(l to r) Xhuljiano Kamxhiu, Justin Myers & Geoff James
Geoff James and Xhuljiano Kamxhiu (known to friends, acquaintances and for the purposes of this report, as Julio) battled twice in their quest to claim title to the Joe Brown Memorial Tournament, held under the auspices of the New England 9-Ball Series on Saturday, March 7. James won them both to win the $500-added event that drew 43 entrants to Buster’s Billiards to Somersworth, NH.
As ‘residents’ of the event’s upper bracket, they met first in a winners’ side semifinal. James had advanced through Ramildo Brakaj, Tyler Campbell, Chad Avallone and Roger Vivier. After an opening round bye, Julio’s path went through an opening round, double hill battle against Daniel Simoneau, and then, Walter Kelly and Brett Chansky. From the lower bracket, Justin Myers and Junnel Balofinos squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal.
James downed Julio 7-2 (Julio racing to 5), as Myers and Balofinos locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Myers to the hot seat match against James. James gave up just a single rack and sat in the hot seat, awaiting Julio’s return.
On the loss side, Julio picked up Anthony Petruzzelli, who’d lost his opening round match and won six matches on the loss side, including recent victories over Roger Vivier 4-1 and Brett Chansky, double hill. Balofinos drew a rematch against Sydney Dupont, whom he’d defeated in the winners’ side third round, and who went on to win four, loss-side matches, including a 4-1 victory over Neal Katz and double hill win over Jarryd Boyd.
Julio advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-2 win over Petruzzelli and was joined by Dupont, who’d shut Balofinos out. Julio downed Dupont in those quarterfinals, double hill and earned his second shot against James with a 5-1 victory over Myers in the semifinals.
Julio began the true double elimination finals with ‘two on the wire,’ racing to 7. He added two to reach the hill, but James had his 6 and won the deciding game to claim the event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Buster’s, as well as sponsors Predator, BCAPL, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell with Lease Fundings, Master Billiards, OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America and Piku Tips. The next stop on the NE 9-Ball Series (#16), scheduled for the weekend of March 28-29, will be the $1,000-added Players Championship, to be hosted by Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.
Unlike Kyle Pepin, already having recorded his best earnings year to date (with two months to go), and looking to chalk up his second 2019 event victory (he won a stop on the Joss Tour in March), Carlton Gagnon joined the 5th stop of the New England 9-Ball Series on Saturday, Oct. 26, looking for his second cash finish anywhere (he finished 9th at a NE 9-Ball Series stop in January). They met in the finals of the event and it was Gagnon who emerged with not only his second cash finish anywhere, but his first regional tour victory anywhere. The $500-added event drew 32 entrants to Legends Billiards in Lewiston, ME.
Working in the lower bracket, in straight-up races to 5, Gagnon got by Laura Krech 5-1, survived a double hill fight against Justin Myers, and downed Dan Small 5-1 to draw Mark Pulsifer in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Pepin, in the meantime, advanced as far as the winners’ side quarterfinal, before being defeated by Michael Leavitt 5-3 (Pepin racing to 7). Leavitt advanced to face Ross Webster in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Gagnon got into the hot seat match with a 5-3 victory over Pulsifer and was joined by Leavitt, who’d defeated Webster 5-2. Separated by 135 FargoRate points, Gagnon (441) and Leavitt (576) battled to double hill before Gagnon prevailed 4-7 (Leavitt racing to 8) to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Pepin opened his five-match campaign to the finals with a straight-up race to 5, double hill win over Derrick Burnham and then eliminated George Morgan 6-1 to draw Webster. Pulsifer drew a rematch versus Tyler Dunbar, whom he’d sent to the loss side in the opening round and who was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals. Dunbar, like Pepin, was looking for his second 2019 win, having previously won the NE 9-Ball Series’ Bangor Bash just over a month ago. Like Gagnon, Dunbar has recorded his first cash payout finishes in 2019.
Pepin and Dunbar handed Webster and Pulsifer their second straight loss; Pepin, 5-1 over Webster and Dunbar, 4-1 over Pulsifer. Pepin then spoiled Dunbar’s hope for a second NE 9-Ball Series victory with a 7-2 win in the quarterfinals.
Pepin leapfrogged over the semifinals, avoiding a rematch against Leavitt, who’d sent him to the loss side, when Levitt forfeited. With Pepin racing to 9 in the finals, Gagnon completed his undefeated run with a 4-1 victory in that final match.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Legends, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, BCAPL, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell with Lease Fundings, Master Billiards and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the NE 9-Ball Series (#6), scheduled for Sunday, November 3, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Bo’s Billiards in Warwick, RI.
(l to r): Kyle Pepin, Tyler Boudreau & Kevin Bauccio
Pepin wins 11 on the loss side to meet him in the finals
Tyler Boudreau picked the 2019 New England 9-Ball Series Tour Championships to chalk up his first singles win on the tour. On any tour, according to our records. He and Tom D’Alfonso shared first-place honors during the tour’s 20th stop in May, a partners tournament and placed 4th in another partners event in August. Boudreau finished in 3rd place, behind Cullen Ryan and Lukas Fracasso-Verner at the tour’s Players’ Championship in March. Boudreau finished in 9th place in what was his only cash-earning appearance on the 2018 tour. He went undefeated at the $10,000-added event that drew 112 entrants to Bo’s Billiards in Warwick, RI on the weekend of September 7-8.
Boudreau, who, Fargo rated at 445, was the lowest ranked competitor among the event’s final 12, faced a total of eight opponents, with an average Fargo Rate of 522 (+). He faced a lower Fargo rated player only once; Don Roy (435) in the opening round of play. He faced separate much higher-rated opponents in the hot seat and finals – Kevin Bauccio (607) and Kyle Pepin (655).
Boudreau got by Don Roy, Josh Edmonds, James Stonkus, Josh Staples and Casey Olivieri to draw Justin Myers in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Kevin Bauccio, in the meantime, after victories over Rick Gatta, Tom D’Alfonso, Ricardo Diaz, Joe Dupuis (last year’s Tour Champion), and Ross Webster faced Cody Porter in the other winners’ side semifinal. Kyle Pepin, who’d opened his campaign with a 7-3 win over Rich Senna, fell to Mike Nicoloro 6-4 I the second round and embarked on an 11-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him into the finals against Boudreau.
In a straight-up race to 7, Bauccio defeatEd Porter 7-4. He was joined in the battle for the hot seat by Boudreau, who, in a straight-up race to 6, had defeated Myers 6-3. With Bauccio racing to 9 in the hot seat match, Boudreau gave up only three racks to him and claimed the hot seat 4-3.
Over on the loss side, Pepin was working his way through the field. He was six matches into his winning streak that had included two double hill wins (over Tom D’Alfonso and Chad Bazinet) when he ran into his third double hill win (over Gene Hunt) and then, eliminated Lukas Fracasso-Verner 6-4 to draw Cody Porter. Justin Myers picked up James Stonkus, who’d eliminated Casey Olivieri 5-2 and Josh Caesar 5-3.
Pepin advanced to the quarterfinals, chalking up his fourth double hill win over Porter. He was joined by Myers, who’d defeated Stonkus 5-2.
Pepin’s fifth and final double hill win of 11 loss-side matches came in those quarterfinals as he eliminated Myers. He then defeated Bauccio 7-4 for a shot at Boudreau in the hot seat.
With Pepin racing to 10, Boudreau completed his undefeated run with a first set 4-4 victory that earned him his first major regional tour win.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Bo’s Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, USAPL New England, BCA Pool League, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell with Lease Fundings, Master Billiards and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The 2019-2020 season of the New England 9-Ball Series (Stop #1) will commence on Sunday, Sept. 22 and will be hosted by Crow’s Nest in Plaistow, NH.
(l to r): Jeff Mosimann, Ben LeBlanc & Matt Benson
Most major sports experience the football-originated “any given Sunday” phenomenon, which acknowledges that while favorites and underdogs exist, when you get into the games, almost anything can happen, and often enough, it does. The growing popularity of the FargoRate system in pool has a way of codifying favorites and underdogs and even, if you look it up, provides the odds in a match between opponents in possession of a FargoRate.
On Sunday, Oct. 21, at Legends Sports Bar in Auburn, ME, 54 entrants competed in the $1,000-added 4th stop on the 2018/2019 New England 9-Ball Series. The Fargo-rated ‘underdog,’ Benjamin Leblanc, with a rating of 525, went undefeated, downing the ‘favorite,’ Jeff Mosimann (616) twice. On this particular Sunday, Leblanc’s Fargo-rated odds of winning either of the two matches was 38.4%.
Leblanc and Mossiman, both emerging from the event’s upper (higher rating) bracket, met first in a winners’ side semifinal, as Matt Benson and Josh Edmonds from the lower bracket faced off in the other one. Both matches featured an opponent (Leblanc and Benson) who began the match with two ‘on the wire’ in a race to 6. Benson sent Edmonds to the loss side 4-3. Leblanc didn’t give up a rack to Mossiman. Nor did he give up a rack to Benson in the subsequent match that put him in the hot seat.
Mossiman moved to the loss side and met up with Kyle Sariceno, who’d defeated Ricky Bergevin, Jr. 4-1, and a racing-to-7 Ross Webster 3-5. Edmonds drew Greg Morse, recent winner over Justin Myers 4-1 and Derick Lycette, double hill 4-2.
Mossiman chalked up two straight double hill wins. He defeated Sariceno 6-2 and then, after Morse had downed Edmonds 4-2 to join him in the quarterfinals, he beat Morse 8-2. With Benson racing to 3 in the semifinals that followed, Mossiman gave up only a single rack to advance 8-1, to a re-match final against Leblanc.
Leblanc started the finals with 3 on the wire in a race to 7. He completed his undefeated, ‘any given Sunday’ run with a 4-2 victory.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Legends, along with sponsors Predator, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Bourgeois Farms, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop (#5) on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for Nov. 4, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Bo’s Bar & Billiards in Warwick, RI.
