeat him in the finals of the newly-revived Eastern States Amateur Championship, held on Labor Day weekend. The $2,000-added event drew 75 entrants to Snooker's Billiards in Providence, RI. A concurrently-run, $3,000-added Pro event (separate story) drew 30 entrants.
Tang (an "A" player) and Levesque (a "B+") met first in the winners' side semifinal, as Dan Faraguna (B) and Mark Small (C) met up in the other. Levesque took the first (and last) of two against Tang 7-3 and in the hot seat match, met up with Small, who'd sent Faraguna west 7-4. Levesque gained the hot seat 8-7 over Small and waited on Tang.
Tang moved over and picked up Paul Dryden, who'd defeated Ryan Cullen and Victor Nau, both 7-5, to reach him. Faraguna drew Josh Gormly, who'd eliminated Chris Amaral 7-4 and Mike Demarco 7-5. Tang got by Dryden 7-2, and after Gormly had defeated Faraguna 7-3, Tang defeated him 7-2 in the quarterfinals.
Tang chalked up the third straight loss-side match in which he'd given up only two racks by defeating Small in the semifinals 9-2. Levesque, in the finals, challenged that streak, as he and Tang battled to double hill (8-7). Tang chalked up game #16 to snatch the title away from Levesque.
Tour Director Tony Robles thanked Steve and Regina Goulding, owners of Snookers, and their staff, as well as "(his) lovely wife, Gail," NYCGrind, NAPL, AZBTV, New England 9-Ball Series, Gloria Jean's Ride the NineTour, Poolonthenet.com, Gotham City Technologies, Ozone Billiards.com, Delta-13 racks and ("the Big Kahuna," said Robles) Predator Cues.
Over his final seven matches on the J.Pechauer Ride the 9 Tour stop on Sunday, February 12, David Wright won (on average) over three out of every four games he played. All but two of those matches were recorded on the loss-side of the tournament bracket. The final two were the two sets of a double elimination final, in which he defeated Mike Selig to capture the event title. The $600-added event, named in the honor of Cleiton Rocha, drew 54 entrants (including Rocha) to Snookers, in Providence, RI.
Wright, a C+ player, was moved to the west bracket early in this one; by Dave Bowden, who eventually followed him over, though he managed to dodge Wright’s revenge, when he was knocked out during the matches that decided the tie for seventh place. Moving among the winners’ side final four were Selig, Jordan Emerson, Rob Ragusa and Billy Lanna. Selig sent Emerson to the loss side with a handicapped 4-4 win, as Ragusa did likewise to Lanna 3-3. Selig got into the hot seat with a shutout over Ragusa.
It was Emerson who moved over and ran into a streaking Wright, already with five notches on his loss-side belt, including wins over Bill Bassi and Josh Lerner, both 5-2. Lanna picked up Ty Speedwell, who’d defeated Josh Gormly 5-1 and shut out Bowden to reach him. Wright shut out Emerson to move into the quarterfinals and was joined by Lanna, who’d downed Speedwell 5-2.
Wright had six, loss-side wins behind him at this point. He chalked up # 7 with a 4-2 victory over Lanna, and completed his trip to the finals with a 5-2 victory over Ragusa in the semifinals. Over the next 13 games, which comprised the two sets of the double elimination final, Wright gave up only two racks (one in each set) over Selig to secure the event victory.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Snookers in Providence for their hospitality, as well as new players who joined the tour for this event. They also offered thanks to Narragansett Beer for sponsorship of the event and their contributions to the prize money, as well as co-sponsors J. Pechauer Cues, CueShark, Muellers, and Magic Rack (CSI).
Van Sy went undefeated through a field of 45 entrants, who were on hand for an Open, A-C handicapped stop on the Rack ‘Em Up 9-Ball Tour, but not before he was brought to the brink of defeat twice by 12-year-old Jake Alpert, whose father, Alex, runs the USA Pool League out of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The event was hosted by The Fan Club in Wareham, MA.
The two met first among the winners’ side final four. In most of the matches, the youngster had to win only three games against his opponents’ five or six. To advance among the winners’ side final four, Alpert gave up only a single rack defeating Todd Brocklehurst, who needed six to win. Alpert then fought Sy to double hill at 4-2 before Sy prevailed to get into the hot seat match. Sy faced Josh Gormly, who’d just sent Choneyi Tenzin west double hill (4-4; Tenzin needing five). In a straight-up race to four, Sy gained the hot seat 4-2, and awaited the return of Alpert.
The youngster moved to the loss-side, where, over the next three games that put him back into the finals, he gave up only five racks, total. He first faced Kevin Picinnin, who’d defeated Bill Cole 4-2 and Joey Dupuis 6-4 to reach him. Tenzin, in the meantime, faced Ricky Matarazzo, who’d gotten by Danny Alonzo 6-2, and Brocklehurst, double hill.
Alpert moved into the quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory over Picinnin (needing 5), and was joined by Tenzin, who’d survived a double hill battle versus Matarazzo. Tenzin needed to win six games in the quarterfinal match that followed, but managed only one, sending Alpert to the semifinals against Gormly.
Gormly (needing five games to win) chalked up just one more game against Alpert than Tenzin did. The 3-2 win by Alpert gave him a second crack at Sy, sitting in the hot seat waiting for him. With Sy needing five, Alpert, for the second time, brought Sy to the brink at 4-2. Sy won the seventh and deciding game to capture the event title.
Two names were drawn for the event’s Break and Run raffle, and it was Joey Dupuis, both times. Having collected $75 for his 7th/8th place finish in the main event, he added $584 to that when he sunk eight balls off the break, and then added $20 more when his name was drawn a second time and he failed to make a ball.
